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Psalms

About this book
Psalm 20

1 For the music director, a psalm of David. May the Lord answer you when you are in trouble; may the God of Jacob make you secure. 2 May he send you help from his temple; from Zion may he give you support. 3 May he take notice of all your offerings; may he accept your burnt sacrifice. (Selah) 4 May he grant your heart’s desire; may he bring all your plans to pass. 5 Then we will shout for joy over your victory; we will rejoice in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests. 6 Now I am sure that the Lord will deliver his chosen king; he will intervene for him from his holy, heavenly temple, and display his mighty ability to deliver. 7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we depend on the Lord our God.⁠ 8 They will fall down, but we will stand firm. 9 The Lord will deliver the king; he will answer us when we call to him for help!

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalms 20:7 and Letter of Aristeas 193

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions

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Summary

Psalm 20 contrasts those who trust in chariots and horses with those who depend on God. The Letter of Aristeas tells the king of Egypt the same, to call on God rather than trust his armies, advice foreign to Greek thinking on kings.

Passages

Psalms 20:7

Hebrew Bible
5 Then we will shout for joy over your victory; we will rejoice in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests. 6 Now I am sure that the Lord will deliver his chosen king; he will intervene for him from his holy, heavenly temple, and display his mighty ability to deliver. 7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we depend on the Lord our God. 8 They will fall down, but we will stand firm. 9 The Lord will deliver the king; he will answer us when we call to him for help!
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Letter of Aristeas 193

Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions · Letter of Aristeas to Philocrates
The king praised the man warmly for his answer and asked the next in order, How he could be invincible in military affairs? And he replied, 'If he did not trust entirely to his multitudes or his warlike forces, but called on God continually to bring his enterprises to a successful issue, while he himself discharged all his duties in the spirit of justice.' Welcoming this answer, he asked another how he might become an object of dread to his enemies. And he replied, 'If while maintaining a vast supply of arms and forces he remembered that these things were powerless to achieve a permanent and conclusive result. For even God instills fear into the minds of men by granting reprieves and making merely a display of the greatness of his power.'
200–150 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Letter of Aristeas

References

“... 193. not place his trust in numbers . . . but called always upon God The answer is hardly one that would be found in Greek political philosophy. It comes strictly from Jewish tradition (e.g., Ps. 20.8–9). Nor would Ptolemy follow advice that had him go to the battlefield with prayers rather than arms. And the notion that he praises the speaker for this recommendation borders on the ludicrous. 194. God . . . implants awe into every mind The Jewish sage here acknowledges that armed forces might be of some use—but not for long. Only God would overawe the enemy. This too is not advice that Ptolemy would be likely to welcome. ...”
Erich S. Gruen, “The Letter of Aristeas,” in Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture, ed. Louis H. Feldman, James L. Kugel, and Lawrence H. Schiffman (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2013), 2747.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Psalms 20:7 and Letter of Aristeas 193

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