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Psalms of Solomon

About this book

The Return of Jerusalem’s Scattered Children

Psalm 11

1 Blow the trumpet in Zion to summon (the) saints. Let Jerusalem hear the voice of the one who brings good news; For God has had pity on Israel by attending to them.⁠ 2 Stand on the height, Jerusalem, and look at your children, From the East and the West, gathered together by the Lord;⁠ 3 From the North they come in the gladness of their God, From the faraway islands God has gathered them. 4 He has lowered high mountains into a plain for them; The hills fled at their entrance. 5 The woods gave them shelter as they passed by; God caused every sweet-smelling tree to grow for them, 6 so that Israel might pass by when their God visits them in glory. 7 Put on, Jerusalem, your glorious clothing; Prepare your holy robe; For God has promised good things for Israel, forever and ever.⁠ 8 Let the Lord do what He has spoken concerning Israel and Jerusalem; Let the Lord raise up Israel by His glorious name. 9 The mercy of the Lord be upon Israel forever and ever.

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 60:4 and Psalms of Solomon 11:2

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Wisdom and Poetry

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Summary

Psalm of Solomon 11 echoes Isaiah 60 in language and structure, such as the call for Zion to watch her children returning from exile. Both use similar language to present the city as a mother welcoming back her scattered family.

Passages

Isaiah 60:4

Hebrew Bible
2 For, look, darkness covers the earth and deep darkness covers the nations, but the Lord shines on you; his splendor appears over you. 3 Nations come to your light, kings to your bright light. 4 Look all around you! They all gather and come to you—your sons come from far away, and your daughters are escorted by guardians. 5 Then you will look and smile, you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride. For the riches of distant lands will belong to you, and the wealth of nations will come to you.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Psalms of Solomon 11:2

Pseudepigrapha, Wisdom and Poetry
1 Blow the trumpet in Zion to summon (the) saints. Let Jerusalem hear the voice of the one who brings good news; For God has had pity on Israel by attending to them. 2 Stand on the height, Jerusalem, and look at your children, From the East and the West, gathered together by the Lord; 3 From the North they come in the gladness of their God, From the faraway islands God has gathered them.
65–30 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Psalms of Solomon

References

"... Another conceptual cluster taken from Isaiah can be found in Psalm of Solomon 11:2-3. In these verses, an unidentified voice commands Jerusalem to “look at your children” whom are “gathered” “from the east and the west” and “from the north”. It appears that the closest linguistic parallels and syntactical constructions come from Isaiah 60:4. The lexical and syntactical overlap with Isaiah 60:4 includes the command for Jerusalem to “look” at her “gathered children”. Zion is urged to fix her gaze upon her sons coming from “far away” as they are hoisted upon the shoulders of conquered foes ..."
Chad Reeser, The Use of Isaiah in Psalm of Solomon 11 and Mark 1:1-15 (University of Aberdeen, 2020), 4.

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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Isaiah 60:4 and Psalms of Solomon 11:2

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