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Psalms of Solomon

About this book

A Prayer for Mercy and Protection

Psalm 7

1 Do not live far away from us, God, so that those who hate us without cause do not attack us. 2 For You have rejected them, God; Do not let their feet trample Your holy inheritance. 3 Discipline us Yourself as You see fit; But do not hand (us) over to the nations; 4 For, if You send death, You Yourself give it instructions concerning us;⁠ 5 For You are merciful, And will not be angry to the point of destroying us. 6 While Your name lives among us, we shall find mercy; And the nations shall not overpower us. 7 For You are our shield, And when we call upon You, You listen to us; 8 For You will pity the descendants of Israel forever, and You will not reject (them): 9 But we (shall be) under Your yoke forever, And (under) the rod of Your discipline.⁠ 10 You will strengthen us when You help us, showing mercy to the house of Jacob on the day when You promised (to help them).

Texts in conversation

Compare Exodus 12:23 and Psalms of Solomon 7:4

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Wisdom and Poetry

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Summary

Psalms of Solomon 7 echoes Exodus 12 by treating death as an agent under God’s control like the destroyer. In Exodus, the destroyer is held back from those protected, and the Psalms present affliction and death as tools of divine discipline.

Passages

Exodus 12:23

Hebrew Bible
22 Take a branch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and apply to the top of the doorframe and the two side posts some of the blood that is in the basin. Not one of you is to go out the door of his house until morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through to strike Egypt, and when he sees the blood on the top of the doorframe and the two side posts, then the Lord will pass over the door, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. 24 You must observe this event as an ordinance for you and for your children forever. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give to you, just as he said, you must observe this ceremony.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Exodus

Psalms of Solomon 7:4

Pseudepigrapha, Wisdom and Poetry
1 Do not live far away from us, God, so that those who hate us without cause do not attack us. 2 For You have rejected them, God; Do not let their feet trample Your holy inheritance. 3 Discipline us Yourself as You see fit; But do not hand (us) over to the nations; 4 For, if You send death, You Yourself give it instructions concerning us; 5 For You are merciful, And will not be angry to the point of destroying us.
65–30 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Psalms of Solomon

References

"... The first verse is the author’s pleading that God not depart from Israel in the challenging situation of an oncoming assault from the Gentiles (Psalms of Solomon 7:1). The next two verses are the plea of the psalmist God’s help, while the author asks God about God’s discipline (Psalms of Solomon 7:2–3). The author distinguishes between evil that comes from the Gentiles and the punishment of God, whose aim is to rectify the nation. God’s discipline is a contradiction to the destructive wrath of the Gentiles. Besides this, the psalmist states that his trust in God could protect the community of the devout and that he is convinced that all is in God’s hands and under God’s guidance (even the affliction of death could be understood as a way to preserve the community), which is for the author the assurance of God’s mercy (Psalms of Solomon 7:4–6). The author believes that God will respond to the prayer and will have compassion on the nation of Israel and will not reject them (Psalms of Solomon 7:7–8). Then, he again stresses that the righteous are under God’s discipline (Psalms of Solomon 7:9–10) ..."
František Ábel, The Psalms of Solomon and the Messianic Ethics of Paul (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2016), 131.

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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Exodus 12:23 and Psalms of Solomon 7:4

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