The first term of
interest is the mountain of YHWH (Ps
24:3a). The mountain of YHWH is Mount
Zion. To Messiah, God says, “But as for
Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain” (Ps 2:6 NASBU). Zion is a surrogate for Jerusalem, as Ps 78
makes clear, “On the holy mount stands
the city he founded; the LORD loves the gates
of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. Glorious things of you
are spoken, O city of God. Selah” (vv
1—3 ESV, italics added; cf. Ps 15:1; 132:12—14). As the worshippers coming to Jerusalem neared
the terminus of their pilgrimage, it was this mount they saw as they sang the
psalm.
Another term that
catches our interest is holy place (24:3b). This term is used only twice in the Psalms,
here and 134:2; in the latter instance, its translation is even more
uncertain. Prudence dictates that we not
be read this term too strictly; that is, as denoting the second section of the
tripartite temple complex (e.g., 1 Kgs 8:8, 10). The psalmists, for poetic purposes, will
couple the mountain of God/Zion with the temple (in part or in whole) to
highlight the worship context of the song.
For instance, Ps 20:2 has “sanctuary” translating the same word (qôdesh) as is here translated “holy place.” “May he send you help from the sanctuary (qôdesh) and give you support from
Zion!” (20:2 ESV, italics added).
This term, therefor, represents the general loci of the temple worship,
from whence YHWH’s blessings overflow for his people.
Lift up and vain things of 24:4b are also worth mentioning. “Lift up” (nâśâ' / nâsâh)
represents a case of repetition in this psalm, see vv 4b, 5a, 7a, b, and 9a,
b. Because it has 659 uses in the OT,
its semantic range is as far as the east is from the west. It is an important term for various idiomatic
phrases in Hebrew. In this figurative
sense, it can carry a sense of complete dependence on its object, such as in
Deut 24:15, where the impoverished laborer has literally “lifted up his soul”
(or “set his heart on”) to his daily wages, without which he will parish. In the Psalter, the idiom occurs three other
times (25:1; 86:4; 143:8). In each of these
occurrences, YHWH is the object of devotion for the uplifted soul of the
psalmist. Therefore, the term connotes a
singularity of religious devotion in the psalter. This is significant, granting the object of
the verb in Ps 24:4, vain things.
Vain things (shâv') in 24:4b are idols.[1] This term is used directly in reference to
idols. For instance, Ps 31:6 says, “I
hate those who pay regard to worthless idols (shâv'), but I trust in the LORD” (ESV). Again,
“Yet my people have forgotten me and offered sacrifices to worthless idols!”
(Jer 18:15 NET). Especially in Ezekiel,
the idiom “lift up…eyes” is a common
one, with “idols” as its object of the longing gaze (see Eze 18:6, 12, 15;
33:25), and is likely to be taken in the same sense in Ps 121:1. Therefore, the phrase lift up his soul to vain things is a clear reference to idolatry;
it is the singularity of devotion that YHWH exacts from his worshippers, but
given to the utter worthlessness of idols, which are “no gods” (Jer 5:7).
King of glory is used only here in Ps 24
(vv 7, 8, 9, and 10). It may also be
translated “glorious King” or “majestic King” (so NET).
YHWH of Hosts is a name for YHWH that
connotes his absolute power as “God of the armies of Israel” (1 Sam 17:45) and
even stellar powers (Gen 2:1). Psalm
24:10 is the first of many instances of the title in the psalter. Interestingly, the title dos not come into
usage until the Samuel literature, 1 Sam 1:3, to be precise. If 1 and 2 Samuel provide the historical
background for the psalm, then this is significant. The exact phrase, “YHWH of Hosts,” again, is
first used in 1 Sam 1:3, in reference to Eli’s worship of YHWH at Shiloh, the
then-resting place of the Ark; its last occurrence is 2 Sam 7:27 in David’s
response to YHWH’s gracious covenant with him, these two have eight instances
between them. Only once is this title
used with any reference to the interim kingship of Saul, which was in Samuel’s
instructions, concerning the battle with the Amalekites (1 Sam 15:2f). Granting, therefore, these textual
perimeters, it can be concluded that the title “YHWH of Hosts” is meant to
present YHWH as Israel’s mighty Warrior, who commands the armies of Israel for
the purpose of establishing the kingdom of David.
Another point that
warrants notice is the title’s peculiar connection with the Ark itself. In 1 Sam 4:4 and 2 Sam 6:2, the title is
conjoined with the Ark and its purpose as YHWH’s throne-footstool.
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YHWH of Hosts / Ark of the Covenant /
Enthroned on Cherubim in 1 & 2 Samuel
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So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts,
who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and
Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. (1 Sam 4:4 ESV)
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And David arose and went with all the people who were with
him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the LORD of hosts who sits
enthroned on the cherubim. (2 Sam 6:2 ESV)
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The phrase “which is called by the
name of” (2 Sam 6:2) was probably used to prevent an idolatrous view of the
Ark, lest the people begin to think that YHWH was either in the Ark or confined
to its presence.
These
two threads, the connection of the title “YHWH of Hosts” with the establishment
of the Davidic dynasty and with the Ark, are tightly tied up in 2 Sam 7, when
both David and the Ark of God are settled in Jerusalem. With both David’s and YHWH’s thrones
established in Jerusalem, YHWH gives David “rest from all his surrounding
enemies” (7:1; cf. v 9, 11). YHWH
establishes his kingly vice-regent David, who obediently leads the hosts of
Israel into the subsequent battles, and YHWH “gave victory to David wherever he
went” (8:6, 14). With Israel’s enemies
subdued under the rod of Jesse, and the Ark and YHWH’s king securely planted in
Jerusalem, now the blessings of YHWH can flow out of Zion, “Out of Zion, the
perfection of beauty, God shines forth!” (Ps 50:2). Thus, hereafter, the militaristic title of
“YHWH of Host” fads from the purview of the Samuel narrative. Therefore, the references to the mountain of
YHWH and his holy place, his tabernacle (v 3), and YHWH being strong and
mighty, mighty in battle (v 9b, c), and the unconditional identification of the
King of glory as YHWH of Hosts, as a great throng moves in mighty procession
toward the walls of Jerusalem, all demonstrate with a good measure of certainty
that 2 Sam 6 is the historical background for Ps 24, a liturgical antiphon
commemorating the Ark’s triumphal entrance into Zion!
[1]
Leland Ryken, et al., “Idol,
idolatry,” pp. 416—18 in Dictionary of
Biblical Imagery. Leland Ryken,
James C. Wilhoit, Tremper Longman III editors.
Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic (1998), p. 417.
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