Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Willem A. VanGemeren on Psalm 110

 

Commenting on Psa 110:1 and the second lord, not being Adonai but adoni, Protestant Willem A. VanGemeren wrote:

 

1 In an oracular statement (“the Lord says”; cf. 36:1; Allen, 79: “Yahweh’s oracle”), the psalmist speaks of the promise of God pertaining to David and his dynasty. The promise pertains to the covenant between the Lord (adōnî) and the one in authority over the people of God, the Davidic king. His authority is by divine grant. The Davidic king is a theocratic ruler in the sense that he rules over God’s people under the Lord and yet is very close to him (cf. 1 Ch 28:5; 29:23; 2 Ch 9:8; Ps 45:6), at his right hand (cf. 1 Ki 2:19).

 

The authority belonging to the Davidic king is derived from the Lord. He promises to extend his dominion by subjugating the enemies. To make the enemies a “footstool” is an ancient Near Eastern metaphor for absolute control. Originally the victorious king placed his feet on the neck of his vanquished foe (cf. Jos 10:24; 1 Ki 5:3; Isa 51:23). From this practice arose the idiom of making one’s enemy one’s footstool. In Psalm 2 the Lord also promises full authority over the earth to the Davidic king (vv. 8–9), and Paul alludes to this promise when speaking about Jesus’ authority as the Messiah of God (1 Co 15:25). The promise is further developed in the victorious and eschatological language of Psalm 110:2–3, 5–7.

Notes

For a discussion of the technical words and phrases in the superscription, see Introduction, pp. 62–67.

 

1 The MT uses the phrase אֲדֹנִי (ʾadōnî, “my master”) to denote the lord-vassal relationship between the king and his people (cf. 1 Sa 22:12; 26:18; 1 Ki 1:13; 18:7), whereas the usual reference to deity is אֲדוֹנָי (ʾadōnāy, “Lord” or “my Lord”). (Willem A. VanGemeren, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 5: Psalms [rev ed.; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2008], 5814)

 

Elsewhere, commenting on vv. 5-6 where Adonai is at the right hand of the king, he notes:

 

5–6 When the king goes out to war, “the Lord” (ʾadōnāy), as the Master of the universe, supports him by being at his right hand (v. 5; cf. 16:8; 109:31; 121:5). He will further the king’s power by crushing the resistance of kings. There is a day of accountability appointed, and that day will be a time of vindication (“the day of his wrath”; cf. 2:5, 12; 21:9; Isa 13:9, 13; Zep 2:3). On that day the Lord will “judge the nations” (v. 6; cf. 2:9; 7:8; 9:8; 76:9; Rev 19:11–21), thus causing great defeat for the inimical nations—a defeat symbolized by their “corpses” and “heads” (rōʾš; NIV, “the rulers”). (Ibid., 5816–817)

 

Finally, on the Davidic King (not just the then-future Messiah!) being a priest “after the order of Melchizedek,” he noted the following about v. 4:

 

The irrevocable oath is none other than what the Lord has promised to David pertaining to his dynasty (2 Sa 7:13; Pss 89:3, 28–29, 34–35; 132:11). David had shown a deep concern for the Lord’s dwelling place; and with the divine appointment of Jerusalem as the focal point of his earthly rule, the Lord made great promises to David (see 132:13–18). Here the Davidic king serves as God’s priest “in the order of Melchizedek” (see M. J. Paul, “The Order of Melchizedek [Ps 110:4 and Heb 7:3],” WTJ 49 [1987]: 195–211). Melchizedek was a priest-king over Jerusalem (cf. Ge 14:18) and worshiped the Creator-God as the supreme deity (El Elyon). The Davidic king is after the order of Melchizedek only in so far as the sacerdotal kingship is concerned. He is charged with responsibility over the true worship of the Lord. For a prophetic vision of the glorious union of the Messiah-Priest, see Zechariah 6:13; for the NT application, see Hebrews 5:6–10; 7:22. (Ibid., 5816)

 

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