Psalm 2#Controversy

According to the Talmud (Berakhot 10b), Psalm 2 is a continuation of Psalm 1.{{cite web |url=https://www.ou.org/torah/nach/nach-yomi/psalms_chapter_2/|title=Psalms – Chapter 2|first=Rabbi Jack|last=Abramowitz|year=2018|access-date=25 August 2018|work=Orthodox Union}} 10th-century rabbi Saadia Gaon, in his commentary on the Psalms, notes that Psalm 1 begins with the word "Happy" and the last verse of Psalm 2 ends with the word "Happy", joining them thematically.

According to the Talmud and commentators such as Saadia Gaon, Abraham ibn Ezra, and the Karaite Yefet ben Ali, this psalm is messianic, referring to the advent of the Jewish Messiah who will be preceded by the wars of Gog and Magog.{{cite journal|title=Medieval Jewish Exegesis of Psalm 2|first=Mariano Gomez|last=Aranda|journal=Journal of Hebrew Scriptures|volume=18|doi=10.5508/jhs.2018.v18.a3|year=2018|hdl=10261/176792|doi-access=free|hdl-access=free}} In this vein, the "king" of Psalm 2 is interpreted not as David but as the future King Messiah from the Davidic line, who will restore Israel to its former glory and bring world peace. The Talmud teaches (Sukkah 52a):

Our Rabbis taught: The Holy One, blessed be He, will say to the Messiah, the son of David (May he reveal himself speedily in our days!), "Ask of me anything, and I will give it to you", as it is said, "I will tell of the decree ... this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me and I will give the nations for your inheritance" (Psalms 2:7–8).[http://www.halakhah.com/pdf/moed/Sukkah.pdf Soncino Talmud edition. Online here]

Similarly, the Midrash Tehillim teaches:

R. Jonathan said: "Three persons were bidden, 'Ask'—Solomon, Ahaz, and the King Messiah. Solomon: 'Ask what I shall give thee' (I Kings 3:5). Ahaz: 'Ask thee a sign' (Isaiah 7:11). The King Messiah: 'Ask of Me', etc. (Psalms 2:8)."Soncino Midrash Rabbah (vol. 1, pp. 365–366){{cite web |url= https://www.matsati.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Midrash-Tehillim-Psalms-2.pdf|title=Midrash Tehillim / Psalms 2|publisher=matsati.com|year=2012|access-date=January 20, 2019}}

Rashi and Radak, however, identify the subject of this psalm as David, following his victory over the Philistines. Arenda suggests that Rashi's view was influenced by that of early Christian commentators who interpreted verse 7 as referring to Christ.

Christian writers such as Hermann GunkelGunkel, Hermann: Die Psalmen, (Göttingen 1926), p5. and Hans Joachin Kras"Hans-Joachim Kraus", Psalmen 1–63. 1. Teilband, (Neukirchen-Vluyn 1972), p13f. see the psalm as a song of the Judean king himself at the festival of his accession, while Hossfeld sees the psalm as merely being influenced by the Egyptian and Hellenistic royal ideology.siehe Hossfeld, Frank-Lothar und Erich Zenger: Die Psalmen, Bd. 1, Psalm 1–50, (Würzburg 1993), p50.

Christian scholars interpret the subject of the psalm as Jesus Christ and his role as the Messiah. Matthew Henry interprets verses 1–6 are viewed as threats against Christ's kingdom, verses 7–9 as a promise to Christ to be the head of this kingdom, and verses 10–12 as counsel to all to serve Christ.{{cite web |url= https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/psalms/2.html |title=Psalms 2|first=Matthew|last=Henry|author-link=Matthew Henry|publisher=Bible Study Tools|year=2019|access-date=January 20, 2019}} Charles Spurgeon and Adam Clarke similarly interpret the psalm as referring to the opposition against Christ's rulership, the selection of Christ by God as his "own son", and the eventual victory and reign of Christ over his enemies.{{cite web |url= https://www.christianity.com/bible/commentary.php?com=spur&b=19&c=2 |title= Psalm 2 Bible Commentary|first=Charles|last=Spurgeon|author-link=Charles Spurgeon|year=2019|access-date=January 20, 2019|work=Christianity.com}}{{cite web |url= https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/psalms-2.html |title=Adam Clarke Commentary: Psalms 2|publisher=Study Light|year=2019|access-date=January 20, 2019}}

The following table shows the Hebrew text{{cite web |url=https://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2602.htm |title= Psalms – Chapter 2 |publisher=Mechon Mamre}}{{cite web |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Psalms.2?ven=The_Holy_Scriptures:_A_New_Translation_(JPS_1917)&lang=bi |title= Psalms 2 - JPS 1917 |publisher= Sefaria.org}} of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the Koine Greek text in the Septuagint{{cite web |title=Psalm 2 - Septuagint and Brenton's Septuagint Translation|url= https://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/septuagint/chapter.asp?book=24&page=3 |accessdate=3 March 2025 |publisher=Ellopos}} and the English translation from the King James Version. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the Masoretic text come from different textual traditions.A 1917 translation directly from Hebrew to English by the Jewish Publication Society can be found [https://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2602.htm here] or [https://www.sefaria.org/Psalms.2?ven=The_Holy_Scriptures:_A_New_Translation_(JPS_1917)&lang=bi here], and an 1844 translation directly from the Septuagint by L. C. L. Brenton can be found [https://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/septuagint/chapter.asp?book=24&page=2 here]. Both translations are in the public domain.

Verse 1 is recited during Selichot.{{cite web |url=https://www.halakhah.com/rst/pesukim.pdf|title=Shimush Pesukim: Comprehensive Index to Liturgical and Ceremonial Uses of Biblical Verses and Passages|first=Reuven|last=Brauner|year=2013|access-date=25 August 2018|edition= 2nd|page=31}}

This psalm is also recited to alleviate a headache, and when caught in a sea gale.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailytehillim.com/Default.aspx?CategoryOption=True|title=Illness, Travel|work=Daily Tehillim|access-date=January 20, 2019|archive-date=December 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214073606/http://www.dailytehillim.com/Default.aspx?CategoryOption=True|url-status=dead}}

Some verses of Psalm 2 are referenced in the New Testament:

• Verses 1-2: in a speech attributed to Peter and John in Acts {{bibleref2-nb|Acts|4:25-26|KJV}}.
• Verse 7: in Acts 13:33; Hebrews 1:5; Hebrews 5:5.
• Verses 8-9: in Revelation {{bibleref2-nb|Revelation|2:26,27|KJV}}; 12:5; 19:15.{{cite book|last= Kirkpatrick| first= A. F. | author-link=Alexander Kirkpatrick| title= The Book of Psalms: with Introduction and Notes |series=The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges | volume = Book IV and V: Psalms XC-CL | place = Cambridge |publisher= At the University Press | year = 1901 | pages = 838 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=SLJzlHElr6cC | access-date= February 28, 2019}}

According to the Rule of St. Benedict (530 AD), Psalms 1 to 20 were mainly reserved for the office of Prime. This psalm was chosen by St. Benedict of Nursia for Monday's office of Prime: in the Rule of St. Benedict of 530 it was recited or sung between Psalm 1 and Psalm 6.Prosper Guéranger, Règle de saint Benoît, Solesmes Abbey, reprinted 2007.

In the Liturgy of the Hours, Psalm 2 is sung or recited in the Office of Readings of the Sunday of the first week,The main cycle of liturgical prayers takes place over four weeks. with Psalm 1 and Psalm 3. Every Tuesday, the faithful of Opus Dei, after invoking their Guardian Angel and kissing the rosary, recite Psalm 2 in Latin.De spiritu et de piis servandis consuetudinibus – (Del Espíritu y de las Costumbres, Roma, 1990) édition- n° 116.

In the Agpeya, the Coptic Church's book of hours, this psalm is prayed in the office of Prime.{{cite web |title=Prime|url= https://www.agpeya.org/Prime/prime.html|accessdate=3 March 2025 |publisher=agpeya.org}}

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, Psalm 2 is appointed to be read on the morning of the first day of the month,Church of England, [https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/The%20Book%20of%20Common%20Prayer%201662.pdf Book of Common Prayer: The Psalter] as printed by John Baskerville in 1762 as well as at Mattins on Easter Day.{{cite web |title=The Book of Common Prayer: Proper Psalms On Certain Days |url=https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2017-10/1-table-proper-lessons.pdf |website=The Church of England |access-date=19 April 2023 |pages=6}}

The Presbyterian Scottish Psalter of 1650 rewords the psalm in a metrical form that can be sung to a tune set to the common meter.{{cite web | url=http://www.cgmusic.org/workshop/smpsalter/psalm-02.htm | title=Psalm 2, Scottish Psalter }}

In 1567, Thomas Tallis set Psalm 2, "Why fum'th in sight", for his Nine Tunes for Archbishop Parker's Psalter. Heinrich Schütz wrote a setting of a paraphrase in German, "Was haben doch die Leut im Sinn", SWV 098, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628.

Psalm 2 is one of the psalms used in Handel's "Messiah" (HWV 56). He set the King James Version of verses 1–4 and to 9 in four in movement in Part II,{{what|date=September 2021}} beginning with movement 40.

{{cite journal

| last = Block

| first = Daniel I.

| author-link = Daniel I. Block

| year = 2001

| title = Handel's Messiah: Biblical and Theological Perspectives

| journal = Didaskalia

| volume = 12

| number = 2

| url = http://www.sbts.edu/documents/icw/messiah.pdf

| access-date = 19 July 2011

}}

In France, Pierre Robert composed a grand motet "Quare fremuerunt gentes", for the Chapelle Royale in the Louvre. Marc-Antoine Charpentier set around 1675 one " Quare fremuerunt gentes" H.168 - H.168 a, for soloists, double chorus, strings and continuo, another one, for 3 voices, 2 treble instruments and continuo H.184, around 1682. Michel-Richard de Lalande in 1706 made his grand motet (S70) on this Psalm. Jean-Baptiste Lully did the same.

Felix Mendelssohn wrote a setting of Psalm 2 in German during his time as Generalmusicdirektor for church music in Berlin. The setting is for two four part choirs with sections for solo voices and was first performed in Berlin Cathedral on the first day of Christmas 1843. "Warum toben die Heiden" was published as his Op 78 No 1.

Verse 8 of Psalm 2 is used in the song "You Said" by Reuben Morgan.

Verses 1–4 form one of the texts Leonard Bernstein used for his Chichester Psalms. It is used as counterpart to Psalm 23 in the second movement, sung by the tenors and basses.

• 4Q174: This text, also called 4QFlorilegium, is an explanation (pesher) on several Messianic texts. It reads, “‘Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and His anointed’ [Ps 2:1]. The meaning is that the nations shall set themselves and conspire vainly against the chosen of Israel in the Last Days."{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/deadseascrollsne00wise|title=The Dead Sea scrolls : a new translation|others=Wise, Michael Owen, 1954-, Abegg, Martin G., Jr., Cook, Edward M., 1952-|isbn=006076662X|edition=Revised|location=[San Francisco]|oclc=60341070|url-access=registration|date=2005-10-25}}
• 1QSA: This reference is debated, and either states "When God has fathered [יולד] the Messiah among them" or "When God has caused the Messiah to come [יולך] among them." If the former, it is likely a reference to Ps 2:7.{{Cite journal|last=Collins|first=John J.|date=2009-01-01|title=The Interpretation Of Psalm 2|url=https://brill.com/abstract/book/edcoll/9789047430407/Bej.9789004176966.i-350_005.xml|journal=Echoes from the Caves: Qumran and the New Testament|language=en|pages=49–66|doi=10.1163/ej.9789004176966.i-350.13|isbn=9789047430407|url-access=subscription}}

There is a clear reference to Psalm 2 in 1 Enoch, found in 1En. 48:8-10. This text states that "downcast will be the faces of the kings of the earth" who have "denied the Lord of Spirits and his anointed one".{{Cite book|title=1 Enoch : the Hermeneia translation|date=2012|publisher=Fortress Press| others= Nickelsburg, George W. E., 1934-, VanderKam, James C.| isbn= 9781451424379|edition= rev.|location=Minneapolis, MN| oclc=840417499}} The phrase "kings of the earth" and "Lord...and his anointed one" point back to Ps 2:2.

Psalm of Solomon 17 contains a number of shared themes and likely allusions to Psalm 2, including one clear reference to {{bibleverse|Psalm|2:9|KJV}}, found in Ps. Sol. 17:23-24.{{Cite book|title=You Are My Son|last=Janse|first=Sam|pages=55–68}} Those verses read, "To smash the arrogance of the sinner like a potter’s vessel, to shatter all their substance with an iron rod."Psalms of Solomon 17:23-24, New English Translation of the Septuagint Additionally, the phrase "the peoples of the nations to be subject to him under his yoke" may look back to {{bibleverse|Psalm|2:2|KJV}}.

English-speaking Protestant Christians usually translate the first phrase of verse 12 as "Kiss the son", as in the King James Version.{{bibleverse|Psalm|2:12|EHV}}: Evangelical Heritage Version This reads the word bar as Aramaic "son", different from Hebrew ben "son". Some Jewish authors have accused Protestant Christians of arbitrarily choosing to interpret the word as Aramaic to suggest a reference to Jesus Christ. Protestants, however, cite other places in the Bible with isolated Aramaic words found in Hebrew, like the same word bar occurring in {{bibleverse|Proverbs|31:2|KJV}}.{{cite web |last=Parsons |first=John J. |title=Psalm 2 in Hebrew |url=http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Ketuvim/Psalms/Psalm_2/psalm_2.html |publisher=Hebrew for Christians}}{{cite web |title=12. Objections to 2nd and 22nd Psalm |url=http://www.truthnet.org/TheMessiah/12_Messiah_Objections_Psalms_2_22/ |publisher=truth.net}}{{cite web |year=1997 |title=Jewish Interpretations of "Bar" as "Son" in Psalm 2:12 |url=http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/m.sion/ps2brson.htm |publisher=Jews for Jesus}}

By contrast, the most common Jewish interpretation of verse 12, reading bar in Hebrew, is "Embrace purity". This is an interpretation close to that of Catholics, who traditionally follow the Vulgate and Septuagint to translate the phrase as "Embrace discipline".

The New American Bible reconciles by combining verses 11 and 12 of other translations into a single verse 11.{{cite web |url=https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/2 |title=Psalm 2|publisher=United States Conference of Catholic Bishops |access-date=2021-09-12 }}

Harley ms 603 f002r.jpg|Psalms 1 and 2 in the Harley Psalter

Psalter of Eleanor of Aquitaine (ca. 1185) - KB 76 F 13, folium 029v.jpg|{{ill|Fecamp Psalter|fr|Psautier de Fécamp}}

Psalterium. (46214819).jpg|A 15th-century psalter from Bruges

• Anointing
• Blessing
• Heaven
• Old Testament messianic prophecies quoted in the New Testament
• Heathen (Pagan)
• Zion

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{{wikisource|Bible (King James)/Psalms#Psalm 2|Psalm 2}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{IMSLP|work=Category:Pieces with text from Psalm 2|cname=Pieces with text from Psalm 2}}
• {{CPDL|work=Psalm 2}}
• Text of Psalm 2 according to the [http://www.commonprayer.org/offices/psalter/psalm2.cfm 1928 Psalter]
• [https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2602.htm Psalms Chapter 2] text in Hebrew and English, mechon-mamre.org
• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, [http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/2 Why do the nations protest and the peoples conspire in vain?] text and footnotes, usccb.org
• [https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/treasury-of-david/psalms-2-1.html Psalm 2:1] introduction and text, biblestudytools.com
• [https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-2/ Psalm 2 – The Reign of the LORD‘s Anointed] enduringword.com
• [https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/daily-prayer/psalter/psalm-2 Psalm 2 / Refrain: The Lord is the strength of his people, a safe refuge for his anointed.] Church of England
• [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%20002 Psalm 2] at biblegateway.com
• [https://hymnary.org/browse/scripture/Psalms/2?sort=totalInstances Hymns for Psalm 2] hymnary.org
• [https://www.vatican.va/archive/bible/nova_vulgata/documents/nova-vulgata_vt_psalmorum_lt.html#PSALMUS%202 PSALMUS 02], Vatican City

{{Psalms}}

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