The Interpretation Of Psalm 2

Abstract

A number of considerations weigh against the view that the passages from 2 Sam 7 and Psalm 2 are juxtaposed in 4Q174 as messianic proof-texts. The Qumran text cites 2 Sam 7:10-14, not just 2 Sam 7:14, and cites Ps 2:1-2 rather than Ps 2:7. The extant interpretation of Ps 2, however, does not address verses 6-7. The focus of the interpretation is on the time of upheaval and its implications for the community. It is generally recognized that Ps 2:1-9, is of pre-exilic origin, and that in its original context it was not messianic in eschatological sense, but reflects the ideology of the Judahite kingship in Jerusalem. Some scholars, mainly German, date the psalm to the postexilic period, and argue that it was composed as a messianic, eschatological psalm. The strongest evidence for the interpretation of Ps 2 as messianic in Second Temple Judaism is found in the Pseudepigrapha. Keywords: eschatological sense; Jerusalem; Judahite kingship; messianic interpretation; pre-exilic origin; Psalm 2; Pseudepigrapha; Qumran text; Second Temple Judaism