PSALMS 87

PSALM 87

STROPHE DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

NASB	NKJV	NRSV	TEV	NJB
The Privileges of Citizenship in Zion MT Intro A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song	The Glories of the City of God	Sons Praising Zion As the Mother of Believers Everywhere	In Praise of Jerusalem	Zion, Mother of Nations
87:1-7	87:1-3	87:1-3	87:1-3	87:1-2
				87:3
	87:4	87:4	87:4	87:4
	87:5-6	87:5-6	87:5-7	87:5
				87:6-7
	87:7	87:7

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

This Psalm is difficult to understand
1. The New Oxford Annotated Bible (NRSV) says, "The text of this Psalm is damaged and disarranged," p. 749 (OT).
2. The JPSOA says, "the meaning of many passages in this Psalm is uncertain," p. 137
This Psalm praises YHWH's choice of a people to reveal and represent Himself to the other nations.
SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN
YHWH set the boundaries of all the nations (cf. LXX, Deut. 2:5,9,19; 32:8). He is in control of geography and history. The covenant nation was made up of
1. descendants of Abraham (cf. Gen. 12:1-3; Deut. 7:6-8)
2. descendants of the Patriarchs (Isaac, Jacob/Israel)
3. a special land, Canaan
4. a special city, Jerusalem
5. a special mountain, Moriah (i.e., the temple, cf. Deut. 12:5,11,21; 14:23,24; 16:2,6,11, etc.)
This special nation (cf. Exod. 19:5-6) is crucial for reaching all nations
SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH's Eternal Redemptive Plan
As I read this Psalm I ask myself, "Is Jerusalem still God's special place?" I struggle with this; please take a moment and read the SPECIAL TOPIC: OT PREDICTIONS OF THE FUTURE vs. NT PREDICTIONS. The NT has universalized the OT promises to the world. The gospel, not Israel, is the full revelation of YHWH! I do not think the modern nation of Israel is the Israel of prophecy. It is a modern secular state, not a nation obedient to the Mosaic Law. Only about 5% regularly attend synagogue worship.
Psalm 87:4 implies an eschatological period where all people are part of God's people (i.e., Isa. 2:2-4; 12:4-5; 25:6-9; 42:6-12; 45:22-23; 49:5-6; 51:4-5; 60:1-3; 66:23).
The UBS Handbook, p. 757, brings up the question of who the speaker is in Ps. 87:4 and 5. It suggests, and I agree, that Ps. 87:4 must be God (because Deity is mentioned in the FIRST PERSON, "Me"), while Ps. 87:5 is the psalmist (because Deity is mentioned in the THIRD PERSON, also Ps. 87:6).

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 87:1-7
¹His foundation is in the holy mountains.
²The Lord loves the gates of Zion
More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob.
³Glorious things are spoken of you,
O city of God. Selah.
⁴"I shall mention Rahab and Babylon among those who know Me;
Behold, Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia:
‘This one was born there.'"
⁵But of Zion it shall be said, "This one and that one were born in her";
And the Most High Himself will establish her.
⁶The Lord will count when He registers the peoples,
"This one was born there." Selah.
⁷Then those who sing as well as those who play the flutes shall say,
"All my springs of joy are in you."

87:1 "foundation" This Hebrew root (BDB 414) has several connotations.

used in Ezra 7:9 as the beginning of something
foundation of a city ‒ Ps. 137:7; Lam. 4:11; Micah 1:6
laying a foundation in a figurative sense ‒ Isa. 28:16
creation of the earth ‒ 2 Sam. 22:16; Ps. 18:16; 78:69; 82:5; Isa. 24:18; 40:21; Jer. 31:37
imagery related to mountains ‒ Deut. 32:22; Ps. 18:7
from the day of the foundation of the temple ‒ 2 Chr. 8:16 or its side chambers ‒ Ezek. 41:8

▣ "the holy mountains" Mountains symbolize

permanence
stability
closeness to God (Ps. 121:1)
pillars of the earth

In this context it obviously is imagery connected to

Jerusalem/Zion (cf. Ps. 2:6; 48:1)
the temple
the covenant people

The PLURAL may relate to the fact that Jerusalem was built on seven hills.

YHWH is linked to several mountains.

Mt. Sinai/Horeb (Exodus 19-20)
Mt. Seir/Paran (Deut. 33:2; Hab. 3:3)
Mt. Moriah (Genesis 22; Ezek. 20:40)
a mountain in the north (cf. Ps. 48:2; Isa. 14:13; Ezek. 28:14,16)

SPECIAL TOPIC: MORIAH, SALEM, JEBUS, ZION, JERUSALEM

87:2 This refers to Jerusalem/Zion and Judah (cf. Ps. 78:67-68). Judah was to be the tribe of the Messiah (cf. Gen. 49:8-12). "Jacob" refers to all the tribes that descended from Jacob/Israel. It became a collective term for the covenant people.

▣ "The Lord loves" YHWH's love for Jerusalem is also specifically stated in Ps. 78:68. It is His chosen place (cf. Deut. 2:5,11,14; Ps. 132:13).

87:3 "city of God" This refers to Jerusalem (cf. Ps. 46:4; 48:8; Heb. 11:10). This phrase is the source of Augustine's famous book.

SPECIAL TOPIC: JERUSALEM

▣ "Selah" This term seems to close a literary unit, see Ps. 87:6. For full note on the suggested meanings see Ps. 3:2.

87:4 "I shall mention" This VERB (BDB 289, KB 269, Hiphil IMPERFECT) can be understood as "record" (BDB 271, #4, as the title of a public officer who records (cf. 2 Sam. 8:16; 20:24; 1 Kgs. 4:3; 2 Kgs. 18:18,37; 1 Chr. 18:15; 2 Chr. 34:8; Isa. 36:3,22), thereby linking it to the idea of a city registry (Ps. 87:5-6).

▣ "Rahab" This refers to Egypt (cf. Job 9:13; 26:12; Ps. 89:10; Isa. 19:23-25; 30:7; 51:9).

SPECIAL TOPIC: LEVIATHAN

▣ "among those who know Me" This implies that Gentiles from these countries have become believers and followers of YHWH (i.e., Isa. 19:23-25). They are now citizens of the new eschatological city of God, "New Jerusalem" (cf. Revelation 21).

SPECIAL TOPIC: KNOW

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE TWO "CITIES" OF ISAIAH

87:4-5 The psalmist lists several nations.

Rahab (i.e., Egypt, cf. Ps. 89:10; Isa. 30:7)
Babylon (one wonders why Assyria is not mentioned, possibly giving an indication of the date of the Psalm's composition)
Philistia
Tyre (i.e., Phoenicia)
Ethiopia (i.e., Cush)

The purpose of their being mentioned is to compare their origins. In a sense all the nations came from God's sovereignty (cf. LXX, 2:5,11,14; Deut. 32:8), but Israel was His special people (cf. Exod. 19:5-6; Rom. 9:4-5).

87:4 "This one was born there" This concept of one's national origin occurs three times.

v. 4c
v. 5a
v 6b

There are two ways to see this imagery.

there are faithful descendants of Abraham in every nation of the ANE (mostly by exile)
the descendants of Abraham are special but all humans are welcome to faith in YHWH

87:5 The first line of Ps. 87:5 is difficult but in context of the universal emphasis of Ps. 87:4, I think it refers to believers in YHWH having their citizenship transferred to God's holy city—Zion.

▣ the Most High" See SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, B.

87:6 "registers" The imagery is that of the list of citizens kept by ANE cities. In a symbolic way it will show Israel was from Zion, God's special city, the unique place of the worship of YHWH (cf. Ps. 87:7).

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE TWO BOOKS OF GOD

87:7 "springs" The term (BDB 745, KB 612) is used in the figurative sense of origins or the source of God's people (cf. Deut. 33:28).

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

Is this Psalm about
1. faithful followers of the Mosaic covenant (i.e., Israelites) exiled among the nations of the ANE?
2. faithful followers from among the nations (i.e., Gentiles included in the people of God)?
Is Jerusalem the center of the earth and one day all nations will come and worship YHWH there?
Does v. 3 have a past, present, or future orientation?