Psalm 7 Overview
If I have done this...
Psalm 7
Welcome to the Overview of Psalm 7
This page will introduce and provide orientation to Psalm 7 as a whole. It includes the following sections:
Introduction to Psalm 7
Author:
Purpose:
- To invoke justice from YHWH towards both the righteous (specifically, himself) and the wicked (false accusers).
Content:
- God is a righteous judge. He saves the upright, and he brings the end to the wicked's violence.
Message:
- King YHWH will see to it that the wicked receive their punishment and that the righteous are vindicated.
Psalm 7 At-a-Glance
These sections divide the content of the psalm into digestible pieces, and are determined based on information from many of our layers, including Semantics, Poetics, and Discourse. The columns, left to right, contain: the verse numbers; the main title of the section; a brief summary of the content of that section (quote marks indicate the text is taken directly from the English text of the psalm (as per our Close-but-Clear translation); and an icon to visually represent and remember the content.
Background Orientation for Psalm 7
Following are the common-ground assumptionsCommon-ground assumptions include information shared by the speaker and hearers. In our analysis, we mainly use this category for Biblical/Ancient Near Eastern background. which are the most helpful for making sense of the psalm.
- Cush was most likely a supporter of Saul.
- Settling civil offenses required taking a 'purgatory oath of...innocence (...Exod 22:10f) (Waltke 2014, 82). Israelites often made alliances between each other ( Gen 14:13, 24; Josh 10:6ff; 1 Sam 20:5–16; 1 Sam 28:1; 29:8). The breaking of these alliances was unacceptable (2 Kings 20:42; 2 Chron 19:2). These alliances also required mutual defensive obligations, such that the enemy of your ally became your enemy (see Tigay 1970, 183–184)
- The law forbids false accusations. Those who make false accusations must undergo the punishment that they intended to bring upon others (Deut. 19:16–20).
Background Situation for Psalm 7
The background situation is the series of events leading up to the time in which the psalm is spoken. These are taken from the story triangle – whatever lies to the left of the star icon.
Participants in Psalm 7