Carissa Quinn
The following excerpt is adapted with permission from Carissa Quinn, The Arrival of the King: The Shape and Story of Psalms 15–24 (Lexham, 2023).
In light of the relationships within Psalms 15–24 between parallel psalms and the chiastic shape they form,1 what is the message of the collection overall? Here, I explore this question by summarizing the consistent developments between parallel psalms that contribute to a progression in the storyline.
Consistent Developments between Parallel Psalms
My methodology is based on an understanding that Hebrew parallelism can exist on the level of the psalm and also that parallel texts, including psalms, do not merely involve repetition but also development: the second psalm corresponds to the first and yet develops the message through dynamic reuse of literary elements. Because the structure of the collection is chiastic, I consider those developments that consistently occur between the various psalm pairs to be most helpful for understanding the message of the collection.
From the first half of the chiasm to the second, the parallel psalms exhibit a general pattern of intensification and fulfillment: Psalm 15 introduces the question of who may enter Yhwh’s presence; in Psalm 24, that entering is fulfilled in the depiction of Yhwh’s arrival. The themes of joy and trust in Psalm 16 are intensified in Psalm 23. Likewise, the distress and praise of Psalm 17 are heightened in Psalm 22, and the psalmist’s confidence in Yhwh’s provision of satisfaction (שׁבע) in his presence (פנה) is fulfilled. Psalms 20 and 21 confirm the promise of Psalm 18:51 that Yhwh will indeed be faithful to deliver the Davidic king. In addition to this general pattern of intensification and fulfillment, there are several specific developments that consistently occur between the parallel psalms in the collection. These can help us understand the overarching message when these psalms are read together. These consistent developments include the intensification or realization of Yhwh’s presence; the revelation of Yhwh’s identity as king; and communal, spatial, and temporal expansions. Taken together, these developments progress the storyline of the collection forward toward the full arrival of Yhwh’s kingdom.
Yhwh’s Presence Intensified
The theme of Yhwh’s presence is prominent within the collection. Between psalm pairs, there is not only correspondence regarding this theme, but intensification, showing that it plays an important role in the storyline.
Psalms 15, 19, and 24 frame the collection with the goal of entering Yhwh’s presence. In Psalm 15, the question is raised of who may enter Yhwh’s presence, depicted as sojourning in his tent and dwelling on his holy mountain (v. 1). The answer given is that only the fully righteous one may enter. Psalm 19 carries the theme of presence forward by showing that one may become righteous by aligning oneself with Yhwh’s creation (vv. 2–7) and Torah (vv. 8–11) and also through the forgiveness of Yhwh from transgression (vv. 13–14). The psalm ends with a prayer that the psalmist’s whole being would be favorable before Yhwh’s presence (פנה; v. 15). In Psalm 24, we find the most dramatic intensification of Yhwh’s presence throughout the collection: Yhwh’s arrival as king. Those who seek Yhwh’s presence are gathered together (v. 6), and Yhwh the king arrives to dwell among his people forever (vv. 7–10). This is the finale of the storyline. The identification of Yhwh as king at his arrival associates the fullness of his presence with the realization of his kingdom. He is the king (vv. 7–10) who reigns among all his people (v. 6) in his place, his cosmic temple (vv. 1–2, 7, 9).
The intervening psalms also show movement toward the fullness of Yhwh’s presence. Psalm 23 exhibits intensification of the theme of Yhwh’s presence from Psalm 16. While both psalms seek Yhwh’s presence as the ultimate reward, Yhwh’s presence stands at the structural center of Psalm 23 in the intimate statement you are with me (אתה עמדי; v. 4). In Psalm 23, Yhwh’s presence is wholly satisfying, as evidenced by the language of feasting and the psalmist’s cup overflowing (כוסי רויה; v. 5). Yhwh’s presence provides the secure place amidst any distress; he is present even in the darkest valley (גיא צלמות; v. 4). In other words, even in the midst of suffering and distress, Yhwh’s kingdom is partially realized through his presence with his people (v. 4).
The developments between Psalms 17 and 22 and among the royal psalms further elucidate the nature of God’s presence. While Psalms 17 and 22 both express the theme of satisfaction in Yhwh’s presence, the latter clarifies the nature of God’s presence. In Psalm 22, the centrality of Yhwh’s presence is emphasized, since the fact that Yhwh is far (רחק) is the central problem, and that he does not hide his face (פנה), the resolution. Psalm 22 goes beyond Psalm 17 in defining Yhwh’s presence as active, involving deliverance. While Psalms 18 and 20 focus more on Yhwh’s deliverance than his presence, Psalm 21 clarifies that Yhwh’s eternal presence is the ultimate reward and that dwelling in his presence forever comes about as a result of his deliverance (v. 7).
Yhwh Identified as King
As the collection begins, we learn much about who Yhwh is. He is set apart as holy (Ps 15); Lord (אדון; Ps 16:2); provider and sustainer (Ps 16), glorious judge (Ps 17:2–5); savior (Ps 17:6–15); warrior, rock, and redeemer (Ps 18); creator (Ps 19:2–7), lawgiver (Ps 19:8–11); the one with the power to acquit (Ps 19:13–14); and the one with power to bring victory to the king (Pss 20–21). These are all certainly things a powerful deity who rules the cosmos does, yet the collection is not explicit about Yhwh’s identification as the king until Psalm 22. There, the kingship belongs to Yhwh, and he is ruler of the nations (v. 29). The whole earth bows before him, into the future (vv. 30–31). This identification of Yhwh as the king of the earth comes as a result of his deliverance of the afflicted one (vv. 22, 32).
In Psalm 23, Yhwh is referred to as a shepherd, a motif that carries royal connotations.2 The designation my shepherd (רעי) is a highly personal way of acknowledging that the psalmist lives under the kingship of Yhwh. Psalm 24 too goes far beyond its counterpart, Psalm 15, by repeatedly identifying Yhwh as the glorious king (מלך הכבוד) at the arrival of his presence as king in his cosmic temple (vv. 7–10). In addition, correspondences with the theme of creation in Psalm 19 carry the plotline forward in Psalm 24: in Psalm 19, the proclamation of Yhwh’s glory goes out into all the earth, while Psalm 24 depicts the realization of Yhwh’s dominion as the glorious king throughout all the earth. The storyline ends with a dramatic fulfillment of the theme of Yhwh’s kingship.
Expansion to All People, Places, and Times
Perhaps the most dramatic shift from the first to the second half of the chiasm is a widening in scope related to people, places, and times. The consistency of these developments from each psalm to its parallel indicates that this is a significant component of the message of the collection. The widening in scope both imparts a quality of expansiveness to Yhwh’s kingdom and also finality: all is fulfilled and completely under his dominion.
Psalms 15–19 have the individual faithful or royal figure as their primary referent. They begin with a description of the righteous one (Ps 15) and move through the experiences of trust (Ps 16), lament (Ps 17), rescue (Ps 18), and praise (Ps 19). Their titles all refer to David, and the experience of the king in Psalm 18 seems to confirm that the preceding psalms are about the royal individual.
Beginning in Psalm 20, however, there is a significant expansion to the community. Psalms 20 and 21 consist of communal prayer and praise, which include the community in Yhwh’s blessing of the king. Recall how Psalms 20 and 21 use corresponding lexemes and phrases that describe the king in Psalm 18 and apply them to the community. Just as the king’s enemies rise (קום), fall (נפל), and are brought to their knees (כרע) in Psalm 18, so the community is confident that their enemies will be brought to their knees and fall, while they will rise (Pss 18:39, 40, 49; 20:9); Yhwh my God (יהוה אלהי) of Psalm 18 becomes Yhwh our God (יהוה אלוהינו) in Psalm 20 (Pss 18:29; 20:8); the theme of trust is expanded to the community (Pss 18; 20:9–10), as is the singing (שׁיר) and praise (זמר; Pss 18:1, 40; 21:14). In Psalm 22, the rescue of the afflicted individual, presumably the Davidic king, brings about the flourishing of the community (Ps 22:20–32). The broadness of the community is made explicit in this psalm: it includes the rich and the poor (vv. 27, 30); the living and the dying (vv. 27, 30); and Israel and the nations (vv. 24, 28–29). Just as Yhwh rescued the afflicted one (עני), so now all the afflicted ones (ענים) who seek Yhwh will feast and worship (vv. 25, 27). Psalm 23 contains more subtle communal allusions in its imagery of the shepherd and its theme of the house of Yhwh. The collection ends in Psalm 24 with a striking communal expansion: the qualities of the righteous individual of Psalm 15 (who seems to be the royal figure if we read backwards from Ps 18) are used to describe the entire community (Ps 24:6). The result is that just as the righteous king is connected to Yhwh and may enter his presence, so also the righteous community. This community is depicted as present at his arrival as king of the cosmos.
Spatial widening also begins in the latter half of the collection. In Psalm 22, the phrases all the ends of the earth (כל אפסי ארץ) and all families (כל משׁפחות) depict Yhwh’s kingdom as breaking all bounds and recall the Abrahamic promise that Yhwh’s kingdom would reunite all peoples (Gen 12:3).3 No such spatial scope was present in its parallel, Psalm 17. Psalm 23 also includes subtle spatial expansion by its development from the specific imagery of the land of Israel in Psalm 16 to the spatially broader terms of green pastures (נאות דשׁא), water of restfulness (מי מנחות), and right paths (מעגלי־צדק). Psalm 24 caps the collection with the entire cosmos as Yhwh’s dominion of rule (vv. 1–2), in contrast to Psalm 15, where the locality is fixed at Jerusalem (הר קדשׁך ;אהלך; v. 1).
Like spatial expansion, so also temporal expansion takes place in the second half of the collection. Psalms 20 and 21 focus heavily on the promise to David from Psalm 18:51, that Yhwh would show loyal love to future Davidic offspring, forever. Psalms 20–21 extend this promise into the future by depicting the deliverance described there after the pattern of Yhwh’s deliverance of David in Psalm 18. Psalm 22 also includes temporal expansion in its reference to posterity (זרע), future generations (דור יבאו), and a people yet unborn (עם נולד), who will benefit from the deliverance of the afflicted. Psalm 24 continues the thread of future generations benefiting from the deliverance of a future king by using the term generation (דור) from Psalm 22:31 and depicting this faithful generation as participating in Yhwh’s ultimate arrival. The preservation of this collection of psalms through a time when there was no king further creates a forward trajectory that envisions an ideal future king.
Together, the intensifications and expansions that take place through reuse and addition in the second half of the chiasm depict Yhwh as the king and the entire cosmos and all those who seek him as participating in his kingdom. His faithfulness to his human king is enduring, as is his rule over all as the king of the universe. These expansions function to progress the storyline toward its finale, the ultimate arrival and rule of Yhwh the king.
Carissa Quinn (PhD, Gateway Seminary) is a biblical scholar and teacher and former director of scholarship at BibleProject, an EdTech organization and animation studio in Portland, Oregon.
Image: Psalm 24, anonymous French manuscript
- Editor’s note—Quinn (e.g., p. 121) argues that Psalms 15–24 form a chiasm, which may be visualized as follows:
A: Psalm 15
B: Psalm 16
C: Psalm 17
D: Psalm 18
E: Psalm 19
D’: Psalms 20–21
C’: Psalm 22
B’: Psalm 23
A’: Psalm 24[
] - See “Royal and Communal Dimensions in Psalm 23” in ch. 4.[]
- אפסי ארץ is used throughout the Hebrew Bible in expectation of the kingdom. See Deut 33:17; 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 2:8; 67:7; 72:8; 98:3; Isa 45:22; 52:10; Jer 16:19; Zech 9:10; Prov 30:4.[]