Matthew Appendix D - Psalmists Use of the Pentateuch



Matthew's Use of the Old Testament: A Preliminary Analysis by Lee Campbell		SEND LEE A COMMENT OR QUESTION

Introduction What is Pesher? Was Matthew using pesher? How Matthew interpreted the Old Testament Case study: Matthew 2:13-15 Conclusion Endnotes Bibliography	Appendix A: Summary of Matthew's OT citations Appendix B: A summary of Gundry's analysis Appendix C: A sample of pesher hermeneutics Appendix D: Psalmists use of the Pentateuch Appendix E: Methods of predictive prophecy interpretation Appendix F: Matthew's use of 'fulfill' Appendix G: The immediate context of Matthew 2:13-15 Download and Print: this page \| all pages	Copyright � 2000 Lee Campbell

APPENDIX D - PSALMISTS USE OF THE PENTATEUCH covenant Psalm 132:10f; 89:3-4 & 19-37 recalls 2 Samuel 7:4-16, the Davidic covenant, re-affirms its validity and uses that confidence to call on God to act on his behalf. Psalm 104:9 recalls the Noaic covenant Gen.9:11 – God is powerful Psalm 105:8; 106:45 identify the theme of these historical recollections - God never has and never will default on his covenant with Abraham. Psalm 111:9 God is the goel for his people…God’s covenant is irrevocable It is clear from these examples that the psalmists regard the covenants of YHWH as binding agreements that have ongoing relevance for Israel and the rest of the world. Man’s infidelity and God’s fidelity are frequent contrasting themes in these Psalms. history Creation Ps.90:2 God-as-creator is identified for the theological purpose of affirming His eternal nature and that is contrasted with man’s brief life. Ps.104:1-24 God is the creator so he is wise and powerful. Ps.136:5-9 The exodus & wanderings of Israel Psalm 66:6-12 is an apparent reference to the exodus (i.e. see vv.6, 11 & 12) but the author draws theological significance from the Egyptian exile (i.e. it served to refine Israel). Psalm 77:10-20 The psalmist indicates this is a meditation on God’s works and mighty deeds. He argues that the exodus showed the nations YHWH’s superiority over their so-called gods and showed Israel God’s role as their redeemer shepherd. This conclusion is not novel relative to the conclusion drawn by Moses and Miriam, however (Ex.15:11). Psalm 78:9-72 is a prolonged recollection of rebellious Israel and merciful God the history is not chronological and extends past the exodus to David’s monarchy. This chain reference approach to argumentation might be termed midrash by some scholars if it appeared in the New Testament and yet it predates midrash. Ps.81:7 Asaph indicates that Meribah was God’s test of Israel (c.f. Nu.20:1-14); Ps.95:8-11 indicates that Israel tested God at Meribah; Ps.106:32-33 indicates that Israel rebelled against God’s Spirit there. The Psalms do not add to the account in Numbers, they simply apply the lesson’s learned there to their own audience. Psalm 114 The exodus of Israel was the beginning of her theocracy and the onset of God’s dwelling with Israel (i.e. "Judah, God’s sanctuary"). It seem possible that this is a reference to the Noaic prophecy that God would dwell in the tents of Shem (Gen.9:27).^[1] If so, then something new is being said here, that the onset of this promise began at the exodus. Psalm 136:10-22 The exodus & wilderness experience demonstrated is unchanging lovingkindness toward Israel. Taking the land Ps.80:8-11 (Ps.72:8) indicates borders for Israel that match the promise to Israel through Moses (c.f. Ex.23:31) that were realized only under Solomon (1Ki.4:21). Judges Psalm 83:9-11 the psalmist recalls God’s militant actions against enemies in the past and calls on God for protection now…as he did, so let him do. Kings^[2] Psalm 3 – This is a psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom. There’s not a direct reference to the event in the Psalm. There is an application derived from the event – that God can be trusted. There is also a petition for deliverance. Psalm 7 – This is a psalm of David concerning Cush, a Benjamite. We have no references in the historical books to such an individual, so it’s impossible to observe any hermeneutical methods. Psalm 18 – There are some differences between this Psalm and its telling in 2 Samuel 22; all but one or two are minor. Psalm 34 – This is a psalm of David when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away and he left. There’s not a direct reference to the event in the Psalm. It is an application derived from the event – that God delivers his loved ones. Psalm 51 – This is a psalm of David when Nathan rebuked him after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba. There’s not a direct reference to the event in the Psalm. It does contain applications derived from the event: 1. that only God can pardon sin, 2. that all sin is, ultimately, against God, 3. that only God can restore & 4. that repentance is more important than religious activity. It also contains petitions for mercy & forgiveness. Verse 11 may be David’s application of the downfall of Saul to his own situation through historical analogy. At the rebuke of Nathan he must have thought back to Saul who was cast aside for rejecting the will of God (1Sam.13:14; 15:10,22-23; 16:14-23). Now, David had ‘despised the word of the Lord’ (2 Sam. 12:9,10,14) what would God do? Also, verse 18 seems to correlate the welfare of Israel with the moral righteousness of the king. This may be an application of 2 Sam. 24. Psalm 52 – This is a psalm of David when Doeg the Edomite told Saul where David had fled (c.f. 1Sam.21:7 & 22:9-19) resulting in the deaths of the priests. There’s not a direct reference to the event in the Psalm. There are some applications derived from the event – that God will destroy the wicked and deliver the righteous. Psalm 54 – This is a psalm of David when the Ziphites revealed David was hiding amongst the people (c.f. 1Sam.23:19 & 26:1) resulting in Saul’s effort to find & kill him. There’s not a direct reference to the event in the Psalm. There is an application derived from the event – that God is the source of help. There is also a petition – that God would deliver him. Psalm 57 – This psalm concerns a time when David hid from Saul in a cave. Psalm 59 – This psalm concerns a time when Saul set up an ambush for David at his house. The text consists of imprecations and requests for deliverance. Psalm 60 – This psalm concerns a time when David fought Aram Naharaim & Aram Zobah and when Joab killed 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. There are discrepancies between the information in the title and the apparent synoptic information in 2 Samuel 8:13. This is a lament and a request for deliverance. Psalm 63 – This psalm concerns a time when David was in the desert of Judah. The title is not specific enough to glean much of value for our purposes. Psalm 96 – This psalm echoes David’s psalm in 1Chronicles 16:23-33 (c.d. Psalm 105). There are some minor variations between the two poems but there is no apparent interpretive activity in Ps.96 relative to the Chronicles account. Psalm 105:1-15 – This portion of the psalm echoes David’s psalm in 1Chronicles 16:8-22 (c.f. Psalm 96). There are some minor variations between the two poems but there is no apparent interpretive activity in Ps.105 relative to the Chronicles account. Psalm 106:1,47-48 – This portion of the psalm echoes David’s psalm in 1Chronicles 16:34-36 Psalm 142 – This psalm concerns a time when David was in a cave. There’s not enough information for our purposes. There is no evidence in these historical references that the psalmist viewed the narratives they referred to as anything other than actual history. The events cited correspond directly to the descriptions of those same events in the earlier parts of the Torah.^[3] In some cases the psalmists recount and apply the historical information. In other cases they derive deeper meaning from the text, although the deeper meaning is completely compatible with it. In a few cases the psalmists reveal something new about the historical event that was not contained in the original text. prophecy Psalm 105:17-19 God foretold the future of Joseph…this shows the truthfulness of God’s word. sacrificial system It is fairly obvious that the wording of Psalm 51, "you do not delight in sacrifice…you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings" is remarkably similar to Samuel’s question, "does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices…" Yet 1 Samuel 15:22 emphasizes that obedience is better than sacrifice whereas Psalm 51 emphasizes that contrition & repentance are better than sacrifice. Again, the language of 1 Samuel 15:22 is much like that of Psalm 40:6-8. In this case, both passages emphasize that obedience is better than sacrifice.^[4] typology^[5] God as the Rock Gen.49:24 In Jacob’s blessing of Joseph he indicates Joseph overcame his severe adversity because of the Rock of Israel. Deut.32:4 Moses says the God is the Rock; v.15,18 that Israel rejected the Rock his savior, his father when things were going well; v. 31 that Israel’s Rock causes them to overcome insurmountable odds 1Sam.2:2 Hannah indicated that Israel’s Rock is entirely unique as did David 2Sam.22:32 (c.f. Psalm 18:31). Psalm 18:2 The Rock is a fortress against David’s enemies Psalm 19:14 God is David’s Rock and goel; Psalm 78:35 couples the two in the same way; Ethan indicates that David called YHWH his Father, God, Rock & Savior (Ps.89:26; 92:15) David indicates that the Lord his Rock trains him for battle (Ps.144:1) The psalmists certainly reiterate the Rock imagery of God as protector and redeemer found in earlier text but there is no indication of novel theological meaning for the term in the Psalms. Manna as God’s provision – Ps.78:25 reveals that manna is angelic food; In Ex.16:4 God simply says he will rain down bread from heaven; it does appear that this information is new in this Psalm and could not have been anticipated through study of the earlier text. Exodus as redemption (see the material under the exodus) NOTES ^[1]"May God extend the territory of Japheth; may he live in the tents of Shem" It is possible that Noah is claiming Japheth (i.e. who's offspring were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras; Northern Europeans?) will live in the tents of Shem but the rule of grammar is that the subject of a sentence satisfies all pronouns thus the 'he' most likely refers to God not to Japheth. Return to Text. ^[2]Most of these references are to Psalms connected to particular events in the life of David. I will assume, in most cases, that the superscript or postscript information associated with a Psalm is legitimate. Some historical superscripts seem unsubstantiated by the content of the psalm that follows (e.g. 34). It's not clear whether this is because titles were speculative additions to the psalm, whether the psalms are generalized principles relevant to the historical antecedent or whether, as some argue, the superscripts are really subscripts for the previous psalm. In most cases, however, these sidebar comments are very ancient. According to Anderson these are not only found, "… in MT, Qumran, LXX, and Targums, but it ought also to be noted that even by the time of the LXX translation (2nd - 3rd century BC) the technical terms contained there were so antiquated and obscure that the translators had a fair degree of trouble interpreting them. This is true also for the Targums. Furthermore, we find similar super/postscripts in other parts of Scripture (cf. Hab 3:1, 19b; Isa 38:9). There thus seems to be no reason not to take the super/postscripts seriously." This type of material differs from other references to the Pentateuch & Former Prophets because ostensibly the author is reflecting on the meaning of the events in his own personal history. Return to Text. ^[3]Excepting Psalm 60. Return to Text. ^[4]Psalm 40 has some additional interpretive difficulties because of the use the author of Hebrews put to the LXX version of the passage (c.f. Heb.10:5-10). Return to Text. ^[5]Typology is a sort of prefiguration of a truth through past institutions, events or persons (see Tracy L. Howard). Return to Text.