Psalm 17
Psalm 17 is the 17th psalm from the Book of Psalms in the Hebrew Bible (or the Old Testament of Christian Bible); one of the 41 psalms in Book One (of the five parts or "books" within the book of Psalms).[1]
Analysis
Charles and Emilie Briggs summarize this psalm as follows: "Psalm 17 is a prayer for divine interposition on behalf of the righteous (v. 1-7). The psalmist has been tested by God in mind and conduct and approved (v. 3-4a); he has kept the divine ways and avoided wicked deeds (v. 4b-5), therefore he invokes God with confidence (v. 6a). He prays again that his Saviour may show kindness and keep him as the pupil of the eye (v. 6b-8a); that he may be sheltered from his greedy and arrogant enemies (v. 8b-10), who surround him to prey upon him (v. 11-12). Again he prays for divine interposition and deliverance by the slaying of the wicked (v. 13-14a); that penalty may be visited on them to the third generation, but that he himself may enjoy the divine presence (v. 14b-15)."[2]
The Briggses believed Psalm 17 to have been written in the Persian period, after Zerubbabel but before Ezra's reforms, possibly by the same author as Psalm 16.[3]
Uses
Judaism
- Verse 2 is found in the repetition of the Amidah during Rosh Hashanah.[4]
- Verse 8 is part of the prayers of the Bedtime Shema.[5]
Christianity
- Verse 8, Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings, is used in the office of Compline.[6]
References
- ^ Coogan 2007, p. 776 Hebrew Bible.
- ^ Charles Augustus Briggs; Emilie Grace Briggs (1960) [1906]. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Psalms. International Critical Commentary. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: T & T Clark. p. 127.
- ^ Charles Augustus Briggs; Emilie Grace Briggs (1960) [1906]. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Psalms. International Critical Commentary. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: T & T Clark. p. 112.
- ^ The Complete Artscroll Machzor for Rosh Hashanah page 349
- ^ The Complete Artscroll Siddur page 293
- ^ "Night Prayer (Compline)". The Church of England. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
Sources
- Coogan, Michael David (2007). Coogan, Michael David; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Newsom, Carol Ann; Perkins, Pheme (eds.). The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48 (Augmented 3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195288810.
External links
