Any first reading of this psalm is likely to encounter an apparent contradiction. Its superscription is “Of Solomon”, whilst its final verse declares, “The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended”1. This, however, is easily resolved. Its first verse is clearly a prayer request. It opens with “Give the king your judgments, O God,” then clarifies this by saying, “and your righteousness to the king’s son”. We can now see the prayer as David’s, on behalf “of Solomon”. Perhaps, then, we would better think of the superscription as ‘For Solomon’. Rashi, a prominent Jewish commentator who lived in Troyes, France, in the medieval period, supports this position, rendering the superscription as “Concerning Solomon”, and stating that David “prayed this prayer on behalf of his son, Solomon, for he foresaw with the Holy Spirit that he was destined to request of the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘a heart to understand, to hear judgment’”2
There are those who see the psalm as a coronation song3 written for him well in advance. Because of an unexpected insurrection by Adonijah, Solomon’s was a coronation that had to take place hurriedly, as an emergency action, and we can envisage the song ringing out in Jerusalem, near the Gihon spring in the Kidron valley (see 1 Kings 1:1-40).
A tour group above the modern entrance to Gihon spring, 2006. The City of David is uphill on the left (photo by D Longworth).)
As a coronation anthem, many writers have seen it as full of hyperbole, typical of the exaggerated praise for new monarchs of the ancient Middle East. But whatever the similarities, we must remember that this psalm is part of the Scriptures which Paul asserts are “given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim 3:16), and so it must be rather more than mere panegyric.
Justice an outcome of righteousness
At the forefront of the song, we see David’s heart for social justice for the nation in verses 2 to 7. However, justice for the poor, righteousness, peace and freedom from oppression aren’t directly requested at all. They are outcomes that David expects will flow from God’s answer to his prayer in verse 1. They are either prophetic in intent, or they are statements of faith, as David asserts, “He shall judge the poor …. He shall save the children …. He shall break in pieces the oppressor” (v.4). And David returns to this theme in verses 12 to 14: “He will deliver … the needy, …. the poor also, and him that has no helper …. He will redeem their life from oppression and violence”. Such things could only flow from God’s righteousness imparted to Solomon in response to David’s prayer. Sadly, as things turned out, the answer was contingent upon Solomon remaining faithful to the Lord. Hence, David’s request was only partially granted in this respect. This contingency was intimated by David in the advice he gave to Solomon shortly before his death: “Keep the charge of the Lord your God to walk in his ways …. [so] that the Lord will fulfil his word” (1 Kings 2:3-4). Sadly, history reveals that Solomon failed the charge. Though we are much lowlier than David and Solomon, here is a sober reminder regarding our own personal walk, day by day, every day. Keep the charge of the Lord …. walk in his ways!
Though we are much lowlier than David and Solomon, here is a sober reminder regarding our own personal walk, day by day, every day.
Prosperity under Solomon’s reign
The Psalm’s relevance to Solomon can especially be seen in the section that features prosperity for the nation. Verse 5 predicts that “He shall have dominion from sea to sea”, which was fulfilled for Solomon in that his kingdom was extended from the Mediterranean Sea4 to the Gulf of Aqaba, giving access to the Indian Ocean.5 Verse 10 promises gifts from “The kings of Tarshish and of the isles” also “of Sheba and Seba”, with verse 15 even promising “gold of Sheba”. ‘Tarshish’ refers to the countries of the Western Mediterranean, ‘the isles’ to islands such as Cyprus, Crete, Sicily and Sardinia, and ‘Sheba and Seba’ to the southwestern part of the Arabian peninsula and northeastern Africa respectively. The Mediterranean ports of Dor and Joppa handled Solomon’s western trade; for example, 1 Kings 19:11 tells us, “Hiram the king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress and gold, as much as he desired”, whilst 2 Chronicles 2:16 reveals the earlier promise of Hiram, “We will cut wood from Lebanon, as much as you need; we will bring it in rafts by sea to Joppa…”. So far as physical evidence of gold via the Mediterranean is concerned, a ceramic receipt found at Tel Qasile (about a mile inland and north of Joppa) records in Hebrew, “Ophir gold to Beth Horon, 30 shekels” (Tel Qasile was a Philistine settlement that was subjugated by Israel under Solomon).
Tel Qasile gold receipt Solomon’s eastern trade was via the port and fleet of Etzion Geber which Solomon established near the head of the Gulf of Aqaba (1 Kings 9:26). Hiram’s assistance with this venture appears in the next verses, “Hiram sent his servants, …. seamen who knew the sea, to work with the servants of Solomon, and they went to Ophir and acquired four hundred and twenty talents of gold …”. It is likely that it was into this port that “Once every three years the merchant ships came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks”, as recorded in 1 Kings 10:22. Further international status and wealth for Solomon and the nation is indicated by the famous visit of the Queen of Sheba, also recorded in that same chapter. Thus were David’s short-term insights fulfilled.
Looking ahead to Messiah
However, there are many elements in this Psalm that quite clearly cannot apply to Solomon. And possibly David realised that this would be the case. As in our study of Psalm 2, The Lord’s Anointed, here we have an example of the ‘law of double reference’, in which a passage may refer to two persons at different points in time. For example, the people of Israel, Solomon’s subjects, could not and did not fear the Lord “as long as the sun and moon endure” (v.5). Verse 7’s “Abundance of peace”, in whatever ways it applied to Solomon’s reign, could not and did not flourish “until the moon is no more”.
Verse 17 is of even greater significance. Though Solomon’s name (and fame) endure to this day, it certainly cannot be said that “men shall be blessed in him”, or that “all nations shall call him blessed” – Solomon’s considerable personal failings seriously undermine such possibilities. In fact, many Jewish commentators draw attention to an element that is missing from the vast majority of translations of this verse into English. The Finnish scholar, Risto Santala, having studied Jewish writings extensively, tells us, “Yinnon is one of many ‘names’ for Messiah. The term yinnon is found in Ps. 72:17: ‘His name shall endure forever. His name shall continue as long as the sun. Men shall be blessed in him and all nations shall call him blessed.’ Literally, the phrase is, ‘before the sun, Yinnon was his name.’ Yinnon is a messianic title. The word yinnon means, to sprout and flourish, and is one of a number of Hebrew words relating to ‘shoots’ and ‘sprouting’ that combine to form the English messianic title of ‘Branch.’ See Zechariah 6:12-13”6. From what I have been able to ascertain, this Psalm is the only place in Scripture in which the Hebrew word ‘yinnon’ occurs. In the Talmud, speaking of the Messiah, Sanhedrin 98b says, “The School of R[abbi] Jannai said: His name is 'Yinnon’; for it is written, E'er the sun was, his name is Yinnon”.7 Allan Harman writes, “In vs. 1 of Psalm 72, the Jewish Targum adds after the words ‘Endow the king’, the words ‘the messiah’. Clearly Jewish scholars realised that the description could not fit any ordinary descendant of David, but had to point to a future messianic ruler.”8
No wonder that David bursts forth in praise, “Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name forever!” (vv.18-19)
Emphasis on Messiah
The prophet Isaiah has a Messianic vision in his fourth chapter. Foreseeing a holy nation centred on Jerusalem, he says, “In that day the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious” (v.2). His Hebrew word, ‘tsemach’, meaning ‘shoot/sprout/offspring’, is exactly the same as in later prophecies. They all point to fulfilment of God’s earlier promise through Nathan that the ‘throne’ of David would be established forever (2 Sam.7:16). The ‘Branch’ as a Messianic title also occurs in Jeremiah 23:5-6, where the Lord himself says, “Behold, the days are coming … that I will raise to David a Branch of Righteousness … Now this is the name by which He will be called, ‘The Lord our Righteousness’”. In Jewish tradition repetition is a form of emphasis, a means of underlining significance, and this same revelation came to Jeremiah “a second time” whilst he was imprisoned (33:1 with 33:14-16), although we don’t know the length of the time interval between the two. This cannot be mere coincidence. Also, God’s revelation to Zechariah of his servant, the Branch, occurred twice (3:8-10 and 6:12-13) and had double reference in that it applied partly to the High Priest of the time, Joshua, and ultimately to Messiah.
Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things!
All such prophecies were fulfilled in Yeshua, recognised throughout the New Testament as ‘the Son of David’, and personally confirmed to the Apostle John in exile on Patmos, “I, Jesus, … am the Root and Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star” (Rev.22:16)’
Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things! Even so, come, Lord Jesus! And together with David we end with “Amen and Amen”!
Endnotes
1Some commentators state that this verse was added by Asaph in order to close ‘Book 2’ of the Psalms (42-72). However, this seems very odd, in that one of these psalms is attributed to Asaph himself (50) and many to the sons of Korah (42, 44-49).
2Rashi on Pslam 72, Sefaria.org
3e.g. Kenneth Way, A Prayer for the King (Psalm 72): Part 1, March 07, 2019 www.biola.edu/blogs/good-book-blog/2019/a-prayer-for-the-king-psalm-72-part-1 accessed 17 Nov 2020
4The port of Joppa was used for the importation of timber from Lebanon for the Temple and for Solomon’s palace (2 Chron.2:12-16). Further north was Dor, which, according to Israeli archaeologists, is the only natural harbour on the coast south of Tyre, being occupied continuously from Phoenician times until the late 18th century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Dor accessed 29 Dec 2020
5See 1 Kings 9:26-28; 2 Chronicles 8:17-18
6Santala, R. (1992) The Messiah in the Old Testament in the Light of Rabbinical Writings, Jerusalem: Keren Ahvah Meshihit, p. 115.
See also https://seedofabraham.net/Messiahs-Deity-and-Micah-5.2.pdf
7http://torahcode.us/torah_codes/moshiach/jkm11.htm accessed 16 Nov 2020
8Harman, A.M. (2015) Sermon Preparation on Psalm 72 ‘The Coming King’, Haddington House Journal, Vol.17, p.8
