Psalm 2:12

Context

Psalm 2 is a so-called royal psalm celebrating a king's enthronement. When the nations and rulers set themselves against the LORD and against "his anointed" (vv. 1–3), the LORD declares that He has set His king upon Zion (vv. 4–6). The king then relates the LORD's decree, "Thou art my Son" (vv. 7–9). Verses 10–12 are the psalmist's exhortation to the kings and judges of the earth: to be wise, to serve the LORD with fear, and to "kiss the Son." In the ancient Near East, a kiss was the act by which a subject expressed loyalty and submission to a king.

The closing words of verse 12, "Blessed are all they," correspond to the opening words of Psalm 1, "Blessed is the man." For this reason, many scholars regard Psalms 1 and 2 together as the introduction to the entire Psalter. The Hebrew verb rendered "put their trust" means "to take refuge" or "to flee for shelter."

Interpretation

• Historical reading: In its original setting, the verse is understood as a warning, issued at the enthronement of a king of the Davidic dynasty, that the kings of surrounding nations should submit to the new king. On this reading, "the Son" refers to the king of Israel whom the LORD has installed.
• Christological reading: The early church read Psalm 2 as a prophecy of Jesus Christ. The New Testament applies verses 1–2 to the rejection Jesus suffered and verse 7 to His resurrection and sonship. The Protestant commentary tradition, including the Reformer John Calvin, likewise reads "the Son" as Christ, understanding the verse as a summons to worship and submit to Him. Most Korean denominations also generally follow this reading.
• Jewish traditional reading: Some Jewish commentators interpret the word rendered "Son" in another sense, such as "purity" or "cleanness," and attach no messianic meaning to it.

Debates and Issues

There is little doctrinal controversy among denominations; the issues lie chiefly in the text and its translation. The word "Son" in verse 7 is the Hebrew ben, whereas verse 12 uses bar, the Aramaic word with the same meaning. This difference has given rise to divergent interpretations.

• Reading as "Son": In light of the flow of the psalm as a whole, the word is taken to refer back to the "Son" of verse 7. Many translations, including the Korean Revised Version, follow this view.
• Reading bar in another sense: The word is construed as "purely" or "sincerely," yielding the reading "kiss sincerely."
• Septuagint reading: The Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation, renders this phrase in the sense of "lay hold of instruction (discipline)."
• Textual emendation: Some modern scholars rearrange the word order of verses 11–12 to reconstruct the reading "with trembling kiss his feet."

The phrase "when his wrath is kindled but a little" is also read in two ways: either as "his wrath is quickly (soon) kindled" or as "if his wrath is kindled even a little."

Related Passages

• Psalm 2:7
• Psalm 1:1
• Acts 4:25–26
• Hebrews 1:5
• Philippians 2:9–11