Psalm 2

Judaism According to the Talmud, in tractate Berakhot 9b:28 and 10a:1, Psalm 2 is a continuation of Psalm 1. Tenth-century CE rabbi Saadia Gaon, in his commentary on the Psalms, concurs with the Talmud that Psalm 1 begins with the word "happy" () and the last verse of Psalm 2 ends with the word "happy", joining them thematically. and later commentators, including Saadia Gaon, Abraham ibn Ezra, and the Karaite Yefet ben Ali, argue that Psalm 1 is messianic in theme, referring to the advent of the Jewish Messiah preceded by the wars of Gog and Magog. In this vein, the "king" of Psalm 2 is interpreted not as David but as the future King Messiah from the Davidic line (Messiah ben David), who will restore Israel to its former glory and bring world peace. Similarly, the Midrash Tehillim teaches: Rashi and Rabbi David Kimhi (also known as Radak), however, identify the subject of this psalm as David, following his victory over the Philistines. in a 2018 article in the Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, suggests that Rashi's view was influenced by that of early Christian commentators, who interpreted verse 7 as referring to Jesus. Christianity Some Christian writers, such as Hermann Gunkel, and Hans-Joachim Kraus interpret the psalm as a "song of the Judean king himself at the festival of his accession," while Hossfeld sees the psalm as merely being influenced by Ancient Egyptian and Hellenistic royal ideology. Furthermore, Christian scholars tend to interpret the subject of the psalm as Jesus and his role as the Messiah. Matthew Henry interprets verses 1–6 are viewed as threats against Jesus's kingdom, verses 7–9 as a promise to Jesus to be the head of this kingdom, and verses 10–12 as counsel to all to serve Jesus. Charles Spurgeon and Adam Clarke similarly interpret the psalm as referring to the opposition against Jesus's rulership, the selection of Jesus by God as his "own son", and the eventual victory and reign of Jesus over his enemies. == Text ==

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels and cantillation marks, alongside the English translation from the King James Version, the Latin text in the Vulgate and the Koine Greek text in the Septuagint. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text come from different textual traditions. ==Uses==

Judaism Verse 1 is recited during Selichot. This psalm is also recited to alleviate a headache, and when caught in a sea gale. New Testament Some verses of Psalm 2 are referenced in the New Testament: • Verses 1-2: in a speech attributed to Peter and John in Acts . Catholic Church According to the Rule of St. Benedict (530 AD), Psalms 1 to 20 were mainly reserved for the office of Prime. This psalm was chosen by St. Benedict of Nursia for Monday's office of Prime: in the Rule of St. Benedict of 530 it was recited or sung between Psalm 1 and Psalm 6. In the Liturgy of the Hours, Psalm 2 is sung or recited in the Office of Readings of the Sunday of the first week, with Psalm 1 and Psalm 3. Every Tuesday, the faithful of Opus Dei, after invoking their Guardian Angel and kissing the rosary, recite Psalm 2 in Latin. Coptic Orthodox Church In the Agpeya, the Coptic Church's book of hours, this psalm is prayed in the office of Prime. Book of Common Prayer In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, Psalm 2 is appointed to be read on the morning of the first day of the month, as well as at Mattins on Easter Day. The Scottish Psalter The Presbyterian Scottish Psalter of 1650 rewords the psalm in a metrical form that can be sung to a tune set to the common meter. ==Musical settings==

In 1567, Thomas Tallis set Psalm 2, "Why fum'th in sight", for his ''Nine Tunes for Archbishop Parker's Psalter. Heinrich Schütz wrote a setting of a paraphrase in German, "Was haben doch die Leut im Sinn", SWV 098, for the Becker Psalter'', published first in 1628. Psalm 2 is one of the psalms used in Handel's "Messiah" (HWV 56). He set the King James Version of verses 1–4 and to 9 in four in movement in Part II, beginning with movement 40. In France, Pierre Robert composed a grand motet "Quare fremuerunt gentes", for the Chapelle Royale in the Louvre. Marc-Antoine Charpentier set around 1675 one " Quare fremuerunt gentes" H.168 - H.168 a, for soloists, double chorus, strings and continuo, another one, for 3 voices, 2 treble instruments and continuo H.184, around 1682. Michel-Richard de Lalande in 1706 made his grand motet (S70) on this Psalm. Jean-Baptiste Lully did the same. Felix Mendelssohn wrote a setting of Psalm 2 in German during his time as Generalmusicdirektor for church music in Berlin. The setting is for two four part choirs with sections for solo voices and was first performed in Berlin Cathedral on the first day of Christmas 1843. "Warum toben die Heiden" was published as his Op 78 No 1. Verses 1–4 form one of the texts Leonard Bernstein used for his Chichester Psalms. It is used as counterpart to Psalm 23 in the second movement, sung by the tenors and basses. Verse 8 of Psalm 2 is used in the song "You Said" by Reuben Morgan. As part of his five-volume "Revenant Psalms" project, seminary professor Timothy Slemmons paraphrased Psalm 2 in its entirety, and arranged it for a guitar-based setting, entitled "Lagniappe," with alternating 13/4 and 5/4 time signatures. == References in Second Temple Jewish Literature ==

Dead Sea Scrolls • 4Q174: This text, also called 4QFlorilegium, is an explanation () of several messianic texts. It reads, "Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the and His anointed (Psalms 2:1). The meaning is that the nations shall set themselves and conspire vainly against the chosen of Israel in the Last Days." • 1QSA: This reference is debated, and either states "When God has fathered the Messiah among them" or "When God has caused the Messiah to come among them." If the former, it is likely a reference to Psalm 2:7. 1 Enoch There is an apparent reference to Psalm 2 in 1 Enoch, found in 1 Enoch 48:8–10. This text states that "downcast will be the faces of the kings of the earth" who have "denied the Lord of Spirits and his anointed one". The phrase "kings of the earth" and "Lord...and his anointed one" point back to Psalm 2:2. found in Psalms or Solomon 17:23–24. Those verses read, "To smash the arrogance of the sinner like a potter’s vessel, to shatter all their substance with an iron rod." Additionally, the phrase "the peoples of the nations to be subject to him under his yoke" may look back to verse 2 ==Controversy==

English-speaking Protestant Christians usually translate the first phrase of verse 12 as "Kiss the son", as in the King James Version. This reads the word bar as Aramaic "son", different from Hebrew ben "son". Some Jewish authors have accused Protestant Christians of arbitrarily choosing to interpret the word as Aramaic to suggest a reference to Jesus Christ. Protestants, however, cite other places in the Bible with isolated Aramaic words found in Hebrew, like the same word bar occurring in . By contrast, the most common Jewish interpretation of verse 12, reading bar in Hebrew, is "Embrace purity". This is an interpretation close to that of Catholics, who traditionally follow the Vulgate and Septuagint to translate the phrase as "Embrace discipline". The New American Bible reconciles by combining verses 11 and 12 of other translations into a single verse 11. == Illuminated Manuscripts ==

Harley ms 603 f002r.jpg|Psalms 1 and 2 in the Harley Psalter Psalter of Eleanor of Aquitaine (ca. 1185) - KB 76 F 13, folium 029v.jpg| Psalterium. (46214819).jpg|A 15th-century psalter from Bruges ==See also==