What historical context influenced the writing of Psalm 35:22? Text of Psalm 35:22 “You have seen it, O LORD; be not silent. O Lord, be not far from me.” Davidic Superscription and Authorship The Psalm’s heading, לְדָוִד (le-David, “of David”), preserves the unanimous view of the Masoretic Text, the Septuagint (Ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυΐδ), the Targum, and the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QPsq, 11QPsa) that David is the human author. David reigned circa 1010–970 BC, within the United Monarchy that followed the Judges and preceded the division of Israel and Judah. The superscription situates the composition during David’s lifetime and places the prayer in the era of Israel’s first stable kingship. Historical Setting within 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel Psalm 35 belongs to a cluster of “individual laments” (Psalm 35; 54–57; 59) whose language, themes, and personal references mirror the events recorded in 1 Samuel 18–31 and 2 Samuel 15–19. During these periods David was repeatedly hounded by enemies he once treated as friends: • Saul’s court officials who envied David’s favor with the LORD (1 Sm 18:8–15). • Doeg the Edomite, who betrayed the priests at Nob (1 Sm 22:9–19). • The Ziphites, who twice informed Saul of David’s hiding places (1 Sm 23:19; 26:1). • Absalom and his coalition who sought to usurp the throne (2 Sm 15–18). Verse 19 (“Let not my deceitful enemies gloat over me…”) resonates with Saul’s slander that David was “seeking harm” (1 Sm 24:9). Verse 12 (“They repay me evil for good…”) recalls David’s earlier kindness in sparing Saul’s life (1 Sm 24:10–12; 26:23). Verse 13 (“Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth…”) mirrors David’s fasting for Saul and Jonathan (2 Sm 1:11–12). Hence Psalm 35:22 reflects David’s cry at one of two recurrent points: the wilderness flight from Saul or the royal flight from Absalom. Early Jewish expositors (Targum; Midrash Tehillim 35) and Church Fathers (Athanasius, Augustine) favored the Saul period; many modern conservative scholars accept either but note the Absalom episode intensifies the motif of betrayed intimacy (cf. 2 Sm 15:31). Ancient Near Eastern Legal Backdrop David’s plea that the LORD must “not be silent” invokes covenant court imagery. In Hebrew jurisprudence silence in the face of injustice signified complicity (cf. Leviticus 5:1; Proverbs 24:11–12). Ancient Near Eastern treaty repertoire shows vassals invoking the suzerain as witness; Hittite treaties contain the clause, “Let the gods see and be my witnesses.” Psalm 35 couches that legal motif in Yahweh’s person: “You have seen it, O LORD.” David asks the ultimate Judge to enter the litigation as prosecuting witness against perjured accusers (vv. 11, 24). Political Climate of the Early Monarchy Archaeology confirms a united, centrally administered Israel around 1000 BC: • The Khirbet Qeiyafa ostracon (c. 1000 BC) features early Hebrew ethics (“judge the orphan… defend the widow”) paralleling Davidic concerns for justice. • Fortifications at Khirbet Qeiyafa and the “Stepped Stone Structure” in the City of David align with the building activity ascribed to David and Solomon (2 Sm 5:9; 1 Kings 9:15). • The Tel Dan inscription (mid-9th century BC) references the “House of David,” attesting to David’s historic dynasty only a century after his reign. Living amid tribal rivalries, unsteady alliances, and foreign threats (Philistines, Edomites, Ammonites), David’s experiences of treachery and siege give concrete grounding to the Psalm’s warfare language (vv. 1–3). Literary Genre and Theological Purpose Psalm 35 is an “imprecatory lament,” a form that petitions the covenant LORD for vindication while pronouncing curses on unrepentant aggressors. The imprecation derives from Deuteronomy’s covenant blessings and curses (Deuteronomy 27–32); thus, the Psalm is not personal revenge but appeal to divine covenant justice. Verse 22 stands at the turning-point between lament (vv. 17–21) and confident praise (vv. 23–28), anchoring the supplicant’s hope in God’s attentiveness. Christological and New-Covenant Resonance The Gospels apply adjacent verses to Jesus: John 15:25 quotes Psalm 35:19, “They hated Me without cause,” to explain the world’s opposition to Christ. The same enemies-without-cause theme frames the Passion narrative (Matthew 26:59–61; Mark 14:55–59). Thus Psalm 35:22 anticipates the Messiah’s appeal to the Father during unjust suffering and prefigures the vindication enacted in the resurrection (Acts 2:24–32). Conclusion Psalm 35:22 arose from David’s real-life experience of betrayal and persecution in the early tenth century BC, most plausibly during his fugitive years under Saul or amid Absalom’s revolt. In that volatile socio-political context, David leveraged the covenant court imagery of the Ancient Near East to petition Yahweh, the supreme Witness, to break silence, vindicate His servant, and uphold justice. Archaeological data, manuscript evidence, and the Psalm’s incorporation into later biblical narratives corroborate its authenticity and enduring theological weight. |
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