12- The King is Dead, Long Live the King!

Psalm 72, “For Shlomo”

The ending of this mizmor is dramatic. How appropriate is it to serve as the closing of D2 and the ending of Book II? And how does it fit into the overall structure of the Book of Tehillim?

Mizmor 72, the first of only two mizmorim with the header l’Shlomo, concludes Book II of Tehillim with the sentence that “the prayers of David the son of Yishai are ended”. The contextual interpretation provides a powerful reason for the specific placement of this mizmor here in Sefer Tehillim. Intertextual comparison to the book of Zechariah also reveals further insights for understanding this mizmor.

Tehilim 929 #12 Handout as powerpoint

Tehilim 929 #12 Handout as PDF

Recommendation: Print out slides 12 + 14 for the class Tuesday. 

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