Gordon Franz
Introduction1
The Psalms of the Sons of Korah, like the other psalms, express the inner-most feelings of the psalmists as they experience real-life events. The Korahites were the descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, and were responsible for guarding the Temple (1 Chr 9:19). They also led in Temple singing (2 Chr 20:19). Psalms 42–49 and 84, 85, 87 and 88 reflect the end of the eighth century BC when the Assyrians afflicted the Kingdom of Judah. This article will briefly look at these psalms from a literary perspective and then place them in their historical context at the end of the eighth century BC. Some archaeological material that has been excavated in the land of Judah, as well as Assyrian reliefs, will be employed to illustrate portions of these psalms.
The year 701 BC was a traumatic, bittersweet one for Judah. A large portion of the Judean population was deported to Assyria, yet the Lord delivered Jerusalem from the hands of the Assyrian army that encircled the city.
The Psalms of the Sons of Korah as a Literary Unit
Michael Goulder, in his book entitled The Psalms of the Sons of Korah (1982), suggests that these psalms are in sequential order and were employed as liturgical psalms for the fall festival or pilgrimage that was conducted to the Israelite cultic shrine, or high place, at Dan (1 Kgs 12:26–33).
Michael Luddeni
High Place at Dan. King Jeroboam I built this high place as an alternative place of worship so the Israelites did not have to go to the Biblically ordained place to meet God, Jerusalem (I Kings 12:25–33). Michael Goulder unsuccessfully argues that the Psalms of the Sons of Korah were used as liturgical psalms at this high place.
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Michael Luddeni
Sennacherib on his throne before Lachish. Relief from Sennacherib’s palace at Nineveh. (British Museum, London)
He points out that these psalms are a literary unit and should be looked at from that perspective. The main body of liturgy is Psalms 42–48 with Psalms 84, 85 and 87 as supplementary to the main corpus. He suggests that Psalms 42/43 and 84 are psalms of longing for Yahweh’s “tabernacles,” while Psalms 44 and 85 are national laments, and Psalms 46, 47, 48 and 87 are “songs of Zion.” He goes on to say,
Psalms 45 and 47 have no counterpart in the 80’s, but the parallel ordering of the remaining psalms can hardly be accidental (1982: 12).
I disagree with Goulder’s hypothesis that these are liturgical psalms for the fall cultic festival at Dan, but would go further than he does in seeing a unity of these psalms. Nevertheless, his ideas are stimulating, original, and creative. His scholarly efforts are appreciated. However, I think the primary interpretation of the psalms is to Zion/Jerusalem and another historical situation more aptly fits the context of the psalms. However, Goulder has broken new ground in suggesting the order and literary units.
I would like to expand on some of his thoughts and propose my own understanding of the order. Psalms 42–45 form a trilogy regarding suffering and exile composed by the psalmist as he goes into the Assyrian captivity in 701 BC. Psalms 46–48 form a trilogy of psalms exalting and praising the Lord for His deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrians in that year. I believe the two sets were written by two different members of the Korah clan. Psalm 49, a wisdom psalm, points out the shortcomings of the wealthy who do not trust the Lord. Psalms 84–86 are the answer to the prayers of the psalmists expressed in Psalms 42–49.
Psalm 84 describes the psalmist returning to the Temple after having been away for a long time. This return is the answer to the petition and vow made in Psalm 42/43,
Oh send out your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God (43:3-4).
Psalms 44 and 85 are lament psalms, both individual and national, regarding the captivity and the return. The subject of Psalm 45 is the King, the Lord Himself. Psalms 46–48 and 87 are “Songs of Zion.”
The Historical Background to the Psalms of the Sons of Korah
Psalms 46–48 allude to a miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem at the hands of a powerful enemy. The only time this miraculous deliverance occurred was in 701 BC. The Angel of the Lord destroyed the Assyrian army that was besieging Jerusalem. Psalm 48:4–5 states:
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For behold, the kings [plural] assembled, they passed by together. They saw it, and so they marveled; they were troubled, they hastened away.
The Assyrian policy was to incorporate the armies of the conquered lands within the Assyrian army and bring the subjected kings along on their campaigns to conquer other lands. For ex-ample, in 667/666 BC, the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal II took 22 kings along with their armies to fight the Egyptians. Ashurbanipal claims that he “made those kings with their forces (and) their ships accompany me by sea and by land” (Rainey 1993: 157). One of those kings was Manasseh, king of Judah, with his army.
Michael Luddeni
Assyrian siege of the gate at Lachish. Relief from Sennacherib’s palace at Nineveh. (British Museum, London)
Apparently, after the Angel of the LORD destroyed the portion of the Assyrian army that was encircling Jerusalem, Sennacherib sent a small expedition that included some of the conquered kings up to Jerusalem from Libnah on a “fact finding mission” to ascertain what happened. The kings saw the remains of the destruction and marveled at it. But this troubled them so they left quickly. Sennacherib then hastily returned to Nineveh (2 Kgs 19:8, 35–36; 2 Chr 32:22; Is 37:36–37).
In order to put these psalms in their proper context, a brief overview of the life of King Hezekiah is in order. King Hezekiah was enthroned in the year 727 BC. He began his reign on the “right foot” by reinstituting the Passover, which led to a great revival (2 Chr 29–31). In the 14th year of his reign (713/12 BC), events began to sour. He had a near-death experience, which he recovered from, and the Lord promised him 15 extra years to live (2 Kgs 20:1–11; Is 38:10–20).
Merodach-Baladan, king of Babylon, sent emissaries to congratulate him on his recovery and also to see if he would join the Babylonian coalition against the Assyrians. Hezekiah was apparently part of this revolt, which the Assyrians put down (Is 20:1), probably under the leadership of Sennacherib, then the crown prince, and tartan, the Commander-in-Chief. Hezekiah, along with the Philistines, Moabites and Edomites, paid tribute to Sargon II (2 Kgs 18:14–16). This disaster for Hezekiah and Judah was apparently because of the influence of the royal steward (prime minister) Shebna, who most likely was a foreigner in the courts of Judah (Is 22; 2 Kgs 18:14–16).
In 701 BC Hezekiah revolted again. This time Sennacherib, now king of Assyria, was bent on the destruction of Judah
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The Dore Bible Illustrations 1974, page 112
Depiction of the Angel of the Lord destroying the Assyrian army that was encircling Jerusalem in the year 701 BC.
and Jerusalem. He began his third campaign down the coast of Phoenicia and took part of Philistia before he turned his attention to Judah.
The first phase of his Judean campaign was to secure the Shephelah (low hill country between the coastal plain and the central hill country). After Lachish, the capital of the Shephelah, fell, he felt confident enough to split his army.
One part of his army, under the leadership of the rabshakeh (lit. “Chief Cupbearer”), laid siege to Jerusalem, and the other part continued with Sennacherib in the Shephelah and attacked Libnah.
The Angel of the Lord destroyed the part of the army encircling Jerusalem. When Sennacherib got word of this defeat in Jerusalem, he returned shame-faced to Nineveh. In his annals, Sennacherib describes this campaign in these words:
As for Hezekiah, the Judean, who had not submitted to my yoke, 46 of his strong, walled cities and the cities of their environs, which were numberless, I besieged, I captured, I plundered, as booty I counted them. Him, like a caged bird, in Jerusalem, his royal city, I shut up (Luckenbill 1927: 143).
“Like a caged bird” is diplomatic code for “we lost.” Sennacherib then lists the “tribute” that Hezekiah sent to him, which included 30 talents of gold and 800 talents of silver, along with male and female singers. I suspect that since Sennacherib could not admit defeat, this “tribute” was actually booty that he plundered from the earlier part of his campaign.
This campaign was bittersweet for the Judeans. Jerusalem was delivered, but many Judeans were deported, including the psalmist who composed Psalms 42–45. These psalms were his “musical diary” while going into captivity. The Biblical records only hint of this captivity in 701 BC and it was probably downplayed for theological reasons. According to Sennacherib’s annals, he deported “200,150 people, young and old, male and female…as spoil”(Cogan 2000: 303). Whether this number is exaggerated or not is beyond the scope of this article. The point is, there was a deportation of Judeans in 701 BC.2
An ancient “photograph” depicting some Lachishites going into captivity is found on a wall relief from Nineveh (Ussishkin 1982).
The historical texts of the Bible seem to downplay the Assyrian captivity of 701 BC; however, the prophets hint at it. Isaiah 24:1 says,
Behold, the LORD makes the earth [of Judah] empty and makes it waste, distorts its surface and scatters abroad its inhabitants.
The end of the so-called “Isaiah Apocalypse” has the captives returning from Assyria and Egypt (Is 27:12–13). Hosea promises that some Judeans will return from Assyria and Egypt (11:11). Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, seems to describe the 701 BC campaign of Sennacherib in chapter 1. He ends the chapter with the words, “because of your precious children…for they shall go from you into captivity” (1:16). They apparently were taken to Babylon as part of the Assyrian “resettlement” policy. However, Micah promises them that the Lord would rescue and redeem them (4:10).
One intriguing Assyrian relief is a fragment in the British
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Michael Luddeni
Judean captives being led away from Lachish. Relief from Sennacherib’s palace at Nineveh. (British Museum, London)
Michael Luddeni
Assyrian with three musicians. Relief from Sennacherib’s palace at Nineveh. (British Museum, London)
Museum. It is a depiction of three musicians, apparently Judeans, playing their harps, as they are being taken captive (Barnett, Bleibtreu and Turner 1998: 116; Pls. 398, 399). Behind them is an Assyrian officer.
My “sanctified imagination” would like to suggest we have an “ancient photograph” of a Biblical personage. Among other things, the Korahite family was musicians. At one time they led the people of Judah in praise to the Lord during the conflict with the “Eastern Confederacy” during the reign of Jehoshaphat (2 Chr 20:14–19). One of the sons of Korah had vowed to praise the Lord in the Temple with his harp if he was delivered from captivity (Ps. 43:4). Could one of these musicians be one of the sons of Korah who composed Psalms 42–45 and 84?
The “Sons of Korah” also appear in another late eighth century BC context. Yohanan Aharoni excavated part of a bowl at Tel Arad that had an inscription on the bottom that listed several families, among which were “the sons of Korah.” This bowl, inscription #49, was found in Stratum VIII of the building next to the sanctuary. Aharoni conjectures that this was “a list of contributions to the sanctuary. The letter
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Michael Luddeni
Sanctuary at Arad.
het adds weight to this hypothesis, whether interpreted as wheat or as a sin-offering” (1981: 82). According to Aharoni, Stratum VIII was destroyed at the end of the eighth century BC (1981: 149).
Arad Inscriptions 1981, page 80
Inscription on dthe base of a bowl discovered in the excavation at Tell Arad. The second name from the top is “Beni Korah” (the Sons of Korah) who received 2 items that were in the bowl.
Orna Zimhoni, of the Lachish Excavations, has re-evaluated the Arad material and has suggested that all the pottery of Arad Stratum X-VIII is parallel to Lachish III pottery, which was destroyed by Sennacherib. Thus, she would also agree that the inscription should be dated to the end of the eighth century BC (1985: 84–88). Two questions should be raised at this point: first, what is a Levitical family doing in a non-Levitical city? Second, what was the nature of this sanctuary? Was it kosher or not? Was it a bamah (high place) or a pure Yahwistic shrine?
There is one other piece of archaeological evidence that relates to the sons of Korah. A figurine of a musician playing a harp was discovered in a burial cave at Beth Shemesh. I understand it dates to the end of the eighth century BC as well. The Korahites were allotted cities in the Land of Ephraim and Manasseh. Apparently they moved south after Jeroboam I set up the cultic shrines at Dan and Bethel and made a priesthood of anybody who was not a Levite (1 Kgs 12:31; 13:33). Some Korahites settled in Arad. Perhaps some settled in Beth Shemesh as well.
An Archaeological Exposition of the Korahite Psalms
Psalm 42/43, originally one psalm, begins the set of psalms recounting the Assyrian captivity in 701 BC. In Psalm 42:6–8, the psalmist uses geographical terms to pinpoint where he is as he reflects on his departure from the Land of Israel. George Adam Smith points out
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The Land of Jordan usually means in O.T. land across Jordan [The Jordan River]. Hermons (not Hermonites) must refer to the triple peaks of Hermon. If these two identifications hold, the standpoint of the Psalmist is fixed in the corner between Hermon and Jordan, where Banias stands. To the two localities the Hill Mis’ar, is placed in apposition. It may mean, as it stands, Hill of Littleness. But it may also be a proper name;and it is remarkable that in the neighborhood there should be two or three names with the same or kindred radicals: (1) Za’ura; (2) Wady Za’arah, above Banias; (3) Khubet Mezara. I suggest these may be reminiscent of a hill in this district, called Mis’ar (1931: 476 n. 1).
Figurine of a harp player. Discovered in a tomb near Beth Shemesh.
As he describes the waters rolling over the waterfalls, he may be referring to the Banias waterfalls in that region. As he leaves the harp in Jerusalem again. The alabaster relief from Sennacherib’s palace depicts three barefoot musicians going through a mountainous region, possibly the Lebanon mountain range.
A good example of a lyre is displayed on a beautiful seal of the seventh century BC with the inscription “Belonging to Ma’adanah the king’s daughter” (Avigad 1978: 146–51). The psalmist declares his trust in the Lord for deliverance from his Assyrian captors. In the 44th Psalm, during his captivity, he receives word that
Gordan Franz
Banias waterfalls, near Tel Dan and Caesarea Phillippi, mentioned in Psalm 42:7
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Israel Exploration Journal 23 (1973): 146
Harp depicted on a seal of Ma’adanah the daughter of a king.
the Lord miraculously delivered Jerusalem from the hands of the Assyrians (44:7, cf. Is 37:36). The psalmist, however, struggles within himself, “Lord, you answered their prayers, but what about mine?” (44:9–21). After this internal struggle, he comes to the point where he realizes this test was “for the Lord’s sake” (44:22). He finally renews his confidence in the Lord (44:25–26).
Two statements in this psalm are of interest to our study. The first is his statement in verse 11, “You have given us up like sheep intended for food, and have scattered us among the nations.” In Sennacherib’s annals, he states,
From the booty of those lands which I plundered, [Phoenicia, Philistia and Judah]…and added them to my royal equipment. The rest, the heavy spoil of enemy (captives). I divided like sheep among my whole camp (army) as well as my governors and the inhabitants of my large cities (Luckenbill 1927: 137).
There was also a relief in Sennacherib’s palace showing Assyrian soldiers slaughtering sheep (Barnett, Bleibtreu and Turner 1998: 113; pl. 381; Parpola and Watanabe 1988: 9).
The second statement of interest is the psalmist’s declaration of innocence regarding idolatry. “If we had forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a foreign god, would not God search this out?” (44:20). He may have been innocent, but the truth of the matter is Judah was not. They were involved in idolatry. The Lachish relief depicts Assyrian soldiers carrying off at least two metallic incense burners. Micah describes Lachish in these terms,
O inhabitants of Lachish…(She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion), for the transgressions of Israel were found in you (1:13).
Watanabe, Neo-Assyrian Treaties and Loyalty Oaths (1988), 9
Assyrian soldiers slaughtering sheep during the reign of Sennacherib.
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Michael Luddeni
Assyrian soldiers carrying away incense burners as booty from Lachish. Relief from Sennacherib’s palace at Nineveh. (British Museum, London)
“The transgressions of Israel” could hint at the alternative places of worship set up at Dan and Bethel by Jeroboam. Micah goes on to say that Judah was involved in sorcery, sooth-saying, and idolatry (5:12–14).
After a struggle within himself, the psalmist finally acknowledges the captivity he was going through was “for your sake we are killed all day long” (44:22), a verse that the apostle Paul later quotes in Romans 8:36.
The 45th psalm expresses the theme of worship in spite of the circumstances that the worshipper is in. After submitting himself to the sovereignty of God, the psalmist’s heart is over-flowing with a good theme concerning the King (45:1). He describes himself as a “ready writer.” One is reminded of the Assyrian reliefs depicting scribes writing down lists of booty that had been captured. Usually there were two scribes, one scribe writing on papyrus and the other on a cuneiform tablet.
In the context of the Korah psalms, the king is not an earthly king, but rather, the Lord Himself (44:4; 47:2, 6–7; 48:2–3; 84:3; Is 33:17, 22; 44:6, 8; 6:5, cf. Jn 12:37–41). The book of Hebrews identifies the king as the Lord Jesus (1:8, cf. Ps 45:6, 7). The composer of this psalm describes the king as a warrior who fights for His people and the city of Jerusalem, with sword, chariots and arrows. It was the Angel of the Lord that destroyed the Assyrian army that was encircling Jerusalem that night (Is 37:36; 2 Kgs 19:35). Ironically, this psalm may be an answer to the Lachish relief with Sennacherib sitting on his ivory throne, holding arrows in his right hand, his war chariots on display and his feet on his footstool with his enemies bowing down to him. It will ultimately be, however, the Lord Jesus who will win the final victory (Ps 110:1; Heb 1:8–14).
Psalm 45:8 mentions the ivory palaces. Ivory was used to adorn palaces of the eighth century BC. Some ivory has been found in the excavations at Ramat Rachel, probably the administrative palace built by Hezekiah called “MMST” in stamps onjar handles (Barnett 1982:47, 88 n. 44, unpublished; Barkay 2006: 34–44). Sennacherib also paneled his palace with ivories (Smith 1878: 147).
Psalms 46–48 were composed by another member of the Korah clan as songs of praise and thanksgiving after the Lord delivered Jerusalem from the hands of the Assyrians. Jerusalem took on a special connotation because the God who acted
Gordon Franz
Picture of Assyrian scribes.
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Todd Bolen/Bible Places.com
The psalmist composed Psalm 48 in the City of David, the core of ancient Jerusalem that lies to the south (below) the Temple Mount. The psalmist ascended to the Temple from his home in the City of David and thought the elevation was beautiful because he was going to the House of the LORD.
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in the affairs of human history was residing in the city. Psalm 48 was composed in Jerusalem, and more specifically in the city of David, so the psalmist used the geography of the city in the opening of the song.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in His holy mountain [the Temple Mount]. Beautiful in elevation [the 0.37 mi (600 m) walk from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount with a 312 ft (95 m) elevation change], the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion on the sides of the north [from the City of David, the Temple Mount is north], the city of the great King (48:1–2).
The term “great king” is also a title that the Assyrians kings used for themselves.
Psalm 49 ends this section with a wisdom psalm regarding rich fools who think their wealth can bring them salvation. Verses 10 and 11 say,
For he [the rich fool] sees wise men dies; likewise the fool and the senseless persons perish, and leave their wealth to others. Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever, their dwelling places to all generations.
Most commentators suggest the “house” in verse 11 refers to the dynasties of the wealthy individuals. I would like to suggest that the phrase should be taken more literally. In the second half of the verse, “houses” is paralleled with “dwelling places,” a literal structure. The materialistic fool knows his earthly house, made of stones and mud brick, will eventually collapse. He hews out of bedrock a burial cave [an “eternal house”—Eccl 12:5] patterned after his earthly house so he will feel “at home in death.”
It is interesting to note the parallels between the Iron Age burial caves and the typical Israelite “four-room house.” The pattern is quite similar. The burial cave has an entrance and a central depression with two benches on either side and one in the back. The “four-room house” has an entrance leading to a central courtyard
Michael Luddeni
Captives from Lachish pulling a sculptured winged bull for Sennacherib’s palace. Relief from Sennacherib’s palace at Nineveh. (British Museum, London)
BSpade 20:1 (Winter 2007) p. 24
with two long rooms on both sides of the courtyard and a broad room in the back. Sunken panels have been observed in some of the large tombs of Jerusalem. Some of the royal structures had panels of cedar on their walls (1 Kgs 6:9; Jer 22:13–15; Hg 1:4). Parapets on the benches are reminders of parapets on the roof to prevent people from falling off (Dt 22:8).3
Psalm 84 begins the second set of Korah psalms (Psalms 84, 85, 87, 88). These psalms complement the first set. In Psalm 84 the procession to the House of the Lord is described as going up through the Valley of Baca. Josephus, the first century AD Jewish historian, seems to situate this valley close to the Valley of Rephaim (Antiquities 7:71–77; Loeb Classical Library 5: 397–99; Feliks 1981: 49–51). Quite possibly the psalmist has returned from his captivity in Nineveh and is making his first pilgrimage to the Temple for the Feast of Succoth. The date for this feast is hinted at with the mentioning of the “early rains” (84:6). The psalmist also seems to hint at where he has been in Nineveh. He says, “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the House of my God, than dwell in the tents of wickedness” (84:10). Judean captives worked as slave laborers on Sennacherib’s “palace without rival”(Ussishkin 1982: 127–30). Was the psalmist one of them? If so, he saw the wickedness that was inherent in the palace and pledged he would rather be a humble doorkeeper in the Temple than to hang around Sennacherib’s palace.
The historical circumstances surrounding the return of at least some of the Judeans from the Assyrian captivity is uncertain. After Hezekiah died, his son Manasseh reigned. He was a vassal of the Assyrian kings, Sennacherib, Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal. Any one of these kings could have released Judean captives because of Manasseh’s subjection.
The Conclusion of the Matter
This article has tried to demonstrate that the psalms of the sons of Korah should be taken as a literary unit and the order in which they are grouped is significant. It has also placed these psalms in the year 701 BC, a traumatic year for the people of Judah. The first group of psalms (42–48) expresses the innermost thoughts and feelings of one going into captivity, as well as the rejoicing of those who stood still to see the salvation of their God in Jerusalem. Psalm 49 is a wisdom psalm about a fool trusting in his riches for salvation. The second set of psalms (84, 85, 87, 88) complements the first set and shows God’s faithfulness to His people and the answered prayer of the psalmist. The Assyrian reliefs and archaeology are used to illustrate the words of the psalmist.
It is my impression that more of the psalms belong to the end of the 8th century BC. More attention should be placed on this period. The commentary writers or expositors of the Scriptures should utilize more of the Assyrian reliefs and archaeological data to illustrate the Word of God.4
Bibliography
Aharoni, Yohanan
1981 Arad Inscriptions. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.
Avigad, Nahman
1978 The King’s Daughter and the Lyre. Israel Exploration Journal 28: 146–51.
Barkay, Gabriel
2006 Royal Palace, Royal Portrait? The Tantalizing Possibilities of Ramat Rachel. Biblical Archaeology Review 32.5: 34–44.
Barnett, Richard D.
1982 Ancient Ivories in the Middle East. Qedem 14. Jerusalem: Hebrew University.
Barnett, Richard D.; Bleibtreu, Erika; and Turner, Geoffrey E.
1998 Sculptures from the Southwest Palace of Sennacherib at Nineveh. 2 vols. London: British Museum.
Cogan, Mordechi
2000 Sennacherib’s Siege of Jerusalem. Pp. 302–303 in The Context of Scripture 2: Monumental Inscriptions from the Biblical World, ed. William W. Hallo. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
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Franz, Gordon
1987 The Hezekiah/Sennacherib Chronology Problem Reconsidered. Unpublished MA thesis. Columbia Biblical Seminary and Graduate School of Missions.
2002 “At Home in Death”: An Archaeological Exposition of Psalm 49:11. Bible and Spade 15: 85–91.
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Keel, Othmar
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Rainey, Anson F.
1993 Manasseh, King of Judah, in the Whirlpool of the Seventy Century B.C.E.. Pp. 147–64 in Kinattūtu ša dārâti: Raphael Kutscher Memorial Volume, ed. Anson F. Rainey. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology.
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1878 The History of Sennacherib. London: Williams and Norgate.
Smith, George A.
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Stohlmann, Stephen
1983 The Judean Exile After 701 B.C.E. Pp. 147-175 in Scripture in Context 2. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
Ussishkin, David
1982 The Conquest of Lachish by Sennacherib. Tel Aviv: Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University.
Zimhoni, Orna
1985 The Iron Age Pottery of Tel ‘Eton and its Relation to the Lachish, Tell Beit Mirsim and Arad Assemblages. Tel Aviv 12: 63–90.