Psalms 133 - Introduction

CXXXIII.

The unity, which is in a manner so truly Oriental, eulogised in this poem, is not mere brotherhood, not political or even religious union generally, but unity at Zion, as the last clause of the beautiful little poem convincingly proves. Nor is it, as most commentators assume, the gathering of the pilgrims at the yearly feast, appropriate though the song would be for such a gathering, and adapted, or at all events arranged, as it doubtless was, for it. The “blessing” (see Psalms 133:3), the covenant blessing, which rested on Zion, where was the centre both of the political and religious life of the nation, is the subject of this psalm. For determining the date of the poem, there is not the slightest indication. The inscription may be dismissed as a Rabbinical conjecture. Perhaps we may conjecture that if the psalm had been composed before the exile, when the sacred oil was still in existence, the consecration of the reigning high priest, instead of that of Aaron, might have been selected. The step-like rhythm is just audible.