Psalm 22 Study Notes

Ps 22 title The Deer of the Dawn was apparently a known tune of the time. The Hebrew word for “deer” (’ayyeleth) is similar to the rare word for “help” (’eyaluth) that is used in v. 19.

22:1 This psalm opens with a question about God’s rejection, similar to other lament psalms (10:1; 13:1-2). This rejection is represented by the term abandoned. The same idea appears elsewhere in the psalm with God being “far away” (v. 19). In his suffering, the psalmist foreshadowed the Messiah; in his suffering, Jesus identified with the psalmist (Mt 27:46). When Jesus quoted this first line, he was probably calling attention to the whole psalm, including the theme of victory at the end.

22:2 The psalmist prayed for help but God seemed not to hear. This psalm can apply to anyone who has had this experience.

22:3-5 These verses identify the psalmist with the nation of Israel and more specifically with Yahweh’s covenant faithfulness to his people as shown by his deliverance of them time and time again (78:53; 107:6). Enthroned on the praises is unusual, picturing the Lord’s dwelling above the cherubim on the ark of the covenant (80:1; 99:1). However, in this instance it is the praise of God’s people that is the focus because the Lord is the praise of Israel (Dt 10:21).

22:6-8 Worm expresses humiliation (Jb 25:6; Is 41:14), an idea that is further developed with the scorn of the enemies. Shaking their heads was a physical gesture often associated with sneering and mocking (see textual footnote on 44:14; cp. 64:8). This disgrace was in direct contrast to the fact that the Lord had kept Israel from disgrace (22:5). The thought that the Lord would not rescue one of his own was a common assumption by Israel’s enemies (3:2; 71:11).

22:9-10 The phrase over to you is in the emphatic position in the Hebrew text, emphasizing that the Lord is the one in whom the psalmist has trusted since birth.

22:11 These sound like the last words of a dying man. The words Don’t be far from me are found in other psalms too. See 35:22; 38:21; 71:12.

22:12-13 The connection between one’s enemies and wild animals, especially lions, is found in other psalms (see note at 7:1-2). With bulls the point seems to be strength rather than fierceness.

22:14-15 The terminology in these verses conveys the notion of being drained of strength. A heart like melting wax is similar to the image of “melting hearts” in other contexts where the emotion of fear is so intense that all courage disappears (Dt 20:8; Jos 2:11; 7:5). Dust of death implies the nearness and inevitability of death (Jb 7:21; 10:9) and is sometimes linked with Sheol (Jb 17:16).

22:16 The Hebrew text is difficult, reading literally “like a lion my hands and my feet” for pierced my hands and my feet. Other manuscript traditions, including the LXX, read the Hebrew ka’ari (“like the lion”) as a verb from the Hebrew root krh, meaning either “to bind” or “to dig.” Digging could be synonymous with piercing. Christians have often adopted this reading and seen it as a prophetic allusion to Christ’s crucifixion since NT authors quote so much of this psalm in relation to that event (e.g., Mt 27:46).

22:17-18 Counting bones seems to be related to imagery where a person was so emaciated from suffering or brutality that his bones were visible (102:5; Jb 19:20; 33:21). Dividing garments is an attested practice in Middle Assyrian laws where a criminal’s clothes could be given to the prosecutor or to those carrying out the sentence. It was apparently practiced in other cultures, including Rome in the first century, as evident at the crucifixion of Jesus (Mt 27:35; Jn 19:23).

22:19 Verses 19-21 express David’s petition. He refers to God as my strength.

22:20-21 The psalmist uses imagery from animals to represent enemies. All are repeated with the exception of the wild oxen instead of bulls. Their horns that gored in an attack are the main focus in that image (see note at 18:1-2). Dogs might not seem like a negative image because of their role as pets in modern Western society, but in much of the ancient Near East they were never domesticated and were always wild and ravenous animals.

22:22-24 Verse 22 begins a new major section in this psalm, shifting the focus from petition to thanksgiving. The shift might indicate that the prayer of vv. 1-21 had been answered or that such an answer was anticipated. Thanksgiving was to be offered in the assembly to evoke praise from the people of God. This was the responsibility of anyone whom the Lord rescued, so that the entire community could rejoice in God’s acts of deliverance (66:16). Whereas the psalmist praised God for being delivered from death, Jesus the Messiah brought glory to God through his death and resurrection.

22:25-26 The vows were those made during the time of prayer (50:14; 61:8; 66:13). Their fulfillment also took place in the great assembly as a further testimony of God’s goodness to the psalmist. Any ceremonially clean person witnessing someone’s praise offering was permitted to eat from it (Lv 7:11-21).

22:27-31 The psalm ends by broadening to the most universal purpose of God’s kingdom over the earth. Israel’s purpose was to be a testimony to other nations so they would bow down before the Lord and serve him (67:2; 72:11,17; 86:9). The growth of the kingdom throughout time is demonstrated in the phrase a people yet to be born (future generations). The inclusion of those who go down to the dust who would pay homage to the Lord (v. 29) is unusual, since in other psalms it is clear that the dead cannot praise him (6:5; 88:10-12). This is more likely a reference to the final stage of God’s kingdom when even the dead are brought back to life to recognize the Lord’s authority over all things (Dn 12:2).