Psalm 2:6

Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(6) Yet have I.—The pronoun is very emphatic: “You dare to revolt, it is I who have given this office to the king.”

Set.—Literally, poured out, as of melted metal; used of the Divine Spirit (Isaiah 29:10), of a libation (Exodus 30:9), and of pouring melted metal into a mould (Isaiah 40:19); from the latter use, to establish, or set up, is a natural transition. Gesenius and Ewald give a different sense to the word pour, and follow Symmachus in translating anointed, which agrees well with the mention of the Messiah (Psalm 2:4). The LXX. and Vulg. have “but I was appointed king by him,” making the Anointed begin his speech here, instead of at the next verse.

Benson Commentary

Psalm 2:6. Yet — Notwithstanding all their artifices and powerful combinations, have I set — Hebrew, נסכתי, nasachti, I have anointed, that is, designed, appointed, or constituted, as the word is frequently used in the Scriptures; my king — Mine in a singular sense, who has not his kingdom by succession from former kings, or by election of the people, but by my special and extraordinary designation; and who rules in my stead, and according to my will, and for my service and glory; upon my holy hill of Zion — Over my church and people. Zion, strictly taken, was a hill on the north part of Jerusalem, Psalm 84:2, where there was a strong fort, called the city of David; but in a more large sense it is put for the city Jerusalem; for the temple of Jerusalem, built upon the hill of Moriah, which was either a part of mount Sion, or adjoining to it; for the church of the Jews, and for the Christian church. David was advanced to the throne, and became master of the strong hold of Sion, notwithstanding the disturbance given him by the malcontents in his kingdom; and particularly the affronts he received from the garrison of Sion, who taunted him with their blind and their lame, their maimed soldiers, 2 Samuel 5:6. And the Lord Jesus is exalted to the right hand of the Father, has all power both in heaven and in earth, and is head over all things to the church, notwithstanding the restless endeavours of his enemies to hinder his advancement.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

2:1-6 We are here told who would appear as adversaries to Christ. As this world is the kingdom of Satan, unconverted men, of every rank, party, and character, are stirred up by him to oppose the cause of God. But the rulers of the earth generally have been most active. The truths and precepts of Christianity are against ambitious projects and worldly lusts. We are told what they aim at in this opposition. They would break asunder the bands of conscience, and the cords of God's commandments; they will not receive, but cast them away as far as they can. These enemies can show no good cause for opposing so just and holy a government, which, if received by all, would bring a heaven upon earth. They can hope for no success in so opposing so powerful a kingdom. The Lord Jesus has all power both in heaven and in earth, and is Head over all things to the church, notwithstanding the restless endeavours of his enemies. Christ's throne is set up in his church, that is, in the hearts of all believers.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Yet have I set my king - The word "yet" is merely the translation of the conjunction "and." It is rendered in the Vulgate "but ...autem;" and so in the Septuagint, δέ de. It would be better rendered perhaps by the usual word "and:" "And I have set or constituted my king," etc. This is properly to be regarded as the expression of God himself; as what he says in reply to their declared purposes Psalm 2:3, and as what is referred to in Psalm 2:5. The meaning is, he would speak to them in his anger, and say, "In spite of all your purposes and all your opposition, I have set my king on the hill of Zion." That is, they had their plans and God had his; they meant to cast off his authority, and to prevent his purpose to set up the Messiah as king; he resolved, on the contrary, to carry out his purposes, and he would do it. The word rendered set - נסך nâsak - means, literally, to pour, to pour out, as in making a libation to the Deity, Exodus 30:9; Hosea 9:4; Isaiah 30:1; then, to pour out oil in anointing a king or priest, and hence, to consecrate, to inaugurate, etc. See Joshua 13:21; Psalm 83:11; Micah 5:5. The idea here is, that he had solemnly inaugurated or constituted the Messiah as king; that is, that he had formed the purpose to do it, and he therefore speaks as if it were already done. The words "my King" refer, of course, to the anointed One, the Messiah, Psalm 2:2. It is not simply a king, or the king, but "my king," meaning that he derived his appointment from God, and that he was placed there to execute his purposes. This indicates the very near relation which the anointed One sustains to him who had appointed him, and prepares us for what is said in the subsequent verse, where he is called His Son.

Upon my holy hill of Zion - Zion was the southern hill in the city of Jerusalem. See the notes at Isaiah 1:8. It was the highest of the hills on which the city was built. It was made by David the capital of his kingdom, and was hence called the city of David, 2 Chronicles 5:2. By the poets and prophets it is often put for Jerusalem itself, Isaiah 2:3; Isaiah 8:18; Isaiah 10:24; Isaiah 33:14, et al. It did not obtain this distinction until it was taken by David from the Jebusites, 2 Samuel 5:5-9; 1 Chronicles 11:4-8. To that place David removed the ark of the covenant, and there he built an altar to the Lord in the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite, 2 Samuel 24:15-25. Zion became thenceforward the metropolis of the king dom, and the name was transferred to the entire city. It is to this that the passage here refers; and the meaning is, that in that metropolis or capital God had constituted his Messiah king, or had appointed him to reign over his people. This cannot refer to David himself, for in no proper sense was he constituted or inaugurated king in Jerusalem; that is, there was no such ceremony of inauguration as is referred to here. Zion was called the "holy hill," or "the hill of my holiness" (Hebrew), because it was set apart as the seat of the theocracy, or the residence of God, from the time that David removed the ark there. That became the place where God reigned, and where his worship was celebrated. This must refer to the Messiah, and to the fact that God had set him apart to reign over his people, and thence over all the earth. The truth taught in this passage is, that God will carry forward his own purposes in spite of all the opposition which men can make, and that it is his deliberate design to make his anointed One - the Messiah - King over all.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

6. The purpose here declared, in its execution, involves their overthrow.

Yet—literally, "and," in an adversative sense.

I have set—anointed, or firmly placed, with allusion in the Hebrew to "casting an image in a mould." The sense is not materially varied in either case.

my king—appointed by Me and for Me (Nu 27:18).

upon my holy hill of Zion—Zion, selected by David as the abode of the ark and the seat of God's visible residence (1Ki 8:1); as also David, the head of the Church and nation, and type of Christ, was called holy, and the Church itself came to be thus named (Ps 9:11; 51:18; 99:2; Isa 8:18; 18:7, &c.).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Yet; notwithstanding all their artifices and powerful combinations.

Have I set, Heb. I have anointed, i.e. designed, appointed, or constituted, as this word is commonly used in Scripture, as of priests, 1 Chronicles 29:22, and of prophets, 1 Kings 19:16,19,20; so also of kings, Judges 9:8,15 2 Samuel 2:4,7 3:39 Ezekiel 28:14.

My king, in a singular manner, who hath not his kingdom by succession from former kings, nor by election of the people, as other kings have, but by my special and extraordinary destination; and who ruleth in my stead, and according to my will, and for my service and glory.

Upon my holy hill of Zion, i.e. over my church and people. Zion properly and strictly taken was a hill on the north Part, of Jerusalem, Psalm 48:2, where there was a strong fort which when David had taken he called it the city of David, 2 Samuel 5:7,9, and made it the head of his kingdom. But in a more large and improper sense it is frequently put for the city Jerusalem, Psalm 48:12 87:2 110:2; and for the temple of Jerusalem, Psalm 137:3 Isaiah 18:7 Jeremiah 51:10, which was built upon the hill of Moriah, which was either a part of Mount Zion, or another hill adjoining to it; and for the church of the Jews, Psalm 65:1 69:35 97:8; and for the Christian church, Hebrews 12:22 Revelation 14:1. And by these things it is plain why Zion is here called God’s holy hill.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. Or, "behold, I have set", &c. so Noldius by Zion is meant the church of God, especially under the Gospel dispensation; see Hebrews 12:22; so called, because, as Zion was, it is the object of God's love and choice, the place of his habitation and residence; where divine worship is observed, and the word and ordinances of God administered; and where the Lord distributes his blessings of grace; and which is the perfection of beauty, through Christ's comeliness put upon her; and will be the joy of the whole earth: it is strongly fortified by the power and grace of God, and is immovable and impregnable, being built on Christ, the Rock of ages; and, like Zion, it is an high hill, eminent and visible; and more especially will be so when the mountain of the Lord's house is established upon the tops of the mountains: and it is an Holy One, through the presence and worship of God in it, and the sanctification of his Spirit. And over this hill, the church, Christ is King; he is King of saints, and is acknowledged by them; and it is for their great safety and security, their joy, comfort, and happiness, that he is set over them: he is called by his Father "my King", because he who is King of Zion is his Anointed, as in Psalm 2:2; and his Son, his begotten Son, as in Psalm 2:7; his firstborn, his fellow and equal; and because he is his as King; not that he is King over him, for his Father is greater than he, as man and Mediator, or with respect to his office capacity, in which he is to be considered as King; and therefore he is rather King under him: but he is a King of his setting up, and therefore called his; he has appointed him his kingdom, given him the throne of his father David; put a crown of pure gold on his head, and crowned him with glory and honour, and the sceptre of righteousness in his hand, and has given him a name above every name. He did not make himself a King, nor was he made so by men; but he was set up, or "anointed" by God the Father, as the word (g) here used signifies; and may refer either to the inauguration of Christ into his kingly office, and his investiture with it from all eternity, as in Proverbs 8:23, where the same word is used as here; and anointing with oil being a ceremony performed at the instalment of kings into their office, the phrase is used for the thing itself: or rather, since Christ was anointed with the Holy Ghost in the human nature, at his incarnation and baptism, and especially at the time of his ascension, when he was made or declared to be LORD and CHRIST; this may refer to the time when he, as the ascended Lord and King, gave gifts to men, to his apostles, and qualified them in an extraordinary manner to carry his Gospel into the Gentile world, and spread it there, as they did with success; whereby his kingdom became more visible and glorious, to the great vexation of the Jews; for, in spite of all their opposition, Christ being set by his Father King over his church and people, continued so, and his kingdom was every day more and more enlarged, to their great mortification.

(g) Symmachus; "unxi", Musculus, Vatablus, Ainsworth, Piscator, Muis, Cocceius; "ego inungens", Junius & Tremellius; "inunxi", Michaelis.

Geneva Study Bible

Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

6. Yet have I set] R.V., Yet I have set. The first stanza ended with the defiant words of the rebels: the second stanza ends with the answer of Jehovah. The sentence is elliptical, and the pronoun is emphatic: ‘Why this uproar, when it is I Who have set up My king’ &c. The meaning of the word rendered set has been much disputed, but it certainly means set up, or appointed, not, as A.V. marg., anointed. Cp. Proverbs 8:23.

my king] A king appointed by Me, to rule over My people, as My representative. Cp. 1 Samuel 16:1.

my holy hill of Zion] Zion, the name of the ancient strong-hold which became the city of David (2 Samuel 5:7), consecrated by the presence of the Ark until the Temple was built, is the poetical and prophetical name for Jerusalem in its character as the holy city, the earthly dwelling-place of Jehovah, and the seat of the kingdom which He had established. For a discussion of the topographical difficulties connected with the site of Zion see Comm. on 2 Samuel, p. 239.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 6. - Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion; literally, and as for me, I have set my King upon Zion, the mount of my holiness. The words are uttered by Jehovah, and must refer to the Anointed One of ver. 2. This Anointed One God has set up as King upon Zion, his holy mountain. Without denying some reference to David, the type, we must regard the Anti-type, Christ, as mainly pointed at. Christ is set up for ever as King in the heavenly Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2-7; Revelation 22:1 5). There is no need to substitute "anointed" for "set" or" set up," as is done by Rosenmuller, Gesenius, Ewald, Zuuz, Umbreit, and others, since גסך has both meanings (comp. Proverbs 8:23). Psalm 2:6

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Psalm 2:5 is like a peal of thunder (cf. Isaiah 10:33); בּחרונו, Psalm 2:5, like the lightning's destructive flash. And as the first strophe closed with the words of the rebels, so this second closes with Jahve's own words. With ואני begins an adverbial clause like Genesis 15:2; Genesis 18:13; Psalm 50:17. The suppressed principal clause (cf. Isaiah 3:14; Ew. 341, c) is easily supplied: ye are revolting, whilst notwithstanding I.... With ואני He opposes His irresistible will to their vain undertaking. It has been shown by Bttcher, that we must not translate "I have anointed" (Targ., Symm.). נסך, Arab. nsk, certainly means to pour out, but not to pour upon, and the meaning of pouring wide and firm (of casting metal, libation, anointing) then, as in הצּיג, הצּיק, goes over into the meaning of setting firmly in any place (fundere into fundare, constituere, as lxx, Syr., Jer., and Luther translate), so that consequently נסיך the word for prince cannot be compared with משׁיח, but with נציב.

(Note: Even the Jalkut on the Psalms, 620, wavers in the explanation of נסכתי between אמשׁחתיה I have anointed him, (after Daniel 10:3), אתיכתיה (I have cast him (after Exodus 32:4 and freq.), and גדלתיו I have made him great (after Micah 5:4). Aquila, by rendering it καὶ ἐδιασάμην (from διάζεσθαι equals ὑφαίνειν), adds a fourth possible rendering. A fifth is נסך to purify, consecrate (Hitz.), which does not exist, for the Arabic nasaka obtains this meaning from the primary signification of cleansing by flooding with water (e.g., washing away the briny elements of a field). Also in Proverbs 8:23 נסּכתּי means I am cast equals placed.)

The Targum rightly inserts וּמניתיהּ (et praefeci eum) after רבּיתי (unxi), for the place of the anointing is not על־ציּון. History makes no mention of a king of Israel being anointed on Zion. Zion is mentioned as the royal seat of the Anointed One; there he is installed, that He may reign there, and rule from thence, Psalm 110:2. It is the hill of the city of David (2 Samuel 5:7, 2 Samuel 5:9; 1 Kings 8:1) including Moriah, that is intended. That hill of holiness, i.e., holy hill, which is the resting-place of the divine presence and therefore excels all the heights of the earth, is assigned to Him as the seat of His throne.