Above: Jewish wedding ring, shaped like the Jerusalem temple and inscribed with Mazal Tov, a common Jewish blessing. France, 19th century.
Today’s Reading Plan:
Hear, oh daughter, and see, incline your ear:
Forget your people and your father’s house
And the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your lord, bow to him.
Psalm 45:10-11
Psalm 45 describes itself as a “love song” (šir ydidoth) in its header. The term only occurs here in the Hebrew Bible, but it is clear that it means something like “wedding song.” The Psalm, indeed, was obviously intended for use in ancient Israelite weddings. The structure of the text is as follows:
45:1 - Introduction describing the poet himself
45:2-9 - Describing the husband, a king
45:10-15 - Describing the wife, becoming a queen
45:16-17 - Address to the queen, describing her new status
The Psalm is full of the kind of imagery and language expected of romantic literature. The husband, for example, is described as “the most handsome of men” and a victorious warrior (2, 4-5). The wife is described using the imagery of royal wealth and mystique, “All glorious is the princess in her chamber, clothed in filigree of gold. In embroidery she is led to the king, her virgin companions following behind her” (13-14). Verses 10-11 serve to remind the bride of her new social and economic status. If she is willing to forget her “father’s house”—that is, to leave her family to move to the capital—she will receive the greatest reward of all: “I [God] will cause your name to be remembered for all generations, therefore nations shall praise you forever and ever” (17). This Psalm is a typical example of ancient romantic literature.
But the earliest Christians saw something more in it. They were especially intrigued by bit of very strange wording in the middle of the poem. Describing the husband, the Psalm says, “Your throne, oh God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness. You loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your god, has anointed you with the oil of joy beyond your companions” (6-7). The word “God” (elohim) is being used in a complicated way here. The subject—presumably still the husband-king—seems to be called “God.” This is then confirmed later, when the text talks about “God, your god.” How is this husband-king somehow both “God” and separate from “God, your god” at the same time/
Whatever this meant to the Sons of Korah, the authors, the first Christians took it as describing Christ. In the same way that early Christians reinterpreted the erotic poetry in the Song of Songs as an allegory for Christ, so the early Christians took this wedding poem as describing Christ—who in the New Testament is often described using the metaphor of the “husband” of the Church, his “bride.” The author of Hebrews, for example, uses this passage as evidence for his claim that Jesus was of higher status than angels—thus ultimately, that he was divine. Hebrews 1:8-9 says, “But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, oh God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness, therefore God, your God, anointed you with the oil of joy beyond your companions.”