Paratextual framings of Psalm 72 and the shaping of interpretive possibilities

Abstract

This article focuses on how paratextual reframings of Psalm 72 have transformed the royal ideology in the psalm. After an initial overview of the core psalm (vv. 1-17), its paratexts are addressed one by one. First, it is noted how the doxology in verses 18-19 is added as a theological correction, creating a tension between the psalm proper and the paratext. It is then argued that verses 1 and 20 cast the psalm as David’s prayer for Solomon. The effect of these paratextual activities is then traced over time, first in the Hebrew Bible, in Second Temple literature, in the New Testament, as well as in Christian and Jewish expositions. The article indicates various ways in which the tensions are resolved and how these interactions, in turn, generate new paratexts.