Psalm 133
3 verses · BSBPsalms book hub →
Speaks with:1 Corinthians 1×11 Peter 3×1John 13×1Leviticus 8×1Exodus 30×1Exodus 29×1
Summary
Chapter summary
'Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!' Two pictures carry the whole psalm: the precious oil upon Aaron's head, running down the beard, to the skirt of his garments (priestly, consecrating, abundant; and the dew of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion), the far north's freshness falling on the southern hill. 'For there Jehovah commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.'
Context
Poetry · David, Asaph, Sons of Korah, others — Psalms overview
The world behind this chapter
Psalms 133The history
Brothers dwelling together had a legal meaning before it had a warm one. When a father died, sons could divide the family land or keep it undivided and work it together. Dividing meant smaller and smaller plots each generation until nobody could live off them; staying together kept the farm viable. It also meant sharing a courtyard with the brother you argued with.
The first picture is the anointing of the high priest. The holy oil was mixed to a recipe of olive oil with myrrh, cinnamon, fragrant cane, and cassia, and it was poured on Aaron's head, not dabbed. The psalm follows it down — over the beard, down to the collar of his robes. The point is quantity: this is not a drop, it is a drenching, and the fragrance filled the room.
The second picture is dew. Mount Hermon in the far north rises over nine thousand feet and holds snow into the summer; the moisture rolling off it soaks the ground at night. Judah's dry summers had no rain for months, and heavy night dew was the difference between a crop and a failure. Hermon's dew falling on Zion is water arriving where it does not naturally come.
Both images are about something poured out from the top that runs all the way down.
What it meant to them
At the feasts the whole nation crowded into one small city. Old tribal grudges, property disputes, and family feuds were all in the same streets for a week.
The song says that when they actually manage to live together, it is not merely pleasant — it is the same thing as being anointed, and it is where God commands the blessing.
Sources cited
- Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions
- Walton, Matthews and Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Psalms 133. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.