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Psalm 120 Bible study: I am for peace
The first song of ascents opens with a cry that is answered, "He answered me" (120:1), in the same Hebrew words for distress, calling and answering as Jonah's prayer (Jonah 2:2), and ends on war: "I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war" (120:7). Its Woe (120:5) is a form found nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible.
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“Deliver my soul, LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“In the WEB, the word "juniper" in Psalm 120:4 also comes in Elijah's story in 1 Kings 19.”
Is that in Psalm 120, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
The first song of ascents
The psalm's title is "A Song of Ascents" (120:1) (tap Ascents). It is the first of fifteen psalms in a row with that title (Psalm 120:1 to 134:1), and some of them add a name, as in "A Song of Ascents. By David" (Psalm 122:1). In Hebrew the title is shir hamma'alot. The word for Ascents, ma'alah, is in many other places in the Hebrew Bible a step or a stair: "You shall not go up by steps to my altar" (Exodus 20:26), and the "stairs" where each man put his cloak under Jehu (2 Kings 9:13). The lexicons explain the title differently. Brown-Driver-Briggs gives the word as "step, stair", and among its senses "ascent" and, for these titles, "song of ascents". Strong's gives "elevation", and "specifically a climactic progression (in certain Psalms)". The psalms don't say who sang them, or when, or where, and these notes don't either.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Psalm 120
- "Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper" (120:4). Are these what the deceitful tongue will be given, or what the tongue is like?
- "Woe is me, that I live in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!" (120:5). Who are Meshech and Kedar, and did the psalmist live among both?
- "He answered me" (120:1). If the LORD answered, why does the psalm go on praying, and end among those who are for war?
That was a taste
The rest of Psalm 120 is waiting in Favor
- Lying lips, a deceitful tongue
- I am for peace
- Jonah's words
- Woe, lips, and living among
- Peace again, in the songs that follow
- 5 questions as you read
- 13 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Psalm 120 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
שָׁלוֹםshalomsay sha-LOHM
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "completeness, soundness, welfare, peace", and among its senses "peace from war". Strong's: "safe, i.e. (figuratively) well, happy, friendly; also (abstractly) welfare, i.e. health, prosperity, peace". The psalm has it twice: "him who hates peace" (120:6), and "I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war" (120:7), where I am for peace is two words in Hebrew, ani shalom. The Psalms have it 27 times in Hebrew, and five of them are in the songs of ascents that follow (Psalm 122:6-8, 125:5, 128:6).
For your group
Psalm 120 Bible study questions
- 1"In my distress, I cried to the LORD. He answered me" (120:1). When have you cried out to God in trouble, and what happened?
- 2"Deliver my soul, LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue" (120:2). When have someone's words hurt you, and what did you do with it?
- 3"I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war" (120:7). What does it look like for you to be for peace with someone who isn't, right now?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Psalm 120 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Can I read Psalm 120 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Psalm 120 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
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Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.
Which Bible does Favor use?
The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
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No. Favor is non-denominational. Where Christians read a passage differently, it shows the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home