Psalm 133
A Song of Ascents.
1 How very good and pleasant it is
when kindred live together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down over the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the LORD ordained his blessing,
life forevermore.
Bolded words have notes on translation below.
This short psalm utilizes two images of fluids flowing down as a metaphor for the good and pleasant experience of unity among kindred. Every world religion I am aware of utilizes familial imagery and then expands the imagery of family to the expectations of community life. Here within the pilgrims coming into Jerusalem and reciting these songs of ascent they are surrounded by other travelers who have come from other towns and perhaps other countries. Yet, for the Hebrew people they were all children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They were all an extended family. They were all kin.
As the travelers move towards the temple the first good and pleasant image remembers the anointing of Aaron as the high priest for the people. The pouring of oil on the head is common in the ancient world and had both provided moisture to the scalp and skin as well as a pleasant odor. Yet oil is precious and the image here is of fine oil being used lavishly. The oil flows down (Hebrew yored) from the hair to the beard to the collar of the robes. The anointing of Aaron is imagined as a special and lavish event, and the pilgrims going up to Jerusalem are joined to this good and pleasant memory from the past as they come together in unity to worship the LORD in Zion.
Mount Hermon is roughly 200 kilometers north of Jerusalem and the snow and water that collects there is the source of the Jordan River. The water from Hermon flows down (NRSVue which falls on)[1] to the mountains of Zion as God provides life for the land and people. The LORD utilizes both the normal events of rain and snow and the ritual events of anointing priests to provide a good and pleasant place for the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to live in unity and prosperity forevermore.
Adele Berlin suggests that the imagery of Psalm 133 may invoke a hope for the reunification of the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah by poetically having the “dew of Hermon” in the northern kingdom flow to Zion in the heart of Judah. (NIB IV: 1214) Whether the psalmist imagines a reunification of Israel and Judah is uncertain, but within the context of a pilgrimage to Zion the bonds of family are extended to new kindred from different starting points but sharing a common destination. They all come together to experience the good and pleasant reality of kindred living together in unity under God’s blessing.
[1] This is the same Hebrew verb yored utilized in verse two for the oil flowing down to Aaron’s beard and robes.
Sign of the Rose 