Psalm 132: Zion’s Well-Being 77 representing YHWH’s strength (v. 8; cf. Ps 24,7-10; 68,2-3.19). As in other texts, the ‘footstool’ must be mount Zion (see Ps 99,5.9; cf. Isa 60,13; Ezek 43,7; Lam 2,1). Verse 13 has the word bvwm, ‘habitation’. Because the twnkvm and the bvwm are both a hjwnm as well (vv. 8.14), different places can scarcely be intended, once again. The two words, however, have different connotations. A bvwm is a habitation in the general sense. The word ˆkvm, on the other hand, is mostly found in cultic contexts. In priestly texts it is the technical term for the tabernacle; in the psalms YHWH’s twnkvm is the place where, on his ‘holy mountain’ (Ps 43,3), the faithful may enter his courts (Ps 84,2-3). According to v. 13 YHWH has desired Zion for his ‘habitation’ (bvwm). In view of v. 17 locating David’s welfare in Zion and v. 15 mentioning Zion’s provisions and poor people, ‘Zion’ cannot be just the temple area. The name apparently refers to the city, Jerusalem (cf. Ps 48,2-3). So this is the ‘place’ (μwqm) that David found, YHWH’s ‘dwelling place’ (twnkvm), his ‘habitation’ (bvwm) and ‘resting place’ (hjwnm). III Passages dealing with David, David’s house, the rule of this house, and its justification ask for some special attention. Verse 11b reads literally, “From your fruit-of-the-womb (˚nfb yrp) I will set upon the throne for you”. The phrase ‘fruit of the womb’, with a masculine pronominal suffix as in e.g. Deut 7,13, stands for ‘offspring’. The preposition ˆm, ‘from’, used in partitive sense, could in itself regard one or more descendants (cf. ˆm in Ezek 17,13 and Exod 16,27 respectively). The continuation of the text — with ‘your sons’ and the sons of these sons — is reason to think of the latter. The phrase ˚lAaskl, ‘on the throne for you’ (‘on your throne’), reflects the notion that the reign of David’s sons will be in a sense David’s reign (9). There are two reasons to understand yk, in v. 13, as ‘for’, not ‘truly’. First, the position of the particle in this text is not one of those in which its sense is clearly and exclusively emphatic (10). Second, if yk is rendered by ‘for’, Zion’s election can be understood as a pre-condition for the durability of the Davidic reign. On this understanding, as we will see, the second main part of the psalm is in agreement with the first. Verses 17 and 18 describe in full splendour the royal well-being. In v. 17 the first stich and the second complement one another. As the horn is a symbol of power and pride (see e.g. 1 Sam 2,1.10; Ps 75,5-6.11), the statement about the horn sprouting up means to say that YHWH will make David’s kingship strong and proud. The lamp, ‘prepared’ (˚r[) by provision of oil and a wick, is a symbol of lasting existence (see e.g. 2 Sam 21,17; Prov (9) P. JOÜON – T. MURAOKA, A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew (Roma 1991) § 130g. For l tyv see Ps 21,4. (10) Cf. T. MURAOKA, Emphatic Words and Structures in Biblical Hebrew (Jerusalem – Leiden 1985) 158-164. In the sense of ‘truly’ yk is used in oath formulae, in the apodosis of conditional sentences, and in poetic texts right before the predicate (p. 164).