(Part 1)

JBTM Jeffrey G. Audirsch
60
the psalm is that David is fleeing from some sort of danger (i.e., an exodus) and finds refuge
in the wilderness. While on the run, God provides provision and protection (vv. 1–4) before
bringing David back to the Promised Land (vv. 5–6). 4
The story of God providing for the fleeing David is couched in the metaphors of the
Shepherd/Host (i.e., God) and the Flock/Traveler (i.e., David). The vivid imagery of the
Psalm grasps the reader’s attention and draws her/him into the world of the narrator. From
a quick reading of the text, it becomes clear that the psalm is divided into two distinct
sections: vv. 1–4 and 5–6. In vv. 1–4, the Shepherd/Flock imagery controls the story whereas
in vv. 5–6 a shift in imagery is made to the Host/Traveler metaphors. 5 Due to the change in
metaphors in vv. 1–4 and vv. 5–6, scholars have tried to establish the relationship between
the two sections of the psalm. 6 Below, the exposition of the verses will try to connect the
two sections.
Psalm 23 is a psalm of confidence/trust. 7 Psalms of trust are expressions of confidence
in God (i.e., trust) when “a depth and intensity of trouble” is present. Moreover, psalms of
confidence/trust contain declarations of profound faith in God’s providence. 8 That being
said, it is somewhat ironic that many Christians identify Ps 23 with funerals. In America, the
transition from a song of confidence/trust to a comforting text for grieving families has a
long history. 9 The seismic shift from a psalm of confidence/trust to a psalm of condolence/
grieving evidences the effects of familiarity.
⁴The historical background/context of Ps 23 is principle 5 in my “Guiding Principles for
Interpreting Poetry” in my essay on interpreting biblical poetry. On the historical background of Ps
23, see Jack Lundbom, “Psalm 23: Song of Passage,” Interpretation 40 (1986): 12.
⁵The use of figurative language and cultural-specific language (i.e., shepherding) is principle 6 in
my “Guiding Principles for Interpreting Poetry.”
⁶Mark S. Smith, “Setting and Rhetoric in Psalm 23,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 41
(1988): 61.
⁷Hermann Gunkel, Introduction to Psalms, The Genres of the Religious Lyric of Israel (Macon, GA:
Smyth and Hewlys, 1998), 121, 191; cf. John Goldingay, Psalms 1–41, Baker Commentary on the Old
Testament Wisdom and Psalms (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006), 345; Erhard Gerstenberger,
Psalms: Part 1 with an Introduction to Cultic Poetry, Forms of Old Testament Literature 14, eds. Rolf
Knierim and Gene M. Tucker (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans: 1988), 113–15; Miller, Interpreting
the Psalms, 112; Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms, 154; and Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1–50, Word
Biblical Commentary 19 (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1983), 204. Other Old Testament scholars have
argued that Psalm 23 is a psalm of thanksgiving. See Sigmund Mowinckel, The Psalms in Israel’s
Worship, trans. Ap. Thomas (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004), 125–26 and Ernest Vogt, “The ‘Place in
Life’ of Ps 23,” Biblia 34 (1953): 195–211. Additionally, James Luther Mays maintains Psalm 23 is a royal
psalm. See James Luther Mays, Psalms, Interpretation (Louisville: John Knox, 1994), 117.
⁸C. Hassell Bullock, Encountering the Book of Psalms (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001), 166, 176.
⁹William Holliday highlights the growth of Ps 23 within American secular culture as well as its
misappropriated use at funerals. See William L. Holliday, The Psalms Through Three Thousands Years:
Prayerbook of a Cloud of Witnesses (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996), 359–71.