Psalms 133: What the Passage Says

The Chapter in a Sentence

A short song that praises the good of brothers living together in unity. It gives two pictures for that unity: the rich oil poured on Aaron's head, running down his beard and onto his robe, and the dew that falls on the mountains of Zion. It ends by saying that there the LORD commanded the blessing, life forever.

Claim by Claim

1. 133:1
   • This psalm is a song of ascents.
   • This psalm is attributed to David.
   • The psalm calls attention to how good it is for brothers to dwell together.
   • The psalm calls attention to how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together.
   • The good and pleasant thing is brothers dwelling together in unity.
2. 133:2
   • Brothers dwelling together in unity is likened to good oil poured on the head.
   • The oil runs down onto the beard.
   • The beard is Aaron's beard.
   • The oil runs down onto the opening of Aaron's garments, the collar or edge of his robes.
3. 133:3
   • Brothers dwelling together in unity is likened to the dew of Hermon.
   • The dew descends upon the mountains of Zion.
   • In that place the LORD commanded the blessing.
   • The blessing commanded there is life forevermore.

Words Worth Explaining

Every language note in this chapter, gathered. These explain what a word meant, never what it means for the reader.

133:1

"Brothers" here translates a Hebrew word that covers blood brothers but also kinsmen and fellow countrymen generally. "Dwelling together" was a concrete matter in ancient Israel: land passed to sons as a shared inheritance, and brothers who stayed on the undivided family property lived side by side, while quarrels over that inheritance split households apart. The psalm carries a heading in Hebrew calling it "a song of ascents," one of a group of fifteen psalms (120–134) associated with pilgrims traveling up to Jerusalem.

133:2

The King James "ointment" does not mean a medical salve. It is olive oil blended with expensive spices (myrrh, cinnamon, cane and cassia) and poured, not rubbed, over the head. Aaron was Moses' brother and the first high priest of Israel; at his installation this perfumed oil was poured on his head in such quantity that it ran down over him. The Hebrew phrase behind "the skirts of his garments" literally means "the mouth of his robes," which may be the neck-opening at the collar or the lower hem; translators divide over which, so the picture is either oil reaching his collar or running the whole length of him.

133:3

Mount Hermon is a nine-thousand-foot peak in the far north of the region, snow-capped much of the year and known for exceptionally heavy dew. Zion is the hill of Jerusalem, roughly a hundred miles south and much drier. Dew from Hermon falling on Zion is therefore an image of abundance arriving where it does not naturally belong. "Commanded the blessing" is a Hebrew way of saying God gave the order and the blessing came, the same construction used of a king issuing a decree.