Useful Bible Studies > Songs of Ascent Commentary
Last part: The Songs of Ascent today
We prefer the idea that these songs were for people to sing on their journey to Jerusalem. (See About the title: “Songs of Ascent”.) But different writers have had other ideas. Here are two of them:-
(1) The title ‘Songs of Ascent’ may a description of the style of the poetry. These Psalms are different from the style of many Psalms. In other Psalms, the lines are often in pairs. The second line may repeat the ideas in the first line; or it may contrast with it. But this does not often happen in the Songs of Ascent. Instead, the ideas seem to progress through the Psalm, as the poet repeats particular words. For example in Psalm 121, there is the word ‘help’ in verses 1 and 2, and ‘become tired’ in verses 3 and 4. If this is correct, then the word ascent means ‘steps’. And the ‘steps’ are a word-picture for these particular words, which bring us from one idea to the next idea.
(2) The title ‘Songs of Ascent’ may be about the steps in God’s house (called the temple). We do not really know whether there were steps in Solomon’s temple. But there were steps in the temple that Ezekiel saw (for example, Ezekiel 40:31). If this idea is correct, ‘Songs of Ascent’ means ‘Songs for the Temple’.
It is possible that more than one idea is correct. The different style of poetry may help people to remember the songs on their journey. And it is possible that the songs were both for the temple, and for the travellers. Perhaps the travellers learned the songs when they heard them at the temple.
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© 2015, Keith Simons.