Psalms 132 Footnotes

132:1-5 This psalm is constructed around two vows: David’s vow to find a resting place for the ark (vv. 2-5; 2Sm 7:1-2; 1Ch 28:2), and the Lord’s vow that David’s family line would rule forever (Ps 132:11-12; 2Sm 7:11-13). The psalm’s language is hyperbole, or exaggeration; it does not mean that David literally never slept until he had provided for the Lord’s dwelling, but that the project constantly occupied his mind. This poetic passage is an inference from the historical record, or is based on annals now lost; David’s specific vow, as quoted here, does not appear elsewhere.