The hegemony of Yahweh and his anointed over all of Israel and over neighboring petty kingdoms was seldom a reality but always the ideal to which the people of Yahweh and their king aspired. The alternative, well-understood at the time, was constant warfare. Compare Isa 2:2-4.
The background to Psalm 2 is found in prophetic oracles and in other psalms. In particular, one needs to compare 2 Samuel 7:8-16; 8:1-14; Isa 8:23ab-9:6 (see Hans Wildberger's commentary for background and a translation); 11:1-10, 13-14; 14:28-32; 16:1-5; Amos 9:11-12; and Pss 18, 60; 72, 87, 108, and 110. Further: Jer 30:8, 31:1-6; Ezek 34:23-31; 37:15-28.
The prosodic hierarchy of twos and threes is like a mold into which the contents of Psalm 2 is poured. But the rhythm of Psalm 2 is remarkably free, with relatively short versets alternating with relatively long versets. Pregnant pauses in conjunction with the shorter versets may very well have characterized the public reading of the psalm.
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