Psalm 127 - a psalm about Solomon

This year we've been working through Acts in school terms and the Psalms of Ascents (Pss 120-134) during the holidays. I took us through Psalm 127 on Sunday, which is most famous for its (mis)use by the "quiver-full movement", yet another uniquely American movement, because of vv3-5:

Look—a possession from Yhwh are children,
a reward is the fruit of the womb.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
thus are the children of youth.
Blessed is the warrior
who fills his quiver with them...

There's a lot to say about how the second half fits with the first half, but what is most intriguing for me with Psalm 127 is that it is a psalm of Solomon (v1a):

A song for going up. For Solomon.

Among the fifteen psalms of ascent, four are David psalms (122; 124; 131; 133), and, apart from this one, the other ten are unnamed. Psalm 127 is one of only two Solomon psalms (along with 72), which is also surprising, as one would think such a prolific writer would have more to his name. That said, Psalm 72 feels more like a psalm by David but about Solomon—the "of" in "of Solomon" probably means "for"in that case.

But Psalm 127 is not a psalm speaking of the hopes for Solomon. Rather, it is the hopes of the pilgrims in light of Solomon. It is his temple they are walking towards (or was—if they are singing after its destruction), and this psalm is an opportunity to reflect and to learn what not to do in light of lessons learned from Solomon—the king who squandered what he could've and should've (and did!) had.


There are several points of correspondence between this psalm and Solomon. Part of that is the life of Solomon, and part of that is the life of the "Salomofiktion" (A. Reinert) in Ecclesiastes:

1. As already mentioned, the songs of ascent are to Solomon's temple.
2. Eccl 1:12—2:26 describe the futility of seeking meaning by, among other things, building.
3. Eccl 3:3b "a time to tear down and a time to build"—even temples as great as Solomon's (described in 1 Kings 8:13; 9:3 as eternal!)—will be torn down.
4. Only the city guarded by Yhwh will stand; Yhwh is the giver of wisdom, and in Eccl 9:14—16 it is only through wisdom that a city will stand.
5. Eccl 4:5—6, 7—12 describe the folly of Ps 127:2 in rising early and staying up late only to eat in toil. Eating with friends and with thanksgiving and joy is what Ecclesiastes counsels.
6. Eccl 5:12 explains that sleep for the labourer is a gift.
7. Yhwh's beloved (ידידו) who are granted sleep is also the name given to Solomon by David in 2 Sam 12:25 (ידידיה)—"beloved of Yah".
8. Eccl 6:1—12 discusses the goodness of children, although it comes to a contrary conclusion, or, at the very least, reinforces that seeking meaning in children is vanity.
9. Although vanity (הבל) in Eccl is a different concept (and lexeme) to things done in vain (שׁוא) in this psalm, in both there is a marked pointlessness to those things done for selfish reasons and not for God.

I don't think it's possible to say there is any dependence one way or the other in this psalm. But it was given the title for a reason. So I think it is fair to say, at the very least, that the person (in 1 Kings) and sometimes implied character (in Ecclesiastes) of Solomon serve as good sounding boards for thinking through the implications of this psalm—a psalm about Solomon.