Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Translations of Psalm 2


In class on Monday we discussed Psalm 2 and its clear relationship to the Israel Monarchy. We were then given the Bay Psalm Book's version of Psalm 2 and were asked to relate it to early American history and ask the question, "How this version of the Psalm can be seen as similar to the original text but can be related to an event in American history?"

Well, first of all, I had no idea what the Bay Psalm Book was. After researching it a little bit, I was able to find a great website that helped me answer my question. (The website is linked.) The Puritans in the American Colonies wrote the Bay Psalm Book. It was a translation of the Hebrew version of the Psalms.

I am not a huge history buff by any means, but what I do know about the Puritans is the following. They were being persecuted by the Church of England because of their religious beliefs. They were not allowed to peacefully practice their own religion in England and they knew they needed to get out of England to do so. The Puritans came to America because they knew they would be able to practice their religion in America without persecution. I think that the second Psalm's main point is the idea of breaking away from a governmental authority figure to be able to practice one’s religion. This is exactly what the Puritans did with their arrival to America.

Here is the link to the website on the Bay Psalm Book: Bay Psalm Book Website

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