Psalm 122: A Visit to the Jerusalem of Old

What did it feel like to stand inside the gates of ancient Jerusalem at the height of its glory? A postexilic psalm imagines just that—revisiting a bustling city filled with pilgrims, justice, and divine presence. Blending memory, longing, and hope, Psalm 122 transforms Jerusalem into both a vivid past reality and a future ideal, culminating in its enduring call: שַׁאֲלוּ שְׁלוֹם יְרוּשָׁלִָם, “Seek the peace of Jerusalem.”

Published: May 10, 2026

Last Updated: October 28, 2026

This piece draws on my commentary in The JPS Bible Commentary. Psalms 120–150 (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2023), 12–17. See also Adele Berlin, “Psalm 122: The Idealized Jerusalem,” in le-Ma‘an Ziony: Essays in Honor of Ziony Zevit, ed. Frederick E. Greenspan and Gary Rendsburg (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2017), 149–155. The translation of the Psalm is my own; other biblical translations follow NJPS, with modifications. Unless otherwise indicated, all other translations are mine.
Adele Berlin, “Speakers and Scenarios: Imagining the First Temple in Second Temple Psalms (Psalms 122 and 137),” in Functions of Psalms and Prayers in the Late Second Temple Period, ed. Mika S. Pajunen and Jeremy Penner, BZAW 486 (Berlin: DeGruyter, 2017), 341–355.
Cf. 2 Samuel 18:24; 19:9; Amos 5:10, 12, 15.
^{LXX Ps 121:2} ἑστῶτες ἦσαν οἱ πόδες ἡμῶν ἐν ταῖς αὐλαῖς σου, Ιερουσαλημ.
^{LXX Ps 121:3} Ιερουσαλημ οἰκοδομουμένη ὡς πόλις ἧς ἡ μετοχὴ αὐτῆς ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό.
See also Isaiah 9:6, 16:5; and Jeremiah 21:12.

Prof. Adele Berlin is the Robert H. Smith Professor (Emerita) of Biblical Studies at the University of Maryland. She taught at Maryland since 1979 in the Jewish Studies Program, the Hebrew Program, and the English Department.Read More