TEHILLIM LIGHT

Commentaries

Mizmor 024, Verse 008

מִ֥י זֶה֮ מֶ֤לֶךְ הַכָּ֫ב֥וֹד יְ֭הֹוָה עִזּ֣וּז וְגִבּ֑וֹר יְ֝הֹוָ֗ה גִּבּ֥וֹר מִלְחָמָֽה

Mi zeh melech hakkovod adonai izzuz vegibbor adonai gibbor milchomoh

Who is the King of Glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, the Mighty One in battle.

MIDRASH TEHILLIM

1.....(24.11-12)
Who is the King of Glory?
Rabbi Simon said, who is the one King who sets a portion of His own glory upon them that fear Him? The LORD is the one King who forever sets glory upon His hosts.
The LORD gave to them that fear Him a portion of His own glory, gave them the blue, for it is said: "Speak to the children of Israel and you shall say to them that they shall make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations, and they shall affix a thread of sky blue [wool] on the fringe of each corner." Bamidbar - Numbers 15:38).

RADAK

1.
Who is the King of Glory?
as if the gates were asking, Who is the King of Glory ? And the reply:
The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle:
And he uses these adjectives because the Ark used to go out with them in battle, and they were victorious over their enemies by its aid.

Rabbi HIRSCH

1.
In what capacity, then, does the "King of Glory" make His first bid for entry into the gates of the life of human society? It is as "invincible and strong," as "mighty in battle” that He first seeks entry into these gates which are to become the portals of His future. He is invincible when He makes a demand or witholds a favor. He overcomes anything that might resist His will as regards the future welfare of mankind.
Wherever revolutions occur in this world, it is the LORD who effects the necessary radical changes that must be made so that He may be able to enter as the "King of Glory". The LORD reveals Himself in history first by means of shattering, catastrophal occurrences. After those catastrophes have done their work, the call rings out the second time, this time simply, as we see in Verse 9 “Lift up your heads, o Gates, lift them up as portals of the future".

WORDS