The Slaughtered Lamb Shepherds with a Rod of Iron: The Use of Psalm 2:9 in Revelation

With Revelation as the book of the New Testament that refers most frequently to Ps 2, and with Ps 2 as the Psalm to which Revelation alludes most often, John repeatedly invites hearers and readers to give attention to his usage of the second Psalm as a tool for conveying his apocalyptic understanding of the role and identity of the Messiah. Recognition of John’s recurrent utilizationof the verb from the LXX of Ps 2:9 (“to shepherd”) rather than the Hebrew (“to break”) forms a verbal thread through which John subverts militaristic expectations of a messiah who conquers through violence by the shocking identification of the victorious Messiah as the slaughtered lamb. This essay explores this verbal thread in detail, including considerations of its implications for understanding the nature of God’s wrath and the importance of clarity on Revelation’s portrayal of Christ’s messianic character for the ongoing spiritual formation of Christians