This is another of the Songs of Zion (see the Introduction and the comments on Ps. 46), which celebrate Yahweh’s dramatic protection of the temple and its sacred mountain from foreign invasion. Yahweh’s deliverance of Jerusalem from Assyrian invasion in 701 B.C. may be a case in point (Isa. 36–37).

76:1–3 The psalm begins with Judah’s special knowledge of Yahweh. His name, or self-revelation, is great in Israel. The terms chosen to designate Yahweh’s dwelling in Zion point to the antiquity of the tradition. The term for Jerusalem is Salem, its pre-Israelite name (Gen. 14:18). The term for his tent (Hb. sōk), meaning “hut,” may allude to the ancient tabernacle (27:5; cf. 2 Sam. 11:11). His dwelling place (Hb. meʿônâ) is also used of “the Tent of Meeting” (1 Sam. 2:22) in Shiloh (vv. 29, 32…