What does Psalm 137:2 mean?
To "hang up" something is a common English expression of ending some effort or practice. An athlete who retires is said to "hang up" their cleats. Politicians defeated in an election may decide to "hang it up" and concede. The basic imagery is a person setting aside the tools for a job, recognizing that it's time to stop. In a parallel way, the captive Israelites (2 Chronicles 36:17–21) have no taste for singing. They hang their instruments on the tree branches, with no desire to play. This is not only from grief, but also because their captors are mocking their pain (Psalm 137:3).In this case, the psalmist speaks of being near the waters of Babylon (Psalm 137:1). Babylon was known for its extensive river, canal, and irrigation network. The word naming the trees here is arābim', or arābāh, referring to a type of tree which preferred watery areas and had very dark wood. Scholars suggest this was the plant modern people call the Euphrates Poplar, which is a kind of willow tree (Isaiah 44:4; Leviticus 23:40).
Psalm 137:1–6 mourns for Israel's captivity in Babylon, identified with the Euphrates river system. Israel's new masters tease them, asking for songs about the Jewish homeland. But the people cannot sing while in such misery. Instead, they set their instruments aside and vow to remember what has happened to their people.
After being captured by Babylon (2 Chronicles 36:17–21), the people of Israel are teased by their new masters. The Babylonians ask the Jews to perform songs from their homeland. But the Israelites cannot bring themselves to sing. They vow to remember what happened to their city and their people. The psalmist prays that God would bring harsh vengeance on Edom and Babylon. He hopes they suffer the same gruesome evils which they inflicted upon Israel.
