I. (133:1) Declaration: How Good and Pleasant! The psalm opens with an emphatic declaration that something is “good and pleasant”—that is, attractive, worthy of admiration, worth aspiring for, and even worth changing one’s own behavior for in order to achieve.

This appealing situation occurs “when brothers dwell in unity” (or, “together”; cf. ESV mg.).751 The Hebrew expression appears in Genesis 13:6; 36:7 when a particular region could not support “brothers” (relatives) and their families’ dwelling close together. If this is the background for Psalm 133, then verse 1 describes a situation in which the land is fruitful enough for brothers to live nearby (perhaps a family inheritance; cf. Deut. 25:5). Since this is a Song of Ascents, the “brothers dwell[ing] in unity” would be the fellow Israelite pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem, abiding in peace with one another. The ideal Israel is a community of true brotherhood, in which the members practice mutual concern for one another; if this were achieved, it would indeed be good and pleasant.

II. (133:2) First Simile: Like Oil. The first simile is the ordination “oil on the head” of Aaron and his descendants (cf. Ex. 30:22–33). The psalm, as a poem, dwells on the pictured details of the abundant oil as it flowed down Aaron’s hair to his beard and clothing. Nothing stingy or restrained here! This oil made the priests holy, consecrated to God’s purpose. The image means that when Israel is true to its ideal it is displaying genuine consecration and carrying out its calling in the world.

III. (133:3) Second Simile: Like Dew. Now the psalm likens this unity to the “dew of Hermon.” Hermon is a high, snowcapped mountain at the northern end of the land (Deut. 3:8–9); much of its snowmelt drains into the upper Jordan River and thus the Sea of Galilee. It is not clear exactly how its dew “falls on the mountains of Zion”: perhaps the clouds above Hermon are pictured as dropping their moisture on Jerusalem, or perhaps “dew of Hermon” is an idiom for a “heavy fall of dew.” In any case, the dew is crucial for the vegetation during the dry season (Gen. 27:28; Deut. 33:28; 2 Sam. 1:21; 1 Kings 17:1; Prov. 3:20; 19:12; Hos. 14:5; Hag. 1:10; Zech. 8:12), and the image conveys the picture of a fruitful land. This fruitfulness too was part of the covenantal ideal (Deut. 28:1–14). The mentions of Aaron’s consecration and of Zion stress that Israel’s calling is to be a sacred community; her unity and her worship are bound together. “There the Lord has commanded the blessing,” and nowhere else; this blessing is “life”—true connection to God, to the community, and to one’s place in God’s world—and lasts “forevermore.”