»Who Will Ascend?«

Abstract Psalm 24, whose final form comprises three sections, each with its own theme and style, has long challenged modern scholarship. Interpretations have ranged from viewing it as a compilation of independent units to reading it as a unified composition. Reexamining the psalm’s formation through close analysis of its language, structure, and biblical as well as ancient Near Eastern parallels, this study argues that its present shape developed through successive expansions: an earlier mythological antiphonal stratum was reinterpreted with an alternative theological answer, which was later reframed in national or sectarian terms.