1. See further discussion of the Elohistic Psalter in “The Shape of the Psalter” in vol. 2 of this commentary.
2. The Korahite psalms include Pss. 42, 44–49; 84–85; 87–88 (eleven altogether).
3. The information regarding the Levitical organization of temple worship is complex at best. The pertinent passages include 1 Chron. 6:16–44; 15:5–24; 16:41–42; 25:1–8.
4. For comments on maśkil, see comments on Ps. 32.
5. Kraus, Psalms 1–59, 325.
6. See comments on “rock” in Ps. 18.
7. The Heb. term used for “dwelling” here is miškan (“temporary dwelling”), often referring to the portable “tabernacle” used for worship by the tribes of Israel during the desert wandering. The use of the term here in conjunction with the reference to “your holy hill” is clearly intended to indicate the Jerusalem temple.
8. Mays, Psalms, 174–75.
9. Cf. also Isa. 17:10; 51:13; Jer. 2:32; 3:21; 13:25; 18:15; Ezek. 22:12; 23:35.
10. Cf. Pss. 30; 32; 34; 52; 64; 66, for just a few examples.
11. Compare the similar sentiments expressed by the author of Ps. 84, whose soul “yearns, even faints for the courts of the LORD” (84:2), who envies the sparrow because she can continually nest in the dwelling place of God (84:3), and who “would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked” (84:10).
1. J. Clinton McCann, “Books I–III and the Editorial Purpose of the Psalter,” in The Shape and Shaping of the Psalter, ed. J. Clinton McCann (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1993), 102.
2. “When Ps. 42–43 is read in light of Ps. 44 . . . it takes on a collective orientation. The [repeated] refrain in Pss. 42–43 becomes an example for the postexilic community of how to face the problem of exile and dispersion” (ibid., 102–3).
3. Cf. Deut. 6:6–7, 20–23; 11:18–21.
4. See the formative essay by Gerhard von Rad, “The Form-Critical Problem of the Hexateuch,” in The Problem of the Hexateuch and Other Essays (London: SCM, 1984), 1–78.
5. This rehearsal took a variety of forms but generally included deliverance from Egypt and the gift of the land of Canaan. In some cases the account begins with the call of Abraham (cf. Josh. 24:2–13; Ps. 105); in others it extends to the monarchy and perhaps even the Exile (Ps. 107).
6. Cf. Josh. 23:9; 24:12–13.
7. The Heb. term here translated “victory(ies)” is (along with its verbal cognate yšʿ ) more usually rendered “salvation” or “deliverance.” For example, the repeated refrain of Pss. 42–43 employs the same word to describe God as “Savior” (42:5, 11; 43:5). In some more military context (as in Ps. 44), victory seems an appropriate rendering, although “deliverance, salvation” are often used with good effect and equal sense in other translations—e.g., the rendering of 44:4b as “who ordains Jacob’s rescue” (Kraus, Psalms 1–59, 443).
8. For a variety of options for dating, see Kraus, Psalms 1–59, 445–446; Craigie, Psalms 1–50, 332–33.
9. Ṣalmawet esp. connotes desperate, threatening circumstances. The most familiar appearance of the term is Ps. 23:4, where it is traditionally translated “[valley of] the shadow of death.” The term appears in Ps. 107:10, 14; Isa. 9:2; Jer 2:6; Amos 5:8 as a description of extreme threat to life. Two appearances in Job (Job 3:5; 10:21) speak of the “land of darkness and ṣalmawet” in ways that approximate Sheol, the Hebrew abode of the dead. Thus, to be covered with “deep darkness,” as in our passage, is to experience the ultimate threat of death.
10. Kraus, Psalms 1–59, 448.
11. See the explicit laying out of blessing for obedience and cursing for disobedience in Deut. 28.
12. Mays, Psalms, 179–80.
13. Cf. also the royal promises in Ps. 101.
14. This is unfortunately the path most often chosen by responsive readings included in hymnals. The psalms are regularly used in this reading because of their obvious affinity to liturgical recitation in worship. But most commonly, the psalms are presented in a cut-and-paste format, with the positive sections foregrounded and most harsh, vengeful, and negative elements excised and removed. How often, for example, have you heard Ps. 137 read with the “baby smashing” passage left intact? This smacks of something far less than hearing the “full counsel of God.” Perhaps we simply have not suffered often and deeply enough to really understand what God is saying through these difficult portions. There is a degree of needed honesty involved in praying through the psalms from beginning to end—“warts and all,” as the Rule of Saint Benedict suggests.
15. In actuality there are four “Servant Songs” in Isaiah (Isa. 42:1–4; 49:1–6; 50:4–11; 52:13–53:12) that describe the suffering of the “servant of the LORD.”
16. Cf. Rom. 8:17; 1 Peter 4:12–15.
17. The construction is a Greek purpose/result clause, using hina plus aorist subjunctive.
18. Matthew 6 goes on to encourage its readers to trust in God and rest in the assurance that he knows their needs and will provide for them. The subtle radicality of the statement in 6:25, however, plants seeds that will ripen into a crop that can sustain those who are faced with decisions even more agonizing and far-reaching than those posed in Matthew 6. At its core, this statement says something like: “Isn’t there more to life than eating? Isn’t there more to the body than clothing?” I want to cry out, “No! I can’t live without eating. I can’t survive without protecting clothing.” Followed to its logical (and I would suggest intended) conclusion, this statement tells me that there are some things worth going naked and starving for.
1. See the section on “Types of Psalms” in the introduction. For a discussion of the interpretation of royal psalms, see the Bridging Contexts section of the commentary on Ps. 20.
2. See comments on the heading of Ps. 4 for further discussion of this term.
3. See comments on the heading of Ps. 42.
4. See comments on the heading of Ps. 32.
5. See the discussion on “The Psalm Headings” in the introduction.
6. See comments to the heading of Ps. 30, where this term first occurs. This is the second occurrence of šir in the Psalter; the headings of Pss. 46 and 48 also contain the word.
7. The NIV’s “noble theme” is perhaps overly interpretive.
8. The use of the translation “anointing” in both these cases hides the fact that different Heb. words are used. The first anointing—of the king’s lips—in 45:2 translates the Hebrew huṣaq (from yṣq [“be poured out; be emptied out”]). The second anointing—with the “oil of joy”—in 45:7 translates the more traditional verb of anointing mešaḥaka (from mšḥ [“anoint”]). The verb yṣq is used for pouring out oil as a ritual act or libation (Gen. 28:18) or for pouring out oil on the head of a priest for consecration (Lev. 21:10), but it can also describe the “pouring out” of molten metal for casting (1 Kings 7:23, 24, 33).
9. The idea of eternal blessing for the king has surfaced previously in Ps. 21:6, where the phrase berakot laʿad (“eternal blessings”) is used rather than berakka ʾelohim leʿolam (“God has blessed you forever”), as here.
10. Cf. Ps. 23:5; Eccl. 9:8; and the anointing of Jesus referred to in Luke 7:46.
11. See also Ps. 41:8, where the Heb. can be translated “a vile word pours forth from/on him,” rather than the NIV’s “a vile disease has beset him.”
12. See the discussion of the term (bene ʾadam) in the comments on Ps. 4:1–2. The phrase bene ʾadam occurs twenty-one times in the Psalter. That the phrase appears in 21:10 is another link between that psalm and Ps. 45. The singular phrase ben ʾadam occurs only three times in the Psalms (Pss. 8:4; 80:17; 146:3).
13. The term for victory in 45:3 (from ṣlḥ [“be prosperous, successful”]) is different from the noun used in 21:5 (yešuʿah [“salvation, victory”]).
14. See also comments on 19:9 for the meaning of this word in the Psalter.
15. This is only the second occurrence of ʿanwah (“humility”) in the Psalter. The first (and only other occurrence of the term in the whole Old Testament) is in 18:35. The closely related term ʿanawah (also “humility”) appears in Prov. 15:33; 18:12; 22:4; Zeph. 2:3.
16. A difficult phrase with a literal meaning of “your right hand will instruct you (with) awesome works.” One would usually expect others to be instructed, but here the activity seems to turn back upon the agent.
17. Another difficult passage. As most commentators note, the verse seems to have been disarranged here and must be transposed to make good sense. A verb is apparently missing from the phrase about “sharpened arrows in the hearts of the king’s enemies.” Perhaps the verb “they will fall” does double duty—here and in the second phrase about “nations will fall under you.”
18. The word “feet” does not appear in the Heb. text, which joins the preposition “under” with the second masculine singular pronominal suffix.
19. The recognition of kings as gods was known in the ancient Near East, with examples in Egypt, where the pharaohs were thought to be Horus, and in Mesopotamia, where divine authorization of kingship on occasion bled over into divine kingship. In the “Curse of Agade” (ANETP, 2:204–15), the Akkadian king Naram-Sin seems to have taken on the prerogatives of divinity—an act that led to the fall of the Akkadian Empire according to later Sumerian commentators.
20. “Oil of joy” occurs again only in Isa. 61:3, where it provides a strong contrast to mourning. There those exiles who are grieving in Zion will receive “a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness [joy] instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” The Hebrew śaśon carries the meaning “exulting joy” and is often linked with śimḥah (“celebration”).
21. See comments on “righteousness” and other related legal terms at 7:6–9.
22. Ivory imported from Africa or India was employed throughout the ancient Near East for ornamentation of buildings (as carved plaques) or furnishings. Solomon had an “ivory throne” decorated with lions and a calf (1 Kings 10:18–20). Ivory components from similar thrones have been uncovered at Samaria and Nimrud. Ahab was reported to have built an “ivory house” (1 Kings 22:39). Because of its expense, ivory was associated with great wealth and royalty. Pictures of carved ivory plaques can be seen in ISBE2, 2:940–43.
24. See the articles on “Ophir,” EBD, 783; ISBE2, 3:607–8.
25. The kind of craving depicted by ʾwh is usually of a bad kind (Holladay, CHALOT, 6), but certainly not some elevated aesthetic appreciation. The intent is to speak of the basic physical and sexual attraction.
26. The LXX translates šegel with basilissa (“queen”), so the process of reinterpreting the unacceptable term had already begun.
27. The “Daughter of Tyre” is representative of the kind of dignitaries that would attend such an occasion. Tyre had long and close relationships with the kingdom of Israel from the time of David and Solomon.
28. These words describing clothing are difficult to bring precision to and are often translated differently in different contexts.
29. For varied uses of ybl, see Isa. 18:7; 23:7; 53:7; Hos. 10:6; Zeph. 3:10.
30. Absalom, e.g., used his position as the king’s son to curry favor with disaffected elements and to build his own power base in opposition to his father (cf. 2 Sam. 15:1–6).
31. Cf. 45:11, where the word translated “honor” is in reality the Heb. verb form hištaḥwi means “worship.”
32. McCann, “Books I-III and the Editorial Purpose of the Hebrew Psalter,” 102.
33. Christoph Rösel, Die messianische Redaktion des Psalters: Studien zu Enstehung und Theologie der Sammlung Ps. 2–89 (Stuttgart: Calwer Verlag, 1999).
34. See comments on the royal psalms in “Types of Psalms” in the introduction.
35. See the discussion in “The Shape of the Psalter” in vol. 2 of this commentary.
36. See the treatment of the Yahweh malak psalms in “Types of Psalms” in the introduction.
37. See Gerald H. Wilson, “Psalms and Psalter: Paradigm for Biblical Theology,” in Biblical Theology: Retrospect and Prospect (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, forthcoming). See also the discussion of this matter in the Bridging Contexts section of the commentary on Ps. 2.
1. For further discussion of selah, see comments on Ps. 3.
2. See comments on the heading of Ps. 4, where this term is first used.
3. See the discussion of the psalm headings in the introduction. As BHS notes, a few manuscripts and versions suggest a possible emendation to ʿalmut, as in the heading to Ps. 9 (see comments). At least one old Greek version suggests a form from ʿolam (“forever”). The term ʿal ʿalamot appears also in 1 Chron. 15:20 in a description of the duties of temple musicians, who are “to play the lyres according to ʿalamot.” The general Heb. noun ʿalmah (pl. ʿalamot) means a “girl of marriageable age” or a “young woman before the birth of her first child” (Holladay, CHALOT, 274). The term in the psalm heading may refer to a song tune or perhaps to a particular high sound to be adopted in singing.
4. See comments on the heading to Ps. 30. Ps. 45 is also called a šir, although there the term may be connected with the additional designation yedidot.
5. See comments on 2:12; 5:11. The word “refuge” appears in approximately 35 percent of the psalms in Book 1, in contrast to 25 percent in Book 2, 5 percent in Book 3, 18 percent in Book 4, and 13 percent in Book 5.
6. See 74:12–17.
7. The verb mwṭ is often used in the psalms to indicate the potential for disastrous falling. The affirmation that “I will not be moved” is one of the greatest claims of assurance expressed in the Psalter. Here the psalmist’s confidence even exceeds this traditional hope for certain stability in the midst of the storm of life. Even if all stability and firm footing is removed, the psalmist will not be afraid. Cf. Pss. 15:5; 16:8; 21:7; 30:6; 55:22; 62:2, 6; 66:9; 93:1; 96:10; 104:5; 112:6; 121:3; 125:1.
8. The Heb. is less than clear. The consonantal text (hmyr) is variously taken as hamir (Hiphil infinitive from mwr) with the meaning “change,” or as himmor (Niphal infinitive from mwr) with the meaning “quake, shake.”
9. There may be some attempt to evoke the abundant watering associated with the river that flowed through the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:10). It is also worth noting that in the Canaanite religious texts from Ugarit, Judge Nahar/River is one of the watery opponents who must be defeated to establish order. Here the river is harnessed to the good of the city of God. See comments on 36:8; 65:9. Note the studied contrast between this psalm and Ps. 137, where the “rivers of Babylon” offer occasion only for regret and anger over the destruction of Zion/Jerusalem, the city of God. The irrigation canals are also mentioned as a source of abundance and life in 1:3.
10. While the identification of the “city” with Jerusalem might be questioned on the basis that no such “river” is present in the City of David, the mythic language of the text overrides these concerns. See the discussion of Mays, Psalms, 185, regarding how “symbolic language used in the ancient Near East to imagine and speak about the dwelling place of the gods” included the presence of a stream that flowed from the “cosmic mountain where this dwelling was.” Since Jerusalem is the dwelling place of the one God, Yahweh, it is described in the symbolic terms used for this cosmic city.
11. The vocabulary is different, but the imagery is similar to that of the raging, conspiring nations in 2:1.
12. The noun ṣabaʾ, (pl. ṣebaʾot) is drawn from the same root as the verb ṣbʾ, (“go to war; serve as soldier”). The ṣabaʾ, ṣebaʾot are the individual and massed military personnel necessary to carry out the campaigns of the king. In reference to Yahweh, the “host” are probably the heavenly beings who do his will (the angels), or in some cases the stars. Israel did consider Yahweh as king and therefore understood that he undertook military action as warrior against the enemy and for the protection of his people. The term ṣebaʾot in reference to Yahweh occurs some fifteen times in the Psalter, in eight psalms (24:10; 46:7, 11; 48:8; 59:5; 69:6; 80:4, 7, 14, 19; 84:1, 3, 8, 12; 89:8). In these appearances, the term is often associated with the kingship of Yahweh (cf. 24:10; 48:8; 84:3).
13. Refuge, strength, and fortress all come together in Ps. 59:16 and Jer. 16:19. The comparison of these texts with our psalm is instructive. In both Ps. 59 and Jer. 16, “refuge” is connected with the additional phrase “in time of distress” (beyom ṣar/ṣarah), a phrase that, while not identical with “in trouble” (beṣarot), has much in common with it. The conjunction of these four elements—refuge, strength, fortress, and trouble—suggest a traditional association on which all these passages draw.
14. The root underlying “make cease” (šbt) is the same as that behind the word “Sabbath” (šabbat [“day of rest”]).
15. The NIV’s “shields” requires an emendation of the text from ʿagalot (“wagon carts”) to an irregular form from ʿagilah (“round shield). Because of this difficulty, the word is sometimes taken as “chariots” (cf. the NIV text note; but see Holladay, CHALOT, 264). Perhaps Yahweh is here viewed as destroying the “wagons” carrying supplies to the military campaign.
16. The occurrences are Pss. 46:4; 48:1, 8 (2x); 87:3; 101:8; Isa. 60:14.
17. See also 74:1–8.
18. The Psalms of Ascent (Pss. 120–134) are considered by many to be songs sung by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. On the dangers of pilgrimage, consider Ps. 107.
19. Cf. passages such as Isa. 44:26–28; 45:13; 58:12; 60:10; 66:20; Jer. 3:17; 33:7; Dan. 9:25; Joel 3:1, 20; Mic. 4:2; Zech. 8:3–4, 22.
20. Cf. Rev. 20–22 for the extended description of the Holy City, the new Jerusalem.
21. See the following passages that in the NIV contain the phrase “Be still”: Ex. 14:14 [ḥrš]; Neh. 8:11 [hsh]; Ps. 37:7 [dwm]; Ps. 46:10 [rph]; Jer. 47:6 [dwm]; Zech. 2:13 [hsh].
1. Cf. J. D. W. Watts, “Yahweh Malak Psalms,” TZ 21 (1965): 341–48; Gerhard von Rad, OTT2, 1:363, note. Other psalms included in this form-critical category are Pss. 93; 96–99; 149.
2. The NIV’s translation choices in this psalm obscure the different Heb. words that lie behind the translation “nation(s).” It is more usually the term goy/goyim that is translated “nation(s).” This word does appear in 47:8 (and is the only word translated “nations” in Ps. 46:6, 10). However, the NIV also translates the word ʿammim (more commonly and accurately rendered “peoples”) as “nations” in 47:1, 3, 9a, 9b. In addition, the less frequent word leʾummim (normally an “ethnic community”) is translated “peoples” in 47:3b. While these words for people groups are not always clearly distinguished in Old Testament usage, the following relationships usually are implied. The term goy describes a national entity that is an amalgamation of a number of tribes and ethnic communities. By way of contrast leʾummim designates an ethnically related “people group.” Within such a people group, ʿam describes the extensive descendants of an eponymous ancestor (such as Israel or Abraham). The latter term is sometime exchanged for šebeṭ or maṭṭeh (“tribe”), although ʿam clearly intends a larger group.
3. See previous footnote.
4. Although there is a selah at the end of v. 4, this does not seem to correspond with the literary and logical division of the psalm.
5. While Ps. 46 employs the more standard verb for exaltation (rwm) and Ps. 47:9 uses the more general verb ʿlh (“go up, ascend”; probably in a purposeful wordplay with the “ascension” image in 47:5), Ps. 47 still serves as an appropriate response to the anticipation of divine exaltation in 46:10.
6. See comments on the heading of Ps. 4.
7. See comments on the heading of Ps. 42.
8. See comments on this term at the heading of Ps. 3.
9. See Prov. 11:15; 17:18; 22:26. In one text the NIV translates taqaʿ kap as indicating ridicule (Nah. 3:19), but this passage can also be understood as saying: “All those who hear the report about you will confirm a contract against you, for against whom has not your constant evil taken surety?” That is, all those nations forced by Assyria to give surety (through tribute or ransom) would jump at the chance to return the favor to their fallen enemy.
10. See Ps. 98:8; Isa. 55:12.
11. See Num. 24:10 Lam. 2:15, where spq occurs with kap (“hand”); in Jer. 31:19 it is the “inner thigh” or “sexual organ” that is struck; finally in Job 34:26, 37, where the verb stands alone. On one occasion (Ezek. 25:6) the verb mḥʾ with yad seems to indicate ridicule.
12. Note the comments on Nah. 3:19 in footnote 9, above, where I suggested the usual meaning for taqaʿ kap in this passage, namely, to make a contract. If this is adopted as plausible, then as far as Ps. 47 goes, we would need to find a meaning other than “applause” or “signify joy.” The idea is that these peoples of the earth are called to “strike an agreement” (by shaking hands in affirmation) among themselves, or with Israel, to stand under the kingship of Yahweh—as the assembled nobles of the “peoples” become the people of the God of Abraham in 47:9.
13. On the topic of the “fear of Yahweh,” see comments on 2:11 and 15:4.
14. The theme of Yahweh’s giving the land of Canaan to the Israelites “as an inheritance” is prominent in the Pentateuch (cf. Ex. 32:13; Lev. 20:24; Num. 34:2; Deut. 4:21; cf. also Josh. 11:23).
15. See The NIV Study Bible, 833–34, note on 47:5–6.
16. The NIV’s translation of zmr as “sing praises” ignores the fact that the term has more to do with playing an instrument than producing vocal music. The fifth occurrence of the term in Ps. 47:7b instructs the reader/listener to “play for him a maśkil.” The great variety of translations exhibited by the versions and commentaries reveals the relative uncertainty regarding the meaning of this term that appears in the headings of some thirteen psalms (32; 42; 44; 45; 52; 53; 54; 55; 74; 78; 88; 89; 142), all but one of which fall within the confines of Books 1–3 of the Psalter. The more general designation is as a “didactic psalm,” but others, referring to method of composition or performance, prefer an “artful/skillful psalm.” (Cf. the extended discussion in Kraus, Psalms 1–59, 25–26.)
17. The reference to Yahweh’s “holy throne” is reminiscent of Isaiah’s vision of Yahweh enthroned in the temple with the seraphim calling out “Holy, Holy, Holy!” (Isa. 6:1–9). The image of Yahweh “sitting on his throne” also appears in 1 Kings 22:19 = 2 Chron. 18:18.
18. Kraus, Psalms 1–59, 466, and Craigie, Psalms 1–50, 347, are two examples.
19. The Heb. text actually contains the word maginne (“shields of . . .”) rather than “kings of. . . .” BHS suggests a possible emendation to signe (an initial mem and samek are similar and often confused in handwritten script; “governors/rulers of . . .”). It is, of course, possible that the psalmist intended “shields of the earth” to be an image of the militant power of kings who have submitted to Yahweh here.
20. The phrase “light to/for the Gentiles/nations” [leʾor goyim] occurs three times in Isaiah. The first two (42:6 and 49:6) use the term goyim, which the NIV translate as “Gentiles” (meaning non-Jewish nations). The third is found in Isa. 51:4, where the word ʿammim (“peoples”) is used instead. The Greek translation of leʾor goyim (phos ethnon) appears only once in Acts 13:47, where the Isa. 49:6 passage is quoted. Although some would consider this passage a reference to Yahweh’s suffering servant, or the Messiah, or even Jesus, it seems clear that Isaiah intends Israel to understand that this responsibility is also hers.
21. Using the phrase ki melek kol haʾareṣ ʾelohim to emphasize both the present and continuing nature of Yahweh’s rule.
22. Employing the perfect malak ʾelohim ʿal goyim to stress the completion of the act of becoming king in the present.
23. Again, the use of the perfect tense yašab signifies God’s enthronement as an accomplished fact, not a hoped-for future event.
24. A probable reference to the conquest of Canaan, in which Yahweh drove out the resident nations to provide an “inheritance” for Israel.
1. Zion is variously identified with Jerusalem, the city of God, and with a hill/mountain on which Jerusalem or the temple was situated. Zion is viewed as the seat of human and divine kingship—the former associated with the palace and the latter with the temple.
2. For “song,” see comments on the heading of Ps. 30; for “psalm,” see comments on the heading of Ps. 3.
3. See comments on the heading to Ps. 42.
4. See the articles on “Zaphon” in Bible dictionaries, such as EBD and ISBE2.
5. The “citadel” is the fortified area of a city, where a last stand is made in case of an attack. It most often occupied the highest ground and was therefore the most defensible position in the city.
6. For discussion of the various terms for refuge, fortress, etc., see comments on Ps. 20.
7. The pronoun “her” that the NIV inserts to suggest the object of the enemy’s vision is the city itself is not in the Heb. text (cf. the corner brackets around this word in the NIV).
8. “Ships of Tarshish” are mentioned on several occasions in the Old Testament (1 Kings 10:22; Ps. 48:7; Isa. 23:1, 14; 60:9; Ezek. 27:25). The references indicate Tarshish was most likely a port city on the Mediterranean Sea, usually located in Spain (some suggest the port Tartessos). Solomon was said to have assembled a large fleet to ply the Mediterranean for the rich materials needed to support his many building projects (1 Kings 10:22). A fleet of ships built by King Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 20:37) was completely destroyed in a storm as in our text (cf. also the endangerment of Jonah’s ship by storm on its way to Tarshish in Jonah 1:3ff.).
9. The transmission of traditions to future generations as a source of continued encouragement is an important part of many psalms. See esp. Pss. 22:30; 48:13; 71:18; 78:4, 6; 79:13; 89:1; 102:18; 145:4.
10. For discussion of God’s name, see comments on Ps. 8.
11. See comments on legal terms such as ṣedeq and mišpaṭ at 4:1–2 and 7:6–9.
12. This final phrase of this psalm (ʿal mut) is difficult in this context and deserves comment (see Kraus, Psalms 1–59, 472, 476–77). The word mut is apparently the infinitive construct of the verb mwt (“die”). The NIV’s “even to the end” draws on this meaning, although this rendering with the preposition ʿal is awkward (something like “upon, against, concerning dying”). Since the similar phrase ʿalamot is found in the heading of Ps. 46, where it is treated as a reference to a tune for singing, the critical apparatus of BHS suggests that ʿal mut was similarly a part of the heading of Ps. 49 (appearing between “sons of Korah” and “psalm”) that has been misplaced. A. R. Johnson, “The Role of the King in the Jerusalem Cultus,” in The Labyrinth, ed. S. H. Hooke (New York: Macmillan, 1935), 92, understands the phrase as a reference to the Canaanite deity of death, Mot, and translates: “May he [Yahweh] lead us against ‘death.’ ”
13. Ultimately the coalition was only temporary. The texts of Solomon’s reign suggest rather uneven treatment of the two regions by the Judahite king. Forced labor and heavy taxation in support of Solomon’s building campaigns appear to have fallen disproportionately on the northern tribes. Thus, when Solomon died, his successor, Rehoboam, was faced by an embassy of northerners seeking assurances that these uneven treatments would cease. Rehoboam’s arrogant rejection of their concerns led to the immediate succession of the northern tribes to form the kingdom Israel, under the leadership of Jeroboam I. Thus the division of the kingdom (only an 80- to 120-year “experiment”) was a reversion to earlier associations of loyalty with a long history antedating the monarchy.
14. Although accused of worshiping Baal, Jeroboam and his northern successors probably continued to think of themselves as worshipers of Yahweh, as the use of the Yahweh elements in the names of their children indicates.
15. The reference to “his holy mountain” in 48:1 may be either to this association or to the later mention of Mount Zion (48:2).
16. Note the mention of Mount Zion in 48:2, 11, and 12. The name “fortress of Zion” may have been a original Jebusite designation of the site that was subsequently taken over by David and Israel (cf. 2 Sam. 5:7).
17. Because of its prominence and visibility for long distances, the mountain and its name became ultimately the Heb. designation for the northern direction (ṣapon). In this regard, see the article on “Orientation” in ISBE2.
18. Among these psalms are usually included Pss. 46; 48; 76; 84; 87; 122; and 132.
19. The passage on the promise to David appears in response to a sense of abandonment and hope for restoration (cf. 132:1–4, 10). Cf. comments on the term melek in the Bridging Contexts section of Ps. 2.
20. C. S. Lewis, “Meditation in a Toolshed,” God in the Dock, 212–15.
1. See the discussion of wisdom psalms in “Types of Psalms” in the introduction.
2. See comments on the heading of Ps. 4 for “the director of music,” on the heading of Ps. 42 for “the Sons of Korah,” and on the heading of Ps. 3 for mizmor.
3. For comments on the poetic technique of merism, see “The Poetry of the Psalms” in the introduction.
4. In this combination, bene ʾadam seems to designate “simple folk; peasants” while bene ʾiš describes “children of the elite.” Cf. 62:9, where the same opposition of classes occurs. In its singular form ben ʾadam has the more universal sense of “human being.”
5. See comments on 10:16–18 for the various terms for the poor and oppressed.
6. The phrase is difficult, with a literal meaning “the crooked activity of my heel,” which makes little sense. BHS suggests an emendation to ʿoqebay, a participle meaning “those who deceive me.”
7. The phrase translated “redeem” (from pdh) normally refers to an act of paying to redeem humans or animals who by law belong to Yahweh (cf. Ex. 13:13). The related noun “ransom” (koper) means a price paid to release a captive or seized property. Both terms are used in vv. 7–8.
8. This psalm may well form the background of Jesus’ teaching in Matt. 16:26 (Mark 8:37): “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”
9. Verse 14 is particularly difficult as the number of suggested emendations in the BHS textual apparatus indicate. Besides the ambiguous meaning of the verb rʿh (“lead to pasture/graze upon”), the major difficulties include (1) whether the verb translated “rule” is to be taken from the root rdd or from yrd (“go down [to Sheol”]); (2) whether the enigmatic weṣuram (“and their rock”) ought to be emended to yeṣuram (“their form/shape”) or ṣuratam (“their design/plan”); and (3) whether the infinitive construct form leballot (“waste away, decay”) ought to be emended to liklot (“perish”).
10. In Canaanite mythology, the god of Death, Mot, receives the dead into the netherworld by swallowing them. He is graphically described as “one lip to earth and one to heaven, he stretches his tongue to the stars. Baal enters his mouth, descends into him like an olive-cake, like the yield of the earth and trees’ fruit” (IAB, ii).
11. If the verb “rule” (rdd) is instead taken to be from yrd (“go down”), the phrase may refer to the descent of the wicked rich directly to Sheol. In this case the question of the upright ruling over the arrogant rich is removed.
12. See Craigie, Psalms 1–50, 360.
13. For comments of the meaning of kabod, see discussion at 3:3–4.
14. For “ransom,” see Ex. 21:30; 30:12; 25:21–22; Job 33:24; Ps. 49:7; Prov. 13:8; 21:18; Isa. 43:3. For “bribe,” cf. 1 Sam. 12:3; Job 36:18; Prov. 6:35; Amos 5:12.
15. Perhaps donkeys were redeemed because of their economic importance as pack animals among the early nomadic Israelites.
16. Hannah’s dedication of Samuel to lifelong service of Yahweh may reflect such an understanding.
1. Heman appears in the heading to Ps. 88, while Jeduthun is found in the heading to Ps. 39. Because the latter psalm also contains an attribution to David (ledawid), some question whether the reference to Jeduthun is an attribution of authorship or some type of musical direction (cf. 1 Chron. 16:41–42).
2. See comments on the heading to Ps. 3.
3. Sun imagery is used of Yahweh in other Old Testament contexts (e.g., Pss. 19; 37; 84:11; 104:1–3). For more on the connection of the sun and judgment in the ancient Near East, see comments on Ps. 19.
4. For a discussion of the poetic feature of merism, see comments on “Techniques of Hebrew Poetry” in the introduction.
5. Note how the reference to “heavens above, and the earth” chiastically reverses the order of elements in the split merism that surrounds this section—“earth” (50:1b) and “heavens” (50:6a).
6. The place name Zion (ṣiyyon)—a reference to the hill in Jerusalem on which the temple stood—appears some thirty-nine times in thirty-one psalms. Within Book 2 of the Psalter (Pss. 42–72) Zion appears eight times in six psalms: 48:2, 11, 12; 50:2; 51:18; 53:6, 65:1, 69:35. The largest collection of Zion psalms is found in Book 5 (Pss. 107–150), where thirteen psalms have the term fourteen times.
7. The abstract noun miklal is related to the verbal root kll (“make complete, perfect”).
8. The obvious connection between the appearance of Yahweh and consuming fire and storm is the theophany at Sinai (cf. Ex. 24:17, where the phrase “consuming fire” occurs).
9. The heavens and earth are called as witnesses to Yahweh’s covenant with Israel in Deut. 4:26; 30:19; 31:28 (cf. Isa. 1:2). In a more general sense heavens and earth can testify against an accused person in court (cf. Job 20:27).
10. There may be an element of irony or sarcasm intended here, since the continuation of the psalm shows that some of those who profess by their sacrifices to be ḥasidim are judged to be “wicked.”
11. Since in the psalm the subject of the imperative is the feminine noun ʿammi (“my people”) rather than the masculine noun yiśraʾel (“Israel”), as in the classic expression of the Shema in Deuteronomy, the imperative here takes a feminine singular form.
12. Although the similar phrase ʾani yhwh ʾeloheykem (with a different first-person pronoun and the second-person plural pronoun on the word “God”) is used frequently in Exodus (e.g., Ex. 6:7, 16:12), Leviticus (esp. frequent), Numbers (e.g., Num. 10:10, 15:41), and even appears in Deut. 29:6, the form mimicked in Ps. 50:7 is directly related to the form used in the introduction of the Sinai narrative (Ex. 20:2; Deut. 5:6). Here the form is ʾanoki yhwh ʾeloheyka, as in Ps. 50.
13. A. Leo Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1977), 183–98.
14. Other passages rejecting such a view of sacrifice are: Isa. 1:11–15; Jer. 7:21–23; Hos. 6:6; Amos 4:4–5; 5:21–25; Mic. 6:6–8.
15. The construction in the Heb. is awkward. The phrase literally means something like “you dwell/sit with your brother you speak.” BHS suggests emending tešeb (“dwell”) to bošet (“shame”) so the phrase would be translated, “shame you speak with/against your brother.” The NIV has taken “dwell” as having a continuous effect. The parallel phrase is more clear: “with/against the son of your mother [= your brother] you give stain/fault.” However, dopi (“stain”) occurs only here in the whole Old Testament and must remain uncertain.
16. The Heb. phrase combines the Qal infinitive construct and the first-person singular Qal imperfect (heyot ʾehyeh) as an emphatic expression: “[you thought] I am indeed [like you].”
17. The fact that the earlier passage uses the negative particle ʾal rather than the more common loʾ suggests the verb form it negates (yeḥeraš) should be read as a jussive expressing the will of the speaker (“let him not remain silent”) rather than a straightforward future declaration (“he will not remain silent”). It is the following description of the theophany that has persuaded the NIV that the whole passage should be read as actuality and not hope.
18. The final image (ʾeʿerkah) is a military expression of drawing up one’s battle line across from the enemy troops. Picture, if you will, the Israelite army (1 Sam. 17:1–11) confronting the Philistines across the Elah Valley, with the giant champion Goliath strutting up and down challenging the Israelites to send out a champion for individual combat, and you may have some idea of the situation envisioned here.
19. Cf. Deut. 4:9, 23, 31; 6:12; 8:11, 14.
20. The usual idiom in Judges is “to forsake” (yaʿazbu) Yahweh (cf. Judg. 2:12; see also 1 Sam. 12:9).
21. Cf. Isa. 51:13; 65:11; Jer. 2:32; 23:27; Hos. 2:13; 13:6. See also Ps. 106:13, 21, where the golden calf incident during the Exodus wanderings is attributed to Israel’s having forgotten “the God who saved them” and “what he had done.”
22. The kind of tearing that ṭrp describes is always associated with wild animals (cf. Gen. 37:33; 44:28): most often the lion (Pss. 17:12; 22:13; Ezek. 22:25; Hos. 5:14; Nah. 2:12), but occasionally the wolf (Gen. 49:27; Ezek. 22:27).
23. The phrase is reminiscent of Amos’s prophecy that only a remnant of Israel would survive the Assyrian conquest like a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear left over from the carcass of a devoured sheep (Amos 3:12).
24. Legislation governing the rib is found in Ex. 21:18; 23:2, 3, 6; Deut. 17:8; 19:17; 21:5; 25:1.
25. See also Hos. 12:2; Mic. 6:2.
26. See also Jer. 6:20.
1. See the comments on Ps. 6.
2. See comments on the heading of Ps. 4 for “the director of music” and on the heading of Ps. 3 for mizmor and the reference to David.
3. The first historical notice in the psalm headings appears in the heading to Ps. 3 (see comments).
4. See comments on 5:7, where this term first appears.
5. The image is that of wiping off dirt from the mouth (Prov. 30:20) or from a dish (2 Kings 21:13).
6. This verb describes the activity called “fulling,” in which materials were cleaned by tramping on them in water since no soap was available for the process.
7. “Sweep/scour clean.” When used with the preposition min as here, the term often refers to cultic cleansing in preparation for participation in temple ritual.
8. These three terms for sin also appear in 25:7, 11 (see comments on those verses; see also “The Theology of the Psalms” in vol. 2 of this commentary).
9. The verb ṣdq (“be in the right/be righteous; have a just case”) is a legal term affirming that the one who brings a case to court has fulfilled all the obligations of the circumstance under consideration. See comments on the related legal terms at 4:1–2; 7:6–9; 9:4–8.
10. This may well be another term with legal overtones, as a pronouncement of innocence in a trial.
11. The artful variation in this phrase demonstrates the skill of the poet. In the first instance (51:2b) the noun “sin” (ḥaṭṭaʾt) is used with the verb “cleanse” (ṭhr). In the second passage, two verbs are used: “free from sin” (ḥṭʾ ) and “be clean/pure” (ṭhr). Each expression uses the same roots, and the correspondence of form and meaning is unmistakable.
12. For a discussion of chiasm, see the section on “Techniques of Hebrew Poetry” in the introduction.
13. Probably a reference in the Old Testament to members of the marjoram and thyme families of aromatic plants rather than the actual hyssop plant, which does not grow outside southern Europe. See the articles on “Hyssop” in EBD and ISBE2.
14. “Bloodguilt” is the guilt that derives from “murder”—the shedding of an innocent person’s blood. If the connection with the Bathsheba incident is taken seriously, then the sin at the core in this verse is the killing of Uriah the Hittite rather than the adulterous affair with Uriah’s wife.
15. Most translators interpret the noun ṭuḥah/ṭuḥot in Job 38:36 as “inner parts” (cf. Ps. 51). This means they interpret the parallel word in Job (śekwi) in an analogous way as referring also to some inward and invisible process (NIV “the mind”). Others suggest an alternate translation in which ṭuḥot means “the ibis (bird of Thoth)” and the second noun is a reference to another kind of bird (Holladay, CHALOT, 351, “cock”). This latter move reduces support for the traditional interpretation “inner parts” in Ps. 51.
16. In Nehemiah, it is the breaches in the walls of Jerusalem that were “plugged up” by the returnees.
17. Many relate this account to the building of Hezekiah’s Tunnel, which diverted water from the Gihon Spring to what is now call Siloam’s Pool. Others, however, identify Hezekiah’s work with the surface trench covered with stones that skirts the southern part of the Ophel hill to bring water to the same pool.
1. The first maśkil in the Psalter is Ps. 32 (see comments on the heading of this psalm). A small collection of maśkilim begins the second book of the Psalter, including the Korahite Pss. 42–43, 44, 45.
2. This form is from hll (“praise”) in a reflexive stem that means “praise oneself.”
3. The tongue plots “destruction,” although the Heb. word (hawwah/hawwot) can also mean “threats” (cf. 38:12), a translation that would fit the context of controlling speech well.
4. Cf. the New Testament discussion of the power and abuse of the tongue in James 1:26; 3:5–9; 1 Peter 3:10.
5. These kinds of images would certainly have spoken to the exilic community as the ultimate punishment from God for failure to rely on him.
6. This final verse evidences some difficulty in translation and some phrases may have been omitted. The Hebrew says: “I will praise you forever for what you have done, and I will expectantly await your name because it is good before your saints.” The NIV assumes the opening verb of praise also governs the final phrase “before your saints.”
7. Rather than “saints,” the word ḥasidim has to do with fulfilling ḥesed (“covenant loyalty and love”). A better translation would be those who live out enduring loyalty to their covenant relationship with Yahweh.
8. Cedars of Lebanon were shipped throughout the ancient Near East for building projects, and Canaanite mythology associated Lebanon and its cedars with the divine forests protected by the fearsome dragon Huwawa (cf. the Gilgamish Epic).
9. In Jeremiah, the context of the wicked is the “wastelands/desert,” which is “parched,” “a salt land where no one lives” (Jer. 17:6). For Ps. 1 the wicked are rootless “chaff that the wind blows away” (Ps. 1:4).
10. That the “fear of God/Yahweh” does not mean being afraid of God is confirmed by Ex. 20:20, where Moses exhorts the Israelites who are cowering before the theophany on Mount Sinai: “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
1. See discussion of the Elohistic Psalter in the opening comments to Pss. 42–43 and in “The Shape of the Psalter” in vol. 2 of this commentary.
2. See comments on the heading of Ps. 4 for “the director of music” and on Ps. 3 for psalms of David.
3. See comments on the heading of Ps. 32.
4. The heading of Ps. 88 shares two terms in common with that of Ps. 53: ʿal maḥalat and maśkil. Ps. 88, however, is not Davidic, being doubly attributed to Heman the Ezrahite and the Sons of Korah. See also comments on the heading of Ps. 88.
5. The second Davidic collection is composed of twenty-one psalms, of which eighteen bear Davidic attributions in their headings. The other three psalms (66, 67, and 71) are bound into their Davidic context in other ways: Pss. 66 and 67 by thematic connections with the surrounding psalms as well as the use of similar terms in their headings, and Ps. 71 by being read together with the preceding Ps. 70 (attributed to David).
6. Note these comparisons:
Ps. 14 | Ps. 53 |
šm pḥdw pḥd | šm pḥdw pḥdlʾ hyh pḥd |
ky ʾlhym bdwr ṣdyq | ky ʾlhym pzr |
ʿṣt ʿny | ʿṣmt ḥnk |
tbyšw | hbšth |
ky yhwh mḥshw | ky ʾlhym mʾsm |
The additional phrase in the first line of Ps. 53 above (lʾ hyh pḥd) might easily have been omitted from Ps. 14 by haplography—the eye of the reader having skipped from the first pḥd to the second. The rest of the texts show relative balance in number of words, and some suggestive parallels: ʿṣt - ʿṣmt and tbyšw - hbšth.
7. Cf. Deut. 28:53; Jer. 19:9; Lam. 2:20; Ezek. 5:10; Zech. 11:9.
8. In certain headhunting societies, the idea existed that by eating the flesh or certain significant organs (like the heart) of the defeated enemy, one could gain some of the characteristics of the enemy for themselves or reduce the power of vengeance.
9. Scattered bones also figure in Ezek. 6:5, although there the bones of dead bodies are used to profane pagan holy places, rendering them useless for future worship (cf. 2 Kings 23:14). In Jer. 8:1, the disinterred bones of the kings and officials of Judah are scattered and exposed as a way of dishonoring them because of their faithless worship of other gods.
1. For further discussion of the Elohistic Psalter, see comments on Ps. 42. The reference in 54:4 to “the Lord” (ʾadonay) may also represent a “replacement” of the divine name yhwh. Over time in the Jewish community, the convention gradually arose—out of respect for the divine name and the desire to avoid abusing it—that when yhwh was encountered in the text, the word ʾadonay was spoken instead. See comments on the divine name in Ps. 8.
2. See comments on the heading of Ps. 4 for “the director of music” and on Ps. 3 for psalms of David.
3. See comments on this term at its first appearance in Ps. 32.
4. Indeed, the first four terms in the headings of Pss. 54 and 55 are identical: lamnaṣṣeaḥ binginot maśkil ledawid (“To the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maśkil of David”).
5. The “life” the enemies seek is the psalmist’s nepeš—that animated being sustained by Yahweh’s Spirit. This integrated person—body, mind, and spirit—is under attack.
6. The appearance of both zarim and ʿariṣim suggests the original emphasis of the psalm was on attacks by foreign nations. This indicates the historical notice in the heading has adapted the original psalm to speak to the circumstances of the conflict between David, Saul, and the Ziphites. See the comments on this subject in Marvin Tate, Psalms 51–100 (WBC 20; Dallas: Word, 1990), 46, 48, and Joachim Becker, Israel deutet seine Psalmen: Urform und Neuinterpretation in den Psalmen (Stuttgart: Verlag Katholisches Bibelwerk, 1967), 64–65. Tate agrees that Ps. 54 may be an adaptation of an earlier lament to the needs of the postexilic community. Becker claims that Ps. 54 is one of seventeen or so psalms that have been so reinterpreted.
7. While this term has traditionally been translated more generally as adversary, Dahood’s study (Psalms, 2:25–26) is probably correct in identifying the more accurate nuance “slanderer.”
8. Following the destruction of the second temple by the Romans in A.D. 70, it became generally accepted Jewish practice to understand that attention to Torah, prayer, and almsgiving could “substitute” for ritual sacrifice until the temple would be rebuilt and sacrifice restored.
9. See Tate, Psalms 51–100, 48.
10. Whatever else God’s use of the plural self-reference in Genesis means (Gen. 1:26; 3:22; 11:7), it certainly implies that he has the capability to commune/relate within himself, which can only be paralleled among humans by relationship between/among independent human beings. Note in this regard the subtle confirmation of this in Gen. 1:27, where the creation of the Adam moves from “God created the Adam in his own image” to “in the image of God he created him” to “male and female he created them.” This implies that there is something essential in both male and female that, when rightly related together, allows human beings to reflect the image of their creator.
11. Similarly, Job’s demand for personal vindication is at first ignored until he is brought by the glory and grace of the God who comes to stand over against him to an admission that his personal vindication is of little account and in fact entirely unnecessary any longer (Job 42:1–6). When vindication does come for Job, it is after his confession to God has rendered it moot, and it is coupled with a prayer of intercession for the friends who, although declared wrong in comparison to Job, are nevertheless valued by God. The full restoration of Job is reliant on his giving up his claims against his friends by praying for them.
1. The following psalms of lament include individual complaints (Pss. 56–57; 59; 61) and more general or communal complaints (Pss. 58; 60).
2. In this psalm, the psalmist’s words are called “my prayer” (55:1a) and “my plea/lament” (55:1b).
3. At least one manuscript of the Latin Vulgate makes this connection explicit in the heading to this psalm: “The voice of Christ against the chiefs of the Jews and the traitor Judas” (see J. W. Rogerson and J. W. MacKay, Psalms 51–100 [Cambridge Bible Commentary; New York: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1977], 29).
4. The notion is widespread and mentioned in commentators as diverse as Delitzsch (Psalms, 156), Rogerson and McKay (Psalms 51–100, 32), Tate (Psalms 51–100, 55), and Mays (Psalms, 207)—to name a few.
5. See representative comments in Delitzsch and Tate.
6. A thorough treatment of the textual variations and possible resolutions is found in Tate, Psalms 51–100, 51–54.
7. For a discussion of groups of psalms marked by the use of identical terms in successive psalm headings, see Wilson, The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter, 155–67.
8. In Ps. 54, the phrase “hear [šmʿ ] my prayer, O God” is paralleled by a second phrase employing the alternative verb “listen” (ʾzn). Here in Ps. 55, however, the alternative expression appears in the first phrase: “Listen [ʾzn] to my prayer, O God.”
9. The root meaning of ʿlm is “hide”; in 55:1 it speaks reflexively of “hiding oneself.” The sense is to “avoid” someone or something (here the psalmist’s lament) so as not to deal with it. In this light the NIV’s “ignore” seems accurate.
10. The debate over ʾarid is whether to derive the form from rwd (“roam about”), indicating restlessness of spirit, or from rdd (“trample, subdue”), suggesting oppressive thoughts. The LXX translation “to give pain to, grieve” suggests the Heb. rʿʿ, which has no support in the textual tradition. The NIV translates the verb as if third person plural, with the psalmist’s “thoughts/concerns” as the subject, rather than the first person-singular found in the text. For ʾahimah, the question is whether to take the form from hwm (“murmur, be distracted”), in which case the verb is a cohortative (“let me be distracted”) and awkward in the context, or from hmh (“groan, growl”), indicating the psalmist’s verbal expression of pain.
11. Cf., e.g., Pss. 10:6; 13:4; 15:5; 16:8; 21:7; 30:6.
12. See the discussion in Tate, Psalms 51–100, 52.
13. Here, as in 23:4, mawet (“death”) is probably used as an intensifying element—“deadly terrors” or “ultimate terror.” It may be that mawet is the result of dittography, repeating the latter part of the preceding word, ʾemot.
14. This last term has the meaning “shaking, shuddering,” but it is used here with the verb ksh (“cover over, overwhelm,” as with waves of water). Perhaps the image is of shudders “flowing over” the whole body.
15. The Heb. behind the translation “be at rest” is the verb škn (“dwell, settle down, nest”). The term is most often used to emphasize the temporary residence of nomadic peoples in tents and to describe the nesting of birds in the wild. See Wilson, “
,” NIDOTTE, 4:109–11.
16. The Heb word yonah designated a variety of bird types of the family of small pigeons, only one of which—the turtledove—was given a distinct name. Doves could be domesticated for food or sending messages, but could also live in the wild, often nesting in inaccessible cliffs and crags.
17. Cf. Pss. 22:19; 38:22; 40:13; 70:1, 5; 71:12; 141:1.
19. Tate, Psalms 51–100, 52.
20. Some commentators provide an object for the first verb (“their plans,” RSV; “the wicked,” NIV; “their throat,” BHS), while others coordinate both verbs as referring to the single object “their tongue.” See the discussion in Tate, ibid.
21. The word rib normally has the meaning of “law case,” but it can refer to a more general “dispute” or “feud” (Judg. 12:2).
22. See 25:19 for comments on ḥamas.
23. The Heb. reḥob, from a root meaning “wide, broad,” is often taken as “street,” but it can also indicate a “broad place” or “city plaza/square.”
24. The verb ḥrp is intense in its sense of rejection and ridicule.
25. The noun ʿerek (“row, layer”) describes a person who stands alongside another in a row and is thus the same “sort” of person. The idea could be one of rank, although the “matched” character of relationship seems more likely. A person who hits it off with the psalmist is the most appropriate match for a “companion.”
26. The story of Susanna is part of the additions to the book of Daniel included in the Apocrypha.
27. The consonantal Heb. text at the beginning of 55:15 would be taken to mean, “Desolations upon them!” The marginal Masoretic note recommends an alternative reading, in which the word for “desolations” (yaššimawet) is divided into yšy [=yšyʾ ] mawet, which is taken to mean either “let death beguile them” or “let death devastate them,” depending on whether one takes the verbal root to be šwʾ (“devastate” [Gunkel]) or nšʾ (“beguile” [Briggs]).
28. An English translation of this text is available in ANETP, 1:80–85.
29. It is also suggestive that the verbal root (gwr) used in both 5:4 and 55:15 is the less common root for “dwell” and places an emphasis on the more temporary nature of the dwelling. See comments on 5:4 and Wilson, “,” 4:109–11.
30. The verb pdh is used primarily in the context of redeeming the firstborn from sacrifice to Yahweh (Ex. 13:15).
31. While it seems most likely in this context that the covenant broken is that assumed in a close relationship of friendship, it is possible that the larger covenant with Yahweh is also intended, since any unwarranted attack on others within that relationship would be considered a violation of the appropriate relation intended by Yahweh.
32. Rather than the smoothness of “butter” (as in the NIV), ḥemʾah refers to a type of “curdled milk”—probably something like yogurt.
33. Rather than the usual word for “war” (milḥamah), the psalmist speaks both here and in 55:18 of qerab (“[hostile] approach; battle”)—possibly a reference to grappling in hand-to-hand combat.
34. To add just two more examples, Samson hid out in the “cave in the rock of Etam” (Judg. 15:8, 15). David utilized the caves and wilderness of Judea in his flight from Saul (1 Sam. 23–26).
1. See comments on the heading to Ps. 16, where miktam first occurs.
2. On “the director of music,” see comments on the heading to Ps. 4; on “David,” see comments on Ps. 3.
3. The first such historical notice occurs in the heading of Ps. 3 (see comments there).
4. The three central psalms in this grouping (57; 58; 59) share what appears to be a common reference to a tune for singing: ʾal tašḥet (“Do Not Destroy),” while the outer two psalms (56; 60) bear tune names that are distinct—from each other as well as this central phrase. The constellation of so many common elements leaves a strong impression that these psalms constitute a purposeful collection and arrangement.
5. The Heb. šʾp means “pant, gasp (for breath),” suggesting the breathless hunt of the dog for its prey.
6. The enemy is described with singular nouns and verbs in this verse, contrary to the NIV and the plural reference used in the rest of the psalm. BHS rearranges the first two verses to achieve two affirmingly parallel verses with plural reference to the enemy. This requires deletion (as duplications) of the phrases “for men hotly pursue me; all day long they press their attack,” and the transposition of the root consonants in yilḥaṣeni (“he presses me”) to haṣṣileni (“Deliver me [O God]!).” The emendation seems unnecessary, since it is perfectly possible for the psalmist to individualize the enemy, and the emendation greatly reduces the urgency created by the frequent repetition of the phrase “all day long” (56:1b, 2a, 5a). Later in the psalm the opposition is referred to in single terms as “flesh” (56:4c; NIV “mortal man”) and “man” (56:11b).
7. Here, as in Ps. 47, the Hebrew is not the usual term for “[pagan] nations” (goyim) but the word that normally describes tribal and ethnic relationships (ʿammim), often translated “peoples” (see comments on Ps. 47).
8. The Heb. baśar can be used to describe “meat” for eating or the “flesh” of the body. In some contexts, however, the term by extension refers to “living beings,” including animals and humans (cf. Num. 18:15 and “all flesh” in Gen. 7:21; Job 34:15). On other occasions baśar is used to emphasize the transitory mortality of humans in comparison to God. In Gen. 6:3, God says (lit.): “My spirit [ruaḥ] will not contend with man [ʾadam] forever, for he is mortal [baśar]; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.” In Isa. 31:3, the Egyptians are “men [(ʾadam)] and not God; their horses are flesh [(baśar)] and not spirit [ruaḥ].” Because of its transitory nature, “flesh” (mortal humanity) is not a valid source of security. Cf. Jer. 17:5: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man [ʾadam], who depends on flesh [baśar] for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.”
9. Cf. Josh. 9:4, 13; Judg. 4:19; 1 Sam. 16:20; Ps. 119:83, where noʾd is regularly considered a skin for holding wine, water, or even milk.
10. In spite of there being no evidence for preserving tears, this passage has spawned a product in the tourist industry. I have purchased beautiful, thin, blown-glass “tear bottles” as a souvenir of a visit to the Holy Land. This practical interpretation comes from the KJV of Ps. 56:8: “Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?” Related to this idea of collecting the precious tears of suffering is the reference to God’s having “made [his people] drink tears by the bowlful” (80:5; cf. 42:3; 102:9).
11. Daniel C. Snell, Life in the Ancient Near East (New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press, 1997), 16, 64.
12. Other accounts of recording information for later retrieval can be found in Ex. 32:32–33; Josh. 18:9; 1 Sam. 10:25; Job 19:23–24; Isa. 34:16; Dan. 12:1; Mal. 3:16.
13. This book may contain an account of one’s life before it occurs: “Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Ps. 139:16).
14. Cf. Phil. 4:3; Rev. 3:5; 13:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27, where the operative phrase is to biblion tes zoes. The LXX of Ps. 68:28 is biblou zonton, reflecting the plural of ḥayyim (“life”) in the underlying Hebrew.
15. Luke’s account of this saying is slightly different in context than Matthew and is directed primarily in the context of the Pharisees (see Luke 12:1–5).
16. In Matthew’s account, Jesus’ statement is preceded by his caution that “a student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master,” implying that to experience suffering, rejection, and even death is to be “like Jesus.”
17. See also the Contemporary Significance section for Ps. 49.
1. See the comments on the heading of Ps. 56.
2. See Kraus, Psalms 1–59, 530; Tate, Psalms 51–100, 77; see also comments on 17:8 and 36:7.
3. See comments on this term at 52:2.
4. This unusual root translated “hotly pursue” (šʾp) occurs twice in 56:1, 2 and otherwise in the Psalter only in 119:131, where it describes the positive desire of the faithful for God’s commandments. The presence of such an unusual root in two consecutive psalms suggests a purposeful placement.
5. The alliteration created in this passage by the use of words beginning with the letter ḥ (ḥanit, ḥiṣṣim, ḥereb ḥaddah) is exceptional. Note also the similar likening of the enemy’s slanderous words to swords in 55:21.
6. For a discussion of the poetic technique of merism, see “The Poetry of the Psalms” in the introduction.
7. The Niphal of kwn has the sense of “stand firm, fast” and suggests enduring stability and reliability.
8. See Kraus, Psalms 1–59, 531.
9. As noted elsewhere in this commentary, the emphasis here is more on tribal and ethnic communities rather than national entities. See comments on Ps. 47.
10. See comments on ḥesed at 17:7 and on ʾemet at 15:2; 19:9. Perhaps the poet intends another merism here by juxtaposing šamayim and šeḥaqim. If the latter is taken as “dust,” the expression may represent the opposite end of the continuum from “heavens”—thus meaning something like “God’s ḥesed and ʾemet encompass the whole of the known creation.” Note also the assonance in the similar sounding pairs šamayim/šeḥaqim and ḥesed/ʾemet.
11. Ps. 96:10 affirms the emphasis on divine deeds with its statement that “the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved”—an oblique reference to Yahweh’s creative and sustaining deeds.
12. Yahweh’s name is connected with almost all of the verses in which the phrase “among the nations/peoples” is found. Besides those already mentioned, the name is referenced in 2 Sam. 22:50 = Ps. 18:49 and Ps. 9:11. In two other places the phrase “among the nations/people” is surrounded with multiple repetitions of the actual divine name Yahweh although the Heb. word šem (“name”) is not found. Cf. 126:2 surrounded by four repetitions of Yahweh; 46:10 with three repetitions of Yahweh in the context. In 57:9, neither šem nor Yahweh appear. Instead, God is addressed as “Lord” (ʾadonay). But in the duplicate version of this psalm outside the Elohistic Psalter, Yahweh does appear in the place of ʾadonay (108:3).
13. Note the connection between Ps. 138:2 (“your love and faithfulness”) and 57:3 (“God sends his love and his faithfulness”). The reason for praise is the same in both contexts: God’s loyalty to his covenant commitment (ḥesed) and his enduring faithfulness (ʾemet).
14. See the discussion of refuge in the comments on 2:12; 5:11; 18:2.
15. For a complete analysis and discussion of God’s will and its place in our lives, see Jerry Sittser, Discovering God’s Will (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000).
1. For these three terms, consult comments on the heading of Pss. 3; 4; 16.
2. For this term, consult comments on the heading of Ps. 57.
3. See comments on the headings of Pss. 56 and 57.
4. The translation “rulers” must be established by an emendation of the text from ʾelem (“silence”) to a supposed ʾelîm (“rams; men of power”). Another possible reading would be ʾelim meaning “gods,” so that the author’s sarcastic comments represent a denigration of the justice and power of the pagan deities. For references to Yahweh’s superiority over pagan gods, see Pss. 82; 86:8; 95:3; 96:4–5; 97:7, 9; 135:5. Cf. notes in BHS.
5. See comments on the term ṣedeq (“rightly”) at 4:1–2. The parallel word mešarim (“uprightly”) has the sense of putting things “in order” as they should be and may have legal connotations of rendering proper judgments.
6. The terms in these two verses are intended to counter one another. Righteousness (ṣedeq) is frustrated by perversity/injustice (ʿawlah, pl. ʿolot), while appropriate order (mešarim) is replaced by violent disorder (ḥamas). See additional comments on ḥamas at 25:16–21.
7. The two words used in 58:3 are synonyms for the human womb or uterus. The first (reḥem) is a direct reference to that organ, while the second (beṭen) is the more general designation for the “belly” or abdomen. The first verb (zrr; NIV “go astray”) is graphically descriptive, also having the meaning “be pressed out” as pus from a wound or a child in the birth canal.
8. The root of the word for “charmer; enchanter; conjurer” (lḥš) seems to imply “whispering” as the means of charming rather than our contemporary image of snake charming with a flute or pipe instrument. The charmer is the “most skillful of all charmers,” which uses the common superlative construction “charmer of charmers” (ḥober ḥabarim), intensified by the Pual participle of ḥkm (“be instructed; expert”) as a further modifier.
9. Cf. comments on 3:7, which discusses the similar image of God breaking the teeth of the wicked.
10. Verse 9 is difficult and literally says something like: “Before your cooking pots can perceive the thorn(s), like life or like anger they will be swept away (in a gale).” A variety of translations and emendations are offered by the translators and commentators, but none with any particular persuasiveness. In any case, the main idea that the wicked will be swept away is clear.
11. It is generally accepted that nqm has the meaning of “defensive or punitive vindication” rather than vengeance. See G. Mendenhall, The Tenth Generation: The Origins of the Biblical Tradition (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1973), 69–104. The utter defeat of the enemy is seen as public confirmation of the cause and claims of the righteous.
12. Dahood, Psalms, 2:63; 3:391–93. He also mentions the similar description of Anath cleansing herself after battle. Cf. the Egyptian text in which the goddess Hathor is tricked into thinking beer dyed red and poured out ankle deep on the fields is human blood. When she drinks this liquid, she becomes drunk and is unable to carry out her intentions to destroy humankind. An English translation of this last text is available in ANETP, 1:3–5.
13. Again in Revelation, the figure of Christ is depicted as wearing clothes stained with blood, having tread the enemies of God in the “winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty” (19:13–15).
14. Cf. Ps. 82.
15. Lest the reference in 58:3 to “birth” and “from the womb” cause confusion, many (if not all) of the gods in Mesopotamia (in particular) and in Egypt were understood to originate through sexual intercourse, conception, pregnancy, and birth.
16. See the discussion of henotheism and monotheism in the Bridging Contexts section of Ps. 29.
17. See also comments on Ps. 54:5 and the Bridging Contexts and Contemporary Significance sections of that psalm.
1. God as “refuge” and “fortress” is a common theme in the psalms. See esp. comments on 18:2, where a number of related terms are used. Within the Psalter, manos appears only here and at 142:4. The underlying meaning is “place of fleeing” from the verbal root nws (“flee, escape”).
2. Tate (Psalms 51–100, 96) offers a variety of possible structural divisions of this psalm and remarks that the selah indicators do seem in this case to reflect points of literary division of the text.
3. The term ʾelohim seems to intrude here into the more normal phrase yhwh ṣebaʾot (“Yahweh of hosts”).
4. On these three terms, see the headings of Pss. 3; 4; 16.
5. See the commentary on the heading of Ps. 57, where this phrase first occurs.
6. The verb śgb shares the same root as the noun miśgab (“fortress”), which appears later in v. 16. The base meaning is to “make high/inaccessible” so that one cannot be reached or touched by attackers.
7. See comments on 14:4, 6.
8. See comments on 5:5–6 (where the singular form ʾišhdamim occurs along with poʿale ʾawen); also 26:9.
9. The second of these verbs is particularly difficult. Holladay (CHALOT, 153) takes the form as an unusual Hithpolel form, in which the infixed taw of the expected form yitkonanu has assimilated to the following kap and now appears as a doubled kap: yikkonanu. According to Holladay, the meaning of the Hithpolel of kwn is “draw oneself up (in battle array).”
10. By far the more common and widespread appellation of God is yhwh ṣebaʾot (“Yahweh of hosts”). This title occurs some 259 times scattered through the historical books and esp. the prophetic literature. The phrase occurs eight times in the psalms (Pss. 24:10; 46:7, 11; 48:8; 69:6; 84:1, 3; 84:12). Alternative forms of this epithet also occur, but much less frequently: e.g., ʾelohim ṣebaʾot (2x in Ps. 80:8, 15). Combinations of these forms include yhwh ʾelohe ṣebaʾot (15x) and yhwh ʾelohim ṣebaʾot (4x in Pss. 59:6; 80:5, 20; 84:9). It is interesting to note that in all its forms, this designation of the God of Israel as the leader of its military host is concentrated in the first three books of the Psalter with no mention coming after Ps. 89. See the discussion of “The Shape of the Psalter” in vol. 2 of this commentary.
11. Tate, Psalms 51–100, 94–95.
12. See comments of P. K. McCarter, 1 Samuel (AB; New York: Doubleday, 1980), 384–85; idem, 2 Samuel (AB; New York: Doubleday, 1980), 261.
13. See esp. Kraus, Psalms 1–59, 540.
14. Tate, Psalms 51–100, 97.
15. Cf. similar examples of bravado of being able to escape detection in 12:4; 64:5; 73:11; 94:7.
16. The verbs used here for “laugh” and “scoff” are the same ones used in 2:4. The latter verb (lʿg) means to stammer derisively in another’s face.
17. The NIV takes the phrase ʾelohe ḥasdo to mean “loving God” and shifts it from the beginning of verse 10 to complete the preceding verse. The phrase is difficult and variously rendered in the versions (see the BHS textual apparatus), but it could begin verse 10 with the sense “My loving/faithful God goes before me.”
18. See the discussion of this and other words for “shield” in the comments on 3:3; 5:12. As the NIV note indicates, the term magen can sometimes be used metaphorically for “ruler(s),” but here the idea of divine protection seems to be foremost.
19. The verse is difficult because of the uncertainty surrounding the interpretation of the consonantal text of the opening phrase ʾlhy ḥsdw. The Kethib suggests “My God, his loyal love goes before me,” while the Qere implies “My loyal loving God goes before me.” The LXX supports the reading of the Kethib, although this may represent the translators’ choice between existing alternatives. Tate (Psalms 51–100, 94) also reminds us that the verb qdm (“go before”) can also have the sense “meet” and understands the context as describing the psalmist’s hope for a theophanic appearance of God to “meet” his needs.
20. Cf. the similar use of the verb rʾh (“see”) in 22:17.
21. For the use of this word, see comments on 54:5.
22. Alternatively this may refer to being “taken down a peg or two,” having their prideful stature reduced.
23. Cf. 1 Sam. 17:43; 24:14; 2 Sam. 16:9; Eccl. 9:4.
24. Cf. 2 Sam. 9:8; 2 Kings 8:13.
25. See also 1 Kings 16:4; 21:19, 23–24; 22:38; 2 Kings 9:10, 36; Ps. 68:23.
26. A Babylonian text has survived listing the provisions set aside for the support of Jehoiachin and his retinue. See W. F. Albright, “King Joiachin in Exile,” in The Biblical Archaeologist Reader, ed. G. Ernest Wright and David Noel Freedman (Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Books, 1961), 1:106–12.
27. See God’s commitment graphically displayed in the prophecy of Hosea, esp. chs. 1–3!
1. See comments on 57:7–11.
2. Some commentators (including those in the notes of The NIV Study Bible, 846) conclude the first section with verse 3. The lament certainly ends there. However, in my opinion, verse 4 provides a questioning foil for the sense of rejection the community was feeling and should be included here rather than with what follows. The appearance of selah at the end of v. 4, while not conclusive, is certainly supportive of such a division (see comments on selah in Ps. 3). The sense would be: “You have rejected us, even though your normal and expected procedure is to provide military leadership and protection for those who fear you.”
3. The term that the NIV translates “covenant” is not the traditional word for covenant (berit), but the word ʿedut (“testimony, witness”). The idea is of an almost visible reminder/memorial that serves as a “warning sign” (Holladay, CHALOT, 266) against breaking a commitment. Cf. references to the tablets of the law as luḥot haʿedut (“the tablets of the Testimony,” Ex. 31:18) and the ark of the covenant as haʾaron laʿedut (“the ark of the Testimony,” 31:7)—presumably because it contained the tablets of the law (Deut. 10:1–5).
4. See comments on the heading of Ps. 56.
5. The events mentioned may be those recounted in 2 Sam. 8; 1 Chron. 18, although there is some difference in those accounts and the psalm heading over how many Edomites were struck down (2 Sam. 8 and 1 Chron. 18 say 18,000, while the psalm heading mentions 12,000) and who did the deed (2 Sam. 8 says David, 1 Chron. 18 mentions Joab’s brother Abishai, while the psalm heading says Joab).
6. See comments on the heading of Ps. 56.
7. See commentary on Ps. 42, at the beginning of the Elohistic Psalter.
8. The verb prṣ normally describes the breaching of a city or house wall by attackers or robbers—in which case God is viewed as acting like an enemy laying siege to his own people. On occasion it may also describe water that overflows and breaks out of its bounds (Prov. 3:10; Mic. 2:13).
9. Cf. Tate’s translation (Psalms 51–100, 100): “You who put up a banner for those who fear you—only to let them flee before the bowmen!”
10. The LXX and other versions (including the Syriac) understand qošet as “the bow,” indicating they were reading the text as qešet.
11. Cf. the NRSV: “You have set up a banner for those who fear you, to rally to it out of bowshot”; and the NIV: “But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow.”
12. It is also suggestive that the towns of Shechem and Succoth figure prominently in the narratives of Judg. 8–9. In Judg. 8, while Gideon is pursuing the fleeing kings of Midian, the citizens of Succoth incur his wrath when they refuse to feed his starving troops because he has yet to capture the kings of Midian. When he is successful in his pursuit, Gideon returns and teaches the men of Succoth a “lesson” with “desert thorns and briers.” In Judg. 9, it is Gideon’s son Abimelech who destroys the citizens of Shechem after they change from support to opposition for his ill-fated attempt at kingship.
13. “Helmet” is an interpretive translation of the Hebrew maʿoz roʾši (lit., “stronghold of my head”). Possibly this refers instead to “my chief [or foremost] stronghold.”
14. The job of washing feet was the task of menial servants and slaves. Jesus transported this act of humble servanthood into a voluntary act of love and submission to God when he washed his disciples’ feet (John 13:1–17).
15. Discussion continues regarding the precise understanding of this idiom. It may be another sign of menial servitude, as when the master tosses his sandals at a slave to be cared for. Or, following the lead of the story of Ruth (Ruth 4:7–10), it may represent a public claim of ownership. Alternatively, casting the sandal may be related to the acts of a conquering king over the defeated ruler of a conquered people. The triumphant king made the defeated ruler his “footstool,” placing his foot on the king’s neck as a public display of raw power and subjection. Of course, it may well be that in this passage a combination of all three of these is at work. These enemy nations are God’s possession, have been subdued by him, and will be forced to labor as the servants of his people.
16. The phrase naʿaśeh ḥayil probably means something more like “accomplish deeds of military prowess” than an actual claim of victory.
17. Cf. Pss. 6:3; 10:1; 13:1; 35:17; 44:23–24; 74:10–11; 79:5; 80:4; 89:46; 90:13; 119:84.
18. Here the term is yadid (“beloved”), which indicates that Yahweh’s relation is based on more than just loyalty and commitment.
19. Cf. the accounts of complete and incomplete conquests in Joshua and Judges. Josh. 1–11 describes what appears to be a completely successful conquest (10:40–43; 11:10–23). Josh. 12–24 and Judg. 2:1–3:6 make it clear, however, that the campaign was far from complete and that Israel’s failure of commitment had prevented their accomplishing a thorough conquest.
20. Anatoly Sharansky, Fear No Evil (New York: Public Affairs, 1998), 270.
1. Cf. comments on the heading of Ps. 4. The Hebrew in Ps. 61 is ʿal neginat (“on stringed instrument”), a singular construct phrase that lacks any concluding noun. BHS notes a number of manuscripts that use the plural absolute form instead. Ps. 4 has the alternative phrase binginot (“with stringed instruments”).
2. Deut. 28:63–64 warns the Israelites as they prepare to enter the Promised Land that failure to follow Yahweh’s commandments will result in their being “uprooted from the land” and that “the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other.”
3. It is interesting that of eleven occurrences of the phrase “ends of the earth” in the Psalter, seven occur within the bounds of the Elohistic Psalter (46:9; 48:10; 59:13; 61:2; 65:5; 67:7; 72:8) and only four outside this collection (2:8; 22:27; 98:3; 135:7); this seems to represent part of the distinctive vocabulary of this section.
4. Cf. esp. 27:4–6, where the themes of dwelling with Yahweh, hiding in his “tent” (ʾohel; NIV “tabernacle”), and being set “high upon a rock” come together. In 27:5, the phrase “set me high upon a rock” is the Heb. beṣur yeromemeni, which is similar to 61:2 (beṣur yarum mimmenni). BHS also notes that the Greek text of 61:2 assumes an underlying Hebrew teromemeni (“you will set me high [on a rock]”).
5. For further discussion of God as “refuge,” see comments on 18:2.
6. For the theme of dwelling with Yahweh, see comments on 23:6. The theme receives expansion in 27:4–6 as well. The selah that occurs at the end of 61:4 seems misplaced if it is intended to mark a structural division. The particle ki (“for”) that begins 61:5 clearly links that verse with 61:4.
7. The NIV’s translation of yešeb (Qal imperfect of yšb) as the passive “be enthroned” rather than the more common “sit, dwell” obscures the intentional parallel between psalmist and king in these verses.
8. For further discussion of ḥesed, see comments on 17:7; for ʾemet, see comments on 15:2; 19:9. Ḥesed describes loyalty to obligations assumed as part of a covenant relationship, while ʾemet stresses enduring reliability, long-term trustworthiness. These terms are paired together throughout in the Psalter: 25:10; 26:3; 40:10–11; 57:3, 10; 61:7; 69:13; 85:10; 86:15; 89:14; 108:4; 115:1; 117:2; 138:2. (Note esp. 40:10–11, where the NIV translates ʾemet as “truth,” emphasizing the reliability of God and his utterance.) The NIV in 61:7 takes the uncertain Heb. verb man as an imperative of mnh (“count, apportion, appoint”). BHS, by contrast, suggests the word should be omitted as the result of dittography.
9. The Heb. zmr more normally describes performing instrumental musical accompaniment than singing.
10. Cf. “Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known” (Deut. 28:64). “At that time those slain by the LORD will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered up or buried, but will be like refuse lying on the ground” (Jer. 25:33).
11. “The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand” (Deut. 28:49).
12. “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth” (Isa. 43:6).
13. “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him” (Ps. 22:27; see also Isa. 42:10).
14. See esp. Kraus, Psalms 1–59, 248–49 (on Ps. 17:8). Cf. also comments above on 17:8; 57:1.
1. Alternatively the psalm could be divided into three stanzas of four verses each (vv. 1–4, 5–8, 9–12), with the first two introduced with the near duplicate statement of confidence and the last being a collection of aphorisms. This has the benefit of agreeing with the presence of selah at the end of vv. 4 and 8.
2. See comments on the heading to Ps. 4.
3. In Ps. 39, this term is presented as lidutun (“to/for/by Jeduthun”), and a few manuscripts of Psalms render the term in Ps. 62 as lidutun as well (see the critical apparatus in BHS). See also the comments on Jeduthun in the heading of Ps. 39.
4. Cf. (lit.) “According to the Lilies” in the heading of Ps. 45.
5. Cf. “According to sheminith” in the heading of Ps. 6, or “According to gittith [tuning]” in the heading of Ps. 8.
6. Besides these four appearances of ʾak, the word appears twice more—at the beginnings of vv. 4 and 9—for a total of six occurrences in this psalm.
8. There is another alternative, employing a different verb with the same root dmm. This alternative form has the root meaning “wail, lament,” which would provide the translation: “Lament to God, O my soul!” While this is a possible rendering, it undermines the apparent purpose of surrounding the threat of the enemy with the strength of divine protection in the inclusio. The apparatus of BHS notes that a few manuscripts have made the second appearance of the inclusio conform to the first, so that dumiyyah is found in both.
9. The NIV apparently takes rabbah as an emphatic and translates “I will never be shaken.”
10. Kraus, Psalms 60–150 (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1989), 11–12, drawing on Ps. 73:18.
11. Tate, Psalms 51–100, 117–18.
12. A Hiphil infinitive construct of ndḥ with the preposition le-, which in the Hiphil means “scatter, disperse” (Holladay, CHALOT, 229).
13. See the comments on kabod at 3:3–4.
14. The reference to “rock” (ṣur) and “refuge” (maḥsi) in 62:7 provides an effective link back to 61:2–3, where the psalmist seeks the “rock that is higher than I” to serve as “refuge” against the enemy.
15. A word commonly employed in Ecclesiastes, where it appears thirty-six times with the meaning “valueless, worthless.” The term also appears with basically the same meaning in Job (Job 7:16; 9:29; 21:34; 27:12; 35:16); Isaiah (Isa. 30:7; 49:4; 57:13); and Lamentations (Lam. 4:17). In Deut. 32:21; 1 Kings 16:13, 26; 2 Kings 17:15; and nine times in Jeremiah, hebel refers to pagan idols. In Proverbs, the predominant image is of an insubstantial “fleeting vapor” (Prov. 21:6) and extensions by analogy to dishonest gain (13:11) and beauty (31:30).
16. From a verbal root gzl (“strip off/away; take by force”), the term describes “robbery” and is prohibited in Lev. 6:1–7.
17. See also Prov. 11:28; 27:24; Eccl. 7:7.
18. The term is ḥesed (“covenant loyalty; loyal love and commitment”).
19. A. Weiser, Psalms: A Commentary, trans. H. Hartwell (OTL: Philadelphia: Westminster, 1971), 452.
21. In some occurrences of ḥrš is a sense of “keep silent” (e.g., 2 Kings 18:36). See also Gen. 24:21; Num. 30:4.
22. See also Ps. 37:7; Isa. 23:2; Jer. 47:6.
23. See also Ex. 4:26; Judg. 8:3; 1 Sam. 15:16.
24. See Eccl. 5:3, 7; Matt. 6:7.
25. See also Judg. 3:19.
26. The verb ʾlm is found also in God’s warning to Ezekiel that “I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent”; as a result, Ezekiel was unable to prophesy against his people until released from his divinely imposed muteness (Ezek. 3:26; cf. 24:27; 33:32, where the prophet is at last allowed to speak). The noun of the same root describes those who are mute (cf. Ex. 4:11; Ps. 38:13; Isa. 35:6)
27. This does not, of course, mean that God expected Israel never to act or work to secure her life and well-being. The Sabbath rest did not preclude labor on the other six days. God’s action against Israel’s enemies did not eliminate the need for an army and fortress cities. The focus is on the source of ultimate security and the elimination of frantic activity as a result of reliance on faulty human power.
28. Though the NIV uses “Son” and “Father,” I have made them lowercase (see comments on 2:6–7).
29. Others would include the entrance liturgies (Pss. 12; 15; 24; 36; and others) in this group of extended divine pronouncements given by cult prophets in the context of worship. See esp. the commentary of C. Broyles on these psalms. Cf. also 82:2–7.
30. Other examples of brief divine utterances that may have been delivered by a cult prophet include: 75:3–5; 91:14–16; 95:8–11.
31. For a helpful summary, see the article on “Prophets” in ISBE2, 3:992–93.
32. Weiser, Psalms, 448.
33. Ex. 4:9; 1 Sam. 7:6; Ps. 22:14.
34. Judg. 6:20; Isa. 57:6.
35. Cf., e.g., Gen. 9:6; 37:22; Ex. 29:12; Lev. 4:7; 17:13.
36. Isa. 42:25; Ezek. 9:8.
37. Joel 2:28–29.
38. Ps. 42:4.
39. 1 Sam. 1:15; Lam. 2:19.
1. For further discussion of incubation, see comments on 57:6–11.
2. See the discussion of the divine name Yahweh in the comments on Ps. 8.
3. See also the similar reference in 57:1: “I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings.”
4. If the phrase, “O God, you are my God” seems a bit awkward and redundant, it is. Ps. 63 is part of what is called the Elohistic Psalter (see comments on Ps. 42), and the more generic term ʾelohim (God) often appears where the more specific divine name Yahweh is expected. Cf. Isa. 25:1, which begins with a similar affirmation of Yahweh as God (“O LORD, you are my God”), while in Ps. 140:6 the psalmist speaks of Yahweh using almost the exact phrase: (“O LORD, I say to you, ‘You are my God’ ”).
5. The two terms mean “waterless” (ṣiyyah) and “faint, exhausted” (ʿayep here probably “with thirst”).
6. Cf. the visions of Ezekiel in Ezek. 8. Amos received visions from Yahweh that are recorded in Amos 7–8. Note the reference to “vision” as the mode of prophetic reception in the opening verses of Isaiah, Obadiah, Micah, and Nahum.
7. A similar insight motivated Daniel’s three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when confronted with the choice between bowing down to the pagan idol or being thrown into the fiery furnace (Dan. 3). Their response to the king exhibits a similar tension between hope and resolution: “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (3:17–18).
8. Once again the NIV demonstrates its hesitancy to ascribe to humans the ability to bless God, preferring instead to translate brk as “praise” (see comments on 16:7).
9. The act of “lifting up the hands” to God is a gesture of worship—primarily denoting prayer or direct communication with God. This can be supplication (cf. Ex. 17:16; Pss. 28:2; 141:2; Lam. 2:19), confession (Lam. 3:41), or (as here) praise (cf. Pss. 119:48; 134:2).
10. A probable reference to the “wings” of the seraphim that overshadow the ark of the covenant in the sanctuary (cf. comments on 57:1).
11. The first half of 63:9 is difficult and reads more literally, “and they to destruction [or ‘in vain’] they seek my life.” The difference in the consonantal text between “to destruction” (lšwʾh) and “in vain” (lšwʾ ) is the matter of a single final letter -h, which is in this case a mater lectionis added to mark a long vowel. The normal Hebrew phrase for the NIV’s “they who seek my life” is mebaqše napši rather than yebaqšu napši, as in this verse.
12. See comments on 61:6–7.
13. The NIV translation makes explicit what is left ambiguous in the Heb. text. In the Heb. the phrase reads: “All those who swear by him will praise,” so that it remains unclear whether the people are swearing by God or by the king. In addition, it is striking that in the consonantal text the Niphal participle from šbʿ (“those who swear”) would look identical to the Niphal participle from śbʿ (hanniśbaʿ, “those who are satisfied”)—a reading that would make important connections with the psalmist’s earlier phrase, “my soul will be satisfied” (tiśbaʿ napši), in 63:5.
14. Cf. Ex. 15:22–27; 17:1–6; Num. 20:2–11; 33:14; Deut. 8:15; 23:4.
15. Ps. 78:15–20; Neh. 9:15, 20.
16. Isa. 5:13; 50:2; Jer. 14:3; Hos. 2:3; Amos 8:13.
17. Pss. 65:9; 104:10–11; 105:41; 107:35; Isa. 44:3; 49:10.
18. It might be possible to trace this linkage all the way back to Ps. 44, near the beginning of Book 2.
19. See the discussion of the Elohistic Psalter in the comments on Pss. 42–43.
20. An alternative reading of this passage raises some question whether Job is expressing such a robust faith: “He will surely slay me; I have no hope—yet I will defend my ways to his face.”
21. Kraus, Psalms 60–150, 21.
1. Note the progression of praise begun esp. in 61:8 (I will “ever sing praise to your name”), continued in 63:11 (“all who swear by God’s name will praise him”), escalated in 64:9 (“all mankind will fear . . . proclaim . . . ponder . . . rejoice . . . take refuge . . . praise him”). This praise is anticipated in 65:1 and culminates in the two (non-Davidic) praise hymns, Pss. 66 and 67: “Shout with joy to God all the earth! Sing the glory of his name. . . . All the earth bows down to you” (66:1–4); “May the peoples . . . all the peoples praise you . . . nations of the earth . . . all the ends of the earth will fear him” (67:3–7). In this context Ps. 68, with its description of the triumphant Yahweh, fresh from subduing the nations and entering the sanctuary to the praise of the whole world, forms a fitting conclusion to this series of psalms.
2. See the comments on the heading of Ps. 4.
3. See the comments on the heading of Ps. 3.
4. The operative term for God in this psalm is ʾelohim, as is the tendency throughout the Elohistic Psalter (Pss. 42–83). This phenomenon (of using ʾelohim rather than the more personal divine name yhwh [Yahweh]) is particularly exaggerated in Pss. 60–67, where yhwh occurs only once (64:10). Nowhere else in the Elohistic Psalter does such a stretch of psalms with so few appearances of yhwh occur. This is particularly striking in this group of psalms since at the same time reference is made to the “name” (šem) of God—an oblique pointer to yhwh—on no fewer than five occasions (61:5, 8; 63:4; 66:2, 4). On either side of this group of eight psalms the reticence about the use of the name yhwh disappears. The name occurs three times in Ps. 59, five times in Ps. 68, five times in Ps. 69, and an additional five in the combined Pss. 70–71.
5. The word “deadly” does not actually appear in the Heb. text, either of this verse or the related reference to God’s arrows in 64:7a. For related imagery of attack with arrows—both divine and human—cf. Job 6:4; Ps. 7:13; Prov. 26:18; Jer. 9:8; Ezek. 5:16.
6. The same term is used by God of Job in his conversation with Satan (Job 1:8; 2:3) and is coupled there (and elsewhere) with the further descriptor of righteousness: yašar (“upright”). The word tam has the sense “complete, whole, right” and denotes life lived as God intends.
7. There is much in these verses that resonates with the grumbling conspiracy and association with the wicked that characterizes Pss. 1 and 2.
8. They cry out together: tamnu ḥepeś meḥupaś (lit., “We have perfected a well-researched plot”). It is striking that the enemy employ the verb tmm, which has the same root meaning (“whole, complete, perfect”) as the noun tam, used to describe the innocence of the psalmist (64:5a).
9. This difficult phrase assumes the verbal root ndd, with the meaning “wander, flee,” and it takes the phrase to describe society avoiding the discredited enemies, who have become pariahs. However, this root does not occur elsewhere in the Hithpael stem as here. More commonly the verb is taken from the root nwd with the meaning in the Hithpael of “shake in disapproval/disdain (or lament?)” concerning something.
10. Whether humanity will “fear” (yrʾ ) as in the text or “see” (rʾh) as BHS notes many manuscripts read, is a matter of uncertainty—and perhaps not of great significance ultimately.
11. See opening comments, above.
12. The appearance of the divine name “Yahweh” (yhwh; NIV “LORD”) is almost startling here since we have not encountered it at all since 59:8 and will not see it again until Ps. 68! See comments and notes on vv. 1–2, above.
1. Outside these psalms, the idea of making vows to God surfaces only six more times, widely scattered through the Psalter (22:25; 50:14; 76:12; 116:14, 18; 132:2). To find half of the twelve occurrences of this theme concentrated within a group of just ten psalms seems hardly coincidental.
2. Although this probably refers to distant, non-Israelite humanity drawn to praise God because of the blessings they see poured out on Israel, the phrase certainly must have resonated with the circumstances of the far-flung Diaspora community.
3. Within this group of psalms, references to the temple occur at 60:6; 63:2; 65:4; 66:13; 68:5, 17, 24, 29, 35; 69:9.
4. Legislation governing the giving of the offering of firstfruits is found in Ex. 23:16, 19; 34:22, 26; Lev. 2:12, 14; 23:17, 20; Num. 18:12, 13; 28:26; Deut. 26:2, 10.
5. For further comments on these notations, see the headings of Pss. 3 and 4.
6. The term šir first appears as a simple notation in the heading of Ps. 30.
7. Note how at the end of a series of four psalm headings (62–65) bearing the common phrase “psalm of David” (mizmor ledawid) the additional genre term šir is added to the heading of Ps. 65. This links forward to the non-Davidic Pss. 66 and 67, which contain both mizmor and šir in their headings. The linkage continues on to include the heading of the Davidic Ps. 68, which is also designated ledawid mizmor šir. For comments on this technique of binding psalms together employing similar phrases in the psalm headings, see Wilson, The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter, 163–64, 190–91.
8. The passage is made difficult by the uncertainty of meaning attached to the word that the NIV translates “awaits” (dumiyyah). In Pss. 22:2 and 39:2 the same word is taken as a noun and seems to connote “silence.” That meaning makes little sense in our context, however. The note in BHS suggest emending on the basis of the Greek and Syriac to a Qal participial form with the meaning “silent one.” In that case the verse would mean something like: “To you, O silent one, [is] praise, O God in Zion.”
9. The Heb. actually says, “To you a vow will be fulfilled.” The NIV’s rendering is an interpretive expansion, based on the plural voice exhibited in the remainder of the psalm.
10. Even the Gentiles will be able to approach God effectively in his sanctuary (see Isa. 56:1–7).
11. See comments on 56:5–11.
12. Again, this is not “terror” but acknowledgment of one’s total dependence on God for all aspects of life.
13. The Greek word translated “nations” is ethne, a term related to the English adjective ethnic.
14. As I write, I have before me a brochure from CB International, in which these last two phrases are used (see www.cbi.org).
15. Read the statistics provided in Ray Bakke, “The Lord Is Shaking Up the City,” in The Urban Christian (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1987), 28–44; also the introduction in idem, A Theology as Big as the City (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1997), 11–15. Also consider the excellent introduction to urban theology by Robert Linthicum, City of God, City of Satan: A Biblical Theology for the Urban Church (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991).
1. See comments on the headings of Pss. 3; 4; 30; and 65.
2. See comments on the term selah at 3:1–2.
3. See comments on the Elohistic Psalter at Ps. 42; see also comments on the term “God” (ʾelohim) at 64:1–2.
4. As I have noted elsewhere in the commentary (see, e.g., comments on 16:7), the NIV has translated an original Hebrew brk (“bless”) as “praise,” revealing an interpretational reluctance to admit that humans can actually bless God in a way that truly affects him. Israel had no such reluctance, as this passage and many others attest.
5. Two idioms are used here for God’s preservation: He is (lit.) “the one who establishes our nepeš in life [baḥayyim]” and the one who “has not given/allowed our foot to slip [lammoṭ].” For other uses of moṭ (“totter, shake, slip”), see comments on Pss. 15–17.
6. For bḥn, see Pss. 7:9; 11:4, 5; 17:3; 81:7; Jer. 6:27; 11:20; 12:3. For ṣrp, see 2 Sam. 22:31; Pss. 12:6; 17:3; 18:30; Isa. 1:25; 40:19, among others.
7. Once again, the reference to “temple” links this psalm with Pss. 56–68 (cf. comments on these psalms).
8. It is probably futile to speculate on the nature of the psalmist’s sin based on the type and combination of sacrificial animals mentioned in this passage. Nowhere does such a constellation of offerings appear in association with a particular type of sin offering—or thanksgiving offering, for that matter. Also, the abundance of the offerings is probably no indication of the wealth or status of the offerer, since poetic hyperbole is most likely at work.
9. The verb rʾh (“look, see”) is used similarly in 22:17, where the enemies are described as staring and gloating (rʾh) over the narrator’s condition.
10. Cf. Wilson, The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter, 164, 190–91. Pss. 51–64 and 69–71 are consistently pleas for deliverance or confrontation of evil that provide a contrasting backdrop for the brilliant praise profession concentrated in Pss. 65–68.
11. See the comments of Tate, Psalms 51–100, 147–48.
12. See comments on the image of God at Ps. 8.
13. See also Paul’s statement in Phil. 4:11–13.
1. See the Bridging Contexts section of Ps. 66.
2. See comments on Ps. 3, where this term first appears.
3. See comments on the heading of Ps. 4.
4. See comments on the heading of Ps. 66.
5. See comments on the heading of Ps. 4, where this term first appears. The same term appears also in the headings of Pss. 6; 54; 55; 61; and 76.
6. Not only do the nations learn to “fear God” because Israel receives blessings from him, but they all experience the blessings of divine rule and are glad (67:4). Thus, the final result anticipated is not just awe or fear on the part of the nations (because of his protective care for Israel), but covenant commitment to God.
7. Cf. comments on 19:1–6; 50:1–6.
8. See esp. 31:16; 80:1, 3, 7, 19; 118:27.
9. See 50:1–6; 94:1–3.
10. See the discussion of repeated refrains in the introduction.
11. See comments of the various nouns for “people/nations” in Ps. 47.
12. See the discussion of salvation at 44:4–9. On the salvation of the nations, see 1 Chron. 16:23; Pss. 74:12; 98:3; Isa. 26:18; 45:8; 49:6; 52:10.
13. See discussion of the Elohistic Psalter in the comments on Pss. 42–43.
14. This one last psalm is Ps. 82, which focuses on interaction within the heavenly council of the many gods. Although the God of Israel is viewed in this psalm as the Most High God, there may have remained some reluctance to insert the name of the one true God, Yahweh, into this rather pagan, polytheistic environment.
15. This group may also have downplayed the negative associations of the name Yahweh with the defeat of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, which likely undermined the confidence of non-Israelite peoples in Yahweh’s power to save.
16. See the discussion of chiasm in the section on “The Poetry of the Psalms” in the introduction.
17. Although the apparatus of BHS offers several textually supported alternatives, all of which are plural, the word as it stands in the MT is darkeka (“your way”), in the singular.
18. It is significant that in the Yahweh malak psalms (93, 95–98) the chief characteristic of Yahweh as king is his coming to judge the earth in “truth” and “righteousness” (96:13), in “righteousness” and “equity” (98:9). In both instances Yahweh’s judgment of the earth is the cause of universal joy and praise.
19. It is, of course, remarkable that the formative name Yahweh is not used in the benediction of Ps. 67—a further indication of the revisionist character of the Elohistic Psalter, of which it is a part.
20. See comments on the divine name at Ps. 8. See also the discussion of “name theology” in the Bridging Contexts section of Ps. 63.
21. The final clause of the priestly benediction in Num. 6 does not appear in Ps. 67. In Num. 6:26, the benediction concludes: “[May] the LORD turn [lift up] his face toward you and give you peace.” Note the tension that underlies this statement: To “lift up” the divine face is to allow the full force of divine glory to be seen and directly experienced—a fearsome prospect for sinful humans, for “no one may see [God’s] face and live” (Ex. 33:19–20). Yet the benediction remains confident that when Yahweh “lifts his face” on Israel, he will give, not destruction and judgment, but “peace” (wholeness, completeness, communion) to the recipient. While this aspect of the benediction is not emphasized in Ps. 67, it must have formed a part of the background knowledge and understanding of the hearer/reader and would have informed the interpretation of the universal purposes of Yahweh. In this way the salvation of God would be known among all the nations on earth (67:3)—through the blessing of God poured out (67:6–7). The turn from judgment of the nations/peoples (66:7) to salvation may come as a result of confession of sin as described in 65:3 and 66:18. The ability to stand in God’s presence and share his “glory” without fear is expressed in the New Testament in Rom. 5:1–11.
22. Rom. 11:17–24.
1. W. F. Albright, “A Catalogue of Early Hebrew Lyric Poems,” HUCA 23 (1950–1951): 1–39.
2. F. M. Cross, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1973), 147–63.
3. See comments on the headings of Pss. 3; 4; 30; and 65.
4. We probably envision the wax of a candle shrinking away from the flame of the burning wick, but the early Israelites—to whom candles were unknown—more likely are thinking of the wax figures used to form a clay mold for casting metal. The wax was carved into the finished shape and then coated with the clay of the mold. After the clay was hardened, molten metal was poured into the mold through an opening left for this purpose. The wax model was vaporized as the hot metal replaced it. Alternatively, an Old Aramaic treaty from the mid-eighth century B.C. mentions the burning of a wax figure as part of a ritual of self-imprecation affirming the treaty relationship. See W. Beyerlin, Near Eastern Religious Texts Relating to the Old Testament (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1978), 259.
5. The same verb describes the joyous response of the “nations” to the just rule and guidance of God in 67:4.
6. Cf. Beyerlin, Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 196, note q; 210, note h.
7. This is the first appearance of the divine name Yahweh since 64:10 and only the third occurrence since 59:3. In light of the tendency of the Elohistic Psalter (Pss. 42–83) to omit reference to Yahweh, Ps. 68 (with five appearances of the name), Ps. 69 (an additional five occurrences), and the combined Pss. 70–71 (five more appearances of the name) mark a radical departure.
8. The story of the two widows Naomi and Ruth makes this point clearly.
9. Cf. Deut. 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:17–21; 26:12, 13; 27:19. The fact that the preponderance of this legislation is found in Deuteronomy—which came to its final form and position in the Pentateuch in the Exile—suggests this problem of the rights and needs of the “fatherless and widows” is particularly acute in the late monarchical and early exilic period. This is borne out as well by the number of prophetic allusions to injustice and indignity visited on these marginalized people during this same period (cf. Isa. 1:17, 23; 9:17; 10:2; Jer. 7:6; 22:3; Ezek. 22:7; Zech. 7:10; Mal. 3:5). Any increase in the “fatherless and widows” during this period may well have been the result of the deaths or physical displacement of many males in the military engagements and resulting captivity of the Exile.
10. See esp. the condemnations of Isa. 1:17, 23; 10:2; Jer. 7:6; 22:3; and Ezek. 22:6–7. That even outside Israel kings were expected to protect the rights of widows and orphans is illustrated by the Epilogue to the Law Code of Hammurabi, where that great king takes care to proclaim that one reason for the promulgation of his law code was to ensure justice for orphans and widows (cf. G. R. Driver and J. C. Miles, The Babylonian Law [Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1955], 2:95–99).
11. Again the circumstances described fit well with the devastation of the Exile: fathers killed in battle, or carried off to prison outside the homeland, and leaving their defenseless families bereft of protection and representation.
12. The word translated “sun-scorched” may mean instead “bare, barren,” indicating a desert or wilderness region devoid of vegetation. While this may be the result of intense sun, the emphasis here in on the barrenness of the landscape and not the heat.
13. (1) The phrase newat bayit (68:12b) lit. means something like “remote pasturage of a house.” The NIV’s translation as “in the camps” is speculative. (2) The reference to “among the campfires” (68:13a) has adapted the Hebrew text (ben šepatayim [“between two lips”]) in response to a similar phrase in Judg. 5:16 (ben hammišpetayim [“between the two saddlebags”; NIV “among the campfires”). (3) The meaning here of the reference in 68:13b–c to “the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver, its feathers with shining gold” remains opaque.
14. Zalmon (68:14b) is a mountain located near Shechem (cf. Judg. 9:48), while the mountains of Bashan (68:15) are situated east of the Sea of Galilee, on the eastern side of the Jordan River.
15. The phrase “the mountains of Bashan are majestic mountains” is an interesting one since it involves the use of the more generic word for God/god (ʾelohim) as a sort of superlative adjective. The passage literally reads: “[the] mountain of God [is] Mount Bashan” (har ʾelohim har bašan). The NIV’s translation “majestic” is most likely an interpretation taken from the parallel phrase har gabnunnim har bašan (“a mountain of high arches [is] Mount Bashan”).
16. The gifts are received “from men” (ʾadam), a more generic allusion to all humanity as is characteristic of this group of Pss. 56–68.
17. On this issue, see comments on 16:3–8.
18. See the discussion of merism in the section on “The Poetry of the Psalms” in the introduction.
19. Biblical texts include Ps. 58:10; Isa. 63:3, 6; Ezek. 28:23. Cf. the related passages in 2 Kings 21:16; Hos. 6:8; Prov. 1:12; Rev. 14:20. Outside the Bible, cf. Hathor in “The Deliverance of Mankind from Destruction,” ANETP, 1:3–5.
20. Just why the tribe of Benjamin is called “little” is not immediately clear. Benjamin is described as the youngest son of Jacob/Israel in the Joseph narratives (Gen. 37–50). Perhaps the intent is to enhance the stature of the Davidic homeland, Judah, which is described here as a “great throng.”
21. The latter half of verse 30 is particularly difficult. The Hithpael participle mitrappes means something like “muddy themselves”; depending on how one takes the following participle beraṣṣe (from rṣh or rwṣ) might suggest prostrating themselves in the dirt/mud or splashing mud on themselves while running in haste to deliver their tribute and entreaties for peace.
22. The latter phrase (bišme šeme qedem) is difficult, and BHS suggests a possible emendation to baššamayim qedem. While the parallel with 68:4 is not exact, it is sufficiently similar to suggest these verses serve as related expansions on the theme of Yahweh revealed in the power of the storm.
23. Once again, see comments on 16:3–8.
24. See the Bridging Contexts section of Ps. 58.
25. An English translation of this text is found in ANETP, 1:92–118. For the section about the struggle between Baal, Mot, and Anat, see esp. 106–15.
26. In the legend of Aqhat, Anat is described as slaying Aqhat son of Danʾel by striking him on the head (roʾš) and pate (qdqd).
27. It is almost impossible to reduce the “offense” of God’s violent judgment of those who oppose him—whether in this world or cosmically—without undermining or ignoring altogether the justice of God, who does not wink at evil but must act in condemnation to what stands in adamant opposition to his essential character.
28. For fuller explanation of theophany read the helpful articles on the subject in IDB and ISBE2.
29. See the comments of Tate, Psalms 51–100, 185–86; Mays, Psalms, 225–29.
1. This reference in 72:8 links this psalm with the whole complex of Pss. 56–71, so that they represent a growing thematic unity.
2. See comments on the headings to Pss. 3 and 4.
3. See comments on the heading of Ps. 45; note also the related term šušan ʿedut in the heading to Ps. 60.
4. It is, of course, possible that a flashflood or deep river crossing is in mind, but the bottomless expanse of ocean water seems more expressive here.
5. For comments on the meaning of nepeš, see 3:2.
6. See also the discussion of “stuck in the muck” in the Bridging Contexts section of Ps. 40.
7. Heb. ʾiwwelet, which has the edge of impious folly; folly that is offensive to God.
8. The plural form of the word in Heb. suggests multiple offenses as the basis of the psalmist’s guilt.
9. See the similar sentiments expressed in Pss. 25:2–3; 34:5, and the counter claim for shame against the enemy in 35:4, 26 and 40:14, 15.
10. Cf. 69:6–7, 19 with 70:2; 71:1, 13.
11. See comments on 25:1–3, 16–22.
12. In this case “shame” (kelimmah) is said to “cover” the psalmist’s face—possibly a reference to the act of hiding his own face from public view, as prisoners in our own society often do to avoid a reporter’s camera. Or perhaps more likely, this refers to the act of spitting in the psalmist’s face by angry enemies as an indication of public disgrace and rejection (cf. Num. 12:14; Deut. 25:9; Job 20:15; 30:10; cf. the experience of Jesus in Matt. 26:67).
13. Heb. ḥerpot is stronger than “insult” and bears the meaning of a public “rebuke” or scathing “reproach.”
14. Were this interpretation of these verses correct, it would have the effect of dating this version of Ps. 69 to the period between the destruction of the first temple (587 B.C.) and its reconstruction in the postexilic period.
15. Those who “sit in the city gate” are not the homeless or unemployed who loiter because they have nowhere else to go. The city gate was the site for public administration of justice and community affairs (cf. Gen. 23:10; Ruth 4:1; 1 Kings 22:10; Est. 2:19, 21; 5:13; 6:10; Jer. 38:7). Those who “sit in the city gate” are the recognized elders and rulers of the people, who are responsible for governance and guidance.
16. The same sort of thinking lies behind the legal determination of an individual’s righteous or sinful character. Once the “time” is properly understood, the appropriate course of action for all participants in an event can be determined and true judgment rendered. Those who have fulfilled the proper course of action are declared ṣedeq (“righteous”) while those who have not are pronounced ʾawen (“wicked”). See also comments on 4:1–2; 7:6–9.
17. Once again the Heb. ʾemet (“true, sure, established, firm”) has a sense of “enduring” and “trustworthy.” Compare the comments on this term in 25:4–7.
18. Cf. Paul’s pronouncement that “now is the time of God’s favor” (2 Cor. 6:2), which flows out of his study and quotation of Isa. 49:8: “In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you.” Paul’s quotation of Isaiah, however, renders “I will answer you” as “I heard you,” following the Greek epekousa (“I heard,” an aorist form).
19. The Heb. word for “compassion, mercy” here is raḥamim, which is related to the word reḥem (“womb”) and describes the “tender compassion” a mother experiences toward the child in her womb. This kind of compassion and tender mercy Yahweh expresses toward those who “fear him” or, in the words of this psalm, those who “hope in” him (69:6), “seek” him (69:6, 32), or “love his name” (69:36; cf. esp. Ps. 103:8–13; Ex. 34:7; Num. 14:18.)
20. While the two terms are different, the concept is the same; these two distinct words are also united in 40:2, where the psalmist celebrates a similar deliverance when God lifted him “out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire [miṭṭiṭ hayyawen].”
21. Canaanite mythology includes the graphic depiction of the god of death, Mot, who waits “one lip to earth and one to heaven” to swallow those who go down through his gullet to Sheol (cf. ANETP, 1:108).
22. Cf. esp. Deut. 31:17, 18; 32:20; Jer. 33:5; Mic. 3:4, and the related passages Job 13:24; Pss. 13:1; 27:9; 44:24; 88:14; 102:2; 104:29; 143:7.
23. Both terms translated in this verse as “rescue” (gʾl) and “redeem” (pdh) are used in the sense of “buy back” a person or item (such as a house) that has been sold or fallen in captivity. The verb gʾl has the additional association with the levirate marriage, in which the brother-in-law is said to “redeem” (gʾl) the right of the deceased brother by creating a son through the deceased man’s widow. In this light the term takes on the nuance “deliver.”
24. The New Testament writers use these verses to emphasize the intense agony of abandonment and betrayal Jesus experienced on the cross. Spectators mock him as he dies and respond to his acknowledgment of thirst with a sponge full of vinegar (cf. Matt. 27:48; Luke 23:36; John 19:29). The context of Ps. 69 sides against those who would understand this gesture in the New Testament passages as a “compassionate” attempt to relieve the final agony of Jesus by offering some sort of deadening drug.
25. With the exception of Pss. 23:5 and 69:22, the other references in the Old Testament to a “table set before someone” are consistently allusions to the Table of the Presence set before Yahweh in the temple (cf. Ex. 25:30; Lev. 24:6; Ezek. 23:41; 41:22; 44:16). In Ps. 23:5, the table set in the presence of the psalmist’s enemies is a sign of God’s protective care and concern that wards off enemy attack (cf. comments on this verse).
26. Following the suggested emendation in the BHS apparatus from šelomim (“kindnesses”) to šillumim (“retribution”), based on the Greek.
27. The NIV seems to reflect a reluctance to attribute “evil” to God, but in avoiding that offense it obscures the retributive content of the psalmist’s plea. When God allows someone to receive the due of their evil actions, this is just punishment in his view and not divinely fomented “evil.” Both Old and New Testaments assume that such retributive processes are at work in response to human evil. Cf. “those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it” (Job 4:8); “he who sows wickedness reaps trouble” (Prov. 22:8); “they sow the wind and reap the whirlwind” (Hos. 8:7); “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Cor. 9:6); “do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” (Gal. 6:7).
28. It is striking that the increased use of the divine name, Yahweh, at the end of Book 2 is paralleled by a similar build-up at the conclusion of Book 3. While the first eleven psalms of the Book 3 (73–83) only sparsely use the name Yahweh (73–77, 79, one occurrence each; 78, 80–81, 83, two occurrences each; and 82, no occurrences), the increased use in the remaining psalms is immediate and obvious (84, seven occurrences; 85, four; 86, four; 87, two; 88, four; and 89, eleven including the doxology). This sudden shift is the reason the Elohistic Psalter is considered to conclude with Ps. 83. The parallel build-up at the ends of these two books does not appear accidental but may represent evidence of an editorial shaping of the older elohistic materials.
29. Cf. the similar response to the sacrificial ritual in 40:6; 51:16.
30. See comments on these terms at 10:16–18.
31. Similar hopes for a postexilic return to Zion and possession of the land are expressed in Isa. 65:9.
32. Note again the similarity of these sentiments with Isa. 65:9, where Yahweh will raise up a “seed” for Jacob and Judah who will “possess” the land so that God’s “servants” will “dwell” (škn) there.
33. Despite the NIV here, the more probable rendering of the central phrase is “put my tears in your (leather) waterbag.” See the comments on 56:8 and the extended discussion in the Bridging Contexts section of this psalm.
34. See also 23:6; 27:4; 37:18; 61:6; 89:45; 102:11, 23–24.
35. See 39:4–5; 90:3–12.
36. Cf. Phil. 4:3: “I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.”
37. “He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels” (Rev. 3:5).
38. Cf. Pss. 50:9–13; 51:16; Isa. 1:11–15; Jer. 7:21–23; Hos. 6:6; Amos 4:4–5; 5:21–25; Mic. 6:6–8.
39. See the discussion of the image of God in the comments on Ps. 8.
1. See comments on Ps. 40.
2. This term occurs in six consecutive psalms beginning with Ps. 69 and continuing through Ps. 74. Elsewhere in the psalms tamid appears in only eleven other psalms, never with more than two consecutive psalms involved (34:1 and 35:27; 50:8 and 51:3).
3. See comments on the headings of Pss. 3 and 4.
4. See the discussion in Kraus, Psalms 1–59, 29. It is also of note that in the Dead Sea scroll 4QPsa, fragment g, Pss. 38 and 71 are found written together as a single composition. An investigation of the phraseology of Ps. 38 reveals significant similarities with both Pss. 70 and 71. In particular, the phrase leʿezrati ḥušah (mentioned above as linking Pss. 70 and 71) also appears in Ps. 38:22. Another characteristic phrase, mebaqše napši . . . doreše raʿati (“those who seek my life . . . those who would harm me”), is used in 38:12.
5. It is interesting to note that even though this psalm stands within the putative Elohistic Psalter, the divine name Yahweh appears twice in these five verses, while Elohim is used but three. In the duplicate version found in 40:13–17, Yahweh appears three times (replacing Elohim in 40:13 = 70:1 and 40:16 = 70:4), and Adonai replaces Elohim once in 40:17 = 70:5. Elohim appears but once in 40:17 (“My God, do not delay”; cf. 70:5).
6. Tate, Psalms 51–100, 202–3, allows the text of Ps. 70 to stand unemended, while Kraus, Psalms 60–150, 60, and Rogerson and McKay, Psalms 51–100, 102–3, modify the verse on the basis of 40:13.
7. See comments on 10:16–18.
8. See comments on 2:12.
9. See my comments regarding the thematic function of “refuge” in The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter, 215–19. Cf. also the thorough study of this topic by Jerome F. D. Creach, in his revised doctoral dissertation, Yahweh as Refuge and the Editing of the Hebrew Psalter (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1996).
10. Kraus assumes a specific context of asylum in the temple precincts. While a plausible interpretation, this approach seems more specific than necessary here, esp. in light of the use elsewhere of other refuge terms (e.g., “my rock and my fortress”) that are more appropriate to military contexts.
11. The MT has maʿon (“dwelling”), but many other Heb. manuscripts, the LXX, and the Aramaic Targumim reflect maʿoz.
12. The variation is certainly artful, but it also creates a broad context for understanding the concept and experience of refuge. The breadth of terminology also opens up multiple connections with the theme of refuge as displayed in the rest of the Psalter.
13. Kraus, Psalms 60–150, 70, considers the phrase “senseless” and emends to lebet meṣudot (“a solid fortress”). See also the discussion in Tate, Psalms 51–100, 209.
14. The NIV’s translation “Sovereign LORD” reflects the appearance side-by-side of the term of respect ʾadonay (usually translated “Lord”) and the divine Tetragrammaton yhwh (usually translated “LORD”). Kraus, Psalms 60–150, 69–70, redivides the line to take ʾadonay with the first half of the sentence and Yahweh with the second half. This does produce poetic balance. The Masoretic pointing breaks the line after “my hope” and points the Tetragrammaton so that it will be pronounced ʾelohim immediately following ʾadonay (“Lord God”).
15. The phrase “those who wait to kill me” (lit., “those who carefully watch/guard my life”) is somewhat awkward as a description of the enemy, since šmr (“watch, guard”) almost always implies protective care. But it may be that the idea of watching carefully (as in guarding a prisoner) has allowed this extension of the meaning. Another slight possibility is that this may represent an error of textual transmission, in which šomere has been substituted for śoṭene (“accusers/haters”), as in the phrase śoṭene napši in 71:13.
16. The parallel between these phrases is remarkable. With the exception of the third phrase (tereb gedullati) where the second word is a noun construction, each phrase consists of two verbs of which the first (tašub twice in 71:20 and tissob in 71:21) provides the nuance of “do again,” which influences the second verb (restore again, raise again, comfort again). In the third phrase, the verb tereb carries the meaning “make great, increase,” which in this context is comparable to the other three. The repetition of the first common singular pronominal suffix in each phrase completes the parallelism.
17. For an English version see “The Descent of Ishtar to the Nether World,” in Pritchard, ANETP, 1:80–84.
18. The description of the abode of the dead in this text is instructive: “the Land of No Return . . . the dark house . . . the house which none leave who have entered it . . . the road from which there is no way back . . . the house wherein the entrants are bereft of light, where dust is their fare and clay their food, where they see no light, residing in darkness, where they are clothed like birds, with wings for garments, and where over door and bolt is spread dust.”
19. See the discussion of these and other instruments in the comments on Ps. 150.
20. In 71:22, the psalmist refers to God with the phrase “O Holy One of Israel.” This title appears some twenty-five times in Isaiah compared to three appearances in the Psalter (Pss. 71:22; 78:41; 89:18) and only three times elsewhere in the Old Testament (1 Kings 19:21; Jer. 50:29; 51:5). In Isa. 1–39, the title describes Yahweh in his role as judge of Israel/Judah. After Isa. 40, however, the term is unexpectedly coupled with the description of Yahweh as “redeemer,” so that the Holy One of Israel (who has judged and punished his people) is now the one who will also redeem his people. It is probably no coincidence that here in Ps. 71:22–23, the title is also connected with God’s role in redemption.
21. Deut. 21:8 describes the “redemption” of Israel from bloodguilt when a body is discovered in open country without the murderer being known.
22. Mays, Psalms, 235.
1. Solomon was the second son of David and Bathsheba and was called at birth Jedidiah (“beloved of Yahweh”). Most likely Solomon (“man of peace”) was a throne name adopted at his accession to the kingship and symbolizing the period of peace into which Israel had entered with his reign (cf. 2 Sam. 12:24–25; 1 Kings 1–2).
2. The doxology of 72:18–19 is by far the most expansive and developed of the doxologies at the ends of the first four books. Brueggemann (“Bounded by Obedience and Praise: The Psalms as Canon,” in The Psalms and the Life of Faith, ed. Patrick D. Miller (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1995), 189–213) suggests this was a late development to set Pss. 72 and 73 apart as the central pivot around which the dual themes of the Psalter—obedience and praise—revolve.
3. See comments in Wilson, The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter, 139–41.
4. See comments on the “Royal Psalms” in the section on “Types of Psalms” in the introduction.
5. Whether this opening verse constitutes a separate section of the psalm as suggested here or is a part of the following four verses is a matter for continued discussion. I have chosen to separate it because (1) it is the only imperative verb form in the psalm, and (2) it appears to encapsulate the message of the whole poem: the God-given foundation for just and righteous rule over God’s people.
6. The reference here is in the plural “your judgments” rather than the NIV’s abstract idea of “justice.” A mišpaṭ is a judge’s decision regarding what ought to have occurred in a particular case—a decision against which the conduct of the involved parties is measured in order to determine whether they are “righteous” or “guilty.” The use of the plural “judgments” here indicates that “justice” is the end result of long-term consistent decisions for the right, not some intangible attitude. For further discussion of these terms see comments on Pss. 4:1–2; 7:6–9.
7. The passage has particularly in mind the “afflicted” (ʿaniyye ʿam) and the “needy” (ʾebyon)—here represented by their children; the most defenseless persons within Israelite society. These groups reappear in 72:12–13, where once again the king’s responsibility to protect those who are unable to protect themselves is emphasized. For further discussion of these classes of people, see comments on 10:16–18.
8. The Heb. here is a bit difficult and is more literally translated: “They will fear you with the sun, and before the moon. . . .” The NIV follows the emendation suggested by BHS and reads the verb as “he will endure.” The difference is replacing a waw by a yodh. These two characters are so similar in handwritten Hebrew that confusion is common.
9. See comments on 72:3, above.
10. Cf. Gerald H. Wilson, “Renewing the Image: Perspectives on a Biblical View of Creation,” Quaker Religious Thought 24/4 (1990): 11–21.
11. This final phrase, “the ends of the earth,” reprises a significant theme that binds together the group of psalms beginning with Ps. 56 and culminating here at the end of Book 2 of the Psalter. This segment presents a growing expectation of the divine rule of God in which all kings and nations will acknowledge his rule and will join in his praise.
12. The verb means “be troubled about; look compassionately on” someone. Here the “weak” (dal) and the “needy” (ʾebyon) are in view.
13. See comments on 3:1–2.
14. Cf. 1 Kings 6–10.
15. It did not turn out, however, that Solomon was universally loved and praised by his people. His policies of heavy taxation and forced labor, as well as the religious ambiguities introduced in deference to his many foreign wives, led ultimately to disapprobation and the division of the kingdom (cf. 1 Kings 10–12).
16. Note again the NIV’s peculiar avoidance of “blessing” God by translating the normal term for “blessed be” (baruk, from brk) with the unusual “Praise.” See the comments on 16:5–8.
17. See comments on 41:13 and the essay on “The Shape of the Psalter” in vol. 2 of this commentary.
18. The following elements are shared by all four of the doxologies and appear in each in the same order: (1) baruk yhwh (lit., “blessed be Yahweh”); (2) a reference to endurance (mehaʿolam weʿad haʿolam or leʿolam); (3) a concluding affirmation (ʾamen weʾamen or simply ʾamen). Three of the four also include a reference to ʾelohe yiśaraʾel (“God of Israel”) immediately following the initial blessing. In addition to these regular elements, 72:20 adds (1) to the initial blessing the divine descriptor ʾelohim; (2) prior to the statement of endurance the extended expansion ʿośeh niplaʾot lebaddo ubaruk šem kebodos (“who alone does great wonders. And bless his glorious name”); (3) before the concluding affirmation, another extended expansion weyimmaleʾ kebodo ʾet kol haʾareṣ (“and may his glory fill the whole earth”).
19. Deeds that inspire awe and appropriate “fear” of Yahweh (see comments on Ps. 66).
20. See comments on 63:4, 11; 69:30–33.
21. Other phrases stand in final position but seem to participate in the message of the psalm to which they are attached. Most notable of these phrases is the frequently repeated halleluyah (lit., “Praise Yahweh!”). Occasionally the enigmatic term selah may appear at the end of a psalm (cf. Pss. 3 and 24), although this seems to be more accidental than purposeful. See the comments on postscripts in the introduction.
22. See the section on “The Shape of the Psalter” in vol. 2 of this commentary.
23. References to the name of God appear at Pss. 61:5, 8; 63:4, 11; 66:2, 4; 68:4 [2x]; 69:30, 36. In the core group of these psalms (56–67), while the name of God is mentioned five times, the actual name Yahweh is found only at 64:10.
24. See in particular the references to the king in 61:6 and 63:11.
25. It is also possible that the promise to Abraham that God will “make your name great” (Gen. 12:2) has played a significant part in interpreting the enduring name of the king in 72:17.
26. Although this term is traditionally translated “prince,” the root meaning is akin to neged (“in front of; over against”), the term that describes the woman’s relationship to the Adam in Gen. 2:18–25. There is in this term no sense of superiority as might be inferred from the translation “prince.”
27. See the account of the anointing of Saul in private as nagid (NIV “leader”) in 1 Sam. 9:15–10:1. Later Saul is acclaimed melek in a public ceremony (10:9–27). While the term nagid is never used in the description of the anointing of David in 1 Sam. 16:1–13 (neither is the term melek!), it becomes clear later that David himself understood his anointing to be as nagid: “The LORD, who chose me rather than [Saul] or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler [nagid] over the LORD’s people Israel” (2 Sam. 6:21). God affirms the same understanding of David’s anointing in 2 Sam. 7:8: “I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler [nagid] over my people Israel.”
28. Cf. Deut. 17:14–20.
29. That goes even for the modern secular state of Israel, which was founded in 1947 by mostly nonpracticing, unbelieving modernists of Jewish extraction. Some of the greatest struggles in Israeli political circles are between the secularists and the influence wielded by the small but vocal ultra-orthodox communities, who seek to shape modern Israel along the lines of the ancient theocracy.