Psalm Sixty-Nine
(This section contains Psalms 69-80)
Vs. 1: Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. This psalm begins with a plea to be "Jesus-ed," yashah, with the context of waters reaching the psalmist's neck or in Hebrew, his soul, nephesh. "For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood was round about me" [Jon 2.3]. Waters are representative of chaos: "and darkness was upon the face of the deep" (Gen 1.2).
Vs. 2: I sink in deep mire where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. While the waters rise in the previous verse, the psalmist is sinking, tavah. "Your trusted friends have deceived you and prevailed against you; now that your feet are sunk in the mire, they turn away from you" [Jer 38.22]. While mire is used here, it is a different word (bots; the only instance of this word; cf. bitsah, marsh) from that of the psalm at hand, yawan, used with reference to clay. "Just as you saw iron mixed with the miry clay" [Dan 2.41]. No foothold or mahamad, the only instance of this word in the Bible.
In addition to this semi-firm circumstance, the psalmist says that he has come into "deep waters," hamaq being the verbal root from which is derived valley. This term serves to make the psalmist more vulnerable to floods or shiboleth (singular). "In that day from the river Euphrates to the Brook of Egypt the Lord will thresh out the grain, and you will be gathered one by one, O people of Israel" [Is 27.12]. Note that shiboleth can also mean an ear of corn. "And behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk" [Gen 41.5]. For such water to sweep over (shataph) someone means to overwhelm as in Jer 47.2: "Behold, waters are rising out of the north and shall become an overflowing torrent."
Vs. 3: I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. Three further complaints resulting from the psalmist's predicament:
1) weary or yagah, a word which implies overwork, here with regard to crying, qara', which also meaning calling.. "For you are wearied of me, O Israel" [Is 43.22].
2) his throat is parched or charar. "He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness" [Jer 17.6]. It can also refer to being angry: "My mother's sons were angry with me" [Sg 1.6]. Note that this verse takes place within the context of the bride being scorched (shazaph).
3) the psalmist's eyes grow dim or kalah, a verb which implies languishing. "If I have withheld anything that the poor desired or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail" [Job 31.16]. In the verse at hand, kalah is in conjunction with waiting or yachal. Note the play on words in vs. 3 between the two forms, kalu and meyachel. Such waiting is with respect to (l-) God, i.e., in-the-direction.
Vs. 4: More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore? Contrast "hairs of my head" with Mt 10.30: "But even the hairs of your head are all numbered." Such foes are marked by the following: 1) hate him without cause or chinan as in Prov 1.17: "For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird." 2) intend to destroy or tsamath whose fundamental meaning is to be silent. 3) attack with lies or sheqer, which connotes deception. "You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another" [Lev 19.11].
The psalmist perceives that his assailants are after him because he had stolen (gazal) something and has to restore (shuv) what he does not have.
Vs. 5: O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you. Despite his laments about being falsely accused, nevertheless the psalmist admits that before God he is guilt of folly, 'iweleth, a word frequently used in Proverbs such as 5.23: "and because of his great folly he is lost." Compare with the hevel or vanity of Ecclesiastes; the former implies impiety and the latter, emptiness.
Wrongs or 'ashmah (singular) can also refer to an offering: "and give it to him whom it belongs on the day of his guilt offering" [Lev 5.24]. Such an 'ashmah by its nature is public, and the psalmist is correct to say that it cannot remain hidden, kichad, a verbal root which implies disowning something.
Vs. 6: Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord God of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel. Two earnest wishes:
1) for a person not to be shamed or bosh. "In that day you shall not be ashamed" [Zeph 3.11]. In the verse at hand, such shame is contrasted with hope or qawah not so much in God but in the psalmist who seems to be a representative of the people. "Let none that wait for you be put to shame" [Ps 25.3], words similar to vs. 6. The Hebrew preposition for through is b-, literally, in. This first wish is addressed to the "Lord God of hosts," tseva'oth. "The Lord of hosts is his name" [Jer 32.18], signifying authority over angelic beings.
2) for a person not to be dishonored, kalam. "They are ashamed and confounded and cover their heads" [Jer 14.3]; note the second use of the preposition b- with regard to this verb. Here dishonor is contrasted with seeking God, baqash. "Upon my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves" [Sg 3.1]. This second wish is addressed to the "God of Israel," that is, the human nation chosen by God which forms a type of host or joins in the angelic choirs about God.
Vs. 7: For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that shame has covered my face. Words reminiscent of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah (cf. Is 42.1-4) and Jesus Christ and his passion; these verses are quoted in Mt 12.18+. Two injustices borne by the psalmist: 1) reproach or cherpah, that is, for God: "It is for your sake that I have suffered rebuke" [Jer 15.15]. 2) shame or kilmah: "I hid not my face from shame and spitting" [Is 50.6]. "That the Christ must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead,, he would proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles" [Acts 26.23].
Vs. 8: I have become a stranger to my brethren, an alien to my mother's son. Two forms of estrangement: 1) stranger or zor which implies adultery: "For I have loved strangers, and after them I will go" [Jer 2.25]. This is made especially poignant because being a zor is associated with brethren, those member of the household of Israel. 2) alien or nakry, with regard to "mother's son," implying the psalmist's own son and hence his inability to pass on his inheritance. "I am an alien in their sight" [Job 19.15]. Thus son and brethren are perceived as one and the same reality.
Vs. 9: For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. A verse quoted in Jn 2.17 with respect to Jesus Christ after he cleansed the Jerusalem temple of merchants. Zeal or qin'ath implies jealousy which can apply to God: "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this" [Is 9.7], i.e., cleanse the temple. 'Akal is the common verb for to eat. "He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy things" [Lev 21.22]. Such zeal for things divine has negative ramifications for the psalmist who suffers insults or cheraph (singular) as described in vs. 7. Such a cherpah initially directed towards God indirectly falls upon the psalmist; again, refer this to Jesus Christ.
Vs. 10: When I humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. The Hebrew text reads, "I made my soul mourn with fasting." A unity between soul (nephesh) and fasting (tsom). "When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted" [Zech 7.5]? Because nephesh is not physical, the fasting of which the psalmist speaks is of the spiritual order. Despite this invisibility, it was recognized by those afflicting the psalmist because his soul's fasting became a reproach, cheraph.
Vs. 11: When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. Sackcloth or saq is a traditional sign of mourning or affliction. "Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the bridegroom of her youth" [Jl 1.8]. Putting on this garment automatically, as it were, made the psalmist a byword, mashal, which also means a proverb. "I will open my mouth in a parable" [Ps 78.2]. Thus he becomes a saying known among people, a fact which emphasizes his affliction resulting from zeal for God's house (cf. vs. 9).
Vs. 12: I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me. Talk is a verb in the Hebrew text, syach, which can also apply to things divine: "I will meditate on your precepts, and fix my eyes on your ways" [Ps 119.15]. From this verbal root is derived the word plant: "when no plant of the field was yet in the earth" [Gen 2.5]. This syach is characteristic of people sitting in the gate, shahar, where people exit and enter a (fortified) city. "So they took Jesus, and he went out (i.e., the gate), bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull" [Jn 19.17].
Drunkards or in Hebrew, "drinkers (shatah) of strong drink (shekar)." In vs. 12, note the words containing the letters sh and s: syach, yashav, shahar, shatah, shekar. These letters serve to emphasize the psalmist's contempt for his detractors.
Vs. 13: But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me. With your faithful help. The psalmist's prayer (tephilah) is directly to the Lord, l-, that is while his detractors mock him. He is quick to add a time ('eth) which is acceptable (ratson), that is, a kairos (in the LXX) which is specified as being one of favor, according to the Hebrew text. "O Naphtali, satisfied with favor and full of the blessings of the Lord" [Dt 33.23]. During this kairos the psalmist wishes an answer from God, hanah being the verbal root (cf. Ps 4.1 for details). Furthermore, hanah is situated within God's steadfast love or chesed; not just chesed plain and simple but in its abundance (rav).
This verse has the beginning of vs. 14 which speaks of yeshah or "Jesus" which is characterized as being faithful or in the Hebrew text, "in truth (of your salvation)," 'emeth.
Vs. 14: Rescue me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters. The need to be rescued (natsal) is a secondary feature, as it were, of "Jesus" mentioned in vs. 13; here it applies to the psalmist being in mire or tyt which according to Ps 18.43, is in the streets, a worse condition than that mire at the bottom of a well in that people and animals trample on it. The Hebrew lacks sinking.
Again the psalmist uses the verb natsal, this time concerning his enemies and "deep waters;" the former may be identified with the latter in that they produce chaos, hamaq being the verbal root. "The words of a man's mouth are deep waters" [Prov 18.4].
Vs. 15: Let not the flood sweep over me or the deep swallow me up or the pit close its mouth over me. A continuation of the psalmist's petition to God that he not be overwhelmed by foes articulated within the context of troubled water. Three parts are obvious:
1) flood or shiboleth (cf. vs. 2) which can sweep over the psalmist, shataph, again as in vs. 2.
2) deep or metsulah as in Ps 68.22: "I will bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea." Such deep threatens to swallow up the psalmist, balah. Ps 21.9 uses this verb with respect to enemies of God: "The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath."
3) pit or be'er; a related word is bor into which Joseph was thrown by his brothers (Cf. Gen 37.22). The former usually implies a fountain and the latter a cistern. In the verse at hand, the psalmist fears that such a be'er will shut its mouth over him, 'atar, in the sense of binding. "Among all these were seven hundred picked men who were left-handed" [i.e., "bound," Judg 20.16].
Vs. 16: Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me. Another request to be answered (hanah, cf. vs. 13) in accord with divine chesed, also in vs. 13. Compare it being good (tov) here and in that verse, rav or great. In addition to a desire for hanah, the psalmist beseeches that God turn to him, panah, as in Ps 25.16: "Turn to me and be gracious to me." In the verse at hand, panah is associated with racham, mercy, which is similarly abundant (rav). Racham is the verbal root for womb; the plural form (rachamym) is frequently used.
Vs. 17: Hide not your face from your servant; for I am in distress, make haste to answer me. In the first part of this verse the psalmist speaks as though he were another person (servant, heved). Such a request regarding the divine face (paney) is reminiscent of Ex 33.20: "But you cannot see my face; for man shall not see me and live." With this in mind, the hiding of God's face which the psalmist dreads can turn out to be a benefit. On the other hand, if God conceals his face, the psalmist would remain in distress or tsar. Cf. Ps 25.17: "Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distresses." The request to be heard (hanah) is the same verb as in vss. 13 & 16 above).
Vs. 18: Draw near to me, redeem me, set me free because of my enemies! Three supplications:
1) draw near or qarav; the noun qerev means the interior of a thing: "Their heart is destruction" [Ps 5.10]. In the verse under consideration, this verb is used with regard to the Hebrew text's use of nephesh (soul).
2) redeem or ga'al; it can mean the opposite as in Mal 1.7: "By offering polluted food upon my altar."
3) set free or padah in the sense of paying a price. "Every firstling of an ass you shall redeem with a lamb" [Ex 13.13]. All three supplications are because of the psalmist's enemies, 'oyev (singular).
Vs. 19: You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you. The first sentence is active, i.e., God knows (yadah) three secrets of the psalmist: reproach (cherphah), shame (besheth) and dishonor (kelimah). These issue from his foes or tsarar (singular) which in the Hebrew text are "before you," the preposition neged being a type of knowledge. Such divine awareness does not directly intervene on the psalmist's behalf but serves to introduce his list of woes and cures which follow from this verse through vs. 28. They may be outlined as follows, keeping in mind that God's yahah is operative throughout:
-insults break the psalmist's heart
-he lacks pity and comforters
-receives poison and vinegar to consume
The psalmist now (vs. 22) states a number of curses intended for his assailants:
-table (of foes) a snare
-feasts a trap
-eyes be darkened
-loins tremble
-divine indignation on them
-divine burning anger
-(foes') camp be desolate. This and the next curse are quoted in Acts 1.20. The New Testament reference to Judas helps situate this list of curses and personal woes of the psalmist. Note that Acts quotes it after the Ascension and before Pentecost and within the context of choosing a successor to Judas, i.e., Matthias (cf. vs. 26).
-their tents lack inhabitants
-(foes) persecute and afflict (Hebrew reads, "recount the pain of") those persons (Hebrew, plural) whom God has smitten and wounded. I.e., human foes intensify the divinely afflicted pain, presumably from disobedience.
-punishment upon punishment, i.e., to the psalmist's foes
-no acquittal
-blotted out from book of living
-not enrolled among righteous
Vs. 29: But I am afflicted and in pain; let your salvation, O God, set me on high! Note the similar sounding words, 'any (I) and hany (afflicted, from hanah), as if to show the intensity of the psalmist's sufferings. He also is in pain, ka'av, which implies sorrow: "If I speak, my pain is not assuaged" [Job 16.6].
Despite the intensity of suffering, the psalmist calls upon God's "Jesus" or yeshuah which is equivalent to being set on high, sagav. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe" [Prov 18.10].
Vs. 30: I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. Most likely this praise (halal) issues from being in that tower of Proverbs just above; i.e., the psalmist is now sagav. Note that praise is not directly towards God but his shem which can be taken as his yeshuah; song is associated with this "Jesus," shyr. Also note the similarity of sound between shem and shyr (and hence, "Jesus").
Furthermore, the psalmist magnifies this shem, gadal, a word suggestive of his condition of being sagav. The medium of such glorification is thanksgiving, todah, which is the very summit of his safe place.
Vs. 31: This will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. "This will please" is the verb yatav from which comes the common adjective good. The psalmist refers to his todah of the previous verse which is more excellent than sacrificial animals; note that bull or par is specified by horns and hoofs, two of its chief characteristics, thereby contributing to this animal's superiority and heightening the psalmist's value of thanksgiving. "Let him (priest) offer for the sin which he has committed a young bull without blemish to the Lord for a sin offering" [Lev 4.3].
Vs. 32: Let the oppressed see it and be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. The oppressed or hanawym as noted earlier (Ps 25.9, twice mentioned) are traditionally favored by God. They both see (ra'ah) and are glad (samach), the latter deriving from their vision of the psalmist's praise and magnifying of vs. 30. Since he is located in a high place as was intimated in that verse, the hanawym may be situated in a lower place and participate in his loftiness by their vision.
The second class of people sharing in the psalmist's exultation or those who seek (darash) God; their aspiration results in their hearts being revived, lavav, from which derives the noun heart. This verb also means to ravish: "You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride, you have ravished my heart with a glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace" [Sg. 4.9].
Vs. 33: For the Lord hears the need and does not despise his own that are in bonds. Another reference to those (needy, 'eveyon, singular) who are akin to the hanawym of vs. 32. "You shall open wise your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in the land" [Dt 15.11]. Note that the Lord hears (shamah) such 'eveyon, whereas the hanawym above see. In addition to this hearing, God does not despise (boz)-according to the Hebrew text-prisoners ('asyr, singular) which implies persons who are bound ('asar). "If I met you outside, I would kiss you, and none would despise me" [Sg 8.1]. "Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope" [Zech 9.12].
Vs. 34: Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves therein. In vs. 30 the psalmist praises (halal) God; here he invites four elements of creation to join in the chorus: heaven, earth, seas and which moves in it, ramash. This verb basically means to crawl. "Let them have dominion...over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth" [Gen 1.26].
Vs. 35: For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah; and his servants shall dwell there and possess it. The word for (k-) seems to join creation just mentioned with the more particular Zion and cities of Judah. The first is the object of divine salvation or "Jesus," yashah, and the latter of (in Hebrew) building, banah. Cf. Ps 51.18: "Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; rebuild (again in Hebrew, build) the walls of Jerusalem."
The Hebrew text lacks "servants" and reads "that they may dwell...", implying both Zion and Judah's cities. Note that dwelling (yashav) comes first followed by possessing (yarash) it; the singular intimates Zion as opposed to the plural cities of Judah. Yarash also means to inherit; with this in mind, there must be something for future generations to acquire, hence the priority for yashav.
Vs. 36: The children of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in it. This psalm closes with assurance of an inheritance, nachal being the verb, which is related to possess of the previous verse. The object of nachal is Zion (singular as opposed to plural cities); those who obtain this inheritance-for it implies the Jerusalem temple-are children or zerah, and whose alternate meaning is seed. "Great triumphs he gives to his king and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever" [Ps 18.50].
Again the psalmist mentions the divine name, shem (cf. remarks above regarding "Jesus"). Here dwelling (shakan) and loving ('ahav) are two aspects of the same inheritance or "seed." Compare shakan with yashav of vs. 35; the former means an more permanent abiding whereas the latter seems to refer more to sitting. "For the upright will inhabit (shakan) the land, and men of integrity will remain in it" [Prov 2.21].
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Psalm Seventy
Vs. 1: Be pleased, O God, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me! Note the use of God ('elohym) and Lord (YHWH) in these two brief sentences. The Hebrew text lacks "be pleased" and reads "God, to deliver me," natsal. The psalmist's desire for the Lord to help him (hazar) is more urgent in that it is associated with the verb to hasten, chush, and is used frequently in the psalter.
Vs. 2: Let them be put to shame and confusion who seek my life! The first of three "lets" directed against the psalmist's foes (vss. 2-3):
1) shame and confusion
2) turn back and brought to dishonor
3) be appalled due to their shame
Vs. 4: May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, "God is great!" This verse contains three "mays" to counter the just mentioned three "lets;" the former pertains to the psalmist's adversaries, whereas the latter to those persons who love God: Rejoice (sus) and be glad (samach) are the first two and are dependent upon the person seeking (baqash) God. Baqash here counters that of vs. 2, those persons seeking the psalmist's life.
The third "may" is related to "Jesus," yeshuah, salvation, which is the object of love or 'ahav. The adverb tamyd (evermore) implies continuance. "They will set apart men to pass through the land continually and bury those remaining upon the face of the land" [Ezk 39.14].
Vs. 5: But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not tarry! Here the psalmist contrasts himself with those persons engaged in seeking God as just mentioned. He identifies himself as both hany and 'eveyon, two words considered earlier (Ps 69.29 & 33). Because of this he begs God to hasten, another instance of chush as in vs. 1.
Compare chush with a similar request, for God not to tarry or 'achar. "I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now" [Gen 32.4]. The psalmist appeals to the Lord as his help (heser) and deliverer (mepalat), two functions which may be applied to the more basic one of God as "Jesus."
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Psalm Seventy-One
Vs. 1: In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame! From this verse through verse four we have a series of requests from God:
1) The first verse has two opposing forces, taking refuge (chasah) and being put to shame (bush). The former is not so much a request as a statement of something already accomplished. The latter is never or leholam, implying remembrance of such bush to future generations, not so much as with regard to God. The verb chasah also means to trust: "And they shall trust in your name" [Zeph 3.12].
2) Deliver (natsal) me.
3) Rescue (palat) me. Note the similarity between the two which were often encountered earlier; natsal implies a pulling away or out from a dangerous situation whereas palat implies slipperiness and hence a more stealthy way of accomplishing release.
4) Incline (natah) with reference to the divine ear; this verb connotes a stretching forth, almost as though God's ear were physically elongated.
5) Save (yashah) or "Jesus" me.
6) Rescue (palat) me, this time with regard not so much as the wicked himself but his hand or yad which signifies negative activity as opposed to the positive kind of palat. This verb has another object, grasp or kaph which signifies hand in its entirety and which is a fuller apprehension than one by yad.
Vs. 5: For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. Two titles attributed to the Lord which correspond to the series of requests just enumerated: hope (tiqwah) which applies to the future or an yet unrealized state and trust (mibtach) which applies to the present or an ongoing situation. Both have been operative for some time, namely, from the psalmist's youth or nehorym. "And I have walked before you from my youth until this day" [1 Sam 12.2].
Vs. 6: Upon you I have leaned from my birth; you are he who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of you. In the previous birth youth was mentioned with regard to hope and trust. Here the psalmist speaks of his birth or beten, which more precisely means womb. "Two nations are in your womb" [Gen 25.23]. Thus the psalmist's leaning (samak, often noted earlier) can apply to both before and after birth. "When the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy" [Lk 1.44]. Here John the Baptist recognizes the Virgin Mary's voice in his mother's womb; i.e., a womb-to-womb contact, as it were.
The second part of vs. 6 more specifically refers to womb or mehah which can also mean heart in the sense of one's inmost being: "My beloved put his hand to the latch, and my heart was thrilled within me" [Sg 5.4]. Note that the verb gazah, to take, is the only instance in the Bible.
Because of this two fold dependance upon divine assistance before and after birth, the psalmist recognizes that it is a continuous activity, tamyd, which demands an equally continuous praise or tehilat.
Vs. 7: I have been as a portent to many; but you are my strong refuge. This being a portent or mopheth implies wonder in the sense of a miracle: "My wonders accomplished in the land of Egypt" [Ex 7.3]. With mention of John the Baptist in the previous verse, we may say that he was a mopheth in the desert announcing the coming of Jesus Christ. The second part of vs. 7-God as strong refuge (machasy-hoz) where the noun's verbal root is chasah, to hide-intimates that being a mopheth is fraught with danger and misunderstanding, also applicable to John as well as Christ.
Vs. 8: My mouth is filled with your praise and with your glory all the day. Given the earlier allusions to birth and youth, this verse may be said to be a extension or progression of vs. 6's "My praise is continually of you." The psalmist's mouth is filled with two things: praise or tehilat and glory or tiphe'arah "all the day" signifying that these two acknowledgments of God occurs during the daytime as opposed to the night, that is, with respect to the psalmist's mouth. The latter also means beauty: "And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty" [Ex 28.2]. Glory's verbal root pa'ar implies adornment in the sense of being beautiful: "The shoot of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified" [Is 60.14], that is, that God might be adorned.
Vs. 9: Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent. Here the psalmist implies that old age will not be a time for praise of God, i.e., the "continually" and "all the day" might not apply at this time (heth, LXX, kairos). Hence his request not to be cast off (shalak, base meaning is to send) during old age or ziqenah. "Even to your old age I am He, and to gray hairs I will carry you" [Is 46.4].
There is a play on words, "when my strength is spent," kikloth kochy; the former is the verbal root kalah which also implies completion: "When Solomon had finished the building" [1 Kg 9.1]. Once strength or koach is spent, the psalmist wishes that God do not forsake (hazav) him in the sense of abandoning him. Cf. Ps 22.1 which has the same verb and is put on Christ's mouth at his crucifixion (cf. Mt 27.46).
Vs. 10: For my enemies speak concerning me, those who watch for my life consult together. This verse continues into the next and can apply to Christ's passion and crucifixion. It can be divided into speakers and watchers, the latter scrutinizing every step of the psalmist (shamar, which can also mean to protect). The object of shamar here is his life, nephesh, which also translates as soul. Such watching alternates with consulting, yahats. For a positive sense of this word, cf. Is 9.5: "His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor."
Vs. 11 opens with say which was attributed to the psalmist's enemies in vs. 10, speak ('amar), and contains the actual words they uttered in their consultation. Note their observation that God has forsaken (hazav) the psalmist as in vs. 9. As a result of this hazav, the conspirators, in their confidence that there is no natsal or deliverance for the psalmist, feel free to pursue (radaph) and to seize (taphas) him. "You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself" [Mt 27.40]! Perhaps natsal may apply here; note its use with reference to "Jesus," the verbal root of which is yashah.
Vs. 12: O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! To be far off or rachaq implies spiritual distance experienced by the psalmist as he undergoes his enemies' taunts just described and is emphasized by the preposition from, min. "We look for...salvation but it is far from us" [Is 55.11]. The desire to make haste or chush implies taking flight and is used frequently with regard to God in the Psalter (22.20, 38.23, 40.14, 70.1 & 6, 141.1). In this instance, chush is bound up with help, natsal, and counters the enemies' belief that no such help is available, vs. 11.
Vs. 13: May my accusers be put to shame and consumed; with scorn and disgrace may they be covered who seek my hurt. The word for accuser or satan comes from the same verbal root as Satan noted in the first chapter of Job. "And in the reign of Ahasuerus, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem" [Ezra 4.6]. After the psalmist's wish for his adversaries to be put to shame (yavash), he wishes them to be consumed or kalah as in vs. 9, "when my strength is spent." The Hebrew text situates such accusers in relation to the psalmist's soul or nephesh.
For the accusers to be covered (hatah) implies making them visible for everyone to see; such "clothing" is scorn and disgrace. "You have covered him with shame" [Ps 89.45].
Vs. 14: But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more. "But" connotes a change of mind by the psalmist while still undergoing the torments described above and expressed in term of hope, yachal. Cf. Ps 38.18, "Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love." Note the indefinite period of duration, tamyd, and compare with praise (halal) which increases, i.e., more and more. This phrase is a verb in Hebrew, yasaph, which fundamentally means to increase. Thus hope may be said to last for an undetermined period of time whereas praise increases without limit or bounds.
Vs. 15: My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. Since praise comes from the mouth, it may be allied with the telling saphar (note play on words with yasaph). The psalmist's impersonal mouth is the agent doing this saphar and is done with regard to divine righteousness (tsedaqah, in Hebrew) and deeds of salvation (teshuhah, salvation in Hebrew, another reference to "Jesus"). "And my salvation shall not tarry" [Is 46.13]. Note the duration of teshuhah, "all the day," during which time their number (saphar is the verbal root with its implication of writing something down). Thus we have two instances in one verse of the same verb, tell and number. A paradox exists with regard to the second saphar: the psalmist "writes down" that which he does not know, yadah, the verb being used in the Hebrew text.
Vs. 16: With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come, I will praise your righteousness, yours alone. No direction is specified regarding this coming, presumably to offer sacrifice at the Jerusalem temple. Note the Hebrew: "in (b-) the mighty deeds" as though the psalmist were entering these gevorah (singular). Such accomplishments are attributed to God, perhaps with indirect reference to the Exodus event. The psalmist is clear to praise or in Hebrew, to remember (zakar) divine righteousness, this word (as noted elsewhere) being the verbal root for male which implies the propagation of such righteousness. He is clear to point out that such an attribute belongs only to God, lavad.
Vs. 17: O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. Such teaching (lamad) means more the inner appropriation of a doctrine in the sense of becoming a disciple which a similar noun means in Syriac. The psalmist points out a time span: from his youth (nehorym) to what may be supposed as maturity, still, or had-henah, the point at which he is uttering these words. The verb nagad (to proclaim) is related to the preposition neged (before) suggesting that this lamad is being placed before his audience only with regard to God's wondrous deeds, nipel'oth.
Vs. 18: So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, till I proclaim your might to all the generations to come. Your power. Another mention of old age, ziqenah, as in vs. 9, only here emphasized by gray hairs, sevah. "As for yourself [Abraham], you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age" [Gen 15.15]. The psalmists begs God not to forsake (hazav) him in both descriptions of the same time period. In brief, he doesn't want his enemies' wish for this same hazav in vs. 11 to come true with respect to God himself.
The word till (had) can intimate that is acceptable for God to forsake the psalmist; had serves as a transition to proclaiming (nagad again with its inference of the preposition before) divine might or zeroah which also means arm. "O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning" [Is 33.2]. Such before-ness extends to future generations, dor (singular). Such indefinite temporal extension is a ruse, so to speak, to forestall God forsaking the psalmist. The Hebrew reads, "to a generation, to all that come."
Vs. 18 ends with "your power," gevorah (as in vs. 16), in which the psalmist will come; it continues into the following verse.
Vs. 19: And your righteousness, O God, reach the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you? Such righteousness (tsedaqah) is allied with gevorah at the very end of vs. 18. The Hebrew text reads "Your righteousness, O God is very high (marom)," suggesting that this divine quality is situation up in the heavens, God's proper dwelling place. Despite such loftiness, the doing of great things is effected with regards to earth below or the realm of human affairs, hence the concluding exclamation.
Vs. 20: You who have made me see many sore troubles will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. This "causing to see (ra'ah)" is indirect and leads to inquire about the agent between God and the psalmist or the manner by which such ra'ah is effected. Such a view enables the psalmist not to be caught up by sore troubles, tsarah, as in Ps 34.6: "This poor man, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles." After this indirect seeing God will revive him, action occurring in the future. The Hebrew reads "return to life" as if the period of troubles and hence the implied indirect ra'ah were a training period.
"Depths of the earth" (tehom) is the same term used for the matrix from which God made creation: "Darkness was upon the face of the deep" [Gen 1.2]. Tehom is the same word used for the Red Sea's waters which covered the Egyptian army: "The floods cover them; they went down into the depths like a stone" [Ex 15.5]. With regard to the Genesis reference, the psalmist is situating himself in the raw context before God's creativity goes to work and is ready to become a new creation. "You will bring me up again:" here a verb in the Hebrew text is used, shuv, to return; it is the second instance in this verse, the first being "will revive me again."
Vs. 21: You will increase my honor and comfort me again. Implied here is that the psalmist already had honor or greatness, godel, only in the new creation (cf. last verse) it will be increased, ravah, which may be taken as increasing according to the six days of creation depicted in Genesis. "I will multiply your [Abraham] seed exceedingly" [Gen 16.10]. In addition to this previous godel, the psalmist once enjoyed divine comfort, nacham. Note the English preposition again which in Hebrew is the verb similar to shuv, savav, which implies being surrounded on every side. The verb nacham can also mean to take vengeance, to lament.
Vs. 22: I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O holy One of Israel. Two different forms of the verb to praise perhaps within a liturgical context, the first being yadah which is in connection with the harp (nevel) or more specifically, instrument (kely) of the harp. A kely traditionally had twelve strings; verbal root naval means to be foolish, perhaps suggesting that the music so produced has the capacity to make a person go out of his mind. The object of praise in the first part of vs. 22 is divine faithfulness ('emeth) which implies truthfulness.
In the second part of this verse, the act of praising God is more specific, "holy One (Qedosh) of Israel;" the verb used is zamar, and for reference, cf. Ps 8.17 which notes this verb as meaning to prune. The instrument by which such zamar is effected is a lyre or kinor which may be struck either with a plectrum or hand. "And whenever the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand" [1 Sam 16.23]. Thus we have a type of "pruning" on this musical instrument.
Vs. 23: My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to you; my soul also which you have rescued. Two types of activity which work together in the physical sense: shouting for joy (verbally) or ranan and singing praise-i.e., the "pruning" again-or zamar (physically, with the hands). In conjunction with this bodily form of praise to God the psalmist's nephesh (which is immaterial) is implied as engaging in the same activity. Nephesh can do this because it has been rescued, padah, which fundamentally means being set loose from bonds. Shall I redeem them from death" [Hos 13.14]?
Vs. 24: And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long, for they have been put to shame and disgraced who sought to do me hurt. Mention of the "impersonal" agent of tongue as opposed, so to speak, to the psalmist and which function during the day as opposed to the night. Its function here is to talk or hagah which means more to murmur (softly) yet be applied to a loud noise: "As a lion or a young lion growls over his praise" [Is 31.4]. The object of this hagah is God's righteousness, "help" not being used in the Hebrew text.
Note the play on words, to shame (bosh) and to seek (baqash).
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Psalm Seventy-Two
Vs. 1: Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son! Note that this psalm has as its inscription, "A Psalm of Solomon." In light of this inscription, the king in mind is David, Solomon's father, and the psalmist attributes "your" or divine justice, mishpat, the act of judging, to Solomon. On the other hand, he asks that righteousness, tsedaqah or that from which judgment flows, be bestowed to the "royal son" or Solomon's son. The intent is to carry on David's favor with God to royal descendants. In a sense this desire for continued lineage endorsed by God is a continuation of Solomon's prayer for understanding which God answered in abundance. "But have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right...I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you shall arise after you" [1 Kg 3.11-12].
Vs. 2: May he judge your people with righteousness and your poor with justice! This verse begins a series of wishes by the psalmist as noted by the English "may" right through verse 11 and continued between vs. 15 and 17. In the verse at hand a distinction between people in general and the poor, hanawym (cf. Ps 22.26); the former receive the more universal form of tsedeq whereas the latter, misphat or applied justice.
Vs. 3: May the mountains bear prosperity for the people and the hills in righteousness! A verse reminiscent of Ezk 34.14: "I will feed them with good pasture and upon the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on fat pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel." Note the distinction between (large) mountains or harym and (small) hills or gevahoth. The prosperity of the former is shalom whose basic meaning is peace, and the hills bear (nasa') in the sense of conveying, tsedaqah. This verse may apply to Jerusalem surrounded as it is by both mountains and hills.
Vs. 4: May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy and crush the oppressor! This verse continues the numerous aspirations which may be attributed to Solomon's father, King David, as he should ideally act through his successors; it is not difficult to attribute these aspirations to Jesus Christ. The verb defend is shaphat, more specifically meaning to judge which has as its direct object "poor (hanawym) of the people," not their "cause."
The next desire is for delivering (yashah, "Jesus") the needy or "sons of the needy," implying not so much the 'evyon proper but their descendants. Thus "Jesus" will extend through succeeding generations.
The oppressor or hosheq (singular) is set up as an adversary to the king. "Do justice and righteousness and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed" [Jer 22.3].
Vs. 5: May he live while the sun endures and as long as the moon throughout all generations! The Hebrew text reads "They shall fear you," yare', pertaining to either/or the king and God. Note the preposition him, with: i.e., "with the sun" or during the day. The second half of vs. 5 intimates night by mentioning moon; the Hebrew literally reads, "before the moon." This natural alternation of day and night is reflected by successive human generations, dor (singular). "My deliverance will be forever and my salvation to all generations" [Is 51.8].
Vs. 6: May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth! This verse is somewhat reminiscent of the prophet Elijah who was responsible for causing rain to fall after a severe drought (cf. 1 Kg 18.41+). The distinction regarding the verse at hand is that drought is intimated by the term mown grass, gez. This word also refers to shorn wool of a sheep or fleece: "The first of the fleece of your sheep you shall give him" [Dt 18.4]. Rain (matar) is a general term; showers (revyvym, plural used) are a gentler type of rainfall: "Dew from the Lord, like showers upon the grass" [Mic 5.7]. Their action is characterized by watering, zarzyph, the only occurrence of this term. The object of such watering is the earth as a whole as opposed to the more specific mown grass.
Vs. 7: In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound until the moon be no more! Righteousness (tsadyq) flourishes or parach, from which is derived the noun blossom: "And their blossom go up like dust" [Is 5.24]. Similarly, peace (shalom) abounds or ravav. Note the parallel these two qualities have with the lunar calendar, that is, they will endure until the moon ceases to exist, referring to the changing of its phases.
Vs. 8: May he have dominion from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth! Israel is thus situated between these two seas, Mediterranean and what is now the Persian Gulf. Note that to have dominion, yarach, is the same verbal root for moon and month, yareach, noted in the last verse. In addition to the two seas, this yarach extends to the River (nahar) or the Euphrates. "Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt" [1 Kg 4.21/5.1]. From this point-the Euphrates empties into the Persian Gulf or the other "sea"-which in turn touches the "ends of the earth," 'ephes (singular). Here was the limit of the known world beyond which Solomon's rule did not extend.
Vs. 9: May his foes bow down before him and his enemies lick the dust! The Hebrew reads for "foes," "those who dwell in the wilderness," tsyym. "Wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon" [Jer 50.39]. Such tsyym may be equated with those outside the realm of Solomon or beyond the "ends of the earth" of vs. 8. The dust which they shall lick may be that of Israel's earth by which they will acknowledge his sovereignty.
Vs. 10: May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! Tarshish is modern Spain and the isles are most likely the islands in the Mediterranean Sea, a westerly direction from Israel. Tribute or minchah can also mean a gift or sacrifice which isn't bloody as opposed to a zevach. "Whenever anyone brings a cereal offering...his offering shall be of fine flour" [Lev 2.1]. In addition to these nations west of Israel, vs. 10 mentions Sheba and Seba which are located in south Arabia. Note the use of "kings" in comparison with the queen of Sheba as in 1 Kg 10. Since Ps 72 is dedicated to Solomon, perhaps these kings are her successors who also come to him seeking wisdom. Along with them are included the kings of Seba. "I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you" [Is 43.3]. Here gift is 'eshkar as in Ezk 27.15: "Many coastlands were your own special markets, they brought you in payment ivory tusks and ebony." The verb to bring, qarav, fundamentally means to draw near (as to offer such gifts or sacrifices).
Vs. 11: May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him! To conclude this section of "mays" the psalmist enthusiastically includes rulers of the entire earth or those yet unknown to Solomon. The act of falling down (shachah) and serving (havar) can also apply to worship of God. "And the people bowed their heads and worshiped" [Ex 12.27].
Vs. 12: For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. Despite the extensive rule of Solomon, he pays attention to those who are less fortunate: the 'evyon as in vs. 4 whom he delivers (natsal), the hanawym and anyone lacking a helper or hozer. This verse is reminiscent of Is 42.3: "A bruised reed he will not break."
Vs. 13: He has pity on the weak and the needy and saves the lives of the needy. The weak or dal derives from the verbal root dalal, to hang down; cf. Ps 41.1: "Blessed is he who considers the poor (or weak)." Such dal is the object of royal pity or chus which connotes sparing: "Spare them not" [Dt 7.16]. Similarly, the needy or 'evyon are the object of this chus, more specifically their souls, nephesh (singular). This word is mentioned yet again with respect to saving or "Jesus" (yashah).
Vs. 14: From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight. Another use of nephesh for life which is the object of royal redemption, galal. Almost in contrast to this redemption the psalmist states that such unfortunates have been most likely slain, the reason for the second half of this verse. "She (wisdom) is more precious (yaqar) than rubies" [Prov 3.15].
Vs. 15: Long may he live, may gold of Sheba be given to him! May prayer be made for him continually and blessings invoked for him all the day! The Hebrew reads "May he live" or continue in existence. King Solomon had received gold from the queen of Sheba (cf. 1 Kg 10.2) in exchange for his wisdom. Lack of her name in this verse implies that her successors will similarly seek Solomon's wisdom. He is also the object of two wishes resulting from his beneficence described in vss. 12-14: prayer (palal) and blessings (barak) or in Hebrew, "daily shall he be blessed." The time for such activity is "day" or those occasions when sacrifices were offered in the Jerusalem temple.
Vs. 16: May their be abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may men blossom forth from the cities like the grass of the field! Abundance or pisah can also mean handful and thus a meager amount of grain; the only occurrence of this word in the Bible. Perhaps the psalmist has in mind Elijah's miracle for the widow: "The jar of meal shall not be spent, and the cruse of oil shall not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth" [1 Kg 17.14]. I.e., this small amount of meal and oil will be as a spring providing ample food and drink.
The location of this "spring" is on the mountain tops where it waves, rahash, from which is derived the noun tumult: "At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions" [Jer 47.3]. Another indication that such a small amount of grain has the capacity to do great things or feed a multitude. The same applies for the fruit of this grain which is compared to Lebanon's, noted for abundance of produce. "My (King Hiram) servants shall bring it (cedar) down to the sea from Lebanon" [1 Kg 5.9].
The last part of vs. 16 is the end result of grain being planted on the mountain tops; i.e., it "flows down" to the field where men live, causing them to flourish. This is suggestive of Sg 6.11: "I went down to the nut orchard, to look at the blossoms of the valley, to see whether the vine had budded, whether the pomegranates were in bloom."
Vs. 17: May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May men bless themselves by him, all nations call him blessed! The Hebrew lacks "endure" and has the simple verb "to be." It also reads for "fame" name (shem), so this verse contains two references to the royal name Solomon to which the Song of Songs is attributed. Fame seems less enduring, that is, lasting (nun; only reference in the Bible) as long as the sun.
The wish for men to be associated with King Solomon (bless, barak) hearkens back to his wisdom as noted earlier but also can refer to his name being associated with the Song. On the other hand, nations 'ashar Solomon, the first word opening the Psalter; cf. Ps 1.1 for remarks.
Vs. 18: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. While King Solomon may be blessed or barak, it is more important for God to be so acknowledged. Alone or levad in the Hebrew text is at the end of this verse to emphasize his primacy in all things.
Vs. 19: Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth! Amen and amen! A distinction between God as object of barak in vs. 18 and here his "glorious name" or shem. While the adjective kevod applies to the divine name, this same kavod radiates outward to creation in concurrence with the extension of Solomon's dominion "from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth" [vs. 8].
Vs. 20: The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended. While Psalm 72 may apply to Solomon, those psalms thus far belong to King David, the true source of Solomon's rule and wisdom. Kalah for to end signifies conclusion or consummation.
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Psalm Seventy-Three
Vs. 1: Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart. The Hebrew text reads, "Truly God is good to Israel," that is, as a nation, and then mentions those pure (bar) of heart. It does not read "upright." Cf. Ps 19.8: "The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes." "Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God" [Mt 5.8]. Thus vision and purity are one and the same. Note that bar can mean son.
Vs. 2: But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had well night slipped. Note the distinction between feet (regel, singular) and steps ('ashur, singular): The former are the physical limbs whereas the latter are the actual movement of these limbs. 'Ashur derives from the verbal root 'ashar from which comes 'ashry, blessed, the first word of the Psalter, "Blessed is the man." That is to say, such 'ashuray came close (to alter Ps 1.1) to having "walked in the counsel the wicked, stood in the way of sinners and sat in the seat of scoffers." The verb shaphak for to slip fundamentally means to pour out. "I am poured out like water" [Ps 22.15], i.e., my steps almost assumed the rapid flow of water in following evil.
Vs. 3: For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. The psalmist describes the character of the arrogant which derives from the verbal root halal meaning to praise, perhaps alluding to the effusive loquaciousness of an arrogant person and which superficially resembles the effusiveness of (verbal) praise. Such arrogant persons may be characterized as follows:
1) vs. 4: have no pangs
2) sound and sleek bodies
3) vs. 5: untroubled as others
4) not stricken as others
5) vs. 6: pride is their necklace
6) violence covers them as a garment
7) vs. 7: eyes swell with fatness
8) hearts overflow with follies
9) vs. 8: scoff
10) speak with malice
11) threaten oppression
12) vs. 9: set mouths against the heavens
13) tongue struts through earth
14) vs. 10: people return (praise, English)
15) people don't find fault with them
16) vs. 11: people question God's reliability
17) vs. 12: wicked at ease
18) wealth of wicked increases
Vs. 13: All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. After the enumeration above, the psalmist turns to question his practice of virtue when confronted with such arrogant persons. This verse can apply to ritual cleansing; what seems difficult for the psalmist is that he had kept his heart pure or in Hebrew, "cleansed my heart," rachats. "When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion" [Is 4.4].
Vs. 14: For all the day long I have been stricken and chastened every morning. These words-beginning in vs. 13 and continuing through vs. 16-are reminiscent of the prophet Isaiah's Servant Songs, 42.1-4, 49.1-6, 50.4.11 and 52.13-53.12.
Vs. 17: Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end. As noted with regard to vs. 14, the psalmist's afflictions have an affinity with Isaiah's Servant Songs and hence Jesus Christ. The suffering may be applied to Christ's passion and death; the verse at hand may apply to the moment of his death when he return to the Father or entered the sanctuary, miqdash. "Then the nations will know that I the Lord sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary is in the midst of them forevermore" [Ezk 37.28]. Upon entering this miqdash, the psalmist perceives (byn) their end or 'acharyth. Such byn as noted regarding Ps 5.1. is a type of "getting in between" something in order to understand it. Being present in the sanctuary is withdrawing from the common experience of space and time with all its vicissitudes and hence a prime location to see them in light of being in this sanctuary.
Vs. 18: Truly you have set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. Because the psalmist is in the sanctuary which is in a higher location, his oppressors attempt to assault this fortified area. Such "slippery places" are the ramparts leading up to the miqdash. Because the sanctuary is a meeting place with God and point of contact between heaven and earth, it may be considered as an expression of heavenly reality made visible by a physical structure. For this reason the psalmist may rightly call his foes phantoms (vs. 20) which disappear when he awakes.
Vs. 21: When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart. Lev or heart is the Hebrew text for "soul." Compare it with nephesh (soul) mentioned earlier, the former being a more central and therefore physical organ. To be embittered or chamats means to suffer violence; note that a noun, chamets, means anything leavened: "If anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel" [Ex 12.15]. In addition to this inner torment, the psalmist is pricked, shanan, which implies something sharpened. This second affliction is with regards to his heart, kileyah (singular), or better, kidneys (reins), signifying the inmost mind or seat of desires and affections. "God tries the reins and the heart" [Jer 11.20].
Vs. 22: I was stupid and ignorant, I was like a beast toward you. A continuation of vs. 21, the result of having been embittered (soul) and pricked (heart), but leading to a positive realization of divine supremacy. The two qualities attributed to a beast, stupid (bahar) and ignorant (yadah, i.e., not having knowledge) are a midway point, so to speak, between the psalmist's afflicted state and his knowledge or true yadah of God. The verb bahar means to consume: "I (Moses) will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt" [Ex 3.3]. Note that being like a beast is "toward (him = with) you." Perhaps this beast-like presence may be associated with Christ's relationship to his followers as sheep, i.e., implying the similar ignorant presence of these animals.
Vs. 23: Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. This being with God continually or tamyd implies an uninterrupted "with-ness" (him) but one akin to animals being with their master. "The sheep hear his voice" [Jn 10.3]. Note that God holds the psalmist's right hand as opposed to his left, symbolic of salvation: "Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed'" [Mt 25.41].
Vs. 24: You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Once the psalmist is with God as noted in the last verse, he is not standing still but is guided, nachah, as in Ps 23.3: "He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." Instead of a rod and staff (cf. vs. 4) leading, the verse at hand has divine counsel or hetsah. "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom...and counsel" [Is 11.2]. Such leading is a midway point, as it were, for God receives the psalmist with glory, kavod, similar to his own kavod: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory" [Is 6.3].
Vs. 25: Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing upon earth that I desire besides you. The first statement identifies heaven (shamyam) with God himself, excluding the presence of other divine beings such as angels. Despite this supreme transcendence, the psalmist claims that the same type of (heavenly) presence is accessible on earth, 'eretz. Note that the preposition besides (him) can also mean with; it is associated with the verb chaphats, desire, as noted with regard to Ps 18.19: "He delivered me because he delighted in me."
Vs. 26: My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. This failing or kalah as noted regarding Ps 72.20 implies an end or completion. Applied to the verse at hand, kalah suggests that two aspects of the psalmist's constitution, flesh and heart, may find "completion." Then he implies immortality to his heart or lavav by mentioning it alone in reference to God as strength or tsarar which can also mean rock in the sense of a stronghold. It is though the psalmist substituted flesh for portion, cheleq, which also means smoothness: "Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion" [Is 57.6]. The most basic meaning of this verbal root is to divide, especially by lot: "The people of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses; they allotted the land" [Jos 14.5].
Vs. 27: For lo, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to those who are false to you. Such distance (rachaq being the verbal root) is contrasted in the next verse with the psalmist's closeness to God. Compare rachaq with his expression of divine transcendence and presence, heaven and earth, vs. 25. In the verse at hand, distance is equated with alienation and death, perish or 'avad. Even more abominable are persons false to God, zanah, a verbal root which means to commit fornication. This crime is even "more distant" (rachaq) from God and merits being put to an end, tsamath, as in Ps 54.5: "In your faithfulness, put an end to them."
Vs. 28: But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. Such nearness (qarav; a noun means the interior of anything as Is 5.25, 'among the Canaanites'). This verb can apply to the making of an offering: "Let him offer a male without blemish" [Lev 1.3]. Thus for the psalmist being near to God and offering sacrifice to him are one and the same.
This notion of an offering leads to the psalmist claiming God as his refuge, machseh, from the verbal root chasah, to trust. "The rock in whom they trusted" [Dt 33.37]. Note the importance of the transitional preposition l- (that) which gives the true purpose to the psalmist (or King Solomon) being near to God: saphar, to tell in the sense of enumerating divine works: "Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than could be numbered" [Ps 40.5]. Mela'kah or work implies property, especially cattle: "I will lead on slowly, according to the pace of the cattle which are before me" [Gen 33.14].
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Psalm Seventy-Four
Vs. 1: O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture! A psalm similar to Forty-Four. To be cast off or zanach as in Ps 43.2: "Why have you cast me off?", only in vs. 1 zanach refers to Israel as a nation, "us." The image of smoke or hashan is reminiscent of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah: "And lo, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace" [Gen 19.28]. Here the word used is qytur from the verbal root to burn incense as if these two cities were an offering to God. Hashan is applied to the theophany at Mt. Sinai: "And Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire" [Ex 19.18].
An alternate meaning for anger ('aph) is nostrils: "And the Lord God breathed into his nostrils" [Gen 2.7]. The object of this wrath is "sheep of your pasture," as if to make a distinction between the animals and the land which they occupy.
Vs. 2: Remember your congregation which you have gotten of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage! Remember Mount Zion where you have dwelt. The Hebrew text has remember (zakar) only once which as noted in other places is derived the noun male and which implies the continuance of the congregation (hadah). "That there be no wrath against the congregation" [Num 1.53]. Of old or qedem suggests priority and hearkens back to God's favor towards Israel under the bondage of Egypt. Note the transition from hadah to shevet, tribe or rod. "And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth" [Is 11.4]. There is a relationship between zakar, the desire for God to remember and Israel as heritage, nachalah which intimates something possessed. "But the Lord has taken you and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own possession, as at this day" [Dt 4.20]. A derivative from the verbal root ga'al (to redeem) is relative: "And now it is true that I am a near kinsman, yet there is a kinsman nearer than I" [Rt 3.12].
In addition to asking God to remember his congregation, the psalmist makes special appeal to remember Mount Zion, notably as the place where God has dwelt, shakan in the sense of having settled down permanently. This dwelling is further stressed by the preposition b-, "in it."
Vs. 3: Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary! The verb to direct connotes a lifting up, rum. It usually has a positive sense and can apply to the offering of sacrifice: "An offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord" [Lev 2.9]. Compare steps, paham (singular), which refers more to the act of treading with 'ashur, whose verbal root is noted regarding Ps 1.1. It is as though the psalmist wishes God to tread over to "perpetual ruins" which can apply to Jerusalem. Perpetual or netsach has the sense of completeness or absolute ruin, not necessarily temporal extension.
The enemy ('oyev) is can refer to the Babylonian invasion of 587 B.C. who is singled out for condemnation because of having laid waste the sanctuary, more specifically, in the sanctuary or qodesh. The implication is that this qodesh was spared for their profane use. The Hebrew text reads, "The enemy has done wickedly in the sanctuary."
Vs. 4: Your foes have roared in the midst of your holy place; they set up their own signs for signs. Verses 4-8 describe the Babylonian enemy's destruction of the Jerusalem temple which may be outline as follows:
1) roared (sha'ag) in the sense of a lion: "Their roaring is like a lion" [Is 5.29], a frightening image not only with regard to the holy place (mohed, more specifically, a set time) but in its midst (qerev) or very center of the implied congregation.
2) signs ('oth) which can be of a military nature. An alternate meaning: "Let them be for signs and for season and for days" [Gen 1.14].
3) vs.5: upper entrance: This verse is uncertain in the Hebrew and may be read as "A (man) was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick tree."
4) vs. 6: destroyed carved wood (pituach) or something engraved: "As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel" [Ex 28.11].
5) vs. 7: set fire to the sanctuary (miqdash), literally threw (shalach) fire.
6) desecrated (chalal), a verbal root meaning to pierce through. "My heart is stricken within me" [Ps 109.22]. Note this desecration is with regard to the "dwelling place of your name (shem)", another way of indicating the divine presence in the Jerusalem temple.
7) vs. 8: intention to subdue (yanah) the Israelites. "Woe to her that is rebellious and defiled, the oppressed city" [Zeph 3.1]!
8) the foes burn God's meetings places (mohed, singular, as in vs. 1), again signifying places where Israelites gather to worship.
Vs. 9: We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long. Th distress Israel feels is sought to be relieved by three means: 1) signs or 'oth (used negatively as in vs. 4), 2) prophet or navy': "And the prophets, do they live forever" [Zec 1.5]?, 3) how long (had-mah), that is, the duration of Israel's distress. Cf. 1 Sam 3.20: "And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord." Note the word established, 'aman (from which 'amen' is derived). Thus in vs. 9 the people may be said to be looking for a person in whom to put their "amen" or trust.
Vs. 10: How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever? Now how long (had-mah) is addressed directly to God instead of with regard to a person as in vs. 9. Now God is confronted with the same distress as Israel: scoffing foe and an enemy reviling his name.
Vs. 11: Why do you hold back your hand, why do you keep your right hand in your bosom? The first question pertains to the divine hand in general, that is, left or right. The second question reads in Hebrew, "Why do you consume your right hand?" The right hand (yamyn) is one traditionally associated with favor as opposed to the left. "Length of days is in her right hand" [Prov 3.16]. "And he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left" [Mt 25.33].
The verb kalah (keep) has the fundamental meaning of bringing something to completion, even in the sense of ravaging it. It causes Israel great distress to see why God does not reveal this yamyn to rescue her; again, a sign, prophet or one with knowledge seems to be the only hope.
Vs. 12: Yet God my King is from old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. This change in attitude-from one of distress to one of hope-implies no need of a sign, prophet or a person with knowledge. It shifts from outward manifestations to a realization that salvation (yeshuhoth, "Jesus") is in the process of formation present yet invisible or "in the midst of the earth," qerev, from which is derived qureban, offering. I.e., "Jesus" is in the hidden process of making an offering, an act which transcends Israel's current torment.
Vs. 13: You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the dragons on the waters. The first part of this verse is a clear reference to the Exodus. Since vs. 12 says that "Jesus" is in the earth's midst or very center, presumably this marvel has occurred not so much from above but from below, that is, God reaching up (as it were) from beneath the earth to divide the Red Sea. Might or hoz is thus a manifestation of "Jesus."
The dragons (tanyn, singular) original signify the monster of chaos, Leviathan or Rahab (cf. Job 3.8, Is 27.1); here this primeval menace may be identified with the Egyptian army.
Vs. 14: You crushed the heads of Leviathan, you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. Leviathan as chief monster, so to speak, may be taken in the context of vs. 13 as the Egyptian Pharaoh who pursued Israel. His multiple heads may signify the various forces at his disposal. Note that Leviathan is a sea monster; here God gives his body to land animals signified by wilderness, tsyym; the noun tsyy can also refer to any wild beast: "But wild beasts will lie down there" [Is 13.21].
Vs. 15: You cleaved open springs and brooks; you dried up ever flowing streams. Since Leviathan is a sea animal, this verse may be viewed as an attempt by God to flush him out of his natural habitat. He does this by three means:
1) cleaves (baqar, as a cloven footed animal breaks open the soil). "O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice" [Ps 5.3]. I.e., he morning "cleaves open" daylight. The two objects of baqar are: springs (mahyan) or more specifically places irrigated by fountains. The proper word for fountain is hayn. "His fountain shall dry up, his spring shall be parched" [Hos 13.15].
2) brooks (nachal) are similarly the object of baqar. It implies a moving body of water issuing from a fountain; the fundamental meaning of its verbal root is to inherit. Nachalah is a related term meaning valley (where streams are located): "I went down to the nut orchard, to look at the blossoms of the valley" [Sg 6.10].
3) dried up streams or nehar (singular) whose verbal root also means to shine: "Then you shall see and be radiant" [Is 60.5]. The term for ever flowing is 'eytan and implies strength: "His bow will remain firm" [Gen 49.24].
Vs. 16: Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the luminaries and the sun. The first part of this verse has echoes in Ps 139.12: "Even the darkness is not dark for you, the night is bright as the day; for darkness is as light with you." Here we have a verse similar to the creation in Genesis: "'Let there be light.' and there was light" [1.3]; "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night" [1.14].
Vs. 17 continues this creation theme by stating that God fixed earth's bounds and made summer and winter. The verb yatsar for to make suggests a fashioning as by a craftsman.
Vs. 18: Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs, and an impious people reviles your name. This verse resumes the thrust of Ps 74, prayer for deliverance from enemies threatening the state of Israel. Note that the psalmist bids God to remember the enemies' taunts and abuse of his divine name. The verb here is zakar; cf. remarks with regard to Ps 6.5. The preceding verses functioned as an interlude or indirect means of getting God to take action by bringing to his attention his past saving deeds and act of creation which to the psalmist are one. This singular work is implied as being operative in Israel's favor.
Vs. 19: Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts; do not forget the life of your poor forever. Israel is viewed here as dove or tor, from a verbal root meaning to search out. "The land through which we have gone, to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants" [Num 13.32]. Tor is also used as a term for a beloved female: "The voice of the turtledove is heard in our land" [Sg 2.12]. Note that this same word is used in 1.10 with a different meaning: "We will make you ornaments of gold, studded with silver." The Torah is also akin to these words; one gets the impression the a reader of the Torah coos like a dove or tor while reading it. Note that the verse at hand speaks of the dove's soul or nephesh which is immaterial. Thus the wild beasts (chayah, singular) may be taken as immaterial and hence an image for evil powers.
"Life of the poor" or chayah used in a different sense, namely, as associated with God's hanawym who have traditionally come under his protection. To forget (shakach) may be taken in an indefinite sense with a little or greater amount of time; to associate this disregard forever or netsach is to be deprived of divine knowledge, yadah (verb).
Vs. 20: Have regard for your covenant; for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence. The verb for regard is the simple navat which implies a sense of respect. "And the peace offerings of your fatted beasts I will not look upon" [Am 5.22]. The divine covenant (beryth) is intended to be observed "out in the open" or in full view of God and Israel. Compare this openness with dark places or machshak (singular), from the verbal root chashak. "Woe to those who hide deep from the Lord their counsel, whose deeds are in the dark" [Is 29.15]. Such caves are places to hatch plots where the habitations (rather, those who live there) or nawah reside. This word generally has a positive sense as pasture, for example. "Then I will gather the remnant of my flock...and I will bring them back to the their fold" [Jer 23.3].
Vs. 21: Let not the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and need praise your name. Here are three similar categories of people who are vulnerable to that violence hatched in secret places just mentioned: downtrodden (dak, implies being crushed), poor (hany), needy ('evyon). The first are singled out for not being shamed or bosh; it is as though the other two groups were to praise (halal) God's name because of this.
Vs. 22: Arise, O God, plead your cause; remember how the impious scoff at you all the day! The bidding of God to arise or qum is as though the psalmist wanted him to be with the three groups mentioned above; they are trampled "down" and to have this rising movement present with them with its divine source is his earnest desire. Also such qum associated with ryv, please cause, connotes a lawyer standing up to defend a client. "Defend the fatherless, plead for the widow" [Is 1.17].
The second part of vs. 22 has the "impious" or better in the Hebrew, fool (naval) scoff (patah) God, a verb implying persuasion or to be enticed. "O Lord, you have deceived me, and I was deceived" [Jer 20.7]. In a sense, such scoffing is innocent as implied by the noun and verb. Also, the psalmist suggests an identity between God and the afflicted of vs. 22 by his plea for him to remember (zakar).
Vs. 23: Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of your adversaries which goes up continually! The plea for God not to forget (shakach) corresponds to the one in vs. 22 for him to remember. This extension of zakar, as it were, pertains to foes and adversaries; the latter derives from the verbal root qum, to arise, as noted in the previous verse and may be contrasted with it. Such clamor goes up, halah, another upward motion. Psalm 74 concludes on this desperate note, especially the last word, continually, tamyd.
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Psalm Seventy-Five
Vs. 1: We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks; we call on your name and recount your wondrous deeds. This double note of giving thanks (yadah) seems to make up for the urgency of the preceding psalm. The second part reads in Hebrew, "For your name is near; they recount your wondrous works." Note the presence of shem, name, which is qerev (near); cf. Ps 74.12: "Working salvation in the midst of the earth." The "they" who recount or saphar (in the sense of writing down divine deeds) may be the three groups of afflicted persons mentioned in Ps 74.21, the downtrodden, poor and need.
Vs. 2: At the set time which I appoint I will judge with equity. This mohed was noted in Ps 74.4, holy place, and in the verse at hand has a temporal meaning, and the Septuagint translates it as kairos. The Hebrew reads, "When I shall receive the congregation." In light of this, it seems that God passes judgment (shaphat, verb) only upon having received this mohed of Israel and is present in it.
Vs. 3: When the earth totters and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah. God is the speaker from vs. 3 through vs. 5. The tottering (mog) implies an earthquake and can be associated with the kairos of judgment just noted. The pillars or hamod (singular) were thought to be the foundation of the earth on the chaos of those waters mentioned in Genesis. I.e., such pillars are based on the unstable base of primeval waters. Hamod is used in reference to God's presence: ""The pillar of the cloud went from before them" [Ex 14.19].
Selah or pause is the first instance of this word since Ps 68.32, implying that Psalm 75 is a liturgical act.
Vs. 4: I say to the boastful, "Do not boast," and to the wicked, "Do not lift up your horn. The boastful and wicked persons may be seen as the antithesis of the pillars; their pomp is founded on the primeval waters or better, are an extension of them. Note that the verb halal (to boast) also means to praise. Horn or qeren is an image of power and can have a positive meaning: "The horn of my salvation" [Ps 18.2]. In vs. 4 qeren may be taken, like the boastful, as another extension the waters of chaos.
Vs. 5 continues this theme of boastful exultation by again mentioning qeren; another related image is "insolent neck," from the verbal root hataq, to be stricken. It is as those persons who engage in this insolence are "stricken" by their own pride. This verse concludes God as speaker and Ps 75 resumes with the psalmist speaking.
Vs. 6: For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up. These two directions (as opposed to north and south) signify the rising and setting of the sun which perhaps was considered as a god. Note that this lateral direction differs from the vertical direction alluded to in the last few verses. In addition to them the psalmist adds the wilderness, midbar (cf. Ps 29.8). This verse has a parallel with John the Baptist in the same midbar who "was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light" [Jn 1.8].
Here lifting up or rum is a vertical movement, a liberation from the cycle of day and night implied by east and west.
Vs. 7: But it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. Judgment or shaphat (verb) directed towards two vertical actions: shaphal and rum. Note the use of rum in the last verse with respect to lifting up.
Vs. 8: For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed; and he will pour a draught from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs. For another reference of cup (kus), cf. Is 51.22: "Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering." For this wine to be foaming or chamar implies that it is boiling, the meaning of this verbal root. Another noun is chemar, bitumen: "And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar" [Gen 11.3]. Mesek (well mixed) is the only occurrence of this word.
The act of pouring a draught implies that the wicked are viewing this deliberate action which strikes them with terror. The Hebrew here reads "But the dregs all the wicked of the earth shall wring out and drink."
Vs. 9: But I will rejoice forever, I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. The Hebrew for "rejoice" is declare (nagad) from which the preposition before (neged) is derived. Thus "I will 'be before' forever." This before-ness allows the psalmist to sing (zamar, cf. references re. to prune as in Ps 8.17). Reference to Jacob may be situated within the context of this patriarch's wrestling with an angel, Gen 32.13+.
Vs. 10: All the horns of the wicked he will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted. Qeren or horn was noted in vs. 4 as a symbol of arrogant exultation but can be positively ascribed to the righteous, tsadyq, the singular being used here, who apparently has multiple horns which are exalted, another use of rum. For a comparison of the two different horns, cf. Rev 5.6: "A Lamb standing as though it had been slain with seven horns and with seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth." And Rev 12.3, "Behold, a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems upon his heads."
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Psalm Seventy-Six
Vs. 1: In Judah God is known, his name is great in Israel. This psalm is reminiscent of Ps 46. Two traditional divisions of the descendants of Abraham: first God is known (yadah) in Judah and his name is great (gadol) in Israel. It seems as though divine revelation commences in Judah and then passes on into Israel. "For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah" [Heb 7.14].
Vs. 2: His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. Salem is akin to shalom (peace) and is a poetical name for Jerusalem. "And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High" [Gen 14.18]. This mention of monotheistic priesthood in conjunction with Abraham shows the connection between the beginning of Israel's history and the temple at Jerusalem.
Note the two types of habitations for God: abode or sukah which is more properly a booth from which derives the Jewish celebration of Succoth. "You shall keep the feast of booths seven days when you make your ingathering from your threshing floor and your wine press" [Dt 15.13]. Dwelling place or mahon which refers more to the temple. "O Lord, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells" [Ps 26.8]. The first is a temporary dwelling and the second is permanent.
Vs. 3: There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword and the weapons of war. Selah. There (shamah) can refer to the two divine presences just mentioned, abode and dwelling place. This verse speaks of a siege either of a historical or eschatological nature. At the end of vs. 3 we have the first of two selahs showing that Ps 76 is liturgical by nature.
Vs. 4: Glorious are you, more majestic than the everlasting mountains. Glorious derives from the verbal root 'or, to be light which here is associated with the similar majestic or 'adyr. "But there the Lord in majesty will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams" [Is 33.21]. A similar word with the same spelling is a shepherd: "Wail, you shepherds, and cry" [Jer 25.34]. The comparison in vs. 4 is between God and in Hebrew "mountains of prey," tareph. Perhaps this refers to the mountains surrounding Jerusalem on which her enemies were situated and seemed to those in the besieged city as birds of prey.
Vs. 5: The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; all the men of war were unable to use their hands. Two groups of warriors who may be situated on the "mountains of prey" about Jerusalem: stouthearted or 'avyr (singular) can refer to a bull: "Why did not your bull stand? Because the Lord thrust him down" [Jer 46.15]. Their falling asleep ("They have slept their sleep," Hebrew) suggests that such "bulls" were not slain but were put to sleep by God's intervention, a type of paralysis with regard to their hands which wielded weapons.
Vs. 6: At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned. Another reference to God and Jacob (cf. Ps 75.9 above) which again continues the theme of Jerusalem besieged or can also hearken back to Egypt's defeat at the Red Sea. A rebuke (mighereth) is usually fatal to mortals: "The Lord will send upon you cures, confusion and frustration in all that you undertake to do" [Dt 28.20].
Vs. 7: But you, terrible are you! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused? Terrible (nora') derives from yare', to fear, with a different meaning than Prov 1.7: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." In vs. 7 note the two "yous," one before nora' and another after it in order to emphasize this fearfulness. The act of standing is a common image of defiance, and one who dares to so is knocked down before God's anger. The Hebrew here reads "when you are angry;" the preposition liphany (before) more specifically means "in the presence of."
Vs. 8: From the heavens you did utter judgment; the earth feared and was still. Heavens (shamym) is the tra