PEIHCETOIT HLC. JAN 1882 THEOLOGICAL^* Division. .^,.^^^_ :bS1430, Section..., _^^^ . 6 - C"" .'LhS'S No \tm '^" :>— .« 1 V.3 'P ^ L<>l>y3 CLARK'S FOREIGN THEOLOGICAL LIBRARY. FOURTH SERIES. VOL. XXXL Stlit50ciy£f Commtntari) on tijc ^^alnijsi. VOL. Ill EDINBURGH: T. & T. CLARK, 38, GEORGE STREET. MDCCCLX.WIl. PKIKTED BY MURRAY AND GIBB, FOR T. & T. CLARK, EDINBURGH. LONDON HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO. DUBLIN, .... JOHN ROBERTSON AND CO. NEW YORK, . . . SCRIBNER, WELFORD, AND ARMSTRONG. BIBLICAL COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS FRANZ DELITZSCH, D.D., PKOFESSOR OF OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT EXEGESIS. LEIPSIG txmxshttii from tl^t (Bttmmx (FnOM THE SECOND EDITION, REVISED THROUGHOUT) REV. FRANCIS BOLTON, B.A., •KIZEMAN IN UKliRKW AND NEW TESTAMENT GREEK U< THK fNlVERSITV OF LONDON. BECOND EDITION. VOL. IIL EDINBURGH: T. & T. CLARK, 38, GEORGE STREET. MDCCCLXXVn. TABLE OF CONTENTS. EXPOSITION OF THE PSALTER. PAGE Third Book of the Psalter, Ps. lxxiii.-lxxxix. — {contimied)— Psalm Ixxxiv. to Ixxxix., 1-46 Fourth Book of the Psalter, Ps. xc.-cvl, .... 47-159 Fifth Book of the Psalter, Ps. cvii.-cl., .... 160-416 The Fifteen Songs of Degrees, Ps. cxx.-cxxxiv., . . . 264-322 EXCURSUS BY J. G. WETZSTEIX. I. Concerning -iini, the name of a Bird (On Ps. Ixxxiv. 4), . 417 II. Concerning the Signification of the "Word njyo in its application to Agriculture (On Ps. cxxix. 3, cf. on Ps. Ixv. 11), 418 ERRATA. Vol. III. Page 15, line 21 from top, for One read thing. 28, ,, 17 „ /or xviii. 15 reo J xviii. 5. 45, „ 14 „ for referential read postlimiuiar. 110, ,, 2 „ for xxxiv. 15 read xxxvi. 5. 124, „ 4 ,, /or cv. 7 reoiZ cxv. 3. 137, note f, line 4 from bottom, read Xpl^D- 1G9, line 12 from bottom, /or £(V read iTrl. 191, note, line 3 from bottom, /or cxxxviii. read exxxiii. These "Errata" and those noted in Vol. II. are, with trifling excep- tion, the result of corrections and suggestions received from Dr. Delitzsch ■which reached the printers too late for correction in type. The Scripture references have been carefully verified during the progress of the work, so that the translator trusts the student will, after attention to the above, find no perplexing inaccuracies in this department. Vol. I. Page 14, line 18 from top, delete comma before "inscribing." 99, first line of note, read which show this ancient nOH- 144, line 17 from top, for ^y read fsy. 151, in note *, read wo^ instead o/cnU'. 297, line 11 from bottom, read distress. * 347, ,, 12 from top, read enda. THIED BOOK OF THE PSALTEE (CONTINUED). Ps. LXXIIL-LXXXIX. PSALM LXXXIV. LONGING FOR THE HOUSE OF GOD, AND FOR THE HAPPINESS OF DWELLING THERE. 2 HOW lovely are Thy dwelling-places, Jalive of Hosts ! 3 My soul longeth, yea fainteth, for the courts of Jahve, My heart and my flesh slug for joy towards the liviug God. 4 Yea, the sparrow hath found a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, Where she hatli sheltered her young — Thine altars, Jahve of Hosts, My King and my God. 5 Blessed are they who dwell in Thy house, • They shall still praise Thee. {Sela.) 6 Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee — The pilgrims' ways are in their heart. 7 Passing through the valley of Baca, They make it a place of springs. The rain also enshroudeth it in blessings. 8 They go from strength to strength, There stand they before Elohim in Zion : VOL. IIL 1 2 PSALM LXXXIV. 9 "Jahve Elohim of Hosts, Oh hear my prayer, Give ear, 6 God of Jacob !" (Sela.) 10 Thou our Shield, look into it, Elohim, And look upon the face of Thine anointed ! 11 For better is a day in Thy courts than a thousand; I had rather lie upon the threshold in the house of my God, Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 12 For a sun and shield is Jahve Elohim. Grace and glory doth Jahve dispense. He doth not withhold any good thing from those who walk in uprightness. 13 Jahve of Hosts, Blessed is the man who trusteth in Thee. With Ps. Ixxxiii. the circle of the Asaphic songs is closed (twelve Psalms, viz. one in the Second Book and eleven in the Third), and with Ps. Ixxxiv. begins the other half of the Ko- rahitic circle of songs, opened by the last of the Korahitic Elo- him-Psalms. True, Hengstenberg (transl. vol. iii. Appendix, p. xlv) says that no one would, with my Si/mholce, p. 22, regard this Ps. Ixxxiv. as an Elohimic Psalm ; but the marks of the Elohimic style are obvious. Not only that the poet uses Elohim twice, and that in ver. 8, where a non-Elohimic Psalm ought to have said Jahve; it also delights in compound names of God, which are so heaped up that Jahve Tsehaoth occurs three times, and the specifically Elohimic Jahve Elohim Tsehaoth once. Tlie origin of this Psalm has been treated of already in connection with its counterpart, Ps. xlii.-xliii. It is a thoroughly heartfelt and intelligent expression of the love to the sanctuary of Jahve which yearns towards it out of the distance, and calls all those happy who have the like good fortune to have their home there. The prayer takes the form of an intercession for God's anointed; for the poet is among the followers of David, the banished one.* He does not pray, as it were, out of his * Nic. Nonncn takes a different view iu his Disserlalio de Tzippor et PSALM LX-XXIV. 2-5. 3 soul (Hengstenberg, Tholuck, von Gerlach), but for him; for loving Jahve of Hosts, the heavenly King, he also loves His inviolably chosen one. And wherefore should he not do so, since with him a new era for the neglected sanctuary had dawned, and the delightful services of the Lord had taken a new start, and one so rich in song ? With him he shares both joy and grief. With his future he indissolubly unites his own. To ike Precentor upon the Gittith, the inscription runs, by Bene-Korah, a Psalm. Concerning JT'risn-ijy, vid. on viii. 1. The structure of the Psalm is artistic. It consists of two halves with a distichic asAr^- conclusion. The schema is 3. 5. 2 | 5. 5. 5. 3. 2. Vers. 2-5. How loved and lovely (nin^T) is the sacred dwelling-place (plur. as in xliii. 3) of the all-commanding, re- demptive God, viz. His dwelling-place here below upon Zion ! Thither the poet is drawn by the deeply inward yearning of love, which makes him pale (^0?J from ^103, to grow pale, xvii. 12) and consumes him (nPS as in Job xix. 27). His heart and flesh joyfully salute the living God dwelling there, who, as a never-failing spring, quenches the thirst of the soul (xlii. 3) ; the joy that he feels when he throws himself back in spirit into the long-denied delight takes possession even of his bodily nature, the bitter-sweet pain of longing completely fills him (Ixiii. 2). The mention of the "courts" (with the exception of the Davidic Psalm Ixv. 5, occurring only in the anonymous Psalms) does not preclude the reference of the Psalm to the tent-temple on Zion. The Tabernacle certainly had only one ■>>*n ; the aiTangement of the Davidic tent-temple, however, is indeed unknown to us, and, according to reliable traces,* it may be well assumed that it was more gorgeous and more spacious than the old Tabernacle which remained in Gibeon. In ver. 4 the preference must be given to that explanation which makes ^'ninaTrpTlX dependent upon i^^^'J?, without being obliged to supply an intermediate thought like n;n (with hardening Deror, etc., 1741. He considers one of the Ephrainutes who were brouglit back to the fellowship of the true worship of God in the reign of Jehosha- phat (2 Chron. xix. 4) to be the subject of the Psaliu. * Vicl. Knobel on Exodus, S. 253-257, especially S. 25.'>. 4 FSALM LXXXIV. 2-5. Dagesh like 13, Gen. xix. 38, vid. the rule at Hi. 5) and Ji?. as a more definite statement of the object which the poet has in view. The altars, therefore, or (what this is meant to say without any need for taking nx as a preposition) the realm, province of the altars of Jahve — this is the house, this the nest which sparrow and swallow have found for themselves and their young. The poet thereby only indirectly says, that birds have built themselves nests on the Temple-house, without giving any occasion for the discussion whether this has taken place in reality. By the bird that has found a comfortable snug home on the place of the altars of Jahve in the Temple-court and in the Temple-house, he means himself. "liSV (from ISV) is a general name for whistling, twittering birds, like the finch* and the sparrow, just as the LXX. here renders it. "lil"^ is not the turtle- dove (LXX., Targum, and Syriac), but the swallow, which is frequently called even in the Talmud "iim "ilSV ( = IT'JiJp), and appears to take its name from its straightforward darting, as it were, radiating flight (cf, Arabic jadurru of the horse : it darts straight forward). Saadia renders durije, which is the name of the sparrow in Palestine and Syria {vid. Wetzstein's Ex- cursus I. at the end of this volume). After the poet has said that his whole longing goes forth towards the sanctuary, he adds that it could not possibly be otherwise (D5 standing at the head of the clause and belonging to the whole sentence, as e.g. in Isa. XXX. 33 ; Evvald, § 352, h) : he, the sparrow, the swallow, has found a house, a nest, viz. the altars of Jahve of Hosts, his King and his God (xliv. 5, xlv. 7), who gloriously and inaccessibly protects him, and to whom he unites himself with most heartfelt and believing love. Tlie addition " where (l^'X as in xcv. 9, Num. xx. 13) she layeth her young," is not without its significance. One is here reminded of the fact, that at the time of the second Temple the sons of the priests were called nana "'nns, and the Levite poet means himself together with his family; God's altars secure to them shelter and sustenance. How happy, blessed, therefore, are those who enjoy this good fortune, which he now longs for again with j)ain in a strange country, viz. to be able to make his home in tiie house of such an adorable and gracious God ! liy here signifies, not Vid. Toblcr, Dcnkhlailtr aus Jerusalem, 1853, S. 117. PSAUI LXXXIV. G-13. 5 "constantly" (Gen. xlvi. 29), for which ^^l?Pl would have been used, but "yet," as in xlii. I). The relation of ver. bb to ba is therefore like xli. 2. The present is dark, but it will come to pass even yet that the inmates of God's house {oliceloi rov Qeov, Eph. ii. 10) will praise Him as their Helper. The music here strtlies in, anticipating this praise. Vers. G-13. This second half takes up the " blessed" of the distichic epode (eVySo?) of the first, and consequently joins member to member chain-like on to it. Many hindrances must be cleared away if the poet is to get back to Zion, his true home ; but his longing carries the surety within itself of its fulfilment: blessed, yea in himself blessed, is the man, who has his strength (Tiy only here plene) in God, so that, consequently, the strength of Him to whom all things are possible is mighty in his weakness. What is said in ver. GZ* is less adapted to be the object of the being called blessed than the result of that blessed relationship to God. What follows shows that the "high-roads" are not to be understood according to Isa. xl. 3 sq., or any other passage, as an ethical, notional figure (Venema, Hengstenberg, Hitzig, and others), but according to Isa. xxxiii. 8 (cf. Jer. xxxi. 21), with Aben-Ezra, Vatablus, and the ma- jority of expositors, of the roads leading towards Zion ; not, however, as referring to the return from the Exile, but to the going up to a festival : the pilgrim-high-roads with their sepa- rate halting-places (stations) were constantly present to the mind of such persons. And though they may be driven never so far away from them, they will nevertheless reach the goal of their longing. The most gloomy present becomes bright to them : passing through even a terrible wilderness, they turn it O'^i?''^"') iJito a place of springs, their joyous hope and the infinite beauty of the goal, which is worth any amount of toil and trouble, afford them enlivening comfort, refreshing strengthen- ing in the midst of the arid steppe. ^^^'^ P^?^ tloes not signify the " Valley of weeping," as Hupfeld at last renders it (LXX. KoiXaBa rov K\av0/jL(t)vo<;), although Burckhardt found a o'-^ ^\ (Valley of weeping) in the neighbourhood of Sinai. In Hebrew " weeping" is ^?3, naa^ niazij not K33. Renan, in the fourth chapter of his Vie Je Jesus, understands the expression to mean the last station of those who journey from northern 6 rSALM LXXXIV. 6-13. Palestine on this side of the Jordan towards Jerusalem, viz. Ain el-IIaramije, in a narrow and gloomy valley where a black stream of water flows out of the rocks in which graves are dug, so that consequently N33n p^]} signifies Valley of tears or of trickling waters. But such trickling out of the rock is also called '';i3, Job xxviii. 11, and not N33. This latter is the singular to D>*33 in 2 Sam. v. 24 (cf. n\SD^, n\S3V, ciii. 21), the name of a tree, and, according to the old Jewish lexicographers, of the mulberry-tree (Talmudic nin, ci;.j) ; but according to the designation, of a tree from which some kind of fluid flows, and such a tree is the il^j, resembling the balsam-tree, which is very common in the arid valley of Mecca, and therefore might also have given its name to some arid valley of the Holy Land (vid. Winer's Realwurterhuch, s.v. Bacha), and, according to 2 Sam. V. 22-25, to one belonging, as it would appear, to the line of valley which leads from the coasts of the Philistines to Jerusalem. What is spoken of in passages like Isa. xxxv. 7, xli. 18, as being wrought by the omnipotence of God, who brings His people home to Zion, appears here as the result of the power of faith in those who, keeping the same end of their journeyings in view, pass through the unfruitful sterile valley. That other side, however, also does not remain unexpressed. Not only does their faith bring forth water out of the sand and rock of the desert, but God also on His part lovingly antici- pates their love, and rewardingly anticipates their faithfulness : a gentle rain, like that which refreshes the sown fields in the autumn, descends from above and enwraps it (viz. the Valley of Baca) in a fulness of blessing (i^tsy^, Iliphil with two accusa- tives, of which one is to be supplied : cf. on the figure, Ixv. 14). The arid steppe becomes resplendent with a flowery festive garment (Isa. xxxv. 1 sq.), not to outward appearance, but to them spiritually, in a manner none the less true and real. And whereas under ordinary circumstances the strength of the traveller diminishes in proportion as he has traversed more and more of his toilsome road, with them it is the very reverse ; they go from strength to strength (cf. on the expression, Jer. ix. 2, xii. 2), i.e. they receive strength for strength (cf. on the subject-matter, Isa. xl. 31, John i. 16), and that an ever in- creasing strength, the nearer they come to the desired goal, PSALM LXXXIV. C-13. 7 which also they cannot fail to reach. The pilgrim-band (this is the subject to ^^?■J!'.), goincr on from strenirtli to (b^?) strength, at last reaches, attains to (^X instead of the ''^.^'^^^ used in otiier instances) Elohim in Zion. Having reached this final goal, the pilgrim-band pours forth its heart in the language of prayer such as we have in ver. 9, and the music here strikes up and blends its sympathetic tones with this converse of the church with its God. The poet, however, who in spirit accompanies them on their pilgrimage, is now all the more painfully conscious of being at the present time far removed from this goal, and in the next strophe prays for relief. He calls God ^:2i^ (as in lix. 12), for without His protection David's cause is lost. ^lay He then behold (ns~i, used just as absolutely as in 2 Chron. xxiv. 22, of. Lam. iii. 50), and look upon the face of His anointed, which looks up to Him out of the depth of its reproach. The position of the words sliows that 133JO is not to be regarded as the object to ns-i, according to Ixxxix. 19 (cf. xlvii. 10) and in opposition to the accentuation, for why should it not then have been Q'r\bii ):2iD ns")? The confirmation (ver. 11) puts the fact that we have before us a Psalm belonging to the time of David's per- secution by Absalom beyond all doubt. Manifestly, when his king prevails, the poet will at the same time (cf. David's lan- guage, 2 Sam. XV. 25) be restored to the sanctuary. A single day of his Ife in the courts of God is accounted by him as better than a thousand other days {^^^^ with Olewejored and preceded by Rehia parvum). He would rather lie down on the threshold (concerning the significance of this ^??W?'7 in the mouth of a Korahite, vid. supra, vol. ii. p. 53) in the house of his God than dwell within in the tents of ungodliness (not "palaces," as one might have expected, if the house of God had at that time been a palace). For how worthless is the pleasure and concealment to be had there, when compared with the sal-vation and protection which Jahve Elohim affords to His saints ! This is the only instance in which God is directly called a sun {^'^^) in the sacred writings (cf. Sir. xlii. 16). He is called a shield as protecting those who flee to Him and rendering them inaccessible to their foes, and a sun as the Being who dwells in an unapproachable light, which, going forth from Him in love towards men, is particularized as \n and 8 PSALM LXXXV. nU3, as the iiontle and ovcrpowerinrr light of the grace and glory (X^^pi^ and Bo^a) of the Father of Lights. The highest good is self-communicative (commwiicativum sui). The God of salva- tion does not refuse any good thing to those who walk Q'prin (Dnon T}^^, ci. 6 ; cf. on xv. 2). Upon all receptive ones, i.e. all those who are desirous and capable of receiving His bless- ings, He freely bestows them out of the abundance of His good things. Strophe and anti-strophe are doubled in this second half of the song. The epode closely resembles that which follows the first half. And this closing ashr6 is not followed by any Sela. The music is hushed. The song dies away with an iambic cadence into a waiting expectant stillness. PSALM LXXXV. PETITION OF THE PIITHERTO FAVOURED PEOPLE FOR A RESTORATION OF FAVOUR. 2 TPIOU hast been favourable, Jahve, unto Thy land, Thou hast turned the captivity of Jacob ; 3 Thou hast taken away the iniquity of Thy people, Thou hast covered all their sin — {Sela.) 4 Tiiou hast drawn in all Thy wrath, Thou hast turned from the heat of Thine anger. 5 Turn unto us again, O God of our salvation, And cause Thine indignation against us to cease. 6 Wilt Thou for ever be angry with us. Wilt Thou draw out Thine anger to all generations? 7 Wilt Thou not quicken us again. That Thy people may rejoice in Thee ? 8 Cause us to see, Jahve, Thy loving-kindness, And grant us Tiiy salvation. 9 I will hear what God Jahve will speak Yea, He speaketh peace to His peo})le and to His saints ; Only let them not again fall into folly I 10 Yen, nigh unto those who fear Him is His salvation, That glory may again dwell in our land. PSALM LXXXV. 2-4. 9 11 Loving-kindness and truth shall meet togetlier, Itighteousuess and peace shall kiss each other. 12 Truth shall spring out of tlie earth, And righteousness shall look down from heaven. 13 Jahve shall give every good thing, And our land shall again yield its increase. 14 Righteousness shall go before Plim And attend unto the way of Plis steps. The second part of the Book of Isaiah is written for the Israel of the Exile. It was the incidents of the Exile that first unsealed this great and indivisible prophecy, which in its com- pass is without any parallel. And after it had been unsealed there sprang up out of it those numerous songs of the Psalm- collection which remind us of their common model, partly by their allegorizing figurative language, partly by their lofty prophetic thoughts of consolation. This first Korahitic Jahve- Psahn (in ver. 13 coming into contact with Ps. Ixxxiv., cf. Ixxxiv. 12), which more particularly by its allegorizing figura- tive language points to Isa. ch. xl.— Ixvi,, belongs to the number of these so-called deutero-Isaianic Psalms. The reference of Ps. Ixxxv. to the period after the Exile and to the restoration of the state, says Dursch, is clearly ex- ])ressed in the Psalm. On the other hand, Heniistenberfr maintains that " the Psalm does not admit of any historical interpretation," and is sure only of this one fact, that vers. 2-4 do not relate to the deliverance out of the Exile. Even this Psalm, however, is not a formulary belonging to no express period, but has a special historical basis ; and vers. 2-4 certainly sound as though they came from the lips of a people restored to their fatherland. Vers. 2-4. The poet first of all looks back into the past, so rich in tokens of favour. The six perfects are a remembrance of former events, since nothing precedes to modify them. Cer- tainly that which has just been experienced might also be in- tended ; but then, as liitzig supposes, vers. 5-8 would be the petition that preceded it, and ver. 9 would go back to the turn- ing-point of the answering of the request — a retrograde move- 10 PSALM LXXXV. 5-fi. ment wliicli is less probable than that in ^2?^^."^ ver. 5, we have a transition to the petition for a renewal of previously manifested favour. (n"'3t^'j nut^ Dt^•J here said of a cessation of a national judgment, seems to be meant literally, not figuratively (lu'cf. xiv. 7). '"i^'Ij with the accusative, to have and to show pleasure in any one, as in the likewise Korahitic lamentation-Psalm xliv. 4, cf. cxlvii. 11. In ver. da sin is conceived of as a burden of the conscience ; in ver. 36 as a blood-stain. The music strikes up in the middle of the strophe in the sense of the "blessed" in xxxii. 1. In ver. 4a God's nnny (z.g. unrestrained wrath) appears as an emanation ; He draws it back to Himself (^IDX as in Joel iv. [iii.] 15, Ps. civ. 29, 1 Sam. xiv. 19) when He ceases to be angry ; in ver. 45, on the other hand, the fierce anger is conceived of as an active manifestation on the part of God which ceases when He turns round (^''CTj Uiph. as inwardly transitive as in Ezek. xiv. 6, xxi. 35 ; cf. the Kal in Ex. xxxii. 12), i.e. gives the opposite turn to His manifestation. Vers. 5-8. The poet now prays God to manifest anew the loving-kindness He has shown formerly. In the sense of ''restore us again," ^J^Vii' does not form any bond of connection between this and the preceding strophe ; but it does if, accord- ing to Ges. § 121, 4, it is intended in the sense of (i^vX) li? 21:^•, turn again to us. The poet prays that God would manifest Himself anew to His people as He has done in former days. Thus the transition from the retrospective perfects to the peti- tion is, in the presence of the existing extremity, adequately brought about. Assuming the post-exilic origin of the Psalm, we see from this strophe that it was composed at a period in which the distance between the temporal and spiritual condition of Israel and the national restoration, promised together with the termination of the Exile, made itself distinctly felt. On l^fSj? (in relation to and bearing towards us) beside "^PV^, cf. Job x. 17, and also on isn^ Ixxxix. 34. In the tpestion in ver. 6 re- minding God of His love and of His promise, ^i^'O has the signification of constant endless continuing or pursuing, as in xxxvi. 11. The expression in ver. la is like Ixxi. 20, cf. Ixxx. 19 ; l^^y is here the representative of i'ursj<5, Ges. § 142. "^V};^) from yp'.l, like ^?>'i? in xxxviii. 2, has e'(cf. the inflexion of "•^S and ph) instead of the t in ^^V'^\ ''[y^.- Here at the close of the strophe the prayer turns back inferentially to this attribute of God. PSALM LXXXV. 9-14. 11 Vers, 9-11. The prayer is followed by attention to tlie ilivine answer, and by the answer itself. The poet stirs himself up to give ear to the words of God, like Habakkuk, ch. ii. 1. Beside nyoti'S we find the reading ni'D'J'x, vid, on xxxix. 13. The construction of 'n i'xn is appositional, like in TjijEn, Ges. § 113. ""a neither introduces the divine answer in express words, nor states the ground on which he hearkens, but rather supports the fact that God speaks from that which He has to speak. Peace is the substance of that which He speaks to His people, and that (the particularizing Waio) to His saints; but with the addition of an admonition. ^N' is dehortative. It is not to be assumed in connection with this ethical notion that the ah of n^ipaij is the locative ah as in nJjixDi?, ix. 18. n^p3 is related to ?C3 like foolery to folly. The present misfortune, as is indi- cated here, is the merited consequence of foolish behaviour (playing the fool). In vers. 10 sqq. the poet unfolds the promise of peace which he has heard, just as he has heard it. What is meant by U'f] is particularized first by the infinitive, and then in perfects of actual fact. The possessions that make a people truly happy and prosperous are mentioned under a charming allegory exactly after Isaiah's manner, ch. xxxii. 16 sq., xlv. 8, lix. 14 sq. The glory that has been far removed again takes up its abode in the land. Mercy or loving-kindness walks along the streets of Jerusalem, and there meets fidelity, hke one guardian angel meeting the other. Kighteousness and peace or prosperity, these two inseparable brothers, kiss each other there, and fall lovingly into each other's arms.* Vers. 12-14. The poet pursues this charming picture of the future further. After God's r\m, i.e. faithfulness to the promises, has descended like dew, nas, i.e. faithfulness to the covenant, springs up out of the land, the fruit of that fertilizing influence. And Hi'^lVj gracious justice, looks down from heaven * Concerning St. Bernard's beautiful parable of the reconciliation of the inviolability of divine threatening and of justice with mercy and peace in the work of redemption, which has grown out of this passage of the Psalms, Misericordia et Veritas obviavenait sihi, ju.stilia et pax osculatx sunt, and has been transferred to the painting, poetry, and drama of the middle ages, vid. Piper's Evamjelischer Kaleuder, 1859, S. 24-34, and the beautiful miniature representing the doTrxofiis of oiKXioai>u» and u'p^jkjj of a Greek Psalter, 1SC7, S. Go. 12 PSALM LXXXVI. smiling favour and dispensing blessing. D3 in ver. 13 places these two prospects in reciprocal relation to one another (cf. Ixxxiv. 7) ; it is found once instead of twice. Jahve gives ^y^'}, everything that is only and always good and that imparts true happiness, and the land, corresponding to it, yields i^p^^^, the in- crease which might be expected from a land so richly blessed (cf. Ixvii. 7 and the promise in Lev. xxvi. 4). Jahve Himself is present in the land : righteousness walks before Him ma- jestically as His herald, and righteousness Voys "^l"}!? DC'^, sets (viz. its footsteps) upon the way of His footsteps, that is to say, follows Him inseparably. 1'''?^? stands once instead of twice ; the construct is to a certain extent attractional, as in Ixv. 12, Gen. ix. 6. Since the expression is neither T}/}, (1. 23, Isa. li. 10) nor ^"^.'^^ (Isa. xlix. 11), it is natural to interpret the expression thus, and it gives moreover (cf. Isa. Iviii. 8, lii. 12) an excellent sense. But if, which we prefer, D^ is taken in the sense of ^/? D''b' (as e.g. in Job iv. 20) with the following ?, to give special heed to anything (Deut. xxxii. 46, Ezek. xl. 4, xliv. 5), to be anxiously concerned about it (1 Sam. ix. 20), then we avoid the supplying in thought of a second VayD, which is always objectionable, and the thought obtained by the other interpretation is brought clearly before the mind : righteous- ness goes before Jahve, who dwells and walks abroad in Israel, and gives heed to the way of His steps, that is to say, follows carefully in His footsteps. PSALM LXXXVL PRAYER OF A PERSECUTED SAINT. 1 BOW down, Jahve, Thine ear, answer me, For I am needy and poor. 2 Preserve my soul, for I am pious ; Help Thy servant, O Tliou my God, Who cleaveth confidingly to Thee. 3 Be merciful unto me. Lord, For unto Thee do I cry all the day. 4 llejoice the soul of Thy servant. For unto Thee, Lord, do I lift up my soul. PSALM LXXXVI. 13 5 For TIiou, Lord, art good and ready to forgive, And plenteous in mercy unto all who call upon Thee. 6 Give ear, Jahve, to my prayer, And hearken to the cry of my importunate supplications. 7 In the day of my distress do I call unto Thee, For Thou wilt answer me. 8 There is none like unto Thee among the gods, O Lord, And Thy works have not their equal. 9 All nations which Thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee, Lord, And give glory to Thy name. 10 For Thou art great and doest wondrous things, Thou, Thou art God alone. 11 Teach me, Jahve, Thy way, I desire to walk in Thy truth ; Unite my heart to fear Thy Name. 12 I will give thanks to Thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Thy Name for ever, 13 That Thy mercy has been great over me. And Thou hast rescued my soul out of the deep hell. 14 Elohim, the proud are risen against me, And an assembly of violent men seek my soul. And have not set Thee before their eyes. 15 But Thou, Lord, art a God compassionate and gracious, Long-suffering and plenteous in mercy and truth. 16 Turn unto me and be gracious to me, O give strength unto Thy servant And save the son of Thy handmaid. 17 Show me a token for good, That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed. That Thou, Jahve, hast helped me and comforted me. A Psalm " by David" which lias points of contact with Ps. Ixxxv. (cf. Ixxxvi. 2, n^DH, with Ixxxv. 9; Ixxxvi. 15, non riDXI, with Ixxxv. 11) is here inserted between Korahitic Psalms : it can only be called a Psalm by David as having grown out of Davidic and other model passages. The writer canuot be 14 rSALM LXXXVI. 1-13. compared for poetical capability either with David or with the authors of sucli Psahns as Ps. cxvi. and cxxx. His Psalm is more liturgic than purely poetic, and it is also only entitled npsri, without bearing in itself any sign of musical designation. It possesses this characteristic, that the divine name ''JIX occurs seven times,* just as it occurs three times in Ps. cxxx., forming the start for a later, Adonajic style in imitation of the Elohimic. Vers. 1-5. The prayer to be heard runs like Iv. 3 ; and the statement of the ground on which it is based, ver. 1^, word for word like xl. 18. It is then particularly expressed as a prayer for preservation ('^J'?^, as in cxix. 167, although im- perative, to be read sham^rah; cf. xxx. 4 ''11,' P, xxxviii. 21 ^211 or ■'Sn^, and what we have already observed on xvi, 1 ^^l^t^) ; for he is not only in need of God's help, but also because "l^pn (iv. 4, xvi. 10), i.e. united to Him in the bond of affection ("iDrij Hos. vi. 4, Jer. ii. 2), not unworthy of it. In ver. 2 we hear the strains of xxv. 20, xxxi. 7 ; in ver. 3, of Ivii. 2 sq. : the confirmation in ver. 46 is taken verbally from xxv, 1, cf. also cxxx. 6. Here, what is said in ver. 4 of this shorter Adonajic Psalm, cxxx., is abbreviated in the aira^ ynx (Bomberg, Hutter, etc.). Both the divine names in vers. 4 and 6 belong to tlie 134 J'^N'ni. The divine name ^y-is, which is written and is not merely substituted for n"in\ ia called in the language of the Masura ''^;~n (the true and real one). PSALM LXXXVI. 14-17. 15 (Importunate supplications) ; and also ver. 10 (cf. Ixxii. 18) is a doxological formula that was already in existence. The con- struction 3 2''l^'P^ is the same as in Ixvi. 19. But although for the most part flowing on only in the language of prayer borrowed from earlier periods, this Psalm is, moreover, not without remarkable significance and beauty. With the con- fession of the incomparableness of the Lord is combined the prospect of the recognition of the incomparable One throughout the nations of the earth. This clear unallegorical prediction of the conversion of the heathen is the principal parallel to Apoc. XV. 4. " All nations, which Thou hast made" — they have their being from Thee; and although they have forgotten it (viJ. ix. 18), they will nevertheless at last come to recognise it. 2;ir?ii, since the article is wanting, are nations of all tribes (countries and nationalities) ; cf. Jer. xvi. IG with Ps. xxii. 18; Tobit xiii. 11, fidi^r] TToXXa, with ibid. xiv. 6, iravra ra edvr}. And how weightily brief and charming is the petition in ver. 11 : uni cor meum^ ut timeat nomen tuum! Luther has rightly departed from the renderings of the LXX., Syriac, and Vulgate : Icetetur (^J}\ from ^IJ}). The meaning, however, is not so much *' keep my heart near to the only One," as " direct all its powers and concentrate them on the one thino;." The followino- rrroun shows us what is the meaning of the deliverance out of the hell beneath (n^nnn ^ixc', like n^rinn ps*, the earth beneath, the inner parts of the earth, Ezek. xxxi. 14 sqq.), for which the poet promises beforehand to manifest his thankfulness ('?, ver. 13, as in Ivi. 14). Vers. 14-17. The situation is like that in the Psalms of the time of Saul. The writer is a persecuted one, and in con- stant peril of his life. He has taken ver. 14a6 out of the Elo- himic Ps. liv. ver. 5, and retained the Eloldm as a proper name of God (cf. on the other hand vers. 8, 10) ; he has, however, altered D'7t to D^1.T, which here, as in Isa. xiii. 11 (cf., however, ibid. XXV. 5), is the alternating word to D''i*''"iy. In ver. 15 he supports his petition that follows by Jahve's testimony con- cerning Himself in Ex. xxxiv. 6. The appellation given to himself by the poet in ver. 16 recurs in cxvi. 16 (cf. Wisd. ix. 5). The poet calls himself " the son of Thy handmaid" as having been born into the relation to Him of servant ; it is a relationship that has come to him by birth. How beautifully 16 PSALM LXXXVII. does the Adonaj come in here for the seventh time ! He is even from his mother's womb the servant of the sovereign Lord, from whose omnipotence he can therefore also look for a miraculous interposition on his behalf. A " token for good " is a special dispensation, from which it becomes evident to him that God is kindly disposed towards him. naiDp as in the mouth of Nehemiah, ch. v. 19, xiii. 31 ; of Ezra, ch. viii. 22 ; and also even in Jeremiah and earlier. Vw'Ti is just as paren- thetical as in Isa. xxvi. 11. PSALM LXXXVIL THE CITY OF THE NEW BIRTH OF THE NATIONS. 1 HIS founded [city] upon the holy mountains — 2 Jahve loveth the gates of Zion More than all the dwellings of Jacob. 3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, thou city of God ! (Sela.) 4 " I will proclaim Kahab and Babylon as My intimates ; Behold Philistia and Tyre, together with Ethiopia — That one is born there." 5 And to ZIon it shall one day be said : Each and every one is born in her, And He, the Highest, doth establish her. 6 Jahve shall reckon in the list of the nations : That one is born there. (Sela.) 7 And singing as well as dancing (they say) : All my fountains are in thee ! The mission thought in Ixxxvi. 9 becomes the ruling thought in this Korahitic Psalm. It is a prophetic Psalm in the style, boldly and expressively concise even to obscurity (Eusebius, a-6Bpa alviyfiaTcohr]<; koI crKOTeiv(b<; elprjfMevo^), in which the first three oracles of the tetralogy Isa. xxi.-xxii. 14, and the passage Isa. xxx. 6, 7 — a passage designed to be as it were a memorial exhibition — are also written. It also resembles these oracles in this respect, that ver. lb opens the whole arsis-like PSALM LXXXVII. 1-4. 17 by a solemn statement of its subject, like the emblematical inscriptions there. As to the rest, Isa. xliv. 5 is the key to its meaning. The threefold 1?i' here corresponds to the threefold n.T in that passage. Since Rahab and Babylon as the foremost worldly powers i are mentioned first among the peoples who come into the 1 congregation of Jahve, and since the prospect of the poet ( has moulded itself according to a present rich in promise and ' carrying such a future in its bosom, it is natural (with Tholuck, Hengstenberg, Vaihinger, Keil, and others) to suppose that the Psalm was composed when, in consequence of the destruction of the Assyrian army before Jerusalem, offerings and presents were brought from many quarters for Jahve and the king of Judah (2 Chron. xxxii. 23), and the admiration of Hezekiah, the favoured one of God, had spread as far as Babylon. Just as Micah (ch. iv. 10) mentions Babylon as the place of the chastisement and of the redemption of his nation, and as Isaiah, about the fourteenth year of Hezekiah's reign, predicts to the king a carrying away of his treasures and his posterity to Babylon, so here Egypt and Babylon, the inheritress of Assyria, stand most prominent among the worldly powers that shall be obliged one day to bow themselves to the God of Israel. In a similar connection Isaiah (ch. xix.) does not as yet mention Babylon side by side with Egypt, but Assyria. Vers. 1-4. The poet is absorbed in the contemplation of the glory of a matter which he begins to celebrate, without naming it. Whether we render it : His founded, or (since TD^p and HD^O are both used elsewhere as 2^'^'>^t- pass.) : His foundation (after the form n^^^'P, poetically for "liD^, a founding, then that which is set fast = a foundation), the meaning remains the same ; but the more definite statement of the object with P'V ''IV.^ is more easily connected with what precedes by regard- ing it as a participle. The suffix refers to Jahve, and it is Zion, whose praise is a favourite theme of the Koraliitic songs, that is intended. We cannot tell by looking to the accents whether the clause is to be taken as a substantival clause (His founded [city] is upon the holy mountains) or not. Since, however, the expression is not t:ni5-nnna N'n inniD^., tnp mnn ^miD^ is an object placed first in advance (which the antithesis to the VOL. III. 2 18 PSALM LXXXVII. 1-4. other dwellings of Jacob would admit of), and in ver. 2a a new synonymous object is subordinated to 3ni< by a similar turn of the discourse to Jer. xiii. 27, vi. 2 (Hitzig). By alter- ing the division of the verses as Hupfeld and Hofmann do (His foundation or founded [city] upon the holy mountains doth Jahve love), ver. 2 is decapitated. Even now the God- founded city (surrounded on three sides by deep valleys), whose firm and visible foundation is the outward manifestation of its imperishable inner nature, rises aloft above all the other dwell- ing-places of Israel. Jahve stands in a lasting, faithful, loving relationship (^nN^ not 3 prcet. 3n^) to the gates of Zion. These gates are named as a periphrasis for Zion, because they bound the circuit of the city, and any one who loves a city delights to go frequently through its gates ; and they are perhaps men- tioned in prospect of the fulness of the heathen that shall enter into them. In ver. 3 the LXX. correctly, and at the same time in harmony with the syntax, renders : Aeho^aa-fieva i\a- Xt'^dr) irepl aov. The construction of a plural subject with a singular predicate is a syntax common in other instances also, whether the subject is conceived of as a unity in the form of the plural (e.g. Ixvi. 3, cxix. 137, Isa. xvi. 8), or is indivi- dualized in the pursuance of the thought (as is the case most likely in Gen. xxvii. 29, cf. xii. 3) ; here the glorious things are conceived of as the sum-total of such. The operation of the construction of the active (Ew. § 295, b) is not probable here in connection with the participle. 3 beside "•?"! may signify the place or the instrument, substance and object of the speech (e.g. cxix. 46), but also the person against whom the words are spoken {e.g. 1. 20), or concerning whom they are uttered (as the words of the suitor to the father or the relatives of the maiden, 1 Sam. XXV. 39, Cant. viii. 8 ; cf. on the construction, 1 Sam. xix. 3). The poet, without doubt, here refers to the words of promise concerning the eternal continuance and future glory of Jerusalem : Glorious things are spoken, i.e. exist as spoken, in reference to thee, O thou city of God, city of His choice and of His love. The glorious contents of the promise are now unfolded, and that with the most vivid directness : Jahve Himself takes up the discourse, and declares the gracious, glorious, world-wide mission of His chosen and beloved city : it shall become the PSALM LXXXVII. 5-7. 19 birth-place of all nations. Rahah is Egypt, as in Ixxxlx. 11, Isa. XXX. 7, li. 9, the southern worldly power, and Babylon the northern. ""'STn, as frequently, of loud (Jer. iv. 16) and honourable public mention or commemoration, xlv. 18. It does not signify " to record or register in writing;" for the official name "i^?!'?, which is cited in support of this meaning, designates the historian of the empire as one who keeps in remembrance the memorable events of the history of his time It is therefore impossible, with Hofmann, to render : I will add Eahab and Babylon to those who know me. In general ? is not used to point out to whom the addition is made as belonging to them, but for what purpose, or as what (cf. 2 Sam. V. 3, Isa. iv. 3), these kingdoms, hitherto hostile towards God and His people, shall be declared : Jahve completes what He Himself has brought about, inasmuch as He publicly and Bolemnly declares them to be those who know Him, i.e. those who experimentally {yid. xxxvi. 11) know Him as their God. Accordingly, it is clear that D'^""''?.^ HT is also meant to refer to the conversion of the other three nations to whom the finger of God points with narij viz. the war-loving Philistia, the rich and proud Tyre, and the adventurous and powerful Ethiopia (Isa. ch. xviii.). nr does not refer to the individuals, nor to the sum-total of these nations, but to nation after nation (cf. nj C*^, Isa. xxiii. 13), by fixing the eye upon each one separately. And Q'^ refers to Zion. The words of Jahve, which come in without any intermediary preparation, stand in the closest con- nection with the language of the poet and seer. Zion appears elsewhere as the mother who brings forth Israel again as a numerous people (Isa. Ixvi. 7, liv. 1-3) : it is the children of the dispersion {diaspora) which Zion regains in Isa. Ix. 4 sq. ; here, however, it is the nations which are born in Zion. The poet does not combine with it the idea of being born again in the depth of its New Testament meaning ; he means, however, that the nations will attain a right of citizenship in Zion {tToXneia tov 'Ia-pai]\ Eph. ii. 12) as in their second mother- city, that they will therefore at any rate experience a spiritual change which, regarded from the New Testament point of view, is the new birth out of water and the Spirit. Vers. 5-7. Inasmuch now as the nations come thus into the church (or congregation) of the children of God and ot 20 PSALM LXXXVII. 5-7. the children of Abraham, Zion becomes by degrees a church immeasurably great. To Zion, however, or of Zion (? of reference to), shall it be said '^^"1?'^ ly^ii.) t^^''^. Zion, the one city, stands in contrast to all the countries, the one city of God in contrast to the kingdoms of the world, and ^''^) t^^*? in con- trast to Hf. This contrast, upon the correct apprehension of which depends the understanding of the whole Psalm, is missed when it is said, " whilst in relation to other countries it is always only the whole nation that comes under consideration, Zion is not reckoned up as a nation, but by persons" (Hof- mann). With this rendering the "ip.^ retires into the back- ground ; in that case this giving of prominence to the value of the individual exceeds the ancient range of conception, and it is also an inadmissible appraisement that in Zion each individual is as important as a nation as a whole. Elsewhere ^''i^ ^'^i^, Lev. xvii. 10, 13, or ^''^) ^''i^, Esth. i. 8, signifies each and every one ; accordingly here ^''i^) '^''i^ (individual and, or after, individual) affirms a progressus in injinituin^ where one is ever added to another. Of an immeasurable multitude, and of each individual in this multitude in particular, it is said that he was born in Zion. Now, too, P vV C.?-'.^-^^ ^'''^I has a significant con- nection with what precedes. Whilst from among foreign peoples more and more are continually acquiring the right of natives in Zion, and thus are entering into a new national alliance, so that a breach of their original national friendships is taking place, He Himself (cf. 1 Sam. xx. 9), the Most High, will uphold Zion (xlviii. 9), so that under His protection and blessing it shall become ever greater and more glorious. Ver. 6 tells us what will be the result of such a progressive incorpo- ration in the church of Zion of those who have hitherto been far removed, viz. Jahve will reckon when He writeth down (nina as in Josh, xviii. 8) the nations ; or better, — since this would more readily be expressed by ^2^33, and the book of the living (Isa. iv. 3) is one already existing from time imme- morial, — He will reckon in the list (2iri3 after the form DvClj Pli!?n, nip3 = nna, Ezek. xiii. 9) of the nations, i.e. when He goes over the nations that are written down there and chosen for the coming salvation, " this one was born there ;" He will therefore acknowledge them one after another as those born in Zion. The end of all history is that Zion shall become the PSALM LXXXVIII. 21 metropolis of all nations. When the fulness of the Gentiles is thus come in, then shall all and each one as well singing as dancing say (supply iicx^) : All my fountains are in thee. Among the old translators the rendering of Aquila is the best : Kal aBovTe>7, Hos. vii. 5. But it must not moreover be rendered, " And singers as well as dancers (will say) ;" for " singers" is Q''"ir|k;^'9> ^^^^ '^'"!^> ^vhich signifies can- tantes, not cantores. Singing as dancing, i.e. making known their festive joy as well by the one as by the other, shall the men of all nations incorporated in Zion say : All my fountains, i.e. fountains of salvation (after Isa. xii. 3), are in thee (O city of God). It has also been interpreted: my looks (i.e. the object on which my eye is fixed, or the delight of my eyes), or : my thoughts (after the modern Hebrew I'V of spiritual medita- tion) ; but both are incongruous. The conjecture, too, of Bottcher, and even before him of Schnurrer (Dissertationes, p. 150), ''yv^'h^, all who take up their abode (instead of which Hupfeld conjectures ''V^^, all my near-dwellers, i.e. those who dwell with me under the same roof*), is not Hebrew, and deprives us of the thought which corresponds to the aim of the whole, that Jerusalem shall be universally regarded as the place where the water of life springs for the whole of mankind, and shall be universally praised as this place of fountains. PSALM LXXXVIII. TLAINTIVE PRAYER OF A PATIENT SUFFERER LIKE JOB. 2 JAHVE, God of my salvation, In the time when I cry in the night before Thee, * Hupfeld cites Rashi as having thus explained it ; but his gloss is to be rendered: my waole inmost part (after the Aramaic = ^i'o) is with thee, i.e. thy salvation. 22 PSALM LXXXVIII. 3 Let my prayer come before Thy face, Incline Tliine ear to my crying. 4 For satiated with sufferings is my soul, And my life is come nigh unto Hades. 5 I am accounted as those who go down to the pit, I am become as a man that hath no strength — 6 A freed one among the dead, Like the slain, those buried in the grave, Whom Thou rememberest no more, And they are cut off from Thy hand. 7 Thou hast laid me in the pit of the abysses, In darknesses, in the depths of the sea. 8 Upon me Thy fierce anger lieth hard, And all Thy waves dost Thou bend down. {Sela.) 9 Thou hast removed my familiar friends from me. Thou hast made me an abomination to them. Who am shut up and cannot come forth. 10 Mine eye languisheth by reason of affliction, I call upon Thee, Jahve, every day, I stretch out my hands unto Thee. 11 Wilt Thou do wonders unto the dead. Or shall the shades arise to give thanks unto Thee ? (Sela.) 12 Shall Thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave, Thy faithfulness in the place of destruction '? 13 Shall Thy wonder-working power be made known in the darkness, And Thy righteousness in the land of f orgetf ulness ? 14 And as for me — to Thee, Jahve, do I cry. Even in the morning my prayer cometh to meet Thee, 15 Wherefore, Jahve, dost Thou cast off my soul, Dost Thou hide Thy face from me? 16 Needy am I and ready to die from my youth up, I bear Thy terrors, I am utterly helpless. 17 Over me Thy fierce anger hath passed. Thy terrors have destroyed me. PSALM LXXXVIII. 23 18 They have surrounded me like waters all the day, They compassed me about altogether. 19 Thou hast removed far from me lover aud friend, My familiar frieuds are darkness. Ps. Ixxxviii. is as gloomy as Ps. Ixxxvii. is cheerful ; they stand near one another as contrasts. Not Ps. Ixxvii., as the old expositors answer to the question qucenam ode omnium tristissima, but this Ps. Ixxxviii. is the darkest, gloomiest, of all the plaintive Psalms ; for it is true the name " God of my salvation," with which the praying one calls upon God, and his praying itself, show that the spark of faith within him is not utterly extinguished ; but as to the rest, it is all one pouring forth of deep lament in the midst of the severest conflict of temptation in the presence of death, the gloom of melancholy does not brighten up to become a hope, the Psalm dies away in Job-like lamentation. Herein we discern echoes of the Korahitic Ps. xlii. and of Davidic Psalms : compare ver. 3 with xviii. 7 ; ver. 5 with xxviii. 1 ; ver. 6 with xxxi. 23 ; ver. 18 with xxii. 17 ; ver. 19 (although differently applied) with xxxi. 12 ; and more particularly the questions in vers. 11-13 with vi. 6, of which they are as it were only the amplification. But these Psalm-echoes are outweighed by the still more striking points of contact with the Book of Job, both as regards linguistic usage (2Si, ver. 10, Job xli. 44; 0^^^"^., ver. 11, Job xxvi. 5; f^"^^^., ver. 12, Job xxvi. 6, xxviii. 22; ip, ver. 16a, Job xxxiii. 25, xxxvi. 14; D^px, ver. 166, Job xx. 25; DW2, ver. 17, Job vi. 4) and single thoughts (cf. ver. 5 with Job xiv. 10 ; ver. 9 with Job xxx. 10 ; ver. 19 with Job xvii. 9, xix. 14), and also the suffering condition of the' poet and the whole manner in which this finds expression. For the poet finds himself in the midst of the same temptation as Job not merely so far as his mind and spirit are concerned ; but his out- ward affliction is, according to the tenor of his complaints, the same, viz. the leprosy (ver. 9), which, the disposition to which being born with him, has been his inheritance from his youth up (ver. 16). Now, since the Book of Job is a Chokma-work of the Salomonic age, and the two Ezrahites belonged to the wise men of the first rank at the court of Solomon (1 Kings v. 11 [iv. 31]), it is natural to suppose that the Book of Job 24 PSALM LX.tXVIII. 2-8. has sprunoj out of tliis very Cliokma-company, and that perhaps this very Heman tlie Ezrahitewho is the author of Ps. Ixxxviii. has made a passage of his own life, suffering, and conflict of soul, a subject of dramatic treatment. The inscription of the Psalm runs : A Psalm-song hy the Koraldtes ; to the Precentor, to he recited (lit. to he pressed doivn, not after Isa. xxvii. 2 : to he sung, which expresses nothing, nor : to he sung alternatingly, which is contrary to the character of the Psalm) after a sad manner (cf. liii. 1) loith muffled voice, a meditation hy Heman the Ezrahite. This is a double inscription, the two halves of which are contradictory. The bare p^"l^ side by side with mp-''J3^ would be perfectly in order, since the precentor Heman is a Korahite according to 1 Chron. vi. 18-23 [33-38] ; but '•mrsn |»\n is the name of one of the four great Israelitish sages in 1 Kings v. 11 [iv. 31], who, according to 1 Chron. ii. 6, is a direct descendant of Zerah, and therefore is not of the tribe of Levi, but of Judah. The suppositions that Heman the Korahite had been adopted into the family of Zerah, or that Heman the Ezrahite had been admitted among the Levites, are miserable attempts to get over the difficulty. At the head of the Psalm there stand two different statements respecting its origin side by side, which are irreconcilable. The assumption that the title of the Psalm originally was either merely mp-"'3n^ niDTO 'T'B', or merely '1J1 h^jd!?, is warranted by the fact that only in this one Psalm nvJIDi5 does not occupy the first place in the inscription. But which of the two statements is the more reliable one? Most assuredly the latter ; for mp-''J3^ "ilOTO T'B' is only a recurrent repetition of the inscription of Ps. Ixxxvii. The second state- ment, on the other hand, by its precise designation o" the melody, and by the designation of the author, which corresponds to the Psalm that follows, gives evidence of its antiquity and its historical character. Vers. 2-8. The poet finds himself in the midst of circum- stances gloomy in the extreme, but he does not despair ; he still turns towards Jahve with his complaints, and calls Him the God of his salvation. This actus directus of fleeing in prayer to the God of salvation, which urges its way through all tha is dark and gloomy, is the fundamental characteristic of all true PSALM LXXXVIII. 2-8. 25 f nth. Ver. 2a is not to be rendered, as a clause of itself : "by day I cry unto Thee, in the night before Thee" (LXX. and Targum), which ought to have been D^i', but (as it is also pointed, especially in Baer's text) : by day, i.e. in the time (Ivi. 4, Ixxviii. 42, cf. xviii. 1), when I cry before Thee in the night, let my prayer come . . . (Hitzig). In ver. 3h he calls his piercing lamentation, his wailing supplication, ''ri3"i, as in xvii. 1, Ixi. 2. ntDH as in Ixxxvi. 1, for which we find tan in xvii. 6. The Beth of niyn3, as in Ixv. 5, Lam. iii. 15, 30, denotes that of which his soul has already had abundantly sufficient. On ver. 4cb, cf. as to the syntax xxxi. 11. ?)?< (a7ra| Xe'yofi. like riv^'X, xxii. 20) signifies succinctness, compactness, vigorousness {d8p6TT]<;) : he is like a man from whom all vital freshness and vigour is gone, therefore now only like the shadow of a man, in fact like one already dead. ''^P^, in ver. 6a, the LXX. remders iv veKpoh i\,evdepo'^p is, according to ciii. 7, cxlv. 12, the datival Lamed. With ^ri'ittX'^a (LXX., Jerome, contrary to ver. ?>h, ort, elira^) the poet bases his resolve upon his conviction, nnj means not so much to be upheld in building, as to be in the course of continuous build- ing (e.g. Job xxii. 23, Mai. iii. 15, of an increasingly pros- perous condition). Loving-kindness is for ever (accusative of duration) in the course of continuous building, viz. upon the unshakeable foundation of the promise of grace, inasmuch as it is fulfilled in accordance therewith. It is a building with a most solid foundation, which will not only not fall into ruins, but, adding one stone of fulfilment upon another, will rise ever higher and higher. C)D^ then stands first as casus absol.j and cna is, e.s in xix. 5, a pronoun having a backward reference to it. In the heavens, which are exalted above the rise and fall of things here below, God establishes His faithfulness, so that it stands fast as the sun above the earth, although the condition of things here below seems sometimes to contradict it (cf. cxix. 89). Now follow in vers. 4, 5 the direct words of God, the sum of the promises given to David and to his seed in 2 Sam. ch. vii., at which the poet arrives more naturally in vers. 20 sqq. Here they are strikingly devoid of connection. It is the special substance of the promises that is associated in thought with the " loving-kindness " and " truth " of ver. 3, which is expanded as it were appositionally therein. Hence also PSX and T?^, "'^^^^ and npn^ correspond to one another. David's seed, by virtue cf divine faithfulness, has an eter- nally sure existence ; Jahve builds up David's throne " into generation and generation," inasmuch as He causes it to rise ever fresh and vigorous, never as that which is growing old and feeble. Vers. 6-9. At the close of the promises in vers. 4, 5 the * The Vulgate renders : Misericordias Domini in xiernum cantaho. The second Sunday after Easter takes its name from this rendering. 36 PSALM LXXXIX. 10-15. music is to become forte. And -nvi attaches itself to this jubilant Sela. In vers. 6-19 there follows a hymnic descrip- tion of the exalted majesty of God, more especially of His omnipotence and faithfulness, because the value of the promise is measured by the character of the person who promises. The God of the promise is He who is praised by the heavens and the holy ones above. His way of acting is ^^.^^, of a transcen- dent, paradoxical, wondrous order, and as such the heavens praise it ; it is praised (inv, according to Ges. § 137, 3) in the assembly of the holy ones, i.e. of the spirits in the other world, the angels (as in Job v. 1, xv. 15, cf. Deut. xxxiii. 2), for He is peerlessly exalted above the heavens and the angels. \^^''^\ poetic singular instead of C]''i?np' {vid. supra on Ixxvii. 18), which is in itself already poetical ; and '^']y, not, as e.g. in Isa. xl. 18, in the signification to co-ordinate, but in the medial sense : to rank with, be equal to. Concerning D7SI \J3j vid. on xxix. 1. In the great council (concerning 1)0, of both genders, perhaps like Dis, vid. on xxv. 14) of the holy ones also, Jahve is ter- rible ; He towers above all who are about Him (1 Kiiigs xxii. 19, cf. Dan. vii. 10) in terrible majesty, nan might, according to Ixii. 3, Ixxviii. 15, be au adverb, but according to the order of the words it may more appropriately be regarded as an adjective ; cf. Job xxxi. 34, nnn pon pys; ^3, « when I feared the great multitude." In ver. 9 He is apostrophized with \n^x niS3V as being the One exalted above the heavens and the angels. The question " Who is as Thou ?" takes its origin from Ex. XV. 11. rpn is not the construct form, but the principal form, like l''^2, T'T, /iy, and is a Syriasm ; for the verbal stem y^) Kt is native to the Aramaic, i 1 which P -». m k» = ''TCf. In n^, what God is is reduced to the briefest possible expression {vid. Ixviii. 19). In the words, " j^hy faithfulness compasseth Thee round about," the primary 'bought of the poet again breaks through. Such a God it is who has the faithfulness with which He fulfils all His promisfs, and the promises given to the house of David also, as His constant surrounding. His glory would only strike one with terror ; but the faithfulness which encompasses Him softens the sunlike brilliancy of His glory, and awakens trust in so majestic a Kuler. Vers. 10-15. At the time of the poet the nation of the PSALM LXXXIX. 10-15. 37 house of David was threatened with assault from violent foes ; and this fact gives occasion for this picture of God's power in the kingdom of nature. He who rules the raging of the sea, also rules the raging of the sea of the peoples, Ixv. 8. ri^XJ, a proud rising, here of the sea, like niS3 in xlvi. 4. Instead of Nib'3, Ilitzig pleasantly enough reads ^h is the eclio of 2 Sam. vii. 10. Vers. 24-30. What is promised in ver, 26 is world-wide dominion, not merely dominion within the compass promised in the primeval times (Gen. xv. 18, 2 Chron. ix. 26), in which case it ought to have been said imni (of the Euphrates). Nor does the promise, however, sound so definite and boundless here as in Ixxii. 8, but it is indefinite and universal, without any need for our asking what rivers are intended by nnn:. jnj 3 T, like np:^ in Isa. xi. 14, of a giving and taking possession. With ^JN-fiK (with retreated tone, as in cxix. 63, 12^5) God tells with what He will answer David's filial love. Him who is the latest-born among the sons of Jesse, God makes the first-born (1133 from 133, to be early, opp. ^\h^ to be late, vid. Job, ii. 21), and therefore the most favoured of the " sons of the Most High," Ixxxii. 6. And as, according to Deut. xxviii. 1, Israel is to be high (P'^V) above all nations of the earth, so David, Israel's king, in whom Israel's national glory realizes itseff, is made as the liigh one (p'-i'V) with respect to the kings, i.e. above the kings, of the earth. In the person of David his seed is included ; and it is that position of honour which, after having been only prelusively realized in David and Solomon, must go on being fulfilled in his seed exactly as the promise runs. The covenant with David is, according to ver. 29, one that shall stand for ever. David is therefore, as ver. 30 affirms, eternal in his seed ; God will make David's seed and throne 1V^^, into eternal, i.e. into such as will abide for ever, like the days of heaven, everlasting. This description of eternal duration is, as also in Sir. xlv. 15, Bar. i. 11, taken from Deut. xi. 21 ; the whole of ver. 30 is a poetic reproduction of 2 Sam. vii. 16. Vers. 31-38. Now follows the paraphrase of 2 Sam. vii. 14, that the faithlessness of David's line in relation to the covenant shall not interfere with (annul) the faithfulness of God — a thought with which one might very naturally console one's self in the reign of Rehoboam. Because God has placed the house of David in a filial relationship to Himself, He will chastise the apostate members as a father chastises his son ; cf. Prov. xxiii. 13 sq. In 1 Chron. xvii. 13 the chronicler omits the words of 2 Sam. vii. 14 which there provide against perverted action (^iiyn) on the part of the seed of David ; our PSALM LXXXi:t. 31-38. 41 Psalm proves their originality. But even if, as history shows, this means of chastisement should be ineffectual in the case of individuals, the house of David as such will nevertheless remain ever in a state of favour with Him. In ver. 34 "I^SS'N^ '''^PH) isyp corresponds to ^3^? '\^D\-i6 ^^Dni in 2 Sam. vii. 15 (LXX., Targum) : the fat. Iliph. of "ns is otherwise always IDS! ; the conjecture T'P>5 is therefore natural, yet even the LXX. trans- lators {ov fir) 8ia ought to be rendered : and as the witness in the clouds shall it (David's throne) be faithful (perpetual). By the witness in the clouds one would then have to understand the rainbow as the celestial memorial and sign of an ever- lasting covenant. Thus Luther, Geier, Schmid, and others. But neither this rendering, nor the more natural one, " and as the perpetual, faithful witness in the clouds," is admissible in connection with the absence of the 3 of comparison. Accord- ingly Hengstenberg, following the example of Jewish exposi- 42 PSALM LXXXIX. 39-46. tors, renders : " and the witness in the clouds is perpetual," viz. the moon, so that the continuance of the Davidic line would l^e associated with the moon, just as the continuance of the condemned earth is with the rainbow. But in what sense would the moon have the name, without example elsewhere, of witness ? Just as the Book of Job was the key to the con- clusion of Ps. Ixxxviii., so it is the key to this ambiguous verse of the Psalm before us. It has to be explained according to Job xvi. 19, where Job says : " Behold in heaven is my tvitness, and my surety in the heights!^ Jahve, the jCiSJ 7Sl (Deut. vii. 9), seals His sworn promise with the words, " and the witness in the sky (ethereal heights) is faithful " (cf. con- cerning this Waw in connection with asseverations, Ew. § 340, c). Hengstenberg's objection, that Jahve cannot be called His own witness, is disposed of by the fact that "IV frequently sig- nifies the person who testifies anything concerning himself ; in this sense, in fact, the whole Tora is called 'n nny (the testi- mony of Jahve). Vers. 39-46. Now after the poet has turned his thoughts towards the- beginnings of the house of David which were so rich in promise, in order that he might find comfort under the sorrowful present, the contrast of the two periods is become all the more sensible to him. With T\T\\X\ in ver. 39 (And Thou — the same who hast promised and affirmed this with an oath) his Psalm takes a new turn, for which reason it might even have been nriyi. mr is used just as absolutely here as in xliv. 24, Ixxiv. 1, Ixxvii. 8, so that it does not require any object to be supplied out of ver. 39Z>. ^^'^^). in ver. 40 the LXX. renders Korearpe'^a'i ; it is better rendered in Lam. ii. 7 direrL- va^e ; for "1S3 is synonymous with "^V}, to shake off, push away, cf. Arabic el-menair, the thrusters (with the lance). "D^V is a vocational name of the king as such. His crown is sacred as being the insignia of a God-bestowed office. God has therefore made the sacred thing vile by casting it to the ground (bvn Vl^(i as in Ixxiv. 17, to cast profaningly to the ground). The primary passage to vers. 41, 42 is Ixxx. 13. "His hedges" are all the boundary and protecting fences which the land of tlie king has; and 1''1-f?P " the fortresses" of his land (in both instances without ^3, because matters have not yet come to such PSALM LXXXIX. 39-46. 43 a pass).* In inD'j' the notions of the king and of the land blend togetlier. 'n"?.T^?.?i^ are the hordes of the peoples passing through the land. VJD'J* are the neighbouring peoples that are otherwise liable to pay tribute to the house of David, who sought to take every possible advantage of that weakening of the Davidic kingdom. In ver. 44 we are neither to translate "rock of his sword " (Hengstenberg), nor " O rock " (Olshausen). "i^V does not merely signify rupes^ but also from another root (iii', jU, originally of the grating or shrill noise produced by pressing and squeezing, then more particularly to cut or cut off with pressure, with a sharply set knife or the like) a knife or a blade (cf. English knife, and German kneifen^ to nip) : God has decreed it that the edge or blade of the sword of the king has been turned back by the enemy, that he has not been able to maintain his ground in battle ("inJOpn with e instead of i, as also when the tone is not moved forward, Mic. v. 4). In ver. 45 the Mem of linOD, after the analogy of Ezek. xvi. 41, xxxiv. 10, and other passages, is a preposition : cessare fecisti eum a splendore siio. A noun "in^p = in^P with Bag. dirimens,\ like C'lipp Ex. XV. 17, ^TSp Nah. iii.'i? (Abulwalid, Aben-Ezra, Parchon, Kimchi, and others), in itself improbable in the signi- fication required here, is not found either in post-biblical or in biblical Hebrew, inb, like "inV, signifies first of all not purity, l)ut brilliancy. Still the form "inb does not lie at the basis of it in this instance ; for the reading found here just happens not to be iino, but iintpp ; and the reading adopted by Norzi, Heidenheim, and Baer, as also by Nissel and others, so far as form is concerned is not distinct from it, viz. ^I'^f^P {mit- tuharo), the character of the Shehd being determined by the * In the list of the nations and cities conquered by King Sheshonk i. are found even cities of the tribe of Issachar, e.g. Shen-ma-an, Suuem; vid. Brugsch, Reiseherichte, S. 141-145, and Blau as referred to above. t The view of Piusker {Einleitung, S. G9), that this Dag. is not a sign of the doubling of the letter, but a diacritic point (that preceded the invention of the system of vowel-points), which indicated that the re- spective letter was to be pronounced with a Chateph vowel (e.y. mifuhar), is incorrect. The doubling Dag. renders the Skcbd audible, and having once become audible it readily receives this or tliat colouring according to the nature of its consonant and of the neighbouring vowel. 44 PSALM LXXXIX. 47-52. analogy of the a following (cf. •TJ?;?'?) ^ Kings ii. 1), which presupposes the principal form "inp (Jiottcher, § 386, cf. supra, ii. 31, note). The personal tenor of ver. 46a requires that it shiould be referred to the then reigning Davidic king, but not as dying before his time (Olshausen), but as becoming prema- turely old by reason of the sorrowful experiences of his reign. The larger half of the kingdom has been wrested from him ; Egypt and the neighbouring nations also threaten the half that remains to him ; and instead of the kingly robe, shame com- pletely covers him. Vers. 47-52. After this statement of the present condition of things the psalmist begins to pray for the removal of all that is thus contradictory to the promise. The plaintive question, ver. 47, with the exception of one word, is verbatim the same as Ixxix. 5. The wrath to which quousque refers, makes itself to be felt, as the intensifying {vid. xiii. 2) n'i^h implies, in the intensity and duration of everlasting wrath. I^n is this tem- poral life which glides past secretly and unnoticed (xvii. 14) ; and ''^^?""I3I is not equivalent to ''J'i.t'I (instead of which by way of emphasis only ''J^5 ''J^ST can be said), but l^fj"'"'^ ''•?^. stands for ''J5< "If^nTiD — according to the sense equivalent to ''JN p'lnTin, xxxix. 5, cf. 6. The conjecture of Houbigant and modern expositors, ''J''^^? "13T (cf. ver. 51), is not needed, since the inverted position of the words is just the same as in xxxix. 5. In vei-. 48Z> it is not pointed N1^ '"^^'^y, "wherefore (Job x. 2, xiii. 14) hast Thou in vain (cxxvii. 1) created?" (Hengstenberg), but ^^lU^'no'^j?, on account of or for what a nothing (sit^'no belong- ing together as adjective and substantive, as in xxx. 10, Job xxvi. 14) hast Thou created all the children of men ? (De Wette, Hupfeld, and Hitzig.) bv, of the ground of a matter and direct motive, which is better suited to the question in ver. 49 than the other way of taking it : the life of all men passes on into death and Plades ; why then might not God, within this brief space of time, this handbreadth, manifest Himself to His creatures as the merciful and kind, and not as the always angry God ? The music strikes in here, and how can it do so other- wise than in elegiac mesto? If God's justice tarries and fails in this present world, then the Old Testament faith becomes sorely tempted and tried, because it is not able to find consola- tion in the life beyond. Thus it is with the faith of the poet PSALM LXXXIX. 47-52, 45 in the present juncture of affairs, the outward appearance of which is in such perplexing contradiction to the loving-kindness sworn to David and also hitherto vouchsafed. 0^9'^ ''^^ '^^t the sense in this passage of promises of favour, as in 2 Chroii. vi. 42, but proofs of favour ; D^Jb'S^n glances back at the long period of the reigns of David and of Solomon.* The Asaph Psalm Ixxvii. and the Tephilla Isa. ch. Ixiii. contain similar complaints, just as in connection with ver. 51a one is remiucied of the Asaph Psalm Ixxix. 2, 10, and in connection with ver. 52 of Ixxix. 12. The phrase ip^O? ^'i'^^ is used in other instances of loving nurture. Num. xi. 12, Isa. xl. 11. In this passage it must have a sense akin to TI.^V. J^ptn. It is impossible on syntactic grounds to regard ^'"i->]3 C^"]"?!! as still dependent upon riEin (Ewald) or, as Ilupfeld is fond of calling it, as a " refe- rential" genitive. Can it be that the ?3 is perhaps a mutilation of rie^3, after Ezek. xxxvi. 15, as Bottcher suggests? We do not need this conjecture. For (1) to carry any one in one's bosom, if he is an enemy, may signify : to be obliged to cherish him with the vexation proceeding from him (Jer. xv. 15), without being able to get rid of him ; (2) there is no doubt that D'^l can, after the manner of numerals, be placed before the substantive to which it belongs, xxxii. 10, Pro v. xxxi. 29, 1 Chron. xxviii. 5, Neh. ix. 28 ; cf. the other position, e.g., in Jer. xvi. 16; (3) consequently CJsy D''3i"P3 may signify the " totality of many peoples" just as well as D''3"i D^a 73 in Ezek. xxxi. 6. The poet complains as a member of the nation, as a citizen of the empire, that he is obliged to foster many nations in his bosom, inasmuch as the land of Israel was overwhelmed by the Egyptians and their allies, the Libyans, Troglodytes, and Ethiopians. The 1^^^. which follows in ver.' 52 cannot now be referred back over ver. 51b to risnn (^qud calumnid), and yet the relative sense, not the confirmatory (because, qnouiam), is at issue. We therefore refer it to D'oy, and take T'^'^';' as an apposition, as in cxxxix. 20 : who reproach Thee, (as) Thine * The Pasek between D'Jtwn and ijis is not designed merely to remove the limited predicate from the Lord, who is indeed the First and tiie Last, but also to secure its pronunciation to the guttural Alei>h, which might be easily passed over after Mem; cf. Gen. i. 27, xxL 17, xxx L'O, xlii. 21, and frcCLuently. 4' 6 PSALM LXXXIX. 53. e\nemies, Jahve, who reproach the footsteps (ni^ipy as in Ixxvii. 20 with Dag. dirimens, which gives it an emotional turn) of Thine anointed, i.e. they follow him everywhere, wheresoever hb may go, and whatsoever he may do. With these significant wbrds, Wp^ ni^ipy, the Third Book of the Psalms dies away. \ Ver. 53. The closing doxology of the Third Book. 1 / FOURTH BOOK OF THE PSALTER. Ps. XC.-CVL PSALM X C. TAKING REFUGE IN THE LOVING-KINDNESS OP THE ETERSfAL ONE UNDER THE WRATHFUL JUDGMENT OF DEATH. 1 O LOKD, Thou hast been a place of refuge for us ia all generations ! 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, And Thou gavest birth to the earth and the world, And from geon to aeon Thou art God ! 3 Thou turnest mortal man to dust, And sayest : Return, ye children of men. 4 For a thousand years in Thine eyes Are as yesterday when it passeth, And a watch in the night. | 5 Thou carriest them away as with a flood, they become a jS^eep, In the morning they are as grass springing up again. ) 6 In the morning it flourisheth and springeth up again, In the evening it is cut down and it drieth up. 7 For we are consumed by Thine anger. And by Thy fierce anger are we scared away. 8 Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee, Our most secret matter in the light of Thy countenan{-e. 9 For all our days are passed away in Thy wrath ; We have spent our years as a whisper. ^ 47 4^8 PSALM XC. 1|,0 The days of our years — their sum is seventy years, U And, if very many, eighty years ; [^ And their pride is labour and vanity, p For it passed swiftly and we fled away. _1])(L Who knoweth the power of Thine anger And the fear of Thee according to Thy wrath ? Teach us rightly to number our days, That we may gain a wise heart ! .^: 13, Turn, Jahve — how long ? ! — I And have compassion upon Thy servants. 141 Satisfy us at morning-dawn with Thy mercy, ji Then will we joy and rejoice all our days. 13(, Make us glad according to the days in whicli Thou hast \ humbled us, ^ The years wherein we have seen evil. 16. Let Thy w-ork appear unto Thy servants, And Thy glory upon their children. 17 j And let the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us, And the work of our hands do Thou establish upon us, I Yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it ! \ \The Fourth Book of the Psalms, corresponding to the "I3D "imi?:)3 of the Pentateuch, begins with a Pmyer of Moses the man of iGod, which comes out of the midst of the dying off of the olde.lr generation during the march through the wilderness. To Uhe name, which could not be allowed to remain so bald, beca use next to Abraham he is the greatest man known to the Old Testament history of redemption, is added the title of honcbur ^'''y^.j^J ^"'i^ (as in Deut. xxxiii. 1, Josh. xiv. 6), an ancient name of the prophets which expresses the close rela- tiomship of fellowship with God, just as " servant of Jahve" expi-esses the relationship of service, in accordance with the sped'ial office and in relation to the history of redemption, into whicih Jahve has taken the man and into which he himself has entdred. There is scarcely any written memorial of antiquity which so brilliantly justifies the testimony of tradition con- cerning its origin as does this Psalm, which may have been preserved in some one or other of the older works, perhaps the " Book of Jashar" (Josh. x. 13, 2 Sam. i. 18), until the time PSALM XC. 1-4. 49 of the final redaction of the Psalter. Not alone with respect to its contents, but also with reference to the form of its language, it is perfectly suitable to Moses. Even Hitzig can bring nothing of importance against this view, for the objec- tion that the author in ver. 1 glances back upon past genera-i tions, whilst Israel was only born in the time of Moses, is" • removed by the consideration that the existence of Israe? reaches back into the patriarchal times ; and there is as little truth in the assertion that the Piel '^^'^'^ in ver. 14 instead of the Tlipldl brings the Psahii down into very late times, as iii the idea that the Iliph. ^1???[1'! in cxliii. 12 instead of the Piel carries this Ps. cxliii. back into very early times. ThesI trifling points dwindle down to nothing in comparison witli the fact that Ps. xc. bears within itself distinct traces of tbl same origin as the song "irtsn (Deut. ch. xxxii.), the blessir® of Moses (Deut. ch. xxxiii.), the discourses in DeuteronoirS and in general the directly Mosaic portions of the Pentateu/^' The Book of the Covenant, together with the Decalogue (r ch. xix.-xxiv.) and Deuteronomy (with the exception of._ * supplement), are regarded by us, on very good grounds, as i ^*^ largest originally Mosaic constituent parts of the Pentateif"^ The Book of Deuteronomy is 7\'Z't2 nnin in a pre-eminent se^^^ Vers. 1-4. The poet begins with the confession that Lord has proved Himself to His own, in all periods of hup history, as that which He was before the world was and wil;^^^ for evermore. God is designedly appealed to by the n^ "•JlX, which frequently occurs in the mouth of Moses in'^°^® middle books of tlie Pentateuch, and also in the Song ai Sea, Ex. XV. 17 and in Deut. iii. 24. lie is so i*iamed /*"® as the Lord ruling over human history with an exaltation ^^^® the same. Human history runs on in ")11 tM, so that one pr y^'^ {7repioBo and earthly dwelling-place, then the dwelling-place wliich ^"v VOL. HI. 4 ^^^^ ^< > 50 PSALM XC. 1-4. \ii 3 Himself is to His saints, inasmuch as He takes up to Himself, conceals and protects, those who flee to Him from the wicked one and from evil, and turn in to Him (Ixxi. 3, xci. 9). In order to express /i^is^i n''''ri was indispensable ; but just as fuisti comes from fuo, (f)vci), n^n (nin) signifies not a closed, shut up being, but a being that discloses itself, consequently it is fuisti 'n the sense of te exMhuisti. This historical self-manifestation of God is based upon the fact that He is ^'t?, i.e. might abso- 'utely, or the absolutely Mighty One ; and He was this, as '/er. 2 says, even before the beginning of the history of the present world, and will be in the distant ages of the future as 3f the past. The foundation of this world's history is the M ';reation. The combination 73ri1 px shows that this is intended y Jn be taken as the object, -'/^inril (with Metheg beside the e of 1 [ g3 final syllable, which is deprived of its accent, vid. on xviii. Z -c) is the language of address (Rashi) : that which is created i^ ^^;in a certain sense born from God 0?.^), and He brings it f( ,^Uth out of Himself ; and this is here expressed by J?}^ (as in ]J i^j^i. xxxii. 18, cf. Isa. li. 2), creation being compared to t\ A\i^^\ which takes place amidst pains {Psycliology, S. 114; tr. pi Yt\v^7). If, after the example of the LXX. and Targum, one re( (.\? as passive ^i'inni (Luttcher, Olshausen, Hitzig) from the -PiThvs^ 'i'^'^? Prov. viii. 24, — and this commends itself, since the pr r« t sistence of God can be better dated back beyond facts thi' 06- t^beyond the acts of God Himself, — then the conception reir ^i^ps essentially the same, since the Eternal and Absolute Onhe , "5 still to be thought of as ^5?^nD. The fact that the moiseOafins are mentioned first of all, harmonizes with Deut. xxxijr'iii il5. The modus consecutivus is intended to say : before the \ mountains were brought forth and Thou wast in labour ther(pwith . . . The forming of the mountains consequently coin(Uides with the creation of the earth, which is here as a body or mtass called V}.^, and as a continent with the relief of moun- tains ^ and lowlands is called ^^n (cf. p.? ^^f Prov. viii. 31, Job 1[^^'!fJJ ^"p'^'^- The night-time is the time for sleep ; aWatch in the night is one that is slept away, or at any rate passed in a sort of half-sleep. A day that is past, as we stand on the end of it, still produces upon us the impression of a course of time by reason of the events which we can recall ; but a night passed in sleep, and now even a fragment of the night, is devoid of all trace to us, and is therefore as it were timeless. Thus is it to God with a thousand years : they do not last long to Him ; they do not affect Him ; at the close of them, as at the beginning. He is the Absolute One ("^X). Time is as nothing to Him, the Eternal One. The changes of time are to Him no barrier restraining the realization of His counsel — a truth which has a terrible and a consolatory side. The poet dwells upon the fear which it produces. Vers. 5-8. Vers. 5, 6 tell us how great is the distance between men and this eternal selfsameness of God. The suffix of i^ripnt, referred to the thousand years, produces a PSALM XC. 5-8, 53 synallage (since T\:^ is feminine), which is to be avoided when- ever it is possible to do so ; the reference to Dnx~"'J3, as bein-, is " to follow or move after, to go into the place of another, and in general, of passing over from one place or state into another." Accordingly the Iliphil signifies to put into a new condition, cii. 27, to set a 54 PSALM XC. 5-8. new thing on the place of an old one, Isa. ix. 9 [10], to gain new strength, to take fresh courage, Isa. xl. 31, xli. 1 ; and of plants : to send forth new shoots, Job xiv. 7 ; consequently the Kal, which frequently furnishes the perfect for the future Hipliil (Ew. § 127, Z>, and Hitzig on this passage), of plants signifies : to gain new shoots, not : to sprout (Targum, Syriac), but to sprout again or afresh, regerminare ; cf . t_gl -L, an after- growth, new wood. Perishing humanity renews its youth in ever new generations. Ver. Qa again takes up this thought : in the morning it grows up and shoots afresh, viz. the grass to which men are likened (a figure appropriated by Isa. ch. xl.), in the evening it is cut down and it dries up. Others trans- late b?So to wither (root h^, properly to be long and lax, to allow to hang down long, cf. ^f^^, ^^^ with J^ol, to hope, i.e. to look forth into the distance) ; but (1) this Pllel of ^10 or Poel of ^^^ is not favourable to this intransitive way of taking it ; (2) the reflexive in Iviii. 8 proves that bb)12 signifies to cut off in the front or above, after which perhaps even xxxvii. 2, Job xiv. 2, xviii. 16, by comparison with Job xxiv. 24, are to be explained. In the last passage it runs : as the top of the stalk they are cut off (fut. Niph. of ??»). Such a cut or plucked ear of corn is called in Deut. xxiii. 26 '"'/V'?) a Deuteronomic hapaxlegomenon which favours our way of taking the Wo*. (with a most general subject = ^'pi'^!). Thus, too, tJ'^^J! is better attached to what precedes : the cut grass becomes parched hay. Just such an alternation of morning springing forth and evening drying up is the alternation of the generations of men. The poet substantiates this in vers. 7 sq. from the expe- rience of those amongst whom he comprehended himself in the ^J? of ver. 1. Hengstenberg takes ver. 7 to be a statement of the cause of the transitoriness set forth : its cause is the wrath of God ; but the poet does not begin 1DX2 ^2 but 13^^3 ""S. The chief emphasis therefore lies upon the perishing, and ""3 is not argumentative but explicative. If the subject of ^3''p3 were men in general (Olshausen), then it would be elucidating idem per idem. But, according to ver. 1, those who speak here are those whose refuge the Eternal One is. The poet therefore speaks in the name of the church, and confirms the lot of men PSALM XC. 5-8. 55 from that which his people have experienced even down to the present time. Israel is able out of its own experience to cor- roborate what all men pass through ; it has to pass through the very same experience as a special decree of God's wrath on account of its sins. Therefore in vers. 7, 8 we stand alto- gether upon historical ground. The testimony of the inscrip- tion is here verified in the contents of the Psalm. The older generation that came out of Egypt fell a prey to the sentence of punishment, that they should gradually die off during the forty years' journey through the desert ; and even Moses and Aaron, Joshua and Caleb only excepted, were included in this punish- ment on special grounds, Num. xiv. 26 sqq., Deut. i. 34-39. This it is over which Moses here laments. God's wrath is here called ^IN and ncn ; just as the Book of Deuteronomy (in dis- tinction from the other books of the Pentateuch) is fond of combining these two synonyms (Deut. ix, 19, xxix. 22, 27, cf. Gen. xxvii. 44 sq.). The breaking forth of the infinitely great opposition of the holy nature of God against sin has swept away the church in the person of its members, even down to the present moment ; ^^^^ as in civ. 29, cf. i^^'"^?. Lev. xxvi. 16. It is the consequence of their sins. pV signifies sin as the perversion of the right standing and conduct ; Cw, that which is veiled in distinction from manifest sins, is the sum-total of hidden moral, and that sinful, conduct. There is no necessity to regard ^^^?V. as a defective plural ; C^D^y signifies youth (from a radically distinct w^ord, D^V) ; secret sins would therefore be called riiDpy according to xix. 13. God sets transgressions before Him wdien, because the measure is full and forgiveness is inadmissible. He makes them an object of punishment, ri^ {Keri, as in viii. 7 : nn^', cf. vi. 4 riNi, Ixxiv. 6 W) has the accent upon the ultima before an initial guttural. The parallel to ^"^3.;5' is T?^ "lixp^. lis is light, and "liNO is either a body of light, as the sun and moon, or, as in this passage, the circle of light which the light forms. The countenance of God (n "•JS) is God's nature in its inclination towards the world, and iixo 'n '':S3 is the doxa of His nature that is turned towards the world, which penetrates everything that is conformed to God as a gracious light (Num. vi. 25), and makes manifest to the bottom everything that is opposed to God and consumes it as a wrathful fire. 56 PSALM XC. 9-12. Vers. 9-12. After the transitoriness of men has now been confirmed in vers. 6 sq. out of the special experience of Isi-ael, the fact that this particular experience has its ground in a divine decree of wrath is more definitely confirmed from the facts of this experience, which, as vers. 11 sq. complain, un- fortunately have done so little to urge them on to the fear of God, which is the condition and the beginning of wisdom. In ver. 9 we distinctly hear the Israel of the desert speaking. That was a generation that fell a prey to the wrath of God (imaj; in, Jer. vii. 29). nnay is wrath that passes over/EreakT through the bounds of subjectivity. All their days (cf. ciii. 15) are passed away ("^^fi, to turn one's self, to turn, e.g. Deut. i. 24) in such wrath, i.e. thoroughly pervaded by it. They have spent their years like a sound (nin-io^)^ which has hardly gone forth before it has passed away, leaving no trace behind it ; the noun signifies a gentle dull sound, whether a murmur (Job xxxvii. 2) or a groan (Ezek. ii. 10). With Dn2 in ver. 10 the sum is stated : there are comprehended therein seventy years ; they include, run up to so many. Hitzig renders : the days wherein (onn) our years consist are seventy years ; but irniJJJ' side by side with "'D* must be regarded as its more minute genitival definition, and the accentuation cannot be objected to. Beside the plural CJK' the poetic plural T\Sl^ appears here, and it also occurs in Deut. xxxii. 7 (and nowhere else in the Pentateuch). That of which the sum is to be stated stands first of all as a casus ahsol. Luther's rendering : Siehenzig Jar, teens hoch kompt so sinds acldzig (seventy years, or at the furthest eighty years), as Symmachus also meant by his ev irapaho^w (in Chrysostom), is confirmed by the Talmudic y^jn nnUJ^, " to attain to extreme old age" {B. Moed katan 28a), and rightly approved of by Hitzig and Olshausen. n^^3J sig- nifies in Ixxi. 16 full strength, here full measure. Seventy, or at most eighty years, were the average sum of the extreme term of life to which the generation dying out in the wilder- ness attained. Canni the LXX. renders to liKetov avrcou, but DanT is not equivalent to D3"i. The verb HiiT signifies to behave violently, e.g. of importunate entreaty, Prov. vi. 3, of insolent treatment, Isa. iii. 5, whence 3ni (here ani)^ violence, impetu- osity, and more especially a boastful vaunting appearance or coming forward, Job ix. 13, Isa. xxx. 7. The poet means to PSALM XC. 9-12. 57 say that everything of which our life is proud (riches, outward appearance, luxury, beauty, etc.), when regarded in the right light, is after all only i'^V, inasmuch as it causes us trouble and toil, and pX, because without any true intrinsic merit and worth. To this second predicate is appended the confirmatory clause. K'^n is hifin. adverb, from ti'^Hj ^'^, Deut. xxxii. 35 : speedily, swiftly (Symmachus, the Qninta, and Jerome). The verb n5 signifies transire in all the Semitic dialects ; and fol- lowing this signification, which is applied transitively in Num. xi. 31, the Jewish expositors and Schultens correctly render : nam transit velocissim^. Following upon the perfect T3, the modus consecutivus npysi maintains its retrospective significa- tion. The strengthening of this mood by means of the inten- tional ah is more usual with the 1st pers. sing.^ e.g. Gen. xxxii. 6, than with the 1st pers. plur.y as here and in Gen. xli. 11 ; Ew. § 232, g. The poet glances back from the end of life to the course of life. And life, with all of which it had been proud, appears as an empty burden ; for it passed swiftly by and we fled away, we were borne away with rapid flight upon the wings of the past. Such experience as this ought to urge one on to the fear of God ; but how rarely does this happen ! and yet the fear of God is the condition (stipulation) and the beginning of wisdom. The verb V]) in ver. 11a, just as it in general denotes not merely notional but practically living and efficient knowledge, is here used of a knowledge which makes that which is known conduce to salvation. The meaning of "nji^J"]'^^ is determined in accordance with this. The suffix is here either gen. subj. : according to Thy fearfulness {^^y. as in Ezek. i. 18), or gen. obj. : according to the fear that is due to Thee, which in itself is at once (cf. v. 8, Ex. xx. 20, Deut. ii. 25) more natural, and here designates the knowledge which is so rarely found, as that which is determined by the fear of God, as a truly reli- gious knowledge. Such knowledge Moses supplicates for him- self and for Israel : to number our days teach us rightly to understand. 1 Sam. xxiii. 17, where |3 Vi; signifies " he does not know it to be otherwise, he is well aware of it," shows how 13 is meant. Hitzig, contrary to the accentuation, draws it to iro"' ni3C^ ; but " to number our days" is in itself equivalent to " hourly to contemplate the fleeting character and brevity 58 PSALM XC. 13-17. of onr lifetime ;" and J?lin J3 prays for a true qualification for this, and one that accords with experience. The future that follows is well adapted to the call, as frequently aim and result. But N"'3n is not to be taken, with Ewald and Hitzig, in the signification of bringing as an offering, a meaning this verb cannot liave of itself alone (why should it not have been inpJl?). Bottcher also erroneously renders it after the analogy of Prov. ii. 10 : " that we may bring wisdom into the heart," which ought to be 273, N''3n, deriving its meaning from agri- culture, signifies " to carry off, obtain, gain, prop, to bring in," viz. into the barn, 2 Sam. ix. 10, Hagg. i. 6 ; the produce of the field, and in a general way gain or profit, is hence called nxun. A wise heart is the fruit which one reaps or garners in from such numbering of the days, the gain which one carries off from so constantly reminding one's self of the end. 22? no3n is a poetically intensified expression for D3n 3b, just as ^r""}^ 2? in Prov. xiv. 30 signifies a calm easy heart. Vers. 13-17. The prayer for a salutary knowledge, or dis- cernment, of the appointment of divine wrath is now followed by the prayer for the return of favour, and the wish that God would carry out His work of salvation and bless Israel's under- takings to that end. We here recognise the well-known language of prayer of Moses in Ex. xxxii. 12, according to which n3lK^ is not intended as a prayer for God's return to Israel, but for the turning away of His anger; and the sigh ■•no'ny that is blended with it asks how long this being angry, which threatens to blot Israel out, is still to last. ^[}^'}] is explained according to this same parallel passage: May God feel remorse or sorrow (which in this case coincide) concerning His servants, i.e. concerning the affliction appointed to them. The naming of the church by T'l^y (as in Dent. ix. 27, cf. Ex. xxxii. 13 of the patriarchs) reminds one of Deut. xxxii. 36: concerning His servants He shall feel compassion {Hithpa. instead of the Niplial). The prayer for the turning of wrath is followed in ver. 14 by the prayer for the turning towards them of favour. In li;^33 there lies the thought that it has been night hitherto in Israel. " Morning " is therefore the beginning of a new season of favour. In l^VSk^* (to which ^"\iDn is a second accusative of the object) is implied the thought that Israel whilst under wrath has been hungering after favour; PSALM XC. 13-17. 59 cf. the adjective V^^ in the same tropical signification in Deut. xxxiii. 23. The supplicatory imperatives are followed by two moods expressive of intention : then will we, or : in order that we may rejoice and be glad ; for futures like these set forth the intention of attainiug somethinfr as a result or aim of what lias been expressed just before: Ew. § 325, a. ^J^p^"?33 is not governed by the verbs of rejoicing (cxviii. 24), in which case it would have been ^^^'O^, but is an adverbial definition of time (cxlv. 2, Jer. xxxv. 8) : within the term of life allotted to us. We see from ver. 15 that the season of affliction has already lasted for a long time. The duration of the forty years of wrath, which in the midst of their course seemed to them as an eternity, is made the measure of the reviving again that is earnestly sought. The plural niD'; instead of ''^\ is common only to our Psalm and Deut. xxxii. 7 ; it is not known elsewhere to Biblical Hebrew. And the poetical nijp' instead of ^5^, which also occurs elsewhere, appears for the first time in Deut. xxxii. 7. The meaning of ^-'^''^Vj ii^ which niD'' is specialized after the manner of a genitive, is explained from Deut. viii. 2 sqq., according to which the forty years' wandering in the wilder- ness was designed to humble (niSV) and to prove Israel through suffering. At the close of these forty years Israel stands on the threshold of the Promised Land. To Israel all final hopes were closely united with the taking possession of this land. We learn from Gen. ch. xlix. that it is the horizon of Jacob's prophetic benediction. This Psalm too, in vers. IG, 17, termi- nates in the prayer for the attainment of this goal. The psalmist has begun in ver. 1 his adoration with the majestic divine name ''p^^ ; in ver. 13 he began his prayer with the gracious divine name ^}J}1 ; and now, where he mentions God for the third time, he gives to Him the twofold name, so full of faith, ^J'O^'^ ''J"^^. ''^ used once alternates with the thrice repeated bv : salvation is not Israel's own work, but the work of Jahve ; it therefore comes from above, it comes and meets Israel. It is worthy of remark that the noun /i'S occurs only in Deuteronomy in the whole Tora, and that here also of the gracious rule of Jahve, ch. xxxii. 4, cf. xxxiii. 11. The church calls the work of the Lord wn^^ ^]^'V^ in so far as He executes it through them. This expression D^T nw'j;o as a designation of human undertakings runs through the wliole of the Book of 60 PSALM XCL Deuteronomy : cli. ii. 7, iv. 28, xi. 7, xiv. 29, xvi. 15, xxiv. 19, xxvii. 15, xxviii. 12, xxx. 9. In the work of the Lord the bright side of His glory unveils itself, hence it is called "i^n ; this too is a word not alien at least to the language of Deute- ronomy, ch. xxxiii. 17. Therein is made manifest 'n Dp, Kis graciousness and condescension — an expression which David has borrowed from Moses in Ps. xxvii. 4. nxn) and ^"^^ are optatives. n33i3 is an urgent request, imperat. ohsecrantis as the old expositors say. With Waio the same thought is ex- pressed over again (cf. Isa. Iv. 1, 'iS/l, yea come) — a simple, childlike anadiplosis which vividly reminds us of the Book of Deuteronomy, which revolves in thouglits that are ever the same, and by that very means speaks deeply to the heart. Thus the Deuteronomic impression of this Psalm accompanies us from beginning to end, from f^V^ to DH) '^^!V)^- Nor will it now be merely accidental that the fondness for comparisons, which is a peculiarity of the Book of Deuteronomy (ch. i. 31, 44, viii. 5, xxviii. 29, 49, cf. xxviii. 13, 44, xxix. 17, 18), is found again in this Psalm. PSALM XCL TALISMANIC SONG IN TIME OF WAR AND PESTILENCE. First Voice: 1 HE who sitteth in the protection of the Most High, Who abideth in the shadow of the Almighty — Second Voice: 2 I say to Jahve : My refuge and my fortress, My God in whom I trust. First Voice: 3 For He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, from the destroying pestilence. 4 With His feathers shall He defend thee, And under His wings art thou hidden ; A shield and buckler is His truth. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for any nightly terror, For the arrow that flietli by day. PSALM XCI. 61 6 For the pestilence that walketh in the darkness, For the sickness tliat wasteth at noon-day. 7 A thousand may fall at thy side and ten thousand at thy right hand, It shall not come nigh thee — 8 Nay, with thine own eyes shalt thou look on And see the recompense of the wicked. Second Voice: 9 For Thou, O Jahve, art my refuge ! First Voice : The Most High hast thou made thy habitation. 10 The range of misfortune toucheth thee not, And the plague doth not come nigh thy tent. 11 For His angels hath He given charge over thee, To keep thee in all thy ways. 12 On their hands shall they bear thee up, That thou dost not dash thy foot against a stone. 13 Over lions and adders shalt thou walk, Thou shalt trample lions and dragons under tliy feet. Tliird (divine) Voice: 14 For he loveth Me, therefore will I deliver him, I will set him on high, for he knoweth JNIy Name. 15 If he shall call upon ]\Ie, I will answer him, I will be with him in trouble ; I will rescue him and bring him to honour. 16 With length of life will I satisfy him. And cause him to delight himself in My salvation. The primeval song is followed by an anonymous song (inscribed by the LXX. without any warrant tw AavLh)^ the time of whose composition cannot be determined ; and it is only placed in this order because the last verse accords with the last verse but one of Ps. xc. There the revelation of Jahve's work is prayed for, and here Jahve promises : / will grant him to see My salvation; the "work of Jahve" is His realized " salvation." The two Psalms also have other points of contact, e.g. in the 1^*9 referred to God {cid. Si/mbola; p. 60). 62 PSALM XCI. In this Psalm, the Invocavit Psalm of the church, which praises the protecting and rescuing grace which he who believ- ingly takes refuge in God experiences in all times of danger and distress,* the relation of ver. 2 to ver. 1 meets us at the very beginning as a perplexing riddle. If we take ver. 1 as a clause complete in itself, then it is tautological. If we take i^i< in ver. 2 as a participle (Jerome, dicens) instead of ""2^<, ending with Pathach because a construct form (cf. xciv. 9, cxxxvi. 6), then the participial subject would have a participial predicate : " He who sitteth is saying," which is inelegant and also impro- bable, since l^N in other instances is always the 1st pers. fut. If we take i^^* as 1st pers. fut. and ver. 1 as an apposition of the subject expressed in advance : as such an one who sitteth . . . I say, then we stumble against I^i'^n^ ; this transition of the participle to the finite verb, especially without the copula (''•*?''), is confusing. If, however, we go on and read further into the Psalm, we find that the same difficulty as to the change of person recurs several times later on, just as in the opening. Olshausen, Hupfeld, and Hitzig get rid of this difficulty by all sorts of conjectures. But a reason for this abrupt change of the person is that dramatic arrangement recognised even in the Targum, although awkwardly indicated, which, however, was first of all clearly discerned by J. D. Michaelis and Maurer. There are, to wit, two voices that speak (as in Ps. cxxi.), and at last the voice of Jahve comes in as a third. His closing utter- ance, rich in promise, forms, perhaps not unaccidentally, a seven-line strophe. Whether the Psalm came also to be executed in liturgical use thus with several voices, perhaps by three choirs, we cannot tell ; but the poet certainly laid it out dra- matically, as the translation represents it. In spite of the many echoes of earlier models, it is one of the freshest and most beautiful Psalms, resembling the second part of Isaiah in its light-winged, richly coloured, and transparent diction. * Hence in J. Shahhath 8, col 2, and Midra.th SJwcher toh on xci. 1 and elsewhere, it is called, together with Pb. iii., (D'^yjc) PVIJS '^^''^^ a song of occurrences, i.e. a protective (or talismanic) song in times of dangers that may befall one, just as Sebald Heyden's Psalm-song, " He who is in the protection of the Most High and resigns himself to God," is inscribed " Preservative against the pestilence." PSAL5I XCI. 1-9. 6J Vers. 1, 2. As the concealing One, God is called tivl', the inaccessibly high One ; and as the shadowing One ''ly', the invincibly almighty One. Faith, however, calls Him by His covenant name (Heilsname) mn' and, with the suffix of appro- priation, ^■^'!'N (my God). In connection with ver. 1 we are reminded of the expressions of the Book of Job, ch. xxxix. 28, concerning the eagle's building its nest in its eyrie. Accord- ing to the accentuation, ver. 2a ought to be rendered with Geier, " Dicit : in Domino meo (or Domini) latibulum, etc." But the combination 'n? lox is more natural, since the lan- guage of address follows in both halves of the verse. Vers. 3-9a. tJ'^PJ, as in Prov. vi. 5, Jer. v. 26, is the dullest toned form for tjnp^ or K'pi', cxxiv. 7. What is meant is death, or "he who has the power of death," Heb. ii. 14, cf. 2 Tim. ii. 26. "The snare of the fowler" is a figure for the peril of one's life, Eccles. ix. 12. In connection with ver. 4 we have to call to mind Deut. xxxii. 11 : God protects His own as an eagle with its large strong wing. n"i3X is nom. tmiiatis, a pinion, to 13X, Isa. xl. 31 ; and the Hiph. 'Hpr'j from ^2?, with the dative of the object, like the Kal in cxl. 8, signifies to afford covering, protection. The aira^ \ey. i^y}^, according to its stem-word, is that which encompasses anything round about, and here beside nsy, a weapon of defence surrounding the body on all sides ; therefore not corresponding to the Syriac jZ;_»!>.£D, a stronghold (inbj ri"n;pp), but to jj-iiic, a shield. The Targum translates nsy with Npnn, dupeo^, and ninb with a^'^V^, which points to the round parma. iJ^OX is the truth of the divine promises. This is an impregnable defence (a) in war-times, ver. 5, against nightly surprises, and in the battle by day ; (b) in times of pestilence, ver. 6, when the destroying angel, who passes through and destroys the people (Ex. xi. 4), can do no harm to him who has taken refuge in God, either in the mid- night or the noontide hours. The future "n^i]'. is a more rhyth- mical and, in the signification to rage (as of disease) and to vanish away, a more usual form instead of ^?\ The LXX., Aquila, and Symmachus erroneously associate the demon name T^ with "iVki^^. It is a metaplastic (as if formed from IV^) future for lb'\ cf. Prov. xxix. 6, p"i), and Isa. xlii. 4, pi', fraugetxir. Ver. la a hypothetical protasis : si cadant ; the preterite would jj4 PSALM XCI. 9-16. signify ceciderint, E\v. § 357, b. With PI that which will solely and exclusively take place is introduced. Burk correctly renders : nullam cum 2)este rem Jiabebis, nisi ut videas. Only a spectator shalt thou be, and that with thine own eyes, being thyself inaccessible and left to survive, conscious that thou thyself art a living one in contrast with those who are dying. And thou shalt behold, like Israel on the night of the Pass- over, the just retribution to which the evil-doers fall a prey. nopB'j recompense, retribution, is a hapaxlegomenon, cf. C)''p?'k^, Isa. xxxiv. 8. Ascribing the glory to God, the second voice confirms or ratifies these promises. Vers. 9Z»-16. The first voice continues this ratification, and goes on weaving these promises still further: thou hast made the Most High thy dwelling-place (PJ^^) 5 there shall not touch thee . . . The promises rise ever higher and higher, and sound more glorious. The Pual nss*, prop, to be turned towards, is equivalent to "to befall one," as in Prov. xii. 21; Aquila well renders : ov /ierap^^iycreTat irpo^ ae kukIu. ^'ijp^'Ni' reminds one of Isa. liv. 14, where ^^ follows ; here it is 2, as in Judg. xix. 13. The angel guardianship which is appor- tioned to him who trusts in God appears in vers. 11, 12 as a universal fact, not as a solitary fact and occurring only in extraordinary instances. Hcbc est vera miraculorum ratio, observes Brentius on this passage, quod semel aut iterum mani- feste revelent ea quce Deus semper abscondlte operatur. In ^J^Nti'^ the sufiix has been combined with the full form of the future. The LXX. correctly renders ver. 126 ; fiijiroTe irpocr- K6-^^rj^_ V9 is the watchword of the theocratic Psalms. Thus it is used even in Ps. xlvii. 9 ; but the first of the Psalms beginning with this watchword is Ps. xciii. They are all post-exilic. The 74 PSALM XCIII. 1, 2. prominent point from which this eschatological perspective opens out is the time of the new-born freedom and of the newly restored state. Hitzig pertinently says: "This Psalm is already contained in nuce in ver. 9 of the preceding Psalm, which surely comes from the same author. This is at once manifest from the jerking start of the discourse in ver. 3 (cf. xcii. 10), which resolves the thought into two members, of which the first sub- sides into the vocative n"in\" The LXX. (Codd. Vat. and Sin.) inscribes it : Et? rrjv rj/biepTjv tov 'jrpocra^^dTov, ore KaTWKiarai Tj 7^, aho^ ftjS/}v Tw AavlB. The third part of this inscription is worthless. The first part (for which Cod. Alex, erroneously has : rov o-a/B^drov) is corroborated by the Talmudic tradition. Ps. xciii. was really the Friday Psalm, and that, as is said in Eosh ha-shana 31a, ]r\^b]} l^ni OLTCb) inasbo iDJtt' Dti' hv, because God then (on the sixth day) had completed His creative work and began to reign over them (His creatures) ; and that ore KaTWKLarat (al. KarcpKicTo) is to be explained in accordance therewith : when the earth had been peopled (with creatures, and more especially with men). Vers. 1, 2. The sense of ^^^ (with a beside Zinnor or Sarka as in xcvii. 1, xcix. 1 beside Decld*) is historical, and it stands in the middle between the present ^?D 'n and the future Ti'^O'' 'n : Jahve has entered upon the kingship and now reigns. Jahve's rule heretofore, since He has given up the use of His omnipotence, has been self-abasement and self-renunciation : now, however. He shows Himself in all His majesty, which rises aloft above everything ; He has put this on like a garment ; He is King, and now too shows Himself to the world in the royal robe. The first ^'^ has Oleu-ejored ; then the accentuation * It is well known that this pausd form of the 3(7 masc. prsnt. occurs in connection with Zalccpli; but it is also found with Rehia in cxii. 10 (the reading 0^31), Lev. v. 23 (^JS), Josh. x. 13 (noy), Lam. ii. 17 (DOT ; but not in Dcut. xix. 19, Zech. i. 6, which passages Kimchi counts up with them in his grammar Michlol) ; with Tarcha in Isa. xiv. 27 (j^V"')) Hos. vi. 1 (f)-it:), Amos iii, 8 (JXC') ; with Tehir in Lev. v. 18 (jr^) ; and even with Mtinach in 1 Sam. vii. 17 (t:D•L^')^ ^"^ according to Abulwalid with Mcrcha in 1 Kings xi. 2 (p3"n). PSALM XCIII. 3-5. 75 takes 'n trb? together by means of Decld^ and "iTXnn tV togetlier by means of Athnach. T'y, as in Ps. xxix., points to the encMuies ; what is so named is God's invincibly triumphant omnipotence. This He has put on (Isa. li. 9), with this He has girded Him- self — a military word (Isa. viii. 9) : Jahve makes war against everything in antagonism to Himself, and casts it to the ground with the weapons of His wrathful judgments. We find a further and fuller description of this iisnn TV in Isa. lix. 17, Ixiii. 1 sq., cf. Dan. vii. 9.* That which cannot fail to take place in connection with the coming of this accession of Jahve to the kingdom is introduced with ^^?. The world, as being the place of the kingdom of Jahve, shall stand without tottering io opposition to all hostile powers (xcvi. 10). Hitherto hostility towards God and its principal bulwark, the kingdom of the world, have disturbed the equilibrium and threatened all God- appointed relationships with dissolution; Jahve's interposition, however, when He finally brings into effect all the abundant might of His royal government, will secure immoveableness to the shaken earth (cf. Ixxv. 4). His throne stands, exalted above all commotion, tSO ; it reaches back into the most distant })ast. Jahve is o?)V^ ; His being loses itself in the immemorial and the immeasurable. The throne and nature of Jahve are not incipient in time, and therefore too are not perishable ; but as without beginning, so also they are endless, infinite in dura- tion. Vers. 3-5. All the raging of the world, therefore, will not be able to hinder the progress of the kingdom of God and its final breaking through to the glory of victory. The sea with its mighty mass of waters, with the constant unrest of its waves, with its ceaseless pressing against the solid land and foaming against the rocks, is an emblem of the Gentile world alienated from and at enmity with God ; and the rivers (floods) are emblems of worldly kingdoms, as the Nile of the ]3gyptian (Jer. xlvi. 7 sq.), the Euphrates of the Assyrian (Isa. viii. 7 sq.), or more exactly, the Tigris, swift as an arrow, of the Assyrian, and the * These passages, together with Ps. xciii. 1, civ. 1, are cited in Cavt. Rahba 2Gb (cf. Dcbarim Rahba 29 hi), where it is said that the Holy One calls Israel n^3 (bride) ten times in the Scriptures, and that Israel on the other hand ten times assigns kingly judicial robes to Ilim. 76 PSALM XCIII, 3-5. tortuous Euphrates of the Babylonian empire (Isa. xxvii. 1). These rivers, as the poet says whilst he raises a plaintive but comforted look upwards to J alive, have lifted up, have lifted up their murmur, the rivers lift up their roaring. The thought is unfolded in a so-called "parallelism with reservation." Tiie perfects affirm what has taken place, the future that wliicli even now as yet is taking place. The aira^ \ey. "'3'^. signifies a striking against {collisio), and a noise, a din. One now in ver. 4 looks fur the thought that Jahve is exalted above this roaring of the waves. I^ will therefore be the min of compari- son, not of the cause : " by reason of the roar of great waters are the breakers of the sea glorious" (Starck, Geier), — which, to say nothing more, is a tautological sentence. But if I^ is com- parative, then it is impossible to get on with the accentuation of Dmx, whether it be with Merclia (Ben-Asher) or Becld (Ben-Naphtali). For to render: More than the roar of great waters are the breakers of the sea glorious (Mendelssohn), is impracticable, since D''3"i D''^ are nothing less than D'' (Isa. xvii. 12 sq.), and we are prohibited from taking D''-''^a:^'D nnns as a parenthesis (Koster) by the fact that it is just this clause that is exceeded by 'n D"n02 T^IN. Consequently D'^THS has to be looked upon as a second attributive to D'D brought in after- wards, and ^^"^73C^'0 (the waves of the sea breaking upon the rocks, or even only breaking upon one another) as a more minute designation of these great and magnificent waters (nnnx, according to Ex. xv. 10 *), and it should liave been accented : D^ ^laU'D D^ins DUn D^D i n^^p?3. Jahve's celestial majesty towers far above all the noisy majesties here below, whose waves, though lashed never so high, can still never reach His throne. He is King of His people, Lord of His church, which preserves His revelation and worships in His temple. This revelation, by virtue of His unapproachable, all-overpower- ing kingship, is * A Tiilmudic enigmatical utterance of R. Azaria runs : y-iS'l inS N2^ D"'"T'Tisl DnnXD □nns!', Let the glorious One (Jahve, Ps. xciii. 4, cf. Isa. X. 34, xxxiii. 21) come and maintain the right of the glorious ones (Israel, Fs. xvi. 3) against the glorious ones (the Egyptians, Ex. xv. 10 according to the construction of the Taluuid) iu the glorious ones (tho waves of the sea, Ts. xciii. 4). PSALM XCIV. 77 the establishment of Ilis kingrlom and promise its future mani- festation in glory, are Xoyot tticttoI koi cWtjOlvoI, Apoc. xix. 0, xxii. 6. And holiness becometh His temple (*^np"niS3, dd prcrt. Pilel, or according to the better attested reading of Ileidenheim and Baer, "^J^.^, ;* therefore the feminine of the adjective with a more loosened syllable next to the tone, like ''^"^'fn''. in xl. 18), that is to say, it is inviolable (sacrosanct), and when it is pro- faned, shall ever be vindicated again in its holiness. This clause, formulated after the manner of a prayer, is at the same time a petition that Jahve in all time to come would be pleased to thoroughly secure the place where His honour dwells here below against profanation. P S A L ]\I XCIV. THE CONSOLATION OF PRAYER UNDER TUE OPrEESSION OF TYRANTS. 1 O GOD of vengeance, Jahve, O God of vengeance, shine forth! 2 Lift up Thyself, Judge of earth, Render recompense unto the haughty I 3 How long shall evil-doers, Jahve, How long shall evil-doers triumph ? 4 They gush over, they speak arrogant thing?, They boast themselves, all the workers of evil. 5 Thy people, Jahve, they break in pieces, And tiiey oppress Thine inheritance. G The widow and stranger they slay. And they murder the fatherless ; 7 And say as they do it : " Jah seeth not, And the God of Jacob hath no knowledge." • Tlie Masora on Ps. cxlvii. rcckous four niS3, one niN31, and one mw, and therefore our niX3 is one of the n""^ in ^D1 fj^N pr^'^T p^O T' p^DD (cf. Frecsdorf's Othla wc-Ochla, p. 123), i.e. one of the seventeen •words whose Alcph is audible, whilst it is otherwise always quiescent ; e.g. TiX^i'iOS, otherwise JlNViD- 78 PSALM XCIV. 8 Be sensible, ye senseless among the people ! And ye fools, when will ye become wise? 9 He who hath planted the ear, ought He not to hear? Or He who formed the eye, ought He not to see ? 10 He who chastiseth the nations, ought He not to reprove, He who teacheth men knowledge ? 11 Jahve knoweth the thoughts of men That they are vanity. 12 Blessed is the man whom Thou chastenest, Juh, And teachest out of Thy Law ; 13 To give him rest from the days of adversity, Until the pit be digged for the evil-doer. 14 For Jahve doth not thrust away His people, And He doth not forsake His inheritance. 15 But right must turn unto righteousness, And all the upright in heart shall follow it. 16 Who would rise up for me against the evil-doers? Who would stand up for me against the workers of 17 If Jahve had not been my help, [iniquity t My soul would quickly have dwelt in the silence of death, 18 If I say : My foot tottereth. Then, Jahve, thy loving-kindness upholdeth me. 19 In the multitude of my cares within me Thy comforts delight my soul. 20 Hath the judgment-seat of corruption fellowship with Thee, Which frameth trouble by deer ee 21 They press in upon the soul of the righteous, And condemn innocent blood. 22 But Jahve is a fortress for me, And my God is the high rock of my refuge. 23 He turneth back upon them their iniquity, And for their wickedness He will destroy them, Jahve our God will destroy them. This Psalm, akin to Ps. xcii. and xcili. by the community of the anadiplosis, bears the inscription WaXfio^ wS?}? rw AavlS, rer pdBt aa/S/Sdrov in the LXX. It is also a Talmudic tradi- PSALM XCIV. 1-3. 79 tion* that it was the Wednesday song in the Temple liturgy (TerpdBc o-a/3/3aTou = n2"'3 "':;^a"i3). Athanasius explains it by a reference to the fourth month (Jer. xxxix. 2). The tw Aavih, however, is worthless. It is a post-Davidic Psalm ; for, although it comes out of one mould, we still meet throughout with reminiscences of older Davidic and Asaphic models. The enemies against whom it supplicates the appearing of the God of righteous retribution are, as follows from a comparison of vers. 5, 8, 10, 12, non-Israelites, who despise the God of Israel and fear not His vengeance, ver. 7 ; whose barbarous doings, however, call forth, even among the oppressed people them- selves, foolish doubts concerning Jahve's omniscient beholding and judicial interposition. Accordingly the Psalm is one of the latest, but not necessarily a ^laccaboean Psalm. The later Persian age, in which the Book of Ecclesiastes was written, could also exhibit circumstances and moods such as these. Vers. 1-3. The first strophe prays that God would at length put a judicial restraint upon the arrogance of ungodli- ness. Instead of rain (a less frequent form of the imperative for V?^'^j Ges. § 53, rem. 3) it was perhaps originally written ny^Din (Ixxx. 2), the He of which has been lost owing to the He that follows. The plural ni^i^^ signifies not merely single instances of taking vengeance (Ezek. xxv. 17, cf. supra xviii. 48), but also intensively complete revenge or recompense (Judg. xi. 36, 2 Sam. iv. 8). The designation of God is similar to nipca 7X in Jer. li. 56, and the anadiplosis is like vers. 3, 23, xciii. 1, 3. ^?f'^'?, lift Thyself up, arise, viz. in judicial majesty, calls to mind vii. 7. ^^^3 ^''t^'H js construed with ^y (cf. ?, xxviii. 4, Isa. lix. 18) as in Joel iv. 4. With D'Na accidentally accord u'^auo'i and Kvoei 'yamv in the epic poets. * According to B. Eraclan 11a, at the time of the ChaMjean destruc- tion of Jerusalem the Levites on their pulpits were singing this 94th Psuhn, and as they came to the words "and He turneth back upon them their iniquity" (ver. 23), the enemies pressed into the Temple, so that they were not able to sing the closing words, " Jahve, our God, will destroy them." To the scruple that Ps. xciv. is a AVeduesday, not a Sunday, Psalm (that fatal day, however, was a Sunday, T\2'y ""XWO), it is replied, it may have been a lamentation song that had just been put into their mouths by tho circumstances of that time (in"j:i23 \rh ^D:T ND^i'3 S"i^N)- 80 PSALM XCIV. 4-11. Vers. 4-7. The second strophe describes those over whom the first prays that the judgment of God may come. T?'? (cf. Tt?'?) is a tropical phrase used of that kind of speech that results from strong inward impulse and flows forth in rich abundance. The poet himself explains how it is here (cf. lix. 8) intended : they speak priy, that which is unrestrained, un- bridled, insolent (vid. xxxi. 19). The Ilithpa. I'^xrin Schultens interprets ut Emiri ( „*>,cl, a commander) se gerunt ; but 1"'P^? signifies in Hebrew the top of a tree (vid. on Isa. xvii. 9) ; and from the primary signification to tower aloft, whence too "ittS, to speak, prop, ejferre = effari, "I'Si?^'^, like ""?!in!? in Isa. Ixi. G, directly signifies to exalt one's self, to carry one's self high, to strut. On 1S3T cf. Prov. xxii. 22, Isa. iii. 15 ; and on their atheistical principle which 'iipx'! places in closest connection with their mode of action, cf. x. 11, lix. 8 extrem. The Dagesh in f^J, distinct from the Dag. in the same word in ver. 12, cxviii. 5, 18, is the Dag. forte conjunct, according to the rule of the so-called p^m (vol. ii. p. 354, note). Vers. 8-11. The third strophe now turns from those bloodthirsty, blasphemous oppressors of the people of God whose conduct calls forth the vengeance of Jahve, to those among the people themselves, who have been puzzled about the omniscience and indirectly about the righteousness of God by the fact that this vengeance is delayed. They are called 2''"1V.^ and Cr"^?? in the sense of Ixxiii. 21 sq. Those hitherto de- scribed against whom God's vengeance is supplicated are this also ; but this appellation would be too one-sided for them, and Dyn refers the address expressly to a class of men among the people whom those oppress and slay. It is absurd that God, the planter of the ear (Vi^'^\}, like V\^'^ in Lev. xi. 7, with an accented ultima, because the prcct. Kal does not follow the rule for the dx'awing back of the accent called iins 3"iD3) and the former of the eye (cf. xl. 7, Ex. iv. 11), should not be able to hear and to see ; everything that is excellent in the creature, God must indeed possess in original, absolute perfection.* The * The questions are not: ought He to have no car, etc. ; as Jerome per- tinently observes in opposition to tlie aiilliropomorpliites, membra lulit, efficieiitius dcdit. PSALM XCIV. 12-16. 81 poet then points to the cxtra-IsraeHtish world and calls God D^ia "ip^, which cannot be made to refer to a warning by means of the voice of conscience ; "ID^ used thus without any closer definition does not signify " warning," but " chastening " (Prov. ix. 7). Taking his stand upon facts like those in Job xii. 23, the poet assumes the punitive judicial rule of God among the heathen to be an undeniable fact, and presents for consideration the question, whether He who chastencth nations cannot and will not also punish the oppressors of His church (cf. Gen. xviii. 25), He who teacheth men knowledge, i.e. He who nevertheless must be the omnipotent One, since all know- ledge comes originally from Him? Jahve, — thus does the course of argument close in ver. 11, — sees through (y"|^ of penetrative perceiving or knowing that goes to the very root of a matter) the thoughts of men that they are vanity. Tiius it is to be interpreted, and not: for they (men) are vanity; for this ought to have been n^n "pan ^3^ whereas in the depen- dent clause, when the predicate is not intended to be rendered especially prominent, as in ix. 21, the pronominal subject may precede, Isa. Ixi. 9, Jer. xlvi. 5 (Hitzig). The rendering of the LXX. (1 Cor. iii. 20), ore elal /xdratoL (Jerome, quoniam vance sunt), is therefore correct ; nsn, with the customary want of exactness, stands for nan. It is true men themselves are ^3n ; it is not, however, on this account that He who sees through all things sees through their thoughts, but He sees through them in their sinful vanity. Vers. 12-15. The fourth strophe praises the pious sufferer, v.hose good cause God will at length aid in obtaining its right. The " blessed" reminds one of xxxiv. 9, xl. 5, and more espe- cially of Job V. 17, cf. Prov. iii. 11 sq. Here what are meant are sufferings like those bewailed in vers. 5 sq., which are how- ever, after all, the well-meant dispensations of God. Con- cerning the aim and fruit of purifying and testing afflictions God teaches the sufferer out of His Law (cf. e.g. Deut. viii. 5 sq.), in order to procure him rest, viz. inward rest (cf. Jer. xlix. 23 with Isa. xxx. 15), i.e. not to suffer him to be disheartened and tempted by days of wickedness, i.e. wicked, calamitous days (Ew. § 287, b), until (and it will inevitably come to pass) the pit is finished being dug into which the ungodly falls headlong (cf. cxii. 7 sq.). ^^ has the eni])]iatic Dane^h, which VOL. III. 6 82 PSALM XCIV. 16-19. properly does not double, and still less unite, but requires an emphatic pronunciation of the letter, ^Yhich might easily be- come inaudible. The initial Jod of the divine name might easily lose its consonantal value here in connection with the preceding toneless u* and the Dag. guards against this : cf. cxviii. 5, 18. The certainty of the issue that is set in prospect by iy is then confirmed with ''3. It is impossible that God can desert His church — He cannot do this, because in general right must finally come to His right, or, as it is here expressed, DQC'p must turn to P^V, i.e. the right that is now subdued must at length be again strictly maintained and justly administered, and " after it then all who are upright in heart," i.e. all such will side with it, joyously greeting that which has been long missed and yearned after. t^Sp'P is fundamental right, which is at all times consistent with itself and raised above the casual circum- stances of the time, and P'lV, like riDX in Isa. xlii. 3, is right- eousness (justice), which converts this right into a practical truth and reality. Vers. 16-19. In the fifth strophe the poet celebrates the praise of the Lord as his sole, but also trusty and most con- solatory help. The meaning of the question in ver. 16 is, that there is no man who would rise and succour him in the con- flict with the evil-doers ; ^ as in Ex. xiv. 25, Judg. vi. 31, and Dy (without Onpp or the like) in the sense of contra, as in Iv. 19, cf. 2 Chron. xx. 6. God alone is his help. He alone has rescued him from death. n\n js to be supplied to vi!? : if He had not been, or : if He were not ; and the apodosis is : then very little would have been wanting, then it would soon have come to this, that his soul would have taken up its abode, etc. ; cf. on the construction cxix. 92, cxxiv. 1-5, Isa. i. 9, and * If it is correct that, as Aben-Ezra and Parcbon testify, the ^i, as being compounded of o («) + i, was pronounced U [like the u in the French word pur] by the inhabitants of Palestine, then this Dagesli, in accordance with its orthophonic function, is the more intelligible in cases like rr 13"lD^n and ns \~lX"lp, cf. Pinsker, Einkitung, S. 153, and Geiger, Urschrift, S. 277. In ISX 1»1p, Gen. xix. 14, Ex. xii. 31, IJJD lOlp, Deut. ii. 24, Tsade and Samech have this Dagcxh for the same reason as the Sin in llNti' 'in''2tJ'n, Ex. xii. 15 {vid. Heidenhcim on that passage), viz. because there is a danger in all these cases of slurring over the sharp sibilant. Even Chajug' (vid. Ewald and Dukes' Beitruge, iii. 23) confuses this Dag. orthophonicum with the Dag. forte conjunctivum. PSALM XCIV. 20-23. 83 on By03 with the prcct. Ixxiii. 2, cxix. 87, Gen. xxvi. 10 (on the other hand with the fat. Ixxxi. 15). 'ion is, as in cxv. 17, the silence of the grave and of Hades; here it is the object to ^}^'^\ as in xxxvii. 3, Prov. viii. 12, and frequently. When he appears to himself already as one that has fallen, God's mercy holds him up. And when thoughts, viz. sad and fearful thoughts, are multiplied within him, God's comforts delight him, viz. the encouragement of His word and the inward utterances of His Spirit. Q'SPy^, as in cxxxix. 23, is equivalent to Q'S^y', from ^V!^, ^Vp, c_^oci, to split, branch off {Psrjchologr/, S. 181 ; tr. p. 214). The plural form U'*fi'f:*;, like the plural of the imperative in Isa. xxix. 9, has two Fathachs, the second of which is the " independentification" of the Chateph of V'^]!T,. Vers. 20-23. In the sixth strophe the poet confidently expects the inevitable divine retribution for which he has ear- nestly prayed in the introduction. 'D^^\ is erroneously ac- counted by many (and by Gesenius too) as/u<. Pual = l']^^\ — ^ay "lan*, a vocal contraction together with a giving up of the reduplication in favour of which no example can be advanced. It is fut. Kal = T'^n'., from I'sn^ =:i isn^, with the same regres- sion of the modification of the vowel* as in ^3n* = 'Hpm in Gen. xliii. 29, Isa. xxx. 19 (Hupfeld), but as in verbs primce gutturaliSj so also in C2n3, D3nzi, inflected from 3h3, Ew. § 251, d. It nn'ght be more readily regarded as Poel than as Fual (like ',n?3sn, Job xx. 26), but the Kal too already signifies to enter into fellowship (Gen. xiv. 3, Hos. iv. 17), therefore (similarly to TiJ', V. 5) it is : 7ium consociahitur tecum. NE)3 is here the judgment-seat, just as the Arabic cursi directly denotes the tri- bunal of God (in distinction from ^^j3^\ the throne of His majesty). With reference to r\\\7\ vid. on v. 10. Assuming that \)'n is a divine statute, we obtain this meaning for pn"vy : which frameth {i.e. plots and executes) trouble, by making * By means of a similar transposition of the vowel as is to be assumed in unsn, Prov. i. 22, it also appears that pziDD = p2piD (lying upon the iahle, dvxy.ii/:<.evoi) of the Pcsach-Haggada ba.s to be explained, which Joseph Kimchi finds so inexplicable that he regards it as a clerical error that has become traditional. 84 PSALM XCV. the written divine right into a rightful title for unrighteous conduct, by means of which the innocent are plunged into misfortune. Hitzig renders : contrary to order, after Prov. xvii. 26, where, however, "^^""p)} is intended like eW/cev Slkuio- Gi)VT)yevea eKeivr], is anarthrous in order that the notion may be conceived of more qualitatively than relatively : with a (whole) generation. With lOXJ Jahve calls to mind the repeated declarations of His vexation concerning their heart, which was always inclined towards error wdiich leads to destruction — declarations, however, which bore no fruit. Just this ineffectiveness of His indignation had as its result that (it^'X, not OTL but W0-T6, as in Gen. xiii. 16, Deut. xxviii. 27, 51, 2 Kings ix. 37, and frequently) He sware, etc. (QX = verily not, Ges. § 155, 2, /, with the emphatic future form in iin which follows). It is the oath in Num. xiv. 27 sqq. that is meant. The older generation died in the desert, and there- fore lost the entering into the rest of God, by reason of their disobedience. If now, many centuries after Moses, they are invited in the Davidic Psalter to submissive adoration of Jahve, with the significant call : " To-day if ye will hearken to His voice !" and with a reference to the warning example of the fathers, the obedience of faith, now as formerly, has therefore to look forward to the gracious reward of entering into God's rest, which the disobedient at that time lost ; and the taking possession of Canaan was, therefore, not as yet the final nmjp (Deut. xii. 9). This is the connection of the wider train of thought which to the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, eh. iii., iv., follows from this text of the Psalm. PSALM XCVL A GEEETING OF THE COMING KINGDOM OF GOD. 1 SING unto Jahve a new song. Sing unto Jahve, all lands. 2 Sing unto Jahve, bless His Name, Cheerfully proclaim His salvation from day to day. PSALM XCVI. 89 3 Declare His glory among the heathen, His wonders among all peoples. 4 For great is Jahve and worthy to be praised exceedingly, Terrible is Pie above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But Jahve hath made the heavens. 6 Brightness and splendour are before Hira, flight and beauty are in His sanctuary. 7 Give unto Jahve, O ye races of the peoples, Give unto Jahve glory and might. 8 Give unto Jahve the honour of His Name, Take offerings and come into His courts. 9 Worship Jahve in holy attire. Tremble before Him, all lands. 10 Say among the heathen : " Jahve is now King, Therefore the world will stand without tottering. He will govern the peoples in uprightness." 11 The heavens shall rejoice And the earth be glad. The sea shall roar and its fulness. 12 The field shall exult and all that is therein, Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy— 13 Before Jahve, for He cometh, For He cometh to judge the earth — He shall judge the world in righteousness And the peoples in His faithfulness. What Ps. xcv. 3 says : " A great God is Jahve, and a great King above all gods,'' is repeated in Ps. xcvi. The LXX. inscribes it (1) w^rj rut AavlB, and the chronicler has really taken it up almost entire in the song which was sung on the day when the Ark was brought in (1 Chron. xvi. 23-33) ; but, as the coarse seams between vers. 22 and 23, 33 and 34 show, he there strings together familiar reminiscences of the Psalms {vid. on Ps. cv.) as a sort of mosaic, in order approximately to express the festive mood and festive strains of that day. And 90 PSALM XCVI. (2) 0T6 o o*/co9 (pKoho^eLTo (^Cod. Vat. wKoBo/x'qTai) fxera rrjv alx/J'akajaLav. By this the LXX. correctly interprets the Psalm as a post-exilic song : and the Psalm corresponds throughout to the advance which the mind of Israel has experienced in the Exile concerning its mission in the world. The fact that the religion of Jahve is destined for mankind at large, here receives the most triumphantly joyous, lyrical ex- pression. And so far as this is concerned, the key-note of the Psalm is even deutero-Isaianic. For it is one chief aim of Isa. ch. xl.-lxvi. to declare the pinnacle of glory of the Messianic apostolic mission on to which Israel is being raised through the depth of affliction of the Exile. All these post-exilic songs come much nearer to the spirit of the New Testament than the pre-exilic ; for the New Testament, which is the intrinsic character of the Old Testament freed from its barriers and limitations, is in process of coming into being (m Werden hegrifen) throughout the Old Testament, and the Exile was one of the most important crises in this progressive process. Ps. xcvi.-xcviii. are more Messianic than many in the strict sense of the word Messianic ; for the central (gravitating) point of the Old Testament gospel (Heilsverkundigung) lies not in the Messiah, but in the appearing (parusia) of Jahve — a fact which is explained by the circumstance that the mystery of the incarnation still lies beyond the Old Testament know- ledge or perception of salvation. All human intervention in the matter of salvation accordingly appears as purely human, and still more, it preserves a national and therefore outward and natural impress by virtue of the national limit within which the revelation of salvation has entered. If the ideal Davidic king who is expected even does anything superhuman, he is nevertheless only a man — a man of God, it is true, without his equal, but not the God-man. The mystery of the incarna- tion does, it is true, the nearer it comes to actual revelation, cast rays of its dawning upon prophecy, but the sun itself remains below the horizon : redemption is looked for as Jahve's own act, and "Jahve cometh" is also still the watchword of the last prophet (Mai. iii. 1). The five six-line strophes of the Psalm before us aro not to be mistaken. The chronicler has done away with fiv9 lines, and thereby disorganized the strophic structure ; and one line PSALM XCVI. 1-6. 91 (ver, 10a) he has removed from its position. The originality of the Psalm in the Psalter, too, is revealed thereby, and the non-independence of the chronicler, who treats the Psalm as an historian. Vers. 1-3. Call to the nation of Jahve to sing praise to its God and to evangelize the heathen, 'ii^^ is repeated three times. The new song assumes a new form of things, and the call thereto, a present which appeared to be a beginning that furnished a guarantee of this new state of things, a beginning viz. of the recognition of Jahve throughout the whole world of nations, and of His accession to the lordship over the whole earth. The new song is an echo of the approaching revelation of salvation and of glory, and this is also the inexhaustible material of the joyful tidings that go forth from day to day (Di7 ni'» as in Esth. iii. 7, whereas in the Chronicles it is CV7X CV» as in Num. xxx. 15). We read ver. la verbally the same in Isa. xlii. 10 ; ver. 2 calls to mind Isa. Iii. 7, Ix. 6 ; and ver. 3a, Isa. Ixvi. 19. Vers. 4-6. Confirmation of the call from the glory of Jahve that is now become manifest. The clause ver. 4a, as also cxlv. 3, is taken out of xlviii. 2. DM^S"b3 is the plural of "'-'^^"''3, every god, 2 Chron. xxxii. 15 ; the article may stand here or be omitted (xcv. 3, cf. cxiii. 4). All the elohim, i.e. gods, of the peoples are Dv'?'^ (from the negative ^N), nothings and good-for-nothings, unreal and useless. The LXX. ren- ders Saifiovia, as though the expression were D''Th'^ (cf. 1 Cor. X. 20), more correctly elScoXa in Apoc. ix. 20. What ver. 5 says is wrought out in Isa. ch. xl., xliv., and elsewhere ; wb''bii is a name of idols that occurs nowhere more frequently than in Isaiah. The sanctuary (ver. 6) is here the earthly sanctuary. From Jerusalem, over which the light arises first of all (Isa. ch. Ix.), Jahve's superterrestrial doxa now reveals itself in the world. "i'Ji^l~'ii^ is the usual pair of words for royal glory. The chronicler reads ver. 6b iDp03 nnni tV, might and joy are in His place {>^P.^ a late word, like -^JlI^?, brotherhood, brotherly affection, from an old root, Ex. xviii. 9). With the place of God one might associate the thought of the celestial place of God transcending space; the chronicler may, however, have 92 PSALM XCVI. 7-11. altered Vjnpnn into 1»P03 because when the Ark was brought in, the Temple {\::}ipr2T\ JT'n) was not yet built. Vers. 7-9. Call to the families of the peoples to worship God, the One, living, and glorious God. I3i^ is repeated three times here as Ps. xxix., of which the whole strophe is an echo. Isaiah (ch. Ix.) sees them coming in with the gifts which they are admonished to bring with them into the courts of Jahve (in Chron. only: VJDp). Instead of C'np mnna here and in the chronicler, the LXX. brings the courts (mi*n) in once more ; but the dependence of the strophe upon Ps. xxix. furnishes a guarantee for the " holy attire," similar to the wedding gar- ment in the New Testament parable. Instead of ViSO, ver. db, the chronicler has VJDj'O, just as he also alternates with both forms, 2 Chron. xxxii. 7, cf. 1 Chron. xix. 18. Vers. 10, 11. That which is to be said among the peoples is the joyous evangel of the kingdom of heaven which is now come and realized. The watchword is " Jahve is King," as in Isa. lii. 7. The LXX. correctly renders: 6 Kvpiovy. The psalmist on his part follows the model of Isaiah, who makes the trees of the wood exult and clap their hands, ch. Iv. 12, xliv. 23. The ^ii, which points into this festive time of all creatures which begins with Jahve's coming, is as in Isa. xxxv. 5 sq. Instead of \JS7j " before," the chronicler has the V.t?P so familiar to him, by which the joy is denoted as being occasioned by Jahve's appearing. The lines ver. Idbc sound very much like ix. 9. The chronicler has abridged ver. 13, by hurrying on to the mosaic-woi'k portion taken from Ps. cv. The poet at the close glances from the ideal past into the future. The two- fold N3 is a participle, Ew. § 200. Being come to judgment, after He has judged and sifted, executing punishment, Jahve will govern in the righteousness of mercy and in faithfulness to the promises. PSALM XCVII. THE BREAKING THROUGH OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, THE JUDGE AND SAVIOUR. 1 JAHVE is now King, the earth shouteth for joy, Many islands rejoice. 2 Clouds and darkness are round about Hiui, Righteousness and judgment are the pillars of His throne. 3 Fire goeth before Him And burnetii up His enemies round about. 4 His lightnings lighten the world ; The earth seetli it, and trembleth because of it. 5 Mountains melt like wax before Jahve, Before the Lord of the whole earth. 6 The heavens declare His righteousness. And all the peoples see His glory. 7 Confounded are all those who serve graven images, Who boast themselves of idols ; All the gods cast themselves down to Him. 8 Zion heareth it and rcjoiceth thereat, 94 PSALM XCVII. 1-3. And the daughters of Judah shout for joy — Because of Thy judgments, Jahve ! 9 For Thou, Jahve, art the Most High over all the earth, Thou art highly exalted above all gods. 10 Ye who love Jahve, hate evil : He who guardeth the souls of His saints, Out of the hand of the evil-doer will He rescue them. 11 Light is sown for the righteous. And for the upright-minded joy. 12 Eejoice, ye righteous, in Jahve, And sing praise unto His holy Name. This Psalm, too, has the coming of Jahve, who enters upon His kingdom through judgment, as its theme, and the watchword " Jahve is King " as its key-note. The LXX. inscribes it : tc3 AavlS, ore rj ^] (cf. 1 Sam. xxxi. 3), like i^], Dprii, 0"},^], and QifJ^l. The figure of the wax is found even in Ixviii. 3 ; and Jahve is also called " Lord of the whole earth" in Zech. iv. 14, vi. 5. The proclamation of the heavens is an expression of joy, xcvi. 11. They proclaim the judicial strictness with which Jahve, in accordance with His promises, carries out His plan of salvation, the realization of which has reached its goal in the fact that all men see the glory of God. Vers. 7, 8. When the glory of Jahve becomes manifest, everything that is opposed to it will be punished and consumed by its light. Those who serve idols will become conscious of their delusion with shame and terror, Isa. xlii. 17, Jer. x. 14. • The superhuman powers (LXX. dyyeXoi), deified by the heathen, then bow down to Him who alone is Elohim in absolute per- sonality. ^^nJ^V*'? is not imperative (LXX., Syriac), for as a command this clause would be abrupt and inconsequential, but the perfect of that which actually takes place. The quotation in Heb. i. 6 is taken from Deut. xxxii. 43, LXX. In vcr. 8 (after xlviii. 12) the survey of the poet again comes back to his own nation. When Zion hears that Jahve has appeared, and all the world and all the powers bow down to Him, she rejoices ; for it is in fact her God whose kingship has come to be ac- knowledged. And all the daughter-churches of the Jewish land exult torretlier with the mother-church over the salvation o which dawns through judgments. Ver. 9. This distichic epiphonema (ver. 9a = Ixxxiii. 19; 96 PSALJI XCVIII. ver. 9J, cf. xlvli. 3, 10) might close the Psalm ; there follows still, however, a hortatory strophe (which was perhaps not added till later on). Vers. 10-12. It is true ver. 12a is = xxxii. 11, ver. 12b = XXX. 5, and the promise in ver. 10 is the same as in xxxvii. 28, xxxiv. 21 ; but as to the rest, particularly ver. 11, this strophe is original. It is an encouraging admonition to fidelity in an age in which an effeminate spirit of looking longingly towards [lit. ogling] heathenism was rife, and stedfast ad- herence to Jahve was threatened with loss of life. Those who are faithful in their confession, as in the INIaccabsean age QAao- haloL), are called VTpn. The beautiful figure in ver. 11 is mis- apprehended by the ancient versions, inasmuch as they read Pni (cxii. 4) instead of yiT. T}}^ does not here signify sown = strewn into the earth, but strewn along his life's way, so that he, the righteous one, advances step by step in the light. Hitzig rightly compares KiSvarat, aKtSvarai, used of the dawn and of the sun. Of the former Virgil also says, Et jam prima novo spargehat lumine terras. PSALM XCVIII. GREETING TO HIM WHO IS BECOME KNOWN IN RIGHTEOUS- NESS AND SALVATION. 1 SING unto Jahve a new song, For He hath done marvellous things, His right hand and His holy arm helped Him. 2 Jahve hath made known His salvation, He hath revealed His righteousness before the eyes of the nations. 3 He remembered His loving-kindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel, All the ends of the earth saw the salvation of our God. 4 Make a joyful noise unto Jahve, all ye lauds. Break forth into rejoicing and play — 5 Play unto Jahve with the cithern, With the cithern and the voice of song. PSALM XCVIII. 1-6. 97 6 With trumpets and tlie sound of the horn, Make a joyful noise before the King Jahve I 7 Let the sea roar, and that which filleth it, The world, and those who dwell therein. 8 Let the rivers clap their hands, Together let the mountains rejoice 9 Before Jahve, for He cometh to judge the earth — He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with uprightness. This is the only Psalm which is inscribed "liciro without further addition, whence it is called in B. Ahoda Zara, 24:b, som^ NniJ:TD (the orphan Psalm). The Peshito Syriac inscribes it De redemtione pcpuli ex jEgypto ; the " new song," however, is not the song of Moses, but the counterpart of this, of. Apoc. XV. 3. There " the Lord reigneth " resounded for the first time, at the sea ; here the completion of the beginning there commenced is sung, viz. the final glory of the divine kingdom, which through judgment breaks through to its full reality. The beginning and end are taken from Ps. xcvi. Almost all that lies between is taken from the second part of Isaiah. This book of consolation for the exiles is become as it were a Casta- lian spring for the religious lyric. Vers. 1-3. Ver. lab we have already read in xcvi. 1. What follows in ver. lc-3 is taken from Isa. lii. 10, Ixiii. 5, cf. 7, lix. 16, cf. xl. 10. The primary passage, Isa. lii. 10, shows that the Athnach of ver. 2 is correctly placed.- ''^V^ is the opposite of hearsay (cf. ^joti!? fi'om one's own observation, opp. J^^llj from the narrative of another person). The dative /Xib''' ^\^'^2b depends upon 13P1, according to cvi. 45, cf. Luke i. 54 sq. Vers. 4-6. The call in ver. 4 demands some joyful mani- festation of the mouth, which can be done in many ways ; in ver. 5 the union of song and the music of stringed instru- ments, as of the Levites ; and in ver. 6 the sound of wind instruments, as of the priests. On ver. 4 cf. Isa. xliv. 23, xlix. VOL. IlL r 98. PSALM XCIX. 13, lii. 9, together with xiv. 7 (inasmuch as ^3;ni in^s is equi- valent to nsn wya). nnnr h\p is found also in Isa. 11.' 3. Vers. 7-9. Here, too, it is all an echo of the earlier lan- guage of Psalms and prophets : ver. la = xcvi. 11 ; ver. lb like xxiv. 1 ; ver. 8 after Isa. Iv. 12 (where we find ^3 i^^^ instead of the otherwise customary ^3 Vp,^, xlvii. 2 ; or ^? nan, 2 Kings xi. 12, is said of the trees of the field) ; ver. 9 = xcvi. 13, cf. 10. In the bringing in of nature to participate in the joy of mankind, the clapping rivers (niin3) are original to this Psalm: the rivers cast up high waves, which flow into one another like clapping hands ;* cf. Hab. iii. 10, where the abyss of the sea lifts up its hands on high, i.e. causes its waves t& run mountain-high. PSALM XCIX. SONG OF PRAISE IN HONOUR OF THE THRICE HOLY ONE. 1 JAHVE reigneth, the peoples tremble ; He sitteth upon the cherubim, the earth tottereth. 2 Jahve in Zion is great, And He is exalted above all the peoples. 3 They shall praise Thy great and fearful name — Holy is He. 4 And the might of a king who loveth the right Hast Thou established in righteousness ; Right and righteousness hast Thou executed in Jacob. 5 Exalt ye Jahve our God, And prostrate yourselves at His footstool — Holy is He. 6 Moses and Aaron among His priests, And Samuel among those who call upon His name — They called unto Jahve and He answered them ; * Luther renders: "the water-floods exult" (frohlockeTi) ; and Eychman's Vocabularius predicantium explains plaudere by " to exult (froJducken) for joy, to smite the handsstogether prx gaudio;''^ cf. Luther's version of Ezek. xxi. 17. PSALM XCIX. 1-3. 99 7 In a pillar of cloud He spoke to them j They kept His testimonies, And the law which Pie gave them. 8 Jahve our God, Tnou hast answered them ; A forgiving God wast Thou unto them. And one taking vengeance of their deeds. • 9 Exalt ye Jahve our God, And prostrate yourselves at Ilis holy mountain. For holy is Jahve our God. This is the third of the Psalms (xciii., xcvii., xcix.) which begin with the watchword ^^Q 'n. It falls into three parts, of which the first (vers. 1-3) closes with Nin :rni^, the second (vers. 4, 5) with Nin trinp, and the third, more full-toned, with ^^\}''^: ''"^ '^^"'i? — an earthly echo of the trisagion of the seraphim. The first two Sanctuses are two hexastichs ; and two hexastichs form the third, according to the very same law by which the third and the sixth days of creation each consists of two crea- tive works. This artistic form bears witness against Olshausen in favour of the integrity of the text ; but the clare-obscure of the language and expression makes no small demands upon the reader. Bengel has seen deepest into the internal character of this Psalm. He says, " The 99th Psalm has three parts, in which the Lord is celebrated as He who is to come, as He who is, and as He who was, and each part is closed with the ascription of praise : He is holy." The Psalm is laid out accordingly by Oettinger, Burk, and C. H. Rieger. Vers. 1-3. The three futures express facts of the time to come, which are the inevitable result of Jahve's kingly do- minion bearing sway from heaven, and here below from Zion, over the world; they therefore declare what must and will happen. The participle insidens cherubis (Ixxx. 2, cf. xviii. 11) is a definition of the manner (Olshausen) : He reigns, sitting enthroned above the cherubim. t:^3, like o.., is a further formation of the root W, vv, to bend, nod. What is meant is not a trembling that is the absolute opposite of joy, but a trembling that leads on to salvation. The Breviarium in Psal- 100 FSALM XCIX. 4, 6. teriiim, wliicli bears the name of Jerome, observes : Terra quamdiu immota fuerit^ sanari noil potest ; quando vero w.ota fxierit et mtremiierit, tunc recipiet sanitatem. In ver. 3a decla- ration passes over into invocation. One can feel how the hope that the " great and fearful Name" (Deut. x. 17) will be uni- versally acknowledged, and therefore that the religion of Israel will become the religion of the world, moves and elates the poet. The fact that the expression notwithstanding is not nnx C'ili^, but X^n ti^i^i^, is explained from the close connection with the seraphic trisagion in Isa. vi. 3. Nin refers to Jahve ; He and His Name are notions that easily glide over into one another. Vers. 4, 5. The second Sanctus celebrates Jahve with respect to His continuous righteous rule in Israel. The majo- rity of expositors construe it : " And (they shall praise) the might of the king, who loves right ;" but this joining of the clause on to ^nv over the refrain that stands in the way is hazardous. Neither can 3nj< tOSl^'b TjpD TjJI, however, be an independent clause, since ^nx cannot be said of ly, but only of its possessoi'. And the dividing of the verse at 2nx, adopted by the LXX., will therefore not hold good. 3nx DDETD is an attributive clause to "l^D in the same position as in xi. 7 ; and T'y, with what appertains to it, is the object to J^i^^is placed first, which has the king's throne as its object elsewhere (ix. 8, 2 Sam. vii. 13, 1 Chron. xvii. 12), just as it here has the might of the king, which, however, here at the same time in D''"}^''^ takes another and permutative object (cf. the permutative subject in Ixxii. 17), as Hitzig observes; or rather, since U'''\&'0 is most generally used as an adverbial notion, this Dnci'''D (Iviii. 2, Ixxv. 3, ix. 9, and frequently), usually as a definition of the mode of the judging and reigning, is subordinated : and the might of a king who loves the right, i.e. of one wdio governs not according to dynastic caprice but moral precepts, hast Thou established in spirit and aim (directed to righteousness and equity). What is meant is the theocratic kingship, and ver. Ac says what Jahve has constantly accomplished by means of this kingship: He has thus maintained right and righteousness (cf. e.g. 2 Sam. viii. 15, 1 Chron. xviii. 14, 1 Kings x. 9, Isa. xvi. 5) among His people. Out of this manifestation of God's righteousness, which is more conspicuous, and can be better estimated, within the nation of the history of redemption than PSALM XCIX. 6-9. 101 elsewhere, grows the call to highly exalt Jahve the God of Israel, and to bow one's self very low at His footstool. D"in^ V73"i, as in cxxxii. 7, is not a statement of the object (for Isa. xlv. 14 is of another kind), but (like ?^ in other instances) of the place in which, or of the direction (cf. vii. 14) in which the irpocTKvvTjcn'; is to take place. The temple is called Jahve's footstool (1 Chron. xxviii. 2, cf. Lam. ii. 1, Isa. Ix. 13) with reference to the ark, the capporeth of which corresponds to the transparent sapphire (Ex. xxiv. 10) and to the crystal-like firmament of the mercaha (Ezek. i. 22, cf. 1 Chron. xxviii. 18). Vers. 6-9. The vision of tli£ third Sanctns looks into the history of the olden time prior to the kings. In support of the statement that Jalive is a living God, and a God who proves Himself in mercy and in judgment, the poet appeals to three heroes of the olden time, and the events recorded of them. The expression certainly sounds as though it had reference to something belonging to the present time ; and Hitzig therefore believes that it must be explained of the three as heavenly intercessors, after the manner of Onias and Jeremiah in the vision 2 Mace. xv. 12-14. But apart from this presupposing an active manifestation of life on the part of those who have fallen happily asleep, which is at variance with the ideas of the latest as well as of the earliest Psalms concerning the other world, this interpretation founders upon ver. la, according to which a celestial discourse of God with the three " in the pillar of cloud" ought also to be supposed. The substantival clauses ver. Qah bear sufficient evidence in themselves of being a retrospect, by which the futures that follow are stamped as being the expression of the cotemporaneous past. The dis- tribution of the predicates to the three is well -conceived. Moses was also a mighty man in prayer, for with his hands uplifted for prayer he obtained the victory for his people over Amalek (Ex. xvii. 11 sq.), and on another occasion placed him- self in the breach, and rescued them from the wrath of God and from destruction (cvi. 23, Ex. xxxii. 30-32 ; cf. also Num. xii. 13 ) ; and Samuel, it is true, is only a Levite by descent, but by office in a time of urgent need a priest (coJien), for he sacrifices independently in places where, by reason of the ab- sence of the holy tabernacle with the ark of the covenant, it was not lawful, according to the letter of the law, to offer 102 PSALM XCIX. 6-9. sacrifices, he builds an altar in Ramah, his residence as judge, and has, in connectioa with the divine services on the high place {Bamd) there, a more than high-priestly position, inas- much as the people do not begin the sacrificial repasts before he has blessed the sacrifice (1 Sam. ix. 13). But the character of a mighty man in prayer is outweighed in the case of Moses by the character of the priest ; for he is, so to speak, the proto- priest of Israel, inasmuch as he twice performed priestly acts which laid as it were a foundation for all times to come, viz. the sprinkling of the blood at the ratification of the covenant under Sinai (Ex. ch. xxiv.), and the whole ritual which was a model for the consecrated priesthood, at the consecration of the priests (Lev. ch. viii.). It was he, too, who performed the serv.ice in the sanctuary prior to the consecration of the priests : he set the shew-bread in order, prepared the candlestick, and burnt incense upon the golden altar (Ex. xl. 22-27). In the case of Samuel, on the other hand, the character of the media- tor in the religious services is outweighed by that of the man mighty in prayer : by prayer he obtained Israel the victory of Ebenezer over the Philistines (1 Sam. vii. 8 sq.), and con- firmed his words of warning with the mii^aculous sign, that at his calling upon God it would thunder and rain in the midst of a cloudless season (1 Sam. xii. 16, cf. Sir. xlvi. 16 sq.). The poet designedly says : Moses and Aaron were among His priests, and Samuel among His praying ones. This third twelve-line strophe holds good, not only of the three in parti- cular, but of the twelve-tribe nation of priests and praying ones to which they belong. For ver. la cannot be meant of the three, since, with the exception of a single instance (Num. xii. 5), it is always Moses only, not Aaron, much less Samuel, with whom God negotiates in such a manner. O^vX refers to the whole people, which is proved by their interest in the divine revelation given by the hand of Moses out of the cloudy pillar (Ex. xxxiii. 7 sq.). Nor can ver. Qc therefore be under- stood of the three exclusively, since there is nothing to indicate the transition from them to the people : crying (D'Nnp, synco- pated like D''Xpn, 1 Sam. xiv. 33) to Jahve, i.e. as often as they (these priests and praying ones, to whom a Moses, Aaron, and Samuel belong) cried unto Jahve, He answered them — He revealed Himself to this people who had such leaders (choragi)^ PSALM C. 103 in the cloudy pillar, to those who kept His testimonies and the law which He gave them. A glance at ver. 8 shows that in Israel itself the good and the bad, good and evil, are dis- tinguished. God answered those who could pray to Him with a claim to be answered. Ver. 76c is, virtually at least, a rela- tive clause, declaring the prerequisite of a prayer that may be granted. In ver. 8 is added the thought that the history of Israel, in the time of its redemption out of Egypt, is not less a mirror of the righteousness of God than of the pardon- ing grace of God. If vers. 7, 8 are referred entirely to the three, then nipvy and Di^J, referred to their sins of infirmity, appear to be too strong expressions. But to take the suffix of ^^^''yJ? objectively {ea quce in eos swit moliti Core et socii ejits)^ with Synimachus (koI e/cSt/co? eVt ral^ e7n]p€iac<; avrcov) and Kimchi, as the ulciscens in omnes adinventiones eorum of the "Vulgate is interpreted,* is to do violence to it. The reference to the people explains it all without any constraint, and even the flight of prayer that comes in here (cf. Mic. vii. 18). The calling to mind of the generation of the desert, which fell short of the promise, is an earnest admonition for the genera- tion of the present time. The God of Israel is holy in love and in wrath, as He Himself unfolds His Name in Ex. xxxiv. 6, 7. Hence the poet calls upon his fellow-countrymen to exalt this God, whom they may with pride call their own, i.e. to acknowledge and confess His majesty, and to fall down and worship at (? cf. ''N', v. 8) the mountain of His holiness, the place of His choice and of His presence. PSALM C. CALL OF ALL THE WORLD TO THE SERVICE OF THE TRUE GOD. 1 MAKE a joyful noise unto Jahve, all ye lands ! 2 Serve Jahve with gladness. Come before Him with rejoicing. • Vid. Raemdonck in his David propheta cet. 1800 : in omucs injurias ipsisillatas, uti patuit in Core cet 104 PSALM C. 3 Know ye that Jahve is God : He hath made us, and His we are, His people, and the flock of His pasture. 4 Come into His gates with thanksgiving, Into His courts with praise. Give thanks unto Him, bless His name. 5 For Jahve is good, His mercy is everlasting. And to generation and generation His faithfulness. This Psalm closes the series of deutero-Tsaianic Psalms, which began with Ps. xci. There is common to all of them that mild sublimity, sunny cheerfulness, unsorrowful spiritual cha- racter, and New Testament expandeduess, which we wonder at in the second part of the Book of Isaiah ; and besides all this, they are also linked together by the figure anadiplosis, and manifold consonances and accords. The arrangement, too, at least from Ps. xciii. onwards, is Isaianic : it is parallel with the relation of Isa. ch. xxiv.-xxvii. to ch. xiii.-xxiii. Just as the former cycle of prophecies closes that concerning the nations, after the manner of a musical finale, so the Psalms celebrating the dominion of God, from Ps. xciii. onwards, which vividly portray the unfolded glory of the kingship of Jahve, have Jubilate and Cantate Psalms in succession. From the fact that this last Jubilate is entirely the echo of the first, viz. of the first half of Ps. xcv., we see how inge- nious the arrangement is. There we find all the thoughts which recur here. There it is said in ver. 7, He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the /lock of His hand. And in ver. 2, Let us come before His face loith thanksgiving (nnin3)j let us make a joyful noise unto Him in songs ! This mm is found here in the title of the Psalm, nninS nioTO. Taken in the sense of a " Psalm for thanksgiving," it would say but little. We may take m^rh in a liturgical sense (with tlie Targum, Mendelssohn, Ewald, and Hitzig), like r\yS'7\ nyh, xcii. 1, in this series, and Hke "lOTH^ in xxxviii. 1, Ixx. 1. "What is intended is not merely the toda of the heart, but the shela- mim-toda, nnin nar, cvii. 22, cxvi. 17, which is also called ab- PSALM C, 1-3. 105 solutely mm in Ivi. 13, 2 Chron. xxix. 31. That kind of e/ielamim is thus called which is presented mirr^y, i.e. as thankful praise for divine benefits received, more particularly marvellous protection and deliverance {tid. Ps. cvii.). Vers. 1-3. The call in ver. 1 sounds like xcviii. 4, Ixvi. 1. P.^'^"''? are all lands, or rather all men belonging to the earth's population. The first verse, without any parallelism and in so far monostichic, is like the signal for a blowing of the trum- pets. Instead of " serve Jahve with gladness (nnpb'3)^" it is expressed in ii. 11, " serve Jahve with fear (nsTn)." Fear and joy do not exclude one another. Fear becomes the exalted Lord, and the holy gravity of His requirements ; joy becomes the gracious Lord, and His blessed service. The summons to manifest this joy in a religious, festive manner springs up out of an all-hopeful, world-embracing love, and this love is the spon- taneous result of living faith in the promise that all tribes of the earth shall be blessed in the seed of Abraham, and in the prophecies in which this promise is unfolded. UH (as in iv. 4) Theodoret well interprets Bl avrwv /xdOeTe rcov Trpajfidrcov. They are to know from facts of outward and inward experience that Jahve is God : He hath made ws, and not we ourselves. Thus runs the Chethib, which the LXX. follows, avTo<; iiroLTjaev rjfiaii Kal ov^ ^7/^64? (as also the Syriac and Vulgate) ; but Sym- machus (like Rashi), contrary to all possibilities of language, renders avro^ eirolr^crev r}ixa, in accordance with the radical signification, the surface of the body = the skin, from "itra, to brush along, rub, scrape, scratch on the surface), cf. Job xix. 20, Lam. iv. 8. ? (''^^) with P?"^ is used just like 2. It is unnecessary, with Bottcher, to draw ^nnjx pipo to ver. 5. Continuous straining of the voice, especially in connection with persevering ]irayer arising from inward conflict, does really make the body waste away. Vers. 7-9. nxp (construct of nsi? or nxi^ from ^^P, vid. VOL. III. S 114 PSAL5I CII. 10-12. Isaiah, ii. 73), according to the LXX., is the pelican, and Di3 is the night-raven or the little horned-owl.* no*! obtains the si (unification to be like, equal (cequalem esse), from the radical signification to be flat, even, and to spread out flat (as the Dutch have already recognised). They are both unclean creatures, which are fond of the loneliness of the desert and ruined places. To such a wilderness, that of the exile, is the poet unwillingly transported. He passes the nights without sleep Ci?*^, to watch during the time for sleep), and is there- fore like a bird sitting lonesome (*l^i3, Syriac erroneously T]i3) upon the roof whilst all in the house beneath are sleeping. The Athnach in ver. 8 separates that which is come to be from the ground of the "becoming" and the "becoming" itself. His grief is that his enemies reproach him as one forsaken of God. ^Y^^Pi part. Foal, is one made or become mad, Eccles. ii. 2 : my mad ones = those who are mad against me. These swear by him, inasmuch as they say when they want to curse : " God do unto thee as unto this man," which is to be explained accord- ing to Isa. Ixv. 15, Jer. xxix. 22. Vers. 10-12. Ashes are his bread (cf. Lam. iii. 16), inas- much as he, a mourner, sits in ashes, and has thrown ashes all over himself, Job ii. 8, Ezek. xxvii. 30. The inflected 'l\?_^ • * The LXX. renders it : ,1 am like a pelican of the desert, I am become as a night-raven upon a ruined place (o'lKOTi-elu). In harmony with the LXX., Saadia (as also the Arabic version edited by Erpenius, the Sama- ritan Arabic, and Abulwalid) renders nxp by vj (here and in Lev. xi. 18, Deut. xiv. 17, Isa. xxxiv. 17), and D13 by -»y ; the latter (hiini) is an onomatopoetic name of the owl, and the former (^kul-^ does not even sig- nify the owl or horned-owl (although the small horned-owl is called nm I'ueik in Egypt, and in Africa ahu kuei'k ; vid. the dictionaries of Bocthor and Marcel s.v. cliouette), but the pelican, the " long-necked water-bird" (Damiri after the lexicon el- Ohub oi Hasan ben-Mohammed el-Saghaui). The Grseco-Veneta also renders riNp with viMnccv, — the Peshito, however, with (HD. What Ephrem on Deut. xiv. 17 -and the PJiysiologus Syrus {ed. Tychscn, p. 13, cf. pp. 110 sq.) say of \Ci O , viz. that it is a marsh-bird, is very fond of its young ones, dwells in desolate places; and is incessantly noisy, likewise points to the pelican, although the Syrian lexicographers vary. Cf. also Oodmann, Vermischte Sammlungen, Huft 3, Cap. G. (Fleischer after a communication from Kcidigcr.) PSALM CII. 13-18. 115 has 1|5*^' = ^IPV' foi' its principal form, Instead of which it is ''^?'y in Hos. ii. 7. " That Thou hast hfted me np and cast me down" is to be understood according to Job xxx. 22. First of all God has taken away the firm ground from under his feet, then from aloft Pie has cast him to the ground — an emblem of the lot of Israel, which is removed from its fatherland and cast into exile, i.e. into a strange land. In that passage the days of his life are ''^03 b^3, like a lengthened shadow, which grows longer and longer until it is entirely lost in darkness, cix. 23. Another figure follows : he there becomes like an (uprooted) plant which dries up. Vers. 13-15. When the church in its individual members dies off on a foreign soil, still its God, the unchangeable One, remains, and therein the promise has the guarantee of its ful- filment. Faith lays hold upon this guarantee as in Ps. xc. It becomes clear from ix. 8 and Lam. v. 19 how 3;j'n is to be understood. The Name which Jahve makes Himself by self- attestation never falls a prey to the dead past, it is His ever- living memorial ("i3T, Ex. iii. 15). Thus, too, will He restore Jerusalem ; the limit, or appointed time, to which the promise points is, as his longing tells the poet, now come, ^i/io, accord- ing to Ixxv. 3, Hab. ii. 3, is the juncture, when the redemption by means of the judgment on the enemies of Israel shall dawn. .n::n^j from the infinitive J^n^ has ^, flattened from a, in an entirely closed syllable. n^"J seq. ace. signifies to have pleasure in anything, to cling to it %Yith delight ; and ]}p, according to Prov. xiv. 21, affirms a compassionate, tender love of the object. The servants of God do not feel at home in Babylon, but their loving yearning lingers over the ruins, the stones and the heaps of the rubbish (Neh. iii. 34 [iv. 2]), of Jerusalem. Vers. 16-18. With ^NT;i we are told what will take place when that which is expected in ver. 14 comes to pass, and at the same time the fulfilment of that which is longed for is thereby urged home upon God : Jahve's own honour depends upon it, since the restoration of Jerusalem will become the means of the conversion of the world — a fundamental thought of Isa. ch. xl.-lxvi. (cf. more particularly ch. lix. 19, Ix. 2), which is also called to mind in the expression of this strophe. This prophetic prospect (Isa. xl. 1-5) that the restoration of Jerusalem will take place simultaneously with the glorious 116 PSALM CII. 10-29. parusia of Jalive re-eclioes here in a lyric form. ''3, ver. 17, states the ground of the reverence, just as ver. 20 the ground of the praise. The people of the Exile are called in ver. 18 lyiyrij from IIV, to be naked : homeless, powerless, honourless, and in the eyes of men, prospectless. The LXX. renders this word in Jer. xvii. 6 aypLOfjuvpUr], and its plural, formed by an internal change of vowel, ""Viiy., in Jer. xlviii. 6 6vo<; dypLo^, which are only particularizations of the primary notion of that wliich is stark naked, neglected, wild. Ver. 18^> is an echo of Ps. xxii. 25. In the mirror of this and of other Psalms written in times of affliction the Israel of the Exile saw itself reflected. Vers. 19-23. The poet goes on advancing motives to Jahve for the fulfilment of his desire, by holding up to Him what will take place when He shall have restored Zion. The evangel of God's redemptive deed will be written down for succeeding generations, and a new, created people, i.e. a people coming into existence, the church of the future, shall praise God the Redeemer for it. inns in as in xlviii. 14, Ixxviii. 4. N133 nv like ''^i^ Dy xxii. 32, perhaps with reference to deutero- Isaianic passages like Isa. xliii. 7. On ver. 20, cf. Isa. Ixiii. 15 ; in ver. 21 (cf. Isa. xlii. 7, Ixi. 1) the deutero-Isaianic colouring is very evident. And ver. 21 rests still more ver- bally upon Ixxix. 11. The people of the Exile are as it were -in prison and chains (">^D^5), and are advancing towards their destruction (nm»n ^:;i), if God does not interpose. Those who liave returned home are the subject to isp^. 3 in ver. 23 in- troduces that which takes place simultaneously : with the release of Israel from servitude is united the conversion of the world. Y2p_: occurs in the same connection as in Isa. Ix. 4. After having thus revelled in the glory of the time of redemption the poet comes back to himself and gives form to his prayer on his own behalf. Vers. 24-29. On the way (3 as in ex. 7)— not " by means of the way" (n as in cv. 18), in connection with which one would expect to find some attributive minuter definition of the way— God hath bowed down his strength (cf. Deut. viii. 2) ; it was therefore a troublous, toilsome way which he has been led, together with his people. He has shortened his days, so that he only drags on wearily, and has only a short distance still before him before he is entirely overcome. The Chethib in3 PSALM CII. 24-29. 117 (LXX. la')(yo0 shows, are the celestial spirits gathered around the angels of a higher rank (cf. Luke ii. 13), the innumerable XeLrovpyiKo. irvev/xaTa ^^civ. 4, Dan. vii. 10, Heb. i. 14), for there is a hierarchia ccekstis. From the archangels the poet comes to the myriads of the heavenly hosts, and from these to all creatures, that they, wheresoever they may be throughout Jahve's wide domain, may join in the song of praise that is to be struck up ; and from this point he comes back to his own soul, which he modestly includes among the creatures mentioned in the third passage. A threefold *t^•^3 •'3^n now corresponds to the threefold =13!13 ; and inasmuch as the poet thus comes back to his own soul, his Psalm also turns back into itself and assumes the form of a converging circle. rsALSi CIV. 125 PSALM CIV. HYSIN IN HONOUR OF THE GOD OF THE SEVEN DATS. 1 BLESS, O my soul, Jalive ! Jahve, my God, Thou art very great, In splendour and glory hast Thou clothed Thyself ; 2 Enwrapping Thyself in light as a garment, Spreading out the heavens like a tent-cloth, 3 Who layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters, AVho maketh the clouds His chariot, Who walketh upon the wings of the wind, 4 Making His messengers out of the winds, His servants out of flaming fire. 5 He hath founded the earth upon its pillars, That it may not totter for ever and ever. 6 The deep as a garment didst Thou cover over it, Upon the mountains stood the waters. 7 At Thy rebuke they fled, At the voice of Thy thunder they hasted away — 8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank — To the place which Thou hast founded for them. 9 A bound hast Thou set, they may not pass over. They may not turn back to cover the earth. 10 Who sendeth forth springs in the bottoms of the valleys, Between the mountains they take their course. 11 They give drink to all the beasts of the field, The wild asses quench their thirst. 12 Upon them the birds of the heaven have their huM- tation, From among the branches they raise their voice. 13 He watereth the mountains out of His chambers — With the fruit of Thy works is the earth satisfied. 14 He causeth grass to grow for the cattle, And herb for the service of man-— 126 PSALM CIV. To bring forth bread out of the earth, 15 And that wine may make glad the heart of mortal man, To make his face shining from oil, And that bread may support the heart of mortal man. 16 The trees of Jahve are satisfied, The cedars of Lebanon, which He hath planted ; 17 Where the birds make their nests, The stork which hath its house upon the cypresses. 18 Mountains, the high ones, are for the wild goats, The rocks are a refuge for the rock-badgers. 19 He hath made the moon for a measuring of the times, The sun knoweth its going down. 20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night, Wherein all the beasts of the forest do move. 21 The young lions roar after their prey, And seek from God their food. 22 The sun ariseth, they retreat And lay themselves down in their dens. 23 Man goeth forth to his work, And to his labour, until the evening. 24 How manifold are Thy works, Jahve, With wisdom hast Thou executed them altoo-ether. The earth is full of Thy creatures ! 25 Yonder sea, great and far extended — There it teems with life, innumerable, Small beasts together with great. 26 There the ships move along. The leviathan which Thou hast formed to sport therein. 27 They all wait upon Thee, That Thou mayest give them their food in its season. 28 Thou givest it to them, they gather it up ; Thou openest Thy hand, they are satisfied with good. 29 Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled ; Thou takest back their breath, they expire, And return to their dust. 30 Thou scndcst forth Thy breath, they are created, And Thou renewest the face of the iiround. PSALM CIV. 127 31 Let the glory of Jahve endure for ever, Let Jahve rejoice in His works ; 32 He, who looketh on the earth and it tremblcth, He toucheth the mountains and they smoke. 33 I will sing unto Jahve as long as I live, I will harp unto my God as long as I have my being. 34 May my meditation be acceptable to Him, I, even I will rejoice in Jahve. 35 Let the sinful disappear from the earth, And evil-doers be no more — Bless, O my soul, Jahve, Hallelujah. With BIsss, my soul, Jahve, as Ps. ciii., begins this anony- mous Ps. civ. also, in which God's rule in the kingdom of nature, as there in the kingdom of grace, is the theme of praise, and as there the angels are associated with it. The poet sings the God-ordained present condition of the world with respect to the creative beginnings recorded in Gen. i. 1-ii. 3 ; and closes with the wish that evil may be expelled from this good crea- tion, which so thoroughly and fully reveals God's power, and wisdom, and goodness. It is a Psalm of nature, but such as no poet among the Gentiles could have written. The Israel- itish poet stands free and unfettered in the presence of nature as his object, and all things appear to him as brought forth and sustained by the creative might of the one God, brought into being and preserved in existence on purpose that He, the self- sufficient One, may impart Himself in free condescending love — as the creatures and orders of the Holy One, in themselves good and pure, but spotted and disorganized only by the self- corruption of man in sin and wickedness, which self-corruption must be turned out in order that the joy of God in His works and the joy of these works in their Creator may be perfected. The Psalm is altogether an echo of the heptahemeron (or history of the seven days of creation) in Gen. i. 1-ii. 3. Cor- responding to the seven days it falls into seven groups, in which the nxD niD'njn of Gen. i. 31 is expanded. It is not, however, so worked out that each single group celebrates the work of a day of creation ; the Psalm has the commingling whole of the finished creation as its standpoint, and is there- 128 PSALM CIV, 1-4. fore not so conformed to any plan. Nevertheless it begins with the light and closes with an allusion to the divine Sab- bath. When it is considered that ver. 8a is only with violence accommodated to the context, that ver. 18 is forced in without any connection and contrary to any plan, and that ver. 32 can only be made intelligible in that position by means of an arti- ficial combination of the thoughts, then the supposition of Hitzig, ingeniously wrought out by him in his own way, is forced upon one, viz. that this glorious hymn has decoyed some later poet-hand into enlarging upon it. Vers. 1-4. The first decastich begins the celebration with work of the first and second days, "i^ni nin here is not the doxa belonging to God m-po 'Kavron are the subject to ITi^, as Hilary of Poictiers renders it in his Genesis, v. 97, etc. : siihsidxint valles, and not the waters as subsiding into the valleys. Hupfeld is correct ; ver. 8a is a parenthesis which affirms that, inasmuch rSALU CIV. 10-14. 131 as the waters retreating laid the solid land bare, mountains and valleys as such came forth visibly ; of. Ovid, Metam. i. 344 : Flumiiia suhsidunt, monies ex'ire videntur. Vcr. 8 continues with the words Dip^-^s* (cf. Gen. i. 9, Dipo-^N ins) : the waters retreat to the place which (nt, cf. ver. 26, for "irx, Gen. xxxix. 20) God has assigned to them as that which should contain them. He hath set a bound (-"133, synon. pn, Prov. viii. 29, Jer. v. 22) for them beyond which they may not flow forth again to cover the earth, as the primordial waters of chaos have done. Vers. 10-14^. The third decastich, passing on to the third day of creation, sings the benefit which the shore-surrounded waters are to the animal creation and the growth of the plants out of the earth, which is Irrigated from below and moistened from above. God, the blessed One, being the principal subject of the Psalm, the poet (in ver. 10 and further on) is able to go on in attributive and predicative participles : Who sendeth springs D vC??5 i^^^o the wadis (not : Dvnj3, as brooks). PHJ, as ver. lOi shows, is here a synonym of '"lyp?, and there is no need for saying that, flowing on in the plains, they grow into rivers. The LXX. has iu (f}dpay^iv. """W in^n is doubly poetic for ni'vn n*n. God has also provided for all the beasts that roam far from men ; and the wild ass, swift as an arrow, difficult to be hunted, and living in troops (^^Tlf, Arahic f era, root "i3,^', to move quickly, to whiz, to flee ; the wild ass, the onager, Arabic himdr el-wahs, whose home is on the steppes), is made prominent by way of example. The phrase " to break the thirst" occurs only here. ^[y?V,, ver. 12a, refers to the D'-ryo^ which are also still the subject in ver. 11a. The pointing D^xsy needlessly creates a hybrid form in addition to ^''^^V (like Q^5:^^p) and Q^^^V. From the tangled branches by the springs the poet insensibly reaches the second half of the third day. The vegetable kingdom at the same time reminds him of the rain which, descending out of the upper chambers of the heavens, waters the waterless mountain-tops. Like the Talmud {B. Taanith, 10a), by the "fruit of Tiiy work" (Tb'yD as singular) Hitzig understands the rain ; but rain is rather that which fertilizes ; and why might not the fruit be meant which God's works (TK'VO, plural) here below (ver. 24), viz. the 132 PSALM' CIV. 14-18. vegetable creations, bear, and from which the earth, i.e. ita population, is satisfied, inasmuch as vegetable food springs up as much for the beasts as for man ? In connection with y^'V the poet is thinking of cultivated plants, more especially wheat ; mhy^., however, does not signify : for cultivation hy man., since^ according to Hitzig's correct remonstrance, they do not say 3K'yn nnj?, and x'^^in^ has not man, but rather God, as its subject, but as in 1 Chron. xxvi. 30, for the service (use) of man. Vers. 14c-18. In the fourth decastich the poet goes further among the creatures of the field and of the forest. The sub- ject to N'^yini' is n"'»V». The clause expressing the purpose, which twice begins with an infinitive, is continued in both instances, as in Isa. xiii. 9, but with a change of subject (cf. e.g. Amos i. 11, ii. 4), in the finite verb. On what is said of wine we may compare Eccles. x. 19, Sir. xl. 20, and more especially Isaiah, who frequently mentions wine as a represen- tative of all the natural sources of joy. The assertion that ipt^O signifies "before oil = brighter than oil," is an error that is rightly combated by Bottcher in his Prohen and two of his " Gleanings,"* which imputes to the poet a mention of oil that is contrary to his purpose in this connection and inappropriate. Corn, wine, and oil are mentioned as the three chief products of the vegetable kingdom (Luther, Calvin, Grotius, Dathe, and Hupfeld), and are assumed under Sb'J? in ver. 14&, as is also the case in other instances where distinction would be superfluous, e.g. in Ex. ix. 22. With oil God makes the countenance shining, or bright and cheerful, not by means of anointing, — since it was not the face but the head that was anointed (Matt. vi. 17)^ — but by the fact of its increasing the savouriness and nutritiveness of the food. ''"''7^*']? is chosen with reference to inv\ In ver. 15c ti'iJX'anb does not stand after, as in ver. 15a (where it is "3?^ with Gaja on account of the distinctive), but before the verb, because 22^ as that which is inward stands in antithesis to CJD as that which is outside. Since the fertiliza- tion of the earth by the rain is the chief subject of the predi- * Prohen, i.e. Specimens of Old Testament interpretation, Leipzig 1833, anfl jUlirenlese (Gleanings), referred to in the preface of these volumes. — Tk. PSALM CIV. 19-23. l33 cation in vers. 13-15, ver. 16 is naturally attached to what precedes without arousing critical suspicion. That which satis- fies is here the rain itself, and not, as in ver. I'db, that which the rain matures. The "trees of Jahve" are those which before all others proclaim the greatness of their Creator. D'^'iC'S refers to these trees, of which the cedars and then the cypresses (a''v'n3, root in, to cut) are mentioned. They are places where small and large birds build their nests and lodge, more particularly the stork, which is called the 'iTpn as being irrrjvMv evae^earaTov ^cocuv (Babrius, Fab. xiii.), as avis pia {pietaticuUrix in Petronius, Iv. G), i.e. on account of its love of family life, on account of which.it is also regarded as bringing good fortune to a house.* The care of God for the lodging of His creatures leads the poet from the trees to the heights of the mountains and the hiding-places of the rocks, in a manner that is certainly abrupt and that disturbs the sketch taken from the account of the creation. D''nb3n is an apposition. ?T (Arabic wa'il) is the steinboc, wild-goat, as being an inhabitant of bv^_ (loa'lj loa'la), i.e. the high places of the rocks, as IT, Lara. iv. 3, according to Wetzstein, is the ostrich as being an inhabi- tant of the ivana, i.e. the sterile desert ; and 13*^ is the rock- badger, which dwells in the clefts of the rocks (Prov. xxx. 26), and resembles the marmot — South Arabic ^Jij, Hyrax Syriacus (distinct from the African). By ISK' the Jewish tradition imderstands the coney, after which tlie Peshito here renders it NDjnp (DJn, cimiculus). Both animals, the coney and the rock- badger, may be meant in Lev. xi. 5, Dent. xiv. 7 ; for the sign of tlie cloven hoof (ny^Dli' '^9"!?) is wanting in both. The coney has four toes, and the liyrax has a peculiar formation of hoof, not cloven, but divided into several parts. Vers. 19-23. The fifth decastich, in which the poet passes over from the tliird to the fourth day, shows that he has the * In the Merg' district, where the stork is not called leklek as it is else- where, but charnuk on account of its bill like a long horn (jor^) standing out in front, the women and children call it i^jt-- ^}, "bringer of good luck." Like the m^Dn, tlie long-legged carrion-vulture (Vultur jxrcnop' ferus) or mountain-stork, 6piiTri7KCipy6;, is called am (*^^j) on account of it? a-opyyi. 134 PSALM CIV. 24-30. order of the days of creation before his mind. The moon is mentioned first of all, because the poet wishes to make the picture of the day follow that of the night. He describes it in ver. 19 as the calendarial principal star. Cl''15{iO are points and divisions of time (epochs), and the principal measurer of these for civil and ecclesiastical life is the moon (cf. Sir. xliii. 7, uTTo aekrjVT)^ arj/xelov eo/ar?}?), just as the sun, knowing when he is to set, is the infallible measurer of the day. In ver. 20 the description, which throughout is drawn in the presence of God in His honour, passes over into direct address: jussives (nti'rij NnM) stand in the hypothetical protasis and in its apodosis (E\v. § 357, b). It depends upon God's willing only, and it is night, and the wakeful life of the wild beasts begins to be astir. The young lions then roar after their prey, and jiagita- turi sunt a Deo cibum suum. The infinitive with Lamed is an elliptical expression of a conjugatio periphrastica (vid. on Hab. f. 17), and becomes a varying expression of the future in general in the later language in approximation to the Aramaic. The roar of the lions and their going forth in quest of prey is an asking of God which He Himself has implanted in their nature. With the rising of the sun the aspect of things becomes very different. ^^^ is feminine here, where the poet drops the personification (cf. Ps. xix.). The day which dawns with sun- rise is the time for man. Both as to matter and style, vers. 21-23 call to mind Job xxiv. 5, xxxvii. 8, xxxviii. 40. Vers. 24-30. Fixing his eye upon the sea with its small and great creatures, and the care of God for all self-living beings, the poet passes over to the fifth and sixth days of creation. The rich contents of this sixth group flow over and exceed the decasticlio With ^^-rm (not ^i^^fnp, xcii. 6) the poet expresses his wonder at the great number of God's works, each one at the same time having its adjustment in accordance with its design, and all, mutually serving one another, co- operating one with another. t^Ji?, which signifies both bringing forth and acquiring, has the former meaning here according to the predicate : full of creatures, which bear in themselves the traces of the Name of their Creator ('1?.'P). Beside T^^^i?, how- ever, we also find the reading "H^!^?? which is adopted by Norzi, Heidenheim, and Baer, represented by the versions (LXX., Vulgate, and Jerome), by expositors (Rashi : '^Y^ PP), by the PSALM CIV. 2-1-30. 135 majority of the MSS. (according to Norzi) and old printed copies, which would signify t)}? KTLa€(o>, as being the material of which pointed tools are made. PSALM CV. 25-38. 145 concerning his visions, and 'n riipx is the revelation of God conveying His promises, whicli came to him in the same form, which had to try, to prove, and to purify him (^'^y as in xvii. 3, and frequently), inasmuch as he was not to be raised to honour without having in a state of deep abasement proved a faithfulness that wavered not, and a confidence that knew no despair. The divine " word" is conceived of as a living effec- tual power, as in cxix. 50. The representation of the exalta- tion begins, according to Gen. xli. 14, with "^^^'nh'y* and follows Gen. xli. 39-41, 44, very closely as to the rest, accord- ing to which V^'3?3 is a collateral definition to 13X7 (with an orthophonic Uag.) in the sense of iii^")3 : by his soul, i.e. by virtue of his will (vicl. Psychology, S. 202 ; tr. p. 239). In consequence of this exaltation of Joseph, Jacob-Israel came then into Egypt, and sojourned there as in a protecting house of shelter (concerning "i^ji, vid. supra, ii. 203). Egypt is called (vers. 23j 27) the land of Cham, as in Ixxviii. 51 ; according to Plutarch, in the vernacular the black land, from the dark ashy grey colouring which the deposited mud of the Nile gives to the ground. There Israel became a powerful, numerous people (Ex. i. 7, Dent. xxvi. 5), greater than their oppressors. Vers. 25-38. Narration of the exodus out of Egypt after the plagues that went forth over that land. Ver. 25 tells how the Egyptians became their " oppressors." It was indirectly God's work, inasmuch as He gave increasing might to His people, which excited their jealousy. The craft reached its highest pitch in the weakening of the Israelites that was aimed at by killing all the male children that were born. ^I^l sig- nifies facts, instances, as in Ixv. 4, cxlv. 5. Here, too, as in Ps. Ixxviii., the miraculous judgments of the ten plagues do not stand in exactly historical order. The poet begins with the ninth, which was the most distinct self-representation of divine wrath, viz. the darkness (Ex. x. 21-29) : shalach cho- shech. The former word (n?t^) has an orthophonic Gaja by * Here n^ty" is united by Makkeph with the following word, to which it hurries on, whereas in ver. 28 it has its own accent, a circumstance to which the Masora ha.s directed attention in the apophthegm : X3^DT 'm?K' JTHD tOIC'm TI'l^K' priT (the emissaries of the king are in liaste. th(«*e of darkness are tardy) ; vid. Baer, Thorath KmeLh, p. "22. VOL. III. 10 146 FSALM CV. 25-38. the final syllable, which warns the reader audibly to utter the guttural of the toneless final syllable, which might here be easily slurred over. The Hlph. 'HTn,'!! has its causative signifi- cation here, as also in Jer. xiii. 16; the contracted mode of writing with i instead of i may be occasioned by the Waio con- vers. Ver. 285 cannot be referred to the Egyptians ; for the expression would be a mistaken one for the final compliance, which was wrung from them, and the interrogative way of takincf it : nonne rebellarunt, is forced : the cancelling of the N7, however (LXX. and Syriac), makes the thought halting. Hitzig proposes innK' sS : they observed not His words ; but this, too, sounds flat and awkward when said of the Egyptians. The subject will therefore be the same as the subject of ^^^ ; and of Moses and Aaron, in contrast to the behaviour at Me- Merihah (Num. xx. 24, xxvii. 14 ; cf. 1 Kings xiii. 21, 26), it is said that this time they rebelled not against the words {Ker% without any ground : the word) of God, but executed the terrible commands accurately and willingly. From the ninth plague the poet in ver. 29 passes over to the first (Ex. vii. 14-25), viz. the red blood is appended to the black darkness. The second plague follows, viz. the frogs (Ex. vii. 26 [viii. 1] -viii. 11 [15]) ; ver. oQb looks as though it were stunted, but neither has the LXX. read any isn^l (l^V^l), Ex. vii. 28. In ver. 31 he next briefly touches upon the fourth plague, viz. the gad-fly, ^-^V, LXX. KwofivLa (Ex. viii. 16-28 [20-32], vid. on Ixxviii. 45),' and the third (Ex. viii. 12-15 [16-19]), viz. the gnats, which are passed over in Ps. Ixxviii. From the third plague the poet in vers. 32, 33 takes a leap over to the seventh, viz. the hail (Ex. ix. 13-35). In ver. 32 he has Ex. ix. 24 before his mind, according to which masses of fire descended with the hail ; and in ver. 33 (as in Ixxviii. 47) he fills in the details of Ex. ix. 25. The seventh plague is followed by the eighth in vers. 34, 35, viz. the locust (Ex. x. 1-20), to which p)>l (the grasshopper) is the parallel word here, just as P^pn (the cricket) is in Ixxviii. 46. The expression of innumerableness is the same as in civ. 25. The fifth plague, viz. the pestilence, murrain (Ex. ix. 1-7), and the sixth, viz. pnti', boils (Ex. ix. 8-12), are left unmentioned ; and the tenth plague closes, viz. the smiting of the first-born (Ex. xi. 1 sqq,), which ver. 36 expresses iu the Asaphic language of Ixxviii. 51. Without PSALM CV. 30-45. 147 any mention of the institution of the Passover, the tenth plague is followed by the departure with the vessels of silver and gold asked for from the Egyptians (Ex. xii. 35, xi. 2, iii. 22). The Egyptians were glad to get rid of the people whose detention threatened them with total destruction (Ex. xii. 33). The poet here draws from Isa. v. 27, xiv. 31, Ixiii. 13, and Ex. XV. 16. The sutiix of ^9?'^ refers to the chief subject of the assertion, viz. to God, according to cxxii. 4, although mani- festly enough the reference to Israel is also possible (Num. xxiv. 2). Vers. 39-45. Now follows the miraculous guidance through the desert to the taking possession of Canaan. The fact that the cloud (ijy, root jy, to meet, to present itself to view, whence the Arabic 'anan, the visible outward side of the vault of heaven) by day, and becoming like fire by night, was their guide (Ex. xiii. 21), is left out of consideration in ver. 39a. With ^99- ^^'® ^^® ^o^ to associate the idea of a covering against foes, Ex. xiv. 19 sq., but of a covering from the smiting sun, for ti'"]S (Ex. xl. 19), as in Isa. iv. 5 sq., points to the idea of a canopy. In connection with the sending of the quails the tempting character of the desire is only momentarily dwelt upon, the greater emphasis is laid on the omnipotence of the divine goodness which responded to it. 1''^5t^' is to be read instead of ?Nij', the 1 before 1 having been overlooked ; and the Keri writes and points vbb' (like VJlp, Vjy) in order to secure the correct pronunciation, after the analogy of the plural termination V—. The bread of heaven (Ixxviii. 24 sq.) is the manna. In ver. 41 the giving of water out of the rock at liephidim and at Kadesh are brought together ; the expression corresponds better to the former instance (Ex.'xvii. 6, cf. Num. XX. 11). ^J?^^ refers to the waters, and "inj for ni"in33, Ixxviii. 16, is, as in xxii. 14, an equation instead of a comparison. In this miraculous escort the patriarchal promise moves on towards its fulfilment ; the holy word of promise, and the stedfast, proved faith of Abraham — these were the two motives. The second nx is, like the first, a sign of the object, not a preposi- tion (LXX., Targum), in connection with which ver. 426 would be a continuation of ver. 42a, dragging on without any jiarallelism. Joy and exulting are mentioned as the mood of tiie redeemed ones with reference to the festive joy displayed 148 PSALM CVI. at the Eed Sea and at Sinai. By ver. 43 one is reminded of the same descriptions of the antitype in Isaiah, ch. xxxv. 10, li. 11, Iv. 12, just as ver. 41 recalls Isa. xlviii. 21. " The lands of the heathen" are the territories of the tribes of Canaan. ^oy is equivalent to V'i] in Isa. xlv. 14 : the cultivated ground, the habitable cities, and the accumulated treasures. Israel entered upon the inheritance of these peoples in every direction. As an independent people upon ground that is theirs by inheri- tance, keeping the revealed law of their God, was Israel to exhibit the pattern of a holy nation moulded after the divine will ; and, as the beginning of the Psalm shows, to unite the peoples to themselves and their God, the God of redemption, by the proclamation of the redemption which has fallen to their own lot. PSALM CVI. Israel's unfaithfulness from egypt onwards, and god's faithfulness down to the present time. Hallelujah ! 1 GIVE thanks unto Jahve, for He is good, For His graciousness endureth for ever. 2 Who can utter the mighty acts of Jahve, [Who] make all His praise to be heard ? 3 Blessed are they who keep the right, He who doeth righteousness at all times. 4 Remember me, Jahve, at the favouring of Thy people. Visit me with Thy help, 5 That I too may see the prosperity of Thy chosen ones. That I too may be glad at the gladness of Thy people, ' That I too may glory with Thine inheritance. 6 We have sinned like unto our fathers, We have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly. 7 Our fathers in Egypt heeded not Thy wonders, They remembered not the abundance of Thy loving-kind- nesses, And were rebellious at the sea, at the Red Sea. PSALM CVI. 149 8 Yet He saved them for His Name's sake, To make His strength known. 9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up, And led them through the Hoods as upon a plain ; 10 And He saved them out of the hand of the liater, And redeemed them out of the hand of the enemy. 11 The waters covered their oppressors, Not one of them was left — 12 Then they believed His words, They sang His praise. 13 They quickly forgat His works, They waited not for His counsel. 14 They lusted greedily in the desert, And tempted God in the wilderness. 15 Then He gave them their desire, And sent consumption into their soul. 16 They manifested envy against Moses in the camp. Against Aaron, the holy one of Jahve — 17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, And covered the band of Abiram ; 18 And fire seized upon their band, A flame consumed the evil-doers. 19 They made a calf in Horeb, Then they worshipped the molten image, 20 And they bartered their glory For the likeness of an ox that eateth grass. 21 They had forgotten God their Saviour, Who did great deeds in Egypt, 22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham, Terrible deeds at the lied Sea. 23 Then He thought to exterminate them, Had not Moses His chosen one Stepped into the breach before Him To calm His wrath, that He should not destroy. 24 They despised the pleasant land, They believed not His word. 25 They murmured in their tents, They hearkened nut to the voice of Jahve. 150 PSALM CVI. 26 Then He lifted up His hand against them To cast them down in the desert, 27 And to disperse their seed among the heathen, And to scatter them in the lands. 28 They joined themselves unto Baal-Peor, And ate the sacrifices for the dead, 29 And excited provocation by their doings ; And the plague brake in among them. 30 Then stood up Phinehas and arranged. And the plague was stayed. 31 And it was counted unto him for righteousness Unto all generations for ever. 32 Then they excited displeasure at the waters of strife, And it went ill with Moses for their sakes. 33 For they rebelled against God's Spirit, And he erred with his lips. 34 They did not exterminate the peoples Which Jahve had said to them ; 35 But mixed themselves among the heathen, And learned their works. 36 They served their idols. And they became to them a snare. 37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons, 38 And shed innocent blood. The blood of their sons and their daughters, Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, So that the land was polluted by blood-guiltiness. 39 They became impure by their works. And became fornicators by their doings. 40 Then was the wrath of Jahve kindled against His people, And He abhorred His own inheritance. 41 He gave them over into the hand of the heathen, And their haters became their oppressors. 42 Their enemies oppressed them, And they were obliged to bow down under their hand, 43 Many times did He rescue them, Yet they rebelled in their self-will — Then they perished in their iniquity. PSALM CVI. 151 44 But He saw how hard it went with them, "When He heard their cry of grief. 45 He remembered for them His covenant, And had compassion according to the abundance of His mercies. 4G And He caused them to be compassionated In the presence of all who carried them into captivity. 47 Save us, Jahve our God, And bring us together out of the heathen, To give thanks unto Thy holy Name, And to glory in Thy praise. 48 Blessed be Jahve the God of Israel from ever- lasting TO everlasting, And let all people say Amen ! Hallelujah ! ! "With this anonymous Psalm begins the series of the strictly Hallelujah-Psalms, i.e. of those Psalms which have nn^^n for their arsis-like beginning and for their inscription (cvi., cxi.- cxiii., cxvii,, cxxxv., cxlvi.-cl.). The chronicler in his cento, 1 Chron. xvi. 8 sqq., and in fact in ch. xvi. 34-36, puts the first and last verses of this Psalm (vers. 1, 47), together with the Beracha (ver. 48) which closes the Fourth Book of the Psalms, into the mouth of David, from which it is to be in- ferred that this Psalm is no more !Maccabpean than Ps. xcvi. and cv. (which see), and that the Psalter was divided into five books which were marked off by the doxologies even in the time of the chronicler. The Beracha, ver. 48, appears even at that period to have been read as an integral part of the Psalm, according to liturgical usage. The Hallelujah Ps. cvi., like the Hodu Ps. cv. and the Asaph Ps. Ixxviii., recapi- tulates the history of the olden times of the Israel itish nation. But the purpose and mode of the recapitulation differ in each of these three Psalms. In Ps. Ixxviii. it is didactic ; in Ps. cv. hymnic ; and here in Ps. cvi. penitential. It is a penitential Psalm, or Psalm of confession, a "'^ni (from n-ninn to confess, Lev. xvi. 21). The oldest types of such liturgical prayers are the two formularies at the offering of the first-fruits, Deut. ch. xxvi., and Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple, 1 Kings ch. viii. And to this kind of tephilla, the Vidduj, 152 PSALM CVI. 1-5. belong, beyond the range of the Psalter, the prayer of Daniel, ch. ix. (vid. the way in which it is introduced in ver. 4), and the prayer (Neh. ix. 5-x. 1 [ix. 38]) which eight Levites uttered in the name of the people at the celebration of the fast-day on the twenty-fourth of Tishri. It is true Ps. cvi. is distin- guished from these prayers of confession in the prose style as being a Psalm ; but it has three points in common with them and with the liturgical tephilla in general, viz. (1) the fond- ness for inflexional rhyming, i.e. for rhyming terminations of the same suffixes ; (2) the heaping up of synonyms ; and (3) the unfolding of the thoughts in a continuous line. These three peculiarities are found not only in the liturgical border, vers. 1-6, 47, but also in the middle historical portion, which forms the bulk of the Psalm. The law of parallelism is, it is true, still observed ; but apart from these distichic wave-like ridges of the thoughts, it is all one direct, straight-line flow without technical division. Vers. 1-5. The Psalm begins with the liturgical call, which was not coined for the first time in the Maccabasan age (1 Mace. iv. 24), but was already in use in Jeremiah's time (ch. xxxiii. 11). The LXX. appropriately renders niD by '^prjaro'i, for God is called " good" not so much in respect of His nature as of the revelation of His nature. The fulness of this revelation, says ver. 2 (like xl. 6), is inexhaustible, nii^aa are the manifestations of His all-conquering power which makes everything subservient to His redemptive purposes (xx. 7) ; and n^nri is the glory (praise or celebration) of His self- attestation in history. The proclaiming of these on the part of man can never be an exhaustive echo of them. In ver. 3 the poet tells what is the character of those who experience such manifestations of God ; and to the assertion of the blessed- ness of these men he appends the petition in ver. 4, that God would grant him a share in the experiences of the whole nation which is the object of these manifestations. "^^V beside p^*"]? is a genitive of the object : with the pleasure which Thou turnest towards Thy people, i.e. when Thou again (cf. ver. 47) showest Thyself gracious unto them. On 1|?3 cf. viii. 5, Ixxx. 15, and on 3 nx"i, Jer. xxix. 32 ; a similar Beth is that beside tyD\p (at, on account of, not : in connection witli), xxi. 2, cxxii. PSALM CVI. 6-12. loci 1. God's " inlieritance" is Ilis people ; the name for tliem is varied four times, and thereby ^13 is also exceptionally brought into use, as in Zeph. ii. 9. "Vers. 6-12. The key-note of the vidduj, which is a settled expression since 1 Kings viii. 47 (Dan. ix. 5, cf. Bar. ii. 12), makes itself heard here in ver. 6 ; Israel is bearing at this time the punishment of its sins, by which it has made itself like its forefathers. In this needy and helpless condition the poet, who all along speaks as a member of the assembly, takes the way of the confession of sin, which leads to the forgiveness of sin and to the removal of the punishment of sin. V^^l, 1 Kings viii. 47, signifies to be, and the IlipL to prove one's self to be, a V^\ DV in ver. 6 is equivalent to ceque ac, as in Eccles. ii. 16, Job ix. 26. With ver. 7 the retrospect begins. The fathers contended with Moses and Aaron in Egypt (Ex. v. 21), and gave no heed to the prospect of redemption (Ex. vi. 9). The miraculous judgments which Moses executed (Ex. iii. 20) had no more effect in bringing them to a right state of mind, and the abundant tokens of loving-kindness (Isa. Ixiii. 7) amidst which God redeemed them made so little impression on their memories that they began to despair and to murmur even at the Red Sea (Ex. xiv. 11 sq.). With ^V, ver. lb, alternates 2 (as in Ezek. x. 15, "'l'^?) ; cf. the alternation of prepositions in .foel iv. 8b. When they behaved thus, Jahve might have left their redemption unaccomplished, but out of unmerited mercy He nevertheless redeemed them. Vers. 8-11 are closely de- pendent upon Ex. oh. xiv. Ver. 116 is a transposition (cf. xxxiv. 21, Isa. xxxiv. 16) from Ex. xiv. 28. On the other hand, ver. 96 is taken out of Isa. Ixiii. 13 (cf. Wisd. xix. 9) ; Isa. Ixiii. 7-lxiv. is a prayer for redemption which has a similar ground-colouring. The sea through which they passed is called, as in the Tora, ^ID'D], which seems, according to Ex. ii. 3, Isa. xix. 3, to signify the sea of reed or sedge, although the sedge does not grow in the lied Sea itself, but only on the marsliy places of the coast ; but it can also signify the sea of sea-weed, mai^e algosum, after the Egyptian sippe, wool and sea-weed (just as i_Jy£, also signifies both these). The word is certainly Egyptian, whether it is to be referred back to the Egyptian word sippe (sea-weed) or sCbe (sedge), and is therefore used 154 PSALM CVI. 13-23. after the manner of a proper name ; so that the inference drawn by Knobel on Ex. xiii. 18 from the absence of the article, that cj^D is the name of a town on the northern point of the gulf, is groundless. The miracle at the sea of sedge or sea-weed — as ver. 12 says — also was not without effect. Ex. xiv. 31 tells us that they believed on Jahve and Moses His servant, and the song which they sang follows in Ex. ch. xv. But they then only too quickly added sins of ingratitude. Vers. 13-23. The first of the principal sins on the other side of the Red Sea was the unthankful, impatient, unbelieving murmuring about their meat and drink, vers. 13-15. For what ver. 13 places foremost was the root of the whole evil, that, falling away from faith in God's promise, they forgot the works of God which had been wrought in confirmation of it, and did not wait for the carrying out of Plis counsel. The poet has before his eye the murmuring for water on the third day after the miraculous deliverance (Ex. xv. 22-24) and in Eephidim (Ex. xvii. 2). Then the murmuring for flesh in the first and second years of the exodus which was followed by the sending of the quails (Ex. ch. xvi. and Num. ch. xi.), together with the wrathful judgment by which the murmuring for the second time was punished (Kibroth ha-Ta'avah, Num. xi. 33-35). This dispensation of wrath the poet calls liP (LXX., Vulgate, and Syriac erroneously TrXTja/jLov^v, perhaps pfo, nourishment), inasmuch as he interprets Num. xi. 33-35 of a wasting disease, which swept away the people in consequence of eating inordi- nately of the flesh, and in the expression (cf. Ixxviii. 31) he closely follows Isa. x. 16. The "counsel" of God for which they would not wait, is His plan with respect to the time and manner of the help, nan, root cJo-, a weaker power of ^_p^, whence also Jils^, i. 180, ^=^, i. 84 note, signifies prop, to make firm, e.g. a knot (cf. on xxxiii. 20), and starting from this (without the intervention of the metaphor moras nectere, as Schultens thinks) is transferred to a firm bent of mind, and the tension of long expectation. The epigrammatic expression nixn ^^sn>1 (plural of 1!;?n^1, xlv. 12, for which codices, as also in Prov. xxiii. 3, 6, xxiv. 1, the Complutensian, Venetian 1521, Elias Levita, and Baer have INn""! without the tonic lengthening) is taken from Num. xi. 4. PSALM CVI. 24-33. 155 The second principal sin ^vas the insurrection against their superiors, vers. 16-18. The poet has Num. ch. xvi. xvii. in his eye. The rebellious ones were swallowed up by the earth, and their two hundred and fifty noble, non-Levite partisans consumed by fire. The fact that the poet does not mention Korah among those who were swallowed up is in perfect harmony with Num. xvi. 25 sqq,, Deut. xi. 6 ; of. however Num. xxvi. 10. The elliptical nrisn in ver. 17 is explained from Num. xvi. 32, xxvi. 10. The third principal sin was the worship of the calf, vers. 19-23. The poet here glances back at Ex. ch. xxxii., but not without at the same time having Deut. ix. 8-12 in his mind ; for the expression " in Horeb " is Deuteronomic, e.g. Deut. iv. 15, v. 2, and frequently. Ver. 20 is also based upon the Book of Deuteronomy : they exchanged their glory, i.e. the God who was their distinction before all peoples according to Deut. iv. 6-8, x. 21 (cf. also Jer. ii. 11), for the likeness (n^^^n) of a plough-ox (for this is pre-eminently called "li^r, in the dialects lin), contrary to the prohibition in Deut. iv. 17. On ver. 21a cf. the warning in Deut. vi. 12. " Land of Cham " = Egypt, as in Ixxviii. 51, cv. 23, 27. With lox^l in ver. 23 the expres- sion becomes again Deuteronomic : Deut. ix. 25, cf. Ex. xxxii. 10. God made and also expressed the resolve to destroy Israel. Then Moses stepped into the gap (before the gap), i.e. as it were covered the breach, inasmuch as he placed himself in it and exposed his own life ; cf. on the fact, besides Ex. ch. xxxii., also Deut. ix. 18 sq., x. 10, and on the expression, Ezek. xxii. 30 and also Jer. xviii. 20. Vers. 24-33. The fact to which the poet refers in ver. 24, viz. the rebellion in consequence of the report of the spies, which he brings forward as the fourth principal sin, is narrated in Num. ch. xiii., xiv. The appellation n"nnn pst is also found in Jer. iii. 19, Zech. vii. 14. As to the rest, the expression is altogether Pentateuchal. " They despised the land," after Num. xiv. 31 ; "they murmured in their tents," after Deut. i. 27 ; "to lift up the hand" = to swear, after Ex. vi. 8, Deut. ii. 40 ; the threat ^"20^, to make them fall down, fall away, xxxn. after Num. xiv. 29, 32. The threat of exile is founded upon the two great threatening chapters. Lev. xxvi., Deut. xxviii.; cf. more particularly Lev. xxvi. 33 (together with the echoes in 156 PSALM CVI. 24-33. Ezek. V. 12, xii. 14, etc.), Deut. xxviii. 64 (together with the echoes in Jer. ix. 15, Ezek. xxii. 15, etc.). Ezek. xx. 23 stands in a not accidental relationship to ver. 26 sq. ; and according to that passage, b'?!?^^ is an error of the copyist for ^^[f^^ (Hitzig). Now follows in ver. 28-31 the fifth of the principal sins, viz. the taking part in the Moabitish worship of Baal. The verb "i^V^ (to be bound or chained), taken from Num. xxv. 3, 5, points to the prostitution with which Baal Peor, this Moabitish Priapus, was worshipped. The sacrificial feastings in which, according to Num. xxv. 2, they took part, are called eating the sacrifices of the dead, because the idols are dead beings (veKpoi, Wisd. xiii. 10-18) as opposed to God, the living One. The catena on Apoc. ii. 14 correctly interprets : ra rot? elScoXoa reXecrOevra Kpia* The object of "they made angry" is omitted ; the author is fond of this, cf. vers. 7 and 32. The expression in ver. 2% is like Ex. xix. 24. The verb lOJ? is chosen with reference to Num. xvii. 13 [xvi. 48]. The result is expressed in ver. 306 after Num. xxv. 8, 18 sq., xvii. 13 [xvi. 48]. With b^S, to adjust, to judge adjustingly (LXX., Vulgate, correctly according to the sense, i^iXdaaTo), the poet associates the thought of the satisfaction due to divine right, which Phinehas executed with the javelin. This act of zeal for Jahve, which compensated for Israel's unfaithfulness, was accounted unto liim for righteousness, by his being rewarded for it with the priesthood unto everlasting ages, Num. xxv. 10-13. This accounting of a work for righteousness is only apparently contradictory to Gen. xv. 5 sq. : it was indeed an act which sprang from a constancy in faith, and one which obtained for him the acceptation of a righteous man for the sake of this upon which it was based, by proving him to be such. * In the second section of Aboda zara, on the words of the Mishna: " The flesh which is intended to be offered first of all to idols is allowed, but that which comes out of the temple is forbidden, because it is like sacrifices of the dead," it is observed, fol. 32i: "Whence, said R. Jehuda ben Bethera, do I know that that which is offered to idols (muy^ niTlpn mr) pollutes like a dead body? From Ps. cvi. 28. As the dead body- pollutes everything that is imder the same roof with it, so also does every- tliing that is offered to idols." The Apostle Paul declares the objectivity of this pollution to be vain, cf. more particulaily 1 Cor. x. 2b sq. PSAUI CVI. 34-43. 157 In vers. 32, 33 follows the sixth of the principal sins, viz. the insurrection against Moses and Aaron at the waters of strife in the fortieth year, in connection with which Moses forfeited the entrance with them into the Land of Promise (Num. XX. 11 sq., Deut. i. 37, xxxii. 51), since he suffered himself to be carried away by the persevering obstinacy of the people against the Spirit of God ('T]^'? mostly providing the future for nnOj as in vers. 7, 43, Ixxviii. 17, 40, 56, of obstinacy against God; on innTiS cf. Isa. Ixiii. 10) into uttering the words addressed to the people, Num. xx. 10, in which, as tlie smiting of the rock which was twice repeated sliows, is ex- pressed impatience together with a tinge of unbelief. The poet distinguishes, as does the narrative in Num. ch. xx., between the obstinacy of the people and the transgression of Moses, which is there designated, according to that which lay at the root of it, as unbelief. The retrospective reference to Num. xxvii. 14 needs adjustment accordingly. Vers. 34-43. The sins in Canaan : the failing to extermi- nate the idolatrous peoples and sharing in their idolatry. In ver. 34 the poet appeals to the command, frequently enjoined upon them from Ex. xxiii. 32 sq. onwards, to extirpate the inhabitants of Canaan. Since they did not execute this com- mand (yicl. Judg. ch. i.-iii. 6), that which it was intended to prevent came to pass : the heathen became to them a snare (ti'iP.io), Ex. xxiii. 33, xxxiv. 12, Deut. vii. 16. They inter- married with them, and fell into the Canaanitish custom in which the abominations of heathenism culminate, viz. the human sacrifice, which Jahve abhorreth (Deut. xii. 31), and only the demons (Q^lti', Deut. xxxii. 17) delight in. Thus then the land was defiled by blood-guiltiness (^31^, Num. xxv. 33, cf. Isa. xxiv. 5, xxvi. 21), and they themselves became unclean (Ezek. XX. 43) by the whoredom of idolatry. In vers. 40-43 the poet (as in Neh. ix. 26 sqq.) sketches the alternation of apostasy, captivity, redemption, and relapse which followed upon the possession of Canaan, and more especially that which characterized the period of the judges. God's " counsel " was to make Israel free and glorious, but they leaned upon them- selves, following their own intentions (Criyif3) ; wherefore they perished in their sins. The poet uses ^3^ (to sink down, fall away) instead of the p5?^ (to moulder, rot) of the primary pas- 158 PSALM CVI. 44-48. sage, Lev. xxvi. 39, retained in Ezek. xxiv. 23, xxxiii. 10, which is no blunder (Hitzig), but a deliberate change. Vers. 44-46. The poet's range of vision here widens from the time of the judges to the history of the whole of the suc- ceeding age down to the present; for the whole history of Israel has essentially the same fundamental chai-acter, viz. that Israel's unfaithfulness does not annul God's faithfulness. That verifies itself even now. That which Solomon in 1 Kings viii. 50 prays for on behalf of his people when they may be betrayed into the liands of the enemy, has been fulfilled in the case of the dispersion of Israel in all countries (cvii. 3), Babylonia, Egypt, etc. : God has turned the hearts of their oppressors towards them. On 3 nx"ij to regard compassionately, cf. Gen. xxix. 32, 1 Sam. i. 11. Dnp isfs belong together, as in cvii. 6, and frequently, np is a cry of lamentation, as in 1 Kings viii. 28 in Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple. From this source comes ver. 6, and also from this source ver. 46, cf. 1 Khigs viii, 50 together with Neh, i. 11. In ona^i the draw- ing back of the tone does not take place, as in Gen. xxiv. 67. non beside ^^3 is not pointed by the Keri i'^PC, as in v. 8, Ixix. 14, but as in Lam. iii. 32, according to ver. 7, Isa. Ixiii. 7, non : in accordance with the fulness (riches) of His manifold mercy or loving-kindness. The expression in ver. 46 is like Gen. xliii. 14. Although the condition of the poet's fellow-country- men in the dispersion may have been tolerable in itself, yet this involuntary scattering of the members of the nation is always a state of punishment. The poet prays in ver. 47 that God may be pleased to put an end to this. Ver. 47. He has now reached the goal, to which his whole Psalm struggles forth, by the way of self-accusation and the praise of the faithfulness of God. n?^^'? (found only here) is the reflexive of the Piel, to account happy, Eccles. iv. 2, there- fore : in order that we may esteem ourselves happy to be able to praise Thee. In this reflexive (and also passive) sense nantyn is customary in Aramaic and post-biblical Hebrew. Ver. 48. The closing doxology of the Fourth Book. The chronicler has l'^P'^1 before ver. 47 (which with him differs only very slightly), an indispensable rivet, so to speak, in the fitting together of cvi. 1 (cvii. 1) and cvi. 47. The means this historian; who joins passages together like mosaic-work, calls PSALM CVI. 48. 159 to his aid are palpable enou<:;li. He has also taken over ver. 48 by transformiug and let all the 'people say Amen, Hallelujah ! ill accordance with his style (cf. 1 Chron. xxv. 3, 2 Ciiron. v. 13, and frequently, Ezra iii. 11), into an historical clause: ^1DN^\ nin\^ ^)ni |0X oyn-b. Hitzig, by regarding the echoes of the Psalms in the chronicler as the originals of the corresponding Psalms in the Psalter, and consequently 1 Chron. xvi. 36 as the original of the Beracha placed after our Psalm, reverses the true relation ; vid. with reference to this point, Riehm in the Theolog. Literat. Blatt, 1866, No. 30, and Kohler in the Luther. Zeitschrift, 1867, S. 297 ff. The priority of Ps. cvi. is clear from the fact that ver. 1 gives a liturgical key-note that was in use even in Jeremiah's time (ch. xxxiii. 11), and that ver. 47 reverts to the tephilla-style of the introit, vers. 4 sq. And the priority of ver. 48 as a concluding formula of the Fourth Book is clear from the fact that it has been fashioned, like that of the Second Book (Ixxii. 18 sq.), under the influence of the foregoing Psalm. The Hallelujah is an echo of the Hallelujah- Psalm, just as there the Jahve Eloldm is an echo of the Elohim- Psalm. And " let all the people say Amen " is the same closing thought as in ver. 6 of Ps. cl., which is made into the closing doxology of the whole Psalter. 'Aiir}v aXkriXovia to- gether (Apoc. xix. 4) is a laudatory confirmation. FIFTH BOOK OF THE PSALTER. Ps. CVII.-CL. PSALiM CVII. AN ADMONITION TO FELLOW-COUNTEYMEN TO RENDER THANKS ON ACCOUNT OP HAVING GOT THE BETTER OF CALAMITIES. 1 " GIVE thanks unto Jahve, for He is good, For His loving-kindness endureth for ever," 2 Let the redeemed of Jahve say, "Whom He hath redeemed out of the hand of oppression 3 And gathered out of the lands, From the east and from the west, from the north and from the sea. 4 They wandered in the desert in a waste of a way. They found not a city of habitation. 5 Under hunger and thirst Their soul fainted in them. 6 Then they cried unto Jahve in their trouble — Out of their distresses He delivered them, 7 And led them by a right way To arrive at a city of habitation. — 8 Let them praise to Jahve His loving-hindness^ And His iconders to the children of men, 9 That He hath satisfied the thirsty soul, And filled the hungry soul with good. 10 Those who dwelt in darkness and the shadow of death, Being bound in torture and iron, 11 Because they rebelled against the words of God And derided the counsel of the Most High, ICO PSALM CVII. 161 12 And He luimbled their heart by labour, They fell down, and there was none to help. 13 Then they cried tmto Jalive in their trouble — Out of their distresses lie saved them ; 14 He led them forth out of darkness and the shadow of death, And burst their bonds asunder. 15 Let them praise to Jalive His goodness. And His loonders to the children of men, 16 That He hath broken in pieces the brazen doors And smitten down the iron bars. 17 The foolish, on account of the way of their transgression, And on account of their iniquity, had to suffer. 18 All food their soul abhorred. And they drew near to the gates of death. 19 Then tliey cried unto Jahve in their trouble — Out of their distresses He saved them. 20 He sent His word and healed them. And caused them to escape out of their pit-falls. 21 Let them praise to Jahve His goodness. And His wonders to the children of men, 22 And let them sacrifice sacrifices of thanksgiving And declare His works with a shout of joy. 23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business in great waters — 24 These have seen the works of Jahve, And His wonders in the deeu. 25 He spake and raised a stormy wind, Which forced up its waves on high. 26 They went up towards heaven, they went down into the Their soul was melted in trouble. [depths, 27 They whirled and staggered like a drunken man, And all their wisdom came of itself to nought. 28 Then they cried unto Jahve in their trouble, And out of their distresses He brought them forth. 29 He changed the storm into a gentle breeze, And their waves were still, 30 Then were they glad that they were abated, And He led them to the haven of their desire. VOL. III. 11 162 PSALM CVII, 31 Let them praise to Jalive His goodness^ And His wonders to the children of men, 32 And let them exalt Him in the congregation of the people, And praise Him in the council of the elders. 33 He changed rivers into a desert And water-springs into drought, 34 A fruitful land into a salt-plain, Because of the wickedness of those who dwelt therein. 35 He changed the desert into a pool of water, And the dry land into water-springs ; 36 And made the hungry to dwell there, And they built a city of habitation. 37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards. And obtained profitable fruit. 38 He blessed them and they multiplied greatly, And their cattle He made into not a few. 39 Then they became few and were reduced By the pressure of misfortune and sorrow — 40 He who poureth contempt on princes And causeth them to wander in the pathless waste : 41 He removed the needy out of the way of affliction, And made the families like a flock. 42 The upright see it and rejoice, And all knavery stoppeth its mouth. And let them consider the loving-kindnesses of Jahve ! With this Psalm begins the Fifth Book, the Book U''^y^:^ nSx of the Psalter. With Ps. cvi. closed the Fourth Book, or the Book "i2nD2, the first Psalm of which, Ps. xc, bewailed the manifestation of God's wrath in the case of the generation of the desert, and in the presence of the prevailing death took refuge in God the eternal and unchangeable One. Ps. cvi., which closes the book, has i^nsn (vers. 14, 26) as its favourite word, and makes confession of the sins of Israel on the way to Canaan. Now, just as at the beginning of the Book of Deuteronomy Israel stands on the threshold of the Land of PSALM CVII. 163 Promise, after the two tribes and a half have ah*eady estab- lished themselves on the other side of the Jordan, so at the beginning of this Fifth Book of the Psalter we see Israel re- stored to the soil of its fatherland. There it is the Israel redeemed out of Egypt, here it is the Israel redeemed out of the lands of the Exile. There the lawgiver once more admonishes Israel to yield the obedience of love to the Law of Jahve, here the psalmist calls upon Israel to show gratitude towards Ilim, who has redeemed it from exile and distress and death. We must not therefore be surprised if Ps. cvi. and cvii. are closely connected, in spite of the fact that the boundary of the two Books lies between them. " Ps. cvii. stands in close rela- tionship to Ps. cvi. The similarity of the beginning at once points back to this Psalm. Thanks are here given in ver. 3 for what was there desired in ver. 47. The praise of the Lord which was promised in Ps. cvi. 47 in the case of redemption being vouchsafed, is here presented to Him after redemption vouchsafed." This observation of Hengstenberg is fully con- firmed. The Psalms civ.-cvii. really to a certain extent form a tetralogy. Ps. civ. derives its material from the history of the creation, Ps. cv. from the preparatory and early history of Israel, Ps. cvi. from the history of Israel in Egypt, in the desert, and in the Land of Promise down to the Exile, and Ps. cvii. from the time of the restoration. Nevertheless the connection of Ps. civ. with cv.-cvii. is by far not so close as that of these three Psalms amontr them- o selves. These three anonymous Psalms form a trilogy in the strictest sense ; they are a tripartite whole from the hand of one author. The observation is an old one. The Harpffe Davids mit Teutschen Saiten hespannet (Harp of David strung with German Strings), a translation of the Psalms which appeared in Augsbuig in the year 1659, begins Ps. cvi. with the Avords : " For the third time already am I now come, and I make bold to spread abroad, with grateful acknowledgment, Thy great kindnesses." God's wondrous deeds of loving-kindness and compassion towards Israel from the time of their forefathers down to the redemption out of Egypt according to the promise, and giving them possession of Canaan, are tiie theme of Ps, cv. The theme of Ps. cvi. is the sinful conduct of Israel from Egypt onwards during the journey through the desert, and then in the 1 64 PSALM CVII. 1-3. Land of Promise, by which they brought about the fulfilment of the threat of exile (ver. 27) ; but even there God's mercy was not suffered to go unattested (ver. 46). The theme of Ps. cvii., finally, is the sacrifice of praise that is due to Him who redeemed them out of exile and all kinds of destruction. We may compare cv. 44, He gave them the lands (ni2»*"ix) of the heatlten; cvi. 27, {He threatened) to cast forth their seed among the heathen and to scatter them in the lands (niriN3) ; and cvii. 3, out of the lands (rii^^-P) ''^^'* ^^ brought them together, out of east and west, out of north and south. The designed similarity of the expression, the internal connection, and the progression in accordance with a definite plan, are not to be mistaken here. In other respects, too, these three Psalms are intimately inter- woven. In them Egypt is called " the land of Ham " (cv. 23, 27, cvi. 22), and Israel " the chosen ones of Jahve" (cv. 6, 43, cvi. 5, of. 23). They are fond of the interrogative form of exclamation (cvi. 2, cvii. 43). There is an approach in them to the hypostatic conception of the Word ("i^^, cv. 19, cvi. 20). Compare also po't?''. cvi. 14, cvii. 4 ; and the Hithpa. y>!\}^>} cv. 3, cvi. 5, n?'?^'"? cvi. 47, V)>2m cvii. 27. In all three the poet shows himself to be especially familiar with Isa. ch. xl.-lxvi., and also with the Book of Job. Ps. cvii. is the fullest in re- miniscences taken from both these Books, and in this Psalm the movement of the poet is more free without recapitulating history that has been committed to writing. Everything there- fore favours the assertion that Ps. cv., cvi., and cvii. are a "trefoil" (trifolium), — two Hodu-Psalms, and a Hallelujah- Psalm in the middle. Ps. evil, consists of six groups with an introit, vers. 1-3, and an epiphonem, ver. 43. The poet unrolls before the dis- persion of Israel that has again attained to the possession of its native land the pictures of divine deliverances in which human history, and more especially the history of the exiles, is so rich. The epiphonem at the same time stamps the hymn as a consolatory Psalm ; for those wdio were gathered again out of the lands of the heathen nevertheless still looked for the final redemption under the now milder, now more despotic sceptre of the secular power. Vers. 1-3. The introit, with the call upon them to grateful PSALM CVII. 1-9. It'o praise, is addressed to the returned exiles. Tiie Psalm carries the marks of its deutero-Isaianic character on the very front of it, viz. : " the redeemed of Jahve," taken from Isa. Ixii. 12, cf. Ixiii. 4, XXXV. 9 sq. ; )'?i? as in Isa. Ivi. 8, and frequently ; " from the north and from the sea," as in Isa. xlix. 12 : " the sea" (D)) here (as perhaps there also), side by side with east, west, and north, is the south, or rather (since D^ is an established visits loqnendi for the west) the south-west, viz. the southern portion of the Mediterranean washing the shores of Egypt. With this the poet associates the thought of the exiles of Egypt, as with n^yrsoi the exiles of the islands, i.e. of Asia Minor and Europe ; he is therefore writing at a period in which the Jewish state newly founded by the release of the Babylonian exiles had induced the scattered fellow-countrymen in all countries to return home. Calling upon the redeemed ones to give thanks to God the Redeemer in order that the work of the restoration of Israel may be gloriously perfected amidst the thanksgiving of the redeemed ones, he forthwith formulates the thanks- giving by putting the language of thanksgiving of the ancient liturgy (Jer. xxxiii. 11) into their mouth. The nation, now again established upon the soil of the fatherland, has, until it had acquired this again, seen destruction in every form in a strange land, and can tell of the most manifold divine de- liverances. The call to sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving is expanded accordingly into several pictures portraying the dangers of the strange land, which are not so much allegorical, personifying the Exile, as rather exemplificative. Vers. 4-9. It has actually come to pass, the first strophe tells us, that they wandered in a strange land through deserts and wastes, and seemed likely to have to succumb to death from hunger. According to ver. 40 and Isa. xliii. 19, it appears that ver. 4a ought to be read 'H'l^"^'' (Olshausen, Baur, ami Thenius) ; but the line is thereby lengthened inelegantly. The two words, joined by Mimach, stand in the construct state, like ^"3^ ^"l?, Gen. xvi. 12 : a waste of a way = e/37;yCio? 6S09, Acts viii. 26 (Ewald, Hitzig), which is better suited to the poetical style than that ^"1"^., as in flD3~nj^'Dj and the like, should be an accusative of nearer definition (Hengstenberg). In connection with 2'pD i^y the poet, who is fond of this combination (vers. 7, 36, cf. 2'_"iO"n^2j Lev. xxv. 29), meaiis any city whatever 1G6 PSALM CVir. 10-16. which might afford the homeless ones a habitable, hospitable reception. With the perfects, which describe what has been experienced, alternates in ver. 5b the imperfect, which shifts to the way in which anything comes about : their soul in them enveloped itself (yid. Ixi. 3), i.e. was nigh upon extinction. With the fuf. consec. then follows in ver. 6 the fact which gave the turn to the change in their misfortune. Their cry for help, as the imperfect ^T^l implies, was accompanied by their deliverance, the fact of which is expressed by the following /u<. consec. D5''"}'1^1. Those who have experienced such things are to confess to the Lord, with thanksgiving, His loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men. It is not to be rendered : His wonders (supply nb'y "I5f''^.) towards the chil- dren of men (Luther, Olshausen, and others). The two ? coincide : their thankful confession of the divine loving-kind- ness and wondrous acts is not to be addressed alone to Jahve Himself, but also to men, in order that out of what they have experienced a wholesome fruit may spring forth for the multi- tude. '"'Pi?^^' ^'-" ip^^'^'t. Polel, the e of which is retained as a })re-tonic vowel in pause, cf. Ixviii. 26 and on Job xx. 27, Ew. § 188, b) is, as in Isa. xxix. 9, the thirsting soul (from pVC', ■i\^, to urge forward, of the impulse and drawing of the emotions, in Hebrew to desire ardently). The preterites are here an expression of that which has been experienced, and therefore of that which has become a fact of experience. In superabundant measure does God uphold the languishing soul that is in imminent danger of languishing away. Vers. 10-16. Others suffered imprisonment and bonds ; but through Him who had decreed this as punishment for them, they also again reached the light of freedom. Just as in the first strophe, here too, as far as nv in ver. 15, is all a compound subject ; and in view of this the poet begins with ])articiples. " Darkness and the shadow of death" {vid. xxiii. 4) is an Isaianic expression, Isa. ix. 1 (where ''3y'^ is construed with ^), xlii. 7 (where ''3t^'] is construed as here, cf. Gen. iv. 20, Zech. ii. 11), just as " bound in torture and iron" takes its rise from Job xxxvi. 8. The old expositors call it a hendiadys for " torturing iron" (after cv. 18) ; but it is more correct to take the one as the general term and the other as the particular : rSALM evil. 17-22. 107 bound in all sorts of affliction from which they could not break away, and more particularly in iron bonds (-), to shut in on all sides and to draw to one's self (root ^, gyravitf in gyrum egit), signifies a place enclosed round, therefore a haven, and first of all perhaps a creek, to use a northern word, a fiord. The verb priC' in relation to n^'n is the stronger word, like CO^ in relation to Din in the history of the Flood. Those who have been thus marvellously rescued are then called upon thankfully to praise God their Deliverer in the place where the national church assembles, and where the chiefs of the nation sit in council ; therefore, as it seems, in the Temple and in the Forum.* In exact editions like Xorzi, Heilenlieiui, aud Baer's, before vers. 23, 170 PSALM CYII. 33-^8. Now follow two more groups without the two beautiful and impressive refrains with which the four preceding groups are interspersed. The structure is less artistic, and the transitions here and there abrupt and awkward. One might say that these two groups are inferior to the rest, much as the speeches of Elihu are inferior to the rest of the Book of Job. That they are, however, nevertheless from the hand of the very same poet is at once seen from the continued dependence upon the Book of Job and Isaiah. Hengstenberg sees in vers. 33-42 " the song with which they exalt the Lord in the assembly of the people and upon the seat of the elders." But the materia laudis is altogether different from that which is to be expected accord- ing to the preceding calls to praise. Nor is it any the more clear to us that vers. 33 sq. refer to the overthrow of Babylon, and vers. 35 sqq. to the happy turn of affairs that took place simultaneously for Israel ; ver. 35 does not suit Canaan, and the expressions in vers. 36 sq. would be understood in too low a sense. No, the poet goes on further to illustrate the helpful government of God the just and gracious One, inasmuch as he has experiences in his mind in connection therewith, of which the dispersion of Israel in all places can sing and speak. Vers. 33-38. Since in ver. 36 the historical narration is still continued, a meaning relating to the cotemporaneous past is also retrospectively given to the two correlative DK'^. It now goes on to tell what those who have now returned have observed and experienced in their own case. Ver. 33a sounds like Isa. 1. 2h; ver. 33/|i like Isa. xxxv. 7a; and ver. 35 takes its rise from Isa. xli. ^8b. The juxtaposition of ""^^^'i^ and pN'SVj since Deut. viii. 15, ,'belongs to the favourite antithetical alhterations, e.g. Isa. Ixi. 3. ^C-^j ^^^^^ which is salty (LXX. cf. Sir. xxxix. 23 : aXfir}), is, as in Job xxxix. 6, the name for the uncultivated, barren steppe. A land that has been laid waste for the punish- ment of its inhabitants has very often been changed into flourishing fruitful fields under the hands of a poor and grate- ful generation; and very often a land that has hitherto lain uncultivated and to all appearance absolutely unprofitable has 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 40 there stand reversed Nuns (paian pj"i:, in the language of the Masora niinJO PJIJ), as before Num. x. .'55 and betweeu X. uG and xi. 1 (niue in all). Theii' siguilication is unknown. rSALM evil. 39-43. 171 developed an unexpected fertility. The exiles to whom Jeremiah writes, ch. xxix. 5 : Build ye houses and settle doivn, and plant gardens and eat their fruit, may frequently have experienced this divine blessing. Their industry and their knowledge also did their part, but looked at in a right light, it was not their own work but God's work that their settlement ])rospered, and that they continually spread themselves wider and possessed a not small, i.e. (cf. 2 I.ings iv. 3) a very large, stock of cattle. Vers. 39-43. But it also came to pass that it went ill with them, inasmuch as their flourishing prosperous condition drew down upon them the envy of the powerful and tyrannical ; nevertheless God put an end to tyranny, and always brought His people again to honour and strength. Hitzig is of opinion that ver. 39 goes back into the time when things were different with those who, according to vers. 36-38, had thriven. The modus consecutivus is sometimes used thus retrospectively (vid. Isa. xxxvii. 5) ; here, however, the symmetry of the continua- tion from vers. 36-38, and the change which is expressed in ver. 39a in comparison with ver. 38Z>, require an actual conse- cution in that which is narrated. They became few and came down, were reduced (^nc', cf. Prov. xiv. 19 : to come to ruin, or to be overthrown), a coarcfatione malitice et niaroi'is. l^V is the restraint of despotic rule, >^^1 the evil they had to suffer under such restraint, and pJ") sorrow, which consumed their life, ixya has Ta/cha and nyn Munach (instead of Mercha and Mugrash, vid. Accentuationssi/stem, xviii. 2). There is no reason for departing from this interpunction and rendering : " through tyranny, evil, and sorrow." What is stiff and awkward in the progress of the description arises from the fact that ver. 40 is borrowed from Job xii. 21, 24, and that the poet is not willing to make any change in these sublime words. The version shows how we think the relation of the clauses is to be apprehended. Whilst He pours out His wrath upon tyrants in the contempt of men that comes upon them, and makes them fugitives who lose themselves in the terrible waste, He raises the needy and those hitherto despised and ill-treated on high out of the depth of their affliction, and makes families like a flock, i.e. makes their families so increase, that they come to have the appearance of a merrily gamboling and numerous 172 PSALM CVIII. flock. Just as this fifjure points back to Job xxi. 11, so ver. 42 is made up out of Job xxii. 19, v. 16. The sight of this act of recognition on the part of God of those who have been wrongfully oppressed gives joy to the upright, and all roguery (npiVj vid. xcii. 16) has its mouth closed, i.e. its boastful insolence is once for all put to silence. In ver. 43 the poet makes the strains of his Psalm die away after the example of Hosea, ch. xiv. 10 [9], in the nota bene expressed after the manner of a question : Who is wise — he will or let him keep this, i.e. bear it well in mind. The transition to the jussive together with a change of number is rendered natural by the fact that D^C '*'?) ^^ ^" -^o^- ^^^- ^^^' i^^' J^^- ^^- ^^) Esth. v. 6, and without Waw apod. Judg. vii. 3, Prov. ix. 4, 16), is equi- valent to quisquis sapiens est. 'n npn Ciipn) are the manifesta- tions of mercy or loving-kindness in which God's ever-enduring mercy unfolds itself in history. He who is wise has a good memory for and a clear understanding of this. PSALM CVIII. TWO ELOHIMIC FRAGMENTS BROUGHT TOGETHER. 2 CONFIDENT is my heart, Elohim, I will sing and play upon the harp. Yea, this shall my glory do. 3 Awake up, O harp and cithern, I will awake the morning dawn ! 4 I will praise Thee among the peoples, Jahve, And praise Thee upon the harp among the nations. 5 For great beyond the heavens is Thy mercy, Elohim, And unto the clouds Thy truth. 6 Oh show Thyself exalted above the heavens, Elohim, And above the whole earth Thy glory ! 7 In order that Thy beloved may be delivered — Save now with Thy right hand and answer me ! S Elohim hath promised in His holiness i PSALM CVIII. 2-6. 173 I shall rejoice, I sliall portion out Shecliem, A?ul measure out the valley of Succoth. 9 ^line is Gilead, mine ^lanasseh, And Ephraim is the helm of my head, Judah is my sceptre, 10 Moab is my wash-pot, Upon Edom I cast my shoe, Over Philistia I shout for joy. 11 Who will conduct me to the fortified city, Who will bring me to Edom ? ! 12 Hast not Thou, Elohim, cast us oif, And goest not forth, Elohim, with our armies? — 13 Grant us deliverance from the oppressor, Yea, vain is the help of man. 14 In Elohim shall we obtain the victory. And He will tread down our oppressors. The TliS in ver. 4 and the whole contents of this Psalm is the echo to the nin of the preceding Psalm. It is inscribed a Psalm-song hy David, but only because it is compiled out of ancient Davidic materials. The fact of the absence of the n^:T2^ makes it natural to suppose that it is of later origin. Two Davidic Psalm-pieces in the Elohimic style are here, with trifling variations, just put together, not soldered together, and taken out of their original historical connection. That a poet like Dax-id would thus compile a third out of two of his own songs (Ilengstenberg) is not conceivable. Vers. 2-G. This first half is taken from Ps. Ivii. 8-12. The repetition of confident is my heart in Ps. Ivii. is here omitted ; and in place of it the " my glory" of the exclama- tion, awake my glory, is taken up to " I will sing and will harp" as a more minute definition of the subject [vid. on iii. 5) : He will do it, yea, his soul with all its godlike powers shall do it. Jahve in ver. 4 is transformed out of the Adonaj ; and Waw copnl. is inserted both before ver. A.h and ver. 6Z>, contrary to Ps. Ivii. Py^, ver. 5a (as in Esth. iii. 1), would be a pleasing change for iy if ver. 5a followed 56 and the definition of magnitude did not retrograde instead of heightening. More- 174 rsALM cix. over xxxvi. 6, Jer. li. 9 (cf. hv in cxiii. 4, cxlviii. 13) favour ny in opposition to bv^. Vers. 7-14. Ps. Ix. 7-14 forms this second half. The clause expressino; the purpose with jy^?, as in its original, lias the following ^J;"'L^'^n for its principal clause upon which it depends. Instead of ^^^V}., which one might have expected, the expression used here is 'J.^yi. without any interchange of the mode of writing and of reading it ; many printed copies have lipyi. here also ; Baer, following Norzi, correctly has "'f^yi.. In- stead of v1 ... V, Ix. 9, ^^e here read V . . . y, which is less soaring. And instead of Cry aloud concerning me, Pldlistia (the plaintive cry of the vanquished), it here is, Ocer Pldlistia do 1 sJiout for joy (the triumphant cry of the victor) ; in accord- ance with which Hupfeld wishes to take "'yyi""?'? in the former as infinitive : " over (vV instead of vJ?) Philistia is my shouting for joy" ('Vyi"irin instead of ''i'y^'innj since the infinitive does not admit of this pausal form of the imperative). For li^'O I'V we have here the more usual form of expression "i^'^p "i^y. Vc-r, 12a is weakened by the omission of the nriX (N^n). PSALM CIX. IMPRECATION UPON THE CURSER WHO PREFERS THE CURSE TO THE BLESSING. 1 GOD of my praise, be not silent ! 2 For a wicked mouth and a deceitful mouth have tlu'y opened against me, They have spoken against me with a lying tongue, 3 And with animosities have they surrounded me And fought against me without cause. 4 For my love they make themselves hostile to me, Whilst I am all prayer ; 5 And have requited me with evil for good, And with hatred for my love. 6 Set Thou a wicked man over him, And let Satan stand at his right hand ; rsALM cix. 175 7 If he is judged, let him come off as a wicked man, And let liis prayer become sin. 8 Let liis days be few, His office let another take. 9 Let his children become orphans, And his wife a widow, 10 And let his children wander to and fro begging, And let them entreat far from their ruins. 11 Let the creditor surround with snares all that he hath, And let strangers spoil what his labour hath gained. 12 Let there be no one to continue kindness to him, And let no one bestow [anything] upon his orphans. 13 Let his posterity be rooted out, In the next generation let their name be blotted out. 14 Let the iiuilt of his fathers be remembered with Jahve, And let the sin of his mother not be blotted out, 15 Let them be always before Jahve, And may He cut off their memory from the earth. 1 G Because he hath not remembered to show kindness, And hath persecuted a man wretched and poor. And terrified of heart, to put him to death. 17 He hath loved the cui'se, and it hath come upon him ; And he delighted not in blessing, and it remained far from him. 18 He clothed himself in cursing as his garment, And it pressed like water into his bowels, And like oil into his bones. 19 So let it become unto him as a coat in which he covereth himself, And as a girdle which he continually putteth on. 20 This is the reward of mine adversaries from Jahve, And of those who speak evil concerning my soul. 21 But do Thou, Jahve Lord, act for me for Thy Name's sake ; Because Thy loving-kindness is good, deliver Thou me ! 22 For I am wretched and poor. And my heart is pierced witiiin me. 17f5 PSALM CIX. 23 As a shadow, when it lengtheneth, am I gone, I am scared away as a locust. 24 My knees knock together through fasting, And my flesh is fallen away from fatness. 25 And I am become a reproach to them, They see me, they shake their head. 26 Succour me, Jahve my God, Help me according to Thy loving-kindness, 27 That they may know that this is Thy hand, Thou, Jahve, hast done it. 28 They curse, but Thou blessest ; They arise and are ashamed, and Thy servant is glad. 29 Mine adversaries shall clothe themselves with reproach, And envelope themselves as with a mantle with their own shame. 30 I will give thanks greatly unto Jahve with my mouth, And in the midst of many will I praise Him, 31 That He placeth Himself at the right hand of the poor. To help him against the judges of his soul. The niiSj corresponding like an echo to the nin of Ps. cvii., is also found here in ver. 30. But Ps, cix. is most closely related to Ps. Ixix. Anger concerning the ungodly who requite love with ingratitude, who persecute innocence and desire the curse instead of the blessing, has here reached its utmost bound. The imprecations are not, however, directed against a multi- tude as in Ps. Ixix., but their whole current is turned against one person. Is this Doeg the Edomite, or Cush the Benjamite ? We do not know. The marks of Jeremiah's hand, which raised a doubt about the 'vrh of Ps. Ixix., are wanting here ; and if the development of the thoughts appears too diffuse and over- loaded to be suited to David, and also many expressions (as the inflected ^VO in ver. 8, the '"ISDJ, which is explained by the Syriac, in ver. 16, and the half-passive Ppn in ver. 22) look as though they belong to the later period of the language, yet we feel on the other hand the absence of any certain echoes of older models. For in the parallels ver. 6, cf. Zech. iii. 1, and vers. 18, 29i, cf. Isa. lix. 17, it is surely not the mutual rela- tionship but the priority that is doubtful ; ver. 22, however, in PSALM CIX 1-5. 177 relation to Iv. 5 (cf. ver. 4 with Iv. 5) is a variation such as is also allowable in one and the same poet {e.g. in the refrains). The anathemas that are here poured forth more extensively than anywhere else speak in favour of David, or at least of his situation. They are explained by the depth of David's consci- ousness that he is the anointed of Jahve, and by his contempla- tion of himself in Christ. The persecution of David was a sin not only against David himself, but also against the Christ in him; and because Christ is in David, the outbursts of the Old Testament wrathful spirit take the prophetic form, so that this Psalm also, like Ps. xxii. and Ixix., is a typically prophetic Psalm, inasmuch as the utterance of the type concerning him- self is carried by the Spirit of prophecy beyond himself, and thus the apa is raised to the TrpocpijTeia iv etSei, apa>^j li:^i, etc. lias the primary sigiii- fication of withdrawal and taking away or decrease ; to deny is tlic samo as to withdraw from agreement, and he becomes thin from wliuiu the fat 182 PSALM CIX. 2G-31. the form of his affliction he is the butt of their reproaching, and they shake their heads doubtfully, looking upon him as one who is punished of God beyond all hope, and giving him up for lost. It is to be interpreted thus after Ixix. 11 sq. Vers. 26-31. The cry for help is renewed in the closing strophe, and the Psalm draws to a close very similarly to Ps. Ixix. and xxii., with a joyful prospect of the end of the afflic- tion. In ver. 27 the hand of God stands in contrast to acci- dent, the work of men, and his own efforts. All and each one will undeniably perceive, when God at length interposes, that it is His hand which here does that which was impossible in the eyes of men, and that it is His work ^-hich has been accom- plished in this affliction and in the issue of it. He blesses him whom men curse : they arise without attaining their object, whereas His servant can rejoice in the end of his affliction. The futures in ver. 29 are not now again imprecations, but an expression of believingly confident hope. In correct texts ?''i"?3 lias Mem raphatum. The " many" are the " congregation" (vid. xxii. 23). In the case of the marvellous deliverance of this sufferer the congregation or church has the pledge of its own deliverance, and a bright mirror of the loving-kindness of its God. The sum of the praise and thanksgiving follows in ver. 31, where ""^ signifies quod, and is therefore allied to the oTi, recitativum (cf. xxii. 25). The three Good Friday Psalms all sum up the comfort that springs from David's affliction for all suffering ones in just such a pithy sentence (xxii. 25, Ixix. 34). Jahve comes forward at the right hand of the poor, contending for him (cf. ex. 5), to save (him) from those who judge (xxxvii. 33), i.e. condemn, his soul. The contrast be- tween this closing thought and vers. 6 sq. is uumistakeable. At the right hand of the tormentor stands Satan as an accuser, at the right hand of the tormented one stands God as his vindicator ; he who delivered him over to human judges is tondemned, and he who was delivered up is " taken away out of distress and from judgment" (Isa. liii. 8) by the Judge of the judges, in order that, us we now hear in the following withdraws, goes away. Sacadia compares on this passage (ms) nana nti'iriD, a lean cow, Bvrachdh 32a. In like mauuer Targum II. renders Gen. xli. 27 X.HC'^IIJ NmiO, the lean kine. PSALM ex. 183 Psalm, lie may sit at the riglit hand of the heavenly King, 'EBiKaidodr) iv Trvev/xarc . . . uveKi'jiJL^Or) eV ho^r] ! (1 Tim. iii. IG.) PSALM ex. TO THE PEIEST-KIXG AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD. 1 THE oracle of Jahve unto my Lord : " Sit thou at ]\Iy right hand, Until I make thine enemies The stool of thy feet." 2 The sceptre of thy might Will Jahve stretch forth out of Zion : " Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies ! " * 3 Tiiy people are most willing on thy field-day ; In holy festive garments, Out of the womb of the morning's dawn Cometh the dew of thy young men. 4 Jahve hath sworn and will not repent : " Thou shalt be a priest for ever After the manner of Melchizedek." * » 5 The Lord at thy right hand Dasheth kings in pieces in the day of His wrath, 6 He shall judge among the nations, It becometh full of corpses. He dasheth in pieces a head upon a broad country 7 Of the brook in the way shall he drink, Therefore shall he lift up the head on higli. m While the Pharisees were gathered togetlMet, Jesus asked them : What think ye of Christ? Whose .^^on is He? They pay unto Him : David's. He saith untto'them : How then doth David in the spirit cull Him LonU,' saying : " The Lord hath 184 PSALM ex. said unto my Lord : Sit Thou on ]\Iy riglit hand until I make Thine enemies the stool of Thy feet ? " If David then calls Him Lord, how is He his Son ? And no man was able to answer Him a word, neither durst any one from that day forth question Him further. So we read in Matt. xxii. 41-46, Mark xii. 35-37, Luke XX. 41-44. The inference which it is left for the Pharisees to draw rests upon the two premises, which are granted, that Ps. ex, is Davidic, and that it is prophetico-Messianic, i.e. that in it the future Messiah stands objectively before the mind of David. For if those who were interrogated had been able to reply that David does not there speak of the future Messiah, but puts into the mouth of the people words concerning him- self, or, as Hofmann has now modified the view he formerly held [Schiftheioeis, ii. 1, 496-500), concerning the Davidic king in a general way,* then the question would lack the back- ground of cogency as an argument. Since, however, the pro- * Vid. the refutation of this modified view in Kurtz, Zitr Theologie der Psalmen, in the Dorpater Zeilschrift for the year 1861, S. 516. Supplementary Note. — Von Hofmann now interprets Ps. ex. as pro- phetico-Messianic. We are glad to be able to give it in his own words. " As the utterance of a prophet who speaks the word of God to the person addressed, the Psalm begins, and this it is then all through, even where it does not, as in ver. 4, expressly make known to the person addressed what God swears to him. God intends to finally subdue his foes to him. Until then, until his day of victory is come, he shall have a dominion in the midst of them, the sceptre of which shall be mighty through the succour of God. His final triumph is, however, pledged to him by the word of God, which appoints him, as another Melchizedek, to an eternal priest- hood, that excludes the priesthood of Aaron, and by the victory which God has already given him in the day of His wrath. " This is a picture of a king on Zion who still looks forward to that which in Ps. Ixxii. 8 sqq. has already taken place, — of a victorious, mighty king, who however is still ruling in the midst of foes, — therefore of a king such as Josus now is, to whom God has given the victory over heathen IvT^ome, and to whom Ho will subdue all his enemies when he shall again reveai ^ himself in the world ; meanwhile he is the kingly priest and the priestly ki Jue; of the people of God. The prophet who utters this is David. lie whom he ao^ldresscs as Lord is the king who is appointed to become that v.hich Ps. lixii.* describes, him ; it is therefore he of whom God has spoken according to 2 J^am. x.xiii. 3. David beholds him in a moment of his ruling to which the moi^ ^ojit in his own ruling in which we find him in 2 Sam. xi. 1 is typically p-xrahc^i^.. PSALM ex. 185 phetico-MessianIc character of tlie Psalm was acknowledged at that time (even as the later synagogue, in spite of the dilemma into which this Psalm brought it in opposition to the church, has never been able entirely to avoid this confession), the conclusion to be drawn from this Psalm must have been felt by the Pharisees themselves, that the Messiah, because the Son of David and Lord at the same time, was of human and at tiie same time of superhuman nature ; that it was therefore in accordance with Scripture if this Jesus, who represented Himself to be the predicted Christ, should as such profess to be the Son of God and of divine nature. The New Testament also assumes elsewhere that David in this Psalm speaks not of himself, but directly of Him, in whom the Davidic kingship should finally and for ever fulfil that of wliich the promise speaks. For ver. 1 is regarded elsewhere too as a prophecy of the exaltation of Christ at the right hand of the Father, and of His final victory over all His enemies : Acts ii. 34 sq., 1 Cor. xv. 25, Heb. i. 13, x. 13 ; and the Epistle to the Hebrews (ch. v. 6, vii. 17, 21) bases its demonstration of the abrogation of the Levitical priesthood by the INIelchi- zedek priesthood of Jesus Christ upon ver. 4. But if even David, who raised the Levitical priesthood to the pinnacle of splendour that had never existed before, was a priest after the manner of Melchizedek, it is not intelligible how the priest- hood of Jesus Christ after the manner of Melchizedek is meant to be a proof in favour of the termination of the Levi- tical priesthood, and to absolutely preclude its continuance. We will not therefore deceive ourselves concerning the apprehension of the Psalm which is presented to us in the New Testament Scriptures. According to the New Testament Scriptures, David speaks in Ps. ex. not merely of Christ in so far as the Spirit of God has directed him to speak of the Anointed of Jahve in a typical form, but directly and objec- tively in a prophetical representation of the Future One. And would this be impossible ? Certainly there is no other Psalm in which David distinguishes between himself and the Messiah, and has the latter before him : the other Messianic Psalms of David are reflections of his radical, ideal contem])lation of himself, reflected images of his own typical history ; they con- tain prophetic elements, because David there too speaks iv 186 PSALM ex. TTi/ev/zaTf, but elements that are not solved by the person of David. Nevertheless the last words of David in 2 Sara, xxiii. 1-7 prove to us that we need not be surprised to find even a directly Messianic Psalm comincr from his lips. After the splendour of all that pertained to David individually had almost entirely expired in his own eyes and in the eyes of those about him, he must have been still more strongly conscious of the distance between what had been realized in himself and the idea of the Anointed of God, as he lay on his death-bed, as his sun was going down. Since, however, all the glory with which God has favoured him comes up once more before his soul, he feels himself, to the glory of God, to be " the man raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet singer of Israel," and the instrument of the Spirit of Jahve. This he has been, and he, who as such contemplated himself as the immortal one, must now die : then in dying he seizes the pillars of the divine promise, he lets go the ground of his own present, and looks as a prophet into the future of his seed : The God of Israel hath said, to me hath the Rock of Israel spoken : " A ruler of men, a just one, a rider in the fear of God ; and as the light of the morning, ivhen the sun riseth, a cloudless morning, when after sunshine, after rain it becomes green out of the earth." For not little (^'^ to be explained according to Job ix. 35, cf. Num. xiii. 33, Isa. li. 6) is mi/ house with God, but an everlasting covenant hath He made with me, one ordered in all things and sure, for all my salvation and all my favour — ougld He not to cause it to sprout ? The idea of the Messiah shall notwithstanding be realized, in accordance with the promise, within his own house. The vision of the future which passes before his soul is none other than the picture of the Messiah detached from its subjectivity. And if so there, why may it not also have been so even in Ps. ex. '? The fact that Ps. ex. has points of connection with cotem- poraneous history is notwithstanding the less to be denied, as its position in the Fifth Book leads one to su))pose that it is taken out of its cotemporary annalistic connection. The first of these connecting links is the bringing of the Ark home to Zion. Girded with the linen ephod of the priest, David had accompanied the Ark up to Zion with signs of rejoicing. There upon Zion Jahve, whose earthly throne is the Ark, now took PSALM ex. 187 His place at tlie side of David; but, spiritually considered, the matter stood properly thus, that Jahve, when He established Himself upon Zion, granted to David to sit henceforth en- throned at His side. The second connecting link is the victo- rious termination of the Syro-Ammonitish war, and also of the Edomitish war that came in between. The war with the Ammonites and their allies, the greatest, longest, and most glorious of David's wars, ended in the second year, when David himself joined the army, with the conquest of Kabbah. These two cotemporary connecting links are to be recognised, but they only furnish the Psalm with the typical ground-colour for its prophetical contents. In this Psalm David looks forth from the height upon which Jahve has raised him by the victory over Amnion into the future of his seed, and there He who carries forward the work begun by him to the highest pitch is his Lord. Over against this King of the future, David is not king, but subject. He calls him, as one out of the people, " my Lord." This is the situation of the prophetico-kingly poet. He has received new revelations concerning the future of his seed. He has come down from his throne and the height of his power, and looks up to the Future One. He too sits enthroned on Zion. He too is victorious from thence. But His fellowship with God is the most intimate imaginable, and the last enemy is also laid at His feet. And He is not merely king, who as a priest pro- vides for the salvation of His people. He is an eternal Priest by virtue of a sworn promise. The Psalm therefore relates to the history of the future upon a typical ground-work. It is also explicable why the triumph in the case of Amnion and the Messianic image have been thus to David's mind dis- connected from himself. In the midst of that war comes the sin of David, which cast a shadow of sorrow over the whole of his future life and reduced its typical glory to ashes. Out of these ashes the phoenix of Messianic prophecy here arises. Tlie type, come back to the conscious of himself, here lays down his crown at the feet of the Antitype. Ps. ex. consists of three sevens, a tetrastich together with a tristich following three times upon one another. The liebia viagnum in ver. 2 is a security for this stichic division, and in like manner the Olewejored by ^.^'''n in ver. 3, and in general 188 PSALM ex. 1, 2. the interpunction required by the sense. And vers. 1 and 2 show decisively that it is to be thus divided into 4-h3 lines ; for ver. 1 with its rhyming inflexions makes itself known as a tetrastich, and to take it together with ver. 2 as a heptastich is opposed by the new turn which the Psalm takes in ver. 2. It is also just the same with ver. 4 in relation to ver. 3 : these seven stichs stand in just the same organic relation to the second divine utterance as the preceding seven to the first utterance. And since vers. 1—4 give twice 4 + 3 lines, vers. 5-7 also will be organized accordingly. There are really seven lines, of which the fifth, contrary to the Masoretic division of the verse, forms with ver. 7 the final tristich. The Psalm therefore bears the threefold impress of the number seven, which is the number of an oath and of a cove- nant. Its impress, then, is thoroughly prophetic. Two divine utterances are introduced, and that not such as are familiar to us from the history of David and only reproduced here in a poetic form, as with Ps. Ixxxix. and cxxxii., but utterances of which nothing is known from the history of David, and such as we hear for the first time here. The divine name Jahve occurs three times. God is designedly called Adonaj the fourth time. The Psalm is consequently prophetic ; and in order to bring the inviolable and mysterious nature even of its contents into comparison with the contemplation of its outward character, it has been organized as a threefold septiad, which is sealed with the thrice recurring tetragramma. Vers. 1, 2. In Ps. xx. and xxi. we see at once in the openings that what we have before us is the language of the people concerning their king. Here "'^"'i^p in ver. 1 does not favour this, and DW is decidedly against it. The former does not favour it, for it is indeed correct that the subject calls his king " my lord," e.g. 1 Sam. xxii. 12, although the more exact form of address is " my lord the king," e.g. 1 Sam. xxiv. 9 [8] ; but if the people are speaking here, what is the object of the title of honour being expressed as if coming from the mouth of an individual, and why not rather, as in Ps. xx., xxi., i^,^^^ or in''D'Op ? DN3 is, however, decisive against the supposition that it is an Israelite who here expresses himself concerning the relation of his king to Jahve. For it is absurd to suppose PSALM ex. 1, 2. 189 that an Israelite speaking in the name of the people would begin in the manner of the prophets with DS3, more particu- larly since this 'n DN3 placed thus at the head of the discourse is without any perfectly analogous example (1 Sam. ii. 30, Isa. i. 24 are only similar) elsewhere, and is therefore extremely important. In general this opening position of DW^ even in cases where other genit'ves than nin^ follow, is very rare ; DX3 is found besides, so placed, only in the mouth of Balaam in Num. xxiv. 3 sq., 15 sq., of David in 2 Sam. xxiii. 1, of Agur in Prov. xxx. 1, and always (even in Ps. xxxvi. 2) in an oracular signification. Moreover, if one from among the people were speaking, the declaration ought to be a retrospective glance at a past utterance of God. But, first, the history knows nothing of any such divine utterance ; and secondly, 'n DW always intro- duces God as actually speaking, to which even the passage cited by Hofmann to the contrary. Num. xiv. 28, forms no exception. Thus it will consequently not be a past utterance of God to which the poet glances back here, but one which David has just now heard iv •jrvevfjcart (Matt. xxii. 43), and is therefore not a declaration of the people concerning David, but of David concerning Christ. The unique character of the declaration confirms this. Of the king of Israel it is said that he sits on the throne of Jahve (1 Cluon. xxix. 23), viz. as visible representative of the invisible King (1 Chron. xxviii. 5) ; Jahve, however, commands the person here addressed to take his place at His right hand. The right hand of a king is the highest place of honour, 1 Kings ii. 19.* Here the sitting at the right hand signifies not merely an idle honour, but reception into the fellowship of God as regards dignity and duminion, exaltation to a participation in God's reigning (/3a- a-iXeveip, 1 Cor, xv. 2o). Just as Jahve sits enthroned in the heavens and laughs at the rebels here below, so shall he who is exalted henceforth share this blessed calm with Plim, until He subdues all enemies to him, and therefore makes him the un- limited, universally acknowledged ruler, "ly as in Hos. x. 12, for ^3"li? or 1B'?<"''y, does not exclude the time that lies beyond. * Cf. the custom of the old Arabian kings to have their viceroy (nV//") Bitting at their right hand, Mouumenta autiquiss. hist. Arahum^ ed. Eich' hunij p. 220. 190 PSALM ex. 3, 4. but as in cxii. 8, Gen. xHx. 10, includes it, and in fact so that it at any rate marks the final subjugation of the enemies as a turning-point with which something else comes about (vid. Acts iii. 21, 1 Cor. xv. 28). Ci"in is an accusative of the predicate. The enemies shall come to lie under his feet (1 Kings v. 17 [3]), his feet tread upon the necks of the vanquished (Josh. x. 24), so that the resistance that is overcome becomes as it were the dark ground upon which the glory of his victorious rule arises. For the history of time ends with the triumph of good over evil, — not, however, with the annihilation of evil, but with its subjugation. This is the issue, inasmuch as absolute omnipo- tence is effectual on behalf of and through the exalted Christ. In ver. 2, springing from the utterance of Jahve, follow words expressing a prophetic prospect. Zion is the imperial abode of the great future King (ii. 6). VV ni3D (cf. Jer. xlviii. 17, Ezek. xix. 11-14) signifies " the sceptre (as insignia and the medium of exercise) of the authority delegated to thee" (1 Sam, ii. 10, Mic. V. 3 [4]). Jahve will stretch this sceptre far forth from Zion : no goal is mentioned up to which it shall extend, but passages like Zech. ix. 10 show how the prophets under- stand such Psalms. In ver, 2b follow the words with which Jahve accompanies this extension of the dominion of the ex- alted One. Jahve will lay all his enemies at his feet, but not in such a manner that he himself remains idle in the matter. Thus, then, having come into the midst of the sphere (^'IJP?) of his enemies, shall he reign, forcing them to submission and holding them down. We read this ^11 in a Messianic connec- tion in Ixxii. 8. So even in the prophecy of Balaam (Num. xxiv. 19), where the sceptre (ch. xxiv. 17) is an emblem of the Messiah Himself. Vers. 3, 4. In order that he may rule thus victoriously, it is necessary that there should be a people and an army. In accordance with this union of the thoughts which ver. 3a anticipates, ^P''n UV3. signifies in the day of thy arriere ban, i.e. when thou callest up thy " power of an army " (2 Chron. xxvi. 13) to muster and go forth to battle. In this day are the people of the king willingnesses C^^"]^), i.e. entirely cheerful readiness ; ready for any sacrifices, they bring themselves with all that they are and have to meet him. There is no need of any compulsory, lengthy proclamation calling them out : it is PSALM ex. 3, 4. 191 no army of mercenaries, but willingly and quickly they present themselves from inward impulse (3^3no, Judg. v. 2, D). The punctuation, which makes the principal caesura at I?""?! with Oleicejored, makes the parallelism of "I^^n and 1^1*17^ distinctly prominent. Just as the former does not signify rohoris tui, so now too the latter does not, according to Eccles. xi. 9, signify TTaiSioTTjTo^ GOV (Aquila), and not, as Hofmann interprets, the (lew-like freshness of youthful vigour, which the morninfj of the great day sheds over the king. Just as T\V)\ signifies both exile and the exiled ones, so rinp]^ like veoTT}';, juventus, juventa, signifies both the time and age of youth, youthfulness, and youthful, young men (the youth). Moreover one does not, after ver. 3a, look for any further declaration concerning the nature of the king, but of his people who place themselves at his service. The young men are likened to dew which gently descends upon the king out of the womb (uterus) of the morn- ing-red.* ""7^0 is related to in^ just as "H'f H^ is to '^"ii'n ; the notion of nriB' and I'-i'n appears to be more sharply defined, and as it were apprehended more massively, in "inrb and "l*J'n». The host of young men is likened to the dew both on account of its vigorousness and its multitude, which are like the freshness of the mountain dew and the immense number of its drops, 2 Sam. xvii. 12 (cf. Num. xxiii. 10), and on account of the silent concealment out of which it wondrously and suddenly comes to light, Mic. v. 6 [7]. After not having understood "thy youth" of the youtiifulness of the king, we shall now also not, with Hofmann, refer KHp'^iinn to the king, the holy attire of his armour. ti^Yp JTiin is the vestment of the priest * The LXX. renders it : h zttU y^ee.y..-ro6TYiTi rZv a-'yluv aov (belonging to the preceding clause), Ik. yccoroo; -^po euaipopov iyivur,(ia. ai (Psalt. Veron. txefjennesa se ; Ba.mherg. gegennica se). The Vulgate, following the Italic closely : in spkndorihus sanctorum ; ex utero ante luciferum genui te. The Fathers in some cases interpret it of the birth of the Lord at .Christmas, but most of them of His antemundane birth, and accordingly ApoUinaris paraphrases : yxarpo; xupT^os iy-r^g vpo iua(p6piv xi/ro; hux^yi;- In his own independent translation Jerome reads inni (as in Ixxxvii. 1), in montibufi Sanctis quasi de vulva orietur tibi ros adolescentix tux, as Symniacluis iy Soiaiv otyioi;, — elsewhere, however, iv oo^vi uyiuv. The substitution is not unmeaning, since the ideas of dew and of mountains (cxxxviii. 3) are easily united ; but it was more important to give prominence to the holiness of the equipment than to that of the place of meeting. 192 PSALM ex. 3, 4. for performing divine service : the Levlte singers went forth before the army in "holy attire" in 2 Chron. xx. 21 ; here, however, the people without distinction wear holy festive gar- ments. Thus they surround the divine king as dew that is bora out of the womb of the morning-red. It is a priestly people which he leads forth to holy battle, just as in Apoc. xix. 14 heavenly armies follow the Logos of God upon white horses, ivSeSufMevoc ^vaaivov XevKOP KaOapov — a new generation, won- derful as if born out of heavenly light, numerous, fresh, and vigorous like the dew-drops, the offspring of the dawn. The thought that it is a priestly people leads over to ver. 4. The king who leads this priestly people is, as we hear in ver. 4, him- self a priest (cohen). As has been shown by Hupfeld and Fleischer, the priest is so called as one who stands (from jns = 1^3 in an intransitive signification), viz. before God (Deut. x. 8, cf. Ps. cxxxiv. 1, Heb. x. 11), like ^''33 the spokesman, viz. of God.* To stand before God is the same as to serve Him, viz. as priest. The ruler whom the Psalm celebrates is a priest who intervenes in the reciprocal dealings between God and His people within the province of divine worship ; the priestly character of the people who suffer themselves to be led forth to battle and victory by him, stands in causal connection with the priestly character of this their king. He is a priest by virtue of the promise of God confirmed by an oath. The oath is not merely a pledge of the fulfilment of the promise, but also a seal of the high significance of its purport. God the absolutely truth- ful One (Num. xili. 19) swears — this is the highest enhance- ment of the 'n Di<3 of which prophecy is capable (Amos vi. 8). He appoints the person addressed as a priest for ever " after the manner of Melchlzedek" in this most solemn manner. The i of Tliai is the same ancient connecting vowel as in the ""S^D of the name Melchlzedek ; and it has the tone, which it loses when, as in Lam. i. 1, a tone-syllable follows. The wide- * The Arabic lexicograpbers explain ^ji&l^ by Jjfj^^ j-~ J ,-JCwA.i *, "he who stands and does any one's business and manages his affair." That ^[i, Dip, and J-to, bl^D, side by side with loy are synonyms of \T\2 iii this sense of standing ready for service and iu nn official capacity. PSALM ex. 3, 4. 193 meaning JT^^Vpy, "in respect to, on account of," Eccles. iii. 18, vii. 14, viii, 2, is here specialized to tlie sifrnification " after the manner, measure of," LXX, Kara Tr)v rd^iv. The priesthood is to be united witli the kingship in him who rules out of Zion, just as it was in Melchizedek, king of Salem, and that for ever. According to De Wette, Ewald, and Hofmann, it is not any- special priesthood that is meant here, but that which was bestowed directly with the kingship, consisting in the fact that the king of Israel, by reason of his office, commended his people in prayer to God and blessed them in the name of God, and also had the ordering of Jahve's sanctuary and service. Now it is true all Israel is a "kingdom of priests" (Ex. xix. 6, cf. Num. xvi. 3, Isa. Ixi. 6), and the kingly vocation in Israel must therefore also be regarded as in its way a priestly vocation. But this spiritual priesthood, and, if one will, this princely oversight of sacred things, needed not to come to David first of all by solemn promise ; and that of Melchizedek, after which the relationship is here defined, is incongruous to him ; for the king of Salem was, according to Canaanitish custom, which admitted of the union of the kingship and priesthood, really a high priest, and therefore, regarded from an Israelitish point of view, united in his own person the offices of David and of Aaron. How could David be called a priest after the manner of Melchizedek, he who had no claim upon the tithes of the priests like Melchizedek, and to whom was denied the authority to offer sacrifice * inseparable from the idea of the priesthood in the Old Testament ? (cf. 2 Chron. xxvi. 20.) If David were the person addressed, the declaration would stand in antagonism with the right of Melchizedek as priest recorded in Gen. ch. xiv., which, according to the indisputable representation of the Epistle to the Hebrews, was equal in compass to the Levitico- Aaronic right, and, since "after the manner of" requires a coincident reciprocal relation, in antagonism to itself also.f One might get on more easily with ver. 4 by referring the * G. Enjcflin the Socinian (died 1507) accordingly, in referring this Psalm to David, started from the assumption that priestly functions have been granted exceptionally by God to this king as to no other ; vi!, to seek to know by rubbing, and in general experimentally, cf. ^J of knowledge empirically acquired) according to all their aims, i.e. in all phases of that which they have in view. In ver. 4 13T points to the festival which propagates the remembrance of the deeds of God in the Mosaic age ; ^'},^, ver. 5, therefore points to the food provided for the Exodus, and to the Passover meal, together with the feast of unleavened bread, this memorial (P"i2T, Ex. xii. 14) of the exemption in faithfulness to the covenant which was experienced in Egypt. This Psalm, says Luther, looks to me as though it had been composed for the festival of Easter. Even from the time of Theodoret and Augustine the thought of the Eucharist has been connected with ver. 5 in the New Testament mind ; and it is not without good reason that Ps. cxi. has become the Psalm of the church at the celebration of the Lord's Supper. In connection with T'an one is reminded of the Pesach-Haggada. The deed of redemption which it relates has a power that continues in operation ; for to the church of Jahve is assigned the victory not only over the peoples of Canaan, but over the whole world. The power of Jahve's deeds, which He has made known to His people, and which they tell over again among themselves, aims at giving them the inheritance of the peoples. The works of liis hands are truth and right, for they are the realization of that which is true and which lasts and verifies itself, and of that which is right, that triumphantly maintains its ground. His ordinances are ^''^^.^-i. (occasionally pointed C'JONJ)^ estab- lished, attested, in themselves and in their results authorizing a firm confidence in their salutariness (cf. xix. 8). D"'310Dj sup- ported, stayed, viz. not outwardly, but in themselves, therefore imperturbable (cf. ^I'^D used of the state of mind, cxii. 8, Isa. xxvi. 3). D^^K^y, moulded, arranged, viz. on the part of God, "in truth, and upright;" ">^'^ is accusative of the predicate PSALM CXII. 109 (of. cxix. 37), but without its being clear wliy it is not pointed iw'^1^. If we have understood vers. 4-6 correctly, then rma glances back at the deliverance out of Egypt. Upon this followed the ratification of the covenant on Sinai, which still remains inviolable down to the present time of the poet, and has the holiness and terribleness of the divine Name for a guarantee of its inviolability. The fear of Jahve, this holy and terrible God, is the beginning of wisdom — the motto of the Chohna in Job (ch. xxviii. 28) and Proverbs (ch. i. 7, ix. 10), the Books of the Chohna. Ver. \Qh goes on in this Proverbs-like strain : the fear of God, which manifests itself in obedience, is to those who practise them (the divine pre- cepts, n'''\\\>^) 2iO hyy (Prov. xiii. 15, iii. 4, cf. 2 Chron. xxx. 22), a fine sagacity, praiseworthy discernment — such a (duti- ful) one partakes of everlasting praise. It is true, in glancing back to ver, oh, in'pnri seems to refer to God, but a glance for- ward to cxii. 35 shows that the praise of him who fears God is meant. The old observation therefore holds good : uhi licec ode desinit, sequens incipit (Bakius). PSALM CXII. ALPHABETICAL SONG IN PRAISE OF THOSE WHO FEAR GOD. Hallelujah. 1 K BLESSED is the man who feareth Jahve, 3 Who delighteth greatly in His commandments! 2 a His seed shall become mighty upon earth, T The generation of the upright is blessecl. 3 n "Wealth and riches are in his house, "I And his righteousness standeth for ever. 4 T There ariseth in darkness for the upright a light, n Gracious and compassionate and righteous. 5 to Blessed is he who giveth and lendeth, ^ In the judgment doth he maintain his cause. 6 3 He tottereth not for ever, h The righteous is had in everlasting remembrance. 7 D By evil tidings he is not affrighted, J Ilis heart is stedfast, confident in Jahve. 200 PSALM CXII. 8 D His heart is firm, it doth not fear ; y Until he see his desire upon his adversaries, 9 a Freely doth he give to the needy, i* His righteousness standeth for ever. P His horn groweth up into honour, 10 "1 The wicked seeth it, and is vexed, C Gnashing his teeth and melting away — n The desire of the wicked shall perish. The alphabetical Hallelujah Ps. cxi., which celebrated the government of God, is now followed by another coinciding with it in structure (CTYXOC KB, i.e. 22 ar[.')(pi, as the Coptic version correctly counts), which celebrates the men M'hose conduct is ordered after the divine pattern. As in the preceding Psalm, ver. 1 here also sets forth the theme of that which follows. What is there said in ver. 3 concerning the righteousness of God, ver. 3 here says of the righteousness of him who fears God : this also standeth fast for ever, it is indeed the copy of the divine, it is the work and gift of God (xxiv. 5), inasmuch as God's salutary action and behaviour, laid hold of in faith, works a like form of action and behaviour to it in man, which, as ver. 9 says, is, according to its nature, love. The promise in ver. 4 sounds like Isa. Ix. 2. Hengstenberg renders : " There ariseth in the darkness light to the upright who is gracious and compassionate and just." But this is impossible as a matter of style. The three adjectives (as in cxi. 4, pointing back to Ex. xxxiv. 6, cf. cxlv. 8, cxvi. 5) are a mention of God according to His attributes, jliin and D^nn never take the article in Biblical Hebrew, and P''^V follows tiieir example here (cf. on the contrary, Ex. ix. 27). God Himself is the light which arises in darkness for those who are sincere in their dealings with Him ; He is the Sun of right- eousness with wings of rays dispensing "grace" and "tender mercies," Mai. iii. 20 [iv. 2]. The fact that He arises for those who are compassionate as He is compassionate, is evident from ver. 5. 31D being, as in Isa. iii. 10, Jer. xliv. 17, in- tended of well-being, prosperity, t^'^X Hi^ is here equivalent to &'^ '•"iC^N, which is rendered N"i?^"l ^''2}\2 in Targumic phrase. J3in signifies, as in xxxvii. 26, 21, one who charitably dispenses PSALM CXII. 201 his gifts around. Ver. 5^ is not an extension of the picture of virtue, but, as in cxxvii. 5c, a promissory prospect : he will uj)- hold in integrity (D2*^03, Ixxii. 2, Isa. ix. (5 [7], and frequently), or rather (=t32*J'Qn) in the cause (cxliii. 2, Prov. xxiv, 23, and frequently), the things which depend upon him, or with which he has to do ; for ????, sustinere^ signifies to sustain, i.e. to nourish, to sustain, i.e. endure, and also to support, maintain, i.e. carry through. This is explanatorily confirmed in ver. 6 : he stands, as a general thing, imperturbably fast. And when he dies he becomes the object of everlasting remembrance, his name is still blessed (Prov. x. 7). Because he has a cheerful con- science, his heart too is not disconcerted by any evil tidings (^Jer. xlix. 23) : it remains 1133, erect, straight and firm, without suffering itself to bend or warp; 'n3 nD3, full of confidence (passive, "in the sense of a passive state after a completed action of the person himself," like i^3T, ciii. 14) ; '^^-n, stayed in itself and established. The last two designations are taken from Isa. xxvi. 3, where it is the church of the last times that is spoken of. Ps. xci. 8 gives us information with reference to the meaning of V"iV3 nsn ; ny, as in xciv. 13, of the inevitable goal, on this side of which he remains undismayed. 2 Cor. ix. 9, where Paul makes use of ver. 9 of the Psalm before us as an encouragement to Christian beneficence, shows how little the assertion " his righteousness standeth for ever" is opposed to the New Testament consciousness. ii3 of giving away liberally and in manifold ways, as in Prov. xi. 24. Dii, ver. 9c, stands in opposition to the egoistical Cin in Ixxv. 5 as a vegetative sprouting up (cxxxii. 17). The evil-doer must see this and, confounded, vex himself over it ; he gnashes his teeth with the rage of envy and chagrin, and niclts away, i.e. loses consistency, becomes unhinged, dies off (^9^, od prcet. Niph. as in Ex. xvi. 21, pausal form of DD3r=D0J). How often has he desired the ruin of him whom he must now see in honour ! The tables are turned; this and his ungodly desire in general come to nought, inasmuch as the opposite is realized. On ■^^lo ^^'itli its self-evident object, cf. Mic. vii. 10. Concerning the pausal form Dy3l, vid. xciii. 1. Hupfeld wishes to read nipn after ix. 19, Prov. x. 28. In defence of the traditional reading, Hitzig rightly points to Prov. x. 24 together with ver. 28. 202 PSALM CXIIL PSALM CXIIL hallelujah to him who eaiseth out of low estate. Hallelujah. 1 PRAISE, ye servants of Jalive, Praise the Name of Jalive ! 2 Blessed be the Name of Jahve From this time forth and for evermore ! 3 From the rising of the sun unto its going down Is the Name of Jahve to be praised. 4 Exalted above all peoples is Jahve, Above the heavens His glory. 5 Who is like Jahve our God, He who sitteth enthroned on high, 6 He who looketh far below In heaven and upon earth 1 7 Who raiseth up the lowly out of the dust, Who lifteth the poor from the heap of ashes, 8 To set him with nobles. With the nobles of His people. 9 Who maketh the barren woman to keep house, As a joyful mother of the sons, Hallelujah. With this Psalm begins the Ilallel, which is recited at the three great feasts, at the feast of the Dedication [Chanucca) and at the new moons, and not on New Year's day and the day of Atonement, because a cheerful song of praise does not har- monize with the mournful solemnity of these days. And they are recited only in fragments during the last days of the Passover, for " my creatures, saith the Holy One, blessed be He, were drowned in the sea, and ought ye to break out into songs of rejoicing?" In the family celebration of the Passover night it is divided into two parts, the one half, Ps. cxiii., cxiv., being sung before the repast, before the emptying of the Eecond festal cup, and the other half, Ps. cxv.-cxviii., after PSALM CXIII, 203 tlie repast, after the filling of the fourth cup, to which tlie vfxv7]a-avTe<; (Matt. xxvi. 30, Mark xiv. 2G) after the institution of the Lord's Supper, which was connected with the fourtli festal cup, may refer. Paulus Burgensis styles Ps. cxiii.-cxviii. A lleluja Juda'orum magnum. This designation is also frequently found elsewhere. But according to the prevailing custom, Ps. cxiii.-cxviii., and more particularly Ps. cxv.-cxviii,, are called only Ilallel, and Ps. cxxxvi., with its " for His mercy endureth for ever" repeated twenty-six times, bears the name of "' tlie Great Hallcr (p'^^^r] h)^n)* A heaping up, without example elsewhere, of the so-called Chirek compaginis is peculiar to Ps. cxiii. Gesenius and others call the connecting vowels i and o (in proper names also w) the remains of old case terminations ; with the former the Arabic genitive termination is compared, and with the latter the Arabic nominative termination. But in opposition to this it has been rightly observed, that this i and o are not attached to the dependent word (the genitive), but to the governing word. According to the more probable view of Ewald, § 211, i and o are equivalent connecting vowels which mark the relation of the genitive case, and are to be explained from the original oneness of the Semitic and Indo-Germanic languages. The i is found most frequently appended to the first member of the Stat, constr., and both to the masc, viz. in Deut. xxxiii. 16, Zech. xi. 17 (perhaps twice, vid. Kohler in loc), and to the feniin., viz. in Gen. xxxi. 39, Ps. ex. 4, Isa. i. 21. Lev. xxvi. 42, Ps. cxvi. 1 hardly belong here. Then this i is also fre- * Vid. the tractate Sofrim, xviii. § 2. Apart from the new moons, a ■which the recitation of the Ilallel kxt iio-^yiv, i.e. Ps. cxiii.-cxviii., is only according to custom (jnjD), "ot according to the law, the Ilallel was recited eighteen times a year during the continuance of the Temple (and in Palestine even in the i^resent day), viz. once at the Passover, once at Shabuoth, eight times at Succoth, eight times at Chanucca (the feast of the Dedication) ; and now in the Exile twenty-one times, because the Passover and Succoth have received two feast-days and Shabuoth one as an addition, viz. twice at the Passover, twice at Shabuoth, nine times at Succoth. Instead of Ilallel absolutely we also find the appellation " the Egyptian Hollel" (nVJSn ^^n) for Ps. cxiii.-cxviii. The ancient ritual only makes a distmction between this (Egyptian) Hallel and the Great Ilallel, Pa. cxxxvi. (see there). 20i PSALM CXIII. 1-3. quentiy found when the second member of the stat. constr. has a preposition, and this preposition is consequently in process of being resolved : Gen. xlix. 11, Ex. xv. G, Obad. ver. 3 (Jer. xlix. 16), Hos. X. 11, Lam. i. 1, Ps. cxxiii. 1, and perhaps Cant. i. 9. Also in the Chethib^ Jer. xxii. 23, li. 13, Ezek. xxvii. 3. Thirdly, where a word stands between the two notions that belong together according to the genitival relation, and the stat. construct, is consequently really resolved : Ps. ci. 5, Isa. xxii. 16, Mic. vii. 14. It is the same i which is found in a great many proper names, both Israelitish, e.cj. Gamaliel (benefit of God), and Phoenician, e.g. Melchizedek, Hannibdal (the favour of Baal), and is also added to many Hebrew preposi- tions, like ''^?? (where the i however can, according to the context, also be a pronominal suffix), "'O^^T (where i can like- wise be a suffix), ''30 (poetical). In ''D2X, on the other hand, the i is always a suffix. The tone of the i only I'etreats in accordance with rhythmical rule {vid. ex. 4), otherwise i is always accented. Ver. 8 shows how our Ps. cxiii. in parti- cular delights in this ancient i, where it is even affixed to the infinitive as an ornament, a thing which occurs nowhere else, so that ''2"'L^'1^^ excites the suspicion of being written in error for Among those things which make God worthy to be praised the Psalm gives prominence to the condescension of the infi- nitely exalted One towards the lowly one. It is the lowliness of God lowering itself for the exaltation of the lowly which per- forms its utmost in the work of redemption. Thus it becomes explicable that Mary in her Magnificat breaks forth into the same strain with the song of Hannah (1 Sam. cli. ii.) and this Psalm. Vers. 1-3. The call, not limited by any addition as in cxxxiv. 1, or even, after the manner of ciii. 20 sq., extended over the earth, is given to the whole of the true Israel that cor- responds to its election by grace and is faithful to its mission ; and its designation by " servants of Jahve " (Ixix. 37, cf. xxxiv. 23), or even " servant of Jahve" (cxxxvi. 22), has come into vogue more especially through the second part of Isaiah. This Israel is called upon to praise Jahve ; for the praise and celebration of His Name, i.e. of His nature, which PSAUI CXIII. 4-9. 205 is disclosed by means of its manifestation, is a principal ele- ment, yea, the proper ground and aim, of the service, and shall finally become that which fills all time and all space. ''^"'0, laudatum {est), is equivalent to alverov, laudahile (LXX., Vul- gate), and this does not differ greatly from laudetur. The pre- dictive interpretation laudahitur is opposed to the context (cf. moreover KcJliler on ^lal. i. 11). Vers. 4-6. This praiseworthiness is now confirmed. The opening reminds one of xcix. 2. Pasek stands between Q^IJ and mn' in order to keep them apart. The totality of the nations is great, but Jahve is raised above it ; the heavens are glorious, but Jahve's glory is exalted above them. It is not to be explained according to cxlviii. 13 ; but according to Ivii. 6, 12, Di belongs to ver. Ah too as predicate. He is the incomparable One who has set up His throne in the height, but at the same time directs His gaze deep downwards (ex- pression according to Ges. § 142, rem. 1) in the heavens and upon earth, i.e. nothing in all the realm of the creatures that are beneath Him escapes His sight, and nothing is so low that it remains unnoticed by Him ; on the contrary, it is just that which is lowly, as the following strophe presents to us in a series of portraits so to speak, that is the special object of His regard. The structure of vers. 5, 6 militates against the con- struction of " in the heavens and upon the earth" with the interrogatory " who is like unto Jahve our God?" after Deut. iii. 24. Vers. 7-9. The thoughts of vers, la and 8a are trans- planted from the song of Hannah. I2y, according to 1 Kings xvi. 2, cf. xiv. 7, is an emblem of lowly estate (Hitzig), and nSy'S (from riDa') an emblem of the deepest poverty and de- sertion ; for in Syria and Palestine the man who is shut out from society lies upon the mezbele (the dunghill or heap of ashes), by day calling upon the passers-by for alms, and by night hiding himself in the ashes that have been warmed by the sun {Job, ii. 152). The movement of the thoughts in ver. 8, as in ver. 1, follows the model of the epizeuxis. Together with the song of Hannah the poet has before his eye Hannah's exaltation out of sorrow and reproach. He does not, however, repeat the words of her song which have reference to this (1 Sam. ii. 5;, but clothes his generalization of her expcrienca 206 PSALM CXIV. in his own language. If he intended that nni5y should be un- derstood out of the genitival relation after the form rnpV., why did he not write nnpi? n^2n 'ym^ ? n;nn would then be equiva- lent to nn|'3, Ixviii. 7. n^an n^py is the expression for a woman who is a wife, and therefore housewife, n^sn (npyn) ni3, but yet not a mother. Such an one has no settled position in tlie house of the husband, the firm bond is wanting in her relationship to her husband. If God gives her children, He thereby makes her then thoroughly at home and rooted-in in her position. In the predicate notion ^^^'^ ^''^^'] ^^ the definiteness attaches to the second member of the string of words, as in Gen. xlviii. 19, 2 Sam. xii. 30 (cf. the reverse instance in Jer. xxiii. 26, ''N33 ipl^n, those prophesying that which is false), therefore : a mother of the children. The poet brings the matter so vividly before him, that he points as it were with his finger to the children with which God blesses her. PSALM CXIV. COMMOTION OF NATURE BEFORE GOD THE REDEEMER OUT OF EGYPT. 1 WHEN Israel went forth out of Egypt, The house of Jacob out of a people of strange language, 2 Then Judah became His sanctuary, Israel liis dominion. 3 The sea saw it, and fled, Jordan turned backwards, 4 The mountains skipped like rams, The hills like young sheep. O Jordan, that thou turnest backwards ? 6 Ye mountains, that ye skip like rams ? Ye hills, like young sheep ? — 7 Before the face of the Lord tremble, O earth, Before the face of the God of Jacob, PSALM CXIV. 1-4. 207 8 Who changeth the rock into a pool of water, The flinty rock into water-springs ! To the side of the general Hallelujah Ps. cxiii. comes an historical one, which is likewise adorned in ver. 8 with the Cldrek comjxyjinis, and still further with Cholem compaginis, and is the festival Psahn of the eighth Passover day in the Jewish ritual. The deeds of God at the time of the Exodus are here brought together to form a picture in miniature which is as majestic as it is charming. There are four tetrastichs, which pass by with the swiftness of a bird as it were with four flappings of its wings. The church sings this Psalm in a tonus pere-, chalnahus [the Karaite lexico- grapher Abraham ben David -writes DUlD!?n] ; but this obsolete word, as a compound from joules-, to be black-grey, and /ufcA^rL, to be hard, may originally signify a hard black-grey stone, whereas t^i^D^n looks like a mingling of the verbal stems ^M.A^^1 to be hard, and /uA=w, to be black- brown (as u>4/*l^>-, a detached block of rock, is of the verbal stems jil;>-, to be hard, and Jc^j?^, to be massive). In Hauran the doors of the houses and the window-shutters are called ^Ls^ when they consist of a massive slab of dolerite, probably from their blackish hue. Perhaps :i'"'D^n is the ancient name for basalt ; and in connection with the hardness of this form of rock, which resembles a mass of cast metal, the breaking through of springs is a great miracle. — Wetzstkin. For other views vid. on Isa. xlix. 21. 1. 7. PSALM cxv. 209 to which the poet points back. But why to these in particular? Tlie causing of water to gush forth out of the flinty rock is a practical proof of unlimited omnipotence and of the grace which converts death into life. Let the earth then tremble before the Lord, the God of Jacob. It has already trembled before Him, and before Plim let it tremble. For that which He has been He still ever is ; and as He came once, He will come again. PSALM CXV. CALL TO THE GOD OF ISRAEL, THE LIVING GOD, TO RESCUE THE HONOUR OF HIS NAME. 1 NOT unto us, Jahve, not unto us, But unto Thy Name give glory. Because of Thy loving-kindness, because of Thy truth. 2 ^Vherefore shall the heathen say : " Where is now their God ? " 3 And our God is in the heavens. Whatsoever He willeth He carrieth out. 4 Their gods, however, are silver and gold, The work of men's hands. 5 They have a mouth and speak not, They have eyes and see not, 6 They have ears and hear not, They have a nose and smell not. 7 Their hands, with which they handle not, Their feet, with which they walk not, They speak not with their throat. 8 Like unto them do those who make them become, Every one who trusteth in them. 9 Israel, trust thou in Jahve, Their help and their shield is He. 10 O house of Aaron, trust ye in Jahve, Their help and their shield is He. 11 Yc who fear Jahve, trust in Jahve, Their help and their shield is He. VOL. III. u 210 PSALM CXV. 1, 2. 12 Jahve hath been mindful of us, He will bless— He will bless the house of Israel, He will bless the house of Aaron, 13 He will bless those who fear Jahve, The small together with the great. 14 Jahve will add to you. To you and your children, 15 Blessed be ye of Jahve, The Creator of heaven and earth. 16 The heavens are heavens for Jahve, And the earth hath He given to the children of men. 17 The dead praise not Jah, Nor all those who go down into the silence of death ; 18 We, however, we will bless Jah From henceforth and for evermore, Hallelujah. This Psalm, which has scarcely anything in common with the preceding Psalm except that the expression " house of Jacob," cxiv. 1, is here broken up into its several members in vers. 12 sq., is found joined with it, making one Psalm, in the LXX., Syriac, Arabic, and ^thiopic versions, just as on the other hand Ps. cxvi. is split up into two. This arbitrary arrangement condemns itself. Nevertheless Kimchi favours it, and it has found admission into not a few Hebrew manu- scripts. It is a prayer of Israel for God's aid, probably in the pre- sence of an expedition against heathen enemies. The two middle strophes of the four are of the same compass. Ewald's conjecture, that whilst the Psalm was being sung the sacrifice was proceeded with, and that in ver. 12 the voice of a priest proclaims the gracious acceptance of the sacrifice, is pleasing. But the change of voices begins even with ver. 9, as Olshausen also supposes. Vers. 1, 2. It has to do not so much with the honour of Israel, which is not worthy of the honour (Ezek. xxxvi. 22 sq.) and has to recognise in its reproach a well-merited chastise- ment, as with the honour of Him who cannot suffer the PSALM CXV. 3-8. 211 reproaching of Ills holy name to continue long. He willeth that His name should be sanctified. In the consciousness of his oneness with this will, the poet bases his petition, in so far as it is at the same time a petition on behalf of Israel, upon God's %a/7f9 and uXrjOeia as upon two columns. The second ^V, according to an express note of the Masora, has no Waw before it, although the LXX. and Targum insert one. The thought in ver. 2 is moulded after Ixxix. 10, or after Joel ii. 17, cf. Ps. xlii. 4, Mic. vii. 10. ^^J'"''''^ is the same style as ^3"'^"^^?. ill cxvi. 18, cf. in the older language ^i^^, ^T^'^j ^^^ the like. Vers. 3-8. The poet, with " And our God," in the name of Israel opposes the scornful question of the heathen by the believingly joyous confession of the exaltation of Jahve above the false gods. Israel's God is in the heavens, and is therefore supramundane in nature and life, and the absolutely unlimited One, who is able to do all things with a freedom that is con- ditioned only by Himself : quod viiltj valet (ver. Sb = cxxxv. 6, Wisd. xii. 18, and frequently). The carved gods {^^V, from 3Vy, cogn. 3vn, 3Vi5) of the heathen, on the contrary, are dead images, which are devoid of all life, even of the sensuous life the outward organs of which are imaged upon them. It cannot be proved with Eccles. v. 16 that 2i^^T. and Drivn are equivalent to Dnb DH*, n'^bn. They are either subjects which the Waw apodosis (cf. Gen. xxii. 24, Prov. xxiii. 24, Hab. ii. 5) renders prominent, or casus ahsoluti (Ges. § 145, 2), since both verbs have the idols themselves as their subjects less on account of their gender (l^ and hy\ are feminine, but the Hebrew usage of genders is very free and not carried out uniforpily) as in respect of ver. 7c : with reference to their hands, etc. y(^'''0\ is the energetic future form, which goes over from t'L^'D into w'>0, for ^t:'!?^. It is said once again in ver. Ic that speech is wanting to them ; for the other negations only deny life to them, this at the same time denies all personality. The author might know from his own experience how little was the distinction made by the heathen worship between the symbol and the thing symbolized. Accordingly the worship of idols seems to him, as to the later prophets, to be the extreme of self-stupefaction and of the de- struction of human consciousness ; and the final destiny of the worshippers of false gods, as he says in ver. 8, is, that they 212 PSALM CXV. y-18. become like to their idols, that is to say, being deprived of their consciousness, life, and existence, they come to nothing, like those their nothingnesses (Isa. xliv. 9). This whole section of the Psalm is repeated in Ps. cxxxv. (vers. 6, 15-18). Vers. 9-14. After this confession of Israel there now arises a voice that addresses itself to Israel. The threefold division into Israel, the house of Aaron, and those who fear Jahve is the same as in cxviii. 2-4. In Ps. cxxxv. the " house of Levi " is further added to the house of Aaron. Those who fear Jahve, who also stand in the last passage, are probably the proselytes (in the Acts of the Apostles ae^ofieuoi tov &e6v, or merely ae^o/xevoL*); at any rate these are included even if Israel in ver. 9 is meant to signify the laity, for the notion of " those who fear Jahve " extends beyond Israel. The fact that the threefold refrain of the summons does not run, as in xxxiii. 20, our help and shield is He, is to be explained from its being an antiphonal song. In so far, however, as the Psalm suppli- cates God's protection and help in a campaign the declaration of confident hope, their help and shield is He, niay, with Hitzig, be referred to the army that is gone or is going forth. It is the same voice which bids Israel to be of good courage and announces to the people the well-pleased acceptance of the sacrifice with the words "Jahve hath been mindful of us" {^y^^\ 'n, cf. ■'^VIJ '^^'4-, XX. 7), perhaps simultaneously with the presentation of the memorial portion (maTS) of the meat-offer- ing (xxxviii. 1). The 'H"?.?) placed at the head is particularized threefold, corresponding to the threefold summons. The special promise of blessing which is added in ver. 14 is an echo of Deut. i. 11, as in 2 Sam. xxiv. 3. The contracted future ^ID^ we take in a consolatory sense ; for as an optative it would be too isolated here. In spite of all oppression on the part of the heathen, God will make His people ever more numerous, more capable of offering resistance, and more awe-inspiring. Vers. 15-18. The voice of consolation is continued in ver. 15, but it becomes the voice of hope by being blended with * The appellation (pofiwfcivoi docs not however occur, if we do not bring Acts X. 2 in here ; but in Latin inscriptions in Orelli-Hentzen No. 2523, and in Auerin the Zeitsclirift fiir katlwUsche Theolocjk 1852, S. 80, the proselyte (j-eliyiouis Judaicx) is called metuens. PSALM CXVI. 213 the newly strengthened believing tone of the congregation. Jahve is here called the Creator of heaven and earth because the worth and magnitude of His blessing are measured thereby. He has reserved the heavens to Himself, but given the earth to men. This separation of heaven and earth is a fundamental cha- racteristic of the post-diluvian history. The throne of God is in the heavens, and the promise, which is given to the patriarchs on behalf of all mankind, does not refer to heaven, but to the possession of the earth (xxxvii. 22). The promise is as yet limited to this present world, whereas in the New Testament this limitation is removed and the Kkrjpovofiia embraces heaven and earth. This Old Testament limitedness finds further ex- pression in ver. 17, where hd^^^ as in xciv. 17, signifies the silent land of Hades. The Old Testament knows nothing of a heavenly ecclesia that praises God without intermission, con- sisting not merely of angels, but also of the spirits of all men who die in the faith. Nevertheless there are not wanting hints that point upwards which were even better understood by the post-exilic than by the pre-exilic church. The New Testament morn began to dawn even upon the post-exilic church. We must not therefore be astonished to find the tone of vi. 6, xxx. 10, Ixxxviii. 11-13, struck up here, although the echo of those earlier Psalms here is only the dark foil of the confession which the church makes in ver. 18 concerning its immortality. The church of Jahve as such does not die. That it also does not remain among the dead, in whatever degree it may die off in its existing members, the psalmist might know from Isa. xxvi. 19, XXV. 8. But the close of the Psalm shows that such predictions which light up the life beyond only gradually became elements of the church's consciousness, and, so to speak, dogmas. PSALM CXVI. THANKSGIVrNG SONG OF ONE WHO HAS ESCAPED FRO:^I DEATH. 1 I LOVE, for Jahve heareth My cry, my heartfelt supplication. 2 For He hath inclined His ear unto me, Th' 'efore will I call as long as I live. 214 PSALM CXVL 3 The cords of death compassed me, And the straitcesses of Hades came upon me, Distress and sorrow did I experience. 4 Then upon the name of JahvB did I call : Jahve, deliver my soul. 5 Gracious is Jahve and righteous, And our God a compassionate One. 6 A Guardian of the simple is Jahve ; 1 was brought low, and He helped me. 7 Turn in, my soul, unto thy rest, For Jahve dealeth bountifully with thee. 8 Yea, Thou hast delivered my soul from death, Mine eyes from tears. My feet from falling. 9 I will walk before Jahve In the lands of the living. 10 I believe now, when I must speak : " I, I am afflicted very greatly." 11 I have said to myself in my despair: " All men are liars." 12 How can I repay Jahve All His benefits toward me ? 13. The cup of salvation will I raise, And proclaim the Name of Jahve. 14 My vows will I pay unto Jahve, I will do it in the presence of all His people. 15 Precious in the eyes of Jahve Is the death of His saints. 16 Yea, O Jahve, for I am Thy servant, I am Thy servant, the son of Thy handmaid, Thou hast loosed my bonds. 17 Unto Thee will I sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving And proclaim the Name of Jahve. 18 My vows will I pay unto Jahve, I will do it in the presence of all His people, 19 In the courts of Jahve' s house. In the midst of thee, O Jerusalem ! Hallelujah. PSALM CXVI. 1-4. 215 We have here another anonymous Psalm closing with Hallelujah. It is uot a supplicatory song with a hopeful prospect before it like Ps. cxv,, but a thanksgiving song witli a fresh recollection of some deadly peril that has just been got the better of ; and is not, like Ps. cxv., from the mouth of the church, but from the lips of an individual who distinguishes himself from the church. It is an individual that has been delivered who here praises the loving-kindness he has expe- rienced in the language of the tenderest affection. The LXX. has divided this deeply fervent song into two parts, cxvi. 1-9, 10-19, and made two Hallelujah-Psalms out of it; whereas it unites Ps. cxiv. and cxv. into one. The four sections or strophes, the beginnings of which correspond to one another (vers. 1 and 10, 5 and 15), are distinctly separate. The words K^pN 'n DK'Zi are repeated three times. In the first instance they are retro- spective, but then swell into an always more full-toned vow of thanksgiving. The late period of its composition makes itself known not only in the strong Aramaic colouring of the form of the language, which adopts all kinds of embellishments, but also in many passages borrowed from the pre-exilic Psalms. The very opening, and still more so the progress, of the first strophe reminds one of Ps. xviii., alid becomes an important hint for the exposition of the Psalm. Vers. 1-4. Not only is ^3 'Jii^ns, " I love (like, am well pleased) that," like a<^a-nw oti, Thucydides vi. 36, contrary to the usage of the language, but the thought, " I love that Jahve answereth me," is also tame and flat, and inappropriate to the continuation in ver. 2. Since vers. 3, 4 have come from xviii. 5-17, ''Jii^D? is to be understood according to ^'?n"!i? in xviii. 2, so that it has the following nin'' as its object, not it is true grammatically, but logically. The poet is fond of this pregnant use of the verb without an expressed object, cf. i<"]i?N in ver. 2, and ^JJlJ^^?^ in ver. 10. The Pasek after V^^'] is intended to guard against the blending of the final a with the initial 'a of 'JIN (cf. Ixvi. 18, v. 2, in Baer). In ver. lb the accentuation prevents the rendering vocem orationis niece (Vulgate, LXX.) by means of Mugrash. The i of vip will therefore no more be the archaic connecting vowel (Ew. § 211, b) than in Lev. xxvi. 42 ; the poet has varied the genitival construction of xxviii. 216 PSALM CXVI. 5-9. 6 to the permutative. The second 'a, following close upon the first, makes the continuation of the confirmation retrospective. " In my days" is, as in Isa. xxxix. 8, Bar. iv. 20, cf. ''l^^ in Ixiii. 5, and frequently, equivalent to " so long as I live." We even here hear the tone of Ps. xviii. (ver. 2), which is con- tinued in vers. 3, 4 as a freely borrowed passage. Instead of the " bands" (of Hades) there, the expression here is ''1^'P, angiistice, plural of "IVP, after the form 3D0 in cxviii, 5, Lam. i. 3 (Bottcher, De inferis, § 423) ; the straitriesses of Hades are deadly perils which can scarcely be escaped. The futures tJiOSI and ^"^i?^, by virtue of the connection, refer to the cotera- poraneous past. n3X (viz. 7\^^'2. \\y"h2, i.e. in a suppliant sense) is written with He instead of Aleph here and in five other instances, as the Masora observes. It has its fixed Metheg in the first syllable, in accordance with which it is to be pro- nounced mma (like Q^i!i3, bctttim), and has an accented ultima not merely on account of the following nin"' = ^^ix (vid. on iii. 8), but in every instance ; for even where (the Metheg having been changed into a conjunctive) it is supplied with two dif- ferent accents, as in Gen. 1. 17, Ex. xxxii. 31, the second indicates the tone-syllable.* Instead now of repeating " and Jahve answered me," the poet indulges in a laudatory confession of general truths which have been brought vividly to his mind by the answering of his prayer that he has experienced. Vers. 5-9. With "gracious" and "compassionate" is here associated, as in cxii. 4, the term "righteous," which comprehends within itself everything that Jahve asserts con- cerning Himself in Ex. xxxiv. 6 sq. from the words " and abundant in goodness and truth" onwards. His love is turned especially toward the simple (LXX. to, vijiria, cf. Matt. xi. 25), * Kimchi, mistaking the vocation of the Metheg, regards n3X (N3X) as Milel. But the Palestinian and the Babylonian systenas of pointing coin- cide in this, that the beseeching N3^< (HiN) is Milra, and the interrogatory n:X Milel (with only two exceptions in our text, which is fixed according to the Palestinian Masora, viz. cxxxix. 7, Deut. i. 28, where the following word begins with Aleph), and these modes of accenting accord with the origin of the two particles. Pinsker (Einleilnng, S. xiii.) insinuates against the Palestinian system, that in the cases where X3N has two accents the pointing was not certain of the correct accentuation, only from a deficient knowledge of the bearings of the case. PSALM CXVI. 10-14. 217 wlio stand in need of His protection and give themselves over to it. Q>'^'^3, as in Prov. ix. 6, is a mode of writing blended out of D'N*n3 and D'^ns. The poet also has experienced tliis love in a time of impotent need. ^rii?"l is accented on the ultima here, and not as in cxlii, 7 on the penult. The accentua- tion is regulated by some phonetic or rhythmical law that has not yet been made clear (yid. on Job xix. 17).* ])''^Sr\\ is a resolved Hiphil form, the use of which became common in the later period of the language, but is not alien to the earlier period, especially in poetry (xlv. 18, cf. Ixxxi. 6, 1 Sam. xvii. 47, Isa. lii. 5). In ver. 7 we hear the form of soliloquy which has become familiar to us from Ps. xlii., xliii., ciii. ''^VC' is 3Iilra here, as also in two other instances. The plural wnini signifies full, complete rest, as it is found only in God ; and the suffix in the address to the soul is ajchi for ajich, as in ciii. 3-5. The perfect pp3 states that which is a matter of actual experi- ence, and is corroborated in ver. 8 in retrospective perfects. In vers. 8, 9 we hear Ivi. 14 again amplified ; and if we add xxvii. 13, then we see as it were to the bottom of the origin of the poet's thoughts. nVOT'lp belongs still more decidedly than TB'irT' to the resolved forms which multiply in the later period of the language. In ver. 9 the poet declares the result of the divine deliverance. The Hitlipa. "W]^^ denotes a free and contented going to and fro ; and instead of " the land of the living," xxvii. 13, the expression here is "the lands (nivis), i,^. the broad land, of the living." There he walks forth, with nothing to hinder his feet or limit his view, in the presence of Jahve, i.e. having his Deliverer from death ever before his eyes. Vers. 10-14. Since i^nx ''3 does not introduce anything that could become an object of belief, PP^^l is absolute here : to have faith, just as in Job xxiv. 22, xxix. 24, with N? it signi- fies " to be without faith, i.e. to despair." But how does it now proceed? The LXX. renders iiriarevaa, Bib iXaXtjaa, which the apostle makes use of in 2 Cor. iv. 13, without our being * The national grammarians, so far as we are acquainted with thorn, furnish no explanation. De Balmis believes that these Milra forms ^ni'?!, ^ni^2, and the like, must be regarded as infinitives, but at the same time confirms the difference of views existing on this pomt. 218 PSALM CXVI. 10-14. therefore obliged with Luther to render : / believe, therefore 1 speak; "'3 does not signify hio. Nevertheless ^3 might accord- ing to the sense be used for |3^, if it had to be rendered witli Hengstenberg : " I beheved, therefore I spake, but I was very much plagued." But this assertion does not suit this connection, and has, moreover, no support in the syntax. It might more readily be rendered : " I have believed that I should yet speak, i.e. that I should once more have a deliverance of God to celebrate ;" but the connection of the parallel members, which is then only lax, is opposed to this. Hitzig's attempted inter- pretation, " I trust, when C? as in Jer. xii. 1)1 should speak : I am greatly afflicted," i.e. " I have henceforth confidence, so that I shall not suffer myself to be drawn away into the ex- pression of despondency," does not commend itself, since ver. lOh is a complaining, but not therefore as yet a desponding assertion of the reality. Assuming that ''^^^.^[3 and ^iiiio^ in ver. 11a stand on the same line in point of time, it seems that it must be interpreted I had faith, for I spake (was obliged to speak) ; but lans, separated from '•nJDxn by ^3, is opposed to the colouring relating to the cotemporaneous past. Thus ver. 10 will consequently contain the issue of that which has been hitherto experienced: / have gathered up faith and believe henceforth, when I speak (have to speak, must speak) : / am deeply afflicted (njV as in cxix. 67, of. ^^, to be bowed down, more particularly in captivity, whence i\>A\, those who are bowed down). On the other hand, ver. 11 is manifestly a re- trospect. He believes now, for he is thoroughly weaned from putting trust in men: I said in my despair (taken from xxxi. 23), the result of my deeply bowed down condition: All men are liars {ira'2n has the orthophonic stroke beside "i^ (the so-called ''i?.^), which points to the correct tone-syllable of the word that has Decld* Instead of V^V it is here pointed ''Jjy, which also occurs in other instances not only with distinctive, but also (though not uniformly) with conjunc- tive accents.f The construction is a pregnant one (as in xxii. 22, xxviii. 1, Ixxiv. 7, 2 Sam. xviii. 19, Ezra ii. 62, 2 Chron. xxxii. 1) : He answered me by removing me to a free space * Vid. Bacr's Thorath Emeth, p. 7 note, and p. 21, end of note 1. t Hitzig on Prov. viii. 22 considers the pointing ijjp to be occasioned by Decld, and in fact ijjy in the passage before us has TarcJia, and in 1 Sam. xxviii. 15 Munach; but in the passage before us, if we read n^3m03 as one word according to the Masora, ""j^y is rather to be accented with Mugrash; and in 1 Sam. xxviii. 15 the reading ''jjy is found side by side with >33y (e.g. in Bihl. Bomberg. 1521). Nevertheless ""jriDnv xvii. 3, and *3"in Job XXX. 19 (according to Kimchi's Blichlul, 30«), beside Mcrclin, show that the pointing beside conjunctive as beside disjunctive accents wavers between a and «, although a is properly only justified beside dis- junctive accents, and >:^>; also really only occurs in pause. VOL IlL 15 226 PSALM CXVIII. 1-18. (xviii. 20). Both lines end with ^l ; nevertheless the reading ii^nnnm is attested by the iMasora (vid. Baer's Psalterium, pp. 132 sq.), instead of ^l ^n"?'^-- -"-^ has its advocates even in the Talmud (^B. Fesachim 117a), and signifies a boundless extent, n^ expressing the highest degree of comparison, like i^vSiSO in Jer. ii. 31, the deepest darkness. Even the LXX. appears to have read iT'amD thus as one word (et? irXarvafioVj Symmachus et ; with reference to the pointing, vid. on xl. 15) ; but Jahve's help would not suffer it to come to that pass. Tlierefore the song at the Red Sea is revived in the heart and mouth of Israel. Ver. 14 (like Isa. xii. 2) is taken from Ex. xv. 2. Vy (in MSS. also written ^^V) is a collateral form of '']V (Ew. § 255, a), and here signifies the lofty self- consciousness which is united with the possession of power: pride and its expression an exclamation of joy. Concerning n"iOT vid. on xvi. 6. As at that time, the cry of exultation and of salvation {i.e. of deliverance and of victory) is in the taber- nacles of the righteous ; the right hand of Jahve — they sing — ^n nb'i; (Num. xxiv. 18), practises valour, proves itself energetic, gains (maintains) the victory, "^^^ii is Milra, and therefore an adjective : victorlosa (Ew. § 120, d), from 20"^ = Dn like DOV^ from DO'f . It is not the par^ PH. (cf. IIos. xi. 7), since the rejection of the participial Mem occurs in connec- tion with Poal and Pual^ but not elsewhere with Pdel ip?'^'^ = DniiD from D^n). The word yields a simpler sense, too, as adject, parlicipiale Kal; romemd'h is only the fuller form for ratndhf 228 PSALM CXVIII. 19-29. Ex. xiv. 8 (cf. ocl'mah, Isa. xxvi. 11). It is not its own strengtli that avails for Israel's exultation of victory, but the energy of the right hand of Jahve. Being come to the brink of the abyss, Israel is become anew sure of its immortality through Him. God has, it is true, most severely chastened it C^iD^ with the suffix anni as in Gen. xxx. 6, and HJ with the emphatic Dagesh, which neither reduplicates nor connects, cf. ver. 5, xciv. 12), but still with moderation (Isa. xxvii. 7 sq.). He has not suffered Israel to fall a prey to death, but reserved it for its high vocation, that it may see the mighty deeds of God and proclaim them to all the world. Amidst such celebration of Jahve the festive procession of the dedication of the Temple has arrived at the enclosure wall of the Temple. Vers. 19-29. The gates of the Temple are called gates of righteousness because they are the entrance to the place of the mutual intercourse between God and His church in accordance with the order of salvation. First the " gates " are spoken of, and then the one " gate," the principal entrance. Those enter- ing in must be "righteous ones;" only conformity with the divine loving will gives the right to enter. With I'eference to the formation of the conclusion ver. 12b, vid. Ew. § 347, b. In the Temple-building Israel has before it a reflection of that which, being freed from the punishment it had had to endure, it is become through the mercy of its God. With the exulta- tion of the multitude over the happy beginning of the rebuild- ing there was mingled, at the laying of the foundation-stone, the loud weeping of many of the grey-headed priests, Levites, and heads of the tribes who had also seen the first Temple (Ezra iii. 12 sq.). It was the troublous character of the present which made them thus sad in spirit ; the consideration of the depressing circumstances of the time, the incongruity of which weighed so heavily upon their soul in connection with the remembrance of the former Temple, that memorably glorious monument of the royal power of David and Solomon.* And even further on there towered aloft before Zerubbabel, the leader of the building, a great mountain ; gigantic difficulties and hindrances arose between the powerlessness of the present * Kurtz, ia combating our interpretation, reduces the number of tha T.ecpiug oues to " some few," but the narrative says the very opposite. PSALM CXVIII. 19-20. 229 position of ZeruLbabel and the completion of the building of the Temple, which had it is true been begun, but was impeded. This mountain God has made into a plain, and qualified Zerub- babel to bring forth the top and key-stone (H^'xin }3xn) out of its past concealment, and thus to complete the building, which is now consecrated amidst a loud outburst of incessant shouts of joy (Zech. iv. 7). Ver. 22 points back to that disheartened disdain of the small troublous beginning, which was at work among the builders (Ezra iii. 10) at the laying of the founda- tion-stone, and then further at the interruption of the building. That rejected (disdained) corner-stone is nevertheless become nas C'Nij i.e. the head-stone of the corner (Job xxxviii. 6), which being laid upon the corner, supports and protects the stately edifice — an emblem of the power and dignity to which Israel has attained in the midst of the peoples out of deep humiliation. In connection with this only indirect reference of the asser- tion to Israel we avoid the question, — perplexing in connection with the direct reference to the people despised by the heathen, — how can the heathen be called "the builders?" Kurtz answers: "For the building which the heathen world considers it to be its life's mission and its mission in history to rear, viz. the Babel-tower of worldly power and worldly glory, they have neither been able nor willing to make use of Israel . . ." But this conjunction of ideas is devoid of scriptural support and without historical reality ; for the empire of the world has set just as much value, according to political relations, upon the incorporation of Israel as upon that of every other people. Further, if what is meant is Israel's own despising of the small beginning of a new era that is dawning, it is then better ex- plained as in connection with the reference of the declaration to Jesus the Christ in Matt. xxi. 42-44, Mark xii. 10 sq., Acts iv. 11 (y(f)' vfjiuv Tcoy oiKoSofjiovuTcov), 1 Pet. ii. 7, the builders are the chiefs and members of Israel itself, and not the heathen. From 1 Pet. ii. 6, Rom. ix. 33, we see how this reference to Christ is brought about, viz. by means of Isa. xxviii. 16, where Jahve says : Behold I am lie ivJio hath laid in Zion a stone, a stone of trial, a precious corner-stone of ivell-foundcd founding — whoever believeth shall not totter. In the light of this ^lessiuuic prophecy of Isaiah ver. 22 of our Psalm also comes to have a Messianic meaning, which is warranted by the fact, that tho 230 PSALM cxviir. 19-29. history of Israel is recapitulated and culminates in the history of Christ; or, according to John ii. 19-21 (cf. Zech. vi. 12 sq.), still more accurately by the fact, that He who in His state of humiliation is the despised and rejected One is become in His state of glorification the eternal glorious Temple in which dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and is united with humanity which has been once for all atoned for. In the joy of the church at the Temple of the body of Christ which arose after the three days of burial, the joy which is here typically expressed in the words : " Fx'om with Jahve, i.e. by the might which dwells with Him, is this come to pass, wonderful is it become (has it been carried out) in our eyes," therefore received its fulfilment. It is not ri{<7S2 but nxbpi, like nxan in Gen. xxxiii. 11, nsni? from N"ji5 = nnj? in Deut. xxxi. 29,' Jer. xliv. 23, nxn^ from N^f?, to call, Isa. vii. 14. We can hear Isa. xxv. 9 sounding through this passage, as above in vers. 19 sq., Isa. xxvi. 1 sq. The God of Israel has given this turn, so full of glory for His people, to the history.* He is able now to plead for more distant salvation and pro- sperity with all the more fervent confidence. N35^ (six times niis) is, as in every other instance {vid. on cxvi. 4), Milra. njTK'in is accented regularly on the penult., and draws the fol- lowing i<3 towards itself by means of Dag. forte conj. ; nn^yn on the other hand is Milra according to the Masora and other ancient testimonies, and ^53 is not dageshed, without Norzi being able to state any reason for this different accentuation. After this watchword of prayer of the thanksgiving feast, in ver. 26 those who receive them bless those who are coming (^<3^ with Dechi) in the name of Jahve, i.e. bid them welcome in His name. The expression " from the house of Jahve," like " from the fountain of Israel" in Ixviii. 27, is equivalent to, ye who belong to His house and to the church congregated around it. In the mouth of the people welcoming Jesus as the Messiah, 'flaavvd was a '' God save the king" (yid. on xx. 10) ; they scattered palm branches at the same time, like the liilahs at the joyous cry of the Feast of Tabernacles, and saluted Him * The verse, " This is the day which the Lord hath made," etc., was, according to Chrysostom, an ancient hypophon of the church. It has a glorious history. PSALM CXVIII. 19-29. 231 with the cry, " Blessed is He who cometh in the name of the Lord," as being the longed-for guest of the Feast (Matt. xxi. 9). According to the Midrash, in ver. 26 it is the people of Jeru- ealem who thus greet the pilgrims. In the original sense of the Psalm, however, it is the body of Levites and priests above on the Temple-hill who thus receive the congregation that has come up. The many animals for sacrifice svhich they brought with them are enumerated in Ezra vi. 17. On the ground of the fact that Jahve has proved Himself to be -'N, the absolutely mighty One, by having granted light to His people, viz. loving- kindness, liberty, and joy, there then issues forth the ejaculation, " Bind the sacrifice," etc. The LXX. renders a-varyjaaaOe iopTtjv iv Totful pity {Resh) — him, viz., who being per- secuted by princes clings fast to Him {Shi7i), and would seek him the isolated and so sorely imperilled sheep! {Tav.) This out- line does not exhaust the fundamental thoughts of the separate ogdoades, and they might surely be still more aptly reproduced, but this is sufficient to show that the Psalm is not wanting in coherence and progressive movement, and that it is not an ideal situation and mood, but a situation and mood based upon ])ublic relationships, from which this manifold celebration of the divine word, as a fruit of its teaching, has sprung. It is natural to suppose that the composition of the Psalm falls in those times of the Greek domination in which the government was hostile, and a large party from among the Jews themselves, that was friendly towards the government, PSALM CXIX. 1-16. 245 persecuted all decided confessors of the Tora. Hltzig says, " It can be safely maintained that the Psalm was written in the Maccabaean age by a renowned Israelite who was in imprison- ment under Gentile authorities." It is at least probable that the plaited work of so long a Psalm, which, in connection with all that is artificial about it, from beginning to end gives us a glimpse of the subdued afflicted mien of a confessor, is the work of one in prison, who whiled away his time with this plaiting together of his complaints and his consolatory thoughts. Vers. 1-8. The eightfold A leph. Blessed are those who act according to the word of God ; the poet wishes to be one of these. The alphabetical Psalm on the largest scale begins appropriately, not merely with a simple (cxii. 1), but with a twofold ashre. It refers principally to those integri vice (vitoe). In ver. 3 the description of those who are accounted blessed is carried farther. Perfects, as denoting that which is habitual, alternate with futures used as presents. In ver. 4 '^'0''^} ex- presses the purpose of the enjoining, as in ver. 5 the goal of the directing. vH^ (whence VH^? 2 Kings v. 3) is compounded of nx (yid. supruj i. 428) and v Qt>), and consequently signifies si. On ^J3' cf. Prov. iv. 26 (LXX. KaTevdwdeirja-av). The retrospective TX is expanded anew in ver. 66 : then, when I namely. " Judgments of Thy righteousness" are the decisions concerning right and wrong which give expression to and put in execution the righteousness of God.* ''IP^^ refers to Scripture in comparison with history. Vers. 9-16. Tiie eightfold Beth. Acting in accordance with the word of God, a young man walks blamelessly ; the poet desires this, and supplicates God's gracious assistance in order to it. To purify or cleanse one's way or walk (nsT, cf. Ixxiii. 13, Prov. xx. 9) signifies to maintain it pure {% root nr, * The word " jiulgrncnts" of our English autliorized version is retained in the text as being the most convenient word ; it must, however, be borne in mind that in this Psalm it belongs to the " chain of synonyms," and does not mean God's acts of judgment, its more usual meaning in the Old Testament Scriptures, but is used as defined above, aud is the equivalent here of the German ReclUe, DOt G'erichU: — Tu, 246 PSALM CXIX. 17-24. cJj, to prick, to strike the eye, nitere;* vid. Fleisclier in Levy's Chalddisches Worterhuch, i. 424) from the spotting of sin, or to free it from it. Ver. 96 is the answer to the question in ver. 9a ; "ib^i'p signifies citstodiendo semetipsum, for 10^ can also signify " to be on one's guard" without iK'23 (Josh. vi. 18). The old classic {e.g. xviii. 31) ^n^?'? alternates throughout with 11^"^. ; both are intended collectively. One is said to hide (|Sy) the word in one's heart when one has it continually present with him, not merely as an outward precept, but as an inward motive power in opposition to selfish action (Job xxiii. 12). In ver. 12 the poet makes his way through adoration to peti- tion, "•ri'isp in ver. 13 does not mean enumeration, but recount- ing, as in Deut. vi, 7. riiny is the plural to riny ; nny, on the contrary, in ver. 138 is the plural to nny : both are used of God's attestation of Himself and of His will in the word of revelation. 7^3 signifies, according to ver. 162, '' as over" (short for ?V 1^^?3), not : as it were more than (Olshausen) ; the 3 would only be troublesome in connection with this inter- pretation. With reference to Jin, which has occurred already in xliv. 13, cxii. 3 (from )in, jj,, to be light, levem), aisance, ease, opulence, and concrete, goods, property, vid. Fleischer in Levy's Chald. Wo^-terb. i. 423 sq. T'rihiS, ver. 15, are the paths traced out in the word of God ; these he will studiously keep in his eye. Vers. 17-24. The eightfold Gimel. This is his life's aim : he will do it under fear of the curse of apostasy ; he will do it also though he suffer persecution on account of it. In ver. 17 the expression is only n^n5< as cxviii. 19, not '^l^^] as in vers. 77, IIG, 144: the apodosis imper. oi\]y begins with moe'Si, whereas rrriK is the good itself for the bestowment of which the poet prays. P3 in ver. 18a is imper. apoc. Piel for npa, like D3 in Dan. i. 12. rii^^?? is the expression for everything supernatural and mysterious which is incomprehensible to the ordinary understanding and is left to the perception of faith. The Tora beneath the surface of its letter contains an abundance of such " wondrous things," into which only eyes from which * The word receives the meaning of uix.civ (vid. supra, ii. 136), like ^ and ^, from the signification of outshining = overpowering. rSALM CXIX. 25-32. 247 God has removed the covering of natural short-sightedness penetrate ; hence the prayer in ver. 18. Upon earth we have no abiding resting-place, we sojourn here as in a strange land (ver. 19, xxxix. 13, 1 Cliron. xxix. 15). Hence the poet prays in ver. 19 that God would keep His commandments, these rules of conduct for the journey of life, in living consciousness for him. Towards this, according to ver. 20, his longing tends. D^a {Hiph. in Lam. iii. 16) signifies to crush in pieces, ^j: j?-, and here, like the Aramaic D13, D"ia, to be crushed, broken in pieces, naxn^ (from SN'ri, vers. 40, 174, a secondary form of nas) states the bias of mind in or at which the soul feels itself thus overpowered even to being crushed : it is crushing from longing after God's judgments, viz. after a more and more thorough knowledge of them. In ver. 21 the LXX. has probably caught the meaning of the poet better than the point- ing has done, inasmuch as it draws iiriKaTdparoc to ver. 216, so that ver. 21a consists of two words, just like vers. 59a, 89a; and Kamphausen also follows this in his rendering. For Q''1'i"'^5 as an attribute is unpoetical, and as an accusative of the predi- cate far-fetched ; whereas it comes in naturally as a predicate before T^nivtso wy^n : cursed (I1i;5 = j^, detestari), viz. by God. Instead of hi, " roll" (from b?i, Josh. v. 9), it is pointed in ver. 22 (^yjs) ''3, " uncover" = npj^ as in ver. 18, reproach being con- ceived of as a covering or veil (as e.g. in Ixix. 8), cf. Isa. xxii. 8 (perhaps also Lam. ii. 14, iv. 22, if ?]} npa there signifies " to remove the covering upon anything"). Da in ver. 23a, as iu Jer. xxxvi. 25, has the sense of ""S'Sa, etiamsi ; and D3 in ver. 24a the sense of nevertheless, o/icu?, E\v. § 354, a. On 3 "i3"!a (reciprocal), cf. Ezek. xxxiii. 30. As in a criminal tribunal, princes sit and deliberate how they may be able to render him harmless. Vers. 25-32. The eightfold Daleth. He is in deep trouble, and prays for consolation and strengthening by means of God's word, to ^Yhich he resigns himself. His soul is fixed to the dust (xliv. 26) in connection with such non-recognition and proscription, artd is incapable of raising itself. In ver. 256 he implores new strength and spirits (n^n as in Ixxi. 20, Ixxxv. 7) from God, in conformity with and by reason of His word. He has rehearsed his walk in every detail to God, 248 PSALM CXIX. 33-40. and has not been left without an answer, which has assured him of His good pleasure : may He then be pleased to advance him ever further and further in the understanding of His word, in order that, though men are against him, he may nevertheless have God on his side, vers. 26, 27. The complaint and request expressed in ver. 25 are renewed in ver. 28. ^^'^ refers to the soul, which is as it were melting away in the trickling down of tears ; 0*1? is a Piel of Aramaic formation belonging to the later language. In vers. 29, 30 the way of lies or of treachery, and the way of faithfulness or of perseverance in the truth, stand in opposition to one another. |jn is construed with a double accusative, inasmuch as nnin has not the rigid notion of a fixed teaching, but of living empirical instruction. '^^V' (short for nj:p Tm;^ xvi. 8) signifies to put or set, viz. as a norma normans that stands before one's eyes. He cleaves to the testimonies of God ; may Jahve not disappoint the hope which to him springs up out of them, according to the promise, ver. 31. He runs, i.e. walks vigorously and cheerfully, in the way of God's com- mandments, for He has widened his heart, by. granting and preserving to the persecuted one the joyfulness of confession and the confidence of hope. Vers. 33-40. The eightfold He. He further prays for instruction and guidance that he may escape the by-puths of selfishness and of disavowal. The noun 3py, used also else- where as an accus. adverb., in the signification ad extremum (vers. 33 and 112) is peculiar to our poet. '^3"iSfSl (with a Shehd which takes a colouring in accordance with the principal form) refers back to T^!J}.. In the petition " give me under- standing" (which occurs six times in this Psalm) \'''y\\ is caus- ative, as in Job xxxii. 8, and frequently in the post-exilic writings. W^ (from W^, abscindere, as KepBo ludijicantar^ it is implied that the Cl.T are just ^V/, frivolous persons, libertines, free-thinkers (Prov. xxi. 24). ^''pBtJ'p, ver. 52, are the valid, verified decisions (judgments) of God revealed from the veriest olden times. In the remembrance of these, which determine the lot of a man according to the relation he holds towards them, the poet found comfort. It can be rendered : then I comforted myself ; or according to a later usage of the Hithpa. : I was comforted. Concerning ^^^71, cestus, vid. xi. 6, and on the subject-matter, vers. 21, 104. The poet calls his earthly life " the house of his pilgrimage;" for it is true the earth is man's (cxv. 16), but he has no abiding resting-place there (1 Chron. xxix. 15), his D^iy n-a (Eccles. xii. 5) is elsewhere {vid. supra, ver. 19, xxxix. PSALM CXIX. 57-72. *251 13). God's statutes are here his "songs," which give him spiritual refreshing, sweeten the hardships of the pilgritna<:f, and measure and hasten his steps. The Name of God lias been in his mind hitherto, not merely by day, but also by night ; and in consequence of tliis he has kept God's law (mow'xi, as five times besides in this Psalm, cf. iii. 6, and to be distinguished from niDl^^NI, ver. 44). Just this, that he keeps (observat) Gixl's precepts, has fallen to his lot. To others something else is allotted (iv. 8), to him this one most needful thing. Vers. 57-64. The eightfold Ileth. To understand and to keep God's word is his portion, the object of his incessant pray- ing and thanksgiving, the highest grace or favour that can come to him. According to xvi. 5, Ixxiii. 26, the words 'n ^phn belong together. Ver. bib is an inference drawn from it (^ "lOX as in Ex. ii. 14, and frequently), and the existing division of the verse is verified, ''pa npn^ as in xlv. 13, is an expression of caressing, flattering entreaty ; in Latin, caput midcere {demul- cere). His turning to the word of God the poet describes in ver. 59 as a result of a careful trying of his actions. After that he quickly and cheerfully, ver. 60, determined to keep it without any long deliberation with flesh and blood, although the snares of wicked men surround him. The meaning of v3ri is determined according to ver. 110: the pointing does not distinguish so sharply as one might have expected between v3n, 6ihlva ^^ smear over, bedaub, as the Targumic, Talmudic, and Syriao show). If the heart of these men, who by slander make him into a caricature of himself, is covered as it were with thick fat (a figure of insensibility and obduracy, xvii. 10, Ixxiii. 7, Isa. vi. 10, LXX. irvpcodr], Aquila eknrdvOr], Symmachus ifMvaXciodrj) against all the impressions of the word of God, he, on the other hand, has his delight in the law of God {V'4'V.}^ with an accusative of the object, not of that which is delighted, xciv. 19, but of that which delights). How beneficial has the school of affiiction through which he has attained to this, been to him! The word proceeding from the mouth of God is now more precious to him than the greatest earthly riches. Vers. 73-80. The eightfold Jod. God humbles, but He also exalts again according to His word; for this the poet prays in order that he may be a consolatory example to the God- fearing, to the confusion of his enemies. It is impossible that God should forsake man, who is His creature, and deny to him that which makes him truly happy, viz. the understanding and knowledge of His word. For this spiritual gift the poet prays PSALM CXIX. 81-68. 25:3 ill ver. 73 (cf. on 73a, Dent, xxxii, G, Job x. 8, xxxi. 15) ; and lie wishes in ver. 74 that all who fear God may see in him with joy an example of the way in wdiich trust in the word of God is rewarded (cf. xxxiv. 3, xxxv. 27, Ixix. 33, cvii. 42, and oilier passages). He knows that God's acts of judgment are pure righteousness, i.e. are regulated by God's holiness, out of which they spring, and by the salvation of men, at which they aim ; and he knows that God has humbled him '"ij^os {accus. adverb. for n:^JDS3i)j being faithful in His intentions towards him; for it is just in the school of affliction that one first learns rightly to estimate the worth of His word, and comes to feel its power. But trouble, though sweetened by an insight into God's salutary design, is nevertheless always bitter; hence the well-justified prayer of ver. 76, that God's mercy may notwithstanding be bestowed upon him for his consolation, in accordance with the promise which is become his (p as in ver. 49a), His servant's. T\}V, ver. 78, instead of being construed with the accusative of the right, or of the cause, that is perverted, is construed with the accusative of the person upon whom such perversion of right, such oppression by means of misrepresentation, is in- flicted, as in Job xix. 6, Lam. iii. 36. Chajug' reads W?y as in ver. 61. The wish expressed in ver. 79 is to be understood according to Ixxiii. 10, Jer. xv. 19, cf. Prov. ix. 4, 16. If instead of ''3/1^1 (which is favoured by ver. 63), we read accord- ing to the Clietliib ^y*l\1 (cf. ver. 125), then what is meant by v ^3VJ'^ is a turning towards him for the purpose of learning: may their knowledge be enriched from his experience. For himself, however, in ver. 80 he desires unreserved, faultless, unwavering adherence to God's word, for only thus is he secure against being ignominiously undeceived. Vers. 81-88. The eightfold Kaph. This strengthening according to God's promise is his earnest desire ("^^3) now, when within a very little his enemies have comj)assed his ruin (i^f?). His soul and eyes languish (^^"3 as in Ixix. 4, Ixxxiv. 3, cf. Job xix. 27) for God's salvation, that it may be unto him according to God's word or ]>romise, that this woril may be fulfilled. In ver. 83 *3 is hypothetical, as in xxi. 12 and frequently ; here, as ])erhaps also in xxvii. 10, in the sense of "although" (Ew. § 362, h). He does not suffer anything to drive God's word out of his mind, althougli he is already become 254 PSALM CXIX. 89-96. like a leathern bottle blackened and shrivelled up in the smoke. The custom of the ancients of placing jars with wine over the smoke in order to make the wine prematurely old, i.e. to mellow it (vid. Eosenmiiller), does not yield anything towards the understanding of this passage : the skin-bottle that is not in- tended for present use is hung up on high ; and the fact tliat it had to withstand the upward ascending smoke is intelligible, notwithstanding the absence of any mention of the chimney. The point of comparison, in which we agree for the most part with Hitzig, is the removal of him who in his dungeon is con- tinually exposed to the drudgery of his persecutors. n)33 in ver. 84 is equivalent to "how few." Our life here below is short, so also is the period within which the divine righteous- ness can reveal itself, nin^^ (instead of which the LXX. erroneously reads n^n^b'), pits, is an old word, Ivii. 7. The relative clause, ver. S5b, describes the "proud" as being a contradiction to the revealed law ; for there was no necessity for saying that to dig a pit for others is not in accordance with this law. All God's commandments are an emanation of His faithfulness, and therefore too demand faithfulness ; but it is just this faithfulness that makes the poetan object of deadly hatred. They have already almost destroyed him "in the land." It is generally rendered " on earth ;" but " in heaven " at the beginning of the following octonary is too far removed to be an antithesis to it, nor does it sound like one (cf. on the other hand iv rol'i ovpavol^^ Matt. v. 12). It is therefore: in the land (cf. Iviii. 3, Ixxiii. 9), where they think they are the only ones who have any right there, they have almost destroyed him, without shaking the constancy of his faith. But he stands in need of fresh grace in order that he may not, however, at last succumb. Vers. 89-96. The eightfold Lamed. Eternal and im- perishable in the constant verifying of. itself is the vigorous and consolatory word of God, to which the poet will ever cling. It has heaven as its standing-place, and therefore it also has the qualities of heaven, and before all others, heaven- like stability. Ps. Ixxxix. (ver. 3) uses similar language in reference to God's faithfulness, of which liere ver. 90 says that it endureth into all generations. The earth hath He creatively set up, and it standeth, viz. as a practical proof and as a scene PSALM CXIX. 97-104. 253 of His infinite, unchangeable faithfulness. Heaven and earth are not tlie subjects of ver. 91 (Hupfekl), for only the earth is previously mentioned ; the reference to the heavens in ver. 89 is of a very different character. Ilitzig and others see the subject in 'T^^'^Pr' : with respect to Thy judgments, they stand fast unto this day; but the T'l.^y which follows requires another meaning to be assigned to iTpV : either of taking up one's place ready for service, or, since D^•L^•DS loy is a current phrase in Num. XXXV. 12, Josh. xx. 6, Ezek. xliv. 24, of placing one's self ready to obey (Bottcher). The subject of 1^py, as the following ''sn shows, is meant to be thought of in the most general sense (cf . Job xxxviii. 14) : all beings are God's servants (subjects), and have accordingly to be obedient and humble before His judicial decisions — Di'n, " even to this day," the poet adds, for these judi- cial decisions are those which are formulated beforehand in the Tora. Joy in this ever sure, all-conditioning word has upheld the poet in his affliction, ver. 92. He who has been persecuted and cast down as it were to death, owes his reviving to it, ver. 93. From Him whose possession or property he is in faith and love he also further looks for his salvation, ver. 94. Let evil- doers lie in wait for him Q^? in a hostile sense, as in Ivi. 7, ^]\?, of. n2n, going back to nij^^ ^^^ with the broad primary signi- fication, to be tight, firm, strong) to destroy him, he meditates on God's testimonies. He knows from experience that all (earthly) perfection (i^P^lli) has an end (inasmuch as, having reached its height, it changes into its opposite) ; God's com- mandment (singular as in Deut. xi. 22), on the contrary, is exceeding broad (cf. Job xi. 9), unlimited in its duration and vei'ification. Vers. 97-104. The eightfold Mem. The poet praises the practical wisdom which the word of God, on this very account so sweet to him, teaches. God's precious law, with which he unceasingly occupies himself, makes him superior in wisdom (Deut. iv. 6), intelligence, and judgment to his enemies, his teachers, and the aged (Job xii. 20). There were therefore at that time teachers and elders (Trpea/duTepoi), who (like the Hellenizing Sadducees) were not far from apostasy in their laxness, and hostilely persecuted the young and strenuous zealot for God's law. The construction of ver. 98a is like Joel i. 20, 256 PSALM CXIX. 105-112. Isa. lix. 12, and frequently. N"*!! refers to the commandments in their unity : he has taken possession of them for ever (cf . ver. Ilia). The Mishna (Aboth iv. 1) erroneously interprets: from all my teachers do I acquire understanding. All three p in vers. 98-100 signify ;;rflp (LXX. virep). In "'^xpzij ver. 101a, from the mode of writing we see the verb Lamed Aleph passing over into the verb Lamed He. ''^.^'}P is, as in Prov. iv. 11 (cf. Ex. iv. 15), a defective mode of writing for "•JJT'iin. ivppj, ver. 103a, is not equivalent to l^]^^, Job vi. 25 {vid. Job, i. 118, 279), but signifies, in consequence of the dative of the object ^3np, that which easily enters, or that which tastes good (LXX. w? ), and His law remains eternal truth (^^t^). nplir is here the name of the attribute and of the action that is conditioned in accordance with it ; pli* the name of the state that thoroughly accords \\\i\\ the idea of that which is right. So too in ver. 144 : pTi PSALM CXIX. 145-160. 261 are Jahve's testimonies for ever, so that all creatures must u'lve glory to their harmony with that which is absolutely right. To look ever deeper and deeper into this their perfection is the growing life of the spirit. The poet prays for this vivifying insight. Vers. 145-152. The eightfold Kopk. Fidelity to God's word, and deliverance according to His promise, is the purport of his unceasing prayer. Even in the morning twilight (^'^'^.) he was awake praying. It is not ^'^'?.'?, I anticipated the twilight ; nor is "'Ii>^"np, according to Ixxxiv. 14, equivalent to •i\-|?onp, but ^}^'^\ • ' • ■'^'p'^P is the resolution of the otherwise customary construction V)'^)> ^nmp, Jonah iv. 2, inasmuch as D"=i.i? may signify "to go before" (Ixviii. 26), and also "to make haste (with anything) : " even early before the morning's dawn I cried. Instead of T'-imi' the Keri (Targum, Syriac, Jerome) more appropriately reads "Tlj^"!? after vers. 74, 81, 114. But his eyes also anticipated the night-watches, inasmuch as they did not allow themselves to be caught not sleeping by any of them at their beginning (cf. ^i^v, Lam. ii. 19). 'TJP^^ is here, as in vers. 140, 158, and frequently, the whole word of God, whether in its requirements or its promises. In ver. 149 T^DSy'DS is a defective plural as in ver. 43 (vid. on ver. 37), according to ver. 156, although according to ver. 132 the singular (LXX., 'J'argum, Jerome) would also be admissible : what is meant is God's order of salvation, or His appointments that relate thereto. The correlative relation of vers. 150 and 151 is rendered natural by the position of the words. With l^i.P (cf. ^^ip) is associated the idea of rushing upon him with hostile purpose, and with 3ni5, as in Ixix. 19, Isa. Iviii. 2, of hastening to his succour, net is infamy that is branded by the law : they go forth purpos- ing this, but God's law is altogether self-verifying truth. And the poet has long gained the knowledge from it that it does not aim at merely temporary recompense. The sophisms of the apostates cannot therefore lead him astray. 2^"|?^. for \^'^P''., like nm in ver. 111. Vers. 153-160. The eightfold Resh. Because God can- not suffer those who are faithful to His word to succumb, he supplicates His help against his persecutors. nT"i is Milra before the initial (haU'-guttural) liesh, as in xliii. 1, Ixxiv. 22. The Lumed of "Hn^ios^ is the Lamed of reference (with respect 2G2 PSALM CXIX. 161-168. to Thine utterance), whether tlie reference be normative (=imox3, ver. 58), as in Isa. xi. 3, or causal, xxv. 2, Isa, Iv. 5, Job xlii. 5. The predicate pinn, like "it^'j in ver. 137, stands first in the primary, as yet indefinite form. Concerning ver. 156^ vid. on ver. 149. At the sight of the faithless he felt a profound disgust ; riDDipHNI, pausal aorist, supply Dri3, cxxxix. 21. It is all the same in the end whether we render "li^'^^ quippe qui or siqiddem. C'Nl in ver. 160 signifies the head-number or sum. If he I'eckons up the word of God in its separate parts and as a whole, truth is the denominator of the whole, truth is the sum-total. This supplicatory ''f'n is repeated three times in this group. The nearer it draws towards its end the more importunate does the Psalm become. Vers. 161-168. The eightfold ^ (both Shin and Sin *). In the midst of persecution God's word was still his fear, his joy, and his love, the object of his thanksgiving, and the ground of his hope. Princes persecute him without adequate cause, but his heart does not fear before them, but before God's words (the Keri likes the singular, as in ver. 147), to deny which would be to him the greatest possible evil. It is, however, a fear that is associated with heartfelt joy (ver. 111). It is the joy of a conflict that is rewarded by rich spoil (Judg. v. 30, Isa. ix. 2 [3]). Not merely morning and evening, not merely three times a day (Iv. 18), but seven times (V?^ as in Lev. xxvi. 18, Prov. xxiv.l6), i.e. ever again and again, availing himself of every pra^^erful impulse, he gives thanks to God for His word, whicii so righteously decides and so correctly guides, is a source of transcendent peace to all who love it, and beside which one is not exposed to any danger of stumbling (PVC'pn, LXX. aKuv- SaXov, cf. 1 John ii. 10) without some effectual counter-working. In ver. 166a he speaks like Jacob in Gen. xlix. 18, and can speak thus, inasmuch as he has followed earnestly and untir- ingly after sanctification. He endeavours to keep God's law most conscientiously, in proof of which he is able to appeal to God, the Oamiscieut One. '^1''^'^ is here the M prcvt., where- * Whilst even in the oldest alphabetical Pijutim the Sin perhaps repre- sents the Samech as well, but never the Shin, it is the reverse in the Biblical ali)habetical pieces. Here Sin and Shin coincide, and Samech is specially represented. PSALM CXIX. 169-176. 263 as in Ixxxvi. 2 it is imperat. The future of 3[ii? is both 2nx and 3ns!j just as of Tnx both Tns* and tnss. Vers. 1G9-176. ^The eightfold fav. May God answer this his supplication as He has heard his praise, and interest Himself on behalf of His servant, the sheep that is exposed to great danger. The petitions " give me understanding " and '' deliver me " go hand-in-hand, because the poet is one who is persecuted for the sake of his faith, and is just as much in need of the fortifying of his faith as of deliverance from the outward restraint that is put upon him. np is a shrill audible prayer ; nanrij a fervent and urgent prayer. n:y, prop, to answer, signi- fies in ver. 172 to begin, strike up, attune (as does diroKplveaOai also sometimes). According to the rule in 1. 23 the poet bases his petition for help upon the purpose of thankful praise of God and of His word. Knowing how to value rightly what he possesses, he is warranted in further supplicating and hoping for the good that he does not as yet possess. The " salvation " for which he longs (3Nn as in vers. 40, 20) is redemption from the evil world, in which the life of his own soul is imperilled. May then God's judgments (defective plural, as in vers. 43, 149, which the Syriac only takes as singular) succour him C^'^j^!, not ''^^ty.). God's hand, ver. 173, and God's word afford him succour ; the two are involved in one another, the word is the medium of His hand. After this relationship of the poet to God's word, which is attested a hundredfold in the Psalm, it may seem strange that he can say of himself "l?i< ^'^'^ V^^.^ j and perhaps the accentuation is correct when it does not allow itself to be determined by Isa. liii. 6, but interprets : If I have gone astray — seek Thou like a lost sheep Thy servant. 1?X nc' is a sheep that is lost (cf. Q"'1^x as an appellation of the dispersion, Isa. xxvii. 13) and in imminent danger of total destruction (cf. xxxi. 13 with Lev. xxvi. 38). In connection with that inter- pretation which is followed by the interpunction, ver. 1766 is also more easily connected with what precedes : liis going astray is no apostasy ; his home, to which he longs to return when he has been betrayed into by-ways, is beside the Lord. 264 PSALM CXX.-CXXXIV. THE FIFTEEN SONGS OF DEGREES, OR GRADUAL PSALMS. Ps. CXX.-CXXXIV. These songs are all inscribed ni^ysn '\>^. The LXX., ac- cording to the most natural signification of the word, renders ; wSi) rwv ava^a6[X(x)v ; the Italic and Vulgate, canticum gradmim (whence the liturgical term " gradual Psalms"). The meaning at the same time remains obscure. When, however, Theodotion renders aa^a twv ava^daecov, Aquila and Symmachus wS?) e/? Ta nn-ii-3 = ''|5"i>*3, xviii. 7, is based upon the customary expression ■•^ "!>•. In ver. 2 follows the petition which the poet sends up to Jahve in the certainty of being answered, nvpi beside liw*^, although there is no masc. ''»t (cf. however the Aramaic "•Jin, "'NtS"!), is taken as an adjective after the form nnu, n>:j;, which it is also perhaps in Mic. vi. 12. The parallelism would make pti*b natural, like nn"ip \v^)> in Iii. 6 ; the pointing, which nevertheless disregarded thi.-^, will therefore rest upon tradition. The apostrophe in ver. 3 is addressed to the crafty tongue. liC'^ is certainly feminine as a rule ; but whilst the tongue as such is feminine, the n''D"i JVJ'^ of the address, as in Iii. 6, refers to him who has such a kind of tongue (cf. Ilitzig on Prov. xii. 27), and thereby the 1^ is justitied; whereas the rendering, 270 PSALM CXX. 5-7. "what does it bring to thee, and what does it profit thee? " or, "of what use to thee and what advancement to thee is the crafty tongue ? " is indeed possible so far as concerns the syntax (Ges. § 147, e), but is unhkely as being ambiguous and confusing in expression. It is also to be inferred from the correspondence between "^ fl''p>"nni "^p jri^TiD and the formula of an oath ^l^or nbi d\iSn; ^^■nb'l?; nb, i Sam. iii. 17, xx. 13, XXV. 22, 2 Sam. iii. 35, Ruth i. 17, that God is to be thought of as the subject of jn"' and fl"'D'' : "what will," or rather, in accordance with the otherwise precative use of the formula and with the petition tiiat here precedes : " what shall He (is He to) give to thee (103 as in Hos. ix. 14), and what shall He add to thee, thou crafty tongue ? " The reciprocal relation of ver. 4a to |n^"nD, and of ver. A.h with the superadding DJ? to Pl''D''-no, shows that ver. 4 is not now a characterizing of the tongue that continues the apostrophe to it, as Ewald supposes. Conse- quently ver. 4 gives the answer to ver. 3 with the twofold ])unishment which Jahve will cause the false tongue to feel. The question which the poet, sure of the answering of his cry for help, puts to the false tongue is designed to let the person addressed hear by a flight of sarcasm what he has to expect. The evil tongue is a sharp sword (Ivii. 5), a pointed arrow (Jer. ix. 7 [8]), and it is like a fire kindled of hell (Jas. iii. 6). The punishment, too, corresponds to this its nature and conduct (L\ivi 4). The "mighty one" (LXX. tvvaT6|in signifies, as in Ex. xxviii. 7, to be joined together, to be united into a whole ; and 1"^n^ strengthens the idea of that which is harmoniously, perfectly, and snugly closed up (cf. cxxxiii. 1). The Kaph of i^ys is the so-called Kaph veritatis : Jerusalem has risen again out of its ruined and razed condition, the breaches and gaps are done away with (Isa. Iviii. 12), it stands there as a closely compacted city, in which house joins on to house. Thus has the poet seen it, and the recollection fills him with rapture.* Vers. 4, 5. The imposing character of the impression was still greatly enhanced by the consideration, that this is the city where at all times the twelve tribes of God's nation (which were still distinguished as its elements even after the Exile, Rom. xi. 1, Luke ii. 36, Jas. i. 1) came together at the three great feasts. The use of the tJ' twice as equivalent to IK'X is (as in Canticles) appropriate to the ornamental, happy, minia- ture-like manner of these Songs of degrees. In ^^^ the O'J is, as in Eccles. i. 7, equivalent to TO'J', which on the other hand in ver. 5 is no more than an emphatic' D^' (cf. Ixxvi. 4, Ixviii. 7). w affirms a habit (cf. Job i. 4) of the past, which extends into the present. ''^?'}ti'v niny is not an accusative of the definition or destination (E\v. § 300, c), but an apposition to the previous clause, as e.g. in Lev. xxiii. 14, 21, 31 (Hitzig), referring to the appointment in Ex. xxiii. 17, xxxiv. 23, Deut. to give time to the amazement with which the sight of the Temple, the citadel of the king, and the magnificent city filled them." * In synagogue and church it is become customary to interpret ver. 3 of the parallelism of the heavenly and the eartlily Jerusalem. 278 PSALM CXXII. 6-9. xvi. 16. The custom, which arose thus, is confirmed in ver. 5 from the fact, that Jerusalem, the city of the one national sanctuary, was at the same time the city of the Davidic king- ship. The phrase t^s^^p^ 3*^^ is here transferred from the judicial persons (cf. xxix. 10 with ix. 5, Isa. xxviii. 6), who sit in judgment, to the seats (thrones) which are set down and stand there for judgment (cf. cxxv. 1, and 6povo-, round about, equally correct whether written ^'•n or bn), and niiois as the parallel word, as in xlviii. 14. The twofold motive of such an earnest wish for peace is love for the brethren and love for the house of God. For the sake of the brethren is he cheerfully resolved to speak peace {to. vrpo? elp7]vr]v avTi)^, Luke xix. 42) concerning (3 "i2"i, as in Ixxxvii. 3, Deut. vi. 7, LXX. -rrepl aov; cf. Di^'f 12^ with % and b, to speak peace to, Ixxxv. 9, Esth. x. 3) Jerusalem, for the sake of the house of Jahve will he strive after good (i.e. that which tends to her well-being) to her (like ? nnit3 C'iDa in Neh. ii. 10, cf. Di^'f ^Tl, Deut. xxhi. 7 [6], Jer. xxix. 7). For although he is now again far from Jerusalem after the visit that is over, he still remains united in love to the holy city as being the goal of his longing, and to those who dwell there as being his brethren and friends. Jerusalem is and will remain the heart of all Israel as surely as Jahve, who has His house there, is the God of all Israel. PSALM CXXIIL UPWARD GLANCE TO THE LORD IN TIMES OF CONTEMPT. 1 TO Thee do I lift up mine eyes, Thou who art enthroned in the heavens ! 2 Behold, as the eyes of servants unto the hand of their master, As the eyes of a maid unto the hand of her mistress : So our eyes are unto Jahve our God, until He be gracious unto us. 3 Be gracious unto us, Jahve, he gracious unto us, for of contempt are we full enough. 280 PSALM CXXIII. 1-4. 4 Full enough is our soul With the scorn of the haughty, the contempt of despots. This Psalm is joined to the preceding Psalm by the com- munity of the divine name Jahve our God. Alsted (died 1638) gives it the brief, ingenious inscription oculus sjyeraiis. It is an upward glance of waiting faith to Jahve under tyrannical oppression. The fact that this Psalm appears in a rhyming form, "as scarcely any other piece in the Old Testament" (Reuss), comes only from those inflexional rhymes which creep in of themselves in the tephilla style. Vers. 1, 2. The destinies of all men, and in particular of the church, are in the hand of the King who sits enthroned in the unapproachable glory of the heavens and rules over all things, and of the Judge who decides all things. Up to Him the poet raises his eyes, and to Him the church, together with which he may call Him " Jahve our God," just as the eyes of servants are directed towards the hand of their lord, the eyes of a maid towards the hand of her mistress; for this hand regulates the whole house, and they wait upon their winks and signs with most eager attention. Those of Israel are Jahve's servants, Israel the church is Jahve's maid. In His hand lies its future. At length He will take compassion on His own. Therefore its longing gaze goes forth towards Him, without being wearied, until He shall graciously turn its distress. With reference to the i of ""^f ''"?, vid. on cxiii., cxiv. 2n''3n>< is their common lord ; for since in the antitype the sovereign Lord is meant, it will be conceived of as plu7\ excellentice, just as in general it occurs only rarely (Gen. xix. 2, 18, Jer. xxvii. 4) as an actual plural. Vers. 3, 4. The second strophe takes up the " be gracious unto us" as it were in echo. It begins with a Kyrie elcison, which is confirmed in a crescendo manner after the form of steps. The church is already abundantly satiated with igno- miny, y] is an abstract " much," and ria"! (cf. Ixv. 10, cxx. 6) is concrete, " a great measure," like na"), Ixii. 3, something great {vid. Bottcher, Lehrbuch, § 624). The subjectivizing, intensive '"^p accords with cxx. 6 — probably an indication of PSALM CXXIV. 281 one and the same author, na is strengthened by iV7, like T3 in Ezek. xxxvi. 4. The article of 3J?pn is retrospectively demon- strative: full of such scorn of the haughty (Ew. § 290, (/). nsn is also retrospectively demonstrative ; but since a repeti- tion of the article for the fourth time would have been inele- gant, the poet here says D^iVSJ^ with the Lamed, which serves as a circumlocution of the genitive. The Masora reckons tliis word among the fifteen " words that are written as one and are to be read as two." The Keri runs viz. CJV 'S3p, superhis oppressorum (2''3i'', part. Kal, like n:i>n Zeph. iii. 1, and fre- quently). But apart from the consideration that instead of "•Na, from the unknown nxa, it might more readily be pointed ^N3j from nx3 (a form of nouns indicating defects, contracted 5<3), this genitival construction appears to be far-fetched, and, inasmuch as it makes a distinction among the oppressors, inap- propriate. The poet surely meant Q'^i'^fi/' or □"'iVXsX This word P"'^{a (after the form P'Vlj P'??, f^7l^) is perhaps an inten- tional new formation of the poet. Saadia interprets it after the Talmudic P"?./", legio; but how could one expect to find such a Grecized Latin word (Xeyecov) in the Psalter ! Dunash ben- Labrat (about 960) regards D''3VNJ as a compound word in the signification of D''3i>n D^XJn. In fact the poet may have chosen the otherwise unused adjectival form C^i'W because it reminds one of Cii', although it is not a compound word like Q^^i''?1. If the Psalm is a Maccabaean Psalm, it is natural to find in D'':VN:i' an allusion to the despotic domination of the CJV. PSALM CXXIV. THE DELIVERER FROM DEATH IN WATERS AND IN A SNARE. 1 HAD not Jahve been for us, Let Israel say — 2 Had not Jahve been for tr«, When men rose up against us : 3 Then had they swallowed us up alive, When their anger was kindled against us— 4 The7i had the waters overwhehued us, The stream had gone over our soul — 282 PSALM CXXIV. 1-5. 5 Tlien had gone over our soul The proudly swelling waters. 6 Blessed be Jahve, who hath not abandoned us A prey to their teeth ! 7 Our soul, hke a bird hath it escaped Out of the snare of the fowlers: The snare was broken And we — we escaped. 8 Our help is in the Name of Jahve, The Creator of heaven and earth. The statement " the stream had gone over our soul" of this fifth Song of degrees, coincides with the statement "our soul is full enough" of the fourth; the two Psalms also meet in the synonymous new formations Q''^i"'^?5 and C'jn^r, which also look very much as though they were formed in allusion to cotemporary history. The ^w is wanting in the LXX., Codd. Alex, and Vat., here as in Ps. cxxii., and with the excep- tion of the Targum is wanting in general in the ancient ver- sions, and therefore is not so much as established as a point of textual criticism. It is a Psalm in the manner of the Davidic Psalms, to which it is closely allied in the metaphors of the overwhelming waters, xviii. 5, 17 (cf. cxliv. 7), Ixix. 2 sq., and of the little bird ; cf. also on yv xxvii. 13, on D'lX used of hostile men Ivi. 12, on D''^n ypa Iv. 16, on 'n '^113 xxviii. 6, xxxi. 22. This beautiful song makes its modern origin known by its Aramaizing character, and by the delight, after the manner of the later poetry, in all kinds of embellishments of language. The art of the form consists less in strophic sym- metry than in this, that in order to take one step forward it always goes back half a step. Luther's imitation (1524), "Were God not with us at this time" {Ware Gott nicht mil WIS diese Zeit), bears the inscription " The true believers' safe- guard." Vers. 1-5. It is commonly rendered, " If it had not been Jahve who was for us." But, notwithstanding the subject that is placed first (cf. Gen. xxiii. 13), the B* belongs to the 'hS^; PSALM CXXIV. 6-8. 283 since in the Aramaizing Hebrew (cf. on the other hand Gen. xxxi. 42) ^ vv (cf. ^\ ^j)) signifies nisi (prop, nisi quod), as in the Aramaic C^) ^ C^*^) ''l?, o si (prop, o si quod). The ^fX, pecuUar to this Psalm in the Old Testament, instead of TX follows the model of the dialectic iHS, \3\, ^,^01 (PT'!!', n^). In order to begin the apodosis of "bv (N?^) emphatically the older language makes use of the confirmatory "'3, Gen. xxxi. 42, xliii. 10 ; here we have *IX (well rendered by the LXX. dpa), as in cxix. 92. The Lamed of IjS n\"j is raphe in both instances, according to the rule discussed above, vol. ii. 145. When men (2"]^) rose up against Israel and their anger was kindled against them, they who were feeble in themselves over against the hostile world would have been swallowed up alive if they had not had Jahve for them, if they had not had Him on their side. This " swallowing up alive " is said elsewhere of Hades, which suddenly and forcibly snatches away its victims, Iv. 16, Prov. i. 12 ; here, however, as ver. 6 shows, it is said of the enemies, who are represented as wild beasts. In ver. 4 the hostile power which rolls over them is likened to an overflowing stream, as in Isa. viii. 7 sq., the Assyrian, npnj, a stream or river, is Milel ; it is* first of all accusative : towards the stream (Num. xxxiv. 5) ; then, however, it is also used as a nominative, like ^yy., '^'?1'|?'!'> and the like (cf. common Greek V v^X^'^i ^ veoT'qra) ; so that nn— is related to n— (n— ) as nj— , i»— to t— and D— (Bottcher, § G15). These latest Psalms are fond of such embellishments by means of adorned forms and Aramaic or Aramaizing words. Q'Ji'i^ is a word which is indeed not unhebraic in its formation, but is more indigenous to Chaldee ; it is the Targum word for D"'"!?. in Ixxxvi. 14, cxix. 51, 78 (also in liv. 5 for Dnr), although according to Levy the MSS. do not present PJif'T but Tyyi- Iii ^^e passage before us the Targum renders: the king who is like to the proud waters (X':iTT "'iD^) of the sea (Antiochus Epiphanes? — A scholium explains ol v'irepr}<^avoi). With reference to "13V before a plural subject, vid. Ges. § 147. Vers. 6-8. After the fact of the divine succour has been expressed, in ver. 6 follows the thanksgiving for it, and in ver. 7 the joyful shout of the rescued one. In ver. 6 the enemies 284 PSALM CXXV. are conceived of as beasts of prey on account of tlieir blood- thirstiness, just as the worldly empires are in the Book of Daniel; in ver. 7 as "fowlers" on account of their cunning. According to the punctuation it is not to be rendered : Our soul is like a bird that is escaped, in which case it would have been accented iisva liJ^'SJ, but : our soul (subject with Eehia magmim) is as a bird ("112^3 as in Hos. xi. 11, Prov. xxiii. 32, Job xiv. 2, instead of the syntactically more usual ilS5f3) escaped out of the snare of him who lays snares i^py^ elsewhere t^•ip^, K*>P^, a fowler, xci. 3). "laK'J (with a beside Rehia) is 3c? prcet. : the snare was burst, and we — we became free. In ver. 8 (cf. cxxi. 2, cxxxiv. 3) the universal, and here pertinent thought, I viz. the help of Israel is in the name of Jahve, the Creator of the world, i.e. in Him who is manifest as such and is continually verifying Himself, forms the epiphonematic close. Whether the power of the world seeks to make the church of Jahve like to itself or to annihilate it, it is not a disavowal of its God, but a faithful confession, stedfast even to death, that leads to its deliverance. PSALM CXXV. Israel's bulwark against temptation to apostasy. 1 THEY who trust in Jahve are as Mount Zion, Which doth not totter, it standeth fast for ever. 2 As for Jerusalem — mountains are round about her. And Jahve is round about His people From this time and for evermore. 3 For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest Upon the lot of the righteous^ Lest the righteous stretch out Their hands unto iniquity. 4 O show Thyself good, Jahve, unto the good And to those who are upright in their hearts. PSALM CXXV. 1, 2. 285 5 But those who turn aside their crooked patlis — Jahve cause them to pass away with the workers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel ! The favourite word Israel furnished the outward occasion for annexing this Psahii to the preceding. The situation is like that in Ps. cxxiii. and cxxiv. The people are under foreign dominion. In this lies the seductive inducement to apostasy. The pious and the apostate ones are already separated. Those who have remained faithful shall not, however, always remain enslaved. Hound about Jerusalem are mountains, but more important still : Jahve, of rocks the firmest, Jahve encompasses His people. That this Psalm is one of the latest, appears from the cir- cumstantial expression " the upright in their hearts," instead of the old one, " the upright of heart," from pxn "'pyD instead of the former px "'^I'D, and also from n!? lyo^ (beside this passage occurring only in cxix. 11, 80, Ezek. xix. 9, xxvi. 20, Zech. xii. 7) instead of N? "il"S }y?op or 13. Vers. 1, 2. The stedfastness which those who trust in Jahve prove in the midst of every kind of temptation and assault is likened to Mount Zion, because the God to whom they believingly cling is He who sits enthroned on Zion. The future 3?;';. signifies : He sits and will sit, that is to say, He continues to sit, cf. ix. 8, cxxii. 5. Older expositors are of opinion that the heavenly Zion must be understood on account of the Chaldaean and the Roman catastrophes ; but these, in fact, only came upon the buildings on the mountain, not upon the mountain itself, which in itself and according to its ap- pointed destiny {vid. Mic. iii. 12, iv. 1) remained unshaken. In ver. 2 also it is none other than the earthly Jerusalem that is meant. The holy city has a natural circunivallation of mountains, and the holy nation that dwells and worships therein has a still infinitely higher defence in Jahve, wiio encompasses it round {vid. on xxxiv. 8), as perhaps a wall of fire (Zech. ii. 9 [5]), or an impassably broad and mighty river (Isa. xxxiii. 21) ; a statement which is also now confirmed, for, etc. Instead of inferring from the clause ver. 2 that which is 286 PSALM CXXV. 3-5. to be expected with p^, the poet confirms it with ^3 by that which is surely to be expected. Ver. 3. The pressure of the worldly power, which now lies heavily upon the holy land, will not last for ever ; the duration of the calamity is exactly proportioned to the power of resis- tance of the righteous, whom God proves and purifies by calamity, but not without at the same time graciously preserv- ing them. "The rod of wickedness" is the heathen sceptre, and "the righteous" are the Israelites who hold fast to the religion of their fathers. The holy land, whose sole entitled inheritors are these righteous, is called their " lot " (^IIJ, K\i]porjaei, i.e. D^?!! ^ (cf. on the other hand n'J', He shall let down, cause to come down, in Isa. xxx. 32). Not for a continuance shall the sceptre of heathen tyranny rest upon the holy land, God will not suffer that : in order that the righteous may not at length, by virtue of the power which pressure and use exercises over men, also participate in the prevailing ungodly doings, n^'^'' with Beth : to seize upon anything wrongfully, or even only (as in Job xxviii. 9) to lay one's hand upon anything (frequently with hv). As here in the case of ^n^lV, in Ixxx. 3 too the form that is the same as the locative is combined with a preposition. Vers. 4, 5. On the ground of the strong faith in vers. 1 sq. and of the confident hope in ver. 3, the petition now arises that Jahve would speedily bestow the earnestly desired blessing of freedom upon the faithful ones, and on the other hand remove the cowardly [lit. those afraid to confess God] and those who have fellowship with apostasy, together with the declared wicked ones, out of the way. For such is the mean- ing of vers. 4 sq. D'^itS (in Proverbs alternating with the " righteous," ch. ii. 20, the opposite being the " wicked," □"'yjh, ch. xiv. 19) are here those who truly believe and rightly act in accordance with the good will of God,* or, as the parallel * The Midrash here calls to mind a Talmudic riddle: There came a good one (Moses, Ex. ii. 2) and received a good thing (the Tora, Prov. iv. 2) from the good One (God, Ps. cxlv. 9) for the good ones (Israel, Ps. CXXV. 4). PSALM CXXVI. 287 member of the verse explains (where D''")^'^ did not require the article on account of the addition), those who in the bottom of their heart are uprightly disposed, as God desires to have it. The poet supplicates good for them, viz. preservation against denying God and deliverance out of slavery ; for those, on the contrary, who bend {^^^) their crooked paths, i.e. turn aside their paths in a crooked direction from the right way (Dni>'i?r'i?V., cf. Judg. V. 6, no less than in Amos ii. 7, Prov. xvii. 23, an ac- cusative of the object, which is more natural than that it is the accusative of the direction, after Num. xxii. 23 extrem., cf. Job xxiii. 11, Isa. xxx. 11) — for these he wishes that Jahve would clear them away ('n?i'^ like cJJJ^^, perire facere = perdere) together with the workers of evil, i.e. the open, manifest sinners, to whom these lukewarm and sly, false and equivocal ones are in no way inferior as a source of danger to the church. LXX. correctly : toi/? he €KKXlvovTa in its ordi- nary signification. Unjust judges, malicious accusers, and false witnesses retire shy and faint-hearted before a family so PSALM CXXVIII. 295 ca pable of defending itself. We read the opposite of tliis in Job V. 4 of sons upon whom the curse of their fathers rests. PSALM CXXVIII. THE FAMILY PROSPERITY OF THE GOD-FEARING MAN. 1 HAPPY is every one who feareth Jahve, AVho walketh in His ways. 2 The labour of thy hands shalt thou surely eat, Happy art thou, and it is well with thee. 3 Thy wife, like a fruitful vine is she. In the inner part of thy house ; Thy children are like shoots of olive-trees Round about thy table. 4 Behold, surely thus is the man bh.ff>ed Who feareth Jahve. 5 Jahve bless thee out of Zion, Arid see thou the prosperity of Jerusalem All the days of thy life, G Aiid see thou thy children's children — Peace be upon Israel ! Just as Ps. cxxvii. is appended to Ps. cxxvi. because the fact that Israel was so surprised by the redemption out of exile that they thought they were dreaming, finds its interpre- tation in the universal truth that God bestows upon him whom He loves, in sleep, that which others are not' able to acquire by toiling and moiling day and night: so Ps. cxxviii. follows Ps, cxxvii, for the same reason as Ps. ii, follows Ps. i. In both instances they are Psalms placed together, of which one begins with ashre and one ends with ashre. In other respects Ps. cxxviii. and cxxvii. supplement one another. They are re-'!^ lated to one another much as the New Testament parables of the treasure in the field and the one pearl are related. That which makes man happy is represented in Ps. cxxvii. as a gift coming as a blessing, and in Ps. cxxviii. as a rqjvard coming as 296 rsALM cxxviii. 1-3. cxxvli. 3 being here expanded and unfolded. There it appears as a gift of grace in contrast to the God-estranged self -activity of man, here as a fruit of the ora et lahora. Ewald considers this and the preceding Psalm to be songs to be sung at table. But they are ill-suited for this purpose ; for they contain per- sonal mirrorings instead of petitions, and instead of benedic- tions of those who are about to partake of the food provided. Vers. 1-3. The ^3 in ver. 2 signifies neither " for" (Aquila, Kotrov TMv rapacov aov on ^dyeaai)^ nor "when" (Symmachus, KOTTov xeipoiv (Tov iadicov) ; it is the directly affirmative ""S, which is sometimes thus placed after other M'ords in a clause (cxviii. 10-12, Gen. xviii. 20, xli. 32). The proof in favour of this asseverating ""S is the very usual nriy ""3 in the apodoses of hypothetical protases, or even TS"''3 in Job xi. 15, or also only ""S in Isa. vii. 9, 1 Sam. xiv. 39 : "surely then ;" the tran- sition from the confirmative to the affirmative signification is evident from ver. 4 of the Psalm before us. To support one's self by one's own labour is a duty which even a Paul did not wish to avoid (Acts xx. 34), and so it is a great good fortune (J? niLD as in cxix. 71) to eat the produce of the labour of one's own hands (LXX. roix; Kapirov'? twv irovrov, or according to an original reading, tou? irovovi twv Kapiroiv *) ; for he who can make himself useful to others and still is also independent of them, he eats the bread of blessing which God gives, which is sweeter than the bread of charity which men give. In close connection with this is the prosperity of a house that is at peace and contented within itself, of an amiable and tranquil and hopeful (rich in hope) family life. " Thy wife (^^^'^, found only here, for ^Jji^^?) is as a fruit-producing vine." 7\'^^ for *^'ySi^ from nns = """is, with the Jod of the root retained, like •^'r'iaj Lam. i. 16. The figure of the vine is admirably suited to the wife, who is a shoot or sprig of the husband, and stands in need of the man's support as the vine needs a stick or the wall of a house (pergida). "^^'^ ''^?T-? ^^^^ "°^ belong to the figure, * The fact that the tZv Kxp-Truv of the LXX. here, as in Prov. xxxi. 20, is intended to refer to the hands is noted by Theodoret and also by Didy- mus (in RosenmUller) : x.upz-ov(; Cpnrjt vvv wc «^d /aipov; tx; x-'P'^S (i-C per yynecdochen partis pro toto), rovTioTi tuv nzpa.x.xiKuv aov Ivuxfuav (pocytactt T(tV( ■TTOVOVS. PSALM CXXVIII. 4-C, CXXIX. 297 as Kimclii is of opinion, who tliinks of a vine startiniT out of the room and climbing up in the open air outside. What is meant is the angle, corner, or nook ('n3i;_, in relation to things and artificial, equivalent to the natural "'?■?.';), i.e. the backgrouml, the privacy of the house, where the housewife, who is not to be seen much out of doors, leads a quiet life, entirely devoted to the happiness of her husband and her family. The children springing from such a noble vine, planted around the family table, are like olive shoots or cuttings; cf. in Euripides, Medea, 1098 : reKvwv iv oXkol^ fyXvKepbv ^XdaT-qfia, and Here. Far. 839: KaX\.i'.Trac', nitsa inp'^'^ for «r;.), just as much prove that he has aherecl the Psalm, and not reversely (as Hitzig persistently maintains), that the psalmist has borrowed from the Chronicles. It is even still distinctly to be seen how the memory of Isa. Iv. 3 has influenced tiie close of ver. 42 in the chronicler, just as the memory of Isa. Iv. 2 has perhaps also influenced the close of ver. 41. The psalmist supplicates the divine favour for the anointed of Jahve for David's sake. In this connection this anointed one is neither the high priest, nor Israel, which is never so named (vid. Hab. iii. 13), nor David himself, who " in all the necessities of his race and people stands before God," as Heng- stenberg asserts, in order to be able to assign this Song of degrees, as others, likewise to the post-exilic time of the new colony. Zerubbabel might more readily be understood (Baur), with whom, according to the closing prophecy of the Book of Haggai, a new period of the Davidic dominion is said to begin. But even Zerubbabel, the nn^n^ nns, could not be called iT'irD, for this he was not. The chronicler applies the Psalm in accordance with its contents. It is suited to the mouth of Solomon. The view that it was composed by Solomon himself when the Ark of the covenant was removed out of the tent- temple on Zion into the Temple-building (Amyraldus, De AYette, Tholuck, and others), is favoured by the relation of the circumstances, as they are narrated in 2 Ciiron. v. 5 sqq., to the desires of the Psalm, and a close kinship of the Psalm with Ps. Ixxii. in breadth, repetitions of words, and a laboured forward movement which is here and there a somewhat uncertain advance. At all events it belongs to a time in which the Davidic throne was still standing and the sacred Ark was not as yet irrecoverably lost. That which, according to 2 Sam. ch. vi., vii., David did for the glory of Jahve, and on the other hand is promised to him by Jahve, is here made by a post- Davidic poet into the foundation of a hopeful intercessory prayer for the kingship and priesthood of Zion and the church presided over by both. The Psalm consists of four ten-line strophes. Only in con- nection with the first could any objection be raised, and the strophe be looked upon as only consisting of nine lines. But the other strophes decide the question of its measure ; and the 310 PSALJI CXXXir. 1-5. breaking up of the weighty ver. 1 into two lines follows the accentuation, which divides it into two parts and places DX by itself as being nx (according to Accentssijstem, xviii. 2, with Mugrasli). Each strophe is adorned once with the name of David; and moreover the step-like progress which comes back to what has been said, and takes up the thread and carries it forward, cannot fail to be recognised. Vers. 1-5. One is said to remember anything to another when he requites him something that he has done for him, or when he does for him what he has promised him. It is the post- Da\'ndic church which here reminds Jahve of the hereinafter mentioned promises (of the " mercies of David," 2 Chron. vi. 42, cf. Isa. Iv. 3) with which He has responded to David's T\SiV. By this verbal substantive of the Paal is meant all the care and trouble which David had in order to procure a worthy abode for the sanctuary of Jahve. 3 njy signifies to trouble or harass one^s self about anything, afflictari (as frequently in the Book of Ecclesiastes) ; the Pualhere denotes the self-imposed trouble, or even that imposed by outward circumstances, such as the tedious wars, of long, unsuccessful, and yet never relaxed endeavours (1 Kings v. 17 [3]). For he had vowed unto God that he would give himself absolutely no rest until he had obtained a fixed abode for Jahve. What he said to Nathan (2 Sam. vii. 2) is an indication of this vowed resolve, Avhich was now in a time of triumphant peace, as it seemed, ready for being carried out, after the first step towards it had already been taken in the removal of the Ark of the covenant to Zion (2 Sam. ch. vi.) ; for 2 Sam. eh. vii. is appended to 2 Sam. ch. vi. out of its chronological order and only on account of the internal connection. After the bringing home of the Ark, which had been long yearned for (cf. ci. 2), and did not take place without difficulties and terrors, was accomplished, a series of years again passed over, daring which David always carried about with him the thought of erecting God a Temple-building. And when he had received the tidings through Nathan that he should not build God a house, but that it should be done by his son and successor, he nevertheless did as much towards the carrying out of the desire of his heart as was possible in con- nection with this declaration of the will of Jahve. He conse- PSALM CXXX II. C-10. 311 crated the site of the future Temple, he procured the necessary means and materials for the building of it, he made all the necessary arrangements for the future Temple-service, he in- spirited the people for the gigantic work of building that was before them, and handed over to his son the model for it, as it is all related to us in detail by the chronicler. The divine name " the mighty One of Jacob" is taken from Gen. xlix. 24, as in Isa. i. 24, xlix. 26, Ix. 16. The Philistines with their Dagon had been made to feel this mighty Rock of Jacob when they took the sacred Ark along with them (1 Sam. ch. v.). With DX David solemnly declares what lie is resolved not to do. The meaning of the hyperbolically expressed vow in the form of an oath is that for so long he will not rejoice at his own dwelling- liouse, nor give himself up to sleep that is free from anxiety ; in fine, for so long he will not rest. The genitives after -'nx and b*7i! are appositional genitives; Ps. xliv. delights in similar combinations of synonyms. ''iW (Latin strata mea) is a poeti- cal plural, as also is riiJ3w'0. With nci:n (which is always said of the eyelids, Gen. xxxi. 40, Prov. vi. 4, Eccles. viii. 16, not of the eyes) alternates rir^ (according to another reading nrj') for '13^. The clth is the same as in riSnj in xvi. 6, cf. Ix. 13, Ex. XV. 2, and frequently. This Aramaizing rejection of the syllable before the tone is, however, without example else- where. The LXX. adds to ver. 4, kuI avdiravcnv Tol5 lias Mevclia mahpach., IT lieLia parvwn, and '^TpV Mercha ; and according to the interpunction it would have to be rendered : "and My self-attestation there" {vid. on ix. 16), but ir is relative: My self-attestation (revela- tion), which I teach them. The divine words extend to the end of ver. 12. The hypotheses with DS, as the fulfilment in history shows, were conditions of the continuity of the Davidic succession ; not, however, — because human unfaithfulness does not annul the faithfulness of God, — of the endlessness of the Davidic throne. In ver. 13 the poet states the ground of such promissory mercy. It is based on the universal mercy of the election of Jerusalem. , n^X has lie mappic. like ^^V in Deut. xxii. 29, or the stroke of Raphe (Ew. § 247, d), although the suffix is not absolutely necessary. In the following strophe the purport of the election of Jerusalem is also unfolded in Jahve's own words. Vers. 14-18. Shiloh has been rejected (Ixxviii. 60), for a time only was the sacred Ark in Bethel (Judg. xx. 27) and Mizpah (Judg. xxi. 5), only somewhat over twenty years was it sheltered by the house of Abinadab in Kirjath-Jearim (1 Sam. vii. 2), only three months by the house of Obed-Edoni in Perez-Uzzah (2 Sam. vi. 11) — but Zion is Jahve's abiding dwelling-place, His own proper settlement, nmjp (as in Isa. xi. 10, Ixvi. 1, and besides 1 Chron. xxviii. 2). In Zion, His chosen and beloved dwelling-j)lace, Jahve blesses every thin "• that belongs to her temporal need (i^^V! for '"^nTr, vid. on xxvii. 5, note) ; so that her poor do not suffer want, for divine love loves the poor most especially. His second blessing refers to the priests, for by means of these He will keep up His inter- course with His people. He makes the priesthood of Zion a real institution of salvation : He clothes her priests with salva- tion, so that they do not merely bring it about instrumentally, but personally possess it, and their whole outward appearance is one which proclaims salvation. And to all her saints He 316 PSALM CXXXIII. gives cause and matter for high and lasting joy, by making Himself known also to the church, in which He has taken up His abode, in deeds of mercy (loving-kindness or grace). There (D^', cxxxiii. 3) in Zion is indeed the kingship of pro- mise, which cannot fail of fulfilment. He will cause a horn to shoot forth. He will prepare a lamp, for the house of David, which David here represents as being its ancestor and the anointed one of God reigning at that time ; and all who hostilely rise up against David in his seed. He will cover with shame as with a garment (Job viii. 22), and the crown consecrated by promise, which the seed of David wears, shall blossom like an unfading wreath. The horn is an emblem of defensive might and victorious dominion, and the lamp ("IJ, 2 Sam. xxi. 17, cf. i''J, 2 Chron. xxi. 7, LXX. Xv^vov) an emblem of brilliant dignity and joyfulness. In view of Ezek. xxix. 21, of the predictions concerning the Branch (zemacli) in Isa. iv. 2, Jer. xxiii. 5, xxxiii. 15, Zech. iii. 8, vi. 12 (cf. Heb. vii. 14), and of the fifteenth Beracha of the Shemone-Esre (the daily Jewish prayer consisting of eighteen benedictions) : " make the branch (zemach) of David Thy servant to shoot forth speedily, and let his horn rise high by virtue of Thy salvation," — it is hardly to be doubted that the poet attached a Messianic meaning to this promise. With reference to our Psalm, Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, changes that supplicatory beracha of his nation (Luke i. 68-70) into a praiseful one, joyfully anticipat- ing the fulfilment that is at hand in Jesus. PSALM CXXXIIL PRAISE OF BROTHERLY FELLOWSHIP. 1 BEHOLD how good it is, and how delightful. That brethren also dwell togetiier ! 2 Like the fine oil upon the head, Floioing gerdly doivn iqjon the heard, the heard of Aaroii, Which flows gently doivn upon the hem of his garments — 3 Like the dew of Hermon, ivhich floios gently down upon the mountains of Zion, For there hath Jahve commanded the blessing, Life, for evermore. PSALM cxxxiir. 317 In this Psalm, says Ilengstenberg, " David brings to the consciousness of the church the glory of the fellowship of the saints, that had so long been wanting, the restoration of which had begun with the setting up of the Ark in Zion." The Psahn, in fact, does not speak of the termination of the dispersion, but of the uniting of the people of all parts of the land for the })urpose of divine worship in the one place of the sanctuary ; and, as in the case of Ps. cxxii., its counterpart, occasions can be found in the history of David adapted to the l\ib of the inscription. But the language witnesses against David ; for tlie construction of C' with the participle, as "i"]'-'*, gui descendit (cf. cxxxv. 2, onpi)!:', qui staid), is unknown in the usage of the language prior to the Exile. Moreover the inscription Tn^ is wanting in the LXX. Cod. Vat. and the Targum ; and the Psalm may only have been so inscribed because it entirely breathes David's spirit, and is as though it had sprung out of his love for Jonathan. "With D| the assertion passes on from the community of nature and sentiment which the word "brethren" expresses to the outward active inanifestation and realization that corre- spond to it : good and delightful (cxxxv. 3) it is when brethren united by blood and heart also (corresponding to this their brotherly nature) dwell together — a blessed joy which Israel has enjoyed during the three great Feasts, although only for a brief period {vid. Ps. cxxii.). Because the high priest, in whom the priestly mediatorial office culminates, is the chief personage in the celebration of the feast, the nature and value of that local reunion is first of all expressed by a metaphor taken from him. 3ii3n jdc' is the oil for anointing described in Ex. xxx. 22-33, which consisted of a mixture of oil and aromatic spices strictly forbidden to be used in common life. The sons of Aaron were only sprinkled with this anointing oil ; but Aaron was expressly anointed with it, inasmuch as !N[oses poured it upon his head ; hence he is called ^pa?' excellence " the anointed priest " (H'^'Li'i^n inbn), whilst the other priests are only " anointed" (Q'O'J'D, Num. iii. 3) in so far as their garments, like Aaron's, were also sprinkled with the oil (together with the blood of the ram of consecration), Lev. viii. 12, 30. In the time of the second Temple, to which tiie holy oil of 318 PSALM CXXXIII. anointing was wanting, the installation into the office of high priest took place by his being invested in the pontifical robes. The poet, however, when he calls the high priest as such Aaron, has the high-priesthood in all the fuUiess of its divine consecration (Lev. xxi. 10) before his eyes. Two drops of the holy oil of anointing, says a Haggada, remained for ever hanging on the beard of Aaron like two pearls, as an emblem of atone- ment and of peace. In the act of the anointing itself the precious oil freely poured out ran gently down upon his beard, which in accordance with Lev. xxi. 5 was unshortened. In that part of the Tora which describes the robe of the high priest, v^tJ* is its hems, VC'ih ''S, or even absolutely ns^ the opening for the head, or the collar, by means of which the sleeveless garment was put on, and nsb^ the binding, the em- broidery, the border of this collar (vid, Ex. xxviii. 32, xxxix. 23 ; of. Job XXX. 18, "'^^^^3 ""a, the collar of my shirt). ''B must apparently be understood according to these passages of the Tora, as also the appellation rinp (only here for t^'^'no^ Q'''^.^), beginning with Lev. vi. 3, denotes the whole vestment of the high priest, yet without more exact distinction. But the Targum translates ''3 with ^'^P'^ {ora = Jimhria) — a word which is related to '^'^f i?, agnus, like (pa to oi'?. This oja is used both of the upper and lower edge of a garment. Accordingly Apollinaris and the Latin versions understand the iirl rip wav of the LXX. of the hem (m orcmi vestimenti) ; Theodore t, on the other hand, understands it to mean the upper edging : o)av eKuXeaev o KaXov/nev TrepLrpa'^t'j'X.tov, toOto Se koI 6 ^AKv\an : life is the sub- stance and goal of the blessing, the possession of all pos- sessions, the blessing of all blessings. The closing words D^iyn-ny (cf. xxviii. 9) belong to H'lV : such is God's inviolable, ever-endurinfT order. PSALM CXXXIV. NIGnT-"U"ATCH GREETING AND COUNTER-GREETING. The Call. 1 BEHOLD, bless ye Jahve, all ye servants of Jahve, Who serve in the house of Jahve by night ! 2 Lift up your hands to the sanctuary And bless ye Jahve ! *A Hauranitisli poem in Wetzstein's Lieder-Sammlungen begins: ^2\ ^Xs- ^^^ 1 'ij\jJ^ Uu^lt L::-^jas i>.jljJl, " Yesterday there blew across to me a spark | from the lofty snow-mountain (the Hermon)," on which the commentator dictated to him the remark, that i ,^^, the glowing spaik, is cither the snow-capped summit of the moun- tain glowing in the morning sun or a burning cold breath of air, for one says in everyday life jJ.^o «_ii*Jl, the frost burns [ru/. note to cxxi. G]- PSALJI CXXXIV. 1, 2. 321 The Answer. 3 Jahve bless thee out of Zion, The Creator of heaven aud earth ! This Psalm consists of a greeting, vers. 1, 2, and the reply thereto. The greeting is addressed to those priests and Levites who have the night-watch in the Temple ; and this antiphon is purposely placed at the end of the collection of Songs of degrees in order to take the place of a final beracha. In this sense Luther styles this Psalm epiphonema superiornm. It is also in other respects {yid. Si/mbola', p. 6Q) an appropriate finale. Vers. 1, 2. The Psalm begins, like its predecessor, with i^P,>} ; there it directs attention to an attractive phenomenon, here to a duty which springs from the office. For that it is not the persons frequenting the Temple who are addressed is at once clear from the fact that the tarrying of these in the Temple through the night, when such a thing did actually occur (Luke ii. 37), was only an exception. And then, however, from the fact that Toy is the customary word for the service of the priests and Levites, Deut. x. 8, xviii. 7, 1 Chron. xxiii. 30, 2 Chron. xxix. 11 (cf. on Isa. Ixi. 10, and Ps. ex. 4), which is also continued in the night, 1 Chron. ix. 33. Even the Targum refers ver. 16 to the Temple-watch. In the second Temple the matter was arranged thus. After midnight tiie chief over the gate-keepers took the keys of the inner Temple and went with some of the priests through the little wicket of the Fire Gate (ipinn JT-a "iVK*)- In the inner court this patrol divided into two companies, each with a burning torch ; one company turned west, the other east, and so they compassed the court to see whether everything was in readiness for the service of the dawning day. At the bakers' chamber, in which the Mincha of the high priest was baked (pn^an ''t']} na*j6), they met with the cry : All is well. In the meanwhile the rest of the priests also arose, bathed, and put on their garments. Then they went into the stone chamber (one half of which was the place of session of the Sanhedrim), where, under the superintendence of the chief over the drawing of tiic lots and VUL. III. 21 322 PSALM CXXXIV. 3. of a judge, around whom stood all the priests in their robes of ofBce, the functions of the priests in the service of the coming day were assigned to them by lot (Luke i. 9). Accordingly Tholuck, with Koster, regards vers. 1 sq. and 3 as the antiphon of the Temple- watch going off duty and those coming on. It might also be the call and counter-call with which the watch- men greeted one another when they met. But according to the general keeping of the Psalm, vers. 1 sq. have rather to be regarded as a call to devotion and intercession, which the con- gregation addresses to the priests and Levites entrusted with the night-service in the Temple. It is an error to suppose that "in the nights" can be equivalent to "early and late." If the Psalter contains Morning Psalms (iii., Ixiii.) and Evening Psalms (iv., cxli.), why should it then not contain a vigil Psalm ? On this very ground Venema's idea too, that rii^"';'3 is syncopated from nip^^na, " with Hallels, i.e. praises," is useless. Nor is there any reason for drawing iv rat-; vv^lv, as the LXX. does, to ver. 2,* or, what would be more natural, to the 13^3 that opens the Psalm, since it is surely not strange that, so long as the sanctuary was standing, a portion of the servants of God who ministered in it had to remain up at night to guard it, and to see to it that nothing was wanting in the preparations for the early service. That this ministering watching should be combined with devotional praying is the purport of the admo- nition in ver. 2. Kaising suppliant hands {^^T., negligently written for ^^''T) towards the Most Holy Place (ra ayta), they are to bless Jahve. K'^p (according to B. Sota 39a, the accu- sative of definition : in holiness, i.e. after washing of hands), in view of xxviii. 2, v. 8, cxxxviii. 2 (cf. nn in Hab. iii. 10), has to be regarded as the accusative of the direction. Ver. 3. Calling thus up to the Temple-hill, the church receives from above the benedictory counter-greeting : Jahve bless thee out of Zion (as in cxxviii. 5), the Creator of heaven and earth (as in cxv. 15, cxxi. 2, cxxiv. 8). From the time of Num. vi. 24: jebarechja is the ground-form of the priestly benediction. It is addressed to the church as one person, and to each individual in this united, unit-like church. • The LXX. adjusts the shortening of ver. Ih arising from this, by rof.ding ij^n^JN nu nnsna 'n n^aa nnoyn after cxxxv. 2. PSALM CXXXV. PSALM CXXXV. FOUR-VOICED HALLELUJAH TO THE GOD OF ISRAEL, THE GOD OF GODS. Hallelujah. 1 PRAISE ye the Name of Jahve, Praise ye, O ye servants of Jahve, 2 Who stand in the house of Jahve, In the courts of the house of our God I 3 Praise ye Jah, for Jahve is good ; Harp unto His Name, for it is lovely ; 4 For Jacob hath Jah chosen for Himself, Israel as His possession. 5 For I know that Jahve is great And our Lord above all gods. 6 All that Jahve willeth He carrieth out In heaven and upon earth, In the seas and in all the depths ; 7 Who bringeth the vapours up from the end of the eartli» He maketh lightnings for the rain, Who bringeth forth wind out of His treasuries. 8 Who smote the first-born of Egypt From man down to the cattle, 9 Sent signs and wonders Into the midst of thee, O Egypt, Against Pharaoh and all his servants ! 10 Who smote great nations And slew mighty kings, 11 Sihon, king of the Amorites, And Og, king of Bashan, And all the kingdoms of Canaan ; 12 And gave over their land as a heritage. As a heritage to Israel His people. 13 Jahve, Thy Name endureth for ever, Thy memorial, Jahve, unto all generations. 324 PSALM CXXXV. 1-4. 14 For Jahve will render justice to His people, And repent Himself concerning His servants. 15 The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, The work of men's hands. 16 A mouth have they and cannot speak, Eyes have they and cannot sec, 17 Ears have they and cannot hear, Nor is there any breath at all in their mouth. 18 Like unto them must they who made them become, Every one who trusted in them. 19 house of Israel, bless ye Jahve ! O house of Aaron, bless ye Jahve ! 20 O house of Levi, bless ye Jahve ! Ye who fear Jahve, bless Jahve ! — 21 Blessed be Jahve out of Zion, Who dwelleth in Jerusalem, Hallelujah ! Ps. CXXXV. is here and there (vid. Tosefoih PesacMm 117a) taken together with Ps. cxxxiv. as one Psalm. The combining of Ps. cxv. with cxiv. is a misapprehension caused by the in- scriptionless character of Ps. cxv., whereas Ps. cxxxv. and cxxxiv. certainly stand in connection with one another. For the Hallelujah Ps. cxxxv. is, as the mutual relation between the beginning and close of Ps. cxxxiv. shows, a Psalm-song expanded out of this shorter hymn, that is in part drawn from Ps. cxv. It is a Psalm in the mosaic style. Even the Latin poet Lucilius transfers the figure of mosaic-work to style, when he says : quajn lepide lexeis compostce ut tesserulcB omnes ... In the case of Ps. cxxxv. it is not the first time that we have met with this kind of style. We have already had a glimpse of it in Ps. xcvii. and xcviii. These Psalms were composed more especially of deutero-Isaianic passages, whereas Ps. cxxxv. takes its tesserulce out of the Law, Prophets, and Psalms. Vers. 1-4. The beginning is taken from cxxxiv. 1 ; ver. 2h PSAUI CXXXV. 5-7. '325 recalls cxvi. 19 (cf. xcii. 14) ; and ver. 4 is an echo of Dent. vii. 6. The servants of Jahve to whom tlie summons is ad- dressed, are not, as in cxxxiv. 1 sq., His official servants in particular, but according to ver. 2b, where the courts, in the plural, are allotted to them as their standing-place, and accord- ing to vers. 19, 20, those who fear Ilim as a body. The three- fold Jahve at the beginning is then repeated in Jdh (i'^p??n, cf. note * to civ. 35), Jahve, and Jdh. The subject of D'V? ''? is by no means Jahve (Hupfeld), whom they did not dare to call D^yj in the Old Testament, but either the Name, according to liv. 8 (Luther, Hitzig), or, which is favoured by cxlvii. 1 (cf. Prov. xxii. 18), the praising of His Name (Apollinaris : iirel ToSe KoXov aeiheLv) : His Name to praise is a delightful employ, which is incumbent on Israel as the people of His choice and of His possession. Vers. 5-7. The praise itself now begins. "3 in ver. 4a set forth the ground of the pleasant duty, and the ^3 that begins this strophe confirms that which warrants the summons out of the riches of the material existing for such a hymn of praise. Worthy is He to be praised, for Israel knows full well that He who hath chosen it is the God of gods. The beginning is taken from cxv. 3, and ver. 7 from Jer. x. 13 (li. 16). Heaven, earth, and water are the three kingdoms of created things, as in Ex. xx. 4. &«V^ signifies that which is lifted up, ascended ; here, as in Jeremiah, a cloud. The meaning of nc'y ini37 D^^nii is not: He makes lightnings into rain, i.e. resolves them as it were into rain, which is unnatural ; but either according to Zech. x. 1 : He produces lightnings in be- half of rain, in order that the rain may pour down in conse- quence of the thunder and lightning, or poetically : He makes lightnings for the rain, so that the rain is announced (Apolli- naris) and accompanied by them. Instead of X!»io (cf. Ixxviii. 16, cv. 43), which does not admit of the retreating of the tone, the expression is N>'iD, the ground-form of the part. Iliph. for plurals like ^''lynp, D'''?pnDj "^'IIVP, perhaps not without being influenced by tlie t^Vi'1 in Jeremiah, for it is not t<>io from XVD that signifies " producing," but N'Vio = p'sp. The meta- phor of the treasuries is like Job xxxviii. 22. What is intended is the fulness of divine power, in which lie the grounds of the origin and the impulses of all things in nature. 326 PSALM CXXXV. 8-21. Vers. 8, 9. Worthy is He to be praised, for He is the Redeemer out of Ecjypt. ^3?in3 as iu cxvi. 19, cf. cv. 27. Vers. 10-12. Worthy is He to be praised, for He is the Conqueror of the Land of Promise. In connection with ver. 10 one is reminded of Deut. iv. 38, vii. 1, ix. 1, xi. 23, Josh, xxiii. 9. D''2n D''_i3 are here not many, but great peoples (cf. Dv"'! in cxxxvi. 17), since the parallel word D^p^ify is by no means in- tended of a powerful number, but of powerful might (cf. Isa. liii. 12). As to the rest also, the poet follows the Book of Deu- teronomy : viz. r\)y?J2i2 73? as in Deut. iii. 21, and nbn: |ri3 as in Deut. iv. 38 and other passages. It is all Deuteronomic with the exception of the K*, and the p in ver. 11 as the nota accus. (as in cxxxvi. 19 sq., cf. Ixix. 6, cxvi. 16, cxxix. 3) ; the con- struction of iy} is just as Aramaizing in Job v. 2, 2 Sam. iii. 30 (where vers. 30, 31, like vers. 36, 37, are a later explana- tory addition). The y\>^ alternating with nan is, next to the two kings, also referred to the kingdoms of Canaan, viz. their inhabitants. Og was also an Amoritish king, Deut. iii. 8. Vers. 13, 14. This God who rules so praiseworthily in the universe and in the history of Israel is the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever. Just as ver. 13 (cf. cii. 13) is taken from Ex. iii. 15, so ver. 14 is taken from Deut. xxxii. 36, cf. xc. 13, and vid. on Heb. x. 30, 31 (vol. ii. 191). Vers. 15-18. For the good of His proved church He ever proves Himself to be the Living God, whereas idols and idol- worshippers are vain — throughout following cxv. 4-8, but with some abridgments. Here only the ^X used as a particle recalls what is said there of the organ of smell (^X) of the idols that smells not, just as the n^i which is here (as in Jer. x. 14) denied to the idols recalls the nnn denied to them there. It is to be rendered : also there is not a being of breath, i.e. there is no breath at all, not a trace thereof, in their mouth. It is different in 1 Sam. xxi. 9, where ^\ T^ (not r?<) is meant to be equiva- lent to the Aramaic n^K PN, mim (an) est ; PN is North-Pale- stinian, and equivalent to the interrogatory DN (after which the Targum renders IT'N 1?N). Vers. 19-21. A call to the praise of Jahve, who is exalted above the gods of the nations, addressed to Israel as a whole, rounds off the Psalm by recurring to its beginning. The three- fold call in cxv. 9-11, cxviii. 2-4, is rendered fourfold here by PSALM CXXXVI. 327 the introduction of the house of the Levites, and the wishing of a blessing in cxxxiv. 3 is turned into an ascription of praise. Zion, whence Jahve's self-attestation, so rich in power and loving-kindness, is spread abroad, is also to be the place whence His glorious attestation by the mouth of men is spread abroad. History has realized this. PSALM CXXXVI. O GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD, FOR HE IS GOOD. 1 GIVE thanks unto Jahve, for He is good. For His goodness endureth for ever. 2 Give thanks unto the God of gods. For His goodness endureth for ever. 3 Give thanks unto the Lord of lords — For His goodness endureth for ever. 4 To Him who alone doeth great wonders, For His goodness endureth for ever. 5 To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, For His goodness endureth for ever. 6 To Him who stretched out the earth above the waters — For His goodness endureth for ever. 7 To Him who made great lights. For His goodness endureth for ever. 8 The sun for dominion by day, For His goodness endureth for ever. 9 The moon and stars for dominions by night — For His goodness endureth for ever. 10 To Him who smote the Egyptians in their first-born, For His goodness endureth for ever. 11 And brought forth Israel out of their midst. For His goodness endureth for ever. 12 With a strong hand and a stretched-out arm — For His goodness endureth for ever. 13 To Him who divided the Red Sea into parts, For His goodness endureth for ever. 328 PSALM CXXXVI. 14 And made Israel to pass tlirougli in the midst of it, For His goodness endureth for ever, 15 And overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea — For His goodness endureth for ever. 16 To Him who led His people in the desert, For His goodness endureth for ever. 17 To Him who smote great kings, For His goodness endureth for ever. 18 And slew glorious kings — For His goodness endureth for ever. 19 Sihon, king of the Amorites, For His goodness endureth for ever. 20 And Og, king of Bashan, For His goodness endureth for ever. 21 And gave their land as a heritage, For His goodness endureth for ever. 22 As a heritage to Israel His servant — For His goodness endureth for ever. 23 Who in our low estate remembered us, For His goodness endureth for ever. 24 And redeemed us from our adversaries, For His goodness endureth for ever. 25 Giving bread to all flesh — For His goodness endureth for ever. 26 Give thanks unto the God of heaven, For His goodness endureth for ever. The cry cxxxv. 3, Praise ye Jdh, for good is JahvCj is here followed by a Hodu^ the last of the collection, with " for His goodness endureth for ever" repeated twenty-six times as a versus intercalaris. In the liturgical language this Psalm is called par excellence the great Hallel, for according to its broadest compass the great Hallel comprehends Ps. cxx. to cxxxvi.,* \ * There are three opinious in the Talmud and Midrash concerning the compass of the "Great Hallel," viz. (1) Ps. cxxxvi., (2) Ps. cxxxv. 4-cxxxvi., (3) Ps. cxx.-cxxivi. PSALM CXXXVI. 1-28. 329 whilst the Hallel which is absolutely so called extends from Ps. cxiii. to cxviii. Down to ver. 18 the song and counter- song organize themselves into hexastichic groups or strophes, which, however, from ver. 19 (and therefore from the point where the dependence on Ps. cxxxv., already begun with ver. 17, becomes a borrowing, onwards) pass over into octastichs. In Heidenheim's Psalter the Psalm appears (after Norzi) in two columns (like Deut. ch. xxxii.), which it is true has neither tradition (vid. on Ps, xviii.) nor 3iss. precedent in its favour, but really corresponds to its structure. Vers. 1-9. Like the preceding Psalm, this Psalm allies itself to the Book of Deuteronomy. Vers. 2a and 3a ( God of gods and Lord of lords) are taken from Deut. x. 17 ; ver. 12a {tvith a strong hand and stretched-out arm) from Deut. iv. 34, v. 15, and frequently (cf . Jer. xxxii. 21); ver. 16a like Deut. viii. 15 (cf. Jer. ii. 6). With reference to the Deuteronomic colouring of vers. 19-22, vid. on cxxxv. 10-12 ; also the expression " Israel His servant " recalls Deut. xxxii. 36 (cf. cxxxv. 14, xc. 13), and still more Isa. xl.— Ixvi., where the comprehension of Israel under the unity of this notion has its own proper place. In other respects, too, the Psalm is an echo of earlier model passages. Who alone doeth great wonders sounds like Ixxii. 18 (Ixxxvi. 10); and the adjective "great" that is added to "won- ders" shows that the poet found the formula already in exis- tence. In connection with ver. 5a he has Prov. iii. 19 or Jer. X. 12 in his mind ; f^jun, like i^P^n, is the demiurgic wisdom. Ver. Qa calls to mind Isa. xlii. 5, xliv. 24 ; the expression is " above the waters," as in xxiv. 2 " upon the seas," because the water is partly visible and partly invisible p.5<^ ^'^^'9 (Ex. xx. 4). The plural Q'''!i^5, luces^ instead of niiNp, Iwnina (cf. Ezek. xxxii. 8, liN ''T^P), is without precedent. It is a controverted point whether niix in Isa. xxvi. 19 signifies lights (cf. niis, cxxxix. 12) or herbs (2 Kings iv. 39). The plural rii?::'oo is also rare (occurring only besides in cxiv. 2) : it here denotes the dominion of the moon on the one hand, and (going beyond Gen. i. 16) of the stars on the other, n?^??, like Di'3, is the second member of the Stat, construct. Vers. 10-26. Up to this point it is God the absolute in general, the Creator of all things, to the celebration of whose 330 PSALM CXXXVII. praise they are summoned ; and from this point onwards the God of the history of salvation. In ver. 13a i]3 (instead of Vi??, Ixxviii. 13, Ex. xiv. 21, Neh. ix. 11) of the dividing of the Eed Sea is pecuhar; D^lja (Gen. xv. 17, side by side with D'^l^i^) are the pieces or parts of a thing that is cut up into pieces, "lyj is a favourite word taken from Ex. xiv. 27. With refer- ence to the name of the Egyptian ruler Pharaoh (Herodotus also, ii. Ill, calls the Pharaoh of the Exodus the son of Sesostris- Eameses Miumun, not Mev6(})6a<;, as he is properly called, but absolutely ^epcav), vid. on Ixxiii. 22. After the God to whom the praise is to be ascribed has been introduced with ? by always fresh attributes, the ^ before the names of Sihon and of Og is perplexing. The words are taken over, as are the six lines of vers. 17a-22a in the main, from exxxv. 10-12, with only a slight alteration in the expression. In ver. 23 the continued influence of the construction ? Ilin is at an end. The connection by means of b> (cf. cxxxv. 8, 10) therefore has reference to the preceding " for His goodness endureth for ever." The language here has the stamp of the latest period. It is true 131 with Lamed of the object is used even in the earliest Hebrew, but bp}^ is only authenticated by Eccles. x. 6, and PIS, to break loose = to rescue (the customary Aramaic word for redemption), by Lam. v. 8, just as in the closing verse, which recurs to the beginning, " God of heaven " is a name for God belonging to the latest literature, Neh. i. 4, ii. 4. In ver. 23 the praise changes suddenly to that which has been experienced very recently. The attribute in ver. 25a (cf. cxlvii. 9, cxlv. 15) leads one to look back to a time in which famine befell tnem together with slavery. PSALM CXXXVIL BY THE EIVERS OF BABYLO:^. 1 BY the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept, When we remembered Zion. 2 Upon the willows in the midst thereof We hung our citherns. PSALM CXXXVII. 331 3 For there our oppressors asked of \\s The words of songs, And our tormentors joy : Sing us a song of Zion ! 4 How are we to sing Jahve's songs Upon strange soil ? ! 5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand become lame ! 6 Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my moutli, If I do not remember thee, If I do not set Jerusalem Above all my joys ! 7 Remember, Jahve, the children of Edom In the day of Jerusalem, Who said : Kaze, raze it Even to the foundation ! 8 O daughter of Babylon, thou wasted one, blessed is he who giveth thee thy reward, Which thou hast merited for us ! 9 Blessed is he who taketh and dasheth thy little ones Against the rock ! The Hallelujah Ps. cxxxv. and the Hodu Ps. cxxxvi. are followed by a Psalm which glances back into the time of the Exile, when such cheerful songs as they once sang to the accompaniment of the music of the Levites at the worship of God on Mount Zion were obliged to be silent. It is anony- mous. The inscription Tw AavlS (Sia) 'lepefiiov found in codices of the LXX., which is meant to say that it is a Davidic song coming from the heart of Jeremiah,* is all the more erroneous as Jeremiah never was one of the Babylonian exiles. The t^, which is repeated three times in vers. 8 sq., corre- * Reversely Ellies da Pin (in the preface of his Bihliothcqne des Autcurs EccUsiastiques) says : Le Pseaume 136 parte le nom de David et de Jereniie, ce quHlfaut apparement entendre ainsi: Pseaume de Jereniie fait a limitation de David. 332 PSALM CXXXVII. 1-6. spends to the time of the composition of the Psalm which is required by its contents. It is just the same with the paragogic i in the future in ver. 6. But in other respects the language is classic ; and the rhythm, at the beginning softly elegiac, then more and more excited, and abounding in guttural and sibilant sounds, is so expressive that scarcely any Psalm is so easily im- pressed on the memory as this, which is so pictorial even in sound. The metre resembles the elegiac as it appears in the so- called caesura schema of the Lamentations and in the cadence of Isa. xvi. 9, 10, which is like the Sapphic strophe. Every second line corresponds to the pentameter of the elegiac metre. Vers. 1-6. Beginning with perfects, the Psalm has the appearance of being a Psalm not belonging to the Exile, but written in memory of the Exile. The bank of a river, like the seashore, is a favourite place of sojourn of those whom deep grief drives forth from the bustle of men into solitude. The boundary line of the river gives to solitude a safe back ; the monotonous splashing of the waves keeps up the dull, melancholy alternation of thoughts and feelings ; and at the same time the sight of the cool, fresh water exercises a soothing influence upon the consuming fever within the heart. The rivers of Babylon are here those of the Babylonian empire : not merely the Euphrates with its canals, and the Tigris, but also the Chaboras (Chebar) and Eulseos (' Ulai), on whose lonesome banks Ezekiel (ch. i. 3) and Daniel (ch. viii. 2) beheld divine visions. The D^ is important : there, in a strange land, as captives under the dominion of the power of the world. And D3 is purposely chosen instead of 1 : with the sitting down in the solitude of the river's banks weeping immediately came on ; when the natural scenery around contrasted so strongly with that of their native land, the remembrance of Zion only forced itself upon them all the more powerfully, and the pain at the isolation from their home would have all the freer course where no hostilely obser- vant eyes were -jr-ssent to suppress it. The willow (HQ^'DV) and viburnum, those trees which are associated with flowing water in hot low-lying districts, are indigenous in the richly watered lowlands of Babylonia. y^V ('^^'ij?), if one and the same with i-^j£, is not the willow, least of all the weeping- willow, which is I'SALM CXXXVII. 1-6. 333 called safsdf mustdhi in Arabic, " the bending-down willow," but the viburnum with dentate leaves, described by Wetzsteiii on Isa. xliv. 4. The Talmud even distinguishes between tsaph- tsapha and 'araha, but without our being able to obtain any sure botanic picture from it. The na-ji;, whose branches belong to the constituents of the lulah of the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. xxiii. 40), is understood of the crack-willow [Saliv fraijilis'], and even in the passage before us is surely not distinguished with such botanical precision but that the gliarah and willow together with the weeping-willow (Salix Bahylonicd) might be comprehended under the word i^^iy. On these trees of the country abounding in streams the exiles hung their citherns. The time to take delight in music was past, for fiovaiKa iv irepdei ciKULpo^ Sirj- 7770-^9, Sir. xxii. 6. Joyous songs, as the word "i^l^ designates them, were ill suited to their situation. In order to understand the '3 in ver. 3, vers. 3 and 4 must be taken together. They hung up their citherns ; for though their lords called upon them to sing in order that they might divert themselves with their national songs, they did not feel themselves in the mind for singing songs as they once resounded at the divine services of their native land. The LXX., Tar- gum, and Syriac take I3v?in as a synonym of ^3^^itr, synonymous with ^^''ppiU', and so, in fact, that it signifies not, like bbv^, the spoiled and captive one, but the spoiler and he who takes others ])risoners. But there is no Aramaic 77r\ = bb'^', It might more readily be referred back to a Foel p^'^^ (=^rin), to disappoint, deride (Hitzig) ; but the usage of the language does not favour this, and a stronger meaning for the word would be welcome. Either 7pin = 7Pinri, like •'^^'^P, cii. 9, signifies the raving one, i.e. a bloodthirsty man or a tyrant, or from >?1, ejulai'e, one who causes the cry of woe or a tormentor, — a signification which commends itself in view of the words ^'f^'^ ^*id "''PP^, which are likewise formed with the preformative n. According to the sense the word ranks itself with an Iliph. ^yii^, like ^^^, ^^^'^^, with y)i'\T\ and n'3in, in a mainly abstract signification (Dietrich, Ahhandlungen, S. 160 f.). The "'I^T beside "'V is used as in XXXV. 20, Ixv. 4, cv. 27, cxiv. 5, viz. partitively, dividing up the genitival notion of the species : words of songs as being parts or fragments of the national treasury of song, similar to I'c'p a little further on, on wiiich Rosenmiiller correctly says : sacrum 334 PSALM CXXXVII. 1-8. aliquod carmen ex veteribus illis suis Sionicis. With tlie ex- pression " song of Zion " alternates in ver. 4 " song of Jahve," which, as in 2 Chron. xxix. 27, cf. 1 Chron. xxv. 7, denotes sacred or liturgical songs, that is to say, songs belonging to Psalm poesy (including the Cantica). Before ver. 4 we have to imagine that they answered the request of the Babylonians at that time in the language that follows, or thought thus within themselves when they withdrew themselves from them. The meaning of the interrogatory ex- clamation is not that the singing of sacred songs in a foreign land (pxb nyin) is contrary to the law, for the Psalms con- tinued to be sung even during the Exile, and were also enriched by new ones. But the shir had an end during the Exile, in so far as that it was obliged to retire from publicity into the quiet of the family worship and of the houses of prayer, in order that that which is holy might not be profaned ; and since it was not, as at home, accompanied by the trumpets of the priests and the music of the Levites, it became more recitative than singing properly so called, and therefore could not afford any idea of the singing of their native land in connection with the worship of God on Zion. From the striking contrast between the present and the former times the people of tlie Exile had in fact to come to the knowledge of their sins, in order that they might get back by the way of penitence and earnest longing to that which they had lost. Penitence and home-sickness were at that time inseparable; for all those in whom the remem- brance of Zion was lost gave themselves over to heathenism and were excluded from the redemption. The poet, translated into the situation of the exiles, and arming himself against the temptation to apostasy and the danger of denying God, there- fore says : If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, ^J''^". n3t;'>i. nstJ'n has been taken as an address to Jahve : obliviscaris deaterce mece {e.g. Wolfgang Dachstein in his song 'Mn Wasserfiiissen Baby- lon").! but it is far from natural that Jerusalem and Jahve should be addressed in one clause. Others take ''3^0^ as the sub- ject and na^'ri transitively : obliviscatur dextera mea^ scil. artem psallendi (Aben-Ezra, Kimchi, Pagninus, Grotius, Hengsten- berg, and others) ; but this ellipsis is arbitraiy, and the inter- polation of "'30 after "'3''!?^ (von Ortenberg, following Olshausen) produces an inelegant cadence. Others again assign a passive PSALM CXXXVII. 7-9. 335 sense to nac'n : ohlivioni detur (LXX., Italic, Vulgate, and Luther), or a half-passive sense, in oblivione sit (Jerome) ; but the thought : let my right hand be forgotten, is awkward and tame. Obliviscatur me (Syriac, Saudia, and the Psalterium Romanum) comes nearer to the true meaning, nsc'ri is to be taken refiexively : obliviscatur sui ipsius, let it forget itself, or its service (Amyraklus, Schultens, Ewald, and Hitzig), which is equivalent to let it refuse or fail, become lame, become be- numbed, much the same as we say of the arms or legs that they *' go to sleep," and just as the xA.rabic ^^^uj signifies both to forget and to become lame (cf. Gesenius, Thesaurus, p. 92 IZ*). La Harpe correctly renders: Jerusalem ! si jet' oublie jamais ^ que ma main oiiblie aiissi le mouvement ! Thus there is a cor- respondence between vers. 5 and 6 : My tongue shall cleave to my palate if I do not remember thee, if I do not raise Jeru- salem above the sum of my joy. ''373TK has the affixed Chirek, with which these later Psalms are so fond of adorning them- selves. B'Nl is apparently used as in cxix. 160 : supra summam (the totality) Icetitice mece, as Coccejus explains, h.e. supra omnem Imtitiam meam. But why not then more simply ?3 ?V, above the totality? K'NI here signifies not Ke^uXaLov, but Kecf)a\7] : if I do not place Jerusalem upon the summit of my joy, i.e. my highest joy ; therefore, if I do not cause Jerusalem to be my very highest joy. His spiritual joy over the city of God is to soar above all earthly joys. Vers. 7-9. The second part of the Psalm supplicates vengeance upon Edom and Babylon. We see from Oljadiaii's prophecy, wliich is taken up again by Jeremiah, how shame- fully the Edomites, that brother-people related by descent to Israel and yet pre-eminently hostile to it, behaved in connec- tion with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldaians as their malignant, rapacious, and inhuman helpers. The re- peated imj^er. Piel iiV, from n-jy (not impcr. Kal from"t"iy, which would be ny), ought to have been accented on the ult. ; it is, however, in both cases accented on the first syllable, the pausal ^■^y (cf. v3 in xxxvii. 20, and also lEn, Neh. viii. 11) giving rise to the same accentuation of the other (in order that two tone- syllables might not come together). The Pasck also stands between the two repeated words in order that they may bo 336 PSALM CXXXVII. 7-9. duly separated, and secures, moreover, to the guttural initial of the second liy its distinct pronunciation (cf. Gen. xxvi. 28, Num. XXXV. 16). It is to be construed: lay bare, lay bare (as in Hab. iii. 13, cf. n^a in Mic. i. 6) in it {Beth of the place), or in respect of it {Beth of the object), even to the foundation, i.e raze it even to the ground, leave not one stone upon another. From the false brethren the imprecation turns to Babylon, the city of the imperial power of the world. The daughter, i.e. the population, of Babylon is addressed as nin^n. It certainly seems the most natural to take this epithet as a designation of its doings which cry for vengeance. But it cannot in any case be translated: thou plunderer (Syriac like the Targum: hozuzto; Symmachus 97 \r]arpl<;), for 1"!^ does not mean to rob and plunder, but to offer violence and to devastate. Therefore : thou devastator ; but the word so pointed as we have it before us cannot have this signification : it ouo;ht to be niiir^n like min in Jer. iii. 7, 10, or milK'n (with an unchangeable a), corresponding to the Syriac active intensive form dluso, op- pressor, godufoj slanderer, and the Arabic likewise active intensive form Jj^lij e.g. fdshus, a boaster, and also as an adjective : goz fdshus, empty nuts, cf. ^^?l = ^Pl, a fowler, like ndtiiv ("ilDN]), a field-watcher. The form as it stands is partic. pass., and signifies irpovevofiev^evr} (Aquila), vastata (Jerome). It is possible that this may be said in tlie sense of vostanda, although in this sense of a part. fut. pass, the parti- ciples of the Niphal {e.g. xxii. 32, cii. 19) and of the Pual (xviii. 4) are more commonly used. It cannot at any rate signify vastata in an historical sense, with reference to the destruction of Babylon by Darius Hystaspes (Hengstenberg) ; for ver. 7 only prays that the retribution may come : it cannot therefore as yet have been executed; but if mnK'n signified the already devastated one, it must (at least in the main) have been executed already. It might be more readily understood as a prophetical representation of the executed judgment of devas- tation ; but this prophetic rendering coincides with the impre- cative: the imagination of the Semite when he utters a curse sees the future as a realized fact. " Didst thou see the smitten one {madrub)^'' i.e. he whom God must smite ? Thus the Arab inquires for a person who is detested. " Pursue him who is PSALM CXXXVIII. 337 seized {illiaJc el-iym'chudh)" i.e. him whom God must allow tlice to seize ! They speak thus inasmuch as the imapnation at once anticipates the seizure at the same time with the pursuit. Just as here both mculrub and machudh are participles of Kal, so therefore r\'vn^r^ may also have the sense of vastanda (which must be laid waste !). That which is then further desired for Babylon is the requital of that which it has done to Israel, Isa. xlvii. G. It is the same penal destiny, comprehending the chil- dren also, which is predicted against it in Isa. xiii. 16-18, as that which was to be executed by the Medes. The young chil- dren (with reference to ^biy, h)>Sv, vid. on viii. 3) are to be dashed to pieces in order that a new generation may not raise up again the world-wide dominion that has been overthrown, Isa. xiv. 21 sq. It is zeal for God that puts such harsh words into the mouth of the poet. "That which is Israel's excellency and special good fortune the believing Israelite desires to have be- stowed upon the whole world, but for this very reason he desires to see the hostility of the present world of nations against the church of God broken " (Hofmann). On the other hand, it cannot be denied that the " blessed" of this Psalm is not suited to the mouth of the New Testament church. In the Old Testament the church as yet had the form of a nation, and the longing for the revelation of divine righteousness clothed itself accordingly in a warlike garb. PSALM CXXXVIII. THE MEDIATOR AND PERFECTED. 1 I WILL give thanks unto Thee with my whole heart, Before the gods will I harp unto Thee. 2 I will worship towards Thy holy Temple, And give thanks unto Thy Name because of Thy mercy and Thy truth. That Thou hast magnified Thy promise above all Thy Name. 3 In the day that I called Thou didst answer me, Tiiou didst inspire me with courage — a lofty feeling per- vaded my soul. VOL. IIL 22 338 PSALM CXXXVIII. 4 All the kings of the earth shall give thanks unto Thee, Jahve, When they have heard the utterances of Thy mouth ; 5 And they shall sing of the ways of Jahve, That great is the glory of Jahve : 6 For exalted is Jahve and He seeth the lowly, And the proud He knoweth well afar off. 7 If I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou dost revive me, Over the wrath of mine enemies dost Thou stretch forth Thy hand, And Thy right hand saveth me. 8 Jahve will perfect for me ; Jahve, Thy mercy endureth for ever, The work of Thy hands — Thou wilt not forsake it. There will come a time when the praise of Jahve, which according to cxxxvii. 3 was obliged to be dumb in the presence of the heathen, will, according to cxxxviii. 5, be sung by the kings of the heathen themselves. In the LXX. Ps. cxxxvii. side by side with tw AaviS also has the inscription 'lepefilov, and Ps. cxxxviii. has ^Ayyalov koX Za'^aplov. Perhaps these statements are meant to refer back the existing recension of the text of the respective Psalms to the prophets named {yid. Kohler, Haggai, S. 33). From the fact that these names of psalmodists added by the LXX. do not come down beyond Malachi, it follows that the Psalm-collection in the mind of the LXX. was made not later than in the time of Nehemiah. The speaker in Ps. cxxxviii., to follow the lofty expectation expressed in ver. 4, is himself a king, and according to the in- scription, David. There is, however, nothing to favour his being the author; the Psalm is, in respect of the Davidic Psalms, composed as it were out of the soul of David — an echo of 2 Sam. ch. vii. (1 Chron. ch. xvii.). The superabundant promise which made the throne of David and of his seed an eternal throne is here gratefully glorified. The Psalm can at any rate be understood, if with Hengstenberg we suppose that it expresses the lofty self-consciousness to which David was raised after victorious battles, when he humbly ascribed the glory to God and resolved to build Him a Temple in place of the tent upon Zion. PSALM CXXXVIII. 1, 2. 339 Vers. 1, 2 The poet will give thanks to Ilim, whom he means without mentioning Him by name, for His mercy, i.e. His anticipating, condescending love, and for His truth, i.e. truthfulness and faithfulness, and more definitely for having magnified His promise ('^l^':^) above all His Name, i.e. that He has given a promise which infinitely surpasses everything by which He has hitherto established a name and memorial for Himself (ICC^'Pb'Py, with instead of o, an anomaly that is noted by the Masora, vid. Baer's Psalterium, p. 1'6'd). If the promise by the mouth of Nathan (2 Sam. ch. vii.) is meant, then we may compare 2 Sam. vii. 21. ^13^ bSli, n^i3 are re- peated in that promise and its echo coming from the heart of David so frequently, that this J^^V.'} seems like a hint pointing to that history, which is one of the most important crises in the history of salvation. The expression Q^r^ba m also becomes intelligible from this history. Ewald renders it: "in the pre- sence of God!" which is surely meant to say: in the holy place (De Wette, Olshausen). But "before God will I sing praise to Thee (O God!)"— what a jumble! The LXX. renders ivavriov dyyeXcov, which is in itself admissible and full of meaning,* but without coherence in the context of the Psalm, and also is to be rejected because it is on the whole very questionable whether the Old Testament language uses wn^a thus, without anything further to define it, in the sense of " angels." It might be more readily rendered " in the pre- sence of the gods," viz. of the gods of the peoples (Hengsten- berg, Hupfeld, and Hitzig) ; but in order to be understood of gods which are only seemingly such, it would require some addition. Whereas DM^S can without any addition denote the magisterial possessors of the dignity that is the type of the divine, as follows from Ixxxii. 1 (cf. xlv. 7) in spite of Knobel, Graf, and Hupfeld ; and thus, too (cf. 2'?^9 ""33 in cxix. 40), we understand it here, with Rashi, Aben-Ezra, Kimchi, Flaminius, Bucer, Clericus, and others. What is meant are " the great who are in the earth," 2 Sam. vii. 9, with whom David, inas- much as he became king from being a shepherd, is ranked, and * Bellarmine: Scin mc pKollentem tihi oh anfjelis, qui tihi nssistiinf, videri et attemli et ideo ita considerate me geram in psallendo, ut qui inkllijam, in quo theatre consistam. 340 PSAUI CXXXVIII. 3-6. above whom lie has been lifted up by the promise of an eternal kingship. Before these earthly "gods" will David praise the God of the promise ; they shall hear for their salutary con- fusion, for their willing rendering of homage, that God hath made him " the highest with respect to the kings of the earth" (Isxxix. 28). Vers. 3-G. There are two things for which the poet gives thanks to God : He has answered hirn in the days of trouble connected with his persecution by Saul and in all distresses ; and by raising him to the throne, and granting him victory upon victory, and promising him the everlasting possession of the throne. He has filled him with a proud courage, so that lofty feeling has taken up its abode in his soul, which was formei'Iy fearful about help. Just as nm signifies impetuosity, vehemence, and then also a monster, so y>}'^.'} signifies both to break in upon one violently and overpoweringly (Cant. vi. 5 ; cf. Syriac arheh^ Arabic arhaha. to terrify), and to make any one courageous, bold, and confident of victory. TV "'K^'Sj3 forms a corollary to the verb that is marked by Mugrash or Dechi : so tliat in my soul there was T'y, i.e. power, viz. a consciousness of power (cf. Judg. v. 21). The thanksgiving, which he, the king of the promise, offers to God on account of this, will be transmitted to all the kings of the earth when they shall hear (lJ?Oti' in the sense of a fut. exactum) the words of His mouth, i.e. the divine •TJ^'?) and they shall sing of (l^K' with |, like 3 "IST in Ixxxvii. 3, 2 H'^K' in cv. 2 and frequently, 3 Tpj] in xliv. y, 3 i''3iri in XX. 8, and the like) the ways of the God of the history of salvation, they shall sing that great is the glory of Jahve. Ver. 6 tells us by what means He has so super-glori- ously manifested Himself in His leadings of David. He has shown Himself to be the Exalted One who in His all-embracing rule does not leave the lowly (cf. David's confessions in cxxxi. 1, 2 Sam. vi. 22) unnoticed (cxiii. 6), but on the contrary makes him the especial object of His regard ; and on the other hand even from afar (cf. cxxxix. 2) He sees through (VV as in xciv. 11, Jer. xxix. 23) the lofty one who thinks himself un- observed and conducts himself as if he were apswerable to no higher being (x. 4). In correct texts n3J1 has Mugrash, and pniDD Merclia. The form of the fnt. Kal VT,\ is formed after the analogy of the Iliphil forms ?^b).^ in Isa. xvi. 7, and fre- PSALM CXXXVIII. 7, 8. 341 quently, and 3^0]'.^ in Job xxiv. 21 ; probably the word is intended to be all the more empliatic, inasmuch as the first radical, which disappears in J^T.> is thus in a certain measure restored.* Vers. 7, 8. Out of these experiences — so important for all mankind — of David, who has been exalted by passing through humiliation, there arise for him confident hopes con- cerning the future. The beginning of this strophe calls xxiii. 4 to mind. Though his way may lead through the midst of heart-oppressing trouble, Jahve will loose these bands of death and quicken him afresh (n^n as in xxx, 4, Ixxi. 20, and fre- quently). Though his enemies may rago, Jahve will stretch forth His hand threateningly and tranquillizingly over their wrath, and His right hand will save him. ^P'O'. is the subject according to cxxxix. 10 and other passages, and not (for why should it be supposed to be this?) accus. instrumenti (vid. Ix. 7). In ver. 8 "^i^r is intended just as in Ivii. 3 : the work begun He will carry out, eimeXetv (Phil. i. 6) ; and ''IV^ (according to its meaning, properly : covering me) is the same as vV in that passage (cf. xiii. 6, cxlii. 8). The pledge of this completion is Jahve's everlasting mercy, which will not rest until the promise is become perfect truth and reality. Thus, therefore. He will not leave, forsake the works of His hands {vid. xc. 16 sq.), i.e., as Hengstenberg correctly explains, everything that He has hitherto accomplished for David, from his deliverance out of the hands of Saul down to the bestowment of the promise — He will not let one of His works stand still, and least of all one that has been so gloriously begun. n3"in (whence ^'Ijf) signifies to slacken, to leave slack, i.e. leave uncarried out, to leave to * The Greek imperfects with the double (syllabic and temporal) aug- ment, as iupuv, eiuiiayou, are similar. Chajug' also regards the first Jol in these forms as the preformative and the second as the radical, whcroas Abuhvalid, Gramm. ch. xivi. p. 170, explains the first as a prosthesis and the second as the preformative. According to the view of others, eji. of Kimchi, yn'> might be fut. Hiph. weakened from yin* (yn'iT), which, apart from the unsuitable meaning, assumes a change of consonants that is all the more inadmissible as yr* itself springs from yiv Nor is it to be supposed that yn'> is modified from yi" (Luzzatto, § 197), because it is nowhere written yrv 342 PSALM CXXXIX. itself, as in Neh. vi. 3. ^x expresses a negation with a measure of inward excitement. PSALM CXXXIX. ADORATION OF THE OMNISCIENT AND OMNIPRESENT ONE. 1 JAHVE, Tliou searcliest and knowest me ! 2 Thou knowest my sitting down and my rising up, Thou understandest my thought afar off. 3 My path and my lying down Thou searchest, And with all my ways art Thou famihar. 4 For there is not a word on my tongue — Lo, Thou, O Jahve, knowest it altogether. 5 Behind and before dost Thou surround me. And hast laid Thy hand upon me. 6 Incomprehensible to me is such knowledge, It is too high, I have not grown up to it. 7 Whither could I go from Thy Spirit, And whither could I flee from Thy presence ■? ! 8 If I should ascend to heaven, there art Thou ; And if I should make Hades my resting-place, here art Thou also. 9 If I should raise the wings of the morning, If I should settle down at the extremity of the sea — 10 There also Thy hand would guide me, And Thy right hand lay hold of me. 11 And if I should say : Let nothing but darkness enwrap me. And let the light round about me become night — 12 Even the darkness would not be too dark for Thee, And the night would be to Thee bright as the day ; Darkness and light are alike to Thee. 13 For Thou hast brought forth my reins, Thou didst interweave me in my mother's womb. 14 I give Thee thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made ; Wonderful are Thy works. And my soul knoweth it right well. PSALM CXXXIX. 313 15 My bones were not hidden from Thee, I who was wrought in secret, Curiously wrouglit in the depths of the earth. 16 When an embryo Thine eyes saw me, And in Thy book were they all written : Days which were already sketched out, And for it one among them. 17 And how precious are Thy thoughts unto me, O God, How mighty is their sum ! 18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand ; I awake and I am still with Thee. 19 Oh that Thou wouldest slay the wicked, Eloah ; And ye men of blood-guiltiness, depart from me ! 20 They who mention Thee craftily, Speak out deceitfully — Thine adversaries. 21 Should I not hate those who hate Thee, Jahve, And be indignant at those who rise up against Thee ? ! 22 With the utmost hatred do I hate them. They are to me as mine own enemies. 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart, Prove me and know my thoughts, 24 And see whether there is in me any way of pain, And lead me in the everlasting way ! In this Aramaizing Psalm what the preceding Psalm says in ver. 6 comes to be carried into effect, viz. : for Jahve is exalted and He seeth the lowly, and the proud lie Jcnoioeth from afar. This Psalm has manifold points of contact with its predecessor. From a theological point of view it is one of the most instruc- tive of the Psalms, and both as regards its contents and poetic character in every way worthy of David. But it is only inscribed ^^!3 because it is composed after the Davidic model, and is a counterpart to such Psalms as Ps. xix. and to other Davidic didactic Psalms. For the addition nvJD^ neither proves its ancient Davidic origin, nor in a general way its origin in the period prior to the Exile, as Ps. Ixxiv. for example shows, wliich was at any rate not composed prior to the time of the Chalda}an catastropiie. The Psalm falls into three parts: vers. 1^-12, 13-18, 344 PSALM CXXXIX. 1-7. 19-24 ; the strophic arrangement is not clear. The first part celebrates the Omniscient and Omnipresent One. The poet knows that he is surrounded on all sides by God's knowledge and His presence ; His Spirit is everywhere and cannot be avoided ; and His countenance is turned in every direction and inevitably, in wrath or in love. In the second part the poet continues this celebration with reference to the origin of man ; and in the third part he turns in profound vexation of spirit towards the enemies of such a God, and supplicates for himself His proving and guidance. In vers. 1 and 4 God is called Jahve, in ver. 17 El, in ver. 19 Eloah, in ver. 21 again Jahve, and in ver. 23 again EL Strongly as this Psalm is marked by the depth and pristine freshness of its ideas and feeling, the form of its language is still such as is without precedent in the Davidic age. To all appearance it is the Aramseo-Hebrew idiom of the post-exilic period pressed into the service of poetry. The Psalm apparently belongs to those Psalms which, in connection with a thoroughly classical cha- racter of form, bear marks of the influence which the Aramaic language of the Babylonian kingdom exerted over the exiles. This influence affected the popular dialect in the first instance, but the written language also did not escape it, as the Books of Daniel and Ezra show ; and even the poetry of the Psalms is not without traces of this retrograde movement of the lan- guage of Israel towards the language of the patriarchal an- cestral house. In the Cod. Alex. Zaj(apiov is added to the Tt3 Aavlh •»|raX/i09, and by a second hand ev rfj htaairopa, which Origen also met with " in some copies." Vers. 1-7. The Aramaic forms in this strophe are the aira^ Xeryofx,. V"}. (ground-form I'V'l) in vers. 2 and 17, endea- vour, desire, thinking, like niyi and |i''J'1 in the post-exilic books, from njjn (NJJ"i), citpere, cogitare ; and the av. \ey. V?") in ver. 3, equivalent to Y^l, a lying down, if ^VT\ be not rather an infinitive like "'V^? in Job vii. 19, since ^n^^ 's undoubtedly not inflected from nnx, but, as being infinitive, like "•'i^y in Deut. iv. 21, from nnx ; and the verb niK also, with the ex- ception of this passage, only occurs in the speeches of Elihu (Job xxxiv. 8), which are almost more strongly Aramaizing than the Book of Job itself. Further, as an Aramaizing fea- PSALM CXXXIX. 1-7. 345 tnre we have the objective relation marked by Lamed in the expression ''V'b '"iri33, Thou understandest my thinking, as in cxvi. 16, cxxix. 3, cxxxv. 11, exxxvi. 19 sq. The monostichic opening is after the Davidic style, e.g. xxiii. 16. Among the prophets, Isaiah in particular is fond of such thematic intro- ductions as we have here in ver. \b. On V^ri^ instead of '?V7^5 '^'iil. on cvii. 20 ; the pronominal object stands once beside the first verb, or even beside the second (2 Kings ix. 25), instead of twice (Hitzig). The " me" is then expanded : sitting down, rising up, walking and lying, are the sum of human conditions or states. 'V?. is the totality or sum of the life of the spirit and soul of man, and ^3'^'^ the sum of human action. The divine knowledge, as Viril says, is the result of the scrutiny of man. The poet, however, in vers. 2 and 3 uses the perfect throughout as a mood of that which is practi- cally existing, because that scrutiny is a scrutiny that is never unexecuted, and the knowledge is consequently an ever-present knowledge, pinno is meant to say that He sees into not merely the thought that is fully fashioned and matured, but even that which is being evolved, nnr from n"iT is combined by Luther (with Azulai and others) with ">.!> « wreath (from "I"}!, constrin- gere, cingere), inasmuch as he renders : whether I walk or lie down. Thou art round about me (Ich geJie oder lige, so bistri vmb mich). n^T ought to have the same meaning here, if with Wetzstein one were to compare the Arabic, and more particu- larly Beduin, ^,j, dherrd, to protect; the notion of affording protection does not accord with this train of thought, which has reference to God's omniscience : what ought therefore to be meant is a hedging round which secures its object to the know- ledge, or even a protecting that places it in security against any exchanging, which will not suffer the object to escape it.* * This Verb. tert. , et ^_$ ia old, and the derivative dhcrCi, protection, is an elegant -word ; with reference to another derivative, dhern-e, a wall of rock protecting one from the winds, vid. Job, ii. 23, note. The II. form (Piel) signifies to protect in the widest possible sense, e.g. (in Neshwan, ii. 343'')i " iuLll ^j J, he protected the sheep (against being exchanged) by leaving a lock of wool upon their backs when tbey were shorn, by which they might be recognised among other sheep." 346 PSALM CXXXIX. 1-7. The Arabic ^jt}, to know, which is far removed in sound, is by no means to be compared ; it is related to |^ J, to push, urge forward, and denotes knowledge that is gained by testing and experimenting. But we also have no need of that ^j:,j, to protect, since we can remain within the range of the guaran- teed Hebrew usage, inasmuch as nnr^ to winnow, i.e. to spread out that which has been threshed and expose it to the current of the wind, in Arabic likewise ^, j (whence 'Ti.!P, midhrd, a winnowing-fork, like nn"i, racJit, a winnowing-shovel), gives an appropriate metaphor. Here it is equivalent to : to investigate and search out to the very bottom ; LXX., Symmachus, and Theodotion, e^i'^vlaara'i, after which the Italic renders investi- pasti, and Jerome eventilasti. Pr?'? with the accusative, as in Job xxii. 21 with DV: to enter into neighbourly, close, familiar relationship, or to stand in such relationship, with any one ; cogn. |2"^, ^^C 's a word that is guaran- teed by 1 Sam. xxviii. IG, Dan. iv. IG, and as being an Ara- VOL. III. 23 354 PSALM CXXXIX. 23, 24. maism is appropriate to this Psalm. The form DOipn for DOipno has cast away the preformative Mem (cf. 0^1'?^^ and n^nsp'b, r\-\y>jp in Deut. xxiii. 11 for nnpsp) ; the suffix is to be understood according to xvii. 7. Pasek stands between mn'' and ^i^'^ in order that the two words may not be read together (cf. Job xxvii. 13, and above x. 3). ^P'lpn'^ as in the recent Ps. cxix. 158. The emphasis in ver. 226 lies on ''^; the poet regards the adversaries of God as enemies of his own. ri'p^n takes the place of the adjective : extremo (ocUo) odi eos. Such is the relation of the poet to the enemies of God, but without indulging any self-glorying. Vers. 23, 24. He sees in them the danger which threatens himself, and prays God not to give him over to the judgment of self-delusion, but to lay bare the true state of his soul. The fact " Thou hast searched me," which the beginning of the Psalm confesses, is here turned into a petitioning " search me." In- stead of D''i'"i. in ver. 17, the poet here says D''Qy"!b', which sig- nifies branches (Ezek. xxxi. 5) and branchings of the act of thinking (thoughts and cares, xciv. 19). The Hesh is epen- thetic, for the first form is Q^SV^, Job iv. 13, xx. 2. The poet thus sets the very ground and life of his heart, with all its out- ward manifestations, in the light of the divine omniscience. And in ver. 24 he prays that God would see whether any n^j!"'^"!;^. cleaves to him (""^ as in 1 Sam. xxv. 24), by which is not meant "a way of idols" (Rosenmiiller, Gesenius, and Maurer), after Isa. xlviii. 5, since an inclination towards, or even apostasy to, heathenism cannot be an unknown sin ; nor to a man like the writer of this Psalm is heathenism any power of temptation. J^V? 1"^*^ (Griitz) might more readily be admissible, but ^^'V TiT is a more comprehensive notion, and one more in accordance with this closing petition. The poet gives this nume to the way that leads to the pain, torture, viz. of the inward and outward punishments of sin ; and, on the' other hand, the way along which he wishes to be guided he calls Dpiy Ti"i*ij the way of endless continuance (LXX., Vul- gate, Luther), not the' way of the former times, after Jer. vi. 16 (Maurer, Olshausen)., which thus by itself is ambiguous (as becomes evident from Job xxii. 15, Jer. xviii. 15), and also does not furnish any dirg'ct antithesis. The "everlasting way" is the way of God (xxfii. 11), the way of the righteous, which stands fast for ever and .shall not " perish " (i. 6). PSAUI cXL. 355 PSALM CXL. prateh for protection against wicked, crafty aiEN. 2 DELIVER me, Jahve, from wicked men, From the violent man preserve me, 3 Who plot wickedness in the heart, Daily do they stir up wars. 4 They sharpen their tongue like a serpent, Adder's poison is under their lips. {Sela.) 5 Keep me, Jahve, from the hands of the wicked, From the violent man preserve me, Who purpose to thrust aside my footsteps. 6 The proud hide snares for me and cords, They spread nets close by the path. They set traps for me. {Sela.) 7 I say to Jahve : ^[y God art Thou, Oh give ear, Jahve, to the cry of my supplication. 8 Jahve the Lord is the stronghold of my salvation, Thou coverest my head in the day of equipment. 9 Grant not, Jahve, the desires of the wicked ; Let not his device prosper, that they may not be lifted up. (Sela.) 10 The head of those who compass me about — let the trouble of their lips cover them ! 11 Let burning coals be cast down upon them, let them be cast intQ the fire, Into abysses out of which they may never rise up ! 12 Let not the man of the tongue be establisiied on the earth, The man of violence — let wickedness hunt him in violent haste ! 13 1 know that Jahve will carry through the cause of the afflicted, The right of the poor. 14 Yea, the righteous shall give thanks unto Tliy Name, The upright shall dwell beside Thy countenance. 356 PSALM CXL. 2-4. The close of the preceding Psalra is the key to David's position and mood in the presence of his enemies which find expression in this Psalm. He complains here of serpent-like, crafty, slanderous adversaries, who are preparing themselves for war against him, and with whom he will at length have to fight in open battle. The Psalm, in its form more bold tlian beautiful, justifies its Dlb in so far as it is Davidic in thoughts and figures, and may be explained from the circumstances of the rebellion of Absalom, to which as an outbreak of Ephraim- itish jealousy the rebellion of Sheba ben Bichri the Benjamite attached itself. Ps. Iviii. and Ixiv. are very similar. The close of all three Psalms sounds much alike, they agree in the use of rare forms of expression, and their language becomes fearfully obscure in style and sound where they are directed against the enemies. Vers. 2-4. The assimilation of the Nim of the verb *1VJ is given up, as in Ixi. 8, Ixxviii. 7, and frequently, in order to make the form more full-toned. The relative clause shows that Q''pon ^''ii (yid. vol. i. 277) is not intended to be understood exclusively of one person. 273. strengthens tlie notion of that which is deeply concealed and premeditated. It is doubtful whether li^r signifies to form into troops or to stir up. But fjom the fact that "ilil in Ivi. 7, lix. 4, Isa. liv. 15, signifies not congregare but se congregare, it is to be inferred that ni3 in the passage before us, like nna (or 'T^?^'? in Deut. ii. 9, 24), in Syriac and Targumic ^7.^, signifies concitare, to excite (cf. "lVk^' together with n'lb', Hos. xii. 4 sq.). In ver. 4 the Psalm coincides with Ixiv. 4, Iviii. 5. They sharpen their tongue, so that it inflicts a fatal sting like the tongue of a serpent, and under their lips, shooting out from thence, is the poison of the adder (cf. Cant, iv. 11). y^^^V is a a7ra| Xeyo/x. not from 3K'3 (Jesurun^ p. 207), but from tJ'ai?, ,j^is. and (jiilc, root cXt {vid. Fleischer on Isa. lix. 5, ^"'^'^V)^ both of which have the significations of bending, turning, and coiling after the manner of a serpent ; the Beth is an organic addition modifying the meaning of the root.* * According to the original Lexicons lajXr signifies to bend one's self, to wriggle, to creep sideways like the roots of the vine, in the V. form to rSALM CXL. 5-9. 357 Vers. 5, 6. The course of this second strophe is exactly parallel with the first. The perfects describe their conduct hitherto, as a comparison of ver. 3b with 3a shows. CpJ'B is poetically equivalent to D^l^I, and signifies both the foot that steps (Ivii. 7, Iviii. 11) and the step that is made by the foot (Ixxxv. 14, cxix. 133), and here the two senses are undistin- guishable. They are called D^X5 on account of the inordinate ambition that infatuates them. The metaphors taken from the life of the hunter (cxli. 9, cxlii. 4) are here brought together as it were into a bodv of synonyms. The meanincj of ?3J?DT7 becomes explicable from cxlii. 4 ; Iv, at hand, is equivalent to "immediately beside" (1 Chron. xviii. 17, Neh. xi. 24). Close by the path along which he has to pass, lie gins ready to spring together and ensnare him when he appears. Vers. 7-9. Such is the conduct of his enemies ; he, how- ever, prays to his God and gets his weapons from beside Him. The day of equipment is the day of the crisis when the battle is fought in full array. The perfect nni3D states what will then take place on the part of God : He protects the head of His anointed against the deadly blow. Both ver. 8a and Sb point to the helmet as being ti'^n tiyOj Ix. 9 ; cf. the expression "the helmet of salvation" in Isa. lix. 17. Beside \'1>'P, from the air. Xej. niSO, there is also the reading \''.\^^, whicli Abul- walid found in his Jerusalem codex (in Suragossa). The move one's self like an adder (according to the Kamus) and to walk like a drunken man (according to Neshwaii) ; but iJlSs. signifies to be inter- twined, knit or closely united together, said of hairs and of the branches of trees, in the V. form to fight hand to hand and to get iu among the crowd. The root is apparently expanded into nitt'Dy^by an added Btth which serves as a notional speciality, as in < ?»• _c the convex bend of the steep side of a rock, or in the case of the knee of the hind-legs of animals, and in < ?»j .ri- (in the dialect of the country along the coast of Palestine, where the tree is plentiful, in Neshwan churuub), the hom-like curved pod of the carob-tree (Ccratonia Siliqua), syncopated <_j>.^^, charruh (not cJiaruh), from ^)j^, cogn. . y a horn, cf. ^.'o^-^ the beak of a bird of prey, jy^ the stork Ivid. on civ, 17], ^jJJj^ the rhinoceros [tjc/. on xxix. 6], l::,-oJ ->- the unicorn [vid. jZ/jc/.].— Wetzstein. 358 PSALM CXL. 10-12. regular form would be \"i.^5^, and the doubly irregular md^awajje follows the example of "'S^'nOj '•'n.'^np, and the like, in a manner that is without example elsewhere, i^^t ^or irusTO is also a hapaxlegomenon ; according to Gesenius the principal form is DOT, but surely more correctly DOT (like 3"iip), which in Aramaic signifies a bridle, and here a plan, device. The Hiph. P''?'!) (root p3, whence p?3, ^_^) signifies ediicere in the sense of reportare, Prov. iii. 13, viii. 35, xii. 2, xviii. 22, and of por- rigere, cxliv. 13, Isa. Iviii. 10. A reaching forth of the plan is equivalent to the reaching forth of that which is projected. The choice of the words used in this Psalm coincides here, as already in ^'JJ"?, with Proverbs and Isaiah. The future 1J211' expresses the consequence (cf. Ixi. 8) against which the poet wishes to guard. Vers. 10-12. The strophic symmetry is now at an end. The longer the poet lingers over the contemplation of the rebels the more lofty and dignified does his language become, the more particular the choice of the expressions, and the more difficult and unmanageable the construction. The Hiph. 3pn signifies, causatively, to cause to go round about (Ex. xiii. 18), and to raise round about (2 Chron. xiv. 6) ; here, after Josh, vi. 11, where with an accusative following it signifies to go round about : to make the circuit of anything, as enemies who surround a city on all sides and seek the most favourable point for assault ; ''2pp from the participle 3p». Even when derived from the substantive 3pp (Hupfeld), "my surroundings" is equivalent to ''riiT2D U^i^ in xxvii. 6. liitzig, on the other hand, renders it : the head of my slanderers, from 33D, to go round about, Arabic to tell tales of any one, defame ; but the Arabic i_,v.<;, flit, u, to abuse, the IV. form {HipkU) of which more- over is not used either in the ancient or in the modern language, has nothing to do with the Hebrew n3D, but signifies originally to cut off round about, then to clip (injure) any one's honour and good name.* The fact that the enemies who surround * The lexicographer A'cs^it'dji says, i. 2796; ^ J_vj. JjJ^\ ^.^aJI JjJlW jLp *j «_ka!l i_.,^l J-«tf^ '■'' sehh is to abuse; still, the more oriyiual signification of cutting off is said to lie at the foundation of this PSALM CXL. 10-12. 359 the psalmist on every side are just such calumniators, is inti- mated liere in the word io'ns"::'. He wishes that the trouble which the enemies' slanderous lips occasion him may full back upon their own head. C'NT is head in the first and literal sense according to vii. 17 ; and io'ED^ (with the Jod of the ground- form ''D3, as in Deut. xxxii. 26, 1 Kings xx. 35; Chethib io^DS';,* after the attractional schema, 2 Sam. ii. 4, Isa. ii. 11, and frequently; cf. on the masculine form, Prov. v. 2, x. 21) refers back to C'N"i, which is meant of the heads of all persons individually. In ver. 11 ^t2''0^ (with an indefinite subject of the higher punitive powers, Ges. § 137, note), in the signification to cause to descend, has a support in Iv. 4, whereas the Nipli. l3iDJ, fut. ti'S), which is'preferred by the Keri, in the significa- tion to be made to descend, is contrary to the usage of the language. The air. Xey. nhbnD has been combined by Parchon and others with the Arabic j.%Jb, which, together with other significations (to strike, stamp, cast down, and the like), also has the signification to flow (whence e.g. in the Koran, ma munhamir, flowing water). "Fire" and "water" are emblems of perils that cannot be escaped, Ixvi. 12, and the mention of fire is therefore appropriately succeeded by places of flowing water, pits of water. The signification "pits" is attested by the Targum, Symmachus, Jerome, and the quotation in Kimchi: " first of all they buried them in nmiDno ; when the flesh was consumed they collected the bones and buried them in coffins." On ^D^P^-b cf. Isa. xxvi. 14. Like vers. 10, 11, ver. 12 is also not to be taken as a general maxim, but as expressing a wish in accordance with the excited tone of this strophe. P'^^v K'''X is not a great talker, i.e. boaster, but an idle talker, i.e. slanderer (LXX. avr^p 'y\Q}aa-d)8ri(;, cf. Sir. viii. 4). According to the accents, VI DDH jr''X is the parallel ; but what would be the object of this designation of violence as worse or more malignant V With Sommer, Olshausen, and others, we take VI as the subject signification." That . U'« is synonymous •with it, e.g. [XjJ < ''ii" tj^t ■why dost thou cut iuto us? i.e. why dost thou insult our honour? — Wetzsticik. * Which is favoured by Ex. xv. 5, fchasjumu with ma instead of mo, which is otherwise without example. 3G0 rSALM CXL. 13, 14, CXLI. to «7''^): let evil, i.e. the punishment wjiich arises out of evil, hunt him ; cf. Prov. xiii. 21, ny"i ci^nn .D''Nt2n, and the opposite in xxiii. 6. It would have to be accented, according to this our construction of the words, nsmo^ ^:iT!.*^ yi D»n B'\s\ The air. Xey. nbrnop we do not render, with Hengstenberg, Olshausen, and others : push upon push, with repeated pushes, which, to say nothing more, is not suited to the figure of hunting, but, since ^n^ always has the signification of precipitate hastening : by hastenings, that is to say, forced marches. Vers. 13, 14. With ver. 13 the mood and language now again become cheerful, the rage has spent itself; therefore the style and tone are now changed, and the Psalm trips along merrily as it were to the close. With reference to D]}!'' for Tiy'T' (as in Job xlii. 2), vid. xvi. 2. That which David in ix. 5 confidently expects on his own behalf is here generalized into the certain prospect of the triumph of the good cause in the person of all its representatives at that time oppressed, "ij^, like ^^i^Vy^, is an expression of certainty. After seeming abandonment God again makes Himself known to His own, and those whom they wanted to sweep away out of the land of the living have an ever sure dwelling-place with His joyful countenance (xvi. 11). PSALM CXLI. EVENING PSALM IN THE TIMES OF ABSALOM. 1 JAHVE, I call upon Thee, Oh haste Thee unto me ; Oh hearken to my voice, when I call upon Thee ! 2 Let my prayer be accounted as incense before Thee, The lifting up of my hands as the evening meat-offering. 3 Oh set a watch, Jahve, upon my mouth, A protection upon the door of my lips. 4 Incline not my heart to an evil matter, To practise knavish things in iniquity With the lords who rule wickedly. And let me not taste their dainties. 5 Let a righteous man smite me lovingly and rebuke me. PSALM CXLI. 361 Such oil upon the head let not my head refuse, For still do I meet their wickedness only with prayer. 6 Hurled down upon the sides of the rock are their judges, And tiiey hear my words as welcome. 7 As when one furroweth and breaketh up the earth. Are our bones sowed at the gate of Hades. 8 For unto Thee, Jahve Lord ! do mine eyes look, In Thee do I hide, pour not my soul out ! 9 Keep me from the hands of the snare of those who lay snares for me. And from the traps of those who rule wickedly. 10 Let the wicked fall into their own net, Whilst / altogether escape. The four Psalms, cxl., cxli., cxlii., and cxHii., are interwoven with one another in many ways {Symbolce, pp. 67 sq.). Tiie following passages are very similar, viz. cxl. 7, cxli. 1, cxlii. 2, and cxliii. 1. Just as the poet complains in cxlii. 4, " when my spirit veils itself within me," so too in cxliii. 4 ; as he prays in cxlii. 8, " Oh bring my soul out of prison," so in cxliii. 11, " bring my soul out of distress," where mv takes the place of the metaphorical IJDO. Besides these, compare cxl. 5, 6 with cxli. 9; cxlii. 7 with cxliii. 9; cxl. 3 with cxli. 5, nijn ; cxl. 14 with cxlii. 8 ; cxlii. 4 with cxliii. 8. The right understanding of the Psalm depends upon the right understanding of the situation. Since it is inscribed 1T\b, it is presumably a situation corresponding to the history of David, out of the midst of which the Psalm is composed, either by David himself or by some one els© who desired to give expression in Davidic strains to David's mood when in this situation. For the ^leaning of Davidic Psalms which we find in the last two Books of the Psalter is for the most part derived from historical works in which these Psalms, in some instances only free reproductions of the feelings of David with respect to old Davidic models, adorned the historic narrative. The Psalm before us adorned the history of the time of the persecution by Absalom. At that time David was driven out of Jerusalem, and consequently cut off from the sacrificial worship of God upon Zion ; and our Paahn is an evening 362 PSALM CXLI. 1, 2. hymn of one of those troublous days. The ancient church, even prior to the time of Gregory (^Constitutiones Apostolicce, ii. 59), had chosen it for its evening hymn, just as it had chosen Ps. Ixiii. for its morning hymn. Just as Ps, Ixiii. was called 6 opOpLvo^ {ibid. viii. 37), so this Psalm, as being the Vesper Psalm, was called 6 iTriX.vxvi'O^ {ibid. viii. 35). Vers. 1, 2. The very beginning of Ps. cxli. is more after the manner of David than really Davidic ; for instead of haste thee to me, David always says, haste thee for my help, xxii. 20, xxxviii. 23, xl. 14. The ^ that is added to ^Nnp^3 (as in iv. 2) is to be explained, as in .Ivii. 3 : when I call to Thee, i.e. when I call Thee, who art now far from me, to me. The general cry for help is followed in ver. 2 by a petition for the answering of his prayer. Luther has given an excellent rendering : Let my prayer avail to Thee as an offering of incense ; the lifting up of my hands, as an evening sacrifice {Mein Gebet miisse fur dir tiigen wie ein Reuchopffer, Meine Hende auffheben, xcie ein Abendopffer'). lisiji is the fut. Niph. of p3, and signifies pro- perly to be set up, and to be established, or reflexive : to place and arrange or prepare one's self, Amos iv. 12 ; then to con- tinue, e.g. ci. 7 ; therefore, either let it place itself, let it appear, sistat se, or better : let it stand, continue, i.e. let my prayer find acceptance, recognition with Thee J^IPR, and the lifting up of my hands nnyTimD. Expositors say that this in both instances is the comparatio decurtata, as in xi. 1 and elsewhere : as an incense-offering, as an evening mincha. But the poet purposely omits the 3 of the comparison. He wishes that God may be pleased to regard his prayer as sweet-smelling smoke or as incense, just as this was added to the azcara of the meal- offering, and gave it, in its ascending perfume, the direction upward to God,* and that He may be pleased to regard the * It is not the priestly T'on mbp, i-e. the daily morning and evening incense-offering upon the golden altar of the holy place, Ex. xxx. 8, that is meant (since it is a non-priest who is speaking, according to liitzig, of course John Hyrcanus), but rather, as also in Isa. i. 13, the incense of the azcara of the meal-yffering which the priest burnt (T'Dpn) upon the altar ; the incense (Isa. Ixvi. 3) waa entirely consumed, and not merely a handful taken from it. PSALM CXLI. 3, 4. 365 lifting up of his liands (n^5b•D, the construct with the redupH- cation given up, from ns'^D, or even, after the form riJnrp^ from nsuvpj liere not ohlatio, but according to the phrase 2'S3 Ni^'J [2?^'], elevatio, Judg. xx. 38, 40, cf. Ps. xxviii. 2, and fre- quently) as an evening mincha, just as it was added to the evening tamid according to Ex. xxix. 38-42, and concluded the work of the service of the day.* Vers. 3, 4. The prayer now begins to be particularized, and that in the first instance as a petition for the grace of silence, calling to mind old Davidic passages like xxxix. 2, xxxiv. 14. The situation of David, the betrayed one, requires caution in speaking ; and the consciousness of having sinned, not indeed against the rebels, but against God, who would not visit him thus without his deserving it, stood in the way of any outspoken self-vindication. In pone custodlam ori meo '^"^PV' is air. Xey., after the infinitive form '"'i^?'^, i^^ry, n?9VV- ^^^ '^^^'- ^^ ?1 is air. Xey. for ml ; cf. " doors of tlie mouth" in Mic. vii. 5, and TTvXat a-TOfiaro^; in Euripides. rin^*3 might be imper. Kal: keep I pray, with Dag. dirimens as in Pro v. iv. 13. But "iV^ pV is not in use ; and also as the parallel word to "T^P*^, which likewise has the appearance of being imperative, nnsfj is expli- cable as regards its pointing by a comparison of nnip^ in Gen. xlix. 10, r\yr[ in Deut. xxxiii. 3, and nnnip in Ixxiii. 28. The prayer for the grace of silence is followed in ver. 4 by a prayer for the breaking off of all fellowship with the existing rulers. By a flight of irony they are called Ct^''?, lords, in the sense of tJ'\S ''J3j iv. 3 (cf. the Spanish hidalgos = Jnjos d'algo, sons of somebody). The evil thing (yi ' 131, with Fasek between the two -1, as in Num. vii. 13, Deut. vii. 1 between the two D, and in 1 Chron. xxii. 3 between the two ^), to which Jahve may be pleased never to incline his heart (tiri, fut. apoc. Iliph. as in xxvii. 9), is forthwith more particularly designated : perpetrare faci- * The reason of it is this, that the evening mincha ia oftener mentioned than the morning minclia (see, however, 2 Kings iii. 20). The whole burnt-offering of the morning and the meat-ofToiing of the evening (2 Kings xvi. 15, 1 Kings xviii. 29, 36) are the beginning and close of the daily principal service ; whence, according to tlie example of the mim loquenili in Dan. ix. 21, Ezra ix. 4 sq., later on mincha directly sigailica the afternoon or evening. 364 PSALM CXLI. 5-7. nora maligne cum dominis, etc. rii?pj? of great achievements in the sense of infamous deeds, also occurs in xiv. 1, xcix. 8. Here, however, -vve have the Ilithpo. y^t no friend appears for me ; " but this use of the inf. ahsol. with an adver- sative apodosis is without example. Thus therefore the pointing appears to have lighted upon the correct idea, inasmuch as it recognises here the current formula nx")1 D^rij e.g. Job xxxv. 5, Lam. v. 1. The fact that David, although surrounded by a band of loyal subjects, confesses to having no true friend, is to be understood similarly to the language of Paul when he says in Phil. ii. 20 : "I have no man like-minded." All human love, since sin has taken possession of humanity, is more or less selfish, and all fellowship of faith and of love imperfect; and there are circumstances in life in which these dark sides make themselves felt overpoweringly, so that a man seems to himself to be perfectly isolated and turns all the more urgently to God, who alone is able to supply the soul's want of some object to Jove, whose love is absolutely unselfish, and unchangeable, and unbeclouded, to whom the soul can confide without reserve whatever burdens it, and who not only honestly desires its good, but is able also to compass it in spite of every obstacle. Sur- rounded by bloodthirsty enemies, and misunderstood, or at least not thoroughly understood, by his friends, David feels himself broken off from all created beings. On this earth every kind of refuge is for him lost (the expression is like Job xi. 20). There is no one there who should ask after or care for his soul, and should right earnestly exert himself for its deliverance. Thus, then, despairing of all visible things, he cries to the Invi- sible One. He is his " refuge " (xci. 9) and his " portion " (xvi. 5, PSALM CXLII. 7, 8. 371 Ixxiii. 26), i.e. the share in a possession that satisfies him. To be allowed to call Him his God — this it is which suffices him and out- weighs everything. For Jahve is the Living One, and he who ])03sesses Him as his own finds himself thereby " in the land of the living " (xxvii. 13, lii. 7). He cannot die, he cannot perish. Vers. 7, 8. His request now ascends all the more confident of being answered, and becomes calm, being well-grounded in his feebleness and the superiority of his enemies, and aiming at the glorifying of the divine Name. In ver. 7 'nsi calls to mind xvii. 1 ; the first confirmation, IxxLx. 8, and the second, xviii. 18. But this is the only passage in the Avhole Psalter where the poet designates the "distress" in which he finds liimself as a prison (13?'?). Ver. Sb brings the whole congre- gation of the righteous in in the praising of the divine Name. The poet therefore does not after all find himself so absolutely alone, as it might seem according to ver. 5. He is far from regarding himself as the only righteous person. He is only a member of a community or church whose destiny is interwoven with his own, and which will glory in his deliverance as its own ; for " if one member is honoured, all the members re- joice with it" (1 Cor. xii. 26). We understand the differently interpreted 'iT'ri^^ after this "rejoicing with" (auy^aipet). The LXX., Syriac, and Aquila render : the righteous wait for me ; but to wait is iri3 and not ""^^^n. The modern versions, on the other hand, almost universally, like Luther after Felix Pratensis, render : the righteous shall surround me (flock about me), in connection with which, as Hengstenberg observes, '3 denotes the tender sympathy they feel with liim : crowding closely upon me. But there is no instance of a verb of sur- rounding (flSX, 23D, 33b, niy, ""PV, ^'i^r") taking 3 ; the accusa- tive stands with "'"'^3n in Hab. i. 4, and "iri3 in xxii. 13, in the signification cingere. Symmachus (although erroneously ren- dering: TO ovo/jbd (Tov crT€(f)av(t}crovTat SiKacoi)^ Jerome {in me coronalmniur justi), Parchon, Aben-Ezra, Coccejus, and others, rightly take ^">'ri3^ as a denominative from ins, to put on a crown or to crown (cf. Prov. xiv. 18): on account of me the righteous shall adorn themselves as with crowns, i.e. shall triumph, that Thou dealest bountifully with me (an echo of xiii. 6). Ac- cording to passages like Ixiv. 11, xl. 17, one might have ex- pected ia instead of *3. But the close of Ps. xxii. (vers. 23 372 PSALM CXLIII. sqq.), cf. cxl. 12 sq., shows that ^1 is also admissible. The very fact that David contemplates his own destiny and the destiny of his foes in a not merely ideal but foreordainedly causal connection with the general end of the two powers that stand opposed to one another in the world, belongs to the characteristic impress of the Psalms of David that come from \he time of Saul's persecution. PSALM CXLIII. LONGING AFTER MERCY IN THE MIDST OF DARK IMPRISONMENT. 1 JAHVE, hear my prayer, oh give ear to my supplication ; In Thy faithfulness answer me, in Thy righteousness. 2 And enter not into judgment with Thy servant, For before Thee no man living is righteous. 3 For the enemy hath persecuted my soul. He hath crushed my life to the ground, He hath made me to lie down in terrible darkness, like those for ever dead. 4 And my spirit languisheth within me. In my inward part my heart is benumbed. 5 I remember the days of old, I meditate upon all Thy doing, I muse upon the work of Thy hands. 6 I stretch forth my hands unto Thee, My soul is as a thirsty land unto Thee ! (Sela.) 7 Answer me speedily, Jahve, my spirit yearneth : Hide not Thy face from me, I should become like those who go down to the pit. 8 Let me hear Thy loving-kindness with the dawn of the For I trust in Thee. [morning, Make known to me the way in which I am to go, For unto Thee do I lift up my soul. 9 Deliver me from mine enemies, Jahve I I have hidden myself with Thee. PSALM CXLIII. 1-6. 373 10 Teach me to do Thy will, For Thou art my God ; Let Thy good Spirit lead me in an even land. 11 For Thy Name's sake, Jahve, quicken me again, In Thy righteousness be pleased to bring ray soul out of trouble, 12 And in Thy loving-kindness cut off mine enemies, And destroy all the oppressors of my soul, For I am Thy servant. In some codices of the LXX. this Psalm (as Euthymius also bears witness) has no inscription at all ; in others, however, it has the inscription : WaXfx,o<; tu> Aavelh ore avrov iSlcoKev 'A^€aaa\(bfi 6 vi6vyov, by which the defective mode of writing TIDD is indirectly attested, instead of which the translators read TiO^ (cf. 7y D13 in Isa. x. 3) ; for elsewhere not non but DIJ is reproduced with KaTavyelv. The Targum renders it ^'^'?''0 P''")37 ''0^30, Thy Logos do I account as (my) Redeemer (i.e. regard it as such), as if the Hebrew words were to be ren- dered : upon Thee do I reckon or count, ''^''Dli = ""^P?, Ex. xii. 4. Luther closely follows the LXX. : " to Thee have I fled for refuge." Jerome, however, inasmuch as he renders : ad te protectus sum, has pointed ^n^B3 ("T'^^^)* Hitzig (on the passage before us and Prov. vii. 20) reads '•riM from ND3 = N3p, to look (" towards Thee do I look"). But the Hebrew contains no trace of that verb ; the full moon is called ND3 (noa), not as being " a sight or vision, species,'" but from its covered orb (vol. ii. 394). The ^riE)3 before us only admits of two interpretations : (1) Ad (apud) te texi = to Thee have I secretly confided it (Rashi, Aben-Ezra, Kimchi, Coccejus, J. H. Michaelis, J. D. Michaelis, Rosenmiiller, Gesenius, and De Wette). But such a constructio prcegnans, in connection with which nD3 would veer round from the signification to veil (cf. }» nD3, Gen. xviii. 17) into its opposite, and the clause have the meaning of ^n^^S "l^^S ^3, Jer. xi. 20, xx. 12, is hardly conceivable. (2) Ad (apud) te ahscondidi, scil. me (Saadia, Calvin, Maurer, Ewald, and Hengstenberg), in favour of which we decide ; for it is evident from Gen. xxxviii. 14, Deut. xxii. 12, cf. Jonah iii. 6, that nE)3 can express the act of covering as an act that is referred to the person himself who covers, and so can obtain a reflexive meaning. Therefore : towards Thee, with Thee have I made a hiding = hidden myself, which according to the sense is equivalent to Wpn (vid. vol. i. 99), as Hupfeld (with a few MSS.) wishes to read ; but Abulwalid has already re- marked that the same goal is reached with '•J^pp. Jahve, with whom he hides himself, is alone able to make known to him PSALM CXLIII. 7-12 377 whfit is right and beneficial in the position in which he finds himself, in which he is exposed to temporal and spiritual dangers, and is able to teach him to carry out the recognised will of God (" the will of God, good and well-pleasing and perfect," Rom. xii. 2) ; and this it is for which he prays to Him in ver. 10 ("l^l^*"' ; another reading, ^?"i^*^). For Jahve is indeed his God, who cannot leave him, who is assailed and tempted without and within, in error ; may His good Spirit then (inn n^ita for ^^^t^n^ Neh. ix. 20*) lead him in a level country, for, as it is said in Isaiah, ch. xxvi. 7, in looking up to Jahve, " the path which the righteous man takes is smoothness ; Thou makest the course of the righteous smooth." The geographical term "iiK'^0 p^, Deut. iv. 43, Jer. xlviii. 21, is here applied spiritually. Here, too, reminiscences of Psalms already read meet us everywhere : cf. on " to do Thy will," xl. 9 ; on " for Thou art my God," xl. 6, and frequently ; on " Thy good Spirit," li. 14 ; on " a level country," and the whole petition, xxvii. 11 (where the expresssion is " a level path"), together with V. 9, XXV. 4 sq., xxxi. 4. And the Psalm also further unrolls itself in such now well-known thoughts of the Psalms : For Thy Name's sake, Jahve (xxv. 11), quicken me again (Ixxi. 20, -and frequently) ; by virtue of Thy righteousness be pleased to bring my soul out of distress (cxlii. 8, xxv. 17, and fre- quently) ; and by virtue of Thy loving-kindness cut off mine enemies (liv. 7). As in ver. 1 faithfulness and righteousness, here loving-kindness (mercy) and righteousness, are coupled together ; and that so that mercy is not named beside N^yiri^ nor righteousness beside n'''?>''!', but the reverse (yid. on ver. 1). It is impossible that God should suffer him who has hidden him- self in Him to die and perish, and should suffer his enemies on the other hand to triumph. Therefore the poet confirms * Properly, " Thy Spirit, a good one," so that r\2)D is an adjectival apposition ; as we can also say nnitan nn, a spirit, the good one, although Buch irregularities may also be a negligent usage of the language, like the Arabic ^-^IcsJl J^sXk**^, the chief mosque, •which many grammarians regard as a construct relationship, others as an ellipsis (inasmuch as they ™Pply u;^^^ between the words) ; the former is confirmed from the Hebrew, vid. Ewald, § 287, a. 378 PSALM CXLIV. the prayer for the cutting off (n'PV'? as in xciv. 23) of his enemies and the destruction (*T'3?<.J?., elsewhere 13N) of the oppressors of his soul (elsewhere ""T]^) with the words : for I am Thy servant. PSALM CXLIV. TAKING COURAGE IN GOD BEFORE A DECISIVE COMBAT. The blessed condition of God's people. 1 BLESSED be Jahve my Rock, Who traineth my hands for the fight, My fingers for the war — 2 My loving-kindness and my fortress, My high tower and my deliverer for me, My shield and He in whom I hide, Who subdueth my people under me ! 3 Jahve, what is man that Thou takest knowledge of him, The child of mortal man that Thou heedest him ! 4 As for man, he is like a breath, His days are as a shadow that vanisheth away. 5 Jahve, bow Thy heavens and come down, Touch the mountains that they smoke. 6 Cast forth liirhtnings to scatter them ; Send forth Thine arrows to destroy them. 7 Send Thy hands from above, Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters : Out of the hand of the sons of the strange land, 8 Whose mouth speaketh vanity. And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9 Elohim, a new song will I sing unto Thee, Upon a ten-stringed nabla will I play unto Thee, 10 Who giveth salvation unto kings. Who rescueth David His servant from the evil sword, 11 Rescue and deliver me out of the hand of the sons of the strauire land. PSALM CXLIV. 379 Whose mouth speaketh vanity, Whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12 Because our sons are as high-reared plants in their youthful vigour, Our daughters as adorned corners after the mode of structure of a palace ; 13 Our garners full, affording every kind of store ; Our sheep bringing forth by thousands, multiplying by tens of thousands in our pastures ; 14 Our kine bearing without mishap and without lossj And no lamentation in our streets. 15 Blessed is the people that is in such a case. Blessed is the people lohose God is Jahve ! Praised be Jahve who teacheth me to fight and conquer (vers. 1, 2), me the feeble mortal, who am strong only in Him, vers. 3, 4. May Jahve then be pleased to grant a victory this time also over the boastful, lying enemies, vers. 5-8 ; so will I sing new songs of thanksgiving unto Him, the bestower of victory, vers. 9, 10. May He be pleased to deliver me out of the hand of the barbarians who envy us our prosperity, which is the result of our having Jahve as our God, vers. 11-15. A glance at this course of the thought commends the additional inscription of the LXX. (according to Origen only " in a few copies"), 7rpo9 tov FoXidS, and the Targumist's reference of the " evil sword" in ver. 10 to the sword of Goliath (after the example of the Midrash). Read 1 Sam. xvii. 47. The Psalm has grown out of this utterance of David. In one of the old histories, just as several of these lie at the foundation of our Books of Samuel as sources of information that are still re- cognisable, it was intended to express the feelings with which David entered upon the single-handed combat with Goliath and decided the victory of Israel over the Philistines. At that time he had already been anointed by Samuel, as both the narratives which have been worked up together in the First Book of Samuel assume : see 1 Sam. xvi. 13, x. 1. And this victory was for him a gigantic stride to the throne. If iti'tJ in ver. 12a is taken as eo (juod, so that envy is brought under consideration as a motive for the causeless (^*''^''), 380 PSALM CXLIV. 1, 2. lyingly treacherous rising (y^ PP') of the neighbouring peoples, then the passage vers. 12-15 can at any rate be comprehended as a part of the form of the whole. But only thus, and not otherwise ; for IC'K cannot be intended as a statement of the aim or purpose : in order that they may be . . . (Jerome, De Wette, Hengstenberg, and others), since nothing but illustra- tive substantival clauses follow ; nor do these clauses admit of an optative sense : We, whose sons, may they be . . . (Maurer); and IK'S never has an assuring sense (Vaihinger). It is also evident that we cannot, with Saadia, go back to ver. 9 for the interpretation of the "ym (U ^U ^J^^)- But that junction by means of eo quod is hazardous, since envy or ill-will (nii:p) is not previously mentioned, and li^^ r^' Q?"?'"! expresses a fact, and not an action. If it is further considered that nothing is wanting in the way of finish to the Psalm if it closes with ver. 11, it becomes all the more doubtful whether vers. 12-15 be- longed originally to the Psalm. And yet we cannot discover any Psalm in its immediate neighbourhood to which this piece might be attached. It might the most readily, as Hitzig cor- rectly judges, be inserted between vers. 13 and 14 of Ps. cxlvii. But the rhythm and style differ from this Psalm, and we must therefore rest satisfied with the fact that a fragment of another Psalm is here added to Ps. cxliv., which of necessity may be accounted as an integral part of it ; but in spite of the fact that the whole Psalm is built up on a gigantic scale, this was not its original corner-stone, just as one does not indeed look for anything further after the refrain, together with the men- tion of David in vers. 10 sq., cf. xviii. 51. Vers. 1, 2. The whole of this first strophe is an imitation of David's great song of thanksgiving, Ps. xviii. Hence the calling of Jahve " my rock," xviii. 3, 47 ; hence the heaping up of other appellations in ver. 2a, in which xviii. 3 is echoed ; but '^"'1?^?^'' (with Lamed deprived of the Dagesh) follows the model of 2 Sam. xxii. 2. The naming of Jahve with ^^pn is- a bold abbreviation of ^^pn ^n1)S in lix. 11, 18, as also in Jonah ii. 9 [8] the God whom the idolatrous ones forsake is called D^pn. Instead of nonbo the Davidic Psalms also poetically say 3">i?, Iv. 22, cf . Ixxviii. 9. The expression " who traineth PSALM CXLIV. 3-8. 381 my hands for the fight" we have already read in xvili. 35. The last words of the strophe, too, are after xviii. 48 ; but in- stead of "iSTl this poet says VP^, from Tn = mn (cf. Isa. xlv. 1, xli. 2), perhaps under the influence of n^ibi in 2 Sam. xxii. 48. In Ps. xviii. 48 we however read ^^^V, and the Masora has enumerated Ps. cxliv. 2, together with 2 Sam. xxii. 44, Lam. iii. 14, as the three passages in which it is written "dv, whilst one expects D'DV (D'oy p^aDT 'j), as the Targum, Syriac, and Jerome (yet not the LXX.) in fact render it. But neither from the language of the books nor from the popular dialect can it be reasonably expected that they would say 'OV for dpy in such an ambiguous connection. Either, therefore, we have to read D^DJ?,* or we must fall in with the strong expression, and this is possible : there is, indeed, no necessity for the sub- duing to be intended of the use of despotic power, it can also be intended of God-given power, and of subjugating autho- rity. David, the anointed one, but not having as yet ascended the throne, here gives expression to the hope that Jahve will grant him deeds of victory which will compel Israel to submit to him, whether willingly or reluctantly. Vers. 3, 4. It is evident that ver. 3 is a variation of viii. 5 with the use of other verbs. V}) in the sense of loving inti- macy ; ^ti'n, properly to count, compute, here rationem habere. Instead of ''3 followed by the future there are consecutive futures here, and Q^^"!? is aramaizingly (w'^S 13) metamor- phosed into C'i3S"|3, Ver. 4 is just such another imitation, like a miniature of xxxix. 6 sq., 11, cf. Ixii. 10. The figure of tiie shadow is the same as in cii. 12, cf. cix. 23. The connection of the third stanza with the second is still more disrupt than that of the second with the first. Vers. 5-8. The deeds of God which Ps. xviii. celebrates are here made an object of prayer. We see from xviii. 10 that ^7^l'l, ver. 5a, has Jahve and not the heavens as its sub- ject ; and from xviii. 15 that the suffix e7n in ver. 6 is meant in both instances to be referred to the enemies. The enemies are called sons of a foreign country, i.e. barbarians, as in xviii. 45 sq. The fact that Jahve stretches forth His hand out of * Rashi is acquainted with an othorwiao uiikiiowu uotc of the Maaora: ^1p Vnnn ; but tub Ktrl k iiuugiiiary. 382 PSALM CXLIV. 9-15. tlie heavens and rescues David out of great waters, is taken verbatim from xviii. 17 ; and the poet has added the interpre- tation to the figure here. On ver. 8fl cf. xii. 3, xH. 7. The combination of words " right hand of falsehood " is the same as in cix. 2. But our poet, although so great an imitator, has, however, much also that is peculiar to himself. The verb P13, " to send forth lightning ;" the verb n^'E in the Aramgeo-Arabic signification " to tear out of, rescue," which in David always only signifies "to tear open, open wide" (one's mouth), xxii. 14, Ixvi. 14 ; and the combination " the right hand of falsehood " (like " the tongue of falsehood" in cix. 2), i.e. the hand raised for a false oath, are only found here. The figure of Omnipo- tence, " He toucheth the mountains and they smoke," is, as in civ. 32, taken from the mountains that smoked at the giving of the Law, Ex. xix. 18, xx. 15. The mountains, as in Ixviii. 17 (cf. Ixxvi. 5), point to the worldly powers. God only needs to touch these as with the tip of His finger, and the inward fire, which will consume them, at once makes itself known by the smoke, which ascends from them. The prayer for victory is followed by a vow of thanksgiving for that which is to be be- stowed. Vers. 9-11. With the exception of Ps. cviii., which is composed of two Davidic Elohim-Psalms, the Elohim in ver. 9 of this strophe is the only one in the last two Books of the Psalter, and is therefore a feeble attempt also to reproduce the Davidic Elohimic style. The " new song " calls to mind xxxiii. 3, xl. 4 ; and liti'V ^??. also recalls xxxiii. 2 (which see). The fact that David mentions himself by name in his own song comes about in imitation of xviii. 51. From the eminence of thanksgiving the song finally descends again to petition, vers. 7c, 8 being repeated as a refrain. The petition developes itself afresh out of the attributes of the Being invoked (ver. 10), and these are a pledge of its fulfilment. For how could the God to whom all victorious kings owe their victory (xxxiii. 16, cf. 2 Kings V. 1, 1 Sam. xvii. 47) possibly suffer His servant David to succumb to the sword of the enemy ! t^V"] 3nn is the sword that is engaged in the service of evil. Vers. 12-15. With reference to the relation of this passage to the preceding, vid. the introduction. IK'X (it is uncertain whether this is a word belonging originally to this piece or one rSALM CXLIV. 12-15. 383 added by tlie person who appended it as a sort of clasp or rivet) signifies here qiioniam, as in Judii. ix. 17, Jer. xvi. 13, and frequently. LXX. wv ol viol (Dn"'j3 "iij'n); so that the temporal prosperity of the enemies is pictured here, and in ver. 15 the spiritual possession of Israel is contrasted with it. Tlie union becomes satisfactorily close in connection with this reading, but the reference of the description, so designedly set forth, to the enemies is im])robable. In vers, 12-14 we hear a language that is altogether peculiar, without any assignable earlier model. Instead of D^VPJ we read D*V9^ elsewhere ; " in their youth " belongs to " our sons." ^3^.^]^, our garners or treasuries, from a singular if^ or 'il^ (apparently from a verb nro, but con- tracted out of ^}.1P), is a hapaxlegomenon ; the older language has the words DDX, nvix, rrj^JBO instead of it. In like manner it, genus (viJ. Ewald, Lehrbuch, S. 380), is a later word (found besides only in 2 Chron. xvi. 14, where D'3fi signifies et varia quidem, Syriac z^noiwje, or directly spices from species); the older language has pp for this word. Instead of CDipst, kine, which signifies "princes" in the older language, the older language says ^'^p^^. in viii. 8. The plena scriptio ^331NV, in which the Waio is even inaccurate, corresponds to the later period; and to this corresponds C' mitt's in ver. 15, cf. on the other hand xxxiii. 12. Also D''^3DD, laden = bearing, like the Latin forda from ferre (cf. iSVp in Job xxi. 10), is not found elsewhere. |SV is (contrary to Gen. xxx. 39) treated as a femi- nine collective, and ^'^>>^ (cf. "li::' in Job xxi. 10) as a nomen epicoenum. Contrary to the usage of the word, Maurer, Koster, Von Lengerke, and Fiirst render it : our princes are set up (after Ezra vi. 3) ; also, after the mention of animals of the fold upon the meadows out-of-doors, one does not expect the mention of princes, but of horned cattle that are to be found in the stalls. JT'IT elsewhere signifies a corner, and here, according to the prevailing view, the corner-pillars ; so that the elegant slender daughters are likened to tastefully sculptured Caryatides — not to sculptured projections (Luther). For (1) n^lT does not signify a projection, but a corner, an angle, Arabic L.^,, zdicXa (in the terminology of the stone-mason the square-stone = n3Q f3X, in the terminology of the carpenter tl square), from ^. ;, abdere (cf. e.g. the proverb : fi 7 le 384 P3ALM CXLIV. 12-15. chahajd, in the corners are treasures). (2) The upstanding pillar is better adapted to the comparison than the overhanging projection. But that other prevailing interpretation is also doubtful. The architecture of Syria and Palestine — the ancient, so far as it can be known to us from its remains, and the new — exhibits nothing in connection with which one would be led to think of " corner-pillars." Nor is there any trace of that signification to be found in the Semitic ri^lT. On the other hand, the corners of large rooms in the houses of persons of position are ornamented with carved work even in the present day, and since this ornamentation is variegated, it may be asked whether nu^no does here signify " sculptured," and not rather " striped in colours, variegated," which we prefer, since a^pn (cogn. 3^n) signifies nothing more than to hew firewood ;* and on the other side, the signification of the Arabic t--^^^-, to be striped, many-coloured (IV. to become green-striped, of the coloquintida), is also secured to the verb 2Dn side by side with that signification by Prov. vii. 16. It is therefore to be rendered : our daughters are as corners adorned in varied colours after the architecture of palaces.f The words ^'r'^.j!|, * In every instance where 2Dn (cogn. 3vn) occurs, frequently side by side with Q^d 3SB' (to draw water), it signifies to hew wood for kindling; wherefore in Arabic, in which the verb has been lost, <,_ ^U~^ signifies firewood (in distinction from c_,vio^, wood for building, timber), and not merely this, but fuel in the widest sense, e.g. in villages where wood is scarce, cow-dung (vid. Job, i. 377, note), and the hemp-stalk, or stalk of the maize, in the desert the ijXi, i.e. camel-dung (which blazes up with a blue flame), and the perennial steppe-plant or its root. In relation to , ^1^-^, <_-U^ \ signifies lopped, pruned, robbed of its branches (of a tree), and u— ^U- ^-'>=«- * pruning war, which devastates a country, just as the wood-gathering women of a settlement (styled iJIjUIjUjII or ^^•^Ul.j^U) with their small hatchet (v_-l->j^-^) lay a district covered with tall plants bare in a few days. In the villages of the Alerg' the Uttle girls who collect the dry cow-dung upon the pastures are called Cli^uu tL^ULU-, ni3L)n ni32.— Wetzstein. t Corners with variegated carved work are found even in the present PSALM CXLIV. 12-15. 385 to bring fortli by thousands, and 3iinr3 (denominative from '"'^2"i)j whicli surpasses it, multiplied by tens of thousands, are freely formed. Concerning ni^'in, meadows, vid. on Job xviii. 17. pSi, in a martial sense a defeat, clacks, e.g. in Judf, xxi. 15, is here any violent misfortune whatever, as murrain, which causes a breach, and DNVr any head of cattle which goes off by a single misfortune. The lamentation in the streets is intended as in Jer. xiv. 2. ^^yy is also found in Cant. v. 9 ; nor does the poet, however, hesitate to blend this U with the tetragrammaton into one word. The Jod is not dageshed (cf. cxxiii. 2), because it is to be read ''p^^, cf. nin^o = 'P^^ in Gen. xviii. 14. Luther takes ver. 15a and 15b as contrasts: Blessed is the people that is in such a case. But blessed is the people whose God is the Lord. There is, however, no anti- thesis intended, but only an exceeding of the first declaration by the second. For to be allowed to call the God from whom every blessing comes his God, is still infinitely more than the richest abundance of material blessing. The pinnacle of Israel's good fortune consists in being, by the election of grace, the people of the Lord (xxxii. 12). day in Damascus in every reception-room (the so-called ^U) of respect- able houses [cf. Lane, Manners and Customs of the Modern Effyptians, Intro- duction]. An architectural ornament composed with much good taste and laborious art out of wood carvings, and glittering with gold and brilliant colours, covers the upper part of the corners, of which a kaa may have as many as sixteen, since three wings frequently abut upon the btt el-hahara, i.e. the square with its marble basm. This decoration, which has a most pleasing effect to the eye, is a great advantage to saloons from two to three storeys high, and is evidently designed to get rid of the darker corners above on the ceiling, comes down from the ceiling in the corners of the room for the length of six to nine feet, gradually becoming narrower as it descends. It is the broadest above, so that it there also covers the ends of the horizontal corners formed by the walls and the ceiling. If this crowning of the corners, the technical designation of which, if I remember rightly, is ijo Jill, kornia, might be said to go back into Biblical antiquity, the Psalmist would have used it as a simile to mark the beauty, gorgeous dress, and rich adornment of women. Perhaps, too, because they are not only modest and chaste (cf. Arabic mestural, a veiled woman, in opposition to memshushat, one shone on by the sun), but al.so, like the cliildreii of re- spectable families, hidden from the eyes of strangers ; fur the Arabic pro- verb quoted above says, "treasures are hidden in the corners," and the superscription of a letter addressed to a lady of position runs : " May ifc kiss the hand of the protected lady and of the hidden jewel.'— Wetzstein. VOL. IIL U 386 PSALII CXLV. PSALM CXLV. HYMN IN PEAISE OF THE ALL-BOUNTIFUL KING. 1 N I will extol Thee, my God O King, And I will bless Thy Name for ever and ever. 2 2 Every day will I bless Thee, And I will glorify Thy Name for ever and ever. 3 i Great is Jahve, and greatly worthy to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable. 4 n One generation to another praiseth Thy works, And they declare Thy mighty deeds. 5 n On the glorious honour of Thy majesty And on Thy wondrous works will I meditate. 6 1 And they shall speak forth thy mightily terrible deeds, And Thy mighty acts will I declare. 7 T The praise of Thy great goodness shall they abundantly utter, And sing aloud of Thy righteousness. 8 n Gracious and full of compassion is Jahve, Long-suffering and great in goodness. 9 L3 Good is Jahve unto all, And His tender mercies are over all His works. 10 "• All Thy works praise Thee, Jahve, And Thy saints do bless Thee. 11 3 They talk of the glory of Thy kingship, And confess Thy might — 12 b To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, And the stately glory of His kingship. 13 D Thy kingship is a kingship for all ages, And Thy dominion endureth into all generations. 14 D Jahve upholdeth all those who fall. And raiseth up all those who are bowed down. 15 j; The eyes of all wait upon Thee, And Thou givest them their food in due season ; 16 Q Thou openest out Thine abundance, And satisfiest every living thing with delight. PSALM CXLV. 387 17 i' Jahve is righteous in all His ways, And gracious in all His works. 18 P Jahve is nigh unto all those who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in trutli ; 19 "1 He fulfilleth the desire of those who fear Him, And He heareth their cry and delivereth them. 20 B' Jahve preserveth all those who love Him, And all the wicked doth He destroy. 21 n Let my mouth then speak the praise of Jahve, And let all flesh bless His holy Name for ever and ever ! With Ps. cxliv. the collection draws doxologically towards its close. This Psalm, which begins in the form of the heracha ('n 1113), is followed by another in which benedicam (vers. 1, 2) and henedicat (ver. 21) is the favourite word. It is the only Psalm that bears the title 'i?'"?^, whose plural whnn is become the collective name of the Psalms. In B. Berachoth Ab it is distinguished by the apophthegm : " Every one who repeats the nnb n^nn three times a day may be sure that he is a child of the world to come (tian obiyn p)-" And why? Not merely because this Psalm, as the Gemara says, n''2 eibs3 N'riN, i.e. follows the course of the alphabet (for Ps. cxix. is in fact also alphabetical, and that in an eightfold degree), and not merely because it celebrates God's care for all creatures (for this the Great Hallel also does, Ps. cxxxvi. 25), but because it unites both these prominent qualities in itself (Tlin n^a n^NT DVJ'd). In fact, Ps. cxlv. 16 is a celebration of the goodness of God which embraces every living thing, with which only cxxxvi. 25, and not cxi. 5, can be compared. Valde senteniiosus hie Psalmus est, says Bakius; and do we not find in this Psalm our favourite Benedicite and Oculi omnium which our children repeat before a meal? It is the ancient church's Psalm for the noon-day repast {vid. Armknecht, Die Iteili(/e Psalmodie, 1855, S. 54); ver. 15 was also used at the holy communion, hence Chrysostom says it contains ra pjjfiara ravra, airep ol fiefivt}- fxevoi, avve')(oi"i) "liTpin as in xlv, 18, Esth. ix. 28, a pleonastic strengthening of the expression nil 113, xc. 1). It is the eternal circumference of the history of time, but at the same time its eternal substance, which more and more unfolds and achieves itself in the succession of the periods that mark its course. For that all things in heaven and on earth shall be gathered up together {avaKe^aXaid}- aaaOaLj Eph. i. 10) in the all-embracing kingdom of God in His Christ, is the goal of all history, and therefore the substance of history which is working itself out. With ver. 13 (cf. Dan. iii. 33 [iv. 3], iv. 31 [34], according to Hitzig the primary passages) another paragraph is brought to a close. Vers. 14-21. The poet now celebrates in detail the deeds of the gracious King. The words with 7 are pure datives, cf. the accusative expression in cxlvi. 8. He in person is the sup- port which holds fast the falling ones (Q r?^-"? here not the fallen ones, see xxviii. 1) in the midst of falling (Nicephorus : Tov:, to drive, urge forward, more particularly to urge on to a gallop (like crusy according to Pott, from the root car, to go). AVhat is meant here is, not that the strength of the horse and muscular ])Ower are of no avail when God wills to destroy a man (xxxiii. 10 sq., Amos ii. 14 VOL. IIL 26 402 PSALM CXLVII. 12-20. sq.), but only that God has no pleasure in the warrior's horse and in athletic strength. Those who fear Him, i.e. with a knowledge of the impotency of all power possessed by the creature in itself, and in humble trust feel themselves depend- ent upon His omnipotence — these are they in whom He takes pleasure (n^"^ with the accusative), those who, renouncing all carnal defiance and self-confident self-working, hope in His mercy. Vers. 12-20. In the LXX. this strophe is a Psalm {Lauda Jermalem) of itself. The call goes forth to the church again on the soil of the land of promise assembled round about Jerur salem. The holy city has again risen out of its ruins ; it now once more has gates which can stand open in the broad day- light, and can be closed and bolted when the darkness comes on for the security of the municipality that is only just growing into power (Neh. vii. 1-4). The blessing of God again rests upon the children of the sacred metropolis. Its territory, which has experienced all the sufferings of war, and formerly resounded with the tumult of arms and cries of woe and destruction, God has now, from being an arena of conflict, made into peace (the accusative of the effect, and therefore different from Isa. Ix. 17) ; and since the land can now again be cultivated in peace, the ancient promise (Ixxxi. 17) is fulfilled, that God would feed His people, if they would only obey Him, with the fat of wheat. The God of Israel is the almighty Governor of nature. It is He who sends His fiat (in"i^N after the manner of the "i^N'l of the history of creation, cf. xxxiii. 9) earthwards (p.'?, the accusative of the direction). The word is His messenger {vid. on cvii. 20), 'TjnP"''^^, i-e. it runs as swiftly as possible, viz. in order to execute the errand on which it is sent. He it is who sends down snow-flakes like flocks of wool, so that the fields are covered with snow as with a white-woollen warming covering.* He scatters hoar-frost (^iS3 from 1D3, to cover over) about like ashes, so that trees, roofs, etc., are crusted over with the fine frozen dew or mist as though they were powdered with ashes that the wind had blown about. Another time He casts His * Bochart in his Ilierozoicon on this passage compares an observation of Eustathiuson Dionysius Periegetes: r^v Y,tivot. ipiu^ss vlwp xariius o! votT^ottol PSALM CXLVIII. 403 ice * (^n-)P from rnp ; or according to another readinfr, ^nip from n"ip) down like morsels, fragments, D'J^?^, viz. as hail-stones, or as sleet. The question : before His cold — who can stand ? is formed as in Nah. i. 6, cf. cxxx. 3. It further comes to pass that God sends forth His word and causes them (snow, hoar- frost, and ice) to melt away : He makes His thawing wind blow, waters flow ; i.e. as soon as the one comes about, the other also takes place forthwith. This God now, who rules all things by His word and moulds all things according to His will, is the God of the revelation pertaining to the history of salvation, which is come to Israel, and as the bearer of which Israel takes the place of honour among the nations, Deut. iv. 7 sq., 32-34. Since the poet says T3D and not T?'"', he is thinking not only of the Tora, but also of prophecy as the continuous self-attesta- tion of God, the Lawgiver. The Kerl Vi^-n, occasioned by the plurals of the parallel member of the verse, gives an unlimited indistinct idea. We must keep to i"i3^, with the LXX., Aquila, Theodotion, the Quinta, Sexta, and Jerome. The word, which is the medium of God's cosmical rule, is gone forth as a word of salvation to Israel, and, unfolding itself in statutes and judg- ments, has raised Israel to a legal state founded upon a positive divine law or judgment such as no Gentile nation possesses. The Hallelujah does not exult over the fact that these other nations are not acquainted with any such positive divine law, but (cf. Deut. iv. 7 sq., Baruch iv. 4) over the fact that Israel is put into possession of such a law. It is frequently attested elsewhere that this possession of Israel is only meant to be a means of making salvation a common property of the world at large. PSALM. CXLVIIL HALLELUJAH OF ALL HEAVENLY AND EAKTHLY BEINGS. Hallelujah. 1 PRAISE ye Jahve from the heavens, Praise ye Him in the heights. * LXX. (Italic, Vulgate) x^wTa^Xov, i.e. ice, from the root */>t/, to freeze, to congeal (Jeroiiie f/hiciem). Quid ent cnjstnlliun f asks Augustine, and replies : Nix est glacie durataper mnltos annvs ita ut a sole vel iijne acile ditsolvi mmj)Ossit. 404 PSALM CXLVIII. 2 Praise ye Him, all His angels, Praise ye Him, all His host. 3 Praise ye Him, sun and moon, Praise Him all ye stars of light. 4 Praise Him ye heavens of heavens, And ye waters that are above the heavens. 5 Let them praise the Name of Jahve, For He commanded and they were created, 6 And He set them there for ever and ever ; He gave a law, and not one transgresseth it. 7 Praise ye Jahve from the earth. Sea-monsters and all deeps ; 8 Fire and hail, snow and vapour, Stormy wind fulfilling His word ; 9 Ye mountains and all hills, Fruit-trees and all cedars ; 10 Ye wild beasts and all cattle, Creeping things and winged birds ; 11 Kings of the earth and all tribes, Princes and all judges of the earth; 12 Young men and also maidens. Old men together with youths — 13 Let them praise the Name of Jahve, For His Name is highly exalted, He alone. His glory is above earth and heaven. 14 And He hath raised a horn for His people. For a praise for all His saints, For the children of Israel, for the people near unto Him Hallelujah. After the Psalmist in the foregoing Hallelujah has made the gracious self-attestation of Jahve in the case of the people of revelation, in connection with the general government of the almighty and all-benevolent One in the world, the theme of his praise, he calls upon all creatures in heaven and on earth, and more especially mankind of all peoples and classes and races and ages, to join in concert in praise of the Name of Jahve, and that on the ground of the might and honour which He has bestowed upon His people, i.e. has bestowed upon them once more now PSALM CXLVIII. 405 when they are gathered together again out of exile and Jeru- salem has risen again out of the ruins of its overthrow. The hymn of the three in the fiery furnace, which has been inter- polated in oh. iii. of the Book of Daniel in the LXX., is for the most part an imitation of this Psalm. In the language of the liturgy this Psalm has the special name of Laudes among the twenty Psalmi alleluiadci, and all the three Psalms cxlviii.-cl. which close the Psalter are called alvot, Syriac shabchuh (praise ye Him). In this Psalm the loftiest consciousness of faith is united with the grandest contemplation of the world. The church appears here as the choir-leader of the universe. It knows that its experiences have a central and universal significance for the whole life of creation ; that the loving-kindness which has fallen to its lot is worthy to excite joy among all beings in heaven and on earth. And it calls not only upon everything in heaven and on earth that stands in fellowship of thought, of word, and of freedom with it to praise God, but also the sun, moon, and stars, water, earth, fire, and air, mountains, trees, and beasts, yea even such natural phenomena as hail, snow, and mist. How is this to be explained ? The easiest way of explain- ing is to say that it is a figure of speech (Hupfeld) ; but this explanation explains nothing. Does the invitation in the exuber- ance of feeling, without any clearness of conception, here overstep the boundary of that which is possible? Or does the poet, when he calls upon these lifeless and unconscious things to praise God, mean that we are to praise God on their behalf — d(j)opdv els tuvtu, as Theodoret savs, koL tov Qeov rr]v aotpiav Karaiiavdaveiv kuI Bia TTuvTcov avTU) ifkUeiv Tr)v vfivfuhiav'i Or does the " praise ye " in its reference to these things of nature proceed on the assump- tion that they praise God when they redound to the praise of God, and find its justification in the fact that the human will enters into this matter of fact which relates to things, and is de- void of any will, and seizes it and drags it into the concert of angels and men? All these explanations are unsatisfactory. The call to praise proceeds rather from the wish that all crea- tures, by becoming after their own manner an echo and reflec- tion of the divine glory, may participate in the joy at the glojy which God has bestowed upon His people after their deep humili- ation. This wish, however, after all rests upon the great truth, 406 PSALM CXLVIII. 1-6. tliat the way through suffering to glory wliich the church is traversing, has not only the glorifying of God in itself, but by means of this glorifying, the glorifying of God in all creatures and by all creatures, too, as its final aim, and that these, finally transformed (glorified) in the likeness of transformed (glorified) humanity, will become the bright mirror of the divine doxa and an embodied hymn of a thousand voices. The calls also in Isa. xliv. 23, xlix. 13, cf. lii. 9, and the descriptions in Isa. XXXV. 1 sq., xli. 19, Iv. 12 sq., proceed from the view to which Paul gives clear expression from the stand-point of the New Testament in Rom. viii. 18 sqq. Vers. 1-6. The call does not rise step by step from below upwards, but begins forthwith from above in the highest and outermost spheres of creation. The place whence, before all others, the praise is to resound is the heavens ; it is to resound in the heights, viz. the heights of heaven (Job xvi. 19, xxv. 2, xxxi. 2). The ]p might, it is true, also denote the birth or origin : ye of the heavens, i.e. ye celestial beings (cf. Ixviii. 27), but the parallel COiiS? renders the immediate construc- tion with ^b?p_ more natural. Vers. 2-4 tell who are to praise Jahve there : first of all, all His angels, the messengers of the Ruler of the world — all His host, i.e. angels and stars, for ii^^y (Chethtb) or vxny (Keri as in ciii. 21) is the name of the heavenly host armed with light which God Tsebaoth commands (vid. on Gen. ii. 1), — a name including both stars (e.g. in Deut. iv. 19) and angels (e.g. in Josh. v. 14 sq., 1 Kings xxii. 19) ; angels and stars are also united in the Scriptures in other instances (e.g. Job xxxviii. 7). When the psalmist calls upon these beings of light to praise Jahve, he does not merely express his delight in that which they do under any circumstances (Heng- stenberg), but comprehends the heavenly world with the earthly, the church above with the church here below (vid. on Ps. xxix., ciii.), and gives a special turn to the praise of the former, making it into an echo of the praise of the latter, and blending both harmoniously together. The heavens of heavens are, as in Deut. x. 14, 1 Kings viii. 27, Sir. xvi. 18, and frequently, those which lie beyond the heavens of the earth which were created on the fourth day, therefore they are the outermost and highest spheres. The waters which are above the heavens PSALM CXLVIII. 7-14. 407 are, according to Ilupfeld, "a product of the fancy, like the upper heavens and the whole of the inhabitants of heaven." But if in general the other world is not a notion to which there is no corresponding entity, this notion may also have things for its substance which lie beyond our knowledge of nature. The Scriptures, from the first page to the last, acknowledge the ex- istence of celestial waters, to which the rain-waters stand in the relation as it were of a finger-post pointing upwards (see Gen. i. 7). All these beings beloni;iniT to the sunerterrestrial world are to praise the Name of Jahve, for He, the God of Israel, it is by whose fiat {>^% like lOX in xxxiii. 9*) the heavens and all their host are created (xxxiii. 6). He has set them, which did not previously exist, up ("I'PJr.f! as e.g. in Neh. vi. 7, the causative to npy in xxxiii. 9, cf. cxix. 91), and that for ever and ever (cxu 8), i.e. in order for ever to maintain the position in the whole of creation which He has assigned to them. He hath given a law (ph) by which its distinctive characteristic is stamped upon each of these heavenly beings, and a fixed bound is set to the nature and activity of each in its mutual relation to all, and not one transgresses (the individualizing singular) this law given to it. Thus "i^y* nSi is to be understood, accord- ing to Job xiv, 5, cf. Jer. v. 22, Job xxxviii. 10, Ps. civ. 9. llitzig makes the Creator Himself the subject ; but then the poet would have at least been obliged to say iO/ jrirpn^ and moreover it may be clearly seen from Jer. xxxi. 36, xxxiii. 20, how the thought that God inviolably keeps the orders of nature in check is expressed deoirpeTrm. Jer. v. 22, by way of example, shows that the law itself is not, with Ewald, Maurer, and others, following the LXX., Syriac, Italic, Jerome, and Kimchi, to be made the subject : a law hai'h He given, and it ])asses not away (an imperishable one). In combination with ph, i3y always signifies " to pass over, transgress." Vers. 7-14. The call to the praise of Jahve is now turned, in the second group of verses, to the earth and everything belonging to it in the widest extent. Here too pxn-|D, like cpt^'n-iPj ver. 1, is intended of the place whence the praise is to resound, and not according to x. 18 of earthly beings. The call * The interpolated parallel member, ecuro; siVe Kui ■'/tvyjr.cav, hero in the LXX. is taken over from that passage. 408 PSALM CXLVIII. 7-14. is addressed in the first instance to the sea-monsters or dratjons (Ixxiv. 13), i.e., as Pindar {Nem. iii. 23 sq.) expresses it, 6ripa<; iv TreXdyei vir€p6xov<;, and to the surging mass of waters (nionri) above and within the earth. Then to four phenomena of nature, coming down from heaven and ascending heavenwards, which are so arranged in ver. 8a, after the model of the chias- mus (crosswise position), that fire and smoke (iit0"'i5)j more especially of the mountains (Ex. xix. 18), hail and snow stand in reciprocal relation ; and to the storm-wind ("T^VP ^'^'^, an ap- positional construction, as in cvii. 25), which, beside a seeming freeness and untractableness, performs God's word. What is said of this last applies also to the fire, etc. ; all these pheno- mena of nature are messengers and servants of God, civ. 4, cf. ciii. 20. When the poet wishes that they all may join in con- cert with the rest of the creatures to the praise of God, he ex- cepts the fact that they frequently become destructive powers executing judicial punishment, and only has before his mind their (more especially to the inhabitant of Palestine, to whom the opportunity of seeing hail, snow, and ice was more rare than with us, imposing) grandeur and their relatedness to the whole of creation, which is destined to glorify God and to be itself glorified. He next passes over to the mountains towering towards the skies and to all the heights of earth ; to the fruit- trees, and to the cedars, the kings among the trees of the forest ; to the wild beasts, which are called 'i*nn because they repre- sent the most active and powerful life in the animal world, and to all quadrupeds, which, more particularly the four-footed domestic animals, are called "^'f H? ; to the creeping things {^^'},) which cleave to the ground as they move along ; and to the birds, which are named with the descriptive epithet winged (?133 "liSV as in Deut. iv. 17, cf. Gen. vii. 14, Ezek. xxxix. 17, instead of ^y^ ^iJ', Gen. i. 21). And just as the call in Ps. ciii. finds its centre of gravity, so to speak, at last in the soul of man, so here it is addressed finally to humanity, and that, because mankind lives in nations and is comprehended under the law of a state commonwealth, in the first instance to its heads : the kings of the earth, i.e. those who rule over the earth by countries, to the princes and all who have the administration of justice and are possessed of supreme power ou the earth, then to men of both sexes and of every age. PSALll CXLVIIL 7-11 409 All the beings mentioned from ver. 1 onwards are to praise the Name of Jahve ; for His Name, He (the God of this Name) alone (Isa. ii. 11, Ps. Ixxii. 18) is ^IV'?, so high that no name reaches up to Him, not even from afar; His glory (His glorious self-attestation) extends over earth and heaven {vid. viii. 2). '3, without our being able and obliged to decide whicli, intro- duces the matter and the ground of the praise ; and the fact that the desire of the poet comprehends in v^n' all the beings mentioned is seen from his saying " earth and heaven," as he glances back from the nearer things mentioned to those men- tioned farther off (cf. Gen. ii. 4). In ver. 14 the statement of the object and of the ground of the praise is continued. Tlie motive from which the call to all creatures to Hallelujah pro- ceeds, viz. the new mercy which God has shown towards His people, is also the final ground of the Hallelujah which is to sound forth ; for the church of God on earth is the central- point of the universe, the aim of the history of the world, and the glorifying of this church is the turning-point for the trans- formation of the world. It is not to be rendered : He hath exalted the horn of His people, any more than in cxxxii. 17 : I will make the horn of David to shoot forth. The horn in both instances is one such as the person named does not already possess, but which is given him (different fpom Ixxxix. 18, 25, xcii. 11, and frequently). The Israel of the Exile had lost its horn, i.e. its comeliness and its defensive and offensive power. God has now given it a horn again, and that a high one, i.e. has helped Israel to attain again an independence among the nations that commands respect. In Ps. cxxxii., where the horn is an object of the promise, we might directly understand by it the Branch (Zemach). Here, where the poet speaks out of his own present age, this is at least not the meaning which he associates with the words. What now follows is an apposi- tion to ioy^ T^p. D")',i. : He has raised up a horn for His people — praise (we say : to the praise of ; cf. the New Testament 6i9 e-naivov) to all His saints, the children of Israel, the people who stand near Him. Others, as Hengstenberg, take nj^nn as a second object, but we cannot say n^nn D^ri. Israel is called S:r\p ny, the people of His near = of His nearness or vicinity (Koster), as Jerusalem is called iu Ecclcs. viii. 10 t^^^|5 Dipa 410 PSALM CXLIX. instead of ^1p Dip» (Ew. § 287, a, h). It might also be said, according to Lev. x. 3, vnip Dy, the nation of those who are near to Him (as the Targum renders it). In both instances DV is the governing noun, as, too, surely "I35 is in '^"'0}; "133, Zeeh. xiii. 7, which need not signify, by going back to the abstract primary signification of JT'DJ/, a man of my near fellowship, but can also signify a man of my neighbour, i.e. my nearest man, according to Ew. loc. cit. (cf. above on cxliii. 10, Ixxviii. 49). As a rule, the principal form of U]} is pointed ay ; and it is all the more unnecessary, with Olshausen and Hupfeld, to take the construction as adjectival for 1^ niip Dy. It might, with Hitzig after Aben-Ezra, be more readily regarded as apposi- tional (to a people, His near, i.e. standing near to Him). We have here an example of the genitival subordination, which is very extensive in Hebrew, instead of an appositional co-ordina- tion : populo propinqui sui, in connection with which propinqui may be referred back to propinquum = propinquitas, but also to propinquus (literally : a people of the kind of one that is near to Him). Thus is Israel styled in Deut. iv. 7. In the con- sciousness of the dignity which lies in this name, the nation of the God of the history of salvation comes forward in this Psalm as the leader (choragus) of all creatures, and strikes up a Hallelujah that is to be followed by heaven and earth. PSALM CXLIX. HALLELUJAH TO THE GOD OF VICTORY OF HIS PEOPLE. Hallelujah. 1 SING unto Jahve a new song, His praise in the congregation of the saints. 2 Let Israel rejoice in its Maker, Let the children of Zlon be joyful in their King 3 Let them praise His Name with dance, With timbrel and cithern let them play unto Him 4 For Jahve taketh pleasure in His people, He adorneth the humble with salvation. PSALM CXLIX. 411 5 Let the saints exult in glory, Let them shout aloud upon their beds. 6 Hymns of God fill their throats, And a two-edged sword is in their hand, 7 To execute vengeance among the nations, Punishments among the peoples ; 8 To bind their kings with chains And their nobles with iron fetters, 9 To execute upon them the written judgment — It is glory for all His saints, Hallelujah. This Psalm is also explained, as we have already seen on Ps. cxlvii., from the time of the restoration under Ezra and Nehemiah. The new song to which it summons has the supreme power which Israel has attained over the world of nations for its substance. As in cxlviii. 14 the fact that Jahve has raised up a horn for His people is called VTpn"7pp '^)>\'^, so here in cxlix. 9 the fact tliat Israel takes vengeance upon the nations and their rulers is called VTDn"P3p ">"in. The writer of the two Psalms is one and the same. The fathers are of opinion that it is the wars and victories of the Maccabees that are here prophetically spoken of. But the Psalm is sutliciently explicable from the newly strengthened national self-conscious- ness of the period after Cyrus. The stand-point is somewhere about the stand-point of the Book of Esther. The New Tes- tament spiritual church cannot pray as the Old Testament national church here prays. Under the illusion that it might be used as a prayer without any spiritual'transmutation, Ps, cxlix. has become the watchword of the most horrible errors. It was by means of this Psalm that Caspar Scloppius in his Classicum Belli Sacri, which, as Bakius says, is written not with ink, but with blood, inflamed tiie lioman Catholic princes to the Thirty Years' religious War. And in the Protestant Church Thomas Miinzer stiiTcd up the War of the Peasants by means of this Psalm. We see that the Christian cannot make such a Psalm directly his own without disavowing the apostolic warning, " the weapons of our warfare are not carnal" (2 Cor. X. 4). The praying Christian must therefore trans- 412 PSALM CXLIX. 1-& pose the letter of this Psalm into the spirit of the New Cove- nant ; the Christian expositor, however, has to ascertain the literal meaning of this portion of the Scriptures of the Old Testament in its relation to cqtemporary history. Vers. 1-5. A period, in which the church is renewing its youth and drawing nearer to the form it is finally to assume, also of inward necessity puts forth new songs. Such a new era has now dawned for the church of the saints, the Israel that has remained faithful to its God and the faith of its fathers. The Creator of Israel Q'^'^V, plural, with the plural sirffix, like 'fV in Job xxxv. 10, ^'^IJ in Isa. liv. 5, cf. W]} in Job xl. 19 ; according to Hupfeld and Hitzig, cf. Ew. § 256, b, Ges. § 93, 9, singular; but aj, ajich, aw, are always really plural suffixes) has shown that He is also Israel's Pre- server and the King of Zion, that He cannot leave the children of Zion for any length of time under foreign dominion, and has heard the sighing of the exiles (Isa. Ixiii. 19, xxvi. 13). Therefore the church newly appropriated by its God and King is to celebrate Him, whose Name shines forth anew out of its history, with festive dance, timbrel, and cithern. For (as the occasion, hitherto only hinted at, is now expressly stated) Jahve takes a pleasure in His people ; His wrath in comparison with Plis mercy is only like a swiftly passing moment (Isa. liv. 7 sq.). The futures that follow state that which is going on at the present time. C)'''!3y is, as frequently, a designation of the ecclesia pressa, which has hitherto, amidst patient endurance of suffering, waited for God's own act of redemption. He now adorns them with i^V^^\, help against and victory over the hos- tile world ; now the saints, hitherto enslaved and contemned, exult ^i333, in honour, or on account of the honour which vindicates them before the world and is anew bestowed upon them (3 of the reason, or, which is more probable in connection with the boldness of the expression, of the state and mood*) ; they shout for joy upon their beds, upon which they have hitherto poured forth their complaints over the present ^cf. Hos. vii. 14), and ardently longed for a better future (Isa * Such, too (with pomp, not " with an array"), is the meaning of fciroi l6^-/is in 1 Mace. x. 60, xiv. 4, 5, vid. Grimm in loc. PSALM CXLIX 6-9. 413 xxvi. 8") ; for the bed is the place of soliloquy (iv. 5), ana the tears shed tliere (vi. 7) are turned into shouts of joy in the case of Israel. Vers. G-9. The glance is here directed to the future. The people of the present have again, in their God, attained to a lofty self-consciousness, the consciousness of their destiny, viz. to subjugate the whole world of nations to the God of Israel. In the presence of the re-exaltation which they have experienced their throat is full of words and songs exalting Jahve (rii!:>^h, plural of Q^^"", or, according to another reading, Dpii, Ivi. 17), and as servants of this God, the rightful Lord of all the heathen (Ixxxii. 8), they hold in then- hand a many-mouthed, i.e. many- edged sword (vid. supra, p. 28), in order to take the field on behalf of the true religion, as the ^Maccabees actually did, not long after : rai? fiev ■^epalv dycovt^ofievoi, rat? Be KapBlai, the "farm- yard one," and signifies properly " that which is found or dwells in the farm-yards;" thus the Ramus (^.r.j^j) cites the phrase ^^J tricts the long parcels of ground (sihdm from the singular ^'l}^!) of the separate peasant farmers of a village frequently extend to the distance of a mile and a half, the ploughman is compelled to divide his parcel of ground into several ^jU^ C^^^^!^)* each of which is ploughed by itself. The furrows, that is to say, cannot be made breadthwise, because the small plots are mostly far too narrow, and because the fields of his neighbours on either side that might be already tilled would be injured by it ; for the boundaries of the fields (hudud from the singular "^H) are not formed, as with us, by rows, i.e. by broad strips of green sward, but only by isolated heaps of stones, of which two larger ones lie between every two fields, and are called amdmi (from the singular H'SS, <' mother ridge, i.e. main ridge"), and a number of smaller ones called ka'dklr (from the singular "i^pi'ipj. Moreover cross-ploughing would be rendered difficult by these boundary stones, and the plough would often be seriously injured. In my collection of Ilauranitish peasants' proverbs and maxims the following is to be found : " One ox is as much use to thee as two, and the shortness of the ma'ndh as much as its length" ( JU^JI J.!r ^ ^^.\jo % .J ^j^.jy' ij^ '^•^■'^\ Ia^), on which I have recorded the following original inter- pretation : If it does not make any difference to the produce of the field whether the ma'ndh be greater or less, but in connec- tion with the former the ploughing oxen are oxhausted'even after half a day's work, whereas in connection with the latter they remain fit for work the whole day, it is more profitable to the peasant to make his mandh as short as practicable. 420 EXCURSUS BY J. G. WETZSTEIN.— II. The word njj?D only occurs besides in 1 Sam. xiv. 14, where it is said that Jonathan with his armour-bearer, in connection with an attack upon one of the posts of the enemy, slew twenty men, and that within the short space of about half a myo, i.e. not during a long pursuit and by degrees, but in a brief hot battle on an arena of about a hundred paces. In the passage in the Psalm the back is conceived of as a field which is divided into several long niJyD. ' To our taste the plural is certainly disturbing ; the comparison of the back to one long-extended n:i;D, which may indeed have a hundred furrows, is simpler, and the impression produced by it more forcible; hence the Keri supposes the singular ri''3yD, which must be regarded as an Aramaizing collateral form of the singular n:yo, for the difference in forms like i>U.,i;u*, JJlL^v-, ^uJuz^, ^aa^s^, and l::^jJui^ in connection with Lamed He stems is for the most part only idiomatic. According to its derivation, njyo (with local Mem) is per- haps the portion of a field taken in hand by the ploughman, from n^Vj to work ; or with reference to the two ends, within the limit of which the ploughing is done, the furrow-turning, arpocji'^, from njy^ to turn; or a tract or space of a certain length, from r\:v, to strive after, to seek to attain, whence the well-known Arabic word ^J»^c (masculir^ of •"'5^^)> that which is striven after, the desired object, then specially that which is aimed at by the language, the drift (the meaning and sense). The Arabic 'i[Xx.<, together with the greater part of the agrarian terminology, is not found in the original lexicons, because it was not regarded as purely Arabic, but as belonging to the Nabataian and Syrian dialects. The terms must there- fore still be collected among the peasants. 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In Twenty-four Handsome Svo Fo/uf/tes, Stibscription Price ^6, 6s. od., glnte=TSriccne aifjristian ILi6rar|)» A COLLECTION OF ALL THE WORKS OF THE FATHERS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH PRIOR TO THE COUNCIL OF NICiEA. EDITED BY THE REV. ALEXANDER ROBERTS, D.D., AND JAMES DONALDSON, LL.D. MESSRS. CLARK are now happy to announce the completion of this Series. It has been received with marked approval by all sections of the Christian Church in this country and in the United States, as supplying what has long been felt to be a want, and also on accoimt of the impartiality, learn- ing, and care with which Editors and Translators have executed a very difficult task. The Publishers do not bind themselves to continue to supply the Series at the Subscription price. The Works are arranged as follow : — FIRST YEAR. 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Single Years cannot bo had separately, nnlesB to complete sets; but any Volume may be had separately, price 10s. 6d., — with the exception of Okigkn, Vol. II., I'is. ; and the Early Lituugies, 9s. Date Due >M*''*' '-- "-iViijiii'Tfjy ■i^^ffP -F' ^ ^^0if^f^ BS1430 .D355 1877 c.3 v.3 B »ff i Biblical commentary on the Psalms Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 1 1012 00085 5660