Property: Text
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
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The reference time of the ""redeeming"" has been judged as past, since it most likely refers to the Exodus, whereas the narrative discussion is already taking place in the wilderness, post-Exodus. See, for example, Symmachus' ὁ ὕψιστος ὑπερεμάχησεν αὐτῶν ""the Most High %5Bhad%5D fought on behalf of them."" +
This verse begins with a shift to wayyiqtol from the preceding waw + qatals as multiple apodoses of the conditional אִם clause throughout v. 34. In macrosyntactic terms, however, this wayyiqtol resumes the TAM of the previous verse, which continues until the end of v. 36. +
It is possible to read all three of וּדְרָשׁ֑וּהוּ וְ֝שָׁ֗בוּ וְשִֽׁחֲרוּ־אֵֽל as weqatals, such that they grammatically encode the expected habituality initiated by אִם ""whenever"" at the beginning of the verse. +
For the temporal reading of אִם, see the lexical notes. +
* YHWH's "loyalty" and "reliability" are personified as servants in his royal court (cf. Pss 23:6; 40:12; 42:9; 43:3; 57:4; 59:11; 61:8; see also Ps 21:4; cf. Eaton 1975, 153).
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'''v. 39''' – For the gloss "goes by" for the MT's ה֝וֹלֵ֗ךְ, see the REB's "a breath of air which passes '''by'''." See also "a wind that blows '''past'''" (CJB); "a wind that blows '''by'''" (GNT); "a wind that blows '''past'''" (NET). Though the viewing arrangement of the origin and destination of the ר֥וּחַ is not explicit, either passing '''by''' the landmark of the experiencer or passing '''away''' (KJV) or passes '''on''' (NABRE) seem to be in view. +
'''v. 43''' – The use of שָׂם in שָׂ֣ם בְּ֭מִצְרַיִם אֹֽתוֹתָ֑יו is very uncommon. Though some ancient translations follow the apparent sense of the verse with "did,"'"`UNIQ--ref-00000007-QINU`"' a possible semantic extension can be found in ''set up >> '''displayed''''' (cf. the CJB, NIV, NJPS, REB), as we have preferred here. +
'''v. 21''' – The ''qatal'' שָׁמַע and ''wayyiqtol'' וַיִּתְעַבָּר are best read in sequence, which is rendered most naturally with the temporal subordination of שָׁמַע "when YHWH heard" following the discourse marker לָכֵן "therefore" (cf. also CEB, ESV, NET, NIV, REB). +
* The superscription of Psalm 121 differs from the other Psalms of Ascents (Pss 120–134). Whereas the other psalms in the series have שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת, Psalm 121 has שִׁיר לַמַּעֲלוֹת (a ''lamed'' prepositional phrase %5Bלַ%5D instead of a construct chain %5Bהַ%5D). Perhaps the reason for the difference is poetic alliteration. Note the similarity in sound between לַמַּעֲלוֹת in the superscription and לַמִּלְחָמָה, the last word of the previous psalm (Ps 120). Also note לַמּוֹט in Psalm 121:3 and the similar sounding phrase at the end of Psalm 121: מֵעַתָּה וְעַד־עוֹלָם (v. 8). Biblical Hebrew authors often chose unique words or phrases for alliteration (see the various studies in Rendsburg 2019).
* The Great Psalms Scroll (11Q5), which represents a revised and expanded version of the proto-Masoretic Psalter (see Longacre 2022, 85–111), has שיר המעלות for the superscription of Psalm 121, instead of שיר למעלות (so MT). Several of the medieval Hebrew manuscripts collated by Kennicott also read שיר המעלות (Kennicott 1776, 421). The Septuagint (ᾠδὴ τῶν ἀναβαθμῶν), Jerome (canticum graduum), and the Targum (שירא דאתאמר על מסיקיין דתהומא) translate the superscription of Psalm 121 the same way they translate the other superscriptions in Pss 120–134, which suggests either that they read שיר המעלות or that they interpreted שיר למעלות and שיר המעלות as synonymous expressions. In his commentary on Psalm 120 (Greek: Psalm 119), Theodoret reports that "Symmachus and Aquila have 'for the Ascents (εἰς τὰς ἀναβάσεις)'" (Theodoret, trans. Hill, 2001, 279). It seems likely that Theodoret accidentally got the psalm number wrong and that the reading he reports for Symmachus and Aquila actually applies to Psalm 121 (Greek: Psalm 120). Thus, Symmachus and Aquila appear to support the reading of the Masoretic Text. In any case, the Masoretic reading (שִׁיר לַמַּעֲלוֹת) is likely earlier than the alternative reading. The reading שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת (see 11Q5 et al.) is a harmonization to the surrounding Psalms.
* The Great Psalms Scroll (11Q5; cf. note on v. 1) adds בלילה ("at night") at the end of v. 4. The DJD editor grouped this phrase with what follows, as the start of v. 5 (Sanders 1965, 24; so BHS), but it could just as easily be grouped with what precedes, as the end of v. 4—the spacing in the manuscript is indecisive. It makes more sense to group it with v. 4; "at night" fits better with the language of sleeping in v. 4 than with the language of shade in v. 5. The addition of this phrase is not attested in any other witness. It might be a literary addition. It might also be a scribal error (cf. בלילה יהוה ישמרכה in v. 6b–7a, on the next row of the manuscript, which looks like בלילה יהוה שומרכה in vv. 4b–5).
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* In v. 5a, the MT has a verbless clause with a nominalized participle functioning as the predicate complement: "YHWH is ''the one who guards you'' (שֹׁמְרֶךָ)." The participle reading is also attested in the Great Psalms Scroll (11Q5, שומרכה) and in the Peshitta: "The Lord is your watchman (ܢܛܘܪܟ)" (Taylor 2020, 533). Some of the ancient versions, however, appear to reflect a ''yiqtol'' verb here (ישמרך, LXX: φυλάξει; Jerome iuxta Hebr.: ''custodiet''; Targum: ינטרינך). It is also possible, however, that these translations reflect a participle and that their choice to render it as a future-tense verb is a matter of translation technique. In either case, the nominalized-participle reading makes for a better parallel with the verbless clause in v. 5b. The ''yiqtol'' reading (if indeed that is what stands behind these translations) might represent an assimilation to v. 7a: יהוה ישמרך. (Alternatively, the MT/11Q5 reading might represent an assimilation to the participle שמרך in v. 3b and the phrase שומר ישראל in v. 4b).
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* "Lifting one's eyes" (נשׂא עינים) is a Hebrew idiom for "looking up," as preliminary to seeing. E.g., "He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up (וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו), he saw (וַיַּרְא) camels approaching" (Gen 24:63, NLT). In some contexts, however, "lifting one's eyes >> looking up" describes an "action by which humans turn to a deity or place with the confidence that they will find help and support there" (SDBH). For example, the prophet Ezekiel contrasts a righteous person who "does not eat at the mountain shrines (אֶל הֶהָרִים לֹא אָכָל) or look to (וְעֵינָיו לֹא נָשָׂא) the idols of Israel" (18:6) and a wicked person who "eats at the mountain shrines (אֶל הֶהָרִים אָכַל)" (18:11) and "looks to (נָשָׂא עֵינָיו) the idols" (18:12) (NIV; cf. Ezek 18:15; 23:27; 33:25; Ps 123:1). "Looking to idols" in this context (lit.: "lifting up his eyes to idols") means placing confidence in them and looking to them for help. Similarly, in Psalm 121, the psalmist "looks up" (אֶשָּׂא עֵינַי) "to the mountains" (אֶל הֶהָרִים, cf. Ezek 18:6, 12) for divine help.
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* In the world of the Old Testament, '''mountains''' (הָרִים), as the meeting places between heaven and earth, were associated with divine beings. YHWH revealed himself to Abraham on Mount Moriah (Gen 22) and to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exod 3; 19ff), and he chose Mount Zion to be his dwelling place, "his holy mountain" (Ps 3:5; cf. Pss 2:6; 87:1). Other gods were also worshipped on mountains (cf. Deut 12:2; Isa 65:7; Jer 3:6; Ezek 18:6, 11). By looking up to "the mountains" and asking, "Where does my help come from?" the psalmist is effectively asking, "Who among the divine beings will help me?" (cf. the similar liturgical questions in Ps 4:7). The answer is clear in the next verse: "My help comes from ''YHWH'', the one who make heaven and earth" (cf. Ps 89:6–15, where YHWH's superiority to all other divine beings is based on the fact that he alone created the universe).
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* The noun '''help''' (עֵזֶר) describes an "action by which humans or deities provide assistance or support to (other) humans (in both military and non-military contexts) in order to make their life or work or task easier" (SDBH). In the context of a pilgrimage song (v. 1: "a song of the ascents"), where Israelites are traveling on foot to Jerusalem, "help" might refer specifically to protection on the journey (cf. v. 3: "he will not let your foot slip;" v. 6: "the sun will not strike you during the day").
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* The verb '''guard''' (שׁמר) occurs six times in this psalm (vv. 3b, 4b, 5a, 7ab, 8a)—a remarkably high number of occurrences for such a short psalm. In its most basic, concrete sense, the verb שׁמר describes an "action by which humans or deities carefully observe an object or event for a longer period of time" (SDBH). It thus belongs to the lexical domain of "See(ing)" (so SDBH). E.g., Ps 37:37—"Observe (שְׁמָר) the blameless person, and look at (וּרְאֵה) the upright" (NASB). This is poetically significant, since the psalm begins with a phrase about seeing: "I lift my eyes up to the mountains..." (v. 1). The psalm thus describes a mutual "seeing." YHWH's people ''look up'' (lit.: lifts their eyes) to the mountains, seeking YHWH's help, and YHWH ''looks down'' (lit.: "watches >> guards") on his people to protect them.
* In this context, the verb שׁמר implies protection, belonging to the semantic domain of "See > Safe" and to the contextual domains of "Security" and "Well-being" (SDBH). It refers to a "causative action by which humans or deities make sure that an object is safe from harm; by observing the object and the surrounding area carefully and intervening when necessary" (SDBH). One thinks of a shepherd "guarding" (שׁמר) his flock (Gen 30:31; Jer 31:10) or a "watchman" (שֹׁמֵר) on a city wall (cf. Isa 21:11–12; 62:6; Song 5:7; see also KAI 194.11 %5BLachish 4%5D, "watching %5Bשמר%5D for smoke signals;" so Ibn Ezra: "because every fortified city has watchmen %5Bשומרי%5D on the walls at night"). Elsewhere, the word is used, as it is here, for divine protection on a journey (e.g., Gen 28:15, 20).
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* A "watchman" (שֹׁמֵר) on the night shift (cf. Isa 21:11–12) might be tempted to "doze off" (נוּם) or "fall asleep" (ישׁן) on the job. But "the one who guards Israel never dozes or falls asleep." The verb '''doze off''' (נוּם) only occurs six times in the OT, and two of them are in this psalm (see also Isa 5:27; 56:10; Nah 3:18; Ps 76:6; cf. 4Q424, 3.5). The Septuagint translates the verb here with a form of the verb νυστάζω, which means "to be half asleep, doze" (LSJ). Most English translations use the word "slumbers," but "dozes" might be a better natural-language equivalent (GNT; so Goldingay 2006, 454). One can speak of a watchman "dozing off" on the job. This meaning of the verb is supported by a non-biblical psalm from Qumran (Ps 155), which describes a sequence of sleeping and waking, beginning with the verb נוּם: "I dozed off (נמתי) and fell asleep (ואישנה); I dreamt (חלמתי) and woke up (הקיצותי)" (11Q5 column 27 line 16).
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* Verse 5b describes YHWH as '''shade''' (צֵל) for his people, protecting them from the sun's scorching heat (see v. 6a; cf. references to the "shade" of trees in Judg 9:15; Ps 80:11; Jonah 4:5–6; etc.).
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* See %5B%5BThe Superscription of Psalm 121%5D%5D.
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* See %5B%5BThe Negative Particles in Ps 121:3%5D%5D
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* The word מֵאַיִן is an interrogative: "from where?" (see e.g., Gen 29:4; 42:7; Num 11:13; etc.). Most translations understand מֵאַיִן in this psalm as introducing a ''direct'' question: "I lift up my eyes to the hills. ''From where'' does my help come?" (ESV). The grammar by Joüon-Muraoka, however, claims that מֵאַיִן marks an ''indirect'' question here, with a verb being elided: "I lift my eyes up to the hills ''%5Bin order to see%5D where'' my help will come from" (JM §161g; cf. Rabbi Sforno: לתור מאין יבא עזרי; for an example of מֵאַיִן introducing an indirect question, see Josh 2:4). Others interpret מֵאַיִן as though it were a relative particle, e.g., Zenger: "I lift my eyes to the mountains, ''from where'' my help comes" (2011, 315; cf. KJV). But there is no good reason to adopt these relatively complicated interpretations of מֵאַיִן when the direct-question interpretation makes good sense (so Baethgen 1904, 375; cf. LXX, Jerome iuxta Hebr.). For similar liturgical questions and answers in the Psalter, see e.g., Pss 4:7; 15:1ff; 24:8–10.
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