Property: Text
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
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* The preposition '''from''' (מֵעִם) is a compound preposition (מִן "from" + עִם "with") that indicates the "origin" of the help (DCH). "Help," which was ''with'' (עִם) YHWH, comes ''from'' (מֵ) him and to the psalmist (cf. Stazsack 2024, 283). The preposition corresponds to the interrogative "from where" (מֵאַיִן) in the previous clause and introduces the answer to the question.
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* The phrase '''heaven and earth''' (שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ) is "a more or less fixed phrase... equivalent to a single lexical item: ''the totality of God's creation''" (SDBH). The phrase occurs three times within the Song of Ascents (see also Pss 124:8; 134:3).
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* The phrase translated '''let... slip''' (יִתֵּן לַמּוֹט; also in Ps 66:9) is, literally, "give to the slipping." The verb נתן, followed by an infinitive (or, in this case, a noun communicating a verbal idea), is a Biblical Hebrew way of saying "allow X-event to happen." See e.g., Gen 20:6—"I did not let you touch her (לֹא נְתַתִּיךָ לִנְגֹּעַ אֵלֶיהָ)" (NIV; see DCH נתן entry 7). The article on the word "slip" (לַמּוֹט) represents the generic use of the article, which is often used with "abstract terms, referring to attributes, qualities, or states" (IBHS §13.5.1g). In this case, it is used with an event ("slipping").
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* Some English translations render the phrase עַל יַד יְמִינֶךָ as "''at'' your right hand" (NET, NIV) or "''by'' your side" (GNT, CSB). Similarly, Mena categorizes the use of עַל in this verse as a "contingent locative: The TR %5B%3DYHWH%5D is ''next to'' the LM %5B%3Dyour right hand%5D in close proximity" (2012, 121). Compare the similar phrase in Ps 110:5—"The Lord is at your right hand" (אֲדֹנָי עַל־יְמִינְךָ). But in this context, where protection from the sun is in view (see v. 6), עַל probably conveys its basic sense of "over" or "above." As Zenger writes, "The preposition עַל is to be translated here not as 'at the side of' or 'at your right hand' but as 'over,' since צֵל, 'shade,' evokes the idea of a 'sheltering umbrella' over the human being while he or she is traveling 'day and night'" (2011, 316).
* The contruct phrase יַד יְמִינוֹ means "the hand of his right-hand side, i.e. his right hand" (DCH; e.g., Judg 3:15; Jer 22:24; Ezek 39:3; Ps 73:23) and is synonymous with יְמִינֹו by itself (see e.g., Gen 48:14 where the Samaritan Pentateuch has יד ימינו instead of MT's ימינו). A person's "right hand" is their "strong hand," and YHWH's position at or over a person's "right hand" elsewhere communicates his protective presence (cf. Ps 16:8; 109:3). In this context, where it communicates his protection from the sun (v. 6), "right hand" takes on additional significance, since the right hand was "the side of the human body which is to the ''south'' when facing the direction of the rising sun" (SDBH, cf. Ps 89:13, where יָמִין means "south"). Israel is in the Northern Hemisphere, just north of the equator, where the sun is always in the southern part of the sky, especially at midday. As a result, southern exposure gets the most direct sunlight, and shade would be most beneficial on the southern side of one's body, on one's "right" (יָמִין).
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The compound phrase "going out and coming in" (בוא וצאת) describes one's "daily activities" (Baethgen 1904, 375; cf. Deut 28:6; 31:2). Elsewhere, the two terms are opposites. E.g., Gen 31:33—"And he went out (וַיֵּצֵא) of Leah’s tent and entered (וַיָּבֹא) Rachel’s" (ESV). But in Ps 121, they function as a merism (cf. שׁמים וארץ in v. 2), encompassing all the activities a person might do. As Chrysostom writes, "Here, I agree, he refers to all of life: all of life is covered by this, entrances and exits" (Chrysostom trans. Hill 1998, 144). Thus, the NET translates, "The LORD will protect you in all you do." +
'''v. 1''' – As noted by GKC (§124e), יְדִידֹֽת fits well the category of "a number of plurals, found almost exclusively in poetry ... which are evidently intended to intensify the idea of the stem" (cf. Ḥakham 1979, 257). +
'''v. 2''' – Since the verb רחשׁ only occurs here, it is difficult to tell whether it should be read as transitive or intransitive. The same root, however, is used intransitively in Aramaic—for example Targum Onkelos' rendering of יִשְׁרְצ֣וּ הַמַּ֔יִם in Gen 1:20 ("Let the waters swarm with...") as יִרְחֲשׁוּן מַיָּא—so the same has been preferred here.
As evident in Symmachus,'"`UNIQ--ref-00000027-QINU`"' reading the clause intransitively most plausibly involves "my heart" as the grammatical subject (see, e.g., NASB: "My heart overflows with a good theme," ESV: "My heart overflows with a pleasing theme," NIV: "My heart is stirred by a noble theme").'"`UNIQ--ref-00000028-QINU`"' +
'''v. 2''' – If verb רחשׁ is interpreted as transitive, either "my heart" or "a good word" may be the grammatical subject. Though the former is most plausible (see e.g., KJV: "My heart is inviting a good matter").'"`UNIQ--ref-00000027-QINU`"'
On the other hand, a minority of modern translations read the "good word" as subject (see, e.g., NLT: "Beautiful words stir my heart," GNT: "Beautiful words fill my mind"). +
'''v. 3''' – As indicated from the most similar form of יָפְיָפִיתָ in Jer 46:20, יְפֵֽה־פִיָּ֖ה, the expected pattern is peʿalʿal rather than peʿapeʿal(?), as the MT apparently has here.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"' The grammars, however, list this case among those more common peʿalʿal forms, without any comment on its unique (and therefore dubious) form (see, e.g., GKC §55e, JM §59d), which is "is contrary to all anal%5Bogy%5D" and should be "read either יָפִיתָ or יְפֵיפִיתָ" (BDB, 421). Since the latter suggestion follows the expected peʿalʿal and maintains the MT's consonantal text, it has been preferred here.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000001-QINU`"' +
'''v. 3''' – As discussed under the preferred diagram, the form יָפְיָפִיתָ is unique in the Bible. Besides our preferred revocalization, another explanation offered is of dittography ("writing twice") of יפ (GKC §55e), such that only the form יָפִית should be read. Alternatively, the consonant ו in יָפוֹ has been lost, such that we should read יָפוֹ יָפִיתָ (HALOT 423). This reading is perhaps supported by Aquila (κάλλει ἐκαλλιώθης) and Symmachus (κάλλει καλὸς εἶ) both ≈ 'in beauty you are beautiful', which is a common strategy among the Greek translators for rendering the compound infinitive absolute construction.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000011-QINU`"' Note, however, that there is no evidence of any Hebrew manuscript variation concerning this form—at least among those compiled by Kennicott, de-Rossi and Ginsburg, so the emendation יָפוֹ יָפִיתָ has not been preferred. +
'''v. 4''' – For the alternative apposition between חַרְבְּךָ֣ and ה֝וֹדְךָ֗ וַהֲדָרֶֽךָ, Saadia renders פהו בהאיך ובהג׳ך "which is your splendor and your majesty" (Qafaḥ 1965, 128). +
'''v. 5''' – Note that the LXX's ἔντεινον most likely reflects the reading of וַהֲדָ֬רְךָ֨ as the imperative וְהֵדְרֵךְ "bend, stretch," though this is always accompanied by either קֶשֶׁת or חֵץ (see Ps 7:13; 11:2, etc.) which is not the case here. It could perhaps be considered elided, as v. 6 begins with חִצֶּ֗יךָ "your arrows." +
'''v. 5''' – Though the position of the ''waw'' is perhaps less expected than in penultimate position ("final coordination," Scheumann 2020), coordinate ''waw'' in the antepenultimate position and lacking prior to the last entity of the list is not unheard of (GKC §154a; Fassberg 2019, §319), as also in v. 9's מֹר־וַאֲהָל֣וֹת קְ֭צִיעוֹת (such that וְעַנְוָה־צֶ֑דֶק is semantically equivalent to וַעֲנְוָה וָצֶדֶק; so Ḥakham 1979, 258). The two abstract nouns are found coordinated in Zephaniah 2:3 בַּקְּשׁוּ־צֶ֙דֶק֙ בַּקְּשׁ֣וּ עֲנָוָ֔ה "Seek righteousness, seek humility" (NIV).'"`UNIQ--ref-00000011-QINU`"'
Alternative readings of the syntax involve apposition between עַנְוָה and צֶ֑דֶק or emending עַנְוָה as the construct form עַנְוַת (as witnessed in Jerome's Iuxta Hebraeos, the Peshitta and Aquila). The adverbial reading of נוֹרָא֣וֹת is read in the LXX's θαυμαστῶς "marvelously" (NETS) and finds a syntactic parallel in Ps 139:14: אֽוֹדְךָ֗ עַ֤ל כִּ֥י נוֹרָא֗וֹת נִ֫פְלֵ֥יתִי "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (NIV; see also Ps 65:6, as pointed out by Gaster 1955, 242 n. 13). +
'''v. 6''' – The semantics of the first and third lines of this verse cause it to be read as an AXB pattern of vertical grammar, with the middle line as a parenthetical (cf. 1 Sam 2:2; Pss 44:2; 93:4 and the AXBB' variation in Pss 33:20–21; 139:19–20; see further Atkinson, "Parentheticals in Prophetic and Poetic Literature," VT 2025). For the alternative readings of the grammar, see the exegetical issue, %5B%5BThe Syntax of Psalm 45:6%5D%5D. Not diagrammed below is the suggestion of Dahood (1966, 272), as reflected by the TOB, which understands חִצֶּ֗יךָ שְׁנ֫וּנִ֥ים as a noun phrase, "your sharp arrows," in apposition to "awesome deeds" at the end of v. 5. Such a reading is implausible concerning the supposed noun phrase, however, and also makes little sense of v. 6c without significant textual and grammatical imagination (as exhibited by Dahood 1966, 272), so has not been diagrammed as a viable alternative. +
'''v. 9''' – The syntax of this clause is unambiguously to be read as a verbless clause. As noted by GKC (§141d): "That the language, however—especially in poetry—is not averse even to the boldest combinations in order to emphasize very strongly the unconditional relation between the subject and predicate, is shown by such examples as ψ 45:9 myrrh and aloes and cassia are all thy garments (i.e. so perfumed with them that they seem to be composed of them)." +
'''v. 9''' – For the ''waw'' conjunction only between the first and second entities of the list, see the note at v. 5. Here, just as in v. 5, ancient versions such as the LXX and Peshitta provide a conjunction between all three entities. +
'''v. 9''' – For the morphology of מִנִּ֥י as plural, see the discussion in GKC §87f (cf. עַמִּ֣י in Ps 144:2, read as עמים in 11Q5 and rendered simply as "peoples" by Jerome, though "my people" by the LXX). Due to the controversial morphology, none of the ancient versions recognize this word as related to "stringed instruments" (see the alternative diagrams). +
'''v. 9''' – Although in prose we might expect the explicit relative pronoun, as מֵאֲשֶׁר (see, e.g., Gen 31:1; Exod 5:11, among others), it is common for relative relations to be asyndetic in poetry. The problem with the syntax of מִן %5B+ relative%5D here, however, is the sense of the antecedent of the relative. It must be understood as repeating the locative "from ivory palaces" of the previous clause (as explicit in Symmachus' ὅθεν "from where"), while the subject seems to be understood as the "garments" as pleasing the king. Alternatively, the plural verb could simply be read as impersonal, i.e., "people please you." This seems less intuitive than stringed music as pleasing.
Aquila and the Peshitta understand the form מִנִּ֥י as the preposition מִן with a first person suffix'"`UNIQ--ref-00000004-QINU`"' which occurs ten times in the Bible, though we would typically expect the more common form מִמֶּ֫נִּי. Furthermore, the first person speaker has been absent since v. 2.
A final suggestion is that of Targum Psalms, which reads as a place name, modifying the "ivory" of the previous clause: מן היכליא דמכבשין בשין דפיל מארע מני יחדונך "From palaces that are inlaid with ivory from the land of Minni they shall make you glad" (Stec 2004, 96). Stec comments, "TgPss evidently understands MT mny as a place name and takes it as going with the preceding word; i.e., MT šn mny %3D “ivory of Minni.” The place understood here may be Minyas in Armenia" (2004, 96 n. 21). +
'''v. 10''' – For the alternative reading of "inside your walls" in place of "among your treasures," see the manuscripts listed in VTH (vol. 4, 344) and de-Rossi (vol. 4, 31). +
'''v. 6''' – For the alternative presence of אלף "a thousand," presumably modifying the enemies, see אוי%5Dב̊י המלך אלף in 11Q8 f8 1. +