Property: Text
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
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'''יָשׁוּבוּ''' may be taken to imply that the sinners will "return" to a previously experienced state of proximity to YHWH, but it need not do so. The preferred gloss "turn back" allows for this possibility without requiring it, since the idea of reversal of course (i.e., away from a sinful, contrary trajectory) sufficiently accounts for the semantics of שׁוב. +
The detachment shown in '''מִדָּמִ֨ים''' can refer to bloodshed perpetrated by the psalmist, bloodshed for which the psalmist is potentially liable by failure to act, or bloodshed intended against the psalmist. +
The abstract plural '''דָּמִים''' is a technical term for bloodshed (usually violent) or the resulting culpability (i.e., "bloodguilt").'"`UNIQ--ref-00000005-QINU`"' The theme of דָּמִים and its negative consequences for perpetrators permeates the David narratives.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000006-QINU`"' In light of David's murder of Uriah, the reference to דָּמִים in Psalm 51 may be one of the main reasons why this psalm is associated with David and his affair with Bathsheba. The gloss "bloodshed" intentionally leaves open the question of whether דָּמִים refers to forgiveness for blood shed by the psalmist/David or the psalmist's deliverance from having his own blood shed (whether by enemies or by God in punishment for acknowledged sin).'"`UNIQ--ref-00000007-QINU`"' Goldingay 1978 interprets the expression as the psalmist's attempt to avoid incurring bloodguilt for not calling out sinners as a watchman (cf. Ezek 3:17–19; 33:7–9), such that "he prays, 'deliver me from incurring blood- guilt.' He prays to be kept from becoming answerable for the death of other sinners by failing to challenge and invite them to return to God.' +
The distinctive use of the plural '''דָמִים''' is well captured by the English gloss "bloodshed." Both usually entail violent killing involving the spilling of blood. דָמִים usually refers to the unjustified shedding of innocent blood, whereas "bloodshed" can additionally be used to refer to fighting in war without the same criminal connotations. The usage of דָמִים to refer to culpability or guilt is not easy to render in English, and the alternative gloss "bloodguilt" is not in common English usage. Still, "bloodshed" in the context of individuals may evoke connotations of guilt for the perpetrator.
:%5B%5BFile:Psalm 051 - Damim - bloodshed.jpg%7Cclass%3Dimg-fluid%7C825px%5D%5D +
The redundant use of '''אֱלֹהִים''' as a proper noun followed immediately by אֱלֹהֵי תְּשׁוּעָתִי (where אֱלֹהִים is a common noun) is odd and probably goes back to an original phrase יהוה אֱלֹהֵי תְּשׁוּעָתִי 'YHWH, the God of my salvation' (cf. Ps 88:2). The personal name יהוה was frequently replaced with the more generic proper noun אֱלֹהִים in the so-called Elohistic Psalter (Pss 42–83/89*). The same may also have been the case for the less obvious cases of אֱלֹהִים as a proper noun in Ps 51:3, 12, and 19(twice). Though this Elohistic editing probably does not represent the earliest text of Ps 51, we have not attempted to reconstruct an earlier Yahwistic version of the psalm, since the Elohistic editing is generally considered to have been an early stage in the formation of the Psalter and thus part of the received editorial tradition. +
For information on '''תְּשׁוּעָה "salvation/victory"''', see the note on v. 14. +
'''צִדְקָתֶךָ''' can refer to a state of righteous character or a concrete right(eous) act (cf. v. 21). In parallel with תְּהִלָּה (v. 17), both interpretations are possible here. If forgiveness of David's bloodguilt incurred from the murder of Uriah is in view in v. 16a, it is hard to see why such forgiveness (i.e., the concrete act) would be called "righteous." On the other hand, if the psalmist desires deliverance from violence perpetrated by others, then such deliverance could naturally be described as a righteous act. Regardless of whoever is doing the bloodshed, praise for God's righteous character would be appropriate, and this is preferred here. +
'''תְּהִלָּה''' normally refers to the act or content of praise, but can sometimes refer to praiseworthy actions.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"' +
The basic meaning of '''תִרְצֶה''' is "to desire" (cf. note on v. 20), which works very well in this context in parallel to תַחְפֹּץ. The verb רצה is often glossed "accept" in sacrificial contexts,'"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"' since only sacrifices that please the deity are deemed acceptable and hence efficacious. +
The ''hiphil'' '''הֵיטִיבָה''' is generally understood to refer to the expression of goodness or good disposition by the subject,'"`UNIQ--ref-00000002-QINU`"' but could alternatively be treated as a causative or factitive verb inducing a state of goodness or prosperity in the object (cf. NIV "May it please you to prosper Zion"). TLOT (2.488) considers the former to be "formally correct," though emphasizing that "the content seems to have less to do with the deed itself than with the consequence of the deed." Here the goodness and magnanimity of God's well-disposed actions towards Jerusalem seem to be in view. The anticipated consequence of this intervention is the restoration and prosperity of Jerusalem, but the verbal semantics should not be directly construed in this way. +
The expression '''בִ֭רְצוֹנְךָ''' describes the manner or mode in which God's goodness is expressed to Jerusalem, namely in a manner pleasing to God.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000015-QINU`"' An alternative possible analysis would be indicating cause, "because it pleases you," but this sense is not well-established.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000016-QINU`"' +
'''רָצוֹן''' refers to the will, namely what one desires or intends.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"' Following vv. 18–19, the idea of God's good pleasure or desiderative will seems more prominent than his sovereign decretive will. +
'''בנה''' means to "build," but in contexts where prior buildings have been constructed and damaged/destroyed, it could be better translated into English as "rebuild." Here, a neutral form has been selected to retain the ambiguity of the Hebrew. See %5B%5BPsalm 51:20-21 and the Story Behind Psalm 51%5D%5D. +
For '''חוֹמ֥וֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם''', while in English the verb "to please" takes an object who is pleased, perhaps it is better to frame the concept based on the verb רצה as the subject who experiences pleasure, e.g., "what you take pleasure in". +
There is no obvious semantic difference between '''צֶדֶק''' and צְדָקָה (v. 16), though צְדָקָה is sometimes more concrete (HALOT). Here, צֶדֶק seems to indicate what are the "right" (i.e., correct or appropriate) sacrifices, rather than the character of the offerer.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"' Cf. Deut 33:19. +
Grammatically, '''זִבְחֵי צֶדֶק''' could be understood as the first element of a three-element list, but עוֹלָה וְכָלִיל are more properly subsets or examples of זִבְחֵי צֶדֶק. +
'''כָלִיל''' refers to a type of burnt offering that is entirely consumed by fire, unlike other burnt offerings where parts of the animal are eaten by the participants.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"' +
Reading '''נִמְצָא''' as a 1cpl ''qal yiqtol'' (i.e., “we find him when %5Bwe are%5D in trouble”) is also viable on syntactic and semantic grounds, yet it has no strong versional support and is not well-represented in modern translations. For this reading, see cf. ''Targ''., whose נשכח seems to take the MT's נמצא as a 1cpl ''yiqtol'' (see further Stec %5B2004: 98, n2%5D, which translates v. 2 as "God is our security and strength; we will readily find help in trouble"; cf. Coverdale Bible of 1535: "In oure troubles and aduersite, we haue founde, that God is oure refuge, oure strength and helpe"). If accepted, this reading would also impact the text structurally and poetically, disrupting the "symmetry" between vv. 2a and 2b (and vv. 8 and 12, in which God is subject and the focus is on his roles and status). Notably, scholars point out that v. 2 could be viewed as an additional refrain in the psalm (cf. vv. 8 and 12). +
In v. 2b, the form '''נִמְצָא''' can be read in three ways: a.) as a ''qatal'' of the tolerative ''niphal'' (preferred); b.) as a 1cpl ''qal yiqtol'' (disprefrerred); and c.) as a ms ''niphal'' participle (dispreferred).
* Here, taking '''נִמְצָא''' as a ''qatal'' (has made himself to be found) is favored (although in CBC, it is smoothed out as is readily available; modern translations tend to be very paraphrastic as well, making it difficult to tell what they are paraphrasing, a ''qatal'' or a ms participle %5Bcf. "an ever-present help in trouble", NIV; cf. NLT; ESV; NASV; NKJV; JPS1917; NRSV; HOF; NBS; etc%5D). The LXX has βοηθὸς ἐν θλίψεσιν ταῖς εὑρούσαις ἡμᾶς σφόδρα, wherein ταῖς εὑρούσαις modifies afflictions, not God (NETS: "God is our refuge and power, very much a helper in afflictions that befall us"; cf. Vulg.; Luther 2017; WYC; UKR). The ''niphal'' of מצא with God as subject is well-attested in the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Isa 65:1: נמצאתי ללא בקשני/“I permitted myself to be found by those who did not seek me” %5BNASB%5D; cf. ראה in ''niphal'' in Ex 33:23 %5B''sich sehen lassen'''"`UNIQ--ref-00000005-QINU`"') and is preferred by a number of scholars (cf. "''a very present help in trouble''%5D Lit., a help in distresses hath he let himself be found exceedingly"'"`UNIQ--ref-00000006-QINU`"'; "The ''niph'al'' in v. 1b should be taken in a reflexive %5Btolerative%5D rather than a passive sense (Duhm, Eaton), and the perfect needs to be translated in contrast with the imperfects in v. 3: 'He has made himself to be found indeed,' 'he has plainly shown himself'..." '"`UNIQ--ref-00000007-QINU`"'). Based on such usage of מצא with God, v. 2b could indicate that the community in distress (בצרות) has sought God and he responded favorably by making himself available to them (cf. Jer 29:14; equally however, God can let people find him even when they do not seek him %5Bcf. Isa 65:1%5D).
* See the alternative below for reading '''נִמְצָא''' as a 1cpl ''qal yiqtol.''
* Alternatively, '''נִמְצָא''' can be taken as a ms passive participle (cf. EHV; HCSB ). Cf. "a Hebrew phrase (''nimṣā’ mĕ’ōd'') that may be woodenly translated ‘is found greatly’. Therefore, it is an intensifying phrase, well rendered by ‘ever-present’, although it could conceivably be ‘well proved’ (see NRSV alternative)."'"`UNIQ--ref-00000008-QINU`"' But the temporal בצרות ("in great trouble") would suggest an interrupted action, calling for a ''yiqtol'', not a participle which normally represents an uninterrupted event.
In v. 3b, MT has '''בְּהָמִיר''', which is usually taken as the ''hiphil'' infinitive construct of מור I/“to change” (thus, “though the earth change..." or is "altered”; cf. NRSV, NASB1995, KJ21, etc.; cf. α': ἐν τῶι ἀνταλλάσσεσθ(αι) γῆν from "to change/exchange"). The LXX, however, has ἐν τῷ ταράσσεσθαι (from "to be agitated, troubled", "to be disquieted/restless"; cf. ''Pesh''. ܕܙܝܥܐ , "to shake"'"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"'). Accordingly, some (e.g., ''HALOT'', 560 s.v. II מור; ''BHS'') suggest emending בְּהָמִיר to a ''niphal'' of מוּר II, i.e., "to shake" (cf. NASB, NET, NLT %5B“So we will not fear when earthquakes come... ”%5D, HFA, NGÜ, ELB, EÜ, GNB; CSB, CEB %5B“That’s why we won’t be afraid when the world falls apart...”%5D) or to הִמּוֺג, a ''niphal'' of מוג/“to melt/dissolve” (''SDBH'') (e.g., Kraus goes with הִמּוֺג rendering it as "shaking"'"`UNIQ--ref-00000001-QINU`"'; cf. the use of מוג in v. 7b, in parallel to מוט; cf. Ps 75:3 which has נמגים, a ''niphal'' of מוג with the "earth" and its inhabitants as subject). With "shaking" here, as well as later in v. 7 (ἐσαλεύθη ἡ γῆ, "the earth was shaken" %5BNETS; a generalization via the LXX's preferred word in the Psalter'"`UNIQ--ref-00000002-QINU`"'%5D; cf. ''Pesh''.: ܘܙܥܬ ܐܪܥܐ "and the earth shakes"'"`UNIQ--ref-00000003-QINU`"'), the LXX and ''Pesh''. seem to understand the image of an earthquake throughout the psalm, not only in vv. 2-4. Additionally, in v. 4, the LXX uses the same word with waters (ἐταράχθησαν τὰ ὕδατα αὐτῶν) and mountains (ἐταράχθησαν τὰ ὄρη) (NETS %5B45:3-4%5D: "Therefore we will not fear, when the earth is troubled and mountains be transposed in hearts of seas. Their waters roared and were troubled; the mountains were troubled by his force"). As it stands, the MT's בְּהָמִיר is viable semantically and is reflected in many modern translations. +