Property: Text
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
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* "Sky" is a metonymy for "the heavenly beings who live in the sky" (cf. vv. 6b-8).
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* The word glossed "footsteps" is "literally: heels; hence: %3D action by which humans put one foot before the other in order to move forward; ≈ used figuratively to denote someone's journey through life" (SDBH). Thus, "the footsteps of your anointed" (ESV) >> "every step of your anointed one" (NIV) >> "your anointed king wherever he goes" (NLT; cf. GNT).
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* The word נֶפֶשׁ could be a reflexive: "Who can save himself...?" (CSB). Or it could refer to the person's "soul" or "life:" "No man can... deliver his life" (NET). Witthoff notes that "נֶפֶש is used to refer to LIFE in contexts of rescue, deliverance, and redemption" (2021, 165; see e.g., with מלט in Gen 19:17; 2 Sam 19:6; Pss 116:4; 124:7; etc.).
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* The Hebrew verb מגר (piel) occurs only here in the OT (cf. Ezek 21:17—מְגוּרֵי אֶל־חֶרֶב). In Aramaic, it means "throw down" or "overthrow" (see %5Bhttps://cal.huc.edu CAL%5D). E.g., Ezra 6:12: "May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow (יְמַגַּר) any king or people who shall put out a hand to alter this" (ESV).
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* In v. 44b, most English translations give an abstract rendering of the verb: "help" (NLT), "support" (NIV), "sustain" (NET) (so also LXX trans. NETS: "support" %5Bἀντελάβου%5D). But the image here is more vivid and concrete; the verb הֲקֵימֹתוֹ in v. 44 probably means "help up (from the ground after he has fallen)" (cf. Eccl. 4:10; Jer 50:32; so Rashi: מליפול, Ibn Ezra: בנפלו). The verse gives us the image of the king lying in the dust of the battlefield (perhaps injured) with no one to help him up.
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* "repudiate" (so HALOT; cf. Lam 2:7 %5Balso collocated with זנח%5D). Cf. LXX: "you renounced (κατέστρεψας) the covenant" (trans. NETS).
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* YHWH's "loyalty" and "reliability" mean that he will keep his ''covenant'' with David and his descendants (cf. vv. 4, 29, 35, 40). The word "covenant" (בְּרִית) refers to "an enduring agreement which defines a relationship between two parties involving a solemn, binding obligation(s) specified on the part of at least one of the parties toward the other, made by oath under threat of divine curse, and ratified by a visual ritual" (Gentry and Wellum 2012, 132, adapted from Lane 2000, 314). The narrative account of the origin of this agreement is given in 2 Sam 7. Psalm 89 makes clear the covenantal nature of this agreement as well as the obligations that bind each party: David's descendants swear an oath to keep YHWH's instruction (vv. 31-33), and YHWH swears an oath to forever establish David's "kingdom" (lit. "throne") and "dynasty" (lit.: "offspring") (vv. 5, 36-38), i.e., to ensure the permanence of David's kingdom and dynasty.
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* The verb הִתְעַבַּרְתָּ is a relatively rare word for anger: "state in which deities experience deep anger" (SDBH; cf. Ps 78:21, 59, 62; cf. the noun עֶבְרָה). "Within the wider OT word field 'anger, wrath,' as covered by several other terms as well (ʾap̱, ḥēmâ, ḥārôn, zaʿam, zaʿap̱, qeṣep̱, kaʿas), ʿeḇrâ probably evokes specifically the element of unbridled emotion within anger as manifested in corresponding actions" (TDOT). Hence the gloss: "become furious."
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* "Loyalty" and "faithfulness" are metonymies for "covenant" (cf. "covenant" in v. 35a). In Lev 26:44, for example, the object of the verb "annul" (הָפֵר) is "covenant," and in Ps 44:18, the object of the verb "deal falsely" (שִׁקַּרְנוּ) is also "covenant."
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* The firstborn is "the main heir of estate and blessing" (SDBH), meaning here that the king will inherit YHWH's estate, i.e., the whole world (cf. Ps 2:7-8).
* As such, he will be "the highest king" (HALOT; cf. Deut 26:19; 28:1), sharing in a title that, elsewhere in the Psalter, belongs uniquely to YHWH: "Most High" (cf. Pss 7:18; 9:3; 18:14; 21:8; 46:5; 47:3; 50:14; 57:3; 73:11; 77:11; 78:17, 35, 56; 82:6; 83:19; 87:5; 91:1, 9; 92:2; 97:9; 107:11).
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* The word נְהָרִים, parallel with "sea" (יָם), probably refers to "sea-currents" (HALOT; Gesenius 2013, 789: "Meeresströmmungen oder mythische Strömungen"; cf. Isa 44:27; Ps 24:2) rather than to fresh-water rivers. Cf. Jonah 2:4(3): "You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents (וְנָהָר) swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me" (NIV). Alternatively, according to TDOT, the plural נהרות might be "a plural of amplification or extension," referring to "the great river, the sea (Isa. 44:27; 50:2; Ps. 78:16; 137:1), or the deep (24:2; 74:15; Hab. 3:8)." In either case, the reference is sea-related and has associations with chaos.
* It is also possible that "sea" refers to the Mediterranean Sea and "rivers" refers to the Tigris and Euphrates (cf. Goldingay 2006, 678). But in light of vv. 10-11, this verse is more likely about the king's divine-like power over chaos and his control over political enemies (depicted here as the sea; cf. Ps 46).
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* Translations disagree on the meaning of יַשִּׁא. E.g.,
#"The enemy shall not outwit him" (ESV)
#"No enemy will be able to exact tribute from him" (NET)
* According to the ESV, יַשִּׁא means "outwit" or "deceive" (so Symmachus: ἐξαπατήσει; Jerome %5Biuxta Hebr.%5D: ''decipiet''; see e.g., Ob 7).
* According to the NET, יַשִּׁא is a different, identically sounding verb, that means "to act as a creditor" (so BDB: "an enemy shall not act the creditor against him, make exactions of him").
*The NET interpretation makes the most sense in the context (cf. the parallel line: "oppress," cf. Exod 1:11; 2 Kgs 17:20) and works the best with the bet preposition (see e.g., Deut 15:2—אֲשֶׁר יַשֶּׁה בְּרֵעֵהוּ; Deut 24:10—כִּֽי־תַשֶּׁ֥ה בְרֵֽעֲךָ מַשַּׁ֣את מְא֑וּמָה; cf. Isa 24:2 %5Bנֹשֶׁא בֹו%5D; Neh 5:7 %5Bמַשָּׁ֥א אִישׁ־בְּאָחִ֖יו אַתֶּ֣ם נֹשִׁ֑אים%5D). By contrast, the verb "deceive" takes a direct object (e.g., 2 Chr 32:1) or a lamed preposition (e.g., 2 Kgs 18:28). Cf. LXX: "an enemy shall not profit (ὠφελήσει) by him" (LXX trans. NETS).
* A potential problem with our view is that the other uses of נשׁה + ב in the hiphil (Deut 15:2; 24:10) are trivalent constructions, having a subject (the lender), a bet preposition (the borrower), and a direct object (the loan), whereas the construction in Ps 89:23 is bivalent, having only the subject and the bet preposition. But in the qal stem, the verb נשׁה can be either trivalent (Neh 5:7) or bivalent (Deut 24:11). It is plausible that the same is true of the hiphil.
* Verse 23b alludes to the promise in 2 Sam 7:10—וְלֹֽא־יֹסִ֤יפוּ בְנֵֽי־עַוְלָה֙ לְעַנֹּותֹ֔ו כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר בָּרִאשֹׁונָֽה
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* The word חָזוֹן refers to a prophetic vision (see e.g., Isa 1:1; Ob 1; Nah 1:1; Dan 8:1). YHWH's "loyal ones" here must be the prophets who communicated YHWH's promises to David and his descendants, perhaps "Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer" (Rashi; cf. 2 Sam 7), and/or "Samuel the prophet" (Radak).
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* יָרוּמוּ: "literally: to be, become high; hence: %3D process by which humans or deities acquire an elevated status" (SDBH). Cf. LXX: ὑψωθήσονται.
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* The noun תּרוּעָה describes a "loud sound... used to express an emotion or to communicate something to a community" (SDBH). It could simply be an expression of joyful emotion (cf. the following verse יגילון, but the fact that it is the object of the verb "know" (ידע) suggests that it has a communicative function; it is a "signal" (cf. Symmachus: σημασίαν, "the giving a signal or command" %5BLSJ%5D), the significance of which is "known" only to YHWH's people. The תּרוּעָה probably signals "victory" (Jerome, trans. Risse) or, more specifically, YHWH's royal presence on the battlefield with his people to give them victory. This interpretation makes sense in the context: the parallel line mentions the light of YHWH's presence (v. 16b), and the following lines use military language (vv. 18-19). This interpretation also coheres well with the use of תּרוּעָה outside of this psalm. In 1 Sam 4:5-6, the people shout to signal YHWH's presence with them in battle: "As soon as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout (תְּרוּעָה), so that the earth resounded. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting (הַתְּרוּעָה), they said, 'What does this great shouting (הַתְּרוּעָה) in the camp of the Hebrews mean?'" In 1 Sam 4, only YHWH's people understand the significance of the "shout;" the Philistines do not understand. Thus, in Ps 89, "those who know the signal" is a way of referring to YHWH's people, who experience his presence with them in battle.
* Shouting (or blowing a horn) to signal YHWH's presence is probably related to the practicing of hailing a king (cf. 1 Sam 10:24; Num 23:21; cf. Gesenius 2013, 1458: "Königsjubel;" so Ibn Ezra, Radak). Thus, the word is used "especially in contexts where Yahweh is acclaimed as king" (TDOT) (cf. Num 23:21; Pss 47:2, 6; 95:1; 98:4; 150:5). YHWH's kingship is clear in this context as well; the previous verse of Ps 89 mentioned YHWH's "throne" (v. 15).
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* Whereas the qal verb הלך simply means "walk" or "go," in the (pluractional) piel stem it means "go about" or "walk around" (Penney 2023, 84-87). The action of "walking" is "repeated or extended in different locations" (Penney 2023, 84).
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* Hermon is a "mountain and mountain range stretching from southern Syria to northern Palestine" (DCH; cf. Röllig 1999, 411-412), also called שִׂיאֹן (Deut 4:48), שִׂרְיֹן (Deut 3:9), and שְׂנִיר (Deut 3:9). It was associated with divine activity (cf. 1 Enoch 6:5; 2 Enoch 18:4) and with the storm god Baal in particular (cf. "Baal of Hermon" in Jdg 3:3; 1 Chr 5:23).
* "Tabor is the name of a mountain in Lower Galilee" (Mussies 1999, 827; cf. Jdg 4:6, 12, 14; 8:18; Josh 19:22; Jer 46:18; Hos 5:1). Mount Tabor, like Hermon, might have also been associated with the worship of foreign gods (cf. Hos 5:1; Frankel 1992, 305).
* Whereas people worshiped gods other than YHWH on Hermon and Tabor, Ps 89:13b says that these mountains "rejoice in your name," i.e., the mountains recognize YHWH as their creator and Lord and gladly accept his rule.
* In light of the mythological mountains mentioned in the b-line, it is tempting to understand the words צפון and ימין in the a-line as referring to mountains as well (rather than simply "north and south," so most English translations). Zaphon (צפון), the Hebrew word for "north," is also the name of a mountain north of Israel, "the sacred mountain of the storm god Baal" (Roth 1992, 1040; cf. COS 1.98: "Temple of Baal-Zaphon"). In fact, it was "the cosmic mountain par excellence in Northwest-Semitic religions" (Niehr 1999, 152). Thus, "the name 'Baal-zaphon' was even transferred to further Baal-sanctuaries outside Ugarit," such as in Egypt (Niehr 1999, 152; cf. "Baal-Zaphon" in Exod 14:2; Num 33:7).
* Some have identified "Yamin" (ימין) in Ps 89:13 with the mountain "Amana" (אמנה) mentioned in Song 4:8 where it is associated with Mt. Hermon (so e.g., Dahood 314)—"Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come with me from Lebanon. Depart from the peak of Amana (אֲמָנָה), from the peak of Senir and Hermon" (Song 4:8). Dahood argues that ימן in Ps 89 is an alternative spelling for אמן. The NEB translators emend וְיָמִין to וַאֲמָנָה (see Brockington 1971, 144): "Thou didst create Zaphon and Amanus; Tabor and Hermon echo thy name" (cf. NAB).
* Even if we follow the MT and read "north and south" in v. 13a, it is likely that there is also an allusion to the mountains of Zaphon and Amanus: "Behind the compass directions, especially in connection with Tabor and Hermon, lie the traditional Ugaritic mountains of the gods, Zaphon and Amanus, near the city of Ugarit" (Hossfeld and Zenger 2005, 409).
* "Rahab is one of the names in the OT of the chaos %5Bsea%5D monster(s) (cf. also Leviathan, Tannin, Tehom, and Yam" (Spronk 1999, 684; cf. Isa 51:9-10; Job 26:12).
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* The verb שׁבח (piel) in v. 10b means to "calm" or "still" (so BDB, HALOT, DCH, cf. Prov 29:11; Ps 65:8 %5Bhiphil%5D). LXX: καταπραΰνεις, "soften down, appease" (LSJ).
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* See %5B%5BThe Identity of Ethan the Ezrahite in Ps 89:1%5D%5D.
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