Property: Text
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
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* The phrase יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי צְבָאֹות is an "epithet of God with focus on his being in charge of the host of heavenly beings surrounding his throne, praising him, and carrying out his will on earth; ≈ as an epithet it relates to God's power and control of the cosmos as the divine king and warrior" (SDBH).
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* The עַל preposition in v. 8 indicates "superiority" (Mena 2012, 85-87; cf. Pss 95:3; 96:4; 1 Chron 16:25): "awesome ''above'' all who are around him" (ESV, cf. NRSV) >> "''more'' awesome than all who surround him" (NIV, cf. NLT, CSB, NET). Alternative interpretation: "held in awe ''by'' all around Him" (NJPS, cf. KJV).
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* The word שַׁחַק is vocalized as definite (בַשַּׁחַק) in the Masoretic Text (so also in v. 38), because it refers to something unique, i.e., "the sky" or "heaven" (see note on lexical semantics).
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* The phrase בְּנֵי אֵלִים (lit.: "sons of the gods," so NAB) occurs also in Ps 29:1. It refers here to "heavenly beings" (NIV, ESV, NET, GNT). Cf. the more common Hebrew phrase בְּנֵי אֱלֹהִים (Gen 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7) and the Aramaic phrase בַר אֱלָהִין (Dan 3:25). All of these phrases refer to divine beings. Cf. the phrase "the assembly of the sons of the gods (''bn . ilm .'')" in the Ugaritic Baal Myth (COS I, 258; KTU 1.4, III:14). YHWH's heavenly court consists of lesser divine beings (cf. 1 Kgs 22:19; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Ps 82). The word "sons" (בְּנֵי) in this phrase does not refer to biological descendants but to members of a class. Compare, for example, the phrase בְּנֵי אִישׁ ("humans") in Ps 4:3.
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* The preposition עַל here has the sense of "for" or "for the sake of" (so NIV, ESV; Mena 2012, 96-97; cf. Ps 22:19). This sense of עַל is an extension of the direction "to" sense (Mena 2012, 96-97).
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* The phrase עַד מָה (literally: "until what?") "inquires about the ''duration'' of a state of affairs or events: ''how long?''" (BHRG §42.3.7; cf. Pss 4:3; 79:5).
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* On the phrase לָאָרֶץ, see the note on v. 40.
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* The phrase לָאָרֶץ, which occurs in v. 40 and v. 45, means "down to the ground" (HALOT; cf. Pss 7:6; 143:3; esp. Ps 74:7—לָ֝אָ֗רֶץ חִלְּל֥וּ מִֽשְׁכַּן־שְׁמֶֽךָ). In v. 40, it implies some verb of motion. Some translations add a verb of motion in addition to the abstract verb "profaned" (חלל). See e.g., KJV: "thou hast profaned his crown ''by casting it'' to the ground" (KJV). So Radak: חללת אותו והפלת אותו לארץ. But it is also possible that motion is implied in the verb "profane" itself. See e.g., Ezek 28:16—"I cast you as a profane thing (וָאֶחַלֶּלְךָ) from the mountain of God (מֵהַר אֱלֹהִים)" (NRSV).
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* The ''lamed'' prepositions (לִבְחִירִי...לְדָוִד) in v. 4 indicate, respectively, the person ''with'' (or for) whom the covenant is made ("dative ''lamed''") and the person ''to'' whom the oath is sworn (''lamed'' of communication) (Jenni 2000, rubrics 32, 64). See e.g., ESV: "I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant." Cf. Josh 9:15: "And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them (וַיִּכְרֹת לָהֶם בְּרִית), to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them (וַיִּשָּׁבְעוּ לָהֶם)" (ESV).
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* The ''bet'' preposition in the phrase בְקָדְשִׁי could be a ''bet'' of mode, indicating the attribute according to which YHWH swears: "in my holiness" (NLT). More likely, however, his "holiness" is the thing that YHWH swears ''by'': "by my holiness" (NIV, ESV, GNT, NET, cf. LUT, NGÜ, EÜ, ZÜR; so Jenni 1992, rubric 1937; cf. Amos 4:2—נִשְׁבַּ֨ע אֲדֹנָ֤י יְהוִה֙ בְּקָדְשֹׁ֔ו; cf. Jer 51:14—נִשְׁבַּ֛ע יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֹ֖ות בְּנַפְשֹׁ֑ו; Gen 22:16—בִּ֥י נִשְׁבַּ֖עְתִּי נְאֻם־יְהוָ֑ה). Whereas humans swear by YHWH's name (e.g., Josh 9:18), YHWH swears by his own name, or, in this case, by his own holiness.
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* On the prepositional phrase "from %5Bbeing%5D with him" (מֵעִמּוֹ), cf. v. 25, where YHWH promised that his loyalty would always be "with him" (עִמּוֹ).
* The ''bet'' preposition in the phrase בֶּאֱמוּנָתִי is a ''bet'' of "social contact" (Jenni 1992, rubric 263). With the verb שׁקר (''piel''), it can indicate the person or thing with whom/which someone deals falsely (cf. Ps 44:18—וְלֹֽא־שִׁ֝קַּ֗רְנוּ בִּבְרִיתֶֽךָ)
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* To "walk ''in''" (בְּ) someone's rules is to "walk ''according to''" (בְּ) those rules (cf. Ps 1:1). ESV: "If his children... do not walk ''according to'' my rules" (cf. GNT).
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* The ''lamed'' preposition in the first לוֹ is the so-called "dative ''lamed''", common with the verb שׁמר and its synonyms (Jenni 2000, rubric 2721). It indicates the one ''for'' whom covenant loyalty is "kept," the beneficiary of the act of "keeping" (e.g., Deut 7:9—שֹׁמֵ֧ר הַבְּרִ֣ית וְהַחֶ֗סֶד לְאֹהֲבָ֛יו; I Kgs 3:6—וַתִּשְׁמָר־ל֗וֹ אֶת־הַחֶ֤סֶד). ESV: "I will keep ''for'' him."
* The second לוֹ has a slightly different nuance, referring to the one who ''experiences'' the enduring state of YHWH's covenant (Jenni 2000, rubric 4365). ESV: "will stand firm ''for'' him" (cf. ZÜR: für ihn). Translations that render the ''lamed'' phrase as "my covenant ''with him''" (NIV, NLT, CSB, NET, cf. HFA, NGÜ, EÜ) accurately convey the sense of the clause but not the precise sense of the ''lamed''. It does not modify "covenant" but is adverbial, modifying the predicate and indicating the experiencer of the state described.
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* The phrase "the rock who saves me" (צוּר יְשׁוּעָתִי) is a three-part construct chain: (1) rock, (2) salvation, (3) me. YHWH is "the Rock of my salvation" (NLT, ESV, CSB) in the sense that he is a rock—i.e., a "mass of rock projecting and forming an elevation" (SDBH)—that provides salvation or protection for David. Cf. CEV: "the mighty rock where I am safe" (CEV); NET: "the protector who delivers me."
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* The prepositional phrase "with him" (עִמּוֹ) "profiles a landmark y %5Bhere %3D David%5D who is the human recipient (often beneficiary) of the activity of trajector x %5Bhere: YHWH, acting in loyalty%5D" (BHRG §38.21(2b); cf. Gen 24:12—וַעֲשֵׂה־חֶ֕סֶד עִ֖ם אֲדֹנִ֥י אַבְרָהָֽם).
* On the phrase "because of my name" (בִשְׁמִי), see the note on בְּשִׁמְךָ in v. 13. Cf. NIV, NJPS: "through my name" (ELB, NGÜ: "durch meinen Namen").
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* The preposition מִפְּנֵי typically occurs in contexts of "hostility and/or threat" (BHRG §39.15), describing how "trajectory x %5Bhere %3D David's adversaries%5D moves away (e.g., flees or hides) from the presence of a landmark y %5Bhere %3D David%5D" (BHRG §39.15). In this case, the adversaries are defeated "from before David's presence," i.e., they are defeated and thereby removed from his presence (cf. Staszak 2024, 267-268 on מִן with verbs of destruction, e.g., Ps 9:4—וְיֹאבְדוּ מִפָּנֶיךָ; Deut 2:12—וַיַּשְׁמִידוּם מִפְּנֵיהֶם).
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* The phrase "unjust person" is, literally, "son of injustice" or "son of wickedness" (NASB, cf. ELB). This is a common Hebrew idiom. In Hebrew, the word "son" is often "followed by %5Ba%5D word of quality, characteristic, etc." (BDB) to describe a particular kind of person. A "son of injustice" is a person characterized by injustice, i.e., "an unjust person" (cf. the phrase בְנֵי־עַוְלָה in 2 Sam 3:34; 7:10; Hos 10:9).
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* The phrase שֶׁמֶן קָדְשִׁי, lit.: "oil of holiness of me," describes the "oil" characterized by "holiness" that belongs to "me," i.e., YHWH. Thus, "my holy oil" (NLT, et al.). "Holiness" here refers to a "state in which %5Ban object has%5D become part of the realm of God and his service" (SDBH).
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* The min preposition probably modifies the participle בָּחוּר and has a partitive sense: "one chosen from the people" (ESV; so Staszak 2024, 169). Compare the phrase "one of the people" (אִישׁ מֵהָעָם) in 1 Sam 14:28 (cf. Isa 63:3).
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* The phrase "granted... to" (שִׁוִּיתִי עַל) is, more literally, "bestowed... on" (NIV). The preposition עַל has its prototypical meaning "over, upon, on" (so Mena 2012, 120). Compare the similar phrase in Ps 21:6—הוֹד וְהָדָר תְּשַׁוֶּה עָלָיו. Because "bestow help upon %5Bsomeone%5D" is not natural English, other translations have "granted... to" (ESV, CSB) or "given... to" (GNT).
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