The Syntactic Function of זֶה in Ps 78:54

Introduction

The Masoretic Text of Ps 78:54 reads as follows:

וַ֭יְבִיאֵם אֶל־גְּב֣וּל קָדְשׁ֑וֹ

הַר־זֶ֝֗ה קָנְתָ֥ה יְמִינֽוֹ׃

Translations differ on the function of זֶה in this verse, as illustrated by the KJV and ESV, respectively:

• And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased (KJV)
• And he brought them to his holy land, to the mountain which his right hand had won (ESV)

The KJV reads זֶה according to its typical function as a demonstrative pronoun, "this," whereas the ESV understands it to be functioning as a relative pronoun, "which." We explore these two possible interpretations of Ps 78:54 in the argument maps below.

Argument Maps

Demonstrative Pronoun

The phrase הַר־זֶ֝֗ה should be understood as "this mountain" (as the KJV).

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[Demonstrative Pronoun]: The word זֶה in Ps 78:54 functions as a demonstrative pronoun, "this" (Hossfeld 2005, 285 :C:; Ramond 2014, 26 :M:).#dispreferred
 + <Ancient versions>: The ancient versions read הַר־זֶ֝֗ה as "this mountain."#dispreferred
  + [Ancient versions]: LXX trans. NETS: "this mountain (ὄρος τοῦτο) that his right hand acquired"; Jerome (Hebr.): "this mountain (montem istum) which his right hand possessed"; Peshitta trans. Taylor 2020, 323: "to this mountain (ܠܗܢܐ ܛܘܪܐ) that his right hand had acquired"; Targum modified from Stec 2004, 154: "*this* mountain (טור דין) that his right hand had acquired."#dispreferred
  <_ <Conservative translation>: This is how the ancient versions typically render ז-pronouns (זֶה, זֹאת, etc.), even those quite unambiguously relative in function, lacking gender, number and definiteness agreement (such as זוּ; Atkinson forthcoming :G:).
   + [Conservative translation]: See, e.g., Exod 15:16; Isa 42:24; 43:21; Ps 10:2; 31:5; 62:12.
 + <Prototypical Function>: The attributive demonstrative is the prototypical function of זֶה following a noun (JM §143a :G:; BHRG §36.2.2(1-2) :G:; Atkinson forthcoming :G:).#dispreferred
  + [Prototypical Function]: See, e.g., Judg 19:23: "Since this man (הָאִ֤ישׁ הַזֶּה֙) is my guest, don’t do this outrageous thing (הַנְּבָלָ֥ה הַזֹּֽאת)" (NIV); 1 Kgs 3:17: "This woman (הָאִשָּׁ֣ה הַזֹּ֔את) and I live in the same house" (NIV).#dispreferred
  <_ <Lack of article>: As an attributive demonstrative pronoun, as in the case of "this mountain," very rarely (if ever) are both the head noun and demonstrative lacking an article.
   <_ <Counterexamples>: There are a few examples, including 1 Kgs 21:2; 2 Kgs 1:2; 8:8, 9; Ps 34:7; 74:2; 104:8.#dispreferred
    + [1 Kgs 21:2]: "I will give the money of this price (כֶסֶף מְחִיר זֶה)."#dispreferred
     <_ <1 Kgs 21:2>: The phrase כֶ֖סֶף מְחִ֥יר זֶֽה is best read as a construct chain: "the money of the price of this." Cf. ESV: "its value in money."
    + [Ps 34:7]: "this poor man called out (זֶה עָנִי קָרָא)." #dispreferred
     <_ <Ps 34:7>: The order of demonstrative-noun is reversed here, either to intend a predicate demonstrative ("this is a poor man who called out"), apposition ("this one, a poor man, called out"), or to fit the acrostic structure, which may also explain its lack of article.
    + [Ps 74:2-3]: "Remember this mountain of Zion on \[which\] you dwelt" (הַר צִיּוֹן זֶה שָׁכַנְתָּ בּוֹ). Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!" (ESV).#dispreferred
     <_ <Ps 74:2>: Psalm 74 is almost certainly set in the exile (see v. 3), so the demonstrative as a deictic of "this mount Zion" is unlikely. זֶה more likely functions as a relative marker here: "Mount Zion on which you dwelt."
    + [Ps 104:8]: "The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to this place \[that\] you appointed for them (אֶל מְקוֹם זֶה יָסַדְתָּ לָהֶם)."#dispreferred
     <_ <Ps 104:8>: Psalm 104:8 mentions both "mountains and valleys" in the line preceding זֶה, so, if read as a demonstrative, which "place" would be modified by "this" is entirely unclear. זֶה more likely functions as a relative marker here: "the place which you appointed."

Relative Pronoun (Preferred)

The phrase הַר־זֶ֝֗ה should be understood as "the mountain which" (as the ESV).

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[Relative Pronoun]: The word זֶה in Ps 78:54 functions as a relative pronoun, "which" (GKC §138 :G:; Fassberg 2019, §365 :G:; Delitzsch 1871, 359 :C:; Hitzig 1863, 169 :C:; Ḥakham 1979, 57 :C:; Kraus 1989, 120 :C:; Goldingay 2006, 506 :C:).
 + <זֶה as relative pronoun>
 + <Symmachus>: Symmachus appears to have understood זֶה in this verse as a relative pronoun.
  + [Symmachus]: "the mountain which (ὄρος ὅ) his right hand acquired."
 - <Alternative form>: The form זוּ is much more expected for the relative function of ז–pronouns (cf. Atkinson forthcoming :G:).#dispreferred
  <_ <זֶה as relative pronoun>: There are other examples with זֶה in the three poetic books which can only be read as relative pronouns.
   + [זֶה as relative pronoun]: See, e.g., Job 19:19: "All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved (זֶה אָהַבְתִּי) have turned against me" (ESV); Prov 23:22: "Listen to your father who gave you life (לְאָבִיךָ זֶה יְלָדֶךָ)" (ESV); see also Pss 74:2; 104:8 (cited in the previous argument map).
 + <Song of the Sea>: Much of the content of Ps 78 parallels the Song of the Sea (Exod 15), which contains the relative ז in vv. 13 and 16 (Greenstein 1990, 204 :A:).
  + [Exodus 15:13, 16-17]: "You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed (עַם זוּ גָּאָלְתָּ); you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode (אֶל נְוֵה קָדְשֶׁךָ) ... Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone, till your people, O Lord, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased (עַם זוּ קָנִיתָ). You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain (בְּהַר נַחֲלָתְךָ), the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established (מִקְּדָשׁ אֲדֹנָי כּוֹנְנוּ יָדֶיךָ)" (ESV). 

Conclusion (A-)

Psalm 78 is quite unambiguously a southern polemic against the faithlessness both of the northern tribes and their common ancestors (see, especially vv. 67-72). If הַר־זֶ֝֗ה was read as "this mountain," the provenance and contextual setting of the psalm would be radically clarified, as referring to Mount Zion/Jerusalem and its cultic legitimacy over and against Shiloh (vv. 59-66). As attractive as this prospect is, the syntactic problems are quite insurmountable, in that both the head noun, הַר "mountain," and the supposed demonstrative, זֶה, lack an article. Further, the support of the ancient versions is weakened, since they are typically very conservative in their interpretation of ז-pronouns as demonstratives, including even clearer cases of the relative זוּ.

Although זוּ is the most common choice for a relative-ז, clear instances of זֶה functioning relatively are found in Job 19:19 and Proverbs 23:22, as well as instances very similar to our present verse, found in Psalms 74:2 and 104:8. The relative-ז is also found a couple of times in Exodus 15, a parallel passage to Psalm 78, with similar language, especially Exodus 15:13, 16-17. In parallel with the first line of the verse, וַ֭יְבִיאֵם אֶל־גְּב֣וּל קָדְשׁ֑וֹ "And he brought them to his holy territory," reading זֶה as a relative pronoun and not an attributive demonstrative leaves room for the interpretation of הַר as a collective "hill country/area," rather than one particular mountain. Thus, the verse should be rendered, "And he brought them to his holy territory, to the mountain/mountainous area which his right hand acquired."

Research

Translations

Ancient

• LXX: καὶ εἰσήγαγεν αὐτοὺς εἰς ὅριον ἁγιάσματος αὐτοῦ, ὄρος τοῦτο, ὃ ἐκτήσατο ἡ δεξιὰ αὐτοῦ.
  • "And he brought them to a territory of his holy precinct, this mountain that his right hand acquired."
• Symmachus: ... ὄρος ὅ ἐκτήσατο ἡ δεξιὰ αὐτοῦ.
  • "...the mountain which his right hand acquired."
• Iuxta Hebraeos: et adduxit eos ad terminum sanctificatum suum montem istum quem possedit dextera eius
  • "And he brought them to the his holy border, this mountain which his right hand possessed."
• Peshitta: ܐܝܬܝ ܐܢܘܢ ܠܬܚܘܡܐ ܕܩܘܕܫܗ ܠܗܢܐ ܛܘܪܐ ܕܩܢܬ ܝܡܝܢܗ
  • "He brought them to the border of his sanctuary; to this mountain that his right hand had acquired."
• Targum: ואעלינון לתחום אתר בית מקדשיה טור דין די קנת ימיניה׃
  • "And he brought them to the border of the place of the house of his sanctuary, the mountain that his right hand had acquired."

Modern

Demonstrative

• And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased (KJV; cf. NASB, NET, NLT)
• Er brachte sie in sein heiliges Land, zu diesem Berg, den seine Rechte erworben hat (ELB)
• Y los trajo a las fronteras de su tierra santa, a este monte que ganó con su mano derecha (RVC)
• Il les amène à son domaine sacré, à cette montagne acquise par sa droite (TOB; cf. Louis Segond 1910, NBS, NVSR)

Relativizer

• And he brought them to his holy land, to the mountain which his right hand had won (ESV; cf. CEB, CSB, NABRE, NIV, NJPS, REB)
• Er brachte sie in seinen heiligen Bezirk, zu dem Berg, den seine Rechte erworben hat (ZÜR; cf. EÜ, LUT)
• Dios trajo a su pueblo a su tierra santa, ¡a las montañas que él mismo conquistó! (DHH)
• Il les avait amenés sur son saint territoire, jusqu’à la montagne que sa main droite avait conquise (SG21; cf. BDS, NFC, PDV)

Secondary Literature

Atkinson, Ian. Forthcoming (2025). "The Demonstrative Pronoun," in G. Khan et al. (eds.) The Cambridge Grammar of Biblical Hebrew. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers & University of Cambridge.

BHRG = Van der Merwe, C. H. J., Naudé, J. A., Kroeze, J. H. 2017. A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark.

Briggs, Charles A. & Briggs, Emilie G. 1906-1907. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Psalms. New York, NY: C. Scribner’s Sons.

Delitzsch, Franz. 1871. Biblical Commentary on the Psalms: Vol. 2. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.

Fassberg, Steven E. 2019. מבוא לתחביר לשון המקרא (in Hebrew; An Introduction to the Syntax of Biblical Hebrew. Jerusalem: Bialik Institute.

GKC = Gesenius, Wilhelm & Kautsch, Emil. 1909. A. E. Cowley (trans.) Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Goldingay, John. 2006. Psalms 42-89. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.

Greenstein, Edward, L. 1990. "Mixing Memory and Design: Reading Psalm 78." Prooftexts 10, no. 2: 197-218.

Ḥakham, Amos. 1979. ספר תהלים: ספרים ג–ה (in Hebrew; The Book of Psalms: Books 3-5). Jerusalem: Mossad Harav Kook.

Hitzig, Ferdinand. 1863. Die Psalmen: Übersetzt und Ausgelegt. Leipzig und Heidelberg: C. F. Winterische Verlagshandlung.

Hossfeld, F. 2005. "Psalm 78." Pages 282-301 in K. Baltzer (ed.) A Commentary on Psalms 51-100. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress Press.

JM = Joüon, Paul & Muraoka, Takamitsu. 2006. A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew. Rome: Pontificio Istituto Biblico.

Kraus, Hans. J. 1989. Psalms 60-150: A Commentary, trans. Hilton C. Oswald. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress Press.

Pietersma, Albert (tr.) 2009. NETS translation of the Psalms.

Ramond, S. 2014. Les Leçons et les Énigmes du Passé: Une Exégèse intra-biblique des Psaumes Historiques. Berlin: De Gruyter.

Stec, David M. 2004. The Targum of Psalms: Translated, with a Critical Introduction, Apparatus, and Notes. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.

Taylor, Richard A. in Bali, Joseph & George Kiraz [eds.]. 2020. The Psalms According to the Syriac Peshitta Version with English Translation. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press.

References

78:54