Psalm 1/Notes

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v. 1 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

v. 1. Despite its appearance in most translations, the phrase happy is the one (אַשְׁרֵי־הָאִישׁ) is not a complete sentence; it is a Hebrew construct chain] (lit.: "the happiness of the one" = "the happiness experienced by the one;" cf. NLT: "Oh, the joys of those..."). As a sentence fragment, it functions not as an assertion, but as an exclamation which expresses "an attitude of admiration"' (SDBH) and a "desirous longing of one person for the condition of another" (Janzen, 1965, 215-226). English has no equivalent expression, though it is similar to the exclamation "congratulations!" (cf. TWOT) or to the words spoken in a celebratory toast to some person: "Here's to the one!" The word "happy" has been translated variously as "blessed" (KJV, NIV, ESV, NASB; cf. Jerome beatus and LXX μακάριος), "happy" (NRSV, GNT, CSB, JPS 1917), "joys" (NLT) etc. The meaning of the word per se is less important than the function of the phrase to express admiration and celebration. First Kings 10:8 offers a helpful illustration of the phrase in use. When the Queen of Sheba saw the wealth and Wisdom and King Solomon, she exclaimed, “Happy are your men! Happy are these servants of yours, who continually stand before you and listen to your wisdom!” (1 Kings 10:8). Even though the Queen was a figure of royalty with all the privilege which that entails, she looked up to Solomon’s servants with admiration, because they had the privilege of continually hearing Solomon’s wisdom. She considered their position to be desirable, and so she called them "happy." Psalm 1 - Ashre - happiness.jpg

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v. 1 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

Most interpreters see a progression in bodily posture in this verse from walking (v. 1a) to standing (v. 1b) to sitting (v. 1c) ("walk...stand...sit" in KJV, NIV, ESV, NASB, CSB, etc.) but the sequence may instead reflect the progressive stages of a journey in a nomadic society: setting out with directions (v. 1a), coming to a stop in the road (v. 1b), and settling down in a dwelling place (v. 1c). The "pathway" imagery (v. 1b) makes the journey interpretation more likely. This is also the more natural interpretation of the clause in v. 1c ("settle... dwelling place;" see below).[1]

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v. 1 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

The verb so often translated as "sit" (ישב) often means "to settle",[2] and the noun which many translate in Ps 1:1 as "seat" (מוֹשַׁב) often refers to a “location where a community… lives.”[3] Both words are used, for example, in Exod 12:20 to refer to Israel's dwelling in Egypt. The latter (מוֹשַׁב) can refer to a seat used for sitting (e.g., 1 Sam 20:18, 25), but in Hebrew, one does not sit "in" (ב) a seat but "on" (על) it. When the preposition "in" (ב) is prefixed to this word, the reference is often to a dwelling place.[4]

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v. 1 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

The word "insolent people" (לֵצִים), which might also be translated as "scoffers"[5] or "mockers"[6] refers to those who show "contempt for other people and ideas."[7] "Most languages have abundant terms expressing ridicule, often accompanied by derogatory gestures. Frequently figurative language expresses ridicule; for example, 'shake the finger,' 'wag the head,' or 'make faces.'"[8] The CEV translation, "sneering at God," may be too narrow, since the contempt of mockers may also be directed at other people. Whereas the Law of YHWH (see v. 2) is summed up in the commands to love God and one's neighbor,[9] the journey that begins with "the counsel of wicked people" leads to contempt for God and one's neighbor - the very opposite of what God requires.

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V. 1 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

Interpreters differ as to whether "the one" (הָאִישׁ) is a unique individual (i.e. a king) or a literary representative of a group (i.e. a typical righteous person). The latter interpretation is reflected in those translations that translate הָאִישׁ with a plural and gender-neutral term (e.g., CEV, ERV, GNB, NLT). Other translations use a gender-neutral term but retain the singular referent (e.g. CSB, NET, NIV, LPDPT). Older translations tend to use masculine singular terms (LXX, Tg, Jer, KJV, Reina Valera, ESV, NVI, LS 1910). In either case, the tree imagery of v. 3, the allusion to Deuteronomy's kingship law (Deut 17) in v. 2, and the linguistic/thematic connections between Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 all work together to give "the one" "a distinctly royal profile" (Brown 2002). Although it is possible to explain this royal profile in terms of democratization - the office of king is democratized so that everyone who follows the path of Torah is a kind of king (so e.g., Brown 2002; Barbiero 2003), others have argued on the basis of the Joshua-like description of "the one" (cf. Schnittjer 2021, 471; Mitchell 2016), the connections between "the one" of Psalm 1 and the anointed king of Ps 2, and the Messianic shape of the Psalter, that "the one" is a unique royal figure.

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V. 1 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

To "walk (הָלַךְ) in the counsel of wicked people (בַּעֲצַת רְשָׁעִים)" is to live one's life according to the counsel, or advice, which wicked people offer (cf 2 Chron 22:5, "where the meaning is 'to follow advice'" [Seow 2013]; cf. NLT: "...follow the advice of the wicked").

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V. 1 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

The word "wicked people" (רְשָׁעִים) occurs four times in Psalm 1 (vv. 1, 4, 5, 6) - more than any other word.[10] It refers to the "state in which a person's behavior is inconsistent with the requirements of the law, either in a specific matter that is under dispute or as one's general mode of behavior."[11]

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V. 1 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

The verb stand (עָמַד) appears to be telic ("stand" = "take a stand") rather than a telic ("stand" = "stand around"). Similarly, Wilson 2002, 94, "the verb עָמָד has more the sense of 'take a stand' than simply 'stand still.' There is volition (and therefore responsibility) assumed in this action." Cf. BDB 764.3f: "persist"; HALOT 840.1: "to become involved with, or to persist in" (בדבר רע) Qoh 8:3"; DCH עָמַד (entry 8).</ref> Compare Ps 36:5bc where standing "on a path that is not good" (36:5b) is paired with the refusal to reject wickedness (36:5c).[12] Cf. Seow: "seems at first blush to be out of place in the second line. One expects 'walked in the way,' an exceedingly common biblical idiom for moral conduct.[13] Yet one may take the Hebrew to mean not just 'stand'... but also 'persist,' as Jerome and Radaq recognized."[14]

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V. 1 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

Pathway here refers to the lifestyle of sinners. To 'stand in the pathway of/with sinners' means to closely associate with them in their sinful behavior."[15] It is "to share their way of life (cf. Prov 1:10-19; Jer 23:8)."[16]

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V. 1 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

The word "sinful people" (חַטָּאִים, see also v. 5b) is partially synonymous with the previous term "wicked people" (רְשָׁעִים). Whereas the word "wicked" (רְשָׁעִים) places the emphasis on the resultant state of guilt that characterizes those who live contrary to God's requirements, the word "sinful" (חַטָּאִים) places the emphasis on "the pattern of actions" that leads to such guilt.[17] "The difference of nuance between רשעים and חטאים is perhaps similar to that of the person convicted of a single theft compared with a career criminal. In the psalms, however, these two terms are often synonymous."[18]

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V. 1 (Phrasal)

The noun phrase "the one" (הָאִישׁ) has the definite article. The intended identity is clear, as it is immediately modified by the compound אֲשֶׁר clause.

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V. 1 (Phrasal)

The bet preposition in the phrase "in (ב) the counsel of the wicked" indicates the mode of action,[19] i.e., "no anda según el consejo" ('does not walk according to the counsel'; RVA2015). *The following two bet prepositions ("in the way... in the dwelling place") are spatial.

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V. 1 (Phrasal)

The "counsel of the wicked" is the counsel, or advice that the wicked give; the "way of sinful people" is the way on which sinful people stand, i.e., the pattern of life to which they are committed; and the "dwelling place of insolent people" is the place where insolent people dwell, i.e., the pattern of life into which they are firmly settled.

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V. 1 (Verbal)

Although translated as a clause in English with present-tense semantics ("happy is the one"), in Hebrew this is a sentence fragment, an exclamation ("the happiness of the one!," cf. NLT).

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V. 1 (Verbal)

Most English translations use present tense verbs here ("walks... stands... sits"). In Hebrew, however, the verbs are past tense (qatal), and the verse describes the type of person who has never done the actions listed. See e.g., NJPS: "Happy is the man who has not followed the counsel of the wicked, or taken the path of sinners, or joined the company of the insolent" (cf. LXX: ἐπορεύθη...ἔστη...ἐκάθισεν; Jerome [iuxta Hebr.]: abiit... stetit... sedit; Symmachus: κεκοινώνηκε [v. 1c]). Rogland translates the verse similarly, noting that Hebrew Proverbs often use qatal verbs to express "a past tense relative to some other reference point" (2003, 43): "Blessed is the man who has never walked in the counsel of the wicked, and has never stood in the path of sinners, and has never sat in the seat of scoffers" (Rogland 2003, 45; cf. Prov 3:13; Pss 15:3-5; 24:4; 40:5; 119:2-3). The reference point, in this case, is the time at which the person is being celebrated (i.e., considered "blessed"). The fact that the person will continue to refrain from these actions is an implicature.

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v. 2 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

"YHWH's instruction" is the instruction that YHWH gives (cf. "the advice that wicked people give" in v. 1).

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v. 2 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

The verb meditates (יֶהְגֶּה)[20] or "studies"[21] refers to an "action by which humans speak softly for themselves as if thinking out loud."[22] If the "instruction of YHWH" does indeed refer to the written Scriptures, then the verb "rehearses" may refer here to the act of reading aloud to oneself in a low undertone, a metonymy for intensive study.[23] "Many languages make no distinction between reading and studying, and attempts to describe a mumbling kind of reading may distract from the essential force of reading diligently. Hence, "meditates" may often be rendered as 'reading and thinking about.' In cases where it is desirable to express the intensive aspect of reading, one may say 'they read it carefully day and night,' or 'they read and think about its teachings all the time,' or 'they are always reading and thinking about its teachings.'"[24] The psalmist probably chose this particular word, at least in part, in order to allude to Joshua 1:8.[25] "Only Josh. 1 and Ps. 1 use 'meditate' in reference to torah, making relationship likely."[26] Psalm 1 - Hagah - meditate.jpg

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v. 2 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

The word delight (חֶפְצוֹ) or "pleasure"[27] refers to a "state in which humans feel emotionally attached to a particular event."[28]

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v. 2 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

The key word[29] instruction (תּוׂרָה) has been translated as "law,"[30] "Law,"[31]" instruction,"[32] "Teaching,"[33] "teachings,"[34] and "commands."[35] Given Psalm 1's allusion to Joshua 1:8 and the usage of the phrase "the instruction of YHWH" (תורת יהוה) elsewhere, the phrase probably refers, at the very least, to the written Law of Moses.[36] Yet Psalm 1's use of other biblical books may suggest that the Psalmist had a larger corpus in mind than just the Pentateuch. As Botha notes, "Psalm 1 has made use of a wide variety of texts, most probably all of which were considered to be authoritative material by him: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Psalms, Job, and Proverbs seem to be the most important corpora. All these contexts were probably included when he thought of the ‘Torah’ of Yahweh as the comprehensive teaching of Yahweh in Scripture."[37]

In Psalm 1, where the metaphor of a journey is so dominant, it is also worth noting that the word "instruction" (תּוׂרָה) is related to a Hebrew verb (ירה) which "occurs in such practical contexts as the giving of directions in travel (Gen 46:28)."[38] Indeed, "instruction" (תּוׂרָה) is often associated with the image of walking on a pathway.[39]

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v. 2 (Phrasal)

Some commentators think that the antecedent of the pronoun in the phrase his instruction (v. 2b) is "the one" rather than YHWH. Rashi, for example, writes, "At first it is called 'YHWH's instruction,' but after he has labored over it it is called his instruction."[40] But the parallel between בְּתוֹרַת יְהוָה in v. 2a and בְתוֹרָתוֹ in v. 2b suggests that YHWH is the antecedent of the pronoun in the b-line.

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v. 2 (Phrasal)

The phrase day and night (יוֹמָם וָלָיְלָה), which also occurs in Josh 1:8 (alluded to here), is a Hebrew idiom that means "continually."[41] See also the use of the same collocation in Lev 8:35: וּפֶתַח֩ אֹ֨הֶל מוֹעֵ֜ד תֵּשְׁב֨וּ) יוֹמָ֤ם וָלַ֙יְלָה֙ שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֔ים), in which שִׁבְעַת יָמִים ("seven days") provides the duration of the sitting, while יוֹמָם וָלָיְלָה ("day and night") provides the times of day that the sitting should take place, i.e., continually.[42]

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v. 2 (Phrasal)

It is significant that the following series of psalms (Pss 3-14) are structured in a "day-night" pattern. Psalms 3-7 and 10-14 are "composed as alternating sequence of 'day-night-day-night-day' psalms (Pss 3:6, 8; 4:5, 9; 5:4; 6:7; 7:7; 10:12; 11:2; 12:6; 13:4; 14:2, 5). At the center, Psalms 8-9 are 'night-day' psalms (Pss 8:4; 9:20)."[43]

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v. 2 (Verbal)

Possibly, in light of the preceding qatal verbs, this could be translated, "his delight has been in YHWH's instruction."

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v. 3 (Method:Grammar)

v. 3. For discussion of the grammatical alternatives in this verse, see the exegetical issue: The Grammar of Ps. 1:3d.

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v. 3 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

The verb transplanted (שָׁת֪וּל) appears 10 times in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible (Jer 17:8; Ezek. 17:8, 10, 22, 23; 19:10, 13; Hos. 9:13[?]; Ps. 1:3; 92:14) only in the qal stem and most often as a passive participle (8/10 times). According to BDB and SDBH, the word might be glossed as "to transplant" instead of simply "to plant."[44] This is supported by the use of the word in Ezekiel 17, where a “twig/sapling” (יֹנֶקֶת) plucked from among the tops of the high cedar trees (Ezek 17:22-23) is transplanted (שׁתל) on Yahweh’s high and lofty mountain for the purpose of growing branches, producing fruit, and becoming a majestic cedar (Ezek 17:23). The act of “transplanting” (שׁתל) is associated in the biblical literature with gardens (Ezek 17:8, 10, 22, 23; 19:10[LXX]), water (Jer 17:8; Ezek 17:8; 19:10; Ps 1:3) and fruit/productivity (Jer 17:8; Ezek 17:8, 23; 19:10; Pss 1:3; 92:14).

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v. 3 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

The phrase water channels (פַּלְגֵי מָיִם) probably refers to "artificial water channels."[45] "Unlike trees growing wild in wadis or planted in the fields, where the amount of rainfall varies, the tree the psalmist envisions has been planted purposefully by irrigation canals, artificial water-channels made for the purpose of irrigation (cf. Prov 21:1; Eccl 2:5-6; Isa 30:25)."[46] The common translation "streams of water" mistakenly implies a naturally occurring water source.

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v. 3 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

The noun tree (עֵץ) may refer to a “tree” (sg) or collectively to “trees” (pl), or to the material that comes from trees, i.e. “wood.” When referring to a “tree” or to “trees,” עֵץ “emphasizes only the genus, while individual species of trees (e.g., אֶרָז ‘cedar,’ אֵצֶל ‘tamerisk,’ בְּרוֹשׁ ‘cypress,’ גֶּפֶן ‘grapevine,’ זַיִת ‘olive tree,’ לוּז ‘almond tree,’ שִׁקְמָה ‘sycamore,’ תְּאֵנָה ‘fig tree,’ תָּמָר ‘date palm’) or tree shapes (e.g., סְבַךְ/סְבֹךְ ‘bush’ or the word group אַלָּה/אַלּוֹן אֵלָה/אֵלוֹן ‘large tree,’ usually understood as ‘oak/terebinth’) acquire specific designations.”[47] The particular species of tree is unspecified, though we might envision an olive tree (cf. Ps 52:10), a palm tree or cedar (cf. Ps 92:14). In light of the image of a garden and the echoes of Eden, the Targum translates "tree" as "tree of life" (כאילן חיי).

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v. 3 (Phrasal)

The description transplanted by water channels (שָׁתוּל עַל־פַּלְגֵי מָיִם)[48] suggests that "this is not the picture of a tree growing naturally beside a river, but of a tree planted (better 'transplanted') by a gardener beside a watercourse or irrigation channel."[49] "The happiness of the righteous man is illustrated by the simile of a tree, which is removed from its native soil and transplanted to the most favored soil, in a fertile garden irrigated by many channels of water, such as Wady Urtas, where were the gardens of Solomon; Engedi, famed for its fertility; the gardens of Damascus, Egypt, and Babylon, irrigated by canals drawn from the great rivers."[50] The garden imagery in Psalm 1 is, in turn, reminiscent of Eden and the temple of God.[51]

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v. 3 (Phrasal)

The phrase "water channels" (פַּלְגֵי מָיִם) similar to the words "he rehearses... day and night" (יֶהְגֶּה יוֹמָם וָלָיְלָה) in the previous line (v. 2). The effect of this poetic feature (alliteration) is to draw a connection between the act of meditating on YHWH's instruction (v. 2b) and the water channels that nourish the tree (v. 3a).

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v. 3 (Phrasal)

The initial description of the tree is followed by two relative clauses (v. 3bc) further describing the parts of the tree: its fruit...whose leaves. Each of these relative clauses introduces the parts of the tree with a topic-fronted noun phrase.

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v. 3 (Phrasal)

The antecedent of the pronoun in the phrase its season (עִתּוֹ) is probably the fruit rather than the tree.[52]

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v. 3 (Verbal)

The things that the man "does" are, from the speaker's perspective, only potential: "whatever he might do."

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v. 3 (Verbal)

The clause with יצליח is understood to be coordinated with the first clause of v. 3 (והיה)—see macrosyntax. Both clauses refer to future events with reference point movement. "He will become like a tree... and he will cause all that he does to flourish."

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v. 3 (Verbal)

The adverbial "in its season" (בְּעִתּוֹ) implies habitual semantics since the "season" for fruit occurs again and again, each and every year. He will become (future) like a tree that regularly gives (habitual) fruit.

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v. 3 (Verbal)

The verb "transplant" is lexically telic (i.e., the act of "transplanting" has a built-in end-point). The participle "transplanted" is, then, more precisely, "having been transplanted." He will become (future) like a tree that has been (past) transplanted.

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v. 3 (Verbal)

The tense of the verb וְהָיָה could be present ("he is," so NIV, NLT, ESV, CSB, CEV, GNT, NET, NEB) or future ("he will be[come]," so KJV, ASV, NASB, JPS, ISV). According to the present-tense interpretation, the waw prefixed form וְהָיָה "carries the same characteristic force as the imperfect in the preceding verse" (NET). But if the poet wanted to say "he is like a tree," then he could have used a simple verbless clause. Furthermore, when וְֽהָיָה functions as an ordinary verb (rather than a discourse marker), "reference is typically to events that are projected in the future" (BHRG §40.24). See also LXX: καὶ ἔσται; Jerome (iuxta Hebr.): et erit.

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v. 3 (Verbal)

The tense of the verb translated and he will become (וְהָיָה) could be present ("he is," so NIV, NLT, ESV, CSB, CEV, GNT, NET, NEB) or future ("he will be[come]," so KJV, ASV, NASB, JPS, ISV). According to the present-tense interpretation, the waw prefixed form וְהָיָה "carries the same characteristic force as the imperfect in the preceding verse."[53] But if the poet wanted to see "he is like a tree," then he could have used a simple verbless clause. Furthermore, when וְֽהָיָה functions as an ordinary verb (rather than a discourse marker), "reference is typically to events that are projected in the future."[54]

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v. 4 (Method:Grammar)

In v. 4, the Septuagint repeats the words "not so" (Hebrew: לֹא כֵן): "Not so (οὐχ οὕτως) the impious, not so (οὐχ οὕτως) !" (trans. NETS). All of our other witnesses to the text agree with MT in reading "not so" only once. As Origen (3rd century AD) himself writes, "Some add the words 'not so' a second time. But the Hebrew does not have it, and none of the translators [i.e., Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, et al.] used this repetition" (Greek text in Barthélemy 2005, 2). It is not clear whether the Septuagint translator had a Hebrew exemplar that repeated the words or whether the translator himself added them for some reason. At the end of the same verse, the Septuagint has another addition: "like dust that the wind flings from off the land (ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς)" (trans. NETS). The fact at there are thmultiple additions in this verse suggests that the translator was deliberately amplifying the text or else using a Hebrew manuscript that did so (see Barthélemy 2005, 1-3).

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V. 4 (Phrasal)

The article on "chaff" is probably generic. "The article of class marks out not a particular single person or thing but a class of persons, things, or qualities that are unique and determined in themselves... It is especially common in comparisons" (IBHS §13.5.1f; see e.g., Gen 19:28; Isa 34:4).

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V. 4 (Phrasal)

The phrase "the wicked" (הָרְשָׁעִים) in v. 4, like the phrase "the one" in v. 1, has the definite article. In v. 4, the article is probably anaphoric, referring to "the wicked" as those who were introduced in v. 1: "the wicked people whom I mentioned earlier."

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V. 4 (Verbal)

The clause could be present ("the wicked people are not like this") or future ("the wicked people will not flourish in this way").

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V. 4 (Verbal)

The tense of v. 4 (כמץ) is probably future, paralleling that of v. 3 (והיה כעץ). Because it is a verbless clause (no היה, unlike v. 3) it is glossed here as a stative ("will be") and not as an inchoative ("will become," as in v. 3).

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V. 4 (Verbal)

The tense of v. 4b paralleling that of v. 3bc (יתן...יבול). Wind characteristically drives chaff away.

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V. 5 (Method:Grammar)

The verb [will not stand] is omitted in the b-line but is understood from the previous line.[55]

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V. 5 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

The word righteous people (צַדִּיקִֽים) is the opposite of "wicked people" (רְשָׁעִים). It refers to a "state in which a person's or deity's behavior is fully consistent with the requirements of the law, either in a specific matter that is under dispute or as one's general mode of behavior."[56]

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V. 5 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

For the verb, will not stand firm (לֹא־יָקֻ֣מוּ), "modern translations give us usually three main meanings: a) to stand up or to rise, b) to stand (to keep standing), c) to prevail (in a judgment). As for modern commentaries, they tend to develop one of the three former interpretations."[57] Others, especially ancient commentators, have seen in this verb a reference to the resurrection from the dead (e.g. LXX: αναστησονται; Jerome: resurgent). Yet "in spite of the antiquity of this and similar interpretations, the more likely view is that 'to stand' simply means 'to last, endure' in God's judgment, as in Nah 1:6: 'Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger?'"[58] Just as chaff does not survive the winnowing process (v. 4), so the wicked will not survive ("stand firm in") the judgment (v. 5).[59]

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V. 5 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

The meaning of "the judgment" (בַּמִּשְׁפָּט) is "the main question to be answered" in this verse.[60] "Depending on whether one speaks of the Judgment or of a judgment, the meaning of the verse and the scope of the psalm will be different.”[61] For a detailed discussion of the issue, see The Meaning of מִשׁפָּט in Psalm 1:5. In short, v. 5 probably refers to divine judgment that is definite, decisive, and, from the perspective of the psalm, in the future.[62] It refers to a future event when YHWH will separate the righteous from the wicked, just as chaff is separated from wheat (v. 4), and remove the wicked from the land (cf. Ps 37) so that the way of the wicked "will come to an end" (v. 6b). This interpretation is probably reflected in the Masoretic Text, which vocalises משפט as a definite noun (בַּמִּשְׁפָּט). The immediately surrounding verses, which describe the wicked as "chaff" (v. 4; cf. Zeph 2:2) and say that their way will "perish / come to an end" (v. 6) support this interpretation. The wider literary context of Psalm 1 (its position between Mal 3 and Ps 2) also supports this interpretation. At the very least, this context of Psalm 1 suggests that "the judgment" was probably understood eschatologically from a very early period. It is not surprising, then, that ancient interpreters continued to read the Psalm eschatologically.[63]

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V. 5 (Phrasal)

The phrase translated group of righteous people (עֲדַת צַדִּיקִים) in v. 5 is often translated "congregation" or "assembly" of the righteous (cf. KJV, ESV, NIV, NET). But this gloss might be too formal; the word עדה simply refers to "a relatively large group of people with a common history or purpose" (SDBH). In this case, the group of people are those whom YHWH the judge (cf. v. 5a) has declared to be in the right (i.e., צדיקים).[64] Sinful people, who are declared to be in the wrong (i.e., רשעים) will, by definition, not join this group. This phrase sounds very similar to the phrase "in the counsel of wicked people" (בַּעֲצַת רְשָׁעִים) in v. 1. In addition to the similarity in sound, both phrases are preceded by a motion verb (v. 1a: "go/walk"; v. 5b: "stand") and the negative particle "not" (לׂא). "The similar wording is intended to drive home the fact that the one who enjoys the 'counsel of the wicked' will ultimately be cut off from any association with the 'assembly of the righteous.'"[65] The connection also functions as a kind of inclusio, binding together the body of the psalm (vv. 1-5) before the final summary in v. 6.

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V. 6 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

The final word of the psalm, will come to an end (תֹּאבֵד),[66] refers to a "process by which an event comes to an end, usually under unfavorable circumstances."[67] It has also been translated "will perish"[68], "leads to destruction,"[69] "leads to ruin,"[70] "is doomed."[71] Recognizing the future tense of the verb is crucial to understanding the message of the psalm; although it seems like the wicked flourish in the present, their way will come to an end.[72] This word is appropriate as a conclusion to the psalm, not only because it has a sense of finality ("end") but also because it begins with the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet (ת), just as the first word of the psalm began with the first letter of the alphabet (א).[73] "The psalm is as complete as the alphabet - 'from A to Z,' one might say."[74]

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V. 6 (Phrasal)

"The way of righteous people" is the "way >> pattern of life" that characterizes righteous people; it is the metaphorical "path" on which they walk. (So also "way of wicked people").

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... further results

  1. ↑ Cf. Wilson 2002, 94.
  2. ↑ SDBH, DCH
  3. ↑ SDBH
  4. ↑ E.g., Lev 3:17; 23:3, 14, 21, 31; Exod 10:23; Ezek 34:13
  5. ↑ NASB, ESV, NET
  6. ↑ NIV, NLT
  7. ↑ SDBH
  8. ↑ Bratcher and Reyburn 1991, 17.
  9. ↑ Deut 6:5; Lev 19:18; cf., Matt 22:38-40.
  10. ↑ Translated as "wicked" (NIV, NLT, ESV, NASB); "evil" (GNT); "ungodly" (KJV)
  11. ↑ SDBH Cf. NIDOTTE: "Although the adj. can mean guilty, criminal, or godless, most often it serves as a reference to those who are characterized by wickedness... In the Psalter רָשָׁע designates the wicked person who stands diametrically opposed to the צַדִּיק, i.e., God’s saints (37:28), those who love God (145:20), and those who wait on the Lord (32:10). In a word, he is the archenemy of the godly individual (68:2[3]).NIDOTTE
  12. ↑ Though the word for "stand" in this passage is not עמד but התיצב.
  13. ↑ Cf. NEB: "walk the road that sinners tread." Similarly, the ancient Syriac translation has "walk in the way."
  14. ↑ Seow 2013. Cf. Pss 33:11; 102:27; Eccl 1:4; 8:3; Lev 13:5; Jer 32:14; 48:11.
  15. ↑ NET
  16. ↑ Anderson 1972, 59.
  17. ↑ SDBH. "The nominal pattern of חַ֭טָּאִים (sinners) signifies an occupation or a repeated action" (Waltke 2010, 134; cf. IBHS, p. 89, P. 5.4a).
  18. ↑ Wilson 2002, 95.
  19. ↑ See BHRG §39.7(4).
  20. ↑ KJV, NIV, NLT, ESV, NASB, CSB, have "meditate."
  21. ↑ So GNT; cf. LXX μελετάω ("study").
  22. ↑ SDBH.
  23. ↑ Cf. Bratcher and Reyburn 1991, 18; Anderson: "'He meditates' may mean in our context 'he reads to himself in a low tone'" (Anderson 1972, 60).
  24. ↑ Bratcher and Reyburn 1991, 18.
  25. ↑ לֹא־יָמוּשׁ סֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה הַזֶּה מִפִּיךָ וְהָגִיתָ בּוֹ יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה לְמַעַן תִּשְׁמֹר לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּכָל־הַכָּתוּב בּוֹ כִּי־אָז תַּצְלִיחַ אֶת־דְּרָכֶךָ וְאָז תַּשְׂכִּיל׃
  26. ↑ Schnittjer 2021, 479.
  27. ↑ NET.
  28. ↑ SDBH.
  29. ↑ "Our comprehension of this verse and of the whole psalm now depends on the interpretation of the term תורה (Torah)" (Kraus 1988, 116).
  30. ↑ KJV, NIV, NLT, ESV, NEB.
  31. ↑ GNT.
  32. ↑ CSB, ISV.
  33. ↑ CEV.
  34. ↑ GWT.
  35. ↑ NET.
  36. ↑ "At least for the postexilic period, תורת יהוה was regularly associated with a law of Moses, sometimes specified as written. Such a reading would also fit quite well with Ps 1:2, not least if taking Josh 1:8 into consideration" (Willgren 2018, 384-397; cf. Schnittjer 2021: "The allusions in Ps 1:1 and 1:2–3 to Deut 6:7 and Josh 1:8 means that 'Torah' in Ps 1:2 refers to the Mosaic Torah not the Psalter." See also Botha 2005, 503-520; Lefebvre 2016, 439–450.
  37. ↑ Botha 2005; cf. Kraus: "The תורה is the complete, written revelation of the will of God... [T]he תורה in this sense is the authoritatively valid 'Sacred Scripture'" (Kraus 1988, 116).
  38. ↑ NIDOTTE.
  39. ↑ See Exod 16:4; 2 Kgs 10:31; Isa 2:3; 42:24; Ps 119:1, 29; cf. Seow 2013.
  40. ↑ מתחלה היא נקראת תורת י״י, ומשעמל בה היא נקראת תורתו.
  41. ↑ BDB 401.2. Cf. Exod 13:21; Josh 1:8; 1 Kgs 8:59; Pss 1:2; 32:4; etc.
  42. ↑ BDB.
  43. ↑ Ho 2019; cf. Barbiero 2003, 439–480.
  44. ↑ Cf. Aquila's translation of שָׁת֪וּל in Ps. 1:3 as μεταπεφυτευμενον ("transplanted").
  45. ↑ HALOT and SDBH. Cf. Keefer 2020, 205–218. Contrast NLT: "planted along the riverbank."
  46. ↑ VanGemeren 1991, 56.
  47. ↑ TLOT.
  48. ↑ The preposition עַל is a contingent locative, i.e., "in the vicinity of" (Mena 2012, 88-90).
  49. ↑ Rogerson & McKay 1977, 17. Cf. the instruction of Amen-em-opet, which contrasts the impulsive person who is "like a tree growing in the open," with the silent person who is "like a tree growing in a garden. It flourishes and doubles its yield; It (stands) before its lord. Its fruit is sweet; its shade is pleasant; and its end is reached in the garden..." (ANET 421f.)
  50. ↑ Briggs 1906.
  51. ↑ Cf. Ps. 92:14: "They are transplanted in YHWH's house; they flourish in the courts of our God;" Ps 52:10: "I am like a flourishing olive tree in God's house." See Creach 1999, 34–46.
  52. ↑ Cf. Lev 26:4—וְנָתַתִּ֥י גִשְׁמֵיכֶ֖ם בְּעִתָּ֑ם.
  53. ↑ NET.
  54. ↑ BHRG §40.24. See also LXX: καὶ ἔσται; Jerome (iuxta Hebr.): et erit.
  55. ↑ This phenomenon of "verb gapping" or "elision" is common in Hebrew poetry. Cf. Watson, 2005, 48; O'Connor 1980, 122f.
  56. ↑ SDBH.
  57. ↑ Rico 2019, 497–520.
  58. ↑ Anderson 1972, 62. Cf. SDBH.
  59. ↑ Cf. NEB: "will not stand firm;" NJV: "will not survive;" NET: "cannot withstand."
  60. ↑ Bratcher & Reyburn 1991.
  61. ↑ Auvray 1946.
  62. ↑ So Targum: "the great day of judgment;" CEV: "the day of judgment."
  63. ↑ Cf. Rico 2019.
  64. ↑ Baetgen identifies this group as "the Messianic congregation that is left after the godless have been separated out" (1904, 3), and Briggs as "the congregation after the judgment of the resurrection" (7).
  65. ↑ Wilson 2002, 98. The Septuagint, perhaps in light of this connection, translates both phrases using the same word (v. 1a: βουλη δικαιων; v. 5b: βουλη ασεβων).
  66. ↑ Cf. GWT: "will end."
  67. ↑ SDBH.
  68. ↑ KJV, ESV, NASB.
  69. ↑ NIV, NLT.
  70. ↑ CSB, CEV.
  71. ↑ NEB.
  72. ↑ Cf. LXX: ἀπολεῖται; Jerome (iuxta Hebr.): peribit.
  73. ↑ Cf. Pss 5, 150 and Job 14 for other instances of this phenomenon.
  74. ↑ Seow 2013, 289.