Psalm 1/Notes/Lexical.V. 5.75731

The meaning of "the judgment" (בַּמִּשְׁפָּט) is "the main question to be answered" in this verse. "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.” 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. 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.