Psalm 1/Story Behind/Assumptions
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
| V. | Text (Hebrew) | Text (CBC) | Proposition (Story Behind) | common ground | local ground | playground |
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| 1 | אַ֥שְֽׁרֵי־הָאִ֗ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֤ר ׀ לֹ֥א הָלַךְ֮ בַּעֲצַ֪ת רְשָׁ֫עִ֥ים | Happy is the one who has not walked in the counsel of wicked people, | Happy is the one
The one walks in the counsel of wicked people |
• People declare someone to be "happy" (אַשְׁרֵי) when they admire that person's condition and consider it to be desirable (cf. Janzen 1965, 215-226; SDBH). For example, when the Queen of Sheba saw the wealth and wisdom and King Solomon, she exclaimed, "Happy (אַשְׁרֵי) are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!" (1 Kgs 10:8, ESV). • When wicked people flourish, others are tempted to declare them "happy. • " For example, Malachi (which occurs immediately before Ps 1 in the order of the Hebrew canon) says, "You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed (מְאַשְּׁרִים). Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape'" (Mal 3:14-15, ESV; cf. Jer 12:1; Ps 73).
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| וּבְדֶ֣רֶךְ חַ֭טָּאִים לֹ֥א עָמָ֑ד | has not taken a stand in the way of sinful people, | The one takes a stand in the way of sinful people | ||||
| וּבְמוֹשַׁ֥ב לֵ֝צִ֗ים לֹ֣א יָשָֽׁב׃ | and has not settled in the dwelling place of insolent people! | The one settles in the dwelling place of insolent people | ||||
| 2 | כִּ֤י אִ֥ם בְּתוֹרַ֥ת יְהוָ֗ה חֶ֫פְצ֥וֹ | Instead, his delight is in YHWH's instruction, | The one delights in YHWH's instruction | • Meditating on YHWH's Torah daily is associated with Israel's leader (cf Josh 1:8; Deut 17:19)
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| וּֽבְתוֹרָת֥וֹ יֶהְגֶּ֗ה יוֹמָ֥ם וָלָֽיְלָה׃ | and he meditates on his instruction day and night. | The one meditates on YHWH's instruction day and night | ||||
| 3 | וְֽהָיָ֗ה כְּעֵץ֮ שָׁת֪וּל עַֽל־פַּלְגֵ֫י מָ֥יִם | And he will become like a tree transplanted beside water channels | The one becomes like a tree transplanted beside water channels | • The place of YHWH's life-giving presence is depicted as a garden paradise (Gen 2; Ezek 47:12) in which the righteous grow like trees (Pss 52:10; 92:13-15; cf. Creach 1999). • A channel (פלג) of water can refer to either a natural stream or an artificial water channel. In Mesopotamia, the irrigation system was used as a royal image to describe the king's prerogative to provide water for his people and their crops (cf. Keefer 2021). • Trees are associated with kings. “In both biblical and ancient Near Eastern tradition, the individual most typically identified with a tree is a person of royalty" (Brown 2002, 69; cf. Osbourne 2018). In a Sumerian text: “Šulgi, the king, the graceful lord, is a datepalm planted by the water ditch”; "Like a cedar rooted by abundant water, of pleasant shadow thou art" (Wiedengren, The King and the Tree of Life). In Dan. 4, King Nebuchadnezzar is depicted as a massive tree that provides shelter and food to all kinds of creatures (Dan. 4:7-9, 17-19). In Ps. 52, King David (v.1) is depicted as a "flourishing olive tree in God's house" (Ps. 52:10).
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| אֲשֶׁ֤ר פִּרְי֨וֹ ׀ יִתֵּ֬ן בְּעִתּ֗וֹ | that gives its fruit in its season | The tree gives its fruit in its season | ||||
| וְעָלֵ֥הוּ לֹֽא־יִבּ֑וֹל | and whose leaves do not wither. | The tree's leaves wither | ||||
| וְכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁר־יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה יַצְלִֽיחַ׃ | And he will cause all that he does to flourish. | The one causes all that he does to flourish | ||||
| 4 | לֹא־כֵ֥ן הָרְשָׁעִ֑ים | Not so the wicked people! | The wicked people are like this | |||
| כִּ֥י אִם־כַּ֝מֹּ֗ץ אֲֽשֶׁר־תִּדְּפֶ֥נּוּ רֽוּחַ׃ | Instead, they will be like chaff that the wind drives away. | The wicked people are like chaff
The wind drives away the chaff |
• “In winnowing, grain is threshed in order to separate the kernel of grain from the husk and straw. The mixture is thrown into the air with a winnowing fork or shovel. The wind blows the light husks away, the heavier straw falls near the edge of the threshing floor, and the grain falls back to the floor to be collected. Both the light husks and the heavier straw are referred to in the words translated ‘chaff’ in the Bible” (Ryken et al. ed. 1998, 136).
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| 5 | עַל־כֵּ֤ן ׀ לֹא־יָקֻ֣מוּ רְ֭שָׁעִים בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֑ט | Therefore, wicked people will not stand firm in the judgment, | Wicked people stand firm in the judgment | • YHWH is the judge of all the earth (Gen 18:25), and the job of a just judge is to acquit the righteous/innocent (צַדִּיק) and condemn the wicked/guilty (רָשָׁע) (see Deut 25:1).
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| וְ֝חַטָּאִ֗ים בַּעֲדַ֥ת צַדִּיקִֽים׃ | and sinful people [will not stand] in the group of righteous people. | Sinful people stand in the group of righteous people | ||||
| 6 | כִּֽי־יוֹדֵ֣עַ יְ֭הוָה דֶּ֣רֶךְ צַדִּיקִ֑ים | Because YHWH cares for the way of righteous people, | YHWH cares for the way of righteous people | |||
| וְדֶ֖רֶךְ רְשָׁעִ֣ים תֹּאבֵֽד׃ | and the way of wicked people will come to an end. | The way of wicked people comes to an end |