Psalm 110/Notes/Lexical.V. 3.139974

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  • The word willing (נְדָבֹת)—which, in Hebrew, is a plural noun—can refer either to (1) a "voluntary/freewill offering," or (2) "voluntariness" or "freewill" in the abstract.[1] Thus, Ps. 110:3a may say either (1) "your people are freewill offerings,"[2] or (2) "your people are freewill" >> "your people are willing, eager to volunteer."[3] The latter is more likely in light of Judges 5, which twice describes people eagerly volunteering for battle: בְּהִתְנַדֵּב עָם (Jdg. 5:2); הַמִּתְנַדְּבִים בָּעָם (Jdg. 5:9).[4] GKC explains the use of the plural נְדָבֹת instead of the singular נְדָבָה as a means of attaining "emphasis," citing also Ct. 5:16 (חִכּוֹ מַמְתַקִּים) and Dn. 9:23 (חֲמוּדוֹת אָתָּה).[5] The NGÜ does a good job of bringing out this emphasis: "with all their heart your people stand ready..."
  • The word power (חַ֫יִל) is often used in military contexts, and it often refers to an "army."[6] In this context, "the day of your (military) power" is "the day of the waging of your war" (Targum).[7]
  • In the second clause (v. 3bc) the king's army is compared to the early-morning dew that falls on the mountains of Zion. For more information on this implied metaphor, see the imagery table in the notes for v. 3 which explores this implied metaphor the king's young men are dew.
  • The phrase on the holy mountains (בְּהַרְרֵי קֹדֶשׁ), which occurs also in Ps. 87:1 בְּהַרְרֵי־קֹֽדֶשׁ, refers to the mountains around Jerusalem (cf. Ps. 125:2; 133:3). Several modern translations read "holy mountains" (RSV, NRSV, GNT, NET, DHH94I, PDV2017, NFC), while a majority of modern translations follow the Masoretic Text in reading "holy garments" (בְּהַדְרֵי קֹדֶשׁ).[8] The difference between the two readings is a single letter (ד vs ר). Our preferred reading (בְּהַרְרֵי קֹדֶשׁ) is found in a number of medieval Hebrew manuscripts, and it is reflected in the translations of Symmachus and Jerome. This reading fits very well in the context, which mentions "Zion" (v. 2, cf. Ps. 87) and "dew" (cf. Ps. 133). The scribal change from בְּהַרְרֵי קֹדֶשׁ to בְּהַדְרֵי קֹדֶשׁ is easy to explain: the letters dalet and resh look nearly identical, not only in the Aramaic square script but also in earlier forms of the Hebrew script. See The Text, Grammar, and Meaning of Ps. 110:3 for details.
  • The phrase from the womb of dawn is difficult, but it probably refers to the way in which the dew (i.e., the king's army) falls on the mountains early in the morning, at the break of dawn, as though the dawn were giving birth to the dew-like army of young men.[9]
  • The word dawn, which occurs only here, is probably 'a byform of the more common word שחר meaning "dawn". Note that words of this semantic field typically bear the mem before the root— thus מזרח "sunrise, east", מוצא "sunrise, east", מבוא "sunset, west", and מערב "sunset, west"—so it should not be surprising to encounter the word משחר "dawn" in the ancient Hebrew lexicon."[10]
  1. ↑ Cf. BDB, HALOT, DCH.
  2. ↑ So Aquila and Quinta: ἑκουσιασμοὶ.
  3. ↑ Cf. GKC 141c; JM 154e; DCH. So Jerome [spontanei erunt] and Targum [דמתנדבין].
  4. ↑ See also the Qumran War Scroll (column vii, line 5): כולם יהיו אנשי נדבת מלחמה.
  5. ↑ GKC 141c. The plural of this noun also occurs in Ps. 68:10 גֶּשֶׁם נְדָבֹות.
  6. ↑ BDB, DCH, HALOT. E.g., Ex. 15:4 (מַרְכְּבֹ֥ת פַּרְעֹ֛ה וְחֵילֹ֖ו יָרָ֣ה בַיָּ֑ם). It is "used over 100 times in the sense of 'army'" (TWOT; 71 times according to NIDOTTE).
  7. ↑ Cf. NIV, JPS85, NLT, GNT, HFA; Baethgen 1904, 338; Waltke 2010, 506. Radak paraphrases all of v. 3a as follows: "on the day when you made an army to fight against them, your people came to you willingly" = ביום שעשית חיל להלחם בהם באו עמך אליך בנדבה.
  8. ↑ The phrase הַדְרֵי־קֹדֶשׁ, if indeed it is original, is an hapax legomenon. The phrase הדרת קדש, which is similar to הַדְרֵי־קֹדֶשׁ, occurs in Pss. 29:2, 96:9, 1 Ch. 16:29, and 2 Ch. 20:21 and probably means "holy attire" (see discussion of Ps. 29:2). Thus, several translations read "holy garments" (ESV, NLT, REB), referring to the garments worn by priests (NGÜ: "heilige Priestergewänder; cf. 2 Ch. 20:21 and the phrase בִגְדֵי־קֹדֶשׁ in Ex. 28:4) (so BDB, HALOT, DCH; Delitzsch; Perowne; Waltke 2010, 506; Baethgen [though he prefers הררי]). This interpretation of the phrase might fit well in the context of the following verse, where the king himself is described as a priest (cf. Barbiero). This interpretation might also be reflected in the NT's description of the armies of heaven who follow the Logos into battle, "clothed in white pure linen" (ἐνδεδυμένοι βύσσινον λευκὸν καθαρόν) (Rev. 19:4). The ancient versions, however, appear to have interpreted the phrase as referring not to "garments," but to the abstract concept of "splendor" or "majesty." LXX: ἐν ταῖς λαμπρότησιν τῶν ἁγίων — "among the splendors of the holy ones" (NETS) Aquila: ἐν διαπρεπεἰας ἡγιασμέναις — "in holy magnificences" (cf. Aquila in Ps. 28:2) Theodotion: ἐν εὐπρεπεἰᾳ ἁγίου — "in the dignity of a holy one" (so Quinta in Ps. 28:2) Quinta: ἐν δόξῃ ἁγίων — "in the glory of holy ones" Peshitta: ܒܗܕܪ̈ܝ ܩܘܕܫܐ — "in the glories of holiness" (The Antioch Bible) Targum: בשיבהורי קודשא — "in the splendor of holiness" (The Targum of Psalms). This is not an issue, however, if "holy splendor" is "a metonymy for their regalia" (Waltke 2010, 506).
  9. ↑ Rendsburg argues, in light of the fact that רחם can mean "rain" in South Arabian and based on the juxtaposition of רֶחֶם with טַל, that רֶחֶם here refers to "rain" (Rendsburg 1999; cf. Rendsburg 1983 "Hebrew RHM = 'Rain'"). DCH lists this as an option for רֶחֶם Ps. 110:3. But in Biblical Hebrew, רֶחֶם always means "womb," and this is how the ancient versions understood the word in Ps. 110:3 (LXX and Sexta: ἐκ γαστρὸς; Aquila, Theodotion, and Quinta: ἀπὸ/ἐκ μήτρας; Jerome: de vulva; Peshitta: ܡܢ ܡܪܒܥܐ). Furthermore, the phrase מֵרֶחֶם always refers to coming "out of the womb" (cf. Is 46:3 Jr 1:5 20:17 Ps 22:11 58:4 Jb 3:11). The only other time רֶחֶם is used figuratively in construct with another noun is in Sir. 51:5, which refers to the "womb of Tehom" (רחם [תה]ום).
  10. ↑ Rendsburg 1999, 550; cf. BDB, HALOT, DCH).
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