Psalm 112/Story Behind/Assumptions

Verse	Text (CBC)	Proposition	common ground	local ground	playground
ss	Praise Yah!	People praise Yah.
1a	Happy is the one [who] fears YHWH,	The man who fears YHWH is happy.	• The ideal king is supposed to read the Law daily so that he learns to fear YHWH and keep his commandments. • Deut. 17:18-19—And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. • And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord (לְיִרְאָה֙ אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה) his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them (ESV). • Cf. Grant The King as Exemplar, 2004. • Cf. 1 Kgs. 2:1–4
1b	[who] delights very much in his commands!	The man who delights very much in YHWH's commands is happy.
2a	His offspring will be great on the earth,	The man's child is a great one on the earth.	• The king who fears YHWH will have a long-lasting dynasty (cf. Deut. 17:20b; Pss. 18:51; 45:17; 72:17). • A typical king is a great one (גִּבּוֹר) (cf. Ps. 45:4; Ps. 24:8 [// מלך]; Ps. 33:16 [// מלך]; Gen. 10:8=1 Chron 1:10 [גבור בארץ]). • That is, he is a human being... who is renowned for his characteristics, such as physical strength, power, bravery, skill, wealth, good character, or a combination thereof (SDBH)
2b	a generation of upright people [who] will be blessed.	YHWH blesses a generation of upright people.	• The reign of a just king brings blessing to the upright (cf. Pss. 72; 144:11–14). • Cf. 2 Sam. 23:3–4—When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light (וּכְאוֹר בֹּקֶר יִזְרַח שָׁמֶשׁ), like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning (ESV). • Cf. Eaton Kingship and the Psalms 1975:165ff.
3a	Immense wealth is in his house,	Immense wealth is in the man's house.	• Wise and successful kings had immense wealth (cf. 1 Kgs. 5:2ff).
3b	and his righteousness endures forever.	The man's righteousness stands forever.	• The king was responsible for establishing and/or maintaining justice in society. [[Continued legitimacy depended on the king fulfilling the mandate that the gods assigned to him, the most important element of which from the legal perspective was the duty to do justice. • The justice in question is expressed by pairs of terms . . . in Hebrew (mišpat/ṣedaqah), the first member reflecting respectively its static aspect of upholding the existing legal order and the second its dynamic aspect of correcting abuses or imbalances that have invaded the system. • In particular, the king was expected to protect the weaker members of society, such as the poor, the orphan and the widow, against the stronger. • In Egyptian, the same motif is expressed through the wider concept of cosmic order (maat), of which justice was a part (Westbrook 2003, 26).]]
4ab	A light for the upright has risen in the darkness, merciful and compassionate and righteous.	The man has risen in the darkness, a light for the upright, merciful and compassionate and righteous.	• Cf. 2 Sam. 23:3–4—When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light (וּכְאוֹר בֹּקֶר יִזְרַח שָׁמֶשׁ), like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning (ESV). • YHWH is characteristically described as compassionate and gracious (cf. Ex. 34:6; Ps. 111:4; etc.). • The king is YHWH's image and son (cf. Ps. 2:6–7), and so he resembles YHWH.
5a	Fortunate is the one who lends generously,	The man who lends generously is good.	• Lending without interest is an act of generosity (cf. Ex. 22:25; Deut. 15:8; Ps. 37:26). • Thus, willingness to lend was a sign of righteous graciousness (Ps. 112:5) (TWOT #1088). • The fundamental meaning of lending is the extension of provision and generosity to someone in need... • Ancient Near Eastern culture was not a society in which loans for commercial or business purposes would have occurred. • Borrowers were men and women in desperate situations unable to provide food, clothing or shelter for themselves (DBI, Lend, Lending). • In the OT lending is a means of the rich helping the poor, not helping themselves, and not making them the recipients of charity but giving them means of reestablishing themselves, after which they would pay back the loan (see, e.g., Exod. 22:25–27) (Goldingay 2008; cf. Goldingay Ethics in the Old Testament, 2019, ch. 32).
5b	[who] manages his affairs with justice!	The man who manages his affairs with justice is good.
6a	For he will never waver.	The man wavers
6b	The righteous one will be remembered forever.	The righteous one becomes an eternal memory.	• A just king is remembered forever—May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun (Ps. 72:17 NIV).
7a	He will not be afraid of bad news.	The man is afraid of bad news.	• Bad news (שְׁמֻעָה רָעָה) usually causes dismay and anxiety (Jer. 49:23). (In Jer. 49:23, as in Ps. 112, bad news seems to belong to the contextual domain of WAR, cf. v. 8b).
7b	His heart is confident, trusting in YHWH.	The man's heart is confident, trusting in YHWH.	• The king who trusts in YHWH will not waver (Ps. 21:8). • The king who trusts in YHWH can expect YHWH's help in battle (cf. Pss. 18:29–51; 110; 118:8ff).
8a	His heart is encouraged. He will not be afraid,	The man's heart is encouraged. The man is afraid.
8b	until he looks [in triumph] on his adversaries.	The man looks on his adversaries.	• Kings have enemies, and when they defeat them militarily, they can be said to look in triumph on them (ראה ב) (e.g., the king in Ps. 118:7 [ראה ב]; cf. the similar expression in Moabite, with reference to the Moabite king—הראני בכל שנאי [KAI 181]. • A similar expression occurs in Aramaic—YHW, the Lord of Heaven, who let us gloat over [חזה ב] that Vidangra (COS 3.51)
9a	He has given freely to the poor.	The man distributes his wealth and gives to the poor.	• People distribute (פזר) wealth )cf. Prov. 11:24)People also divide (פזר) their enemies in battle (cf. Ps. 89:11 פִּזַּ֥רְתָּ אוֹיְבֶֽיךָ)
9b	His righteousness endures forever.	The man's righteousness stands forever.
9c	His horn will rise in honor.	The man's horn rises in honour.	• Horns are associated with strength and honor; a raised horn symbolizes confidence and/or pride (SDBH); a symbol of strength and power (HALOT). • The metaphorical value of the horn comes primarily from the fact that the size and condition of an animal's horns are indicative of its power, status, and health (DBI, Horn). • The image of the horn becomes associated especially with the Davidic dynasty. • YHWH... will exalt the horn of his anointed king (וְיָרֵם קֶרֶן מְשִׁיחוֹ). • See also Pss. 89:25; 132:17. • There is an undeniable prophetic-messianic setting for most of the horn references in the Bible's hymnic texts, (Süring, The Horn Motif: the Hebrew Bible and Related Ancient Near Eastern Literature and Iconography, 1980). • Horns also became a symbol for radiance (DBI, Horns) (cf. Hab. 3:4; Ps. 132:17 horn//lamp). • In Arabic, qrn can refer to the first visible part of the rising sun (Ges-18, HALOT)
10a	The wicked person will see	The wicked person sees.
10b	and become vexed.	The wicked person becomes vexed.
10b	He will grind his teeth	The wicked person grinds his teeth.	• Grinding teeth is an expression of hostility (SDBH) and derision (DBI Teeth) (cf. Pss. 35:16; 37:12; Job 16:9; Lam. 2:16). • Gnashing teeth is an expression of strong and often violent anger, rage, or future that can boil over into an all-out attack, usually physical, at any moment (DBI Teeth).
10c	and waste away.	The wicked person wastes away.
10c	The desire of the wicked will come to an end.	The desire of the wicked comes to an end.