Psalm 118 Verse-by-Verse
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
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Welcome to the Verse-by-Verse Notes for Psalm 118!
The Verse-by-Verse Notes present scholarly, exegetical materials (from all layers of analysis) in a verse-by-verse format. They often present alternative interpretive options and justification for a preferred interpretation. The Verse-by-Verse Notes are aimed at consultant-level users.
The discussion of each verse of this psalm includes the following items.
- A link to the part of the overview video where the verse in question is discussed.
- The verse in Hebrew and English.[1]
- An expanded paraphrase of the verse.[2]
- A grammatical diagram of the verse, which includes glosses for each word and phrase.[3]
- A series of notes on the verse, which contain information pertaining to the interpretation of the psalm (e.g., meaning of words and phrases, poetic features, difficult grammatical constructions, etc.).
v. 1
Watch the Overview video on v. 1.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 1a | הוֹד֣וּ לַיהוָ֣ה כִּי־ט֑וֹב | Give thanks to YHWH because he is good, |
| 1b | כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּֽוֹ׃ | because his loyalty is forever. |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- The opening words Give thanks (הוֹדוּ) are associated both with thanksgiving and praise. In the context of this psalm, which emphasises a thanksgiving ceremony to give thanks for YHWH's salvation from distress, it is best understood as "give thanks".[4] This thanksgiving root is repeated five times as a key term throughout the psalm (cf. vv. 1, 19, 21, 28, 29).
- The words Give thanks to YHWH because he is good, because his loyalty is forever (הוֹד֣וּ לַיהוָ֣ה כִּי־ט֑וֹב כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּֽוֹ׃) are a well known thanksgiving chorus which developed originally as an introduction formula for the תּוֹדָה (toda) thank-offerings, which comes from the same root (י.ד.ה.) (on this offering see for example Lev 7:1-15, Jer 17:26, 2 Chron 29:31, and 2 Chron 20:28). Jer. 33:11 makes the connection between the thanksgiving chorus and the toda thank-offering explicit. Further associations between the chorus and the offering can also be seen in Ps. 100. This chorus then developed to be used more widely as a call to hymnic praise.[5]
- The dominant emotions of Ps. 118 are thankfulness, confidence, and joy, as seen in the following overview:
- In vv. 1-4 there is a clear atmosphere of joyful thanksgiving as all the people add their voices to the thanksgiving chorus.
- The chorus leader who leads the call-and-response of vv. 1-4 was probably a priest or Levite.[6]
- The word for loyalty (חֶסֶד - hesed) refers to YHWH's faithful commitment towards fulfilling his covenantal obligations towards his people, even when they themselves are unfaithful (cf. SDBH). This loyalty (hesed) stretches all the way back through Israel's history (paradigmatically in the exodus from Egypt), and stretches all the way on "forever".
- In Hebrew words have a numerical value, based on the numerical value of each of their letters. In this first section of vv. 1-4, the word for loyalty (hesed - חֶסֶד) is a key word, repeated four times (and once again in v. 29). This Hebrew word (חֶסֶד) has a numerical value of 27.[7] In order to highlight the importance of this key word, this whole opening section has exactly 27 words, corresponding to the numerical value of hesed (חֶסֶד).
- The lamed (ל) prepositional phrase YHWH (לַיהוָה) is used here, as elsewhere, to indicate the one who receives praise.[8]
- Give thanks (הוֹדוּ):
v. 2
Watch the Overview video on v. 2.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 2a | יֹֽאמַר־נָ֥א יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּֽוֹ׃ | Let Israel say, |
| 2b | כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּֽוֹ׃ | "Because his loyalty is forever". |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- A chorus leader began (v. 1a) with the opening call to thanksgiving: "Give thanks to YHWH!" (הוֹדוּ לַיהוָה), followed by the reasons (v. 1b), "because he is good, because his loyalty is forever" (כִּי־טוֹב כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ). He then calls to the Israelite laity, "Let Israel say!" (יֹֽאמַר־נָ֥א יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל), to which the laity respond,[9] "because his loyalty is forever!" (כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ), repeating the reason for the original call to thanksgiving in v. 1a.[10] This antiphonal (call-and-response) repetition is then repeated twice more in vv. 3-4.
- The pattern of addressing all the people using the labels of Israel (v.2), House of Aaron (v.3), and those who fear YHWH (v.4), occurs also in Ps. 115:9-11 and with slight variation in Ps. 135:19-20.
- It is likely that Israel refers to the laity (i.e. all those who are not priests or Levites), as seen in Ezra 9:1 and 10:18-25 where "Israel" refers to members of the nation in juxtaposition to priests and Levites (cf. Allen 2002: 148).
- The word כִּי here can be understood in various ways, but it is most likely causal because,[11] similar to its use throughout Ps. 136.
- The word "נָא" (na) adds a "a weak entreating nuance" (JM §105c), often equivalent, roughly, to the English "please". In this case, it is best left untranslated.[12]
v. 3
Watch the Overview video on v. 3.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 3a | יֹֽאמְרוּ־נָ֥א בֵֽית־אַהֲרֹ֑ן | Let the house of Aaron say, |
| 3b | כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּֽוֹ׃ | "Because his loyalty is forever". |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- The chorus leader now turns to the house of Aaron, referring to the priests present with the crowd. In Ps. 135:19-20 a similar list occurs which has "house of Aaron" and "house of Levi", whereas here there is only "house of Aaron". It is therefore possible that by metonymy the Levites are included here in "house of Aaron", but this is difficult to know with any certainty.
v. 4
Watch the Overview video on v. 4.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 4a | יֹֽאמְרוּ־נָ֭א יִרְאֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה | Let those who fear YHWH say, |
| 4b | כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּֽוֹ׃ | "Because his loyalty is forever". |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- Having called first to the laity (Israel), then to the priests (house of Aaron), the chorus leader now draws all present together as one by reminding them of their true identity and calling as יִרְאֵי יְהוָה those who fear YHWH. For detailed reasoning of why יִרְאֵי יְהוָה ("those who fear YHWH") refers here to all present, and not to gentile proselytes, see The Identity of "Those Who Fear YHWH".
v. 5
Watch the Overview video on v. 5.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 5a | מִֽן־הַ֭מֵּצַ֥ר קָרָ֣אתִי יָּ֑הּ | From the tight place I cried out to Yah. |
| 5b | עָנָ֖נִי בַמֶּרְחָ֣ב יָֽהּ׃ | Yah answered me with spaciousness. |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- This verse marks an important shift in the psalm. Following the opening antiphonal thanksgiving chorus, the protagonist of the psalm now begins his thanksgiving testimony, comprising the main section of the psalm (vv. 5-18). This testimony combines a recounting of YHWH's salvation from past distress (e.g. vv. 5, 10-12, 13) with declarations of his present and future confidence in YHWH's help (e.g. vv. 6-9, 14, 17).
- The dominant emotion of this testimony section (vv. 5-18) is one of confidence (as seen clearly, for example, in the declaration "YHWH is for me, I shall not fear!" in v. 6). However, there are also moments of distress (vv. 5, 1-13), thankfulness (vv. 5, 13), expectation (v. 20), and solemnity (v. 18).
- This protagonist is clearly a leader of Israel, most probably a king.
- In Ps. 118 a leader of Israel gathers in Jerusalem to celebrate how YHWH has saved him from distress, probably from a military situation where he faced many literal enemies. Leading up to the thanksgiving celebration in the temple (vv. 19-29), the leader re-tells before the people the story of his distress, telling the same single story through three surprisingly different lenses.
- In this verse (v. 5), he begins with a summary statement which describes being in a "tight place". But the leader then goes on to explain this tight place as involving many physical enemies that surrounded him like bees (vv. 10-12). This is the first and most natural, literal, lens through which the leader sees his distress.
- In v. 13, however, there is a surprising shift. The leader moves from speaking in the third-person plural about "they" ("all nations surrounded") to directly addressing a second-person singular "you". Interpreters differ regarding who the leader is addressing, but a likely possibility is that he is addressing personified Death itself (see notes in v. 13). In other words, he moves from seeing his distress as a struggle against many literal enemies to seeing it as a struggle against a singular non-physical enemy.
- However, by the time we get to v. 18, the leader adds a third, surprising lens on his distress. He realises that all of his distress was in fact from YHWH, as an expression of YHWH's discipline.
- The word for a tight place (מֵּצַר) comes from the Hebrew root צ.ר.ר., which expresses the ideas of "tightness", "binding", "tying up", "restricting", "being narrow" etc. (cf. HALOT, BDB, DCH). As an abstract extension of these ideas, this word מֵּצַר is often translated as "distress", but the core idea centres around being in a tight place, as in a physically narrow space in which it is difficult to move. This word was also often associated with closeness to death (cf. Ps. 116:3).
- The word for spaciousness (מֶרְחָב) appears 6× in the OT, always in a poetic context. All these cases are related to Yahweh’s actions, emphasising God bringing those in distress into "open space" (metaphorically spoken, “freedom”).[13]
- There is therefore powerful imagery involved in the exchange between מֵּצַר (tight place) and מֶרְחָב (spaciousness). In his distress the leader feels "squeezed" and bound up tightly, but YHWH brings him out into a place of "spaciousness", unbound and free from his distress.
- The word יָהּ Yah is "generally regarded as a contracted form of the divine name"[14] It occurs six times in Ps. 118 and although it is semantically interchangeable with the full divine name יהוה (YHWH), it does play a role in delineating the poetic structure (see Psalm 118 Poetics).
- The בּ (with) before מֶרְחָב (spaciousness) has an instrumental sense, indicating the means by which God answers the leader (cf. other usages of עָנָה + ב (answer with) in 1 Sam. 28:6; 1 Kgs 18:24; 1 Chron. 21:16; Ex. 19:19). In other words, YHWH answered the leader by means of "spaciousness", giving him an experience of open space, freedom from distress and a sense of security and peace.[15]
- The word order of this verse is unusual in order to indicate a new section of direct speech.[16]
v. 6
Watch the Overview video on v. 6.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 6a | יְהוָ֣ה לִ֭י לֹ֣א אִירָ֑א | YHWH is for me. I shall not fear. |
| 6b | מַה־יַּעֲשֶׂ֖ה לִ֣י אָדָֽם׃ | What can man do to me? |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- The words מַה־יַּעֲשֶׂ֖ה לִ֣י אָדָֽם What can man do to me? express a rhetorical question[17] wherein the leader continues to express his confidence in YHWH, boasting that humans are not a threat when YHWH is "for him". In other words, he might expand the statement by saying, "What can man do to me? Nothing! Because YHWH is for me, on my side".
v. 7
Watch the Overview video on v. 7.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 7a | יְהוָ֣ה לִ֭י בְּעֹזְרָ֑י | YHWH is for me as my helper, |
| 7b | וַ֝אֲנִ֗י אֶרְאֶ֥ה בְשֹׂנְאָֽי׃ | and I shall look in triumph upon those who hate me. |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- The word for as (בְּ) in as my helper (בְּעֹזְרָי) has a special function which creates an equational clause. In other words, to say YHWH is with him as his helper is to say that YHWH is a helper to him.[18] In other words, the leader asserts here that YHWH is with him "as" his helper, with YHWH being equated with "helper" (cf. LXX, NET, ESV, JPS). This is supported by very similar expressions in Ps. 54:6, 146:5, and Jdg 11:35.[19]
- The word for helper (עֹזְרָי) is a plural of majesty, referring not to many helpers but to YHWH as the singular helper.[20] The psalmist evidently chose this plural form עֹזְרָי (ozerai - "helper") to create assonance and rhyme with the matching form of the parallelism in 7b, שֹׂנְאָי (sone’ai - "those who hate me"). The numerous enemies of the poet were no match for the unique and majestic God of the psalmist.[21]
- The words for and I shall look in triumph upon those who hate me (וַ֝אֲנִ֗י אֶרְאֶ֥ה בְשֹׂנְאָֽי) employ a common idiom which combines the verb ראה (to see) with the preposition ְּב (most often "in"). Although a literal reading of the phrase might read "and I shall look in (ּּבְ) those who hate me", the sense is "look upon (in triumph/with exultation) my enemies", even gloating over them (BDB). This idiom appears also in Judg. 16:27, Mic. 7:10, Ezr. 28:17, Ps. 22:18, 54:9, and 112:8.
v. 8
Watch the Overview video on v. 8.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 8a | ט֗וֹב לַחֲס֥וֹת בַּיהוָ֑ה | It is better to take refuge in YHWH |
| 8b | מִ֝בְּטֹ֗חַ בָּאָדָֽם׃ | than to trust in man. |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- Having expressed his confidence in YHWH's help in vv. 6-7, the leader then draws out (in vv. 8-9) the implications of YHWH's help in general wisdom terms.
- In vv. 8-9 the leader employs a wisdom formula which includes a ...טוֹב... מִן (better is... than...) formula. This common wisdom formula in wisdom literature can be seen for example in Eccl. 7:1-10.
v. 9
Watch the Overview video on v. 9
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 9a | ט֗וֹב לַחֲס֥וֹת בַּיהוָ֑ה | It is better to take refuge in YHWH |
| 9b | מִ֝בְּטֹ֗חַ בִּנְדִיבִֽים׃ | than to trust in noblemen. |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- This statement, along with the preceding one in v. 8, reveal the leader's confidence in YHWH as his source of victory, security, and salvation. In the following verses he will testify to how he has learned this through YHWH's recent deliverance from distress.
v. 10
Watch the Overview video on v. 10.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 10a | כָּל־גּוֹיִ֥ם סְבָב֑וּנִי | All nations surrounded me. |
| 10b | בְּשֵׁ֥ם יְ֝הוָ֗ה כִּ֣י אֲמִילַֽם׃ | “With the name of YHWH, yes, I shall drive them away!” |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- It is probable that the words “With the name of YHWH, yes, I shall drive them away!” (בְּשֵׁ֥ם יְ֝הוָ֗ה כִּ֣י אֲמִילַֽם) are a quotation of a battle cry which the leader spoke back in the time of his distress. The verb אֲמִילַֽם (I shall drive them away) should then be translated in the future tense, as in the NASB translation, "In the name of the LORD I will certainly fend them off" (cf. JPS, ISV, NKJV, ASV, Coverdale).[22]
- The word ki (כִּי), translated here as yes (and in vv. 11-12), is asseverative, giving "reinforcement to an affirmation" (JM §164b),[23] and can be translated, for example, as "yes", "certainly", "indeed", or "truly".
- The word for I shall drive them away (אֲמִילַם) comes from a verbal root which only appears here (along with vv. 11-12), with a meaning of "drive away" or "fend off" (HALOT, DCH).[24]
v. 11
Watch the Overview video on v. 11.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 11a | סַבּ֥וּנִי גַם־סְבָב֑וּנִי | They surrounded me, indeed they surrounded me. |
| 11b | בְּשֵׁ֥ם יְ֝הוָ֗ה כִּ֣י אֲמִילַֽם׃ | “With the name of YHWH, yes, I shall drive them away!” |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
v. 12
Watch the Overview video on v. 12.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 12a | סַבּ֤וּנִי כִדְבוֹרִ֗ים | They surrounded me like bees. |
| 12b | דֹּ֭עֲכוּ כְּאֵ֣שׁ קוֹצִ֑ים | They burned up like a fire of thorns. |
| 12c | בְּשֵׁ֥ם יְ֝הוָ֗ה כִּ֣י אֲמִילַֽם׃ | “With the name of YHWH, yes, I shall drive them away!” |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- The words They burned up like a fire of thorns (דֹּ֭עֲכוּ כְּאֵ֣שׁ קוֹצִ֑ים) have an interesting function in the sequence of vv. 10-12.
- v.10: distress > confidence
- v.11: distress > confidence
- v.12: distress > fire-of-thorns > confidence.
- This section begins in v. 10 with a description of distress ("All nations surrounded me"), followed by a confident declaration ("With the name of YHWH, yes, I will drive them away"). V. 11 then shifts back to distress ("They surrounded me..."), and then again back to confidence ("With the name..."). Then again in v. 12 there is a shift back to distress ("They surrounded me like bees"), but before the shift back to confidence there is this added "transition" line ("They burned up like a fire of thorns"). This line has a double meaning and nuances the final transition from distress to confidence. On the one hand, a fire of thorns burns up into a hot blaze, illustrating the intensity of the enemies' assault on the leader. This correlates to the sense of distress in the preceding words. However, thorns are not a sustainable source of fuel for fire, so despite creating a great blaze, the fire is not sustained and dies out quickly. This illustrates the futility of the enemies' assault, dying out quickly in the face of YHWH's power and strength, by which the leader is victorious. This correlates then to the sense of confidence in the words that follow.
- The sequence of vv. 10-12 also presents a powerful emotional crescendo. With the threefold switching between distress and confidence, it is as if the leader is describing the internal struggle within himself between giving in to the distress caused by being surrounded and the power to remain confident in YHWH's power and victory. This shifting back and forth powerfully elevates the intensity of v. 12c when confidence finally overcomes distress. It is worthwhile also to note that poetic line length shows the confidence statements to be twice as long as the distress statements. This can be seen in the following visual taken from the poetics layer:
- For other verses where the verb ד.ע.ך. (burn up) clearly relates to a fire being extinguished, see for example Isa. 43:17, Job 18:5, and Prov. 13:9.
- It was common to compare enemies surrounding Israel to bees (cf. Deut 1:44, Isa. 7:18).
v. 13
Watch the Overview video on v. 13.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 13a | דַּחֹ֣ה דְחִיתַ֣נִי לִנְפֹּ֑ל | You pushed me down hard so that I was falling, |
| 13b | וַ֖יהוָ֣ה עֲזָרָֽנִי׃ | but YHWH helped me. |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- In v. 13 there is a surprising shift. The leader moves from speaking in the third-person plural about "they" ("all nations surrounded") to directly addressing a second-person singular "you" who "pushed him down hard". It is ultimately ambiguous which enemy is being addressed, but a viable possibility is that he is addressing personified Death itself. This is based on the reference to falling (v. 13a), other parallel usage of death personified, even with the vocative (Hos. 13:14), and the further references to death in v.18.[25]
v. 14
Watch the Overview video on v. 14.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 14a | עָזִּ֣י וְזִמְרָ֣ת יָ֑הּ | Yah is my strength and song |
| 14b | וַֽיְהִי־לִ֝֗י לִֽישׁוּעָֽה׃ | and he has become my salvation. |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- These words Yah is my strength and song and he has become my salvation are an exact quotation from the Song of the Sea in Exodus 15:2. This is the first of three significant intertextual echoes of Exodus 15 in Ps. 118, along with many other minor echoes.
- זִמְרָת (zimrath) is probably from the word זִמְרָה (DCH, BDB), meaning "song" (cf. Ps. 81:2; Isa. 51:3), supported by its appearance in Isa. 12:2 and the verb זַמְּרוּ (sing!) in Isa. 12:5. However, it could also mean "strength/"power" (HALOT).[26]
- A first person suffix is expected on זִמְרָת, giving the full form זִמְרָתי my song (cf. BHS emendation). It is possible that this suffix was dropped because of the י at the beginning of the divine name יָהּ (Yah) which follows it.
v. 15
Watch the Overview video on v. 15.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 15a | ק֤וֹל ׀ רִנָּ֬ה וִֽישׁוּעָ֗ה | A voice of rejoicing and salvation |
| 15b | בְּאָהֳלֵ֥י צַדִּיקִ֑ים | is in the tents of the righteous: |
| 15c | יְמִ֥ין יְ֝הוָה עֹ֣שָׂה חָֽיִל׃ | “The right hand of YHWH does valiantly! |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- The category of the righteous (צַדִּיקִים) includes those who were vindicated by God; "it connotes not only righteousness, but the salvation which is associated with".[27]
- Here the leader seems to quote a victory song sung by victorious Israelites to celebrate YHWH's power and salvation.[28]
- YHWH's right hand is a common way of referring to YHWH himself, with special emphasis on his strength and power.[29]
- The three-fold reference here to YHWH's right hand (יְמִ֥ין יְ֝הוָה) strongly echoes the three-fold reference to YHWH's right hand in Exodus 15 (vv. 6 and 12). For further details on the intertextual relationships between Ps. 118 and Ex. 15 see visual in v. 14 notes above.
v. 16
Watch the Overview video on v. 16.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 16a | יְמִ֣ין יְ֭הוָה רוֹמֵמָ֑ה | The right hand of YHWH is exalted! |
| 16b | יְמִ֥ין יְ֝הוָה עֹ֣שָׂה חָֽיִל׃ | The right hand of YHWH does valiantly!” |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- The phrase The right hand of YHWH is exalted "could point back to an old gesture: after the battle the victor lifts his right hand and thereby attests his powerful superiority."[30]
- The verb for is exalted (רוֹמֵמָה) is most plausibly read as a Qal participle from the root רמם (a by-form/adaptation of the original root רום), expressing a state of being high and exalted.[31]
v. 17
Watch the Overview video on v. 17.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 17a | לֹֽא אָמ֥וּת כִּי־אֶֽחְיֶ֑ה | I shall not die, but I shall live, |
| 17b | וַ֝אֲסַפֵּ֗ר מַֽעֲשֵׂ֥י יָֽהּ׃ | and declare the deeds of Yah. |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- The word ki (כִּי), translated here as but, is adversative (cf. BHRG §40.29.2.3.), providing a contrast with the preceding words (I shall not die, but I shall live...).[32]
v. 18
Watch the Overview video on v. 18.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 18a | יַסֹּ֣ר יִסְּרַ֣נִּי יָּ֑הּ | Yah disciplined me hard, |
| 18b | וְ֝לַמָּ֗וֶת לֹ֣א נְתָנָֽנִי׃ | but he has not given me over to death. |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- As presented above, the leader's testimony (vv. 5-18) includes a re-telling of one story through three different lenses. Having first described his literal, physical enemies, followed by one, abstract, enemy, the leader now arrives to his third and most profound lens - YHWH disciplined me.... He comes to see that all of his distress and all of the opposition he faced was in fact all ultimately from YHWH himself, as an expression of YHWH's discipline to him.[33]
v. 19
Watch the Overview video on v. 19.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 19a | פִּתְחוּ־לִ֥י שַׁעֲרֵי־צֶ֑דֶק | Open the gates of righteousness for me. |
| 19b | אָֽבֹא־בָ֝ם אוֹדֶ֥ה יָֽהּ׃ | I will enter through them. I will give thanks to Yah. |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- Who Speaks When: vv. 19-29 function like the script of a play, jumping between different participants speaking at different points. There are a few places where it is not clear who exactly is speaking. A plausible progression of who is speaking, however, would look something like this:
- v. 19 - the leader: The leader arrives at the temple gates, surrounded by the crowd and some priests with whom he gathered for the opening thanksgiving hymn (vv. 1-4). The leader directly addressees the priestly gatekeepers of the temple complex, asking them to open for him the gates.
- v. 20 - the gatekeepers (priests): The gatekeepers (who are priests) grant access through the gates by responding with with a declaration about the righteous entering through the gate.
- v. 21 - the leader: The leader presumably passes through the gate at this point and gives thanks to YHWH (the first time YHWH is directly addressed in the psalm - see further notes in v. 21).
- vv. 22-25 - the crowd (Israelite laity):[34] At this point the crowd of Israelite laity add their voice by celebrating from their perspective YHWH's salvation to the leader. In v. 25 they then turn their eyes upwards to YHWH in petition.
- v. 26 - the gatekeepers/priests: The priests respond to the crowd's petition, on behalf of YHWH, by first blessing the leader (blessed is he who comes...) and then directly blessing the crowd (we bless you [pl.] from the house of YHWH.
- v. 27a - the crowd (Israelite laity): The crowd responds to the priestly blessing by celebrating YHWH as their God and the one who shows them favour. The language here echoes Ps. 67:2b which can also be read as the Israelite laity's response to the priestly blessing. The leader may well be included as a speaker with the crowd here.
- vv. 27b-28 - the leader: The leader then addresses the priests instructing them to proceed with the sacrifice of the thanksgiving offering. As the priests respond he turns his eyes upward and again gives thanks to YHWH.
- v. 29 - all present: The leader, the crowd, the priests, and all present join their voices together with the same words with which they began (in vv. 1-4), "Give thanks to YHWH because he is good, because his loyalty is forever!".
- The following visual shows these proposed speakers and addressees, including the whole psalm:
- The words You have become my salvation are an almost exact quotation from the Song of the Sea in Exodus 15:2. For further details on the intertextual relationships between Ps. 118 and Ex. 15 see visual in v. 14 notes above.
- The role of "gatekeepers" (שׁוֹעֲרִים) was clearly set as a role for priests in the temple complex (cf. Ezr 2:42, 70; 7:7; 10:24; Neh 7:1, 45, 72; 10:29, 40; 11:19; 12:25; 1Chron 9:17, 24, 26; 2Chron 8:14; 23:19; 31:14; 34:13; 35:15).[35]
- The noun righteousness (צֶדֶק) here is metonymic for צַדִּיק(ים) (the righteous one[s]). Thus the gates are the gates of "righteousness" insofar as the righteous ones will pass through them (as clarified in v.20. cf. NLT "the gates where the righteous enter".)
- The words gates of righteousness (שַׁעֲרֵי־צֶדֶק) therefore probably refer to the gates into the Jerusalem temple complex, "through which only 'the righteous' - the congregation in a state worthy of the cult - are allowed to enter".[36]
v. 20
Watch the Overview video on v. 20.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 20a | זֶֽה־הַשַּׁ֥עַר לַיהוָ֑ה | This is the gate of YHWH. |
| 20b | צַ֝דִּיקִ֗ים יָבֹ֥אוּ בֽוֹ׃ | The righteous enter through it. |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- Regarding speech-act analysis, the words The righteous enter through it (צַ֝דִּיקִ֗ים יָבֹ֥אוּ בֽוֹ) have a twofold illocutionary force. In a direct way, they are simply identifying who enters through the gate (i.e. those considered righteous). However, when understood within the context of the gate-entrance ceremony in vv. 19-20, they ultimately function to grant entrance to the leader, who requested in the previous verse that the gates be opened for him. By stating that "The righteous enter through this gate", the implication is that the leader is also considered righteous, and therefore he qualifies to enter. Most likely,, following this statement, the gates are then opened and the leader and the crowd pass through.
- In the words "The righteous enter through it" (צַ֝דִּיקִ֗ים יָבֹ֥אוּ בֽוֹ), the verb יָבֹ֥אוּ (they will enter) probably describes the habitual action of those considered righteous (regularly) entering through the gates. Thus, "the godly enter through it" (NET, cf. NLT, YLT).[37]
v. 21
Watch the Overview video on v. 21.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 21a | א֭וֹדְךָ כִּ֣י עֲנִיתָ֑נִי | I thank you for you have answered me |
| 21b | וַתְּהִי־לִ֝֗י לִֽישׁוּעָֽה׃ | and become my salvation. |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- Most likely, at this point, the leader has finally passed through the temple gates, accompanied by the crowd. It is striking to note that up to this point in the psalm YHWH has only been referred to in the third person, and never directly addressed. After entering through the temple gates, into the presence of YHWH, YHWH is now directly addressed for the first time, as the leader gives thanks directly to his God with the words I thank you. YHWH is then directly addressed twice more in v. 25 and v. 28.
v. 22
Watch the Overview video on v. 22.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 22a | אֶ֭בֶן מָאֲס֣וּ הַבּוֹנִ֑ים | The stone that the builders rejected |
| 22b | הָ֝יְתָ֗ה לְרֹ֣אשׁ פִּנָּֽה׃ | has become the top of the corner. |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- At this point the crowd nearby raise their voice to retell the story of YHWH's salvation and vindication of the leader from their perspective. They begin their celebratory account with a proverbial statement comparing the leader to a rejected stone which is ultimately vindicated, exalted, and placed in a position of prominence and high visibility, at the top of the corner of a structure. This proverbial statement emphasises the way that the leader, who was in a position of humiliation and seeming defeat, but ultimately YHWH delivered him and exalted him to a position of victory and prominence. On the exact identity of the stone referred to in this verse see The Stone of Ps. 118:22.[38]
- From vv. 22-28, the dominant emotion shifts from confidence to joy - filled with celebration for all that YHWH has done.
v. 23
Watch the Overview video on v. 23.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 23a | מֵאֵ֣ת יְ֭הוָה הָ֣יְתָה זֹּ֑את | This has been from YHWH; |
| 23b | הִ֖יא נִפְלָ֣את בְּעֵינֵֽינוּ׃ | it is extraordinary in our eyes! |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- The recognition of military victories being brought about by the power of God was common throughout Israelite and Ancient Near Eastern History (cf. Keel 1997: 219). The statement here closely parallels other Biblical examples like Neh. 6:16 and Isa. 28:29.
v. 24
Watch the Overview video on v. 24.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 24a | זֶה־הַ֭יּוֹם עָשָׂ֣ה יְהוָ֑ה | This is the day that YHWH has made. |
| 24b | נָגִ֖ילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָ֣ה בֽוֹ׃ | Let us be glad and rejoice in it. |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
v. 25
Watch the Overview video on v. 25.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 25a | אָנָּ֣א יְ֭הוָה הוֹשִׁ֘יעָ֥ה נָּ֑א | Please, YHWH, grant salvation, please! |
| 25b | אָֽנָּ֥א יְ֝הוָ֗ה הַצְלִ֘יחָ֥ה נָּֽא׃ | Please, YHWH, grant success, please! |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- This verse involves a surprising continuation of the preceding verses. The preceding verses (esp. vv. 21-24) have created an atmosphere of joy, celebration, and thanksgiving, looking back at the salvation YHWH has granted to the leader. In this joyful atmosphere the crowd suddenly turns to YHWH with this petitionary prayer: Please, YHWH, grant salvation, please! Please, YHWH, grant success, please! Read in isolation one might read these words as a request for salvation and success from a place of lack. The crowd asks for salvation and success because they feel there is no salvation and no success. However, when read in context, it is more plausible to read these words as expressing a confident cry of joyful expectation. Having celebrated the way that the leader looked to YHWH for salvation and success, and YHWH answered him, so too the crowd looks to YHWH for salvation and success, in joyful expectation that he will answer.
- This cultic occasion is also an opportunity for receiving priestly blessing. The petition of the crowd may represent a formulaic request for a priestly blessing (cf. Judg 18:5, 6; Pss 3:9 (8); 28:9).[39] The crowd therefore petitions YHWH for continued salvation and success (v. 25), in expectation of a priestly blessing (see further v. 26).
- The interjection אנא (please) is a "strong particle of entreaty" (BDB) which "expresses an urgent request" (BHRG §44.5). Examples of translation glosses for this interjection include "please" (HALOT), "I/We beg you" (BHRG §44.5), "I/We beseech thee" (BDB), among other possibilities.
- On the word "נָא" (na) see note above in v. 2.
v. 26
Watch the Overview video on v. 26.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 26a | בָּר֣וּךְ הַ֭בָּא בְּשֵׁ֣ם יְהוָ֑ה | Blessed is he who comes in the name of YHWH. |
| 26b | בֵּ֝רַֽכְנוּכֶ֗ם מִבֵּ֥ית יְהוָֽה׃ | We bless you from the house of YHWH. |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- This verse involves a two-fold priestly blessing by the priests in the temple gate. First they bless the leader (26a) and then they bless the crowd of Israelites gathered around (26b).[40]
- In most modern English translations the meaning of this verse can be obscured with regards to the plural form We bless you (plural) (בֵּרַכְנוּכֶם). Almost all translations obscure the distinction between the singular addressee "Blessed is he" (26a) with the plural addressee "We bless you (pl.)" in 26b. Without clarification it can seem like the priests only bless the singular leader, but twice, rather than blessing first the leader and then the people. The NCV offers a helpful alternative to this difficulty with their translation, "We bless all of you from the Temple of the LORD".
- The word for We bless you (בֵּ֝רַֽכְנוּכֶ֗ם) is a qatal verb which uses the performative function of qatal (cf. BHRG §19.2.3), which refers to an action that is "performed" by virtue of uttering a speech. It is in the very act of declaring בֵּרַכְנוּכֶם (We bless you) that the priests bless![41]
v. 27
Watch the Overview video on v. 27.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 27a | אֵ֤ל ׀ יְהוָה֮ וַיָּ֪אֶר לָ֥נוּ | YHWH is God and he has made his light shine on us. |
| 27b | אִסְרוּ־חַ֥ג בַּעֲבֹתִ֑ים | Bind the festival sacrifice with cords, |
| 27c | עַד־קַ֝רְנ֗וֹת הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ׃ | up to the horns of the altar! |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- The declaration that YHWH is God (אֵ֤ל יְהוָה֮) is a fundamental covenantal declaration often declared by Israel. Cf. Dt. 4:35, 39; 7:9; 1 Kgs 18:39; See also Dt 6:4, 2 Kgs 19:19; 2 Chron 13:10.
- The claim that YHWH has made his light shine on us (וַיָּ֪אֶר לָ֥נוּ) speaks of YHWH's favour upon Israel. This expression comes primarily from the priestly blessing of Nm. 6:24-26, and is echoed often throughout the Hebrew Bible (cf. Ps 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19, Dan. 9:17). When the recipient of the favour is the speaker ("made/make his light shine upon us"), it may reflect the people's response to the priestly blessing (e.g. Ps. 67:1).
- The words for Bind the festival sacrifice with cords (אִסְרוּ־חַ֥ג בַּעֲבֹתִ֑ים) probably refer to the sacrificial animal being led towards the altar for the thanksgiving sacrifice. This animal is to be bound with cords and brought towards the altar. On the disputed meaning of this verse see The Meaning of Ps. 118:27c.
- The horns of the altar refer to four horn-like shapes placed on the four corners of ancient Israelite altars.
v. 28
Watch the Overview video on v. 28.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 28a | אֵלִ֣י אַתָּ֣ה וְאוֹדֶ֑ךָּ | You are my God and I shall give thanks to you. |
| 28b | אֱ֝לֹהַ֗י אֲרוֹמְמֶֽךָּ׃ | You are my God. I shall exalt you. |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- This verse, and especially the words for my God (אֵלִ֣י) and for I shall exalt you (אֲרוֹמְמֶֽךָּ) strongly echo the Song of the Sea in Exodus 15:2 (זֶ֤ה אֵלִי֙ וְאַנְוֵ֔הוּ אֱלֹהֵ֥י אָבִ֖י וַאֲרֹמְמֶֽנְהוּ׃ ...this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him). For further details on the intertextual relationships between Ps. 118 and Ex. 15 see visual in v. 14 notes above.
- The word for "my God" (אֱלֹהַי) in the phrase "(you are) my God" is best understood here as part of an implied nominal clause with an elided subject "you", in parallel with the words "You are my God" (אֵלִ֣י אַתָּ֣ה) at the beginning of 28a.[42]
v. 29
Watch the Overview video on v. 29.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 29a | הוֹד֣וּ לַיהוָ֣ה כִּי־ט֑וֹב | Give thanks to YHWH because he is good, |
| 29b | כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּֽוֹ׃ | because his loyalty is forever. |
Expanded Paraphrase
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- The psalm closes beautifully where it began, with an exact repetition of the thanksgiving chorus in v. 1.
- Most likely, all present join in the thanksgiving chorus at this point. The ceremony closes with all united together in thanksgiving, as the thanksgiving sacrifice is presumably offered on the altar.
Legends
Grammatical diagram
For legend, click "Expand" to the right
| Grammatical Term | Definition | Diagram | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clausal Additions | |||
| Subject | The subject performs the action of the active verb or receives the action of a passive verb. With intransitive verbs |
Indicated at the beginning of the main clausal line, and followed by a vertical line that crosses over the main clause line (separating the subject from the predicate). |
|
| Direct Object | Object that receives the direct action of a (transitive) verb | Indicate with a vertical line up from main clausal line | 
|
| Predicate adjective/ Subject complement |
A word used with a linking verb (ex. "to be"), renaming or restating the subject. Can be a whole prepositional phrase. |
Indicate with a vertical slanted line up from the main clausal line. It can be on a stand if it is an embedded clause. |
|
| Object Complement | Word following a direct object to state what it has become. | Indicate with a vertical slanted line up from the main clausal line. |
|
| Infinitives | Can be subject, adverbial, or an infinitive construct. | Indicate with double vertical lines that cross the main clausal line. If used adverbially (ie. an embedded clause), place on a stand. |
|
| Participles | A verbal noun/adjective that can be used in three positions: (1) substantival; (2) attributive; (3) predicative. |
Indicate with a round vertical line. Substantival participles are placed on a stand (they are embedded). Attributive participles are placed with a rounded line underneath what is modified. |
|
| Modifiers | |||
| Adjectives | A word modifying a noun to indicate quality, quantity, extent, or differentiating something from something else. |
Indicate with a slanted line down from what is modified. |
|
| Adverbs | A word that modifies a verb, adverb, adjective, prepositional phrase, clause, or sentence to express a relation (ex. manner, quality, or time). |
Indicate with a slanted line down from what is modified. | 
|
| Construct relationships | Construction can express many different relationships between two (or more) nouns. English grammarians call this construction a ‘Construct’ (our term) or ‘Genitive’ phrase; Hebrew grammarians call it smīḵūt (סְמִיכוּת). |
Indicate with a stair-step down from the modified word/clause/phrase. |
|
| Prepositional phrases | A phrase that consists of a preposition and its object and has adjectival or adverbial value | Indicate with a slanted vertical line connecting to a new clause. |
|
| Connectives | (1) Coordinating conjunctions join together words or word groups of equal grammatical rank (2) Subordinating conjunctions join a main clause and a clause which does not form a complete sentence by itself. |
Indicate with a dashed line down from a vertical line marker. |
|
| Embedded clause | A clause inside another clause which can include substantival participles, adverbial infinitives, and prepositional phrases. |
Indicate using stilts. | 
|
| Particles | |||
| Subordinating particle | Indicates a dependent clause. |
Indicate with a dashed line down from the antecedent to the pronoun. |
|
| Apposition | A word that is functioning as an explanatory equivalent as another in the sentence | Place on a line apart from the diagram but next to the word it is the equivalent of with an equal sign in between. |
|
| Vocative | Indicating a person being addressed (usually with a 2nd person verb) | Place on a line apart from the diagram next to the '()' indicating the gapped subject an equal sign in between. |
|
Master Diagram
Shapes and colours on grammatical diagram
For legend, click "Expand" to the right
| Prepositional phrase | Construct chain | Construct chain within a prepositional phrase | Phrase-level waw | Article and כֹּל | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diagram Shading | 
|
|
|
|
|
| Definition | - A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition plus its object. The phrase usually modifies the clause or another constituent in the clause. | - A construct chain, also called a 'genitive phrase', is a grammatical encoding of the relationship 'A of B,' in which A is a phonologically modified noun (in the construct state), and B is a phonologically unmodified noun (the absolute state). | - Some construct chains occur within prepositional phrases |
- A waw conjunction can join units of all sizes. Phrase level waw join units at the word or phrase level (i.e., below the level of the clause). |
- Definite articles tell you something about the identifiability or inclusiveness about the word it is attached to - כֹּל is a quantifier that tells you about the scope of a word it is attached to |
Expanded paraphrase
For legend, click "Expand" to the right
- Close but Clear (CBC) translation
- Assumptions which provide the most salient background information, presuppositions, entailments, and inferences
References
118
- ↑ The Hebrew text comes from Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, which presents the text of the Leningrad Codex (the Masoretic text). The English text is our own "Close-but-clear" translation (CBC). The CBC is a “wooden” translation that exists to provide a window into the Hebrew text. It is essentially an interlinear that has been put into English word-order. It is also similar to a “back-translation” (of the Hebrew) often used in Bible translation checking. It is important to remember that the CBC is not intended to be a stand-alone translation, but is rather a tool for using the Layer by Layer materials. The CBC is used as the primary display text (along with the Hebrew) for most analytical visualisations. It is also used as the display text for most videos.
- ↑ A legend for the expanded paraphrase is available near the bottom of this page, in the section titled "Legends."
- ↑ Legends for both the grammatical diagram and the shapes and colours on the grammatical diagram are available near the bottom of this page, in the section titled "Legends."
- ↑ Cf. Hossfeld and Zenger, A Commentary on Psalms 101-150 (2011): 237.
- ↑ (Sakenfield 1978: 165-168)
- ↑ It is known from other texts that various priests and Levites had distinct roles in leading the music and worship in the temple (e.g. 1 Chron. 25:1-8), so it is quite possible that a designated priest had this role of "chorus leader" (cf. Allen 2002: 165-166). However, it is also possible that the leader who is the main speaker of the psalm had this role (Mowinckel 1968: 180). This leader elsewhere gives communal directives (e.g. v. 19 - "open the gates") and is clearly leading the ceremonial procession throughout the rest of the psalm.
- ↑ Using a method of counting that correlates simply to the position of the letter in the alphabet (thus כ has a numerical value of 11 and not 20), and not according to the traditional method of Hebrew numerology. The word חֶסֶד equals 27 then insofar as ח is the 8th letter of the alphabet, ס is the 15th (therefore not signifying 60!), and ד is the 4th.
- ↑ Jenni (2000:146) groups this use of lamed with other times lamed is used with verbs of praise (ידה שיר זמר etc.) to indicate the one who is praised (cf. Hupfeld 1868:251). With verbs of praise, it’s not uncommon for the one who is praised to be either the direct object or the object of a lamed PP. Compare, for example, Ps. 111:1 (אוֹדֶה יְהוָה) and Ps. 34:4 (גַּדְּלוּ לַיהוה).
- ↑ The use of the verb אמר would make us expect some kind of embedded speech as direct object. However, in this antiphonal liturgical context it may be that the chorus leader shouts out only the words “יאמר נא ישראל”… followed by the immediate response of Israel, as it were, ‘completing his sentence’.
- ↑ Grammatically, therefore, the words כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ ("because his loyalty is forever") are an embedded dislocated causal clause subordinated to the main imperative clause back in v. 1a (הוֹדוּ לַיהוָה "Give thanks to YHWH"). This has been represented on the grammatical diagram as if the original main clause is elided before each antiphonal repetition in vv. 2-4.
- ↑ There are four main options in total:
(1) כִּי = Causal ("for"/"because"):
Let Israel say, "For His lovingkindness endures forever" (TLV, cf. JPS1917, Elmer (Elmer A. Leslie, The Psalms: Translated and Interpreted in the Light of Hebrew Life and Worship (Nashville; New York: Abingdon Press, 1949), 113), Briggs (Charles Briggs, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Psalms (Scribner: New York, 1908), 403), Hengstenberg (E. W. Hengstenberg, Commentary on the Psalms (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1863-64), 376), Jacobson (Rolf A. Jacobson, Many Are Saying: The Function of Direct Discourse in the Hebrew Psalter (London; New York: T&T Clark, 2004), 132));
(2) כִּי = Introducing Direct Speech (untranslated):
Let Israel say, "His steadfast love endures forever." (ESV, cf. NASB, NIV, NLT, NRSV, CSB, CEV, GNB, REB, RSV, NCV, BFC, Altar, Dahood (Mitchell Dahood S.J., Psalms III: 101-150: Introduction, Translation, and Notes with an Appendix: The Grammar of the Psalter, vol. 17A, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 154))
(3) כִּי = Complementiser ("that"):
Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever. (KJV, cf. ASV, YLT, GB, Darby)
(4) כִּי = Asseverative/Emphatic ("yes"/"certainly"/"surely"):
Let Israel say, "Yes, his loyal love endures!" (NET, cf. Hossfeld and Zenger (Hossfeld and Zenger, Psalms 3: A commentary on Psalms 101-150 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2011), 229))
Although a legitimate case can be made for all four options, the first (causal) is most likely for the following reasons:- Original Meaning: Here the final phrase of the thanksgiving refrain ("because (כִּי) his loyalty is forever") is dislocated from the full refrain ("Give thanks..."). However, when stated in its full form, the two כִּי in the refrain are both explicitly causal (Give thanks to YHWH because (כִּי) he is good, because (כִּי) his loyalty is forever). A causal meaning (because) is therefore the original meaning of the כִּי in question here, and should be taken as its default meaning, even when one part of the refrain is dislocated from the rest and re-stated in isolation. A strong case needs to be made for any alternative meaning.
- Familiarity: Strengthening the argument of 'Original Meaning', the thanksgiving refrain was a very well-known and often quoted refrain. In light of this familiarity it would be strange to change the meaning of one of these כִּיs to a different meaning.
- Continuity: Continues the same meaning of the two preceding כִּיs in v. 1. Furthermore a similar structure with explicitly causal כִּיs occurs in close proximity in Ps. 117:1-2.
- Precedent: There are multiple examples of other places where the thanksgiving refrain is fragmented and the final clause (כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ) appears on its own while implying the whole refrain (cf. Ps 136, where it is always causal, and Ezra 3:11, where there is almost identical antiphonal repetition.
- Semantics: The refrain is "the most typical hymnic refrain in the Psalter. It is a condensed formula that contains in nuclear form the basic reason why Israel praises God: because God has shown steadfast love (חסד) to Israel (Jacobson 2004: 132).
- ↑ As in almost all modern translations.
- ↑ Willem VanGemeren, ed., New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), 1091.
- ↑ Leslie C. Allen, Psalms 101–150 (Revised), vol. 21, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002), 162.
- ↑ Alternatively, Jenni (1992: 212) lists this בְּ as localisation in an "abstract" space. Compare NIV "...he brought me into a spacious place". This localisation interpretation is not mutually exclusive with the instrumental interpretation, as they ultimately arrive to a similar semantic analysis.
- ↑ The pattern here, where the prepositional phrase (מִֽן־הַ֭מֵּצַ֥ר "From the tight place") is fronted, corresponds to verses like Ps 68:23 and Isa 40:3 where there is a parallelism in which the A-line has a prepositional phrase fronted. This is a poetically motivated variation in word order functioning to introduce a new section of direct speech (cf. Lunn, Word-Order Variation in Biblical Hebrew Poetry: Differentiating Pragmatics and Poetics (Paternoster 2006): 160-163ff.)
- ↑ In terms of speech act analysis this is an indirect speech act wherein the illocution type is assertive but the sentence type is interrogative.
- ↑ Compare, for example, the words of Exodus 6:3, where YHWH says, וָאֵרָ֗א אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶל־יִצְחָ֥ק וְאֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֖ב בְּאֵ֣ל שַׁדָּ֑י "I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God almighty". This function of בְּ is traditionally known as the beth essentia, the beth of identity, or the pleonastic beth (cf. JM §133c).
- ↑ Alternatively, some read the בְּ here as meaning "among", as in NASB "The LORD is for me among those who help me" (cf. NKJV).
- ↑ Compare, for example, a very similar construction in Ps. 54:6, הִנֵּ֣ה אֱ֭לֹהִים עֹזֵ֣ר לִ֑י אֲ֝דֹנָ֗י בְּֽסֹמְכֵ֥י נַפְשִֽׁי׃ "Behold, God is my helper; the LORD is the upholder of my life (lit. the LORD is in the supporters of my soul)", with the clear parallel with the singular עֹזֵר "helper". For further resources on the plural of majesty, including its combination with the beth essentia, see GKC §§119i, 124g–i; Joüon §§133c, 136f.
- ↑ M Dahood, Psalms III: 101-150, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 157.
- ↑ Reading this as a quotation of a past-battle cry is based on the following reasons: (1) Yiqtol: Describing an action that has not yet taken place corresponds to the most common usage of the yiqtol verb form. (2) Context: In Ps. 118 there are two other places where refrains are quoted, and both of them have a similar three-fold repetition. The first is the repeated thanksgiving chorus (vv. 2-4), and the second is the three-line victory song quoted in vv. 15-16. (3) Reference point movement: There are 8 verbs in this section (vv. 10-12):
סְבָב֑וּנִי (they surrounded me) | אֲמִילַֽם (I drove/shall drive them away)
סַבּ֥וּנִי (they surrounded me) | סְבָב֑וּנִי (they surrounded me) | אֲמִילַֽם (I drove/shall drive them away)
סַבּ֥וּנִי (they surrounded me) | דֹּ֭עֲכוּ (they burned up) | אֲמִילַֽם (I drove/shall drive them away)
All of these verbs signify reference point movement, implying a sequence of events happening sequentially on a timeline. However, there is an incongruity between the supposed sequentiality and the verbal forms themselves:
סְבָב֑וּנִי (qatal) | אֲמִילַֽם (yiqtol)
סַבּ֥וּנִי (qatal) | סְבָב֑וּנִי (qatal) | אֲמִילַֽם (yiqtol)
סַבּ֥וּנִי (qatal) | דֹּ֭עֲכוּ (qatal) | אֲמִילַֽם (yiqtol)
If all of these verbs were qatal forms, then it would be easy to map the verbs sequentially. V. 10 would then imply, "They surrounded me and then I drove them away". That sequence would then be repeated 2 more times in vv. 11-12. However, with the shift from qatal to yiqtol, it is logical to read the yiqtol אֲמִילַֽם as part of a quotation of a past battle-cry looking ahead to a future victory: They surrounded me, and at that time I cried out, "With the name of YHWH I shall drive them away!". There is therefore still reference point movement, but the reference point movement of the qatal verbs is disjointed from the yiqtol verbs. The qatal verbs are all spoken from the perspective of the present, looking back at the past events of being surrounded, whereas the yiqtol verbs are all spoken (via quotation) from the perspective of the past, looking forward to future victory.
In contrast to this reading, however, a plausible case can also be made for reading these yiqtol verbs as preterite yiqtols simply referring to past events, as in the NET translation: "...in the name of the LORD I pushed them away" (cf. GNT, CEV, NLT, REB, NIV, ESV, WEB, NJB). This position is based on the following: (1) Context: the surrounding qatal verbs clearly refer to past-tense events. (2) Precedent: In Deut. 32:10f, yiqtols with h-suffixes appear to be past perfective (cf. Jero, "Tense, Mood, and Aspect in the Biblical Hebrew Verbal System," 2017:74 and Joosten, The Verbal System of Biblical Hebrew (2012): 429-432.). A probable example of the preterite yiqtol in the psalms can be seen in Ps. 8:6-7. (3) Ancient Witness: This was the understanding of the most ancient versions (e.g. LXX ἠμυνάμην (aorist) (for this position see also Dahood, Psalms III: 101-150 Anchor Yale Bible (2008): 157. - ↑ On scholarly discussion regarding the existence and legitimacy of the 'asseverative כִּי', see JM §164b; BHRG §40.29.2.4; GKC §159ee; IBHS §40.2.2b; Williams Hebrew Syntax 3rd ed. §449. This verse is often included as one of the clearest examples of this function of כִּי (e.g. JM §164b).
- ↑ See also LXX's translation here of ἠμυνάμην, from the verb ἀμύνομαι ("defend" - BDAG). Alternatively, some have argued that the verb here is a hiphil form of the verbal root מ.ו.ל. meaning "to circumcise", leading to a sense of "cutting off/down" the enemies, as in NIV "I cut them down" or ESV "I cut them off". Dahood goes further with his literal translation "I cut off their foreskins (lit. I caused them to be circumcised", implying a reference to 1 Sam 18:25-27 and the story of David circumcising the Philistine enemies (Dahood, Psalms III: 101-150, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 157.
- ↑ In fact, there are two questions raised here. First, is the leader addressing YHWH or an enemy? Second, if an enemy, then whom? It is unlikely that the addressee here in the a-line is YHWH, for the b-line contrasts the enemy pushing the leader down with YHWH (in the third person) helping him: "You pushed me down hard, but YHWH helped me". It would be incoherent to directly address YHWH (second person) as pushing him, then immediately contrast that with YHWH (third person) helping him. It is far more coherent to read an "enemy" as the addressee here. It is ultimately ambiguous which enemy is being addressed, but a viable possibility is that he is addressing personified Death itself. The reasons for this are as follows:
Background information:- Falling often has associations with death itself, as seen for example in Ps 82:7 אָ֭כֵן כְּאָדָ֣ם תְּמוּת֑וּן וּכְאַחַ֖ד הַשָּׂרִ֣ים תִּפֹּֽלוּ׃ ("...nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince").
- Death is often personified as an enemy, i.e. the God of death (HALOT). Examples of this personification can be found in Jer. 9:20, Hab 2:5, Ps 18:5, 49:15, 116:3, Job 18:13, Hos 13:14.
- Not only can death be personified, but it can even be addressed directly in the vocative, as seen explicitly in Hos 13:14
- "The Bible does not deify death, but it does personify it as a hungry... and crafty enemy that uses snares to trap victims... Death is... an inescapable... and relentless... foe with which no one can strike a lasting bargain... (DBI 1998: 700).
- The unique challenge here that is the shift from plural to singular. The leader was narrating how many many enemies surrounded him, even hyperbolically calling them "ALL" nations, but now suddenly he turns to address an audience of one ("you [sg.] pushed me down hard so that I was falling").
- This leaves two options: (1) some kind of ambiguous 'enemies as one collective entity' or (2) personified death (Dahood 2008: 158).
- In v. 18 the leader declares that YHWH "disciplined me hard, but he has not given me over to death". V. 13 and v. 18 form an inclusio and have very similar syntax (see notes in poetic structure). However, despite their similarity, there seems to be a reversal between v. 13 and v. 18. V. 18 begins with YHWH attacking (disciplining) the leader, followed by a reference to death, whereas v. 13 begins with Death attacking (pushing) the leader, followed by a reference to YHWH.
- Furthermore, there is also, more locally, the reference to "falling", which has strong associations with death (see background info above).
- These points, in light of a good amount of examples where death is personified, and even directly addressed using a vocative (see background info above), make the personification of death here at least a viable solution to the ambiguity.
- Ultimately, however, there is an ambiguity here and one cannot conclusively say who the leader is addressing here.
- ↑ This would be associated with its usage in Gen. 43:11, קְח֞וּ מִזִּמְרַ֤ת הָאָ֨רֶץ֙ ("...take from the fruit/produce (lit. strength) of the land"... Allen writes, "it is to be related to Ugar. ḏmr, as in RS 24.252, reverse line 9 ʾzk.ḏmrk, “your strength, your protection.” It is also attested in names of Hebrew (זמרי and on the Samarian Ostraca בעלזמר and זמריה), South Arabian, and Amorite origin (cf. F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, JNES 14 [1955] 243). One may compare LXX σκεπαστής, “shelterer, protector,” at Exod 15:2." (Allen, Psalms 101–150 (Revised) WBC (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002), 162.
- ↑ Keel 1997: 126
- ↑ This is especially apparent with the poetic ABA structure of the song (Cf. Allen 2002: 166 and Zenger 2011: 239.)
- ↑ "....nearly everything that is reckoned to God—both attributes and actions—is also accorded to his right hand, so that, especially in Proverbs and Psalms, Yahweh’s right hand has become a metonymy for God himself". (VanGemeren NIDOTTE 1997: 468)
- ↑ Kraus 1993, 398.
- ↑ The form of this verb רוֹמֵמָה is ambiguous and could be legitimately interpreted in a number of ways. The preferred option is as a Qal Participle from the root רמם (a by-form of רום), meaning "...is exalted..." (cf. Targum, JPS, NASB, NKJV, NRSV).
- Morphology:
- Overlap between hollow and geminate roots: In Biblical Hebrew there are different patterns of verbal morphology according to the combination of the three consonants that comprise the root. Two of these patterns that often overlap are the patterns of hollow roots (roots with either ו or י as their middle root letter - e.g. קום, רוץ, שיר, שים) and geminate roots (roots with identical second and third root letters - e.g. סבב, שמם, צרר). Because these two patterns often end up with similar or identical verbal forms, many roots that are originally hollow will also develop a "by-form" geminate root, and vice versa. Thus for example the root משׁשׁ (touch/feel) sometimes appears in forms that imply the by-form root מושׁ (this is often referred to as 'contamination'. For contamination of hollow roots by geminate roots see JM §80o, and for contamination of geminate roots by hollow roots see JM §82o).
- Hollow root רום and geminate root רמם: One of the hollow roots that exhibits this overlap is the root רום, which can also appear with a supposed geminate root רמם. This variation appears in all Western Semitic languages (HALOT), but in Biblical Hebrew the hollow root רום is by far the primary one (appearing 188 times). Only in the niphal stem does it seem to appear, and very rarely, with the implied root רמם (e.g. Num. 17:10 הֵרֹמּוּ), and one possible but uncertain Qal form in Job 24:24 (רוֹמּוּ).
- Morphology of רוֹמֵמָה in Ps 118:16: Based on these observations, it is possible to posit that the form רוֹמֵמָה in Ps 118:16 is also using a geminate by-form of the root רום (GKC §84as), creating a feminine participle in the Qal stem similar to other geminate forms (e.g. שׁוֹבְבָהJer 8:5, זוֹלֵלָה Lam 1:11, שֹׁמֵמָה Lam 1:13 - the tsere in רוֹמֵמָה is a pausal-form lengthening the expected vocal shva). The problem, however, with this interpretation, is that nowhere else does this root appear as a participle in the Qal stem with the root רמם (and nowhere else at all in the Qal stem except for an unclear qatal form in Job 24:24). Meanwhile there is a very common Qal participle using the root רום (appearing at least 40 times - רָם, רָמָה...). However, despite this lack of precedent, it is still plausible, albeit somewhat unexpected, to read this form as a participle from the root רמם, as we know this by-form appears elsewhere (e.g. Niphal). As this form appears in the heightened poetic language of a victory song, it fits that there would be a unique but still coherent and plausible form of a familiar word.
- Semantics: According to this interpretation the verb becomes a participle of a stative verb, thus implying a state of being 'high' or 'exalted'. The right hand of YHWH is thus described as being raised up, as in the JPS "The right hand of the LORD is exalted".
- Coherence: This reading correlates to the two other Qal participles עֹשָׂה x2 in the preceding and succeeding clauses of the song. Furthermore it corresponds to the historical gesture of having a high/raised right hand as a symbol of victory and power.
- Alternatives: Morphologically this form רוֹמֵמָה could also be read as a qatal form in the Piel stem, meaning either "the right hand of YHWH has exalted" or perhaps "the right hand of YHWH exalts" (e.g. ESV, NET). This correlates to at least one other occurrence of this exact form (Ezek 31:4 רֹֽמְמָתְהוּ - with added 3ms suffix). This would fit the default morphology of a Piel qatal pattern for hollow roots (e.g. נֹסְסָה Isa 59:19). Although this might be, therefore, a more plausible case morphologically, it is less preferable on semantic grounds, and would need to have an implied object supplied. Finally, morphologically it is technically possible that this would be a Pual qatal, following the Pual qatal pattern for geminate verbs, but that is even less likely on semantic grounds.
- Morphology:
- ↑ It is therefore presented in the grammatical diagram as a coordinated clause, not a subordinated clause, as one would usually expect with כִּי.
- ↑ The following background information about YHWH's discipline should be noted:
- YHWH often "disciplines" those with whom he has a covenant relationship, allowing them to go through great suffering, in order to teach them (cf. Ps. 94:12) or purify them in love (Deut 8:5, Prov. 3:12, Jer. 31:18). "At its most basic level, יסר suggests the learning of lessons important to successful living" (NIDOTTE 1997: 479).
- True discipline is at times celebrated as a gift. In Ps. 141:5 a righteous "rebuke" (from hiphil of root יכח ("rebuke"), which is synonymous with יסר ("discipline") is described as "oil on the head" and an act of hesed-loyalty.
- YHWH's discipline is always perfectly balanced, allowing the one disciplined to reach exactly the right amount of pain and suffering before YHWH delivers them. This balance is articulated clearly in the words of Jer 30:11 "I will will discipline you in just measure".
- ↑
As the preceding verses (vv. 19-21) involve an interchange between priestly gatekeepers and the leader, one might presume that the priests continue to speak in vv. 22-25. This is possible, but it is most probable that the crowd is speaking here, for the following reasons:
- Perhaps most importantly, in v. 26 the priests seem to speak up in v. 26 to bless the leader (26a) and then the crowd (26b - "we bless you [pl.] from the house of YHWH). This fits well then as the priestly response to the crowd's declarations in v. 22-24 and even more so to the crowd's petition in v. 25.
- The crowd of Israelite laity have already spoken in v. 2.
- The crowd has been listening to the leader's testimony outside the gates since v. 5, whereas it is probable that they have only now arrived to the gates and the gatekeepers are waiting there. As vv. 22-24 are a response to the whole narrative of salvation in vv. 5-18 it fits well as the crowd's response.
- ↑ The role is almost always reserved for priests, but very rarely Levites may also have held this role (e.g. 2 Chron. 34:13).
- ↑ Mowinckel 1962: 180. Also, "the temple and procession gates of Babylonia had such symbolical names: 'the Gate of Allegiance', the 'Gate of Salvation', the 'Gate of Life'" (Mowinckel 1962: 171)
- ↑ A case can be made, however, for reading this verb as a future indicative ("the righteous shall enter through it" ESV, cf. NASB, NKJV, JPS, ASV, REB), or also as expressing a permissive modality ("...through which the righteous may enter" NIV, cf. CEV, GNB, NCV).
- ↑ In summary, there are five main alternatives to the simpler translation of "top of the corner" presented here. These include:
- (1) The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. (ESV, cf. NIV11, KJV, NET, NLT, CSB, GW, NLT, REB, NCV, Kraus, deClaissé-Walford NICOT, Dahood)
- (2) The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. (NRSV, cf. NASB, JPS)
- (3) The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone. (NIV84, cf. TLV)
- (4) The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone of the corner-tower/castle. (Cahill 1999: 357)
- (5) The stone that the builders tossed aside has now become the most important stone. (CEV, cf. ASV, GNB, RSV, YLT, GB, Darby)
- ↑ Cf. Allen, Psalms 101–150 (Revised) WBC (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002), 167.
- ↑ The power of pronouncing blessings in Israel was especially vested in God’s appointed agents, namely, the priests, seen most fully in the priestly blessing (Num 6:24-26, cf.: Lev 9:22–23; 1 Sam 2:20; 9:13; 1 Chron 23:13; 2 Chron 30:27. See also Ex 32:29, Dt. 33:8-11)
- ↑ This performative reading is supported by almost all translations/interpreters, but some alternatively read this as a present perfect (e.g. NASB "We have blessed you..." See also ASV, GB, KJV).
- ↑ Alternatively, it could be understood as a vocative, as in LBS "Tu es mon Dieu, je te louerai, je t’exalterai, ô mon Dieu!" However, the close parallel with 28a makes this unlikely.