Psalm 121/Notes

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v. 1 (Method:Grammar)

  • The word מֵאַיִן is an interrogative: "from where?" (see e.g., Gen 29:4; 42:7; Num 11:13; etc.). Most translations understand מֵאַיִן in this psalm as introducing a direct question: "I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?" (ESV). The grammar by Joüon-Muraoka, however, claims that מֵאַיִן marks an indirect question here, with a verb being elided: "I lift my eyes up to the hills [in order to see] where my help will come from" (JM §161g; cf. Rabbi Sforno: לתור מאין יבא עזרי; for an example of מֵאַיִן introducing an indirect question, see Josh 2:4). Others interpret מֵאַיִן as though it were a relative particle, e.g., Zenger: "I lift my eyes to the mountains, from where my help comes" (2011, 315; cf. KJV). But there is no good reason to adopt these relatively complicated interpretations of מֵאַיִן when the direct-question interpretation makes good sense (so Baethgen 1904, 375; cf. LXX, Jerome iuxta Hebr.). For similar liturgical questions and answers in the Psalter, see e.g., Pss 4:7; 15:1ff; 24:8–10.

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v. 1 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

  • In the world of the Old Testament, mountains (הָרִים), as the meeting places between heaven and earth, were associated with divine beings. YHWH revealed himself to Abraham on Mount Moriah (Gen 22) and to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exod 3; 19ff), and he chose Mount Zion to be his dwelling place, "his holy mountain" (Ps 3:5; cf. Pss 2:6; 87:1). Other gods were also worshipped on mountains (cf. Deut 12:2; Isa 65:7; Jer 3:6; Ezek 18:6, 11). By looking up to "the mountains" and asking, "Where does my help come from?" the psalmist is effectively asking, "Who among the divine beings will help me?" (cf. the similar liturgical questions in Ps 4:7). The answer is clear in the next verse: "My help comes from YHWH, the one who make heaven and earth" (cf. Ps 89:6–15, where YHWH's superiority to all other divine beings is based on the fact that he alone created the universe).

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v. 1 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

  • The noun help (עֵזֶר) describes an "action by which humans or deities provide assistance or support to (other) humans (in both military and non-military contexts) in order to make their life or work or task easier" (SDBH). In the context of a pilgrimage song (v. 1: "a song of the ascents"), where Israelites are traveling on foot to Jerusalem, "help" might refer specifically to protection on the journey (cf. v. 3: "he will not let your foot slip;" v. 6: "the sun will not strike you during the day").

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v. 1 (Phrasal)

  • "Lifting one's eyes" (נשׂא עינים) is a Hebrew idiom for "looking up," as preliminary to seeing. E.g., "He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up (וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו), he saw (וַיַּרְא) camels approaching" (Gen 24:63, NLT). In some contexts, however, "lifting one's eyes >> looking up" describes an "action by which humans turn to a deity or place with the confidence that they will find help and support there" (SDBH). For example, the prophet Ezekiel contrasts a righteous person who "does not eat at the mountain shrines (אֶל הֶהָרִים לֹא אָכָל) or look to (וְעֵינָיו לֹא נָשָׂא) the idols of Israel" (18:6) and a wicked person who "eats at the mountain shrines (אֶל הֶהָרִים אָכַל)" (18:11) and "looks to (נָשָׂא עֵינָיו) the idols" (18:12) (NIV; cf. Ezek 18:15; 23:27; 33:25; Ps 123:1). "Looking to idols" in this context (lit.: "lifting up his eyes to idols") means placing confidence in them and looking to them for help. Similarly, in Psalm 121, the psalmist "looks up" (אֶשָּׂא עֵינַי) "to the mountains" (אֶל הֶהָרִים, cf. Ezek 18:6, 12) for divine help.

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v. 1 (Phrasal)

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v. 1 (Textual)

  • The superscription of Psalm 121 differs from the other Psalms of Ascents (Pss 120–134). Whereas the other psalms in the series have שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת, Psalm 121 has שִׁיר לַמַּעֲלוֹת (a lamed prepositional phrase [לַ] instead of a construct chain [הַ]). Perhaps the reason for the difference is poetic alliteration. Note the similarity in sound between לַמַּעֲלוֹת in the superscription and לַמִּלְחָמָה, the last word of the previous psalm (Ps 120). Also note לַמּוֹט in Psalm 121:3 and the similar sounding phrase at the end of Psalm 121: מֵעַתָּה וְעַד־עוֹלָם (v. 8). Biblical Hebrew authors often chose unique words or phrases for alliteration (see the various studies in Rendsburg 2019).
  • The Great Psalms Scroll (11Q5), which represents a revised and expanded version of the proto-Masoretic Psalter (see Longacre 2022, 85–111), has שיר המעלות for the superscription of Psalm 121, instead of שיר למעלות (so MT). Several of the medieval Hebrew manuscripts collated by Kennicott also read שיר המעלות (Kennicott 1776, 421). The Septuagint (ᾠδὴ τῶν ἀναβαθμῶν), Jerome (canticum graduum), and the Targum (שירא דאתאמר על מסיקיין דתהומא) translate the superscription of Psalm 121 the same way they translate the other superscriptions in Pss 120–134, which suggests either that they read שיר המעלות or that they interpreted שיר למעלות and שיר המעלות as synonymous expressions. In his commentary on Psalm 120 (Greek: Psalm 119), Theodoret reports that "Symmachus and Aquila have 'for the Ascents (εἰς τὰς ἀναβάσεις)'" (Theodoret, trans. Hill, 2001, 279). It seems likely that Theodoret accidentally got the psalm number wrong and that the reading he reports for Symmachus and Aquila actually applies to Psalm 121 (Greek: Psalm 120). Thus, Symmachus and Aquila appear to support the reading of the Masoretic Text. In any case, the Masoretic reading (שִׁיר לַמַּעֲלוֹת) is likely earlier than the alternative reading. The reading שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת (see 11Q5 et al.) is a harmonization to the surrounding Psalms.

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v. 2 (Phrasal)

  • The preposition from (מֵעִם) is a compound preposition (מִן "from" + עִם "with") that indicates the "origin" of the help (DCH). "Help," which was with (עִם) YHWH, comes from (מֵ) him and to the psalmist (cf. Stazsack 2024, 283). The preposition corresponds to the interrogative "from where" (מֵאַיִן) in the previous clause and introduces the answer to the question.

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v. 2 (Phrasal)

  • The phrase heaven and earth (שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ) is "a more or less fixed phrase... equivalent to a single lexical item: the totality of God's creation" (SDBH). The phrase occurs three times within the Song of Ascents (see also Pss 124:8; 134:3).

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v. 3 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

  • The verb guard (שׁמר) occurs six times in this psalm (vv. 3b, 4b, 5a, 7ab, 8a)—a remarkably high number of occurrences for such a short psalm. In its most basic, concrete sense, the verb שׁמר describes an "action by which humans or deities carefully observe an object or event for a longer period of time" (SDBH). It thus belongs to the lexical domain of "See(ing)" (so SDBH). E.g., Ps 37:37—"Observe (שְׁמָר) the blameless person, and look at (וּרְאֵה) the upright" (NASB). This is poetically significant, since the psalm begins with a phrase about seeing: "I lift my eyes up to the mountains..." (v. 1). The psalm thus describes a mutual "seeing." YHWH's people look up (lit.: lifts their eyes) to the mountains, seeking YHWH's help, and YHWH looks down (lit.: "watches >> guards") on his people to protect them.
  • In this context, the verb שׁמר implies protection, belonging to the semantic domain of "See > Safe" and to the contextual domains of "Security" and "Well-being" (SDBH). It refers to a "causative action by which humans or deities make sure that an object is safe from harm; by observing the object and the surrounding area carefully and intervening when necessary" (SDBH). One thinks of a shepherd "guarding" (שׁמר) his flock (Gen 30:31; Jer 31:10) or a "watchman" (שֹׁמֵר) on a city wall (cf. Isa 21:11–12; 62:6; Song 5:7; see also KAI 194.11 [Lachish 4], "watching [שמר] for smoke signals;" so Ibn Ezra: "because every fortified city has watchmen [שומרי] on the walls at night"). Elsewhere, the word is used, as it is here, for divine protection on a journey (e.g., Gen 28:15, 20).

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v. 3 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

  • A "watchman" (שֹׁמֵר) on the night shift (cf. Isa 21:11–12) might be tempted to "doze off" (נוּם) or "fall asleep" (ישׁן) on the job. But "the one who guards Israel never dozes or falls asleep." The verb doze off (נוּם) only occurs six times in the OT, and two of them are in this psalm (see also Isa 5:27; 56:10; Nah 3:18; Ps 76:6; cf. 4Q424, 3.5). The Septuagint translates the verb here with a form of the verb νυστάζω, which means "to be half asleep, doze" (LSJ). Most English translations use the word "slumbers," but "dozes" might be a better natural-language equivalent (GNT; so Goldingay 2006, 454). One can speak of a watchman "dozing off" on the job. This meaning of the verb is supported by a non-biblical psalm from Qumran (Ps 155), which describes a sequence of sleeping and waking, beginning with the verb נוּם: "I dozed off (נמתי) and fell asleep (ואישנה); I dreamt (חלמתי) and woke up (הקיצותי)" (11Q5 column 27 line 16).

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v. 3 (Phrasal)

  • The phrase translated let... slip (יִתֵּן לַמּוֹט; also in Ps 66:9) is, literally, "give to the slipping." The verb נתן, followed by an infinitive (or, in this case, a noun communicating a verbal idea), is a Biblical Hebrew way of saying "allow X-event to happen." See e.g., Gen 20:6—"I did not let you touch her (לֹא נְתַתִּיךָ לִנְגֹּעַ אֵלֶיהָ)" (NIV; see DCH נתן entry 7). The article on the word "slip" (לַמּוֹט) represents the generic use of the article, which is often used with "abstract terms, referring to attributes, qualities, or states" (IBHS §13.5.1g). In this case, it is used with an event ("slipping").

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v. 3 (Verbal)

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v. 4 (Textual)

  • The Great Psalms Scroll (11Q5; cf. note on v. 1) adds בלילה ("at night") at the end of v. 4. The DJD editor grouped this phrase with what follows, as the start of v. 5 (Sanders 1965, 24; so BHS), but it could just as easily be grouped with what precedes, as the end of v. 4—the spacing in the manuscript is indecisive. It makes more sense to group it with v. 4; "at night" fits better with the language of sleeping in v. 4 than with the language of shade in v. 5. The addition of this phrase is not attested in any other witness. It might be a literary addition. It might also be a scribal error (cf. בלילה יהוה ישמרכה in v. 6b–7a, on the next row of the manuscript, which looks like בלילה יהוה שומרכה in vv. 4b–5).

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v. 5 (Method:Lexical Semantics)

  • Verse 5b describes YHWH as shade (צֵל) for his people, protecting them from the sun's scorching heat (see v. 6a; cf. references to the "shade" of trees in Judg 9:15; Ps 80:11; Jonah 4:5–6; etc.).

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v. 5 (Phrasal)

  • Some English translations render the phrase עַל יַד יְמִינֶךָ as "at your right hand" (NET, NIV) or "by your side" (GNT, CSB). Similarly, Mena categorizes the use of עַל in this verse as a "contingent locative: The TR [=YHWH] is next to the LM [=your right hand] in close proximity" (2012, 121). Compare the similar phrase in Ps 110:5—"The Lord is at your right hand" (אֲדֹנָי עַל־יְמִינְךָ). But in this context, where protection from the sun is in view (see v. 6), עַל probably conveys its basic sense of "over" or "above." As Zenger writes, "The preposition עַל is to be translated here not as 'at the side of' or 'at your right hand' but as 'over,' since צֵל, 'shade,' evokes the idea of a 'sheltering umbrella' over the human being while he or she is traveling 'day and night'" (2011, 316).
  • The contruct phrase יַד יְמִינוֹ means "the hand of his right-hand side, i.e. his right hand" (DCH; e.g., Judg 3:15; Jer 22:24; Ezek 39:3; Ps 73:23) and is synonymous with יְמִינֹו by itself (see e.g., Gen 48:14 where the Samaritan Pentateuch has יד ימינו instead of MT's ימינו). A person's "right hand" is their "strong hand," and YHWH's position at or over a person's "right hand" elsewhere communicates his protective presence (cf. Ps 16:8; 109:3). In this context, where it communicates his protection from the sun (v. 6), "right hand" takes on additional significance, since the right hand was "the side of the human body which is to the south when facing the direction of the rising sun" (SDBH, cf. Ps 89:13, where יָמִין means "south"). Israel is in the Northern Hemisphere, just north of the equator, where the sun is always in the southern part of the sky, especially at midday. As a result, southern exposure gets the most direct sunlight, and shade would be most beneficial on the southern side of one's body, on one's "right" (יָמִין).

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v. 5 (Textual)

  • In v. 5a, the MT has a verbless clause with a nominalized participle functioning as the predicate complement: "YHWH is the one who guards you (שֹׁמְרֶךָ)." The participle reading is also attested in the Great Psalms Scroll (11Q5, שומרכה) and in the Peshitta: "The Lord is your watchman (ܢܛܘܪܟ)" (Taylor 2020, 533). Some of the ancient versions, however, appear to reflect a yiqtol verb here (ישמרך, LXX: φυλάξει; Jerome iuxta Hebr.: custodiet; Targum: ינטרינך). It is also possible, however, that these translations reflect a participle and that their choice to render it as a future-tense verb is a matter of translation technique. In either case, the nominalized-participle reading makes for a better parallel with the verbless clause in v. 5b. The yiqtol reading (if indeed that is what stands behind these translations) might represent an assimilation to v. 7a: יהוה ישמרך. (Alternatively, the MT/11Q5 reading might represent an assimilation to the participle שמרך in v. 3b and the phrase שומר ישראל in v. 4b).

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v. 8 (Phrasal)

The compound phrase "going out and coming in" (בוא וצאת) describes one's "daily activities" (Baethgen 1904, 375; cf. Deut 28:6; 31:2). Elsewhere, the two terms are opposites. E.g., Gen 31:33—"And he went out (וַיֵּצֵא) of Leah’s tent and entered (וַיָּבֹא) Rachel’s" (ESV). But in Ps 121, they function as a merism (cf. שׁמים וארץ in v. 2), encompassing all the activities a person might do. As Chrysostom writes, "Here, I agree, he refers to all of life: all of life is covered by this, entrances and exits" (Chrysostom trans. Hill 1998, 144). Thus, the NET translates, "The LORD will protect you in all you do."

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