Psalm 121/Story Behind/Assumptions

Verse	Text (Hebrew)	Text (CBC)	Common Ground	Local Ground	Playground
1	שִׁ֗יר לַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת	Song of the Ascents
	אֶשָּׂ֣א עֵ֭ינַי אֶל־הֶהָרִ֑ים	I lift my eyes toward the mountains.	• "In various OT texts, mountains are... often places used for the worship of Baal and other foreign gods" (Willis 1990, 245). See Deut 12:2; Hos 4:13; Isa 57:7; 65:7; Jer 3:6, 23; Ezek 6:2–7, 13; 18:6, 15. • Lifting one's eyes to someone or something (נשׂא ענים אל) usually refers to an "action by which humans turn to a deity or place with the confidence that they will find help and support there" (SDBH). E.g., "He does not eat upon the mountains (אֶל הֶהָרִים לֹא אָכָל) or lift up his eyes to (וְעֵינָיו לֹא נָשָׂא אֶל) the idols of the house of Israel" (Ezek 18:6, ESV; cf. Ezek 18:11–12, 15; 23:27; 33:25; Ps 123:1).		• The psalmist pretends to look and see which spiritual being can help him. See The Mountains in Psalm121:1.
	מֵ֝אַ֗יִן יָבֹ֥א עֶזְרִֽי׃	Where will my help come from?		• The psalmist is in need of help	• The psalmist needs help on his pilgrim journey to Jerusalem (see superscription)
2	עֶ֭זְרִי מֵעִ֣ם יְהוָ֑ה עֹ֝שֵׂ֗ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃	My help is from YHWH, the one who made heaven and earth.		• YHWH made heaven and earth	• As the "one who made heaven and earth" (עשה שמים וארץ), YHWH is superior to all other gods. See Ps 115:15 (cf. vv. 3–14); Isa 42:5; 45:18 (cf. v. 20); Jer 10:11–12 (cf. vv. 2–10). Cf. Willis 1990, 245.
3	אַל־יִתֵּ֣ן לַמּ֣וֹט רַגְלֶ֑ךָ	May he not let your foot slip!	• On a journey, one might lose proper footing and slip and fall. • Life is like a journey (cf. Ps 1:1), and losing one's footing ("slipping") means encountering hardship on the journey (Pss 38:17; 66:9; 94:18; cf. Ps 91:12; see also the expression בל אמוט/ימוט in Pss 10:6; 16:8; 21:8; 30:7; Prov 10:30).		• The addressee fears hardship on his journey
	אַל־יָ֝נ֗וּם שֹֽׁמְרֶֽךָ׃	May the one who guards you not doze off!	• Someone who never dozes off or never sleeps is always vigilant and always ready for action (cf. Isa 5:27) • "Hail to you, who created all this... who spends the night awake when all the world sleeps, seeking what is good for his flock; Amun, abiding in all things, Atum Harakhte. Praise to you with what they all say to you: They rejoice in you because you have labored with us, they kiss the earth before you because you have created us" (Egyptian hymn to Amon, cited in Bojowlad 2021, 60; see Assman 1999, 200 [§87E]). • "Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened" (1 Kgs 18:27, NIV); "my Princess eats and is stated and sleeps" (COS I.199)
4	הִנֵּ֣ה לֹֽא־יָ֭נוּם וְלֹ֣א יִישָׁ֑ן שׁ֝וֹמֵ֗ר יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃	Indeed, the one who guards Israel will not doze off and will not fall asleep.
5	יְהוָ֥ה שֹׁמְרֶ֑ךָ	YHWH is the one who guards you.	• "Every fortified city has watchmen [שומרי] on the walls at night" (Ibn Ezra; cf. Isa 21:11–12; 62:6; Song 5:7; see also KAI 194.11 [Lachish 4], "watching [שמר] for smoke signals") • Shepherds "guard" their flocks, even during the night (Gen 30:31; Jer 31:10; cf. Luke 2:8; compare the Egyptian Hymn to Amon cited in Bojowlad 2021, 60, which describes Amon as a shepherd who never sleeps, but constantly cares for his flock).
	יְהוָ֥ה צִ֝לְּךָ֗ עַל־יַ֥ד יְמִינֶֽךָ׃	YHWH is your shade over your right hand.	• The "shade" of trees and rocks protects a person from exposure to the sun's heat (cf. Judg 9:15; Hos 4:13; Jonah 4:5–6; Isa 32:2) • 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). • "Right hand" (ימין) can also refer to the cardinal direction "south" (Ps 89:13; see SDBH: "the side of the human body which is to the south when facing the direction of the rising sun"). 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).
6	יוֹמָ֗ם הַשֶּׁ֥מֶשׁ לֹֽא־יַכֶּ֗כָּה	During the day, the sun will not strike you,	• The sun "strikes" those who are exposed to its heat (cf. Isa 49:10; Jonah 4:8; perhaps a personification: the sun is a person who "strikes" someone with its weapon-like heat. But the image appears to have become conventionalized [see e.g., Jonah 4:8].) • An invading army would "strike" a city (Judg 1:8; Josh 15:16) • In the ancient world, people imbued the sun and moon with divine powers. Many people worshipped the sun and the moon (see the DDD articles on "Moon" and "Shemesh"). See Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 23:5, 11; Job 31:26; Jer 8:2; Ezek 8:16.		• The addressee fears the dangers of the sun and moon on his journey
	וְיָרֵ֥חַ בַּלָּֽיְלָה׃	nor the moon at night.	• In the ancient world (ANE and Graeco-Roman), certain dangers were associated with the moon, especially skin diseases and epilepsy: "When the moon is full, man is exposed to its rays and, when unprotected, he is in great danger of contracting an abhorrent skin disease like leprosy; blindness is also possible. When the moon is new, or rather during the moonless nights at the end of the month, an epileptic fit caused by demonic powers threatens him" (Stol 1993, 121–130, on p. 130; see e.g., Matt 4:24; 17:15; cf. Pesachim 111a, commenting on צלמות Ps 23:3: "This is a person who sleeps in the shadow of a single palm tree, and in the shadow of the moon;" see the primary-source evidence in Stohl).
7	יְֽהוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָרְךָ֥ מִכָּל־רָ֑ע	YHWH will guard you from all harm.
	יִ֝שְׁמֹ֗ר אֶת־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃	He will guard your life.
8	יְֽהוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָר־צֵאתְךָ֥ וּבוֹאֶ֑ךָ מֵֽ֝עַתָּ֗ה וְעַד־עוֹלָֽם׃	YHWH will guard your going out and your coming in from now until forever.	• The compound phrase "going out and coming in" (בוא וצאת) describes one's "daily activities" (Baethgen 1904, 375; cf. Deut 28:6; 31:2).		• In the specific context of a pilgrimage, "going out and coming in" might refer to entering and leaving Jerusalem