Psalm 23 Exegetical Issues

From Psalms: Layer by Layer
Psalm 23/Exegetical Issues
Jump to: navigation, search

Choose a PsalmNavigate Psalm 23

Guardian: Mari Strube

Exegetical Issues Video

Introduction to Exegetical Issues

Presented here are the top three Exegetical Issues that any interpreter of the psalm—whether they’re reading the text in Hebrew or looking at a number of translations—are likely to encounter. These issues usually involve textual criticism, grammar, lexical semantics, verbal semantics, and/or phrase-level semantics, though they sometimes involve higher-level layers as well.

Exegetical Issues for Psalm 23

In Ps 23:3b, the psalmist states that YHWH leads him בְמַעְגְּלֵי־צֶדֶק. This prepositional phrase has been interpreted in two primary ways: (1) YHWH leading the psalmist to walk in safe and correct paths or (2) YHWH leading the psalmist to walk in the way of righteousness.
The morphology and meaning of צַלְמָוֶת in Ps 23:4a is disputed. The word is, as one scholar writes, a "puzzling term," and scholars have been debating its meaning for years.
One of the most debated issues of Psalm 23 concerns the verb וְשַׁבְתִּי in verse 6. Translations have read the text in three different ways: (1) read as וְשַׁבְתִּי with the Masoretic Text, "and I will return"; (2) read as וְשִׁבְתִּי with the Septuagint, "and my dwelling"; or (3) read as וְיָשַׁבְתִּי with other ancient versions, "and I will dwell."