Psalm 23/Notes/Grammar.V. 2.273294

• The noun מֵ֖י (waters >> water) in מֵ֖י מְנֻחֹ֣ות ("waters of resting places" >> "water where I can rest") is a plural of extension; therefore, it can be rendered in English as a singular. Since מֵ֖י is in construct to מְנֻחֹ֣ות (rest, resting places), the plural of מֵ֖י probably led to the plural of מְנֻחֹ֣ות. The plural of מְנֻחֹ֣ות could also be understood as a plural of abstraction ("an abstract noun is quite often expressed by a plural . . . [such as] בַּטֻּחוֹת security") or a plural of amplification ("the plural form is used to intensify the idea of the stem").

The construct chain מֵ֖י מְנֻחֹ֣ות literally means "waters of restful/resting places;" i.e., "water by which the sheep may rest, the idea being parallel to that in v. 2a." REB represents this reading: "He leads me to water where I may find rest" (so JPS, 1985: "He leads me to water in places of repose"). As TDOT noted, "The OT notion of rest is associated not only with the land [e.g., Ps 95.11 where מְנוּחָה is the word for the 'rest' YHWH provided in the land], the promise [e.g., Isa 32:18 promises that the people will abide in secure resting places], and the temple [Ps. 132: 8,14 describe the resting place of the ark of the covenant] but also with the guidance of Yahweh [which] is clear from Ps 23:2: Yahweh leads the psalmist to 'waters of rest' (a pasture with water)." Alternatively, מְנוּחָה could be read as referring to the waters themselves being quiet (e.g., NIV) or still (e.g., ESV). This alternative interpretation may relate to the opinion that sheep prefer to drink water that is motionless. However, water that does not flow along a current can be unsafe to drink, so it is unlikely the psalmist envisaged motionless water. Nevertheless, since the water is found in a place of repose, it was more than likely calm rather than raging. Because the CBC represents the semantics of the Hebrew wherever possible, we retain the reading of מְנוּחָה as a resting place (so LXX: ἐπὶ ὕδατος ἀναπαύσεως ["by water of rest"]) while recognizing that the water was most likely calm.

Through the imageries "in green pastures" and "to water of resting places," "the psalmist evokes in the reader's mind feelings of security as well as sustenance through the peaceful, rich imagery of animals grazing and resting in a verdant watered meadow, to which they have been safely led by their shepherd."