Psalm 23/Notes/Grammar.V. 5.158455

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  • E. Power proposed emending שֻׁלְחָ֗ן ("table"[1]) to שֶׁלַח ("missile, javelin, weapon"[2]). This emendation results in the translation: "Thou preparest (or bearest) before me weapons against my enemies."[3] Power assumes dittography for שֻׁלְחָן נֶגֶד (the final letter of שֻׁלְחָן would be a dittography of the first letter of the subsequent word נֶגֶד). Koehler and Morgenstern add their support to Power's proposal,[4] but the lack of textual support makes his proposal unlikely. 
  • Instead of the MT reading כֹּוסִ֥י ("my cup"), the LXX reads καὶ τὸ ποτήριόν σου (= וְכוֹסְךָ "and your cup"). Moreover, the LXX translates אַךְ׀ טֹוב as part of v.5 instead of v.6 as in the MT. This rendering results in καὶ τὸ ποτήριόν σου μεθύσκον (6) ὡς κράτιστον ("and your cup cheers me like the best [wine?]"[5]). The LXX rendering is unlikely for it requires a different Hebrew text and lacks the support of both ancient and modern versions.
  • In the Bible, the word "cup" is used in its literal sense (e.g., Gen 40, 44:2), but it is also used figuratively. When the term "cup" (כֹּוס) is used figuratively, it is often used as "a symbol of one's portion or lot in life."[6] YHWH may fill a person's "cup" with blessing or judgment based on their obedience or disobedience. For example, the prophets pronounced judgment upon sinful nations, saying that they would drink of the cup of God's wrath (Jer 25:15). Therefore, the cup symbolizes God's judgment against sin. Alternatively, the cup may represent God's blessing (Pss 16:5; 23:5; 116:13; 1 Cor 10:16). Typically, the cup of blessing refers to deliverance or salvation, but it may simply represent a life filled with good things.[7] In Ps 23:5, the cup is a symbol for all the benefits God provides for the psalmist.[8]
  1. DCH.
  2. DCH.
  3. Power 1928, 439.
  4. Cf. Koehler 1956, 233 and Morgenstern 1946, 16.
  5. Craigie 2004, 204 and Ross 2011, 554.
  6. Ross 2011, 568.
  7. Ross 2011, 568.
  8. DBI.