Psalm 4/Notes/Lexical.v. 3.814173

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  • The phrases love vanity (תֶּאֱהָבוּן רִיק) and seek falsehood (תְּבַקְשׁוּ כָזָב) in v. 3b probably refer to the worship of false gods. Cf. Chrysostom (trans. Hill 1998, 55): "[the psalmist] seems... to be speaking of idols." The words "vanity" (רִיק) and "falsehood" (כָזָב) are euphemisms for idols. The REB, for example, says, "setting your hearts on empty idols and resorting to false gods?" Similarly, the NIV has "love delusions and seek false gods." Most translations, however, interpret "vanity" and "falsehood" as a reference to false accusations which the people are bringing against the psalmist. The NLT, for example, says "How long will you make groundless accusations? How long will you continue your lies?" (cf. NRSV, ESV, HFA, NGÜ, GNB, NFC. For this interpretation). But if "falsehood" (כָזָב) refers to "groundless accusations" (NLT), then we would not expect it to be the object of the verb "seek" (תְּבַקְשׁוּ). As Wilson notes, "elsewhere in the OT, humans are said to 'speak' lies, never to 'seek' them" (Wilson 2002, 154). The word "seek" (בּקשׁ) is used, however, for seeking after a god (e.g., Deut 4:9; Isa 45:19), and so is the verb "love" (אהב, e.g., Deut 6:5; Hos 4:18; Jer 8:2). Likewise, the word "falsehood" (כָזָב) is elsewhere used to refer to false gods. The prophet Amos, for example, says that the people "have been led astray by false gods (כִּזְבֵיהֶם), the gods their ancestors followed" (Amos 2:4, NIV). Although the word "vanity" (רִיק) does not elsewhere refer to idols, some of its synonyms (other words belonging to the same semantic domain of 'emptiness') are used in this sense (e.g., אָוֶן: Isa 41:29, Hos 12:12, 1 Sam 15:23, Isa 1:13, 66:3, Zech 10:2; אֱלִֹיל: Lev 19:4, 26:1, Isa 2:8, 18, 20bis, Ps 96:5 = 1 Chron 16:26, Ps 97:7; הֶבֶל, plural: Jer 10:15, 16:19, 51:18, Deut 32:21, 1 Kgs 16:13, 26, Jer 8:19, 10:8, 14:22, Ps 31:7, Jon 2:9; singular: 2 Kgs 17:15, Jer 2:5, cf. Jer 10:15, 16:19, and 51:18); שָׁוְא: Jer 18:15, Jon 2:9, Ps 31:7). Thus, the "mortal humans" appear to be engaging in idolatry, "a perversion of pious Israelite practice — namely, 'to love Yahweh' and 'to seek Yahweh'" (Barré 1995; cf. Goldingay 2006).