Psalm 46/Notes/Grammar.v. 2.338247

In v. 2b, the form נִמְצָא can be read in three ways: a.) as a qatal of the tolerative niphal (preferred); b.) as a 1cpl qal yiqtol (disprefrerred); and c.) as a ms niphal participle (dispreferred).

• Here, taking נִמְצָא as a qatal (has made himself to be found) is favored (although in CBC, it is smoothed out as is readily available; modern translations tend to be very paraphrastic as well, making it difficult to tell what they are paraphrasing, a qatal or a ms participle [cf. "an ever-present help in trouble", NIV; cf. NLT; ESV; NASV; NKJV; JPS1917; NRSV; HOF; NBS; etc]). The LXX has βοηθὸς ἐν θλίψεσιν ταῖς εὑρούσαις ἡμᾶς σφόδρα, wherein ταῖς εὑρούσαις modifies afflictions, not God (NETS: "God is our refuge and power, very much a helper in afflictions that befall us"; cf. Vulg.; Luther 2017; WYC; UKR). The niphal of מצא with God as subject is well-attested in the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Isa 65:1: נמצאתי ללא בקשני/“I permitted myself to be found by those who did not seek me” [NASB]; cf. ראה in niphal in Ex 33:23 [sich sehen lassen) and is preferred by a number of scholars (cf. "a very present help in trouble] Lit., a help in distresses hath he let himself be found exceedingly"; "The niph'al in v. 1b should be taken in a reflexive [tolerative] rather than a passive sense (Duhm, Eaton), and the perfect needs to be translated in contrast with the imperfects in v. 3: 'He has made himself to be found indeed,' 'he has plainly shown himself'..." ). Based on such usage of מצא with God, v. 2b could indicate that the community in distress (בצרות) has sought God and he responded favorably by making himself available to them (cf. Jer 29:14; equally however, God can let people find him even when they do not seek him [cf. Isa 65:1]).
• See the alternative below for reading נִמְצָא as a 1cpl qal yiqtol.
• Alternatively, נִמְצָא can be taken as a ms passive participle (cf. EHV; HCSB ). Cf. "a Hebrew phrase (nimṣā’ mĕ’ōd) that may be woodenly translated ‘is found greatly’. Therefore, it is an intensifying phrase, well rendered by ‘ever-present’, although it could conceivably be ‘well proved’ (see NRSV alternative)." But the temporal בצרות ("in great trouble") would suggest an interrupted action, calling for a yiqtol, not a participle which normally represents an uninterrupted event.