Psalm 67 Verse-by-Verse
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
Back to Psalm 67 overview page.
Welcome to the Verse-by-Verse Notes for Psalm 67!
The Verse-by-Verse Notes present scholarly, exegetical materials (from all layers of analysis) in a verse-by-verse format. They often present alternative interpretive options and justification for a preferred interpretation. The Verse-by-Verse Notes are aimed at consultant-level users.
The discussion of each verse of this psalm includes the following items.
- A link to the part of the overview video where the verse in question is discussed.
- The verse in Hebrew and English.[1]
- An expanded paraphrase of the verse.[2]
- A grammatical diagram of the verse, which includes glosses for each word and phrase.[3]
- A series of notes on the verse, which contain information pertaining to the interpretation of the psalm (e.g., meaning of words and phrases, poetic features, difficult grammatical constructions, etc.).
v. 1
Watch the Overview video on v. 1.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | לַמְנַצֵּ֥ח בִּנְגִינֹ֗ת מִזְמ֥וֹר שִֽׁיר׃ | For the director. With stringed instruments. A psalm, a song. |
Expanded Paraphrase
For the director. With stringed instruments. A psalm, a song. (We are gathered together at the designated place of worship with our firstfruits, worshiping YHWH, as he commanded in Leviticus 23:9-14.)
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
See here for a discussion of the phrase for the director.
vv. 2-3
Watch the Overview video on vv. 2-3.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 2a | אֱלֹהִ֗ים יְחָנֵּ֥נוּ וִֽיבָרְכֵ֑נוּ | May God be gracious to us and may he bless us. |
| 2b | יָ֤אֵ֥ר פָּנָ֖יו אִתָּ֣נוּ סֶֽלָה׃ | May he shine his face toward us -- Selah |
| 3a | לָדַ֣עַת בָּאָ֣רֶץ דַּרְכֶּ֑ךָ | -- in order to understand your way on earth, |
| 3b | בְּכָל־גּ֝וֹיִ֗ם יְשׁוּעָתֶֽךָ׃ | your salvation among all nations. |
Expanded Paraphrase
(Knowing that humans are dependent on divine intervention for a whole range of blessings, including but not limited to fertility, health, prosperity, and victory), (and knowing that God has the capacity to bless people), (and knowing that God has blessed us as the nation of Israel in the past), (in the spirit of the priestly blessing given to Aaron in Numbers 6) May God (that is, YHWH, our covenant-keeping God) be gracious to us and may he bless us. May he shine his face toward us (as someone in authority over us, giving us his continued presence and favour) -- Selah
-- in order to understand your way (your patterns of behavior) on earth (since the nations around Israel do not yet know God) (and people can learn more about God), your salvation (success, deliverance, victory, and protection) among all nations (as they see how you behave with us).
Grammatical Diagram
Notes on Verse 2
- This opening verse of the psalm draws closely on the Aaronic blessing (Numbers 6:22-27). Although the words of Psalm 67 are slightly different from the original blessing (see the Surprise! Poetic Feature for more details), this combination of verbs and expressions would likely have called up priestly settings for the original hearers.
- God (Elohim) in this psalm refers to the same god as the Covenant God of Israel (YHWH).
- Although not all the verbs in this verse are morphologically jussive, we take our cue from shine and the connections with the Aaronic prayer to consider them all with jussive force. The result is the language of request.[4] The verbs of Psalm 67 are discussed more fully under the Verbal Semantics of Psalm 67 exegetical discussion.[5]
- Bless serves as a very broad term that encompasses prosperity in every aspect of life. Deuteronomy 28 outlines many of the blessings available to Israel in the covenant; Tate (1998) gives an overview of different categories that may have been included.[6]
- The term be gracious to (חנן) can also mean to show favor, to be "kindly disposed" or "generous."[7]
- To shine is "associated with well-being and wisdom."[8] God's face shining is associated throughout Scripture with his favor.[9]
- The use of toward for the preposition אִתָּ֣נוּ helpfully brings out the component of relationship, the sense of affection brought out by SDBH. Another option could be "upon."[10] In any case, the construction used here in Psalm 67 seems to match the meaning of the preposition אל used in Numbers 6:25-26.
- Selah is often used in psalms at what appear to be transitional points. Its presence here, in the middle of a sentence, is surprising, and it should prompt us to consider what kind of transition is happening within this very sentence. The Surprise! Poetic Feature provides additional insights into this transition.
Notes on Verse 3
- Verse 3 shifts from language of the Aaronic blessing, as found in verse 2, to language of the Abrahamic blessing, not only in semantic content,[11] but also in the use of the 2nd-person pronominal suffix.[12] Please consult the Surprise! Poetic Feature for more details.
- The prefix ל opening the verse is one of purpose, in order. The subject may be understood as “those on earth.” See The Grammar and Meaning of Ps. 67:3 for a more extensive discussion of the intricacies of this verse. Note that the infinitive לָדַ֣עַת ‘to understand’ has been elided in the second clause of verse 3, but applies to both clauses.
- Earth here refers to the whole world. It is possible the word also suggests a double entendre with the land of Israel. In fact, it's likely that the author has encoded some intentional ambiguity here, since the blessing on "our land" will be turned into blessing for the whole earth. See the What on Earth? Poetic Feature for more insights into the word ‘earth’ as used throughout Psalm 67.
- Both 3a and 3b feature an unconventional word order in Hebrew, where the prepositional phrase appears before the object. A similar word order appears in 5c, where the prepositional phrase appears before the verb. This word order serves to provide additional prominence to the concept of "the peoples" throughout the psalm.
- God’s way may be understood as his characteristic activity (e.g., Psalm 103:7) and his mighty acts.[13] God often “makes known” his way to Israel (e.g., Exodus 18:20, when he gives the Torah; Exodus 33:13, where Moses asks God to teach him his way; Jeremiah 5:4, where Israel is accused of not knowing God’s way). Here he makes it known not only to Israel but also to the nations! It was known that foreigners would be drawn to him when they heard about his deeds (e.g., 1 Kings 8:41-43).
- God’s salvation represents security, including protection, success, and deliverance[14], suggesting that those under his care will not come into harm, ruin, or loss.[15] The Venn diagram below shows the differences and overlap between one possible American English understanding of the term and our best understanding of the original Hebrew meaning:
- Applied to a plural and indefinite noun, all (כֹּל) here might also be phrased "each and every one."[16] The choice of the indefinite seems to suggest that the Hebrews felt they did not know who all the nations were and wanted to use a term that would encompass every possibility, no exceptions.
- See the notes on verse 4 for a discussion of nations (גּ֝וֹיִ֗ם) and other “people group” words.
v. 4
Watch the Overview video on v. 4.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 4a | יוֹד֖וּךָ עַמִּ֥ים ׀ אֱלֹהִ֑ים | Let the peoples praise you, God, |
| 4b | י֝וֹד֗וּךָ עַמִּ֥ים כֻּלָּֽם׃ | let the peoples praise you, all of them. |
Expanded Paraphrase
(Having recognised your blessing to Israel) (and since people praise others when they are impressed with and/or thankful for them), Let the peoples praise you, God. (But not just some of them; we want the whole world to know you and give you praise.) Let the peoples praise you, all of them.
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- The two lines of this verse are nearly identical, suggesting a rhetorical function of repetition in order to highlight these words as important. Indeed, this sentiment is stated 4 times total in the psalm (two times here in verse 4, and another two times in verse 6)!
- All three words used in this psalm for peoples or nations (גּוֺיִם in v. 3; עַמִּים in vv. 4-5-6; לְאֻמִּים in v. 5) refer to groups of people "united by common descent, religion, or language."[17] All can be personified. See the Venn diagram below for a comparison of the three terms. As a brief summary:
- לְאֹם is somewhat archaic, the least common, and is only found in poetry; only once does it refer exclusively to Israel
- the other two terms can refer to Israel or to the non-Israelite nations, but very often refer to the non-Israelite nations when used in plural
- עַם seems the most generic but also has the strongest connections with religious covenant associations and kinship relationships
- The term praise may be defined as an "action by which humans openly express recognition of what someone else has done or achieved."[18] God's mighty deeds are connected with praise in multiple places in the psalms (e.g., 106:2, 145:4, and 150:2) but also in the Torah (Deut 3:24 and 10:21). As mentioned in verse 3 above, foreigners are going to be drawn to Israel because of God's reputation (lit. his name) and his ability to accomplish mighty deeds (1 Kings 8:41-43).
v. 5
Watch the Overview video on v. 5.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 5a | יִֽשְׂמְח֥וּ וִֽירַנְּנ֗וּ לְאֻ֫מִּ֥ים | Let the nations shout joyfully, |
| 5b | כִּֽי־תִשְׁפֹּ֣ט עַמִּ֣ים מִישׁ֑וֹר | because you rule the peoples fairly, |
| 5c | וּלְאֻמִּ֓ים ׀ בָּאָ֖רֶץ תַּנְחֵ֣ם סֶֽלָה׃ | and the nations you guide on the earth. Selah. |
Expanded Paraphrase
Let the nations shout joyfully, because (they see and/or experience for themselves that) (just as you, our king, rule us fairly and lead us, so) you (as the king with dominion over the whole world) rule the peoples fairly, and the nations you guide on the earth. Selah.
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- The only tricolon in the poem, verse 5 serves as the center to the strong chiastic structure of Psalm 67, as shown in the visual below:
- Notice how the words for peoples and nations move from last to first position over the course of the verse.[19] Remarkably, the central word of the whole poem falls in the center of the middle line, peoples (עַמִּ֣ים)—see the Center and Periphery Poetic Feature for more details.
- The two verbs in 5a function as an auxiliary verb construction: the first verb (joy) acts as an adverb modifying the second verb (ringing cry[20] or shout[21]). These verbs appear in collocation elsewhere, though often in the reverse order. See Zephaniah 3:14, Zechariah 2:14, and Psalms 5:12, 32:11, 35:27, 90:14, and 92:5.[22]
- The word rule comes from a Hebrew root often rendered ‘to judge’ (שָׁפַט). In Psalm 67, both 5b and 5c seem to be referring to God’s kingship over the nations (cf. Ps. 96). As king, his role, far beyond simply establishing justice (i.e., determining guilt and innocence), would also include exercising power and authority, including making laws. See the two Venn diagrams below for a comparison of the concepts of ‘judge' and 'rule' in English:
- The grammatical structure of 5c is ambiguous: Are the nations "on the earth" being guided, or is God guiding them "on the earth"? The grammatical diagram shows the two alternatives. The preferred reading, in black, views “on the earth” as an adverbial modifier of “guide”—where does God guide the nations? He guides them on the earth. This reading highlights the fact that his guidance happens over the whole earth, reaching even to the ends of the earth (verse 8).[23]
- The word guide suggests both leading and sustaining, like a shepherd (cf. Psalm 23:3), with wise and effective leadership. See the Venn diagram below.
This verb may call up connections with the Exodus—God will lead each nation of the earth as he did the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness.[24] They can depend on him for each move and for all provision along the way.[25]
v. 6
Watch the Overview video on v. 6.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 6a | יוֹד֖וּךָ עַמִּ֥ים ׀ אֱלֹהִ֑ים | Let the peoples praise you, God, |
| 6b | י֝וֹד֗וּךָ עַמִּ֥ים כֻּלָּֽם׃ | let the peoples praise you, all of them. |
Expanded Paraphrase
(When the nations submit willingly to you and experience your blessing on them as well as on Israel, they will be doubly inclined to praise you) Let the peoples praise you, God. Let the peoples praise you, all of them.
Grammatical Diagram
Notes
- Verse 6 is identical to verse 4, completing the strong chiastic center of this poem. Please see verse 4 for more details.
vv. 7-8
Watch the Overview video on vv. 7-8.
| v. | Hebrew | Close-but-clear |
|---|---|---|
| 7a | אֶ֭רֶץ נָתְנָ֣ה יְבוּלָ֑הּ | The earth has yielded its produce. |
| 7b | יְ֝בָרְכֵ֗נוּ אֱלֹהִ֥ים אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃ | May God, our God, bless us. |
| 8a | יְבָרְכֵ֥נוּ אֱלֹהִ֑ים | May God bless us |
| 8b | וְיִֽירְא֥וּ אֹ֝ת֗וֹ כָּל־אַפְסֵי־אָֽרֶץ׃ | so that all the ends of the earth will fear him. |
Expanded Paraphrase
The earth has yielded its produce. (We are standing here with our firstfruits, which provide evidence of God's answer to our prayer for blessing, since he gave the fertility and rain needed for crops.) (The firstfruits are a picture of more to come.) (Now, in order for this cycle to continue so more people can get to know God), May God, our God, bless us.
May God bless us so that (more and more nations covering more and more of the earth will come to know him, until finally) all the ends of the earth (will know him and, having come to know who he is) will fear (revere) him.
Grammatical Diagram
Notes on Verse 7
- A number of linguistic features seem to highlight 7a in this poem,[26] suggesting some type of emphasis, while the reference to produce suggests a probable context for this psalm of people bringing their firstfruits to God (see the Psalm 67 Story behind the Psalm for more details).[27]
- The word produce (יְבוּלָ֑הּ) is always used for agriculture (crops) in the Old Testament. There may be, however, a metaphorical play on words happening here with the “produce” also suggesting the praise of the nations (vv. 4-6)—nations represented by the first (v. 3) and final (v. 8) mentions of “earth.”
- It is to be understood that God gives fertility, rain, and protection of the growing crops so that the earth produces a harvest. In other words, the crops indicate God’s blessing as requested at the beginning of the poem.[28] Encouraged by this tangible evidence that God has already blessed them, the speakers of the poem reiterate their request in 7b; they have good reason to ask him to continue blessing them![29] In addition, poetically 7a is in chiastic relationship with 3b (see the diagram under the first verse 5 note above), connecting earth’s produce with God’s salvation (provision/care) for people. Given the ambiguity of the subject of verse 3, this produce probably indicates not only the blessing given to Israel, which the nations see, but also the same blessing given to the nations, one that they come to recognise as they come to understand God’s leadership (verse 5).
- The verbs in 7b (and 8a), as opposite in clear chiasm with the jussives of vv. 2-3, may also be taken as jussive. As noted above, the verbs of Psalm 67 are discussed more fully under the Verbal Semantics of Psalm 67 exegetical discussion.
Notes on Verse 8
- Verse 8 brings the poem full circle by juxtaposing Israel directly with the nations: 8a speaks of God blessing us, while 8b speaks of the ends of the earth, representing the nations. As each additional nation comes to know God and experience his blessing, the circle of “us” grows wider and wider, finally stretching to the ends of the earth. See Poetic Feature #2 for more details.
- The grammar of 8b[30] clarifies its function as a purpose clause for 8a. This relationship between the lines reinforces the relationship already established by verses 2 and 3; God blesses that others may come to know him.
- To fear God (ירא) is to revere him, to have respect and awe for him.[31] People come to revere someone as they get to know someone’s character and acts. In other words, knowing and fearing often come together.[32] This psalm makes it clear that there are currently people who do not know God well enough to be in awe of him, but when they do get to know him (vv. 2-3 and 5), they will revere him (v. 8) and praise him (vv. 4-6). Notice from the poetic line structure how verses 3 and 8 are connected poetically, with an inverted shape of 3/2 and 2/3 words per line, respectively:
- This poetic connection seems to reinforce the connections between the two verses of (1) know/fear and (2) the mention of the earth as representative of the people on the earth.[33]
- The idiom ends of the earth (אַפְסֵי־אָֽרֶץ) is figurative of the groups of people living all over the earth,[34] even to its extremities. Nations are equated elsewhere with the ends of the earth (Deut 33:17), both as a far antecedent (Psalm 59:9,14) and in parallel (Psalm 2:8, Psalm 22:28).[35] “To Israel, just as to Babylon (8) and Egypt (33 and 34), it is self-evident that it inhabits the center of the earth, while other nations dwell at earth’s edges”[36]—but see Poetic Feature #2 for a twist on how this ethno-centric orientation is treated in Psalm 67!
Legends
Grammatical diagram
For legend, click "Expand" to the right
| Grammatical Term | Definition | Diagram | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clausal Additions | |||
| Subject | The subject performs the action of the active verb or receives the action of a passive verb. With intransitive verbs |
Indicated at the beginning of the main clausal line, and followed by a vertical line that crosses over the main clause line (separating the subject from the predicate). |
|
| Direct Object | Object that receives the direct action of a (transitive) verb | Indicate with a vertical line up from main clausal line | 
|
| Predicate adjective/ Subject complement |
A word used with a linking verb (ex. "to be"), renaming or restating the subject. Can be a whole prepositional phrase. |
Indicate with a vertical slanted line up from the main clausal line. It can be on a stand if it is an embedded clause. |
|
| Object Complement | Word following a direct object to state what it has become. | Indicate with a vertical slanted line up from the main clausal line. |
|
| Infinitives | Can be subject, adverbial, or an infinitive construct. | Indicate with double vertical lines that cross the main clausal line. If used adverbially (ie. an embedded clause), place on a stand. |
|
| Participles | A verbal noun/adjective that can be used in three positions: (1) substantival; (2) attributive; (3) predicative. |
Indicate with a round vertical line. Substantival participles are placed on a stand (they are embedded). Attributive participles are placed with a rounded line underneath what is modified. |
|
| Modifiers | |||
| Adjectives | A word modifying a noun to indicate quality, quantity, extent, or differentiating something from something else. |
Indicate with a slanted line down from what is modified. |
|
| Adverbs | A word that modifies a verb, adverb, adjective, prepositional phrase, clause, or sentence to express a relation (ex. manner, quality, or time). |
Indicate with a slanted line down from what is modified. | 
|
| Construct relationships | Construction can express many different relationships between two (or more) nouns. English grammarians call this construction a ‘Construct’ (our term) or ‘Genitive’ phrase; Hebrew grammarians call it smīḵūt (סְמִיכוּת). |
Indicate with a stair-step down from the modified word/clause/phrase. |
|
| Prepositional phrases | A phrase that consists of a preposition and its object and has adjectival or adverbial value | Indicate with a slanted vertical line connecting to a new clause. |
|
| Connectives | (1) Coordinating conjunctions join together words or word groups of equal grammatical rank (2) Subordinating conjunctions join a main clause and a clause which does not form a complete sentence by itself. |
Indicate with a dashed line down from a vertical line marker. |
|
| Embedded clause | A clause inside another clause which can include substantival participles, adverbial infinitives, and prepositional phrases. |
Indicate using stilts. | 
|
| Particles | |||
| Subordinating particle | Indicates a dependent clause. |
Indicate with a dashed line down from the antecedent to the pronoun. |
|
| Apposition | A word that is functioning as an explanatory equivalent as another in the sentence | Place on a line apart from the diagram but next to the word it is the equivalent of with an equal sign in between. |
|
| Vocative | Indicating a person being addressed (usually with a 2nd person verb) | Place on a line apart from the diagram next to the '()' indicating the gapped subject an equal sign in between. |
|
Master Diagram
Shapes and colours on grammatical diagram
For legend, click "Expand" to the right
| Prepositional phrase | Construct chain | Construct chain within a prepositional phrase | Phrase-level waw | Article and כֹּל | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diagram Shading | 
|
|
|
|
|
| Definition | - A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition plus its object. The phrase usually modifies the clause or another constituent in the clause. | - A construct chain, also called a 'genitive phrase', is a grammatical encoding of the relationship 'A of B,' in which A is a phonologically modified noun (in the construct state), and B is a phonologically unmodified noun (the absolute state). | - Some construct chains occur within prepositional phrases |
- A waw conjunction can join units of all sizes. Phrase level waw join units at the word or phrase level (i.e., below the level of the clause). |
- Definite articles tell you something about the identifiability or inclusiveness about the word it is attached to - כֹּל is a quantifier that tells you about the scope of a word it is attached to |
Expanded paraphrase
For legend, click "Expand" to the right
- Close but Clear (CBC) translation
- Assumptions which provide the most salient background information, presuppositions, entailments, and inferences
References
- ↑ The Hebrew text comes from Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, which presents the text of the Leningrad Codex (the Masoretic text). The English text is our own "Close-but-clear" translation (CBC). The CBC is a “wooden” translation that exists to provide a window into the Hebrew text. It is essentially an interlinear that has been put into English word-order. It is also similar to a “back-translation” (of the Hebrew) often used in Bible translation checking. It is important to remember that the CBC is not intended to be a stand-alone translation, but is rather a tool for using the Layer by Layer materials. The CBC is used as the primary display text (along with the Hebrew) for most analytical visualisations. It is also used as the display text for most videos.
- ↑ A legend for the expanded paraphrase is available near the bottom of this page, in the section titled "Legends."
- ↑ Legends for both the grammatical diagram and the shapes and colours on the grammatical diagram are available near the bottom of this page, in the section titled "Legends."
- ↑ In speech-act terms, this means that declarative sentences have directive force, a pattern that repeats often throughout the poem. The speakers are requesting God to bless them so that the nations will praise and fear him. See more under the Speech Act Analysis for this psalm.
- ↑ Psalm 67: Looking Back, Looking Forward, or Both provides a view of how the verbs operate in the big picture of the psalm.
- ↑ "The blessing of God manifests itself in different ways, but it is especially the intensification of life in such ways as to empower growth, fertility, and prosperity (Deut 7:13; 28:3–6). The blessing of God consists in his ongoing presence in life, his sustaining of the well-being of the world, and his providing family (Ps 128), food (Ps 132:15), dew (Ps 133:3), rain (Hos 6:3), etc. A. A. Anderson (478, on 66:20) remarks, “In a sense God’s blessing was not an independent force, but rather the active help of God himself, so that one could not have the blessing without the giver.” The presence of God comes with his blessing" (157). In another place, he adds: "The blessing of God takes diverse forms: posterity (Gen 26:23; 28:3), prosperity and wealth (Gen 24:35; Deut. 7:12–13), land (Gen 35:12; 48:3), the removal of the curse from the ground (Gen 8:21–2), fertility, health, and victory (Deut 7:14–16)" (Tate 1998, 158, emphasis added).
- ↑ SDBH
- ↑ SDBH
- ↑ "The shining forth of the face of God among his people is a metaphor for his goodwill and blessing (cf. Pss 4:7; 31:17; 44:4; 80:4, 8, 20; 89:16; 119:135). A shining, bright face reveals a person of good disposition and is a sign of inward pleasure. “In the light of a king’s face there is life,/ and his favor is like the clouds that bring the spring rain” (Prov 16:15, RSV). The opposite of God’s shining face is his hidden face. When God hides his face, the life of his people is endangered (cf. Pss 10:1; 13:2; 30:8; 44:25; 104:29; Deut 31:18)" (Tate 1998, 157).
- ↑ Waltke & O'Connor (11.2.4a #7) specifically suggest "toward us" for this passage, as the "complement of verbs of dealing, speaking, and making."
- ↑ The first iteration of this promise, in Genesis 12:1-3, contains many overlapping terms with Psalm 67:3, while other statements of this promise (Genesis 18:18, 22:18, and Genesis 26:4) use “all nations (goy) of the earth (eretz),” thereby increasing the connections with this verse.
- ↑ Genesis 12:1-3 is full of 2nd-person pronominal suffixes as the Lord speaks to Abraham; verse of Psalm 67 suddenly shifts into 2nd person with two pronominal suffixes as Abraham's descendants speak directly to Him.
- ↑ Brown, Seeing the Psalms 2002:43
- ↑ SDBH
- ↑ Concise Oxford Dictionary
- ↑ כָל־גּ֝וֹיִ֗ם presents an unidentifiable whole (all the nations) composed of individual items (each nation).
- ↑ SDBH
- ↑ SDBH
- ↑ Using a device known as poetic enclosure, lines b and c feature a a-bc // bc-a’ mirror structure.
- ↑ Strong’s; BDB
- ↑ SDBH
- ↑ Other translations that represent the two verbs as one verbal unit include: “Let the nations celebrate with joyful songs” (CEV); "Let the whole world sing for joy” (NLT); “Que las naciones griten de alegría” (DHH); “Sie sollen vor Glück und Freude singen” (GNB); "Nations rejoice in glad song" (Robert Alter’s 2018 The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary.
- ↑ The secondary option, shown in pink, considers “on the earth” as an adjectival modifier of “nations”—which kinds of nations does God guide? The nations on the earth. Given that all nations are on earth, this specification is less likely, unless the author is highlighting their connection to the same earth that yields crops. Other reasons for the adverbial (preferred) reading include: (1) The syntactic structure matches the preceding parallel line, in which the adverbial מישור explicitly modifies the verb; (2) לאומים is not modified by a prepositional phrase in its other 31 occurrences in the Hebrew Bible (including in its corresponding poetic position in 5a of this psalm), while נחה in Hifil is often modified adverbially in the psalms (e.g., 23:3; 61:3; 73:24; 78:14).
- ↑ NIDOTTE 3.76 and Futato 2009, 223
- ↑ Perhaps on some level God is guiding the peoples into the Land, referring to a new Exodus, a connection for the nations back to the land of Israel. See, for example, the nations coming to Israel in Isaiah 2:2-4 and Zechariah 14:16-19. See the What on Earth? Poetic Feature for more on the importance of the word ‘land’ (אֶרֶץ) in this poem.
- ↑ Unusual linguistic features of 7a: the only qatal verb of the poem; sentence (thetic) focus, as suggested by an indefinite and fronted subject, with the function of starting a new section; the rare word for produce (יְבוּל), occurring only 13x in the OT; introducing the new sense of soil/agriculture for “earth” (see Poetic Feature #3 for more details); a prominent change in speech act (from directive to assertive, the only non-directive speech act in the psalm); and the only sentence without a mismatch between the sentence type and the illocution type (see the Speech Act Analysis for Psalm 67 for more details).
- ↑ The Israelites would have brought their crops to the Temple corporately at least 2x per year: The Feast of Firstfruits noted in Leviticus 23:9-14 would have fallen during the Feast of Unleavened Bread at the time of Passover, while the Feast of Weeks was designated in Exodus 34:22 as the time to bring the firstfruits of the wheat harvest. It seems the Israelite version of bringing firstfruits greatly redeems a heavy-handed tradition in other parts of the ANE. The “Instructions to Priests and Temple Officials” in the Context of Scripture (1.83) provides insight into the threats if people did not bring their firstfruits.
- ↑ The land giving produce is directly connected with God’s blessing elsewhere in Scripture, such as in Psalm 85:12, Deuteronomy 7:13 and 28:1-14, and Malachi 3:10-12.
- ↑ Thetic sentences such as 7a can function as grounds for the following clause.
- ↑ beginning with a waw + yiqtol verb
- ↑ SDBH
- ↑ The two verbs “know” (ידע) and fear” (ירא) are often found together in Scripture (e.g., Proverbs 1:7, 1:29, 2:5, 9:10, and Isaiah 11:2, 33:6).
- ↑ See Poetic Feature #3 for more details on the use of the word “earth” in this psalm.
- ↑ Although “earth” (ארץ) lacks a definite article, we can deduce from the context that the referent here is "the whole earth"; see also BHRG (§24.4.1), "a common noun that has acquired the value of a proper noun." In other words, this appearance of the word is grammatically indefinite but semantically definite.
- ↑ God is of course no stranger to the people at the ends of the earth. He created the ends of the earth (Proverbs 30:4), he has the power to judge them (1 Samuel 2:10), and he can communicate with them (Psalm 59:9,14). He has promised them to his son (Psalm 2:8); his king will rule over them (Psalm 72:8). Other psalms bring out the willingness of their allegiance to him as they get to know him through his deeds (Psalm 22:28-29; Psalm 65:9; and Psalm 98:3).
- ↑ Keel 1997, Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms (38). Keel also says, “’ps means 'end' in the sense of cessation, discontinuation of existence. The ’psy ’rs are found at that point beyond which no habitable land exists” (42).