Psalm 78/Notes/Lexical.v. 61.391700

v. 61 – Do עֻזּ֑וֹ וְֽתִפְאַרְתּ֥וֹ refer to his people or to his Ark (for the 3pl suffix in the LXX, see the notes at the grammar layer)? The evidence is much stronger for the latter, in light of the discourse topic of Shiloh's destruction (primarily drawn from 1 Sam 4-6). See, e.g., the GNT, NET, and NIV's paraphrases: • "He allowed our enemies to capture the Covenant Box, the symbol of his power and glory" (GNT) • "He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; he gave the symbol of his splendor into the hand of the enemy" (NET) • "He sent the ark of his might into captivity, his splendor into the hands of the enemy" (NIV) This denotation is most in view in the context of the battle of Aphek (so Midrash Tehilim; Rashi; Radak; Ibn Ezra; Delitzsch 1871, 374; Greenstein 1990, 208; Jacobson 2017, 136; Kugler 2020, 129), as well as perhaps an echo of the name of עֻזָּא, who touched the Ark and was subsequently killed (see 2 Sam 6). See also the phrase אֲרוֹן עֻזֶּךָ in Ps 132:8 and 2 Chr 6:41. The Ark was also known to contain the tablets from Sinai, so TgPs: ומסר לשיביתא אורייתיה "And he handed over his law to captivity" (Stec 2004, 154). Finally, "the people" are said to be given over to the "sword" in the following verse, not "captivity." Why such a subtle reference, then? One explanation could involve the analogy with a commentator (in this case, commenting on 1 Sam 4) assuming the reader will have in mind the larger literary context from an underlying text / passage mentioned, when only partially drawn upon. Indeed, being too specific would sell the reader short (Leonard 2008, 261-262).