Psalm 89/Notes/Lexical.v. 23.938186

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  • Translations disagree on the meaning of יַשִּׁא. E.g.,
  1. "The enemy shall not outwit him" (ESV)
  2. "No enemy will be able to exact tribute from him" (NET)
  • According to the ESV, יַשִּׁא means "outwit" or "deceive" (so Symmachus: ἐξαπατήσει; Jerome [iuxta Hebr.]: decipiet; see e.g., Ob 7).
  • According to the NET, יַשִּׁא is a different, identically sounding verb, that means "to act as a creditor" (so BDB: "an enemy shall not act the creditor against him, make exactions of him").
  • The NET interpretation makes the most sense in the context (cf. the parallel line: "oppress," cf. Exod 1:11; 2 Kgs 17:20) and works the best with the bet preposition (see e.g., Deut 15:2—אֲשֶׁר יַשֶּׁה בְּרֵעֵהוּ; Deut 24:10—כִּֽי־תַשֶּׁ֥ה בְרֵֽעֲךָ מַשַּׁ֣את מְא֑וּמָה; cf. Isa 24:2 [נֹשֶׁא בֹו]; Neh 5:7 [מַשָּׁ֥א אִישׁ־בְּאָחִ֖יו אַתֶּ֣ם נֹשִׁ֑אים]). By contrast, the verb "deceive" takes a direct object (e.g., 2 Chr 32:1) or a lamed preposition (e.g., 2 Kgs 18:28). Cf. LXX: "an enemy shall not profit (ὠφελήσει) by him" (LXX trans. NETS).
  • A potential problem with our view is that the other uses of נשׁה + ב in the hiphil (Deut 15:2; 24:10) are trivalent constructions, having a subject (the lender), a bet preposition (the borrower), and a direct object (the loan), whereas the construction in Ps 89:23 is bivalent, having only the subject and the bet preposition. But in the qal stem, the verb נשׁה can be either trivalent (Neh 5:7) or bivalent (Deut 24:11). It is plausible that the same is true of the hiphil.
  • Verse 23b alludes to the promise in 2 Sam 7:10—וְלֹֽא־יֹסִ֤יפוּ בְנֵֽי־עַוְלָה֙ לְעַנֹּותֹ֔ו כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר בָּרִאשֹׁונָֽה