Psalm 92/Notes/Phrasal.V. 3.777088

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  • While the combination in the morning (בַּבֹּקֶר) and at night (בַּלֵּילוֹת) may simply refer to "all the time," it is notable that the morning is a time for deliverance and hope in the Psalms (Pss 5:4; 30:6; 46:6; 59:17; 90:14), while night is a time of trial and testing of faith (Pss 6:7; 30:6; 91:5).[1] The prepositional phrase indicates a point in time, rather than a frequentative reading, as every night.[2]
  1. As noted by Vogel, "The light of morning symbolizes manifestation, and kindness must be manifest. The darkness of night represents fearsome hiddenness, when observation is impossible and faith alone must sustain us" (Vogel 2000, 216). Alternatively, there may be hints of the Tamid offering in the morning and evening, as discussed in the exegetical issue, The Sabbath Day in Psalm 92, though lexically we would expect and בֵּין הָעַרְבָּיִם "in the evening" (see Exod 29:39; Num 28:4), rather than בַּלֵּילֽוֹת "at night."
  2. For the latter, see the LXX's κατὰ νύκτα "every night," rendered in the Gallican Psalter as the time frame per noctem "by night," while in the Iuxta Hebraeos as in nocte "in the night," as our preferred reading.