Psalm 95 Exegetical Issues

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Psalm 95/Exegetical Issues
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Exegetical Issues Video

Introduction to Exegetical Issues

Presented here are the top three Exegetical Issues that any interpreter of the psalm—whether they’re reading the text in Hebrew or looking at a number of translations—are likely to encounter. These issues usually involve textual criticism, grammar, lexical semantics, verbal semantics, and/or phrase-level semantics, though they sometimes involve higher-level layers as well.

Exegetical Issues for Psalm 95

When examining Ps 95:7c–9, it is clear by v. 9 that YHWH is the speaker. The point at which YHWH's speech begins, however, is not clear.
The clause הַ֝יּ֗וֹם אִֽם־בְּקֹל֥וֹ תִשְׁמָֽעוּ (v. 7c) has been interpreted in different ways. For example, the NET interprets אִם as an optative particle for a rhetorical, unfinished sentence ("Today, if only you would obey him," emphasis added). Meanwhile, the ESV interprets אִם as a conditional particle introducing the clause that follows ("Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts...," emphasis added). Alternatively, it has been suggested that אִם is a conditional particle for the preceding clause ("[We are] the sheep of his hand today, if you will obey his voice and not harden your hearts," emphasis added).
Psalm 95 finishes with YHWH's oath, אִם־יְ֝בֹא֗וּן אֶל־מְנוּחָתִֽי "They will not enter into my rest!" (95:11b). From the original context of the rebellion at Meribah/Massah (see v. 9), it is clear that the "rest" not to be enjoyed was the promised land. For the original audience of the psalm (and contemporary readership), however, belonging to a later generation than those who were denied entry into the promised land of Canaan, the denotation of "rest" is not clear. If one of the purposes of the psalm is to make the hearer feel hopeful that they, unlike their ancestors, will enter into YHWH's rest, this raises the question: what is the denotation of "my rest" (מְנוּחָתִי) in this new context?