The Identity of the Person in Psalm 112
Exegetical Issues for Psalm 112:
Introduction
The Hebrew text of Psalm 112:1a is as follows: אַשְׁרֵי־אִ֭ישׁ יָרֵ֣א אֶת־יְהוָ֑ה
Psalm 112 is a celebration of "the man who fears YHWH" (v. 1). Most scholars agree that this "man" (אִישׁ) is a literary representation of all people who fear YHWH; the description of Ps 112 is not restricted to a single "man" or even to males only.[1] For this reason, although many modern translations use a masculine singular word to translate אִישׁ (e.g., "the man"),[2] some use a generic singular (e.g., "anyone who fears YHWH"),[3] and others use a plural ("those").[4] Others have argued, however, that the אִישׁ in Ps 112 is actually a king. The two argument maps below explore this question of the man's identity. Is he a generic stand-in for all people? Or is he a king?
Argument Maps
All People
The view of the vast majority of scholars is that the "man" in Ps 112 is representative of all people.[5] The use of the singular "man" is a figure of speech whereby the part ("man") represents the whole ("humanity").[6] For this reason, several translations say, "those who fear YHWH" (cf. NIV, NLT, NRSV) or "anyone who fears YHWH" (NJB). The argument for this view is as follows.
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[People]: The אִישׁ in v. 1 refers to a regular person who fears YHWH and, by synecdoche, to everyone who fears YHWH. #dispreferred
+ <Genre>: Psalm 112 belongs to the family of wisdom psalms (cf. Gunkel 1926 :C:), and Hebrew wisdom psalms usually apply to humans generally. #dispreferred
+ <Wisdom>: The distinct traits of the wisdom family of psalms include (1) thematic focus on wisdom (e.g., how to live, contrast between righteous and wicked, reward and retribution, etc.), (2) an intellectual tone (often true of acrostics), and (3) a pedagogic intention (see Cheung 2022 :A:). Psalm 112 exhibits these traits and is therefore a wisdom psalm. #dispreferred
+ <Wisdom poems>: E.g., Pss 1; 34; 37; 73; 128. #dispreferred
+ <אַשְׁרֵי>: Blessings in Psalms that begin with אַשְׁרֵי usually apply to people generally, even if a masculine singular noun is used. #dispreferred
+ [אַשְׁרֵי]: E.g., Pss 1:1; 32:1-2; 34:9; 40:5; 41:2; 84:6, 13; 94:12; 127:5.#dispreferred
+ <Psalm 111>: Psalm 112 begins where Ps 111 ends: with those who fear YHWH and keep his commandments (Chrysostom :C:; Baethgen 1904 :C:; et al.). #dispreferred
- <"Wealth and riches" (v. 3)>: The man in Ps 112 has "wealth and riches" in his house (v. 3), and most Israelites who feared YHWH were not wealthy.
<_ <Wealthy Israelites>: "The original addressees of Ps 112 were apparently members of the wealthy and influential circles (in the urban milieu, especially Jerusalem), who are reminded of their social responsibility for the common good and are especially exhorted to generosity toward the poor when managing their wealth" (Zenger 2011:171 :C:). #dispreferred
King (preferred)
Some scholars (e.g., Sherwood 1989) have argued that the man in Ps 112 is a king. The argument for this view is as follows.
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[King]: The אִישׁ in v. 1 refers specifically to a king (cf. Sherwood 1989 :A:).
+ <Fitting description for a king>: The description of the man in Ps 112 is especially fitting for an ideal king.
<_ <Broadly applicable>: Many points in the description are broadly applicable to all Israelites. For example, all Israelites were supposed to fear and trust YHWH and to be righteous and generous. #dispreferred
+ <"Fears YHWH" (v. 1)>: The ideal king is supposed to read the Law daily so that he learned to fear YHWH and keep his commandments, and Ps 112 describes the man as someone who "fears YHWH" (v. 1).
+ [Deut. 17:18-19]: 18 "And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them" (ESV).
+ <"Trusting in YHWH" (v. 7)>: The ideal king is supposed to trust in YHWH, and the man in Ps 112 is described as one who trusts in YHWH (v. 7).
+ [Ps 21:8]: "For the king trusts in YHWH (בֹּטֵחַ בַּיהוָה)."
+ <"Righteousness...righteous one...justice" (vv. 3, 4, 5, 6, 9)>: The ideal king is supposed to rule with righteousness and justice, and these attributes are especially prominent in the description of the man in Ps 112.
+ [Psalm 72:1-2]: 1 "Give the king your justice (מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ), O God, and your righteousness (וְצִדְקָתְךָ) to the royal son! 2 May he judge your people with righteousness (בְצֶדֶק), and your poor with justice! (בְמִשְׁפָּט)" (ESV).
+ <"Great one in the land" (v. 2)>: The offspring of the man in Ps 112 will be "a great one in the land" (גִּבּוֹר בָּאָרֶץ). Because the word גִּבּוֹר is (1) singular and (2) associated with kingship and often applied to kings, and because (3) the only other occurrence of the phrase גִּבּוֹר בָּאָרֶץ refers to a king, the description is most fitting for a king.
+ [גִּבּוֹר and kingship]: "Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man (גִּבֹּר בָּאָרֶץ)... The beginning of his kingdom (מַמְלַכְתּוֹ) was Babel..." (ESV). Cf. גִּבּוֹר in Pss 45:4; 24:8; 33:16; 89:20.
+ <"Wealth and riches" (v. 3)>: The man in Ps 112 is said to have "wealth and riches" in his house (v. 3). Because kings were uniquely wealthy in the ancient world, this description is fitting for a king.
+ <"A light" (v. 4)>: The ideal king who fears YHWH is described elsewhere as a light that dawns on people.
+ [2 Sam. 23:3-7]: "When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light (וּכְאוֹר בֹּקֶר יִזְרַח שָׁמֶשׁ), like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning" (ESV).
+ <Military victory (vv. 7-9)>: Several points in the description of the man in Ps 112 are appropriate to a military leader.
+ <"Looks on his enemies" (v. 8)>: Kings have "enemies," and when they defeat them militarily, they can be said to "look" in triumph on them (ראה ב).
+ [Looking on enemies]: E.g., the king in Ps 118:7; cf. the Moabite king in the Mesha Inscription הראני בכל שנאי (KAI 181).
+ <"His horn rises" (v. 9)>: The image of an exalted horn is especially appropriate for a victorious king.
+ [1 Sam. 2:10]: "YHWH... will exalt the horn of his anointed king (וְיָרֵם קֶרֶן מְשִׁיחוֹ)." Cf. Pss 89:25; 132:17.
+ <"Bad news" (v. 7)>: "The only other occurrence of this expression comes in Jer. 49:23 where Israel's enemies react with shame upon hearing שמועה רעה which... entails the deaths of young warriors (cf. v. 26). This suggests a military rather than a forensic context for this expression" (Sherwood 1989:63 :A:).
+ <Resembles YHWH>: The description of the man in Ps 112 closely resembles the description of YHWH in Ps 111. It is only natural that the king, who is YHWH's image and YHWH's son (cf. Ps 2) should resemble YHWH in terms of his character. "Just as Psalm 111 celebrates God's governance over the world, Psalm 112 celebrates the governance of God's adopted son and regent, Israel's earthly king" (Sherwood 1989:57 :A:).
- <Not explicitly royal>: Nowhere is the man of Ps 112 described in explicitly royal terms. #dispreferred
Conclusion (B)
The man in Ps 112 is probably a king, because every point in his description is especially fitting for a king.
- He fears and trusts YHWH (vv. 1, 7; cf. Deut. 17; Ps 21:8).
- He is righteous (vv. 3, 4, 5, 6, 9; cf. Ps 72).
- He is wealthy (v. 3).
- His offspring will be a mighty warrior (v. 2).
- He looks in triumph on his enemies (v. 8) and lifts his horn (v. 9; cf. 1 Sam. 2:10).
- He is like a light that dawns on the upright (v. 4; cf. 2 Sam. 23:3-7).
- As YHWH's son, he uniquely resembles YHWH's character (cf. Ps 111).
Although some points of this description can apply to anyone who fears YHWH, others are more restrictive (e.g., wealth, offspring as a warrior, comparison to the dawning sun).
Even if the man in Ps 112 is first and foremost a king, this does not mean that the description cannot apply to others as well. Indeed, the lack of explicitly royal language allows for and perhaps even encourages a more universal application. The king was the representative of the people, and he was meant to be an example for the people. As Sherwood writes, "Ultimately, divine attributes (e.g., זרח, חנון ורחום) are predicated of anyone who does what the psalm proposes. But I suggest that in this psalm such attribution is, as it were, funneled through the figure of the king. As in other wisdom psalms, there is implicit here an invitation to the reader to emulate the proposed model and thereby enjoy the promised rewards—to join the דור ישׁרים among whom the king is preeminent and for whom he is a light."[7]
Research
Translations
Ancient
- LXX: Μακάριος ἀνὴρ[8]
- "Blessed is the man"
- Symmachus (v. 5): αγαθος ανθρωπος[9]
- Peshitta: ܛܘܒܘܗܝ ܠܓܒܪܐ[10]
- "Blessed is the person"[11]
- Jerome: Beautus vir.[12]
- Targum: טוביה דגברא[13]
- "Blessed is the man."[14]
Modern
Masculine singular
- "the man who fears YHWH" (cf. KJV, ESV, JPS85, NEB; der Mann: ELB, EÜ; ein Mensch: GNB; el hombre: RVR95, DHH94I, BTXIV; homme: NVS78P, NBS, BDS, TOB)
- "he who fears YHWH" (cf. REB)
- "Wohl dem, der den HERRN fürchtet" (LUT, ZÜR)
- Dichoso el que teme al Señor (NVI)
- Il est heureux, celui qui respecte le Seigneur (PDV2017; cf. NFC)
Neutral singular
- "the person who fears YHWH" (cf. GNT)
- "the one who fears YHWH" (cf. NET)
- "anyone who fears YHWH" (NJB)
- "wer dem HERRN in Ehrfurcht begegnet" (HFA; cf. NGÜ)
Plural
- "those who fear YHWH" (cf. NIV, NLT, NRSV)
Secondary Literature
- Baethgen, Friedrich. 1904. Die Psalmen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht.
- Cheung, Simon Chi-Chung. 2022. “Wisdom Psalms.” In The Cambridge Companion to Biblical Wisdom Literature, edited by Katherine J. Dell, Suzanna R. Millar, and Arthur Jan Keefer, 219–38. Cambridge University Press.
- Gunkel, Hermann. 1926. Die Psalmen. 4th ed. Göttinger Handkommentar zum Alten Testament 2. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
- Hossfeld, Frank-Lothar, and Erich Zenger. 2011. Psalms 3: A Commentary on Psalms 101-150. Edited by Klaus Baltzer. Translated by Linda M. Maloney. Hermeneia. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress.
- John Chrysostom, and Robert C. Hill. 1998. St. John Chrysostom Commentary on the Psalms. Brookline, Mass: Holy Cross Orthodox Press.
- Sherwood, Stephen K. 1989. “Psalm 112—A Royal Wisdom Psalm?” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 51 (1): 50–64.
- Theodoret, and Robert C. Hill. 2000. Commentary on the Psalms. The Fathers of the Church, a New Translation, v. 101-102. Washington, D.C: Catholic University of America Press.
References
112:0 Approved
- ↑ Some east Syriac manuscripts even have as a superscription, "An admonition to all human beings that they should be diligent about virtue" (Taylor 2021:473). Similarly, some Targum manuscripts read בר נשא ("person/human") instead of גברא ("man") in v. 1.
- ↑ KJV, ESV, JPS85, NEB; der Mann: ELB, EÜ; ein Mensch: GNB; el hombre: RVR95, DHH94I, BTXIV; homme: NVS78P, NBS, BDS, TOB.
- ↑ NJB. Cf. NET ("the one"), NET ("the person"); HFA, NGÜ.
- ↑ NIV, NLT, NRSV.
- ↑ Many scholars who have written on this psalm actually do not discuss this particular issue. They merely assume that the "man" in the psalm stands for all people. Apparently, they feel no need to argue this widely-accepted point.
- ↑ Cf. Theodoret's comment on Ps 1:1. "No one seeing only a man declared blessed here should think that womankind is excluded from this beatitude... The husband is the head of his wife... Now, the limbs of the body are linked to the head, and when the head is crowed, they share in the glory; in the same manner, too, when we converse with someone and call their head beloved, we are not excluding the body's limbs but are referring to the whole by mention of one part" (translation by Hill 2000:48).
- ↑ Sherwood 1989:64.
- ↑ Rahlfs 1931.
- ↑ Field
- ↑ CAL. Some east Syriac manuscripts have as a superscription, "An admonition to all human beings that they should be diligent about virtue" (Taylor 2021:473).
- ↑ Taylor 2021:473.
- ↑ Weber-Gryson 5th edition.
- ↑ CAL. Some Targum manuscripts read דבר נשא ("human being") instead of דגברא ("man").
- ↑ Stec 2004:204.