The Meaning of גִילוּ בִּרְעָדָה in Ps 2:11

Introduction

The Masoretic text of Ps 2:11 reads as follows:

עִבְד֣וּ אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה בְּיִרְאָ֑ה

וְגִ֗ילוּ בִּרְעָדָֽה׃

Bratcher and Reyburn comment that the second line (v. 11b) is "difficult if not impossible to understand." The reason for the difficulty is that the verb גִּיל usually means "rejoice," which is a joyful act, whereas רְעָדָה ("trembling") is usually associated with fear or terror (e.g., Exod 15:15; Job 4:14; Ps 48:6; 55:5). To "rejoice" in "terror" thus creates a contradiction in terms.

Nearly all the ancient versions and many modern translations maintain the difficulty, translating the clause as "Rejoice with trembling" (ESV, et al.). That is, the propositional content of the clause denotes the act of rejoicing accompanied by feelings of fears and terror that physically manifest as trembling.

Other translations , however, propose different meanings for the verb גִילוּ. For example,

• "Repent in terror" (NET)
• "Tremble with fright" (JPS, cf. BDB)

Argument Maps

Rejoice (preferred)

Most translations claim that the verb גִּילוּ in Psalm 2:11 means "rejoice" (ESV, NIV, CEB, NLT, LUT2017, NGÜ, EFT, EÜ2016, NBS, RVR95 etc.).

===
model:
    removeTagsFromText: true
    shortcodes:
      ":C:": {unicode: "🄲"}
      ":G:": {unicode: "🄶"}
      ":A:": {unicode: "🄰"}
      ":I:": {unicode: "🄸"}    
      ":L:": {unicode: "🄻"}
      ":D:": {unicode: "🄳"} 
      ":M:": {unicode: "🄼"}   
selection:
    excludeDisconnected: false
dot:
    graphVizSettings:
        rankdir: LR
        concentrate: true
        ranksep: 0.2
        nodesep: 0.2 
===
[Rejoice]: The verb גִּילוּ in Ps 2:11 means "rejoice."
  +<Usage>: Elsehwere in the Bible, the default reference of the root גיל is "an act of expressing joy in spontaneous, enthusiastic cries" (TDOT 2:470 :L:).
  +<"Rejoice" as a response to YHWH's reign>: "Rejoicing" (along with "trembling") is an appropriate response to YHWH's kingship.
    +[Ps 97:1]: "The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice (תָּגֵל)" (Ps 97:1).
    +[Ps 99:1]: "The Lord reigns, let the people tremble (יִרְגְּזוּ)" (Ps 99:1)
  + <Ancient versions>: Some of the ancient versions, including the Septuagint, understood the verb to mean "rejoice."
   + [Ancient versions]: LXX: ἀγαλλιᾶσθε; Jerome (iuxta Hebr.): exultate.
  -<Contradictory>: "The phrase, 'rejoice with trembling' appears to constitute a contradiction in terms" (Macintosh 1976, 2 :A:; cf. Barr 1968, 284 :M:) #dispreferred
    -<Appropriate for the context>: Already in Ps 2, the kings of the earth have been explicitly said to fear and implicitly called to rejoice, and so "this contradictory request is well bound up with the occasion of the psalm... In the light of Ps 2 as a whole the linking together of גיל and רעדה seems to make good sense" (Vang 1995, 175 :A:)
      + [Explicit mention of fear]: Psalm 2 says that YHWH will 'dismay' the foreign kings (יְבַהֲלֵמוֹ v. 5) (Vang 1995, 175 :A:).
      + <Implicit call to rejoice>: Psalm 2 calls for the foreign kings to acknowledge YHWH's kingship, an act which is often associated with "rejoicing" (גִּיל) (Vang 1995, 175–6 :A:).
       + [Kingship and rejoicing]: Pss 97:1; 149:2; 1 Chron 16:31
    - <Praising and fearing God>: A gesture of praise is accompanied by a gesture of fear throughout the OT (Vang 1995, 176 :A:; Hupfeld 1855, 32 :C:).
     + [Praising and fearing God]: Pss 22:24; 96:9; 97:1, 4; cf. Exod 14:31; Matt 9:8; Luke 7:16 (Vang 1995, 176 :A:; Hupfeld 1855, 32 :C:).
    - <Literary motivation>: The juxtaposition of וְגִילוּ to בִּרְעָדָה is literarily motivated.
     +<v. 11 is a response to the rebellion>: The elements in v. 11 respond to and entail a reversal of the words of the rebel kings in vv. 2–3 (Baethgen 1904, 6 :C:; Vang 1995, 177 :A:).
        +<"Serve" instead of "throw off">: "...the imperative עבדו את יהוה in v. 11a makes up for the initial statement of the kings to throw off their bonds (v. 3)" (Vang 1995, 177 :A:).
        +<"Rejoice" instead of "mutter">: The rebel kings are commanded to use their voices in "rejoicing" (גִּילוּ v. 5a) instead of empty "muttering" (יֶהִגּוּ v. 1) (cf. Vang 1995, 177 :A:).
        +<"Tremble" instead of "stand firm">: The rebel kings should rejoice while "trembling" (בִרְעָדָה) instead of firmly "taking a stand" (יִתְיַצְּבוּ v. 2).

Repent

The NET Bible translates גּילוּ in Ps 2:11 as "repent."

===
model:
    removeTagsFromText: true
    shortcodes:
      ":C:": {unicode: "🄲"}
      ":G:": {unicode: "🄶"}
      ":A:": {unicode: "🄰"}
      ":I:": {unicode: "🄸"}    
      ":L:": {unicode: "🄻"}
      ":D:": {unicode: "🄳"} 
      ":M:": {unicode: "🄼"}   
selection:
    excludeDisconnected: false
===
[Repent]: The verb גִּיל in Ps 2:11 means "repent" (NET)#dispreferred
  +<גִּיל "mourn" metonymic for "repent">: In Ps 2:11 "גִּיל carries its polarized meaning 'mourn, lament,' as in Hos 10:5. 'Mourn, lament' would then be metonymic in this context for 'repent'" (NET note). #dispreferred
    +<Hos 10:5>: Hosea 10:5 is an example of the meaning "to mourn" for גִּיל. #dispreferred
      +  [Hos 10:5]:"The inhabitants of Samaria will lament (יָגוּרוּ) over the calf idol of Beth Aven. Its people will mourn (אָבַל) over it; its idolatrous priests will wail (יָגִילוּ) over it, because its splendor will be taken from them into exile" (NET). #dispreferred
      <_ <Disputed passage>: Hosea 10:5b is itself a disputed passage and should not be used as evidence for a particular usage in Ps 2:11 (Vang 1995:174 :A:).
        +[Translations not uniform]: The meaning "mourn" for גִּיל in Hosea 10:5 is not consistently accepted. Some translations have "rejoice" (e.g., ESV, NIV, KJV).
      - <גִּיל means "rejoice" in Hosea 10:5>: The verb גִּיל means "to rejoice" in Hos 10:5.
        +<Ancient versions>: The majority of ancient versions translate גִּיל in Hosea 10:5 as "to rejoice."
          + [Ancient versions]: LXX: "they will rejoice (ἐπιχαροῦνται) over its glory;" Jerome: "and its managers rejoiced (exultaverunt) over it;" Peshitta: "they were glad (ܢܚܕܘܢ) over it and over its glory."
        +<Priests who rejoice now wail>: The words אָבַ֨ל עָלָ֜יו עַמּ֗וֹ וּכְמָרָיו֙ עָלָ֣יו יָגִ֔ילוּ עַל־כְּבוֹד֖וֹ כִּֽי־גָלָ֥ה מִמֶּֽנּוּ in Hos 10:5 is better translated "Its people will mourn over it, and so will its idolatrous priests, those who had rejoiced over its splendor, because it is taken from them into exile" (NIV, cf. KJV, ESV, NLT).
          +<Relative Clause>: עָלָ֣יו יָגִ֔ילוּ is an asyndetic relative clause (so Calvin :C:).
            +<Adjacent to its head>: Asyndetic relative clauses are always immediately adjacent to their antecedent (Holmstedt 2016, 83 :M:)
            +<Lexically and contextually suitable>: The meaning to "rejoice" is consistent with גיל's meaning elsewhere and it makes sense that idolatrous priests would "rejoice" over their idol.
          +<Ellipsis of אבל>: The verb אבל is elided from the previous line such that וּכְמָרָיו֙ עָלָ֣יו יָגִ֔ילוּ ‘its priests that rejoice over it’ is the subject and עַל־כְּבוֹד֖וֹ is a complement.
            +<Fits the profile of ellipsis>: וּכְמָרָיו֙ עָלָ֣יו יָגִ֔ילוּ (אבל) עַל־כְּבוֹד֖וֹ fits the profile of a clause in which ellipsis typically occurs.
              +<Conditions>: The clause is **coordinate** with the previous clause, the two clauses **correspond syntactically** (viz., same constituents), and the elided verb is **lexically identical** (cf. identical complementation with על) (Miller 2003, 260–262 :A:).

Tremble

A major lexicon (BDB) and at least one modern English translation (JPS) translate גִילוּ in Ps 2:11 as "tremble."

===
model:
    removeTagsFromText: true
    shortcodes:
      ":C:": {unicode: "🄲"}
      ":G:": {unicode: "🄶"}
      ":A:": {unicode: "🄰"}
      ":I:": {unicode: "🄸"}    
      ":L:": {unicode: "🄻"}
      ":D:": {unicode: "🄳"} 
      ":M:": {unicode: "🄼"}   
selection:
    excludeDisconnected: false
===
[Tremble]: The verb גִּילוּ in Ps 2:11 means "tremble." #dispreferred
  +<Arabic cognate>: The root גיל/גול has the sense of the Arabic ''wajila'' (وَجِلَ) ‘to be afraid’ (Driver 1950, 51 :A:) #dispreferred
    +<Wajila means ‘to be afraid’>: The Arabic verb ''wajila'' (وَجِلَ) means ‘to be afraid’ (Wehr 1994, 1232 :L:) #dispreferred
    -<Etymologically related to gwl>: The Hebrew root גיל is more convincingly related to the Proto West-Semitic root gwl/gyl ‘to move in a circle, to dance’ (Kogan 2015, 289 :M:)
      + [Etymologically related to gwl]: Ugaritic *gl* ‘to rejoice’; Ammonite *gl* ‘to rejoice'' << Post-Biblical Hebrew *gyl* to form a circle’; Arabic *jwl* ‘to go round’; Tigranya *goyla* ‘to dance’; Jibbali *egtél* ‘to wander, tour around’ (see Kogan 2015, 289 :M:).
  +<Resolves dissonance>: To "tremble with trembling" (גילו ברעדה) would not be as conceptually dissonant as the traditional "rejoice with trembling." #dispreferred
    <_<Tautologous>: "Tremble with trembling" creates a new problem; namely, the clause would be tautologous.

Conclusion (C)

The word גִּיל usually means "rejoice," and the word רְעָדָה usually means "trembling." Thus the clause גִילוּ בִּרְעָדָה in Ps 2:11b appears to mean "rejoice with trembling," which is how most of the ancient translations understood the clause. The difficulty with "rejoice with trembling" is that it seems like a contradiction. But the contradiction is only apparent. Both rejoicing and trembling are appropriate responses to YHWH's kingship (cf. Pss 97:1; 99:1; see also Exod 14:31-15:1), and both fit well in the context of the psalm (contrast "rejoice" and "tremble" in v. 11 with "mutter" and "take a stand" in vv. 1-2).

Research

Translations

Ancient

• LXX: καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε αὐτῷ ἐν τρόμῳ
  • "and rejoice in him with trembling"
• Jerome (iuxta Hebr.): et exultate in tremore
  • "and rejoice with trembling"
• Peshitta: ܘܐܘܚܕܘܢܝܗܝ ܒܪܬܝܬܐ
  • "Lay hold of him him with trembling"
• Targum: וצלו ברתיתא׃
  • "pray with trembling"

Modern

גִיל refers to rejoicing

• ESV: and rejoice with trembling.
• NIV: celebrate his rule with trembling.
• CEV: be glad and tremble.
• NLT: rejoice with trembling.
• LUTHER2017: freut euch mit Zitten.
• NGÜ: zittert vor ihm und jubelt ihm zu!
• EFB: undjauchzt mit Zittern!
• EÜ2016: jubelt ihm zu mit Beben
• GNB: zittert vor ihm und jubelt ihm zu!
• TOB: exultez en tremblant
• NBS: soyez dans l'allégresse en frissonnant.
• NVS78P: Soyez dans l'allégresse, en tremblant.
• BDS: Et, tout en tremblant, ╵exultez de joie !
• NFC: poussez des cris d'enthousiasme, tout en tremblant,
• S21: réjouissez-vous tout en tremblant
• RVR95: y alegraos con temblor.
• NVI: con temblor ríndanle alabanza.
• BTX4: Y regocijaos con temblor

גִּיל relates to fear

• NET: Repent in terror!
• JPS: tremble with fright

Secondary Literature

Baethgen, Friedrich. 1904. Die Psalmen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht

Barr, James. 1968. Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament. Oxford: Claredon Press.

Dahood, Mitchell J. 1966. Psalms I, 1-50: Introduction, Translation, and Notes. AB 16. Garden City, NJ: Doubleday.

Driver, G.R. 1950. ‘Problems of the Hebrew Text and Language’, in Alttestamentliche Studien Friedrich Nötscher zum sechzigsten Geburtstage 19. Juli 1950 gewidmet. ed. Hubert Junker and Johannes Botterweck. Bonn: Hanstein. pp. 46–61.

Holmstedt, Robert D. 2016. The Relative Clause in Biblical Hebrew. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns.

Huehnergard, John. 2015. “Biblical Hebrew Nominal Patterns.” In Epigraphy, Philology, & the Hebrew Bible: Methodological Perspectives on Philological & Comparative Study of the Hebrew Bible in Honor of Jo Ann Hackett, edited by Jeremy M. Hutton and Aaron D. Rubin. Vol. 12. Ancient Near East Monographs. Atlanta: SBL Press.

Hupfeld, Hermann. 1855. Die Psalmen. Vol. 1. Gotha: Friedrich Andreas Perthes.

Kogan, Leonid. 2015. Genealogical Classification of Semitic: The Lexical Isoglosses. Berlin: De Gruyter.

Macintosh, A. A. 1976. “A Consideration of the Problems Presented by Psalm II. 11 and 12.” The Journal of Theological Studies 27 (1): 1–14.

Miller, Cynthia L. 2003. “A Linguistic Approach to Ellipsis in Biblical Poetry: (Or, What to Do When Exegesis of What Is There Depends on What Isn’t).” Bulletin for Biblical Research 13 (2): 251–70.

TLOT= Botterweck, Johannes G., ed. 1977. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Translated by Willis, John T. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Vang, Carsten. 1995. “PS 2,11–12 ‐ a New Look at an Old Crux Interpretum.” Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament 9 (2): 163–84.

Wehr, H. (1994). A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic (4th ed.). Spoken Language Services.

References

2:11