The Meaning of חָפְשִׁי in Ps 88:6

Back to Psalm 88.

Exegetical issues for Psalm 88:

• The Meaning of חָפְשִׁי in Ps 88:6
• The Text and Meaning of Ps. 88:16b
• The Text and Meaning of Ps. 88:19b

Introduction

The traditional Hebrew text of Ps 88:6 reads as follows:

בַּמֵּתִ֗ים חָ֫פְשִׁ֥י כְּמ֤וֹ חֲלָלִ֨ים ׀ שֹׁ֥כְבֵי קֶ֗בֶר אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹ֣א זְכַרְתָּ֣ם ע֑וֹד וְ֝הֵ֗מָּה מִיָּדְךָ֥ נִגְזָֽרוּ.

The verse makes up part of the first cycle of lament in the psalm, in which the psalmist compares himself to a dead person, literally claiming to be in the underworld in v. 4. The word חָפְשִׁי in this verse is one of the most enigmatic and unclear words in the whole psalm, as is shown by the variety of readings we find in the various Modern Translations. We can categorize these various translations into three groups:

• חָפְשִׁי as an adjective meaning released, free, set loose: "like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand." (ESV)
• חָפְשִׁי as an adjective meaning abandoned, forsaken, cast off, secluded, set apart, expelled: "abandoned among the dead. I am like the slain lying in the grave, whom you no longer remember, and who are cut off from your care." (CSB).
• חָפְשִׁי as a noun meaning abode or couch: "My couch is among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave. You remember them no more; they are cut off from your influence." (NAB)

Argument Maps

חָפְשִׁי as an adjective meaning "free"

Some translations (including the ancient translations) understand חָפְשִׁי as an adjective meaning "free." The ESV, for example, says, "like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand." (ESV).

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[Free]: חָפְשִׁי is an adjective meaning "free." #dispreferred
 + <Common usage of חָפְשִׁי>:The word חָפְשִׁי appears in the vast majority of cases in the Bible as an adjective in contexts of liberation from slavery ("free"). #dispreferred
 + <Ancient versions>: All of the ancient translations interpreted חָפְשִׁי as an adjective meaning ‘free.’ #dispreferred
  + [Greek, Latin and Syriac translations]:  ἐν νεκροῖς ἐλεύθερος (LXX); ἐν τεθνηκόσιν ἐλεύθερος (Aquila); ἐντὸς νεκρῶν ἀφεθεὶς ἐλεύθερος (Symmachus); inter mortuos liber (Jerome); :  ܒܝܬ ܡܝ̈ܬܐ ܒܪ ܚܐܪ̈ܐ "A freed one (lit. son of the free) among the dead" (Peshitta). #dispreferred
  + [Targum]: Targum elaborates with a non-literal midrashic paraphrase on the Hebrew text, interpreting 'freedom' as 'freedom from strife': “like the wicked who die and do not return, (who) are made free of strife”. #dispreferred
 + <Death as freedom>: Death is associated with freedom from the burdens of life. #dispreferred
  + <Job's viewpoint>: Job lengthy description of the Underworld as a place of relief, where everyone is equal and free from the toil and troubles of the World of the Living, includes an explicit mention of חָפְשִׁי. #dispreferred
   + [Job 3:19]:  קָטֹ֣ן וְ֭גָדוֹל שָׁ֣ם ה֑וּא וְ֝עֶ֗בֶד חָפְשִׁ֥י מֵאֲדֹנָֽיו "Rich and poor are both there, and the slave is free from his master." (NLT). #dispreferred
  + [Targum]: Targum elaborates with a non-literal midrashic paraphrase on the Hebrew text, interpreting 'freedom' as 'freedom from strife': “like the wicked who die and do not return, (who) are made free of strife”. #dispreferred
   <_ <Later interpretation>
  + [Jewish Classical commentaries]: Later commentaries understand freedom as freedom from the troubles of life. (Rashi :C:; Radak :C:; Metzudat David :C:) #dispreferred
   <_ <Later interpretation>
  + [Babylonian Talmud]: The Talmud (and Ebn Ezra) understand freedom as exemption from the observance of the Law. (Ebn Ezra :C:) #dispreferred
   <_ <Later interpretation>: Targum has a plethora of Midrashic and Aggadic additions which represent a set of beliefs that were not necessarily shared by the writer of the psalm in an earlier period (Stec 2004, 4 :M:). The same applies to later Rabbinical Literature and to Medieval and Early Modern Jewish commentaries.  
 + <Exemption from one's earthly duties>: The adjective "free" may be understood as the new (positive) status of the psalmist as exempted from his earthly duties. #dispreferred
  + <King Uzziah's retirement>: King Uzziah who was struck with leprosy was confined to a place called בִּית הׂחָפְשִׁית, understood by some to mean "The house of Freedom", in which the king is free from the normal burdens of royal functions. (Tate 1990, 396 :C:) #dispreferred
   + [2 Kgs 15:5 & 2 Chr 26:21 ]: וַיְהִ֤י מְצֹרָע֙ עַד־י֣וֹם מֹת֔וֹ וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב בְּבֵ֣ית הַחָפְשִׁ֑ית (2 Kgs 15:5); REB translates as “he was relieved of all duties and lived in his palace.” #dispreferred
 - <General tone of the psalm>: The psalm has, with no exceptions, a tone of utter despair, loneliness and gloominess. The positive connotations of relief and peaceful rest conveyed by the various literal interpretations of חַפְשִׁי do not correspond to that tone.
 - <Contextual mismatch>: The psalmist constantly laments his detachment from God in the underworld. The idea that he would explicitly state his own exemption from the worship of YHWH by the word חַפְשִׁי is therefore less likely.  

חָפְשִׁי as an adjective meaning "abandoned" / "cast off" (preferred)

Many modern translations read חָפְשִׁי with the notion of being "abandoned" or "cast off": "I am abandoned among the dead; I am like the slain lying in their graves, those you have forgotten completely, who are beyond your help" (GNT).

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[Abandoned, cast off]: חָפְשִׁי is an adjective denoting a special status: "abandoned" or "cast off." 
 + <2 Chron 26:21>
 - <Biblical usage>: All instances of the adjective חָפְשִׁי in the Bible, bar the questionable one in our verse, have the meaning of "free" in the context of slavery (or working animal). #dispreferred
 + <חָפְשִׁי as a status>: The word חָפְשִׁי may serve as a term for a certain status of "outcasts", in society or in the Underworld. 
   + <Targum paraphrase>: For בַּמֵּתִים חָפְשִׁי the Targum offers an elaborate midrash-like paraphrase that goes far from the literal text. In this version, the psalmist compares himself to a specific category of the dead, namely the "wicked". This might be a hint to an understanding of this clause as referring to a status.
    + [Targum]: היך רשיעיא דמיתו ולא תבו יתעבדו בני חורין מן מצותא “like the wicked who die and do not return, (who) are made free of strife” (Stec 2004, 204 :M:). 
    - <Later theological increment>: The fact that the Targum added a comparison to the "wicked" does not necessarily mean that they were looking to specify and focus on the term חָפְשִׁי, but rather to emphasize that from their theological point of view,  unlike the Biblical one, it is only the wicked ones who have no hope in the underworld, and it is to this group only among the dead that the psalmist compares himself. As a matter of fact, חפשי gets a treatment towards the end of the paraphrase as "free from strife".  #dispreferred
   + <חָפְשִׁי as a tag>: חָפְשִׁי is likely to be related to a certain status tagged to lepers.
    + <בֵּית הַחָפְשִׁית in the Bible>: The phrase בֵּית הַחָפְשִׁית in 2 Chron 26:21 refers to a place of isolation and quarantine for lepers (cf. Kiel 1990, 795 :C:).
     + [2 Chron 26:21]: "And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived in a separate house (בֵּ֤ית הַֽחָפְשִׁית֙), for he was excluded (נִגְזַ֖ר) from the house of the LORD." (ESV)
   + <חָפְשִׁי as "divorced" from God>: חָפְשִׁי indicates a status marking a separation from God against one's will.
    + <2 Chron 26:21>: A strong textual affinity exists between our verse and the one from 2 Chron, in both of which one is said to be "cut off" (נגזר): King Uzziah is cut off from the house of YHWH because of leprosy in 2 Chron, while the psalmist is cut off from YHWH's care in our psalm. Both texts therefore speak about the special status of a person that brings about his separation from YHWH, a painful punishment with an impact of "divorce" from God, of being abandoned and expelled by him into a place where he has no way to reach him.   
     + [2 Chron 26:21]
     + [Ps 88:6]: "חָפְשִׁי among the dead, just like the slain who are lying in the tomb, whom you do not remember anymore, as they have been cut off (נִגְזָרוּ) from your care."
   + <חָפְשִׁי as a low status among the dead>: The term חָפְשִׁי indicates a low status tagged to a subset of the dead in the underworld.
    + <Syntax of v. 6a>: The psalmist defines himself in our verse as בַּמֵּתִים חָפְשִׁי ("חָפְשִׁי among the dead"), an indication to him belonging to a certain subset, called חָפְשִׁי, among the dead.
     <_ <בַּמֵּתִים חָפְשִׁי in apposition>: בַּמֵּתִים, rather than defining the reference group of חָפְשִׁי ("I am an outcast among the dead") stands in apposition to it, so that the latter is logically derived from the former ("I am (considered as one) among the dead, namely an outcast (for society)"). #dispreferred
      + <Accents of v. 6a>: The ''revia'' at בַּמֵּּתִים marks a pause between this word and חָפְשִׁי. #dispreferred
    + <חֲלָלִים as a low status among the dead>: Two words apart from חָפְשִׁי in our verse, the psalmist compares himself, of all types of dead, to חֲלָלִים 'the slain ones': 'in the hierarchy of the world of the dead he is in the lowest category, the "expelled"... and the "slain (with the sword: in war or by execution)" who are thrown into mass graves' (Hossfeld and Zenger 2005, 395 :C:).
    + <''bt ḫpṭt'' in Ugaritic>: In the Baal epic we encounter  ''bt ḫpṭt'', ‘house of the ḫupšu-status’ or ‘house of the rank of the ḫupšu-mercenaries’ which describes an establishment in low regard that served in Ugarit as a reference to the underworld, and to the worst status in the underworld itself.  We seem to have a similar transfer of meaning in v. 6, as a ‘freedperson’ could be released into a thoroughly despised social condition... he has already reached the condition that is the lowest and worst even in the underworld. (Hossfeld and Zenger 2005, 390,395 :C:).
     - <Etymology questionable>: 'The meaning of the Ugaritic ''hptt'' is uncertain and is variously rendered as “filthy” or “uncleanness” or as “netherworld (Tate 1990:396 :C:). Tromp lists no less than six different etymologies to this term. (Tromp 1969, 156-157 :M:) #dispreferred
     <_ <Lexical borrowing>: The striking similarity between ''bt ḫpṭt'' and בֵּית הַחָפְשִׁית indicates a likely lexical borrowing. Nevertheless, it being a loanword does not mean that the original Ugaritic or Akkadian social status encoded in ''ḫpṭt'' was preserved in Israel by the time we encounter בֵּית הַחָפְשִׁית. Therefore, we cannot assume that חָפְשִׁי necessarily kept the echoes of a particular social class. #dispreferred
     + [UT 51: VIII]: wrd.btḫpṭt  ars.tspr.by  rdm ars. ‘And go down to the house of the rank of the ḫupšu-mercenaries in the underworld, be counted among those who descend into the underworld’ (Hossfeld and Zenger 2005:390e :C:)
     + [Akkadian equivalent]: 'Akk. ḫupšu, indication of low status CAD 6:241f, AHw. 357a, person halfway between a serf and a freeman, often soldiers' (HALOT 1994-2000 :L:)
 + <General tone of the psalm>: This reading matches the general tone of the psalm, lamenting his abandonment by YHWH.  

חָפְשִׁי as a noun + possessive suffix meaning "my couch"

Some Modern Translations and commentaries (Dahood 1974; Tromp 1969; Hitzig 1835) understand חָפְשִׁי as a segolated noun (חֹפַשׁ) with a possessive suffix (1st person singular). This noun is understood as "bed" or "cot". The various translations of the "my abode is among the dead", "my cot is among the dead" or "I am lying down among the dead" type are all derivatives of this hypothesis.

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[My couch]: חָפְשִׁי is a segolated noun חֹפֶשׁ ( "bed" or "cot") with a first person pronominal suffix ("my"). #dispreferred
 + <Immediate context>: Following בַּמֵּתִים חָפְשִׁי in our verse we see the phrase כְּמוֹ חֲלָלִים שֹׁכְבֵי קֶבֶר. The fact that of all possible attributes the psalmist chooses to describe the "slain ones" as "lying down" strengthens the reading of the parallel חָפְשִׁי as a noun indicating a place for lying down. #dispreferred
 + <Underworld as a hospital with beds>: "Sheol is a house with a forbidding interior: it is a prison, a hospital of lugubrious kind. There are rooms in this dwelling-place… and in this house there are beds" (Tromp 1969, 156 :M:). #dispreferred
  + [Images of rooms and beds in Sheol attested in the Bible]: אִם אֶסַּק שָׁמַיִם שָׁם אָתָּה וְאַצִּיעָה שְּׁאוֹל הִנֶּךָּ 'If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.' (Ps 139:8); אִם-אֲקַוֶּה שְׁאוֹל בֵּיתִי בַּחֹשֶׁךְ רִפַּדְתִּי יְצוּעָי 'If the only home I hope for is the grave, if I spread out my bed in the realm of darkness' (Job 17:13); דַּרְכֵי שְׁאוֹל בֵּיתָהּ יֹרְדוֹת אֶל-חַדְרֵי-מָוֶת 'Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death' (Prov 7:27). #dispreferred
  + <Ugaritic bt ḫpṭt>: The word ḫpṭt in the Ugaritic phrase bt ḫpṭt derives historically from the root ḫbṯ “to be base, vile." Hence, bt ḫpṭt might refer to an “infirmary” or a “charnel house” (Tromp 1969, 158 :M:, citing Albright and Pope). This etymology may strengthen the idea of the Underworld as a dreadful hospital where all the dead lie on beds. #dispreferred
   - <Etymology questionable>: 'The meaning of the Ugaritic ''hptt'' is uncertain and is variously rendered as “filthy” or “uncleanness” or as “netherworld (Tate 1990, 396 :C:). Even if the etymology were correct, it would still lead us astray from ''hptt'' and חֹפֶשׁ as 'bed' since it is based on a root related to 'vileness' and 'despise', which has nothing to do with the notion sought for of 'bed'.
 + <Etymology>: The basic meaning of the root חפש is 'to set loose' or 'spread out loose'. The meaning 'bed, couch' derives from a secondary semantic shift of this root to get 'place of spreading out loose' or 'place of prostrating', namely 'bed' (Gesenius 1846, 297 :L:).  #dispreferred
   + <Ezek 27:10>: The hapax legomenon חֹפֶשׁ in Ezek 27:10 means 'loosely spreading out' with the phrase בִגְדֵי-חֹפֶשׁ לְרִכְבָּה interpreted as 'cloths spread out for riding' (Gesenius 1846, 297 :L:). #dispreferred
    + [Ezek 27:20]: דְּדָן רֹכַלְתֵּךְ בְּבִגְדֵי-חֹפֶשׁ לְרִכְבָּה #dispreferred
    - <חֹפֶשׁ as fabric for saddlecloths>: חֹפֶשׁ in Ezekiel 27:10 is a kind of a fabric used for saddlecloths (HALOT :L:; so most modern translations).
      + <חֹפֶשׁ in context>: This reading of the hapax legomenon as "saddlecloths" makes much sense, as the whole section in Ezekiel's prophecy gives a very detailed description of all kinds of wares that Tyre was trading with its neighbors. 
   + <Arabic cognate>: Arabic has the equivalent ḫfš 'to stretch out' (Gesenius 1846, 297 :L:).  #dispreferred
 + <Syntactic simplicity>: Interpreting חָפְשִׁי as a noun phrase ("my bed") results in a verbless clause ("my bed is among the dead"), which is a simpler syntactic construction than the adjectival reading of חָפְשִׁי ("free among the dead"). #dispreferred

Conclusion

In conclusion, we take the second option as our preferred reading, namely the adjective חָפְשִׁי as "expelled" or "cast off." Some evidence, both biblical and external, supports this conclusion. For instance, the close textual affinity to בֵּית הַחָפְשִׁית in 2 Kings and particularly in 2 Chronicles, a place which is widely understood as one where lepers were isolated from society. We therefore prefer to compare the psalmist's feelings to those of a leper: isolated from society, expelled, despised, and cut off from God's care. A different, external evidence is the interesting connection to Ugaritic bt ḫpṭt, a term used for the Underworld and particularly to the lowest class in the Underworld, based on a denomination for a lower social class in Ugarit, which may serve as a hint to the fact that the term חָפְשִׁי has to do with a social status (transferred to the society of the Dead). We therefore use, of all the various negative modern translations, the passive participle "cast off" (which in addition to its notion of "being thrown away" has also the connotation of being despised). Another good option would be the noun "outcast" with its social connotation of excommunication. This interpretation also sheds light on the psalmist's condition in the wider context of the psalm: it is only from this point on that we are aware of the fact that the psalmist is not only suffering and weak, but also excommunicated and possibly suffering of leprosy, a fact that is repeated again, albeit implicitly, in v. 9.

Research

Translations

Ancient

• LXX: ἐν νεκροῖς ἐλεύθερος
  • ”free among corpses”
• Aquila: ἐν τεθνηκόσιν ἐλεύθερος
  • ”free among the dead”
• Symmachus: ἐντὸς νεκρῶν ἀφεθεὶς ἐλεύθερος
  • ”set free among corpses”
• Jerome: inter mortuos liber
  • “free among the dead”
• Targum: היך רשיעיא דמיתו ולא תבו יתעבדו בני חורין מן מצותא
  • “like the wicked who die and do not return, (who) are made free of strife”
• Peshitta: ܒܝܬ ܡܝ̈ܬܐ ܒܪ ܚܐܪ̈ܐ
  • "A freed one (lit. son of the free) among the dead"

Modern

Classic (Early Modern)

free

“Free among the dead” (KJV, Geneva Bible of 1587)

Modern

released / set loose

• "Released among the dead" (LSB)
• "released to remain with the dead" (ISV)
• "like one set loose among the dead" (ESV)

adrift

• adrift among the dead (NET)

abandoned / forsaken / cast off / outcast

• “forsaken among the dead” (BSB, NASB 1995)
• “abandoned among the dead” (GNT, NASB, Amplified Bible, CSB, HCSB)
• “They have left me among the dead” (NLT)
• "Cast off among the dead" (ASV)
• "Among the dead an outcast" (Goldingay 2007)
• “abandonado entre los muertos” (RVR95)
• “Estoy abandonado entre difuntos” (DHH)
• “Ich liege unter den Toten verlassen” (Luther 2017)

secluded / set apart / expelled

• “I am set apart with the dead” (NIV)
• “reclus parmi les morts” (TOB)
• “Me han puesto aparte, entre los muertos” (NVI)
• “Confinado entre los muertos” (BTX4)
• “Ausgestoßen unter den Toten” (EÜ, ZÜR)

lying down / "My couch is among the dead"

• "Je suis étendu parmi les morts" (NBS, NVSR, S21)
• “unter die Toten hingestreckt” (ELB)
• "My couch is among the dead" (NAB)

“My abode is among the dead”

• C’est au milieu des morts ╵que j’ai ma place (BDS)
• Ma place est au milieu des morts (PDV)
• Ma place est parmi les morts (NFC)

Secondary Literature

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

Dahood, Mitchell J. Psalms II, 51-100: Introduction, Translation, and Notes. 3rd ed. AB 17. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1974.

Gesenius, Wilhelm, 1786-1842. Hebrew and Chaldee lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures, translated, with additions, and corrections from the author's Thesaurus and other works by Tregelles, Samuel Prideaux. London: Samuel Bagster & Sons, 1813-1875.

Goldingay, John. Psalms: Psalms 42–89. Vol. 2. BCOT. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.

Hossfeld, Frank-Lothar, and Erich Zenger. Psalms 2: A Commentary on Psalms 51-100. Translated by Linda M. Maloney. Hermeneia. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2005.

Kiel, Yehuda. דעת מקרא .ספר דברי הימים ב. Jerusalem: Mossad Harav Kook, 1990.

Olshausen, Justus. Die Psalmen. Leipzig: S. Hirzel, 1853.

Stec, David M. The Targum of Psalms. The Aramaic Bible, vol. 16. Collegeville, Minnesota: Michael Glazier Books, 2004.

Tate, Marvin E. Psalms 51-100. WBC 20. Dallas, Tex: Word Books, 1990.

Tromp, Nicholas J. Primitive conceptions of death and the nether world in the Old Testament. Biblica et Orientalia - N. 21. Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1969.

References

Approved

88:6