Exegetical Issues from Psalm 100:

Introduction

Ps 100 begins with the superscription מִזְמ֥וֹר לְתוֹדָ֑ה. The meaning of לְתוֹדָה here is ambiguous. There are two main interpretations:

1. Thank offering: The first option understands תּוֹדָה with reference to a specific thank offering known as the todah offering (תּוֹדָה) (Lev 7:13; 22:29; Jer 17:6; 33:11; 2 Chron 29:31), accompanied by songs of thanksgiving and praise.^[1] This interpretation is reflected for example in the RSV: "A Psalm for the thank-offering".^[2]

2. Thanksgiving: The second option understands תּוֹדָה with reference to general thanksgiving, or specifically songs of thanksgiving, without any physical thank offering.^[3] This interpretation is reflected for example in the ESV: "A psalm for giving thanks".^[4]

Argument Maps

Thank Offering (Preferred)

The arguments for understanding תּוֹדָה as referring specifically to a thank offering are as follows:


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[Thank Offering]: The phrase לְתוֹדָה in the superscription of Ps 100 refers to the presentation of a physical thank offering to YHWH (Targum קורבן תודתא; NIDOTTE 1997, 406 :D: Leslie 1949, 191 :C:; Delitzsch 1877 :C:; Zenger 2005, 495 :C:; Gunkel 1926, 432 :C: Steinsaltz 2014, 290 :C:)
 + <Hebrew Usage of תּוֹדָה>: Throughout the Hebrew Bible the word תּוֹדָה often refers to a physical thank offering presented in the sanctuary, one of the common sacrificial offerings offered regularly in Israelite worship. 
  + [תּוֹדָה = Thank Offering]: Lev 7:13; 22:29; Jer 33:11; 2 Chron 29:31; 33:11; Amos 4:5; Pss 50:14, 23; 107:22; 116:17. 
 + <References to the Thank Offering>: Beyond the superscription, Ps 100 contains two more elements that point to a physical thank offering.
  + <Thanksgiving Refrain (v. 4-5)>: The words הֽוֹדוּ־ל֝֗וֹ... כִּי־ט֣וֹב יְ֭הֹוָה לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּ֑וֹ ("Give thanks to him...for YHWH is good, his loyalty is forever") in v. 4-5 imply, by association, the physical presentation of a thank offering (NIDOTTE 1997, 406 :D:). 
   + <Thanksgiving Refrain and Thank Offering>: The common words of the thanksgiving refrain were originally sung as the thank offering was being offered (Jer 33:10-11, Sakenfield 1978, 165-168 :M:).
    + [Jer 33:10-11]: Once again people will bring their thank offerings (מְבִאִ֥ים תּוֹדָ֖ה) to the temple of the LORD and will say, “Give thanks (הוֹדוּ֩) to the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. For the LORD is good (כִּֽי־ט֤וֹב) and his unfailing love lasts forever (לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּ֔וֹ).”
   <_ <Separation>: As history developed the thanksgiving refrain ("Give thanks to YHWH because...") was used more widely than just for the thanksgiving offering, functioning as a general hymn of praise and thanksgiving (Sakenfield 1978, 165-168 :M:). #dispreferred
  + <Temple Setting>: The temple setting of Ps 100 is the natural setting for a thank offering.
   + <Temple Setting of Ps 100>: Ps 100 is set in or around the temple.
    + [Temple Setting of Ps 100]: See especially vv. 2b and 4a-b, as well as common temple-worship vocabulary throughout Ps 100. 
   + <Temple Setting of Offerings>: Israelite offerings would be offered in the Israelite temple. 
    + [Temple Setting of Offerings]: See for example 1 Kgs 8:62-64.
 + <Coherence in Context>: Reading Ps 100 in the setting of a thank offering being presented in the temple is coherent within the immediate context of Ps 100.
  + <Israelite Temple Worship>: The words of Ps 100 are spoken by Israel from within/around the Temple complex. This is the natural setting for a thank offering.
 + <ל indicating liturgical event>: Reading לְתוֹדָה as "for a thank offering" coheres with known usage of the ל preposition in superscriptions corresponding to a concrete liturgical event (Delitzsch 1877, 104 :C:).
  + [Pss 38, 70]: "for the memorial offering" (לְהַזְכִּיר) (ESV).
  + [Ps 92]: "A psalm; a song for the Sabbath day (לְי֣וֹם הַשַּׁבָּֽת)" (cf. Tate 1998, 465 :C:).

Thanksgiving (Without Thank Offering)

The arguments for understanding תּוֹדָה as referring to thanksgiving in general without specific reference to a thank offering are as follows:


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[Thanksgiving (without thank offering]: The phrase לְתוֹדָה in the superscription of Ps 100 refers to general thanksgiving without any physical thank offering presented to YHWH (HALOT 1994-2000, 1695 :L:; Goldingay 2008, Ps 100 :C:). #dispreferred
  + <Hebrew Usage of תּוֹדָה>: The word תּוֹדָה often refers specifically to songs of thanksgiving and praise, without any connection to a physical thank offering. This usage often involves parallelism with other musical roots/lexemes associated with songs of praise (e.g. זמר, רנן, ענה, שיר). #dispreferred
   + [E.g. Ps 147:7]: Sing (עֱנוּ) to YHWH with thanksgiving (תּוֹדָה); make melody (זַמְּרוּ) to our God on the lyre. (See also Isa 51:3; Jer 30:19; Pss 42:5; 95:2; 69:31). #dispreferred
  + <Usage of תּוֹדָה in Ps 100>: The only other occurrence of the word תּוֹדָה in Ps 100 refers to songs of thanksgiving, not a physical thank offering. #dispreferred
   + <תּוֹדָה (v. 4) = Thanksgiving Without Thank Offering>: In v. 4 the word תּוֹדָה is paralleled with תְּהִלָּה (praise) and refers to songs of thanksgiving, without any reference to a physical offering (HALOT 1994-2000, 1695 :L:). #dispreferred
    + [v. 4]: Enter his gates with thanksgiving (בְּתוֹדָה), his courts with praise (בִּתְהִלָּה). #dispreferred
   <_ <Songs Accompanying Offering>: The physical thank offering would be accompanied by thanksgivings songs/refrains (Jer 33:10-11; Sakenfield 1978, 165-168 :M:).

Conclusion (B)

Although both options are possible, the weight of evidence supports reading לְתוֹדָה as referring to the presentation of a physical thank offering, probably as part of an Israelite thanksgiving ceremony in the Jerusalem temple. This accords with common Hebrew usage of the word תוֹדָה as a 'thank offering', with other possible references to the thank offering in Ps 100 (e.g. the thanksgiving refrain and the temple setting), overall coherence, and correspondence with known usage of the attached ל preposition to indicate liturgical events.

The arguments against a thank offering based on the centrality of thanksgiving songs are insufficient, as the thank offering would have naturally been accompanied by thanksgiving songs and refrains.

We have therefore translated the superscription of Ps 100 as follows:

מִזְמ֥וֹר לְתוֹדָ֑ה | A psalm for a thank offering.

This conclusion has significant implications on the overall reading of the psalm, insofar as it embeds the words of Ps 100 within the ancient liturgical setting of an Israelite thanksgiving ceremony (cf. Pss 118; 107, and more...).

Research

Translations

Ancient

LXX: Ψαλμὸς εἰς ἐξομολόγησιν. ^[5]
- A Psalm. Regarding acknowledgment.^[6]
Aquila: μελῴδημα εἰς εὐχαριστίαν
- Song for thanksgiving.
Jerome: canticum in gratiarum actione.^[7]
- A song of thanksgiving.
Targum: שְׁבָחָא עַל קוּרְבַּן תּוֹדְתָא^[8]
- "A psalm for the thank offering."^[9]

Modern

General Thanksgiving/Ambiguous

A psalm for giving thanks. (ESV)
A Psalm for Thanksgiving. (NASB, NLT, NRSV)
A Psalm of thanksgiving. (ASV, CSB, GW, TLV, JPS1917)
A psalm. For giving grateful praise. (NIV)
A Psalm of praise. (KJV)
A psalm of thanks. (NCV)
Psaume de louange. (LSG)
Psaume pour l'action de grâce. (TOB)
Psaume de reconnaissance. (NBS, NVSR, NFC, S21)
Psaume pour remercier Dieu. (BDS)
Ein Danklied. (GNB)
Salmo de acción de gracias. (RVR95, NVI, DHH, BTX)
A psalm for the presentation of thanksgiving. (Kraus 1993, 273)

Thank Offering

A Psalm for the thank-offering. (RSV)
Psaume pour un sacrifice de reconnaissance. (BFC)
Psaume pour un sacrifice de remerciement. (PDV)
Ein Psalm zum Dankopfer. (Luther 2017)
Ein Lied für den Dankgottesdienst. (HFA)
Ein Psalm, der beim Dankopfer vorgetragen wird. (NGÜ)
Ein Psalm. Zum Dankopfer. (ELB, EÜ)
Ein Psalm zum Lobopfer. (ZÜR)

Secondary Literature

Crüsemann, Frank. 1969. Studien zur Formgeschichte von Hymnus und Danklied in Israel. Ansbach: Neukirchener Verlag.

Delitzsch, Franz. 1877. Biblical Commentary on the Psalms: Vol. 3. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.

Goldingay, John. 2008. Psalms: Psalms 90-150. Vol. 3. BCOT. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

Gunkel, Hermann. 1926. Die Psalmen. 4th ed. Göttinger Handkommentar zum Alten Testament 2. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

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

Howard, David, Jr. 1997. The Structure of Psalms 93–100. Biblical and Judaic Studies 5. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.

Jacobson, Rolf A., Nancy L. DeClaisse-Walford, and Beth LaNeel Tanner. 2014. The Book of Psalms. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

Kraus, Hans-Joachim. 1993. Psalms 60-150: A Continental Commentary. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress

Leslie, Elmer. 2012 The Psalms: Translated and Interpreted in the Light of Hebrew Life and Worship. Nashville; New York: Abingdom Press.

Zenger, Erich, and Norbert Lohfink. 2000. The God of Israel and the Nations: Studies in Isaiah and the Psalms. Translated by Everett Kalin. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press.

Sakenfield, Katharine Doob. 1978. The Meaning of Hesed in the Hebrew Bible. Michigan: Scholars Press.

Tate, Marvin E. 1998. Psalms 51-100. WBC 20. Dallas, Tex: Word Books.

VanGemeren, Willem. 1997. New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis (NIDOTTE). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Pub. House.

References

Approved

100:1

↑ Targum; NIDOTTE 1997, 406; Leslie 1949, 191; Delitzsch 1877; Zenger 2005, 495; Gunkel 1926, 432. For an attempt at a detailed historical reconstruction of the Israelite thank offering ceremony, see Crüsemann 1969, 282-284.
↑ See also BFC, PDV, Luther 2017, HFA, NGÜ, ELB, ZÜR.
↑ HALOT 1994-2000, 1695; Goldingay 2008, Ps 100. While advocates of this second interpretation specifically emphasise that there was not a physical thank offering, others do not argue for or against a thank offering, but simply emphasise the general act of thanksgiving without specifying (Tate 1998, 533; Kraus 1993, 274; Jacobson 2014, 734; Howard 1997, 90-91).
↑ See also NASB, NLT, NRSV, and a majority of other translations.
↑ Rahlfs 1931.
↑ NETS: NETS.
↑ Weber-Gryson 5th edition.
↑ CAL
↑ Stec 2004:183.

[1] Targum; NIDOTTE 1997, 406; Leslie 1949, 191; Delitzsch 1877; Zenger 2005, 495; Gunkel 1926, 432. For an attempt at a detailed historical reconstruction of the Israelite thank offering ceremony, see Crüsemann 1969, 282-284.

[2] See also BFC, PDV, Luther 2017, HFA, NGÜ, ELB, ZÜR.

[3] HALOT 1994-2000, 1695; Goldingay 2008, Ps 100. While advocates of this second interpretation specifically emphasise that there was not a physical thank offering, others do not argue for or against a thank offering, but simply emphasise the general act of thanksgiving without specifying (Tate 1998, 533; Kraus 1993, 274; Jacobson 2014, 734; Howard 1997, 90-91).

[4] See also NASB, NLT, NRSV, and a majority of other translations.

[5] Rahlfs 1931.

[6] NETS: NETS.

[7] Weber-Gryson 5th edition.

[8] CAL

[9] Stec 2004:183.

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The Meaning of לְתוֹדָה in Ps 100:1