The Syntactic Function of זֶה in Ps 78:54

Introduction

The Masoretic Text of Ps 78:54 reads as follows:

וַ֭יְבִיאֵם אֶל־גְּב֣וּל קָדְשׁ֑וֹ הַר־זֶ֝֗ה קָנְתָ֥ה יְמִינֽוֹ׃

Translations differ on the function of זֶה in this verse, as illustrated by the KJV and ESV, respectively:

• And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased (KJV)
• And he brought them to his holy land, to the mountain which his right hand had won (ESV)

The KJV reads זֶה according to its typical function as a demonstrative pronoun, "this," whereas the ESV understands its function as a relative pronoun, "which." We explore these two possible interpretations of Ps 78:54 in the argument maps below.

Argument Maps

Demonstrative Pronoun

The phrase הַר־זֶ֝֗ה should be understood as "this mountain" (as the KJV).

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[Demonstrative Pronoun]: The word זֶה in Ps 78:54 functions as a demonstrative pronoun, "this" (Origen, ''Homily 8'' :C:).#dispreferred
 + <Ancient versions>: The ancient versions read הַר־זֶ֝֗ה as "this mountain."#dispreferred
  + [Ancient versions]: LXX: καὶ εἰσήγαγεν αὐτοὺς εἰς ὅριον ἁγιάσματος αὐτοῦ, ὄρος τοῦτο, ὃ ἐκτήσατο ἡ δεξιὰ αὐτοῦ "And he brought them to a territory of his holy precinct, this mountain that his right hand acquired" (NETS); Iuxta Hebraeos: et adduxit eos ad terminum sanctificatum suum montem istum quem possedit dextera eius "And he brought them to the his holy border, this mountain which his right hand possessed"; Peshitta: ܐܝܬܝ ܐܢܘܢ ܠܬܚܘܡܐ ܕܩܘܕܫܗ ܠܗܢܐ ܛܘܪܐ ܕܩܢܬ ܝܡܝܢܗ "He brought them to the border of his sanctuary; to this mountain that his right hand had acquired" (Taylor 2020, 323); TgPs ואעלינון לתחום אתר בית מקדשיה טור דין די קנת ימיניה׃ "And he brought them to the border of the place of the house of his sanctuary, *this* mountain that his right hand had acquired" (modified from Stec 2004, 154).#dispreferred
  <_ <Conservative translation>: This is how the ancient versions typically render ז-pronouns (זֶה, זֹאת, etc.), even those quite unambiguously relative in function, lacking gender, number and definiteness agreement (such as זוּ; Atkinson forthcoming :G:).
   + [Conservative translation]: See, e.g., Exod 15:16; Isa 42:24; 43:21; Ps 10:2; 31:5; 62:12.
 + <Prototypical Function>: The demonstrative pronoun is the prototypical function of זֶה.#dispreferred
  - <Lack of article>: As an attributive demonstrative pronoun, as in the case of "this mountain," very rarely (if ever) are both the head noun and demonstrative lacking an article.
   - <Counterexamples>: There may be a few examples, including 1 Kgs 21:2; 2 Kgs 1:2; 8:8, 9; Ps 34:7; 74:2; 104:8.#dispreferred
    <_ <1 Kgs 21:2>: The phrase כֶ֖סֶף מְחִ֥יר זֶֽה is best read as a construct chain: "the money of the price of this."
     + [1 Kgs 21:2]: "And after this Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money (אֶתְּנָה־לְךָ֥ כֶ֖סֶף מְחִ֥יר זֶֽה)” (ESV).
    <_ <Ps 34:7>: The order of demonstrative-noun is reversed here, either to intend a predicate demonstrative, apposition, or to fit the acrostic structure, which may also explain its lack of article.
     + [Ps 34:7]: זֶ֤ה עָנִ֣י קָ֭רָא וַיהוָ֣ה שָׁמֵ֑עַ "this poor man called out / this, a poor man, called out / this is a poor man who called out and YHWH answered."
    <_ <Ps 74:2>: Psalm 74 is almost certainly set in the exile (see v. 3), so the demonstrative as a deictic of "this mount Zion" is unlikely.
     + [Ps 74:2-3]: "Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage! Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt (הַר־צִ֝יּ֗וֹן זֶ֤ה׀ שָׁכַ֬נְתָּ בּֽוֹ). Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!" (ESV).
    <_ <Ps 104:8>: Psalm 104:8 mentions both "mountains and valleys" in the line preceding זֶה, so, if read as a demonstrative, which "place" would be modified by "this" is entirely unclear.
     + [Ps 104:8]: "The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them (אֶל־מְ֝ק֗וֹם זֶ֤ה׀ יָסַ֬דְתָּ לָהֶֽם)" (ESV).

Relative Pronoun (Preferred)

The phrase הַר־זֶ֝֗ה should be understood as "the mountain which" (as the ESV).

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[Relative Pronoun]: The word זֶה in Ps 78:54 functions as a relative pronoun, "which" (GKC §138 :G:; Fassberg 2019, §365 :G:; Delitzsch 1871, 359 :C:; Hitzig 1863, 169 :C:; Ḥakham 1979, 57 :C:; Goldingay 2006, 506 :C:).
 + <Symmachus>: This is how Symmachus translates the verse.
  + [Symmachus]: ... ὄρος ὅ ἐκτήσατο ἡ δεξιὰ αὐτοῦ "...the mountain which his right hand acquired."
 <_ <Alternative form>: The form זוּ is much more expected for the relative function of ז–pronouns (Atkinson forthcoming :G:).#dispreferred
  <_ <Exceptions>: There are other examples with זֶה in the three poetic books which can only be read as relative pronouns.
   + [Exceptions]: See, e.g., Job 19:19: "All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved have turned against me (וְזֶֽה־אָ֝הַ֗בְתִּי נֶהְפְּכוּ־בִֽי)" (ESV); Prov 23:22: "Listen to your father who gave you life (שְׁמַ֣ע לְ֭אָבִיךָ זֶ֣ה יְלָדֶ֑ךָ), and do not despise your mother when she is old" (ESV); and also probably Pss 74:2; 104:8.
 + <Song of the Sea>: Much of the content of Ps 78 parallels the Song of the Sea (Exod 15), which contains the relative ז in vv. 13 and 16 (Greenstein 1990, 204 :A:).
  + [Exodus 15:13, 16-17]: "You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed (עַם־ז֣וּ גָּאָ֑לְתָּ); you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode (אֶל־נְוֵ֥ה קָדְשֶֽׁךָ) ... Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone, till your people, O Lord, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased (עַם־ז֥וּ קָנִֽיתָ). You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain (בְּהַ֣ר נַחֲלָֽתְךָ֔), the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established (מִקְּדָ֕שׁ אֲדֹנָ֖י כּוֹנְנ֥וּ יָדֶֽיךָ)" (ESV). 

Conclusion (A-)

Psalm 78 is quite unambiguously a southern polemic against the faithlessness both of the northern tribes and their common ancestors (see, especially vv. 67-72). If הַר־זֶ֝֗ה was read as "this mountain," the provenance and contextual setting of the psalm would be radically clarified, as referring to Mount Zion/Jerusalem and its cultic legitimacy over and against Shiloh (vv. 59-66). As attractive as this prospect is, the syntactic problems are quite insurmountable, in that both the head noun, הַר "mountain," and the supposed demonstrative, זֶה, lack an article. Further, the support of the ancient versions is weakened, since they are typically very conservative in their interpretation of ז-pronouns as demonstratives, including even clearer cases of the relative זוּ.

Although זוּ is the most common choice for a relative-ז, clear instances of זֶה functioning relatively are found in Job 19:19 and Proverbs 23:22, as well as instances very similar to our present verse, found in Psalms 74:2 and 104:8. The relative-ז is also found a couple of times in Exodus 15, a parallel passage to Psalm 78, with similar language, especially Exodus 15:13, 16-17. In parallel with the first line of the verse, וַ֭יְבִיאֵם אֶל־גְּב֣וּל קָדְשׁ֑וֹ "And he brought them to his holy territory," reading זֶה as a relative pronoun and not an attributive demonstrative leaves room for the interpretation of הַר as a collective "hill country/area," rather than one particular mountain. Thus, the verse should be rendered, "And he brought them to his holy territory, to the mountain/mountainous area which his right hand acquired."

Research

Translations

Ancient

• LXX: καὶ εἰσήγαγεν αὐτοὺς εἰς ὅριον ἁγιάσματος αὐτοῦ, ὄρος τοῦτο, ὃ ἐκτήσατο ἡ δεξιὰ αὐτοῦ.
  • "And he brought them to a territory of his holy precinct, this mountain that his right hand acquired."
• Symmachus: ... ὄρος ὅ ἐκτήσατο ἡ δεξιὰ αὐτοῦ.
  • "...the mountain which his right hand acquired."
• Iuxta Hebraeos: et adduxit eos ad terminum sanctificatum suum montem istum quem possedit dextera eius
  • "And he brought them to the his holy border, this mountain which his right hand possessed."
• Peshitta: ܐܝܬܝ ܐܢܘܢ ܠܬܚܘܡܐ ܕܩܘܕܫܗ ܠܗܢܐ ܛܘܪܐ ܕܩܢܬ ܝܡܝܢܗ
  • "He brought them to the border of his sanctuary; to this mountain that his right hand had acquired."
• Targum: ואעלינון לתחום אתר בית מקדשיה טור דין די קנת ימיניה׃
  • "And he brought them to the border of the place of the house of his sanctuary, the mountain that his right hand had acquired."

Modern

Demonstrative

• And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased (KJV; cf. NASB, NET, NLT)
• Er brachte sie in sein heiliges Land, zu diesem Berg, den seine Rechte erworben hat (ELB)
• Y los trajo a las fronteras de su tierra santa, a este monte que ganó con su mano derecha (RVC)
• Il les amène à son domaine sacré, à cette montagne acquise par sa droite (TOB; cf. Louis Segond 1910, NBS, NVSR)

Relativizer

• And he brought them to his holy land, to the mountain which his right hand had won (ESV; cf. CEB, CSB, NABRE, NIV, NJPS, REB)
• Er brachte sie in seinen heiligen Bezirk, zu dem Berg, den seine Rechte erworben hat (ZÜR; cf. EÜ, LUT)
• Dios trajo a su pueblo a su tierra santa, ¡a las montañas que él mismo conquistó! (DHH)
• Il les avait amenés sur son saint territoire, jusqu’à la montagne que sa main droite avait conquise (SG21; cf. BDS, NFC, PDV)

Secondary Literature

Atkinson, Ian. Forthcoming (2025). "The Demonstrative Pronoun," in G. Khan et al. (eds.) The Cambridge Grammar of Biblical Hebrew. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers & University of Cambridge.

Briggs, Charles A. & Briggs, Emilie G. 1906-1907. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Psalms. New York, NY: C. Scribner’s Sons.

Delitzsch, Franz. 1871. Biblical Commentary on the Psalms: Vol. 2. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.

Fassberg, Steven E. 2019. מבוא לתחביר לשון המקרא (in Hebrew; An Introduction to the Syntax of Biblical Hebrew. Jerusalem: Bialik Institute.

GKC = Gesenius, Wilhelm & Kautsch, Emil. 1909. A. E. Cowley (trans.) Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Goldingay, John. 2006. Psalms 42-89. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.

Greenstein, Edward, L. 1990. "Mixing Memory and Design: Reading Psalm 78." Prooftexts 10, no. 2: 197-218.

Ḥakham, Amos. 1979. ספר תהלים: ספרים ג–ה (in Hebrew; The Book of Psalms: Books 3-5). Jerusalem: Mossad Harav Kook.

Hitzig, Ferdinand. 1863. Die Psalmen: Übersetzt und Ausgelegt. Leipzig und Heidelberg: C. F. Winterische Verlagshandlung.

Origen. 2020. Homilies on the Psalms: Codex Monacensis Graecus 314. Translated by Joseph W. Trigg. Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press.

Pietersma, Albert (tr.) 2009. NETS translation of the Psalms.

Stec, David M. 2004. The Targum of Psalms: Translated, with a Critical Introduction, Apparatus, and Notes. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.

Taylor, Richard A. in Bali, Joseph & George Kiraz [eds.]. 2020. The Psalms According to the Syriac Peshitta Version with English Translation. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press.

References

78:54