The Syntax and Meaning of Psalm 41:10b

Introduction

Psalm 41:10 reads as follows according to the Masoretic Text:

גַּם־אִ֤ישׁ שְׁלוֹמִ֨י ׀ אֲשֶׁר־בָּטַ֣חְתִּי ב֭וֹ אוֹכֵ֣ל לַחְמִ֑י

הִגְדִּ֖יל עָלַ֣י עָקֵֽב׃

The last line – הִגְדִּ֖יל עָלַ֣י עָקֵֽב – is difficult to understand. The NET Bible translates the line has turned against me. The footnote then explains that the Hebrew might be literally translated has made a heel great against me. The footnote also explains, however, that "the precise meaning of this phrase, which appears only here, is uncertain." The NET's approach is typical of many modern translations; they interpret the phrase literally as "made a heel great against me" and provide an idiomatic rendering, while acknowledging that the verse is difficult.

Among the translations consulted, only the NEB/REB reflects a significantly different interpretation of this clause and the following verse: "exults over my misfortune. Lord, be gracious and restore me that I may repay them in full." According to this interpretation, the word עָקֵב ("heel") should be revocalized as עֵקֶב ("wages") and moved to the end of the following verse.

The issue centers around the word עקב. How should this word be vocalized (עָקֵב or עֵקֶב)? What is its proper position in the text (end of v. 10 or end of v. 11)? And, if it belongs with v. 10, then what is its syntactic function (direct object or adverbial)? In sum, there are three main views:

1. עָקֵב as direct object
2. עָקֵב as adverbial
3. עָקֵב revocalized (עֵקֶב) and transposed

Argument Maps

עָקֵב as direct object

Most modern translations interpret עָקֵב as the direct object: "has lifted his heel against me" (ESV, NRSVue). Even some of the more idiomatic translations, such as the NIV and the NET – "has turned against me" – acknowledge in a footnote that this is how they are interpreting the Hebrew text. These modern translations are no doubt influenced by the Greek translation in John 13:18, where עָקֵב is translated as the direct object: "has lifted his heel (τὴν πτέρναν αὐτοῦ) against me" (John 13:18, NRSVue).

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[עָקֵב as direct object]: The noun עָקֵב ("heel") is the direct object of the verb הִגְדִּיל: "he has magnified (lifted) his heel against me" (cf. BDB :L:; DCH :L:; SDBH :L:).#dispreferred
 + <Ancient translations>: Several ancient translations, including the Septuagint and the Gospel according to John, understood the noun עָקֵב ("heel") as the direct object of the verb הִגְדִּיל.#dispreferred
  + [LXX]: "magnified trickery (πτερνισμόν) against me" (LXX, trans. NETS).#dispreferred
  + [John 13:18]: "has lifted his heel (τὴν πτέρναν αὐτοῦ) against me" (NRSVue).#dispreferred
  + [Jerome (iuxta Hebr.)]: "has lifted his heel (*plantam*) against me."#dispreferred
 - <Meaning unclear>: This interpretation does not make sense. What would it mean to "magnify (make great) a heel against someone"?
  - <Ambush>: The word עָקֵב does not mean "heel," but "trap" or "ambush" (מארב). The same sense of the word is attested in Joshua 8:13 (cf. Rashi, trans. Gruber 2004, 333 :C:).#dispreferred
   + [Josh 8:13]: "So the soldiers took up their positions—with the main camp to the north of the city and the ambush (עֲקֵבוֹ) to the west of it" (NIV).#dispreferred
    - <"Rearguard">: In this passage, the word עָקֵב refers not to a trap, but to the "rearguard of an army" (HALOT :L:; Gesenius 2013, 1004 :L:).
  - <Figurative for self-exaltation>: "Exalting one's heel against someone" is a metaphor for self-exaltation. "Its meaning is, he has raised the importance of his foot (הגדיל עקיבו), for He does not visit me. He considers himself extremely exalted (ושם לנפשו מעלה גדולה)" (Ibn Ezra, trans. Strickman 2009, 306 :C:; cf. Radak :C:: "as though I were beneath the path of his foot, so he exalts himself over me (מתגדל עלי), and he does not attend to me as is proper").#dispreferred
  - <Figurative for false speech>: The expression "literally: to make great (one's) heel (over someone else)" is "possibly \[an\] action by which humans speak lies about other humans" (SDBH :L:; cf. Dahood 2008, 252 :C:).#dispreferred
   + <Context>: False, slanderous speech would fit the context well, because the previous verses (vv. 6–9) describe the slanderous speech of the psalmist's enemies.#dispreferred
   + <Verb עקב>: The verb עקב (*qal*) can refer to deceptive, slanderous speech (cf. Dahood 2008, 252 :C:, who notes also that the verb רָגַל, a denominative from רֶגֶל \["foot"\], refers to slander; see Ps 15:3; cf. HALOT :L:).#dispreferred
    + [Jeremiah 9:2–5]: "They bend their tongues like bows; they have grown strong in the land for falsehood and not for truth, for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, says the Lord. Beware of your neighbors, and put no trust in any of your kin, for all your kin are supplanters (עָקוֹב יַעְקֹב), and every neighbor goes around like a slanderer. They all deceive their neighbors, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongues to speak lies..." (Jer 9:2–4 \[Eng.: 3–5\], NRSVue).#dispreferred
   + <Noun עָקְבָּה>: A related noun (עָקְבָּה) is used in 2 Kings 10:19 to describe false, deceptive action.#dispreferred
    + [2 Kings 10:19]: "But Jehu was acting deceptively (עָשָׂה בְעָקְבָּה) in order to destroy the servants of Baal" (2 Kgs 10:19, NIV).#dispreferred
 - <הִגְדִּיל עַל intransitive>: The expression הִגְדִּיל עַל means "exalt oneself against \[someone\]." In this frequent expression, the verb הִגְדִּיל is intransitive, without any direct object (cf. HALOT :L:). Similarly, the verb הִגְדִּיל in this passage is probably intransitive, and the word עָקֵב is not the direct object (cf. Hossfeld and Zenger 1993, 261 :C:).
  + [הִגְדִּיל עַל intransitive]: "those who exalt themselves against me (הַמַּגְדִּילִים עָלָי)" (Psalm 35:26, NRSVue); "those who boast against me (עָלַי הִגְדִּילוּ)" (Ps 38:17, NRSVue); "who boasts against me (עָלַ֣י הִגְדִּ֑יל)" (Ps 55:13, RJPS); cf. Jer 48:26, 42; Ezek 35:13; Zeph 2:8, 10; Job 19:5.
  <_ <Exception>: Not every occurrence of הִגְדִּיל עַל is an instance of this fixed expression. In Psalm 138:2, the verb הִגְדִּיל, which is modified by the preposition עַל, has a direct object and a transitive sense.#dispreferred
   + [Psalm 138:2]: "You have exalted Your name, Your word, above all (הִגְדַּלְתָּ עַל כָּל שִׁמְךָ אִמְרָתֶךָ)" (Ps 138:2, RJPS).#dispreferred
 + <Similar construction>: When the verb הִגְדִּיל is accompanied by a noun, e.g., a body part, this noun can function as the direct object (e.g., Ob 12).#dispreferred
  + [Obadiah 12]: "do not boast (וְאַל תַּגְדֵּל פִּיךָ) in the day of distress" (Ob 12, ESV).#dispreferred

עָקֵב as adverbial (preferred)

Some interpreters argue that עָקֵב is an adverbial. Although this view is not clearly represented in any of the modern translations consulted, it can be found in some of the ancient translations. For example, Symmachus translates this line, "he exalted himself against me while he was following (ἀκολουθῶν)." The modern-day commentator John Goldingay translates it as, "has exalted himself against me as a cheat." Other interpretations of the adverbial are also possible, e.g., "he exalted himself against me at the heel (= as an act of betrayal)."

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[עָקֵב as adverbial]: The noun עָקֵב ("heel") is an adverbial: "he has made himself great against me (literally:) with a heel" or "at the heel" (cf. Goldingay 2006, 581 :C:).
 + <הִגְדִּיל עַל intransitive>: The expression הִגְדִּיל עַל means "exalt oneself against \[someone\]." In this frequent expression, the verb הִגְדִּיל is intransitive, without any direct object (cf. HALOT :L:). Similarly, the verb הִגְדִּיל in this passage is probably intransitive, and the word עָקֵב is an adverbial.
  + [הִגְדִּיל עַל intransitive]: "those who exalt themselves against me (הַמַּגְדִּילִים עָלָי)" (Psalm 35:26, NRSVue); "those who boast against me (עָלַי הִגְדִּילוּ)" (Ps 38:17, NRSVue); "who boasts against me (עָלַ֣י הִגְדִּ֑יל)" (Ps 55:13, RJPS); cf. Jer 48:26, 42; Ezek 35:13; Zeph 2:8, 10; Job 19:5.
 + <Ancient translations>: Some ancient translations interpreted the noun עָקֵב ("heel") as an adverbial.
  + [Aquila]: "with \[his\] heel" (πτέρνᾳ)
  + [Symmachus]: "exalted himself against me while he was following (ἀκολουθῶν)"
  + [Targum]: "exalts himself against me with respect to wisdom (לחכמא)" (cf. Stec 2004, 87: "acts mightily to outwit me").
 - <Meaning unclear>: This interpretation does not make sense. What would it mean to "exalt oneself *with/at* a heel"?#dispreferred
  - <Figurative for betrayal>: The phrase "exalt oneself against \[someone\]" (הִגְדִּיל עַל) means to "boast" at someone else's expense. The addition of the adverbial עָקֵב (literally: "at the \[psalmist's\] heel") would specify that the enemy's boasting was an act of *betrayal* that took the psalmist by surprise.
   + <Jacob and Esau>: In the Jacob and Esau story of Genesis, the verbal root עקב is associated with betrayal.
    + [Gen 25:26; 27:36]: "Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel (עֲקֵב עֵשָׂו), so he was named Jacob (יַעֲקֹב)" (Gen 25:26, NASB)... "Then Esau said, 'Is he not rightly named Jacob (יַעֲקֹב), for he has betrayed me (וַיַּעְקְבֵנִי) these two times? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing'" (Gen 27:36, NASB).
   + <Ben Sira 12:15–17>: In a passage in Ben Sira, the expression "grab \[someone\] by the heel" (יתפש עקב) implies the surprising betrayal of someone who had pretended to be a close friend.
    + [Ben Sira 12:15–17]: "While he travels with you, he will not reveal his motives to you and if you fall, he will not stoop down to rescue you. As long as you are standing he has no reason to show himself but if you stumble he will not be able to contain himself. An adversary bides his time with his lips but in his heart he is devising cavernous pits... If misfortune meets up with you, he will be found there like a man who has come to support you, but he will seize you by the heel (עקב)" (Ben Sira 12:15–17, ms. A f.5r, translation by Benjamin H. Parker and Martin G. Abegg).
   + <Context (v. 10)>: The idea of betrayal would fit the context well, because the verse describes the person as one of the psalmist's trusted friends: "even my trusted friend, someone who ate my food..." (v. 10).
 + <עָקֵב syntax>: The form עָקֵב occurs as the last constituent in two other clauses in the Bible (Gen 3:15; 49:19), and in both cases it is an adverbial: "on/at \[someone's\] heel."
   + [Gen 3:15]: "and you will strike his heel (עָקֵב)" (Gen 3:15, CSB; literally: "you will strike him on the heel").
   + [Gen 49:19]: "Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels (עָקֵב)" (Gen 49:17, ESV).

עקב revocalized (עֵקֶב) and transposed

Finally, some scholars argue that עָקֵב at the end of v. 10 is so difficult because it is a textual error. The form should be revocalized to עֵקֶב ("wages") and moved to the end of v. 11 (see NEB/REB).

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[עָקֵב revocalized (עֵקֶב) and transposed]: The word עקב (MT: עָקֵב) should be vocalized as עֵקֶב ("result, wages") and transposed to the end of v. 11: "I will repay them in full" (Baethgen 1904, 119 :C:; Hossfeld and Zenger 1993, 261 :C:).#dispreferred
 + <Sense>: The word עֵקֶב in the sense of "wage" or "reward" would make sense as the object of the verb "repay" (שלם, piel) in v. 11.#dispreferred
  + [עֵקֶב as "wage," "reward"]: "in keeping them there is great reward (עֵקֶב)" (Ps 19:12); "Humility is the fear of the LORD; its wages (עֵקֶב) are riches and honor and life" (Prov 22:4, NIV).#dispreferred
 - <Manuscript and versional evidence>: Neither the revocalization nor the transposition is attested in any extant witness. All of the manuscript and versional evidence, including the use of this passage in 1QHodayot-A, supports the reading of the Masoretic Text (cf. Barthélemy et al 2005, 242–243 :C:).
  + [Manuscript and versional evidence]: E.g., MT: הִגְדִּ֖יל עָלַ֣י עָקֵֽב; LXX: ἐμεγάλυνεν ἐπʼ ἐμὲ πτερνισμόν; John 13:18: ἐπῆρεν ἐπʼ ἐμὲ τὴν πτέρναν αὐτοῦ; et al.
  + [1QHodayot-A 13:25–16]: "But as for me, I have become... a cause of controversy and quarrels with my neighbors, an object of jealousy and anger to those who enter into covenant with me, an object both of grumbling and murmuring to all who are associated with me. Al\[so those\] who eat my bread have lifted the heel against me (ג\[\ם א]\ו֯כלי לחמי עלי הגדילו עקב). All who are attached to my council speak ill of me with evil lips, and the people of my council are rebels and murmurers all around" (Stegemann et al. 2009, 168, 180).
  <_ <Early scribal error>: The scribal error happened at an early stage in the text's transmission and is, therefore, preserved in all extant witnesses.#dispreferred

Conclusion (C)

In the end, we prefer to interpret עָקֵב in v. 10 as an adverbial: "at the [psalmist's] heel," i.e., as an act of betrayal. Three main arguments support this interpretation.

1. The expression הִגְדִּיל עַל is typically intransitive: "exalt oneself against [someone]" (Pss 35:26; 38:17; 55:13; Jer 48:26, 42; Ezek 35:13; Zeph 2:8, 10; Job 19:5). The adverbial interpretation of עָקֵב allows us to interpret הִגְדִּיל עַל in Psalm 41:10b according to its expected sense.
2. The form עָקֵב occurs as the last constituent in two other clauses in the Bible (Gen 3:15; 49:19), and in both cases it is an adverbial: "at/on the heel."
3. This interpretation makes sense in the context. As Ben Sira 12:15–17 clarifies (cf. Gen 27:36), the expression "grabbing someone by the heel" can refer to the surprising betrayal of a friend. Thus, the addition of the adverbial "at the heel" could imply that the self-exaltation/boasting of the psalmist's enemy was an act of betrayal. This interpretation makes especially good sense in the context of v. 10: "even my trusted friend, someone who ate my food, has exalted himself against me at the heel" (i.e., as an act of betrayal).

Although this interpretation differs grammatically from the rendering in John 13:18 – "has lifted his heel against me" – it agrees remarkably well in sense with John's use of this verse to describe Judas' betrayal of Jesus.

In its original context, the point of the verse would be to describe how the psalmist's close friend, in an act of betrayal, joined the company of people who were slandering him (see vv. 7–9).

Research

Translations

Ancient

• LXX: καὶ γὰρ ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς εἰρήνης μου, ἐφʼ ὃν ἤλπισα, ὁ ἐσθίων ἄρτους μου, ἐμεγάλυνεν ἐπʼ ἐμὲ πτερνισμόν
  • Indeed, the person at peace with me, in whom I hoped, he who would eat of my bread, magnified trickery against me.
• John 13:18b: ἀλλʼ ἵνα ἡ γραφὴ πληρωθῇ· ὁ τρώγων μου τὸν ἄρτον ἐπῆρεν ἐπʼ ἐμὲ τὴν πτέρναν αὐτοῦ
  • "But it is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me'" (NRSVue)
• Aquila: πτέρνᾳ
  • "with a heel"
• Symmachus: κατεμεγαλύνθη μου ἀκολουθῶν
  • "He exalted himself against me while he was following."
• Jerome (iuxta Hebr.): sed et homo pacificus meus in quo habui fiduciam qui manducabat panem meum levavit contra me plantam
  • "But even my peaceful man, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me."
• Targum: אוף גבר דתבע שלומי דאיתרחצית עלוי מברי סעודתי איתרברב עלי לחכמא׃
  • "Even the man who seeks my peace, in whom I trusted, who eats my food, acts mightily to outwit me."
• Peshitta: ܐܦ ܓܒܪܐ ܫܐܠ ܫܠܡܝ ܕܬܟܝܠ ܐܢܐ ܥܠܘܗܝ ܐܟܠ ܠܚܡܝ ܕܬܟܝܠ ܐܢܐ ܥܠܘܗܝ ܣܓܝ ܐܬܢܟܠ ܥܠܝ.
  • "Even my friend in whom I trusted, my table companion in whom I trusted, has acted very deceitfully against me."

Modern

Syntax: הִגְדִּיל transitive; עָקֵב as object

"Lifted his heel against me"

• has lifted his heel against me. (ESV, NRSVue)
• hat die Ferse gegen mich erhoben. (ELB, EÜ)
• a levé le talon sur moi. (TOB)
• lève le talon contre moi. (S21, NBS, NVS78P)
• alzó el pie contra mí. (RVR95)
• levantó contra mí su calcañar. (BTX4)

Idiomatic: "Turned against me"

• has turned against me. (NIV, NLT, CEV, GNT, NET)
• auch er hat sich nun gegen mich gewandt! (GNB)
• s’est tourné contre moi (BDS, NFC)
• se ha vuelto contra mí. (NVI, DHH94I)
• Eh bien, même lui, il est devenu mon ennemi. (PDV2017)

Idiomatic (other)

• tritt mich mit Füßen. (LUT, ZÜR)
• tritt mich nun mit Füßen. (HFA, NGÜ)
• has been utterly false to me. (RJPS)
• takes advantage of me.

Syntax: הִגְדִּיל intransitive; עָקֵב > עֵקֶב transposed

• exults over my misfortune. O Lord, be gracious and restore me, that I may pay them out to the full. (NEB)
• exults over my misfortune. Lord, be gracious and restore me that I may repay them in full. (REB)

Secondary Literature

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

Barthélemy, Dominique, at al. 2005. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament. Tome 4: Psaumes. Fribourg: Academic Press.

Brockington, L. H. 1973. The Hebrew Text of the Old Testament: The Readings Adopted by the Translators of the New English Bible.

Dahood, Mitchell J. 2008 (first published 1965). Psalms I: 1-50. The Anchor Yale Bible. New Haven/London: Yale University Press.

Gesenius, Wilhelm. 2013. Hebräisches und Aramäisches Handwörterbuch über das Alte Testament. 18th ed. Edited by Herbert Donner. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer.

Goldingay, John. 2006. Psalms: Psalms 1–41. Vol. 1. BCOT. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

Hossfeld, Frank-Lothar, and Erich Zenger. 1993. Die Psalmen I: Psalm 1–50. Neue Echter Bibel. Würzburg: Echter.

Ibn Ezra. 2009. Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra Commentary on the First Book of Psalms. Translated by H. Norman Strickman. Boston: Academic Studies Press.

Köstenberger, Andreas J. 2007. “John.” In Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, edited by G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

Radak. Radak on the Psalms.

Rashi. 2004. Rashi’s Commentary on Psalms. Translated by Mayer Irwin Gruber. Brill Reference Library of Judaism 18. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society.

Stec, David M., ed. 2004. The Targum of Psalms. The Aramaic Bible 16. Collegeville: Liturgical Press.

Stegemann, Hartmut. 2009. Qumran Cave 1: 1Qhodayot^a with Incorporation of 1Qhodayot^b and 4Qhodayot^a–f. With Eileen M. Schuller and Carol Newsom. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert 40. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

References

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