The Text and Meaning of Ps 37:35b

Psalm Overview

Exegetical issues for Psalm 37:

The Text, Grammar, and Meaning of Ps 37:20

The Text of Ps 37:28

The Text and Meaning of Ps 37:35b

Introduction

The MT of Ps 37:35 reads as follows:

רָ֭אִיתִי רָשָׁ֣ע עָרִ֑יץ

וּ֝מִתְעָרֶ֗ה כְּאֶזְרָ֥ח רַעֲנָֽן׃

The second half of this verse (וּ֝מִתְעָרֶ֗ה כְּאֶזְרָ֥ח רַעֲנָֽן) is problematic. Several modern translations have notes saying that the Hebrew text is "difficult" (CEV, cf. NVS78P), "unclear" (GNT, cf. NBS) or "uncertain" (NRSV, ESV). To illustrate the problem, consider the variety among the following translations:

• I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a luxuriant native tree (NIV)
• I saw a wicked man, powerful, well-rooted like a robust native tree (NJPS)
• I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree (ESV)
• I have seen the wicked oppressing, and towering like a cedar of Lebanon (NRSV)

There are two points of difficulty in the interpretation of v. 35b.

1. One point of difficulty is the phrase כְּאֶזְרָח רַעֲנָן. Some translations choose to follow the Masoretic reading כְּאֶזְרָח רַעֲנָן (so NIV, NJPS, ESV), while other translations follow the emendation כְּאַרְזֵי הַלְּבָנוֹן (so NRSV).
2. Another point of difficulty is the participle מִתְעָרֶה. Some translations interpret the word to mean "spreading" (ESV) or "flourishing" (NIV), while others interpret it to mean "well-rooted" (NJPS). Still others translate it as "towering," either following the emendation מִתְעַלֶּה (so NRSV) or interpreting מִתְעָרֶה as a phonological variant of מִתְעַלֶּה (so NET).

Argument Maps

Green native tree (אֶזְרָח רַעֲנָן) vs Cedars of Lebanon (אַרְזֵי הַלְּבָנוֹן)

Green native tree (preferred)

Some modern translations follow the Masoretic reading כְּאֶזְרָח רַעֲנָן, and most of these translations interpret the phrase to mean "luxuriant native tree" (NIV) or "tree in its native soil" (NLT, NEB, NET).

===
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
=== 
[Green native tree]: The reading כְּאֶזְרָח רַעֲנָן is probably the earlier reading (Barthélemy 2005, 224-227 :M:).
 + <Ancient witnesses>: In addition to the MT, a number of ancient witnesses read כְּאֶזְרָח רַעֲנָן.
  + [MT]: וּ֝מִתְעָרֶ֗ה כְּאֶזְרָ֥ח רַעֲנָֽן
  + [Greek revisers]: Aquila: "like a native flourishing \[tree\]" (ὡς αὐτόχθων εὐθαλής); Symmachus: "and as in a thicket, the one that springs up on its own \[as\] a flourishing \[tree\]" (ὁ αὐτόματος ἀνατείλας εὐθαλής); Sexta: "like a native" (ὡς αὐτόχθων)
  + [Jerome]: "like a green native \[tree\]" (sicut indigenam virentem)
 + <More difficult reading>: The reading כְּאֶזְרָח רַעֲנָן is more difficult than the alternative (כְּאַרְזֵי הַלְּבָנוֹן), and it is hard to explain how it arose in the tradition as a secondary reading (cf. Barthélemy 2005, 226 :M:).
  - <Scribal error>: The reading כְּאֶזְרָח רַעֲנָן could have emerged as a scribal error, due to the graphic similarity between כאזרח רענן and כארזי הלבנן. Both begin with the letters כאזר/כארז and both end with the letters נן. #dispreferred
 + <Context>: The phrase probably refers to "a green native tree," and this meaning fits the context well.
  + <רַעֲנָן>: The adjective רַעֲנָן ("luxuriant, fresh") usually describes trees (HALOT :L:).
   + [רַעֲנָן]: E.g., "But I am like a green olive tree (כְּזַיִת רַעֲנָן)" (Ps 52:9, ESV; cf. Jer 11:16; Hos 14:9; etc.).
  + <Semantic domains of light and growing>: The noun אֶזְרָח is from the root זרח ("rise \[like the sun\], shine") (BDB :L:), or is at least from a "variant root" of זרח (HALOT :L:), and Semitic languages show a close relationship between words from the semantic domain of LIGHT and words from the semantic domain of GROWING (Morag 1971 :A:).
   + [Semantic domains of light and growing]: E.g., Hebrew צֶמַח (sprout)—Syriac צְמָח (shine).
  + <Native trees>: Native trees grow especially well and are especially resilient, which fits the narrator's description of the wicked person in vv. 35-36.
   + <וְהִנֵּה>: In v. 36, the narrator uses the mirative particle וְהִנֵּה to express his surprise that the wicked person was nowhere to be found (cf. van der Merwe and Miller-Naudé 2011, §3.2), which implies that the wicked person appeared to be especially resilient.
  - <Usage of אֶזְרָח>: The noun אֶזְרָח elsewhere refers to a "native inhabitant, citizen, of Israel, as opposed to sojourner (גֵּר)" (DCH :L:), never to a tree. #dispreferred
   + [Usage of אֶזְרָח]: "This instruction applies to everyone, whether a native-born Israelite (אֶזְרָח) or a foreigner living among you" (Exod 12:49, NLT; cf. Lev 16:29; 17:15; 18:26; 19:34; 23:42; 24:16, 22; Num 15:13, 29f; Josh 8:33; Ezek 47:22; see HALOT :L:). #dispreferred
   <_ <Metaphorical extension 1>: The meaning "something that grows up in its native place," i.e., a "plant, tree" (DCH :L:; cf. BDB :L:) might be a metaphorical extension of the usual meaning "native inhabitant" (cf. SDBH :L: which suggests a domain transfer from "Classes" of people to "Trees").
   <_ <Metaphorical extension 2>: The meaning "native inhabitant" might be a metaphorical extension of the basic meaning "tree." Some Celtic languages show the same development of trees > people groups (Morag 1971 :A:).

Cedars of Lebanon

Some modern translations follow the emendation כְּאַרְזֵי הַלְּבָנֹן (or, singular: כְּאֶרֶז הַלְּבָנֹן), "like the cedars of Lebanon" (cf. NRSV, GNT, NJB, PDV2017). This emendation is proposed by BHS on the basis of the Septuagint.

===
model:
    removeTagsFromText: true
    shortcodes:
      ":C:": {unicode: "🄲"}
      ":G:": {unicode: "🄶"}
      ":A:": {unicode: "🄰"}
      ":I:": {unicode: "🄸"}    
      ":L:": {unicode: "🄻"}
      ":D:": {unicode: "🄳"}    
      ":M:": {unicode: "🄼"}   
selection:
    excludeDisconnected: false
dot:
    graphVizSettings:
        concentrate: true
        ranksep: 0.2
        nodesep: 0.2
=== 
[Cedars]: The reading כְּאַרְזֵי הַלְּבָנֹן ("like the cedars of Lebanon") is the earlier reading (BHS, HALOT :L:, Gesenius 2013, 31 :L:; Baethgen 1904, 108 :C:; Kittel 1922, 136 :C:). #dispreferred
 + <LXX>: The Septuagint, the oldest witness to the text, probably read כְּאַרְזֵי הַלְּבָנֹן instead of כְּאֶזְרָח רַעֲנָן.#dispreferred
  + [LXX]: "I saw an impious one being highly lifted up and being raised up like the cedars of Lebanon (ὡς τὰς κέδρους τοῦ Λιβάνου)" (NETS).#dispreferred
  - <Free translation>: The Septuagint gives a free translation of the difficult phrase כְּאֶזְרָח רַעֲנָן (Barthélemy 2005, 224-227 :M:; cf. Dorival 2021, 439 :C:; Bons et al. 2011, 1603 :C:).
   + <Assimilation to context>: Not understanding the meaning of the difficult phrase כְּאֶזְרָח רַעֲנָן, the translator (or perhaps an earlier scribe) employed a common image that fits the context ("cedars of Lebanon") (Barthélemy 2005, 224-227 :M:; cf. Dorival 2021, 439 :C:). 
   - <Graphic similarity>: There is a striking graphic similarity between כאזרח רענן and כארזי הלבנן—both begin with the letters כאזר/כארז and both end with the letters נן. The similarity suggests that the reading כארזי הלבנן is the result of an unintentional scribal error, not an intentional change to the text. #dispreferred
    - <Guided by graphic similarity>: The graphic similarity of כאזרח רענן to כארזי הלבנן might have guided the Septuagint translator (or an earlier scribe) in his attempt to attain a reading that made sense to him (cf. Barthélemy 2005, 224-227 :M:).
 - <Common image>: The reading כְּאַרְזֵי הַלְּבָנֹן ("the cedars of Lebanon") represents a commonplace biblical image, and "the transition from the rare and subtle form of MT to the common image of G is easier to explain than the reverse" (Barthélemy 2005, 226 :M:; cf. Ruiz 2009, 59-60 :M:).
  + [Cedars of Lebanon]: The phrase אַרְזֵי הַלְּבָנֹון ("the cedars of Lebanon") or אַרְזֵי לְבָנֹון ("cedars of Lebanon") occurs in Jdg 9:15; Isa 2:13; 14:8; Pss 29:5; 104:16.

The Meaning of מִתְעָרֶה

Interpreters disagree on the meaning of the participle מִתְעָרֶה. There are at least four options:

1. Exposing himself
2. Spreading (himself)
3. Well-rooted
4. Ascending

Exposing himself

The participle מִתְעָרֶה could mean "exposing himself" (i.e., doing evil in public). Ibn Ezra, for example, paraphrases the verse as follows: "I have seen the wicked powerful like a many branched tree; doing all sorts of wicked acts in public."

===
model:
    removeTagsFromText: true
    shortcodes:
      ":C:": {unicode: "🄲"}
      ":G:": {unicode: "🄶"}
      ":A:": {unicode: "🄰"}
      ":I:": {unicode: "🄸"}    
      ":L:": {unicode: "🄻"}
      ":D:": {unicode: "🄳"}    
      ":M:": {unicode: "🄼"}   
selection:
    excludeDisconnected: false
dot:
    graphVizSettings:
        concentrate: true
        ranksep: 0.2
        nodesep: 0.2
=== 
[Exposing himself]: "מִתְעָרֶה means, 'revealing himself' (מתגלה), doing all evil things in public (העושה בגלוי כל רע)" (Ibn Ezra, trans. 2009, 279 :C:; cf. Klein 2018, 72 :A:). #dispreferred
 + <Usage>: Elsewhere, the hithpael of ערה means "to expose oneself." #dispreferred
  + [Lam 4:21]: "you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare (וְתִתְעָרִי)" (Lam 4:21, ESV). #dispreferred
 - <Tree simile>: The meaning "revealing himself" does not fit well with the tree imagery: "revealing himself like a native tree(?)"
  - <Stripped leaves>: The image of a tree being "stripped bare" (i.e., its leaves being stripped off) also occurs in Ps 29:9. In Ps 37, the wicked person 'strips himself bare' as a way of demonstrating his invincibility, i.e., to show that he is not afraid of being stripped bare (Morag 1971 :A:).#dispreferred
   + [Ps 29:9]: "The voice of the LORD... strips the forests bare" (Ps 29:9, ESV). #dispreferred
  - <Germination>: A plant "reveals itself" when it first emerges from a seed in the germination process (cf. Klein 2018, 72 :A:). #dispreferred
   <_ <עָרִיץ>: It would not be appropriate to compare a wicked person who is "ruthless" or "violent" (עָרִיץ) to a tiny plant coming out of a seed.
  <_ <Line division>: The participle is not part of the tree image but rather "belongs to the first part of the line... The \[tree\] simile gives an additional idea..." (Briggs 1906, 331 :C:). #dispreferred
   - <Balance>: Grouping מִתְעָרֶה with the preceding line would make for an imbalanced couplet (4/2, as opposed to 3/3).
   - <Tradition>: Grouping מִתְעָרֶה with the preceding line would go against the traditional division represented in the Masoretic accents and Septuagint manuscripts (e.g., Vaticanus, cf. Rahlfs 1931, 138).

Spreading

Some interpreters think that the word מִתְעָרֶה means "spreading (oneself)." As Calvin says, "The word מתערה... means... spreading himself out, as high and broad trees spread out their branches. David, I have no doubt, here rebukes the insolence of those who vaunt themselves immoderately." The ESV, for example, translates the line as "spreading himself like a green laurel tree." Translations like the NIV, which say "flourishing like a tree in its native soil," might also reflect this interpretation ("spreading branches/roots" >> "flourishing").

===
model:
    removeTagsFromText: true
    shortcodes:
      ":C:": {unicode: "🄲"}
      ":G:": {unicode: "🄶"}
      ":A:": {unicode: "🄰"}
      ":I:": {unicode: "🄸"}    
      ":L:": {unicode: "🄻"}
      ":D:": {unicode: "🄳"}    
      ":M:": {unicode: "🄼"}   
selection:
    excludeDisconnected: false
dot:
    graphVizSettings:
        concentrate: true
        ranksep: 0.2
        nodesep: 0.2
=== 
[Spreading]: The word מִתְעָרֶה refers to the wicked person "speading himself out," i.e., "vaunting himself immoderately" (Calvin :C:), just as a tree "spreads out" its branches or its roots (cf. Crisanto Tiquillahuanca 2008, 113 :M:; BDB :L:; DCH :L:). #dispreferred
 + <Context>: This meaning works well in the context. The following verse (v. 36) describes the disappearance of the wicked person as a surprising, unexpected event (והנה), which makes sense if the wicked person was originally perceived as "spreading" his branches and/or roots.#dispreferred
 - <Usage>: The verb התערה never elsewhere means "to spread oneself out," and related verbs from the root ערה never mean "to spread out" or "to be spread out." This meaning is "without support in the usage of the word" (Briggs 1906, 331 :C:).
  <_ <"Pouring oneself">: The verb can mean "to pour out," and the idea of "spreading oneself out" could derive from the idea of "pouring oneself out" (cf. BDB :L:: "pouring himself, i.e. spreading himself out like a tree").#dispreferred
   + ["Pour out"]: Isa 53:12 (הֶעֱרָ֤ה לַמָּ֨וֶת֙ נַפְשֹׁ֔ו); Ps 141:8 (אַל־תְּעַ֥ר נַפְשִֽׁי); cf. Gen 24:20 (וַתְּעַ֤ר כַּדָּהּ֙).#dispreferred
   - <Basic meaning>: The meaning "pour out" (lit.: "make bare, i.e., make empty") is a metaphorical extension of the basic meaning of the word "uncover, make bare" (cf. SDBH :L:). The meaning "spread out (in luxurious growth)" is not compatible with this basic meaning ("make bare"); in fact, it is the opposite of it.

Well-rooted

Another option is to understand מִתְעָרֶה to mean "well-rooted" (cf. Rashi). The NJPS translation, for example, says "I saw a wicked man, powerful, well-rooted like a robust native tree."

===
model:
    removeTagsFromText: true
    shortcodes:
      ":C:": {unicode: "🄲"}
      ":G:": {unicode: "🄶"}
      ":A:": {unicode: "🄰"}
      ":I:": {unicode: "🄸"}    
      ":L:": {unicode: "🄻"}
      ":D:": {unicode: "🄳"}    
      ":M:": {unicode: "🄼"}   
selection:
    excludeDisconnected: false
dot:
    graphVizSettings:
        concentrate: true
        ranksep: 0.2
        nodesep: 0.2
=== 
[Well-rooted]: The verb מִתְעָרֶה means "well-rooted" (Rashi :C:).#dispreferred
 - <Usage>: The verb מִתְעָרֶה never means "well-rooted" in the Hebrew Bible.
  <_  <ערה in Hebrew>: There is a Hebrew root ערה that is associated with plants. The noun form ערה can refer to a type of plant, and, at least in Mishnaic Hebrew, the verb ערה (pual) can refer to the state by which a plant is attached to soil by its roots (cf. Rashi :C:; Jastrow 1926, 1116 :L:).#dispreferred
   + [Mishnah tractate - Oktzin 3:8]: "Grain that had been uprooted, but is still attached to the soil even by the smallest of roots (וּמְעֹרָה אֲפִלּוּ בְשֹׁרֶשׁ קָטָן), is not susceptible to uncleanness."#dispreferred
   + [Isa 19:7]: "the plants (עָרוֹת, LXX: τὸ ἄχι) along the Nile, at the mouth of the river" (Isa 19:7, NIV).#dispreferred
    <_ <Egyptian loan-word>: The word עָרוֹת in Isa 19:7 is an Egyptian loan-word, not a Hebrew word (Thacker 1933 :A:; Gesenius 2013, 1012 :L:).
   <_ <Late development>: The Hebrew verb ערה (pual and hithpael) comes to mean "be intertwined" only in later (post-biblical) Hebrew texts (cf. Jastrow 1926, 1116 :L:).
 + <Context>: This meaning works well in the context. The following verse (v. 36) describes the disappearance of the wicked person as a surprising, unexpected event (והנה), which makes sense if the wicked person was originally perceived as "well-rooted."#dispreferred

Ascending (preferred)

Finally, the participle מִתְעָרֶה could mean "ascending" or "rising" (cf. SDBH). The NRSV, for example, says "towering like a cedar of Lebanon." Most of the modern translations that say "towering" or "ascending" are actually reading a different text: מִתְעַלֶּה. It is possible, however, that the word מִתְעָרֶה has this same meaning. As the NET explains in one of its notes, "Perhaps the form [מִתְעָרֶה] is a dialectal variant of מִתְעָלָה."

===
model:
    removeTagsFromText: true
    shortcodes:
      ":C:": {unicode: "🄲"}
      ":G:": {unicode: "🄶"}
      ":A:": {unicode: "🄰"}
      ":I:": {unicode: "🄸"}    
      ":L:": {unicode: "🄻"}
      ":D:": {unicode: "🄳"}    
      ":M:": {unicode: "🄼"}   
selection:
    excludeDisconnected: false
dot:
    graphVizSettings:
        concentrate: true
        ranksep: 0.2
        nodesep: 0.2
=== 
[Ascending]: The word מִתְעָרֶה means "going up, ascending" (cf. SDBH; Fitzgerald 1978, 486 :A:; Craigie 1983, 296 :C:).
 + <Context>: This meaning works well in the context. The following verse (v. 36) describes the disappearance of the wicked person as a surprising, unexpected event (והנה), which makes sense if the wicked person was originally perceived as a towering tree.
 - <עלה>: The word for "ascending" would be מִתְעַלֶּה (with a lamed), not מִתְעָרֶה (with a resh).#dispreferred
  <_ <מתערה for מתעלה>: The word מִתְעָרֶה is a phonological variant of מִתְעַלֶּה. The resh has replaced the lamed, but the meaning of the word is the same (Fitzgerald 1978 :A:).
   + <Resh for lamed>: In biblical Hebrew, as in other Semitic languages (cf. Brockelmann 1961 §84 :G:), resh sometimes replaces lamed without changing the meaning of the word, and vice-versa (Fitzgerald 1978 :A:).
    + <Isa 13:22a>: In Isa 13:22a, בְּאַלְמנוֹתָיו occurs for בְּאַרְמנוֹתָיו, which creates an alliterative pattern (nun, lamed, nun / nun, lamed, nun; cf. also the alliteration between בְּאַלְמנוֹ and בְּהֵיכְלֵי עֹנֶ) (Fitzgerald 1978 :A:; cf. Skehan 1969).
     + [Isa 13:22a]: וְעָנָ֤ה אִיִּים֙ בְּאַלְמנוֹתָ֔יו וְתַנִּ֖ים בְּהֵ֣יכְלֵי עֹ֑נֶג
    + <Job 6:16b>: In Job 6:16b, יִתְעַלֶּם is written instead of יִתְעָרֶם for the purpose of alliteration. "The second \[hemistich\] combines its m's and l's, and these latter carry the principal suggestion of the soft and continuous heaping up of the snow. That is why the author did not say, or write, יִתְעָרֶם, though this is surely the intended sense" (Skehan 1969, 210 :A:).
     + [Job 6:16b]: עָ֝לֵ֗ימוֹ יִתְעַלֶּם־שָֽׁלֶג
    + <Job 6:25a>: In Job 6:25a, "the subject given it requires that the verb be read in the sense of נִמְלְצוּ, with resh substituted for its lamed: 'How agreeable are honest words!'" (Skehan 1969, 211 :A:). The substitution results in an alliterative sequence of resh words.
     + [Job 6:25a]: מַה־נִּמְרְצ֥וּ אִמְרֵי־יֹ֑שֶׁר
   + <Poetic motivation>: There is an alliterative, poetic reason for using a resh instead of a lamed.
    + <Resh sequence in vv. 34-36>: In vv. 34-36, the letter resh occurs in fifteen consecutive words, beginning with וּשְׁמֹ֬ר and ending with וַ֭יַּֽעֲבֹר. The letter resh symbolizes the presence of the wicked (רשעים, מרעים), and the sudden termination of the resh sequence in v. 36b coincides with the disappearance of the wicked: "and (get this!) he was gone; and I looked for him, and he was nowhere to be found" (see Lehmann and Levine 2021 :A:).
     + [Resh sequence in vv. 34-36]: קַוֵּ֤ה אֶל־יְהוָ֨ה׀ וּשְׁמֹ֬ר דַּרְכּ֗וֹ וִֽ֭ירוֹמִמְךָ לָרֶ֣שֶׁת אָ֑רֶץ בְּהִכָּרֵ֖ת רְשָׁעִ֣ים תִּרְאֶֽה׃ רָ֭אִיתִי רָשָׁ֣ע עָרִ֑יץ וּ֝מִתְעָרֶ֗ה כְּאֶזְרָ֥ח רַעֲנָֽן׃ וַ֭יַּֽעֲבֹר וְהִנֵּ֣ה אֵינֶ֑נּוּ וָֽ֝אֲבַקְשֵׁ֗הוּ וְלֹ֣א נִמְצָֽא׃
 + <Trees as "ascending">: It is appropriate to describe trees as "exalted" or "ascending."
  + [עלה with tree as subject]: "Instead of the thornbush will grow (יַעֲלֶה) the juniper,
    and instead of briers the myrtle will grow (יַעֲלֶה)" (Isa 55:13, NIV; cf. Ezek 47:12; Jonah 4:6
  <_ <Hithpael reflexive>: It would not be appropriate to describe trees as "exalting themselves," which is the meaning implied by the use of the hithpael stem.#dispreferred
   + [Jer 51:3]: "And let him lift himself up (יִתְעַל) against her in his coat of mail" (Jer 51:3, JPS1917).#dispreferred
   <_ <Wicked exalts himself>: In Ps 37:35, it is not the tree that exalts itself but the wicked person who exalts himself so as to become like a tall tree.
   - <Iterative>: "With active transitive verbs, the Hithpael is frequently iterative" (Boyd 2017, 103 :G:).
    + [Deut 9:18]: וָֽאֶתְנַפַּל֩ לִפְנֵ֨י יְהוָ֜ה כָּרִאשֹׁנָ֗ה אַרְבָּעִ֥ים יוֹם֙ וְאַרְבָּעִ֣ים לַ֔יְלָה
 + <Ancient versions>: Some of the ancient translations understood מִתְעָרֶה to mean "be exalted" or "ascending."
  + [Ancient versions]: LXX: "being raised up" (ἐπαιρόμενον); Peshitta: "lifted up" (ܘܡܬܬܪܝܡܝܢ).
   <_ <מִתְעַלֶּה>: These versions probably read מִתְעַלֶּה, not מִתְעָרֶה (BHS). #dispreferred
    - <Manuscript evidence>: In the absence of any Hebrew manuscript evidence for מִתְעַלֶּה (cf. Kennicott), it is better to assume that these versions were reading מִתְעָרֶה and interpreting it as a phonological variant of מִתְעַלֶּה.

Conclusion (C)

The Masoretic Text probably preserves the earlier form of the text of v. 35b: וּ֝מִתְעָרֶ֗ה כְּאֶזְרָ֥ח רַעֲנָֽן. As Barthélemy explains, "the transition from the rare and subtle form of MT to the common image of G is easier to explain than the reverse." Although the word אֶזְרָח does not elsewhere refer to a "native tree," this meaning is clearly related to the normal meaning of the word ("native inhabitant"), and it makes sense in the context.

The participle מִתְעָרֶה is probably a phonological variant of מִתְעַלֶּה ("ascending"); the letter resh has replaced the letter lamed, as happens elsewhere in Hebrew (cf. Isa 13:22a; Job 6:16b; 6:25a) and other Semitic languages. This interpretation of מִתְעָרֶה fits the literary context and also finds support among some of the ancient versions (LXX, Peshitta). The substitution of resh for lamed results in a long sequence of (15!) words that include the letter resh, symbolizing the presence of the wicked (vv. 34-36). The disruption of the sequence in v. 36 coincides with the statement that the wicked is no more (וְהִנֵּה אֵינֶנּוּ):

קַוֵּ֤ה אֶל־יְהוָ֨ה׀ וּשְׁמֹ֬ר דַּרְכּ֗וֹ וִֽ֭ירוֹמִמְךָ לָרֶ֣שֶׁת אָ֑רֶץ בְּהִכָּרֵ֖ת רְשָׁעִ֣ים תִּרְאֶֽה׃ רָ֭אִיתִי רָשָׁ֣ע עָרִ֑יץ וּ֝מִתְעָרֶ֗ה כְּאֶזְרָ֥ח רַעֲנָֽן׃ וַ֭יַּֽעֲבֹר וְהִנֵּ֣ה אֵינֶ֑נּוּ וָֽ֝אֲבַקְשֵׁ֗הוּ וְלֹ֣א נִמְצָֽא׃

The description of the wicked person as "ascending like a green native tree" underscores his apparent success and stability. Trees growing in their native climate and in their native soil grow very well and are resilient. Similarly, the wicked person in v. 35 appears to be flourishing, and there appears to be no chance that he will cease to exist. Nevertheless, the psalmist says, "I passed by, and—get this!—he was gone; then I looked for him, and he was not found."

Research

DSS

• 4Q171 (Col. IV, row 13): ראי]תי רשע עריץ ומתע[רה כאזרח רענן]]

Translations

Ancient

• LXX: εἶδον ἀσεβῆ ὑπερυψούμενον καὶ ἐπαιρόμενον ὡς τὰς κέδρους τοῦ Λιβάνου
  • "I saw an impious one being highly lifted up and being raised up like the cedars of Lebanon."
• Symmachus: καὶ ὡς ἐν δρυμῷ ὁ αὐτόματος ἀνατείλας εὐθαλής
  • "and as in a thicket, the one that springs up on its own [as] a flourishing [tree]"
• Aquila: ...κατισχυρευόμενον... ὡς αὐτόχθων εὐθαλής
  • "...violent... like a native flourishing [tree]"
• Sexta: εἶδον ἀσεβῆ καὶ ἀναιδῆ ἀντιποιούμενον ἐν σκληρότητι, καὶ λέγοντα, εἰμὶ ὡς αὐτόχθων περιπατῶν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ
  • "I saw someone impious and without restraint, setting up stiff opposition, and saying, 'I am like a native walking about in righteousness."
• Peshitta:ܡܛܠ ܕܚܙܝܬ ܪ̈ܫܝܥܐ ܕܡܫܬܒܗܪܝܢ܂ ܘܡܬܬܪܝܡܝܢ܂ ܐܝܟ ܐ̈ܝܠܢܐ ܕܥܒܐ܂ܢ܂
  • "For I have seen the wicked who were boasting and lifted up like trees in the forest."
• Jerome (iuxta Hebr.): vidi impium robustum et fortissimum sicut indigenam virentem.
  • "I saw a wicked person, sturdy and extremely strong like a green native [tree]."
• Targum: חמיתי רשיעא תקיפא וחסין היך אילן יציב ועבוף׃
  • "I have seen the wicked one, mighty and strong, like a tree firmly planted and having thick foliage."

Modern

Native tree

Spreading

• I have watched a wicked man at his work, rank as a spreading tree in its native soil. (NEB)
• He visto al déspota y malvado extenderse como árbol frondoso en su propio suelo. (NVI)
• He visto al malvado, sumamente enaltecido, Extenderse como árbol frondoso en su propio suelo. (BTX4)

Spreading >> Growing/Flourishing

• I have seen wicked and ruthless people flourishing like a tree in its native soil. (NLT)
• I have seen a wicked man inspiring terror, flourishing as a spreading tree in its native soil. (REB)
• I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a luxuriant native tree (NIV)
• I have seen ruthless, wicked people growing in influence, like a green tree grows in its native soil (NET)
• J’ai vu le méchant, ╵dans sa violence, croître comme un arbre florissant ╵bien enraciné ╵sur son sol natal. (BDS)
• I have seen brutal people abuse others and grow strong like trees in rich soil. (CEV)
• Ich sah einen Bösen, der seine Macht missbrauchte; er wurde immer größer, wie ein Baum auf fettem Boden. (GNB)

Well-rooted

• I saw a wicked man, powerful, well-rooted like a robust native tree. (NJPS)

Other kind of tree?

Spreading

• I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. (ESV)
• Vi yo al impío sumamente enaltecido y que se extendía como laurel verde. (RVR95)
• I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. (KJV)
• Ich sah einen gewalttätigen Frevler, sich spreizend wie ein grüner, verwurzelter Baum. (EÜ)
• He visto al malvado, lleno de altanería, extenderse como un árbol frondoso; (DHH94I)
• J'ai vu le méchant dans toute sa brutalité ; il s'étendait comme un arbre verdoyant. (NBS)
• J'ai vu le méchant dans toute sa puissance ; Il s'étendait comme un arbre verdoyant. (NVS78P)
• J’ai vu l’homme violent dans toute sa puissance: il s’étendait comme un arbre verdoyant (S21)
• J’ai vu l'impie abuser de sa force et se déployer comme une plante vivace (TOB)
• Ich sah einen gewalttätigen gottlosen Menschen, der stand fest da wie ein Baum mit ausladenden Ästen und in voller Blüte. (NGÜ)

Spreading >> Growing/Flourishing

• J'ai vu le méchant devenir tyran, se dresser comme un arbre vigoureux. (NFC)

Towering

• Ich sah einmal einen gottlosen und gewalttätigen Menschen, der war wie ein mächtiger Baum, der alles überragt. (HFA)

Cedar (of Lebanon)

Cedar of Lebanon

• I have seen the wicked oppressing, and towering like a cedar of Lebanon (NRSV)
• I once knew someone wicked who was a tyrant; he towered over everyone like a cedar of Lebanon; (GNT)
• I have seen the wicked exultant, towering like a cedar of Lebanon. (NJB)
• J’ai vu l’homme mauvais devenir très puissant, il se développait comme les cèdres du Liban. (PDV2017)

Cedar

• Ich sah den Frevler, bereit zur Gewalt, er spreizte sich wie eine üppige Zeder. (ZÜR)
• Ich habe einen Gottlosen gesehen, gewalttätig und sich erhebend wie eine üppige Zeder; (ELB)
• Ich sah einen Frevler, der pochte auf Gewalt und machte sich breit und grünte wie eine Zeder. (LUT)

Secondary Literature

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

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

Bons Eberhard, et al. 2011. “PSALMOI / DAS BUCH DER PSALMEN,” in Septuaginta Deutsch: Erläuterungen Und Kommentare Zum Griechischen Alten Testament, ed. Martin Karrer and Wolfgang Kraus, vol. 2 (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft).

Briggs, Charles A., and Emilie Briggs. 1906. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Psalms. Vol. 1. ICC. Edinburgh: T & T Clark.

Brockelmann, Carl. 1961. Grundriss der vergleichenden Grammatik der semitischen Sprachen. Vol. 1: Laut-und Formenlehre. Hildesheim: G. Olms.

Calvin, John. Commentary on the Book of Psalms. Translated by James Anderson. Grand Rapids: Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

Craigie, Peter C. 1983. Psalms 1–50. WBC 19. Waco, TX: Word.

Crisanto Tiquillahuanca, Narciso. 2008. Die Armen werden das Land besitzen: eine exegetische Studie zu Psalm 37. Beiträge zum Verstehen der Bibel 16. Berlin: Lit Verlag.

Dorival, Gilles. 2021. Les Psaumes. Edited by Monique Alexandre and Marguerite Harl. Vol. 1. La Bible d’Alexandrie 20. Paris: Cerf.

Fitzgerald, Aloysius. 1978. “The Interchange of L, N, and R in Biblical Hebrew.” Journal of Biblical Literature 97 (4): 481–88.

García Martínez, Florentino, and Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar. 1997. The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition. Vol. 1. Leiden: Brill.

Gesenius, W. Donner, H. Rüterswörden, U. Renz, J. Meyer, R. (eds.). 2013. Hebräisches und aramäisches Handwörterbuch über das Alte Testament. 18. Auflage Gesamtausgabe. Berlin: Springer.

Hupfeld, Hermann. 1868. Die Psalmen. Vol. 2. Gotha: Friedrich Andreas Perthes.

Ibn Ezra. Ibn Ezra on Psalms.

Jastrow, Marcus. 1926. Dictionary of Targumim, Talmud and Midrashic Literature.

Klein, Peter. 2018. “Kümmere Dich Nicht Um Die Bösen! Vertraue Auf Gott Und Geh Deinen Weg! Eine Synchrone Textbetrachtung von Psalm 37.” Sacra Scripta 16 (1): 48–82.

Lehmann, Michael, and Nachman Levine. 2021. “An Alliterative-Typographical Device in Psalm 37: Divine Destruction of the Wicked, Enacted in Real Time.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 45 (3): 407–21.

Miller-Naudé, Cynthia L., and C. H. J. van der Merwe. 2011. “הִנֵּה and Mirativity in Biblical Hebrew.” Hebrew Studies 52: 53–81.

Morag, S. 1971. "ומתערה כאזרח רענן (Psalm XXXVII, 35)," Tarbiz 41: 1-23.

Rahlfs, Alfred. 1931. Psalmi Cum Odis. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

Rashi. Rashi on Psalms.

Ruiz, Eleuterio Ramón. 2009. Los pobres tomarán posesión de la tierra: el Salmo 37 y su orientación escatológica. Estella (Navarra): Verbo Divino.

Skehan, Patrick W. M. 1969. “Second Thoughts on Job 6,16 and 6,25.” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 31 (2): 210–12.

Thacker, T. W. 1933. “A NOTE ON ערות (Is. Xix 7).” The Journal of Theological Studies 34 (134): 163–65.

References

37:35 Approved