The first half of this verse (אָ֗ח לֹא־פָדֹ֣ה יִפְדֶּ֣ה אִ֑ישׁ) is problematic and is variously represented among modern translations. For example:
No man can by any means redeem his brother Or give to God a ransom for him—... (NASB1995)
Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, ... (ESVUK)
But no one can by any means redeem himself. He cannot give God a ransom for himself—... (EHV)
There are three main difficulties in the interpretation of v. 8a.
One difficulty is presented by the word אָח. Some translations take it as meaning "brother", which is the subject of פָדֹה יִפְדֶּה (literally, “a brother cannot redeem a man”; e.g., LSV; YLT). Other translations treat אָח/"brother" as the object of פָדֹה יִפְדֶּה (literally, “a man cannot redeem a brother”; e.g., NASB1995; NKJV). Still others understand אָח as the interjection "truly, by no means" (e.g., ESVUK).[2]
Another challenging point is the binyan of יפדה. Those who read the MT's אָח as meaning "brother" (either as subject or object of יפדה) follow the MT's vocalization of the verb as qal (יִפְדֶּה), understanding the act of redemption as carried out for another individual (NASB1995). Those who read the MT's אָח as an interjection render יפדה as a reflexive niphal (יִפָּדֶה), i.e., “to redeem oneself” (EHV).
Argument Maps[]
The Meaning and Function of אָח[]
"Brother," subject of פָדֹה יִפְדֶּה[]
The word אָח can be understood as a "brother" (cf. the LXX; cf. εβρ, α', σ', ε', ς', Hebr, S).[3] Adopting this reading, several modern translations take this individual as the subject of פָדֹה יִפְדֶּה. E.g., "A brother ransoms no one at all, He does not give to God his atonement" (LSV; cf. YLT).
"Brother," object of פָדֹה יִפְדֶּה[]
Some understand the word אָח as the fronted accusative, reading v. 8 as "No man can by any means redeem his brother or give to God a ransom for him..."[4] F. Delitzsch, for example, states, "The words as they stand assert: a brother (אח, as a prominently placed object, with Rebia magnum, = אהיו, cf. Eze 5:10; Eze 18:18; Mic 7:6; Mal 1:6) can a man by no means redeem, i.e., men cannot redeem one another... Among men certainly it is possible under some circumstances for one who is delivered over to death to be freed by money, but no כפר (= פדיון נפש, Exo 21:30 and frequently) can be given to God (לאלהים)."[5] The majority of translations follow suit: e.g., "No man can by any means redeem his brother Or give to God a ransom for him—" (NASB; cf. NET; KJV; LSB; ELB; EÜ; NBS; RVR95; BTX4; RST; NRT; UKR; BULG).[6]
Interjection (preferred)[]
The word אָח can be taken as an interjection, signifying, in this context, emphasis. E.g., "Ah, it [impersonally] cannot redeem a man, or pay his ransom to God; ..." (JPS1985) or "Surely a man cannot redeem himself and pay to God his ransom?"[7] Accordingly, P. Craigie explains, "For all a person’s wealth, he cannot redeem himself; the world’s richest person could not afford his own ransom (v. 8)... When facing death, the ultimate leveler of all human beings, wealth would finally be useless."[8]
The Morphology of יפדה[]
Niphal (יִפָּדֶה) (preferred)[]
Taking אָח as the interjection אַךְ calls for the revocalization of יִפְדֶּה, a qal, as a niphal.[9] According to SDBH, the verb פדה designates "an action by which humans exchange animals or other humans by substituting them with money or with an(other) animal, as a result of which they will escape death or slavery." In niphal, it would mean "to be redeemed." In Ps 49:8, revocalized as niphal, the verb פדה would function in a reflexive sense, i.e., “to redeem oneself”---"Truly no man can ransom himself, or give to God the price of his life,..." (RSV; cf. NEB; REB; GNT; NJB; NLT; AB; DHH).[10]
Qal (יִפְדֶּה)[]
The MT's יִפְדֶּה is vocalized as a qal and is taken as such by many ancient witnesses (the LXX, εβρ, α', σ', ε', ς', Hebr, S, T) and modern translations (e.g., NASB1977; NASB 1995; NET; KJV; LSB; ELB; EÜ; NBS; RVR95; BTX4; RST; NRT; UKR; BULG).
Conclusion (B)[]
On balance, אָח as an interjection and the revocalized יִפָּדֶה are preferable. The reading of אח as the emphatic "surely" or "but/by no means" has good support from a.) manuscript evidence; b.) internal and external biblical evidence; and c.) context. The reflexive take on יִפָּדֶה a.) makes most sense contextually; b.) reflects the law of redemption from Leviticus 25; and c.) is well presented among modern translations. In Psalm 49, the overall thrust of the speaker's discourse indicates that his focus is on the foolishness of self-reliance and trust in one's own material possessions, not the wealth and good-will of others. At this juncture in the psalm (i.e., v. 8), "The [rich] assailants [from v. 7] think they can buy their way forward in life and on into a happy old age. To put it in modern terms, they can buy themselves a band of bodyguards and the best health plan available. In Israel, there were circumstances in which the life of a person could be ransomed (Exod 21:28–32), but this was not invariably possible. It is self-evident that likewise the rich do not always manage to buy themselves long life. The second colon gives the point more precision and explains why. The source of life is God, and it is therefore God to whom the redemption price, the ransom, has to be paid, and God is not committed to letting such a process decide whether people live or die."[11]
Goulder, Michael D. 1982. The Psalms of the Sons of Korah. Sheffield: JSOT Press.
Gross, H. 1972. “Self-oder Fremderlösung.” Pages 65–70 in Wort, Lied und Gottesspruch: Beiträge zu Psalmen und Propheten.ed. J. Schreiner. (J. Ziegler FS). Würzburg: Echter.
Hengstenberg, Ernst Wilhelm. 1863. Commentary on the Psalms. vol. 2. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
Holst, Søren 2019. "Redeeming and Redemption in Biblical and Qumran Psalms and Prayers." Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament 33: 203-222.
Jones, Ethan. 2020. "Middle and Passive Voice: Semantic Distinctions of the Niphal in Biblical Hebrew." Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 132: 427-448.
Hitzig, Ferdinand. 1863-1865. Die Psalmen, 2 vols. Leipzig: C.F. Winter.
Kissane, Edward. 1953. The Book of Psalms. vol. 1, Westminster, MD: The Newman Press.
Koehler, Ludwig, Walter Baumgartner, and Johann J. Stamm. 2001. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. 2 vols. Translated and edited under the supervision of Mervyn E. J. Richardson. Leiden: Brill.
Taylor, Richard A. trans., 2020. The Syriac Peshitta Bible with English Translation: Psalms. ed. by George A. Kiraz and Joseph Bali. The Antioch Bible/ṢṢurath Kthobh. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias.
VanGemeren, Willem A. 1997. New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis. 5 vols. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Van Wolde, Ellen. 2019. "The Niphal as Middle Voice and Its Consequence for Meaning." Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 43: 453-478.
Weiser, Artur. 1962. The Psalms. OTL. Trans. by Herbert Hartwell. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press.
↑Some scholars think that אָח is a later gloss added to balance out the object אִישׁ (e.g., Briggs and Briggs 1906, 413). This view will not be represented in the argument maps below.
↑Others take אָח/"brother" as signifying generally another individual or a friend (e.g, "Doch niemand kann für das Leben seines Freundes bezahlencf"; HOF, cf. LUTH1545) or one another (e.g., "mais ils ne peuvent se racheter l’un l’autre"; SG21).
↑Craigie 1983, 357. Taking אָח as an interjection, פָדֹה יִפְדֶּה could be understood as having an impersonal subject, referring to v. 7b , e.g., "It [trust in wealth] cannot at all redeem a person, give God his ransom" (Goldingay 2007, 96; cf. Clifford's translation: "lit. 'alas, [riches] cannot ransom a person'" [Clifford 2002, npn]; Perdue 1974, 541; cf. JPS1985).
↑Cf. BHS; HALOT (although HALOT treats this as a conjecture); Kraus 1988, 478-479; Weiser 1975, 384–386, 388; Fohrer 1993, 203; Craigie 1983, 357; van der Lugt 2010, 69; etc. But see Barthélemy who takes the qal of the MT's יִפְדֶּה as highly probable (Barthélemy 2005, 289). On the reflexive sense of the niphal, see JM §51c.
↑On the process of redeeming oneself (when deserving death), see Exod 21:29-31 (although it does not feature the root in question in niphal, i.e., וְנָתַן֙ פִּדְיֹ֣ן נַפְשֹׁ֔ו). Cf. also Prov 6:35; 13:8. Relatedly, the noun כֹּפֶר (v. 8b) designates "a sum of money demanded or paid, either legally or illegally, in exchange for a service, or in exchange for someone's freedom or someone's life--ransom ransom (in exchange for someone's life), bribe" (SDBH).
↑Goldingay 2007, 101. Notably, apart from its occurrence in Ps 49:8, the verb פדה in the book of Psalms always appears with God as the redeemer of his people, either Israel collectively or righteous people individually (e.g., Pss 25:22; 26:11; 31:6; 34:23; 44:27; 49:16; 55:19; 69:19; 71:23; 78:42; 119:134; 130:8).
↑ Translation footnote: Statt »Bruder« lesen 8 hebr. Handschr.: nur, jedoch. Dann heißt der Satz: Nur, es kann sich niemand loskaufen.
↑Translation footnote: 49.8 Un homme… : litt. un frère ne libère pas un homme ; certains mss portent un texte légèrement différent, qu'on pourrait traduire toutefois personne ne peut libérer personne ; ou, avec une modification supplémentaire de la vocalisation traditionnelle, personne ne peut se libérer.-– le prix de sa rançon: sa propre rançon ou celle de l'autre; cf. Ex 21.29-30n; Pr. 6.35n; 13.8; voir aussi Mt 16.26; Mc 8.37; 1Tm 2.6+ .
↑ Translation footnote: Wörtlich: "Den Bruder loszukaufen vermag ganz gewiss kein Mensch, er vermag Gott für ihn kein Sühnegeld zu geben".