The meaning of ערבות in Psalm 68:5

Back to Psalm 68

Introduction

The MT of Psalm 68:5c reads:

סֹ֡לּוּ לָרֹכֵ֣ב בָּ֭עֲרָבוֹת

Here, the Lord is called the רֹכֵב בָּעֲרָבוֹת. The first two grammatical words of this phrase are straightforward—רֹכֵב ‘rider’ and בְּ ‘in/on’. But, what is the Lord riding in/on in this clause? A glance at modern translation reveals two different meanings:

• עֲרָבוֹת means ‘clouds’
  • So NET, NIV, CEV, GNT, NLT, NRSV, NJZB, JPS1985, LUTHER2017, HFA, GNB, ZÜR, BDS, PDV, NFC, RVR95, NVI, DHH, BTX4.
• עֲרָבוֹת means ‘desert(s), steppes’
  • So Symmachus, Jerome, Peshitta, ESV, NGÜ, ELB, EÜ, TOB, NBS, NVSR, S21.

The interpretation ‘desert(s), steppes’ may be considered the traditional understanding of the word, while the reading ‘cloud’ wants to interpret this phrase in light of Ugaritic literature. The arguments for each option are shown below.

Argument Map(s)

Clouds

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[Cloud]: The word עֲרָבָה in Psalm 68:5 means ‘cloud’. #dispreferred
 - <There is no need to import a foreign meaning>:'The word ערבת is perfectly comprehensible as ‘desert’, so there is no reason to import a Ugaritic meaning which is not attested elsewhere in biblical Hebrew’ (Vincent 2001, 24 :D:).
 + <Psa. 68 is Theophanic>:  The context of Psalm 68 seems theophanic. The theophanic chariot is never used with ‘deserts’ but rather with clouds (Briggs 1906, 2:97 :C:). #dispreferred
  + Psa. 18:11; Deut. 33:26; cf. Ex. 19.9; Psa. 99.1 #dispreferred
 + <Hb ערבה is a variation of ʾrpt, meaning ‘cloud’ instead of ‘desert’>: The Hebrew Phrase רֹכֵב בְּעֲרָבוֹת bears a resemblance to the Ugaritic Baal Epithet rkb ʿrpt /rākibu ʿarpāti/ ‘rider of the cloud’ (see HALOT s.v. II עֲרָבָה :L:; DCH  ‏עֲרָבָה‎ III :L:) that ‘cannot be ignored’ (LePeau 1981, 81). #dispreferred
  + <Psa. 68 is an anti-Baal polemic>: The reference to God as the 'Cloud-Rider' could serve as a polemic (Habel 1964, 81 :M:) against or reappropriation (Longman 2014 :C:) of Baal who was called 'the Cloud-Rider'. #dispreferred
   + <‘Yah (not Baal) is his name’>: The purpose of the phrase ביה שמו ‘YAH is his name’ is to affirm that Yahweh, not Baal, is the true rider of the clouds. #dispreferred
    - <A polemic need not explain ביה שמו>: The purpose of ביה שמו ‘YAH is his name’ could have been simply to prevent conflation of this title with Baal's (Pfeiffer 2005, 224 :M:)
    - <ביה שמו recalls Exod. 3>:  The purpose of ביה שמו could be to recall the 'beginning of revelation, the manifestation of the name in Exodus 3, at the mountain of God, and the origins of that God in the wilderness...’ (Hossfeld and Zenger 2005, 164 :C:)
   - <The title was borrowed from Israelite tradition>: Both Deutereonomy 33:26 and Psalm 68:34–35 both contain the language רכב, שמים, שחק and גאוה, suggesting that the 'rider' language in Psalm 68 alludes to Dueteronomy 33. The term 'desert' is used in v. 5 as an adaptation to the Exodus-wilderness motif while 'heavens' is retained in v. 35 since at the end of the Psalm the concern is God's universal kingship (Scacewater 2017, 119 :D:).
    + <Allusions to Deuteronomy elsewhere>:  Psalm 68:18 is a clear allusion to Deuteronomy 33:2.
  - </b/ and /p/ differ phonemically>: The sounds /b/ and /p/ differ phonemically (cf. בָּנָה vs. פָּנָה).
  + <b/p often interchange in NW Semitic>:  'There are numerous instances of non-phonemic interchange between b and p in Northwest Semitic’ (Dahood 1968, 136 :C:). #dispreferred
   + <Ugaritic interchanges b and p in some words>:  'Ugaritic offers such clear examples of the interchange of b and p lpš and lbš...nbk and npk, šbḥ and špḥ, sbsg and spsg...’ (Dahood 1963, 10 :M:). #dispreferred
    <_ <ʾrbt never occurs in Ugaritic>:  The allophone ʿrbt never seems to occur in Ugaritic despite meeting the conditions for the voiceless /p/ to sonorize to /b/ (none listed in del Olmo Lete and Sanmartin 2015, 181 :L:); that is, in both its singular (/ʿarpatu/) and plural (/ʿarpātu/) a vowel follows (cf. ybʿl /yibʿalu/ < the root pʿl; Tropper 2001, 137 :G:).
   + <Hebrew interchanges b and p in one verse>: ‘the non-phonemic difference between b and p serves as the basis for the word-play in Isa 1,31 ūpōʿalô lenîṣôṣ ‘and his work/baal a spark’ (Dahood 1963, 10 :M:). #dispreferred
    - <Sound play does not mean phonemic difference>:  The word play in Isa 1:31 between בעל (baal) and (פעל) (work) is based on similarity of sound, not phonemic identity.
  

Desert(s), Steppes (preferred)

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[Desert/Steppe]: The word עֲרָבָה in Psalm 68:5c means ‘desert’.
 - <Too similar to Baal's epithet>:  The Hebrew Phrase רֹכֵב בְּעֲרָבוֹת bears a resemblance to the Ugaritic Baal Epithet rkb ʿrpt /rākibu ʿarpāti/ ‘rider of the cloud’ that ‘cannot be ignored’ (LePeau 1981, 81). #dispreferred
 + <‘Desert’ is the regular [Hebrew] usage>: ‘The term is used in a variety of ways within the Hebrew Bible, though always with the underlying idea of ‘plain, desert’ rather than ‘heaven’’ (Vincent 2001, 61 :D:; see BDB :L:)
  +E.g., Josh 4:13; Numb. 22:1
 + <Restoration theme uses similar language>: Other restoration passages—whether merely figurative or literal (see Oswalt 1998, s.v. Isaiah 57:14 :C:)—use the same language.
  + Isaiah 40:3; 57:14; 62:10
  + <Isaiah 40:3>: Isaiah 40:3 also describes preparing a way for God through the ערבה ‘desert’ as he leads his people back to the promised land (Hupfeld 1860, 198 :C:; cf. Baethgan 1904, 202 :C:)
 + <Ancient versions in agreement>: Many of the ancient versions understood this as a reference to deserts
  + Symmachus ἀοικήτῳ ‘uninhabitable place’; Jerome deserta ‘desert; Peshitta ܠܡܥܪܒܐ ‘desert’
 + <The setting of Psa. 68.5 is a desert>: What is clearly a desert (צחיחה ‘parched’) is spoken of in vv. 7–9 (see Hengstenberg 1863, 341 :C:)  and God's guidance through the desert is depicted in vv. 8–9 (Loretz 2002, 524 :A:).
  + <Deliverances from the desert>: Scripture elsewhere depicts God as coming from the 'south' (the wilderness area) to deliver his people (see Dan 2005, 53 :A:).
   + Hab. 3:8; Deut 33:2; Judg. 5:4
 - <God rides the ‘heavens’ later in the Psalm>: God is called the 'rider of the highest heavens’ (רֹכֵב בִּשְׁמֵ֣י שְׁמֵי־קֶ֑דֶם; v. 34) and so רכב בערבת should therefore be understood as meaning something similar (LePeau 1981, 81). #dispreferred
  <_ <Part of a forward-looking aspect>: Going from riding in the 'desert' to the 'heavens' is part of the psalm's larger prospective—'forward-looking'—aspect.
   + <Enthronement Psalms>: Enthronement psalms—'among which Psalm 68 belonged’ (Greever 2020, 265 :A:) —characteristically have a prospective element to them (Mowinckel 1962, 186–192 :M:)
   + <Spatial escalation>: God begins in the 'desert' (בָּ֭עֲרָבוֹת; v. 5), ascends to the 'heights' (לַמָּר֨וֹם; v. 19) and ends in the highest heavens (v. בִּשְׁמֵ֣י שְׁמֵי־קֶ֑דֶם; v. 34)
   + <Other Prospective Elements>: a 'going out' (v. 8)  to redeem his people (v. 18) is followed by another 'going out' (v. 21) to redeem the people (vv. 20–24; note the yiqtol verbs) (see Greever 2020, 264–265 :A:)
   + <Early Apostolic Exegesis>: The Apostle Paul, noticing this prospective character of the Psalm, applied the ascension motif to Christ (Eph. 4.8)(see Greever 2020, 272–273 :A:).

Conclusion

Ugaritic texts have revealed that Baal was known as the 'Cloud-Rider' (/rākibu ʿar(V)pāti/). The similarity between Baal's title and רֹכֵ֣ב בָּ֭עֲרָבוֹת has led many scholars to relate the two, but this is unlikely due to the difference in form, the term being applied to God throughout the Hebrew Bible, and evidence that the title has an Israelite origin. The context of the psalm suggests 'deserts, steppes' as the intended meaning of עֲרָבָה, which is the regular Hebrew meaning. ‘The similarity between Ugaritic and Hebrew words may be coincidental, and the psalm's focus is Israel in the desert, not Baal’ (Scacewater 2017, 117).

Research

Translations

Ancient

LXX

ὁδοποιήσατε τῷ ἐπιβεβηκότι ἐπὶ δυσμῶν, κύριος ὄνομα αὐτῷ,

Make a way for him who rides upon the sunset; the Lord is his name (NETS)

Symmachus

καταστρώσατε ὁδὸν τῷ ἐποχουμένῳ ἐν τῇ ἀοικήτῳ

Spread out a way for him who rides in the uninhabitable place

Jerome

praeparate viam ascendenti per deserta

Prepare a way for him who ascends through the desert

Peshitta

ܫܒܚܘ ܠܕܪܟܝܒ ܠܡܥܪܒܐ

Give praise to the one who rides ?to(?through) the desert

Targum

קַלְסוּן לְיָתֵב עַל כּוּרְסֵיהּ יְקָרֵיהּ בַּעֲרָבוֹת

Give praise to the one who sits on his glorious throne in Arabot

Modern

English

• ESV: lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
• NET: Exalt the one who rides on the clouds!
• NIV: extol him who rides on the clouds
• CEV: you are the one who rides on the clouds, and we praise you.
• GNT: prepare a way for him who rides on the clouds.
• NLT: Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds.
• NRSV: lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds
• NJB: build a road for the Rider of the CLouds
• JPS1985: extol him who rides the clouds

German

• Luther 2017: Macht Bahn dem, der auf den Wolken einherfährt;
• HFA: Ebnet den Weg für den, der auf den Wolken reitet
• NGÜ: Bereitet den Weg für ihn, der durch die Steppen herbeireitet
• ELB: Macht Bahn dem, der einherfährt durch die Wüsten
• EÜ: Erhebt ihn, der durch die Steppen einherfährt
• GNB: Baut eine Straße für den Wolkenreiter
• ZÜR: baut eine Strasse dem, der auf den Wolken dahinfährt

French

• TOB: exaltez celui qui mène son char dans les steppes
• NBS: Frayez le chemin à celui qui chevauche dans les plaines arides!
• NVSR: Frayez le chemin à celui qui chevauche dans les plaines!
• BDS: Frayez la voie ╵de celui qui chevauche les nuées!
• PDV: Ouvrez la route à celui qui avance sur son char de nuages.
• NFC: pour l'accueillir, lui qui chevauche les nuages.
• S21: préparez le chemin à celui qui s’avance à travers les déserts!

Spanish

• RVR95: exaltad al que cabalga sobre los cielos.
• NVI: aclamen a quien cabalga sobre las nubes,
• DHH: alaben al que cabalga sobre las nubes
• BTX4: Preparad camino al que cabalga las nubes

References

68:5