The word for me for the past month has been Messiah - My colleague Jonathan Orr-Stav sent me this pdf by Forbes from 1888. Since it was on the psalms, he thought I would like it. Like is a non-functional word here. Let's say I would be interested in how the Psalms were perceived in the mid nineteenth century. But I probably wouldn't start with Forbes. I sent a note about this work to Susan Gillingham and she, who knows nearly everything written on the psalms maybe ever, had not heard of this particular paper.
But like the free church of Scotland, my mid-twenties were spent in some of the 'prove Jesus is the Messiah from the Old Testament' crowd. I don't approve of such proofs. They are not an approach to the kindness of God unless handled very carefully. I do approve of the text of Messiah by Mr Handel but not exclusively, as if his librettist had exhausted the possibilities or even had explored the variations. Things were taken for granted in the religious worlds of the UK in the 18th and 19th centuries that I would not take for granted in this era.
I have also come across a review of a book developing the idea of Messiah from first principles - the use of anoint (mwk) in Tanach. This has some promise. But should I do a bit more on Forbes? Was it a final exam to see if I had escaped the shortest-distance-between-two-scriptural-verses problem.
Forbes has something to say about Psalms 72 in his structural analysis of the Psalter. Perhaps I should look here. The last time I looked at Psalms 72 was in March of last year. I mentioned Psalms 72 a few times last month in the notes on Forbes. I was just trying to read the words first. It might be instructive to compare my translation with his.
Here's Forbes (left) compared to my rendering (right). Our renderings for this psalm are not very different. I have struck out some words in Forbes because there is no corresponding root for what I consider a significant gloss (i.e. a gloss that is extra but is more than a grammatical necessity). I tend not to use as much jussive as he does, and I tend not to resolve ambiguity with respect to antecedents for pronouns.
The layout is somewhat random for Forbes but simple enough to read. (I fixed it based on his capitalization.) There is little sense of the cola based on the accents. The differences in gloss I have noted. I consider it important to have a separate gloss in English when the root in Hebrew is different. So e.g. I use judge for the Hebrew /wp't, so I will not use judge when the Hebrew is /din, make the case. You can compare these at the concordance links where every usage of each root is noted.
| 1 O God, give Thy judgments to the King, And Thy righteousness to the King's son. | 1 Of Solomon. O God give your judgments to the king, and your righteousness to the king's son. |
| 2 He will judge Thy people with righteousness, And Thy poor with judgment! | 2 He will make the case for your people with righteousness, and your poor with judgment. |
| 3 The mountains shall bring forth peace to the people, And the hills in righteousness. | 3 The mountains will lift up peace to the people, and the hillocks in righteousness. |
| 4 He will judge the poor of the people. Save the children of the needy. And crush the oppressor ! | 4 He will judge the poor of the people. He will save the children of the needy, and will crush the oppressor. |
| 5 They shall fear thee while the sun And as long as the moon unto all generations. | 5 They will fear you with the sun, and in the presence of the moon in all generations. |
| 6 He will come down like rain upon the mown grass, And showers that water the earth ! | 6 ♪g He will come down as rain on the mowing, as earth-soaking copious showers. |
| 7 In his days shall the righteous flourish, And abundance of peace, till the moon be no more. | 7 One who is righteous will flourish in his days, and abundant peace till the moon fades. |
| 8 And may he have dominion from sea to sea, And from the River unto the ends of the earth. | 8 ♪g And he will rule from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. |
| 9 Before him the Desert Tribes shall bow down, And his enemies shall lick the dust; | 9 ♪g In his presence wild places will bow down, and his enemies will lick the dust. |
| 10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring gifts. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer presents ; | 10 Kings of Tarshish and the coasts will return with a gift. Kings of Sheba and Seba with wages will come near. |
| 11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him, All nations shall serve him. | 11 And all kings will worship him. All nations will serve him. |
| 12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth, And the poor who hath no helper ; | 12 For he will deliver the needy when he cries, and the poor without a helper. |
| 13 May he have pity on the weak and needy. And | 13 ♪g He will spare the weak and the needy, and the-many needy he will save. |
| 14 From fraud and from violence he shall redeem their soul. And precious shall their blood be in his sight. | 14 From fraud and from violence he will redeem them, and their blood will be precious in his eyes. |
| 15 And may he live, and give to him And intercede for him continually ; All the day long may he bless him. | 15 And he will live, and he will give to him the gold of Sheba, and he will intercede concerning him continually. All the day long he will bless him. |
| 16 Let there be abundance of corn in the land on the top of the mountains ; The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon, And they shall spring forth from the city like grass of the earth. | 16 A minute amount of corn in the earth will become as the top of the mountains. Its fruit will rustle like Lebanon, and they from the city will blossom like the herbs of the earth. |
| 17 May His name endure for ever ! So long as the sun shall his name shoot forth anew. Yea, let All nations—may they call him blessed ! | 17 His name will be forever. His name will propagate in the presence of the sun, and they will bless themselves in him. All nations will call him happy. |
18 Blessed be Jehovah, God, the God of Israel, Who alone doeth wondrous things ! | 18 Bless Yahweh God, the God of Israel, doing wonders he alone. |
| 19 And blessed be His glorious name for ever. And let the whole earth be tilled with His glory! Amen and Amen. | 19 And bless the name of his glory forever, and let all the earth be full of his glory, Amen and amen. |
| 20 Ended are the prayers of David the son of Jesse. | 20 Finished are the prayers, David, the son of Jesse. |
It's a substantial psalm - 20 verses and reaching into several concepts. I am impressed that the word needy recurs here for the first time in the psalter. This certainly outlines what government should accomplish. Is it a justification of the status quo for Solomon? Did the poor and needy do well under him? Do they ever do well in any age? There are shades of the Cain and Abel story in this psalm. Just the mention of the blood of the poor and needy. Is the organizational structure of the kingdom of Solomon achieving anything? Is it a necessary but temporary structure?
 |
| Superhero in disguise |
Does God exercise authority in the way that human power structures exercise it? Externally applied authority falls into the domain of a totalitarian mode of government. Desire for it amounts to idolatry. We must similarly be careful of words like great. What do we read into such words? Forbes uses great 113 times, perhaps not excessively. Forbes also expects punishment from God. Indeed this does provoke fear and of the wrong kind. Rather be made complete in love. A suitable fear is the fear of what we do and have done to ourselves, often in the name of a so-called righteousness. Rather than that fear, let us take responsibility for the damage we have done and turn away from these actions.
This really does sound like futility - Abel's name. We may not make it further than the wisp that is our brief sojourn. Now there's a real exercise for the translator: to discover how this word hbl is used and what therefore, is a suitable gloss.
Tate (Word Biblical Commentary 1991) identifies this psalm as a prayer of the people for the king. So the jussive is indeed justified. (Think jussive as you read future in my rendering.) He does not treat the psalm as Messianic, but he notes the recurrence of shalom (wlm) as significant of the intent of the psalm. (He notes the continuation of this responsibility of the people to pray in 1 Tim 2:1-2.) Clearly we still need these prayers for all of us, governor and governed.
Here's my detail for Psalms 72.
| לִשְׁלֹמֹ֨ה ׀ אֱֽלֹהִ֗ים מִ֭שְׁפָּטֶיךָ לְמֶ֣לֶךְ תֵּ֑ן וְצִדְקָתְךָ֥ לְבֶן־מֶֽלֶךְ |
1 Of Solomon. O God give your judgments to the king, and your righteousness to the king's son. | |
| a lwlmh alohim mwp'tiç lmlç tn vxdqtç lbn-mlç |
13 8 |
l/wlmh alh\im m/wp't\ic l/mlc t\n v/xdq\tc l/bn mlc |
| יָדִ֣ין עַמְּךָ֣ בְצֶ֑דֶק וַעֲנִיֶּ֥יךָ בְמִשְׁפָּֽט |
2 He will make the case for your people with righteousness, and your poor with judgment. | |
| b idin ymç bxdq vyniiç bmwp't |
7 8 |
i/din ym\c b/xdq v/yni\ic bm/wp't |
| יִשְׂא֤וּ הָרִ֓ים שָׁ֘ל֥וֹם לָעָ֑ם וּ֝גְבָע֗וֹת בִּצְדָקָֽה |
3 The mountains will lift up peace to the people, and the hillocks in righteousness. | |
| g iwau hrim wlom lym ugbyot bxdqh |
8 6 |
i/wa\v hr\im wlvm l/ym v/gby\vt b/xdq\h |
| יִשְׁפֹּ֤ט ׀ עֲֽנִיֵּי־עָ֗ם י֭וֹשִׁיעַ לִבְנֵ֣י אֶבְי֑וֹן וִֽידַכֵּ֣א עוֹשֵֽׁק |
4 He will judge the poor of the people. He will save the children of the needy, and will crush the oppressor. | |
| d iwpo't ynii-ym iowiy lbni abion vidca yowq |
12 5 |
i/wp't yni\i ym iv/wy l/bn\i abivn vi/dca yvwq |
| יִֽירָא֥וּךָ עִם־שָׁ֑מֶשׁ וְלִפְנֵ֥י יָ֝רֵ֗חַ דּ֣וֹר דּוֹרִֽים |
5 They will fear you with the sun, and in the presence of the moon in all generations. | |
| h iirauç ym-wmw vlpni irk dor dorim |
7 9 |
i/ira\vc ym wmw vl/pn\i irk dvr dvr\im |
| יֵ֭רֵד כְּמָטָ֣ר עַל־גֵּ֑ז כִּ֝רְבִיבִ֗ים זַרְזִ֥יף אָֽרֶץ |
6 ♪g He will come down as rain on the mowing, as earth-soaking copious showers. | |
| v iird cm'tr yl-gz crbibim zrzif arx |
7 7 |
ird c/m'tr yl gz c/rbb\im zrzip arx |
| יִֽפְרַח־בְּיָמָ֥יו צַדִּ֑יק וְרֹ֥ב שָׁ֝ל֗וֹם עַד־בְּלִ֥י יָרֵֽחַ |
7 One who is righteous will flourish in his days, and abundant peace till the moon fades. | |
| z iprk-bimiv xdiq vrob wlom yd-bli irk |
7 10 |
i/prk b/im\iv xdiq v/rb wlvm yd bl\i irk |
| וְ֭יֵרְדְּ מִיָּ֣ם עַד־יָ֑ם וּ֝מִנָּהָ֗ר עַד־אַפְסֵי־אָֽרֶץ |
8 ♪g And he will rule from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. | |
| k viird mim yd-im umnhr yd-apsi-arx |
7 8 |
vi/rd m/im yd im vm/nhr yd aps\i arx |
| לְ֭פָנָיו יִכְרְע֣וּ צִיִּ֑ים וְ֝אֹיְבָ֗יו עָפָ֥ר יְלַחֵֽכוּ |
9 ♪g In his presence wild places will bow down, and his enemies will lick the dust. | |
| 't lpniv icryu xiim vaoibiv ypr ilkcu |
8 9 |
l/pn\iv i/cry\v xi\im v/aib\iv ypr i/lkc\v |
| מַלְכֵ֬י תַרְשִׁ֣ישׁ וְ֭אִיִּים מִנְחָ֣ה יָשִׁ֑יבוּ מַלְכֵ֥י שְׁבָ֥א וּ֝סְבָ֗א אֶשְׁכָּ֥ר יַקְרִֽיבוּ |
10 Kings of Tarshish and the coasts will return with a gift. Kings of Sheba and Seba with wages will come near. | |
| i mlci trwiw vaiim mnkh iwibu mlci wba usba awcr iqribu |
12 11 |
mlc\i trww v/ai\im mnkh i/wib\v mlc\i wba v/sba a/wcr i/qrb\v |
| וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ־ל֥וֹ כָל־מְלָכִ֑ים כָּל־גּוֹיִ֥ם יַֽעַבְדֽוּהוּ |
11 And all kings will worship him. All nations will serve him. | |
| ia viwtkvu-lo cl-mlcim cl-goiim iybduhu |
9 7 |
vi/wk\vv l\v cl mlc\im cl gvi\m i/ybd\vhv |
| כִּֽי־יַ֭צִּיל אֶבְי֣וֹן מְשַׁוֵּ֑עַ וְ֝עָנִ֗י וְֽאֵין־עֹזֵ֥ר לֽוֹ |
12 For he will deliver the needy when he cries, and the poor without a helper. | |
| ib ci-ixil abion mwvvy vyni vain-yozr lo |
8 8 |
ci i/xl abivn m/wvy v/yni v/ain yzr l\v |
| יָ֭חֹס עַל־דַּ֣ל וְאֶבְי֑וֹן וְנַפְשׁ֖וֹת אֶבְיוֹנִ֣ים יוֹשִֽׁיעַ |
13 ♪g He will spare the weak and the needy, and the-many needy he will save. | |
| ig ikos yl-dl vabion vnpwot abionim iowiy |
7 9 |
i/ks yl dl v/abivn v/npw\vt abivn\im iv/wy |
| מִתּ֣וֹךְ וּ֭מֵחָמָס יִגְאַ֣ל נַפְשָׁ֑ם וְיֵיקַ֖ר דָּמָ֣ם בְּעֵינָֽיו |
14 From fraud and from violence he will redeem them, and their blood will be precious in his eyes. | |
| id mtoç umkms igal npwm viiqr dmm byiniv |
10 8 |
m/tvc vm/kms i/gal npw\m vi/iqr dmm b/yin\iv |
| וִיחִ֗י וְיִתֶּן־לוֹ֮ מִזְּהַ֪ב שְׁ֫בָ֥א וְיִתְפַּלֵּ֣ל בַּעֲד֣וֹ תָמִ֑יד כָּל־הַ֝יּ֗וֹם יְבָרֲכֶֽנְהֽוּ |
15 And he will live, and he will give to him the gold of Sheba, and he will intercede concerning him continually. All the day long he will bless him. | |
| 'tv viki viitn-lo mzhb wba vitpll bydo tmid cl-hiom ibrcnhu |
10 9 8 |
vi/ki vi/t\n l\v m/zhb wba vit/pll byd\v tmid cl h/ivm i/brc\nhv |
| יְהִ֤י פִסַּת־בַּ֨ר ׀ בָּאָרֶץ֮ בְּרֹ֪אשׁ הָ֫רִ֥ים יִרְעַ֣שׁ כַּלְּבָנ֣וֹן פִּרְי֑וֹ וְיָצִ֥יצוּ מֵ֝עִ֗יר כְּעֵ֣שֶׂב הָאָֽרֶץ |
16 A minute amount of corn in the earth will become as the top of the mountains. Its fruit will rustle like Lebanon, and they from the city will blossom like the herbs of the earth. | |
| 'tz ihi pist-br barx braw hrim iryw clbnon priio vixixu myir cywb harx |
12 7 12 |
i/hi ps\t br b/arx b/raw hr\im i/ryw c/lbnvn pr\iv vi/xix\v m/yir c/ywb h/arx |
| יְהִ֤י שְׁמ֨וֹ לְֽעוֹלָ֗ם לִפְנֵי־שֶׁמֶשׁ֮ יִנּ֪וֹן שְׁ֫מוֹ וְיִתְבָּ֥רְכוּ ב֑וֹ כָּל־גּוֹיִ֥ם יְאַשְּׁרֽוּהוּ |
17 His name will be forever. His name will propagate in the presence of the sun, and they will bless themselves in him. All nations will call him happy. | |
| iz ihi wmo lyolm lpni-wmw iinon wmo vitbrcu bo cl-goiim iawruhu |
19 7 |
i/hi wm\v l/yvlm l/pn\i wmw i/nvn wm\v vit/brc\v b\v cl gvi\m i/awr\vhv |
| בָּר֤וּךְ ׀ יְהוָ֣ה אֱ֭לֹהִים אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל עֹשֵׂ֖ה נִפְלָא֣וֹת לְבַדּֽוֹ |
18 Bless Yahweh God, the God of Israel, doing wonders he alone. | |
| ik bruç ihvh alohim alohi iwral yowh nplaot lbdo |
13 8 |
brvc ihvh alh\im alh\i iwral ywh n/pla\vt l/bd\v |
| וּבָר֤וּךְ ׀ שֵׁ֥ם כְּבוֹד֗וֹ לְע֫וֹלָ֥ם וְיִמָּלֵ֣א כְ֭בוֹדוֹ אֶת־כֹּ֥ל הָאָ֗רֶץ אָ֘מֵ֥ן ׀ וְאָמֵֽן |
19 And bless the name of his glory forever, and let all the earth be full of his glory, Amen and amen. | |
| i't ubruç wm cbodo lyolm viimla cbodo at-col harx amn vamn |
10 17 |
v/brvc wm cbvd\v l/yvlm vi/mla cbvd\v at cl h/arx amn v/amn |
| כָּלּ֥וּ תְפִלּ֑וֹת דָּ֝וִ֗ד בֶּן־יִשָֽׁי |
20 Finished are the prayers, David, the son of Jesse. | |
| c colu tpilot dvid bn-iwi |
5 5 |
cl\v t/pl\vt dvd bn iwi |
| 5 | in all generations, literally in the generation of generations. |
| 6 | pervasive copious showers, זרזיף (zrzip) hapax, drip, (DCH sprinkling, BDB irrigate) + רבב (rbb), many in the plural. |
| 12 | without a helper, who is without a helper? the poor or does God deliver without a helper? |
| 13 | will spare, used of Jonah in the final two verses of chapter 4 in the request of Yahweh to Jonah to show pity. |
| 16 | handful,פסה, (psh) hapax. |
| 17 | propagate, נון (nvn) hapax. |
| Word / Gloss | Vs | Stem | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
אביון the needy |
▒ |
4 | אביון | |||
שמש the sun |
▒ |
5 | שמש | |||
ירח the moon |
▒ |
5 | ירח | |||
ירח the moon |
▒ |
7 | ירח | |||
שבא Sheba |
▒ |
10 | שבא | |||
אביון the needy |
▒ |
12 | אביון | |||
|
ואביון and the needy
|
▒ |
13 | אביון | |||
|
אביונים the-many needy
|
▒ |
13 | אביון | |||
שבא Sheba |
▒ |
15 | שבא | |||
שמש the sun |
▒ |
17 | שמש |
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