[NB: I am teaching through some of the wisdom Psalms this summer at Rush Creek, so I thought I would use some of this material here.]
In Psalm 1:2-3 the one who is actively avoiding fools delights themselves with the Law of the Lord. The Word of the Lord is the delight for the blessed person. The noun is used in the wisdom literature for things which bring you joy. This is a remarkable description, since the most un-joyful time in a typical worship service is the Scripture reading, and perhaps the sermon itself.
Meditating on the word of the Lord is to think deeply or dwell on his word. The verb has the sense of muttering in a low voice, and is sometimes associated with reciting a text to oneself. The implication is the Word of the Lord is memorized and turned over in the mind slowly and carefully.
The content of this joyous meditation is the Law of the Lord. Most Christians cannot imagine a joyous meditation on verses from Leviticus, but the word is broad enough to refer to the whole revelation of God at that point in salvation history. It is therefore easy enough to apply this delight to the whole canon of Scripture.
This blessed person is like a tree, planted by streams of water. This metaphor is very clear and would be quite striking to people who lived in the arid world of the Middle East. Hosea 9:13 and Ezekiel 17:8-10 both use the metaphor of a palm or a vine planted near water as a metaphor for God’s care for his people Ephraim. Jeremiah 17:7-8 is a very close parallel to this Psalm:
Jeremiah 17:7–8 (ESV) “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
But there are also a number of parallels in the ANE as well. Terrien mentions a text describing king Shugli of the First Dynasty of Ur as “the Gracious Lord, a palm-tree planted near the canal …a cedar rooter near gushing waters, who gives pleasant shade” (Terrien, Psalms, 74). The parallels with the Sayings of Amenope are remarkable for both the blessed and cursed. The difference is the definition of the “blessed.” In Amenope, he is the silent man (in contrast to the heated man), in Psalm 1 the righteous are those who delight in the Word of the Lord and meditate on it daily.
Sayings of Amenope, Chapter 4: As for the heated man of a temple, He is like a tree growing in the open. In the completion of a moment (comes) its loss of foliage, and its end is reached in the shipyards; (or) it is floated far from its place, and the flame is its burial shroud. (But) the truly silent man holds himself apart. He is like a tree growing in a garden. It flourishes and doubles its yield; it (stands) before its lord. Its fruit is sweet; its shade is pleasant; And its end is reached in the garden.… (James Pritchard, ed., The Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 3rd ed. with Supplement (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969), 422.
The “streams of water” are irrigated channels which provide water from a spring. In Psalm 46:4-5 a flow of water comes from the habitation of the Lord. Even today in the Middle East there is a need to channel water from a river or spring to a place where plants are growing.
The tree by plentiful streams of water is successful. In order to give fruit in season, a tree needs a good supply of water. Date palms, for example, need careful irrigation if they are going to grow and eventually bear fruit. Since it is always benefiting from the water, the tree does not wither. Again, this is a clear metaphor since everyone has had a plant they forgot to water and it shriveled up and died. Without constant, appropriate water supply, a plant will wither and die.
The blessed person is therefore in a place where they can prosper in the way God has designed them to be. This is not a “health and wealth,” it is simply an observation that the wise person delights in the word of the Lord and avoids situations which are dangerous.
The Psalter therefore begins by pronouncing a blessing on those who drink deeply from the Word of God and meditate on it constantly, inviting them into the book for worship.
DeClaissé-Walford, Nancy J., Rolf A. Jacobson, and Beth LaNeel Tanner. Psalms. NICOT; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2014. 1073 pp. Hb; $60. Link to Eerdmans
I have occasionally taught through sections of the Psalms and found the lack of quality resources frustrating. Most one- or two-volume commentaries are so brief that they hardly merit consideration. I find Dahood’s three volumes in the Anchor Bible brief and idiosyncratic; even Hans Kraus in the Continental series never really had what I was looking for in a commentary.
This situation has changed considerably in recent years. In fact, this is a good time for Psalms commentaries. In the last several years, we have seen three volumes from John Goldingay (Baker, 2006, 2007, 2008) and three from Allen P. Ross (Kregel 2012, volume 2, 2013; and volume 3, 2016) as well as two excellent “historical commentaries” from Bruce Waltke and James M. Houston, The Psalms as Christian Worship (Eerdmans, 2010) and The Psalms as Christian Lament (Eerdmans 2014) and The Psalms as Christian Lament (Eerdmans, 2016, see my review here). This new volume in the New International Commentary Series on the Old Testament is another welcome addition to studying the Psalms.
Rolf Jacobson wrote most of the fifty-four-page introduction, with the exception of the section on the canonical shape of the Psalter, DeClaissé-Walford contributed to this section. First, Jacobson discusses the title, text, and translation of the Psalter. The main concern of this section is the often bewildering numbering of the Psalms. While there are 150 Psalms in all modern translations, the actual numbering varies between the Hebrew Bible and Septuagint. In fact, codices Leningrad and Aleppo have only 149 since Psalms 114 and 115 are combined into a single psalm. The standard text most are familiar with dates to the Second Rabbinic Bible (1524-25). Concerning translation, the commentators in this volume have sought to provide as literal a translation as possible, although they render masculine pronouns in the plural to maintain gender inclusiveness (similar to the NRSV). One unique feature is the transliteration of hesed in the 255 times the word appears in the Psalter. Since it is always difficult to adequately render this word in English, the commentators have considered hesed as a loanword, like shalom.
Second, Jacobson deals with the problem of the authorship of the Psalms. This necessarily requires a brief study of the superscriptions since many of these Psalm headers may be understood as a claim of authorship. The common psalm header le-dawid can be understood in several ways besides “written by David.” The approach of this commentary is that “for practical purposes, all psalms are anonymous” (11). Jacobson offers a short explanation of other information found in psalm headers, although many terms remain obscure.
The third section of the introduction is a short overview of the contributions of Form Criticism and Historical approaches to the Psalms. This is an important section since Form Criticism has been most fruitful in the study of the Psalter. Many Psalms to follow conventional patterns and must have developed in some kind of life-situation (Sitz im Leben). The contributions of Gunkel and Mowinckel, Gerstenberger, and Westermann have influenced the study of the Psalms for most of the twentieth century. Jacobson includes the more recent work of Walter Bruggemann as a development in Psalms research. Building on the foundation of Paul Ricoeur, Bruggemann understands the Psalms in terms of “orientation-disorientation-reorientation” (17). The commentary resonates with the earlier form-critics (Westermann vs. Brueggemann), but the individual commentators are “sensitive to the canonical story of the Psalter” (19) in their description of the genre of an individual psalm. While Jacobson lists and describes five psalm types, many psalms do not fit neatly into any particular form.
In the fourth section of the introduction, DeClaissé-Walford discusses the canonical shape of the psalter. Beginning with McCann’s 1993 collection of essays on the shape of the Psalter, DeClaissé-Walford surveys several attempts to describe the collection of Psalms (including her own contribution, Reading from the Beginning: The Shaping of the Hebrew Psalter (Mercer University Press, 1997). She observes several sub-collections (Asaph, Korah, Ascents, etc.) and several doxologies marking out five separate books of Psalms. The collection was made after the exile in order to “offer the hermeneutical rationale for the survival of the postexilic community” (29). By briefly surveying the “plot” of the Psalter, she argues the five books of Psalms narrate the history of ancient Israel (Books 1-2), the reigns of King David and Solomon, and the dark days of the divided kingdom and the eventual destruction of those kingdoms (book 3); the Babylonian exile (Book 4) and the restoration of the community to the land (Book 5) (38).
Jacobson describes the poetry of the Psalms in the fifth section of the introduction. After discussing the most common feature of Hebrew poetry, parallelism, he very briefly discusses “evocative language.” Essays on Hebrew poetry tend to be tedious, especially for people who do not read the Hebrew text. This section, however, is remarkably readable primarily due to the lack of examples that attempt to replicate the Hebrew text. He describes the features well without the often confusing syllable counts and transliterated Hebrew. I expected more out of the section on evocative language. It is barely more than a page long. Understanding how metaphors and other imagery function will pay dividends for interpreting the Psalms. I think readers of a commentary on the Psalms would be well-served by a more developed introduction to this sort of language.
The last major section of the Introduction discusses themes and theology of the Psalter. Jacobson recognizes the difficulty in developing a “theology” of the entire Psalter since it represents such a wide variety of contexts and perspectives. This diversity is demonstrated by citing various commentators who have suggested a “theological center” for the Psalter. Other approaches to the theology of the Psalter focus on genre or sub-collections. It is easier to think about a theology of the Psalms of Asaph, for example, than the whole collection. This commentary attempts to understand the theology of each psalm individually rather than develop a synthetic theology of the whole Psalter.
In the body of the commentary, the three authors cover each Psalm in a few pages. All Hebrew appears in transliteration; most technical details are in the footnotes. After a short introduction discussing the structure in the genre of the psalm, the author provides a short outline and fresh translation. These translations have several footnotes covering textual critical issues, citing LXX and other versions, targumim, and the Dead Sea Scrolls where available. Following the translation, the commentary section works through the psalm stanza by stanza. Since most syntactical comments appear in the footnotes to the translation, the main commentary reads smoothly with only occasional reference to secondary sources.
Following some of Rolf Jacobson’s commentary sections, a brief reflection on the psalm appears. In this section, there are connections to larger biblical-theological interests but also occasionally historical interpretations of the psalm. I am unsure why this is limited to only a few Psalms since I found them interesting and helpful from a “history of interpretation” perspective. I appreciate that the authors for each Psalm are identified at the end of the article on each psalm.
Despite the length of the commentary, some of the commentary sections are unfortunately brief. Beth Tanner only has four pages of commentary on the twelve verses of Psalm 26, including translation and notes. Jacobson writes eight pages on the eleven verses of Psalm 29. The lengthy and important Psalm 51 has only six pages. The 72 verses of Psalm 78 are covered in only three pages, although there are a few exegetical problems in this rehearsal of Israel’s history. Unfortunately, even a very long commentary cannot offer the same sort of detailed, verse-by-verse analysis of a Psalm one finds in a commentary on Ephesians, but that may not be necessary in most cases. Some Psalms are more difficult and have generated far more secondary literature, so it is not surprising some Psalms are treated in a more summary fashion.
A few sub-units in the Psalter may have merited an excursus. For example, an introduction to the eleven Psalms of Asaph is only about a page in the introduction to the third book of the Psalter and a short footnote on the header of Psalm 73. On a few occasions, DeClaissé-Walford adds a short note on using a Psalm in the rabbinic tradition (for example, on Ps 42, 402; Ps 45, 416). I found these side notes interesting, but they were a bit of a tease since they appear so rarely in the whole commentary.
Often, Christian commentaries on the Psalms are interested in the so-called messianic Psalms. While there are occasional notes in this direction, this commentary is not distracted by later interpretations of the Psalms, whether in the New Testament or by later Christian or Jewish interpreters. For example, Psalm 45 is a royal psalm often associated with the messiah. In her comments on the psalm, DeClaissé-Walford points out the line from the Aramaic Targum on Psalm 45, which interprets the king as “King Messiah” as well as the common (and unfortunate, in my view) Christian interpretation of the bride in the psalm as the Church and the King as Jesus. Having recognized these later interpretations, her commentary rightly focuses on the Hebrew text without advocating for these theological interpretations. Beth Tanner’s comments on Psalm 22 refrain from the Christological interpretation until the concluding paragraph. Even though I am very interested in the messianic interpretations of the Psalter, I appreciate the writers’ commitment to keeping this to a minimum in their commentary.
Conclusion. Any new volume of the NICOT series is welcome, but this is an excellent contribution to the study of the Psalms. Do not be misled by the fact this is a single-volume commentary on the Psalms: the book is a full exegetical commentary on the whole Psalter and belongs on the shelf of every serious student of the Psalter.
Ross, Allen P. A Commentary on the Psalms. Volume 2 (42-89). Kregel Exegetical Library. Grand Rapids, Mich. Kregel, 2013. 841pp. Hb; $44.99. Link to Kregel.
Over the years, I have had the opportunity to preach through sections of the Psalms. One of my ongoing frustrations is that very few useful commentaries on the Psalms exist. Either they are so brief that there is little exegetical insight, or they are overly interested in form-critical matters that do not provide much clarity for interpreting or applying the Psalms. Some commentaries are only interested in the New Testament’s use of the Psalms or in finding veiled references to Jesus in every line.
Allen Ross’s contribution to the Kregel Exegetical Library is a welcome exception to this pattern. The commentary is attentive to the Hebrew text and historical contexts without sacrificing expositional comments to help a pastor or teacher present the Psalms in a contemporary context. The first volume of Allen Ross’s commentary on the Psalms was published by Kregel in 2011. That 887-page commentary covered Psalms 1-41 with an additional 179-page introduction to the Psalms. Since the first volume contained the introduction to the Psalms and bibliography, those items are omitted from volume 2. Reprinting the introduction in volume 2 is impossible, but someone could potentially purchase just volume 2 and miss out on that material.
This volume continues the exegetical method developed in the Introduction (1:169-79). First, Ross begins by “paying attention to the text.” He provides his own translation of the psalm with copious notes on textual variations, emendations, and lexical issues. Ross weighs evidence from the versions (Greek, Syriac, etc.) and does not shy away from the syntactic difficulties one encounters reading Hebrew poetry. There are notes on textual variants in the Masoretic text and alternative translations based on Hebrew syntax. Frequently, the Greek translation appears in footnotes. For example, in Ps 69:32, the Hebrew text has a perfect verb, which Ross takes as “when they see,” while the Greek has a subjunctive, “let them see.” Ross rejects emending the Masoretic text to reflect the subjunctive in this case.
Second, following the translation, Ross comments on the composition and context of the Psalm. This section takes headers seriously if they are present and attempts in most cases to place the Psalm in the history of Israel. For Psalm 72, for example, Ross has no trouble with a Solomonic background (which he also recognizes as messianic), despite various suggestions that the psalm dates to the time of Hezekiah. These contextual decisions are usually conservative, favoring a pre-exilic date often. This section will also identify any New Testament use of the Psalm, although this later interpretation does not drive his reading of the text.
Third, after the context is set, Ross provides an exegetical outline for the psalm, beginning with a short summary (usually a single sentence). This outline is based on the English text but takes into account exegetical decisions made in the translation. There is nothing unusual about these outlines. In fact, they are excellent resources for pastoral use since they could be adapted into an exegetical sermon very easily.
Fourth, Ross comments on his translation of the Hebrew text of the psalm. Throughout the book, Hebrew appears in parenthesis without transliteration. The method is more or less verse-by-verse, although he occasionally groups verses under a single header. He interacts with a broad spectrum of scholarship, although there is a preference for more conservative writers. However, the commentary is not overly burdened with external references, making it easier to read. Most of the commentary focuses on the vocabulary of the Psalm, with special attention to the main point of the metaphors chosen. When a Psalm refers to some historical events, even in the life of Israel, the commentary attempts to use allusion to understand the text of the Psalm.
Last, the chapter ends with a short “message and application” of the Psalm. Here, Ross attempts to bridge the gap between ancient Hebrew poetry and contemporary Christian worship. These sections are not at all typological or generic. Since Ross began by “paying attention to the text” and did his exegetical work, the “message” of the Psalm is tied directly to the text. Usually, there is a single line in italics that functions as a one-sentence application for the psalm.
If there is any messianic element in the Psalm, it appears in this “message and application” section. For example, for Psalm 45, Ross develops the wedding song of a king into a reference to Jesus and his bridegroom, applying the psalm to the church today as the “bride of Christ.” He briefly mentions the use of the Psalm in Hebrews 1 (although this merits more than a line) and the potential allusion to the Psalm in Rev 19. Likewise, Ps 72, where application is made to the Messiah’s rule over all the earth, is “fulfilled in Jesus Christ when he returns to the earth at his second coming” (2:546).
I think that this commentary might be improved with an occasional excursus on various topics. For example, at Psalm 73, there is a need to explain “a Psalm of Asaph” and the possibility that Psalms 73-83 are a sub-collection that develops a unique set of themes. The same is true beginning in Psalm 84; the “Sons of Korah” merit more explanation than the brief note in the commentary. These short articles would be helpful to the reader and are not well-covered in the introduction to the commentary.
Conclusion. I used Allen Ross’s Creation and Blessing in a seminary class on the Pentateuch. I very much enjoyed the style of that book since it was intended as an exegetical guide for the pastor or teacher as they approached the text of the Bible. Ross’s commentary on the Psalms follows a similar pattern. In some ways, this commentary is a model for reading any scripture section. Ross’s method is clear and yields fruit that will enhance any sermon or lecture on the Psalms. This commentary would make an excellent addition to any pastor’s library.
Review of other commentaries in the Kregel Exegetical Commentary series:
Psalm 43 begins with the writer asking God to “vindicate” him. Verse one uses a legal metaphor common in the prophets to picture the writer and his enemy before God as his judge. About 40% of the occurrences of the word שפט have God as the judge, nine times the verb is used as a noun to describe God as the “judge.” Sometimes God is called on to judge between two people who are at odds. The phrase “defend my case” is also the language of a lawsuit. The verb ריב and the related noun are both used in the context of someone taking someone to court to sue them. The psalmist is picturing himself going to the city gates of his town and standing before the elder of the town, a king’s magistrate. In order to get real justice, perhaps he has to go to the king himself and plead his case.
The psalmist is calling on God to “do justice” in this case. In a human court, the goal is to hear the evidence on both sides of that case and let the judge decide who is “right” and who is “wrong.” If God is the judge, the Psalmist can be assured of justice because God is ultimately just in his nature.
Like most modern translations, the ESV has “vindicate” here. In English, “vindicate” has the connotation of clearing someone from suspicion, or to prove that they are in the right. In this court context, the writer is asking God to judge the case and declare that he is in the right, and the enemy is “in the wrong.”
Just as in a human court, the psalmist offers evidence against his enemy. First, his enemy is “an ungodly nation.” The noun is simply nation (גּוֹי), although in the context most translations render the word as referring to non-Jewish, pagans or heathens. In the next Psalm, for example, the word is used for the nations the Lord drove out of the land (44:2).
Second, they are not faithful . One of the cornerstone virtues in the Hebrew Bible is faithfulness(חָסִיד). The word does not mean “full of faith,” as if it is a synonym for “a believer.” The idea of faithfulness in the Hebrew Bible is an action, one “does faithfulness.” The word is frequently used to describe those who abuse the poor and needy, to be “unfaithful” to the covenant (Mic 7:2).
Third, they are unjust. The noun מִרְמָה has the connotation of being a fraud, a trickster. The writer’s adversary tries use some sort of subterfuge to get his way. The word describes Jacob stealing his brother’s blessing (Gen 27:35) and the actions of Simeon and Levi when they made a false covenant with the king of Schechem (Gen 34:13). Micah 6:11 uses the word to describe dishonest weights, which look like the real thing but intend to steal from the unaware. The word is among the many things listed in Psalm 24 which qualifies someone for going up to the Holy Hill of God to worship (someone who does not swear deceitfully).
Last, they are oppressing the writer (v. 2). The noun לַחַץ does not appear frequently in the Hebrew Bible, but it does appear in each of Psalms 42-44 (and only in this series of Psalms in the Psalter). Exod 3:9 and Deut 26:7 use the noun to describe the oppression Israel faced when they were in Egypt. The verbal form of the root is used in a number of other passages which describe foreign oppression Judg 2:18, 4:3, 6:9, 10:12; Isa 19:20(, oppression which is sometimes a punishment for covenant unfaithfulness )Amos 6:14,
This description of an enemy is applicable during the life of David, either when he was running from Saul or later from Absalom. But it is also generic enough that this Psalm would be a great comfort for someone living outside the land during the Exile – when has Israel not been oppressed by a faithless enemy?
This psalm is a promise that God does in fact judge fairly, he will vindicate his people and render justice.
The writer describes his oppression as being desperate with thirst, longing for water. The opening line is a vivid metaphor for thirst, the writer’s soul thirsts after God “as a deer pants for water.” The verb is rare, only used here and in Joel 1:20, where it refers to animals panting for water after a fire has destroyed all water. But do not think of a dog panting, that is how the animal cools itself.
The verb has the sense of craving. When someone “craves” a food, they psychologically have to have whatever it is. The animal is dying for water in the midst of a drought. In this case, the animal is nearly dead and it is desperate for water. The verb in the second verse is usually associated with literal thirst, such as Israel in the wilderness (Exod 17:3). The craving for water here is to meet a basic need or the animal / psalmist will die.
But rather than being refreshed by God, the writer drinks his tears day and night (v. 3) The song does not describe why the writer is crying out, only that his tears on constant. The irony is that he has water to drink, but it is undrinkable tears.
Because of his desperation, his adversaries taught him, asking where his God is now? This is a common theme in the Psalms, the enemy of the songwriter mocks the writer because he has faith in God in spite of his suffering. There is a hint of the common view that God will reward the righteous and punish the sinner. This is not always the case, frequently in the Psalms the reverse is true, the wicked prosper If the song writer is suffering, it is possible that his enemies are using that as proof that God is punishing him.
As with other Psalms of Korah, the writer remembers leading worship in the house of God. The writer is the leader of a procession, going into the Temple. At the very least he is a worship leader (as the sons of Korah were), although there could be a hint of David’s life since he did lead a festive crowd into Jerusalem when the ark was first brought to Jerusalem. If the song writer intends himself to stand for all of Israel, perhaps he is looking back to that kind of joy under David, in contrast to the “present” time of the exile. The “festival” could refer to Tabernacles, which is a feast associated with great joy, recalling Israel’s time in the wilderness, or even Passover, recalling the time of God’s salvation of Israel from their slavery in Egypt.
When the Psalmist Remembers the Lord, He Is Overwhelmed by Water (42:6-7). Is this water a positive or negative metaphor? It is possible that verses 6-7 refer to additional suffering. Being caught in raging water is often used as a metaphor for extreme suffering, and these lines are often taken as a reference to the underworld, as if the writer finds himself swept away by primordial chaos into the caverns of Sheol.
On the other hand, the writer began by describing his great need for water, and in these verses he recalls the supplies of water in the Land of Israel. At the moment of his greatest need, God overwhelms him with water!
The writer remembers his God by mentioning three specific locations:
The Land of Jordan. This is a reference to the Jordan River, the main river for most of the land, especially from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. While the river is quite dry today because most of the tributaries are dammed, in the ancient world the river flowed freely. Recall that Joshua was not able to cross the river at flood stage.
Mount Hermon. This mountain in the far north of the Land of Israel is nearly 10000 feet (in Lebanon and Syria today). But the reference here is likely not to the mountain itself, but to the foothills. The Hebrew word used here חֶרְמוֹנִים, the plural of Hermon, referring to the whole range of mountains )like “The Rockies”(. There are three sources for the Jordan which flow south into Galilee, eventually feeding the Jordan River. At Dan and Banias in Israel today there is a constant flow of water fed by snows on Mount Hermon. The area is extremely fertile and jungle-like.
Mount Mizar is an unknown location, although it is often identified with. The Hebrew word מִצְעָר means small, or “a few,” so it might refer to foothill near Hermon and the sources of the Jordan.
But the writer does not simply take a drink to satisfy his thirst, he is overwhelmed by water! When the Lord responds, it is as if he is standing in a roaring waterfall. The word is rare, only used here an in 2 Sam 5:8 (where the meaning is disputed). The Hebrew צִנּוֹר refers to gushing, flooding water, a fast flowing stream, etc. The “deep” is a word which usually refers to the deep sea, the abyss (תְּהוֹם). “Deep calling to Deep” gives the impression of a constant thunderous flow of water. The parallel line is a similar image, waves and breakers sweep over the writer. The first word is used literally for waves in Jon 2:4, and as a metaphor for disaster in Ps 88:8, 2 Sam 22:5, and for God’s strength in Ps 93:4, the second word is far more common and is frequently used to describe restless power.
God’s grace is often overwhelming; at the moment the writer felt he was about to die of thirst, he is overwhelmed with more water than he can imagine!
Meditating on the word of the Lord is to think deeply or dwell on his word. The verb has the sense of muttering in a low voice, and is sometimes associated with reciting a text to oneself. The implication is the Word of the Lord is memorized and turned over in the mind slowly and carefully.
