God as Rock in the Psalter (Europäische Hochschulschriften / European University Studies / Publications Universitaires Européennes) [New ed.] 9783631634646, 3631634641

Table of contents :
Cover
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABSTRACT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS
A. Introduction: The Theme of the Rock
B. History of Scholarship: The Rock Metaphor
C. Plan of the Present Investigation
PART II METAPHOR OF THE ROCK IN THE HEBREW BIBLE
CHAPTER 1
A. The Metaphor
B. The Metaphor of the Rock: An Application (Deut 32,4)
1. Close Reading of the Metaphorical Utterance in Deut 32,4
2. Reading Deut 32,4 in Context
C. Evaluation and Conclusion of the Metaphor Theory
D. The Rock In the Hebrew Bible: rwc Word Field
a. vymlx (“Flint”)
b. !ba (“Stone”)
c. h[bg (“Hill”)
d. rh (“Mountain”)
e. [ls (“Crag/Cliff/Rock”)
f. hdwcm (“Place difficult to approach”)
g. jlpm (“Place of escape”)
h. hsx (“Seek refuge”)
i. !gm (“Shield”)
j. !rq (“Horn”)
k. bgfm (“Secure height”)
1. Physical Representation of the Word rwc
2. Word field of rwc – Related Words
E. Functions of rwc Word Field Members
1. Confessio Laudis185 (Bekenntnis des Lobes): Confession of Praise
2. Confessio Vitae (Bekenntnis des Lebens): Confession of Life
3. Confessio Fidei (Bekenntnis des Glaubens): Confession of Faith/Trust
F. God as Rock: Provenance of the Metaphor
G. rwc and [ls and Their LXX Rendering
H. The Metaphor of the Rock in the Documents of Qumran
CHAPTER 2 THE “ROCK” IN THE ISRAELITE PSALMIC TRADITIONS
A. Display of Rock Occurrences in the Hebrew Bible
1. Occurrences of rwc in the Hebrew Bible
2. Occurrences of [ls in the Hebrew Bible
3. The Results of rwc Occurrences
4. The Results of [ls Occurrences
5. Results of the Occurrences of ‘Rock/Crag’ (rwc +[ls) in the HebrewBible
B. God as Rock in the Books of the Psalter
1. God as Rock - In Individual Lament and Thanksgiving
2. God as Rock - In the Typical Narrative Genres
3. God as Rock - At the Beginning or End of a Psalm
4. God as Rock - Psalms are Paired
5. God as Rock – In the Psalms is Frequently a Possessive Noun
6. God as Rock - In Statements of Incomparability
PART III ROCK TEXT ANALYSIS IN THE PSALTER
CHAPTER 1
A. The Choice Of The “Rock” As Central Metaphor In The Psalter
B. Rock Metaphor in The I Book of Psalms: An Exegetical Anaysis
C. Pss 18 And 19: A Paired Introduction To ‘God As Rock’ In The Psalter
PSALM 18,2[3].31[32].46[47] THE BEGINNING OF ‘GOD AS ROCK’ IN THE PSALTER
A. Ps 18: Preliminary Observations – Structure and Genre
B. Ps 18=2 Sam 22: An Excurse
C. The Leitwort rwc (“Rock”) in Ps 18: Unity of the Psalm
D. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 18,2[3].31[32].46[47]
1. Close Reading of Ps 18,2[3]: Divine Appellatives
2. Close Reading of Ps 18,31[32]: Incomparable Rock
3. Close Reading of Ps 18,46[47]: Bārūk Sentence
PSALM 19,14[15] O LORD, MY ROCK AND MY REDEEMER
A. Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre
B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 19,14[15]
1. Text and Translation
2. Close Reading of Ps 19,14[15]
3. God as rwc and lawg: Ps 19,14[15]
C. Reading Pss 18 and 19 in Context: Centrality of Rock in the First Book
D. Placement of Pss 18 and 19
PSALM 28,1-2 MY ROCK, BE NOT DEAF TO ME
A. Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre
B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 28,1
1. Text and Translation
2. Close Reading of Ps 28,1-2
3. Reading Ps 28,1 in Context
4. Placement of Ps 28
PSALM 31,2b[3b].3a[4a] BE A ROCK OF REFUGE FOR ME…MY ROCK AND MY FORTRESS
A. Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre
B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 31, 2-3[3-4]
1. Text and Translation
2. Close Reading of Ps 31,2-3[3-4]
3. Close Reading of Ps 31,3 [4]
4. Reading Ps 31,2-3[3-4] in Context
5. Placement of Ps 31
C. “God As Rock” In The I Book of Psalms
CHAPTER 2
PSALM 42,9[10] I SAY TO GOD, MY ROCK
A. Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre
B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 42,9[10]
1. Text and Translation
2. Close Reading of Ps 42,9[10]
3. Reading Ps 42,9[10] in Context
4. Placement of Ps 42
PSALM 62,2[3].6[7].7[8] HE ONLY IS MY ROCK AND MY SALVATION
A. Preleminary Observations: Structure, Genre
B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 62,2[3].6[7].7[8]
1. Text and Transaltion
2. Close Reading of Ps 62,2[3].6[7].7[8]
a. Meaning and Significance of $a in Ps 62
b. Close Reading of Ps 62,2[3].6[7].7[8]
3. Reading of Ps 62,2[3].6[7].7[8] in Context
a. Wisdom Context of vv. 8-12[9-13]
4. Placement of Ps 62
PSALM 71,3 BE TO ME A ROCK OF REFUGE
A. Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre
B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 71,3
1. Text and Translation
2. Close Reading of Ps 71,3
3. Reading Ps 71,3 in Context
4. Placement of Ps 71
C. “God as Rock” in the II Book of Psalms
CHAPTER 3
PSALM 73,26 GOD IS THE ROCK OF MY HEART AND MY PORTION FOREVER
A. Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre
B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 73,26
1. Text and Translation
2. Close Reading of Ps 73,26
3. Reading Ps 73,26 in Context
4. Placement of Ps 73
PSALM 78,35 THEY REMEMBERED THAT GOD WAS THEIR ROCK
A. Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre
B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 78,35
1. Text and Translation
2. Close Reading of Ps 78,35
3. Reading of Ps 78,35 in Context
4. Placement of Ps 78
PSALM 89,26[27] MY FATHER, MY GOD, AND THE ROCK OF MY SALVATION!
A. Preliminary Observations – Structure and Genre
B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 89,26[27]
1. Text and Translation
2. Close Reading of Ps 89,26[27]
3. Reading Ps 89,26[27] in Context
4. Placement of Ps 89
C. “God as Rock” in the III Book of Psalms
D. “Temple markers” in Korahite and Asaphite Psalms
CHAPTER 4
PSALM 92,15[16] HE IS MY ROCK, AND THERE IS NO UNRIGHTEOUSNESS IN HIM
A. Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre
B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 92,15[16]
1. Text and Translation
2. Close Reading of Ps 92,15[16]
3. Reading Ps 92,15[16] in Context
4. Placement of Ps 92
PSALM 94,22 MY GOD THE ROCK OF MY REFUGE
A. Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre
B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 94,22
1. Text and Translation
2. Close Reading of Ps 94,22
3. Reading of Ps 94,22 in Context
PSALM 95,1 MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE TO THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION
A. Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre
B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 95,1
1. Text and Translation
2. Close Reading of Ps 95,1
3. Reading Ps 95,1 in Context
4. Placement of Pss 92; 94 and 95
C. Transition from Ps 89,26[27] to Pss 92,15[16]; 94,22; and Ps 95,1
D. “God as Rock” in the IV Book of Psalms
CHAPTER 5
PSALM 144,1 BLESSED BE THE LORD, MY ROCK
A. Preliminary Observations: Genre and Structure
B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 144,1
1. Text and Translation
2. Close Reading of Ps 144,1
3. Reading of Ps 144,1 in the Context
C. Journeying with “God as Rock” Metaphor through the Psalms
CONCLUDING REMARKS
A. Centrality of Rock Metaphor in the Psalter
B. ‘God as Rock’ in the Psalter: A Tabellic View
1. ‘God as Rock’: Placement of Verses in the Psalms
2. ‘God as Rock’: Placement of Psalms in the Five Books
3. ‘God as Rock’: Its Inauguration, Culmination and Descension in the Psalter
4. Miscellaneous
C. The Tradition-Historical Background of the Metaphor
D. Speaking of God in Human Language
1. Righteous
2. Levitical Singers
3. Chasidim
ABBREVIATIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Citation preview

EHS

PEtEr Lang · Academic Research X XIII / 934

Theology

T

Salvador Fernandes is a Capuchin priest from Karwar, India. Having completed his bachelor studies from Karnatak University, Dharwad, India, he attended also the post-graduate programme in Sacred Scripture at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He has a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome. The author began his research in Sacred Scripture at the University of Münster, Germany, and obtained his Ph.D. in Biblical Theology from the University of Bonn. Presently he is on the staff of Darshan Institute of Theology, Bangalore, India, and lectures also in various centers for theology and spirituality.

Salvador Fernandes OFM Cap

Salvador Fernandes · God as Rock in the Psalter

he role and place of metaphor in biblical language keeps attracting scholarly interest. Of all the books of the Bible, the Psalms provide the richest cache of metaphors for God. The Psalter is a cornucopia of metaphor. The biblical authors bring us back to the concrete world of everyday things, and tell us that we can talk about God perfectly well without having to indulge in conceptual or abstract ways of thinking and speaking. The present study entitled God as Rock in the Psalter brings the study of metaphorical language back to the heart of Psalm scholarship. The author carries out his research by analyzing a few selected Psalms (Pss 18; 19; 28; 31; 42; 62; 71; 73; 78; 89; 92; 94; 95; 144). In fact, a full 70 percent of the occurrences of ‘Rock’ in the Psalter are allusions to God. The occurrences of “God as Rock” at the beginning, middle and end of the psalms; and at the beginning and end of the books of Samuel; end of the book of Deuteronomy; beginning of the Psalter (Pss 18; 19); middle of the Psalter (Ps 78) and at the end of the Psalter (Ps 144), is a clear testimony that the address “God, my Rock” is a creative form of language and is a norm or standard when speaking of Yahweh.

ISBN 978-3-631-63464-6

European University Studies

God as Rock in the Psalter

www.peterlang.com

PL

PL

ACADEMIC RESEARCH

God as Rock in the Psalter

European University Studies Europäische Hochschulschriften Publications Universitaires Européennes

Series XXIII

Theology

Reihe X XIII

Theologie

Série X XIII

Théologie

Volume /Band

934

Salvador Fernandes OFM Cap

God as Rock in the Psalter

Bibliographic Information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de. Zugl.: Bonn, Univ., Diss., 2012

D5 ISSN 0721-3409 ISBN 978-3-631-63464-6

© Peter Lang GmbH Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften Frankfurt am Main 2013 All rights reserved. PL Academic Research is an imprint of Peter Lang GmbH All parts of this publication are protected by copyright. Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution. This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming, and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems. www.peterlang.de

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to my beloved parents, family members, confrères, friends, benefactors and well-wishers.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis is the end of my journey in obtaining a Doctorate. I have not travelled in a vacuum in this journey. It has been kept on track and been seen through to completion with the support and encouragement of numerous people. To say “thank you” to all of them is the least I can do to express my gratitude. However, it is a pleasure to convey my gratitude to them all in my humble acknowledgment. The present book is a slightly amended edition of my doctoral dissertation accepted by the Catholic Theological Faculty at the University of Bonn, Germany. My deepest gratitude goes to my guide, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Berges. I have been amazingly fortunate to have him as my guide. Throughout my thesiswriting period, he provided encouragement, sound advice, good company, and lots of good ideas. I would have been lost without him. I am extremely grateful to Prof. Dr. F.-L. Hossfeld for his interest in my work and his readiness to read and evaluate this thesis as the second reader. I take this opportunity to sincerely acknowledge the encouragement and support extended to me by my Provincial Minster Fr. Vincent Furtado and my confrères of the Holy Trinity Province of Karnataka. Further I extend my thanks to the United German Capuchin Province and especially the brothers and sisters of the Kapuzinerkloster together with the Missionsprokur in Münster, who accommodated me during my stay in Germany, and extended brotherly love and support towards me. It’s my fortune to gratefully acknowledge the support of the generous people of the Seelsorgeeinheit Krautheim, together with Pfrs. Bernhard Metz, Volker Ochs and Ludwig Dietz. Words fail me to express my appreciation for their support, generous care and the homely feeling during my summer holidays in Klepsau (Krautheim). My sincere thanks go to Rev. Sr. Camelia, O.C.D. for her interest in my work and her readiness to read and correct the manuscripts. My heartfelt thanks go to the Ursuline Franciscan Sisters of Mangalore in Germany for their love, care and support during my stay in Germany. I would like to acknowledge the partial financial support of Missio, Aachen through the generous help of the diocese of Cologne. I am deeply indebted to the Diocese of Münster for helping me towards the printing of my thesis. In conclusion, I recognize that this research would not have been possible without the libraries. I am grateful to the secretaries and librarians at the Department of the Old Testament of the Universities both in Münster and Bonn and my special thanks go to the Librarians at the Kapuzinerkloster and

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Acknowledgements

Diözesanbibliothek in Münster. I also thank Peter Lang Publishing group in Frankfurt am Main. Last but not least, I would like to pay high regards to my parents, brothers and sisters for their sincere encouragement and inspiration throughout my research work and for lifting me uphill during this phase of my life. I owe everything to them. Besides this, several people have knowingly and unknowingly, have helped me and prayed for me during the successful completion of this project. To all of them, I remain ever grateful. Münster, 17 September 2012 The Feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi Salvador Fernandes OFM Cap. Darshan Institute of Theology Deena Seva Ashram R. V. Vidyaniketan Post Bangalore – 570 059 Karnataka, INDIA E-Mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT The language of the Sacred Scriptures is filled with plethora of metaphors. Therefore, the Bible describes God by such a variety of metaphors that it is impossible to transform them to just one metaphor, not even the one that most Christians favor: “God as Father”. Of all the books of the Bible, the Psalms provide the richest cache of metaphors for God. In fact, the Psalter is a cornucopia1 of metaphor. Reading and understanding the psalms implies reading and understanding the various metaphors they use to express the image of God. The role and place of metaphor in biblical language keeps attracting scholarly interest. Metaphors are so much a part of the language of the Bible, we often gloss over them. Unless someone calls them to our attention, we pass them by, but they are right there to inspire and teach. It is true that we are accustomed to a conceptual, abstract way of thinking and speaking about God. But the biblical authors bring us back to the concrete world of everyday things, and tell us that we can talk about God perfectly well without having to indulge in conceptual or abstract ways of thinking and speaking. We can say God as “Rock”, “Water”…., – a much more vivid and creative way of talking, which immediately invites us to start thinking about the ways in which God is a “Rock”, “Water”,….”. The Old Testament Writers were fond of the metaphor of the Rock. Among nature’s inanimate objects, only the ‘Rock’ (rwc) is attested in the Hebrew Bible as a divine epithet with any frequency. rwc is used 75 times in the Old Testament and out of these it is used 36 (37x, if we include Ps 61,[2]3) times as a metaphor for God and once for gods in general (Deut 32,31). The number of metaphorical allusions to God as Rock equals in number the instances when rwc is a literal reference. In fact, a full 70% of the occurrences of rwc in the Psalms are allusions to God. Walter Brueggemann in his Old Testament Theology mentions the Rock as an example of some of the more marginal metaphors that, nevertheless, we should pay attention to. This study in fact is an attempt to pay due attention to the impersonal (non-personal) metaphor of the Rock. Psalms profile God not only as person but also they are replete with impersonal or inanimate metaphors. Impersonal (non-personal) metaphors remind us that there is more to be said about God than just saying that God is a person. This study will emphasize that

1

The cornucopia (in Latin also cornu copiae) or horn of plenty is a symbol of abundance.

x

Abstract

the impersonal metaphors can help us to broaden our too narrow portrait of God. God is portrayed not only in terms of the rugged passivity of a Rock (stability, inert resistance to change, dependability, impermeability, enduringness, and protection from the elements), personal characteristics and communication are also attributed to it (cf. Pss 18,[46]47=2 Sam 22,47; 19,14[15]; 28,1; 31,3; 42,9[10]; 78,35; 95,1’ 144,1,2a; Gen 49, Deut 32,18; 2 Sam 23,3). Among these animate aspects of the Rock, ethical qualities are found in Ps 92,15; Deut 32,4; Hab 1,2. It is clear that the experience of Rock (physical/impersonal characteristics of the Rock) was transferred by the imagination of the biblical authors into a personification and animation. The portrayal of God as Rock in the psalms is characteristic of individual laments. Given the relationships between genres, it is easy to understand how an image at home in individual laments (Pss 28,1; 31,2.3; 42,9; 71,3; 94,22) might migrate to genres that share broader regions, like individual thanksgivings (Pss 18,2.31.46; 92,15), psalms of trust (Pss 62,2.6.7), communal laments (Pss 89,26; 144,1) and other genres (Pss 19,14; 78,35; 95,1). Nevertheless, it appears far more often in individual laments than any other genre and, has a logical relation to the narrative pattern of the individual lament. The very fact that the appearances of “God as Rock” appear at the beginning, middle and end of the psalms; and at the beginning and end of the books of Samuel; end of the book of Deuteronomy (Pentateuch); beginning of the Psalter (Pss 18; 19); middle of the Psalter (Ps 78) and at the end of the Psalter (Ps 144), is a clear testimony that the address “God, my Rock” is a creative form of language and is a norm or standard when speaking of Yahweh.

TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................. VII ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................ IX PART I .......................................................................................................................................1 PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS ..................................................................................1 A. Introduction: The Theme of the Rock .........................................................................1 B. History of Scholarship: The Rock Metaphor ..............................................................5 C. Plan of the Present Investigation ...............................................................................11 PART II ....................................................................................................................................15 METAPHOR OF THE ROCK IN THE HEBREW BIBLE ...............................................15 CHAPTER 1 .........................................................................................................................15 A. B. 1. 2. C. D. 1. 2.

The Metaphor ............................................................................................................15 The Metaphor of the Rock: An Application (Deut 32,4) ..........................................21 Close Reading of the Metaphorical Utterance in Deut 32,4 .....................................21 Reading Deut 32,4 in Context ...................................................................................24 Evaluation and Conclusion of the Metaphor Theory ................................................26 The Rock In the Hebrew Bible: rwc Word Field........................................................29 Physical Representation of the Word rwc ..................................................................30 Word field of rwc – Related Words ............................................................................32 a.vymlx (“Flint”) .........................................................................................................33 b.!ba (“Stone”) ...........................................................................................................33 c. h[bg (“Hill”) ............................................................................................................34 d. rh (“Mountain”) .....................................................................................................35 e. [ls (“Crag/Cliff/Rock”) .........................................................................................36 f. hdwcm (“Place difficult to approach”) ......................................................................37 g. jlpm (“Place of escape”).........................................................................................38 h. hsx (“Seek refuge”) ................................................................................................38 i. !gm (“Shield”) ..........................................................................................................39 j. !rq (“Horn”) ............................................................................................................40 k. bgfm (“Secure height”) ............................................................................................41 E. Functions of rwc Word Field Members ......................................................................41 1. Confessio Laudis (Bekenntnis des Lobes): Confession of Praise .............................42 2. Confessio Vitae (Bekenntnis des Lebens): Confession of Life ................................42 3. Confessio Fidei (Bekenntnis des Glaubens): Confession of Faith/Trust ..................43 F. God as Rock: Provenance of the Metaphor ..............................................................44 G. rwc and [ls and Their LXX Rendering ......................................................................47 H. The Metaphor of the Rock in the Documents of Qumran.........................................52

CHAPTER 2..........................................................................................................................55 THE “ROCK” IN THE ISRAELITE PSALMIC TRADITIONS ..........................................................55 A. 1. 2. 3.

Display of Rock Occurrences in the Hebrew Bible ..................................................55 Occurrences of rwc in the Hebrew Bible ....................................................................55 Occurrences of [ls in the Hebrew Bible...................................................................56 The Results of rwc Occurrences .................................................................................56

xii

Table of Contents 4. The Results of [ls Occurrences ................................................................................57 5. Results of the Occurrences of ‘Rock/Crag’ (rwc +[ls) in the Hebrew Bible.............57 B. God as Rock in the Books of the Psalter. ..................................................................58 1. God as Rock - In Individual Lament and Thanksgiving ...........................................59 2. God as Rock - In the Typical Narrative Genres ........................................................60 3. God as Rock - At the Beginning or End of a Psalm .................................................61 4. God as Rock - Psalms are Paired ..............................................................................61 5. God as Rock – In the Psalms is Frequently a Possessive Noun ................................62 6. God as Rock - In Statements of Incomparability ......................................................63

PART III ..................................................................................................................................65 ROCK TEXT ANALYSIS IN THE PSALTER ...................................................................65 CHAPTER 1..........................................................................................................................65 A. B. C.

The Choice Of The “Rock” As Central Metaphor In The Psalter ............................65 Rock Metaphor in The I Book of Psalms: An Exegetical Anaysis ...........................67 Pss 18 And 19: A Paired Introduction To ‘God As Rock’ In The Psalter ................75

PSALM 18,2[3].31[32].46[47] .............................................................................................81 THE BEGINNING OF ‘GOD AS ROCK’ IN THE PSALTER ............................................................81 A. B. C. D. 1. 2. 3.

Ps 18: Preliminary Observations – Structure and Genre...........................................81 Ps 18=2 Sam 22: An Excurse....................................................................................82 The Leitwort rwc (“Rock”) in Ps 18: Unity of the Psalm...........................................87 Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 18,2[3].31[32].46[47] ...............................90 Close Reading of Ps 18,2[3]: Divine Appellatives ...................................................90 Close Reading of Ps 18,31[32]: Incomparable Rock ................................................94 Close Reading of Ps 18,46[47]: Bārūk Sentence 102

PSALM 19,14[15] ...............................................................................................................105 O LORD, MY ROCK AND MY REDEEMER .............................................................................105 A. B. 1. 2. 3. C. D.

Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre .....................................................105 Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 19,14[15].................................................106 Text and Translation ...............................................................................................106 Close Reading of Ps 19,14[15] ...............................................................................106 God as rwc and lawg: Ps 19,14[15] ............................................................................110 Reading Pss 18 and 19 in Context: Centrality of Rock in the First Book...............114 Placement of Pss 18 and 19.....................................................................................126

PSALM 28,1-2 ....................................................................................................................133 MY ROCK, BE NOT DEAF TO ME ...........................................................................................133 A. B. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre .....................................................133 Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 28,1 .........................................................134 Text and Translation ...............................................................................................134 Close Reading of Ps 28,1-2 .....................................................................................134 Reading Ps 28,1 in Context .....................................................................................145 Placement of Ps 28 ..................................................................................................147

Table of Contents

xiii

PSALM 31,2b[3b].3a[4a]....................................................................................................153 BE A ROCK OF REFUGE FOR ME…MY ROCK AND MY FORTRESS ..........................................153 A. B. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. C.

Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre .....................................................153 Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 31, 2-3[3-4] .............................................154 Text and Translation ...............................................................................................154 Close Reading of Ps 31,2-3[3-4] .............................................................................154 Close Reading of Ps 31,3 [4] ..................................................................................158 Reading Ps 31,2-3[3-4] in Context .........................................................................161 Placement of Ps 31 ..................................................................................................166 “God As Rock” In The I Book of Psalms ...............................................................167

CHAPTER 2........................................................................................................................171 PSALM 42,9[10] .................................................................................................................171 I SAY TO GOD, MY ROCK .....................................................................................................171 A. B. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre .....................................................171 Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 42,9[10]...................................................174 Text and Translation ...............................................................................................174 Close Reading of Ps 42,9[10] .................................................................................174 Reading Ps 42,9[10] in Context ..............................................................................181 Placement of Ps 42 ..................................................................................................188

PSALM 62,2[3].6[7].7[8]....................................................................................................193 HE ONLY IS MY ROCK AND MY SALVATION ..........................................................................193 A. B. 1. 2.

Preleminary Observations: Structure, Genre ..........................................................193 Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 62,2[3].6[7].7[8] .....................................195 Text and Transaltion ...............................................................................................195 Close Reading of Ps 62,2[3].6[7].7[8] ....................................................................196 a.Meaning and Significance of $a in Ps 62 .............................................................196 b.Close Reading of Ps 62,2[3].6[7].7[8] .................................................................200 3. Reading of Ps 62,2[3].6[7].7[8] in Context ............................................................202 a.Wisdom Context of vv. 8-12[9-13] ......................................................................203 4. Placement of Ps 62 ..................................................................................................207

PSALM 71,3........................................................................................................................211 BE TO ME A ROCK OF REFUGE ..............................................................................................211 A. B. 1. 2. 3. 4. C.

Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre .....................................................211 Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 71,3 .........................................................212 Text and Translation ...............................................................................................212 Close Reading of Ps 71,3 ........................................................................................212 Reading Ps 71,3 in Context .....................................................................................217 Placement of Ps 71 ..................................................................................................221 “God as Rock” in the II Book of Psalms ................................................................223

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Table of Contents

CHAPTER 3........................................................................................................................227 PSALM 73,26......................................................................................................................227 GOD IS THE ROCK OF MY HEART AND MY PORTION FOREVER .............................................227 A. B. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre .....................................................227 Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 73,26 .......................................................229 Text and Translation ...............................................................................................229 Close Reading of Ps 73,26 ......................................................................................230 Reading Ps 73,26 in Context ...................................................................................238 Placement of Ps 73 ..................................................................................................245

PSALM 78,35......................................................................................................................251 THEY REMEMBERED THAT GOD WAS THEIR ROCK ...............................................................251 A. B. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre .....................................................251 Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 78,35 .......................................................254 Text and Translation ...............................................................................................254 Close Reading of Ps 78,35 ......................................................................................255 Reading of Ps 78,35 in Context ..............................................................................261 Placement of Ps 78 ..................................................................................................270

PSALM 89,26[27] ...............................................................................................................275 MY FATHER, MY GOD, AND THE ROCK OF MY SALVATION! .................................................275 A. B. 1. 2. 3. 4. C. D.

Preliminary Observations – Structure and Genre ...................................................275 Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 89,26[27].................................................278 Text and Translation ...............................................................................................278 Close Reading of Ps 89,26[27] ...............................................................................279 Reading Ps 89,26[27] in Context ............................................................................284 Placement of Ps 89 ..................................................................................................293 “God as Rock” in the III Book of Psalms ...............................................................294 “Temple markers” in Korahite and Asaphite Psalms..............................................296

CHAPTER 4........................................................................................................................299 PSALM 92,15[16] ...............................................................................................................299 HE IS MY ROCK, AND THERE IS NO UNRIGHTEOUSNESS IN HIM .............................................299 A. B. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre .....................................................299 Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 92,15[16].................................................301 Text and Translation ...............................................................................................301 Close Reading of Ps 92,15[16] ...............................................................................301 Reading Ps 92,15[16] in Context ............................................................................304 Placement of Ps 92 ..................................................................................................309

PSALM 94,22......................................................................................................................319 MY GOD THE ROCK OF MY REFUGE .....................................................................................319 A.

Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre .....................................................319

Table of Contents B.

xv

Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 94,22 .......................................................320 1. Text and Translation ...............................................................................................320 2. Close Reading of Ps 94,22 ......................................................................................321 3. Reading of Ps 94,22 in Context ..............................................................................323

PSALM 95,1........................................................................................................................327 MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE TO THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION ...................................................327 A. B. 1. 2. 3. 4. C. D.

Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre .....................................................327 Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 95,1 .........................................................329 Text and Translation ...............................................................................................329 Close Reading of Ps 95,1 ........................................................................................329 Reading Ps 95,1 in Context .....................................................................................333 Placement of Pss 92; 94 and 95 ..............................................................................335 Transition from Ps 89,26[27] to Pss 92,15[16]; 94,22; and Ps 95,1 .......................337 “God as Rock” in the IV Book of Psalms ...............................................................338

CHAPTER 5........................................................................................................................341 PSALM 144,1......................................................................................................................341 BLESSED BE THE LORD, MY ROCK........................................................................................341 A. B. 1. 2. 3. C.

Preliminary Observations: Genre and Structure .....................................................341 Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 144,1 .......................................................343 Text and Translation ...............................................................................................343 Close Reading of Ps 144,1 ......................................................................................343 Reading of Ps 144,1 in the Context.........................................................................344 Journeying with “God as Rock” Metaphor through the Psalms .............................349

CONCLUDING REMARKS ...............................................................................................353 A. Centrality of Rock Metaphor in the Psalter ............................................................353 B. ‘God as Rock’ in the Psalter: A Tabellic View .......................................................355 1. ‘God as Rock’: Placement of Verses in the Psalms ................................................355 2. ‘God as Rock’: Placement of Psalms in the Five Books.........................................355 3. ‘God as Rock’: Its Inauguration, Culmination and Descension in the Psalter........355 4. Miscellaneous..........................................................................................................356 C. The Tradition-Historical Background of the Metaphor ..........................................356 D. Speaking of God in Human Language ....................................................................361 1. Righteous ................................................................................................................364 2. Levitical Singers .....................................................................................................366 3. Chasidim .................................................................................................................368 ABBREVIATIONS ...............................................................................................................373 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................377

PART I PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS A. Introduction: The Theme of the Rock One of the peculiar features of the divine nomenclature in Scripture is that it occasionally engages the semantic field of Stone (!ba) – Rock (rwc) – Mountain (rh) - Place (~wqm). Among these names, those of rwc (“Rock”) or [ls (“Crag”), and !ba (“Stone”), occupy a unique position. On account of their natural qualities of solidity and stability, they become figuratively symbols of endurance, protection, security or firmness. The first object to be worshipped by the evolving man was a stone.2 The original signification of the sacred stone is well illustrated by the account of the one at Bêt-ʾēl (Gen 28). Jacob slept on a stone for a pillow, and dreamt that the Lord addressed him. When he awoke he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place; and I did not know it” (Gen 28,16), then he anointed the stone. Stones and rocky structures are part of the cultic life of many religions. They are almost universally identified with cultic sites on which a great variety of rituals are enacted.3 In some cases stones and rocks become the foundations of temples.4 Stones found in cultic places are likely to be treated as the foundation of the

2

3

4

I. BENZINGER, “Stone and Stone-Worship”, in The Jewish Encyclopedia, XI (New York 1905) 556-559; The two terms “stone” and “rock” belong to the same semantic field. Thus, in whatever context and mode of interpretation they appear, they share a similar notional framework; See J. BETZ, “Christus – Petra – Petrus”, in Kirche und Überlieferung (eds., J. BETZ and H. FRIES) (Freiburg 1960) 15. Stones and rocky structures are part of the cultic life of many religions. For example, in Islam Ka ͑ ba still functions as the central cult place. Notice should also be taken of the fact that the cultic symbol of the God Shiva is the Linga in Hindu religion, that is, a phallic-like stone piller. One can recall hbcm the sacred pillar or altar, which had to be avoided in the cult of the Israelites, and even destroyed along with other Canaanite cult objects; See Exod 34,13; Deut 12,3. The Tannaitic term hytvh !ba (“Foundation Stone”) was understood in two ways during Talmudic times: "the stone (or rock) from which the world was woven" and "the foundation stone". Both meanings are based on the belief that the world was created from the stone located in the Holy of Holies of the Temple in Jerusalem, thus forming the center of the world. This concept is closely related to the image of Jerusalem and the Temple as located at the "navel of the world". Cf. H. S CHMIDT, Der Heilige Fels in Jerusalem, eine archäologische und religionsgeschichtliche Studie (Tübingen 1933) 63, 97.

2

Preliminary Considerations

world, the axis mundi, or the navel of the world.5 Hill worship followed stone worship, and the first hills to be venerated were large stone formations. It presently became the custom to believe that the gods inhabited the mountains, so that high elevations of land were worshipped for this additional reason. As time passed, certain mountains were associated with certain gods and therefore became holy. Mountains became the places on which temples were built (e.g. Mount Moriah), and in some case they even bear the names of gods (“The Mountain of the Lord” 2 Sam 21,6.9; Ps 24,3). Mountains and rocky sites in many cases bear the names of deities. “Sinai” may be understood as a divine name (Judg 5,4-5; Ps 68,[8]9), as well as “Moriah” in relation to hary hwhy (Gen 22,14). Of particular interest in this respect is the divine name lwdgh-rh (“Great Mountain”) mentioned along with the term hvarh !bah (apparently “the head stone”) in Zach 4,7. Evidently, Rocky Mountains and Stone Structures can inspire a sense of the “numinous”. The same holds true of Rocky Mountains, which are often described as sites upon which theophanies have taken place (e.g., Mount Sinai). Among nature’s inanimate objects, only the ‘Rock’ (rwc) is attested in the Hebrew Bible as a divine epithet with any frequency. rwc is used 75 times in the Old Testament and out of these it is used 36 (37x, if we include Ps 61,[2]3) times as a metaphor for God and once for gods in general (Deut 32,31). The number of metaphorical allusions to God as Rock equals in number the instances when rwc is a literal reference.6 In fact, a full 70 percent of the occurrences of rwc in the “psalms” are allusions to God. Notable examples include “The Rock, his 5

6

It is interesting to note what the Midrash has to say about this ‘navel’. “As the NAVEL is set in the CENTER of the human body, so is the land of Israel the NAVEL of the world situated in the CENTER of the world, and Jerusalem in the CENTER of the land of Israel, and the sanctuary in the CENTER of Jerusalem, and the Holy Place in the CENTER of the sanctuary, and the ark in the CENTER of the holy place, and the foundation stonebefore the holy place, because from it the WORLD was FOUNDED." Midrash, Tanchuma, Qedoshim. ‫כשם שהטבור הזה נתון באמצע האיש כך ארץ ישראל נתונה באמצע העולם שנאמר יושבי על טבור הארץ‬ ‫)'יחז לח יב( וממנה משתיתו של עולם יוצא שנאמר מזמור לאסף אל אלהים 'ה דבר ויקרא ארץ‬ ‫ ארץ ישראל‬.(‫ מנין מציון מכלל יופי אלהים הופיע)שם שם ב‬.(‫ממזרח שמש )ו( עד מבואו )תה' נ א‬ ‫יושבת באמצעיתו של עולם וירושלים באמצעיתה של ארץ ישראל ובית המקדש באמצע ירושלים וההיכל‬ ‫ ושלמה שהיה‬.‫באמצע בית המקדש והארון באמצע ההיכל ואבן שתיה לפני הארון שממנה נשתת העולם‬ .‫חכם עמד על השרשין היוצאין ממנה לכל העולם ונטע בהם כל מיני אילנות ועשה פירות‬ ‫לפיכך הוא אומר עשיתי לי גנות ופרדסים‬ M. P. KNOWLES, “‘The Rock, His Work is Perfect’: Unusual Imagery for God in Deuteronomy 32,” VT 39 (1989) 307: “The metaphoric uses of the term outnumber the literal forty-four to thirty-four. Of the former, at least thirty-three refer directly to God”.

Preliminary Considerations

3

work is perfect; …” (Deut 32,4); “Indeed their rock is not like our Rock” (Deut 32,31); “For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a Rock, except our God” (2 Sam 22,32). In a more evocative context we find: “The LORD is my Rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my Rock, in whom I take refuge” (Ps 18,2[3] = 2 Sam 22,2-3]). “You are indeed my Rock and my fortress;” (Ps 31,3[4]; 71,3b); “I say to God, my Rock.” (Ps 42,9[10]). What is implied in calling Yahweh “Rock”, “Crag” or “Stone” is reference to his role as the sure support and protector of his people – as a Rock provides the foundation and material for solid building, shade from the scorching summer sun, and a hiding place for the guerrilla fighter.7 As we have already noted above, the metaphor of the Rock appears frequently in the book of Psalms – in fact, far more frequently than a metaphor that has been more influential in Christianity: ‘God as Father’.8 Most scholars who are interested in Biblical Theology only speak of God as a person. In the present thesis, I deal with an ‘impersonal/non-personal metaphor’ or ‘earth metaphor’9 of the divine: “God as Rock”. God is addressed as a person at the same time God is described as something impersonal, a Rock, a fortress, a tower etc. Most of us use imagery in our everyday language when talking about others, what s/he means to me. On the other hand, when talking about God also one can use imagery, metaphors, comparisons, parables or allegories.10 It is true that a biblical theology must include the personal aspect of God. On the other hand, God should not be reduced to what is characteristic of a person. For, God is more and God is different.11 A great part of the theological problem is due to the fact that we only take into consideration those metaphors that describe God as a person12 whom we can hold responsible. The Rock on the other hand is just there, it does not give you any kind of support, it is inactive, and you cannot

7 8

9

10 11

12

N. K. GOTTWALD, The Tribes of Yahweh (New York 1979) 684. References to God as father appear three times in the Psalter (Pss 68,5[6]; 89,26[27]; 103,13). The Psalms that speak of God as Rock identify God with earth or identify humanity with earth community. Thus ‘Rock’ is an ecocentric metaphor. More about ecological hermeneutics and reading the biblical texts from the perspective of the earth cf. N. C. HABEL and P. TRUDINGER, Exploring Ecological Hermeneutics (eds.) (Atlanta 2008). Jesus himself used all these in proclaiming the kingdom of God. K. NIELSEN, “Metaphors and Biblical Theology”, in P. VAN HECKE (eds.), Metaphors in the Hebrew Bible (Leuven 2005) 264. The personal metaphors like God as ‘King’, ‘Judge’, ‘Father’, ‘Mother’, and ‘Shepherd’ imply a relationship between God and his people, father and son, king and people, shepherd and sheep.

4

Preliminary Considerations

hold a Rock responsible for anything. Walter Brueggemann in his Old Testament Theology mentions the Rock as an example of some of the more marginal metaphors that, nevertheless, we should pay attention to. And Brueggemann stresses that Israel was capable of finding “reference points in every dimension of its daily life that can be taken as ways to bear witness to Yahweh, ensuring that Yahweh as a character will be continually and closely linked to the dailiness of Israel’s life”.13 However, while concentrating on personal metaphors, Brueggemann does not lose sight of impersonal metaphors. Let me quote what Brueggemann says on this topic: “It is my urging, then, that Old Testament theology must seek to attend to the full range of noun-metaphors for Yahweh and to resist reductionism, reification, or homogenization of its images”.14 It is the challenge for Biblical Theology to try to combine the personal and the impersonal metaphors in such a way that we do not fall into the trap of identifying God with anything else, be it in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below (cf. Exod 20,4).15 The distinctive nature of Israelite religion is that Yahweh is incomparable.16 Indeed, Jews from Philo of Alexandria and Maimonides to the authors of the Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael and the qabbalistic Sha ‘arei Orah have claimed that the epithet ‘Rock’ expresses the matchless singularity of the God of Israel.17 It is a fact that both personal and impersonal metaphors are found all throughout the Bible. It is also true that the personal metaphors are, undoubtedly dominant and the most important metaphors about Yahweh. But nevertheless there are limits to these metaphors as well. In the Old Testament ‘King’ may be considered as the ‘root metaphor’ for God,18 which is the metaphor so to speak, lies 13

14 15

16

17

18

W. BRUEGGEMANN, Theology of the Old Testament, Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy (Minneapolis 1997) 261. W. BRUEGGEMANN, Theology of the Old Testament, Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy, 264. Besides interpreting the second commandment as a ban on idolatry, it can be as a way of protecting God from the idolatry. Interpreting the commandment in this way we can render it like this: You shall not talk about God by using a fixed language with no metaphors as if God was a thing that you could define and exhaust by a few words, God is more and God is different. Cf. K. NIELSEN, “The Variety of Metaphors about God in the Psalter. Deconstruction and Reconstruction?”, SJOT 16 (2002) 158. Cf. C. J. LABUSCHAGNE, The Incomparability of Yahweh in the Old Testament (Leiden 1966) 1ff. For a discussion of these examples, see I. GRUENWALD, “God the ‘Stone/Rock’: Myth, Idolatry, and Cultic Fetishism in Ancient Israel”, JR 76 (1996) 428-49. T. N. D. METTINGER, In search of God: The Meaning and Message of the Everlasting Names (trans. F. H. CRYER) (Philadelphia 1987) 92, see also the discussion on pp. 93122. He argues that kingship is a ‘root-metaphor’, a basic analogy that ‘feeds a whole

Preliminary Considerations

5

behind most of what is being said about God. However, speaking of God as ‘King’ does not exclude the use of impersonal metaphors like God as ‘Rock’ or God as ‘fire’, God as ‘lion’, God as ‘eagle’ or God as ‘water’. Personal and impersonal metaphors are in constant dialogue with each other. But still God cannot be pinned down to a single noun, not even to a single metaphor. God is more and God is different. Only Yahweh alone can express himself fully as he did to Moses; hyha rva hyha (“I AM WHO I AM”) (Exod 3,14). God-talk cannot be exhausted. It is like a burning bush that burns and does not consume (cf. Exod 3,2). The conclusion is that we should not ignore the impersonal metaphors about Yahweh. Accordingly this study will take into consideration the impersonal metaphor of the Rock, a metaphor for God in the Psalter and analyse the following psalms: (Pss 18; 19; 28; 31; 42-43; 62; 71; 73; 78; 89; 92; 94; 95; 144). B. History of Scholarship: The Rock Metaphor The research on the “Rock” has continued and continues to provoke many biblical scholars with varied interpretations and opinions. We have no monographs exclusively written on the metaphor of the Rock. However, we have studies which deal with the ‘Rock’ in one way or the other. H. Schmidt in his work “Der Heilige Fels in Jerusalem”19 which appeared eight decades ago makes a literal survey of ‘the rocks’ in Jerusalem and towards the end of his work he adds the significance of ‘Rock’ in the Israelite religion. He takes the term rwc as an apparent equivalent to [ls. Both are used as an address and designation for Yahweh and he also links the term to the cultically distinguished site of Zion. There has long been a tendency to view the use of these two terms as an allusion to the Sacred Rock of the Jerusalem Temple Mount.20 His monograph is primarily concerned with proving that the rock on the temple mount, was in fact the site of the Holy of Holies (rybd) of Solomon’s Temple rather than, as was almost universally agreed at the time of his writing, the altar of

19

20

family of extended metaphors’ in the biblical material; See also, J. L. MAYS, “The Language of the Reign of God”, Int 47,2 (1993) 117-126. He says it is as King that Yahweh is warrior, judge refuge and shepherd; See also, J. L. MAYS, “The Centre of the Psalms”, Language Theology and the Bible (eds. B. SAMUEL - E. BARTON) (Oxford 1994) 230-246. He argues that kingship is a central analogy for God around which all other descriptions revolve. H. SCHMIDT, Der Heilige Fels in Jerusalem. Eine archäologische und religionsgeschichtliche Studie (Tübingen 1933). H. SCHMIDT, Der Heilige Fels in Jerusalem, 87.

6

Preliminary Considerations

burnt sacrifice. Schmidt’s research serves as a foundation for those who see rwc as an integral part of the “Zion Tradition”. But the end results of our study will show that the metaphor of the Rock in the Psalter becomes a lively one that resists being bound to the Rock in any static way. Four decades later, D. Eichhorn21 in his research “Gott als Fels, Burg und Zuflucht”, again draws attention to the association of Yahweh as ‘Rock’ and ‘Refuge’ with the Zion sanctuary.22 He goes further to say that the ‘Holy Rock’ is the place at which Yahweh reveals himself as the one who protects his people and intervenes against the powers of chaos and ‘the nations’ (Pss 46; 48; 76).23 He deals with the term ‘Rock’ in the context of prayer and says; to call God as Rock is an expression of strong faith of the believer.24 D. Eichhorn’s interest is in identifying the “I” of the psalms that address or refer to God as rwc, or such related words as “crag” ([ls), “refuge” (hsxm), “fortress” (hdwcm). Eichhorn’s thesis, that “I” of the psalms that use these words to refer to God, is not a personal “I” but that of a “mediator”, is not well supported by the texts. The ‘pray-er’ (Beter) according to him is an institutional mediator (Mittler). One need not accept Eichhorn’s suggestion of an institutional ‘Mittler’25 within the Jerusalem cult, although this is not an entirely unlikely suggestion. Eichhorn relates this portrayal of Yahweh as Rock to Deut 32,15.18.30.3126 and later Knowles27 makes an analysis of rwc (“Rock”) in the Song of Moses (Deut 32). He demonstrates the use of the term in Deut 32. In the song of Moses rwc is used to distinguish the ‘covenant God’ from the ‘covenant people’ on the one hand (the ‘faithful Rock’ from its ‘unfaithful offspring’), and the ‘God of Israel’ from the ‘gods’ to which the people have turned (the ‘true Rock’ from the ‘false ones’) on the other.

21

22 23 24 25

26 27

D. EICHHORN, Gott als Fels, Burg und Zuflucht. Eine Untersuchung zum Gebet des Mittler in den Psalmen (Bern - Frankfurt am Main 1972). D. EICHHORN, Gott als Fels, Burg und Zuflucht, 142. D. EICHHORN, Gott als Fels, Burg und Zuflucht, 91. D. EICHHORN, Gott als Fels, Burg und Zuflucht, 27. Der Beter Wäre dann ein levitischer Kultprophet am Zionsheiligtum. Cf. D. EICHHORN, Gott als Fels, Burg und Zuflucht, 43. D. EICHHORN, Gott als Fels, Burg und Zuflucht, 42-54. M. P. KNOWLES, “The Rock, his Work is Perfect: Unusual Imagery for God in Deuteronomy XXXII”, VT 39/3 (1989) 307-322.

Preliminary Considerations

7

A. Wiegand,28 A. P. Dell’Acqua29 and S. Olofsson30 deal more with the translation of the Hebrew term rwc in ancient Jewish literature and Septuagint and its significance. Olofsson in his monograph examines the influence of Theological exegesis in LXX, especially the Psalter, as reflected in its Translation of certain Hebrew Metaphorical names or epithets for God. These are drawn from both, the animate and the inanimate nature and include rwc, [ls, !gm, zw[m, z[, rz[, !rq, !wyl[. The Study compares the LXX equivalents to these metaphors first, when used for God, and then, when used in their literal or ordinary metaphorical meaning and demonstrates a marked difference in the translation between the two sets of equivalents. I. Gruenwald in his article “God the “Stone/Rock”: Myth, Idolatry, and Cultic Fetishism in Ancient Israel”31 pays special attention to matters relating to the assessment of mythic language. The reading of this article helps us to understand important issues in relation to the concept of idolatry in the various phases of Israelite religiousness in antiquity. He argues for the importance of God the Rock in a phenomenology of Israelite religion and post-biblical Judaism.32 S. Terrien’s33 “The Metaphor of the Rock in Biblical Theology” examines how the metaphor of the “Rock” may inform a bipolar theology of the Bible, which Brueggemann advances both in his Theology and in his earlier pair of CBQ articles.34 Terrien focuses specifically on Isaiah, identifying the Rock with the cosmic acts of God. Moving forward, he notes that the Qumran community associated the Rock with the community, and in the NT it is Jesus who is the cornerstone, evident in texts such as Matt 16,18, which carries the theme of the Rock from the OT (as identified and concerned with God) forward into the NT; Jesus as the Rock is the visible manifestation of God on earth. And in an inter28

29

30

31

32 33

34

A. WIEGAND, „Der Gottesname rwc und Seine Deutung in dem Sinne Bildner oder Schöpfer in der Alten Jüdischen Litteratur“, ZAW 10 (1890) 85-96. A. P. DELL’ACQUA, “La Metafora Biblica di Dio come Roccia e la sua Soppressione nelle Antiche Versioni”, EL XCI (1977) 417-443. S. OLOFSSON, God is My Rock: A Study of Translation Technique and Theological Exegesis in the LXX (Stockholm 1990). I. GRUENWALD, “God the ‘Stone/Rock’: Myth, Idolatry, and Cultic Fetishism in Ancient Israel,” JR 76 (1996) 428-49. I. GRUENWALD, “God the ‘Stone/Rock’, 429. S. TERRIEN, “The Metaphor of the Rock in Biblical Theology”, God in the Fray: Ambivalence in the Hebrew Bible. FS. W. Brueggemann (eds., T. LINAFELT - T. BEAL) (Minneapolis 1998) 158. Cf. W. BRUEGGEMANN “Structure and Legitimation”, 28-46; Ibid., “Embrace of Pain”, CBQ 47 (1985) 395-415.

8

Preliminary Considerations

esting concluding point, Terrien muses on whether the designation of Peter as the rock is a polemic against Petrine supremacy given that it is in dissonance with the wider NT portrait of Jesus as the Rock; Matthew’s statement “get behind me Satan” may evidence this polemic. In addition to the above summarized studies, a number of other scholars too have included in other works their own theories about the meaning of rwc as it applies to Israel’s God. Among them, D. N. Freedman dates many texts in which rwc appears. He finds it in what he calls “Phase III” material, and calls it “distinctive of songs associated with the monarchy”.35 B. Ollenburger’s substantive study of Zion in its relationship to the Jerusalem cult also links the use of rwc as an appellation for God to the sacral tradition of the temple mount. His study is concerned with the way Zion as a symbol is used within the theological tradition of the Jerusalem cult.36 And further, in a study of the word rwc in Deut 32, M. Knowles offers some general observations about the word Rock.37 The above mentioned authors and other commentators while commenting on the metaphor of the Rock in the Old Testament link the images of the Rock to; i) images of battle; ii) of deep waters; iii) the Temple/Sanctuary/Zion. 1. Images of Battle/Warfare: The Rock is seen as a defence or protection against dangers of various kinds. The danger can come from enemies. In these cases a rock is envisaged as a very large strong object which can be used as a ‘fort’ or a ‘tower’ – possibly something behind which warriors took cover, or in front of which they took their stand. ‘A soldier warding off a frontal attack’, explains an early Jewish commentator, ‘may stand with his back against a rock to protect himself against attack from behind’ (Pss 31,2-3[3-4]; 61,2-3[3-4]; 144,1-2).38 In times of enemy attack the soldiers found solace in the rock. The term rwc refers to mountain hideaways in some contexts (cf. 1 Sam 22,4-5; 24,22[23]; 2 Sam 5,17; 23,14). Rocks and cliffs provided shade and shelter (cf. Isa 32,2) as well as retreat from enemies. Such locations ‘were of paramount

35

36

37

38

Cf. D. N. FREEDMAN, Pottery, Poetry and Prophecy: Studies in Early Hebrew Poetry (Winona Lake 1980) 93. B. OLLENBURGER, Zion the city of the great King. A Theological Symbol of the Jerusalem Cult, JSOTS 41 (Sheffield 1987) 14. Cf. M. P. KNOWLES, “The Rock, His Work is perfect: Unusual Imagery for God in Deuteronomy 32”, VT 39 (1989). A. RYRIE, Deliver us from Evil: Reading the Psalms as Poetry (London 2004) 98.

Preliminary Considerations

9

importance in a territory beset by military campaigns’.39 Indeed, the solitary rocks cut from wadi beds, provided essential natural strongholds (cf. Jer 4,29; 16,16; 49,16; 1 Sam 13,6).40 Recent excavations in the region east of the Dead Sea indicate that rocks and cliffs served a variety of purposes, especially in time of warfare. Archaeological work at Tell el-Hibr reveals that these mundane places of refuge served as lookout points, temporary shelters, and even dwellings during periods of siege.41 Samuel Terrien links ‘Rock’ to divine presence and he concludes, it was a soldier’s sense of divine presence in the midst of peril which inspired David to sing the Ps 18.42 2. Deep Waters: The image of the Rock is something firm and secure under one’s feet. When there is danger of being overwhelmed by floods or of sinking in deep mire, one needs a steady rock on which to stand. A rock is thus a protection against the threat of being dragged down by evil into the realm of underworld and death. Therefore ‘rock’ serves as a kind of capstone for the waters of chaos. As Kaiser notes, the ‘Rock of Israel’ is the holy rock of the temple site, on which the altar of burnt offering stood, and which was regarded in Judaism as the capstone which kept the primeval sea locked up.43 ‘Only Yahweh the Rock’, says Keel, citing Pss 18,2[3]; 28,1; 40,2[3], ‘is able to provide a sure foundation’ in ‘the mire ….realm of the dead.’44 3. Temple/Sanctuary/Zion: The rock also stands for temple. According to a tradition which may have gone back to pre-Israelite times,45 the temple in Jerusalem was built on what was regarded as a sacred rock. It was this that made Jerusalem secure and firm. One of the features of Mount Zion on whose rock the temple was built, was that it could not ‘be moved’ (Pss 46,5[6]; 125,1). When psalmists speak of the rock, they refer to the temple. In Ps 27,5 the ‘rock’ is mentioned in parallel with the ‘tent’ or ‘tabernacle’, which was the archaic name

39

40 41

42

43

44 45

O. KEEL, The Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms (New York 1978) 180. O. KEEL, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 180. A. V. G. BETTS, “Tell el-Hibr: A Rock Shelter Occupation of the Fourth Millennium B.C.E. in the Jordanian Baydiya”, BASOR 287 (1992) 5. S. TERRIEN, The Elusive Presence: Toward a New Biblical Theology (New York 1978) 283-290. O. KAISER, Isaiah 13-39. A Commentary (London 1974) 308; See also, S. TERRIEN, “The Metaphor of the Rock in Biblical Theology”, 166. O. KEEL, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 72. A. RYRIE, Deliver us from Evil, 99.

10

Preliminary Considerations

for the temple. Kraus46 and Eichhorn47 agree that rwc as divine name, shows clear connections with the temple rock. However, Eichhorn is of the opinion that God is of course not identified with the temple rock, but the metaphor is used with reference to the temple in Jerusalem as the place where Yahweh reveals himself as protector of his people.48 Eichhorn even suggests that rwc as address or designation occurs only in the theophanies of Yahweh in the temple.49 That Yahweh as Israel’s refuge, is symbolized concretely by Zion is evident from Isa 30,29, where larfy rh is in parallel with larfy rwc50 Within Jerusalem cult tradition, Yahweh as a ‘Rock’ was primarily a symbol of refuge, and this symbolism had its physiological pole in Mount Zion.51 From the above survey it is clear that, when commentators discuss Rock as a metaphor for God, their interpretations tend to be “conceptual reductions”.52 Accordingly, a certain quality of the divine may be implied by the term Rock viz., strength, protection, stability or the like, but not God’s actual name or his real essence or being. It is one thing to recognize the sacred manifestation in material objects (rock), and another to identify the deity with the object (rock).53 In other words it is one thing to say “God as/is like a Rock”, and another to say “God is Rock”. H. Schmidt writes in his small but interesting study of the Holy Rock: “In the most primitive times, the connection between the numen and the rock may have been understood as an indwelling, so that the stone and the deity

46

47 48

49 50

51

52

53

H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen 1-59. Biblischer Kommentar, Altes Testament (Neukirchen-Vluyn 1978) 287-288, 373-374. D. EICHHORN, Gott als Fels, Burg und Zuflucht, 83-88. D. EICHHORN, Gott als Fels, Burg und Zuflucht, 91; Der “Heilige Fels” ist vielmehr der Ort, an dem sich Jahwe aktuel als rwc, als der, der sein Volk Schutzt, der gegen die Chaosmachte und gegen “die Völker” (vgl. Pss 46; 48; 76) einschreitet, offenbart. D. EICHHORN, Gott als Fels, Burg und Zuflucht, 83. H. WILDBERGER, “Gottesnamen und Gottesepitheta bei Jesaja”, in Jahwe und sein Volk: Gesammelte Aufsätze zum Alten Testament (München 1979) 224-30. B. OLLENBURGER, Zion the city of the great King. A Theological Symbol of the Jerusalem Cult, JSOTS 41 (Sheffield 1987) 78; See further, Isa 17,10; 26,4. A. WALKER-J ONES, “Honey from the Rock: The Contribution of God as Rock to an Ecological Hermeneutic” in N. C. HABEL and P. TRUDINGER, Exploring Ecological Hermeneutics (ed.) (Leiden 2008) 96. Eliade refers to the concept of “hierophany”, that is, “the manifestation of the sacred in some ordinary object, a stone or a tree”. Elide expresses the view that “a sacred stone remains a stone; apparently nothing distinguishes it from all other stones. But for those to whom a stone reveals itself as sacred, its immediate reality is transmuted into a supernatural reality”. Cf. M. ELIADE, The Sacred and Profane: The Nature of Religion (San Diego 1959) 11, 12.

Preliminary Considerations

11

were perceived to be very nearly identical”.54 A literal understanding of these names, according to which God really is a “Rock” or “Stone”, is viewed as running counter to customarily maintained theological beliefs and assumptions.55 For, it can advocate idolatry. By studying ‘Rock’ as the metaphor of the Divine, we study Rock as an earth metaphor, an ecocentric metaphor, so as to give the Rock the ‘dignity of the despised’ of the earth. In the Psalms, the expression “my Rock” may speak of humanity’s sense of identification and relationship with the earth and Rocks of the earth; and this relationship will lead to a ‘dialogue of faith’ with the creator of the earth. For, "The earth is the LORD's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it" (Ps 24,1). Reading the texts from the perspective of the earth, will help us study the impersonal (non-personal) metaphor of the Rock not as an object but Subject. C. Plan of the Present Investigation The Investigation will be conducted as follows:

1. In the Old Testament, God is both addressed as a person, and at the same time is described as something impersonal, for e.g., Rock, Fortress, and Tower etc. In addition to featuring a plethora of metaphors that profile God as a person, the Psalms are replete with impersonal or inanimate metaphors. To put it in other words: The Psalter is a cornucopia of Metaphor.56 A biblical theology must include the personal aspect of God. On the other hand, God should not be reduced to what is characteristic of a person; for God is more and God is different. The meaning of the impersonal metaphors is to remind us that there is more to be said about God than just saying that God is like a human. God transcends the boundaries of human life.57 Therefore, the Bible describes God by such a variety of metaphors that it is impossible to transform them to just one metaphor, not even the one that most Christians favour: “God as father”. Most scholars who are interested in Biblical Theology speak of God only as a person and often neglect the impersonal metaphors or too quickly translate them into personal language. The present thesis will study and

54 55 56

57

H. SCHMIDT, Der Heilige Fels in Jerusalem, 78. I. GRUENWALD, “God the ‘Stone/Rock”’, 429. The cornucopia (“the horn of plenty”) is a common symbol of the harvest and is an emblem for abundance. K. NIELSEN, “Metaphors and Biblical Theology”, in Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible (ed. VAN HECKE) (Leuven 2005) 264.

12

Preliminary Considerations

analyze one of the impersonal metaphors of the Divine in the Psalter – “God as Rock”. W Brueggemann in his book “The Old Testament Theology” mentions the Rock as an example of some of the more “marginal metaphors” that, nevertheless, we should pay attention to.58 This thesis will pay attention to Rock – the metaphor of the Divine in the Hebrew Psalter and tries to analyse Rock metaphor in the psalms of the Hebrew Psalter. The personal metaphors are, undoubtedly, the dominant and the most important metaphors about Yahweh. But nevertheless there are limits to these metaphors as well. The Biblical Theology must include the personal aspect of God. On the other hand, it should not lose sight of the innumerable impersonal metaphors in the Bible. For, the Bible describes God by a variety of metaphors.59 It is the challenge for us to try to combine the personal and impersonal metaphors for God. It is in variety there is always beauty. Therefore, this study of the impersonal metaphor will enable us to broaden our all too narrow images/ideas about God and make us appreciate that God is more and God is different. Accordingly the present thesis is divided into four parts: the first part of the thesis, introduces the theme of the Rock, its meaning and significance followed by a brief history of research on this theme. 2. God is addressed both in personal and impersonal metaphors. The reason for this combination of personal and impersonal language is that the author uses “Metaphors”, not only when God is described as Rock, but also when God is described as a human being, who can be loved and talked to. Accordingly, the second part will evaluate the theories of metaphor and its recent offshoots: viz., “Conceptual Blending Theory”. Methodology and hermeneutic alone without the study of biblical text is incomplete. Therefore, the second part attempts to apply this theory to one of the biblical ‘Rock texts’, viz., Deut 32,4. It also studies the Rock System by studying the Rock Word-Field, its functions, and the provenance of the metaphor of the Rock. This chapter also examines the translations of the rwc and [ls as divine name viz., its equivalents in LXX psalms and outside LXX psalms, and its meaning and significance in the documents of Qumran. Finally, it concentrates on the theme of the Rock in Psalmic traditions, displays the ‘Rock-occurrences’ in the Hebrew

58

59

W. BRUEGGEMANN, Theology of the Old Testament. Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy (Minneapolis 1997) 261. K. NIELSEN, “The Variety of Metaphors about God in the Psalter. Deconstruction and Re-construction?”, SJOT 16 (2002) 151-159.

Preliminary Considerations

13

Bible and clarifies, when, where, in what situation the metaphor of the Rock appears in the psalms or in the psalm-like texts. 3. The third part deals with the exegetical analysis of the Rock metaphor in the five books of the psalms (Pss 18; 19; 28; 31; 42-43; 62; 71; 73; 78; 89; 92; 94; 95; 144). To begin with, the question: Why of the choice of the “Rock” in the book of Psalms in the present thesis will be answered. The Exegetical Analysis will be undertaken under three headings: a) Each “Rock Text” in the Psalms is an individual literary composition: A close reading of the Rock Text (micro-context); b) Each Psalm is a part of a larger book: A Contextual Reading of the Rock Text in the Psalm (macrocontext); c) Each Psalm is a part of a larger book, the Scripture: Placement of the Psalm. Accordingly, ‘God as Rock’ in the Psalms will be analyzed first of all with a close reading of them in their discrete primary or micro-contexts, then we will proceed to an analysis of their secondary or macro-contexts and finally, they will be seen in their placement. At the end of this analysis, a survey will be conducted on the journey of the ‘Rock metaphor’ in the Hebrew Psalter. 4. The concluding part will highlight several points which could also be an impulse for further study. Once again summarizing the centrality of ‘God as Rock in the Psalter, it discusses briefly about the tradition-historical background of the metaphor of the Rock by posing the question: What tradition[s] or historical background could be behind these “Rock Texts” in the Psalter? Further, the metaphors are not merely a communication of things that can be known—it is one that makes things happen and is lifechanging – the informative function, performative, and transformative function of the metaphor of the Rock. Lastly, making an image always reveals something about the person who does the imagining. Addressing God as Rock reveals something about the person/believer who prays. This in turn helps us to pose the question: who are the believers? (Could they be the ‘rightous’, ‘faithful’, ‘humble/poor/needy’, ‘upright’, ‘servant/s’, that we come across in the Psalter or the levitical singers?) Or else the title “God is my Rock” was popular among these groups: ~yqydc, ~ydb[, ~ywn[, ~ynwyba and ~ydysx? 5. Except where noted, the translation I have used is that of (New)/Revised Standerd Version. I have quoted the verses, first of English version and

14

Preliminary Considerations

then from the Hebrew Bible in the parenthesis. In order to give dignity to the “marginal/impersonal metaphor of the Rock”, I have capitalized the term ‘Rock’ where necessary.

PART II METAPHOR OF THE ROCK IN THE HEBREW BIBLE CHAPTER 1 A. The Metaphor One of the most significant questions raised in the late twentieth-century theology was that of appropriate terminology for God. This question has continued also into the twenty-first century. Recent decades have witnessed a strongly growing interest in the phenomenon of metaphor in almost all disciplines of the humanities. Biblical studies are not an exception to this evolution, as many publications and scientific meetings in the field demonstrate.60 Some scholars have derided metaphorical language as imprecise, obscuring the possibility of proper apprehension of the divine. For example, two recent major studies of biblical religion ignore the significance of religious metaphors: Albertz and Preuss,61 while others have insisted that metaphorical language is intrinsic to all God-talk. The Bible is full of metaphors. Caird acknowledges that ‘All, or almost all, of the language used by the Bible to refer to God is metaphor’.62

60

61

62

Biblical Scholars met to discuss on the theme of ‘biblical metaphors’ at the Joint Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (International Meetings) and the European Association for Biblical Studies in Rome, Italy, in July 2001, 2002 in Berlin, 2003 in Copenhagen, and in 2004 at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. And what is of great interest is that, for the years 2005 and 2006, Dr. Antje Labahn and P. Van Hecke have organized a two year seminar on the use of metaphors in the Book of Psalms and have come out with a volume (“Metaphors in the Psalms”) which was still in the press as I began my thesis. R. ALBERTZ, A History of Israelite Religion in the Old Testament Period. 2 vols (trans. J. BOWDEN) (Louisville 1994) and H. D. PREUSS, Old Testament Theology, 2 vols (trans. L. G. PERDUE) (Louisville 1995). G. B. CAIRD, The Language and Imagery of the Bible (Philadelphia 1980) 18. But all description of Yahweh in the Hebrew Bible is not metaphorical. For example, the Bible’s second word, arb (Bärä´), is never used with people as its subject in the Hebrew Bible, and is thus an attempt to offer special terminology for God, as a way of saying that God’s acts as creator are not to be described metaphorically. That is, they are fundamentally different from acts of creation by humans. This is in contrast to the second creation story of people in Gen 2,7, where Yahweh is depicted as the master potter rcy (yäcar), and his actions are quite easy to comprehend through that metaphor (Compare especially the use of rcy in Jer 18,1-8).

16

Metaphor of the Rock

The study of metaphor proper begins with Aristotle, who is generally viewed as the progenitor of the so-called “substitution theory” of metaphor, wherein a nonliteral item is used as a metaphor for a literal item.63 The following example is instructive: “I mean, e.g., the wine bowl is to Dionysus as the shield to Ares: so one will call the wine bowl ‘Dionysus’ shield’, and the shield ‘Ares’ wine bowl’”.64 All one has to do in this scenario, theoretically, is to reverse the substitution to understand the meaning of the metaphor. Aristotle interprets metaphor as the transference of one term unto another. In essence, Aristotle advocates a substitutionist view of metaphor, inasmuch as one term stands for or replaces another.65 “As to their use, [Aristotle] believed that it was entirely ornamental. Metaphors in other words, are not necessary, they are just nice”.66 A major turning point in the study of metaphor came in the works of I. A. Richards and Max Black. Richard critiqued the idea that metaphor was merely decorative67 and argued that here were two elements at work in a metaphor: The “tenor” and the “vehicle” (to put it in Richards’ terms)68 or like “focus” and “frame” (to put it in Black’s terms).69 According to which, the meaning of a metaphor is 63

64 65

66 67

68

69

ARISTOTLE, Poetics (trans. S. HALLIWELL) in Aristotle Poetics, Liginus on the Sublime, Demetrius on Style (Aristotle 23; 2d ed.; LCL 199) (Cambridge 1995) 104-107. Cf. M. E. HUBBARD, “Aristotle’s Poetics”, in D. A. R USSEL and M. W INTERBOTTOM (eds.), Ancient Literary Criticism (Oxford 1972) 119. ARISTOTLE, Poetics, 104-107. A. BASSON, Divine Metaphors in Selected Hebrew Psalms of Lamentation. Forschung Zum Alten Testament, 2 Reihe (Tübingen 2006) 42. A. ORTONY, Metaphor and Thought (Second Edition) (Cambridge 1993) 5. Metaphor is regarded as a decorative addition to language to be used in specific ways, and at specific times and places, as a kind of dignifying and enlivening ingredient. Cf. A. BASSON, Divine Metaphors in Selected Hebrew Psalms of Lamentation, 42. ‘Tenor’ (that about which is spoken in the Metaphor) and the ‘vehicle’ (the image used to say something about the tenor). The terms ‘tenor’ and ‘vehicle’ were brought into the discussion on metaphors by I. A. R ICHARD, Philosophy of Rhetoric (New York – London 1936) 96-97, for more explanation cf. 89-136. He also refers to them as the “Principle subject” and “subsidiary subject”. Cf. M. BLACK, Models and Metaphors, Studies in Language and Philosophy (Ithaca 1962) 28ff. Daniel Bourguet in his monograph, Des métaphores de Jérémie: “……..le fait de decrier intentionellement, de manière mediate ou immédiate, un métaphorisé dans les termes d’un métaphorisant qui lui ressemble et qui appartient à une autre isotopie. (Bourguet refines the definition of metaphor from that proposed by Paul Ricoeur). The term métaphorisé is roughly equivalent to the ‘tenor’ or the ‘principle/primary subject’ as Max Black would put it. The term métaphorisant on the other hand is akin to the ‘vehicle’ or Black’s ‘subsidiary/secondary subject’. The term isotopie refers to a sector of vocabulary associated with a particular semantic field. Following Bourguet’s definition, therefore, a biblical metaphorical statement must employ two distinct isotopes, two

Metaphor of the Rock

17

produced, not by the substitution of these two elements - as “Aristotle’s theory” would have it, but by their interaction.70 There is a cooperative interaction between the “tenor” and the “vehicle”, and together they form more than the sum of their parts.71 M. Black picked up Richards’ work and developed it further, formulating in fuller fashion what is now called the “interaction theory” of metaphor.72 Both these elements of a metaphor relate to one another in interaction. This interaction creates “changes in the meaning of significance of both components.”73 The meaning of the contents thus becomes richer than before, i.e., by an interaction of its elements, a metaphor bears a variety of senses, which is even further enlarged by the metaphor’s reception.74 The multiple meaning of a metaphor, hence, corresponds to the multiple ways in which hearers or readers of metaphors utilize them.75 Hence, metaphors do not only convey conceptual meaning, but also communicate the speaker’s subjective involvement with the topic, which is subsequently imparted to the hearer.76 “Like other figurative language, metaphorizing produces emotion and wonder and forms intimate bonds between speakers and hearers.”77 The current interest in the phenomenon of metaphor in biblical exegesis is inspired by the theoretical paradigm known as cognitive linguistics. The names of cognitive linguists, George Lakoff, Mark Johnson and Mark Turner are

70 71 72 73 74

75 76

77

distinct domains of knowledge, that of the métaphorisé and métaphorisant, both of which exhibit some form of resemblance, some point of similarity. Distinction in isotope is thus an essential dimension of metaphor. Where there is no distinction in isotope one is probably dealing with simple comparison or indeed simile. Cf. D. BOURGUET, Des métaphores de Jérémie (ÉB 19) (Paris 1987) 10. Also Cf. B DOYLE, “God as Dog: Metaphorical Allusions in Ps 59”, in P. VAN HECKE, Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible, BETL CLXXXVII (Leuven 2005) 43. I. A. R ICHARD, Philosophy of Rhetoric, 93. I. A. R ICHARD, Philosophy of Rhetoric, 67. M. BLACK, Models and Metaphors, 39. M. BLACK, Models and Metaphors, 39. A. LABAHN, “Wild Animals and Chasing Shadows: Animal Metaphors in Lamentations as Indicators for Individual Threat”, in P. VAN HECKE, (ed.), Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible (Leuven 2005) 69. A. LABAHN, “Animal Metaphors in Lamentations..”, 68. S. G.-BUCHER, „Meine Zunge – Ein Griffel eines geschickten Schreibers.”: Der kommunikative Aspekt der Körpermetaphern in den Psalmen“, in P. VAN HECKE , The Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible (Leuven 2005) 200. Metaphern nehmen die LeserInnen mit in den Text hinein und fordern von ihnen eine Reaktion, Zustimmung oder Ablehnung. E. R. MACCORMAC, A Cognitive Theory of Metaphor (Cambridge 1985) 177.

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familiar to many biblical scholars dealing with metaphor.78 In keeping with the general tenets of the theory, metaphor is considered not so much as a way in which people speak, but rather as a way in which people think.79 In cognitive linguistics metaphor is seen as integral to thought and knowledge.80 This approach stands in direct contrast to classical approaches toward metaphor that treat the figure as mere ornament of language. Lakoff’s cognitive approach considers metaphor as bearing the power to convey concepts and sometimes, cultural ideas to create new knowledge. The essence of a metaphor, according to cognitive linguistics, is that we make use of our knowledge of one conceptual domain (the source) in order to gain new understanding of a second, non-related domain (the target).81 It is noticeable that all authors agree that metaphors have a conceptual function, i.e., metaphors are able to make meaningful assertions about their tenor or subject. The way in which the cognitive theory describes the functioning of a metaphor can be described as follows: When we say “Yahweh is Rock”, we have two domains here. One is the ‘source domain’ viz., the Rock and the second is the ‘target domain’ that is Yahweh. When we speak of Yahweh as Rock we make use of our knowledge of the conceptual domain of “rock system” to form our understanding of the relation between Yahweh and the Psalmist. We do so by mapping.82 It is a correspondence between the source and target domain. In the words of Late Max Black, it is discovering the “associated commonplaces” or “associated implications” between the tenor and the vehicle;83 this approach has been adopted by other scholars who have examined biblical metaphors. In more simple words metaphor is as essential to Hebrew poetry as parallelism.84 Both in fact, involve the 78

79 80

81 82

83

84

G. LAKOFF – M. J OHNSON, Metaphors We Live By (Chicago 1980); G. LAKOFF – M. TURNER, More Than Cool Reason: A Field Guide to Poetic Metaphor (Chicago 1989). Cf. G. LAKOFF – M. J OHANSON, Metaphors we live by, 5. M. B. SZLOS, “Body Parts as Metaphor and the Value of a Cognitive Approach: A Study of the Female Figures in Proverbs via Metaphor”, in P. VAN HECKE, Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible, 186. G. LAKOFF – M. TURNER, More Than Cool Reason, 59. “A Mapping, in the most general mathematical sense, is a correspondence between two sets that assigns to each element in the first a counterpart in the second”. Cf. G. FAUCONNIER, Mappings in Thought and Language (Cambridge 1997) 1 (no. 1). For details, see M. Z. BRETTLER, “The Metaphorical Mapping of God in the Hebrew Bible”, in R. BISSHOPS and J. FRANCIS (eds.), Metaphor, Canon and Community (Bern 1999) 221. Cf. also M. BLACK, Models and Metaphors, 41. P. VAN HECKE, “Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible: An Introduction”, in ID. (ed.), Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible (Leuven 2005) 1-18. Cf. also, W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms: A Theology of Metaphor (Louisville 2002) 4-8.

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transference of meaning. And the purpose of parallelism is “to transfer the usual perception of an object into the sphere of a new perception – that is, to make a unique semantic modification”.85 “Metaphor” originally denoted the “carrying over” or “transference” of property (meta,, “trans” + fe,rw, “carry”). In the act of reading, metaphors facilitate the transference of meaning from something familiar to something new, but the end result does not necessarily lead to semantic precision. The cognitive theory of metaphor can be visualized as follows: Any investigation of metaphor in the Psalms will invite an exploration of all four mentioned below. God target domain tenor unknown sphere métaphorisé

is metaphoric mapping

Rock source domain vehicle known sphere métaphorisant

This approach treats conventional metaphors as powerful tools of expression of thought, whereas as the other approaches treat the conventional as dead.86 When using this approach with the metaphor of the Rock one must use philological tools and contextual and sociological clues to ascertain the particular cultural sense the metaphor may bear. Recently, however there is a methodological development in the field of cognitive metaphor studies, viz., the ‘Conceptual Blending Paradigm’. This new paradigm, which treats much more than just metaphor, has been developed by the same people as the cognitive approach and is known today as the ‘Conceptual Blending Theory’.87 This is the most recent offshoot of cognitive linguistics, which agrees with most of the account of cognitive approach, but regards it as incomplete.88 According to this ‘blending’ approach, a metaphor cannot fully be understood if regarded as a simple mapping operation between two domains (‘source’ and ‘target’). Rather, in each metaphor, at least four spaces are at 85

86 87

88

V. SHKLOVSKY, “Art as Technique”, in L. T. LEMON – M. J. REIS (eds.), Russian Formalist Criticism (Lincoln 1965) 3-24, here 21. Later this was further studied by R. ALTER, The Art of Biblical Poetry (New York 1985) 3-84. M. B. SZLOS, “Body Parts as Metaphor and the Value of a Cognitive Approach”, 195. For recent literature on this theory, Cf. G. FAUCONNIER, Mappings in Thought and Language, n. 19. Cf. P. VAN HECKE, “Conceptual Blending: A Recent Approach to Metaphor. Illustrated with the Pastoral Metaphor in Hos 4,16”, in Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible, 220.

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work.89 In addition to the ‘source’ and the ‘target’, in each metaphor there is a ‘generic space’90 at work, which contains the (abstract) concepts that the two central frames have in common.91 Returning to our example of the Rock metaphor again, the interaction between these two spaces, target and source (Yahweh - Rock), generates new impressions of the substance of its elements. Accordingly, in our example ‘generic space’ would be Yahweh rescuing the Psalmist from sinking into the deep by placing him on solid ground or a rock in other words ‘an agent taking care of a patient’ out of love. We can call it “Covenant”. But there is no end without a ‘blend’. Thus the theory goes further introducing the fourth space, which is known as the ‘blend’. The elements and relations from the two central spaces are projected into this space and subsequently blended. The elements ‘Yahweh’ and the ‘Psalmist’ are imported from the target space while the relation ‘to be a rock of refuge’ is imported from the source space, in order to form a new conceptual structure: “Yahweh is Rock”. This is the blended space. The Blending Theory goes one step further still and stresses that the meaning of the metaphor is not solely residing in the blend. It is the conceptual integration of different spaces that ultimately constitutes the meaning of the utterance: God as Rock. Thus the blended space of the metaphor ‘Yahweh is Rock’ will influence the way in which the relationship between Yahweh and the Psalmist is understood. This theory can be visualized as follows:

89 90

91

Ibid. ‘Generic Space’ here has been known since long as the ‘tertium comparationis’ in the classical rhetoric and poetic theories. This generic space reflects some common, usually more abstract, structure and organization shared by the inputs (‘source’ and ‘target’) and defines the core cross-space mapping between them. Cf. G. FAUCONNIER, Mapping in Thought and Language, 149.

21

Metaphor of the Rock GENERIC Agent taking care of the patient BLEND

SOURCE DOMAIN

TARGET DOMAIN

Rock

God

Refuge

Psalmist

BLEND

YAHWEH IS ROCK

B. The Metaphor of the Rock: An Application (Deut 32,4) 1. Close Reading of the Metaphorical Utterance in Deut 32,4 Methodology and hermeneutic alone without the study of biblical text is incomplete. However, getting the blend of text and theory right in current biblical studies is a very difficult task”.92 Therefore, the next step will be an attempt to apply the methodology proposed above by the Metaphor Theory to the metaphorical utterance in Deut 32,4. The poet of the hymn employs certain source domains (physical world of the rock) and maps them onto Yahweh (abstract reality/unknown sphere) as a means of gaining a better understanding of the

92

R. P. CARROL, “Intertexuality and the Book of Jeremiah. Animadversions on Text and Theory”, in J. C. EXUM – D. J. A. CLINES (eds.), The New Literary Criticism and the Hebrew Bible (Sheffield 1993) 78.

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deity and his actions. First, we shall make a close reading of this verse (microcontext), and then we shall proceed to an analysis of the theme in the rest of the poem and elsewhere (macro-context), followed by an evaluation of the metaphor theory and a conclusion. Deut 32,4

`awh rvyw qydc lw[ !yaw hnwma la jpvm wykrd-lk yk wl[p ~ymt rwch “The Rock, his work is perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God, without deceit, just and upright is he”. Moses begins his song in Deut 32,4 singing of God as ‘the Rock’. In the whole song, the word appears seven times (vv. 13.15.18.30f.312.37). The word “Rock” functions as a “programmatic introduction” of a Leitmotive, which is placed not only as a striking conclusion at the end of the theology of the book of Deuteronomy, but also as a “concise prelude” for further “God–Talk” in other books of the Old Testament.93 Deut 32 clearly shows that in order to speak of Yahweh, it was necessary to use not only personal metaphors but also metaphors taken from nature.94 Since Israel could not exhaust all that they had to say about Yahweh, they combine these metaphors very easily, shifting from personal to impersonal metaphors. Deut 32 reveals that one of the chapter’s central themes or metaphors is the designation - rwc (rock), to describe the God who has established his covenant with Israel.95 The earth metaphor of the rock is grounded in the geography of the land. Canaan was full of rocky hills and craggy cliffs. The image, which is used of God often in the Old Testament, portrays God as stable and solid, a sanctuary and refuge. But he is not static. As a Rock he offers safety and deliverance for his people. God is entirely reliable and just. He is reliable because he is a Rock. In this song the image was used to emphasize Yahweh’s faithfulness in contrast to the unfaithfulness of Israel. He was the true God in contrast to the other gods. They too were ‘rocks’ (~rwc), but powerless ones (vv. 31.37).

93

94 95

Cf. G. FISCHER, ““Der Fels”: Beobachtungen im Umfeld einer theologischen Metapher”, in Sprache – Bilder – Klänge. Dimensionen der Theologie im Alten Testament und in seinem Umfeld (Hg. C. Karrer-Grube et al.) (FS für Rüdiger Bartelmus zu seinem 65. Geburtstag) (Münster 2009) 23-33. Cf. P. VAN HECKE, “Metaphors and Biblical Theology”, 267. Cf. M. P. KNOWLES, “The Rock, His Work is Perfect”, 307.

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Deut 32,4 states the main theme of the poem. In the Hebrew canon the word rwc is employed to describe the action of Yahweh, and the personal experience of deliverance from adversity, whereby Yahweh is seen to be a refuge in whom one may safely trust (cf. Isa 26,4). Deut 32 and especially in v. 4, the metaphor of the rock is employed in significantly different manner. The rock at first sight conveys static image. It is inactive, the purpose of which is to delineate the divine identity: God as Rock, fortress, stronghold and refuge. But the question of divine identity cannot be divorced from divine activity. Yahweh is not one in whom refuge is simply to be sought; he is a “Rock” who both offers and effects deliverance.96 The poem begins by calling heaven and earth to bear witness, “For I will proclaim the name of the LORD” (v. 3). In what, then, consists the name of Yahweh (hwhy ~v)? Is it simply a recitation of the divine tetragrammaton (why)? It seems the answer to this question becomes clear in v. 4. rwc as divine name is not in itself unusual, what is unusual is that, rather than celebrating a salvific, personal encounter with God the Rock of deliverance and refuge, we find instead an emphasis on the covenantal (moral) character and righteousness of God. The explicative parallels to rwc are not strength related words like “refuge”, “stronghold”, “fortress”, and the like, but refer rather to the perfection on his work, the justice (jpvm) of his ways, his faithfulness (hnwma), righteousness (qydc) and uprightness(rvy). This understanding of rwc in ‘moral’, or perhaps better, ‘covenantal’ terms, is matched only in 1 Sam 2,2 wnyhlak rwc !yaw $tlb !ya yk hwhyk vwdq-!ya – ("There is none holy like the LORD, there is none besides thee; there is no Rock like our God”) - where the ascription of holiness clearly parallels the rock metaphor. This image of rock projects the most important virtues of His character. Six virtues are singled out in this verse (~ymt, jpvm, hnwma, lw[ !ya, qydc, rvy); all portray his absolute reliability and trustworthiness. Consequently, his works are perfect. What he has done for Israel is whole and flawless, just like his ways (Ps. 18,30[31]) and his law (Ps 19,7[8]).97 Just, faithful, upright are all terms proper for the law court but they also describe the nature of God. They suggest absolute fairness and justice. God was also the one who does no wrong. Nothing he does deviates from his perfect ways. Moses preempts any attack on God’s character. Israel could not defend herself by accusing God of some fault. Furthermore, these virtues were not abstractions. God had abundantly demonstrated in Israel’s history that he was just and reliable. What does it mean concretely “his works

96 97

M. P. KNOWLES, “The Rock, His Work is Perfect”, 309. The word “perfect” (~ymt) was used of Noah, but most often in Leviticus and Numbers of the flawless lambs used for the offering.

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(of the Rock) are perfect and ways are just?” In Deut 32,4 God is described both as a rock and as a person who acts. God is not only righteous, like for instance a king or a judge or a father, he is of eternity a Rock; he is unshakable like a Rock; he is reliable like a Rock. God as Rock can be read as treating Earth as subject capable of hearing, speaking, acting and nurturing. 2. Reading Deut 32,4 in Context The treatment of the “rock” metaphor in Deut 32,4 would seem all the more remarkable when we observe that the next time it appears,98 the imagery apparently reverts back to the theme with which we are more familiar: “He forsook God who made him, and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation” (v.15). “You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.” (v.18). The notion of a “Rock of Salvation” is one we encounter elsewhere (Pss 89,26[27]; 95,1). God, the Rock, righteous and faithful, has created and established his people, only to have them turn away from him and his proffered salvation. They have cast aside their Rock and maker, choosing strange, new gods instead. Here the expression “Rock of Salvation” is not treated in the same manner as elsewhere in Hebrew literature. Because here there is no sense of imminent calamity or distress, no appeal for deliverance. On the contrary there is a rejection of “Rock of Salvation” (cf. vv. 16.17). If any alements of the rock/refuge motif are present here, they are intended ironically, for the Lord promises to deal with his people in such a way that they will require a rock/refuge (cf. vv. 23ff.). In both the verses quoted above the image of the rock is closely tied to the motif of creation or generation. Certainly Hebrew piety can speak of God as Father,99 and even of God as Father and Rock together (Ps 89,26[27]), but this stops short of depicting God as the Rock who actually brings his people to birth100 (cf. Ps 90,2; Job 38,8.28-29 both these texts employ the same verbs as Deut 32,18). On the contrary by calling upon a stone as the source of one’s birth is one of the damnable follies of idolatry (cf. Jer 2,27). The Song of Moses, Deut 32, uses the parental image in conjunction with the title ‘Rock’. (The term ‘Rock’ seems to function as a title here. Imagery often associated with ‘rock’ is absent, e.g., strength, a solid foundation). Mention has been already made to the fact that stones found in cultic places are likely to be treated as the

98 99

100

Except in v. 13 where rwc and [ls is used in more literal sense. Deut 1,31; 2 Sam 7,14; 1 Chr 22,10; Ps 68,5[6]; 89,26[27]; 103,13; Isa 9,6; 63,16; 64,8; Jer 3,19; Mal 2,10. The verbs are dly and lwx.

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foundation of the world, the axis mundi, or the navel of the world.101 In this connection, they may have a phallic – that is, sexually creative - function, too.102 It may not be insignificant to notice that in Hebrew words for “rock” and “stone”, respectively, belong to different genders: rwc (“rock”) is masculine, while !ba (“stone”) is feminine. Mention should also be made of Abraham, who is called rwc in his capacity as the patriarchal forefather of the Israelites (Isa 51,2). In this connection we should also be reminded of the words of John the Baptist: “God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham” (Matt 3,9; Lk 3,8). The literature speaks frequently of God creating (arb), making (hf[), and especially forming (rcy) his people (Isa 27,11; 43,1.7; 44,21, etc.), of forming an individual from the womb (Isa 44,2.24; 49,5; Jer 1,5; Ps 139,13-16), or of taking (Pss 22,9-10[10-11]; 71,6; Job 10,18), bearing - in the sense of carrying – (Isa 46,3; cf. Deut 1,31), or calling from the womb (Isa 49,1), but all these avoid the specific notion of Yahweh himself begetting or personally giving birth to anything, as in Deut 32. The metaphors listed here envisage God creating or forming “at arm’s length”, as it were; the natural agency of the human mother being frequently mentioned. Yahweh as Rock who not only creates and forms but also is the source of nourishment (v. 13). One can notice nature’s ability to nourish humankind from the rock. “He made him suck (whqnyw) honey out of the rock and oil out of the flinty rock”. This figure is derived from the fact that Canaan abounds in wild bees, which make their hives in cliffs of the rock, and in olive-trees which grow in a rocky soil.103 It is very interesting to note the use of the verb qny (hiphil - suckle) (cf. Deut 33,19; Isa 60,16; 66,11.12). Except these, nowhere else in the literature does the causative of this verb appear with God as its subject. Yahweh the “Rock” functions both as male (role of a father) and female (a mother). Yahweh is said both, to beget and give birth to his people. (v.18).104 Here the rock is combined with two verbs (dly and lwx) for the relationship between a child and its father and mother. Normally we do not expect a rock to be able to breed or to give birth. The parent-child metaphor underlines the strong bond between

101 102 103

104

Cf. I. GRUENWALD, “God the Stone/Rock”, 437. Cf. I. GRUENWALD, “God the Stone/Rock”, 437. C. F. KIEL and F. DELITZSCH, Biblischer Kommentar über das Alte Testament, 2. Teil: Die Bücher Moses 2 (Leipzig 1862) 544. By way of comparison, we may recall that the Ugaritic ‘El’ is known as “the Father of man”, and “Creator of creatures”, and his consort Asherah as “she who gives birth to the gods”. Cf. J. B. PRITCHARD, Ancient Near Eastern Texts (ANET) (Princeton – New Jersey 1950) 143.

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Yahweh and Israel.105 They neither desert nor forget each other. This is the covenantal relationship that makes the ‘generic space’ of the metaphor theory. The remaining verses 30.31 and 37 have a common theme: the comparison of God, the Rock, with the false gods – “false rocks” – for whom the people have forsaken their Lord. In these verses we again find a return to the language of refuge, particularly with the root (hsx - Deut 32,37). However, here the the sense is that the Israel has taken refuge in the wrong rock. This emphasizes the fact that Yahweh is the only true refuge, and only true Rock (cf. also 1 Sam 2,2; 2 Sam 22,32 = Ps 18,31[32]; Isa 44,8). These verses in particular and the poem as a whole, argue that only one God, the God of Israel, is truly deserving of the title “Rock”. All other contenders are proven unworthy claimants. C. Evaluation and Conclusion of the Metaphor Theory We may now ask in what way the metaphor theory might facilitate the metaphor’s (of the Rock) analysis. As we have already noted, the essence of metaphor, according to cognitive linguistics, is that we make use of our knowledge of one conceptual domain (the source) in order to gain new understanding of the second, non-related domain (the target).106 The ‘generic space’ contains what the inputs (‘source’ and ‘target’) have in common. It contains the abstract concepts that the two central frames have in common.107 This has been sounded already by cognitive linguists. I would only restate the observations of the late Max Black, who emphasized the importance of discovering the “associated commonplaces” or “associated implications” between the tenor and the vehicle.108 The generic property shared by Yahweh and Rock is thus the ‘covenant’. And this is well demonstrated by covenantal terms in Deut 32,4: Justice (jpvm) of his ways, his Faithfulness (hnwma), Righteousness (qydc) and Uprightness (rvyw). These terms speak of someone who is ‘firm’ and ‘stable’ – steadfast - in his love. Its covenantal love saves the Psalmist from falling into the deep. Without any question, love is a central metaphorical term used in describing the relationship between

105

106 107 108

We have a similar case in Isa 49,14-15, where Israel accuses Yahweh of having forgotten his people and Yahweh in his answer to Zion compares himself with a mother who will never forget her baby. Being a mother (or father) implies to remember your children. G. LAKOFF – M. TURNER, More than Cool Reason, 59. G. FAUCONNIER, Mappings in Thought and Language, 152. For details, cf. M. Z. BRETTLER, God is King: Understanding an Israelite Metaphor, JSOTS 76 (Sheffield 1989) 21.

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Yahweh and Israel.109 And this love is ‘Parental’. It is clear that Yahweh as Rock in Deut 32 is depicted as “parent”.110 In the poem Yahweh is also depicted as a Rock (parent) that nurtures. The Song of Moses identifies Rock as working in nature to provide abundantly for the people in a rocky land (vv. 13b-14); “...and he ate the produce of the field; and he made him suck honey out of the rock ([ls), and oil out of the flinty rock (rwc vymlxm); curds from the herd, and milk from the flock, with fat of lambs and rams; Bashan’s bulls and goats, together with the choicest wheat, you drank fine wine from the blood of grapes”. The fourth space, the ‘blend’ is formed by the ‘elements’ Yahweh and Psalmist from the target space and the ‘relation’ to be a rock of refuge from the source space. (Element (target) + Relation (source) = Blend). The blend has emergent structure not provided by the source or the target domain. To put more simply: the metaphor ‘Yahweh, my Rock’ is about God and Psalmist, understanding their mutual relationship as that of ‘Rock’ and ‘Refuge’. What makes the expression “Yahweh is Rock” a metaphorical rather than a literal statement?111 The simple answer is that God is not really a Rock: in other words, he is lacking certain defining attributes that real Rocks have, such as “the hard solid material that forms part of the surface of the earth and some other planets”.112 Rock creates Earth and is in the Earth. Like all planets, the Earth grew when stardust coalesced into larger and larger bodies of Rock. Rock forms both earth and mountains. Lava from volcanoes creates land. Soil erodes from Rocks and allows for the growth of plants. Animals are made up of minerals from the Earth, and rely on minerals from plants and other animals. Rocks surround and cradle the sea.113 Rock serves as a place of refuge in times of danger. A closer look, however, shows that Yahweh is different in substantial ways from the literal rock. Only certain qualities of the divine are implied by this term ‘rock’. The observation that Yahweh exceeds the qualities of literal rocks is extremely important. God is more and God is different. It shows why 109

110

111

112 113

Cf. M. Z. BRETTLER, The Metaphorical Mapping of God in the Hebrew Bible, in Metaphor Canon and Community, 227. M. Z. Brettler organizes the metaphors under the rubrics ‘socio-political’ and ‘familial’. The two main socio-political metaphors are “master” and “king”; the two main familial metaphors are “parent” and “husband”. Cf. M. Z. BRETTLER, “Metaphorical Mapping of God in the Hebrew Bible”, 226. For more discussion see, E. A. HERMANSON, “Recognizing Hebrew Metaphors: Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Bible Translation” JNSL 22/2 (1996) 74-76. W. DICTIONARY under the word “Rock”. Cf. A. WALKER-J ONES, “Honey from the Rock”, 97.

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metaphors are so central to biblical religion, because they can at the same time anchor Yahweh in Israelite experience, while allowing for Yahweh’s incomparability.114 One advantage of using metaphorical language for describing Yahweh is that it allows for Yahweh’s incomparability. “Rock” is often employed in poetic passages where the incomparability of Yahweh is stressed.115 No image could be adequate to “I AM WHO I AM.” (Exod 3,14).116 An additional advantage is that in contrast to non-figurative language, metaphorical language may mix incompatible images. For example, a real person cannot simultaneously be a mother giving birth and a warrior; yet, this is precisely what is described in Isa 40, within the image of Yahweh as shepherd.117 In Deut 32, Yahweh the “Rock” functions both as male (role of a father) and female (a mother), creating and nurturing. Metaphors, as S. McFague has shown, are nouns used to characterize the Subject, God.118 Since the metaphor does not match fully the Subject, the noun is both “is” and “is not”.119 Thus when Israel testifies, “Yahweh is my Rock” the noun ‘Rock’ gives Israel certain specific access to Yahweh. At the same time, Yahweh is not a Rock. This is not because ‘rock’ is a poor or inadequate metaphor, but because as Brian Wren says, there are “many names” for God, and no single name is adequate.120 Failure to take seriously the “is not” quality of the noun is a failure to recognize that the noun is a metaphor and cannot draw closer to the Subject than through the practice of metaphor.121 McFague concludes that a monotheistic faith must practice metaphor in order not to become idolatrous.122 Metaphor is a guard against idolatry in a testimony that tends towards 114

115 116

117

118

119 120

121 122

Cf. C. J. LABUSCHAGNE, The Incomparability of Yahweh in the Old Testament (Leiden 1966) 8ff; Cf. also P. W. MACKY, The centrality of Metaphors to Biblical Thought: A Method for Interpreting the Bible (New York 1990) 191. Cf. Deut 32,31; 2 Sam 22,32 = Ps 18,31[32]. Another saying used by advocates of the utter otherness of God is Isa 55,9, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” M. Z. BRETTLER, “Incompatible Metaphors for Yahweh in Isaiah 40-66”, JSOT 78 (Sheffield 1998) 101ff. S. MCFAGUE, Metaphorical Theology: Models of God in Religious Language (Philadelphia 1982) quoted in W. BRUEGGEMANN, Old Testament Theology: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy (Minneapolis 1997) 231. W. BRUEGGEMANN, Old Testament Theology, 231 Cf. B. WREN, What Language shall I Borrow? God-Talk in Worship: A Male Response to Feminist Theology (New York 1990) 143ff. W. BRUEGGEMANN, Old Testament Theology, 231. W. BRUEGGEMANN, Old Testament Theology, 70.

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monotheism. Monotheism unprotected by metaphor moves towards idolatry.123 The Old Testament (especially the book of Psalms) employs many metaphors for Yahweh, because no single metaphor can say all that Israel needs to say about their God.124 The prevalence of metaphor in the Hebrew Bible indicates, according to Brueggemann that “speech is kept open, in awareness that the noun, in our case Yahweh, resists any articulation that gives excessive closure. Metaphor is yet another case in point indicating that Israel’s theological rhetoric is at its best, evocative”.125 To conclude, Metaphor is not in the first place a peculiar, poetic device, a figure of speech embellishing the language, but rather, a quite common way in which people think.126 This is one of the major insights into the metaphor that the cognitive linguistics has offered. Cognitive theory functions in terms of two nonrelated domains interacting with each other. Conceptual blending Theory, the offshoot of cognitive linguistics goes one step further in saying that the mapping of elements and relations across two domains cannot adequately describe all the conceptual operations taking place in metaphor. In some cases, new implications emerge that are the result of the blending of conceptual structures. The question is how much this theory adds to what was already known. Secondly, since the theory was not designed as a hermeneutical tool for the interpretation of literary texts from a distant culture, the insights it provides in the functioning of metaphor do enable a renewed interpretation of specific metaphors in the biblical text, as the above attempt demonstrates. What could it add to the understanding of metaphors in the biblical text – is an exegetical question par excellence. Getting the blend of theory and biblical text still remains a difficult task. When studying a metaphor we first ask ourselves what the word means i.e., we try to expose the Word/Semantic field of the word. D. The Rock In the Hebrew Bible: rwc Word Field We shall examine the rwc word field taking into consideration the procedure of J. Barr.127 And we shall proceed in the following three steps: i) Reference to a 123 124 125 126

127

W. BRUEGGEMANN, Old Testament Theology, 231. W. BRUEGGEMANN, Old Testament Theology, 231-232. W. BRUEGGEMANN, Old Testament Theology, 70. P. VAN HECKE, “Conceptual Blending: A Recent Approach to Metaphor. Illustrated with the Pastoral Metaphor in Hos 4,16”, in Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible, 228. J. BARR, “The Image of God in the book of Genesis: A Study of Terminology”, BJRL 51 (1968-69) 11-26. In this article Barr seeks to understand the word ~lc in Gen. 1,27 in relation to other members of its semantic field. i) Barr first determines that ~lc refers to

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physical representation of the word rwc; ii) collection of the terms that express the same idea (word-field); and iii) selection of a term that expresses the same idea as that of rwc. 1. Physical Representation of the Word rwc A metaphor like ‘the rock’ derives meaning not only from what everybody knows about a rock, but it also derives meaning from the stories told about rocks in the Old Testament. A complete, proper understanding of what the Bible means by calling ‘Yahweh is my Rock’, would begin with a detailed understanding of the qualities of real, ‘literal’ rocks in the biblical period and would progress to see to what extent their attributes were shared by Yahweh in the Hebrew Bible. Rock simply stands for boulders or formations of stone and for the material which composes mountains (Job 14,18 - cûr is parallel to mountain). Rock may serve as a toponym, e.g., “Wildgoats' Rocks” (1 Sam 24,3). Israel associated the cûr-`ôrëb (“Raven Rock”) with their decisive clash with the Midianites (Judg 7,25). David allegedly hid in the rocks on several occasions. 1 Chr 11,15 says that he was staying simply at the “rock”. Also during David’s early period, the dispute between David and Ishbaal provided the etiology for the place Helqat haccùrîm “Field of Stone Knives”.128 The rock may house pleasant surprises for man such as wild honey (Ps 81,16[17]) and precious jewels (Job 28,10). Rocks provide refuge, but in the Day of Judgment people will unsuccessfully seek refuge in the caves of the rocks (Isa 2,19ff). Man engraved into various rock formations pictures and writings pertaining to all aspects of his life. Such writing in stone remains forever (Job 19,24). Rock, by reason of its magnificence and hardness, affords many metaphorical uses. People who confidently occupy their habitation so that an enemy cannot defeat them are referred to as a rock (Jer 21,13). The gods of the nations are called a rock (Deut 32,31.37); to them are attributed qualities of strength and reliability. Perhaps the Scripture in some places is playing on the fact that some

128

a physical representation, ii) then he gathers terms that express the same idea, iii) he collects words that appear in direct collocation with ~lc, iv) finally, he chooses one term that is used much like ~lc. In Josh 5,2-3, this particular narrative suggests ~yrc twbrx (“Flint Knives”) used in circumcision. Cf. H.-J. FABRY, “rwc” TDOT, XII, 315.

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of these idols were only statues hewn from stone. Wayward Israel went so far as to claim that a stone (´eben) gave her birth (Jer 2,27). The Old Testament forms a suitable background for the employment of this term rwc as divine name since it is tied to a specific tradition with positive connotations, e.g., the water which flowed from the rock in the desert (cf. Exod 17,6; Deut 8,15; Pss 78,15.20; 105,41; 114,8; Isa 48,21). The rock is identified through an allegory with Christ in 1 Cor 10,4, and connected with the so-called ‘well tradition’ built on Num 21,16-20. rwc is also a site of the theophany of God (Exod 33,21.22) as well as a place for sacrifice and a place of revelation of the angel of the Lord (who is often more or less identified with Yahweh himself) (cf. Judg 6,21; 13,19). And as we have already noted rock is seen as a defence or protection against dangers of various kinds, it is also something firm and secure under one’s feet and finally rock stands for the temple in Jerusalem. In other words, the rock metaphor may be one of the markers which lead us to the temple and to the Temple Theology of the Old Testament. The rock may also receive a double meaning, not only of firmness but also of hardness (Ezek 11, 19; 36,26) and obstinacy (Jer 5,3). The metaphoric meaning of foundation stone, cornerstone, or capstone may also be that of a rock of devastation and emptiness (Isa 34,11). It may connote a state of terror for the one petrified with fear (cf. Exod 15,16; 1 Sam 25,37). Wisdom literature associates God’s omnipotence with the moving rocks (cf. Job 14,18; 18,4). The prophets of judgment also use this metaphor when they see God’s wrath poured out like fire is such that “rocks are broken in pieces” (Nah 1,6). The cornerstone, which completes a construction, may also be a rock of stumbling (Isa 8,13-15; 28,16-17). In this way the threat to Israel is expressed in the harshest possible terms. Yahweh the “rock” will be an obstacle instead of a rock in which they could find protection.129 Rocks were viewed in general as the quintessence of stability and constancy. On account of its natural qualities of solidity, rwc became figuratively symbol of endurance, protection, security and firmness. As the metaphor of the divine it means “support”, “defence”130 or “place of protection”, “security” and “ref-

129

130

This ironical employment gives life to the metaphor. Cf. D. EICHHORN, Gott als Fels, Burg und Zuflucht. Eine untersuchung zum Gebet des Mittlers in den Psalmen (Bern 1972) 82-83. F. BROWN – S. DRIVER – C. A. BRIGGS, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (BDB) (Peabody 2000) 849.

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uge”.131 Perhaps also it has the connotations of “power”, “strength”, “reliability” and “unchangeableness”.132 It seems clear that the word “rock” is used in the Scripture with a wide variety of meanings, almost all associated with God, either as secure foundation or stronghold or as an obstacle to evildoers. 2. Word field of rwc – Related Words133 We shall take therefore, a group or a bundle of Hebrew words which may be said to lie in the semantic field of rwc. Rather than concentrating only on the one word rwc (“rock”) and trying to squeeze from it alone a decisive oracle about its meaning, we look at a whole group of words which express the same meaning. Semantic groupings of this kind are not formally dictated. The term cûr has a broad range of meaning that runs all the way form pebble (vymlx) to mountain (rh).134 The terms (vymlx, !ba, rh, h[bg, [ls, hdwcm, jlpm, hsx, yngm, !rq, bgfm)135 expressing the same idea or similar meaning as that of rwc can have different nuances; shelter, refuge, place of escape, stability, immutability, involving firmness, constancy, protection and permanence. These terms having different nuances role round the term rwc. To call God the “rock” or (the “crag” [ls)136 is the concrete way of saying that His is the attribute of immutability, involving firmness, constancy, stability and permanence and most of all a source of protection and security.137

131

132 133

134 135

136

137

L. KOEHLER – W. BAUMGARTNER, A Bilingual Dictionary of the Hebrew and Aramaic Old Testament (HAL) (Leiden 1998) 799. A. ANDERSON, The Book of Psalms I-72 (London 1972) 228. By “rwc related” means, words which, though not meaning precisely “rock”, come close to that meaning or have a marked association with it. Cf. H.-J. FABRY, “rwc”, TDOT, XII, 314. For further terms for the word field cf. G. FISCHER, ““Der Fels”. Beobachtungen im Umfeld einer theologischen Metapher”, in Sprachen – Bilder – Klänge Dimensionen der Theologie im Alten Testament und in seinem Umfeld. (Hg. C. KARRER-GRUBE u.a.) FS für Rüdiger Bartelmus zu seinem 65. Geburtstag, AOAT 359 (Münster 2009) 23-33 here 25. The two Hebrew words that are translated by the English word “rock” are rwc and [ls. In the majority of instances rwc is used of God (Deut 32,4.15.18.30.31; 2 Sam 22,2.3.32.47 (2x); 23,3; Pss 18,2 (2x)[3].31[32].46[47]; 19,14[15]; 28,1; 31,2[3].3[4]; 42,9[10]; 62,2[3].6[7].7[8]; 71,3; 78,35; 89,26[27]; 92,15[16]; 94,22; 95,1; 144,1; Isa 8,14; 17,10; 26,4; 30,29; 44,8; Hab 1,12. But occasionally [ls may be used (Pss 18,2[3]; 31,3[4]; 40,2[3]; 42,9[10]; 71,3; 144,2[if emended]). L. SABOURIN, The Psalms: Their Origin and Meaning (New York 1974) 83.

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a. vymlx (“Flint”) The word occurs 5x in the OT, with three of the five references recalling God’s awesome power in making provision of oil and water for the Israelites from the rocks during their desert sojourn (Deut 8,15; 32,13; Ps 114,8). Elsewhere Job’s hymn celebrating human technology and divine wisdom speaks of mining in the flinty rock (Job 28,9); and perhaps most significantly, Isaiah depicts the resolve and obedience of Yahweh’s servant with the simile, “Therefore have I set my face like a flint” (Isa 50,7).138 b. !ba (“Stone”) Primarily, stone was used as a building material for houses (Amos 5,11) temples (1 Kgs 5,17-18[31-32]), city walls (Neh 4,3 [3,35]), fences (Ps 62,3[4]), pagan idols (Deut 28,36), even altars (Exod 20,25), and even as pillows (Gen 28,11). Often inscriptions were carved on stones, the most well-known being the stone tablets of the Mosaic Decalogue (Exod 24,12; 31,18). Sometimes stones were named for events that took place at the site or at a nearby village, like Samuel’s “stone of help” (´eben hä`äzer 1, Sam 7,12; cf. Gen 35,14-15; Josh 18,17; 1 Sam 20, 19). The metaphorical use of ´eben is rare and where it occurs has negative associations. As a metaphor the term mostly denotes a hard, insensitive heart (Ezek 11,19; 36,26; Job 41,24 [16]). That the quality of firmness and hardness is connected with ´eben is evident from the simile in Job 6,12 “Is my strength the strength of stones..?”. And most significant, Yahweh’s Messiah is referred to as the foundation stone or capstone of Zion (Ps 118,22; Isa 28,16). The double use of the stone – as a foundation stone and as a dangerous obstacle for others is found in Isaiah (Isa 8,14; 28,16). Both these texts reflect the troubled period around 735 BC when Tiglath-Pilser III was threatening Palestine with invasion and a northern confederation headed by Damascus and Israel was trying to force Ahaz, who was Assyria’s vassal, to join them. In such situation the prophet preaches a message of hope. In the days to come the cosmic capstone on which Yahweh himself builds his own temple will be ‘a tested stone’ (!xb !ba),139 indeed the foundation stone (abiding stone) that will keep the 138

139

A. E. HILL, “vymlx” in W. A. VAN GEMEREN, (ed.), New International Dictionary of OT Theology and Exegesis (NIDOTE) II (Michigan 1997) 155. The Covenanters of Qumran, who quoted Isa 28,16 in support of their novel doctrine of the community of the faithful as a spiritual temple, understood the hnp !ba of this text as a Grundstein: ‘They shall lay a foundation of truth for Israel. Cf. I QS v. 6; The Rabbis similarly took the stone in Zion i.e. the corner stone of Isa 28,16, as a ‘foundation stone’

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myth of Sheol and Death from corrupting his people. The double use of the !ba symbol is also found in Zechariah; the headstone or topstone (3,9; 4,7.10), and a ‘burdensome stone’ hsm[m !ba140 Theologically, the OT words for rock and stone invoke images of God as a holy judge, gracious provider and welcoming refuge.141 Occasionally stones served a pedagogical function, in that stone memorials erected to commemorate significant events in Hebrew History were used to teach lessons in theology and covenant faith (Josh 4,1-7.19-24).142 The occurrence of ´eben as a divine name, in contrast to rwc, is very restricted. ´eben is only once applied to God (Gen 49,24). The explanation may be that the polemics by the prophets against idolatry sometimes inveigh against the worship of sacred stones, tbcm which are regarded as signs of Canaanite influence (Lev 26,1; Deut 16,22), and against the idols of stone, Isa 37,19; Jer 2,27; 3,9; Ezek 20,32.143 The meaning of ordinary metaphor and another obvious reason (size) made ´eben, contrary to rwc and [ls, less suitable for the most common sense of the inanimate divine metaphors, shelter and refuge. c. h[bg (“Hill”) In more than half its occurrences, h[bg is used in association or in parallel with rh, though it covers a narrower range of meaning than rh. The geographical features to which h[bg refers are generally lower as to height and more easily accessible than those described as a rh.144 A significant proportion of occurrences are found in the prophetic literature, often in an eschatological context describing either imminent judgment (Jer 4,24; Zeph 1,10) or blessings that will stream from the hills (Isa 30,25; Joel 3,18[4,18]; Amos 9,13). In contrast to rh, h[bg is rarely used for places where Yahweh revealed himself or was wor-

140 141 142

143 144

(hytv !ba). A synonym among the Rabbis for the hytv !ba was #rah rwbyj, navel of the earth, that is, the point from which the world grew. Cf. N. HILLYER, ‘“Rock-Stone’ Imagery in 1 Peter”, TyndB 22 (1971) 71. Here the !ba has something of the qualities of the ‘stone of stumbling’ of Isaiah 8,14. Cf. A. E. HILL, “!ba”, NIDOTE I, 249. W. BRUEGGEMANN, The Creative Word: Canon as a Model for Biblical Education (Philadelphia 1982) 14-39. GAMBERONI, “hbcm”, ThWAT IV (Stuttgart 1973 – 1975) 1071-1074. Several passages emphasize also the height of a h[bg (Isa 2,14; Jer 49,16).

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shipped.145 The one phrase in which h[bg appears without rh is in condemning Israel’s idolatry “upon every high hill and under every green tree” (e.g. Jer 2,20). This phrase confirms that h[bg is primarily associated with pagan worship, particularly in the pre-exilic period.146 d. rh (“Mountain”) Mountains in the OT have a range of symbolic meanings. Their very size and solidity suggested an image of extreme durability to the Israelites, with the result that the OT frequently associates mountains with what is permanent and unchangeable rather than with the more usual ephemeral characteristics of the physical world. The mountains are also extremely resistant to destruction and will be the last thing to disappear if the earth ever suffers the ultimate catastrophe (Ps 46,2-3 [3-4]; Isa 54,10). The physical reality of the mountains led to their use as a metaphor for refuge (Ps 11,1; Ezek 7,16; Hos 10,8).147 Old Testament asserts that for all their permanence and strength, mountains have no more defence than anything else against the potentially destructive effects of Yahweh’s presence (Pss 97,5; 104,32; 144,5).148 According to Ancient Near Eastern thinking the mountains were the home of gods. The Hebrew view is in sharp contrast with the more general understanding of mountains in the ANE.149 It is probable that many Israelites were strongly tempted to adopt both the thinking and the language of their neighbours. On the other hand, the OT diverges from the general ANE view in at least three ways: i) Yahweh’s mountain theophanies were associated with specific historical events, such as the exodus and the reign of David rather than with vague mythological beliefs; ii) Yahweh was never confined to any one mountain. Though He revealed himself on Mount Sinai and Zion and other variety of mountain locations (Deut 27,4.12; Josh 8,30-33), Tabor (Judg 4,4; 5,5) Carmel (1 Kgs 18,2039; 2 Kgs 4,25-27);150 iii) Yahweh was not limited to any particular earthly location. He could make himself known wherever he chose, for in the OT “there is no place, not even a mountain that is sacred in and of itself”.151 The OT is even 145

146 147 148 149 150 151

Exod 17,9-10 is a rare exception. Even Abinadab’s house on a hill where the ark rested was probably once a Canaanite Sanctuary (1 Sam 7,1; 6,3). M. J. SELMAN, “h[bg”, NIDOTE I, 805. Cf. M. SELMAN, “rh”, NIDOTE I, 1053. Cf. M. SELMAN, “rh”, NIDOTE I, 1151. The Ugarit texts in particular often refer to the mountains as the home of gods. Yahweh does, however, have a special association with Mount Zion. TALMON, “rh” TDOT II, 436.

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dismissive about Yahweh’s earthly residence on Mount Zion. It was no more than his footstool, in the context of a majesty that even the highest heaven could not contain (1 Kgs 8,27; 2 Chr 6,18). e. [ls (“Crag/Cliff/Rock”) [ls is literally “crag” or “cliff” i.e., a solitary rock, shelter, hiding-place or, when used of God it means “rock-castle”.152 It is used interchangeably with rwc, although [ls more often suggests rocks of smaller size than does rwc.153 This word [ls is the expression used to describe the rock of provision from which Moses was to command to bring forth water to nourish the Israelites in the desert (Num 20,8.10-11),154 and feed them with “honey out of the rock” (Deut 32,13). Like the word rwc, [ls also is the metaphor of the Divine (Ps. 18,2[3] = 2 Sam 22, 2; Ps 42,9[10]), symbolizing his unshakable faithfulness, permanence, protection, care and provision for his people (Pss 71,3; 78,16; Isa 32,2). Interchangeability of rwc and [ls as names of God is strengthened by the fact that when [ls once is employed in isolation, Ps 42,9[10], the literary form is one in which rwc also occurs, the Prayer of individuals.155 This is also clearly seen by the composition of Ps 31,2-3[3-4] (cf. also Ps 71,3): “Be thou a rock (rwc) of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! Yea, thou art my rock ([ls) and my fortress”. Thus the Psalmist in Ps 31,3[4] when he refers back to v.2[3], replaces rwc with [ls. In most psalm contexts rwc and [ls seem to refer to a rocky crag or

152 153 154

155

HAL 660; 2 Sam. 22,2; Ps. 18,3. A. HILL, “[ls”, NIDOTE III, 267. At the miracle of the water at Meribah, Yahweh instructs Moses to speak to the [ls before the assembly of the people of God (in contradistinction to Exod 17,1.6 where Moses is to strike his staff on the rwc so that the rock will readily give forth water, cf. Num. 20,8-13). According to this portrayal typical for PG (Priestly Grundschrift), Yahweh’s word attested by the holder of the spiritual office, is able to transform the rigid reality of this world. The meaning of rock in metaphorical language is nowhere a place of wilderness or desert. But on the contrary, is everywhere a name of Israel’s God, and the context in which this name for Yahweh is used does not contain any notion of his devastating power or of his unapproachableness. The Rock is God as the protector and provider of life and security. According to Boer, a guardian character or stability of the rock is not stressed in the metaphor. The main idea seems to be the rock as hidingplace, refuge and source of life, the rock as water-bearing being a rock with caves and cisterns. Cf. P. DE BOER, Second-Isaiah’s Message (Leiden 1956) 64-65; Cf. also E. HAAG, “[ls”, ThWAT V, 874-875. D. EICHHORN, 31-34 45-46, 95.

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mountain hideaway.156 It is often used in a literal sense as a place where man could find shelter from enemies in holes or caves of the rock (1 Sam 13,6; 23,25). rwc and [ls are sometimes combined with other terms that relate Yahweh’s protection and take on the sense of “security”. For example, Ps 62,7[8] declares God as “my mighty rock, my refuge”, or in Ps 31, 2-3[3-4] the psalmist declares “Be a rock (rwc) of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! Yea, thou are my rock ([ls) and my fortress”. Several prayers of trust and of thanksgiving within the Psalter use the term [ls as an address and designation for Yahweh (cf. Ps 71,3) In connection with the term rwc which adds an element of intensification, [ls represents a circumscription of the tutelary power Yahweh possesses for his believers (Ps 18,2[3]; 2 Sam. 22, 2).157 Since the term rwc, an apparent equivalent to [ls is used both as an address and a designation for Yahweh and also as a reference to the cultically distinguished site of Zion, there has long been a tendency to view the use of these two terms as an allusion to the sacred rock of the Jerusalem temple mount.158 An explanation for the address and designation of Yahweh as [ls however, might more likely be found in the not unwarranted assumption that especially after the events of 701 B.C.(deliverance of Zion from the Assyrian attack) and 515 B.C. (dedication of the second temple after the exile). Those in Jerusalem simply transferred in a purely metaphorical fashion the notion of rock, one not at all unusual for Jerusalem as such, to Yahweh himself, and to his delivering power as manifested within the people of God.159 f. hdwcm (“Place difficult to approach”) The various nouns belonging to the word group hdwcm probably derive from two different Hebrew roots or basic forms; either from dwc (“to hunt” or “to lie in wait for”), or from the root dcm (“a place difficult to approach”).160 hdwcm usually refers to a natural fortress or cave that could serve as a place of refuge, such as that used by the Israelites in hiding from the Midianites (Judg 6,2), or those used by David when he fled from Saul (1 Sam 23,14.19.29). It also refers to the fortress of David in the wilderness (1 Sam 22,4.5; 24,22), as well as to the 156

157 158 159 160

rwc should not be interpreted cosmologically or mythologically in the sense of the divine progenitor, because almost all passages emphasize Yahweh’s protection and majestic strength. Cf. A. VAN DER WOUDE, “rwc”, TLOT II, 1070. E. HAAG, “[ls”, TDOT X, 276. H. SCHMIDT, Der heilige Fels in Jerusalem, 87. E. HAAG, “[ls”, TDOT X, 277. Cf. Arab. maṣd, maṣād, “summit”, “place of refuge”, “a place difficult to approach”. Cf. HAL, 555.

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fortress in Jerusalem (!wyc tdcm 2 Sam 5,7).161 Job 39,28 speaks of the fortress of the eagle high up in the rock. The Song of David refers to God as his fortress and his shelter (Ps. 18,2[3] = 2 Sam 22, 2). God as a refuge or fortress is a beautiful metaphor for security amidst the many dangers of life. As a designation of God it only occurs in Psalms where individuals pray.162. Thus, in metaphorical contexts Yahweh’s care is symbolized by fortifications of a settlement (cf. Pss 18,2[3]; 31,2[3].3[4]; 71,3; 91,2; 144,2). g. jlpm (“Place of escape”) Hebrew jlp belongs to the stock of common Semitic roots. It has the basic meaning of escape from danger, in other words, run away to safety.163 The verb jlp relates to the study of refuge, in that as Yahweh leads the righteous into safety, they find haven and refuge. However, in three instances the psalmist employs this term (Ps 18,2[3].43[44].49) to identify God as deliverer.164 Kings invoke it in affirmations of confidence within a royal victory hymns. (Ps 18, 2[3] = 2 Sam 22,2]). Past experience of divine deliverance of the king from enemies is the basis and the source of that confidence. David twice lauds Yahweh as his jlpm place of shelter from those who assailed him. David praises God for his sure protection and ability to deliver from the destruction by foes, and then he petitions God to be the Rock of refuge and shelter for him in the face of certain death. h. hsx (“Seek refuge”) The root hsx (“to take refuge”) is used exclusively for seeking refuge in Yahweh the Rock. Theologically hsx emphasizes human insecurity and inability in the face of calamity, and divine security and ability to harbour and preserve those in distress.165 The nominal form hsxm has its own particular function. In secular contexts the word connotes a dwelling or shelter that offers protection

161

162

163 164

165

This is the City of David (dwd ry[). Cf. P. HUGGER, Jahwe meine Zuflucht: Gestalt und Theologie des 91. Psalms (Münsterschwarzach 1971) 102. See also K. D. SCHUNCK, „hdwcm“, TDOT VIII, 502-503. A. H. KONKEL, “dcm”, NIDOTE II, 1064. D. EICHHORN, 96. Pss 18, 3[4] = 2 Sam 22,4; 31,3[4]; 71,3; 91,2; 144,2. In Ps 18,3[4] = 2 Sam 22,4 and Ps 144,2 the King prays. Cf. G. HASEL, „jlp“, TDOT XI, 555. The verbal root jlp occurs (27x) in OT, (24x) in the Piel stem. Nineteen of the citations are found in the Psalter. Cf. A. HILL, “jlpm”, NIDOTE, II, 1056-57. A. HILL, “hsx”, NIDOTE, II, 219.

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from the elements.166 When the term appears in theological contexts however, it is often modified by the presence of other words like rock, strength, or fortress all emphasizing the certainty and comprehensive nature of Yahweh’s ability to protect his own (cf. Ps 18,2-3[3-4]). hsxm is more or less a cultic term which is reserved for Yahweh. Thus none is a true refuge except the Lord. This word is hardly part of the everyday language.167 In the book of Psalms it is mostly a figurative description of the function of the temple as a place of refuge. It is the protective sphere which Yahweh himself guarantees with his presence.168 i. !gm (“Shield”) The image of a shield is frequently used in the OT to speak of God’s protection from an enemy. !gm probably refers to a small round shield.169 When the psalmist in 18,30[31] speaks of Yahweh as shield (wb ~ysxh lkl awh !gm), the language usually lacks battle imagery.170 This may mean that !gm became a dead metaphor, that is, it lost its literal sense and thus came to signify, Yahweh is a shield in whom the psalmist trusts.171 Mägën thus employed 13x as a designation of God in the Book of Psalms. The term is in Ps 7,11 sometimes regarded as a divine name or epithet in line with the rest.172 It is always used with other designations of God, not least the metaphorical names based on inanimate nature (Pss 18,2[3].30[31]; 28,7; 84,11[12]; 144,2), especially rwc, hdcm and bgfm, but also with divine names or epithets generally, (Pss 3,4; 7,11; 33,20; 115,9.10.11; 119,114. This trait is visible wherever divine metaphorical names are encountered (cf. Ps 18,2[3] = 2 Sam 22,2-3] and Ps 144,1-2). On three occasions 166

167 168

169

170

171 172

J. CREACH, Yahweh as Refuge and the Editing of the Hebrew Psalter, JSOTS 217 (Sheffield 1996) 30. P. HUGGER, Jahwe Meine Zuflucht, 64. H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen (Neukirchen-Vluyn 1978) 498, 805; Cf. J. GAMBERONI, “hsx”, TDOT, V, 72. The Psalms refer to two kinds of shields used in battle. The one spoken of most often the !gm was a small round shield normally covered with leather, held on a warrior’s arm. There was also a larger, longer shield, known as hnc (“shield”), which covered the whole body. Cf. A. ANDERSON, The Book of Psalms, 72. Hugger argues, !gm denotes a braided, moveable wall that often went before the shield bearer in battle. This image of a shield bearer may explain references to Yahweh as yngm (Ps. 18,2[3].35[36] = 2 Sam. 22,3.36). Cf. P. HUGGER, Jahwe meine Zuflucht, 99-100. God is the Psalmist’s shield, not his sword, his defense and protection from evil powers, not his inspiration to attack. Cf. A. RYRIE, Deliver us from evil. Reading the Psalms as Poetry (London 2004) 96-97. J. CREACH, Yahweh as Refuge, 29. FREEDMAN, O’CONNOR, !gm, ThWAT, IV, 657.

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mägën may have been employed as a metaphorical designation of man (Pss 47,9[10]; 84,9[10]; 89,18[19]). It invariably denotes the king of Israel or other kings.173 In short, mägën expresses trust in Yahweh. It is an image which represents one of the basic Israelite beliefs about God, that he is a protector, their [vy !gm (“shield of salvation” Ps 18,35[36]). j. !rq (“Horn”) The word !rq has been variously understood as the protection provided by the horn of a bull,174 or a hill shaped like a horn.175 Horns were commonly used to depict strength and might of both gods and human beings in the world around Israel.176 The horn is a symbol of strength, but as a theological reference, it denotes the vertical intrusion of Yahweh’s power and victory over against the kingdoms of man.177 Most probably, this figure is borrowed from animals, which have their strength and defensive weapons in their horns (1 Sam 2,1.10; Pss 18,2[3]; 92,10[11]). Another important reference is the horns of an altar, protrusions at the four corners.178 This usage is especially frequent in Exodus and Leviticus. In the Book of Psalms it only occurs in Ps 118,27. The use of !rq with reference to the horns of an altar to which a criminal could flee in order to save his life, i.e. as a place of shelter is interesting. It may underlie !rq as a divine name, since it is used in Ps 18,2[3] with other metaphors for protection and the expression “horn of my salvation” (y[vy-!rq) is in line with Yahweh as he who grants protection. This expression boldly celebrates Yahweh as one whose strength is irresistible.179 Yahweh is the horn of salvation, because He overcomes enemies, and rescues the psalmist from foes, and gives him salvation.

173 174

175

176 177 178 179

H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen, 507. God is like a great bull guarding with his horns (cf. Gen 49,24). Cf. C. A. BRIGGS - E. G. BRIGGS, The Book of Psalms, I, ICC (Edinburgh 1907) 141. W. VAN GEMEREN, Psalms: The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids 1991) 169. S. OLOFSSON, God is My Rock, 96. W. VAN GEMEREN, Psalms, 169. S. OLOFSSON, God is My Rock, 98. K. KUNTZ, “Ps 18: A Rhetorical Critical Analysis”, Beyond From Criticism II (ed. P. R. HOUSE) (Winona Lake 1992) 90. The horn, which is an ancient figure of victories and defiant power in Deut 33,17; 1 Sam 2,1 is found here applied to Yahweh Himself.

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k. bgfm (“Secure height”) bgfm in literal sense means “high spot”, “height”.180 It always functions as a refuge according to HAL181 The nominative bgfm expresses the need of the troubled psalmist for a refuge in oppressive circumstances.182 The word is as a rule used in close connection with God. Sometimes the word describes either a humanly-constructed fortification (Isa 25,12) or a natural defensive position (Isa 33,16; Jer 48,1). bgfm portrays a figure of God as a refuge (Ps 18,2[3] = 2 Sam 22,3).183 The above word-field constitutes an extension of the métaphorisant ‘Rock’. The métaphorisant ‘Rock’ and its extensions reveal something of the (divine) reality they metaphorize. E. Functions of rwc Word Field Members The rwc word/semanticfield terminology listed above seems to have amalgamated into a virtual symphony of communication of one single theme i.e., Yahweh is a protector and a Rock of refuge. One could add more terms to the word field; but more terms only to convey the same message. Craigie one of the commentators notes, the epithets David employs to express the nature of God as a refuge and safe retreat, stem from the experience of his military campaigns in the rocky wilderness of Judah.184 These terms often appear with, and are nuanced by terms that mean ‘escape’ from danger. They reflect a situation of trouble and the need for protection from enemies (Pss 61,3[4]; 142,5-6[6-7]). What is interesting to note is that these images mostly appear either at the beginning of a psalm, or in the introductory section, or as part of a conclusion, or at the end. Simply speaking, these images appear either at the beginning or at the end of a psalm. Having sketched the rwc word field, let us now briefly examine the functions of these images under three categories. The citations given are not exhaustive, but they are able to explain the point in mind.

180 181 182 183 184

H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen, 215. H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen, 215. Cf. Pss 9,9[10]; 59,9[10].16-17[17-18]; 62,2[3].6[7]. Cf. BDB, 960. P. CRAIGIE, Psalms, WBC 19 (Waco 1998) 173.

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1. Confessio Laudis185 (Bekenntnis des Lobes): Confession of Praise When these images appear right at the beginning: rwc (Pss 18,2[3];28,1; 62,2[3]; 71,3;95,1; 144,1), hdwcm (Pss 18,2[3]; 31,3[4]; 71,3; 91,2; 144,2), bgfm (Pss 18,2[3]; 62,2[3]; 144,2), [ls (Pss 18,2[3]; 31,3[4]; 71,3), ngm (Pss 3,4), jlpm (Ps 144,2), hsxm (Pss 61,3[4].4[5]; 91,2), it is sign that the psalmist makes an act of his “confession of praise”186 By beginning with these words the psalmist gives a hymnic beginning to these psalms. In the words of Westermann it is descriptive (beschreibend) praise, in which the psalmist praises (llh) God for His actions and being as a whole.187 In some texts epithets for Yahweh are piled up to give an overwhelming description of the psalmist’s state of dependence (Pss 18,2[3]; 144,2). 2. Confessio Vitae (Bekenntnis des Lebens): Confession of Life This is a cry for help and a request for salvation. An example for the grammatical form (nouns in a non-verbal sentence – with the jussive hāyâ) that appears in requests for salvation is: “Be thou a rock of refuge for me” (Pss 31.2[3]; 71,3). The rwc field words are ‘strength related’ words. The psalmist finds himself week (spiritually or physically) and pours forth his life before Yahweh in need of strength. The majority of the rwc Word field appears in the genre where it is metaphorically related to a typical narrative: the psalmist is in danger of sinking down into Sheol or the pit, the ‘pit’ which marks, as it were,

185

186

187

These three steps are taken from the book by C. M. MARTINI, Las Confesiones de San Pablo: Meditaciones (Bogotá – Colombia 2007) 67. Using the Hebrew verb hdy (hitpael), the psalmist regularly asserted ‘praise’ or ‘confessed’ to the Lord (Pss 106,1; 107,1; 136,1). hdy means basically “to confess” and to confess God is to praise Him. hdwh cannot be equated with ‘thanks’ but it always means ‘praise’, ‘recognition’, ‘confession’. Cf. E. E. C ARPENTER, P. W. COMFORT, Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words: 200 Greek and 200 Hebrew Words Defined (Nashville 2000) 39. Cf. also F. M UND, “Die Eigenständigkeit der Danklieder als Bekenntnislieder”, ZAW 58 (1940-1941) 234ff. He takes the songs of thanks as “songs of confession”. hdwh contains the element of confession which we can reproduce only with “laud”, “praise”. Cf. also G. VON RAD, Old Testament Theology (London – Leiden 2001) 357. If Israel made confession of Jahweh’s acts in history, then especially when this was done in artistic form, it was simply an act of praise. C. WESTERMANN, Praise and Lament in the Psalms (Atlanta 1981) 31. On the other hand the so-called song of thanks praises God for a specific deed, which the one who has been delivered recounts or reports in his song (declarative praise; it could also be called confessional praise).

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the sinkhole in the psalmist’s terrain, into which one descends to death.188 In such situations the psalmist calls out for the giver of life. 3. Confessio Fidei (Bekenntnis des Glaubens): Confession of Faith/Trust When the images appear as part of conclusion (Pss 18,46[47]; 73,26; 94,22), or at the end (Pss 19,14[15]; 92,15[16]), it is a sign that the psalmist makes his personal confession of faith emphasizing again what he has confessed right at the beginning. It is not only confessional thanksgiving (berichtend, bekennend), where he praises (‫)הוֹדָ ה‬189 God not only for specific action but also as a confession of faith. It is his personal experience that leads the psalmist to recognize Him as Yahweh who never fails.190 It is a confession of faith that recognizes no one or nothing analogous to the God of Israel,191 “for their rock is not as our Rock” (Deut 32,31a), “and who is a Rock, except our God?” (Ps 18,31[32] = 2 Sam 22,32). rwc and its related words however, refer to a safe place in which one may hide.192 Thus, each of these terms from the rwc word field serves to depict not only identity and activity of God, but the individual’s relationship to him as well. This of course, is the function of the possessive suffix yrwc (“my Rock”) which we come across in Ps. 18.193 This would suggest that the poet or psalmist in these various instances is presenting something of a personal experience of God.194 In

188 189

190

191 192

193

194

W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms: A Theology of Metaphor (Louisville 2002) 26. Das Verbum ‫ הוֹדָ ה‬das wir meist mit “preisen” übersetzen bedeutet eigentlich “bekennen”, “bejahen” und es bezieht sich immer auf ein voraus gegangenes göttliches Faktum. Cf. H. GRIMME, “Der Begriff von Hebräischen ‫ הוֹדָ ה‬und hd'AT”, ZAW 40/41(1958) 234235. Best example for “confessio fidei” is John’s confession of faith in the NT. “It is the Lord!”, which comes at the end of the lamentation: “No, we did not catch any fish” John 21,5-7. B. C. OLLENBURGER, Zion, City of the Great King, JSOTS 41 (Sheffield 1987) 81-144. It is not passive “hiding away”, but a declaration of faith that claims the past action of Yahweh and expects Yahweh to intervene on behalf of his people again in the future. Cf. J. CREACH, Yahweh as Refuge, 35. With regard to the connection of the noun with pronominal suffixes which then stand in a genitive of relation, and are, therefore, necessarily appended to the construct state of the noun. Cf. W. GESENIUS - E. KAUTSCH, Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar (trans. A. E. COWLEY) (Oxford2 1910) §33c and § 91a. Cf. A. WIEGAND, „Der Gottesname rwc und seine Deutung in dem Sinne Bildner oder Schöpfer in der alten jüdischen Literatur“, 95-96. He says, „In dem vertrautesten

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conclusion, the metaphor has derived its function from two different domains. The natural rock (literal) and Yahweh as the covenant God, with a special emphasis on his protection (metaphorical). F. God as Rock: Provenance of the Metaphor Stones first impressed early man as being out of the ordinary because of the manner in which they would so suddenly appear on the surface of a cultivated field or pasture. The worship of sacred stones constituted one of the most general and ancient forms of religion; but among no other people was this worship so important as among the Semites.195 Among the Canaanites, as the Old Testament abundantly proves, the worship of twbcm was common. Probably the origin of this divine name is linked with the worship of divine power enclosed within the sacred stones.196 Hill worship followed stone worship, and the first hills to be venerated were large stone formations. It soon became the custom to believe that the gods inhabited the mountains, so that high elevations of land were worshipped for this additional reason. As time passed, certain mountains were associated with certain gods and therefore became holy.197 As has frequently been noted, the use of mountain imagery in the naming of gods is widespread in the religion of the Ancient Near East (ANE). A survey of the hymnic material from the Ancient Near East shows that although non-Israelite texts frequently contain the epithets ‘protector’; Enlil is dubbed ‘wild ox’; Inanna is labeled ‘warrior’. ‘Refuge’, ‘Rock’ and ‘fortress’, however, are almost completely absent in extant sources.198 G. Widengren points out that personal

195 196

197

198

Verkehr mit Gott, in der innigsten Gemeinschaft mit ihm ist die Heimstätte dieses Namens, er hat Gebetsklang, und fast nur in Gebeten finden wir ihn in der Schrift“. Cf. I. BENZINGER, Hebräische Archäologie (Leipzig 1927) 316. For more details cf. I. GRUENWALD, “God the Stone/Rock: Myth, Idolatry, and Cultic Fetishism in Ancient Israel”, JR 76 (1996) 428-449. Mountains and rocky sites in many cases bear the names of deities. “Sinai” may be understood as a divine name (Judg 5,4-5; Ps 68,8[9]), as well as “Moriah” in relation to hary hwhy (Gen 22,14). Beth-El, which is the place of the stone consecrated as an altar by Jacob (Gen 28,18-19). Of particular interest in this respect is the divine name lAdgh-rh (the Great Mountain) mentioned along with the term hvarh !bah (apparently the “head stone”) in Zach 4,7. Cf. ANET, 383, 576, 579.

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names that incorporate divine titles like ‘Rock’ and ‘refuge’ are available in Akkadian material.199 For example: Anu-du-di Anu-sadi Anu-saduni Istar-dur Anu-zili Ellil-kidini

= = = = = =

Anu is my bulwark Anu is my mountain Anu is our mountain Istar is my wall Anu is my defence Ellil is my protection

Thus, Widengren concludes that the image of the god as a refuge or Rock should not be seen as deriving from Israelite sources exclusively. However, there are no exact parallels to the use of the term rwc as divine name in the cultures of the orient,200 although mountain, rock and crag were used as divine epithets in the cultures of the ANE. Evidently the people of the Land of the Two Rivers and neighboring regions were struck by the outstanding features of landscape, such as rivers and mountains, for they personified them as gods who were included in the pantheon as lesser deities.201 By way of specific example, F. M. Cross observes, “we are embarrassed with the plenitude of deities associated with mountains in the Canaanite and Amorite pantheons, moreover, the elements rh “mountain” and rwc “rock” are frequent in Amorite names of the second millennium”202 where they probably designate a god. The appearance of the names rwchdp “Ransomed by the Rock” (Num 1,10; 2,20; 7,54.59; 10,23) indicates that “rock” could represent “God” in Israelite names.203 According to Albright, since “mountain” was often a synonym for god in Syria and Anatolia, it is not surprising to find that rwc is simply a synonym of El in early Hebrew literature. ydv (“He of the mountains”), though a more obviously secondary appellation, belongs semantically with rwc.204 199

200 201 202 203

204

Cf. G. WIDENGREN, The Akkadian and Hebrew Psalms of Lamentation as Religious Documents. A Comparative Study (Uppsala 1936) 82. D. EICHHORN, Gott als Fels, Burg und Zuflucht, 30. E. VAN BUREN, “Mountain Gods”, Or 12 (1943) 76. F.-M. CROSS, “Yahweh and the God of the Patriarchs”, HTR 55 (1962) 247. Rock is common as a name, or as an element of a name, in the P genealogies of Numbers: rWcyla “Rock is God” (Num 1,5; 2,10; 3,35; 7,30.35; 10,18), ydvyrwc “My Rock is Shadday” (Num 1,6; 2,12; 7,36.41; 10,19), rwc Rock (Num 25,15; 31,8 [also a medianite chief in Josh 13,21]). W. ALBRIGHT, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan. A Historical Analysis of Two Contrasting Faiths (Winona Lake 1990) 188.

46

Metaphor of the Rock

As mentioned previously, God as Rock is a metaphor used most frequently in individual lament and thanksgiving psalms. Erhard Gerstenberger has argued that laments have their origin in healing ceremonies in the family circle and were secondarily taken up in the national religion.205 If this is the case, then God, who is invoked and thanked as Rock may have been part of the spirituality of many Israelite families. Among the reasons that God as Rock appears primarily in psalms and psalm-like literature may be that the priests felt the need to include in worship an image popular with the people and to some extent subsume it within the official cult.206 Like the language, the imagery is not the invention of the poet – or rather of the creator of the text, the author. It is part of a shared body of narratives, themes, patterns etc. What the author does is to choose his basic metaphor from this body of traditional material.207 In contrast to the widespread experience of the presence of the divinity associated with rocks, and the use of sacred stones in worship recorded in the Hebrew Bible, some texts identify God as Rock with Sinai or Zion (Pss 27,5; 61,2[3]; Isa 8,14; 30,29). This may represent the attempt of priestly and royal interests to control and limit the presence of God to the central temple, and may have been uneasy with too readily identifying the presence of God in many rocks and stones throughout the countryside. To identify each Rock with Zion and every castle with the Temple is baseless. For, there are many Rocks in Israel.208 A more likely origin of the expression Yahweh is Rock, fortress, or strong tower is the idea of the sanctuary, or perhaps the holy mountain in general, as fortress. For Isa 30,29 equates “rh Yahweh” with “rwc Israel”. In other words, Zion was understood as the most secure place on earth, the ultimate refuge. Thus the idea of ‘Yahweh is Rock’ perhaps arose from the common Ancient Near Eastern belief in a ‘cosmic mountain’, an elevation made secure as the abode of the gods

205 206 207

208

E. GERSTENBERGER, Der bittende Mensch (Neukirchener-Vluyn 1980) 1-2, 108-140. A. WALKER-J ONES, “Honey from the Rock…”, 95. Cf. R. BARTHES, The Death of the Author, in ID., Image-Music-Text (Glasgow 1977) 146, 142-148. “We know now that a text is not a line of words releasing a single ‘theological’ meaning (the message of the Author-God) but a multi-dimensional space in which a variety of writings, none of them original, blend and clash. The text is a tissue of quotations drawn from the unnumerable centers of culture. The writer can only imitate a gesture that is always anterior, never original. His only power is to mix writings to counter the ones with the others, in such a way as never to rest on any one of them”. Cf. C. DE VOS, “Es gibt mehr Felsen in Israel”, in Metaphors in the Psalms, 1-12.

Metaphor of the Rock

47

and serving as the centre of the world government;209 and perhaps also from the Canaanite belief in the navel of the earth, the center of the universe. 210 This view would explain many of the ‘rock texts’ that label God as rwc or [ls. In addition to the above mentioned idea of sanctuary, a majority of references to Yahweh as refuge may be allusions to the Palestinian landscape. rwc refers to mountain hideaways in some contexts (cf. 1 Sam 22,4-5; 24,22; 2 Sam 5,17; 23,14). Rocks and cliffs provided shade and shelter (cf. Isa 32,2) as well as retreat from enemies. Such locations ‘were of paramount importance in a terror beset by military campaigns’. Indeed, the solitary rocks cut from wadi beds provided essential natural strongholds (cf. Jer 4,29; 16,16; 49,16; 1 Sam 13,6).211 Thus, it may be these functions of the rocky cliffs that are behind references to ‘Yahweh is Rock’. The above brief survey of the possible origins of rock as a way of speaking about Yahweh offers no conclusive or single solution. However, the above mentioned images possibly contribute to the portrait of Yahweh is Rock. The landscape of Palestine perhaps explains the greatest number of occurrences of this metaphor. This does not mean that such references are original to Israel’s experience of flight to inaccessible rocks for protection. It does suggest, however, that this image perhaps contributed most heavily to the metaphorical use of rwc and its word field. G. rwc and [ls and Their LXX Rendering The terms rwc and [ls are practically identical in meaning. One difference between the two words is that [ls occurs much less frequently as a metaphor for Yahweh’s watch-care compared to rwc which is a metaphor for Yahweh’s watchcare. These two words are twice used in parallel.212 Translation of metaphors research has mainly focused on questions how metaphorical denotations of God

209

210

211 212

Cf. J. D. LEVENSON, Sinai and Zion: An Entry into the Jewish Bible (New York 1985) 111-137; also Cf. R. J. CLIFFORD, The Cosmic Mountain in Canaan and the Old Testament (Cambridge 1972) 34ff. S. TERRIEN, “The Omphalos Myth and Hebrew Religion”, VT XX (1970) 317-320. See also S. TERRIEN, The Elusive Presence (New York 1978) 285. O. KEEL, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 180. Pss 18,2[3]; 71,3.

48

Metaphor of the Rock

(“Rock”, “Shield”) have been rendered in the Greek translation and whether there are underlying theological motives for it.213 LXX rendering of rwc in the Psalter as divine name is perhaps the most interesting and also the most confusing. qeój which can be regarded as the main equivalent of rwc as a title of God in the psalms, is reserved for this Hebrew word. When the song of Moses, Deut 32 uses rwc “rock” as a designation for Yahweh or other gods (vv. 4.15.18.30.31 and 37) the LXX mostly renders it with the form of qeój.214 The LXX never has the common and very literal translation pe,tra when rwc is used as a metaphor for Yahweh or any other deity.215 The discrepancy between this equivalent and the general sense of the Hebrew term in both the literal meaning “rock” and the most common metaphorical meaning “refuge”, “protection”, immediately strikes the eye. The main equivalent is thus a word which reflects neither the metaphorical nor the literal sense of the Hebrew term.216 Generally, the same applies to the metaphor [ls “rock/crag”217 and some other words used as metaphors for Yahweh.218 The use of rwc as a divine name is more or less confined to the book of psalms or psalms in other parts of the Bible, not the least in prophetic literature. The 213

214

215

216

217

218

Cf. S. OLOFSSON, God is My Rock: A Study of Translation Technique and Theological Exegesis in the LXX (Stockholm 1990). Note, however, the omission in v. 37. The LXX also reads qeój for rwc in Isa 30,29; Pss 18,31[32].46[47]; 28,1; 31,2[3]; 62,2[3].6[7].7[8]; 71,3; 73,26; 92,15[16]; 95,1; 144,1; cf. also, Ps 75,5[6]. The other verses where rwc is used as a metaphor for Yahweh or another deity are: 1 Sam 2,2; 2 Sam 22,3.32.47; 23,3; Isa 17,10; 26,4; 44,8; Hab 1,12; Ps 18,2[3]; 19,14[15]; 78,35; 89,26[27]; 94,22; Sir 4,6 Here the LXX translates by words like bohqoj ‘helper’ and fu,lax ‘protector’ or has a paraphrastic rendering. Delekat calls this a targumic type of translation. „G (Septuaginta) hat für rwc wo es Gottesbezeichung ist (Deut 32,4.15.18.30f; Pss 18,31[32].46[47]; 28,1; 31,3[4]; 62,7[8]; 71,3; 92,15[16]; 95,1) qeój. Das muss zuerst eine targumische übersetzungsweise gewesen sein“. Cf. L. DELEKAT, Asylie und Schutzorakel am Zionheiligtum. Eine Untersuchung zu den privaten Feindpsalmen (Leiden 1967) 379. The LXX has a free translation in Pss 18,2[3]; 31,3[4]; 42,9[10]; 71,3. Its translation is literal in 2 Sam 22,2: pe,tra. See with regard to the old translations of the metaphors rwc and [ls: A. WIEGAND, “Der Gottesname rwc and seine Deutung in dem Sinne Bilder oder Schöpfer in der alten jüdischen Litteratur“, 85-96; See also, Cf. G. BERTRAM, “Der Sprachschatz der Septuaginta und der des hebräischen Alten Testament”, in ZAW 57. 1 (1939) 98-100; A. P. DELL’ACQUA, “La Metafora Biblica Di Dio Come Roccia”, Ephemerides Liturgicae 91 (1977) 417-453; S. OLOFSSON, God is My Rock: A Study of Translation Technique and Theological Exegesis in the LXX (Stockholm 1990) 35-50.

Metaphor of the Rock

49

translator of the book of psalms always treated rwc as a divine title differently from its literal and its ordinary metaphorical meaning and the same is true of the translators of the other LXX books.219 Greek Psalms whose Hebrew originals honor God as Rock, rarely render rwc with pe,tra.220 The reason is that in classical Greek, pe,tra, pe,trój and li,qoj (the normal Greek equivalents for rwc) almost always represented a stone or pebble. When used symbolically in classical Greek the terms usually described hard-hearted or block-headed people. Calling the God of Israel a Rock would therefore be akin to describing him as stubborn or foolish. Unsurprisingly, Old Greek translators of the psalms either omitted an equivalent for rwc or changed it to qeój, ku,rioj, di,kaioj, ivscuro.j, fu,lax, boh,qh.221 The same criteria of Greek translation we find in Latin: In the place of the metaphor rwc we find: Deus (Deut 32,4.15.18 [acc.], 30.31; Pss 18,31[32].46[47]; 28,1; 31,3[4]; 62,2[3].6[7].7[8]; 71,3; 73,26; 89,26[27]; 92,15[16]). Or the attributes fortis (1 Sam 2,2; 2 Sam 23,3; Isa 17,10 [acc.]. 30.29; Hab 1,10; [dat.] Isa 26,4); adiutor (Pss 18,2[3]; 19,14[15]; 78,35); in adiutorium (Ps 94,22); formator (Isa 44,8); qui fecit (Sir 4,5). Both the Targum and Peshiṭta avoid the literal rendering and have non-literal renderings of God as “rock”. Peshiṭta as a rule has taqqîf, “the mighty/strong” (1 Sam 2,2) as equivalent and the Targum “strength”, even though the former twice has a word for “God”. The renderings in these two versions are thus similar to those in LXX as regards the use of non-literal equivalents, but they do not follow LXX in the choice of interpretations.222

219

220 221 222

S. OLOFSSON, God is My Rock, 45; Cf. also, G. BETRAM, “Der Sprachschatz der Septuaginta und der des hebräischen Alten Testament”, 99-101. 2 Sam 22,1 being a notable exception. For explanations of this shift in translation, see S. OLOFSSON, God Is My Rock, 35-45. Cf. S. OLOFSSON, God is my Rock, 44.

50

Metaphor of the Rock

LXX Rendering of rwc Sense of rwc A firm place to stand. A high place of security. Metaphors for Yahweh.

LXX Rendering pe,tra (rock)

Citation Pss 27,5[26,5]; 60[61],3223

qeój 224 (God)

Epithets for Yahweh.

bohqo,j (help) avntilh,mptwr (protector)

Pss 17[18],32,47; 27[28],1; 30[31],3; 61[62],3.7.8; 70[71],3; 72[73],26; 91[92], 16; 94[95],1; 143[144],1 Pss 17[18],3; 18[19],15; 77[78],35; 93[94],22 Ps 88[89],27

LXX Rendering of [ls225 Sense of [ls Helper, protector Powerful, mighty

LXX Rendering avntilh,mptwr kratai,wma

Citation Ps 41[42],10 Ps 30[31],4

Firmness, steadfastness

stere,wma

Pss 17[18],3[2]; 70[71],3

The above Greek translation avntilh,mptwr corresponds to susceptor in Vulgate, and second kratai,wma fortitude, and the third stere,wma corresponds to firmamentum. Peshiṭta and Targumic translations both have strength related words. For e.g., Peshiṭta translates tuklān(i) (Ps 18,2[3]); in Ps 31,3[4] ʻušn(i) “my strength”. It is worth considering that LXX avoids calling “God as Rock”. The reason for this is, according to Georg Bertram, that the rock metaphor in a Hellenistic context might lead to the opinion that the Jews worshiped a rock,226 or fear of 223

224

225

226

But the translator in this case evidently thought of the temple rock in Jerusalem. LXX is here in harmony with most of the modern interpreters. This identification is also clearly suggested by the context. Cf. S. OLOFSSON, God is My Rock, 36; See also D. EICHHORN, Gott als Fels, Burg und Zuflucht, 84. qeój is also the main equivalent to rwc as a name of God outside the psalms (Deut 32,4.15.18.30.37; Isa 30,29). But there are also other alternative equivalents used in 2 Sam 22,3.47 (2x); 23,3 translate rwc as fu,lax (“guard, sentinel”), and kti,sthj (“creator”) in 2 Sam 22,32. The translation of [ls as an address and designation for Yahweh is not pe,tra (the exception being 2 Sam 22,2), but rather the variously elucidating expressions avntilh,mptwr, kratai,wma, and stere,wma. The background here is the attempt to avoid any misunderstanding of the rock as the seat of a deity or even as its embodiment, a misunderstanding quite possible in the Hellenistic world. Cf. E. HAAG, TDOT X, 277. The cultic veneration of stones was still prevalent when the LXX was translated. Cf. G. BERTRAM, “Der Sprachschatz der Septuaginta und der des hebräischen Alten Testament”, 101.

Metaphor of the Rock

51

misinterpretation by Hellenistic readers.227 Therefore, the deliberate suppression of the rock metaphor in the oldest translations is attributed to aversion in Hellenistic circles, and also among Hellenized Jews, to the comparison of divine beings with earthly phenomena.228 According to Keel, translating rwc and [ls with qeój is meant to avoid associating Yahweh with Hellenistic cults that represented the deity with stones and rocks.229 However, Jewish circles deliberately seeking to connect with older Israelite traditions still used the metaphor (Sirach; Qumran).230 And the Rabbis derived rwc from rcy reading it as “shaper” or “creator”.231 This theory would explain why the word rwc (“rock”) is rendered qeój when it occurs alone, but with the term meaning “protector” in lists of other 227

228

229

230

231

G. BERTRAM, “Der Sprachschatz der Septuaginta und der des hebräischen Alten Testament”, 100-101. He argues that in Hellenistic religions rocks could be regarded as seats or even as embodiments of deities. He continues (p. 101): “Aber gerade deshalb hätte die Anwendung dieses Bildes im griechischen AT (…) zu schweren Mißverständnissen führen können, als ob im AT ein Fels als Gott verehrt würde”. Cf. also S. OLOFSSON, God is my Rock, 49: “pe,tra in non-biblical Greek could be employed as a metaphor of firmness and immovability but also hardness and lack of feeling, callousness. Thus pe,tra was a suitable equivalent when the hardness of the rock was emphasized, but not for ‘rock’ as a name of God, since the Greek word is not employed in the meaning ‘refuge’, ‘security’. In fact negative connotations seem to dominate its use”. See A. WIEGAND, „Der Gottesname rwc...“, 96: “Die Philosophische Bildung des gräcisierenden Judentums scheute sich vor dem Plastisch-Concreten, vor dem Gewaltsamen dieses Wortes; und so musste den der bildliche Ausdruck aufgelöst, dessen Geist verflüchtigt warden….” (cf. also 94). Cf. A. P. DELL’ AQUA, 451: “Al razionalismo di stampo Greco un Dio roccia (....) provocava un effetto di ripulsa, anche perché il concetto non nasceva da un’esperienza diretta (....). Anche la ricerca teologica era progredita, c’era maggior possibilità di meditazione e sistemazione “filosofica” del materiale veterotestamentario”. Because rock and stone occur in the Hellenistic religions as symbols of the incarnation of god. LXX usually replaces rwc with terms intended to convey the sense of the image in order to prevent possible misunderstandings. Cf. O. KEEL, The Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms (trans. T. J. HALLET) (New York 1978) 182. See also A. WIEGAND, „Der Gottesname rwc und seine Deutung in dem Sinne Bildner oder Schöpfer in der alten jüdischen Literatur“, ZAW 10 (1980) 85-96 See Sir 4,6 (God as the rwc of the poor); 51,12 (supplement: God as rwc of Isaac). Cf. QH IX, 28 (God as [ls); XI, 15 (God as yrwc) S. HOLM – NIELSEN, Hodayot: Psalms from Qumran (Universitetsforlaget I Aarhus 1960) 169, 191; Cf. 1QpHab (Pesher to Habakkuk) V. 1 (God as rwc) in F. G. MARTÍNEZ and E. J. C. TIGCHELAAR (ed. and trans.), The Dead Sea Scrolls: Study Edition, vol. I (Leiden - New York - Köln 1997) 14-15. A. WIEGAND, „Der Gottesname rwc und seine Deutung in dem Sinne Bildner oder Schöpfer, in der alten jüdischen Literatur“, 85-96.

52

Metaphor of the Rock

titles. In short, as we have seen, in the Hebrew Bible God is my Rock. But Georg Bertram has demonstrated that this metaphorical use must have led certain people to take the statement literally. This can be seen from the way the Septuagint renders those places where God is described as a Rock with glosses such as “helper”, “protector”, “creator”, “lord” or simply “God”. H. The Metaphor of the Rock in the Documents of Qumran At the dawn of the Christian movement, the Qumran sectarians were inspired by the ideology of the Rock; but, unlike Isaiah, they identified it with their community and not with the cosmic act of God (cf. Isa 28,16-19).232 The Damascus Document describes the community as a house erected by God within the people of Israel, a “secure” house, such as had never been before then.233 In the Hymns, the imagery of the Rock ([ls) appears to relate to the concern for the secret brotherhood (sôd).234 The image of the building of a community is fully intelligible from Jewish thought. The image of the rock is associated in Judaism with the idea of community. The Old Testament speaks of the ‘house of Israel’ (Num 12,7; Ruth 4,11; Amos 9,11). The members of the community are also compared with the stones of a house at Qumran.235 In the Hodayot the teacher knows that if he blesses his community, it will “run its roots deep into the hardest rock”, i.e. will endure.236 Twice rwc is used as a divine epithet: “I thank Thee, O my God; I exalt Thee, my rock; and by Thy doing wonderful…..”,237 and the unique formulation appears in 4QDibHama 5, 19 “for we too have we[aried /God/] by our iniquities, we have tried the (wndb[h hifhil) Rock with [our] s[in]” (cf. Isa 43,23-

232

233 234

235

236 237

The cosmic character of the Zion Rock has already been pointed out by J. J EREMIAS, Golgotha (Angelos Beihefte 1, 1926) 264-280; See also, “Golgotha und der heilige Felsen: Eine untersuchung zur Symbolische des Neuen Testamentes” (Angelos Beihefte 2, 1926) 74-77; See also, “Der Eckstein” (Angelos Beihefte 1, 1925) 65-70. CD 3: 19-20 (Daḿascus Document). 1QH 7: 8-9 (Ps 11 Column 7: 6-25). Cf. S. HOLM – NIELSEN, Hodayot: Psalms from Qumran (Universitetsforlaget I Aarhus 1960) 129. Sôd is translated in various ways, it can mean foundation, council, assembly, congregation (einen Kreis von Männern) or a Temple rock. There seems to be here a spiritual temple concept. The people of Qumran expected a new Temple in Jerusalem at the time of salvation, but it was as a result of disappointment in the existing one, rather than as a result of a spiritual concept. 1QpHab 10: I. (1Q Pesher to Habakkuk) F. G. M ARTÍNEZ and E. J. C. TIGCHELAAR (ed. and trans.), The Dead Sea Scrolls: Study Edition, vol. I (Leiden - New York - Köln 1997) 19. 1QH 8: 23 (Ps 14 Column 8: 4-9: 36). Cf. S. HOLM – NIELSEN, Hodayot, 143. 1 QH 11: 15, Ps. 18, 47 (46). Cf. S. HOLM – NIELSEN, Hodayot, 189.

Metaphor of the Rock

53

24).238 The Qumran community ascribed such significance to the Song of Moses in Deut 32 that it turned it into tefillin (cf. 4Q141[PhylN 1]), which in 1,12 even makes rwc in Deut 32,18 definite as a means of amplification. The “rock” passages in 1QH 6, 26 “For Thou layest foundations upon the rock…”239 and 7,8b-9 “…but Thou makest me as a strong tower, as a high wall, and on the rock Thou establishes my building, and eternal foundations for my foundation, and all my walls as a tried wall, which is not shaken” are often adduced in the interpretation of Mt 16,18, but are construed with [ls.240 Finally, 1QapGen uses ṭûr (jrdwh yrwj) to refer to Ararat (Hurarat) (10,12),241 the Taurus Mountains (17, 10)242, and the “sacred rock” “[my] Go[d, the et]er[nal God…]…Up till now I had not reached the holy mountain (ṭwr qdyš, 19, 8) so I set out”.243

238

239 240 241

242 243

4Q DibHama (Dibre Ha-Me ’ Orot) (Words of the Luminaries) 5, 19 (4Q 504 Frags. 1-2 col. V. 19). Cf. F. G. M ARTÍNEZ and E. J. C. TIGCHELAAR (ed. and trans.), The Dead Sea Scrolls: Study Edition, vol. II, (Leiden – Boston - Köln 1997) 1017. 1QH 6: 26 (Ps 10 Column 5: 20-7, 5). 102. 1QH 7: 8b-9 (Ps 11 Column 7: 6-25). Cf. S. HOLM – NIELSEN, Hodayot, 129. 1QapGen 10, 12 (The Genesis Apocryphen from Qumran Cave 1). F. G. MARTÍNEZ and E. J. C. TIGCHELAAR (ed. and trans.), The Dead Sea Scrolls: Study Edition, vol. I (Leiden - New York - Köln 1997) 32-33. Cf. F. G. MARTÍNEZ and E. J. C. TIGCHELAAR, The Dead Sea Scrolls, 38-39. Cf. F. G. MARTÍNEZ and E. J. C. TIGCHELAAR, The Dead Sea Scrolls, 39.

CHAPTER 2 THE “ROCK” IN THE ISRAELITE PSALMIC TRADITIONS As we have already noted, God as Rock appears primarily in psalms and psalmlike literature. Surprisingly, the epithet only occurs in a certain selection of poetic texts: fourteen of the 150 canonical psalms (Pss 18; 19; 28; 31; 42-43; 62; 71; 73; 78; 89; 92; 94; 95; 144; cf. 49,14[15]), the prophecies of Isaiah (Isa 8,14; 17,10; 26,4; 44,8), and four songs inset within narratives (Deut 32; 1 Sam 2,2; 2 Sam 22; 23). rwc in the Hebrew canon functions most frequently as a divine title.244 In fact, a full 70 percent of the occurrences of rwc in the psalms are allusions to God. A. Display of Rock Occurrences in the Hebrew Bible 1. Occurrences of rwc in the Hebrew Bible Book Exod Num Deut Josh Judg 1Sam 2Sam 1Chr Isa Jer Nah Hab Job Pss

Prov

244

God of Israel

32,4.15.18.30.31.37 2,2 22,3.32.47.47; 23,3 8,14; 17,10; 26,4; 30,29; 44,8; 51,1

god in General

32,31

Literal 17,62; 33,21.22 23,9 8,15; 32,13 5,2.3 6,21;13,19 24,2 21,10 11,15 2,10.19.21; 48,212 18,14; 21,13 1,6

1,12

18,2[3].31[32].46[47]; 19,14[15]; 28,1; 31,2[3]; 62,2[3].6[7].7[8]; 71,3; 73,26; 78,35; 89,26[27]; 92,15[16]; 94,22; 95,1; 144,1

14,18; 18,4; 19,24; 22,24; 24,8; 28,10; 29,6 27,5; 61,2[3]; 78,15.20; 81,16[17]; 89,43[44]; 105,41; 114,8 30,19

Total 4 1 9 2 2 2 6 1 11 2 1 1 7 25

1

The same cannot be said for !ba and [ls, which are usually literal references to stones and rocks.

56

Rock in Psalmic Traditions

2. Occurrences of [ls in the Hebrew Bible Book

The God of Israel

gods in General

Num Deut Judg 1 Sam 2 Sam 1 Kgs 2 Kgs 2 Chr Neh Cant Isa

Total

20,8.10.11; 24,21 32,13 1,36; 6,20; 15,8.11.13; 20,45.472; 21,13 13,6; 14,42; 23,25

4 1 9

22,2 19,11 14,7 25,122 9,15 2,14 2,21; 7,19; 16,1; 22,16; 31,9; 32,2; 33,16; 42,11; 57,5 5,3; 13,4; 16,16; 23,29; 48,28; 49,16; 51,25 24,7.8; 26,4.14 6,12 1,3 39,1.28 40,2[3]; 78,16; 104,18; 137,9; 141,6

Jer Ezek Amos Obad Job Pss

Literal

18,2[3]; 31,3[4]; 42,9[10]; 71,3

Prov

30,26

7 4 1 1 2 9 1

3. The Results of rwc Occurrences Location

4 1 1 1 2 1 1 9

The God of Israel gods in general Literal rocks Total

Pentateuch (Exod+Num)

0

0

5

5

Deuteronomy (Deut 32)

6

1

2

9

Joshua/Judges

0

0

4

4

Samuel

6

0

2

8

Chronicles

0

0

1

1

Psalms

17

0

8

25

Other Wisdom Books

0

0

8

8

Isaiah

6

0

5

11

Other Prophets

1

0

3

4

Totals

36

1

38

75

57

Rock in Psalmic Traditions

4. The Results of [ls Occurrences Location Pentateuch (Num)

The God of Israel gods in general Literal rocks Total 0

0

4

4

0

0

1

1

Judges

0

0

9

9

Samuel

1

0

4

5

Kings/Chronicles

0

0

4

4

Psalms

4

0

5

0

0

4

4

Isaiah

0

0

9

9

Other Prophets

0

0

14

14

Totals

5

0

54

59

Deuteronomy (Deut 32)

Other Wisdom Books

9

5. Results of the Occurrences of ‘Rock/Crag’ (rwc +[ls) in the Hebrew Bible Location Pentateuch

The God of Israel gods in general Literal rocks Total 0

0

9

9

6

1

3

10

Joshua/Judges

0

0

13

13

Samuel

7

0

6

13

Kings/Chronicles

0

0

5

5

Psalms

21

0

13

34

Deuteronomy (Deut 32)

Other Wisdom Books

0

0

12

12

Isaiah

6

0

14

20

Other Prophets

1

0

17

18

Totals

41

1

92

134

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Rock in Psalmic Traditions

B. God as Rock in the Books of the Psalter.245 This is how “God as Rock” appears in the books of the Psalter under varieties of genres: Book - I Ps 18 (IT) Ps 19 (OG) Ps 28 (IL) Ps 31 (IL) 8x

Book - II Ps 42/43 (IL) Ps 62 (PT) Ps 71 (IL)

Book - III Ps 73 (IL) Ps 78 (OG) Ps 89 (CL)

6x 3x Books - I – III: 17x

Book - IV Ps 92 (IT) Ps 94 (IL) Ps 95 (OG) 3x

Book - V Ps 144 (CL)

1x Books – IV-V: 4x

The above chart clearly shows that God as Rock appears first and foremost in the laments of the individual. An image at home in individual laments might have been migrated later to other genres like individual thanksgiving, psalms of trust and communal laments. Secondly, out of the 21 occurrences of God as Rock in the Psalter, 17 of them appear in the first three books of Psalms. This is to say, God as Rock is distinctive of songs associated with monarchy. The number of metaphorical allusions to God as Rock reflect both the great age of the title and its importance to early Israelite identity and worship practices. A well-known feature of Yahwistic poetry, the epithet occurs in four of the earliest, independent biblical songs (Deut 32; 1 Sam 2; 2 Sam 22; 23). And in Genesis the patriarchal practice of stone veneration (cf. Gen 28,18.22) continued through the period of the judges and early kings, when great rocks dedicated to Yahweh served as places of ritual sacrifice, worship, and atonement (cf. 1 Sam 6,14-15; 7,12; 14,34 and 1 Kgs 8,9). Significantly, over time this practice of stone veneration functioned ideologically to elevate the status of the Israelites over the other peoples of Canaan, from whom they had assimilated the custom. As is well known, Canaanites and other inhabitants of Syro-Palestine associated divine spirits with the surrounding mountains and sacred stones, some of which even became the foundations for local temples.246 And the these psalms testify that Israelites also assimilated the practice (Ps 118,22; Isa 8,14; cf. “Jacob’s iniquity”, Isa 27,9).247 In fact, divine 245

246 247

The abbreviations in the brackets are the genre categories in which the term ‘rock’ appears: Individual Thanksgiving (IT); Individual Laments (IL); Communal Laments (CL); Psalms of Trust (PT); Other Genres (OG). M. P. KNOWLES, “The Rock, His Work is Perfect”, 321. F. M. CROSS (Jr.), is perhaps the most famous scholar to point out the connection between Canaanite mythology and Israelite titles for God such as El-Shaddai (“moun-

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Rock in Psalmic Traditions

rock imagery was so valuable politically that the psalms where God as Rock appears frame the Davidic history of the books of Samuel: 1 Sam 2 stands at its inception, 2 Sam 22 and 23 at its end. As 2 Sam 23,1-3 reflects, the Israelites bolstered the power of the monarchy by embracing the practice of stone veneration, transforming the Canaanite cultic “rocks” into the title for “the God of Jacob,” aligning it with the Davidic kingship of Israel, and sacralizing that relationship in psalms.248 As they would millennia later for modern Jews, Christians, God as Rock in the Psalter had a striking currency in Israel as communal instructions about the preeminence of their God and their worth as his people.249 With this background a few more observations as to when and where exactly the Rock image appears in the psalms, will enlighten our theme. 1. God as Rock - In Individual Lament and Thanksgiving In the book of Psalms the image is characteristically used in psalms of individual lament and thanksgiving. For example: (Individual Laments) Ps 28,1 Ps 31,2[3] Ps 42,9[10] Ps 71,3 Ps 94,22

“To thee, O LORD, I call; my Rock…” “Be thou a Rock of refuge for me,…..” “I say to God, my Rock….” “Be thou to me a Rock of refuge,…” “…and my God the Rock of my refuge”.

yrwc arqa hwhy $yla zw[m-rwcl yl hyh y[ls lal hrmwa !w[m rwcl yl hyh ysxm rwcl yhlaw

The image of God as Rock not only feels at home with the Psalms of Individual laments, it migrates to genres that share broader regions, like individual thanksgiving, a psalm of trust (Ps 62,2[3].6[7].7[8]),250 and communal laments (Pss

248

249

250

tain-god); see Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic (Cambridge 1980) 55. For more explanation see 45-60. Cf. D. M. SWANCULT, “Christian “Rock” Music at Corinth?”, in H. W. ATTRIDGE, M. E. FASSLER (eds.), Psalms in Community: Jewish and Christian Textual, Liturgical, and Artistic Traditions (Leiden 2003) 130 [125-146]. On the political function of Hebrew prophecy and poetry, see D. ABERBACH, Imperialism and Biblical Prophecy, 750-500 BCE (New York 1993). For more on this subject, see R. L. P LATZNER, “In the Cleft of a Rock: Metaphors of Divine Concealment and Disclosure in the Hebrew Bible”, in Metaphor, Canon, and Community: Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Approaches (eds. R. BISSCHOPS and J. FRANCIS) (New York 1999) 29-37; and S. TERRIEN, “Metaphor of the Rock in Biblical Theology”, 157-171. Westermann makes a distinction between the confession of trust, which comes after the complaint, and the assurance of being heard, which comes after the petition. He

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89,26[27]) among others (19,14[15]; 78,35). For example: (Individual Thanksgiving) Ps 18,2a[3a] Ps 18,2b[3b] Ps 18,31[32] Ps 18,46[47] Ps 92,15[16] Ps 95,1 Ps 144,1

“The LORD is my Rock….” “…my God, my Rock…” “..And who is a Rock, except our God?” “…and blessed be my Rock…” “…he is my Rock….” “let us make a joyful noise to the Rock..” “Blessed be the LORD, my Rock...”

y[ls hwhy yrwc yla wnyhla ytlwz rwc ymw yrwc $wrbw yrwc hwhy wn[vy rwcl h[yrn yrwc hwhy $wrb

It is Westermann who identified these two main types, laments and praise. Wilson’s view is similar, but he puts thanksgiving psalms between lament and praise. They have deep roots in pain, but this is now past and divine deliverance evokes thanksgiving.251 Gerstenberger connects the lament psalms not to the cult but to healing ceremonies within the family circle, a kind of group therapy.252 And the expression ‘God my Rock’ might have its roots in such family healing ceremonies? Laments, complaints and thanksgivings, either of Individuals or larger communities, certainly occurred for the most part in special services, called ad hoc before or after important events. In moments of lament (being painfully disoriented) and in thanksgiving (being surprisingly reoriented) Individual psalmists might have ‘invoked’ and ‘thanked’ by “God as Rock”. 2. God as Rock - In the Typical Narrative Genres The majority of occurrences appear in these genres where it is metaphorically related to a typical narrative: the psalmist is crushed to the ground, has fallen into a pit, goes down to Sheol – the Pit – sinks in mire, or a flood, and cries “out of the depths” and God rescues the psalmist placing him or her on solid rock (Pss 18; 28; 40,2[3]; 69,2[3].14[15]; 71,10; 130,1). References to going down into the Pit, Sheol, or sinking in the watery depths are fairly frequent in individual laments or closely related genres like individual thanksgiving.253 The psalmist who does not want to be “like those who go down to the Pit” (Ps 28,1;

251 252

253

acknowledges, however, that “confession of trust, certainty of being heard, and praise of God cannot be clearly distinguished”. Cf. C. WESTERMANN, Praise and Lament in the Psalms (Atlanta 1981) 70, 74. G. H. WILSON, Psalms I, NIVAC (USA 2002) 65-66. E. GERSTENBERGER, Psalms I: With an Introduction to Cultic Poetry. Forms of the Old Testament Literature XIV (Michigan 1988) 7. For more explanation see 5-22. Cf. A. WALKER -J ONES , Green Psalter: Resources for an Ecological Spirituality (Minneapolis 2009) 51.

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143,7), complains that God has “put me in the depths of the Pit, in the regions dark and deep” (Ps 88,6[7]). Westermann seems to recognize a typical story in the individual laments.254 God as Rock image also appears in the psalms where psalmist suffers due to his enemies. For example “the enemy sets nets or traps” (Pss 31,4[5]; 42,9[10]; 71,4.10.13; cf. Ps 94). In such contexts the psalmist wishes for the enemies that God would “cast them down into the lowest pit” (Ps 55,23[24]), or “let them be cast into pits, no more to rise!” (Ps 140,10[11]). Or the psalmist may give thanks that God “drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog and set my foot upon a rock” (Ps 40,2[3]). 3. God as Rock - At the Beginning or End of a Psalm It is very significant to notice God as Rock occurs/appears at the very beginning of the psalm or in the introductory section (as part of an opening appeal), or else at or near the end or as part of the conclusion. At the Beginning Ps 18,2[3] Ps 28,1 Ps 95,1 Ps 144,1.2

Introductory Section Ps 31, 2[3].3[4] Ps 40,2[3] Ps 61,2[3] Ps 62,2[3] Ps 71,3

Near the End Ps 19,14[15] Ps 92,15[16] Ps 89,26[27]

Part of Conclusion Ps 18,46[47] Ps 73,26 Ps 94,22 Ps 42,9[10]

This indicates the significance of the metaphor. In other words, the image is sufficiently significant or evocative to be used either to introduce the themes or to provide the resolution to the psalm in these above mentioned instances. 4. God as Rock - Psalms are Paired “Rock” psalms are often paired together.255 Ps 18 begins, “The Lord is my Rock…my Rock in whom I take refuge”: it continues, “And who is a Rock, except our God?” (v. 31[32]); and it comes to a conclusion with “The Lord lives; and blessed be my Rock” (v. 46[47]). Ps 19 concludes, “O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (v. 14[15]). Ps 27 confesses trust in the Lord with the words “he will set me high upon a rock” (v. 5), while Ps 28 says to the Lord, “My Rock, be not deaf to me” (v. 1). Ps 94 names God “the rock of my refuge” (v. 22), and Ps 95 praises “the Rock of our Salvation” (v. 1).

254

255

C. WESTERMANN, Praise and Lament in the Psalms (trans. K. R. CRIM and R. N. SOULEN ) (Atlanta 1981) 189. Cf. J. LIMBURG, Psalms, WBC (Louisville 2000) 202.

62

Rock in Psalmic Traditions

“Lead me to the rock that is higher than I” says Ps 61,2[3] and the next psalm refers to God as “He only is my rock and my salvation” (Ps 62,2[3].6[7]) and also “my mighty rock, my refuge is God” (v. 7[8]). Sometimes the “rock psalm” is paired with another adjacent psalm with rock-field words (Pss 42 and 43; Pss 91 and 92). For example, Ps 42,9[10] says “I say to God, my rock: Why hast thou forgotten me?” and Ps 43,2 says “For thou art the God in whom I take refuge (yzw[m)256; why has thou cast me off?”. And 43,3 “…let them bring me to thy holy hill ($vdq-rh)”. One feels here that the petitioner is afraid of simply confronting God with his question, “Why?” and therefore covers it with an avowal of trust.257 And also the “Rock” psalm 92 (v. 15[16]) is paired with the previous Ps 91 which is filled with ‘rock’ word field. ‘God as Rock’ psalms are not simply paired, but there is also a flow of thought of a typical story in these paired psalms. In other words there is a clear movement from lament to praise in these pairs. 5. God as Rock – In the Psalms is Frequently a Possessive Noun In the psalms, “Rock” frequently appears with the possessive pronoun: “my Rock” (Pss 18,2[3].46[47]; 19,14[15]; 28,1; 62,2[3].6[7]; 92,15[16]; 144,1). Except once God is called as “our Rock” (~rwc) in Deut 32,31, where God is not addressed but compared. Not only the term “Rock”, but also the terms parallel with rwc (of the rwc word field) appear in possessive pronoun.258 For example, “my strength” (yqzx),259 “my crag” (y[ls),260 “my fortress” (ytdwcm),261 “my deliverer” (yjlpm),262 “my shield” (yngm),263 “my stronghold” (ybgfm),264 “the horn of my salvation” (y[vy-!rq).265 Each of these appellations serves to depict not only the identity and activity of God, but the individual’s relationship to him as well. This, of course, is the function of the possessive suffix mentioned above. This 256

257 258

259 260 261 262 263 264 265

One could also add this term under rwc word field. zw[m refers to a place of escape and safety. Ps 43,2 seems to speak of Yahweh’s protection in terms of a cliff in the Palestinian countryside, a difficult location to approach that serves as a defensive position. Cf. C. WESTERMANN, Praise and Lament in the Psalms, 184. Only those references are cited here where the term in question appears in parallel with rwc. Ps 18,1, a hapax legomenon. Ps 18,2[3] = 2 Sam 22,2; Pss 31,3[4]; 42,9[10]; 71,3b. Pss 18,2[3]; 31,3[4]; 71,3b; 91,2; 144,2. Ps 18, 2=2 Sam 22,2; Pss 40,17b[18b]; 70,5[6]; 144,2. Pss 7,10; 18,2[3]; 144,2. Pss 18,2[3] = 2 Sam 22,2; 59,9[10].17[18]; 62,2[3].6[7]; 144,2. Ps 18,2[3] = 2 Sam 22,2, a hapax legomenon.

Rock in Psalmic Traditions

63

would suggest that the poet or psalmist is, in these various instances, presenting something of a personal experience of God.266 The “Rock” motif therefore, reflects an intensely personal relationship of the pray-er (supplicant) to God as indicated by the possessive pronoun, ‘my Rock’ in times of adversity. 6. God as Rock - In Statements of Incomparability The usage of rwc occurs especially in statements of incomparability (Deut 32,31; 1 Sam 2,2; 2 Sam 22,32 = Ps 18,31[32]; Isa 44,8). One advantage of using metaphorical language for describing Yahweh is that it allows for Yahweh’s incomparability to be highlighted. And the theme of Incomparability applies always in hymnic contexts and frequently in Psalms and Psalm like literature.267 In 1996 C. J. Labuschagne came out with a book, possibly the first of its kind, in which he set forth the theology of the Old Testament about the incomparability of Yahweh. His research reveals that, there are three primary ways in which God’s incomparability is stated in the Old Testament. First, the negative expression, such as “there is none like...”268 (!ya… yk) is followed by a noun or an adjective serving to confine the comparative material to particular category, e.g. wnyhlak rwc !ya “there is no rock like our God’”(Cf. 1 Sam 2,2; Exod 9,14; Ps, 86,8). Apart from the negation… !ya… yk, we find variations of the same type of negation viz., ~rwc wnrwck al yk “for their rock is not as our Rock”. (Deut 32,31). These texts emphasize that God has no competitors among the alleged gods of the nations. The second manner in which God’s uniqueness is declared carries the same meaning as the negation about and is stated by rhetorical question, such as “who is like…”269 (yk….ym) (Cf. Ps 113,5). God cannot properly be compared to other gods in regard to His character and His deeds for His people. A third manner of expression is that of using verbs that denote equality and similarity270 (Ps 89,6[7]; Ps 40,5[6]). Nothing and no one can be on the same level as Yahweh, the Creator and Sovereign. Israel’s God (rwc) is claimed to be incomparable, comapared with other gods called rwc. It is possible, then, that the word rwc is used (in Ps 18,31[32]=2 Sam 22,32; 1 Sam 2,2; Isa 44,6-8; Deut 32,31.37) of Israel’s incomparable God. 266

267 268 269 270

Cf. P. C. CRAIGIE, The Book of Deuteronomy (Grand Rapids – London 1976) 378, n. 21. Cf. also A. Wiegand, Der Gottesname rwc …”, 95-96. “In dem vertrauesten Verkehr mit Gott, in der innigsten Gemeinschaft mit ihm ist die Heimstätte dieses Namens, er hat Gebetsklang, und fast nur in Gebeten finden wir ihn in der Schrift”. J. L. MAYS, Psalms, 361. Cf. C. J. LABUSCHAGNE, The Incomparability of Yahweh in the Old Testament, 8-15. Ibid. 16-23. Ibid. 28-30.

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The following analysis of the “Rock Texts” in the Psalms will show that, God as Rock image is at home in individual laments and migrates to genres that share broader regions, like individual thanksgiving, in psalm of trust and communal laments. God as Rock image appears also in the typical narrative genre, or in statements of incomparability, also the psalms where God as Rock appears are paired, and God as Rock appears with possessive pronoun, and most of the time God is addressed as Rock either in the beginning or end of the psalm. In summary, then the term rwc is employed metaphorically in consistently similar contexts to describe the action of God and the personal experience of deliverance from adversity, whereby God is seen to be a Rock in whom one may find refuge and in whom one may safely trust.

PART III ROCK TEXT ANALYSIS IN THE PSALTER CHAPTER 1 A. The Choice Of The “Rock” As Central Metaphor In The Psalter There are various metaphors for God in the Bible. M. Z. Brettler organizes them broadly under the rubrics ‘socio-political’ and ‘familial’.271 The two main sociopolitical metaphors are “king” and “master”; the two main familial metaphors are “parent” and “husband”. The other dimension of the biblical imagining of God which is often overlooked is the Bible’s use of impersonal images for God. These abound in the psalms, where God is described as Rock, Shield, Fortress (Pss 18; 62), Water (Pss 42; 63), Mountain (Ps 121), Light (Ps 27), and where the psalmist speaks of taking shelter in the shadow of God’s wings (Ps 36) as if God were a great protecting bird. In other places in the Bible, God is depicted as thunder (Exod 19), a gentle breeze (1 Kgs 19), Fire, (Heb 12), Bread (Jn 6). The question is where do we place these metaphors like “Rock, Fire, Water, Tree, Light, Bread, Wind, Eagle, Lion, Lamb, etc. …..?”, which recur several times in the Bible, but these are neither ‘socio-political’ nor ‘familial’, and does not fit into any of the two above mentioned categories. They have become ‘independent islands’272 or ‘marginal metaphors’273 or ‘impersonal metaphors’. The Bible is a totality of personal and impersonal metaphors. A biblical theology must include the personal aspect of God. By a personal God-image people frequently mean a conception of God in a human form (father, mother, son, child, beloved), having human attributes (merciful, wrathful, punishing, forgiving) and human capacities (eye, ear, heart, mouth, hand). With this personal God people have a personal relationship (love, devotion, reverence), which expresses itself in direct speech (prayer, worship services) and the use of proper names (Yahweh, Allah, Rama, Abba, Zeus). On the other hand, it should not lose sight of the varieties of impersonal metaphor in the Bible. An impersonal form, after all, can become personal by the mere fact of being personally addressed: Thou, light of the world; Thou lamb that takes away the sins of the world; Be Thou my Rock of refuge. Sometimes a personal involvement in a non-personal occurrence can yield a personal God-image. Thus an impersonal image of God becomes 271 272 273

Cf. M. Z. BRETTLER, “The Metaphorical Mapping of God in the Hebrew Bible”, 226. Cf. M. Z. BRETTLER, “The Metaphorical Mapping of God in the Hebrew Bible”, 227. Cf. W. BRUEGGEMANN, Theology of the Old Testament, 264.

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Rock Text Analysis

personal by direct speech or involvement. By contrast, a relation with a personal God-as-Father can be impersonal.274 The mere making of such a list does not begin to bring out the power of these impersonal images for God. One must take these metaphors one by one and let them work on the imagination. Then we can see how some dimensions of God’s reality and relationship to us are better expressed in impersonal than in personal images. This gives us a better feel for those religions which have preferred to speak of the ultimate mystery predominantly in impersonal imagery.275 They are not as far from the biblical traditions as might at first appear. When we see the numerous occurrence of the Rock in the bible and particularly in the Book of Psalms, it does not allow us to ‘pass by’ but to stop and stoop down like the Good Samaritan to give it (impersonal Rock) a dignity of the despised of the earth. The testimony of Israel is a testimony of metaphors. To summarize again the arguments of W. Brueggemann: 1. Metaphors are nouns that function in Israel in order to give access to the Subject of verbs, who is endlessly elusive. The metaphor will be misunderstood and misused if it is not recognized that the One named by the metaphor is not contained or comprehended by the noun…276 2. …Thus when Israel testifies, ‘Yahweh is shepherd’ [Rock], the noun shepherd [Rock] gives Israel certain specific access to Yahweh. At the same time Yahweh is not a shepherd [Rock]. 3. …But of course Yahweh is neither fully known nor completely exhausted in Israel’s testimony, because Yahweh is hidden, free, surprising, and 274 275

276

Cf. K. WAAIJMAN, Spirituality: Forms, Foundations, Methods (Leuven 2002) 428. For example, Impersonal Absolute of Hindu Vedanta (Brahman in some Hindu traditions, the Primal Unity or Tao of Chinese tradition, the Sikh ‘One Without Attributes’, the Mahayana Buddhist concept of Suchness (Tathata). The impersonal images too are carried on in Christian tradition. St. Catherine of Siena describes God as a ‘ray of love, a ray of darkness, a calm sea’. Other mystics see God as a flame or river of fire which fills the universe. The well-known scientist, theologian, and mystic of the twentieth century, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, sees the presence of God in the world as rays of light suffusing all matter. St. John of the Cross, continually purified through his long experience with God, ends by rejecting all the usual images and preferring to call God nada, Spanish for “nothing”. The presence of God was for him a kind of absence. Cf. W. BRUEGGEMANN, Theology of the Old Testament, 230-231.

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elusive, and refuses to be caught in any verbal formulation. Thus, metaphor precludes the reification of any noun label for Yahweh…277 4. Along with reification, the other temptation to theological closure is reductionism, the temptation to reduce metaphors about Yahweh to a few or single one. Against such reductionism, the testimony of Israel practices a determined pluralism in its nouns for Yahweh, so that one metaphor may say what is left unsaid by another, so that one may correct another..278 But when Brueggemann treats the various metaphors in the Old Testament, they are all metaphors which characterize Yahweh as a person. It is God as a character and agent.279 Nevertheless, a few pages later Brueggemann reminds us that “we must continue to attend to those metaphors that may seem more marginal”.280 In addition to featuring a plethora of metaphors that profile God as person, the psalms are replete with impersonal or inanimate metaphors. The use of various metaphors in the book of psalms is to a certain extent deconstruct what Brueggemann calls the Character, the Agent, the Subject. Therefore the focus of our study in the Book of Psalms is to attend to a ‘marginal metaphor’: “the Rock”281. Though “Rock” is impersonal in nature yet it is equal in significance to the host of personal metaphors that populate the psalms. This study in the impersonal metaphor will help us to broaden our all too narrow idea and image of God. For, God is more, and God is different. B. Rock Metaphor in The I Book of Psalms: An Exegetical Anaysis All methodology and hermeneutic without the biblical text on the subject makes our study dull. In the following pages I analyse the individual psalms, where God as Rock appears. Individual psalms are viewed as individual pieces of work.282 These individual psalms will be read in the context of the entire book 277 278 279 280 281

282

Cf. W. BRUEGGEMANN, Theology of the Old Testament, 231. Cf. W. BRUEGGEMANN, Theology of the Old Testament, 231-232. Cf. W. BRUEGGEMANN, Theology of the Old Testament, 268. Cf. W. BRUEGGEMANN, Theology of the Old Testament, 264. Translations of the Bible capitalize some metaphors for God. For instance, Father is often capitalized when it refers to God. Presumably the capitalization of Father, and not other metaphors, is due to the importance of this metaphor in Christian theology and in patriarchal, anthropocentric cultures. By way of contrast and in view of attending the impersonal/marginal metaphors this thesis will now on capitalize the eco-centric metaphor of the Rock and treat the Rock as a proper noun and subject. E. ZENGER, “Von der Psalmenexegese zur Psalterexegese”, BibKir 56 (2001) 11[8-11].

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(‘end text exegesis’).283 Exegesis of the Psalms thus developed into exegesis of the Psalter.284 Thus the message of the Psalter is greater than the sum of the messages of its individual psalms.285 The common motif of these texts is their imagery – the metaphor: “Yahweh is Rock”. First, I shall make a close reading of them in their discrete primary or micro-contexts, then I shall proceed to an analysis of their secondary or macro-contexts (Reading in Context), and finally, their placement in the books of psalms will be considered. ‘God as Rock’ texts are part of the larger network of Rock Imagery in and outside the Book of Psalms. The First Book of Psalms has four psalms with eight texts (Pss 18,22[32].31[32].46[47]; 19,14[15]; 28,1; 31,2[3].3[4]), where God is called ‘my Rock’. Ps 18 is individual psalm of thanksgiving, Ps 19, a tôrâh hymn, and Pss 28 and 31 are laments. Individual laments predominate in the first two books of the Psalter.286 Many of these psalms have superscriptions that relate them to incidents in the life of David. They tend to refer to incidents in David’s personal, rather than political, life so that David becomes the paradigmatic person of faith.287 David becomes the reader’s guide on a journey through the life of faith and, as will become evident, the recurring images and implied narrative of the individual lament construct that faith. Here in the first book of Psalms the above mentioned texts appear both in individual thanksgiving and individual laments. As we have already noted, though the image of God as Rock is characteristic of individual laments, it appears in variety of genres. In the first book it makes its first maiden appearance in the individual thanksgiving (Ps 18) and creation/tôrâh hymn (Ps 19). Here it would be opportune to look briefly into the structure of the I Book of Psalms.

283

284

285 286

287

E. ZENGER, „Psalmenforschung nach Herman Gunkel und Sigmund Mowinckel“, in A. LEMAIRE and M. SACEBO (eds.), Congress Volume, VTS 80 (Oslo 1998) 416-419 [399435]. E. ZENGER, “Psalmenexegese und Psalterexegese: Eine Forschungsskizze”, in The Composition of the Book of Psalms (ed. E. ZENGER) (Leuven - Paris – Walpole, MA 2010) 17-66. G. P. BRAULIK, “Psalter and Messiah”, in Psalms and Liturgy (New York 2004) 19. Laments are twenty-seven of the forty-one psalms in the first book and nineteen of the thirty-one psalms in the second book. B. S. CHILDS, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture (Philadelphia 1979) 521522; G. H. WILSON, The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter, SBLDS 76 (Chico 1985) 172173.

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For centuries biblical scholars have noted that the Psalter is structured as five “books” (Pss 1-41; 42-72; 73-89; 90-106; 107-150). One early rabbinic tradition of the Midraš Tehillim to Psalm 1,1 states, “Moses gave Israel the five books (of the tôrâh) and David gave Israel the five books of the Psalms”.288 Each of the books ends with a doxology (Pss 41,14[13]; 72,18-19; 89,53[52]; and 106,48), and each of the four doxologies begins with “Blessed be Yahweh”, and concludes with “amen (and amen)”. In fact, the word “amen” appears only in these four places in the entire book of Psalms. There is no doxology at the end of Book V of the Psalter as in the case of each of the preceding books. Instead, Pss 146-150 function as a great doxology which concludes both Book V and the Psalter as a whole. Each psalm begins and ends with xy-wllh, “Praise Yahweh”. The very first word in the psalms is “happy” or “blessed”, (yrva/maka,rioj). The first book has altogether eight beatitudes in the seven psalms (Pss 1,1[2]; 2,12; 32,1.2; 33,12; 34,9; 40,4[5]; 41,1[2]). The occurrences of the beatitudes in Pss 1-2 at the helm of the Psalter and in the last two psalms in Book I (Pss 40-41) form an inclusion. While the beatitudes in Pss 1,1 and 41,2 frame the Book I, the beatitudes in Pss 1,1 and 2,12 frame a paired introduction to the Psalter.289. Happiness or blessedness in the psalms has to do with the fundamental orientation of the self to God, constantly delighting in God’s “instruction” (Ps 1,2, NRSV “law”); and with finding “refuge” in God (Ps 2,12).290 The paired introduction to the Psalter thus anticipates what will be a key concept throughout the book – “refuge” (hsx) – especially in Book I, where it occurs fourteen times.291 While each of the first seven beatitudes in the Psalter defines happiness in terms of such relatedness to God, Ps 41,1[2] exceptionally defines happiness not in terms of orientation toward God, trusting God, or finding refuge in God, but rather in terms of orientation to the needs of the other people. But the relationship between the beatitude in Ps 41,1[2] and the previous seven is not contradictory but rather complementary. While Ps 1, for instance, portrays happiness in terms of openness to God’s instruction, Ps 41 portrays happiness in terms of openness to the needs of others.292 In summery the Book I portrays the happy ones as those who love both God and neighbor (needy/poor). God’s essential character is manifest in God’s commitment to those described by several 288 289

290 291 292

Cited in K. SEYBOLD, Die Psalmen. Eine Einführung (Stuttgart 1986) 23. J. C. MCCANN, Jr., “The Shape of the Book I of the Psalter and the Shape of Human Happiness”, in The Book of Psalms (eds., P. W. FLINT and P. M ILLER) 342. J. C. MCCANN, (Jr.), “The Shape of the Book I of the Psalter”, 343. J. F. D. CREACH, Yahweh as Refuge, 122-126. Cf. W. D. TUCKER, “Toward the Democratization of the Royal Idea”, A Paper delivered on Nov 18, 2001 at the SBL Annual Meeting, Denver Co.

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Hebrew words variously translated as “week”, “needy”, “poor”, “afflicted”, “humble”, “meek”, and “oppressed”. In a way the first book portrays God in the psalms as one intimately involved in the afflictions of God’s people – in effect, a suffering servant.293 It is this conviction about God that underlies the appeal for help. “Die Konnotation des “Armen und Elenden” als den der sich ganz der Hilfe JHWHs anvertraut ist aus der Psalmensprache der individuellen Klage geläufig”.294 Basically the beatitude in Ps 41 by portraying orientation towards others, speaks of happiness as relatedness to God. To say “Happy are those who consider the poor” is to say, in effect, “Happy are those who are like God”.295 Thus the Book I of the Psalms has both vertical and horizontal dimensions. The psalms about the poor are not distributed equally in the Psalter. This is especially true about Psalm Book I. Terms for poverty are totally absent until Ps 8, that is, up to the middle of the first compositional unity of Book I (Pss 314).296 With Pss 9/10 they begin all of a sudden right in their center. Ps(s) 9-10 contains one of the largest cluster of terms for the poor and needy of any psalm in the Psalter, including the following words: $d “oppressed” – Pss 9,9[10]; 10,18; yn[/wn[ “afflicted/affliction” Pss 9,12[13].13[14].18[19]; 10,2.9[2x].12.17; hklx “helpless” – Ps 10,8.14; yqn “innocent” – Ps 10,8; ~wty “orphan” – Ps 10,14.18; and !wyba “poor” – Ps 9,18[19]). Furthermore, all of these terms make their first appearance in the Psalter in Ps(s) 9-10. That is, it with this psalm that the “Armentheolgie” of the Psalter begins.297 The prayer for the poor, the week, the needy, and the oppressed first arises in Ps(s) 9-10, and that happens with such vigor that it places the protection and support of the poor and the needy as the fundamental content of the sovereignty of God.298

293 294

295 296

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298

J. C. MCCANN, Jr., “The Shape of the Book I of the Psalter”, 347. Cf. U. BERGES, “Die Armen im Buch Jesaja. Ein Beitrag zur Literaturgeschichte des AT”, Bib 80/2 (1999) 168. J. C. MCCANN, Jr., “The Shape of the Book I of the Psalter”, 345. On this layout, cf. F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, “‘Selig, wer auf die Armen achtet’ (Ps 41,2): Beobachtungen zur Gottesvolk – Theologie des ersten Davidpsalters”, in Volk Gottes, Gemeinde und Gesellschaft (ed. H. C. BRENNECKE), (Neukirchen-Vluyn 1992) 21-50. On the theology of the poor in the Psalter see, F.-L. HOSSFELD, Die Psalmen I: Psalm 150, NEchBAT (Würzburg 1993) 81-82; See also, U. BERGES, R. HOPPE, Arm und Reich. Die Neue Echter Bibel – Themen 10 (Würzburg 2009). Cf. P. D. MILLER, The Way of the Lord, FAT 39 (Tübingen 2004) 176.

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The terms also appear in the second compositional unit (Pss 15-24).299 The third compositional unit (Pss 25-34) is then characterized by the fact that the framing psalms (Pss 25 and 34) clearly contain the theme about the poor. The terminology about the poor is particularly rich in them, and that is certainly also intended as a hermeneutical presupposition for the interpretation of the final text of the whole psalm group they frame. According to R. Albertz,300 the social and religious split experienced by the Judahite community in the second half of the fifth century, as the result of the economic crisis, in all probability led to the formation of a special personal piety in the impoverished classes. There is enough evidence indicating the marginalization of these poorer religious classes in the society. This caused the development of a specific kind of personal piety in these classes, viz. the so-called ‘piety of the poor’301 The most important task of the ‘theology of the poor’, which was developed and practiced in these communities, was to restore dignity as well as hope to the oppressed victims of the social crisis. The oppressed may not have had many sacrifices and offerings to contribute to the praise of Yahweh, since they could only lay their miserable existence at Yahweh’s feet in order to expect deliverance and a future from him. The supplicants (redactors) of the psalms thus did not find protection in the cult, first of all, but rather in the praises of the psalms which ascended to Yahweh, the king of the world, who had established his just rule on mount Zion.302 The Theology of the poor also speaks for the

299

300

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Cf. F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER “Wer darf hinaufziehen zum Berg JHWHs?, 166182. Cf. R. ALBERTZ, A History of Israelite Religion in the Old Testament Period, I: From the Beginnings to the end of the Monarchy, II: From the Exile to the Maccabees (trans. J. BOWDEN) (London 1994) 521; Cf. also U. BERGES, “Who were the Servants? A Comparative Inquiry in the Book of Isaiah and the Psalms”, in J. C. DE MOOR and H. F. VAN ROOY (eds.), Past, Present, Future. The Deuteronomistic History and the Prophets, OTS XLIV (Leiden 2000) 14; and also, cf. U. BERGES, “Die Knechte im Psalter. Ein Beitrag zu seiner Kompositionsgeschichte”, Bib 81/2 (2000) 175. Cf. A. GROENWALD, “Cult-Critical Motif in Psalm 69,32 - Does it portray an Anti-Cultic Stance?”, in D. J. HUMAN and C. J. A. VOS (eds.), Psalms and Liturgy (New York 2004) 67. Cf. C. LEVIN, “Das Gebetbuch der Gerechten. Literargeschichtliche Beobachtungen am Psalter” ZTK 90 (1993) 355-381; Cf. also, U. BERGES, “Die Knechte im Psalter. Ein Beitrag zu seiner Kompositionsgeschichte”, Bib 81 (2000) 155; See also, U. BERGES, “Die Armen im Buch Jesaja. Ein Beitrag zur Literaturgeschichte des AT”, Bib 80/2 (1999)153-177; see also, U. BERGES, “De armen vanhet boek Jesaja. Een bijdrage tot de literatuurgeschiedenis van het Oude Testament”, (Inaugural speech; 5 March 1999,

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highest number of “Rock Occurrences” in the first book of psalms. In moments of praise/plea the poor/oppressed/needy/afflicted felt at home by invoking God as Rock. The marginalized used a “marginal metaphor”: The Rock. There are many proposals to the structure of the First Book of Psalms. F. –L. Hossfeld and E. Zenger and P. Auffret divide the Book I into four Collections (sub-groups), leaving out the first two psalms of the prologue. For example, Hossfeld and Zenger’s division of Book I follows this pattern: Pss 3-41; 15-24; 25-34; 35-41. Pss 3-14

Book I divides into four sub-groups Pss 15-24 Pss 25-34

Pss 35-41

Hossfeld/Zenger on Book I

This observation is based on two factors: first, the use of psalms of the same type as ‘corner- psalms’ (Eckpsalmen) delimiting the extent of each grouping; and, secondly, the inclusion of the central psalm in each collection which is markedly different in type/content from the neighboring psalms within that subgroup.303 “Die stark anthropologisch orientierte Sammlung, die als Komposition eine umfassende Deutung der condition humaine bieten will, ist in die vier Teilgruppen 3-14, 15-24, 25-34, 35-41 gegliedert. Diese Gliederung ist zum einen durch die jeweiligen Eckpsalmen angezeigt, die vielfältig aufeinander hingeordnet sind. Zum anderen sind die Teilgruppen durch Psalmen im Zentrum markiert, die ihrerseits inhaltlich und formal aus ihrer Umgebung herausragen (Ps 8 – ein Hymnus inmitten von Klagen; Ps 19 – ein Gotteslob unter Königsgebeten; Ps 29 – ein JHWH-Hymnus im Kreis von Bitt – und Dankgebeten; Ps 38 – ein Bittgebet mit Konzentration der Hauptthemen der Nachbarpsalmen wie Krankheit, Feinde, Sünde, Sündenbekenntnis). Darüber hinaus sind sie motivlich-theologisch aufeinander bezogen”.304

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Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen) 15; Cf. also, ALPHONSO GROENWALD, “Cult-Critical Motif in Psalms 69,32 - Does it portray an Anti-Cultic Stance?”, in D. J. HUMAN, C. J. A. VOS (ed.), Psalms and Liturgy, 69. F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, Die Psalmen I. Psalm 1-50, NEchBAT (Würzburg 1993) 12. F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, Die Psalmen I. Psalm 1-50, NEchBAT (Würzburg 1993) 12.

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Further, Gianni Barbiero analyses these four Davidic Collections according to their literary genres.305 The first Davidic collection (Pss 3-14) is composed of a series of individual laments (Pss 3-7), followed by a hymn (Ps 8), and then a psalm of thanksgiving (Ps 9). With Pss 10-14, again we are back to the world of laments. Therefore we have a structure: Lament + Hymn + Thanksgiving + Lament: A B C A’

Pss 3-7 Ps 8 Ps 9 Pss 10-14

Lament Hymn Thanksgiving Lament

The second Davidic Collection contains ten psalms (Pss 15-24), structured around Ps 19 as its centre. Whilst Auffret, Miller and others helpfully discuss the internal – that is, conjunctive – features of the psalm grouping Pss 15-24, there is little discussion of how this grouping relates to the rest of Book I.306 The only broader discussion of how Pss 15-24 fit within the first book of the Psalter is to be found in Hossfeld and Zenger’s commentary Die Psalmen.307 They suggest that Pss 15-24 form one of four psalm groupings which together make up Book I: A B C D E D’ C’ B’ A’

Ps 15 Entrance Liturgies Ps 16 Psalm of Trust Ps 17 Individual Lament Ps 18 Royal Psalm Ps 19 Creation/Tôrâh Psalm Pss 20-21 Royal Psalms Ps 22 Individual Lament Ps 23 Psalm of Trust Ps 24 Entrance Liturgies

So also, the third Collection consists of ten psalms (Pss 25-34): These two psalms (Pss 25 and 34) are both acrostic petitions with marked Wisdom

305 306

307

Cf. G. BARBIERO, Das erste Psalmenbuch als Einheit, ÖBS (Frankfurt am Main 1999). Cf. P. AUFFRET, La Sagesse a bati sa maison, 407-438; P. D. M ILLER, “Kingship, Torah Obedience, and Prayer. The Theology of Psalms 15-24” in Neue Wege der Psalmenforschung, HBS (eds. K. SEYBOLD und E. ZENGER) (Freiburg, Basel, Wien 1994) 127-142. F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, Die Psalmen I. Psalm 1-50, NEchBAT (Würzburg 1993) 12.

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elements, and in general they share a similar content. 308 Thus they form an inclusion. This group begins with four laments (Pss 25-28), followed by a hymn (Ps 29), and thanksgiving psalm (Ps 30). In Ps 31 again we are back to lament followed by a Hymn (Ps 33) and to thanksgiving (Pss 32; 34): A B C A’ C’ B’ C’’

Pss 25-28 Ps 29 Ps 30 Ps 31 Ps 32 Ps 33 Ps 34

Lament Hymn Thanksgiving Lament Thanksgiving Hymn Thanksgiving

The fourth collection consists of seven psalms (Pss 35-41) and through a movement from lament to praise they present an itinerary of prayer: A B C A’ C’ B’ A’’

Ps 35 Ps 36 Ps 37 Ps 38 Ps 39 Ps 40 Ps 41

Lament Hymn Wisdom Reflections Lament Wisdom Reflections Thanksgiving Lament

Gianni Barbiero concludes his book saying that the first book (Pss 3-41) heavily corresponds to the structure of the first collection (Pss 3-14).309 First Collection Pss 3-7 Ps 8 Ps 9 Pss 10-14

Literary Genre Lament Praise Thanks Lament

First Book Pss 3-14 Pss 15-24 Pss 25-34 Pss 35-41

The Book I ultimately portrays human happiness in terms of essential relatedness to God. From the human side, the essence of the relationship is trusting or taking refuge in God (Pss 2,12; 34,8[9]; 40,4[5]). From the divine side, the relationship is grounded in the way God is – that is, fundamentally “gracious” (Ps 41,4[5].10[11]), steadfastly loving (cf. Pss 32,10; 33,5.18.22; 40,11[12]) and Rock of Refuge. The Orientation toward God, trusting God in the beginning part and the orientation to the needs of other people (“poor” “needy”) at the end (Ps

308

309

Cf. HOSSFELD and ZENGER, acknowledge, that there are also marked similarities in content between Pss 25 and 37 (also an acrostic). Cf. Die Psalmen I, 162. The prayer elements of Pss 25 and 34 lead Hossfeld and Zenger to associate these two psalms. Cf. G. BARBIERO, Das erste Psalmenbuch als Einheit, 719.

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41,1[2]) is like the two sides of the same coin. For, the poor is one, entrusted into Yahweh’s judicial help and mercy. The poor is one who in times of need entrusts himself to God.310 This thought fits extremely well in the social message of Isaiah,311 also what is said regarding the social proclamation of Amos. The poor is the righteous one.312 The poor are ‘God seekers’. Ultimately the Book I portrays refuge in terms of essential relatedness to God. In short it is “Israel before Yahweh” (Israel’s Answer)313 or “Israel’s speech”,314 in moments of Laments and Praise. In other words it is “Prayer”. C. Pss 18 And 19: A Paired Introduction To ‘God As Rock’ In The Psalter Pss 18 and 19 are located in the Book I of the Psalter, where twenty seven of the forty-one psalms are laments. And all of the psalms found here, except for Pss 1 and 2, are “Psalms of David”.315 Beginning with Ps 18 and 19 the psalms in the Book I, change for a short while from the persistent lamenting of Psalms 3-17,316 to psalms of different types. Ps 18, which is categorized as an individual thanksgiving, praises the kind and good deliverance which God brings to David. The following Psalm 19 is a creation psalm, it celebrates God’s sovereignty over created world. Similarly the next two Pss 20 and 21 are thanksgiving psalms. Thus we find four psalms of thanksgiving (Pss 18-21) clustered at the end of an extended collection of laments (Pss 3-17), a break for the reader from the words

310

311

312

313

314 315

316

Cf. U. BERGES, “Die Armen im Buch Jesaja: Ein Beitrag zur Literaturgeschichte des AT”, Bib 80/2 (1999) 162-163. According to U. BERGES, “Die Armen im Buch Jesaja. Ein Beitrag zur Literaturgeschichte des AT”, 175. “Der Gang durch die Armenbelege des Buches Jesaja und des übrigen corpus propheticum hat gezeigt, daß sich gerade dieses Buch mit den Armen in besonderer Weise auseinandersetzt…”. Cf. also U. BERGES, “Die Armen van het boek Jesaja. Een bijdrage tot de literatuurgeschiedenis van het Oude Testament” (Inaugural speech: 5 March 1999 Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen) 14-27. Cf. S. PAAS, Creation and Judgement: Creation Texts in some Eighth Century Prophets (Leiden 2003) 312ff. As Von Rad names his chapter on Psalms. Cf. G. VON RAD, Old Testament Theology, I (New York 1962) 355-418. Cf. G. VON RAD, Old Testament Theology, I, 355-418. Psalm 10 is strongly linked to Ps 9. Cf. H.-J. KRAUS, Psalms 1-59: A Commentary (Minneapolis 1988) 188-89; and W. L. HOLLADAY, The Psalms through Three Thousand Years: Prayer book of a Cloud of Witnesses (Minneapolis 1993) 77. Ps 33 has solid linguistic links to Ps 32. In Psalms 3-17, only Psalms 8 and 15 are not laments.

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of Pss 3-17. Quite dramatically, though, the reader is returned to the realm of lament in Ps 22. As we have already noted the image of God as Rock is at home in individual laments, and also the image of God as Rock is characteristic of individual laments, here for the first time it does not appear in the cluster of laments (Pss 3-17) in the first book of the Psalter. But it appears in Ps 18 for the first time, which is an individual thanksgiving. What could be the reasons for placing Ps 18, an Individual thanksgiving and other thanksgiving psalms (Pss 19; 20; 21) after a cluster of laments? (Pss 3-17). And what could be the reason of the appearance of ‘God as Rock’ for the first time in Ps 18, (a thanksgiving psalm) after a cluster of laments? The internal arrangement of the psalms, as well as their position in relation to one another is largely dismissed as the result of “accidental” juxtaposition.317 If research in to the pairing of adjacent psalms continues to be carried out, soon ‘every pair of adjacent psalms will be shown to have some significant links between them’.318 There is a need to reconsider the view that the Psalter demonstrates the existence of a spiritual or theological scheme in which there is a deliberate movement from lament to triumphant praise. The only part of that theory that can be objectively substantiated is that the Psalter ends with an expression of pure praise. The last five psalms all begin and end with the term hywllh, (‘Praise the Lord’). The first book (Pss 1-41) conclude with a doxology (Ps 41,13[14]) as do the other Books. But there is reason to doubt whether the compiler of the Book One had any definite scheme in mind. Though psalms of lamentation predominate in this collection, at least 16 psalms are quite different in character, even though some of these contain elements of appeals for help. Nor is it possible to find any system governing the choice of superscriptions. Of these psalms, 34 are attributed to David, but many of these are not lamentations; only four (Pss 3; 7; 18; 34) are associated with events in the life of David and could perhaps be interpreted by readers as models of behaviors in adversity.

317

318

G. H. W ILSON, “Evidence of Editorial Divisions in the Hebrew Psalter”, VT 34, 3 (1984) 337; Thematical and lexical link of immediately juxtaposed psalms is called the principle of ‘concatenation’. D. M. HOWARD (Jr.), provides helpful comment on canonical methodology with regard to the Book of Psalms. His approach focuses on four areas of linking which show concatenation between individual psalms, pairs or groups of psalms: lexical, thematic, structural and genre connection. Cf. The Structure of Psalms 93-100 (Winona Lake 1997) 99-100. D. M. HOWARD , Jr., “Editorial Activity in the Psalter: A State-of-the-Field Survey”, in MCCANN J. C., Jr. (ed.), Shape and Shaping of the Psalter, JSOTS 74 (Sheffield 1993) 52-70.

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That there is a progressive movement from lament to praise in the Psalter is first proposed by W. Brueggemann.319 For him, Psalms 1 and 150 represent the extreme poles of a movement which he describes variously as one ‘from obedience to praise’, ‘from duty to delight’, ‘from hurt to joy’, ‘from death to life’. The Psalter is so ordered as to take the readers step by step through the crisis of ḥesed, which they have experienced as they wrestled with their various disappointments and trials, to a confident conclusion.320 Brueggemann insists that his principal concern is neither with the ‘shape’ of the Psalter – that is, with the placing of every psalm-nor with ‘history’ in the sense of a historical development in which a positive treatment of the Davidic monarchy was followed by a reminder of the failure of that monarchy, so leading to an emphasis on the absolute sovereignty of God in a period when there was no reigning Israelite king. But his concern is synchronic:321 a concern with the Psalter as canon. The Psalter, with all its diversity, presents when interpreted symbolically a fundamentally coherent message which served the needs of the faithful reader. This answers partly our question why of an individual thanksgiving (Ps 18) after the Psalms of laments. The praise of God is the last word of faith. Westermann points out that most (in some senses, all) of the laments already contain ‘thanks’ (praise); they are ‘lament that has been turned to praise’.322 Further, Millard323 points out that within a single psalm changes of Gattung, number (singular to plural and vice versa) and persons addressed are no longer regarded as proving literary disunity, he argues by analogy that this is also true, mutatis mutandis, of sequences of adjacent psalms: abrupt changes of Gattung, for example, from lament to praise (Pss 3-17 to Pss 18-21 to 22), from one psalm to the next should not be seen as 319

320

321 322 323

W. BRUEGGEMANN, “Bounded by Obedience and Praise: The Psalms as Canon”, JSOT 50 (1991) 63-92, 68. The abrupt shift in mood in the lament psalms has long been discussed by scholars. Against all the previous findings the cause of the shift could be understood in relation to the “covenant” between God and his people. The biblical term ḥesed is often found in close connection with the concept of covenant, as an “agent” or expression of God’s willingness to deliver his people from harmful situations; this term may the cause of the shift from lament to praise in the lament psalms, or Psalter as a whole. Cf. SUNG-HUNLEE, “Lament and the Joy of Salvation”, in P. W. FLINT and P. D. M ILLER (eds.), The Book of Psalms: Composition and Reception, (Leiden - Boston 2005) 226. N. WHYBRAY, Reading the Psalms as a Book, JSOTS 222 (Sheffield 1996) 122. C. WESTERMANN, The Praise of God in the Psalms, 80f. M. M ILLARD, Die Komposition des Psalters: Ein Formgeschichtlicher Ansatz, FAT 9 (Tübingen 1994), cited in, N. WHYBRAY, Reading the Psalms, JSOTS 222 (Sheffield 1996) 30.

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indications of random juxtaposition, but may point to a deliberate arrangement made in order to create a progressive movement of thought and feeling. Such a movement might, and frequently does, mark a progress from lament to praise, often mediated by an intervening divine oracle of reassurance. So praise of God must have lament preceding it. On the other hand, lament is meaningless without praise: There is not a single psalm of lament that stops with lamentation, Ps 88 is an exception.324 Lament already contains praise. For the Book of Psalms centers in the praise of God. According to Westermann, the primary mode of worship for ancient Israel was that of praise. This was interrupted only in times of danger, at which point the community would switch into “lament” mode until the trouble was resolved. Then the community would return to its normal mode of praise.325 The praise of God is the last word of faith. And the metaphor of the ‘Rock’ in Praise (thanksgiving) Psalms (in Ps 18 and 19) after a cluster of laments (Pss 3-17) may provide an accessory contribution to the study of biblical bipolarism. For, Old Testament faith is to be understood in a ‘bipolar fashion’.326 S. Terrien327 in his article asks whether “Metaphor of the ‘Rock’” provides an accessory contribution to the study of ‘biblical bipolarism’ i.e., God’s retribution and compassion (omnipotence and empathy). This is evident in Pss 18 and 19 (Thanksgiving/Praise) after a cluster of laments (Pss 3-17). Indeed a movement from lament to praise. Rock can function as a bridge in this progression and movement from Lament to Praise. God as Rock, in other words His dsx is the cause for the shift from lament to praise.328 Moreover, the biblical term dsx is often found in close 324

325 326

327 328

C. WESTERMANN, “The Role of Lament in the Theology of the OT” (trans. R. N. SOULEN ) Int 28 (1974) 26-27. Westermann nowhere deals with this psalm as an important exception to the “plea/praise” pattern. It is unrelieved in its embrace of disorientation: there is no movement away from displacement. The psalm concludes in utter hopelessness (vv. 15-18). However, this psalm has a peculiar and distinctive function and is a resource as precious as it is peculiar. Cf. W. BRUEGGEMANN, P. D. MILLER (eds.), The Psalms and the Life of Faith (Minneapolis 1989) 13. Cf. C. WESTERMANN, Praise and Lament in the Psalms, 9-12. W. BRUEGGEMANN, “A Shape for Old Testament Theology, I: Structure Legitimation”, CBQ 47, 1 (1985) 28. It is not only about structure legitimacy (God of retribution) but also about the embrace of pain (God of Compassion). Cf. also, W. BRUEGGEMANN, “A Shape for Old Testament Theology, II: Embrace of Pain” CBQ 47, 1 (1985) 398. S. TERRIEN, “The Metaphor of the Rock in Biblical Theology”, 157-171. Though this abrupt shift in mood in the lament psalms has long been discussed by scholars, no satisfactory explanation has yet been suggested. For discussions, cf. F. KÜCHLER, “Das Priesterliche Orakel in Israel und Juda”, in W. W. G. VON BAUDISSIN

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connection with the concept of covenant, as an “agent” or expression of God’s willingness to deliver his people from harmful situations. It is the ‘Generic Space’ mentioned in the metaphor theory. The Psalter is a very particular collection of ~ylht and twlpt, two terms for the two fundamental forms of this literature, texts of praise and prayers, hymns and laments. They reflect the polar experiences of human life, are reactions to good times and bad, words of despair and hope, joy and sorrow, admiration and utter distress.329 As one reads on in the first book (and the book of Psalms), it is clear that we are encountering a school of prayer.330 In these polar experiences the psalmist either thanks or laments. Book I on the whole articulates what could be called “a politics of the community of faith”.331 Community of faith consists of ‘plea’ and ‘praise’ or ‘pain’ and ‘praise’. And ‘God as Rock’ appears in this politics of the community of faith. In other words God is invoked personally as ‘my Rock’ in the context of prayer, when one is in dire need of help.

329

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(ed.), Abhandlungen zur semitischen Religionskunde und Sprachwissenschaft, BZAW 33 (Berlin 1918) 285-301; H. GUNKEL and J. BEGRICH, Introduction to Psalms: The Genres of the Religious Lyric of Israel (trans. J AMES D. NAGALSKI (Macon 1998) 125126; J. BEGRICH, “Das Priesterliche Heilsorakel”, ZAW 52 (1934) 43; C. WESTERMANN, Praise and Lament in the Psalms, 65,79. These authors suggest that either a priest or prophet gave an oracle of salvation in the temple or the worshipper experiences a sudden change or else God intervened in the situation. E. PEELS, “Introduction”, in B. BECKING and E. PEELS (eds.), Psalms and Prayers, OTS (Leiden - Boston 2007) 1 Along with Latin Psalmus, Greek ψαλµός and Hebrew ‫( תְ ִהלִּים‬songs of praise), the scholars note that the most ancient title is tlpt, meaning “prayers”. “Politics” may seem an odd label here but any time there is relationship, there is politics. A dictionary definition of “politics” is “the complex of relationships between people in a society”. Book I displays a “society” and its members in fervent relationship with God and with each other. Cf. W. H. BELLINGER (Jr.), “Reading from the Beginning (Again): The Shape of Book I of the Psalter”, in J. S. BURNETT, W. H. BELLINGER (Jr.) and W. D. TUCKER (Jr.), (eds.), Diachronic and Synchronic. Reading the Psalms in Real Time: Proceedings of the Baylor Symposium on the Book of Psalms, JSOTS 488 (New York – London 2007) 123.

PSALM 18,2[3].31[32].46[47] THE BEGINNING OF ‘GOD AS ROCK’ IN THE PSALTER A. Ps 18: Preliminary Observations – Structure and Genre Ps 18 is undoubtedly one of the most discussed psalms in the Psalter. Kenneth Kuntz for example describes it as a “Hebrew poem that continues to fascinate biblical scholars.”332 From a variety of perspectives, Ps 18 provokes debate. First, it is one of very few psalms, which is cited almost in its entirety in a narrative passage (2 Sam 22), therefore it is of great interest from a source-critical perspective and is often discussed in this light. Secondly, it is a lengthy psalm whose themes seem to be picked up on by other Old Testament writers, so there is much scope for assessing the intertextuality of Ps 18; for example, the link between the book of Habakkuk and Ps 18 is much discussed. Thirdly, the mixture of genres had prompted much debate from a form-critical perspective; is this hymn of praise or a song of thanksgiving? Are these the words of the king, and what is the role of the theophany in this psalm? Many of the classic questions of form-critical studies concerning Gattungen and Sitz im Leben can be richly applied to Ps 18. Fourthly, the length of this psalm and its somewhat unusual composition make Ps 18 a “classic text” for rhetorical critical assessment; how does this psalm break down into stanzas? Is this, in fact, two psalms which have been joined together by an editor, or single work with a strong and deliberate breakdown into stanzas which reflect a thematic progression? It was a richness of Ps 18 from many methodological perspectives which inspired Donald Berry333 to choose this psalm as his test case for the application and evaluation of various methods for the analysis of psalms. He studies Psalm 18 from a variety of methods – form criticism, rhetorical criticism, reader-oriented criticism – in order to illustrate the value and applications of reader-oriented criticism. He begins with a textual analysis and translation of the psalm. A study of its poetic features (meter, parallelism, strophic structure) concludes this textual analysis. In his form-critical analysis Berry divides the psalm into two complementary halves and defends its unity. He identifies the psalm’s genre as royal song of thanksgiving and proposes a Sitz im Leben of thanksgiving on the occasion of military victories. Berry’s rhetorical study consists of four parts: 1) 332

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J. K. KUNTZ, “Review of ‘the Psalms and their readers:’ Interpretative Strategies for Ps 18” Int 48 (1994) 426. D. K. BERRY, The Psalms and their Readers: Interpretive Strategies for Psalm 18, JSOTS 153 (Sheffield 1993).

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the relationship among beginning, middle, and end of the psalm; 2) literary devices; 3) thematic function of these devices; 4) interpretation of the whole. In his reader-oriented criticism Berry analyzes intra-textual signals which guide the reader, the nature of the reading process, and the text’s function as a performance. Reader-oriented criticism demonstrates the possibility of recontextualizing the psalm in the twentieth century. The purpose of this study is to stress the Hermeneutics of the Psalms. The second one who made a study of Ps 18 is Klaus-Peter Adam.334 In his dissertation he sees Ps 18 as a Text that evolved in three stages. The original core consists of vv. 3-19[4-20].32-41[33-42] and echoes the Near Eastern notion of the warrior king who supported by the war –god whose acts he imitates. Vv. 1-2[2-3].41-49[42-50] (without v. 43a[44a] are an inserted post-exilic royal song of thanksgiving. A third stage can be discovered in first as the actual ruler, then collectively as the entire people and finally, as the collectivity of the pious. Ps 18,1a.50[51] reflects a programme of Davidic restoration. In short, the three stages seem to identify the royal hero first as the actual ruler, then collectively as the entire people, and finally as the collectivity of the pious. B. Ps 18=2 Sam 22: An Excurse As we have noted above saying, that Ps 18 is one of very few psalms which is cited almost in its entirety in a narrative passage (2 Sam 22). This needs to be considered. Ps 18 has the longest of the historical titles attributed to David and is set in the context of his success in battle. The title of Ps 18 connects the body of the poem with the military struggles of David, particularly those he encountered with Saul. The impression gained from reading this psalm into the Samuel narrative is that David had undergone greater difficulty than that which is reported in this version of his encounters with his adversaries, and especially, Saul. The Dangers that David faced can be grouped into three categories: First and foremost were the deliverances of David from King Saul during the long years David had to hide from him in the wilderness. The second half of 1 Sam. tells this story, beginning with Saul’s jealousy of David because of the way the people of Israel praised him (1 Sam.18,15-16). While David was still at court, Saul tried to kill him on more than one occasion, and when he fled first to the land of the Philistines (1 Sam. 19,8f.) and later to the cave at Adullam (1 Sam 22,1f) and other wilderness fortresses (1 Sam 22-23), Saul pursued him and tried 334

K.-P. ADAM, Der königliche Held, Die Entsprechung von kämpfendem Gott und kämpfendem König in Psalm 18 (Neukirchen 2001).

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to kill him there. These years contain amazing accounts of how God more than once brought Saul to a place where David could have killed him and they report that David did not do it (1 Sam 24,9ff.). David spared Saul, and God spared David. Thus, at the end of 1 Samuel, Saul dies by his own hand after a disastrous battle with the Philistines (1 Sam 31), and at the start of 2 Samuel, David becomes king, first over the large southern tribe of Judah and then over all Israel. Secondly, God delivered David during his years of fighting against Israel’s enemies and gave him numerous victories. This was the period in which David established the kingdom. 2 Sam. 8, lists David’s victories over the Philistines, Moabites, Arameans of Damascus and Edomites. Thirdly, God delivered David from the hand of his own son Absalom. The young man had plotted to drive his father away from Jerusalem and take the kingdom for himself, and he surrounded the city to the extent that David had to flee his capital and take refuge again in the vast rocky wilderness. A battle followed in which the armies of Absalom were defeated and Absalom was himself killed (2 Sam. 18). David was delivered again though he said he would that he had been killed rather than his son (2 Sam 18,33). Ps.18 comes in 2 Sam. 22 after this moving recital of the events of David’s life and is a fitting expression of thanksgiving to God for his protection and deliverance during many dangerous years. Ps 18 occurs with some minor variation in 2 Sam 22,335 a text which is secondary (later) with regard to Ps 18.336 One cannot approach Ps 18 without carrying an awareness of 2 Sam 22 and vice versa. The vocabulary stock of Ps 18 however, is sprinkled with allusions to the prose accounts in the books of Samuel. In what follows no diligent comparison between Ps 18 and its parallel recension in 2 Sam 22 will be attempted, since that has been definitively accomplished by Cross and Freedman.337 In the following lines only an overview of 335

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The insertion of poems into biblical narratives is somewhat common. Cf. Gen 49; Deut 32; 33; Judg 5; 1 Sam 2,1-10; 2 Sam 1,19-27. F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, Psalmen; Cf. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Der Wandel des Beters in Ps 18. Wachstumsphasen eines Dankliedes”, in HAAG/HOSSFELD (Hg.), FS Groß, 187; Cf. also, CROSS and FREEDMAN, Studies in Ancient Yahwistic Poetry, 125158. Cf. F. CROSS and FREEDMAN, “A Royal Song of Thanksgiving: II Samuel 22=Psalm 18”, JBL 72 (1953) 15-34; More recently published in Studies in Ancient Yahwistic Poetry, SBLDS 21 (Missoula 1975) 125-158.

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the synoptic version of Ps 18 in 2 Sam 22 will be attempted. Interpreting Ps 18, Hossfeld338 pinpoints three features which make this psalm peculiar. After Ps 119 and Ps 78 it is the third longest poem in the Psalter. It has a “Doppelgänger” in 2 Sam 22, and, last but not least, is “Formen – und Gattungskritisch betrachtet ein Unikum”. Furthermore, it is the only psalm which has a biographical title referring to an “episode” of David’s life and at the same time David is mentioned explicitly in the text of the psalm as well.339 The references to David in the texts of the psalms create a completely different image from the one depicted by the biographical titles. The difference has been grasped as Ballhorn340 avers: “David als Individuum und als Typos, David im Leiden und in der Rechtfertigung, der historische David und der David der Zukunft, David als Identifikationsfigur des einzelnen und des Volkes”. While the psalmsuperscriptions intend to connect the respective psalms with certain episodes of David’s life, when his name appears in the texts of the psalms, his figure is endowed with a certain duality. He is simultaneously the founder of the monarchy and the personification of Israel as the people of Yahweh; the elected king and the legitimate leader, in accordance with a deuteronomistic pattern and the David redivivus341 of the late-exilic or early post-exilic time. As for Ps 18, David here becomes “the ideal believer with whom every pious Israelite can identify in life and prayer.342 When, however, David is presented in the biographical titles of the psalms, he is almost always presented as the persecuted, who flees and hides, or as the repentant sinner. Accordingly, the psalms having historical headings are mainly individual laments, or containing lament elements. In order to understand why this fairly long lyrical piece might have been inserted into the narrative of Samuel, the question of the relationship between Ps 18 and 2 Samuel must be briefly addressed. In the past hundred years or so of 338 339

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F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, Die Psalmen, 118. There are thirteen Psalms in the MT which have biographical titles referring to a series of situations of David’s life as depicted in the Samuel narrative. Except for Ps 142 all the other psalms can be found in the first two “books” of the Psalter. In MT the name of David appears twelve times in the texts of six different Psalms: Pss 18,50[51]; 78,70; 89,3[4].20[21].35[36].49[50]; 122,5; 132,1.10.11.17; 144,10. Cf. L. T. S IMON, Identity and Identification: An Exegetical and Theological Study of 2 Sam 21-24 (Roma 2000) 251 n.167. E. BALLHORN, ‘Um deines Knechtes David willen’, (Ps 132,10. Die Gestalt Davids im Psalter”, BN 76 (1995) 30. This phrase is taken from H. Spieckermann’s comment on Ps 78,70-72. Cf. H. SPIECKERMANN, Heilsgegenwart. Eine Theologie der Psalmen, FRLANT 148 (Göttingen 1988) 149. J. LUYTEN, “David and the Psalms”, QL 71 (1990) 221.

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the history of exegesis roughly speaking the following three hypotheses have been repeatedly proposed concerning the problem of this double textual transmission. i) As we already noted above the first hypothesis is that 2 Samuel 22 is secondary with regard to Ps 18,343 ii) The two redactors resorted to the same source independently of each other,344 iii) And the third hypothesis, that 2 Samuel 22 is primary with regard to Ps 18.345 Ps 18,1 qualifies David as hwhy-db[, whereas this designation is missing in 2 Sam 22,1. Mathys346 argues that Ps 18 only strengthened the spiritual dimensions 2 Sam 22 already had in Samuel. That is the reason why David is called hwhy-db[ in v. 1, which has the role of emphasizing the close and privileged relationship with Yahweh. However, in the books of Samuel and Kings, David is referred to as hwhy-db[.347 Further royal overtones are found in the use of the phrase “servant of the Lord” (hwhy-db[). Miller348 pinpoints that Ps 18,1 is the first appearance of the term db[ in the Psalter, while the second and third appearances can be found in Ps 19,11[12].13[14], and the largest cluster of self-references to “servant” can be found in Ps 119. Therefore, concludes Miller, “the term “servant” […] according to the book in general, but more particularly this collection [i.e. Pss 15-24], is to be associated with two figures, the ruler and the tôrâh -lover. In summary, then, 2 Sam 22 omits the liturgical or liturgically/ritually perceived designation, but through the historical introduction and the framing “postlude”, and some other textual modification, connects the psalm more tightly to the figure of David. The redactors of the Psalter, on their part, retained both the liturgical and the biographical title, made use of the term db[, but not as a technical term with regard to the performance of the psalm in the cult, but as a 343

344 345

346 347

348

Cf. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Der Wandel des Beters in Ps 18”, 187; Cf. also, J.-L. VESCO, Le Psaume, 54f.; G. SCHMUTTERMAYER, Psalm 18 and 2 Sam 22: Studien zu einem Doppeltext. Probleme der Textkritik und Übersetzung und das Psalterium Pianum, StANT 25 (München 1971) 16. Cf. P. CRAIGIE, Psalms, 171f. Cf. T. VEIJOLA, Die ewige Dynastie. David und die Entstehung seiner Dynastie nach der deuteronomistischen Darstellung, AASF 193 (Helsinki 1995)120-123; Cf. also, H.-P. MATHYS, Dichter und Beter. Theologen aus spätalttestamentlicher Zeit, OBO 132 (Göttingen 1994) 148-154. H.-P. MATHYS, Dichter und Beter. Theologen aus spätalttestamentlicher Zeit, 153. David referring to himself: 1 Sam 17,32.34.36.58; 20,8; 23,10.11; 27,5; 2 Sam 7,19.20.21.25.26.27-28.29; Saul referring to David: 1 Sam 22,8; Yahweh’s words referring to David: 2 Sam 3,18; 7,5; 1 Kgs 11,13.32.34.36.38; 2 Kgs 19,34; 20,6. Cf. H. RINGGREN, “db[”, ThWAT V, 1000. It appears 27x times in the Psalter, 14x times in Ps 119; apart from this mainly in individual laments. Cf. P. D. MILLER, “Kingship, Torah Obedience and Prayer”, 128.

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means of Stichwortverkettung349 providing a guide to the reader of the Psalter which by that time had already become a Meditationstext.350 What is the interpretative role of the insertion of the psalm into the Appendix (2 Sam 21-24)? On the one hand, the placement of psalms into the prose was a narrative device, as Watts351 posits. On the other hand, the Song is the only psalm which is “published” as a narratively inset hymn whose biographical title seems to have developed after it had been inserted into the Appendix.352 According to Watts, “the example of psalms in narrative contexts probably contributed to the development of historical titles in the Psalter.353 The interplay between psalms and narrative worked in both directions. This interaction can well be grasped in Miller’s words354 as “the democratizing of kingship and royalizing of the people”, or as Kleer355 avers: through the insertion of the Song into the book of Samuel “Daviderzählungen werden “psalmisiert”, so wie umgekehrt der Psalm in 2 Sam 22 durch die Zuweisung an David verbunden mit entsprechenden gezielten Modifikationen innerhalb des Psalms und die Einordnung in seine Biographie weiter “davidisiert” wurde”. Thus, it is clear that poetry accommodates narrative, and narrative accommodates poetry.356 If 2 Sam 22 is secondary with regard to Ps 18 one could argue that history of redaction behind the psalm is not of much importance. Provided one accepted that those who are responsible for the “final” form of Ps 18 were the same who inserted it into the book of Samuel or in the Appendix, it would lead to the idea of Armenfrömmigkeit.357 After exile, in the fifth and fourth century, according to Hossfeld and Zenger the Psalter was redacted in the spirit of the Armenfrömmigkeit. In the case of Ps 18, Hossfeld358 distinguishes four steps in the redactional history of Ps 18: a pre-exilic song of thanksgiving and a victory song

349 350 351

352 353 354 355

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N. LOHFINK, “Psalmengebet und Psalmenredaktion”, ALW 34 (1992) 7. N. LOHFINK, “Psalmengebet und Psalmenredaktion”, 8. Cf. J. W. WATTS, Psalms and Story. Inset Hymns in Hebrew Narrative, JSOTS 139 (Sheffield 1992) 185. Cf. L. T. SIMON, Identity and Identification, 259-260. J. W. WATTS, Psalms and Story. Inset Hymns in Hebrew Narrative, 185. Cf. P. D. MILLER, “Kingship, Torah Obedience and Prayer”, 130. Cf. M. KLEER, “Der leibliche Sänger der Psalmen Israels”. Untersuchungen zu David als Dichter und Beter der Psalmen, BBB 108 (Bodenheim 1996) 76. Cf. S. PARRISH, A Story of the Psalms: Conversation, Canon, and Congregation (Collegeville 2003) 7. Cf. F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, Die Psalmen, 14. Cf. F.-L. HOSSFELD “Der Wandel des Beters in Ps 18”, 90.

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of the king (1) can be discerned in vv. 2,33-50, which was transformed into an individual thanksgiving song (2) towards the end of the pre-exilic period (vv. 37[8-16a].17-20) that, in turn, was adapted to the exilic community (3) adding vv. 26-32 and possibly 16b. This song was, then, reshaped into (4) a “song of David” towards the end of the exile through the insertion of vv. 1,21-25.51. In a later article written with E. Zenger,359 they consider vv. 26-32 as the last redactional addition, through which the community aspect of the psalm is highlighted: “Die armtheologische Erweiterung macht die Lebenserfahrung des Königs David von Ps 18 zum Typos des armen Israel”. C. The Leitwort rwc (“Rock”) in Ps 18: Unity of the Psalm The use of rwc for Gott is placed, as we have seen, at the end of tôrâh in Deut 32, where it appears for 7x times. It migrates further in the framing of the books of Samuel in the Prayers of Hanna and David in 1 Sam 2 and 2 Sam 22. Again the term is emphasized in the Book of Isaiah. And it is interesting to note that the term rwc has its focal point (Schwerpunkt) in the Psalter. After Deut 32 it is in Ps 18, where the occurrences of God as Rock abound. The theme of refuge plays an important role not only in Deut 32, but also in Ps 18. But how did it come that exactly the rock as a metaphor for Yahweh became so popular that it is used again and again in Deut 32? To find an answer to that question, let us have a look at Ps 18. In more recent times, there have been doubts whether Psalm 18 can even be considered a unity. The unity of the Psalm has been challenged by a few scholars.360 But Kuntz361 argues that Ps 18 is an integrated whole. The image of God as Rock (rwc) that appears in both halves of Ps 18 speaks for unity of Ps 18. With first-person singular suffix, it is intentionally used near the extremities of the poem, in v. 2[3] within the introductory hymnic praise and in v. 46a[47a] 359 360

361

Cf. HOSSFELD and ZENGER, “Wer darf hinaufziehen zum Berg JHWHs?”, 178f. H. SCHMIDT, divides the psalm into two distinct compositions. Cf. Die Psalmen, HAT (Tübingen 1934) 27; Two decades later Cross and Freedman wrote, ‘It remains a question as to whether the psalm is an amalgamation of two or more independent odes, or a single poem sharply divided into separate parts’. Cf. F. CROSS and FREEDMAN, “A Royal Song of Thanksgiving”, 21. F. CRÜSEMANN, Studien zur Formgeschichte von Hymnus und Danklied in Israel (Neukirchen-Vluyn 1969) 254, has questioned the unity of the psalm. Only with some concession does he write, “Aber auch, wer an der Einheit festhält oder unentschieden bleibt, muss von zwei formal und inhaltlich ganz verschiedenen Hälften sprechen”. J. K. KUNTZ, “Psalm 18: A Rhetorical-Critical Analysis”, 87f.

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within the concluding praise. Also rwc without a suffix is met in v. 31[32]. This indicates the significance of the metaphor. In other words, the image is sufficiently significant or evocative to be used either to introduce the themes or to provide the resolution to the psalm.362 Thus the term rwc performs as a keyword (Leitwort) which provides unity for the psalm, and at each occurrence (vv. 2[3].31[32] and 46[47]) it is a divine title.363 The word appears in three hymnic statements which are transitional statements at transitional points which indicate its importance as a keyword.364 Of the various epithets which might have been used, in selecting rwc a Leitwort for his composition, the poet has seemingly chosen the best one available for this royal thanksgiving and appropriated it in such a manner as to facilitate an artful integration of the entire psalm. Lead by this Leitwort Rock in Ps 18, one can see the unity of Ps 18 graphically in this way: A statement “Yahweh is Rock” becomes an address “Yahweh is my Rock (rwc)”. In times of distress (rc) the psalmist turns out to Yahweh the Rock and cries “Be thou my Rock” – His intervention in times of distress proves the incomparability of Yahweh the Rock. At the end the psalmist vows to praise Yahweh – “Blessed be my Rock”. YHWH is “my Rock” (v. 2[3]) Invoking YHWH “in distress” (v. 6[7]) “Be thou my Rock” Who is a “Rock” besides our God? (v. 31[32]) Blessed be “my Rock” (v. 46[47])

In summary, the impersonal title, the Rock given to Yahweh becomes a source of unification for the diverse elements in (vv. 2[3].31[32].46[47]). The last mention of Rock with the pronominal suffix of possession “my Rock” (v. 46[47]) admirably binds the conclusion with its commitment to praise with the initial shout of passionate piety, “I love thee ……my Rock..” (v. 2[3]). Between the two poles, which express the most intimate communion, an ascending curve unites the theophany (vv. 7-19[8-20]) to the doxology (v. 50[51]).365 By including the theophany the editor not only raises David to the status of Moses, who experienced Yahweh’s actual appearance on Sinai; he also formulates a view of 362 363 364 365

M. P. KNOWLES, “The Rock, His Work is Perfect”, 307 n. 2. D. K. BERRY, The Psalms and the Readers, 95. D. K. BERRY, The Psalms and the Readers, 95. S. TERRIEN, The Psalms. Strophic Structure and Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids 2003) 204.

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the divine in which Yahweh has a much closer relation to the natural world. Quite simply, Ps 18 has a plot.366 In the above table lies the whole plot of Ps 18. To read Ps 18 is to move from an affirmation of Yahweh’s Rock-solid reliable character (vv. 1-2[2-3]), to a terrifying confrontation with death (vv. 4-5[5-6]), to cry for help to God who listens, and who responds. Clearly the progression is from distress to salvation, or lament to praise or from “conflict to resolution”.367 To understand this progression better, one can obviously draw inspiration from W. Brueggemann, especially his use of the categories: Orientation, Disorientation and New Orientation.368 The author of Ps 18 seems to play between the words rwc (“rock”), rc (“distress”)369 and rcy (to create or form/fashion/craft – new creation).370 And also rws (“turn aside”), for in vv. 21-23[22-24] David says he has kept Yahweh’s ways, he has not put away (rws) Yahweh’s ordinances from before him even as the king in Deut 17,20 was not to turn aside (rws). The

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V. S. PARRISH, A Story of the Psalms. Conversation, Canon and Congregation (Collegeville 2003) 7. Plot is “a fundamental element of narrative, as an organized system of events, arranged in temporal sequence. The plot of a narrative is constructed as a meaningful chain of interconnected events”. Cf. S. BAR EFRAT, Narrative Art of the Bible, JSOTS 70 (Sheffield 1989) 91. V. S. PARRISH, A Story of Psalms, 7. The Egyptian Royal Psalms of thanksgivings have a similar structure: 1) An introductory hymn of praise; 2) The recital of distress; 3) Thanksgiving with a repeated profession of faith. Cf. S. MOWINCKEL, The Psalms in Israel’s Worship, 2 (trans. D. R. AP-THOMAS) (Oxford 1962) 186. W. BRUEGGEMANN, The Message of the Psalms (Minneapolis 1984) 19. The categories of ‘Orientation, Disorientation and New-Orientation’ have been appropriated by Brueggemann from Paul Ricoeur, as he acknowledges in W. BRUEGGEMANN “Psalms and the life of faith: A Suggested Typology of Function”, The Psalms and the Life of Faith (ed. P. MILLER) (Minneapolis 1995) 7f. Brueggemann suggests that the psalms could be roughly grouped this way, and the flow of human life characteristically is located either in the actual experience of one of these settings or is in movement from one to another. Human life consists in satisfied seasons of well-being that evoke gratitude for the constancy of blessing – Orientation. Human life consists of anguished seasons of suffering and death – Disorientation. Human life consists of surprise when overwhelmed with new gifts of God – New Orientation. The noun for distress is the common word rc was to be in ‘a tight’, constricted place; while to be delivered was to be brought out of such a place into a broad area of openness and freedom. Sometimes the broad place and deliverance are explicitly linked together: “He brought me out into a broad place [bxrm]; he delivered me, because he delighted in me” (Ps 18,19[20]). Though the word rcy (“Shaper”) does not appear in Psalm 18, the Rabbis derived rwc from rcy reading it as “shaper” or “creator”. Cf. A. WIEGAND, “Der Gottesname rwc und seine Deutung in dem Sinne Bildner oder Schöpfer in der alten jüdischen Literatur”, 9394.

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spatial imagery which the poet employs in Ps 18 narrates the story of the king’s successful deliverance from an oppressive – even life-threatening –situation. In other words it’s a movement from rc (distress) to rcy (new creation). Orientation Disorientation New Orientation

Superscription (v. 1) Yahweh as Rock vv. 1-2[2-3] rwc (Rock) Be a Rock (Cry in distress) vv. 3-6[4-7] rc (distress) Yahweh as Rock vv. 16-18[17-19] rcy (form/fashion) Liturgical Postlude (vv. 49-50[50-51])

The following structure too reveals an inclusionary motif around the praise of and the confidence in Yahweh, the Rock of Israel and the God of David (vv. 12[1-3].46-50[47-51]). A. Yahweh, the Rock of Israel (vv. 1-2[1-3]) B. Distress (vv. 3-6[4-7]) C. The Lord’s coming to help (vv. 7-15[8-16]) D. The Lord’s Deliverance (vv. 16-18[17-19]) E. God as Rock – God’s Faithfulness (vv. 19-28[20-29]) D’. The Divine Perfections (vv. 29-35[30-36]) C’. The King’s Victory over the Enemies (vv. 36-41[37-42]) B’. The Glorious Deliverance (vv. 42-45[43-46]) A’. Yahweh, the Rock of Israel (vv. 46-50[47-51])

From the above structure we know for sure that Rock is the Leitwort in Ps 18. D. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 18,2[3].31[32].46[47] 1. Close Reading of Ps 18,2[3]: Divine Appellatives yqiz>xi hw"hy> ^m.x'r>a, rm;aYOw: 2 yBiG:f.mi y[iv.yI-!r yNIgIm' AB-hs,x/a, yrIWc yliae yjil.p;m.W ytid"Wcm.W y[il.s; hw"hy> 3 1

2

He said: I lovea thee, O Lord, my strength, Yahweh my crag, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

To begin with, this verse (v. 2a[3a]) presents us with little text-critical problems: Ps 18,2[3] reads yqzx hwhy $mxra ‘I love you, Lord, my strength’. ^m.x'r>a, ‘I love

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you’, is unique as an introductory component in biblical hymnody. Some scholars371 propose to emend $mxra to $mmra , ‘I exalt you’, because first, ~xr (‘to love’) in the Qal is a hapax legomenon that expresses a rare intimacy with the deity, being reserved to designate the deepest fathomed divine compassion, is never elsewhere attested as an expression of man’s love toward the deity.372 Secondly, ^m.miro>a] (from the root ~wr or ~mr) (‘I exalt you’), would form a near inclusio with v. 48[49], ynmmwrt ‘You exalt me’. This is the heartfelt word of praise with which the psalm is begun. Though the root ~wr (“to exalt”) is consistent with the hymnic beginning of the song of thanksgiving,373 it is not impossible, however, that the psalmist would have quite naturally formulated his explosion of gratitude with vernacular force.374 The text as it stands with the verb ~xr, however, underlines the personal relationship between the petitioner and the deity.375 In the Psalter’s order it is apt after Ps 17,7.376 ~xr points to a close, warm relationship between the Lord and David, in “Yahweh my Strength”, he sounds the psalm’s keynote. This relatedness between the psalmist and God fits well to the theme of the first book: Prayer. Ps 18 opens with words of confession and praise, which have two striking features. Firstly, the psalmist, by repeatedly using the suffix of the first person singular, speaks of identification and emphasizes that there are strong ties of dependence (relationship) between him and Yahweh. This verse is filled with the expressions of dependence. Through impersonal metaphors, here God is experienced totally in personal categories, not as an abstract power. The I-Thou relationship, so influential and precious in our whole religious heritage, has grown out of ancient family faith.377 A host of personal names (including impersonal) in the Hebrew Scriptures testify most clearly to the prevalence of 371

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373 374

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For example, L. A. SCHÖKEL and C. CARNITI, Salmos I (Salmos 1-72) (São Paulo 1996) 300; H.-J. KRAUS, Psalms, 254-258; J. K. KUNTZ, “Psalm 18: A Rhetorical Analysis”, 76. Ps 116,1 expresses a similar sentiment of intimacy with different vocabulary, “I love that the Lord hears my voice” (ylwq-ta hwhy [mvy-yk ytbha). Cf. H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen, 1-59, 283. The semantic overtones of the verb varied widely. It is difficult to ascertain its exact meaning in tenth-century Hebrew. Cf. G. SCHMUTTERMAYER, “RḤM – Eine lexikalische Studie”, Bib LI (1970) 501f. n. 3 Cf. V. L. JOHNSON, David in Distress. His Portrait thorough the Historical Psalms, OTS 505 (New York, London 2009) 113. Cf. R. DAVIDSON, The Vitality of Worship (Grand Rapids 1998) 65. He argues for its appropriateness here. Cf. E. S. GERSTENBERGER, “Theologies in the Book of Psalms”, in P. W. FLINT and P. D. M ILLER (ed.), The Book of Psalms, 610.

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well-defined family-outlooks on life, kinship, blessing, salvation from evils, etc.,378 to the exclusion of national religious concerns. In personal names, “individual relationships to God are put on the same foundation as in individual complaints and salvation oracles: they do imply an archaic, creational state of affairs”.379 “My Rock” (y[ls), “my fortress”(ytdwcm), “my Rock” (yrwc), “my deliverer” (yjlpm), “my God” (yla), “my shield” (yngm), and “horn of my salvation” (y[vy-!rq), “my stronghold” (ybgfm) (Ps 18,2[3]) are the concise statements of this basic relationship of trust. These formulas of “kinship” and expressions of confidence abound in individual psalms of complaint or thanksgiving.380 Secondly, in an abundance which does not have a parallel elsewhere in the Old Testament, the psalmist uses a large number of titles for Yahweh in order to point out what his God means to him. Here the ‘Rock’ is the leading metaphor and it is clustered with a number of other epithets for God.381 J. L. Mays, describes this as “the longest series of predicates for God found in the Psalter”.382 Most of these titles are drawn from the natural world. They are impersonal and terra-centric metaphors for the divine. However, this clustering of God as Rock with metaphors of God as a ‘fortress’ that is constructed by humans – as a ‘shield’, which is human creation; as a ‘deliverer’, which could be a human image; and as ‘salvation’, an abstract concept – may shift the focus away from earth metaphor and toward metaphors and concepts that are more anthropocentric. Each of the epithets describes the dependable and unshakeable nature of the Israelite God. In addition to their symbolic connotations, these epithets are also, as Slomovic notes, identical with the topographic settings

378

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381 382

Cf. R. ALBERTZ, Persönliche Frömmigkeit und Offizielle Religion (Stuttgart 1978) 4977. Albertz points out that: a) personal names in the Old Testament are all but lacking references to “national” creeds in Yahweh’s salvific deeds; and b) these names rather refer to familiar experiences of divine benevolence, sustenance and help in regard to birth, illness, threats, dangers, upkeep, blessings, etc. Cf. R. ALBERTZ, Persönliche Frömmigkeit, 59; He lists 58 names attributing to the personal deity all sorts of care, protection, help, salvation, vindication etc. cf. pp. 61-65; The concept of ḥesed (“steadfast love”, better: “solidarity”) is central to the family and kinship ethos. Cf. E. OTTO, Theologische Ethik des Alten Testaments (Stuttgart 1994) 64-67, 81-94. The motif or form-element expressing confidence in God is an essential item in individual complaints; Cf. E. S. GERSTENBERGER, Psalms (FOTL 14 and 15), glossaries, under “Affirmation of Confidence”; Cf. also, P. D. MILLER, They Cried to the Lord: The Form and Theology of Biblical Prayer (Minneapolis 1994) 127-30. Other examples with many of the same terms in parallel are Pss 62,6-7[7-8] and 71,3. Cf. J. L. MAYS, Psalms, 91.

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where David takes refuge in his flight from Saul”.383 Does this mean that 2 Samuel precedes Ps 18? Or Ps 18 is composed right from the beginning with a look on 2 Samuel? [ls is another term used as a designation of God in LXX Psalms. It mostly occurs in connection with other divine names, especially rwc, and also depicts God’s power to protect, further emphasized through the accumulation of divine epithets in 18,2[3]; 31,2-3[3-4]; 71,3. Thus it often serves as a synonym for rwc as a name of God. The reason for its use is probably the variation of the divine metaphorical names in the Hebrew which the LXX translator sought to provide in the Greek. Contrary to most of the other names under discussion, [ls has no stereotyped equivalent in LXX. It is translated by avntilh,mptwr (protector) in Ps 41[42],9[10]. It is also rendered by kratai,wma,, (strength) in Ps 30[31],3[4], and stere,wma,, (firmness) in Ps 17[18],2[3]; 70[71],3. The equivalents of 17[18],2[3]; 30[31],3[4]; 70[71],3 suggest that the differences are sometimes haphazard, since when [ls as a divine name occurs in the Hebrew phrase ytdwcmw y[ls hwhy it is in Ps 17[18],2[3] and Ps 71,3 rendered by stere,wma mou kai. katafugh, mou and in 30[31],3[4] by kratai,wma, mou kai. katafugh, mou. The contexts in Pss 31 and 71 are also identical; 31,2-4[3-5] are 71,1-3 are parallels. On the other hand, avntilh,mptwr may have been avoided in Ps 17[18],2[3] because it renders bgfm in the same verse, and could therefore be regarded as the main equivalent.384 These different renderings wholly benefit the particular situation of the psalmist. The crevices of mountain rocks provided hiding places for David during his days as a fugitive. When he flees from Saul in the wilderness of Maon (1 Sam 23,25.28), David takes refuge at a place called “Rock of Separation” (twqlxmh [ls).385 The place name mentioned here is an etiological notice explaining the “separation” between Saul’s troops and David’s. That is, David’s army had gone one way and Saul’s another. 386 If separation is a popular meaning of the word qlx, the secondary meanings namely, ‘portion’ and ‘appearance’ also fit well in the context. The Rock, where David took refuge was a “portion”. It’s a ‘portion’ of 383

384 385

386

Cf. E. SLOMOVIC, “Toward an Understanding of the Formation of Historical Titles in the Book of Psalms”, ZAW 91 (1979) 368. S. OLOFSSON, God is my Rock, 46. The root qlx has two meanings which befit the scene at this point in the narrative. The first meaning of qlx is “to be bald”, could refer to the appearance of rock. The second meaning of qlx is “to divide/portion”, since it is descriptive of David’s and Saul’s departures in separate directions. Rabbinic exegetes interpret that the separation indicated the debate among Saul’s men concerning David, whether they should pursue David in the face of the Philistine threat. Cf. W. G. BRAUDE (trans.), The Midrash on Psalms, I (New Haven 1959) 236-237.

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God. The word ‘portion’ (qlx) is used for God: “The Lord is my portion..” (Pss 16,5; 73,26). The Rock, where David took refuge is “appearance” of Yahweh. The Rock is a ‘portion’ of Yahweh and ‘appears’ like Yahweh.387 This will speak to us of the ‘is’ and ‘is not’ quality of a metaphor. That Saul has to cease his chase of David precisely at the moment of nearly capturing him in order to go against the Philistines is no less than a miracle. What prompted David to praise God as Rock? Surely, because a miracle was done for David at a rock.388 David’s escape at the ‘Rock of Separation’ is due to divine action. God becomes David’s Rock and portion. If Yahweh is David’s hdwcm “stronghold” it is because of the “stronghold” at which David lands during his flight from Saul. David perceived Yahweh’s patronage while spending time in the various twdwcm of Moab (1 Sam 22,4-5), Ein-gedi (1 Sam 24,1.23), Ziph (1 Sam 23,14.19) and later, Zion (2 Sam 5,7.9.17). y[vy-!rq boldly celebrates Yahweh as one whose strength is irresistible, not unlike that of wild oxen with their horns. And the central idea of v. 2[3] is best captured in the epithet ‘my deliverer’ (yjlpm). It gives the real explanation of the foregoing figures. Thus, these divine epithets in Ps 18 can be read in the context of the Saul-David stories. In all of these situations, David incurred difficulty with Saul, the man after whom he would rule. In other words, the metaphor of the Rock clustered with other metaphors in Ps 18,2[3] have their signifiers in the realm of defence. The narration of deliverance visualizes that this defence is stronger than the power of the enemies, or rather, this defence is more powerful than any hostile force since nothing can be more perilous than death itself. Thus with the use of divine appellations, each ending with the pronoun, ‘my’, the psalmist affirms the deity as the personal agent of his rescue. 2. Close Reading of Ps 18,31[32]: Incomparable Rock Wnyhel{a/ ytil'Wz rWc ymiW hw"hy> ydE[]l.B;mi H:Ala/ ymi yKi 32 31

For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a Rock, except our God?

If rwc with first-person singular suffix, is intentionally used near the extremities of the poem, (v. 2[3] within the introductory hymnic praise and v. 46[47] within the concluding praise), and here (in v. 31[32]), within the second of two crucial rhetorical questions: “For who is God except the Lord; and who is a Rock 387

388

To speak in Indian terminology, it is Māya, that is a cosmic force that presents the infinite Brahman (the Supreme Being) as the finite phenomenal world. Cf. W. G. BRAUDE, The Midrash on Psalms, I, 235.

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besides our God?”, which are carefully framed by the poet as the suitable introduction to the second half of the psalm, rwc is met without suffix. Also in this part there is a movement from yla (my God) in v. 2[3] to wnyhla (our God). The Rock is used here again to reassert the central idea from vv. 1-2[2-3]. And again we meet the metaphor in v. 46[47]. This means that in speaking about Yahweh, the language of Ps 18 must be regarded as normative.389 This is how Yahweh must be spoken of. The second part of the psalm starts with a hymnic profession of the cult community of Yahweh, ‘our God’ (wnyhla), which takes the form of the rhetorical question. In it Yahweh is compared with the other gods who are worshipped and his superiority is glorified. The cult community’s testimony constitutes the bridge between the first and second parts of the psalm, being simultaneously a response to the king’s profession (vv. 2f.[3f.].) and the theme developed in the second part of the psalm. The psalms of Israel do not only have an ‘I’-speaker, but also the ‘We’ of the congregation or of the people.390 Similarly the psalms have not only ‘my God’ (God of ‘Individual David’) but also ‘our God’ (God of the ‘Collective David’). Principally, changes of subject are possible within a psalm and originally individual psalms and songs of praise or thanksgiving can furthermore be reinterpreted to be collectivized.391 In this case, the Psalms would constitute a normative and formative self-portrait of Israel, especially in times of a crisis of their collective identity.392 As for Ps 18, David here becomes “the ideal believer with whom every pious Israelite can identify in life and prayer.393 The “pray-er” (the one who prays the psalm) becomes “David”.

389

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K. NIELSEN, “Metaphorical Language and Theophany”, in P. VAN HECKE (ed.), Metaphors in the Psalms (Leuven 2010) 197. Cf. G. P. BRAULIK, “Psalter and Messiah. Towards a Christological Understanding of the Psalms in the Old Testament and the Church Fathers”, in D. J. HUMAN, C. J. ADAM VOS, (ed.), Psalms and Liturgy (New York 2004) 28. Cf. J. SCHARBERT, “Das ‘Wir’ in den Psalmen auf dem Hintergrund altorientalischen Betens”, in E. HAAG and F.-L. HOSSFELD (Hrsg.), Freude an der Weisung des Herrn: Beiträge zur Theologie der Psalmen, Festgabe zum 70. Geburtstag von Heinrich Groß, SBB 13 (Stuttgart 1987) 308. Cf. HOSSFELD and ZENGER, “Wer darf hinaufziehen zum Berg JHWHs?”, (1993) 167. J. LUYTEN, “David and the Psalms”, QL 71 (1990) 221.

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In addition to the instances cited by Eissfeldt where the speaker uses ‘my God’394 in order to distinguish his God from other gods (Num 22,18; Josh 9,23; Ruth 1,16; 2 Sam 24,24; 1Kgs 5,18; 5,19; 2 Chr 2,3; Dan 3,14; 4,5; 6,23). In the ‘Psalms’ (Exod 15,2; Pss 18,28[29]; 35,23.24; 40,5[6].8[9].17[18]; 71,4.12.22; 86,2.12; 89,26[27]. The phrase ‘my God’ is clearly a confession of the personal relationship (involving ‘dependence’ and ‘reliance upon’) between those who pray and Yahweh alone to the exclusion of all other gods. Also the phrases ‘our God’ in Ps 113,5; Deut 32,3; 1 Sam 2,2; 2 Chr 14,10; 20,7.12, and ‘God of Israel’ in 1 Kgs 8,23.25f. and 2 Sam 7,27, which in the context have a similar function of distinguishing Yahweh from other gods.395 Deut 32,31a is most direct: “For their rock is not as our Rock”. Here the word rwc refers to both Yahweh (“our god”) and other gods, a contrast at issue also in verses of Deut 32,12.16.21.37-38.39. Both parties in Deut 32,31 call their deity a “Rock”, but the poet’s own “Rock” Yahweh is far superior (cf. Deut 32,4). The image in the poem, on the one hand, disarms the rock of its cultic associations with respect to Yahweh and places it in the context of Israel’s wilderness traditions and, on the other hand, attacks the associations of this image with other gods. The image of the rock is a central one for this poem, expressing both Yahweh’s parental care for Israel and Yahweh’s negative posture toward other deities.396 Many ‘David Psalms’ can be read not only as individual prayer (whether from David or someone else) but as prayers of the people collectively. This possibility is enhanced by the presence in the David psalms themselves of collective language: not only “my shield” and “my God” but “our shield” and ‘god of our salvation’ and of course ‘our God’ (Cf. Pss 59,10[11]; 65,5[6]; 18,31[32]). In this way, David’s voice becomes the collective voice of Israel.397 And each one becomes “David”. The God to whom Israel’s life is endlessly referred to in the Psalter is offered as “incomparable”, both in power (the accent of the hymns) and in solidarity (as stressed in the complaints).398 Ps 18,31[32] opens in a determined manner with its emphatic yKi particle and two rhetorical questions each introduced by the 394

395 396

397 398

For a discussion on ‘my God’, Cf. EISSFELDT, “‘Mein Gott’ im AT”, ZAW 20 (1945/48) 3ff. Cf. C. J. LABUCHANGNE, Yahweh’s Incomparability, 120. Cf. M. S. SMITH, The Early History of God: Yahweh and the other Deities in Ancient Israel (Michigan 2002) 137. Cf. M. J. STEUSSY, David: Biblical Portraits of Power (South Caroline 1999) 172. For a review of the data, see, C. J. LABUSCHAGNE, The Incomparability of Yahweh; See also, W. BRUEGGEMANN , Theology of the Old Testament, 139-144.

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interrogative ‘who’ (ymi). As an artfully employed stylistic device, both rhetorical questions glorify Yahweh by underscoring his incomparability. The usage of rwc occurs especially in statements of incomparability (Deut 32,31; 1 Sam 2,2; 2 Sam 22,32=Ps 18,31[32]; Isa 44,8.399 31

2

~yliyliP. Wnybey>aow> ~r"Wc WnrEWck. al{ yKi Deut 32,31 For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.

Wnyhel{aKe rWc !yaew> ^T,l.Bi !yae yKi hw"hyK; vAdq'-!yae 1 Sam 2,2 There is none holy like the LORD, there is none besides thee; there is no Rock like our God. 32

31

Wnyhel{a/ ydE[]l.B;mi rWc ymiW hw"hy> ydE[]l.B;mi lae-ymi yKi 2 Sam 22,32 For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a Rock, except our God?

Wnyhel{a/ ytil'Wz rWc ymiW hw"hy> ydE[]l.B;mi H:Ala/ ymi yKi Ps 18,31[32] For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a Rock, except our God? -8

yTi[.d"y"-lB; rWc !yaew> yd:['l.B;mi H:Ala/ vyEh] Isa 44,8 “……..Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any”.

Korpel400 states while she comments on Deut 32,31, “The statement that there is no other Rock like Yahweh has ancient echoes in 1 Sam 2,2 and 2 Sam 22,32 (= Ps 18,31[32]). It is taken up again in Isa 44,8. But note the subtle difference in wording. In none of these texts is the existence of a Rock next to Yahweh recognized”. Is there really a theological difference between Deut 32,31 and the expression: “there is no Rock like our god” in 1 Sam 2,2? The latter expression implies also that other gods are “Rocks”, but like Deut 32,31 this phrase says that they pale into insignificance if compared with Yahweh. Both in Deut 32,31 and in 1 Sam 2,2 the word rwc is a designation for gods in general, not for Yahweh alone. The same applies to 2 Sam 22,32/Ps 18,31[32] and Isa 44,8, but these passages state less equivocally that Yahweh is the sole Rock. The term rwc is one of the more common titles of the songs associated with monarchy.401

399

400 401

The Incomparability of Yahweh is expressed both in early and in late parts of the Hebrew Bible. See, for instance, Exod 8,10 [MT 6]; 15,11; Deut 33,26; 2 Sam 7,22; 1 Kgs 8,23; Jer 10,6; Ps 86,8; 1 Chr 17,20; 2 Chr 6,14. Cf. M. C. A. KORPEL, A Rift in the Clouds, 585 n. 440. D. N. FREEDMAN, Pottery, Poetry and Prophecy. Studies in Early Hebrew Poetry (Winona Lake 1980) 77-79; cf. also FOWLER, Theophoric Personal Names, 54.

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According to De Moor,402 the number of Yahwistic personal names testifies that Yahwism must have started as a popular religion long before David. The reason for using rwc both for gods and Yahweh, speaks of the ‘universal’ character of the word rwc. In addition, monotheism is not simply the exclusion of the veneration of other deities.403 “Yahweh-alone” theology is to be understood inclusively, not exclusively: God offers contacts and revelations on all levels of human social organization, in each and every cultural sphere, for all kinds of people.404 That is to say while the epithets were taken into consideration, they never diminished the concept of Israelite God; rather they enriched the same in comparison with other gods. In the expression, "There is none holy like the LORD, there is none besides thee; there is no Rock like our God” (1 Sam 2,2), the word yTil.bi after the preceding negation connotes ‘exclusion’.405 It is important to point out that, when this expression is used in connection with Yahweh (cf. Exod 22,19 and Hos 13,4), the exclusion is understood always with reference to other gods. As a result of the comparison attempted between Yahweh and the other gods, these gods are excluded, for Yahweh simply cannot be compared with them, for God is more and God is different. And the obvious conclusion to be drawn from His incomparability is the belief in His ‘singleness’, rival gods being eliminated.406 Labuschagne has convincingly demonstrated that the concept of Yahweh’s incomparability and the concept of Yahweh’s uniqueness and “singleness “ do not contradict each other but are complementary.407 The idea of elimination of rival gods, implicit in the conception of incomparability, is the gist of the proclamation in Deut 32,31.39. It also corresponds with the confession in Ps 18,31[32]=2 Sam.22,32. ‘For who is God408 but (Cf. Isa 22,19; Deut 4,35; II Chr 18,25; Isa 43,11; 44,6.8; 45,6.21) Yahweh? And who is a Rock except409 our God’. The

402 403

404 405

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J. C. DE MOOR, Rise of Yahwism, 33. M. S. SMITH, “The Polemic of Biblical Monotheism”, in T. L. HETTEMA & A. VAN DER KOOIJ (ed.), Religious Polemics in Context (Assen 2004) 206. E. GERSTENBERGER, “Theologies in the Book of Psalms”, 611. The formula “there is no…like…” denotes incomparability, which “presupposes uniqueness and implies the exclusion of rivals. Cf. C. J. LABUSCHAGNE, The Incomparability of Yahweh in the Old Testament, 10. C. J. LABUSCHAGNE, The Incomparability of Yahweh, 116. C. J. LABUSCHAGNE, The Incomparability of Yahweh, 145-146. Ps 18,31 has H;Ala/, whereas II Sam 22,32 reads la, which is probably the original reading, but cf. Isa 44,8 where the prophet obviously took this verse over from Ps 18. We have ytil'Wz here in Ps 18,31[32], and in II Sam 22,32 ydE[]l.B;mi, as in the first part of the verse - In general we can say that the original text is to be found in Ps 18. See, H.-J.

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observation that Yahweh (the Rock) is incomparable with the natural rocks is extremely important. It shows why metaphors are so central to biblical religion, because they can at the same time anchor Yahweh in Israelite experience, while allowing for Yahweh’s incomparability.410 One of the advantages of using metaphorical language for describing Yahweh is that it allows Yahweh’s incomparability to be highlighted. A couplet that uses the word rwc as ‘B’ word parallel to an ‘A’ word that is, a name for God, in an utterance that expresses the incomparability of God. The word for God in the ‘A’ part of the verse is different in two versions in Ps 18,31[32]=2 Sam 22,32. The sense is the same: the God who is known by the proper name Yahweh (hwhy) is also the Rock (rwc) who is our God: “Yahweh is Rock”. The word rwc was used as one of a number of refuge/warfare terms in the beginning of the poem (Ps 18,2[3]). However, here in v. 31[32] the word rwc is clearly the pair-word to the word “God”, and the utterance clearly speaks of the incomparability of God. Further the word rwc appears as a pair word to the word “God” who is actually “saving” God in v. 46[47]. Therefore it seems more likely that both senses of the word rwc, as physical refuge and as “God” are reflected in the uses of the word in v. 31[32] and v. 46[47]. These two senses of the word in vv. 31[32].46[47] can be merged into one to convey one single meaning of the word: God as Rock (rwc). (Ps 18,31[32]) For who is God (H:Ala/), but the LORD? (hw"hy>), And who is a Rock (rWc) except our God? (Wnyhel{a/) (2 Sam 22,32) For who is God (lae), but the LORD? (hw"hy>) And who is a Rock (rWc) except our God (Wnyhel{a)/ Though it be admitted that here the idea of Yahweh’s incomparability is not explicitly mentioned, we have to point out that a definite comparative notion lies

410

KRAUS, Psalmen, 139; Cf. also, CROSS AND FREEDMAN, “A Royal Song of Thanksgiving”, JBL 72, (1953) 16ff. M. Z. BRETTLER, “The Metaphorical Mapping of God in the Hebrew Bible”, 223.

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at the root of the confession. The psalmist expresses his belief in Yahweh as the sole God and only true Rock as a result of his experience during his struggle against his enemies. What he learnt by experience was not only that Yahweh proved to be a deliverer and a Rock of refuge, but also that other gods, the gods of his enemies, proved to be impotent, without effective power in battle unable to save, for ‘they cried for help, but there was no one to save’ (Ps 18,41a[42a]). The enemies undoubtedly cried to their own gods first, but these were unable to save; they even cried to Yahweh, but He did not answer them (v. 41b[42b]). This afforded the psalmist clear proof of the impotence of other gods in battle as against Yahweh’s ability to act and save. This provides also a proof of His incomparability. Incomparability of Yahweh, the Rock occurs both in the psalms of laments and thanksgiving. But theologically these occurrences of incomparability of Yahweh are not the same in meaning in laments and thanksgiving. Here (in Ps 18,31[32]) incomparability occurs in a psalm of thanksgiving. The incomparability of Yahweh is rooted in the acknowledgement that Yahweh does “wonders, and works awesome deeds” that are beyond understanding and without parallel, on which the life of the world and the life of Israel depend.411 Victory songs and declarative hymns name the particularities of such wonders that assert that Yahweh is utterly beyond any interpretative categories of Israel and beyond any rivals or competitors. Indeed, it is most plausible to suggest that hymns of awe and thank-songs of gratitude together as “thanks and praise” are Israel’s full recognition of how unlike Israel Yahweh is, how unlike Yahweh is to anyone or anything, none like Yahweh in splendid power, none like Yahweh in awesome fidelity.412 And Israel’s primal response is obedience, and incomparable generosity that evokes glad gratitude. However, in lament and complaint, the incomparability breaks through the habitual practices of awe, gratitude, and obedience and calls Yahweh to accountability, either because Yahweh has been negligent and has permitted “enemies” to do bad things, or has been actively unreliable in perpetrating bad things.413 In this moment of utterance, there is a provisional role reversal

411

412

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W. BRUEGGEMANN, “The Psalms in Theological Use: On Incommensurability and Mutuality”, in PETER W. FLINT and P. D. M ILLER (ed.), The Book of Psalms, 584-585. W. BRUEGGEMANN, “The Psalms in Theological Use: On Incommensurability and Mutuality”, in PETER W. FLINT and P. D. M ILLER (ed.), The Book of Psalms, 588. On “neglect” see, F. LINDERSTRÖM, Suffering and Sin: Interpretations of Illness in the Individual Complaint Psalms (Stockholm 1994); on “perpetration”, see D. R. BLUMENTHAL, Facing the Abusing God: A Theology of Protest (Louisville 1993).

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whereby, for the moment, needy Israel/ite who has no other visible resource with which to cope with trouble dares to assume the upper hand and the initiating voice and action in the relationship in order to “compel” Yahweh to act.414 In this daring moment of utterance – so daring that worshiping communities tend to avoid them – the habit of incommensurability is shattered or overcome, and Israel dares to engage in a season of mutuality (to mean that the two parties are, for the occasion of speaking, on level ground) with Yahweh in which, Yahweh is not more than a partner met on level ground for dispute.415 To be sure, laments and complaints continue to be capable of cadences of incomparability. Israel does not abandon its characteristic rhetoric: “All my bones shall say, O Lord, who is like you? You deliver the weak from those too strong for them, the weak and needy from those who despoil them” (Ps 35,10). “There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours” (Ps 86,8). Such usage, however, performs a rhetorical, strategic function very different from the formulae in hymns and songs of thanksgiving. In complaints and laments, such utterance is not only ground for petition; it is also a summons that implies some impatience and indignation toward Yahweh, challenging Yahweh to be Yahweh’s true, faithful self which is not presently the case. Thus in these uses, the formulae of incomparability are utilized in an act of assertive mutuality. That unarguable quality of Yahweh that in turn bespeaks Israel’s incomparable character is Yahweh’s relatedness to Israel as a defining mark of Yahweh. He is both incomparable in his “tremendous mystery” and in his “fascination in History”. ‘God as Rock’ in the psalms appears in both these above mentioned senses: Incomparability and Mutuality. The God to whom Israel’s life is endlessly referred to in the Psalter is offered as “incomparable”, both in power (the accent of the hymns) and in solidarity/mutuality (as stressed in the complaints/laments).416 In the formula of incomparability of individual complaints the speaker is in sore straits and cries for help. The purpose of this cry is to summon Yahweh into action. The God who is incomparable must act in order to exhibit that incomparability. However, this is not the point. The emphasis of the formula of incomparability in individual laments falls on Yahweh’s solidarity/mutuality with the week and needy, who are themselves powerless and hopeless.417 It is Yahweh’s sovereign power and covenantal solidarity that make the 414

415

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Cf. W. BRUEGGEMANN, “Prerequisites for Genuine Obedience”, Calvin Theological Journal 36 (2001) 34-41. Cf. W. BRUEGGEMANN, “The Psalms in Theological Use: On Incommensurability and Mutuality”, 590-591. Cf. W. BRUEGGEMANN, “The Psalms in Theological Use: On Incommensurability and Mutuality”, 581. Cf. W. BRUEGGEMANN, Theology of the Old Testament, 141.

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God to whom Israel bears witness. It is two together, ‘power’ in the service of solidarity, and ‘solidarity’ as the evidence of sovereignty, that make this God.418 Rock conveys a static image. It symbolizes, strength, firmness, in other words “power”. But power without solidarity yields nothing that reassures Israel in its need. Although the Rock image is static, it is not inactive. God as Rock both offers and effects deliverance. He is likewise “Rock” and “Redeemer” [(Pss 19,14[15]; 78,35; birthing nature of the Rock (Deut 32,18); Rock that nurtures (Deut 32,13-14)], and any number of times the cry to God as “my Rock” is but part of a wider appeal for saving action on his part. (Pss 18,2[3].31[32].46[47]; 28,1; 31,1; 42,9[10]). Rock as appellation serves to depict not only the identity, but also the activity and solidarity of God as well as the individual’s relationship to him. The expression “my Rock” speaks of petitioner’s close relationship with the deity. The term “Rock” makes very clear the polarity of God’s relationship to Israel (the psalmist), because it declares both distance and also the intimate relationship (incomparability and solidarity/mutuality) between Yahweh and his world or human creature, both the incomparability of Yahweh and also his solidarity/mutuality (cf. Gen 1, 26!). 3. Close Reading of Ps 18,46[47]: Bārūk Sentence 46

y[iv.yI yheAla/ ~Wry"w> yrIWc %Wrb'W hw"hy>-yx; 47 The LORD lives; and blessed be my Rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation.

This verse is a part of the concluding words of praise, opens emphatically with the joyous and ancient cultic formula, hwhy-yx (‘Yahweh lives’). The deity here is mentioned by two different names (hwhy and ~yhla) as well as by the appellative ‘Rock’ (rwc) as in v. 31 and previously attested in the introductory hymnic praise (v. 2[3]). Accordingly, the poet successfully recaptures the hymnic mood which had been struck at the outset of the poem in v. 2[3]. We are led full circle. As Berry419 points out, there is a sense in which the whole of Ps 18 can, in fact, be considered, “an expansion of a single, pithy sentence, notably, the one which occurs in v. 2[3]”. We return, therefore, to the theme with which the psalm started - Yahweh as the sole source of strength, Rock of refuge for the psalmist.

418 419

Cf. W. BRUEGGEMANN, Theology of the Old Testament, 143. Cf. D. K. BERRY, The Psalms and Readers, 67.

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Here in v. 46[47], God, the Rock is praised with a Bārūk sentence. In their structure (shout of praise and the reason for it: God has acted), bārūk sentences in the historical books correspond to the declarative psalms of praise.420 In the declarative psalms of praise these simple sentences which were born in the moment when help was experienced have become songs.421 This connection between the psalms and historical reports is further strengthened by the fact that of all the vocabulary of praise only this form of the verb Bārūk (with God as object) is encountered in both places. No other form of any of the vocabulary of praise is encountered in both the historical books and the psalms. And majority of occurrences of the image of the Rock appear in these genres where it is metaphorically related to a typical narrative or event.422 This refers to the point we made in earlier pages, “narrative accommodates poetry, and poetry accommodates narrative”. Perhaps the most obvious example would be Ps 18=2 Sam 22. Bārūk sentences have a specialized usage to refer to expressions of thanksgiving in interpersonal relations and in thanksgiving to God.423 In the latter instance, it is especially in the expression, “Blessed be the Lord….” followed by a description of what God has done, that human beings express their thanks to the Lord. In various psalms, especially songs of thanksgiving or at the beginning or end of prayers for help, this expression of thanksgiving occurs.424 In some instances, God is specifically blessed or thanked for having heard the prayer. Typical of such thanksgiving is Ps 18,46f[47f]. 420

421 422 423 424

Westermann’s distinction of psalms of praise into declarative and descriptive psalms of praise is widely accepted. Most thanksgiving psalms are individual while most hymns are communal, but their essential difference is that the thanksgiving normally relate to one divine act of deliverance (even Ps 18, which, in terms of its superscription, might seem an exception, gives a graphic description of a particular divine intervention), while the hymns focus more generally on God himself and his qualities. Cf. C. WESTERMANN, Praise and Lament in the Psalms, 22. Cf. C. WESTERMANN, Praise and Lament in the Psalms, 87. Cf. A. WALKER-J ONES, “Honey for the Rock”, 93. Cf. P. D. MILLER, They Cried to the Lord, 179. Pss 68;19;35; 113,2. For Songs of Thanksgiving, see, eg., Pss 18,46[47]; 66,20; 124,6. In prayers for help see, eg., Pss 28,6; 31,21[22]; 144,1. At the close of each of the first four books of the Psalter, such a prayer of thanksgiving, “Blessed be the Lord…” occurs (Pss 41,13[14]; 72,18-19; 89,52[53]; 106,48), leading toward the final conclusion of Book IV, which is a fulsome call to praise (Ps 150). In some instances, God is specifically blessed or thanked for having heard the prayer (Pss 28,6; 31,21[22]; 66,20). Typical of such thanksgiving are Pss 18,46-48[47-49] and 31,21[22]. Cf. P. D. MILLER, They Cried to the Lord, 179.

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The exclamation of praise ‘Yahweh lives’ in v. 46[47] can only be understood against the background of the psalmist’s experience in battle: it was only Yahweh, in contrast to the gods of the enemy, who proved Himself to be a living God. His quality as the living God is clearly emphasized with regard to His activity in history.425 In comparison with other gods, it was only Yahweh who proved Himself a Rock. That is why the psalmist, after his experience of Yahweh’s incomparability (v. 31[32]), was able to express his belief in Him as the only true God. Confession of His uniqueness is just another way of confessing His incomparability; both are ultimately an avowal of the same thing.426

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God’s being alive is “a certain antithetic parallelism with the Canaanite belief in the gods of the vegetation-religion who die and then rise again from the dead”. Thus hwhy-yx as against ḥy aliyn bel: perhaps the formula is of Canaanite origin. Cf. H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen, 149. Cf. C. J. LABUSCHAGNE, Incomparability of Yahweh, 117.

PSALM 19,14[15] O LORD, MY ROCK AND MY REDEEMER A. Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre Most of the discussion concerning Ps 19 has centered around the question of whether it is a single work or whether, in fact, an editor has conjoined two separate pre-existing psalms (Ps 19A vv. 1-6[1-7]; Ps 19B vv. 7-14[8-15]) first, an ancient poem derived from a naturalistic, (probably Canaanite poem worshipping the sun)427 and the second, a wisdom poem which celebrates the tôrâh of Yahweh. Whilst this latter theory is, of course, possible, it does not take proper account of one of the central features of the psalm: namely, Ps 19 naturally divides into three stanzas and not two stanzas as has been suggested for many years. Though the discussion has been centered, classically, around the relationship between Ps 19A (vv.1-6[1-7]) and 19B (vv.7-14[8-15]), however, the psalm really consists of three strophes:428 1) vv.1-6[1-7]: Discussion of revelation in nature, focusing on the ‘Creator God’ (la); 2) vv.7-11[8-12]: Discussion of revelation in tôrâh, focusing on the ‘Covenant God’ (hwhy); 3) vv.1214[13-15]: Prayer addressed directly to God using personal appellative focusing on the ‘redeeming God’ (ylagw yrwc). As Wagner, Mays and others point out, there seems to be a progression inherent within Ps 19 from “la” to “hwhy” to ylagw yrwc (“my Rock and my Redeemer”).429 The psalmist moves from the presentation of the works of the Creator God and the way in which these works speak to humankind in general, to the express revelation of the Covenant God to his people and this leads the poet to directly address the Lord in Prayer. It moves from the general to the specific; from “out there” to “in here” (“seeing and hearing”).430 Ps 19 is a mediation on God’s beauty, God’s glory, God’s splendor, discernible (as Kant observed) in ‘the starry sky above and the moral law

427

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429

430

Cf. M. DAHOOD, Psalms I: 1-50, AB 16 (New York 1965) 121; H.-J. KRAUS, Psalms 159, 272-73. Cf. J. L. MAYS, Psalms, IBC (Louisville 1994) 90-100; Cf. also, J. R OSS WAGNER, “From the Heavens to the Heart: The Dynamics of Psalm 19 as Prayer”, CBQ 61 (1999) 245-261. Cf. J. L. MAYS, Psalms, 98-100: J. R. W AGNER, “From the Heavens to the Heart”, 246; D. G. ASHBURN, “Creation and Torah in Psalm 19” JBQ 22 (1994) 248. Cf. S. L. KLOUDA, “Dialectical Interplay of Seeing and Hearing in Psalms 19 and Its Connection to Wisdom”, BBR 10.2 (2000) 181-195.

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within’.431 Therefore, Ps 19 is a unified whole.432 The unity and power of Ps 19 lie in its progressive narrowing of focus from the heavens’ praise of El as creator to the petition of the human heart addressed to Yahweh as Rock and redeemer. In other words, the glories of nature indicate ‘God’ (la) in general terms, whereas, the glories of the tôrâh reveal the ‘Lord’ (hwhy), that is the God who has revealed himself to his people by name in the covenant, and lastly, the glories of deliverance or God’s willingness to deliver his people from harmful situations reveal the Lord as ‘Rock’ (rwc). B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 19,14[15] 1. Text and Translation `ynIQEn: tArT's.NImI !ybiy"-ymi tAaygIv. 13 ytiyQenIw> ~t'yae za' ybi-Wlv.m.yI-la; ^D ^yn ^yl,ae1 yNIM,mi vr:x/T,-la; yrIWc yNIM,m hv,x/T,-!P, rAb ydEr>Ay-~[i yTil.vm; .nIw> yn:Wnx]T; lAq [m;v. 2 ^yl,ae y[iW>v;B. ^v,d>q' rybiD>-la, yd:y" yaif.n"B. 1 “To you, O Lord, I call; My Rock, be not deaf to me, Lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the Pit”. 2 Hear the voice of my supplication, As I cry to you for help As I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary. 2. Close Reading of Ps 28,1-2 The suppliant addresses Yahweh as “My Rock”, the image of a solid elevation where may stand a fortress, perhaps also an allusion to “the Rock” in the heart or 551

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G. EIDEVALL “Metaphorical Landscapes in the Psalms”, in Metaphors in the Psalms (eds. P. VAN HECKE – A. LABAHN) (Leuven 2010)19. S. E. GILLINGHAM, “The Zion Tradition and the Editing of the Hebrew Psalter” in J. DAY (ed.), Temple and Worship in Ancient Israel (London 2005) 308-341. S. E. GILLINGHAM, “The Zion Tradition and the Editing of the Hebrew Psalter”, 313, note 20. Cf. C. KÖRTING, Zion in den Psalmen, FAT 48 (Tübingen 2006). S. E. GILLINGHAM, “The Levitical Singers and the Editing of the Hebrew Psalter”, in E. ZENGER , The Composition of the Book of Psalms, 92.

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innermost room of the sanctuary (1 Kgs 6,5). The metaphor of the Rock in connection with the Holy Rock of Zion receives a special meaning as a place of God’s presence.556 One encounters the vocative557 “my Rock” most of all in the prayer of the king. Quite possibly, it is the prayer of a king who speaks in vv. 14 and 6-7, with a concluding affirmation from the people in verses 8-9. This verse (v. 1) conveys a sense of desperation, as though his situation had lasted for some time, but God had not answered. “Rock” here (in v. 1) appears in the context of supplication (vv. 1-2) in desperation. If God does not hear or speak, in other words if he is deaf (vrx) or silent (hvx), the suppliant will be like those who go down to the lowest level of the underground,558 from which there is no return, where there is no praise (“in Sheol who can give thee praise?” Ps 6,5b[6b]; Isa 38,18). Out of fear of falling into the pit, the psalmist invokes Yahweh as “my Rock” and implores him not to be deaf: “and if thou be silent”. It’s the silence which the poet of Ps 28 pleads with God to break: “If thou be silent…” (Ps 28,1). The supplicant finds no hearing from God for his cry, and it is this silence of God in paradox the poet shares with God in prayer.559 The greatest worry of the psalmist is that the invoked (Ps 35,22; 109,1) turns a deaf ear or remains silent and as a consequence the life-saving action fails. It is the silence of the biblical God – the biblical God being a God who is not only capable of speaking but has on many occasions spoken and heard. The biblical silence of God is the non-answering silence of God.560 Biblical God does indeed speak, nonetheless, on most matters, God chooses not to say anything. The silence of God – the biblical silence of God – does not consist in the fact that on many matters, God says nothing. The silence of God is not like the silence of the rocks and the hills, of which it is only metaphorically true that they speak. The silence of the biblical God is the silence of a God who speaks.561 It’s the silence of the ‘biblical God’- the biblical God being a Rock who is not only capable of speaking but has on many occasions, spoken. The psalmist expects the silent Rock to speak. If it remains silent it will be like his going into the pit. It’s like the silence which the poet of Ps 83 pleads with God to break: “O God, do not keep silence; do not hold they peace or be still, O God!” (v. 1).

556 557

558 559 560

561

K. SYBOLD, Die Psalmen, 119. K. SYBOLD is of the opinion that “my Rock” is not a Vocative but used as a citation. Die Psalmen, 119. rwb, here translated “pit”, is a synonym for Sheol in Pss 30,3; 88,4; 143,7. K. SEYBOLD, Die Psalmen, 119. N. WOLTERSTORFF, “The Silence of the God who Speaks”, in Divine Hiddenness, (eds. D. HOWARD-SNYDER and P. K. MOSER) (Cambridge 2002) 215. N. WOLTERSTORFF, “The Silence of the God who Speaks”, 215-216.

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The meaning and significance of Ps 28,1 becomes clear in v. 2. Ps 28,1-2, is the only text in the Hebrew Scriptures that explicitly connects the rwc with the ‘Holy of Holies’ (rybd) on the temple mount. And its pair psalm (cf. Ps 27,4-5) too compares rwc with ‘House of the Lord’ (hwhy-tyb). Thus there are no examples of the literal rendering of rwc as metaphor when applied to God. The psalmist in the first verse (Ps 28,1) pleads God not to be deaf and silent, this is to say, the psalmist expects a response in return to his calling (arq) God ‘my Rock’, or asking the Rock to hear his voice (lwq – vv. 2.6) or crying ([wv). This word field of ‘speech’ (e.g., call, cry, voice/sound) symbolizes Yahweh’s presence. The supplicant calls Yahweh ‘my Rock’, while directing himself towards the Holy of Holies. Thus the sanctuary, built on the rock, calls into remembrance that God is the Rock. The metaphor of the Rock is originally connected to the metaphor of the Sanctuary. The word rybd appears only here apart from the books of Kings and Chronicles. While 1 Kgs 6,5 includes the descriptive term ‘inner area’, the Chronicles by contrast, and in keeping with his central theme, the sanctification of Israel, prefers (in 2 Chr 3,8-9) the functional term ‘the holy of holies’/‘the most holy place’ (2 Chr 3,8), for this was the place above all where atonement was effected for Israel. In Chr 28,11, the Holy of Holies is referred to as “the room of the mercy seat”. And perhaps the Mercy Seat was the most important part of the Holy of Holies, because it was over the Mercy Seat that the presence of God is found. In the sacred geography of Deuteronomistic History, Jerusalem is paramount as the place of central sanctuary (Deut 12) and the ruling line of David, who sets the standard as the king obedient to Israel’s God (2 King 18,3; 22,2). The city, temple and Davidic king are all integrally related in Jerusalem’s legacy as recounted in this historical work.562 On the other hand, to summarize, in the narrative of Chronicles, God relates to Israel and Judah through the arena of historical events. For Chronicles, the temple is critical to those events as the place of God’s dwelling on earth. In Chronicles Jerusalem is a centre of Divine presence. In the context of Ps 28, the word “rock” is linked with the “most Holy Place” (rybd) (v. 2), which in turn was built upon a rock foundation; the psalmist prays to God, his Rock, whose earthly presence was symbolized by the Holy Place, rybd founded upon rock.563 It is the most holy place, in which the ark, the symbol of God’s presence, was placed. The debîr (‘Holy of Holies’), was the part

562

563

Cf. J. S. BURNETT, Where is God? Divine Absence in the Hebrew Bible (Minneapolis 2010) 161. Cf. P. C. CRAIGIE, Psalms 1-50, 238.

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reserved to Yahweh and the Ark of the Covenant stood there. Some Bible commentators have linked debîr (Holy of Holies) with the Hebrew word dābār, meaning “word” perhaps referring to the fact that this was the place in the temple where the Lord would speak to his people. This may be why the King James translators called this room the “holy oracle” (“or the oracle of thy sanctuary”) (meaning, place of revelation/speaking place).564 Therefore, there might be a word play between the Hebrew terms rybd and rbd. Others have associated “debîr” with a Semitic root referring to the back or rear part (“the back room of the holy place”), (Hinterraum, Allerheiligstes) (Ps 28,2),565 hence the translation “inner sanctuary” in the Revised Standard and New International versions.566 This inner sanctuary stood over the Rock of Foundation, the original place of creation in the Israelite cosmogony. Hence, the Holy of Holies, the debîr IS “heaven on earth”, the location of heaven on earth; thus it is the “throne of God” on earth (1 Sam 4,4)). Here Sanctuary could be seen as an oasis of God’s protective presence. Yahweh is he who dwells on the ‘holy rock’ and is himself a sure Rock of refuge.567 rwc as the divine name shows clear connections with the temple rock. Note especially the more or less explicit identity between the rock and the temple in Pss 27,5 and 61,3-5[4-6]. God is of course not identified with the temple rock, but the metaphor is used with reference to the temple in Jerusalem

564

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567

For details about the ‘Temple Mount” and “Ark of the Covenant” see, L. R ITMEYER, “Locating the Original Temple Mount”, BAR 18/2 (1992) 24-45; and “Ark of the Covenant” BAR 22/1 (1996) 46-55, 70-73. RICHARD E. AVERBECK, NIDOTE, I 910. The temple itself was constructed in three major parts; the ‘ûlām or porch; the hêkal, or main hall, and the debîr or inner sanctuary. In Assyrian and Pheonician temples it was here that the image, representing the earthly presence of the god, would be found. Israel possessed no image of Yahweh, and attempts to find traces of the existence of such images have failed to carry conviction because of the paucity of evidence. See also, R. E. CLEMENTS, God and Temple (Oxford 1965) 64. Cf. R. O COWAN, Temples to dot the Earth (USA 1997) 11; also see, G. A. BUTTRICK (ed.), The Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible (New York 1962) 4, 540; There seems to be a play on words here: I. rybiD> n.m. means hindmost chamber, innermost room of the temple of Solomon = ~yvdqh vdq holy of holies, most holy place, the place of the ark and the cherubic images, the throne-room of Yahweh. II.rybiD>, a royal city of Canaanites anciently called rp,se ty:r>qi; on the mountains of Judah, in the region of Hebron, assigned to the Aaronite priests as a city of refuge. III. rybiD> (debîr), oracle. H. SCHMIDT, Der Heilige Fels in Jerusalem, 40-57, 89-98; Cf. Isa 30,29 where hwhy-rh is placed parallel with rwc-la.

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as the place where Yahweh reveals himself as protector of his people.568 The designation of Yahweh as a Rock is likely due to his association with Zion, the ‘rock’ as it symbolizes the presence of Yahweh as the security and refuge of his worshippers. The idea of the Rock Foundation upon which the rybd or Most Holy Place rested, which plays such an important part in the theology of the temple in later ages, is nowhere attested in the Hebrew Bible, per se. In ancient Israel, this Rock of Foundation played the same role of the primordial mound in Egypt. It was the first solid material to emerge from the waters of creation, and it was upon this stone the deity effected creation.569 In Egypt, the temple was thought to have been built over this sacred mound or rock. According to Jewish legend, it was this primordial rock on which Jacob slept (Gen 28,10-22), at the place he subsequently names Bethel. The Holy of Holies was then built over this same rock. This is what, more than any other factor establishes the temple (the sanctuary) as the Center, the goal of all pilgrimages, the site of the most sacred encounters between humankind and God.570 Zion is the place of Yahweh’s dwelling created primordially through the defeat of the powers of chaos571 As the dwelling-place of Yahweh, creator of the cosmic order and defender of Israel, Zion functions pre-eminently as a symbol of security. The security symbolized by Zion is rooted first of all in Yahweh’s presence.572 The close association, or even ambiguity, between Zion and Yahweh is perhaps most visible in one feature that appears in several psalms that speak of Zion or Yahweh as a refuge, namely their designation of Yahweh as a ‘Rock’ (Ps 28,1). Yahweh is he who dwells on the ‘holy rock’.573 and is himself the sure rock of refuge. That Yahweh as Israel’s refuge is symbolized concretely by Zion is evident from Isa 30,29, where hwhy-rh is in parallel with larfy rwc.574 The ‘holy

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570 571 572

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D. EICHHORN, Gott als Fels, Burg und Zuflucht, 91. He even suggests that rwc as address or designation only occurs in theophanies of Yahweh in the temple. Cf. also Ibid. 83. J. M. LUNDQUIST, The Temple of Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future (Westport 2008) 26. J. M. LUNDQUIST, The Temple of Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future, 26. B. C. OLLENBURGER, Zion, the City of the Great King, 61. “…It’s not some immanent mightiness of the city of God that makes Jerusalem an inviolable bulwark, but alone the presence of Yahweh”. Cf. H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen, 345. H. WILDBERGER, “Gottesnamen und Gottesepitheta bei Jesaja”, Jahwe und sein Volk, ThB 66 (1979 244-245. Cf. H. WILDBERGER, “Gottesnamen und Gottesepitheta bei Jesaja”, 244-245.

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rock’ is the place at which Yahweh reveals himself as the one who protects his people and intervenes against the powers of chaos and ‘the nations’. Following Christoph Barth, von Rad indicates that the sanctuary is the place where life and death are fought through.575 Lindström576 shows that the needful person who petitions in the psalms of lamentations is not suffering because of guilt.577 Lindström proposes a dualism, so that the speaker has fallen into trouble because Yahweh has been absent or neglectful or Yahweh has been silent (cf. Ps 28,1). Where Yahweh is absent, neglectful or silent the power of death occupies the open space and besets the petitioner. Thus the petition of the psalmist “O Lord, do not be deaf to …” (Ps 28,1) is that Yahweh should actively return to the sanctuary and drive out the threat of death. In other words Yahweh’s saving word (rbd) should go forth from the sanctuary (rybd). The poet may suggest the idea of seeking an oracle [rbd] from the Lord who dwells in the innermost room of the sanctuary [rybd]. The rybd is the place where a suppliant can address his plea to the “holiness” of his rwc - God (Ps 28,2; this would seem to be true whether the rybd is the repository of God’s holiness, or God’s most holy sanctuary: either reading is possible). In any event, the rwc and rybd are not identical, although a metonymic relationship might be implied here: the speaker might well be speaking of directing his prayer toward the Rock that represents the God whom he addresses as rwc. There is not enough evidence, however, to make that claim with certainty. If the Hebrew Scriptures for the first time explicitly connect the metaphor of the Rock (Ps 28,1) with the metaphor of the Sanctuary (Ps 28,2), in what way could one explain this relationship in the context of Psalm 28? There is little or no probability that the Psalter as a whole was developed for and used in the worship of the Temple or that of the Synagogue. For in the Psalter’s framework in Ps 1-2 and Pss 146-150 no concern about worship can be found.578 The Psalter is not 575

576

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G. VON RAD, “‘Righteousness’ and ‘Life’” in the Cultic Language of the Psalms”, The Problem of the Hexateuch and other Essays (New York 1966) 255-59. Cf. also, C. BARTH, Die Erettung vom Tode in den individuellen Klage- und Dankliedern des Alten Testaments (Zollikon 1947) 44-51. F. LINDSTRÖM, Suffering and Sin. Interpretation of illness in the individual Complaint Psalms, OTS 37 (Stockholm 1994) 390-413. The reality of human sin is not the first or dominant word about human nature and human life in the Psalter, it is also not the last word. Cf. P. D. MILLER, The Way of the Lord, FAT 39 (Tübingen 2004) 243. E. ZENGER, “Der Psalter als Heiligtum”, 127.

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particularly interested in the Temple cult but in the Temple as the sphere of Yahweh’s revelation, salvific activity and a place of assembly. In not a small number of the psalms the Temple/Sanctuary functions even as a metaphor of shelter and refuge which Yahweh grants his worshippers praying the psalms.579 In total the Psalter is covered with sapiential elements, which contradict the idea of a cultic character. In this way, the Psalter is defined as a non-cultic means to encounter Yahweh. Erich Zenger goes a step further and says the “Psalter itself is a sanctuary” (“Der Psalter als Heiligtum”) in which God is to be looked for in which he shall be praised, and from which his blessing and salvation will come”.580 Today the psalms are increasingly seen as the book of prayer and meditation of the lesser people (i.e., marginalized) standing at a critical distance from the post-exilic temple aristocracy and their social eminence.581 In other words it functioned as a “Volksbuch für Laien”.582 The perception that the Psalter functioned as the cultic song book of the second temple has thus finally been rejected.583 The supplicants (redactors) of the psalms thus did not find protection in the cult, first of all, but rather in the praises of the psalms which ascended to Yahweh, the king of the world, who had established his just rule on mount Zion.584 In other words they found presence of God in the praise of God. Quite possibly, Ps 28 is the prayer of a king who speaks in vv. 1-4 and 6-7, with a concluding affirmation from the people in verses 8-9. That the king wants to be “Yahweh-fearer” (tôrâh-keeper/lover) is evident in his distress in v. 3. One demonstrates loyalty to Yahweh by the company one keeps: “Yahweh-fearers” are honored but “a rejected one” is “despised”. The key issue here is, “who may reside on your holy hill?” Since evil doers cannot (cf. Ps 15). Ps 28 – immediately following an affirmation of affinity to his sanctuary – petition God not to remove the speaker with sinners (v. 3). As in Ps 15,5 “the doer of these things” (hla-hf[) is promised stability, is one who may “reside on your holy hill” (Ps

579 580 581

582 583

584

E. ZENGER, “Der Psalter als Heiligtum”, 128. E. ZENGER, “Der Psalter als Heiligtum”, 128. E. ZENGER, Einleitung in das Altes Testament, KST, Band 1, 1 (Freiburg-Basel-Wien 1998) 323; Cf. also, U. BERGES, “Die Armen im Buch Jesaja”, Bib 80 (1999) 172; Cf. also G. BRAULIK, “Psalms and Liturgy: Their reception and contextualization”, Verbum et Ecclesia 24/2 (2003) 316. E. ZENGER, Einleitung in das Altes Testament, 323. E. ZENGER, “Der Psalter als Buch”, in E. ZENGER (Hrsg.) Der Psalter im Judentum und Christentum, HBS 18 (Freiburg 1998) 35. U. BERGES, “De armen van het boek Jesja. Een bijdrage tot de literatuurgeschiedenis van het Oude Testament” (Inaugural speech; 5 March 1999; Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen) 15.

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15,1), so also here the psalmist by raising hands to the sanctuary wants to be stable in the protective presence and not to go down to the pit. This image of stability derives from the sacred mountain (Rock), which symbolizes steadiness and order in the tradition of the ANE. If Rock is the metaphor for God of Israel, Sanctuary is a metaphor for Scripture.585 The Psalter which contains the message of the meditation of the Torah (cf. Ps 2) is a sanctuary. N. Wieder, equates sanctuary with “Book of the Law”.586 The equation of sanctuary with the Books of the Law is based on the close relationship existing between the two and is expressive of the supreme importance and centrality of the Torah. The sanctuary is the most sacred place; the Torah, the most sacred book. The former is the abode of the divine glory; the latter the depository of the divine message. God reveals himself in the sanctuary; the Torah is a record of the divine revelation. If the divine voice is heard in the former, God speaks from the pages of the latter. The reference to the most holy place (the Holy of Holies), and the words of prayer accompanied by action of lifting hands (Ps 28,2), involving bodily parts as in Ps 24, seems that the psalm 28 has a liturgical setting. But the cry of distress and the raising of hands toward the sanctuary have no cultic references. It’s a symbolic language of prayer. Although this Psalm 28 and many other psalms are related to Temple thought and its motifs, the Psalter is not particularly interested in the Temple cult but in the Temple as the sphere of Yahweh’s revelation and activity as well as Israel’s and even the peoples’ place of assembly.587 Zenger identifies the terminology dealing with the Temple or Temple theology in Pss 26-32.588 For e.g., lifting up of the hands to the all-holy (Ps 28,2). However, the expression such as “I lift up my hands to your most holy sanctuary” (v. 2) is by no means limited to actual service in the temple. Not everyone who yearns for refuge carries the desire to assume the traditional vocation of the Levite or to be a “doorkeeper” in the temple (cf. Ps 84,10[11]). The action of “raising hands to the sanctuary” reflects a more general and desperate desire to enter into God’s protective presence, established but by no means bounded by Zion’s physical parameters. The psalmist’s “trust…frees itself from the concrete

585 586 587

588

Cf. N. WIEDER, “Sanctuary” as a Metaphor for Scripture, JJS 8 (1957) 165-175. N. WIEDER, “Sanctuary” as a Metaphor for Scripture, 166. E. ZENGER, “Der Psalter als Heiligtum”, in Gemeinde ohne Tempel (Community without Temple) (Hgr. B. EGO, A. LANGE und P. PILHOFER) 128. E. ZENGER, “New Approaches to the Study of the Psalms”, PIBA 17 (1994) 37-54.

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institution [of the sacral sanctuary] and blends the institutional relationship with the symbolic language of prayer.589 The suppliant’s hands were lifted and directed toward the holy place (Ps 28,2), in a gesture typical of supplication in the Near East in general.590 One can ‘lift one’s hands in order to confer blessing’ (Lev 9,22), and ‘lift the hands in order to strike or attack’ (2 Sam 20,21-22). In the Hebrew Bible the expression ‘lifting the hands’ (ydy yafn) appears in Ps 28,2 and 134,2. If it is a gesture of praise in Ps 134,2, in Ps 28,2 it is a prayer gesture. ‘Lifting the hands is generally a gesture of praise and occasionally a gesture of supplication as in Ps 28,2. The essential meaning of ydy yafn is to point to the deity’s abode; it is always followed by a phrase defining that abode. In Ps 134,2 the abode is ‘the holy place’ (vdq), a term for the Temple attested also in Exod 28,29. Whereas in Ps 28,2 the ‘lifting of the hands’ is directed ‘toward your inner sanctuary’($vdq rybd-la), where the preposition la indicates direction. Usually the supplicant would stand, kneel and pray with raised hands. The expression ‘lifting hands’ presupposes remoteness from something experienced. Only the hands, which formerly warded off the approach of the holy, can reach out in longing toward it. God is no more a product of necessity and longing than the sanctuary at Jerusalem, yearned for by the suppliant of Ps 42. The depths of his longing are expressed not by a gesture, as in Ps 28,2 but by a simile.591 From the parallelism we can deduce that the gesture here alluded to is one of prayer and supplication. The gesture goes to Yahweh in the holy of holies (v. 2b), the innermost chamber of the temple, where the invisible presence of the Lord was represented. The mention of “raising hands to your holy inner sanctuary” (i.e. not simply the outer building or hêkal, but its innermost room, the debîr (v. 2) places the speaker in close proximity to the sanctuary. This would be an odd word choice if hands were raised towards the temple from a remote location. It may be that the hands were raised in Ps 28,2 in a gesture symbolizing the anticipation of receiving something in the hands, namely the divine response to prayer. In Ps 28,2, the psalmist lifts up his hands in prayer toward the holy sanctuary ($vdq rybd-la). Since God dwells in the holy of holies, the psalmist is lifting up his hands to God himself. If rybd which contains God’s word rbd (Torah), the psalmist by raising hands to

589 590

591

H.-J. KRAUS, Theology of the Psalms, 159. For an illustration of the practice in Egyptian religion, see, Biblisch-Historisches Handwörterbuch, I, R EICKE, BO und L. ROST (Hrsg.) 521, fig. 2. O. KEEL, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 323.

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the sanctuary substitutes ‘Torah’ in place of ‘God’s face’ (Cf. Ps 119,48, the expression: “I raise my hands to your commandments which I love”).592 The psalmist’s earnest request is this: that God should not be deaf and he should not be silent. Hence he fears, if God, the Rock were silent and stops speaking, then he would be one of the dead, for the realm of death was a realm of silence (Ps 94,17).593 The blessing of life was fellowship with the living God, but if in life’s crises God was silent, then for practical purposes the psalmist became like the deceased, who lived in the silent darkness of the pit (namely, the underground tomb or burial chamber, which here symbolizes the realm of death as a whole).594 The primary role of God, the Rock in this poem is that of an active listener, who not only hears but responds to the speaker. Here God is a Rock that speaks and listens. In v. 2, God, the Rock is urged not to be deaf, lest divine silence leads to the speaker’s death (or perhaps to the “living death” of God’s absence).595 Thus, the psalmist is more anxious to be heard than to have or share in a visual experience (Pss 4,1[2]; 5,1-3[2-4]; 17,1-2, 6; 28,1-2; 31,2[3]; 39,12[13]; 54,2[4]; 55,1[2]; 61,1[2]; 64,1[2]; 86,1; 88,2[3]; 102,1-2[2-3]). The language of God’s silence functions in contexts which are basically similar to those in which the language of God’s hiddenness in general functions. In the Psalms, the context is basically one of lament, in this case lament which has at its core an urgent appeal for confirmation of God’s presence.596 According to Albertz, often Individual Laments are connected with Zion, the place of Yahweh’s presence597 The use of two verbs, vrx598 and hvx599 which also occur in lament psalms, also as supplication to God (e.g., Ps 28,1 “To you, O Lord, I call; …be not deaf (vrx la) to me, lest, if thou be silent (hvxt) to me, I become like those who go down to the pit”). In one sense such a supplication seems to be appealing for something like a verbal reaction to prayer. However, the context of

592

593 594 595

596

597

598 599

For details about the concept of substation in Ps 119, cf. K. A. REYNOLDS, Torah as Teacher, 31ff., 41-42. Cf. O. KEEL, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 67–68. P. C. CRAIGIE, Psalms 1-50, 238. A. WEISER, The Psalms, 257. God’s “Silence” can be seen as the aural equivalent to the “hiding of God’s face”. S. E. BALENTINE, The Hidden God: The Hiding of the Face of God in the Old Testament (Oxford 1983)155. Cf. R. ALBERTZ, Persönliche Frömmigkeit und offizielle Religion, 297-298: der Tempel als Ort der JHWH-Präsenz in den individuellen Klagen, u.a. in Pss 3,4[5]; 42,4[5].6[7]; 43,3; 63,2[3]. Pss 28,1; 35,22; 39,12[13]; 83,1[2]; 109,1; cf. Hab 1,13. Pss 28,1; cf. Isa 64,11.

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this psalm (Ps 28) makes it clear that what is desired is not so much a dialogue with God as it is confirmation of God’s presence.600 It is a presence that hears (‘not a deaf presence’) the cry and, a presence that speaks (‘not a dumb presence’). It’s a presence that shows its strength and power. In Egypt, the image of inactivity in the netherworld is closely connected with the characteristic of the underworld domain namely, silence. Sound as the symbol of life is replaced by silence. Realm of the dead is the domain of silence.601 Apart from explicit references to this in Egypt, the netherworld in Mesopotamia is likewise characterized as the place where “mächtige Stille” (‘mighty silence”) reigns.602 Correspondingly, the netherworld is cast in similar terms in the old testament: it is a place of “silence” (hmwd),603 preventing the believer from performing what is considered normal religious behavior, namely, the singing of God’s praise: “The dead do not praise God, nor do any that go down into the silence” (hmwd Ps 115,17).604 If God would only break His silence and answer his prayer, it would be as though He had taken his hands and rescued him from that threatening abyss. And this is evident in the imagery of the prayer in v. 9b - that of the caring shepherd, similar in tone to the language of Ps 23,1 and Isa 40,11. The speaker, although he had nearly slipped with the wicked, discovers that those who enter the temple have God as the “Rock” of their failed heart and his nearness as their “good”. If metaphor of Rock and metaphor of Sanctuary symbolizes the presence and praise of God, pit is a place, where everything associated with a God-centered life is lacking: “Praise”, ḥesed, “faithfulness”, “darkness”, and “forgetfulness”. The absence of that blessing was like a living death. It is like (lvm) those who go

600

601

602

603

604

C. J. LABUSCHAGNE, “hn[“, THAT, II, 337; E. J ENNI, C. WESTERMANN, eds., Vols. I-II (Munich, Zurich 1971, 1976). P. A. KRUGER, „Symbolic Inversion in Death: Some Examples from the Old Testament and the Ancient Near Eastern World“, in Psalms and Mythology (ed. D. J. HUMAN) (New York – London 2007) 213. (šiššu dannu, CAD Š III 127, cf. B. JANOWSKI, „JHWH und die Toten, Zur Geschichte des Todes im alten Israel“ in Tod und Jenseits im alten Israel und in seiner Umwelt, (Hrsg. A. BERLEJUNG und B. JANOWSKI, FAT 64 (Tübingen 2009) 447-477, 469. For Egypt, cf. J. ZANDEE, Death as an Enemy (Leiden 1960) 93-94. hmwd occurs twice in psalms (Pss 94,17; 115,17) where it refers to the silence of death. Cf. J. N. OSWALT, “hmwd” NIDOTE, 929. Cf. also Pss 31,18; 94,17; C. BARTH, Die Errettung vom Tode (Zollikon 1947) 79.

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down to the Pit (Ps 28,1). Though the psalmist in Ps 28 may not be on her or his deathbed, anything that threatens one’s shalom (wholeness, integrity relationship) with God and his people is likened to death and makes one feel as good as dead. Death means the end of the psalmist’s relationship with God and of his praise of God.605 The psalmist in Ps 28,1 wants to set his foot firmly on the Rock and not to slip down into the pit, where one neither hears nor makes a sound of praise. The psalmist wants to remain on a Rock, that ‘speaks’ and is ‘spoken to’ (im/personal) and not a pit that is filled with silence. 3. Reading Ps 28,1 in Context Though the psalm has been considered as individual complaint, the psalm lacks any complaint against God or any lament of personal anguish (an “I” – lament). It is uncertain what kind of trouble afflicted the psalmist in which the supplication was made. There are statements describing the wicked, but they threaten society in general, and not the speaker in particular: “those who speak peace with their neighbors but have evil in their hearts” (v. 3). The metaphors of protection (Rock-Word-Field), “my strength and my shield” (v. 7), may imply the wicked posing a threat to the speaker, but we should note that the next metaphor, “a stronghold of deliverances” is applied to the “anointed” and the “people” (reading AM[;l. in BHS) in general v. 8).606 Toward the end the author does not speak any more from the perspective of an individual but from the perspective of a plural: ‘the People’. Thus there is a shift from an individual prayer to collective request (help and protection for Israel and the anointed king). This type of collectivization is often found in the first Davidic Psalter (e.g., Pss 3,8[9b]; 14,7; (25,22); 29,11; (34,22[23]); cf. 68,35[36].607 Who then is the ‘anointed’ and who are these ‘people’ (or group)? “The anointed” was the principal royal title in Judah; it is found in narrative as well as psalms (e.g. 1 Sam. 10,1; 12,3; Ps 18,50[51]; 20,6[7]; 28,8). Correspondence between the heavenly king and the anointed king is an important feature of royal psalms. The human king is not equal to or identical with, but in certain respects corresponds to, the divine sovereign. The regent on earth of the Lord’s reign is the Davidic king, designated as the Anointed by the Lord’s covenant (Pss 89; 132). The 605 606

607

Cf. D. D. HOPKINS, Journey through the Psalms (Danvers 2002) 86. Cf. C. C. BROYLES, “Psalms concerning the Liturgies of Temple Entry”, in The Book of Psalms: Composition and Reception (eds. P. W. FLINT and P. D. M ILLER) (Leiden – Boston 2005) 266. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Ps 28”, in Die Psalmen, 176.

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kingship is given the vocation to represent the divine rule to the people of the Lord and to the nations (Pss 2; 18; 20; 21; 45; 72; and 110). The word wxyvm in v. 8b is an interesting term, because Ps 28 in its present form is derived from the exile or more probably from the post-exilic period.608 The ‘anointed one’ cannot in that case mean the king. This assumption is supported by the fact that the duty of the shepherd (~[r) is given not to the king but directly to Yahweh. In other words, vv. 8-9 deal with the relationship between Yahweh and the people of Israel without any intermediating monarchy.609 Therefore it is most natural to interpret the expression wxyvm in v. 8b as parallel to the word AM[;l in the preceding colon. Thus, ‘anointed’ means the people of Israel. Similar parallelism prevails in v. 9 between the words $m[ and $tlxn. All the time the object of Yahweh’s actions is the people of Israel. The people may be those who are faithfully obedient to God’s covenantal demands and are the recipients of his love or dsx (Ps 5,7). It’s the anointed and the people, who address God as their Rock. The other indictment against them lies not in their abuse of the psalmist nor of the righteous in general but their disregard for “Yahweh’s works” (v. 5). The petition, “Do not drag me away with the wicked” (v. 3), seeks to guard against the misperception that the speaker be seen as party with them. It may be that the larger context in which the suppliant’s anxiety is to be understood is that of a contract or covenant. A covenant context is implied both by the curse-like character of vv. 3–4 and perhaps also by the use of the word “peace” (~wlv). God, as a covenant God, was characterized by integrity; their (‘wicked persons’) lack of integrity, in a covenant relationship with the psalmist, indicated their fundamental lack of understanding of the nature of the covenant. The interrelationship between covenants emerges in the word “trust” (xjb) in v. 7, for it describes the proper attitude of the covenant member towards the covenant God. Because the psalmist had trusted in the God of the covenant that same God has delivered him from the crisis precipitated by a human covenant in which there was no trust. Verse. 7 is a personal confession of faith expressed in the metaphors of war: z[ (strength) and !gm (shield). Thought in line with vv. 7 and 8, clings a prayer of the king (“the anointed”) and not of the high priest.610 This in turn points out to the neighboring Ps 29. Both the Temple connection in Ps 28 v. 2b and also the image of a God who is against the wicked, and protective strength in v. 7a might be the reason of placing Ps 28 before Ps 29. In psalm 28, the unchanging nature of the God of the covenant is contrasted with the fickle

608 609 610

HOSSFELD and ZENGER, Psalmen I, 177. HOSSFELD and ZENGER, Psalmen I, 180. K. SEYBOLD, Die Psalmen, 120.

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nature of the covenant people.611 In Ps 28,5 the psalmist laments that “the works of the Lord and the work of his hands” are not regarded by the wicked, who are slipping away from the covenantal God, i.e., going into the pit. Who are the wicked/workers of evil here in the Psalm 28? The descriptions of the “wicked” in Ps 28 do not report on particular persons or social groups. Rather they are character profiles derived from the temple instruction.612 They need not point to personal enemies who aim attacks at the speaker of the psalm, but may simply be a typical portrayal of those who oppose Yahweh’s adherents. In other words, these profiles are not comparable to a “letter of reference” reporting biographical facts about an actual individual. Respect for their literary form shows that they are an oracular “tôrâh” teaching God’s will about the kind of person he desires and the kind of person he rejects. They are not descriptive reports; they are prescriptive models. They are not biographical accounts but stylized images or portraits.613 The wicked are given mention not because they single the speaker out for attack but because loyalty to Yahweh is to be exhibited in part by one’s disassociation from those whose character is contrary to Yahweh’s. The speaker, although he had nearly slipped with the wicked, discovers that those who enter the temple (sanctuary) have God as the “Rock” of their failed heart and his nearness as their “good”. 4. Placement of Ps 28 There are a number of affinities between the temple entry psalms Pss 15 and 24 and Ps 28. The description of the “workers of evil” (Ps 28,3) provides a clear contrast to that of the “doer of righteousness” (Ps 15,2-3), in terms of their speech and treatment of the “neighbor” and what lies in their “heart”, whether “evil” or “truth”. Both psalms appear to have been performed directly before the “holy place”. Ps 28 in its assessment of one’s character refers to the same bodily parts as the other entry tôrâh in Ps 24: “hearts” and “hands”. Seen in the light of these liturgies, the key issue may be, “Who may sojourn on your holy hill?”614 Since evil doers cannot, both Pss 26 and 28 – immediately following an affirmation of affinity to his sanctuary – petition God not to remove the speaker with sinners. Thus, the reason the psalm shows such interest in the wicked is not 611

612 613 614

G. VON RAD, Das fünfte Buch Mose. Deuteronomium (Göttingen 1964) 196; comments “the Rock the faithful God against whom Israel has sinned” (Eng. trans. 140). C. C. BROYLES, “Psalms Concerning Temple Entry”, 286. C. C. BROYLES, “Psalms Concerning Temple Entry”, 286. Cf. J. M. LUNDQUIST, The Temple of Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future (USA 2008) 25.

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because of the supposed circumstances of the psalmist but because of the key issue of the entry liturgies. Reading Ps 28 in this context also explains how the negative petitions result in positive benefits for the speaker and why attention is turned from the speaking “I” to God’s people. The speaking “I” was probably not a lone individual but a liturgist praying on behalf of fellow worshippers (‘people’) and the king. Faced with the issue of entering or not entering the temple, we can now make sense of the opening petitions (Ps 28,1-4) and especially vv. 1-2. The issue of life and death may be explained not with reference to the supposed circumstances of a particular psalmist (e.g. sickness or false accusers) but with reference to the imagery of the temple itself. As evident from Ps 36, to have access to the temple is to have access to “light” and “life” itself; to be regarded as “wicked” and thus to be denied is to become like those who go into the pit (Ps 28,1) or like the “fallen” who are “not able to rise” (Ps 36,12[13]). After the first cluster of Pss 15-24 in Book I, follow the next cluster of Pss 2534. Ps 28 is the last in the series of four supplications (Pss 25-28), and with Ps 29 we are back to the territory of praise - praise of God who is sovereign over the creation. Ps 30 a song of thanksgiving continues the hopeful tone. The positive tone continues through this section concluding with praise for God as the one who brings renewal in the midst of trouble, woe and opposition. Ps 28, like Pss 18 and 19 could be identified as the prayer of the king. Ps 29 after Ps 28 functions as the hermeneutical centre between the plea (Ps 28) and praise (Ps 30).615 Reading and rereading Pss 28; 29 and 30 yields some additional insights. Most striking is the motif of “silence”. In Ps 28,1-2 the psalmist is desperate for God not to be silent. In Ps 29 the Lord is anything but silent. His “voice” (lwq) is heard seven times in verses 3-9 as he “thunders” over the waters (v. 3), clearly in response to the psalmist’s “voice/cry” (lwq) in Ps 28,2. In particular the psalmist in 28,2 calls ([wv) on God for help, lest he join “those who have gone down to the pit” (rwb ydrwy); and in the wake of Ps 29, the psalmist in Ps 30,2[3] celebrates how God responded to his call ([wv) and in Ps 30,3[4] how God spared him from “going down into the pit” (rwb-ydrwym). So the transcendence of God emphasized in Ps 29,3-9 must be balanced with the immanence of God articulated in Pss 28 and 30.616 Also of note are the themes of strength and blessing. All 615

616

E. ZENGER, “Theophanien des Königsgottes Jahweh: Transformationen von Psalm 29 in den Teilkompositionen Pss 28-30 und Pss 93-100”, in The Book of Psalms (ed. P. W. FLINT and P. D. MILLER) 416 (406-442). M. D. FUTATO, D. M. HOWARD, Interpreting the Psalms: An Exegetical Handbook (Grand Rapids 2007) 212.

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these three psalms contain the Rock word field. Ps 30,7a[8a] “O Lord, you had established me as a strong mountain”, looks back on Ps 28,1 (“To you O Lord, I call my Rock…”) and Ps 28,7a (“The Lord is my strength and my shield”) and also on Ps 29,11 (“May the Lord give strength to his people!”). The psalmist wishes that God breaks his silence (Ps 28,1); as Ps 29 celebrates the effect of “the voice” of God (hwhy lwq) (cf. Ps 29,3.4.5.7.8.9). This proves that God cannot be silent; he is a God who speaks. The Bible – both Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible – represents God as having spoken. Ps 28,2b the psalmist lifts his hands toward the sanctuary presence from where God helps; in fact this is demonstrated in Ps 29. Ps 28 is placed beside Ps 29 which in fact speaks also of the kingship of Yahweh. Both these psalms praise the power and strength of Yahweh (Pss 28,7f; 29,1.11). Both speak of the temple (Pss 28,2; 29,2.9). The conclusion of both the psalms contains the kingship theme either earthly representative Ps 28,8 or the heavenly king Ps 29,10-11. Ps 27 too is influenced by the prayer of the king. The placement of the prayer of the king (human king) and God as king speaks only of the vision of God’s rule through a tôrâh -keeping servant, a human ruler. An ideal king is a God’s representative mediating (Stellvertretender Mittler) between God and his people (cf. Pss 20; 28; 84). The theme of the house of the Lord (or Temple, or holy place, or sanctuary) offering protection for the psalmist is found in Pss 22-29 (exception in Ps 25). This group highlights the resources that are to be found in the ‘house of God’.617 Ps 27, describes God’s protection in metaphorical terms: the desire to be constantly in God’s house, offering worship and seeking guidance (vv. 6.8), is an expression of the psalmist’s loyalty rather than an indication that he has taken up permanent asylum in the temple. And Ps 28 is placed in such a context. The author of Ps 28, like that of Ps 26, is afraid that his fate will be no different from that of the wicked (vv. 1.3; cf. Ps 29,9). He does not however complain directly of any ill-treatment he is receiving at their hands. Nor does he appeal to God for help on the ground of his own good character. Avowal of dependence on God’s protection comes both at the beginning of Ps 28 (‘my Rock’ [v. 1]) and in the thanksgiving at the end, when he acknowledges that he has been heard (vv, 6.7), and acknowledges “the Lord is my strength and my shield” (yngmw yz[ hwhy) (v. 7). The theme of the ‘House of the Lord’ (hwhy-tybb), and ‘to inquire in his temple’ (wlkyhb rqblw), and ‘under the cover of his tent’ (wlha rtsb) in Ps 27,4.5 is 617

S. E. GILLINGHAM, The Image, The Depths, And The Surface: Multivalent Approaches To Biblical Study (Sheffield 2002) 72.

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surrounded by two psalms on either side: Pss 26 and 28. Ps 26,8 reads ‘O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell’ and Ps 28,2 has ‘I lift up my hands toward thy most holy sanctuary’. The theme of God’s glory in the Temple is also the climax of Ps 29 (see v. 9 ‘and in his temple all say, “Glory!”’). After this, the explicit references to the Temple recede towards the end of Book I, where the theme moves on more generally to that of the oppression of the poor and prayer for God’s help. This is to mean the theme of “protection and security” found in the Temple is placed right in the center of the Book I of Psalms, and this theme of the Temple is surrounded on either side by the theme of the “poor”. The word ‘Rock’ connected with the sanctuary becomes the oasis of God’s presence and protection. Pss 3-14 form a unit with Ps 8 at the heart, with Pss 3-7 united under the theme of the oppressive enemy and Pss 9-10 and 11-14 linked together under the theme of God’s protection of the poor618 After Ps 29 the theme of the oppression of the poor and prayer for God’s help comes once again to the fore. If Ps 28 is to be read as having a liturgical orientation, the image of ‘God as Shepherd’ in v. 9 may thus be interpreted as the one who tends his flock not only in the midst of life but also in bringing his sheep safely home to their dwelling place: the Temple, like the sheepfold, is the place of safety and security provided by God himself, out of his steadfast mercy for his people. With this metaphor of the Shepherd at the end of the psalm, the psalm closes with an eye on “God’s people”. Book I (the first ‘Davidic Psalter’) is characterized by its superscriptions ascribing the psalms in honor of David (except three psalms: Pss 8; 9/10; 33). Given the associations of David with the founding of the Temple (developed, for example, by the Chronicler) the Davidic heading could be seen to create not so much a biographical reading, linking the psalm back to the best-known king of Israel, but a more liturgical one, linking the psalm back to the king who ‘founded’ the Temple. The Temple theme is brought to the fore in psalms that form the heart of Book I (Pss 22-29). To conclude, Ps 28 is the only psalm that connects God as Rock to “Inner Sanctuary”. The psalmist in Ps 28 personifies the Rock, which has its root in physical displays of Yahweh’s salvation in the history of Israel (“Rock of Salvation” - [Deut 32,15]). This is shown by the use of the vocabulary in v. 1: The psalmist pleads the Rock, not to be deaf (“be a hearer”) and not to be silent (“be a speaker”) and at the end “be thou their shepherd (v. 9). The request for Rock not to be deaf, silent and be thou their shepherd seems to assume that Rock can hear, speak and 618

Cf. HOSSFELD and ZENGER, “Selig, wer auf die Armen achtet” (Ps 41,2), 34-46.

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shepherd the flock. This raises the question of how Rock would hear/speak/shepherd, and what Rock would say. How would it speak when it speaks? How would it carry when it shepherds? It is only metaphorically true that a Rock can speak and shepherd. The use of the metaphor of the Rock in the psalm makes the psalm relevant in variety of situations. Where the temple is physically in Jerusalem, the metonymic619 reference to Yahweh’s relation to Zion, the Holy Sanctuary will be meaningful. When the temple did not exist (both during the exile and after 70 CE), or the worshipper lives far away, the metaphorical use of the rock will loosen the close connection between Yahweh and Zion. The metaphorical expression would be meaningful at a time when the temple did not exist. As in Ps 19, the governing structure is a dialectical interplay between concepts associated with ‘seeing’ and ‘hearing’; here in Ps 28 instead, the governing structure as: ‘hearing’ and ‘speaking’ and shepherding (“I call to”…yrwc arqa), and…“he heard my voice…” (lwq [mv). It is Yahweh the Rock, who breaks his silence. It is His presence as Rock that speaks.

619

Metonymy is used to denote a special relation and thus to characterize Yahweh, whereas the metaphor is an image that stands in for its referent, a rock stands in for Yahweh.

PSALM 31,2b[3b].3a[4a] BE A ROCK OF REFUGE FOR ME…MY ROCK AND MY FORTRESS A. Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre Psalm 31 is commonly designated as an individual lament,620 or a lament of an innocent sufferer. Prayer and declaration of trust (vv. 2-9[3-10]), and praise (vv. 20-25[21-26]) blend very well in this psalm. It is a collage of different prayer forms, with elements of lament and description of distress concentrated at the centre (vv. 9-18[10-19]), and elements of thanksgiving and praise for deliverance occurring at the beginning and the end (vv. 1-8[1-9].19-24[20-25]). Duhm claims that “der Psalm besteht aus einer Mischung von Klagen, Lobpreisungen Jahwes und Danksagungen….”.621 Craigie and Van der Ploeg posit a cultic setting to the psalm, in which the worshipper comes to express prayer and lament, and in which he receives assurance of having been heard by the Lord.622 Gerstenberger and Seybold argue that the Sitz im Leben is characterized by a righteous individual maligned by malicious gossip, probably because of his sickness.623 The idea of sickness may be due to the misunderstanding of vv. 10[11] and 11[12] is challenged by Collins,624 Kraus remarks, “Man könnte in v. 10[11] und v. 11[12] an die Klage eines Todkranken denken. Aber wahrscheinlich sind an dieser Stelle in das Lied eines Verfolgten stehende Aussageformeln aus der Klage der Kranken eingeflossen”.625 It is therefore better to view them (vv. 10-11[11-12]) as references to the man’s weeping with an emphasis on the psychological details of the process. The theme of the whole is stated in the formulaic sentence: “In you, Lord, do I seek refuge” (v. 1). The motif of refuge is continued in metaphors like Rock, Stronghold, Fortress, and Crag and is resumed at the end in verses 19-24[20-25].

620

621 622 623

624

625

J. P. M. VAN der PLOEG , Psalmen (Roermond 1971) 202; P. C. CRAIGIE, Psalms, 258; H –W. J ÜNGLING, Psalms 1-41, in W. R. FARMER, et al. (eds.) IBC (Collegville 1998) 809; C. MANDOLFO, God in the Dock, 71. D. B. DUHM, Die Psalmen (Tübingen 1922) 124. P. C. CRAIGIE, Psalms, 258, 259; J. P. M. VAN der PLOEG, Psalmen, 202. E. GERSTENBERGER, Psalm I (Grand Rapids 1988) 140; K. SEYBOLD, Die Psalmen (Handbuch zum AT 1/15) (Tübingen 1996) 129. T. COLLINS, “The Physiology of Tears in the Old Testament – II”, CBQ 33 (1971) 185187. H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen, 397.

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Indeed, the prayer as a whole is a “taking refuge in the Lord”.626 The psalm has been called a model of a prayer that is confident of being heard. To pray this psalm is to be led into and instructed in this confidence. But the confidence of the prayer is not in any respect a virtue of the one who prays. It is, rather, a possibility that is based on the character of the one to whom the prayer is made. The psalm speaks to the Lord as the ´ël ´émet (v. 5[6]), the God who can be relied on and believed in because he is true to himself and continues always to be what he has shown himself. There is no agreement among scholars as to the structure of the psalm. The following division may be suggested: i) Prayer for help and expression of confidence (vv. 2a-6a[3a-7a]); ii) Expression of trust based on Yahweh’s divine presence (vv. 6b-9b[7b-10b]); iii) Lament (vv. 10a-14d[11a-15d]); iv) Trust and prayer for the downfall of the enemy (vv. 15a-19c[16a-20c]) v) Thanksgiving and praise (vv. 20a-24[21a-25]). The psalmist prays to God: “Be a Rock of Refuge for me” and invokes Him as, “my Rock” (vv. 2-3[3-4]). Though Ps 31 is christened as Individual Lament, the two occurrences of the Rock appear under the opening section of prayer and declaration of trust (vv. 1-7[1-8]) in this psalm. This is an example how the image of the Rock is at home in Individual laments might migrate to genres that share broader regions, like psalms/prayers of trust (Ps 31; Cf. Ps 62). B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 31, 2-3[3-4] 1. Text and Translation 2

3

ynI[eyviAhl. tAdWcm. tybel. zA[m'-rWcl. yli hyEh/ ynIleyCih; hr"hem. ^n>z>a' yl;ae hJeh;3 Incline thy ear to me, rescue me speedily! Be thou a Rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!

ynIleh]n:t.W ynIxen>T; ^m.vi ![;m;l.W hT'a' ytid"Wcm.W y[il.s;-yKi 4 “You are indeed my Rock and my fortress; for your name's sake lead me and guide me”.

2. Close Reading of Ps 31,2-3[3-4] The two occurrences of the Rock, viz., a) “Be thou a Rock” (v. 2b[3b]), “You are my Rock” (v. 3a[4a]) appear in the prayer for help and expression of confidence (vv. 2a-6a[3a-7a]), It is clear rwc appears in moments of adversity when the psalmist is in dire need of help. The term is employed metaphorically 626

J. L. MAYS Psalms, 142.

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in contexts describing the action of Yahweh, and the personal experience of deliverance from adversity, whereby the deity is seen to be a refuge in which one may trust. Secondly, the presence of numerous terms of rock world field that is present in the psalm is a testimony of confession of trust. For they are the terms of “confession of trust” (Bekenntnis des Vertrauens). The opening words of the supplicant, ytysx hwhy $b (“in you, O Lord, do I seek refuge”) (v. 1a[2a]) articulate the plea for help and the assurance of Yahweh’s favor. These words express the psalmist’s conviction that his help comes only from Yahweh (cf. Ps 121,2). The vital role, assurance and confidence play in the psalmist’s prayer, is echoed by Markschies “Die Bitte ist in dem Vertrauen begründet, daß Yahweh den, der ihn anruft, nicht enttäuschen wird….”.627 The plea “Incline your ear to me, rescue me quickly (v. 2a[3a]) is used together to underline the urgency of the poet’s situation and the acuteness of the affliction. The prayer to be heard is intensified by the desire for salvation.628 The request for deliverance (yn[yvwh) is also repeated in v. 16b[17b]. A well-knit structure of the expressions of confidence and pleas for help is evident in vv. 1[2].16[17] and 17[18]:629 V. 1a [2a] V. 1b[2b] V. 1c[2c] V. 16b[17b] V. 17a[18a] V. 17b[18b]

ytysx ... $b hvwba-la ynjlp $tqdcb $dsxb yn[yvwh hvwba-la $ytarq yk

Trust in Yahweh’s protection characterizes the majority of the divine epithets used in vv. 2-4[3-5].630 Metaphorical expressions abound for the experience of security and safety in the face of danger: zw[m-rwc (“Rock of refuge”), twdwcm tyb (“strong fortress”), y[ls (“my Crag/Rock”), ytdwcm (“my fortress”) and yzw[m (“my refuge”). The repetition of these terms exhibits a synonymous parallelism (vv. 24[3-5]), stressing the poet’s confidence in Yahweh’s ability and fidelity: 627

628

629

630

C MARKSCHIES, “Ich aber vertraue auf dich, Herr” – Vertrauensäußerungen als Grundmotiv in den Klageliedern des Einzelnen”, ZAW 103 (1991) 389. Cf. F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, Die Psalmen, 1-50 (Würzburg 1993) 197; H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen, 396. E. BONS, Psalm 31 - Rettung als Paradigma. Eine synchron-leserorientierte Analyse (Frankfurt a. M. 1994) 230. F. LINDSTRÖM, Suffering and Sin: Interpretations of illness in the Individual Complain, Psalms (Stockholm 1994) 107.

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“Be thou a Rock of refuge for me, A strong fortress to save me Yea thou art my Rock and my fortress,… For thou art my refuge”. The progression of ideas in vv. 2-4[3-5] is thematic for the whole psalm.631 Verse 1[2] starts with a statement of confidence, first in the affirmative, then in the negative, with both utterances constituting a basis for the call for help. The supplicant is tense, insecure and apprehensive glancing at Yahweh, but at the same time worried about the situation at hand. In these verses, the tension and insecurity reach a climax with a cluster of pleas: “Let me never be put to shame”, “deliver me” (v. 1[2]); “incline your ear to me”, “rescue me speedily!” (v. 2[3]), “lead and guide me” (v. 3[4]), and “take me out of the net” (v. 4[5]). Together with the expressions of trust these are also the expressions of dependence. The same formula and the epithet “God, my Rock” show how much prayer/complaint is linked to the affirmation of confidence. The psalmist’s longing for salvation and his dependence on Yahweh is underscored by the utterance; “Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me” (v. 2c[3c]). The terms zw[m-rwc and hdwcm play an important role in this formulation. The use of rwc, together with equivalent terms, as here in Ps 31, serves to delineate its symbolic or metaphoric significance. Creach observes that rwc generally denotes a large solitary rock, a crag, or rocky mountain chain.632 The numerous appearances of this word give rise to the question as to why it is employed so often, especially as a metaphor for Yahweh in the Hebrew Bible. The rocky terrain of Canaan provides the background for this rich imagery found in the Bible. Because of its hardness, rwc conveys the idea of stability and immovability. It provides a solid foundation, protection and security. Its literal use of providing shade from an overhanging “rock”/“cliff” in the desert sun (Isa 33,2) was extended to the figurative use of God providing refuge for his people.633 According to Keel, „In most cases..., which celebrate God as a high refuge, as an inaccessible mountain stronghold (mṣwdh), as a Rock (of refuge) (sl῾) probably have in mind some natural feature of the landscape“.634 rwc together with other terms here once again seem to covey static images, the purpose of which is to delineate the divine identity: God as Rock, Fortress,

631 632 633 634

L. LABERGE, “A Literary Analysis of Psalm 31”, ÉeT 16 (1985) 158. J. F. D. CREACH, Yahweh as Refuge, 28. H.-J. FABRY, “rwc”, 977. O. KEEL, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 180.

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Stronghold and Refuge. However, the question of divine identity cannot be divorced from divine activity.635 Yahweh is not just one in whom refuge is to be sought; he is a “Rock” who both offers shelter and effects deliverance.636 The employment of the verbs in v. 2[3]; hjn (“stretch out”, “spread out”, “extend”, “incline”, “bend”), lcn (“to rescue”), [vy (“to save”), and jlp (“deliver”) in vv. 13[1-4] highlight the link between refuge and salvation.637 The “Rock of Salvation” motif is treated in the sense of imminent calamity or distress as there is an appeal for deliverance. The utilization of appellations and verbs serves to depict not only the identity and activity of God, but the supplicant’s relationship to him as well.638 For, Rock is a term of mutuality (relationship) and relationship between Yahweh and the psalmist639. This is evident in the metaphor of the Rock and its equivalent terms appear with the possessive pronoun: “My Rock”, “My Fortress”. In v. 2[3], the term rwc appears with zw[m-rwc, stressing inaccessibility, it serves as a refuge in which people take shelter from their enemies (cf. also, Deut 33,27 [hn[m]; Jer 21,13; Ps 71,3[!w[m]=habitation). zw[m is primarily used in religious context to refer to Yahweh, for it expresses strength, and together with rwc, emphasizes stability. It articulates the firm trust of the righteous in the ability of the deity. He is a zw[m and at the same time offers salvation from their misery (cf. Isa 17,10; Pss 27,1; 28,8). With regard to the use of this term in the psalms of lamentation, Zobel remarks “In ihnen spricht sich die Glaubensüberzeugung Israels von Jahweh’s unbezwingbarer Stärke und seiner einzigartigen Machtfülle aus, die sein Volk und jeder einzelne als Hilfe, Errettung und göttlichen Beistand erfahren hat und immer neu zu erleben hofft”.640 By using these metaphors to address God, one learns new ways to imagine oneself, to relate to others and to God and to live one’s life. These metaphors not only describe reality; but also they transform the lives of worshippers in new and deeper directions. Nasuti would describe it as the “sacramental” role of the psalms.641 The psalms as linguistic events can create new realities. According to Athanasius, the distinctive nature of the Psalms lies in their ability to “affect” 635 636 637 638 639 640 641

M. P. KNOWLES, “The Rock, His Work is Perfect”, 309. H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen, 35-36. H.-J. FABRY, “rwc”, 980. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 19. D. EICHHORN, Gott als Fels, Burg, Zuflucht, 45. H.-J. ZOBEL, “zw[m”, ThWAT IV (1984) 1026. H. P. NASUTI, “The Sacramental Function of the Psalms in Contemporary Scholarship and Liturgical Practice”, in Psalms and Practice: Worship, Virtue, and Authority (ed. S. B. REID) (Collegeville 2001) 78-89.

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and “mold” a person.642 Thus, the term rwc not only describes the distress of the psalmist but also transforms his life with the action of Yahweh. For, the term is employed metaphorically in the context describing the action of Yahweh, and the personal experience of deliverance from adversity, whereby the deity is seen to be a refuge in which one may trust. 3. Close Reading of Ps 31,3 [4] ynIleh]n:t.W ynIxen>T; ^m.vi ![;m;l.W hT'a' ytid"Wcm.W y[il.s;-yKi “You are indeed my Rock and my fortress; for your name's sake lead me and guide me”. This verse begins with the yk particle. A chiastic structure is evident in the use of yk and verbal sentences in v. 3[4] y[ls-yk and v. 4[5] yzw[m hta-yk, with yk sentences forming the basis of the call for divine intervention: The employment of the yk particle in v. 3[4], where God is addressed as Rock, is at the helm of other seven statements:643 “For you are my Rock and fortress” (v. 3[4]); “for you are my refuge” (v. 4[5]); “for I am in distress” (v. 9[10]); “for my life is spent with sorrow” (v. 10[11]); “for I hear the whispering of many” (v. 13[14]); “for I call on you” (v. 17[18]); “for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me” (v. 21[22]). The prayer in the second half of the verse in v. 3[4], ynlhntw ynxnt (“lead me and guide me”) conveys what Kraus calls the “Permanenz der Heilszuwendung”.644 This idea is elaborated on in v. 4[5] where the poet artfully pictures the danger from which he wants to be saved. Employing the hunting metaphor, the psalmist describes how the adversaries have set a net to entrap him. The supplicant likens his distress to an animal being tangled up in a net, an apt image for the anguish of one feeling isolated and disgraced (Cf. Pss 9,15[16]; 25,15; 35,7.8). The net conveys the idea of being trapped, with nowhere to go. It is in this distress he turns out to God and invokes him as his Rock/Crag ([ls). The supplicant longs to be freed (acy) from the net of the enemy (v. 4[5]). Generally, the verb acy together with the verbs in the psalm like jlp (‘deliver’) lcn (‘snatch’) and [vy (‘save’) convey the idea of salvation. acy connotes the meaning of someone going or coming out of something or escaping.645 The realization of God’s

642

643 644 645

Cf. ATHANASIUS, The Life of Antony and the Letter to Marcellinus (trans., R. C. GREGG) (New York 1980) ch.10. K. SCHAEFER, Psalms (Minnesota 2001) 76. H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen, 396. H. D. PREUSS, “acy”, ThWAT III (1997) 798.

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salvation is expressed in the particle yk, based on Yahweh’s great dsx.646 Here the yk particle refers to what lies ahead. It is not causal. The invocation “Yea, thou art my Rock/Crag” is a formula of hope, here and now and in the near future. The term [ls occurs here in connection with rwc depicts God’s power to protect. It is an enclosed space of God’s protection. It serves as a synonym for rwc as a name of God.647 The interchangeability of rwc and [ls as names of God is strengthened by the fact that when [ls once is employed in isolation (Cf. Ps 42,9[10]), the literary form is one in which rwc also occurs, the prayer of individuals.648 This is also clearly seen by the composition of Ps 31,2-3[3-4] and Ps 71,3: “Be thou a Rock (rwc) of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! Yea, thou art my Rock/Crag ([ls) and my fortress” (Ps 31,2-3[MT 3-4]). Thus the Psalmist in Ps 31,3[4], when he refers back to v. 2[3], replaces rwc with [ls. The LXX renders [ls in Ps 31,3[4] by kratai,wma (strength).649 The rocks, designated by [ls are: i) places where wild animals live; ii) places where fugitives hide, and iii) places that lend themselves to the building of fortifications and strongholds.650 Like the word rwc, [ls also symbolizes Yahweh’s permanence, protection and care for his people. This verse (v. 3[4]) is a development of the v. 2[3] that is, the plea for help and expression of confidence. The distress of the psalmist is portrayed in the term: “net”. The “net” (Ps 31) and the “pit” (Ps 28) are common imagery for the evils that befall the “innocent”, who cry to God to defend them.651 The net symbolizes entrapment, without any control of movement for the plaintiff of Ps 31. Only the Rock ([ls) the symbol of strength (kratai,wma) can make the movement possible. The utilization of this static appellation serves to depict not only the identity but also activity of God and the supplicant’s relationship to him. The Psalmist being inside a net 646

647 648 649 650 651

Cf. A. AEJMELAEUS, “Function and Interpretation of yk in Biblical Hebrew”, JBL 105 (1986) 202-209; W. T. CLASSEN, “Speaker-Oriented Function of kî in Biblical Hebrew”, JNSL X1 (1983) 29-46. D. EICHHORN, Gott als Fels, Burg, Zuflucht, 93; E. HAAG, “[ls”, ThWAT V (1986) 879. D. EICHHORN, Gott als Fels, Burg, Zuflucht, 31-34, 45-46. Cf. The LXX rendering of Rock in previous pages. A. E. HILL “[ls”, NIDOTE III (1997) 267. Cf. for “Net”, Pss 9,15[16]; 10.9; 25,15; 35,7.8.; 57,6[7]; 140,5[6]; and for “Pit”, Pss 28,1; 30,3[4].9[10]; 35,7; 40,2[3]; 57,6[7]; 69,16.

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demonstrates the loss of freedom, and he therefore prays that Yahweh should liberate him from the net hidden by the enemy. This is evident from the employment of the preposition !m, used in an ablative sense.652 !m designates the movement away from a specific point (“in a net”), a movement from bondage to freedom or lament to praise. The area outside the net represents safety and wellbeing. The “net” was a very common utensil in the ancient Near East.653 It was used as a military weapon, as well as in fishing and hunting both wild animals and fowls. The exact identification and classification of Old Testament net terminology is somewhat complicated by the fact that various terms are often used synonymously.654 In Ps 31,4[5] tvr from the root vry means “to subdue”, “take possession of”,655 seems to be the most frequent term for ‘net’ in the Old Testament. Here it may be used of trouble that has taken possession of the psalmist. If one postulated that the poet is utilizing his own hunting experience or observation of how animals are hunted, the application thereof to his own situation becomes evident. Rock/Crag ([ls) as a place where animals find shelter from enemies is also a lair and thus also a shelter for animals. If on the one hand the animals are safe here in holes or caves of the Rock ([ls), on the other hand they are trapped in a net, no freedom to move about freely. The Psalmist, using this imagery of the animal trapped in a net, to save himself from his enemies, feels that he is not free. On the other hand his trust in God anticipates his realization of his salvation. Here, salvation and refuge is symbolically presented by invoking God as [ls (“crag”). The psalmist takes these literal experiences (Source Domain/Physical World) of the “[ls” and maps them onto Yahweh (Target Domain) in order to gain a better understanding of the deity and his actions. The preceding and succeeding verses to v. 3[4] are full of images of God as a protective stronghold. Following the assertion “I seek refuge” and the plea “deliver me” in the first verse, the text continues envisioning God as a protecting enclosure: “a Rock of refuge”, “a strong fortress”, “my Rock and my Fortress” “my refuge” (vv. 2[3].3-4[4-5]), and “shelter” (v. 20[21]). Curiously, the situation that the psalmist is pleading to be saved from is also portrayed in

652

653 654

655

B. K. WALTKE and M. O’CONNOR, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (Winona Lake 1990) 212. Cf. O. KEEL, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 89ff. For a detailed discussion, cf. D. BODI, The Book of Ezekiel and the Poem of Erra, OBO 104 (Freiburg, Schweiz 1991) 162ff. BDB 439-440.

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terms of enclosed spaces.656 Using imagery derived from hunting and the treatment of war prisoners, he prays that God “take me out of the net that is hidden for me” (v. 4[5]), and while giving thanks for God’s deliverance, he says his past struggle made him like ‘a city under siege’ (rwcm ry[b) (cf. v. 21[22]). The Psalmist wants to be rescued from enclosed spaces controlled by the enemy (“a net”, “a besieged city”), to the enclosed space of God’s protection (“a Crag/Rock”, “a Fortress”, “a Shelter”). It may be that the background for this imagery of refuge and protection comes from the ancient custom of seeking sanctuary from foes at holy places.657 As such, the psalm indicates the desire not for freedom per se, but for deliverance out of the power of the enemy into God’s protecting domain. Salvation in Ps 31 entails being enclosed by the divine. 4. Reading Ps 31,2-3[3-4] in Context The psalmist by using the terms rwc/[ls (‘Rock’) in the beginning, the term rc (‘distress’) in the middle, and dsx in the end together with other salvific terms (lcn/[vy/jlp/acy), clearly shows a movement from lament to praise. To recall the scheme of Brueggemann: a movement from orientation, disorientation to new orientation. rwc/[ls rc acy lcn/[vy/jlp

Orientation Disorientation New Orientation

In the first half of vv. 2-8[2-9] the psalmist begins with and intensifies the idea of confidence and trust with both affirmative statements: ytysx hwhy $b (“in you, O Lord, do I seek refuge”) (v. 2a[3a]), ytxjb hwhy-la ynaw (“but I trust in Yahweh”) (v. 6b[7b]; cf. v. 14a[15a]), tma la hwhy (“O Lord, faithful God”) (v. 5b[6b]), hta yhla (v. 14b[15b]) (“you are my God”). The actuality of yvpn twrc (“distress of my soul”) in v. 7c[8c] is elaborated on in vv. 10-13[11-14]. Also noticeable is the association between “distress of my soul” (v. 7[8]) and “my soul” (v. 9[10]). Verse 10-11[11-12] describes the psalmist’s physical and psychological reality. The words, “I have become like a broken vessel” (v. 12b[13b]) expresses his feeling of worthlessness. This verse

656

657

Cf. R. E. VAN HARN and B. A. STRAWN (ed.), Psalms for Preaching and Worship: A Lectionary Commentary (Grand Rapids 2009) 128. J. L. MAYS, Psalms: Interpretation, 144. Cf. also, O. KEEL, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 180.

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(v. 12[13]) illustrates the full extent of the poet’s misery.658 It is in this context of distress, God is invoked as Rock in the psalm. Thus the psalmist seems to be playing with the words hrc (Yahweh seeing his distress - v. 7[8]. cf. also v. 11[12]),rc (Psalmist lamenting over his distress – v. 9[10]) and the address of the psalmist: God my Rock (rwc) (Ps 31,2b[3b].3a[4a]). Vv. 14-25[15-25] contain the expressions of confidence and thanksgiving. Especially vv. 19-21[20-22] signal a movement away from prayer and lament to praise and thanksgiving (a movement from disorientation to new orientation). hm (“how”) at the beginning of v. 19[20] and $wrb (“blessed”) at the beginning of v. 21[22] are elements typical of praise and thanksgiving.659 The loving-kindness (dsx) demonstrated by Yahweh forms the basis for thanksgiving. Yahweh’s “seeing” (har) of the supplicant’s conflict and “knowing” ([dy) about the distress, are the ways in which the divine dsx is manifested. Apart from v. 7[8], dsx also appears in vv. 16[17] and 21[22] with reference to God, where it achieves a framing effect. It highlights the mutual relationship between the deity and the psalmist. After the “net” motif, poet’s use of the “hand” motif with “Rock” (rwc/[ls) motif in Ps 31 is worth noting. Apart from v. 5[6], this motif also appears in vv. 8[9] and 15[16]. In verse 5[6] the psalmist entrusts his spirit into Yahweh’s “hand” and Yahweh in turn does not deliver him into the enemy’s “hand”. His language of commitment stems from the world of commercial transactions – the verse pledges a valuable object in the sure hope that it will be kept secure and redeemed.660 As such, his statement should be understood not as passive resignation in the face of death but as sure faith in God’s ultimate power (a God who is his [ls/kratai,wma (LXX “strength”), power that can take him from the space controlled by the enemy (“net” of the enemy) and put him into the enclosed space of God’s protection. The “hand” of opposing forces illustrates the tug-ofwar.661 Whereas God’s “hand” connotes rescue and safety, the “hands” of the foes threaten and wish to destroy. It is evident that the poet of Ps 31 uses the “hand” motif in a contrasting fashion. The psalmist knows that by committing his life and times into Yahweh’s hands, he will not be harmed by the wicked plans of the adversaries; rather he makes his feet stand in a broad place (bxrmb). Yahweh allows the psalmist to move on to steady ground (one can call it as 658 659 660

661

H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen, 397. H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen, 398. Cf. A. BERLIN and M. Z. BRETTLER (eds.), The Jewish Study of Bible (Oxford 2004) 1315. K. SCHAEFER, Psalms (Minnesota 2001) 77.

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“Rock”), providing the opportunity for the poet to rejoice. Verse 8a[9a] indicates how the poet is using the metaphor of space in Ps 31. According to Oeming “…die Hilfe Gottes ist der weite Raum, der frei macht, Platz zum Bewegen und Atmen schenkt und fröhlich macht”.662 Apart from its use here in Ps 31,8a[9a], the term bxrm appears four times in the OT: In Ps 18,19a[20a]=2 Sam 20a it denotes a “broad place”. In Hos 4,16 it denotes the “broad pasture” which the lamb inhabits, and in Hab 1,6 “the breadth of the earth” over which the Chaldean army will confidently tread. In Ps 118,5 it is a thanksgiving for deliverance in battle, the psalmist states within his narrative that when he called to Yahweh out of his distress, the deity ‘answered me and set me in a broad place’ (bxrmb). .The Motif of “hand” becomes the mediator/instrument to bring the psalmist from rc (“distress –narrow place”) to rwc (“Rock”–solid ground/broad place). The image of the poet’s being delivered to a liberating ‘broad place’ (bxrm) is set over against his former narrow condition of distress (rc) in vv. 7b[8b] and 9a[10a].663 God himself is the “broad place” (weite Raum) where there is not cramping (Ps 18,19[20]; 31,8[9]; Job 36,16).664 Artificial shelters were cities with high walls and towers (Pss 61,4; 62,3.7; 91,14f). In the face of enemy threat the supplicant hopes, that God provides protection, still more God himself is such sheltering space, for it is that prevents the chaos of the

662 663

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M. OEMING, Das Buch der Psalmen, 1-41 (Stuttgart 2000) 183. Affliction is described in the poem as: yyn[ (my affliction), yvpn twrc (distress of my soul) (v. 7[8]); bywa-dyb (“into the hand of the enemy”) (v. 8[9]); yl-rc yk (“for I have trouble”), s[k (“grief”) (v. 9[10]); !wgy , hxna , (“worrying”, “groaning”), (v. 10[11]), yzpx (“my anxiety”) (v. 22[23]). The psychosomatic dimensions of the suffering are expressed as: yny[ hvv[ (“my eyes are wasted”) (v. 9[10]); hxnab ytwnvw yyx !wgyb wlk yk (“for my life is spent with sorrow”); wvv[ ymc[w yxk ynw[b lvk (“my strength fails because of my misery, and my bones waste away”) (v. 10[11]); dba ylkk ytyyh blm tmk ytxkvn (“I have passed out of my mind like one who is dead, I have become like a broken vessel”) (v. 12[13]). The social aspects of affliction are referred to with the following expressions: hprx (“scorn”) (v. 11[12]) dxp (“horror”) (v. 11[12]); those who see me in the secret, ynmm wddn (“flee from me”) (v. 11[12]); ~ybr tbd (“whispering of many”) (v. 13[14]); wmmz yvpn txql (“they plot to take my life”) (v. 13[14]); rqv ytpf (“lying lips”) (v. 18[19]); qt[ qydc-l[ twrbdh (“that speak insolently against the righteous”) (v. 18[19]); All these terrible things come from: rrc (“adversaries”), ynkv (“my neighbours”), y[dym (“my acquaintances”) (v. 11[12]) ypdrmw ybywa (“my enemies and my persecutors”) (v. 15[16]). Cf. LINDSTRÖM, Suffering, 108, 109. J. MOLTMANN, Das Kommen Gottes: Christologische Eschatologie (Gütersloh 1995) 328; cf. also an English translation of the same, J. MOLTMANN and M. KOHL, Coming of God: Christain Eschatology (Augsburg 2004).

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petitioner and leads him to a salvific life.665 The idea of seeking refuge in Yahweh (v. 1[2]) also fits into this category. The application of the space metaphor is taken up again in vv. 19[20] and 20[21]. Together with the “net” and “hand” motifs, there is reference to the “motif of God’s face” v. 16[17]).666 The most common verbal predicates of the divine countenance in the psalms are “shine” and “hide”.667..The former imbues God’s presence with solar nuance and sanctuary setting, and the latter is a prominent motif in the laments.668 The psalmist’s request for Yahweh’s face to shine upon him in v. 16a[17a] is tied to the prayer for deliverance and salvation. For, “shining” connotes salvation and vindication. The words “Let your face shine upon your servant”, portray divine activity in the sense of providing salvation. Seen in this light, the actions of the deity have an upward orientation (Rock– World above – salvation (cf. Ps 28). In contrast to this, the psalmist prays that God should let the enemy go to Sheol. This deity’s actions with regard to the enemy indicate a downward orientation (Sheol – World below – punishment). The psalmist desires the deity’s presence, a presence that implies salvation. When applied to Yahweh, ~ynp often implies his presence.669 Kraus observes that “Wo vom ‘Angesicht Jahwes’ gesprochen wird, da handelt es sich um die Wirklichkeit seiner…Gegenwart im Heiligtum, in der Versammlung des Gottesvolkes”670 (cf. Exod 33,14; Deut 4,37; Isa 63,9; Jer 4,16). And again, Kraus claims that “~ynp in v. 16[17] ist eine ‘Vergegenwärtigung’ Jahwes…Das ‘Leuchten’ des Angesichts wäre ein Zeichen der huldvollen, freundlichen Gegenwart Gottes….”.671 Whereas his presence provides comfort, Yahweh’s 665

666

667 668

669

670 671

Zum Zusammenhang der Schutzaussagen mit der persönlichen Frömmigkeit vgl. R. ALBERTZ, Persönliche Frömmigkeit und offizielle Religion, 67ff. The reference to the motif of God’s Face plays an important role in a number of biblical theophanic accounts. Cf. Exod 33,18-23; Ps 17,15. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 173. Of the twelve occurrences of the phrase ‘hide the face’ in the psalms, the one context that clearly prevails in the majority of instances is that of lament. In nine passages (Pss 10,11; 13,1[2]; 22,24[25]; 27,9; 51,11; 69,17[18]; 88,14[15]; 102,2[3]; 143,7); once it is in the form of community lament (Ps 44,24[25]); and on two occasions the psalms is more properly designated as a hymn or song of praise (Pss 30,7[8]; 104,29), though even here praise may be set in contrast to lament (e.g. Ps 30). On the “face of God” see, S. BALENTINE, The Hiding of the Face of God in the Old Testament (New York 1983) 4965. R. K. HARRISON, “Face”, ISBE II (1982) 267; cf. also, W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 172. H.-J. KRAUS, Theologie der Psalmen, (Neukirchen 1979) 46. H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen, 398.

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absence leads to psalmist’s anxiety. The psalmist found God’s presence in the Rock. David knew presence “as the Rock”.672 The “hidden face” of Yahweh denotes a domain of absence set in sharp contrast to God’s presence, a “shelter” of protection that hides the supplicant from impending calamity. Thus God’s face accompanying the people does not merely mean they have a sense of God’s presence. God’s “face” conveys a range of divine activities, from favor and blessing to punishment and rebuke.673 It means that God shows an active interest in what happens to them and takes action in the light of that.674 What is clear from the employment of ~ynp in vv. 16[17] and 20[21] is that, when used with reference to Yahweh, it connotes both deliverance and protection.675 The link between Yahweh’s presence and his intervention is evident from the supplicant’s words in v. 16b[17b], and this supplication to God is conveyed in three nouns with the possessive ^, two of which refer to Yahweh, and one to the supplicant himself, forming an A/B/A pattern: “Let your face ( - A) shine upon your servant ( - B) and save me in your loving-kindness ( - A).676 The image of the “face” in short, gives expressive nuance to God’s protective presence.677 To remain within the ambit of his face means to remain in an enclosed space of God’s protective presence. With wdsx appearing again in the thanksgiving part vv. 19a-24[20a-25] (v. 21[22]), the thought expressed in vv. 7[8] and 16[17] is taken up again. The covenantal principle of dsx (‘loving-kindness’) demonstrated by Yahweh forms the basis for the sudden shift from lament to praise. The psalmist wants to demonstrate “daß seine Rettung prinzipiel wiederholbar ist; indem er seinen persönlichen Exodus aus der Not in die Freiheit schildert und dabei bewußt abstract und allgemein formuliert, eröffnet er die Möglichkeit, das Erzählte auf andere Lebenszusammenhänge zu übertragen. So ist Gott! Er führt jeden, der sich an ihn wendet, aus Elend, Verspottung, Isolation and Todessphäre heraus”.678 Again out of his loving-kindness, the Rock ‘sees’ (har) the affliction, ‘knows’ ([dy) the distress, ‘hears’ ([mv) the supplication, ‘frees’ (acy) the poet from the net 672 673 674 675

676 677 678

S. TERRIEN, The Elusive Presence, 289. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 172. J. GOLDINGAY, Israel’s Gospel (New York 2003) 403. F. HARTENSTEIN, Das “Angesicht JHWHs”. Studien zu seinem höfischen und kultischen Bedeutungshitergrund in den Psalmen und in Exodus 32-34 (Marburg 2000) 127-128. L. LABERGE, “Literary Analysis of Psalm 31”, 162. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 173. M. OEMING, Das Buch der Psalmen, 1-41, 186-187.

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of the enemy and ‘saves’ ([vy). This clearly illustrates the psalmist’s response of love, trust and joy, and the salvific character of Yahweh’s dsx, that leads to His rock-like faithfulness. 5. Placement of Ps 31 The third Davidic Collection is composed of ten psalms (Pss 25-34); the two acrostic psalms, (characterized by wisdom), Pss 25 and 34 form a clear inclusion. The title (dwdl) and the literary genre show in the first place, four supplications (Pss 25-28), followed by a hymn (Ps 29) as in the first collection (Pss 314)679 and then the action of grace (Ps 30) follows. Pss 25-30 form a coherent group: “Die Psalmen 25 haben sich als eine kohärente Folge erwiesen, in der die Klage (Pss 25-28) eine Antwort in der Theophanie (Ps 29) findet. Für die erfahrene Rettung wird dann in Ps 30 Dank gesagt”.680 Again it comes back to the note of supplication in Ps 31 and then returns to hymn in Ps 33 and to thanksgiving in Pss 32; 34. Apparently the collection proposes, therefore, an itinerary (movement) from supplication to action of grace as the following table demonstrates; A B C A A’ B’ C’’

Pss 25-28 Ps 29 Ps 30 Ps 31 Ps 32 Ps 33 Ps 34

Supplications Hymn Action of Grace Supplication Action of Grace Hymn Action of Grace

The second set of psalms in the above table (Pss 31-34) is not simply a repetition of the first set of Psalms 25-30. Already the apparent anomaly of the action of grace (Ps 32) that precedes the hymn (Ps 33) make us comprehend that the itinerary of prayer is not the only principle in the structure of the collection. As in Pss 16-17 (Trust – Supplication), here too the movement of prayer is integrated with other aspects. In fact the second set of psalms (Pss 31-34) is characterized by their accent on the pardon of sins. While in Pss 26-30, one sees the liberation of the external enemies, in Pss 31-34 the liberation is principally from the sickness (Ps 31) and its root cause is Sin (Ps 32). The first Psalm of the collection (Pss 25-34), Ps 25, brings these two aspects together: i) Sins; b) 679

680

Pss 3-7 Supplication; Ps 8-Hymn; Ps 9-Action of Grace; Pss 10-14-Supplication. (Supplication is followed by a Hymn in Ps 8). G. BARBIERO, Das erste Psalmenbuch als Einheit: Eine sychrone Analyse von Psalm 141 (Frankfurt am Main 1999) 424.

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Enemies (cf. Ps 25,2.19 [“enemies”]; vv. 7.11.18 [“sin”]. Ps 32 is placed next to Ps 31 because both these psalms stress the liberation from sin (Ps 31,10[11]).681 Zenger says: “Beide Psalmen (31 and 32) beschäftigen sich mit dem Zusammenhang “Krankheit und Sünde”.682 On the other hand Ps 33 is the only psalm in the collection without a title; this calls us to read Ps 33 with Ps 32.683 After the liberation ad extra (external enemies) in Pss 26-30, Ps 31 moves ad intra (internal/personal enemies/personal sickness). And if Ps 31 occupies itself with sickness and the metaphor of God as Rock appears in Ps 31, our arguments become clearer that the psalmists invoke God as Rock in adversity/trouble, or as we have already quoted Gerstenberger, Rock appears in healing ceremonies in the family circle. If the Ps 31 is about sickness (physical/psychological/social), then the psalmist invoked God as Rock in a situation of sickness asking God to heal. C. “God As Rock” In The I Book of Psalms Individual laments predominate in the first two books of the Psalter. Scholars vary somewhat on which psalms they would designate laments, but, by count, laments are twenty-seven of the forty-one psalms in the first book. Many of these are related to the incidents in David’s personal rather than political life, so that David becomes the paradigmatic person of faith. The portrayal of God as Rock as the Characteristic of Individual Laments does not mean all the individual laments portray God as Rock nor ‘God as Rock’ appears in all the individual laments. The above discussed Psalms (Pss 18; 19; 28; 31) in Book I, where God is portrayed as Rock, are not all laments. Ps 18 is a thanksgiving psalm, in which the emergency684 (lamentation) is a thing of the past. Ps 19 is a

681

682

683

684

For the relation between Pss 30 and 31 and Pss 31 and 32, see, E. BONS, Psalm 31 Rettung als Paradigma, 261-264; See also, G. BARBIERO, Das erste Psalmenbuch als Einheit, 424ff. Cf. HOSSFELD/ZENGER, “Von seinem Thronsitz schaut er neider auf alle Bewohner der Erde” (Ps 33, 14). Redactionsgeschichte und Kompositionskritik der Psalmengruppe 2534”, in „Wer ist wie du, Herr, unter den Göttern? Studien zur Theologie und Religionsgeschichte Israels. FS O. KAISER (Hrg. I. KOTTSIEPER et al.) (Göttingen 1993) 379-380. G. H. WILSON, “The use of ‘Untitled’ Psalms in the Hebrew Psalter”, ZAW 97 (1985) 405-7; 404-413. The Psalter provides the great majority of the recorded prayers. Over 80 relate to an emergency, that is, to a situation which has disturbed the normal pattern of good behaviors and property which should mark the relations of Israel or the individual Israelite with Yahweh. In eleven of these (Pss. 18; 30; 32; 40; 66; 76; 92; 107; 116; 124;

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creation/tôrâh hymn.685 But Pss 28 and 31 are individual laments. Though these four psalms have three literary genres (viz., thanksgiving, hymn and lament), there is something that is common in these four psalms that binds these four psalms together: Prayer, reminding us that the introductory Ps 2 contains God’s promise, “Ask (lav) of me” (Ps 2,8). The Psalter is a record of prayers. The unity of the first book could be seen under the theme of prayer (prayer of praise and pain). It’s in the context of prayer and meditation of the Torah that God becomes Rock to the Psalmist. In other words, prayer in the moments of orientation, disorientation and new orientation. God as Rock appears in all these moments [in both Praise and Lament] in the first book of psalms. The paired introduction to the Psalter (Pss 1-2) anticipates what will be a key concept throughout the book: “refuge” (hsx), especially in Book I where it occurs fourteen times as we have noted earlier. As many have noted, the first reference to “refuge” is definitive, setting the tone for the rest of the Psalter. It is found in its verbal form at the conclusion of Psalm 2: “Blessed are all who take refuge in him (wb yswx-lk yrva) (v. 12b). The blessing of “refuge” marks a fitting, albeit abrupt, conclusion to the drama of victory, whose pivot is found in the divine pronouncement to the nations. The setting of God’s victory over the nations, the arena by which God foils the nations’ plot, is “Zion, (Yahweh’s) holy hill” (v. 6). Zion is the geographical embodiment of “refuge”. To take refuge is to take shelter in Zion amid the swirling chaos and political clamor that threaten to engulf this rock of stability.686 Brown thinks that, in the topography of the Psalter, the destination of the journey is “refuge”.687 Seeking ‘refuge in the rock’ reflects a more general and desperate desire to enter into God’s protective presence, established and by no means bounded by Zion’s physical parameters. The psalmist’s “trust… frees itself from the concrete institution (of the sacral sanctuary) and blends the institutional relationship with the symbolic language of prayer”688. For, the target domain of the rock metaphor is the protective God.

685

686 687 688

138) the emergency is past, and the psalmist is giving thanks for his or his people’s deliverance by Yahweh. If Laments predominate in the early books of the Psalter, and thanksgiving and hymns come to predominate in the later books, it’s an exception, only a few creation hymns appear in the first three books (Pss 8; 19; 29; 33; 47). W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 19. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 47, 53. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 24-25.

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Thirdly, contrary to the wisdom books, the Book of Psalms contains a theological approach to the theme of the poor. The first series of the psalms of David (Pss 3-41) is heavily edited from the perspective of the theology of the poor.689 The poor are those who depend on God for help, who say ‘I need help’. Amid dire straits (rc), the psalmist calls on God the Rock (rwc) with supreme confidence - “Be a Rock of Refuge for me..” (Ps 31,2b[3b]). In the first book of the Psalms Rock and Torah are placed in the centre. The target domain of the rock metaphor is not only protection but also moral import (cf. Ps 19). Torah is more than a shelter from external threat. More than a haven of safety, “rock” is rife with moral potency. Torah is presented as a kind of shelter and protection. Torah serves as the surrogate for Yahweh’s refuge. Torah is refuge, “Tôrâh is a rock”690 To seek refuge in God the rock is to place one’s trust fully in God rather than in any self-procured means of security. In the meditation and observance of Torah God becomes Rock to the pray-er (one who prays). To conclude, Rock and its semantic siblings in the Psalms and especially in Book I tutor us in the language of prayer; they teach us creative ways of praying and more expressive ways of articulating our hopes and fears, our joys and sorrows.

689

690

Cf. U. BERGES and R. HOPPE, Arm und Reich, Die neue Echter Bibel, Themen 10 (Würzburg 2009) 49-51. J. NEUSNER, A Theological Commentary to the Midrash: Leviticus Rabbah, Studies in Ancient Judaism IV (Boston 2001) 156.

CHAPTER 2 PSALM 42,9[10] I SAY TO GOD, MY ROCK A. Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre Psalm 42 is the first of the psalms ascribed to “the sons of Korah”,691 together with Ps 43 it opens concurrently the second of the five books in the Book of Psalms and the Psalms of the Korahites – a collection of psalms with a strong emphasis on Zion and the Temple. Ps 42 is almost universally considered to be a text artificially disjoined from Ps 43. Craigie notes three reasons for the original unity of these two separate psalms:692 The first argument is the repeated refrains in 42,5[6].11[12] and 43,5; “Why are you cast down, O my soul, And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, My help and my God”. And Ps 42,9b[10b] and 43,2c: “Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy”? Such a repeated refrain might indicate that these two texts originally were one unit. This similarity of refrain could also be a reason why the editors placed these texts together rather than dividing a previous psalm. A second argument for their original unity is that many Hebrew manuscripts bring these two texts together and present them as a single unit. Kennicott notes thirty-nine manuscripts in which Pss 42 and 43 are joined.693 But, there are also

691

692 693

The designation xrq-ynbl appears before eleven psalms. Psalms 42; 44-49; 84-85; 87-88 from the Korhite collection. This collection might represent psalms that were sung by pilgrims on the road to an Israelite shrine. Cf. M. GOULDER, The Psalms of the Sons of Korah (eds. D. J. A. CLINES, P. R. DAVIES, and D. M. GUNN) JSOTS 20 (Sheffield 1982). P. CRAIGIE, Psalms 1-50, 325. Cf. B. KENNICOTT, Vetus Testamentum Hebraicum cum Variis Lectionibus (Oxonii: E. Typographeo Clarendoniano 1776-1780).

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numerous textual traditions in which the psalms have been separate.694 Ps 43 reads like a continuation of Ps 42, but the two are distinct.695 Ps 42 seems to be an evening psalm, “at night his song is with me” (Ps 42,8[9]); while 43 is to be chanted at dawn, “O send out thy light and thy truth; let them lead me …” (Ps 43,3). Thirdly, Ps 43 has no title, an unusual occurrence in the second book of the Psalter. The logic of this argument is that since almost all of the other psalms in Book Two have a superscription, then 43 must be part of 42. But there is one other instance of a psalm without a superscription in Book Two bereft of a superscription: Psalm 71. In the light of the lack of heading on Ps 71, the joining of the two (Pss 70 and 71) in many Hebrew manuscripts, and shared expressions such as “make haste to help me” (Pss 70,1; 71,12), many read them together as a single psalm.696 In this way, the second psalm in the Book II (Ps 43) and the second to last psalm in the Book II (Ps 71) share a similar form, bereft of titles. Ultimately, the unity of Psalm 42 and 43 does not greatly affect this study. In fact, the theme and focus of Ps 43 would complement the arguments made in this current study. Clearly, contemporary scholarship supports the unity of Psalms 42 and 43. “There can be no doubt that Psalm 42/43 forms a unit”.697 The questions are an important part of the structure of the psalm and all the questions are answered in the psalm. It begins with the psalmist’s question to God, “When?”, and to his soul, “Why?”. It continues with the questions to the psalmist from the enemies, “Where?”. The answers are given within the psalm, in the refrains as well as in the stanzas. The repeated refrains in Ps 42/43 mark out the divisions of the psalm into three strophes: Strophe I Ps 42,1-6[1-7]; Strophe II: Ps 42,7-11[8-12]; Strophe III: Ps 43,1-5. Alonso Schökel describes them as presenting the “remote and irretrievable” cultic past in strophe I, in strophe II the present where an “emotional transformation” takes place, brought about by “an inner voice which is at first experienced in the form of thirst, and then in the form of self-encouragement” and in which “God is already present”,

694

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696 697

Cf. G. WILSON, also notes that the Targum separates these two psalms along with the Masoretic Text, and the LXX gives the common Davidic superscription before Ps 43. Editing of the Hebrew Psalter, 176. M. GOULDER “The Social Setting of Book II of the Psalms”, in The Book of Psalms (eds. P. W. FLINT et al.) 351. M. J. STEUSSY, Psalms (Danvers 2004) 145. For a thorough discussion of this question see H.-J. KRAUS, Psalms 1-59, 437; See also F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, Die Psalmen - Psalm 1-50, 265.

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and leading to a hopeful future at the temple on Mount Zion (strophe III).698 To put it in other words, there is a now when the poet is distant from God’s house (Ps 42,7[8]); it was a previous time when he went up to God’s house (Ps 42,5[6]); there will be a time coming when he will once again go up to God’s house (Ps 43,3-4). The movements in the psalm are in harmony with each other, that is, in the end they lead in the same direction. The journey described in physical terms, is an outer journey (from !dry, ~ynwmrx, r[cm, to $ytwnkvm, $vdq-rh, ~yhla xbzm), is juxtaposed with a change in the psalmist’s feelings, an inner journey from longing to hope, from sadness to joy and jubilation, or to reformulate it, from death to life. It may also reflect a change in God’s attitude or in the psalmist’s description of God’s attitude. All changes have the same goal – they ultimately lead the psalmist to the temple and close to God.699 Ps 42/43 is usually categorized as a personal lament or petition.700 The first strophe (Ps 42,1-6[1-7]) is a lament; in the second strophe (Ps 42,7-11[8-12]) the psalmist laments once again over his despair; the third and final strophe in Ps 43,1-5 concludes with confidence. It is a plea with a confession of praise. On the other hand it is an earnest longing for an encounter with the God of Zion in his holy sanctuary. An alternative understanding asserts a more symbolic interpretation: the psalm is reflecting common temple theology. It is not a description of the fate of an individual, who is far away from the temple in a geographical sense; it is rather an expression of separation from God reflected in geographical categories.701 The language is symbolic with stereotypical images reflecting temple theology with a chaos-cosmos, life-death motif which is common for individual laments.702 One could consider Ps 42/43 as a “pilgrim song” (cf. Ps 84). Although there is an attempt to place this psalm as the lament of the exilic Israel but some see also the elements of temple mysticism of the post exilic “community” in this psalm.703

698 699

700

701 702 703

L. A. SCHÖKEL, “The Poetic Structure of Psalm 42-43” JSOT 1 (1976) n.4, 10ff. S. OLOFSSON, As a Deer Longs for Flowing Steams: A Study of the Septuagint Version of Ps 42-43 in its Relation to the Hebrew Text (Göttingen 2011) 63. H. GUNKEL includes this psalm in his section on “Die Klagelieder des Einzelnen” in Einleitung in die Psalmen, 172. S. OLOFSSON, As a Deer Longs for Flowing Steams, 49. F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, Die Psalmen - Psalm 1-50, 270. F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, Die Psalmen - Psalm 1-50, 265, 269, 270.

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B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 42,9[10] 1. Text and Translation y[il.s; lael. hr"m.Aa10 ynIT'x.k;v. hm'l' %leae rdEqo-hM'l' byEAa #x;l;B. 9 “I say to God, my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning Because of the oppression of the enemy?”. 2. Close Reading of Ps 42,9[10] [ls as divine epithet, as a rule, is used in connection with other metaphorical epithets of God, especially irwc. See Ps 18,2[3] “my Rock”, “my God”, “my deliverer”, “my Fortress”, “my Rock/Crag” (y[ls), “my Shield”, “the horn of my Salvation”, “my Stronghold”, Ps 31,2-3[3-4] “Rock of Refuge”, “Strong Fortress”, “my Rock” (y[ls), “my Fortress”; Ps 71,3 “a Rock of habitation” (with emendation “Rock of Refuge”), “to which I can always go” (with emendation “strong fortress”). ‘My Rock” (y[ls), “my Fortress”. [ls as well as other divine metaphorical epithets above, are used as expressions of confidence in God. This is the only place in the Psalter where [ls as divine epithet appears without other metaphorical epithets in the same verse. Ps 42,9[10] occurs in the second strophe (vv. 7-11[8-12]. Here the Hebrew text has the term [ls (“Rock/Crag”). This is another term used as a designation of God in LXX Psalms. It mostly occurs in connection with other divine names, especially rwc, and depicts God’s power to protect. Here it is translated by avntilh,mptwr (“Protector, helper, defender”). avntilh,mptwr is a term used for the description of God in LXX (except in one place Sir 13,22). [ls as an epithet for God has more or less a new equivalent every time it occurs in LXX Psalms, kratai,wma, stere,wma, and avntilh,mptwr, contrary to other inanimate divine metaphorical epithets. The rendering wholly benefits the situation, whereby the psalmist cannot return to Zion without a revelation from God to whom he appeals in his positive function as the one who ought to help and protect the vulnerable suppliant.704

704

D. EICHHORN, Gott als Fels, 93-94.

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The imagery of strophes I and II is governed by water imagery. In strophe I it is that of fresh water in the countryside, while in the second strophe it is chaos water. In the third strophe, however, the water disappears and seems to be substituted by the divine light and truth that shall bring the “I” “to your holy hill and to your dwelling” (Ps 43,3). In terms of spatiality the imagery moves from chaos to cosmos (orientation-disorientation-reorientation). In other words it is a movement from the voice of many waters to the inner voice. It is a move from the outer world in the countryside to the inner world of the Temple, the source of life; or the spatial language could have had a metaphorical or symbolic function. Even the temple motifs could be used with a symbolic function.705 The psalm begins with a simile706 a rare occurrence in the Psalter.707 The ‘I’ of the lament in the psalm longs for the living God like/as a deer longs for the flowing streams.708 “The soul” – compares its thirst for God with the thirst of deer in the desert. Initially, the supplicant depicts his situation as if he were lost in the wilderness, trapped in a desert without any water. The focus on water becomes more pronounced. This supports Alonso’s assertion that water motifs dominate the psalm.709 A desert setting makes the emphasis upon water even more appropriate. Life is found in water, particularly in a desiccated context. Obviously the deer expects to find water when she (lya female deer) arrives at the brook – there is water in the stream (~ym-yqypa), the soul seeks it and it is only a matter of time before she will find it. If she does not, she must die of thirst, since water is the ultimate necessary precondition of life. In the same way the soul thirsts after God who – like water – is the sine qua non of life. In v. 1[2] the soul longs (gr[t) for God, and in the next hemistich this is paralleled with the soul thirsting (hamc) for the living God. Thus, the soul like the deer expects to find God. While it does express longing, this simile also illustrates that both the animal and, by extension, the psalmist long for

705

706 707

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According to E. S. GERSTENBERGER, Psalms I, FOTL 14 (Grand Rapids 1988) 182, where he reflects that in early Jewish community, the Jerusalem temple had become a central symbol even for the personal faith. A Simile is a comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’. “It is noteworthy that no other psalm opens with a simile”. L. A. SCHÖKEL, “The Poetic Structure of Psalm 42-43”, 5. A. Schökel is of the understanding that the “I” of the psalms stretches out from the perception of the “I” as a particular author in a unique situation to the present user of all times and situations – or in other words, to an implied user. Cf. A. SCHÖKEL, A Response to Ridderbos and Kessler, JSOT 1 (1976) 12-21, in JSOT 3 (1977) 61-65. L. A. SCHÖKEL, “The Poetic Structure of Psalm 42-43”, 12.

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something they are accustomed to find. The psalmist is someone who is accustomed to the presence of Yahweh, but is not in the immediate presence of God. Alienation replaces presence. The psalmist is also alienated from others. Hence, the alienation is both social and theological.710 The psalmist is separated from the community as well as from God indeed, for the pious Hebrew, to be separated from the community is tantamount to being separated from God. The Psalmist is not in Jerusalem, where he used to be but in the north, somewhere in Hermon range (v. 6[7]). The geographical references to Mounts Hermon and Mizar need not be literal. They may simply be physical representation of inner alienation. John Rogerson notes: “Some commentators argue that this composition is exilic, since the psalmist describes his condition in terms of geographical distance from the temple (Pss 42,6[7]; 43,3). But the spatial language may well be entirely symbolic of the more profound inner feeling of separation from God that is the burden of his lament (Ps 42,3[4].9[10].10[11]; 43,2)711 Besides inner alienation, these references may also be more important because of how they locate the psalmist. The importance of these geographical references is not so much with regard to where the psalmist is, but rather in where the psalmist is not – not in the presence of Yahweh. At present the “I” cannot see God, because he is located in the watery hell of v. 7[8], thirsting for the waters of the divine presence.712 The psalmist worries that God has forgotten him and at the moment he does not experience God as a ‘redeeming rock’. Here two localities are contrasted. The watery past of the “I” in procession to the temple is thus contrasted to the watery hell of the present locality. Motifs of divine presence are contrasted to the motifs of the deep. The descriptions of contrasted landscapes are metaphorically connected with different human experiences (e.g. wellbeing, distress).713 The text speaks about an inner territory. On closer examination, the metaphorical expression in v. 1 focuses on the thirst, as a way of describing a

710

711

712

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Cf. J. S. VASSAR, Recalling a Story Once Told: An Intertexual Reading of the Psalter and the Pentateuch, 59. J. ROGERSON and J. W. MCKAY, Psalms 1-50, Cambridge Bible Commentary (Cambridge 1977) 199ff. There are several references in the Hebrew Bible that may be more figurative than literal, e.g., “from Dan to Beersheba” (Judg 20,1); “as far as the Great River” (i.e., the Euphrates [or, once, Tigris], Gen 15,18); etc. Alonso asserts the contrasted water motifs as expressions for ‘the polarity within the experience of God’. For a more discussion about metaphorical landscapes in the psalms, cf. G. EIDEVALL, “Metaphorical Landscapes in the Psalms”, in Metaphors in the Psalms (ed. P. VAN HECKE) (Leuven 2010) 13-21. “Metaphorical landscapes rather than merely serving as a setting for the existential drama enacted by the text, such a landscape represents or embodies various aspects of that drama”, 13.

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state of lacking and longing. No doubt, the main theme of this prayer is human longing for the deity (v. 1), a deity whom it is possible to encounter in the sanctuary. Within the desert projected by Ps 42, then, the temple can arguably be seen as an oasis of presence. It is qualified by divine presence. But in the first strophe of the psalm (vv. 1-6[1-7]) there is no water for “I” to drink but his own tears, which have been his food day and night (v. 3[4]) – or more accurately: as bread (~xl).714 We never hear in the psalm that God in fact becomes the fountain of living water. The water presented to the ‘I’ is in fact, the undrinkable, salted water of tears (h[md…~xl) or the waters of chaotic powers (~wht), thrown over him by the one who should be his rescuer and his provider (cf. Ps 88,8[9].1718[18-19]).715 In Ps 80,5[6], a communal lament or petition, Yahweh’s anger toward his people is indicated by his feeding of them with the same kind of bread as in Ps 42: “You have fed them with the bread of tears (h[md…~xl), and given them tears to drink (tw[mdb wmqvtw) in full measure. His God has left him, and he is cast down, while his adversaries taunt him for being abandoned: “Where is your God? In the second strophe (vv. 6-11[7-12]) the situation changes dramatically. Here God is also associated with water but very differently from the case in strophe I. In strophe I, what living creatures thirst for (gr[) is water , and when the verb gr[ is used in connection with God, this connects him with water as well. Accordingly when God is indicated as the living God or the God of life (yx la) the metaphor “God as living water” lies close at hand. In strophe II too God is associated with water, but here he is not water but the sender of the chaos waters. Now it is as if God is saying: “So you want water – water you shall get!”. For, here the ‘I’ gets far too much and all too dangerous and chaotic water: “Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts; all your waves and your billows have gone over me” (v. 7[8]). In strophe II, the soul does find the water that he longed for in strophe I – but they are the waters of destruction.716 God is portrayed as the Lord of these chaotic deeps–($ylgw $yrbvm $yrwnc - your cataracts, your waves, your billows”). Thus God is associated with both life and death (waters of life and waters of destruction). Or to quote Alonso Schökel: “The two contrasting images of water provide us with the substance of the poem: a 714

715

716

Next to water, bread was the basic nutrition in the Ancient Near East. In a broader sense ~xl means also Food. See HALOT. E. K. HOLT, “The Fountain of Living Water and the Deceitful Brook: The Pool of Water Metaphors in the Book of Jeremiah (MT)”, in P. VAN HECKE (ed.), Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible, 115. The symbolic quality of water is ambivalent: it can signify both life and death. Cf. M. KESSLER, Response, in JSOT 1 (1976) n. 4, 12.

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dramatic tension in the soul between God and God”.717 The metaphors in the psalm are divided between those that reinforce the negative sphere, the sphere of death, and those that are related to the sphere of life but there is a remarkable metaphorical similarity between the words used for the sphere of death and the sphere of life.718 Accordingly, water in a negative sense (~wht, rwnc, lg) stands in contrast to water in the positive sense, closely connected with God (~ym-yqypa). Furthermore, the theme of the Rock or a mountain may have different associations. It cannot be excluded that a contrast is intended; r[cm rh (“Mount Mizar”) is then in direct opposition to $vdq-rh (“your holy hill” - Ps 43,3), and God as y[ls (“my Rock”), while “the land of Jordan and of Hermon” is used in contrast to “your dwelling” (Ps 43,3). V. 7[8], develops a very vivid picture of the psalmist being beaten down by a powerful flood continually threatening to overwhelm and destroy him. And yet, in the midst of this sea of surging water, there is a place of security – the Rock (v. 9[10]). The poor man has nothing to do but to seek refuge in another image: God as Rock: “I say to God, my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me?” (v. 9[10]). It is God, as the psalmist’s Rock (y[ls), who has forgotten him, it is God, as the psalmist’s “fortress” or “refuge” who has cast him off (Ps 43,2). These verses are not primarily subjective outpouring, but expression of the “I” ‘remembering God’ in his distress/thirst. These epithets (“Rock” and “Fortress”) always express a conviction that God is the strong one, a God who can protect, and a God to whom one can flee to be rescued from enemies. In fact, all examples of this kind of metaphorical epithets are expressions of confidence in God. However, the psalmist experiences the opposite. If there is one fundamental claim that the psalms make about human beings, it is that they are by nature communicative.719 In the psalms (particularly in laments) there is a kind of dialogical dynamics that has so far gone unnoticed. Technically, this kind of communication is not, properly speaking, a dialogue. Pss 42/43 and the next psalm in our plan - Ps 62 - show how the psalmist as a poet gives dialogical shape to the “inner deliberation of the speaking self”. In both, the “I” is cast dialogically, and the discourse that unfolds is an interweaving of voices within the self, the speaking “I”, and his nepeš (“soul”).720

717 718 719

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L. A. SCHÖKEL, “The Poetic Structure of Psalm 42-43”, n. 4,7. LINDSTRÖM, Suffering and Sin, 435-444. W. P. BROWN, “The Psalms and “I”: The Dialogical Self and the Disappearing Psalmist”, in Diachronic and Synchronic, 26. W. P. BROWN, “The Psalms and “I”, 36.

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The voice of the psalmist resounds most clearly when the “I” admonishes his “soul” with the refrain. In other words, the refrain bears the internalized voice of the psalmist. The “soul” at first seems oblivious and refuses to acquiesce as it continues to despair (Ps 42,7[8]), but evidently through the refrain’s intrusion, the speaker, as soul, addresses God in complaint (v. 10[11]), in petition (43,1.34a[4-5a]), in trust (v. 2a[3a]), and finally in anticipated praise (v. 9.4b[10.5b]). In Ps 42 there seems to be a good combination of fresh water, chaos water and rock (mountain) or in other words a constant interweaving of the past, present and future.721 This combination of fresh/chaos waters and mountain is evident in one of the cylinder seal from Ur of the Akkadian period (2350-21-50 BCE), which Keel und Schroer722 describe as follows

The god of fresh water Ea/Enki is enthroned in a chamber in the deep. His insignia are the streams of water, accompanied by fish, issuing from his shoulders. An attendant kneeling to the right grasps the gatepost of the underwater residence. The gate divides the deep and its fresh water from chaos, which is represented here as a winged lion being forcibly restrained. The small god with flaccid, dangling arms is an evil (night) god, who surrenders. The sun-god Shamash enters between the wings of the liondragon; he can be recognized by the rays on his shoulders and the “saw” in his hand. Another light- or sun-god, perhaps Marduk, appears in the same triumphal pose as Shamash and ascends the mountain with the Gate of Heaven and salutes the enthroned Ea.

Ea is a god of streams who seems to be a god most prominent one among other divine figures. This feature is clearly seen on the scenes where other gods (solar 721 722

Cf. M. KESSLER, Response, n. 4, 13. O. KEEL – S. SCHROER, Schöpfung: Biblische Theologien im Kontext altorientalischer Religionen (Freiburg 2002). Eng. Translation (P. T. DANIELS), Creation: Biblical Theologies in the Context of Ancient Near Eastern Religions (Winona Lake 2009) (n. 20), 44, fig. 11.

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deities) seem to pay homage or greet the god with streams.723 Ea/Enki is as is well known – the god of the freshwater. But at the same time he remains unthreatened by the chaotic waters which surround his chamber. Ea is seen as sitting on a mountain. And the term “Rock”, as we have noted earlier is a lock of the underworld, the capstone of Sheol in late Jewish and early Christian times, the granite “plug” that closes Hades. The sacred Rock at Jerusalem was also related to the underworld, closing ‘the mouth of the ~wht’,724 covering the abyss, source of the Flood (cf. Ps 29,10: “The Lord sits enthroned upon the Flood”. Cf. also, Ps 93 which speaks of Yahweh’s reign over the floods and ends with a reference to the perpetual sanctity of the Temple). We can also well compare Ps 42,7[8], ‘the waters’; and v. 9[10], ‘God my Rock’. The temple’s foundation stone that is the foundation of the earth serves to plug against the surging of the waters of chaos to inundate the cosmos and the Torah (sun god), which restrains the powers of the ancient waters.725 God as Rock in the second part of the psalm occupies with present distress: the threatening waters. So in the middle of distress, the god sent chaos waters, the “I” seeks refuge on rock. When the “I” longs for “flowing streams” (~ym-yqypa-l[) and God sends chaos waters. The “I” has no other way to save himself except to set his foot on a safe place: the Rock. The “I” that was yearning for “flowing streams” now takes refuge in a “firm Rock”: God himself. That God is the one, who rescues the endangered to set his foot firm on a solid rock is well presented at the end of the first book of Psalms (Ps 40,2b[3b]): “[He] set my feet upon a rock ([ls-l[) making my steps secure (!nwk)”. As in Ps 42, here in Ps 40 is also the danger pictured as water; and through the use of the verb !wk, which is often used in the psalms in connection with the creation of the world,726 the rescue is described as a re-creation (or New-Orientation). And also the root !wk is used about God’s strengthening the courage of a weak person (Pss 7,10; 10,17; 37,23). The safety is found in standing on a rock – a rock which is as safe as God himself.

723

724 725

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For a better discussion on Ea/Enki see the Master’s Thesis of, P. ESPAK, “Ancient Near Eastern gods Enki and Ea: Diachronical Analysis of Texts and images from the Earliest Sources to the Neo-Sumerian Period” (Tartu 2006). Targ. Ps – Jonathan on Exod 28,30. L. PERDUE, Reconstructing the Old Testament Theology after the Collapse of History (Minneapolis 2005) 236. The verb !wk used about creation in Pss 8,3[4]; 24,2; 48,8[9]; 65,6[7]; 96,10.

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3. Reading Ps 42,9[10] in Context From dry streambeds to sweeping floodwaters, the poetic parade of water images makes this psalm distinct among psalms.727 Most remarkable is the psalmist’s deliberately ambiguous, if not innovative, use of such imagery. The psalmist seeks God’s salutary presence, the “living God” (yx la) of flowing steams728 and the floodgates are opened (v. 7[8]). Like a doe searching for gushing wadi to quench her thirst, the psalmist yearns to perceive God’s presence in the temple, his refuge (Cf. Ps 43,2). In Ps 42, the last portion of the psalm focuses upon the presence of God. God’s presence is assumed in verse 9[10] (“I say to God my Rock”) and immediately questioned in the following verse as the psalmist’s enemies “mock me” saying all day “Where is your God?”. The unity of the Ps 42/43 can be noticed in the first lines of Ps 43,2a and Ps 42,9a[10a]. The first phrase in Ps 43,2 (“For you are the God in whom I take refuge”) is clearly a confession of trust. If it is assumed that the two opening lines are also approximately equal in meaning, then the self-quotation in Ps 42,9[10] (“I say to God, my Rock”) also functions as a confession of trust (Bekenntnis des Vertrauens). The self-quotation emphasizes to whom the psalmist speaks. Thus, the quotation of words directed to God fulfills essentially the same function as confession of trust in God: The psalmist underscores that he is speaking to God.729 In spite of his questioning and the enemies who torment him, he has not given himself over to despair and he is still in dialogue with ‘God, my Rock’. Furthermore, the self-quotation anchors the psalmist’s complaints against God in his trust in God. The complaining questions ‘Why…?’ are themselves expressions of faith. The culmination of Psalm 42 ends on a note of hope, however, as the psalmist articulates the knowledge that future praise will be in the actual presence of God (restating v. 5[6]).

727 728

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Cf. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 133. The epithet is found elsewhere in the context of water imagery: Josh 3,10 (Jordan River); Hos 1,10 (“the sand of the sea”); Ps 84,2[3] (see vv. 4-6[5-7]). Cf. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 133. Two aspects of the prayers for help – the confession of trust and the complaint – are closely related. To complain to God is not a sign of lack of trust in God, but a sign of trust that the psalmist believes God will hear and respond to the psalmist’s plea. Thus the complaint of Ps 42,9[10] and the confession of trust in Ps 43,2. Cf. Cf. A. JACOBSON “Many are saying”: The Function of Direct Discourse in the Hebrew Psalter”, JSOTS 397 (London 2004) 71.

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“Streams”, thus, signify the sustaining power of God’s presence in worship.730 They are the streams longed for in Ps 42 and rechanneled in Ps 1 through the sustaining power of tôrâh. Such expressions of longing, like the doe that thirsts for flowing streams (Ps 42,1), are by no means limited to actual service in the temple. It’s a desire to enter into God’s protective presence, i.e. tôrâh presence. No other source will satisfy the psalmist’s longing. God as Rock is the sine qua non of the psalmist’s life. Like many psalms, Psalm 42 plumbs the reader’s deepest yearning and directs it toward God731 The psalm sets the tone at the outset by identifying God as the sole object of desire; indeed, the psalmist’s life hangs in the balance. But no relief is in sight: desperation turns to grief as tears replace the prospect of fresh water. The psalmist must quench his thirst with salty tears shed over God’s absence amid the taunts of his detractors (cf. vv. 23[3-4]): “Where is your God?” The sound tortures the psalmist, as it must compete with “glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving” of the former times. The imagery turns metonymic: through tears the psalmist “pours out” his soul. He is on the verge of dissolution. The psalms sometimes do more than break the silence, they transform the inarticulate sound to articulate address.732 The move from inarticulate cry to declaration of distress is captured by the image of “pouring”, like water from a pitcher (Pss 42,4[5]; 62,8[9]; cf also, 22,14[15]; 75,8[9]; 79,3; 92,10[11]). The complaint is contained within the speaker, and the decision to pour out the complaint results in words of petition. Thus the psalm provides a vocabulary and language for expressing, a “grammar of pain”. Words give form to thought, whether anguished or ecstatic. This act of self-disclosure occasions two memories. The first recalls a time in the temple (v. 4[5]). The activity (“pouring”) of the soul is inseparably connected to the act of remembrance and its articulation. But before the next memory is articulated, a question is posed to the nepeš, the first instance of a thrice repeated refrain. The poignant intimacy of the first four verses is abruptly interrupted, for the question serves as a reprimand, but one that is owned by the speaking “I”, addressing his “soul” (v. 5[6]). Given its harsh admonitory tone, the question comes as an intrusion, followed immediately by an admonition of hope and anticipated thanksgiving. The speaker recalls another memory that is comparable to the earlier one of temple worship (vv. 7-11[8-12]). The deafening reverberations of the Jordan

730 731

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In Ps 18,15[16] ~ym-yqypa appears in the theophany scene. In addition to Ps 42, God is frequently cast as the object of longing and hope elsewhere in the Psalter (e.g., Pss 27,14; 33,20; 37,7-8; 62,1; 63,1.5; 130,5-6). W. P. BROWN, “The Psalms and “I”, 32.

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head-waters (“deep calls to deep”) parallel the joyous cries of a multitude at worship in v. 4[5], and the speaker relates his sense of being overwhelmed in both cases. Contrary to the consensus opinio, the scene unfolded in v. 7[8] is not one of stark chaos endangering the speaker with mighty waves, as if representing the speaker’s enemies.733 Here, the cascades of water from the foothills of Hermon are transparent of the mysterium fascinans et tremendum, an experience of the Holy (“I remember”) that prompts praise, not dread, in the next verse (v. 9[10]). But like the temple memory, this past experience is left behind, and complaint resurfaces (vv. 10-11[11-12]) as the speaker returns to the present, disclosing yet again his downcast soul. And once again the admonishing “refrain of confidence” intrudes (v. 11[12]), followed by an urgent petition (43,1-4). However the trouble is not over, the soul remains downcast, though its gaze has now turned upward, as it were. The destination of praise has not been fully reached. The expressions of his lament in the language of divine presence is a testimony of how much he recalls and longs to be in the presence of God. In temple theology, the motif of a continually experienced presence of God has the house of God as its visible manifestation. The goal is the same throughout the psalm: “to come to God”, “to meet God”. Water as a positive metaphor is clearly connected with the temple and therefore, indirectly with the presence of God. The psalmist from the beginning sees God as the “water” that can quench his thirst but in the end what he asks for are “light” ($rwa) and “truth” ($tma) as guidance to the temple, to the presence of God. There is a metaphorical shift. The poet longed for life-giving water but in the end he prays for God’s “light and truth” ($tmaw $rwa-xlv – Ps 43,3). To be precise the stream of water the psalmist longs for is not God but his tôrâh. It is a longing for tôrâh presence. 1). “To long for” (gr[): The “I” (yvpn) “longs” (gr[) for God like the female deer (lya) longs for water in dry, barren terrain (v. 1[2]). The verb long (gr[) occurs only one other time in the Hebrew Bible, in the book of Joel 1,20. It carries the nuance of “crying out” or “strong inclination”. ‘To cry out’ is a language of the divine presence and prayer. Prayer begins with a human cry “out of the depths”; the dialogue continues with God’s response in an oracle of salvation and with praise of God.734 The Christian Bible begins with “a victim's cry for help”

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Compare, e.g., Ps 88,7[8]. Cf. A. JACOBSON “Many are saying”: The Function of Direct Discourse in the Hebrew Psalter”, JSOTS 397 (London 2004) 45. Cf. P. D. MILLER, names his book on biblical prayer as “They Cried to the Lord: The Form and Theology of Biblical Prayer”.

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(Abel's blood cries to God for justice) and ends with an oracle of assurance that God will overcome suffering and death and with a Hallelujah chorus that rings through the whole creation.735 All cry is for a response (an Oracle – Word from God). 2). “To thirst” (amc): The “I” of the psalm “thirsts” for God ~yhlal yvpn hamc (v. 2[3]). In the Hebrew Bible God was the source of the living water which springs from the altar (cf. Ps 46,4; Ezek 47,1-12; Sir 24,23-27). OT uses the term “thirst” metaphorically, for those who seek help from God. In some OT contexts physical thirst prompts people to turn to God for help (Exod 17,3; Judg 15,18; Wis 11,4). In other contexts thirst is used metaphorically for the human desire for God (Ps 42,2; 63,1; 143,6; cf. Job 29,23 LXX). Amos 8,11 compares the thirst with thirsting for Torah. Water, as the life-sustaining element, is equated with God; and the psalmist’s longing (gr[t) for God is like the deer’s (lyak)736 longing (gr[t) for water. It is a natural, intuitive thirst for a basic substance. Thus the qualities of the deer-image are transposed to the psalmist. But “longing” is not an emotion usually associated with a deer. It is a human emotion, transposed from the psalmist’s longing for God on to the deer. The verb that one would expect in v. 1 in connection with the deer, “to thirst” (amc), is used for the psalmist in v. 2[3]. But why might the psalmist make dual use of the verb gr[ (“to long”) in this figuration? Focused on the function of the verb amc (“to thirst”) in the phrase, “my soul thirsts for God” (v. 2a[3a]), Berlin737 submits that this verb better suits the parched condition of the deer than does the verb gr[ (“to long”) with which it is linked in v. 1[2]. This simile transposes the psalmist’s human emotion of longing upon the deer. Berlin explains, “The verb that one would expect in v. 1[2] in connection with the deer, ‘to thirst’, is used for the psalmist in v. 2[3]. There is a cross-over effect: the deer longs (like “I”) for water, and the human being thirsts (like a deer) for God: (see the map below). Deer

Human “I”

Thirsts (amc) Longs (gr[) 735 736

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P. D. MILLER, They Cried to the Lord, 278. Since the more conventional Hebrew noun for denoting the animal in question is tlya it is possible that due to haplography the taw was lost, giving rise to lya. Cf. A. BERLIN, “On Reading Biblical Poetry: The Role of Metaphor”, in J. A. EMERTON (ed.), Congress Volume (Cambridge 1995) VTS 66 (Leiden 1997) 31.

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This cross-over effect exemplifies the interplay between metaphor and parallelism. By using “to long” in the first two lines and “to thirst” in the third, a sense of incrementation is created, of the type we have come to expect in parallelism. Is “thirsting” stronger than “longing”? If so, the psalmist’s need for God is even greater than the deer’s need for water. The psalmist’s need is first equated with the deer’s and then it surpasses it.738 If the thirsting is in fact a stronger emotion than longing, we might infer that the deer’s dependence on water is exceeded by the psalmist’s dependence on his God. The image of God as [living] water is found in a weakened form in Ps 1, where the righteous person who meditates on the Torah day and night is compared to a tree, planted “by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper” (Ps 1,3). So to be precise the “flowing stream” is not God but his Torah. God is represented or in other words the divine presence is represented by the Torah which in turn is represented by water. If this is the case what about the chaos waters? The psalmist discerns something positive about “deep calling to deep”, something irresistible in the peals of praise and thanksgiving issuing from the temple. The psalmist identifies chaos waters with ḥesed (v. 8[9]). As God stirs the stormy waves so God “commands” steadfast kindness. The God-forsaken-“I” in Ps 42 longs for “flowing streams”, he wants to be like a tree planted “by streams of water” by being in the sphere of Yahweh’s revelatory presence. 3). “Behold739 the face of God” (~yhla ynp hara) (v. 2[3]): In paganism it was possible to speak of the face with absolute realism, since in the Temple the face of the statue of the god was always there in front of one. Hence such phrases as to ‘behold’ or ‘soothe’, or ‘seek’ the face of God were without doubt originally associated with such concrete ideas.740 It is clear that this phrase, is taken over from the Canaanites for going up to the Temple (cf. also, Deut 31,11). There could, however, be no objection to speaking of seeing the face of Yahweh in a metaphorical sense – hence the extremely frequent use of the expression to mean ‘enter the sanctuary’.741 It is the temple or, more broadly, in God’s “sanctuary

738

739

740 741

Cf. J. K. KUNTZ, “Growling Dogs and Thirsty Deer: Uses of Animal Imagery in Psalmic Rhetoric”, in R. L. FOSTER and D. M. HOWARD (eds.), My Words are Lovely: Studies in the Rhetoric of the Psalms (New York 2008) 58. Hebrew originally had only consonants. When vowels were added later, the word came to be understood as “I will appear” rather than “I will see/behold”. These vowels may reflect the theological notion that no human being can see God and live (Exod 33,20). W. EICHRODT, Theology of the Old Testament, II (Philadelphia 1967) 35. Exod 23,15.17; 34,20.23f.; Deut 16,16; 31,11; Isa 1,12; Ps 42,3.

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presence” that God’s face is beheld.742 One believed that the ~ynp of Yahweh was present in the Ark and the Ark contained the book of the Law. Hence the asking “when shall I come and behold the face of God” (v. 2b[3b]). In the cry of distress, God is made manifest by a sanctuary presence that knows no spatial, geographical or temporal bounds. 4). The term “Food” (~xl) in v. 3[4] is connected with sacred meal as in Ps 22,26[27]. The psalm continues the image of sustaining water in v. 3[4] with “my tears have been my food day and night”. He who yearned for a drink to refresh his thirst has had to taste the bitter water of tears. This is no doubt invoking the common association between water and food (~xl) but again it is unexpected. Tears should be equated with water, not with food. This is the occurrence of another increment. Food is more nourishing than water, and taken together, food and water constitute total sustenance. Earlier we deduced that the psalmist needs God more than the deer needs water. Now we may deduce that God is not only water, he is food, too. He is the psalmist’s complete diet, his only sustenance. And instead of the life-sustaining protection of God, the psalmist has only a symbol of despair, and tears.743 Yet overall in this poem his posture is one of confidence and hope that God’s saving presence will visit him, without which the poet cannot live. He is the only Rock and the only hope. 5). The phrase “I remember” (rkz): ‘Remembrance’ constitutes a special attribution in the psalmist’s repertoire of metaphors that target the active life of God.744 As a testimony of faith, the psalmist confidently professes or exhorts remembrance of God, God’s “wonders of old” covenant, and God’s power and ḥesed. Even the earth, including all its peoples, is charged to ‘remember” God (cf. Ps 22,27[28]). In remembrance, God’s renown is ensured (Ps 111,4). Reciprocally, God is said or exhorted to “remember”. Divine remembrance ensures life; forgetfulness entails death. The dead are defined as “those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand” (Ps 88,5b[6b]; cf. also, 83,4[5]). As a frequent object of God’s remembrance, “covenant” provides a constitutional framework and precedent for God’s providential care over Israel and creation. Yet it is not uncommon that the psalmists charge God with forgetfulness: “I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me?”as in Ps.42,9[10]. Having proclaimed his own remembrance of God (v. 6[7]), the

742 743

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W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 173. Cf. A. BERLIN, “On Reading Biblical Poetry: the role of Metaphor”, in Congress Volume (ed. J. A. EMERTON), (Cambridge 1995) 30-31. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 185.

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psalmist laments his dereliction. The language of remembrance preserves a level of euphemistic diplomacy between the psalmist and God by which the former feels free to take up the task of reminding God of God’s true nature without charging God with duplicity. The psalmist’s plea for God to “remember” marks the retrieval of God of the past, the God of the established covenant, for the present. The act of divine remembrance clearly entails more than recollection; it marks God’s orientation toward the psalmist and the community. It also binds God to covenantal conduct, which ensures Israel’s (Psalmist’s) preservation amid crisis:745 God as Rock. Remembrance of two separate episodes in Ps 42 provoke both despair and hope (Ps 42,4[5].6b[7b]). “To remember” is more than to recall: it means ‘to retain in thought’.746 The psalmist is actually saying; “when I retain desire for God in my thoughts it causes me to pour out my soul within me”. 6). “I pour out my soul” ($pv) (v. 4[5]): Through the metonym of tears, the “I” identifies himself as water “poured out” in grief. Without God’s sustaining presence, without water in the wadi, the psalmist’s only resort is tears for “nourishment”, salty drops, which fail to quench a parched throat. Yet the “I” is sustained, however fleetingly, in his articulation of grief. With tears shed and consumed, the psalmist remembers and finds hope. God’s sustaining presence flows like a seasonal wadi: it runs dry but will surely roar again. In this way the psalmist implies the bipolar character of faith. 7). The expression with the verb “cast down/be despairing” (xyv): The Hebrew word for cast (xxv) is almost identical with the word for worship (hxv), except that the final “h” is less guttural in sound.747 It is adherence to Torah, worship is at the heart of the Torah. These above expressions of his memories testify that the psalmist bemoans his absence from God’s protective presence/sphere, a sphere of God’s revelation, activity as well as Israel’s and people’s assembly and longs for the same. The speaker resolves, “I shall once again praise him” (Ps 42,5[6].11[12]). But, for the present moment, praise is not a current activity for the sufferer. It is anticipated from the individual’s present state of isolation and lament. Return to public praise comes only with his restoration to the community of worship. For 745 746 747

W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 186-187. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 133. S. D. RENN (ed.), Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Word Studies for Key English Bible (Peabody 2005) 136-137.

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the suffering individual, absence from the worshipping means the absence of God.748 The communicative aim of the psalmist here is to break the barrier of silence, to give language to pain and to guide the anguished soul toward the anticipation of praise. In any case, the dialogical self in the psalms is one of the psalmist’s most powerful rhetorical moves in attempting to put the fractured self, back together again, ready or not.749 As it often happens in the Bible, the mystery of God’s redemptive presence finds its appropriate expression in paradox.750 This paradox can be expressed theologically: the explanation about God is sometimes via negativa. Perhaps God can best be described by saying what God is not. In the Psalm God is expressed in negative terms (sender of chaos waters). But in addition to God’s being connected with the ‘chaos waters’, the “I”’s remembering also qualifies God as positively “my Rock”. The day and night motifs of v. 8[9], corresponding to v. 3[4], must connect this divine activity to the present situation in the negative place.751. For example, the psalmist discerns something profoundly liturgical about “deep call[ing] to deep”, something irresistible in the peals of praise and thanksgiving issuing from the temple. The psalmist does not find himself before God’s mighty waves; on the contrary, he identifies God’s billows with ḥesed (v. 8[9])! As God stirs the stormy waves, so God “commands” steadfast kindness.752 The psalmist is at once awestruck and fascinated, however momentarily, by God’s faithful love. Through the deployment of metaphor, the voice of many waters and the voices of many at worship blend together. 4. Placement of Ps 42 Ps 42/43 has an interesting theological perspective. It reflects temple theology with predominance of symbolic language but also depicts concrete geographical references in a way unique for individual laments. It is placed at the beginning of the Book II of psalms. The psalm is also the starting point of the Elohistic Psalter (Pss 42-83). It (Ps 42/43) also begins the first collection of Korah Psalms (Pss 42-49); the second collection is found in Book III (Pss 84-85; 87-88). The 748 749 750 751

752

J. S. BURNETT, Where is God? Divine Absence in the Hebrew Bible, 137. W. BROWN, “The Psalms and “I”, 45. C. STUHLMUELLER, The Spirituality of the Psalms (Collegeville 2002) 117. M. R. HAUGE, Between Sheol and Temple: Motif Structure and Function in the I-Psalms, JSOTS 178 (Sheffield 1995) 91. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 133.

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first part of the collections of Korahite psalms (Pss 42-49) reflect an arrangement around the idea of God as refuge and “the collection begins (Pss 42/43, 44) and ends (Ps 49) with words focused on the conflict between confidence in Yahweh’s refuge and the reality of Yahweh’s rejection”.753 Ps 42/43 shares the description of God and reveals general similarities to the other Psalms of Korah. In fact, some psalms employ the same terminology concerning God, who resides on Zion, his holy mountain whence he gives life and sends out his salvation; therefore, the congregation praises him.754 It is from the image of God they present that this psalm group is recognized: It is God who dwells on the holy mountain (Cf. Ps 43,3), from where life and redemption comes. There are many motifs and terms why Ps 42/43 is placed at the beginning of the first collection of Korah Psalms. Pss 44-49 and 84-88 pick up the terminology of the Ps 42/43.755 Key Word Connections “Living God” “Face of God” “Soul” - the seat of longing

Ps 42/43 Pss 42,2[3]; Pss 42,2[3] Pss 42/43 passim

“Chaotic Water” “God’s steadfast love”

Pss 42,7[8] Pss 42,8[9]

“Oppression of the enemy” “Taunt of enemy” “God’s saving Judgments” “Why have you cast me off?” “God as Refuge” “Holy Mountain” Dwelling and Altar of God God: Redeemer/Redemption

Pss 42,9[10];43,2 Pss 42,10[11] Pss 43,1 Pss 43,2 Pss 43,2 Pss 43,3 Pss 43,3f. Pss 42,5[6].11[12]; 43,5 Pss 42,3[4].8[9]

“Day and Night”

Pss 44-49 and 84-88 84,3 44,25; 84,8; 88,14[15] 44,26; 49,8[9].15[16]; 84,3; 88,3[4] 46,3[4]; 88,17[18] 44,27; 48,9[10]; 85,7[8].10[11]; 88,11[12] 44,17.25 44,14-17 48,11[12] 44,10; 88,14[15] 46,1[2].7[8]; 48,3[4]; 84,5[6] 48,1[2].11[12] 46,4[5]; 84,1[2].3[4] 85,4[5].7[8].9[10]; 88,1[2] 88,1[2]

God as Rock occurs in the beginning Ps 42/43 of the small collection (Pss 4249). In this collection God is presented as the one who dwells on Mount Zion and he is the one who offers salvation. Pss 45-48 are optimistic psalms: Israel’s king will massacre his enemies, and his sons will be kings over foreign lands; 753 754 755

J. F. D. CREACH, Yahweh as Refuge, 88. HOSSFELD and ZENGER, Die Psalmen I, 250-251. For several other motifs found predominantly in the Korah psalms, cf. S. OLOFSSON, As the Deer Longs for Flowing Streams: A Study of the Septuagint Version of Ps 42-43 in its Relation to the Hebrew Text (Göttingen 2011) 36 n. 8.

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God is our refuge and strength, when he thunders the earth melts, he makes wars to cease; he is terrible, a great king over all the earth, now resuming his reign; invaders panic and flee when they see his holy mountain – he is our God forever and ever. This is very different from the tone of Pss 42-44 and 49. There the psalmist goes mourning; his soul is cast down and disquieted as an ungodly nation continually jibes, “Where is your God?”. There is no confidence in Ps 49 either, for all its bold front. “Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil?” asks the psalmist, “be not thou afraid when one is made rich” (Ps 49,6.17). Hence within this united framework we find two dissonances: Confidence of the Psalmist (Pss 45-48) and no confidence (Pss 42-44 and 49). The corner Psalm 49 in the cluster of Pss 42-49, is an answer (cf. Ps 49,15[16] “But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me”) to the question in Ps 42/43 (Pss 42,5[6].11[12]; 43,5). As we have already noted above, in Ps 42 God is not only metaphorically compared to the life giving/spending water he is portrayed also as the sender of chaos waters. God as water is both a sender of fresh as well as chaos waters. Is this sort of bipolarism found also in God as Rock in the Ps 42/43? “Rock” in the psalm like “Water” becomes a metaphor saturated with two meanings. The psalmist who laments is experiencing two mountains. From a distance he recalls the sweet memories of Mount Zion, the God’s mountain. The “holy (hill) mountain” in Scripture is a reference to Mount Zion, in Jerusalem. And the “place where you dwell” can be no other than the sanctuary in Jerusalem (cf. Ps 43,3). But he presently finds himself far away from the ‘great mountain’ Zion, the dwelling place of God. He finds himself somewhere in Mount Hermon range and Mizar (Small Mountain). Some commentators argue that this composition is exilic, since the psalmist describes his condition in terms of geographical distance from the temple (Ps 42,6; 43,3); but the spatial language may well be entirely symbolic of the more profound inner feeling of separation from God that is the burden of his lament (Ps 42,9[10].11[12]; 43,2).756 The geographical references to Mounts Hermon and Mizar need not be literal. They may simply be physical representations of inner alienation. Hence, two ‘Rocks’ (Rock of Zion/Jerusalem and Rock of Hermon range) provide him with two memories and two diverse experiences. The former conveys protection, whereas the latter chaos and destruction. Presently the psalmist is experiencing the latter.

756

J. ROGERSON and J. W. MCKAY, Psalms 1-50, Cambridge Bible Commentary, 9 (Cambridge 1977). There are several references in the Hebrew Bible that may be more figurative than literal, e. g., “from Dan to Beersheba” (Judg 20, 1); “as far as the Great River” (i.e., the Euphrates [or, once, Tigris], Gen 15,18); etc.

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And yet, in the midst of this sea of surging water, there is a place of security – ‘the Rock’ (v. 9[10]): Yahweh himself is the Rock. In a statement, Schökel notes that water as hope and water as threat draw attention to two elements of deity: God appears in the poem (Ps 42) in two symbols, from one semantic field, but mutually antithetical. Thus identifying water with God in verse 2[3] demonstrates that God is succor and threat. Hence in Ps 42 God is portrayed with bipolar activity (sender/spender of fresh/life giving water and sender of chaos waters), and the “I” of the psalm experiences bipolar character of his faith. It is the polarity within the experience of God as a mysterium fascinans et tremendum”.757 We have already noted the comment of W. Brueggemann758 that “Old Testament theology is bipolar”. The bipolar tension between the God of retribution and the God of compassion, or between structure legitimation and embrace of pain, which will construct a truly biblical theology. Does the metaphor of “the Rock” provide an accessory contribution to the study of biblical bipolarism? In short, this psalm acknowledges, perhaps more than any other, that the life of faith is itself bipolar. Originally the psalm might stand closer to the theology of Pss 62; 77; 84; 131 and the poems in the Book of Job as the early post exilic prayer. Added to it the literary-theological technique of “I-Soul” speech is truly post exilic (cf. Ps 131); especially the individualization of the Zion tradition is a post exilic phenomena.759 The focus is on Jerusalem Temple as the centre.

757 758 759

A. SCHÖKEL, “Psalm 42-43. A Response to Ridderbos and Kessler”, JSOT 3 (1977) 65. S. TERRIEN “The Metaphor of the Rock”, 157. E. ZENGER, “Ps 42/43”, in Die Psalmen, 266.

PSALM 62,2[3].6[7].7[8] HE ONLY IS MY ROCK AND MY SALVATION A. Preleminary Observations: Structure, Genre This psalm is sometimes referred to as “the only psalm”. Of course, it’s not really the “only” psalm; we call it so because the particle $a (“only”) occurs very often in it. The claim to trust in the Lord at all times is developed by this particle. Every reader of the Book of Psalms will agree that the motif of trust is the most basic and fundamental element of the psalms. And it is predominant in Ps 62. This psalm is all about the one who has struggled, and has now reached a calm dependence upon God. It is difficult to be precise concerning the original Sitz im Leben of Ps 62. The author points out that the speaker of Psalm 62 is a person of some prestige or power - most likely, he is a king, because of the way he addresses the enemy (v. 4[5]) and exhorts his people (v. 8[9]). The existential Sitz im Leben lies in vv. 34[4-5]. It evidently was composed while the pressure was still intense (v. 3[4]: “How long will you set upon a man, to shatter him…?”), and at the end the confession of trust is repeated neither as an extension of refrain (vv. 1-2[2-3]) nor as a simple repetition. It was set, then, in the devotional life of a king who in the midst of great adversity put all his trust on the Lord. Psalm 62 is an Individual Lament. And it is usual to divide the lamentation parts of the “individual” into three topical sub-categories:760 a) I-lament (“IchKlage”), centering on the deplorable situation of the textual “I” (i.e., the supplicant, or the ideal reader/user); b) Enemy-lament (“Feindklage”), describing the actions and attitudes of the enemies or evildoers (whoever they might be); and c) God-lament (“Gottesklage”), addressing “my God” or “my Rock” (YHWH), with complaints about inexplicable divine passivity, and silence.761

760

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G. EIDEVALL, “Images of God, Self, and the Enemy in the Psalms: On the Role of Metaphor in Identity Construction”, in Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible, 56. Cf. G. EIDEVALL, “Images of God, Self and the Enemy in the Psalms: On the Role of Metaphor in Identity Construction”, 56.

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Metaphorically in Ps 62 the supplicant is portrayed as the one who is tried to pull down from his eminence by his enemies. On the other side the psalmist trusts only in God saying, “He only is the Rock” and calls others to trust only in God [v. 8[9]). And compares all other things as only a ‘breath’ (v. 9[10]). With his trust in God he shall not totter even if the enemies try to do so. He remains firm on a Rock. The particle $a (“only”) throughout the psalm includes a substitution of Trust in place of God. Yahweh alone is the object of trust (xjb). In most of the Bible trust (xjb) should be placed exclusively in God.762 And YHWH, although at times perceived as painfully absent, he is represented as a safe and saving presence (metaphorically as the only Rock and Refuge).763 Basically this psalm consists of two pericopes: vv. 1-8[2-9] are psalmist’s emphatic confession of trust in Yahweh and the consequence of this confession of trust (“I shall not be greatly moved”). This part consists of vv. 1-2[2-3] (confession of trust); vv. 3-4[4-5] – “I” is in crisis or is connected with the ‘enemy situation’764; and again vv. 5-7[6-8] a confession of trust. Thus the crisis is surrounded by a strong trust on either side: (see below). Trust Crisis (‘enemy situation’) Trust

vv. 1-2[2-3] vv. 3-4[4-5] vv. 5-7[6-8]

The function of these verses 1-7[2-8] lies in the struggle of the one who prays to trust in Yahweh as Rock in the midst of enemy attack. In these bracketing passages (vv. 1-2[2-3] and 5-7[6-8]) the speaker commands a quietude that rests in complete trust in God (vv. 1-2[2-3].5-7[6-8]). But in vv. 3-4[4-5] such silence is shattered with raging protest and then follows the speaker’s self-admonition of trust in vv. 5-7[6-8]. Thus the psalm gives voice to the souls protest. Fear is replaced by assurance.765 The second part of the psalm vv. 8-10[9-11] changes 762

763

764

765

K. A. REYNOLDS, Torah as Teacher: The Exemplary Torah Student in Psalm 119 (Leiden 2010) 36 (n.14 and 76). See e.g. C. WESTERMANN, Vergleiche und Gleichnisse im Alten und Neuen Testament (Stuttgart 1984) 80-96; Cf also, P. RIEDE, Im Netz des Jägers: Studien zur Feindmetaphorik der Individualpsalmen, WMANT 85 (Neukirchen-Vluyn 2000 ) n. 3. K. SEYBOLD, Das Gebet des Kranken im Alten Testament. Untersuchungen zur Bestimmung und Zuordnung der Krankheits- und Heilungspsalmen, BWANT 5.19 (Stuttgart 1973) 68a. W. P. BROWN, “The Psalms and “I””, 37.

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from complaint and affirmation of faith to instruction.766 The listening congregation is advised to trust in the Lord. Hence v. 8[9] onwards it is strongly sapiential. It is a series of exhortations: (v. 8[9] Mahnspruch; v. 9[10] Wahrspruch; v. 10[11] Warnspruch; v. 11-12[12-13] Zahlenspruch).767 The psalm, however, is one unit, tied together by the particle $a and by the theme of trust, which is expressed throughout. Therefore both pericopes can be understood only when studied together. The psalm consequently charts a progression of discourse that begins with self-deliberation between the speaker and his soul (vv. 1-7[2-8]) and moves toward outward address (vv. 8-10[9-11]) and concludes with a proclamation of divine decree that effortlessly slides into direct address to the deity (vv. 11-12[12-13]). B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 62,2[3].6[7].7[8] 1. Text and Transaltion yvip.n: hY"miWD ~yhil{a/-la, %a;2 yti['Wvy> WNM,mi yti['WvywI yrIWc aWh-%a;3 hB'r: jAMa,-al{ yBiG:fm. i yvip.n: yMiAD ~yhil{ale %a;6 ytiw"q.Ti WNM,mi-yKi yti['WvywI yrIWc aWh-%a;7 jAMa, al{ yBiG:f.mi ydIAbk.W y[iv.yI ~yhil{a/-l[;8 ~yhil{aBe ysix.m; yZI[u-rWc 1 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. 2 He only is my Rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly moved. 5 For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. 6 He only is my Rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. 7 On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty Rock, my refuge is God.

766 767

J. LIMBURG, Psalms, 206. F.-L. Hossfeld and E. Zenger, Psalmen, 180.

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2. Close Reading of Ps 62,2[3].6[7].7[8] a. Meaning and Significance of $a in Ps 62 The first thing that one notices in reading this psalm is the repeated use of $a at the beginning of the verses. Hence the psalmist begins with this particle. It is interesting also to note that all the verses of the first pericope begin with $a, d[, and l[ the words being very similar to one another in sound. It seems that $a becomes an essential element in discovering the meaning of what the psalmist is trying to express. The claim that one may trust in the Lord at all times is developed in this repeated use of the little-noted particle that conveys in a more affective or feeling way than substantively the confidence of the psalm.768 This small Hebrew word $a has a double meaning or is capable of being used in two different ways. It appears six times in the first nine verses,769 though not all of those are indicated in the translation. Insignificant as the small word may be, one can hardly ignore its frequency here. Although it appears more than 150 times in the Bible, in no other text is it repeated as often as in this psalm. Where one sees the word “alone” or “only”, it is a reflection of this particle. For one of its meanings, and the one most often reflected in the translation of this psalm, is that ‘restrictive meaning’, “only, alone”.770 Brown, Driver, and Briggs say that $a with its restrictive force emphasizes that what follows is in contrast with other ideas in general.771 In this sense, the psalmist sets up the contrast again between God as Rock, a source of security and confidence in the face of life’s disasters, threats, and contingencies and all other possible places of refuge or secure standing ground.772 “Only God”, says the Psalmist, “God alone is my salvation and refuge. He is the only secure Rock I know”. And then with regard to human beings, the particle appears twice more: “Their only plan” (v. 4[5]) – of those who oppress and persecute and batter a victim – is

768 769

770 771

772

P. D. MILLER, The Way of the Lord, FAT 39 (Tübingen 2004) 248. The particle $a introduces, vv. 1[2].2[3].4[5].5[6].6[7] and 9[10]. It can be used emphatically (“surely”/“Indeed”), restrictively (“only”/“alone”) or adversatively (“but”). The first use suits the context best, except in the case of v. 6. Here $a is used in an adversative or disjunctive sense in the view of the immediately preceding protest. BDB (Brown, Driver and Briggs). BDB, 36; cf. also Gen 7, 23; Job 14,22; Ps 37,8; Prov 11,24; Isa 45,14. All of these use $a in a restrictive sense and are best translated “only”, “exclusively”, or “utterly”. For further discussion cf. NORMAN H. SNAITH, “The Meaning of the Hebrew $a”, VT 14 (1964) 221. P. D. MILLER, The Way of the Lord, 248.

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to bring someone down, to lie and destroy, to undercut hypocritically. And then, again human beings (v. 9[10]) are but/only a breath. The only sure foundation is God and what this psalmist knows about human beings is that they are only a breath and some of them have no purpose or intention but to undo others. The small particle sets up the contrast in strong terms and as a consequence it turns out to be an emphatic force. Added to the ‘restrictive meaning’, this small particle $a has also another meaning. It can have ‘emphatic force’, “indeed”, “surely”. So some have translated; “Indeed/surely my soul waits in silence for God”. “Surely they plan to bring down a prominent person”. And it may be that the particle means “only” in some instances in the psalm and “surely” in the others. Samuel Terrien translates it as an emphatic affirming meaning as consistent throughout the passage: “Yes, my soul waits calmly for God, Yes, God is my rock where I am secure; Yes, despite……773 The particle thus serves as a kind of repeated affirmation of trust and conviction, underscoring everything that is said about God and in contrary fashion about the unreliability of the human creature in comparison. In other words, it emphasizes ‘stability’ in God alone, who is Rock. In this psalm $a is used restrictively but also for emphasis, as is clear from its position in each of the verses. It emphasizes something that is contrary to popular opinion. The psalmist is going against the general beliefs of the time and wants his ideas to stand as strongly opposed to others. “Only unto God is my soul silent”. In the whole phrase ~yhla-la $a is emphatic and expresses the writer’s emphatic idea. Contrary to the popular view it is only in God that he is silent. The state of mind indicated by the particle $a is that of one who through his many experiences has been seriously contemplating a subject, having estimated all his resources and means of reliance, and examined his own state of mind and is now able to say “only unto God is my soul silent”. The prayer begins with the words: “My soul waits silently (hymwd) for God”. The meaning of the word hymwd (“silence” – name of Underworld) is unclear.774 The opposite of “call”, or “cry out”, is “silence”. Both BDB and Gesenius have it coming from the unused root mwd. They have, however, no definite proof that this is the original root. mwd is very closely connected with the root ~md (according to BDB and Gesenius), which also means “to be silent”. The silence here that the Psalmist might have had in mind is a kind of meditative trust. There are places

773 774

S. TERRIEN, The Psalms, 456-457. This word “silence” only occurs a couple of other places in the OT: Pss 22,3; 39,3; 65,1[2] and 62.

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in the prayers of Scripture where one encounters a meditative dimension. Indeed, the psalm immediately after this one (Ps 63,6[7]), refers to such meditation. After much thought and meditation and after an evaluation of all his wealth and means of reliance, the psalmist emphatically declares, “only in God can I be silent, confident, content, and submissive”. His conclusion did not come suddenly in one burst of meditative thinking. It has come through a long painful growth, a growth which at any age, is painful but unlimited in rewards. Trust in the Lord and the Lord’s willingness and power to deliver is not an inherent, innate dimension of human being. It is a stage that has been reached only out of the struggle of the soul.775 Here silence is the calm after the storm, the resignation and calm that comes after one has struggled mightily, and cried out in anguish to God; of the one who has struggled, and has reached a calm dependence upon God. This is the meaning of the verses: The first verse is a declaration: “My soul waits silently for God”. The second is an address to the soul: “O my soul, wait silently for God”. The declaration in verse 1: “My soul waits silently only for God”, means the struggle still goes on. There are indications also that the struggle reflected in Ps 62 may not be entirely over as in Ps 42 who still longs for God, the living water. That is suggested by two features of the text of Ps. 62: a) after the declaration in the opening verse (“My soul waits silently for God”) of confident waiting, the psalmist laments over what the enemies try to do (vv. 3-4[4-5]; b) and immediately after that, the words of the opening verse are repeated, but this time with a very slight but significant modification. The NRSV has made the two verses exactly alike, but they are not. The first verse is a declaration: “My soul waits silently for God.” The second is an address to the soul: “O my soul, wait silently for God.”. This is a dialogue of the soul. Translated in this way, we see something of the struggle of the psalmist.776 God as refuge does not prevent from the threat of the enemy but proves himself as protector in times of need and appeal.777 Though the struggle of the psalmist still goes on, it is shaped primarily by confidence and trust and that is the primary word the prayer has to offer especially in this psalm. Of course, the act778 of trust itself cannot produce security. Although the Psalms urge human faithfulness and trust (“Trust in him at all times, O

775 776 777 778

P. D. MILLER, The Way of the Lord, 243. P. D. MILLER, The Way of the Lord, 243. E. ZENGER, “Ps 62”, in F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, Psalmen, 51-100, 180. J. F. D. CREACH, The Destiny of the Righteous in the Psalms (Danvers 2008) 49.

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people;” v. 8a[9a]) in God is necessary for security, trust is not a receptor that allows the righteous to receive security; trust is, in a sense, the reward itself. The psalmist assuredly concludes v. 1[2] by proclaiming “from him comes my salvation”. The restrictive/emphatic idea of $a in the first stitch can be implied in this phrase as well. For him God alone is his salvation h[wvy (to save meant originally “to be roomy”, “to make spacious”, as opposed to “to be narrow” (rrc – bind, tie, restrict BDB).779 As oppression is a kind of hemming in, so salvation is a moving out into the open. More room, or space, or freedom is gained through the saving intervention of a third party. The metaphor of ‘Rock’ and ‘Salvation’ are used parallel in the psalm (Ps 62,2[3].6[7]).7[8]; Cf also, Pss 89,26[27]; 95,1; 2 Sam 22,47). The claim of the psalm that one may trust in the Lord at all times is developed in verse 2[3]. And this is evident through the metaphor of the Rock together with its word field: (salvation, secure height). The particle $a with its meaning we saw above is resounded again in v. 2[3] beginning with “He only is my Rock….”. In Ps 62 three images cluster together to describe the way the psalmist sees God and his relationship to God. They are “rock”, “fortress”, and “refuge”. The Hebrew people did not speak in abstract or unrelated terms. Their thoughts and ideas were built on practical, concrete observable events. God’s strength and steadfastness were not some emotions or ideas conceived only in thought. They were everyday observable occurrences. God was spoken in terms of the earth metaphors. In contrast, in a Hellenistic context the metaphor rock could lead to the misunderstanding that the Jews worshipped a rock (stone). He was their Rock of ages. This is the reason why the LXX renders those places where Yahweh is described as a Rock with glosses such as “helper”, “protector”, “creator”, “lord” or “God”. But Hebraic Old Testament is at home with the designation of Yahweh as Rock. As we have already noticed in the preceding pages, all of these are frequent images for God in the psalms and often found together, as is the case here, for they express a common, single point – security and faithfulness. They tend to do that from two angles: One is the sense that one is protected from all harm by God’s strength and power, that one is secure from the danger of enemies, protected in a mighty fortress that cannot be breached by whatever forces are at work to

779

G. FOHRER, “sw,|zw and swthri,a in the OT” TDNT VII (Grand Rapids 1985) 973.

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destroy one. The theological image of “the Rock” is a symbol of hope for the future of humanity.780 The result of God being his Rock and salvation is that he will not be greatly shaken. This is another dimension to the sense of security. It is its image of solidity, of a firm place to stand. This point is made explicitly in the psalm when the ascription of the images to God is followed by the expression, “I shall not be shaken”. Or as in other translations, “I shall not be moved/I shall not totter”. This is one of the most common expressions of security in the psalms: But again it is the one who trusts in God that shall not be moved, shall not be shaken, shall not totter and fall (e.g., Pss 15,5; 46,5). With God as his Rock, the psalmist can smile in the storm as his feet are set firm on the Rock. Together with other particles of incomparability mentioned earlier, $a here at the beginning of v. 2[3] could be understood together with ‘restrictive’, adversative/disjunctive and emphatic as a particle of ‘incomparability’.781 In saying “He only is my Rock…”, the psalmist is confessing in comparison with other gods (v. 10[11]), that it is Yahweh who is the only Rock. It was only Yahweh, the Rock in contrast to the gods of the enemy (v. 10[11]) who proved himself to be a living God (Ps 42/43). If $a is used as emphatic particle, emphasizing is just another way of confessing His incomparability. b. Close Reading of Ps 62,2[3].6[7].7[8] In verses 6[7] and 7[8] the message of verses 2-3[3-4] is again reechoed. However, there are a few differences between verses 1[2] and 5[6]. One interesting parallel is noted between ytwqt (hope)782 and yt[wvy (my salvation). In this context both take on similar meaning. Hope is also closely linked with trust.783 It is the general confidence in God’s protection and help. Verse. 6[7] duplicates the words of v. 2[3] except for the omission of hbr. Its omission does not show the progressive growth of the writer’s faith, it once being qualified but now expressed as an unqualified assurance.784 In vv. 6-7[7-8] the psalmist continues to multiply the metaphors to show his invincible defences in God. Not only is one’s safety dependent on God but also his honor is clearly a gift (Ps 8,6). The 780 781

782 783 784

S. TERRIEN, The Psalms, 460. For a discussion on Incomparability of Yahweh in the Old Testament, cf. C. J. LABUCHAGNE, 117. The LXX translates it with u`pomonh, “to hope”, “to have confidence”. R. BULTMANN “The OT View of Hope”, TDNT 2, 523. D. BLAND, “Exegesis of Psalm 62”, RQ 17.2 (1974) 91.

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idea of honor in v. 7[8] is not so much concerned with an ideal quality but understood in accordance with its root meaning “as something weighty’ (like a rock) in man which gives him ‘importance’”.785 It is all those gifts or blessings which extend and enhance the personality, which give an individual “weight” – wealth, property, wisdom and status. One’s importance and impressiveness are found only in God, the Rock. These metaphors simply demonstrate a picture of stability/firmness that is found in God. When the psalmist invokes God as Rock, what he is claiming, at least, is that God is steadfast and reliable. The psalmist uses still another synonym when he compares God to a shelter/refuge: hsxm (shelter/refuge). Originally it denotes “shelter” or the “place” or “giver of refuge”. The shelter does not involve a reciprocal relation between the one who seeks protection and the one who offers it, but the fact of being protected or the act of seeking this state.786 In other words, it emphasizes the place or the giver of shelter. Vv. 2[3].6[7]. and also 8b[9b] implies God as a locality ‘upon’ which or ‘in’ which one stands firm. Verse 7[8] refers to similar categories slightly mitigated, with ‘my salvation’ and ‘my honor’ located in ~yhla-l[ (v. 7a[8a]), ‘the Rock of my stronghold’ and ‘my refuge’ ~yhlab (v. 8b). On the other side, ‘my salvation’ ‘from’ God (wnmm) (vv. 1b[2b].5b[6b]) and the ‘hearts poured out’ ‘before’ him (wynpl-wkpv v. 8b[9b]) implies a directional relationship (cf. also the orientation of the soul in vv. 1a[2a].5[6a]). Once again we are back to a cluster of powerful non-personal metaphors for God. They are rich and to be appropriated rather than ignored in the common tendency to focus heavily upon personal images for God. They are not meant to convey an impersonal notion. In the wisdom of the Hebrew Scripture the Rock is never presented as just a mass of stone. But Rock with its word field points us to other features and alleviates some of the difficulties that arise when all one’s conversation and theological discourse about God is dependent upon personal images. The function of the non-personal metaphors is indeed to safeguard God from being spoken of as though he were a person. God is of course much more than that, and therefore the meaning potential in words such as “Rock” and “Fortress” must be taken seriously.787 In contrast, throughout the Septuagint there is a marked avoidance of those very characteristic Hebrew anthropomorphic expressions or metaphors which are used to describe God, such as, ‘rock’ or ‘stone,’ perhaps out of a desire to avoid any possible suggestion that

785

786 787

G. VON RAD, “Kabodah in the OT” TDNT 1, 238. “Its root meaning is “to be heavy”, “weighty”, Cf. BDB. G. W BROMILEY (trans.), TDNT VI (eds. G. KITTEL, G. FRIEDRICH) (Stuttgart 1968) 193. K. NIELSEN, “Metaphorical Language and Theophany in Ps 18”, 198-199.

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the Hebrew God was in some way equivalent to the sacred stones and idols that were so prevalent in pagan Egypt and the Hellenistic world. So the Septuagint uses such terms as God, helper, guardian, protector, which preserve the sense but not the vivid imagery of the Hebrew. 3. Reading of Ps 62,2[3].6[7].7[8] in Context Whatever the background of the imagery, it stresses the importance of the religious being visualized by motifs of locality.788 Either in a posture of absolute stillness or as localized in a rock or some space of protection, the “I” as confessor is described by local categories. The ‘enemy situation’ of vv. 3-4[4-5] must refer to these categories. With the use of hxd (“to push”) in v. 3b[4b], the comparison “like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?” links to the situation of v. 4[5] with the enemies planning to xdn (“thrust down” – hiph.) ‘from his taf (“eminence”). The normal usage of taf – aside from the technical use in Leviticus – refers to categories of position and dignity.789 As linked to the comparison of v. 3[4], the expression could allude to some imagery of the man as elevated. This is supported by the context. The “Rock” imagery, which elsewhere is a virtual title or epithet for the deity, says the same thing, but it adds another dimension to the sense of security, and that is its image of solidity, of a firm place to stand. That point is made explicit in the psalm when the ascription of the images to God is followed by the expression, “I shall not be greatly moved” or in other translations “I shall not be shaken” in v. 2[3b] corresponds to the enemies trying to ‘thrust’ somebody down from an elevated position. The formula of v. 2b[3b] is related to the preceding imagery of v. 2a[3a] with the “I” related to God as Rock and tower. These motifs imply connotations of height, and the “I” is located to some elevated place. This seems to be related to the prayer made by the psalmist in the preceding Ps 61,2[3] “lead me to the Rock that is higher than I” and from Ps 61,5[6] we know God did hear his prayer. As a result the psalmist in Ps 62 is in an elevated place. This is related to the imagery of the immediately following vv. 3-4[4-5] in Ps 62. In the present context, the ‘thrusting’ from ‘eminence/exaltedness’ (wtafm) connected to a comparison of ‘a leaning wall and a tottering fence’, contrasted with the “I” related to God as ‘my Rock’ and ‘my Tower’, not given to ‘totter/shake’. Compared to Yahweh hxn (“to lead”) in hiph. form (Ps 61,2[3]) or rômēm (Ps

788 789

M. R. HAUGE, Between Sheol and Temple, 254. S. J. L. CROFT, The identity of the individual in the Psalms (Sheffield 1987) 127-128.

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27,5 – “rise”) the “I” unto the rock, xdn in hiph. form in Ps 62,4[5], with the enemies for subject, must refer to the opposite movement.790 Vv. 4-5 the description of enemy situation is linked to confession to God as Rock and tower and the formula “I shall not totter/I shall not shake” suggest an imagery comparable to Pss 118,13a and Ps 36,13: the I ‘standing’, the enemies around and ‘pushing’ so the stander shall ‘fall’. This imagery corresponds to the extension hbr (v. 2[3]) added to the usual formula “I shall not totter” in v. 2b[3b], related to vv. 4-5, it corresponds well to a situation of the stander as ‘bent and pushed’ under the attack of the enemies. Also, corresponds to the exhortation for ‘stillness’ addressed to the soul. The act of confession and exhortation depends on the divine presence, the not-tottering connected to God as the ‘Rock’ and ‘tower’. In Ps 62 the suppliant addresses God as his “Rock” three times (vv. 2[3].6[7].7[8].) and twice as his “Fortress” (vv. 2[3].6[7].). Since these nonpersonal metaphors for God were not entertained in a Hellenistic culture and in view of their misunderstanding the LXX translates rwc (“Rock”) with qeo,j (“God”) and bgfm (“Fortress”) with avntilh,mptwr (“protector, helper, defender). Georg Bertram791 demonstrated that the rock metaphor in a Hellenistic context could lead to the misunderstanding that the Jews worshipped a rock. By allowing the personal metaphor in this way to eclipse the non-personal metaphor the writers have attempted to subvert the necessary distance between Yahweh and a natural phenomenon like a rock. a. Wisdom Context of vv. 8-12[9-13] With the beginning of v. 8[9] the situation in the psalm changes from the confessing “I” to the admonished “You” (community of believers). A shift from singular (Ich-Rede) in Ps 61, v. 6[7] and v. 8[9] (the prayer of the king) to plural in Ps 62,8[9] is evident. It is a move from individual to collective people. As in Ps 22,7[8], here the noun ~[ without a suffix simply means “people”, “all”. God is “a place of refuge” (hsxm) for “us” (cf. Ps 62,8[9]), that is the people, who like the psalmist are threatened or feel themselves threatened. Verses. 8-12[9-13] is

790

791

Cf. the expressions for the negative movement Ps 26,9 with Yahweh for subject, and Ps 36,12-13 with the enemies for subject. G. BERTRAM, “Der Sprachschatz der Septuaginta und der des hebräischen Alten Testaments”, ZAW 57 (1939) 98-101.

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usually seen as influenced by Wisdom.792 It is an admonition (Mahnspruch).793 The affirmation in vv. 2-3[3-4] and its repetition with modification in vv. 6-8[79] is followed by the exhortation, “Trust in him at all times, O people” (v. 8a[9a]). The claim that one may trust in the Lord at all times is developed by contrasting the strength and power of God, the reliability and trustworthiness of the Lord with the ephemeral weakness of all human beings and of all sources of confidence in human terms. This exhortation, “trust in him” is based on the observation that Yahweh is a refuge (hsxm) for his people while humankind (vya ynb and ~da-ynb) is a delusion and of no weight, nor worthy of trust (xjb vv. 1011[11-13]). Here the text sets a direct counter word to the one about trusting in the Lord. One is not to “trust” in extortion, in wealth accumulated by coercive and oppressive means. But the verse goes even further: “If riches increase, do not set your heart on them” (v. 10[11]). This is a bit practical wisdom. Israel understood wisdom as a practical knowledge of the laws of life based on the accumulation of personal experience. Human welfare is the goal of wisdom.794 The purpose of the wise man was to reflect upon the practical affairs of everyday life and to offer the hearer(s) good judgment and counsel. This is what the psalmist does here in Ps 62. By saying “trust in God at all times” the praying one has learnt in the situation of suffering, in the anguish and struggle of the soul, is a word that is proclaimed to others. In the songs of trust, such as this psalm, the congregation795 is called to live a life of confidence in the strength and salvation of the Lord. Those who hear this testimony to the source of hope and salvation are encouraged to learn from this prayer, to find an attitude of faith in its words that is indicative for all.796 The psalm concludes (vv. 11-12[12-13]) with the affirmation that power and steadfastness (z[ and dsx) are God’s. Here, then, the consistent theological emphasis of the metaphor associated with Rock is clear: God alone, specifically God the Rock is a Rock of refuge. This refuge is available to those who trust. It is important in this connection to realize that the term xjb (‘trust’), has both a positive and a negative connotation.797 It is positive in that it is specifically related to the object of trust, and it is negative in that it rules out all other potential objects. Thus the verb has an exclusive sense that should not be ignored. The positive object of trust, Yahweh, in this case, is the 792

793 794 795 796 797

On the possible wisdom elements in this psalm see, R. MURPHY, “A Consideration of Classification “Wisdom Psalms”, VTS 9 (1962) 156-167. F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, Psalmen 51-100, 62. G. VON RAD, Old Testament Theololgy, 2 (London 1967) 421. The LXX reads “Trust ye upon him oh whole ‘assembly of people’”. P. D. MILLER, The Way of the Lord, 245. B. BECK, „Kontext-Analysen zum Verb bṭḥ“ Bausteine Biblischer Theologie: FS für G. J. BOTTERWECK, BBB 150 (Köln 1977) 71-98.

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power or entity upon which or in whom confidence and reliance are placed. Since the verb thus specifies that which is of life-determining significance for a person or a people it excludes all other possible objects of trust as by definition, illegitimate.798 In the psalm trust in Yahweh is related quite explicitly to the exclusion of trust in anything else, and specifically it is related to the futility of trust in human power. In the whole psalm the small particle $a “only” is used for both, God and human beings. When it is used for God it is used positively: “He only is my Rock”. Whereas in v. 4[5] and v. 9[10] the particle “only” has negative connotation. Thus the small particle sets up the contrast in strong terms. In this sense the small particle is not only ‘restrictive’, ‘adversative/disjunctive and emphatic but also a ‘focusing’ particle. It has its focus on something higher than the “I” himself (cf. Ps 61,2[3]). When the psalmist confesses that “He only is my Rock”, his heart and mind are focused on the subject: God, the Rock. Trust and Refuge are related. Like hsx (“refuge”), xjb (“trust”) usually designates a faith stance and the choice of Yahweh as a source of security. It is holding on to Yahweh (xjb – “sich festhalten in”). xjb with hsx in the Psalter communicates dependence on Yahweh exclusively (cf. Isa 30,2). Refuge in God, connotes trust in and allegiance to Yahweh to the exclusion of things that do not warrant ultimate reliance, from idols to riches.799 Jerome Creach aptly notes: “In short, those who ‘seek refuge in Yahweh’, ‘trust in Yahweh’, ‘seek Yahweh’, and ‘wait for Yahweh’ are prototypical believers, ones who perfectly rely upon Yahweh rather than human strength (Cf. Ps 62,9-10[10-11]). All such individuals are wise and ‘blessed’ (Ps 2,12) because they live in complete trust and humility.800 Most important to Creach’s argument is his attempt to cement a bond between tôrâh, trust and refuge. The ‘people’ of Ps 62 are related to two alternative objects of xjb (‘trust’) – ‘God’ juxtaposed to ‘oppression and robbery’ linked to ‘weightless’ humanity. The context of the admonishments in vv. 8ff[9ff] suggests a contrasting relationship between humanity as ‘breath’ in v. 9[10] (repeated, cf. also lbh in 10a[11a]) and human ‘might’ (10b[11b]) and God as ‘refuge’ in v. 8b[9b] and with ‘strength’ in v. 11b[12b]. At the same time, the sentence construction of vv. 2a[3a].6a[7a] and the first sentence of v. 9a[10a] expresses a contrast between 798

799

800

hsx (“refuge”) signifies an inner sense of dependence much like xjb (“trust”). Cf. J. F. D. CREACH, Yahweh as Refuge, 23. Cf. J. F. D. CREACH, Yahweh as Refuge and the Editing of the Hebrew Psalter, 36; Cf. P. HUGGER, Jahwe meine Zuflucht: Gestalt und Theologie des 91. Psalms (Würzburg 1971) 37. Cf. J. F. D. CREACH, Yahweh as Refuge, 36-37; see also, 47-48.

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the central qualification of God as “Rock” and humanity as weightless ‘breath’ (cf. the connection between the three qualifications [my honor, my mighty Rock and my refuge] of God in v. 7b[8b]). Trusting God is a common theme in the book of Psalms as it is here in Ps. 62. The word xjb (‘trust’) occurs more than forty times in the book of Psalms usually with God as the object.801 Throughout the Hebrew Bible God’s people are commanded to trust (xjb) only in God. Trusting in anything or anyone other than God himself is portrayed as a kind of betrayal, while trusting in God is praised as the proper and reasonable course of action “…no other entity [except Yahweh] can be an ultimate object of trust. This restriction applies to almost all texts in which xjb occurs; it is thus an eminently theological term.…”.802 Similarly, “the people of God are called on again and again to place their hope in God alone (Ps 62,5).803 Trust has the quality of stability. Here the psalmist substitutes trust for God himself who is the Rock. The Psalm that began with the words “my soul waits in silence” which might mean a kind of meditative trust is not a prayer in the closet, a quiet expression of trust to God. God does not even get addressed until the last verse of the psalm! That does not mean that it is taken out of the realm of prayer. What it does mean is that this prayer of confidence functions very much like a song of thanksgiving. It is as much testimony to others as it is an expression to God.804 In the two concluding verses the writer summarizes the essential character of God. “Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God; and that to thee, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For thou dost requite a man according to his work” (vv. 11-12[12-13]). The phrase “Once….twice..” is a Hebrew idiom which means “repeatedly” or “many times”.805 It is designed to emphasize what is said. Like $a it has an emphatic note: “that power belongs only to God and that to thee, O Lord is steadfast love”. The steadfast love is a 801

802 803

804 805

Many of the contexts outside the Psalter where this word occurs are either prayers or songs; TLOT, 228. TLOT, 229. H.-J. KRAUS, Theology of the Psalms, 53. Kraus himself notes that the concepts of ‘Hope’ and ‘trust’ are interrelated. Furthermore, it is not only these two themes are interrelated; “trust” is also related to “believing”, which is related to “fearing”, which is related to “loving” and so son. P. D. MILLER, The Way of the Lord, 245. W. M. W. ROTH, “The Numerical Sequence X/X+1 in the Old Testament”, VT 12 (1962) 300-311. He says Ps 62,12[13] refers to a rather indefinite numerical value. Cf. 304.

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“sure”/“only” love. The result of God’s power and steadfast love is that “for you repay to all according to their work” (v. 12b[13b]. The call to “Trust in the Lord” in the first part and the emphasis on relying on his power and love (cf. vv. 11-12[12-13]) in the second is a call to adherence to tôrâh. Ps 119,42 transforms the phrase “trust in the Lord’ into “trust in God’s Word”, a locution that is unique in the Hebrew Bible.806 In most of the Bible, trust (xjb) should be placed exclusively in God, but in Ps 119 the speaker trusts (xjb) in God’s word. The connotations of the word xjb: security or confidence fits well in Ps 119,42 and here in Ps 62. One who trusts in God/His Word/ tôrâh shall not totter; instead he stands firm on a Rock. 4. Placement of Ps 62 Hossfeld and Zenger consider Pss 52-68 to be the oldest collection in the Psalter, held together by war and hostility metaphors, metaphors of God as a fortress and refuge, Zion/Temple theology, and relational intimacy between God and the psalmist. Ps 62 is a part of a group of Psalms 52-64 which according to Hossfeld and Zenger is considered as a “small Psalter” within Book II of the Psalter as a whole (Pss 42-72) and the second Davidic collection in Particular (Pss 51-72).807 We observe that Ps 62 belongs to the unit of Pss 61-64 and this unit in turn is at the heart of the Second Davidic Collection (Pss 51-72). K. Seybold808 assumes that the group of Pss 3-41 form the basis of the whole collection, while the Second Davidic Collection (Pss 51-72) grew up independently of the first and is seen in the duplication of material (Ps 14 = Ps 53; Ps 40,13-17 = Ps 70) and the replacement of the tetragrammaton Yahweh by the term ’elohîm.809 The postscript in Ps 72,20 (“The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended”), according to Seybold, is to assert that the group of psalms beginning at Ps 51 comes to a definite end with Ps 72. In the course of time two further collections (the Aspah

806

807

808 809

K. A. REYNOLDS, Torah as Teacher: The Exemplary Torah Student in Ps 119 (Leiden – Boston 2010) 76. Cf. for example, F.-L. HOSSFELD, „ Die unterschiedlichen Profile der beiden Davidsammlungen Ps 3-41 und Ps 51-72“, in E. ZENGER (ed.), Der Psalter in Judentum und Christentum, HBS 18 (Freiburg 200) 59-73. K. SEYBOLD, Introducing the Psalms (New York 1990) 19-21. For a detail discussion about the Elohistic Psalter cf. F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, “The So-called Elohistic Psalter: A New Solution for an Old Problem”, in B. A. STRAWN and N. R. BOWEN (ed.), A God so Near: Essays on Old Testament Theology in Honor of Patrick D. Miller (USA 2003) 51 (35-52); Cf. also, F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Der elohistische Psalter Ps 42-83: Entstehung und Programm”, in The Composition of the Book Psalms (ed., E. ZENGER) BETL 238 (Leuven 2010) 199-214.

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Psalms [Pss 50; 73-83] and the first collection of Korah Psalms [Pss 42-49]) came to be combined with the second Davidic Collection which leads up to Ps 89. Seybold considers Pss 3-41 and Pss 42-89 as two major collections. Ps 62 appears in Pss 42-89. The Psalms in the Second Davidic Psalter (51-72) are placed together with a theological or liturgical motif.810 Psalms 51 56-60 61-64 65-68 69-71 72

Genres Supplication Lament Trust/Confidence Praise and Thanksgiving Lament Supplication

In the above table one can perceive an itinerary of prayer. The prayer moves from supplication to lament and lament to supplication. Brueggemann understands that such a sequence in the psalms defines Israel’s faith as a struggle with, for and against God’s fidelity (dsx).811 At the heart of the journey is confidence (Pss 61-64). Hossfeld takes Pss 61-64 as small group in Second Davidic Psalter.812 Ps 61 is classified as an individual lament, Pss 62-63 are considered to be psalms of confidence (trust) and Ps 64 again as an individual lament. Thus it forms ABBA arrangement in the sequence of these psalms. Interestingly, in Qumran psalm manuscript fragments (4Q Psa frgs k, 1) Pss 62 and 63 are joined consecutively.813 Accordingly this small group (Pss 61-64) could be ordered as follows, where the Rock psalm, Ps 62 is right at the centre. A B C

Ps 61 Pss 62-63 Ps 64

Lament Trust/Confidence Lament

At the heart of the journey of prayer is confidence/trust (Confession of Trust). Though the struggle still goes on in Ps 62, but it is shaped primarily by confidence and trust and that is the primary word the prayer has to offer.814 How can it (Ps 62) be a prayer if God does not even get addressed until the last verse of the psalm?815 What it does mean is that, this prayer of confidence functions 810 811 812 813

814 815

F.-L. HOSSFELD – E. ZENGER, Psalmen, 28. W. BRUEGGEMANN, “Bounded by Obedience and Praise: The Psalms and Canon”, 63-92. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Der elohistische Psalter Ps 42-83: Entstehung und Programm”, 210. G. H. WILSON, “The Qumran Psalm Manuscripts and the Consecutive Arrangement of Psalm in the Hebrew Psalter”, CBQ 45 (1983) 380. P. D. MILLER, The Way of the Lord, 245. Cf. E. GERSTENBERGER, Der bittende Mensch, 124. He says that there is no prayer in the psalm.

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very much like a song of thanksgiving. It is as much a testimony to others as it is an expression to God. The word “rock” for example, is not [simply] a metaphor but the expression.816 It is important to keep in mind that biblical metaphors have a predominantly relational function.817 “YHWH is a Rock” - is an ‘expression’ of ‘relation’ of trust of the psalmist.

816

817

J. HAERS and P. DE MEY, Theology and Conversation: Towards a Relational Theology (Leuven 2003) 103. G. EIDEVALL, “Images of God, Self, and the Enemy in the Psalms. On the Role of Metaphor in Identity Construction”, in Metaphor in Hebrew Bible, 63 (55-66).

PSALM 71,3 BE TO ME A ROCK OF REFUGE A. Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre The psalm begins with language typical of an individual in distress; Ps 31,13a[1-4] reads almost the same.818 Cries for help dominate the first four verses: “deliver me …rescue me … save me … Rescue me.” God is described with a number of metaphors – “Rock of refuge”, “strong fortress”, “my Rock”, “my fortress” – and then without imagery: “my God” (Ps 71,1-3). In other words these verses (vv. 1-3) are an expression of confidence.819 As is evident from the table below, that God as a safe hiding place in which the supplicant takes refuge (v. 1a) and on which the supplicant stands firm or hides (v. 3). As a consequence the supplicant finds protection and deliverance, the goal of taking refuge and hiding. ytysx hwhy-$b (v. 1a) yn[yvwhw….ynjlptw ynlyct $tqdcb (v. 2ab) tywc dymt awbl !w[m rwcl yl hyh (v. 3) hta ytdwcmw y[ls-yk yn[yvwhl

Taking Refuge Deliverance Rock and Fortress

Ps 71 is based on “direct addresses to God”.820 This view of direct addresses to God led Hossfeld to regard v. 4 and v. 17 as beginning of new stanzas. Accordingly he divides the Psalm into vv. 1-3; 4-8; 9-16; 17-21; and 22-24.821 Scholars hesitate to describe the genre of the psalm as it contains varied psalmtypes (Mixed Types). W. A. Van Gemeren regards the psalm as a mixture of lament and thanksgiving, saying: “The confidence of the psalmist holds the

818

819 820 821

Certain scholars regard this psalm as an anthology of fragments from other texts. Cf. F.L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, A God So Near: Essays on Old Testament Theology, 44. Some others have questioned the very originality/integrity of the text. Others say that Ps 71 is an ‘Old Man’s Prayer’ in which the theme of the ‘old age’ becomes the springboard for its interpretation (“das Alter als Ausgangssituation”). Cf. F.-L. HOSSFELD and ZENGER, Psalmen, 296. K. SEYBOLD, De Psalmen, HAT (Tübingen 1996) 273-275. Cf. M. E. TATE, Psalms 51-100, 211. F.-L. HOSSFELD/E. ZENGER, Psalmen 51-100, 293.

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variety of lament and thanksgiving together”.822 This psalm lacks a heading. The editor may have intended it as a virtual continuation of Ps 70. B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 71,3 1. Text and Translation ytiysix' hw"hy>-^B.1 ~l'A[l. hv'Abae-la; ynIjeL.p;t.W ynIleyCiT; ^t.q'd>ciB.2 ynI[eyviAhw> ^n>z>a' yl;ae-hJeh; !A[m' rWcl. yli hyEh3/ ynI[eyviAhl. t'yWIci dymiT' aAbl' hT'a' ytid"Wcm.W y[il.s;-yKi 1 In thee, O LORD, do I take refuge; Let me never be put to shame! 2 In thy righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline thy ear to me, and save me! 3 Be thou to me a Rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me, for thou art my Rock and my fortress. 2. Close Reading of Ps 71,3 The psalmist begins with the spatial categories. The goal of his refuge: hwhy-$b with you or also in you, O Lord. The particle here has local connotation. The term $b (“in you”) plays an important semantic role. It has some semasiological connection with the other lexemes and phrases of direct address (Du Rede) in the psalm. The semantic force of the direct address is that they all join hands to present God as both the terminus ad quem of the refuge seeking (as v. 1) and also the object of psalmist’s praise (hlht - v. 6). The Hebrew root hsx covers a wide semantic field. For instance, it can be rendered as “to trust” or “to be confident (confidere), “to hope” (sperare) or “to take refuge” (confugere).823 Etymologically, it connotes the idea of covering or hiding.824 Thus hsx and its derivatives are used with the theological senses of trusting, hoping and taking refuge in Yahweh. The biblical sense of “taking refuge” (confugere) can equally be understood as “hiding of oneself” in God, and that is really the sense of the 822

823

824

W. A. VAN GEMEREN, “Psalms”, in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 5 (Michigan 1991) 463. The Vulgata actually translates ytysx as speravi, corresponding to the h;lpisa (“I have hoped”) of the LXX. J. GAMBERONI, “hsx”, ThWAT, 72.

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term in our psalm. From the OT one could distinguish three sorts of refugetaking in Yahweh. It could occur indirectly by running into one of the cities of refuge designated by Yahweh (cf. Num 35,6-15), or by seeking asylum in a sanctuary/temple (Ps 57,1; 61,3[4]), or by entrusting oneself to God,825 a spiritual refuge, without any physical movement (2 Sam 22, 1-3). It is this last type of refuge the psalmist speaks of in Ps 71. The space, in which one finds protection in one’s distress is found in God; further, God himself is the place, in which the victim hopes to find safety. In this context Jenni speaks of God as a “Raum zweiten Grades”826 or as Moltmann says, God is not only “Wholly Other” but also the “broad space in which there is no cramping”.827 The expression ytysx therefore supports the spatial aspect of the sentence. The term appears most of all at the beginning of individual laments.828 Just at the beginning of the psalm, the psalmist pleads: ytysx hwhy-$b (“In thee, O Lord, do I take refuge”). In the individual laments hsx is always found with b particle, and Yahweh as the place (“der Ort”) of the one who wishes to take refuge. The psalmist sees God as a Rescuing Space. But there is fear in v. 1b “Let me never be put to shame” (~lw[l hvwba-la). Explaining what it really means to put to shame, Othmar Keel notes that the word vwb could either designate a situation in which there is no outlet (Judg 3,25), that is to be ruined (Ps 83,17[18]), or a shattering of plans that fills one with fear and confusion (Pss 6,10[11]; 83,17[18]). As a result it makes one feel that he has placed his hope and trust on the wrong person or thing, that he has put himself on a wrong track.829 In other words the supplicant forces Yahweh to be Yahweh as righteous (vv. 2a.15a.16.19a.24a) and faithful (v. 22a). In v. 2 the request for security is still deepened. Here God’s righteousness hqdc has a spatial connotation. hqdc is a major motif in the psalm, occurring five times (vv. 2a.15a.16b.19a.24a). $qdcb with the preposition b as prefix and the pronominal $ as suffix (in your righteousness) used only of God in the Psalms (Pss 5,8[9]; 31,1[2]; 69,27[28]; 71,2; 89,16[17]; 119,40; 143,1.11) and twice used for human righteousness in Deut 9,5.6. In the above cited quotations in the 825 826

827

828 829

hsx and xjb are synonym in the Psalter. E. JENNI, Die hebräischen Präpositionen. Bd. 1: Die Präposition Beth (Stuttgart 1992) 195. T. VAN PROOIJEN, Limping but Blessed: Jürgen Moltmann’s Search for Liberating Anthropology (New York 2004) 335. Pss 7,1[2]; 31,1[2]; Outside the individual laments: Pss 11,1; 16,1; 144,2. O. KEEL, Feinde und Gottesleugner: Studien zum Image der Widersacher in den Individualpsalmen, SBM 7 (Stuttgart 1969) 163.

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psalms $qdcb together with verbs have a spatial sense. Here in Ps 71 too hqdc appears in combination with the particle b. The preposition b has an instrumental830 or local/spatial sense (through your righteousness/in your righteousness. In Ps 69,27[28] the psalmist wishes that the enemies do not come in this space of God’s righteousness ($tqdcb waby-la), in contrast, the psalmist in 71,2 prays for himself: “In thy righteousness deliver me and rescue me” (ynjlptw ynlyct $tqdcb). Both use the particle b and both have a spatial nuance. Here it is understood almost in terms of a ‘sphere’. Therefore beginning of v.1a and beginning of v. 2a the preposition b has a spatial. And the verbs lcn, jlp strengthen this spatial aspect. Together with hqdc these verbs suggest a LifeSaving Sphere of Power’ (Lebensrettung Machtbereich) in which one is rescued.831 The context also supports the meaning of hqdc and life-saving sphere of power in which the distressed person finds safety that he wishes. Hence hqdc in 71,2 is to be understood as spatial.832 Verse 3 has some textual difficulties which make the translation of some of its parts rather difficult, and also lead to disparity of renderings among scholars. “Be to me a Rock of Refuge” (v. 3a) a !A[m' rWcl. yli hyEh/ NRSV translates it as “Be to me a Rock of protection/refuge”. The 1945 translation by the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome also has: Esto mihi petra refugii (“Be to me a Rock of refuge”).833 Such renderings occur as a result of an emendation of the text in favor of Ps 31,2[3] which, together with such ancient translations as Symmachus and Targum, has zw[m (“place of protection/refuge”) instead of !w[m (“dwelling/habitation”).834 In the VIH, however, stands this reading: esto mihi robustum habitaculum (“be to me a strong habitation/dwelling place”),835 which corresponds with MT reading. LXX renders it as: genou/ moi eivj qeo.n u`peraspisth.n ..(“be for me a protecting God”). Regarding the two terms: zw[m and !w[m the apparent confusion must have sprung from the structural

830 831

832 833 834

835

GESENIUS, 119q. hqdc has not only a spatial aspect but also it appear with b particle with the verbs hxn qal, “to lead” (Ps 5,8[9]); awb qal “to come” in (Ps 69,27[28]); hn[ qal “to answer” (Ps 143,1); acy hiph. “to bring out” (Ps 143,11). Cf. RINGGREN – JOHNSON qdc, ThWAT VI, 898-924, here 915. Cf. Biblia Sacra Iuxta Vulgatam Clementinam, 509. Cf. BHS note on v. 3, and also M. E. TATE, Psalms 51-100, WBC 20 (USA 1990) 209 note 3a. Cf. Biblia Sacra Iuxta Vulgatum Versionem (Stuttgart 1969, 1994) 855.

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similarity of these two words. A copyist could have mistaken z (z) for ! (n) and vice versa. However, since it is usual in OT tradition to conceive of God as a !w[m (“dwelling/habitation”) for human beings.836 Hence, there is no need for the emendation of !w[m (“dwelling”) to zw[m (“refuge”) as it appears in its parallel text Ps 31,2[3] or the other way. But there is a certain synonymity in both !w[m and zw[m. In both passages (Pss 71,3 and 31,2[3]) a noun derived from zz[ is found in the continuation, 31,4[5] yzw[m hta-yk and z[-ysxm htaw.837 The lexeme !w[m (“dwelling”) is usually used in reference to dwelling place in general (Jer 9,10; 10,22; 51,37), or to God’s dwelling place (Cf. Pss 26,8; 68,5[6]; 1 Sam 2,29; 32). The idea of Yahweh as !w[m – (“a dwelling place”) is also found (cf. Ps 90,1; Ps 91,9; Deut 33,27). Noteworthy however is the fact that the two ideas of Yahweh as Rock of refuge (Ps 31,2[3] etc.) and as a Rock of dwelling (Ps 71,3 etc.) are semantically synonymous, both of them presenting the image of God as a space, in which the supplicant finds safety. The supplicant prays therefore that God would allow him to always run (dymt awbl) to this space of safety. “…to which I can always go, you have commanded to save me” (v. 3b). b ynI[eyviAhl. t'yWIci dymiT' aAbl' This expression also presents certain textual problems. Literally it means: “to go/come/enter always you have commanded to save me” – v. 3b. But in the LXX one finds kai. eivj to,pon ovcuro.n tou/ sw/sai, me (“and into a strong place to save me”). This reading corresponds somehow with what is found in the parallel text (Ps 31,2d[3d]), namely; yn[yvwhl twdwcm tybl (“as a house of fortress to save me”). Following this perhaps, the NRSV renders the phrase as: “a strong fortress to save me”. One need not emend the phrase according to LXX. The MT text will make sense. Hence the better translation would be; “Be for me a Rock of dwelling, to which I can always go, you have commanded (tywc – not imperative but piel perfect) to save me”. MT also has the idea of God as a space in which supplicant finds refuge.

836 837

Cf. Pss 90,1; 91,9; Deut 33,27. Cf. S. TALMON, “Aspects of the Textual Transition of the Bible in the Light of Qumran Manuscripts”, in Textus 4 (1964) 95-132 here 125.

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So the Hebrew verb awb (“go/come/enter”) may not likely to be a terminus technicus for only going to the temple as Hossfeld has suggested838 because it is impossible for the psalmist to be visiting the Temple always. In Ps 71, it might mean more than simply a physical rushing to a sanctuary, a spiritual entrusting himself to God for protection and safety,839 which is possible to be done always without a visit to the Temple. The supplicant is even very confident that God has already commanded or decreed this safety for him (yn[yvwhl tywc). Why is he so confident then (v. 3b, cf. ytysx – v. 1a)? For (yk),840 God is his Rock and fortress (ytdwcmw y[ls-yk), and also for (yk), right from his youth till date God has remained his hope (ytwqt – v. 5a), his trust (yxjbm – v. 5b), his sustainer (yzwg hta, ytkmsn $yl[ – 6ab), his strong refuge (z[-ysxm - v. 7b), and his teacher (yntdml - v. 17a). In verse 3 God’s closeness and presence is depicted with a cluster of metaphors belonging to rwc word field. Right at the beginning the psalmist prays: “Be to me a Rock” (rwcl yl hyh). In praying so the psalmist associates God with a Rock. !w[m (“dwelling”) depends on the prayer (imperative) “be to me” rwcl yl hyh. It signifies “habitation” which provides security. And God is identified with such a habitation that provides security. The spatial categories are also demonstrated with the phrase dymt awbl (“to which I should come all the time”). Connected with his plea yl hyh (“be to me”) is the synonymous term for Rock: y[ls (Rock/Crag), with this term and the next (hdwcm) the supplicant makes a confession of trust that God is a place of security and stability. In the psalms of laments the prayer for help follows the confession of trust like here in Ps 71,3. (3a – prayer for help – 3b confession of trust). Sometimes the confession of trust can contain a prayer for help. The individual laments usually make statements of trust in God, which constitute the theme of psalms of trust (Pss 3,3-6[4-7]; 4,3[4]; 5,12[13]). In turn the songs of thanksgiving typically refer to prayers for help that were previously made (Pss 18,6[7]; 30,2[3]), and the psalms of trust express a confidence that God will hear and help in times of trouble (Pss 23,4-5; 62,6[7]).841 Laments already contain “thanks”.842 Verses 1-3 are dominated by the spatial aspect, beginning with hwhy-$b in v. 1a and $tqdcb in v. 2a and the spatial aspect is continued in a cluster of metaphors 838 839

840 841 842

Cf. F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, Psalmen 51-100, 294-295. Cf. I. M. C. OBINWA, Yahweh My Refuge: A Critical Analysis of Psalm 71 (Frankfurt a. M. 2006) 165. Here the yk particles refers to what is ahead. It’s not causal. J. L. MAYS, The Lord Reigns: A Theological Handbook to the Psalms, 25. C. WESTERMANN, Praise and Lament, 81.

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in v. 3 (rwc, !w[m, y[ls, and hdwcm). And the spatial aspect is supported by the verbs that appear in vv. 1-3. (ytysx “to take refuge”, ynlyct “rescue me”, ynjlpt “deliver me”, yla-hjh “incline to me”. What the psalmist has in mind is not geographically concrete localized place, but God himself as a place. Although God was not conceived as being in any handmade objects, he was conceived of as occupying a certain place. Here, “place” (in Hebrew, ~wqm, which later on became the actual name of God)843 rather than a certain object was the key factor. At times, however, that “place” could still be identified with an object, a stone or a rock. Philo commenting on the passage describing Jacob and the stone at Bethel, gives threefold meaning of the “place”: first that of a space filled by a material form, secondly that of the Divine Word (o` qeo,j lo,goj), there is a third signification, in keeping with which God Himself is called ‘a Place’, by reason of his containing things, and being contained by nothing whatever, and being a place for all to flee into, and because He is Himself the space which holds Him; for He is that which He himself has occupied, and naught encloses Him but Himself.844 This is shown by hwhy-$b (Ps 71,1) and $tqdcb (Ps 71,2) with second person singular suffix. God as Rock speaks loudly about the relationship of the psalmist to his God. Rock is a “relational metaphor”. Taking into consideration these cluster of metaphors together one gets the idea of spatial aspect and stability. On the basis of the close analysis of these above analyzed verses in question and the metaphorical terms used, one can come to the conclusion that God is conceptualized as spatial, viz., as the space in which the supplicant finds salvation. Even the term hqdc ‘righteousness’ is shown to be understood spatially in this and other psalms. But one can ask where this ‘space’ is. It is easy to answer immediately saying: “the temple/sanctuary of Jerusalem is the dwelling place of God”. This alone will narrow down the rich meaning of rock and its word field. For, ‘Rock’ is more and ‘Rock’ is different. However, the metaphor of the Rock alone does not say everything of God, as God is more and God is different. Rock is one among many other images for God. 3. Reading Ps 71,3 in Context The theme of Yahweh as a “Rock of Dwelling” and as “Rock and Fortress” is then an extension of the motif of Yahweh as refuge which is initiated in v. 1a by the root hsx (“to take refuge”). There is a semantic link between the two major 843 844

Cf. E. E. URBACH, The Sages (Cambridge 1987) 66-79. PHILO, De Somniis (On Dreams) I, 61-64 [630].

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sections of this psalm. (vv. 1-4, 10-13 and vv. 5-9, 14-24), one of the links is this root hsx (“refuge”) found in vv. 1a and 9b, which shares the same semantic field with the phrases found in v. 3 (“Rock of Dwelling”, “my Rock and my Fortress”), and together they form the motif of space in the psalm. In Ps 71 then, the expression “my Rock and my fortress” and “Be to me a Rock of dwelling” show what the psalmist thinks of Yahweh and what confidence he has placed in him, and for which he runs to him for refuge (v. 1a). God as the space of protection in which the supplicant seeks refuge is a ‘positive space’ (vv. 1-3). The psalm forms an integral whole, when this positive space is contrasted with ‘negative space’ of enemies in vv. 4.10-13.24b. To take refuge in God is “to be at-centre”, opposite of it is to be off-centre. “To be ‘off-centre’ is to be in negative space, to experience distress, illness, persecution, moral failure, divine judgment, to live in the presence of enemies, even in the face of death, far from the presence of Yahweh. To be ‘at-centre’ is to be in the positive space, to experience harmony, health, peace, reconciliation, to live in the presence of Yahweh and in harmony with the community of the faithful”.845 The semantic field of the enemies (negative space) is described in key words in these verses: [vr (“wicked”), lw[m (“the unjust”), #mwx (“the cruel” or “the ruthless”), as well as the expressions: ybywa (“my enemies”), yvpn yrmv (“those who watch for my life”), yvpn ynjfo (“my accusers”), yt[r yvqbm (“those seeking my hurt”). They try to take the supplicant ‘off-centre’ or ‘off-space’. Othmar Keel groups all the expressions used in describing the idea of the enemies within the Individual Laments (or Psalms of Complaint) and the Hymns of the Psalter under the two most frequent of those terms, namely; bywa (“enemy”) and [vr (“wicked”).846 He goes further to say that bywa (“enemy”) could also be used to describe Yahweh and his action (cf. Isa 63,10; Lam 2,5). In the capacity of supplicant’s helper, Yahweh plays sometimes the role of the enemy’s enemy (cf. Ps 64).847 But it is not with the group of [vr since it is impossible to think of Yahweh as a liar, a tyrannical fool, a renegade, and a murderer. So a description like [vr accentuates the sharp difference between the nature and the activities of the enemies and those of God in our psalm. Nature of this negative space is described as wicked, unjust and cruel/ruthless (v. 4). The agents of this ‘enemy situation’ or ‘negative space’ are mentioned in 845 846

847

G. T. M. PRINSLOO, “Role of Space in the twl[mh yryv (Pss 120-134)”, Bib 86 (2005) 461. O. KEEL, Feinde und Gottesleugner: Studien zum Image der Widersacher in den Individualpsalmen, SBM 7 (Stuttgart 1969) 107-108. G. EIDEVALL, “Images of God, Self, and the Enemy in the Psalms: On the Role of Metaphor in Identity Construction”, 63.

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singular in v. 4 and plural in vv. 10-13, and v. 24. The singular forms in v. 4 are actually collective in character.848 In this situation the psalmist feels the vacuum (empty space), namely, the absence of God. This absence is stated in the talk of the enemy “God has abandoned him” (v. 11a), so “there is no one to deliver him” (v. 11b). In this pathetic situation (vv. 12.13) or the so called the “cries of distress”849 the supplicant calls for help. In the supplication under consideration (Ps 71,12), there is a combination of urgent verbal forms; the negated jussive qxrt-la (“be not far”) and the imperative hvyx (“make haste”); indicative of the fact that the psalmist finds himself in a precarious situation and needs urgent help. His prayer goes to the point even to pray for the destruction of this “negative space” (v. 13a). Verses 5-9, and 14-24 are a confidence and hope in the positive space: Yahweh. In v. 5, the psalmist notes clearly that Yahweh is his hope and trust right from his youth: yrw[nm yxjbm hwhy ynda ytwqt hta-yk (“For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth”). Hope is demonstrated here in Ps 71,5-6 in spatial terms: It is the “leaning on God” (ytkmsn). It is totally resting in this positive space: Yahweh. The three most frequent terms for hope in the OT are: a) hwqt (‘Hope’); b) xjbm (‘Confidence’) and c) xjb (‘Trust’). Interestingly, the forms with first person pronominal suffix ytwqt (‘my hope’) and yxjbm (‘my trust’) which are used here in Ps 71,5, are not very frequent. More interesting still is the fact that the combination of the two in a single verse is found only once in the OT, and it is here in Ps 71,5. Here “hope” and “trust” are personified. Further, the psalmist compares the positive space to a “womb” (v. 6b) (safe space for a child in the womb of a mother). The Hebrew Bible uses three terms for womb: !jb, ~xr and h[m.850 The word used here in Ps 71,6 is y[m which actually means, “that part of the body through which people come into existence…inner being (seat of emotions, excitement…stomach externally).851 Hence h[m is not marked for gender as such but can be gendered both as male and female.852 Here the source domain (role of a woman – giving space to the child in the womb) is mapped on to the target domain (Yahweh’s actions – giving space of safety to the supplicant) and the generic space that results from this is

848 849 850

851 852

A. A. ANDERSON, The Book of Psalm, 1, 512. H.-J. KRAUS, Psalms, 60-150, 72. For a detailed discussion cf. H. LØLAND, Silent or Salient Gender? FAT 32 (Tübingen 2008) 157. HALOT (1994-2000) 609-610. H. LØLAND, Silent or Salient Gender? 149, fn. 132.

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the Yahweh’s space in which the supplicant is safe as a child is, in the womb of a mother before the birth and in her arms after the birth. In vv. 14-21 the psalm brings out the real meaning of the Rock as God’s space. It is a sapiential conclusion to the Psalm. The theme of hope which began in vv. 5-6b continues here in v. 14. “Waiting” or “hoping” (lxy) on the Lord is conceptually related to trusting and it is also common motif in the psalms and especially in this psalm. “In the psalms, ‘to wait’ (lxy) means not giving up, not growing tired. The hope of those who wait is based on the conviction that Yahweh is gracious”.853 However, it has been well noted that “Such a hope or waiting for God’s help is only reasonable when it is exercised within the context of one’s loyalty to God”,854 or in other words the meditation of God’s righteousness (v. 24a). It is a loyalty to Torah. Hence the psalmist’s hope is hoping in Torah. The prayer of the psalmist actually is: that you have taught me in my youth (Ps 71,17a) now that the psalmist is in his/her old age, s/he pleads not to forsake him/her (v. 18a). It is not clear whether the supplicant pleads God to continue to teach him now in his old age as he taught him in his Youth to be loyal to him, or whether it is the prayer that the psalmist in his old age may proclaim God’s righteousness to the next generation which he has received in his youth (v. 18c). Divine instruction has a metaphorically dynamic, even peripatetic dimension.855 The metaphor of God as Teacher and God as Saviour are effectively integrated into the psalmist’s petition in this section. Through God’s teachings, the psalmist appropriates moral integrity and thereby preserves his life. God’s role as teacher, in short, imbues the language of salvation with a distinctly moral nuance. God’s teaching is itself a refuge, a “respite” from danger posed by the wicked.856 The teacher metaphor is fundamental to the final coherence of the Psalter as a source of instruction, indeed, as the tôrâh of Yahweh (Ps 1,2-3). One of the characteristics or virtues of the Rock as mentioned in Deut 32 is ‘righteous’ (qydc). Here the psalmist is concerned about God’s righteousness. The word $tqdcb opens the Psalm (v. 2a) and closes the psalm (v. 24a) other than that it occurs again and again in the body of the psalm: vv. 15a.16b and 19a. The praise of God’s righteousness which the psalmist has done in vv. 15 and 16, now receives a high crescendo in v. 19a where it is said to reach the

853 854 855 856

Cf. H.-J. KRAUS, The Theology of the Psalms, 158. Cf. A. A. ANDERSON, The Book of Psalms, 515. Cf. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 193. Cf. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 194.

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high heavens (elevated place) (~wrm-d[ ~yhla $tqdc). Although righteousness is an abstract noun, and so cannot be conceived as occupying a space, the point here must be metaphorically understood. It means God’s salvific acts fill the every available space of the universe. Although the psalmist has leaned on God form birth (vv. 5-6), God still allowed him to experience some “bitter troubles” (v. 20a). But despite this fact, the supplicant would not give up his hope in God (vv. 20b-21). The psalmist regards his situation as resembling that of someone sunk into such a bottomless sea, someone at the threshold of Sheol857 or spatially ‘off-centered’. Semantically the phrase #rah twmhtm (from the depths of the earth) (v. 20c) corresponds with the frequently used term in the OT or psalms ~wht.858 Hence the expression of the hope of being revived again (v. 20b), and being brought up again (v. 20c) as though form the grave (or be ‘at-center’). The phrase contrasts with that of v. 19a (“Your righteousness, O God, reach the high heavens”). While the psalmist sees God’s righteousness as up there in the heavens, he sees himself as sunk deep there into the lower regions, in the depth of the earth. And it is precisely because of God, "The Rock, whose work is perfect; for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and right (cf. Deut 32,4) the supplicant finds safety and deliverance. 4. Placement of Ps 71 Ps 71 is placed within the small group of Pss 69-72. F. –H. Hossfeld believes that Pss 69-72 are the last compositions of the Theology of the Poor (Armentheologie) within the second Davidic Psalter.859 In the psalm there is a jump from the singular to plural forms (cf. vv. 20) In the place of the Qere yntyarh (“You who have made me see”), ynyyxt (“You will revive me again”), many old versions follow the Kativ wntyarh (“You who have made us see”), wnyyxt (“You will revive us again”). The Kativ as lectio difficilior is preferable. Again v. 20b returns from the “we” of the community (Kativ) to “I” of the suppli857

858

859

“In this verse the depths or the subterranean waters denote the sphere of Sheol. The sufferer believes that he is, in a real sense, surrounded by these waters, and therefore his deliverance can be depicted as a rescue from the depths of the underworld”. Cf. A. A. ANDERSON, The Book of Psalms, 517. For the occurrences of the term ~wht in the psalms cf. Pss 33,7; 36,6[7]; 42,7[8]; 104,6; 107,26; 135,6. Cf. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Ps 71”, in HOSSFELD/ZENGR, Psalmen 51-100, 300-302; Pss 69-72 als “armen-theologische” Schluß-komposition des zweiten Davidpsalters” (301); cf. also, HOSSFELD, “Die unterschiedlichen Profile der beiden Davidsammlungen. Ps 3-41 und Ps 51-72”, in Der Psalter in Judentum und Christentum (Hrg. E. ZENGER), HBS 18 (Freiburg – Basel – Wien – Barcelona – Rom – New York 1998) 59-73, here 63.

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cant.860 As we have already noted above that the singular forms have a collective sense. It remains however, unclear. Hossfeld tries to link this jump from singular to plural with the redaction of the ‘Theology of the Poor’ (Armenredaktion) found in Ps 22,4-6.24-27, and says that the psalmist might be speaking for the community that longs for revival after the ugly events of the exile.861 Hence “the date of the Psalm is post-exilic”.862 This is because the ‘Theology of the Poor’ is a spirituality learnt from the exile and which has to do with the whole community of Israel being maltreated by the nations but being saved by Yahweh, according to Norbert Lohfink.863 By reason of their positioning, Pss 70 and 72 should form the immediate context of Ps 71 within the Masoretic Psalter. But some other neighbouring psalms, precisely Pss 68 and 69, could as well be included because they tend to form a group with the other three (Pss 70; 71; 72),864 and they all have thematic relationships with Ps 71. For instance, the theme of “enemies” shows up in the five psalms: the enemies of Yahweh (Ps 68,1[2].21[22].23[24]), the enemies of the supplicant (Ps 69,19-20[20-21]), also the enemies of the supplicant (implied in Ps 70,2-3[3-4]), again the enemies of the supplicant (Ps 71,10), then the enemies of the king (Ps 72,9). So they appear like a group indeed, with Ps 68 and Ps 72 as the frames. In both we meet the root !ydy (to judge, to defend – Pss 68,6[7] and 72,2). Then the psalms of the inner group (Pss 69-71) are connected to one another by the terms vwb and hprx (Pss 69,6[7].7[8].19[20].20[21]; 70,2[3]; 71,1.13.24). So all the psalms of the group have some affinity with Ps 71, but Pss 69 and 70 have more direct relationship with it. There are a number of parallelisms between the endings of the First and the Second Books of the Psalter (Pss 40-41 and 69-72). Also Ps 40,1-12[13] and 41 have some correspondences with Ps 71. There is a beautiful semantic opposition between the sinking into the deep mire ([bj – Ps 69,2[3].14[15]) and the being drawn up from the desolate pit hl[ hiph. 40,2[3]). The same is the case with the idea of having no foothold (dm[m !yaw Ps 69,2[3]) and having his feet firmly set upon a rock (!nwk ylgr [ls-l[ ~qyw - Ps 40,2[3]) and in Ps 71,3 “Be thou to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me, for thou art my rock and my fortress”. 860 861 862 863

864

F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Ps 71”, in Psalmen 51-100, 291-92. F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, Psalmen, 299. Cf. A. ANDERSON, The Book of Psalms, 511. N. LOHFINK, Lobgesänge der Armen. Studien zum Magnifikat, den Hadajot von Qumran und einigen spätern Psalmen, SBS 143 (Stuttgart 1990) 101. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Die unterschiedlichen Profile der beiden Davidsammlungen: Ps 3-41 und Ps 51-72”, 59-73.

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Between the very last psalms of the first and second Books of the Psalter (Pss 41 and 72), there exist some correspondences, which are important from the point of view of the theology of the poor. For instance the term ld, (poor/week) shows up in Ps 41,1[2] and 72,13. Psalm 41,1[2] pronounces him blessed who cares for the weak or the poor (ld), and Ps 72,13 the care for the weak and the needy (!wybaw ld) is named among the duties of the king. So Ps 72 is like a fulfillment of the desire expressed in Ps 41. In such a reduction from the point of view of the poor (Pss 68-72), appears (in Ps 71) the Rock. God is invoked as Rock when the supplicant is in dire need, in poverty and weakness. On the whole in Ps 71 God is presented as an unassailable shelter, firm and strong. The nearness of God is made meaningful in spatial categories: “In you O Lord” (hwhy-$b v. 1); “In your righteousness” ($tqdcb); “Be to me a Rock of dwelling/habitation” (!w[m rwcl yl hyh); “My Rock” (y[ls). God as the Rock is a space in which the supplicant can find refuge. If so, where is this space? The text does not speak; for, God is more and God is different. C. “God as Rock” in the II Book of Psalms “God as Rock” appears not only at the beginning (in the introductory section), end or towards the end of a psalm, but also beginning or end of the Books of Psalms, or Collections. This is evident in the Second Book of Psalms. God as Rock appears at the very beginning of the Second Book: In Ps 42 and towards the end of the Second Book: In Ps 71. Psalms 42; 62; 71 in the Book II of the Book of Psalms appear in Korah Psalms (Pss 42-49) which open Psalm Book II (Pss 42-72); and also in the “Second Davidic Psalter”/“Second collection of Davidic Psalms” (Pss 51-72): viz., Ps 62 and Ps 71. Why God is addressed as “my Rock” at the beginning, end or towards the end of these psalms? Or further why ‘God as Rock’ appears at the beginning or towards the end of the Book II of the Psalms? viz., (Pss 42 and Ps 71). By beginning with the address “God my Rock” at the end of the first psalm (Ps 42) in Book II, the compiler wants to give a hymnic beginning to the whole Book II of the Psalms, in which the psalmist praises God for the salvific actions. And again by the address “God my Rock” towards the end of the Book II in Ps 71, the compiler recalls the way he began the Book II calling “God my Rock”. By repeating it again at the end of the book or at the end of the psalm, he emphasizes the theme or the image of the God as Rock again. In other words the address God as “my Rock” introduces the theme to the book/psalm and emphasizes the same at the end. The address “God as Rock” at the beginning and end of a Book/Psalm is

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thematized and emphasized respectively. In Pss 42; 62; and 71 we are dealing with a question of absence and presence. The psalmists bemoan the absence of divine presence and confide in the restoration of the divine presence. However, confidence in God’s presence supersedes experience of God’s absence. Thus God as Rock appears in the Korah sequence (Pss 42-49) and David sequence (Pss 51-72). Korah psalmist speaks of remembering God from the land of Jordan, from the Hermon (Ps 42,6[7]) and in the uttermost part of the north (Ps 48,2[3]). On the other hand ‘David sequence’ psalms are in a way remembrances of Davidic Kings. When the exiles began to return, there were no more kings, so the force of the Succession Narrative was lost. It was remembered that the David psalms were responses to individual episodes in David’s life.865 In a way both Korah and Second Davidic Collection Psalms are the Psalms arising out of absence than presence. It is a feeling of absence of God’s presence. These psalms are an earnest longing for the divine presence. They are recalling a memory of the distant past. Psalms 42; 62; 71 in consideration appear in the “so called Elohistic Psalter”.866 Scholarship refers to Pss 42-83 as the Elohistic Psalter because of its distinct pattern of divine names. Whereas hwhy (usually translated in most English Bibles as “the Lord”) is the dominant name for God throughout most of the Book of Psalms, this section of the Book prefers (though not exclusively so) to call God ~yhla – in Biblical Hebrew, the general word for “(a) god”, plural ‘gods”, or, when referring to God of Israel, “God”. Besides their distinct pattern of divine names, Pss 42-83 as a group are also set apart by their organization and numbering. As Laura Joffe has pointed out, the number 42 figures centrally in the Elohistic Psalter as a collection of forty-two psalms beginning with Psalm 42.867

865

866

867

Cf. M. GOULDER, “The Social Setting of Book II of the Psalter”, in The Book of Psalms: Composition and Reception (eds. P. W. FLINT and P. D. MILLER (Jr.) 365. For a recent discussion and solution to the problem of the “Elohistic Psalter”, cf. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Der elohistische Psalter Ps 42-83: Entstehung und Programm”, in The Composition of the Book of Psalms, BETL 238 (ed. E. ZENGER) (Leuven 2010) 199-214. Cf. also, F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, “The So-Called Elohistic Psalter: A New Solution for an Old Problem”, in A God So Near: Essays on Old Testament Theology in Honor of Patrick D. Miller (eds. B. A STRAWN and N. R. BOWEN) (USA 2003) 35-52. L. JOFFE, “The Elohistic Psalter: What, How and Why? SJOT 15 (2001) 142-146; cf. also, “The Answer to the Meaning of Life, the Universe and the Elohistic Psalter”, JSOT 27 (2002) 223-235.

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The generic title for God, Elohim (~yhla) fits well to Psalms 42; 62; 71. Yahweh (hwhy) is a title for the ones who are close/[near], Elohim for those who are far away.868 The preference for ~yhla presupposes gravitation toward monotheism by which the generic term becomes the proper name. Moreover, as already indicated, the use of ~yhla emphasizes God’s distance and transcendence; the distant, dark, mysterious God is accentuated in these psalms.869 In other words, the supplicant experiences God’s presence (through impersonal metaphor) in His absence. It is an experience of longing for his nearness in his distance. The name of hwhy in the Hebrew Bible is mostly used in relation to the covenant between God and Israel. When Israel is distanced from God because they are rejected, accordingly, the name is not used. Pss 42-44 introduce a time of rejection, which fits in with the beginning of the Elohistic Psalter.870 Likewise, the ending of the Elohistic Psalter can be explained: From Psalm 84 on the hope for restoration moves to the front in the Book III, and so the name of hwhy can be used again. The pleas for God’s nearness are more extensive in these Psalms than complaints about God’s absence and distance, but even the petitions, by inference, assume that the oppression evoking the cry is experienced as the distance of God and not God’s nearness.871 The invocation of ‘God as Rock’ functions in these psalms as the metaphor of divine absence and presence.872 The invocation of God as ‘Rock’ in distress, signals the tone of absence of divine presence or in distress it can be a confession of faith/thanks even before receiving what is asked for. For Laments already contain thanks. Thus invoking ‘God as Rock’ can be both the metaphor 868

869 870

871

872

F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, “The So-Called Elohistic Psalter: A New Solution for an Old Problem”, in A God So Near: Essays on Old Testament Theology in Honor of Patrick D. Miller (eds. B. A. STRAWN and N. R. BOWEN) (USA 2003) 51. F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, “The So-Called Elohistic Psalter, 51. M. H. MANSER, D. BARRAT, P. J. LALLEMAN, J. STEINBERG, Critical Companion to the Bible: A Literary Reference (New York 2009) 317. Fredrik Lindström has made a strong case for understanding the suffering and trouble attested to in the prayers for help of the Psalter as arising out of the experience of God’s absence. The Laments thus seek the presence of God that will provide life and salvation in the face of death. See F. LINDSTRÖM, Suffering and Sin: Interpretations of Illness in the Individual complaint Psalms (Stockholm 1994). It should be noted that the divine absence and presence metaphor is not a question of God’s existence. The psalmist affirms the reality of God in both negative and positive statements throughout the Psalter.

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of the ‘absence of divine presence’ or simply ‘divine presence’. Ultimately the literary technique of metaphor is a means to express a theological sentiment – ‘divine absence and presence’.873 In the above considered Psalms 42/43; 62; 71, there is an important metaphorical field surrounding Yahweh as Rock, protecting fortress, dwelling, where the petitioner seeks refuge in an increasingly hostile context. God’s presence and absence are made a concrete reality for the psalmist through the presence and absence of the enemy. The metaphor of the Rock with its word field, points out to a more profound metaphorical statement in these psalms or collection of psalms, one that also surrounds Yahweh, namely the metaphor of Yahweh as absent/present. However, in all the three psalms confidence and trust abounds, implying the restoration of divine presence in the destruction of the enemy. Confidence in God’s presence supersedes experience of God’s absence. And this God’s presence is represented by the usual series of conventional metaphors: Rock/Fortress/Refuge.

873

B. DOYLE, “Where is God when you need Him Most? The Divine Metaphor of Absence and Presence as a Binding Element in the Composition of the Book of Psalms”, in The Composition of the Book of Psalms, BETL 238, 378.

CHAPTER 3 PSALM 73,26 GOD IS THE ROCK OF MY HEART AND MY PORTION FOREVER A. Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre Ps 73 confronts the confession with everyday reality and experience.874 It is concerned with more than simply a debate as to whether God can be called ‘good’, especially in the light of the prosperity of the wicked and the adversity faced by the righteous. It questions the very confession of this God that belongs to Israel’s sacred tradition and to whom ‘goodness’ is attributed.875 The poet concerns himself with truth, wisdom, life skills, perspectives and how people who profess this faith can defend themselves against life’s tragedies, suffering and death. To understand the Ps 73 is to do justice to the totality of repeated terms, motifs and metaphors in it. An important thing to notice in this psalm is the use of ‘corporeal metaphors’ that represent the different life orientation in the poem. It is especially striking in the metaphors that include the word ‘heart’. On account of its repetition, the term ‘heart’ has become the key word in the psalm (vv. 1.7.13.21.26 (bis). Because of which Buber calls this psalm “meditation of the heart”.876 As many are the authors/interpreters so many are the structures evident in the psalm. Although researchers and commentators are in agreement about the theological depth and the poetic beauty of the psalm, there are differences of opinion regarding its precise nature and structure. Different scholars have come out with different divisions of the poem: Leslie Allen877 divides the Psalm basing on the rhetorical arguments and the logical order of the content. The psalm is framed by an inclusion (inclusio), in verses 1 and 28 and could be divided into six

874

875 876

877

E. ZENGER, “Psalm 73”, in F.-L. HOSSFELD/E. ZENGER, Psalmen 51-100, HThKAT (Freiburg – Basel - Wien 2000) 339. E. ZENGER, “Psalm 73”, 339. M. BUBER, Right and Wrong: An Interpretation of some Psalms (London 1952) 37f. (3451). L. ALLEN, “Psalm 73: An Analysis”, TynB 33 (1981) 93-118.

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stanzas.878 These six stanzas are introduced either by the Hebrew particle $a or yk: vv. 1-2 ($a) 3-12 (yk); vv. 13-17 ($a); vv. 18-20 ($a); vv. 21-26 (yk); 27-28 (yk). These two particles mark the important thematic developments in the poem. The threefold $a (vv. 1.13.18) gives this psalm its character of “the Great Nevertheless”.879 The poet, by using the emphatic and adversative particle $a (‘indeed/surely’), reveals in the introductory confessional clause that he is about to impart a dramatic account of temptation and its outcome (cf. Ps 62,1[2].4[5].6[7].9[10]).880 It’s another feature is the repetition of key terms and concepts in the psalm. Allen881 uses this repetition of terms to divide the poem into two principal sections, namely verses 1-20 and 21-28. The best stylistic analysis of Psalm 73 has been given by K.-J. Illman.882 It falls into six sections, vv. 1-2, 3-12, 13-17, 18-20, 21-26, and 27–28. However, his analysis leaves unexplained a host of cases of repetition and near repetition. They point to a dynamic composition, over against Illman's final static one. As we shall see, it takes us into the heart of the poem and reveals the writer's working through the different aspects of his problem. If ‘heart’ is the Leitwort in the poem and if Ps 73 is a “meditation of the heart” as Buber called it, then a division of the psalm must take into account the term ‘heart’. Generally there are three images in the psalm/s: Image of God, the image of self (righteous), and the image of the enemies (wicked). If heart (of God, psalmist, wicked) is the key word, one can think of the division of the psalm in the following way: God and the Pure of heart Heart of the Wicked Heart of the Righteous God and a heart with confident trust

v.1 v. 7. v. 13.21 v. 26

Accordingly, the psalm is framed by an inclusion (inclusio) in vv 1 and 26. God and the pure/confident of heart. The central section is about the heart of the wicked (v. 7) and heart of the righteous (vv. 13.21). Hence there are two sections: the first section begins with God and the pure of heart (vv. 1-22) and 878 879 880 881 882

C. J. ADAM VOS, Theopoetry of the Psalms, 156. M. E. TATE, Psalms 51-100, 235. E. ZENGER, “Psalm 73”, 338. L. ALLEN, “Psalm 73: Pilgrimage from Doubt to Faith”, BBR 7 (1997) 1-10. K.-J. ILLMAN, “Till tolkningen av Psalm 73”, SEÅ 41-42 (1976-77) 120-29, esp. 123-24. Quoted in L. ALLEN, “Psalm 73”, BBR 7, 4.

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the second section ends again with God and the confident of heart (vv. 23-28). In between these two sections vv. 21-22, is an orientation toward self (contrition). The heart/mind (bbl) in vv. 1-20, apart from a context of moral purity in v. 1, were those of the wicked (in v. 7) and of the righteous (in v. 13). Now the term is used in tones of reverent contrition (in v. 21 in the light of v. 22) and of confident trust (in v. 26). L. Allen,883 finds four primary suggestions for its genre: a) Wisdom Psalm; b) Individual Psalm of thanksgiving; c) Individual Psalm of lament and; d) Psalm of Confidence. Ps 73 represents a mixed genre. Ps 73 is not an individual prayer for help, but is a psalm with wisdom elements in which the psalmist meditates on the process by which he came to grips with the problem of why the wicked flourish.884 Considered as one of the wisdom psalms, which reflect the life after death,885 the function of it is to persuade the reader/listener to fully trust God in all things and have constant communion with him. B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 73,26 1. Text and Translation ynIymiy>-dy:B. T'z>x;a' %M'[i dymit' ynIa]w: 23 ynIxeQ'Ti dAbK' rx;a;w> ynIxen>t; ^t.c'[]B; 24 #r ybib'l.-rWc ybib'l.W yrIaev. hl'K' 26 &'M,mi hn hNEhi-yKi 27 ysix.m; hAihy> yn"doaB; yTiv; bAj-yli ~yhil{a/ tb;r]qi ynIa]w: 28 ^yt,Aka]l.m;-lK' rPes;l. 23

Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and will eventually receive me to glory. 25 Whom else do I have in heaven? Apart from you, I want nothing on earth. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the Rock of my heart and my portion forever. 27 Indeed, those who are far from you will perish; you put an end to anyone who strays wantonly from you. 28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, to tell of all your works. 24

883 884

885

L. ALLEN, “Psalm 73”, 93-118. Cf. R. A. JACOBSON, ‘Many are Saying’: The Function of Direct Discourse in the Hebrew Psalter, JSOTS 397 (London – New York 2004) 35. K. LIES, “Von der Gottesferne zur Gottesnähe”, in Metaphors in the Psalms, 167-195.

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2. Close Reading of Ps 73,26 Verses 23-28 appear under the section of reorientation toward the presence of God. The sanctuary experience in v. 17 has broken through all “ideology of selfsufficing, affluence, and self-sufficiency”886 and is allowed a resurgence of a sense of God’s presence. Now the poet has turned once for all toward God (v. 23); flesh and heart may fail, but God as “Rock” is portion forever. God as Rock becomes the centre of his life. Accordingly “God is the Rock of my heart” (v. 26) is placed at the center of this section (vv. 23-28). If Rock is the main metaphor in Ps 18,2[3] (here in Ps 18,2[3] no further qualification of the ‘Rock’ is given. Therefore one can say it is the ‘main metaphor’), in contrast, ‘Rock of my heart’ in Ps 73,26 is the ‘sub metaphor’ (cf. also Ps 89,27 – “Rock of my salvation’). Again the ‘sub metaphor’ (“Heart”) turns out to be a ‘sub metaphor’ also in connection with the ‘body’. Because in connection with the ‘body’ (the ‘main metaphor’), ‘heart’ is the ‘sub metaphor’. Body is the ‘container of the heart’. Body as container metaphor holds within it life, emotions, persons words, ethics and teachings. And in connection with the body as container of heart it holds within it ‘Life’. Particularly vv. 23-26 demonstrate the “metaphor for life”. Vv. 23-26 close with the designation for God: “The Lord is my portion (territory/land) forever” which is a confession of trust. Through the two nominal sentences at the extremes of this cluster of verses (vv. 23-26); “Nevertheless I am continually (dymt) with you” (v. 23a); and “God is my portion (territory/land) forever” (~lw[) (v. 26b). This cluster verses are connected and form a single unit with synonymous key words (dymt “continually”// ~lw[ “forever”). Finally, the designation for God as “my portion” (qlx) (territory/land) forever” presents a new hope for the pray-er (‘one who prays’) or the supplicant on the “nearness of God”/“fellowship with God”/“Communion with God” even after death. The background to this confession of trust (“my portion [land/territory])” is the tradition of distribution of land. Joshua 13-19 suggests the theological potential of viewing the land as an inheritance. These chapters go to great lengths to point out that each clan or family of every tribe (except Levi; cf. 13,14) receives a portion of land. To have a piece of land means to have a future; indeed, to have land means life. The language of inheritance serves to affirm that God wills for all people to “inherit” land/future/life and that God chooses to use the people of God to effect this blessing. Not only can people of Israel be called as God’s inheritance or “possession” or “heritage” but that God’s own self can be viewed as the “portion” of God’s people (cf. Pss 16,5-6; 73,26; 119,57; 142,5[6]; Lam 3.24; the Hebrew word is used in conjunction with “inheritance” (hlxn) in Joshua 886

W.BRUEGGEMANN, The Message of the Psalms, 121.

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to indicate a particular tract of land). This latter usage may be patterned after the experience of the tribe of Levi, which was given no land as an inheritance, but rather about whom it was said, “the Lord God of Israel is their inheritance” (cf. Num 18,20; Josh 13,33). They saw themselves as an exclusive religious party, but as a way of describing their livelihood and life (even in Deut 18,1-8 the Levites are described as those “with no portion or inheritance” and Deut 14,17.19 and 26,13 makes the same point). The term hlxn (“possession/property/inheritance”) is also found in Isa 54,17b, where it is used in the phrase “the heritage of the servants” (hwhy ydb[ hlxn). Here the term db[ is used to refer to the people, but only about a part of the people. The plural (ydb[) might also indicate that it is no longer the people as a group that is the servant, rather, it is each individual who turns to the Lord, and the Lord himself becomes their heritage. By not connecting inheritance with land, these texts serve to affirm that God is the ultimate source of one’s future and life.887 God himself is the “LifeSpace”/or “Land”/“Portion” of the supplicant (Pss 16,5-6; 73,26; 142,5[6]; Sir 17,17. These citations of the land terminology (qlx) have a metaphorical meaning and demonstrate God himself as land/portion of the individual supplicants.888 The wicked do indeed have a portion of the earth, at least for a time; Yahweh, however, is the “portion” of the speaker and of all the righteous.889 What finally matters for this advocate or radical faith is communion with God in which all other issues are derivative and subordinate. Verses 23-28 supply a series of reversals of what has been said earlier in vv. 120 in the psalm, but they are repeated with a difference. This series of repetition speaks for the unity of the psalm.

887

888

889

D. E. GOWAN, The Westminster Theological Wordbook of the Bible (Louisville 2003) 227-229. About the Metaphorization of the Land see, F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Die Metaphorisierung der Beziehung Israels zum Land im Frühjudentum und Christentum”, in F. HAHN – F.-L. HOSSFELD – H. JORISSEN – A. NEUWIRTH (Hrg.), Zion: Ort der Begegnung. FS. L. KLEIN (BBB 90) (Bodenheim 1993) 19-33. On Yahweh as “portion”, se G. VON RAD, The Problem of the Hexateuch and other Essays (see chap 2, n. 36) 243-266.

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bwj bbl

vv. 1-20 v. 1 vv. 1.7.13

~[

v. 5

#ra ~ymv √[dy

v. 9

hnh ~lw[

v. 12 v. 12

lk √rps

vv. 11.16

Theme - Earlier God’s goodness Pure heart [Righteous]/heart with folly [Wicked] Used of humans [horizontal] Used of speech of wicked

vv.21-28890 v. 28 vv. 21.262

Theme - Later Good to be near God Contrite/Confident heart

vv. 22.23.25 Used of God [vertical] v. 25

Confession of righteous

v. 23

Knowledge of God (righteous) Wicked perish Enduring permanency of righteous Triumphant usage Speak of the works of the Lord Happy end of the righteous God’s Space (firm space) for the righteous

v. 14 v. 15

Lack of knowledge (wicked) Wicked prosper Fading permanency of wicked Negative usage Speak like the wicked

vv. 27.28 v. 28

√rxa

v. 17

Sad end of the wicked

v. 24

√qlx

v. 18

Slippery places for the Wicked

v. 26

v. 27 v. 26

The psalmist has artistically woven his final composition into a new pattern so that (for instance, vv. 27-28 match vv. 1-2) by their inner contrasts (ynaw vv. 2 and 28) and by echoing God’s goodness ‘in affirming how good it is for the psalmist to be near to God (bwj ~yhla in vv. 1 and 28).891 In the words of Brueggemann, it is Ps 73 that best enacts the transformation necessary to make the theological move from “dsx doubted to dsx trusted”.892 Thus he suggests that Ps 73 assumes a paradigmatic function, providing a normative example of the frequently reiterated, re-enacted argument made in the Psalter concerning, (a) the reliability of God’s dsx, (b) the doubting of that dsx, and (c) the ultimate embrace of it in trust and confidence.893 From the above table we learn that the poet’s decisive, divine experience is described with a surprising reversal of perspective. In vv. 23-28: he sees ‘being with God is a result, not of his own initiative, but of the enduring initiative of God. Three verbal clauses, with God as the active subject prove this (vv. 890

891 892

893

A number of commentators have felt that vv. 21-22 interfere with the smooth development of the psalm and have been misplaced from a position near vv. 15-16. Cf. E. BAUMANN, “Struktur-Untersuchungen im Psalter I”, ZAW 62 (1949/50) 128. L. ALLEN, “Psalm 73”, 106. W. BRUEGGEMANN, “Bounded by Obedience and Praise: The Psalms as Canon”, JSOT 50 (1991) 81. W. BRUEGGEMANN, “Bounded by Obedience and Praise, 80-81.

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23b.24).894 “You hold my right hand” (v. 23b); “You guide me with your counsel” (v. 24a), and “afterwards you will receive me with honor” (v. 24b). One can think of many motifs and metaphors in Ps 73. The ‘motif of being with’ (Motiv des Mitseins)/‘motif of communion with’ is at home with Ps 73 (cf. Gen 28,15). It is a motif of God’s being with humans and vice versa that Ps 73 speaks. The Levitical temple servants were attached to the Temple and their primary concern was “the legitimization of their presence in the Temple”895 to be with God. The supplicant is always/constantly with God (v. 23a). God’s everpresence is found in the motif of holding the hand (v. 23b). This well-known motif occurs frequently in the ancient Near East of the guidance of a king by a god.896 In several Hittite reliefs,897 a god of superhuman size places his arm about the king, grasps his hand, and thus escorts him to safety. (See the figure below):

“You hold my right hand; you guide me with your counsel” (Ps 73,23b-24a). God holding the hand of a person/suppliant is connected with protection and succor (cf. Isa 41,10.13). A hand can metaphorically represent ‘power’ of varied kinds and ‘physical labor’ (cf. Prov 6,3).898 If at all the theme of death plays a 894 895

896

897

898

E. ZENGER, “Psalm 73”, 348. S. E. GILLINGHAM, “The Levitical Singers and the Editing of the Hebrew Psalter” in E. Zenger (ed.), The Composition of the Book of Psalms, 110. Cf. O. KEEL, Schöne schwierige Welt – Leben mit Klagen und Loben: Ausgewählte Psalmen (Berlin 1991) 42 et seq.; idem., The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 258-259. O. KEEL, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 258. Cf. also, Source: K. BILTEL et al., Das hethitische Felsheiligtum Yazilikaya (Berlin 1975) Tafel 62. HALOT 362ff; THAT III 421-455.

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role in the psalm, the motif of hand is in place. It is God’s hand which has power over death. The dead are away from God’s helping and protecting hand (cf. Ps 88,5[6]). At the moment of death God stretches out his hand to save (cf. Pss 144,7; 18,16[17]; 69,1[2f].14[15f]). He himself becomes the supplicant’s safety: the “Rock of his heart”. In v. 23, an otherwise unknown supplicant claims this gracious divine action for himself (cf. Ps 63,8[9]). The entire life span is discussed in all its phases (in the structure of tenses): v. 23b refers to the past, v. 24a to the present and v. 24b to the future.899 In short vv. 23-24 demonstrate the way of life of the supplicant who prays and who at the end arrives to his destination: “and will eventually take me (xql) to glory/honor (dwbk rxa). The motif of taking is an important evidence for the understanding of life and death in Ps 73. Ps 73 is all about God’s everlasting fellowship which finds its perfect fulfillment and the supplicant will be rewarded with the crown of glory. In v. 24 the term rxa is rendered “eventually”, which correlates with the tyrxa or “eventual fate” of the wicked in v. 17. Both are to be located within the providential course of human history. So too is the “glory/honor” the psalmist expects. The tide has already turned for him. Demoralization and sickness were things of the past (v. 26, cf. v. 1), but he looked for further, ongoing blessing. It should be clear that there is nothing in the phrase (ynxqt dwbk rxaw) that the individual is being taken somewhere (to God or to Glory). But what else can the verb (ynxqt) suggest? Ps 18,16-19, where the first line contains the exact same verbal form (Ps 73,24 except for the change from third person to second person), makes it clear that the phrase means to deliver someone from his trouble. The term dwbk is a ‘Temple marker’ or belongs to ‘Temple tradition’900 or the ‘Temple Rock marker’. This confidence of an everlasting communion with God in his temple brings at the end confessions of trust in vv. 23-26. V. 26 expresses the motif of “God is my portion (territory) forever”. Some commentators have injected the eschatological nuance of ‘eternal life’ in the phrase 24b: ynxqt dwbk rxaw (“and will eventually receive me to glory”).901 If we take the preposition rxa to mean ‘behind’ and translate the phrase as ‘you received me behind [your] glory’ there is no nuance of eternal life. The word “glory” does not appear to be used of “heaven” elsewhere in the MT. The glory of Yahweh may be above the earth (Pss 108,5[6]) or above the heavens (Ps 899 900 901

E. ZENGER, “Psalm 73”, 350. S. E. GILLINGHAM, “The Levitical Singers and the Editing of the Hebrew Psalter”, 92. D. MICHAEL, “Ich aber bin immer bei dir: Von der Unsterblichkeit der Gottesbeziehung”, in H. BECKER et al. (Hg.), Im Angesicht des Todes, Pietas Liturgica 3 (St. Ottilien 1987) 652 (637-658).

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113,4) but most references are to the divine glory on earth (Exod 14,4.17-18; 16,7.10 etc.). It does not, however, specifically refer to the postmortem existence in a heavenly realm.902 It is all about the ‘nearness of God’. V. 24b refers to what awaits for the righteous (the supplicant) and the wicked (cf. vv. 17b.1820). Taking into consideration the three verbs in verses 23b-24 Zenger903 says, v. 24b refers to the way of life of the supplicant. The righteous life will have a happy end awarded by God which will end up in a lifelong fellowship emphasized in v. 23a. God leads the supplicant according to his plans and he will share in God’s honor/glory. God gives those who are pure in heart their “strength” (rock) and “portion”, which will endure forever, though “flesh and heart” (mind) will be terminated. These features tell the reader that the “glory” in v. 24 has a dynamic quality which has the power to transcend death and displace it with life, guided and endowed by God.904 Verses 25-26 continue what vv. 23-24 announced. The righteous desire nothing in heaven or on earth, except God’s presence and his communion. The merism ‘heaven and earth’, (the entire cosmos) includes everything anyone could desire, but the poet prefers the presence of God.905 This is placed in opposition with the conduct of the wicked in v. 9, where the same merism is used to describe the unbridled actions of the wicked. Although the wicked might prosper, it is really God who places immeasurable value on the righteous supplicant. Nothing can better the intrinsic value of communion with God, not even the prosperity of the wicked. The supplicant of Ps 73 is wearied by temptations and troubled by oppressive doubts. Unscrupulous, greedy persons have become the objects of his wonderment and envy. But in the temple he comes to the realization that they stand on shaky ground. What really liberates him, however, is not the knowledge that “sin does not pay”, but the experience of the “nearness of God” (tbrq) (cf. 73,28). Here as in Isa 56,6, the root brq has Yahweh as its subject. Only that is a sure Rock-like defense against despair. God is the Rock of his heart! No place for slippage there (cf. vv. 2.18). The nearness means “life”. Communion with him, in faithfulness and love, is therefore more important than life itself (cf. Pss 63,3[4]; 73,23-28)906 Verse 26 employs a double corporeal metaphor, in which the word ‘heart’ occurs and completes the circular composition with which it began at v. 21. 902 903 904 905 906

M. E. TATE, Psalms 51-100, 236. Cf. E. ZENGER, “Psalm 73”, 351. M. E. TATE, Psalms 51-100, 236. C. J. ADAM VOS, Theopoetry of the Psalms, 171. O. KEEL, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 186.

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When the poet declares that his heart and body are weak, he acknowledges that his insight and abilities are limited. However, he goes on to say that God is the ‘Rock of his heart’, i.e., God is the true source of his security.907 V. 26 speaks in language that recalls the experience of the Levites in land distribution (Num 18,10; Deut 10,9; 12,12).908 They would not receive a parcel of land like the other tribes. Instead, the Lord would be their “portion”. With this statement, the psalmist makes clear that the greatest reward or destiny is the Lord himself. “God as a Rock” is a phrase at the heart and lips of the supplicants, while they experience Him on their side. Cortese909 questions if this psalm 73 is recited by the poor. J. Sobrino910 inspires us to reflect the presence of God on the side of the poor of the third world: “Dio è con loro, perché son essi che ci credono e lo pregano più di quelli del mondo occidentale. …I poveri non hanno alontanato Dio, come incece ha fatto il mondo occidentale. Sono i poveri, in fondo, quelli che oggi sanno davvero stare allegri”. Hence it is the poor/righteous who address “God as the Rock of my heart”. (Ps 73,26).911 In fact it is they who place their hope and trust in God (cf. v. 24). Having no inheritance in the land, it is the Levites themselves actually fit this description of being “poor and needy” admirably. The characterization of the wicked as “always (~lw[) at ease” in v. 12 gives way to the psalmist's sense of “always” (~lw[l) dependence on God in v. 26. The description of God as yqlx “my portion” in v. 26 provides a wordplay with the twqlxb “slippery places” that was to be the lot of the wicked in v. 18. The slippery places reserved by God for the wicked are contrasted with a gracious portion from God for the psalmist. The formula at the close of v. 26 is a frequent affirmation of faith in the psalms. It is a metaphor derived from the dependence of the tribe of Levi on religious dues, whereas the other tribes had land assigned to them as their portion or means of life. A spiritual metaphor, the formula expresses a sense of reliance on God as the giver of daily blessings without which life could not continue. God is his source of livelihood and means much more than all the possessions of the wicked. The poet himself underwent a transformation. This transformation is

907 908 909 910 911

K. SEYBOLD, Die Psalmen, 285. J. F. D. CREACH, The Destiny of the Righteous in the Psalms, 46. E. CORTESE, “E se il salmo 73 lo recitano I poveri?”, RivBib 43 (1995) 55-76. J. SOBRINO, La esperanza de los pobres (Buenos Aires 1984) 5-26. E. CORTESE, “E se il salmo 73 lo recitano I poveri?”, 75.

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“from theodicy to Credo”.912 Brueggemann has utilized in helpful ways a pattern of orientation, disorientation, and new orientation in the interpretation of psalms.913 Ps 73 is a masterpiece of reorientation: a reorientation toward the wicked; a reorientation toward self and a reorientation toward the presence of God.914 Earlier he had an eye on the prosperity of the wicked (v. 3) but now he looks at God, as someone far more than all the possessions of the wicked. The deistic particle ‘see’ v. 27 harks back to v. 3. In v. 12 the sad end of those who are remote from God is described. Verse 28 is placed in contrast to v. 27. In verse 27 the wicked are described as “those who are far from you [God]” instead the righteous are “near to God” (v. 28). The phrase bwj-yl ~yhla tbrq ynaw (“But for me it is good to be near God”), can be understood genetivus subjectivus (God is near – divine initiative) or genetivus objectivus (a person draws near to God – human initiative). Some prefer the latter.915 Both images together convey the full meaning: image of God’s nearness to the supplicant and the image of the supplicant’s nearness to God. But taking into consideration the context of the whole psalm (vv. 23ff), God is the subject of the deeds of salvation. In the light of this, the focus here is on ‘the nearness of God’.916 This nearness means ‘life’, and this life is offered by God on Zion. This life is also valid in terms of the destruction of the temple, which resulted in a crisis for the followers of the Yahweh faith.917 In the absence of the temple “Yahweh himself is the dwelling place” where the supplicant can take refuge. The phrase “But for me it is good to be near God” points out that this is the confession of a group viz., the weak, the poor the upright, who obey God’s laws. The pray-er (individual or the praying community) knows that s/he or they already live in fellowship with God (vv. 23-24a) that leads beyond death to a hope of honor/to glory (v. 24b). In this way in Ps 73 one can speak about an “immortality of God’s relationship”918 or about “eternal life” in the sense of constant living-fellowship with God.

912

913

914 915

916 917 918

S. TERRIEN Elusive Presence, 316, where he says “the poet of the Ps 73 began a song on the issue of theodicy and ended it as a credo on the eternal presence”. W. BRUEGGEMANN, The Message of the Psalms; “Psalms and the Life of Faith: A Suggested Typology of Function”, JSOT 17 (1980) 3-32. Cf. M. E. TATE, Psalms 51-100, 238-239. H. IRSIGLER, Psalm 74: Monolog eines Weisen. Text, Programm, Struktur, ATS 20 (St. Ottilien 1984) 98. E. ZENGER, “Psalm 73”, 353. E. ZENGER, “Psalm 73”, 353. D. MICHAEL, “Ich aber bin immer bei dir: Von der Unsterblichkeit der Gottesbeziehung”, in H. BECKER et al. (Hg.), Im Angesicht des Todes, Pietas Liturgica 3 (St. Ottilien 1987) (Anm. 64).

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3. Reading Ps 73,26 in Context The psalm is set off by an inclusion (“good” - bwj ) in vv. 1 and 28, and by the repetition of a proverbial form in the first and last verse as well. Ps 73 begins at the same place as Ps 1. It begins with “good”: “Truly God is good to Israel” (v. 1). The term “good” characteristically refers to the substantive, material blessings that are given out of Yahweh’s faithful, reliable generosity. Thus Ps 73,1 restates the premise of Ps 1, as the book of Psalms takes up its faith and its argument again. Ps 73,1, like Ps 1, begins in an affirmation that God presides over a morally coherent universe. Verse 1 affirms that God’s world of moral symmetry works for the “pure in heart”, that is, for those who keep torah. Thus the second part of the Psalter (after the high hopes for Solomon and the terrible failure in Ps 72) begins again with the same confident affirmation as the first part under the aegis of Ps 1.919 “Heart” (bbl) occurs six times in the psalm, leading Buber to call it a “meditation of the heart”. He points out that “heart” (the volitional center of a being) is a key word in this psalm, appearing six times: vv. 1.7.13.21.26 (bis).920 It may be said that the problem the psalmist had to solve was not simply some objective experience such as sickness or persecution: it was a matter of the mind and heart.921 The crisis is the spiritual and intellectual problem of v. 3, which the psalmist’s own suffering compounded. The psalm is thereby stamped as belonging to the wisdom tradition of Israel.922 The question is: Why the wicked prosper while the righteous are plagued? The contrast between the righteous and wicked constitutes a standard motif of wisdom compositions. The divine predicate ‘good’ occurs frequently as a part of the experience of God’s salvation, protection and providential closeness. This experience of goodness is ‘forever’ (v. 26b) and God is eternally good. Thus the final form of the psalm proclaims the goodness of God to Israel.923 Retention of “to Israel” in v. 1 (larfyl) against the change “God is good to the upright” (la rfyl) (another vocalization and dividing the word in two) will demonstrate that the psalm works in the context of Israel’s faith in Yahweh and not to be reduced to personal experience alone.924 It is the Israelite speaker who embodies in personal 919 920 921 922 923

924

W. BRUEGGEMANN, The Psalm and the Life of Faith, 206-209. M. BUBER, Right and Wrong, 52. L. ALLEN, “Psalm 73: An Analysis”, 100. L. ALLEN, “Psalm 73: Pilgrimage from Doubt to Faith”, BBR 7 (1997) 4. (1-10). E. ZENGER, “Psalm 73”, 339. In his article BRUEGGEMANN, “Bounded by Obedience and Praise”, 82-88 retains ‘Israel’. Miller, by contrast, is inclined to following the conventional emendation to read ‘the upright’. Cf. “Ps 73 As a Canonical Marker”, 298-309. Cf. also JSOT 72 (1996) 45-56. M. E. TATE, Psalms 51-100, 235.

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experience, the experience of Israel itself.925 The change “God is good to the upright” would make the psalm more definitively a composition concerned with individuals and the retributive and rewarding ways of God.926 The poet uses a physical metaphor, ‘pure of heart’, to signify a category of people with particular outlook on life, within the broader concept ‘Israel’. Those who are ‘pure of heart’ experience Yahweh’s special care,927 while they are the keepers of Torah. If this interest in the Torah is the expression of the Levitical singers working within the Temple rather than that of a group outside it, then we can explain the Levitical titles for a Psalms containing didactic material (e.g., Ps 49; 73; and 78). The Chronicler depicts the Levites not only sang but also preached publicly to the people (cf. 2 Chron 17 and 19). The role of the Levites was both to teach the Law of Moses and to sing the psalms of David. Thus the temple could well be the focal point of such psalms.928 Ps 73,1 contains the general theological truth: “Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart”. The second verse is introduced by an adversative conjunction, where the prominence is given to the personal pronoun ‘I’, which indicates that the experience of this ‘I’ is in contrast to the general position of the first verse. The assumption is that the ‘I’ is pure of heart. Another physical metaphor is used to express the poet’s doubts in verse 2. The parallel expression, ‘my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped’. This expression is typical wisdom psalm depiction of the journey through life and the corollary that whoever treads the path of righteousness, will not stumble (Ps 15,5; 17,5 and Prov 10,25.30; cf. also, Ps 1,3).929 Like Psalm 15, Ps 73 delineates the way of righteousness (the way of life), which stands in stark contrast to the way of wickedness (destruction). Psalm 73 is filled with physical metaphors. These metaphors are not merely to ornament a language as classical approach toward metaphor would suggest. In contrast, these metaphors are seen as integral to thought and knowledge.930 These physical metaphors in Ps 73 (hand (dy), feet (lgr), and heart (bl), physical/army lyx etc.) bear the power to 925 926 927 928

929 930

M. E. TATE, Psalms 51-100, 235. M. E. TATE, Psalms 51-100, 233. J. L. MAYS, Psalms, 241; E. GERSTENBERGER, Psalms II (Grand Rapids 2001) 71. F.-L. HOSSFELD – E. ZENGER, Neue und alte Wege der Psalmenexegese: Antworten auf die Fragen von M. Millard und R. Rendtorff, in Biblical Interpretation 14 (1996) 332343; G. T. SHEPPARD, “Theology and the Book of Psalms”, Interpretation 46 (1980) 143-155. E. ZENGER, “Psalm 73”, 339. G. LAKOFF – M. JOHNSON, Metaphors We Live By (Chicago 1980).

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convey concepts and, sometimes cultural ideas to create new knowledge. Body parts used metaphorically show us pictorially what the sages are trying to teach through didactic maxims and longer poems on right living; for eg., the metaphor of the feet (ylgr) in v. 2. Where one places one’s ‘feet’ (lgr) is indicative of what ethical path one walks.931 The operant metaphor is states are locations: the state of immorality is understood as located on the ‘wrong path’.932 The psalmist’s feet had almost stumbled, i.e., this would have taken the psalmist to a “place” that is outside “God’s Space”, and, ultimately, to Sheol. Verses 3-12 form the first argument that underpins the poet’s questioning of the general theological statement that God is good to those who are pure in heart. The poet asks if this is true, then why is it that the wicked are prosperous? Their prosperity is reflected in their physical and mental well-being. Vv. 3 and 12 form an inclusion regarding the prosperity of the wicked. The poet is envious, when he sees the wicked, full of wrath or/and envy, but living contentedly, and able to find peace in his heart (v. 3). The wicked are spoken of in the third person and excluded from communication (vv. 3-12.18-20.27).933 The wicked do not harm the poet directly but the very ‘seeing’ (hara) (v. 3) of the wicked prospering disturbs the psalmist. The prosperity of the wicked includes good health, riches, honor and social influence. It also takes the form of both mental and physical well-being. These two aspects of well-being are developed in the following two verses (vv. 4-5). Verse 6, which begins with the particle !kl, (‘therefore’), points out the consequence of arrogance and violence. The wicked are arrogant enough to pose as gods and to look down on their fellow human beings. A physical metaphor is used to convey to us that pride is common to the wicked and is taken for granted like the ‘wearing of a necklace’ (v. 6). Through this physical metaphor, we are told that the wicked are clothed in violence (smx, “violence, wrong, wrongdoing”). The metaphor suggests that their attitude and action were clearly visible to all.934 In vv. 7-8 the corporeal metaphors continue to appear. According to verse 7, the wicked are so fat that their eyes bulge out, while their hearts overflow with evil plans. They scoff at others and speak maliciously (v. 8). Their destructive words (‘mouth and tongue’) fill the entire space between heaven and earth (v. 9) and in so doing make the living space created by God, a place of terror.935 The consequences of the boastful and sharp

931 932 933 934 935

HALAT, 1105f; BDB 919f. LAKOFF – TURNER, More Than Cool Reason (n. 4), 7, 30, 52, 85, 97f. H. IRSIGLER, Vom Adamssohn zum Immanuel, ATS 58 (St. Ottilien 1997) 83 (71-100). J. E. SMITH, The Wisdom Literature and Psalms (Missouri 2007) 332. E. ZENGER, “Psalm 73”, 341.

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words of the wicked are the topic again in vv. 10-11. It appears to the speaker in Ps 73, as if everything is in favor of this ‘practical atheism’.936 Why do wicked flourish? Verses 13-17 begin with two more corporeal metaphors that make a statement about the pious poet’s life. V. 13a states that he has kept his heart pure, but it has been in vain. V. 13b continues that he has washed his hands in innocence. The suppliant of Ps 73 is aware of the fact that only by preserving his purity of heart (Ps 73,1.13) can he maintain his relation to God, and only then can he stand on firm ground (Rock) (Pss 73,15; 15,5c).937 Those who do not fulfill the condition of the purity of heart proceed on slippery, shaky ground (Ps 73,17-20). Despite the poet’s moral behavior, he is subjected to daily adversity and God punished him every morning (v. 14). This describes his negative experience. In contrast to the wicked, who have no concerns (as in verse 5), the righteous man experiences adversity as his daily lot. In other words God frequently chastises him.938 The righteous does not like to speak like the wicked of v. 15, because he does not wish to betray his ‘fellow believers’. Unlike the wicked, who with their verbosity have gathered an audience around them, the pious man knows that such behavior will amount to a betrayal of the ‘children of God’. The nomen regens describes (as in Pss 14,5; 24,6; 112,2) a fixed group (not in numbers, but in essence), characterized by their close relationship with God (‘children of God’. Cf. the description ‘children of Israel’ i.e. ‘Israel as the son of God’).939 We have in Isa 54,13 where Isaiah imagines for Israel that her children could become disciples of (those who are taught by - having a tongue of a disciple ~ydwml !wvl) the Lord (Children of Zion=Servants of the Lord [hwhy ydb[] - Isa 54,17ba; having the tongue of a teacher). Throughout the book, and indeed, the Bible, this is seen as the essence of a relationship with God. The consequence of becoming the disciples of the Lord is righteousness.940 They are the people with “pure hearts” (Ps 73,1.13), they are also the poor and those who suffer (vv. 13-14); according to v. 1 they are the ‘true Israel’, the children of God. This group is placed against the wicked in the psalm. In contrast to the wicked in v. 11, who deny that God has any knowledge of events on earth, the righteous come to a new understanding of God’s abode here on earth in his sanctuary (v. 17). The expression: “…I went into the sanctuary of 936 937 938 939 940

C. J. ADAM VOS, Theopoetry of the Psalms, 164. O. KEEL, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 126. E. GERSTENBERGER, Die Psalmen II, 71. E. ZENGER, “Psalm 73”, 342. J. OSWALT, The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 40-66 (Cambridge 1998) 428.

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God” could be understood in various ways: a) it could mean that the supplicant’s visit to the temple in Jerusalem which brought him new experience;941 b) it could mean that the supplicant belongs to the circle of Levitical temple singers, or was close to this group;942 The divine experience, which is expressed using cultic terminology (cf. e.g., ‘entered the sanctuary’ in v. 17, the allusion to the Levitic privilege of ‘I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand’ in v. 23 and the nearness of God and the refuge he represents, in v. 28);943 c) the supplicant’s visit to the temple is spoken of figuratively/metaphorically i.e., of having a mystical experience of God. Zenger944 interprets v. 17 by giving a metaphorical interpretation. According to him945 the expression ‘temple of God’ means the hallowed area of the temple, i.e., the place of God’s presence, around which the ‘community’ finds its centre.946 In the Psalter, the expression ‘temple’ is rich with metaphorical meaning. V. 17 could be understood metaphorically as reference to ‘places’ where God’s holiness is experienced. At the end of the psalm, God himself becomes the ‘place’, psalmist’s sanctuary or refuge (v. 28, cf. Ps 27). If the verse 17a is understood in metaphorical terms, the insight granted to the psalmist, that God always sides with the righteous, implies that ultimately, the wicked must fail (cf. 14,5; Ps 82). Vv. 18-20 concern the ‘end’ of the wicked as it was sounded in verse 17b. V. 18 makes a statement about the fall of the wicked and the subsequent two verses indicate the consequence. According to v. 2, the righteous almost stumbled on his/her/their path, when he/she/they saw the apparent prosperity of the wicked, but here, it is the wicked losing their grip on reality, because God places them in situations, which rob them of their sense of security. The same verb ttv (‘set’ - i.e., place or put), which the poet used in verse 9 to say that the wicked ‘set’ their mouths against the heavens, is now (in v. 18 [tyv]) used to tell us that God will place them on slippery ground. These people, who had been strutting around and boasting, are now distressed and paralyzed with fear (v. 19) and they will gradually fade away (v. 20). Vv. 21-26 are formed by an inclusion. The expression ‘my heart’ occurs in the first and last verses (vv. 21 and 26), which ties vv. 21-26 together. In v. 21, the poet uses the new familiar corporeal metaphor to describe a particular attitude. In OT, the heart and kidneys are the centers of reason, will and emo941 942

943 944 945 946

H. IRSIGLER, Vom Adamssohn zum Immanuel, ATS 58 (St. Ottilien 1997) 90-91. Cf. S. E. GILLINGHAM, “The Levitical Singers and the Editing of the Hebrew Psalter”, in E. Zenger (ed.), The Composition of the Book of Psalms, 91-123, who identifies the ‘pious’/‘poor and needy’ with Levitical Singers. E. ZENGER, “Psalm 73”, 336. E. ZENGER, “Psalm 73”, 345. E. ZENGER, “Psalm 73”, 245-246. E. ZENGER, “Psalm 73”, 245.

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tion.947 If the poet says that his heart is embittered and his kidneys irritated, he means that he is angry and upset. The beginning of Ps 73, “Only God is good to Israel”, in other words, in spite of everything that seems obvious to the majority of people, God alone is able to give Israel what is truly good for her. The resolution of the conflict is seen in v. 17.948 The choice to translate larfyl as “to Israel” is a significant decision, but the implications of this choice transcend mere grammatical concerns. If God is good only to the “upright”, then the psalm has limited application. It is Israel who is the recipient of God’s bwj. “Thus the ‘I’ of the psalm could be a representative of Israel. This initial verse directs the reader along two paths: “the subject of the psalm is in fact both the community and the individual”.949 It is perceived when the psalmist enters the sanctuary of God a great change happens. What does the psalmist see in the sanctuary? What led the psalmist to a new understanding of his/her faith and God’s ways? In the section vv. 23-26 a new realization and a new position on statement in v. 1 is found. It is not that the statement is incorrect, but rather a ‘new’ understanding of it has been perceived. Ps 73,1 is understood in the light of vv. 23-28. In contrast to the seeming shalom of the wicked, the psalmist realizes that all that one can indeed ‘have’ or ‘desire’ in heaven or on earth is the ‘nearness of the Lord’ (vv. 25-28). That is really shalom. A clue to this within the text is found at the start of v. 23. It begins with the Hebrew word ynaw (‘but as for me’), which is the same word as at the start of v. 2. The point of danger has been overturned and replaced by the new realization. The psalmist reinterprets v. 1 in terms of ‘nearness of God’ (v. 28) in the temple, rather than in terms of material or physical well-being. To underline the point the psalmist begins v. 28, the final verse, with the same word which began vv. 2 and 23, namely, ynaw (‘but as for me’). The new realization is made explicit at the end of the psalm.950 The new realization comes when the poet visits the sanctuary of God. God becomes the Rock of his heart during his sanctuary visit (when he enters into 947

948

949 950

J. H. WALTON, et al. (eds.), The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament (Downers Grove 2000) 177. Cf. J. C. MCCANN, “Ps 73: A Microcosm of Old Testament Theology”, in K. G. HOGLUND et al. (eds.), The Listening Heart: Essays in Wisdom and the Psalms in Honor of Roland E. Murphy, JSOTS 58 (Sheffield 1987) 247-258 esp. 250, who sees the whole of the section vv. 13-17 as the ‘turning point’ of the psalm especially v. 15. J. S. VASSAR, Recalling a Story Once Told, 73. Cf. H. N. WALLACE, Words to God, Word from God: The Psalms in the Prayer and Preaching of the Church (England 2005) 169.

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communion with him). There is a problem here: the Hebrew word for ‘sanctuary’ in v. 17 is plural (la-yvdqm) and not singular as the NRSV translation and others would suggest. The plural might refer to the parts of the sanctuary complex (cf. Ps 68,35[36]; Jer 51,51), or be understood metaphorically as a reference to ‘places’ where God’s holiness is experienced. It might also refer to either the ruined sanctuaries of the old northern kingdom, or various pagan temples. In these latter cases the experience is a negative one, observing what has or will happen to places where Yahweh is not worshipped. If the experience is understood positively then what happened is still unclear – perhaps some experience of enlightenment. This new ‘understanding’ (hnyba NRSV “I perceived”) contrasts with what the psalmist had ‘seen’ earlier (v. 3b).951 At this point Buber does not see a reference to the temple or even multiple sanctuaries at all, but understands v. 17 as speaking about the ‘sphere of God’s holiness, the holy mysteries of God’.952 It is not so much the specific location of the perception that is important, as the fact that it is a ‘place’ where God is encountered.953 And the ‘place’ is God himself. The psalmist who receives the solution to his problem in the ‘sanctuary’ does not involve an escape from reality of struggles. That is, when the psalmist questions why the innocent suffer and the wicked prosper, s/he does not simply retreat from the world to take refuge in the sanctuary where everything seems to be in order once again. Rather the psalmist gains another perspective on the truth of the situation perceived outside the sanctuary.954 The psalmist asserts that there is a reality in relation to faith that goes beyond any superficial association of circumstance with faithfulness. There is truth to be seen in the sanctuary that questions the so-called ‘reality’ of the world outside. Not all truth is to be gleaned from our experience of the world.955 The goodness of God for the psalmist is, in the end, not to be measured in terms of material well-being, but in terms of being near to God. However, it is not just worldly experience that leads to insight, neither is it just spiritual experience. Both have a part to play in the quest for truth and understanding as faith and experience come together.956

951 952 953 954 955 956

H. N. WALLACE, Psalms (Sheffield 2009) 125. M. BUBER, Right and Wrong: An Interpretation of some Psalms, 113. H. N. WALLACE, Words to God, Word from God, 169. H. N. WALLACE, Words to God, Word from God, 169. H. N. WALLACE, Words to God, Word from God, 170. M. E. TATE, Psalms 51-100, 238.

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4. Placement of Ps 73 Ps 73 is placed at the key position in the Psalter, beginning as it does the third book of the psalms, and in a telling way, the second half of the third book of the Psalter.957 Moreover, it is suggested that Ps 73,1 begins the second half of the Psalter with a brief reiteration of the torah piety of Ps 1.958 That is, v. 1 provides a promise and beginning point for the psalm, which in its totality moves away from torah piety (vv. 2-16) and then returns to it (vv. 18-28).959 Ps 73 not only begins Book III, but also helps shape the direction of the Psalter. As noted, it picks up words and themes from Pss 1-2 and develops the point of Ps 1,6, exploring how God watches over the righteous, and how the wicked perish when things seem to go so well for them. In one way Ps 73 is not a psalm of David, but in another, the tradition of David’s psalms continues. The development of earlier themes in the Psalter and similar language to earlier royal psalms, especially Pss 18; 20-21 and Ps 19, all maintain the connection. The common terminology includes ‘pure/clean (of heart/hands)’ (rrb; Pss 18,24[25].26[27]; 24,4; 73,1) and at God’s ‘right hand’ or lead by the ‘right hand’ (Pss 18,35[36]; 20.6[7]; 21,8[9]; 73,23). Especially the vocabulary of Ps 18 (db[, qdc, ~ymt, bbl rb, ~ypk yqn, ydy rbk, lwav, ~ymy, ~qm, vdq and xjb). Thus Pss 15-24 is not dissimilar from the vocabulary utilized in Ps 73, especially in vv. 18-28, which voices the faithful torah keeper. Thus the speaker may indeed be the Davidic torah keeper960. Ps 18 declares that God has recompensed the psalmist ‘according to the cleanness of his hands” (v. 24[25]) and sets forth the notion of recompense further in v. 26[27]. The king characterizes himself as ‘pure’. Ps 19,8[9] speaks again of Yahweh’s commandment as being ‘pure’ (hrb). The root rrb and its derivatives appear later only in Ps 73,1. Verse 1 of Ps 73 represents the first of six occurrences of the keyword bbl. The occurrence of the phrase bbl-rb, “pure in heart”, in v. 1 and the subsequent occurrences of “heart” in v. 7.13.21 and 26 (bis) suggest that a major purpose of Ps 73 is to maintain the “purity of heart”. V. 13 reads that the “purity of heart” is 957 958 959

960

W. BRUEGGEMANN, Bounded by Obedience and Praise, 63-92. W. BRUEGGEMANN, Bounded by Obedience and Praise, 82-88. P. D. MILLER, “Psalm 73as a Canonical Marker”, in Israelite Religion and Biblical Theology: Collected Essays, JSOTS 267 (Sheffield 2000) 298-309, here page 299. P. D. MILLER, “Psalm 73 as a Canonical Marker”, 301.

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the ethical behavior that the psalmist has maintained. This conclusion is confirmed by the occurrence of the phrase bbl-rb in Ps 24,4 and v. 4 serves as an answer to the question posed in v. 3: “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? Ps 24,4 stipulates that to enter into ‘God’s space’ one should have “clean hands and a pure heart”. Thus Ps 73 looks back to the first book of Psalms and especially the cluster of psalms (Pss 15-24) and more specifically, Psalms 18 and 19, where also the first appearance of “God as Rock” occurs. In Pss 15 and 24 the entrance into the sanctuary is for those who are “pure of heart’’ (bbl-rb) and clean of hands (~ypk yqn). The only place in the Psalter where these idioms reappear is in Ps 73 – bbl-rb in variant form ypk !wyqn also in v. 13. In this language, therefore, Ps 73 echoes principally Ps 18 and 24 and their suggestion of the king as keeper of Torah. In these psalms, the king is portrayed as under the authority of the law; this is evident in the placing of the royal psalms at significant points in the Psalter. The Deuteronomic tradition, according to Deut 17,14-20, certainly placed the king under the authority of the law, and the Levites were to read this law to the people (Deut 31,25-29). In Chronicles, too, it is always the Levites who are prominent in the royal reforms – of Rehoboam (2 Chron 11,13ff.), Joash (2 Chron 23,11ff.), Uzziah (2 Chron 26,17ff.) and of course Hezekiah (2 Chron 29,5ff.). So it is not surprising that Ps 2 has been placed after the Torah Ps 1, and Ps 19 is set between Pss 18; 20-21. If Ps 73 echoes Ps 18 then it is in place after Ps 72 which is not so much about royal status but how the king should be committed to pursuing justice and righteousness in the land. This shows that the interest in Torah is the expression of the Levites. Added to it, the liturgical headings (rwmzm) suggest Levitical influence.961 The examples are found in Asphites and Korahites collection (Pss 47; 48; 49; 50: 73; 75; 76; 80; 82; 83; 84; 85; 87; 88 all these use the liturgical heading rwmzm) which dominate Books II and III of the Psalter. Thus we hear the echoes of Ps 15-24’s claim that the one obedient to the Lord’s way, walking blamelessly and doing righteously, shall not be moved (cf. Ps 62,2[3]). In the image that Ps 73 gives of the righteous, is one nearly slipping (v. 2) and God setting the wicked in slippery places (v. 18). V. 2 is set against v. 26. The wicked are like a disturbing dream (v. 20), which terrifies for a moment, but, upon awakening, one dismisses the image, ~lc i.e., as something unsubstantial and not stable. On the contrary, the righteous, weak as his own knees, feels that, God is his Rock, and his portion forever. One who follows the torah does not slip, he is stable on a Rock. God himself becomes his Rock. The suppliant in 961

S. E. GILLINGHAM, “The Levitical Singers and the Editing of the Hebrew Psalter”, 108.

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Ps 73 still goes a step further to address God intimately as the “Rock of his heart” i.e., inner Zion within his own heart and not under his feet which is slippery ground (qlx). It is interesting to note that both the words “portion” and “slippery places” derive from the same Hebrew root √qlx. Thus the author of the psalm seems to be playing between these two words. Slippery places (twqlxb) are the lot of the wicked, but God is the portion (qlx) of the righteous. Ps 73 also picks up on Pss 42/43 at the beginning of Book II where David feels far from God. Others taunt him asking ‘Where is your God?’ (Ps 42,3[4].10[11]). In Ps 73, God’s goodness and nearness are explored in the light of the question ‘How can God know?’ (v. 11). In both Psalms God is refuge (Ps 43,2; 73,28) but while in Pss 42/43 God’s nearness will lead David to God’s dwelling (Ps 43,3-4), in Ps 73,17 the experience in the sanctuary leads him to a new understanding of God’s nearness as “Rock of his heart”. In the Asaph composition one perceives a crisis both individual and collective. And the core of this experience of the crisis is the question about the “place” and the “manner” of God’s presence in this world. The question “where is God” that runs through Ps 73, is answered clearly both in Ps 73 as well as in Ps 82: Ps 73 proclaims that God is on the side of the lowly/humble (cf. Ps 73,28). The perspective proclaimed here recurs fairly often in the Asaph composition. Hence, Ps 73 fits well into the context of the Asphite collection.962 However, the psalm was not created for this purpose alone, but was given this compositional position as an introduction to Pss 73-83. The psalms (Pss 74-83) that follow Ps 73 give additional meaning to Ps 73.963 The term “Israel” in v. 1 of Ps 73 is a universal term in so far as it is used of “Israel” as opposed to the ‘wicked nations’ that destroyed the temple and oppressed Israel. On the other hand it also represents a particular group in Israel reflected in the textual notes of BHS ({la rvyl – “upright”) which the second colon of the Ps 73 calls, “pure of heart”. This group refers to the poor and innocent masses suffering in the country, which the psalm addresses with the name, ‘Israel’. Both these meanings are presented in the following collection of Pss 74-83. In Ps 73,17 the psalmist speaks in terms of temple theology, upon entering the sanctuary he finds solution to the problems. Did the psalmist really enter the sanctuary of God (v. 17)? Zenger964 offers the following explanation: the way

962 963 964

K. SEYBOLD, Die Psalmen, 282. Cf. E. ZENGER, “Ps 73”, 353-354. E. ZENGER, “Ps 73”, 346-347.

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out of the dilemma for the ‘I’ in the psalm, leads to an encounter with God, which the supplicant describes in the language of temple theology. It is communicated to the supplicant (and outside of the temple), via a divine revelation, that the believer, who visits the temple in Jerusalem in search of a meeting with Yahweh, finds, in his presence, salvation from death. For, la-yvdqm represents the sphere of God’s holiness, of God’s presence, and the holy mysteries of God. It is God’s space: the Torah. It is in this sense that the expression “entering into his holy sanctuary’ is to be understood.965 Approaching this space in v. 17 brings a turning point for the psalmist and therefore for the psalm as well.966 The psalmist has passed through the temptation to become like the wicked (“If I had said, “I will talk on in this way” [v. 15])967 and remained true to ‘the generation of your children’. As Brueggemann concluded, “In the accustomed place of God’s presence, where Israel’s memory prevails and Israel’s hope resides, the speaker re-perceives reality”. 968 This is the reason why Ps 73 is placed before the destruction of the temple (Pss 74 and 79). If the expression ‘temple’ in the Psalter is understood in metaphorical terms,969 one can continue entering the sanctuary (‘God’s sphere’) even after the destruction of the temple. Temple is not something ‘out there’ but ‘in here’. God becomes so near to the psalmist, he is the “Rock of his heart”. Sanctuary becomes closer to one’s heart, not only closer it becomes the centre of life. Body is the container of the heart, but heart is the centre which gives life to the body. In other words, heart becomes the sanctuary of God. The upright is a group who form themselves around this ‘space of God’s presence’ and they often ‘enter into it’. For the upright God remains ever firm and near like a Rock of his heart, even during the time of the destruction of the temple. God’s rewarding the upright and punishing the wicked (Ps 73,17b-20.27) is also repeated at the end of the Aspah collection in Ps 83. Monotheistic perspective of Ps 73,25 is

965 966

967

968 969

Cf. E. ZENGER, “Ps 73”, 345. J. C. MCCANN, Jr., “Psalm 73: A Microcosm of Old Testament Theology”, in K. G. HOGLUND et al. (eds.), The Listening heart; Essays in Wisdom and the Psalms, JSOTS 58 (Sheffield 1987) 248 (247-257). The 3ms suffix wmk (lit.: ‘like him’) does not refer to the manner in which the enemies speak, but to the enemies themselves. Even though the enemies are plural in this psalm, it is common in Hebrew poetry for singular suffixed pronouns to refer to plural antecedents. In fact, later in Ps 73, a 3ms suffix and a 3mp suffix occur in the same verse, both referring back to the plural antecedent: ‘You set him in slippery places, you make them fall…’. W. BRUEGGEMANN, “Bounded by Obedience and Praise”, 208. E. ZENGER, “Der Psalter als Heiligtum”, 115-132.

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found also at the end of the collection in Ps 83,19. The nearness of God to the upright, humble is seen at both ends: Pss 73 and 83.970 This means the theme pronounced in the psalm 73 continues. This speaks of the key position of Ps 73 in the collection of Pss 74-76. There is a tension within the Ps 73: On the one hand the psalmist approves maintaining ‘purity of heart’ and on the other hand, the psalmist rejects the traditional understanding of the consequences of maintaining ‘purity of heart’ (vv. 1.28 as opposed to vv. 4-12), suggesting that the ‘pure in heart” or “Israel” are those who continue to obey, serve, and praise God even while stricken and troubled.971 In effect then, the innocent psalmist/‘righteous’ continue/s to suffer (Problemgedichte)972 and yet simultaneously celebrates “God as the Rock of his heart”. Or to put it in the words of Brueggemann, Ps 73 represents an attempt “both to legitimate structure and to embrace pain”.973 It is by “embracing pain” that Israel experiences the compassion of God, and makes that pain as a mode of conversation with God.974 There is a bipolar experience of faith of the psalmist in Ps 73. Since Ps 73 contains the tension that is central to the faith of the OT theology, it is a microcosm of OT theology.975 The bipolar tension between the God of retribution and the God of compassion, or between structure legitimation and embrace of pain, which will construct a truly biblical theology, appears in the metaphor of the Rock in Ps 73.

970 971 972 973

974 975

E. ZENGER, “Psalm 73”, 354. J. C. MCCANN, Jr., “Psalm 73: A Microcosm of Old Testament Theology”, 252. J. C. MCCANN, Jr., “Psalm 73: A Microcosm of Old Testament Theology”, 249. Cf. W. BRUEGGEMANN “Structure and Legitimation”, 28-46; Ibid., “Embrace of Pain”, CBQ 47 (1985) 395-415. W. BRUEGGEMANN, “Embrace of Pain”, 398. J. C. MCCANN, Jr., “Psalm 73: A Microcosm of Old Testament Theology”, 253.

PSALM 78,35 THEY REMEMBERED THAT GOD WAS THEIR ROCK A. Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre Psalm 78 is positioned exactly at the centre of the 11 psalms of Asaph (Pss 7383), of Book III. Its pivotal position is emphasized by the fact that the middle occurrence of the 7 instances of !wyl[ in these 11 Asaphite Psalms is to be found in Ps 78:35 (it occurs in Pss 73,11, 77,11, 78,17, 78,35, 78,56, 82,6, and 83,19)! It is intriguing to note that they are arranged in such a way that the middle instance falls precisely in the middle verse line of Ps 78,35 in which God is invoked as “Rock” and “Redeemer”. This psalm, the Psalter’s second longest, has didactic wisdom style like Proverbs 1-9, but is addressed to “my people” (ym[) instead of ‘my son” or “my sons”.976 The textual “I” that is the ‘speaker’ speaks with authority addressing the people as “my people’ (Ps 78,1), and hence calling their attention. He identifies this people soon after as Israel/Jacob, and joins himself to it as a “we” group when, in vv. 3 and 5, he speaks of “our ancestors” (wnytwba).977 This specific communicative situation (Kommunikationssituation) of the “I” speaker and “we” group first appears in Asaph psalms in the association of individual songs of lament in Pss 73 and 77 and lament songs of the people in Pss 74; (75); 79; 80; 83. Added to it, we find this in the community songs of lament themselves, which reveal both the “I” speaker and also “we” group, as for example in Pss 74,1 (“We”).12 (“I”); 75,1[2] (“We”).4[5].9[10] (“I”). One can recognize a specific feature of Asaph psalms as a group, without concluding any particular status of the speaker; whether as a king or wisdom teacher.978 This type of ‘communicative situation’ is presented in the beginning of the psalm (vv. 1-8). Later, one finds the use of the third person (Israel/Jacob). Important to notice in the psalm is: God is not addressed a single time. This psalm, then, is not a prayer but a narrative addressed to the nation.979 Taking into account the contents, this

976

977 978 979

Its opening is somewhat like that of Ps 49, except that this is addressed to “my people” (ym[), whereas Ps 49 is to “you people”. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Psalm 78”, 419. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Psalm 78”, 419. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Psalm 78”, 419-420.

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psalm falls under the category of historical psalms980 (the others are Pss 105; 106; 135; and 136; while many other psalms make historical references, none are as comprehensive as these five), a re-presentation of past events distilled through wisdom’s craft for the edification of God’s people. However, in genre, it has been called “a mixed of genres…legend, hymn, prophetic warning, and wisdom poem”.981 Others would call it as a wisdom poem.982 Many scholars maintain that Ps 78 relied on one or more of the Pentateuchal sources.983 Others deny that any such connection existed.984 M. Goulder argues that Ps 78 is the source of various traditions in the prose sources.985 Ps 78 describes itself as “a parable” and as “dark saying”, and states its goal quite clearly: to teach and call to mind the wonders that the Lord has done (v. 4). The opening verses set the tone for all that follows in the psalm. One notices the interest in history in all Asaph psalms (cf. Pss 74,13-18 [Exodus and Creation]; 75,3[4] [Creation]; 76,2f[3f.][Temple]; 77,13-20[14-21][Exodus]; 80,8-11[9-12][Exodus and inheritance of Land]; 81,5-10[6-11][Exodus]; 83,9-11[10-12][Early history of Israel’s]. The interest in history is greater in Ps 78 compared to other Asaph psalms because it collects the different events and stages of Israel’s history and presents them as a whole beginning from Egypt till the time of David. Psalm 78 is a psalm on which a wide variety of dates have been proposed, with everything from the tenth century BCE to the post-exilic period being suggested. Most probably, the psalm is a post-586 poem.986 It is a psalm of restoration – of comfort and hope in the belief that Judah, unlike Ephraim, will not be rejected forever.

980

981 982 983

984

985

986

Cf. C. WESTERMANN’S discussion of historical psalms in Praise and Lament in the Psalms, 214-49. Cf. also Mays’s comments on the historical nature of Ps 78 in Psalms, 254-255. H. GUNKEL, Die Psalmen, 342. EISSFELDT, The Old Testament: An Introduction (New York 1965) 125. A few scholars suggest that the psalmist relied on the completed Torah: H. GUNKEL and J. BEGRICH, Introduction to the Psalms: The Genres of Religious Lyric of Israel (Macon 1998) 248; N. FÜGLISTER, “Psalm LXXVIII: Der Rätsel Lösung?”, in Congress Volume: Leuven 1989 (Leiden 1991) 264-297. A. F. CAMPBELL, “Psalm 78: A Contribution to the Theology of Tenth Century Israel”, CBQ 41 (1979) 51-79; see also, p. 67, n. 46. M. GOULDER, The Psalms of Asaph and the Pentateuch Studies in the Psalter III, JSOTS 233 (1996) 107-130. A. BERLIN, “Psalms and the Literature of Exile: Psalms 137; 44; 69 and 78”, in The Book of Psalms: Composition and Reception, 78.

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Its structure has been variously outlined but a consensus has not emerged regarding its divisions. Hossfeld987 divides the psalm into seven strophes: vv. 1-2 as inaugural teaching; vv. 3-8 – the first strophe; [vv. 9-11, as an insertion]; the historical narrative proper begins with the story of the two water miracles in the desert in vv. 12-16 – the second strophe; vv. 17-31 – the third strophe, links Israel’s constant sin with the unexpected, miraculous feeding with manna and quails; vv. 32-39 – the fourth strophe, begins, similarly to its predecessors, with the depiction of the continuing sin of Israel, but then devotes itself not to a description of events, but to a depiction of the fate and behavior of Israel, as well as God’s astonishing reaction of mercy; [vv. 40-51, an insertion]; vv. 52-55 – the fifth strophe, really serves only the transition of the people (in a literal sense) and their establishment in the promised land; vv. 56-64 – sixth strophe begins again, like the third and fourth (cf. vv. 17.32); vv. 65-72 – the seventh strophe, then tells of the deeds of God, the Almighty; Israel and their sin no longer appear, except in the reflection of their rejection by God or as object of God’s election and in David’s work as shepherd. R. J. Clifford,988 noting the lack of consensus among commentators on the outline of the psalm’s literary structure, has given the psalm a rhetorical analysis with good results. His outline in summary form is as follows: vv. 1-11 – An Introduction; vv. 12-32 – The first recital (presentation of the Israel’s history in the wilderness); vv. 33-39 – reflective sequel on the results of the wilderness experiences; vv. 40-64 – The second recital (focuses on the wilderness and Israel’s inadequate response); vv. 65-72 – second sequel, describes the intervention of Yahweh and his choice of Zion and David. Kraus, in his theologically perceptive commentary, suggests that the psalm attempts to fit the traditions about the choice of Zion and David into the old sacred epic (Heilsgeschichte).989 The depiction in Ps 78 recognizes a “Local Progression”:990 Egypt (vv. 12.43.51) – Desert/Wilderness (vv. 15.17.19[40].52 – Land/Mountain (v.54) – Shiloh (v. 60) – Mount Zion (v. 68). Remaining closer 987 988

989 990

F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Psalm 78”, 432ff. R. J. CLIFFORD, “In Zion and David a New Beginning: An Interpretation of Ps 78”, in Traditions in Transformation, (ed., F. M. CROSS) (Winona Lake 1981) 121-141. H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen II, 548. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Psalm 78”, 421.

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to the structure presented by Hossfeld, we can divide the psalm according to its ‘Local Progression’: vv. 1-8 – Introduction; [vv. 9-11 – Insertion]; vv. 12-39 – Wilderness events, which begin with a recall of a great “wonder” done by God in Egypt; [vv. 40-51 – a great insertion]; vv. 52-55 – The safe leading out of his people from Egypt, guiding them through the wilderness, to be settled in his holy territory (Inheritance of the Land); vv. 56-64 – destruction of Shiloh; vv. 6572 - choice of Zion and David. In Ps 78 three important elements are to be taken into consideration: 1) The rejection of the Northern Kingdom and the election of the Southern Kingdom; 2) In the rejection of the Northern kingdom and the election of the Southern Kingdom there is evidence of a cultic-national purpose. The rejection is illustrated specifically by the fall of Shiloh and the people of the Northern Kingdom. The election of the Southern Kingdom is concretized in the election of Zion and the David as shepherd of his people; 3) The naming and description of David as shepherd inserts a special accent. After Ps 18,50[51], here in Ps 78 is the second naming of David within the body of the psalm (within the first three books). This is an important factor in the Davidizing of the Psalter and for the royal ideology that is present in the Psalms.991 B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 78,35 1. Text and Translation Psalm 78:32-39 wyt'Aal.p.nIB. Wnymia/h,-al{w> dA[-Waj.x' tazO-lk'B. 32 hl'h'B,B; ~t'Anv.W ~h,ymey> lb,h,B;-lk;y>w: 33 lae-Wrx]viw> Wbv'w> WhWvr"d>W ~g"r"h]-~ai 34 ~l'a]GO !Ayl.[, laew> ~r"Wc ~yhil{a/-yKi WrK.z>YIw: 35 Al-WbZ>k;y> ~n"Avl.biW ~h,ypiB. WhWTp;y>w: 36 AtyrIb.Bi Wnm.a,n< al{w> AM[i !Akn"-al{ ~B'liw> 37 APa; byvih'l. hB'r>hiw> tyxiv.y:-al{w> !wO[' rPek;y> ~Wxr: aWhw> 38 Atm'x]-lK' ry[iy"-al{w> bWvy" al{w> %leAh x:Wr hM'he rf'b'-yKi rKoz>YIw: 39 32 Despite all this, they kept on sinning, And did not trust in his wonders. 33 And so he ended their days in a breath, And their years in sudden calamity 34 True, when he was killing them they searched for him; 991

F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Psalm 78”, 290-291.

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They repented and looked diligently for God. They remembered that God was their Rock, and the Most High God was their Redeemer. 36 And they deceived him with their words, And with their tongues they lied to him. 37 Their heart was not steadfast with him, And they were not faithful to his covenant. 38 Yet he is compassionate; forgives their guilt, and does not destroy. And often he restrained his wrath, and did not arouse all his anger. 39 He remembered that they are flesh, a breath that goes forth and does not return.

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2. Close Reading of Ps 78,35 As mentioned while attempting a structure, verse 35 appears in wilderness events, which begins with a recall of a great “wonder” done by God in Egypt (vv. 12-39). Still narrowing down v. 35 appears in vv. 32-39 which contain a theological contemplation and a summary of the events. The narrator recalls that the response of the Israelites was not totally negative. But the description of the response to God’s punishments, which takes form in the search for God (rxv, vrd, v. 34) gains paradigmatic significance.992 The root vrd (“to seek”), can connote a prophetic seeking (cf. Ps 77,2[3]), whereas the infrequent rxv “to seek for/desire for” has a religious connotation (cf. Ps 63,1[2] and Prov 11,22).993 Ps 78,35 makes the search for God concrete. This search leads to remembering God’s being. The Israelites think of God, that is, they remember him and confess their faith (cf. the key word rkz “remember” in Ps 77,3[4].6[7].11[12]). The content of their confession encompasses three designations for God: “their Rock”; “the Most High God” (this designation points out to the abode of God in Jerusalem especially in Asaph Psalms); and “Redeemer” (cf. Ps 19,14[15]; and in the Asaph Psalms 74,2; 77,15[16] as the verb for the liberation from Egypt). Hence a number of characteristics mark v. 35 as a key verse for understanding the history and the theology of Ps 78: its use of the terminus technicus of the theology of history rkz (cf. vv. 39.42); the increased number of titles and epithets for God (“Rock”, “the Most High God”, “Redeemer”); and its position in almost 992

993

Cf. Isa 26,9; Hos 5,15; Job 8,5 or rather Deut 4,29; Jer 29,13; Amos 5,4.6; 1 Chr 28,9; 2 Chr 14,3; 15,2.12f; 17,4; 26,5; 31,21; 1QS I. 1f. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Psalm 78”, 436.

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exactly in the middle of the composition.994 The appropriate response to God’s historical deeds in history – not only in the recapitulated ancient and early history, but also the living history of the present – is a “remembering God” with one’s whole person (bl). The anthropological term used in v. 8 (wxwr, wbl) show that the orientation towards God, which is derived from history, concerns the whole person. In the confession God to be a “Rock” and “Redeemer”, the psalmist makes two points. First, these terms are a summary description of God’s historical actions at the time of the Exodus and the journey through the desert.995 Second, this theological description also corresponds to the term yk rkz, which introduces the basic anthropological characteristic found in v. 39 where the immortal God (v. 35) is contrasted to the limited human beings who can learn, but who are frail (vv. 36-37.39).996 According to Ps 78, the positive development of this relationship from the side of the human being is characterized by the terms “faith”, “trust”, “remembering”, and “transmitting”. The negative development of this relationship shows itself in “unbelief”, “mistrust”, “forgetting”, and tempting. Vv. 17 and 32 summarize this negative relationship with the term for “missing the mark” (ajx). If the theological perspective secures the knowledge and acknowledgment of God as the cornerstone (“Rock”) of life and one’s own survival (“Redeemer”) (v. 35), then the anthropological perspective secures the acknowledgement of (not a self-acknowledgement but God given) one’s own status as creature (v. 39). The two perspectives are based on a common conception: that human beings are historically related to God.997 He is their creator and redeemer. It is God’s two roles as creator and redeemer that are associated with ‘Rock’ metaphor.

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M. WITTE, “From Exodus to David - History and Historiography in Psalm 78” in Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature, Year Book 2006, N. CALDUCH-BENAGES and J. LIESEN (eds.), History and Identity, How Israel’s Later Authors Viewed Its Earlier History (Berlin – New York 2006) 32 (21-42). Cf. The usage of the term lag in context with the description of the Exodus in Pss 74,2; 77,15[16]; 106,10; 107,2. Cf. Ps 78,15 (~yrc) as well as the epithet rwc in Deut 32,4.30; Pss 18,2[3].31[32].46[47]; 19,14[15]; 28,1; 62,2[3].6[7]; 92,15[16]; 144,1; The personal names layrwc, rwcyla, ydvyrwc, rwchdp, all of which ascribe ‘rock’ elements to God, are ascribed by ‘P’ to Israelites in this period of wandering (Num 3,35; 1,5.6.10). Cf. M. Z. BRETTLER, God is King: Understanding an Israelite Metaphor (Sheffield 1989) 64. Compare vv. 36-37 with Isa 29,13 and Jer 12,2 and compare v. 39 with Job 7,7; Ps 103,14; 104,29 and Isa 40,6-8. M. WITTE, “From Exodus to David - History and Historiography in Psalm 78”, 32.

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Both in Pss 78 and 19, rwc (“Rock”) and lag (“Redeemer”) are used as parallel terms.998 This use cannot be understood apart from the two uses of the word rwc that refers to the physical rwc: The most frequent context for first-order references to a rwc, with ten instances, is that of the rwc as a surprising source of life-giving liquids, usually water, provided by God to care for God’s needy people999 (cf. Exod 17,3-7). “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rwc at Horeb; and you shall strike the rwc, and water shall come out of it, that the people may drink” (v. 6).1000 According to the account in Exodus, the rwc that produced the life-saving water was part of God’s holy mountain, here called Horeb. Rock as a source of life we have also in Deut 8,11-16; “…who brought you water out of the flinty rwc” (vymlxh rwcm) (v. 15). Ps 78,15-20 speaks of the struggle between God and Israel as they formed a relationship during the years of their wanderings in the wilderness.1001 In other passages, the supernatural flow of water appears in the context of more positive references to the relationship between God and his people (cf. Ps 105,37-45; Isa 48,20-21; Ps 114,1-8). In these three passages, the rwc that flows with miraculous water is not a place of testing, for God or for Israel, but a ‘place’ (~wqm) where God exercises the divine power on behalf of Israel. And that ‘place’ is God himself. A final group of related passages echoes the miraculous provision of water from the rwc with a divinely-provided flow of sustaining honey and oil from the rwc (Deut 32,1-13; Ps 81,13-16[14-17]; Job 29,2-6). The rwc that is referred to in these above passages demonstrates the qualities of a physical rwc, since the point that is being made concerns God’s ability to provide sustenance from a material that is ordinarily hard, impermeable and barren. We may, from our 21st century perspective, wish to think about porous limestone and springs in the desert, but for the biblical authors the point was precisely that this flow of water (honey or oil) from the rwc was not natural, but rather a demonstration of divine power and love. One function of this image in the conceptual scheme of Israel’s theology is equally obvious. A God who can provide life-giving water out of the very substance whose barrenness makes the desert a place of death is a God who is

998 999

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For a discussion please cf. the preceding pages on Ps 19,14[15]. This motif is explored thoroughly by W. H. PROPP, Water in The Wilderness: A Biblical Motif and its Mythological Background, Harvard Semitic Monogrpahs, 40 (Atlanta 1987). In the parallel passage, Num 20,2-13, the source of water is called [ls rather than rwc. A number of indications that Ps 78 reflects the language of the accounts in the Pentateuch are noted by E. L. GREENSTEIN “Mixing Memory and Design: Reading Ps 78”, Prooftexts 10/2 (1990) 204-207 (197-218).

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indeed powerful.1002 A God who provides such water for the people that He has led into that wilderness is a God who cares. A rwc that provides such water is a steadfast - rwc, life-giving rwc. Ps 78 recalls the theophany connected with the water from the rock. “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it” (Exod 17,6). The midrashic comment of the Mekhilta de Rabbi Ismael suggests this: “God said to him [Moses]: In every place in which you find the imprint(s) of man’s legs, there I am before you”.1003 What Mekhilta appears to imply is that God’s image can leave a physical – humanlike – imprint in or on a rock. How can one compromise between such conflicted notions as the physical presence of God in or on a rock, on the one hand, and the notion of the alleged incorporeality of God on the other? Is the rock and mountain only a dwelling place of God, or is it identical with them? It makes sense to worship a rock as numinous place when it was believed actually to contain an aspect of divine essence or representation. When spoken to (Num 20,7ff) or beaten with the magical staff of Moses (Exod 17,7), a divine rock could even render drinking water. When that rock was not properly handled, God himself was virtually desecrated, and the people involved – in this case, Moses and Aaron – were severely punished. In other words, when that “Rock” was not remembered, God himself was not remembered. “The law prohibiting the making and worshiping of cultic images in all likelihood received its special status already in the various forms of Pentateuchal religion, and particularly in its Deuteronomistic sections. Jeshurun is accused of having scoffed at the Rock of his salvation (Deut 32,15), and Israel is accused of being unmindful of the Rock that fathered them (Deut 32,18). However, many people in the ancient world shared the opposite belief that, “theologically” speaking, there was nothing wrong with the presence of a divine essence in certain material objects (for e.g., cf. Exod 32,4.8)1004 Any theophany in nature implied a physical presence of God in a specific location. Evidently, this led to the consecration of sacred places (Gen 28,10ff). Most scriptural writers were aiming at establishing a different image of God, one that was conceived of as physically dwelling in the sanctuary or temple or in inanimate objects like rock. Although, God could 1002

1003 1004

Cf. T. N. D. METTINGER, In Search of God: The Meaning and Message of the Everlasting Names (Philadelphia 1988) 76-77. For a discussion of the similar benefits that result from Baal’s vanquishing of Mot in Ugaritic mythology. Cf. M. S. SMITH, The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel (San Francisco 1990) 52-53. HUROWITZ and RABIN, Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael, 175. I. GRUENWALD, “God the “Stone/Rock”, 442.

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not be contained in a small place or object (1 King 8,27), something of the divine essence could be experienced spatially (Exod 40,34-35). Ps 78 recalls the presence of God on and in the rock. Thus rock is not only ‘a place by me’ (yta ~wqm - Exod 33,21) but also a ‘life-giving’ and ‘life-nourishing’ place with water. So the speaker in this poem (Ps 78) uses the events of the exodus and wandering period as an exercise in memory for the purpose of “transforming the future”.1005 The psalm is retelling of the early history of Israel. Each exercise in memory begins with a reference to the people’s “forgetting” (v. 11) or “not remembering” (v. 42) what God did in Egypt/Plain of Zoan. V. 35, which contains the references to God as rwc and lag, begins a section of the poem that returns to the theme of “remembering”, which is the theme of the poem. In v. 35, the people “remember” God, specifically that God is their Rock (rwc), God Most High (!wyl[ la) their Redeemer (lag). rwc and lag is used in parallel term in this verse as in Ps 19,14[15].1006 In this context, where “remembering” is the key to understanding the poem, one finds it impossible to consider the use of the word rwc to refer to God in this verse as entirely distinct from the uses of the word rwc in speaking of the site and nature of God’s mighty demonstrations of power in vv. 15 and 20. rwc may suggest one of a number of appellations for God available to the composers of the biblical texts to use as they felt appropriate, appellations, such as El and Yahweh, that have no inherent content and can therefore be used in almost any situation. However, the psalmist of this poem is calling on his people to “remember” material with which they are (or should be) familiar with, material that is normative, and some of that material may include texts that refer to God as rwc in contexts that do provide a source domain for the appellation. When Israel “remembers” that God is their rwc in Ps 78,35, we can see a number of qualities of that rwc that might be implicit in this particular use of the word. The rwc is certainly the warrior/refuge – rwc, who tamed the powers of chaos at creation and fructified the earth by domesticating the watery enemy and providing the water of life in both abundance and moderation (Ps 78,12-20). The rwc is also the creator/parent – rwc, who adopted Israel (and David) to be God’s son (Deut 32,10.18; Ps 89,26[27]; cf Ps 78,67-72), who feeds even a rebellious Israel lavishly (Deut 32,13-14; Ps 78,23-29), and who remains faithful to the

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E. L. GREENSTEIN “Mixing Memory and Design: Reading Ps 78”, 209. Cf. Ps 19 in the dissertation. The two terms, ‘Rock’ and ‘Redeemer’ are already discussed.

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covenant with Israel (or David). In this context, the rwc that Israel “remembers” in Ps 78,35 may even be, in a metaphorical sense, the rwc from which the water flowed in vv. 15 and 20. The ‘provider-God’, in other words, may be referred to in terms of the ‘provider – rwc’: faithless, forgetful Israel “remembered” that their very life, symbolized by the life-giving water provided in the wilderness, flowed from God. These various understandings of the word rwc as used in Ps 78,35 are by no means mutually exclusive, but are far more likely to have all been inherent in the content domain of the word as heard by the speaker’s audience. It is this multivalent use of the word rwc that appears here as a parallel term to the word lag. God is understood to be Israel’s lag, the one responsible for “buying back” Israel out of slavery. This imagery is used of God’s saving activity of “redeeming” both in the past (Ps 78,35; Exod 15,13) and in the future (Isa 44,24-28). The God who is understood to be Israel’s lag is also the God called rwc, whose relationship with Israel (and/or with Israel’s king as representative of the people) is a kinship relationship, the relationship of parent (either adoptive or natural) and child. The relationship between parents and children is so strong that they should neither desert nor forget each other. Yahweh does not forget what he has fathered and Israel should not desert “the Rock who fathered” them. The parent-child metaphor underlines the strong bond between Yahweh and Israel.1007 Being a mother/father implies to ‘remember’ your children. So also being a child (son or daughter) implies to ‘remember’ his/her father/mother. This is the meaning of the key word ‘remembering’ the Rock in Ps 78. The relationship between Israel and Israel’s rwc – God called lag, is thus a kinship relationship, possibly connected with the understanding of God as Israel’s divine parent, the parent – rwc who, in Deut 32,1-43, as well as in Ps 78, not only “redeemed”, but also provided life-giving nourishment for God’s “recovered” property (“redeemed” or “recovered” lag, cf. Lev 27,13ff.), the people of Israel. It is God as creator and God as savior; and these two roles are both associated with the ‘rock’ metaphor. Two important ways of describing God in the Old Testament, i.e., God as the saving God who acts in history and God as the creating and blessing God, are here co-ordinated.1008 There is a crossfading (Überblendung) between two images in the psalm. ‘Rock’ is at the centre 1007

1008

For a similar case see, Isa 49,14-15, where Israel accuses Yahweh of having forgotten his people and Yahweh in his answer to Zion compares himself with a mother who will never forget her baby. C. WESTERMANN, Theologie des Alten Testaments in Grundzügen, GAT 6 (Göttingen2 1985) 25-27.

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of the chaos threatening Creation, and ‘redeemer’ is at the centre of the enslaving forces of history.1009 3. Reading of Ps 78,35 in Context In Ps 78 “the psalmist…sets a model of remembering by engaging himself in a sophisticated exercise of memory”.1010 The psalm, as Greenstein reads it, is itself “a process of remembering”, using two rhetorical strategies. First, the language of the original story of the exodus where desert wandering is evoked.1011 Second, after evoking memory explicitly with the verb rkz (vv. 35.39.42), the chronological flow of the psalm is interrupted and the psalm moves backward to the “plagues” against the Egyptians by whose power God freed Israel. At the moment the psalmist praises memory as a positive theme, using the term rwkz three times in succession, he exemplifies his theme through a rhetorical act of remembering”.1012 In Ps 78 we have some indication that those who recounted history in ancient Israel were not merely intent on shaping the past to serve the present functions, but were consciously aware of the psychological effect of what they were doing, deliberately intent on evoking memory in the minds of their readers.1013 In other words the psalmist practices memory, not to “represent”1014 the past history, but to prompt the kind of remembrance that leads to change. In composing his message, the psalmist recounts events in Israel’s common national history: the exodus, the wilderness experience, the settlement in Canaan, the destruction of the Shiloh shrine (by Philistines), and the founding of the temple site (in Jerusalem). In other words, in two large sections, the psalm outlines the ancient history of Israel and Judah in macro textual dependence on the books of Exodus through II Samuel, from the departure out of Egypt until the foundation of David’s kingdom in Judah. The epoch between the Exodus

1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014

C. J. ADAM VOS, Theopoetry of the Psalms, 113. E. L. GREENSTEIN, “Mixing Memory and Design: Reading Psalm 78”, 201. E. L. GREENSTEIN, “Mixing Memory and Design: Reading Psalm 78”, 204-208. E. L. GREENSTEIN, “Mixing Memory and Design: Reading Psalm 78”, 209. M. CARASIK, Theologies of the Mind in Biblical Israel, SBL 85 (New York 2006) 85. The German terms, Vergegenwärtigung and vergegenwärtigen, are used by Westermann as technical terms and are translated here as “re-presentation” and “to ‘represent’” following common practice. The German words carry both the notion of “presenting to the mind” and “actualizing or making relevant to the present”, for which no single English word is a happy translation. Cf. C. WESTERMANN, Praise and Lament in the Psalms, 214.

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and the “Eisodus” is seen as the foundation period of God’s people.1015 This time period focuses on the construction of the temple in Jerusalem and the commissioning of David as the Shepherd of Israel. The time-window therefore is from “Egypt up to Jerusalem”. In keeping with this concept of time, the Psalm, in its final stanza, introduces the motif of the everlasting sanctuary, which traditionally derives from the Jerusalem temple theology.1016 Ps 78 seems to be full with “metaphorical landscapes” (or “local progression”). Landscape metaphors, play an important role in the process of reading the Psalms, as the author presents to the reader a visualized scenery where the events described (or implied) are taking place. These metaphorical landscapes represent either wellbeing, or distress. In Ps 78 the events of history are qualified as miracles, and human reaction to them as either faith or sin, remembrance or forgetfulness. i) In the introduction/prologue (vv. 1-11)1017 the speaker recalls the infidelity and failures of Israel’s history with Yahweh. The psalmist, speaking in the first person singular, addresses his ‘people’ (ym[), classifying his speech as an instruction (ytrwt) (v. 2), and thereby establishes a community of communication.1018 The terms used in vv. 1-2 are essentially derived from the Old Testament wisdom and mark the speaker as a teacher of wisdom.1019 The opening of Ps 78, finally, touches upon the introduction of the Song of Moses in Deut 31,30-32,1. The pointed way he addresses his own people in Ps 78,1 can be understood as a deliberate allusion to Moses’ speech “in the assembly” (Deut 31,30). The sapiential speaker of Ps 78 thereby clothes himself with Moses’ mantel (cf. Sir 45,5e-f).1020 Even for that matter by remembering one of the known designations of God as Rock, the poet also recalls the song of Moses. By passing on the Torah and the deeds of God (vv. 4b-5a), the individual places himself in the line

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M. WITTE, “From Exodus to David - History and Historiography in Psalm 78” in Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature, Year Book 2006, N. CALDUCH-BENAGES and J. LIESEN (eds.), History and Identity, How Israel’s Later Authors Viewed Its Earlier History (Berlin – New York 2006) 22 (21-42). Cf. Ps 24,1f; 87,1 and with it H. SPIECKERMANN, Heilsgegenwart: Eine Theologie der Psalmen, FRLANT 148 (Göttingen 1989) 133-150. Vv. 9-11 as an addition with the prologue, interrupt the original connection between vv. 1-8 and vv. 12-39. Cf. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Ps 78”, 434. M. WITTE, “From Exodus to David - History and Historiography in Psalm 78”, 25. Cf. Prov 1,5f.; 3,1; 4,2; 5,1f.7; 7,2.24; 8,4-9; Sir 38,34-39. Cf. R. J. CLIFFORD, “In Zion and David a New Beginning: An Interpretation of Ps 78”, 130f.

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of a multitude of transmitters and wise men and he thus enters into Moses’ inheritance. The prologue also emphasizes the aspect of transmission of the foundational experiences of God from one generation to the other, always with the goal of establishing a new trust in God (lsk, v. 7a, cf. v. 22 xjb). The ideal people of God are characterized as a narrating and remembering community,1021 which depending on its behavior with respect to God’s mighty acts and God’s Torah, is qualified as either a recalcitrant or faithful generation. ii) God’s action towards Israel during the Exodus out of Egypt, and into the desert: (vv. 12-39): Metaphorical landscapes begin from Egypt which we find in the second half of v. 12 “in the land of Egypt, the plain of Zoan” this site is repeated in v. 43a “...in the land of Egypt …in the plain of Zoan”. Vv. 12-39 occupy themselves with exodus and wilderness events. Vv. 12-32 is a representation of Israel’s history in the wilderness, which is followed by a reflective sequel in vv. 33-39. The historical sequence in vv. 12-39 sums up God’s action towards Israel, or rather towards the fathers of Israel in Egypt, during the Exodus out of Egypt, and into the desert. It recapitulates God’s actions by using again the basic qualification of God’s historical actions as “miracles” (alp, cf. v. 4; LXX qauma,sia). The section is heavily dependent on Exod 13-17 and Num 11 and 20.1022 The miracle of the sea appears as God’s primary miracle (v. 13). The cosmological stylizing of the first historical reminiscence in Ps 78 corresponds to the outlook of the theology of creation that is found in the last stanza of the psalm (vv. 67-72).1023 This last stanza compares the foundation of the sanctuary on Zion with the foundations of the earth (v. 69; cf. Ps 24,2; 89,11[12]; 93,1-2). The recollection of the miraculous guidance of God’s people (v. 14) follows that of the miracle of the sea. The “leading” ([sn) is presented as the epitome of the relationship between God and his people (v. 52; and Ps 77,20[21] (hxn). This motif also has its contrast in the last stanza of the psalm, where the last words state that David shepherded and led (hxn) the people of God with piety and wisdom (v. 72). The use of the description, !wyl[, to describe God, points to the significance of v. 17. The designation !wyl[ is a potential pointer to the Zion tradition.1024 The term “Mount Zion” (!wyc rh – v. 68) refers to Temple liturgy in pre-exilic and in post-exilic times,1025 and the “Most High God” (!wyl[ la – v. 35;

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M. WITTE, “From Exodus to David - History and Historiography in Psalm 78”, 27. Compare v. 12 with Exod 15,11; v. 13 with Exod 14,16.21f; 15,8; v. 14 with Exod 13,21; v. 15 with Exod 17,6; and v. 16 with Num 20,8ff. M. WITTE, “From Exodus to David - History and Historiography in Psalm 78”, 31. R. S. HESS and G. J. WENHAM (eds.), Zion, City of our God (Cambridge 1999) 82. S. E. GILLINGHAM, “The Levitical Singers and the Editing of the Psalter”, 92.

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!wyl[ ~yhla - v. 56,1026 commonly associated with the ancient city of the Jebusites, now Jerusalem: this occurs frequently in psalms containing Temple markers (Pss 73,11; 77,10). This designation of God belongs to the so called ‘monarchic theology’ and comes from the Jerusalem Cult.1027 This term is used more than once (vv. 17.35.56) within the psalm particularly in the theologically central position of v. 35. By so strongly emphasizing that the generation of the Exodus and the desert has continuously failed to serve God (wl-ajxl dw[ wpyswyw) (v. 17), the speaker of the psalm links this part of the psalm back to the negative behaviors of the fathers in the prologue (cf. vv. 7b-8). At the same time, the speaker connects this verse to the contemporary audience he addresses. The admonition in the prologue not to forget God’s deeds (vv. 7-8) is thus also widened in view of the present and the future, admonishing them, too, not to oppose God (hrm Hiphil, v. 17, cf. vv. 40.56). Verses 40-64, also focus on the wilderness event and Israel’s inadequate response to the signs and wonders that Yahweh did in Egypt. The speaker recounts the wilderness experience of Israel, trapped in a desert without any water. Wilderness is depicted as a landscape, as soil lacking water, a waste land, a land of thirst. On a closer examination, the metaphorical expressions in vv. 15 and 16 “cleft rocks in the wilderness” and “He made streams come out of the rocks”, focuses on thirst as a way of describing a state of lacking and longing (cf. and the motif of table in v. 19; the food metaphor in v. 20 (water, bread and meat); in v. 24 (manna and grain). God becomes almost the host of his guests (people)1028 in the wilderness as against the question; “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?” (v. 19b). The ‘table motif’ is a “Real Symbol of God’s proximity/nearness” (“Realsymbol der Gottesnähe”).1029 No doubt, the main theme of this recounting the history is human longing for the deity, a deity whom it is possible to encounter in the sanctuary in Zion (vv. 68-69). Within the history projected in the wilderness event, then, the Mount Zion can arguably be 1026

1027 1028

1029

“Most High” !wyl[ - Ps 78,17, occurs entirely on its own (cf. also Pss 9,2[3]; 82,6); although !wyl[ as a term for the God of Jerusalem must have been interpreted as a Zion allusion by the editors, the term must be treated with caution. Cf. KRAUS, Theologie der Psalmen, 27f. Generally people come to God in the temple with food offerings, it is now God who sets a table in the wilderness and becomes the host. It is a sign of God’s nearness. Cf. also, P. RIEDE, “Du bereitest vor mir einen Tisch”, zum Tischmotiv in den Psalmen 23 und 69”, in Metaphors in the Psalms, 217-234. Cf. B. JANOWSKI, Konfliktgespräche mit Gott: Eine Anthropologie der Psalmen (Neukirchen-Vluyn 2003) (Anm. 14) 311. Cf. also, P. RIEDE, “Du bereitest vor mir einen Tisch”, zum Tischmotiv in den Psalmen 23 und 69”, 225.

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seen as an oasis. For, their temple was founded on Mount Zion, the Rock. But it should be noticed that the ‘nature motif’ (landscape metaphors) are dropped in the concluding section of the psalm and replaced by the shepherd and sheep metaphor (vv. 70-71). Hence the ‘motif of Host’ (v. 19) in the wilderness is connected with the ‘motif of Shepherd’ (vv. 52f. 71-72) towards the end. This is just the opposite of what happens in Ps 23, where at the end the shepherd sheep metaphor is abandoned, the verdant landscape is replaced by indoor scenery: a banquet (Ps 23,5). Clearly, the psalmist (Ps 23) prefers to be indoors, in the house of God, forever (Ps 23,6). Generally speaking, the metaphorical landscapes in the Psalter tend to be rather barren and desolate. In the wilderness, rocks and mountains dominate the scenery. Especially in landscapes associated with the good life aspired by the supplicant, one may expect to come across rocks and streams, mountains and fountains. How could this be explained? Both phenomena (water and rocks/mountains) are closely connected to conceptions of divine presence and protection. Without water, life is endangered. Hence, water/food/table metaphors are often used to describe Yahweh’s life-supporting agency (cf also, Pss 1,3; 23,2; 36,8-9[9-10]; 42,1[2]). And the Rock can be a metaphor not only for a life in security (e.g., Ps 27,5; 40,2[3]), but also for Yahweh as the savior of the individual (cf. Ps 18,2[3].31[32].46[47]; 19,14[15]; 28,1; 62,2[3].6-7[7-8]; 73,26), who even can set a table in the wilderness and be the host for his people (Ps 78,19b). Ps 78 connects the theme of water from the rock in the wilderness with God as Rock. Vv. 15 and 16 recount the bringing of water from the rock – the other major use of “Rock” in the Psalms. Later Ps 78,35 the people remember that “God was their Rock and their Redeemer”. God as Rock is the rock in the wilderness. Ecologically interpreting the earth metaphor of the Rock: God is in the earth and redemption comes through the earth not from heaven.1030 Vv. 4051 are additions where the plagues are described as miraculous. The plagues too are understood, above all, as mighty acts of Israel’s God. iii. Territory/Mountain (vv. 52-58) – Giving of the Land (vv. 54-55) and Settlement in the Land (vv. 57-58): The climatic act of God among those acts which the Israelites “did not remember” is set forth in vv. 52-55: the safe leading out of his people from Egypt, guiding them through the wilderness, to be settled in his holy territory (v. 55). The guidance through the wilderness aims at 1030

A. WALKER-JONES, “Honey from the Rock”, 97.

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the guidance of God’s people (~[, v. 52) in to the Promised Land and towards God’s mountain. We can anticipate that, by “God’s mountain”, Zion is meant,1031 as in Exod 15,17 (Bringing and planting on the mountain of your own possession) (v. 54, cf. Ps 74,2).1032 The instrument for taking possession of the hill country is God’s right hand (cf. Ps 77,10[11]). V. 55 transforms the Deuteronomistic concept of taking possession of the land by driving out the original inhabitants (cf. first Exod 34,11, than Ex 23, 29f.; 33,2; Deut [6,10-12; 7,1-5]; 33,27) and reports the distribution of the inherited land by lot (cf. Ps 16,6; Deut 32,9). From now on Israel is regarded as people of God and his inheritance.1033 However, the saving work of God was matched by the incessant rebellion of the Israelites (vv. 56-58). They “tested” God (hsn, note the verb in v. 18.41, and in Ps 106,14) and “rebelled” against him (note “rebellious” in v. 8, and the verb in vv. 17.40; cf. Pss 106,7.33.43.; 107.11). They were guilty of apostasy and faithless behavior (v. 57). Israel’s behavior is described by words such as “temptation”, rebellion” and “disobedience against God’s commandments” (v. 56), which provoked God to furious anger (vv. 58-59). The result was the destruction of the sanctuary at Shiloh and the severe punishment of the people (vv. 60-64). iv. Shiloh: (vv. 59-64): Verse 59 demonstrates God’s reaction to the cult of the high places and worship of idols in v. 58. V. 59b speaks of the total rejection of Israel and thus stands out, as an intensification, from v. 67, for in the latter it is a matter only of the rejection of a part of Israel. After vv. 21.31 and 49a-b this is the fourth time that a wrathful reaction of God is added. On the whole, at the level of the final text one gets the impression that God reacts immediately to every sin of Israel (and Egypt), in total contrast to the depiction in the basic psalm, which speaks of divine wrath for the first time in v. 38. It does so in such a way that its remarks show that God would have had just reason for wrath, but chose to turn away from wrath and to spare. Only toward the end of the narrative does wrath break forth, against the generations of the children in the land after their cult of the high places and worship of idols, but even then in the restrained manner of v. 62. Thus on the whole the psalm speaks of a wrath at first restrained but finally breaking forth, which is God’s last resort.1034 The ancient sanctuary of the Northern Kingdom in Shiloh, lost in the war with the Philistines, is rejected by God. God’s punishment is seen in the surrender of his 1031

1032

1033 1034

Cf. R. J. CLIFFORD, “In Zion and David a New Beginning: An Interpretation of Ps 78”, 135. He argues that the mountain of v. 54 was not Mount Zion. H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen, 710. R. J. CLIFFORD, “In Zion and David a New Beginning: An Interpretation of Ps 78”, argues that the mountain of v. 54 was not mount Zion. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Ps. 78”, 438. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Ps 78”, 289.

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sanctuary (!kvm) in Shiloh (v. 60),1035 and in the abandonment of his own people (vv. 60-64). The loss of Shiloh was a theological problem for Israel, since the ark was the sign of God’s presence with his people. Vv. 62-64 describe the fall of the Northern Kingdom, while v. 65 reports a change in the attitude of God, or the Almighty, that begins to take concrete shape in v. 66. After his rage and punishment he once again takes Israel’s part and conquers the enemies. This could be a reference to the events around 701 B.C.E.1036 Hence, God returns to his people and delivers them from their enemies. He rejects the North, which has been the more rebellious part of the nation, but he establishes an even more glorious relationship with the south by giving them David as his chosen king. From v. 67 onward comes the theological interpretation, naming God’s remaining elect: Judah, Zion and David. More than the question of rejection and acceptance, here the issue is of the location of Yahweh’s chosen sanctuary and his establishment of the Davidic kingship. v. Zion/David: (vv. 65-72): The rejection of Joseph and Ephraim (vv. 67-72) is associated with the election of Judah, Zion, and David. Care for Israel, or Jacob, is entrusted to the Judahite David. If the election of Judah is the obverse of the rejection of Joseph/Ephraim, the election of Mount Zion and the Temple in vv. 68-69 is the positive counterpart to the rejection of Shiloh in v. 60. The building of the Temple induces an idea of stability that the psalmist requires for the election of David. Judah, Zion, and David are the enduring constants of the election. In God’s love for Mount Zion we have a glimpse of emotionally laden Zion piety (Pss 47,4[5]; 87,2). The sanctuary of Ps 74,3.7 (vdqm, vdqb) and 73,17 (layvdqm) that lay in ruins and ashes, is rebuilt forever in 78,69 (wvdqm). Mount Zion of Ps 74,2 (!wyc-rh), wherein God dwelt, is also restored in Ps 78,68 (!wyc-rh). Therefore, the final strophe of Ps 78 (vv. 65-72) is more than a rehearsing of God’s covenant with David, but rather becomes the pledge of an eventual restoration of Zion which now lies in ruins and of another shepherd like David. With the psalmist’s Deuteronomistic language and the above considerations regarding the theologoumenon of the rejection of the Northern Kingdom, it seems possible to locate the psalm in the phase of restoration in the late-exilic to post-exilic period (cf. Ezek Chs. 40-48; esp. Ezek 43,7 and Hag 2,1-9).1037 God’s merciful reaction can be seen in his choosing Zion as the permanent place for the sanctuary (vdqm, v. 69) and in his choice of David as the shepherd of God’s people (~[, v. 71). With this, the first part of the formula of mercy in v. 38 (tyxvy-

1035 1036 1037

Cf. Josh 18,1.8.10; 19,51; 22,9-12; Judg 19,31; 1 Sam 1,3; 3,21; 4,3; Jer 7,12.14; 26,6.9. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Ps 78”, 292. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Ps 78”, 292.

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alw !w[ rpky ~wxr awhw) is made more precise. The motif of the angry God was expressed in the formula of mercy in v. 38b with the negative term from the theology of history, sam (“to reject/to refuse”) (v. 59, cf. 67). ‘He chose (rxbyw) his servant David’ (v. 70, the next verse after 66) suggested ‘He rejected…he did not choose (rxb) the tribe of Ephraim, but he chose (rxbyw) the tribe of Judah. God chooses Zion and David, and rejects Joseph and Ephraim, in the language reminiscent of 1 Sam 15,26-28 and 16,1-13. There, God rejects (sam) Saul, a man of non-Judahite origins, and chooses (rxb) David in order to start anew. Ps 78,54, he brought them to his holy place (wvdq lwbg), to the mountain (rh) that his right hand had won, suggested the mount (rh) Zion which he loved, and he built his sanctuary (wvdqm). The motif of the God (v. 38a) who has mercy and brings about reconciliation (rpk) is now described with rxb (“to choose”) (vv. 68-69). Ps 78 carries its resumé of Israel’s history up to David (vv. 65ff.), and presents him as the chosen (rxb) servant of Yahweh (v. 70), whom God establishes as shepherd of his people (v. 72; cf. 2 Sam 7,8). The choice of David is connected with the choice of Judah and of Mount Zion (again using the verb rxb v. 68); in this connection it is worthy of note that the poet states that Yahweh “rejected (sam) the house of Joseph” and did not choose Ephraim (v. 67). A proverb employed theologically in Ps 118,22 provides a point of departure for understanding the secular usage of sam. Construction workers select stones for their building, the determining factor doubtlessly being that of appropriateness, usefulness, etc. The process of “regarding of little value”, “rejecting”, and “throwing away” corresponds to that of selecting/choosing (rxb). Inappropriate stones are rejected, cast aside, and left behind, while others are accepted.1038 DeuteroIsaiah describes God’s compassion toward his people with the evocative imagery of the (re)acceptance of a wife who has been “cast off” (sam - niphal) (Isa 54,6; cf v. 4). This process of alternatives is circumscribed by rxb and sam.1039 Through the two antithetical concepts sam and rxb historical events are subjected here to theological (Deuteronomistic or Chronistic) interpretation. Restricting the statement of the general rejection of Israel (v. 69) and looking ahead to Judah’s, Zion’s and David’s election (vv. 68ff.), both serve to confirm the theological fundamental principle that God’s grace is greater than his anger (v. 38). When the victim hopes for the end of God’s anger he hopes for God’s grace and salvific actions. As long as a wrathful God can be called upon, the

1038 1039

TDOT VIII, 48. J. FABRY, “sam”, TDOT, VIII, 48 (47-60).

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relationship is not given up, and the hope for a turn in God’s disposition is justified.1040 The first time that this Psalm uses ynda (“Lord”) (v. 65a) as a new title for God, is also the last time that a title of God is given in this psalm. This title is a signal of the weightiness of the actions of God that follow. It is the strong anthropomorphism used for God, who appears to be awaking from sleep (v. 65) and from a delirious state (v. 59) mark a turning point initiated by God. God’s waking is a vivid metaphor for what the speaker understands as the end of a period of divine inactivity in Israel’s life.1041 The “sleeping God” motif is found throughout the psalms (Pss 7,6[7]; 35,23; 44,23[24]; and 59,5[6] cf. also Isa 51,9; Zech 2,13). God’s apparent inactivity for a while is now broken in a startling manner. ynda, whom the speaker invoked as “Rock” (rwc) awoke to free them from “distress” (rc). If the early history of Israel is the background (1 Samuel), then we can conjecture that the rise of David as king at Saul’s death (2 Sam 1-10) constitutes the “awakening”. To the composer of Ps 78, David represents Yahweh’s powerful intervention in Israel’s affairs after the chaotic period of Samuel and Saul.1042 Only God’s turning to the people enables the history of God’s people to progress (cf. Ps 44,23[24]). The ‘Local Progression’ in the psalm was made possible only by God’s turning to the people. This long psalm moves to a climax in the choice of Zion as the place for Yahweh’s sanctuary and of David as his servant who will be the shepherd of Israel which is Yahweh’s “inheritance” or patrimony in the world (vv. 68-72). In Ps 78 one notices that there is a long rehearsal of the exodus and trek to Canaan without ever mentioning Moses’ name, but only David’s (Ps 78,65-72). The exodus and pilgrimage under Moses and Aaron had resulted in stubbornness and rebellion, but the new leader at least was a man of ‘perfect heart’ and ‘wise guidance’ (Ps 78,72). David in vv. 70-72 is exemplary among the people for his ‘perfect heart’ (wbbl), in contrast to their faithless ones (Ps 78,8.18.37). At Ps 78’s beginning (vv. 1.2) is found an individual faith in the words of his ‘mouth’ (yp), and at the end (v. 72), one faithful in his ‘heart’ (wbbl), creating an inclusion of faithfulness (from ‘mouth’ [yp] to ‘heart’ [wbbl]) around the psalm.1043 If the beginning and end portray faithfulness, almost at the centre (vv. 36-37) of the psalm reveals the 1040

1041 1042 1043

For a discussion on the “anger/wrath of God” in the Psalter cf. S. WÄLCHLI, “Zorn JHWH’S im Psalter – Eine Metapher des Leidens?”, in Metaphors in the Psalms, 272273. Cf. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Ps 78” 439. M. TATE, Psalms 51-100, 294. R. L. COLE, The Shape and Message of Book III (Psalms 73-89), JSOTS 307 (Sheffield 2000) 69-70.

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opposite character, but in the same sequence; unfaithful mouths, unfaithful hearts: A A1

yp – faithful (vv. 1-2); B ~hyp – unfaithful (v. 36); B1 ~bl – unfaithful (v. 37); wbbl – faithful (v. 72).

But in v. 38 God’s compassion and restraining of his anger is presented. Despite the closeness of David’s portrait in vv. 70-72 to the motif of David redivivus in Ezek 34,23-24 and 37,24-25, there is not eschatological tendency in this psalm as there is in the book of Chronicles. In contrast to the images of David in Pss 18; 89 and 132, there is no mention of David’s oath or of the promise of descendants.1044 This demonstrates that for the author of Ps 78 the Davidic times are definitively ended. But Hossfeld has different views. “…this means that the concrete David will become the paradigm of the good shepherd. This corresponds exactly to the image of David in late-exilic and post-exilic hopes of restoration such as those in Ezek 34,23f. (David as servant of God, king, and prince of Israel, as well as the one shepherd).1045 According to the original psalm as well as its additions [relecture] there are three essential ways, related to the present, to give shape to one’s own, often mysterious and ephemeral life in God’s presence: the constant remembrance of God’s deeds, which are understood as the foundation of the people of God in the epoch (‘local progression’ – Egypt to Zion) from the Exodus to David and till the definitive election of Zion; the trust in God being the Lord of history and being merciful; as well as the loyalty to the God-given Torah.1046 Therefore ‘remembrance’ of God’s deeds is the foundation of God’s people, like the foundation laid on a solid “Rock”. 4. Placement of Ps 78 There is a ‘riddle’ in the placement of the Psalm 78 as well as within its verses.1047 Psalm 78 belongs to the Book III of Psalms (Pss 73-89). Book III stands in the middle of the Psalter. Further, Ps 78 belongs to Asaph Psalms (Pss 73-83) since all these psalms bear the label “Belonging to Asaph”. The question arises, however, why the editors have selected only eleven instead of all twelve

1044 1045 1046 1047

Pss 18,50[51]; 89,4f.[5f.].36[37].49[50]; 132,10f.17. Cf. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Psalm 78”, 429f. M. WITTE, “From Exodus to David - History and Historiography in Psalm 78”, 39. H. N. WALLACE, Psalms, 133.

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Asaphite Psalms (including Ps 50 in the Book II)?1048 The omission of one psalm was clearly intentional to achieve a string of precisely 11 psalms. Psalm 78 is positioned exactly at the centre of the 11 psalms of Asaph (Pss 73-83), of Book III, as observed by David Wolfers.1049 Psalm 78 is at the arithmetic centre of the sub-group (11 = 5 + 1 + 5), which stands out both because of its length (72 Masoretic verses) and its didactic character. Its pivotal position is emphasized by the fact that the middle occurrence of the 7 instances of !wyl[ in these 11 Asaphite Psalms is to be found in Ps. 78:35 (it occurs in Pss 73:11, 77:11, 78:17, 78:35, 78:56, 82:6, and 83:19)! It is intriguing to note that they are arranged in such a way that the middle instance falls precisely in the middle verse line of Ps 78,35 in which God is invoked as Rock and Redeemer. In fact, the Asaphite psalms are fundamentally concerned with the theological notion of divine justice and the mysterious rule of YHWH as the Most High over the world, which is their leading theme. This is most eloquently put on the agenda at the very beginning of the sub-group: “Is there knowledge in the Most High?” (Ps 73,11). In between, the problem is put in a nutshell: “Has the right hand of the Most High changed?” (Ps 77,11b), in Ps 78 it is seen that the Most High (!wyl[) was their redeemer (Ps 78,35) and is still gracious (v. 38a, the divine epithet !wyl[ of v. 35 is the ultimate antecedent of the pronoun awh v. 38a), and ultimately resolved in the last verse (Ps 83,18[19]), the prayer for the universal recognition of YHWH as ‘the Most High over all the earth’. Labuschagne regards this as incontrovertible evidence of the sub-group's compositional unity and the deliberate positioning of Psalm 78 at its centre: Moreover, Labuschagne1050 found that v. 35 arithmetically constitutes the two middle verseline of the poem, which is what he calls its meaningful centre. Masoretes have marked in the margin of Codex L the middle (‫ )חצי הספר‬of the Book III of Psalms in terms of verses, after Ps 78,35. It is, however not certain whether v. 35 (or v. 36) is indeed the middle verse of the Psalter. If this verse (v. 35) is the numerical centre of the Psalter, the whole of Psalm 78 can thereby lay some claim to being the centre.1051

1048

1049 1050 1051

Labuschagne is of opinion that the 12 Asaphite Psalms originally constituted a distinct rounded off corpus, from which Ps 50 was removed and positioned in Book II to serve as transition between the 7 Korahite Psalms (Pss 42-49) and the Davidic Psalms (Pss 51ff.). Cf. C. J. LABUSCHAGNE, “Significant Sub-Groups in the Book of Psalms: A New Approach to the Compositional Structure of the Psalter”, in The Composition of the Book of Psalms, 629 (n.16). D. WOLFERS, “The Speech-Cycles in the Book of Job”, VT 43/3 (1993) 385-402. C. LABUSCHAGNE “Ps 78 – Logotechnical Analysis”, 1. M. REABURN, “A Journey into the Centre of the Psalter”, in M. KELLY and M. A O’BRIEN (ed.), Wisdom for Life (Adelaide 2005) 11. (3-12).

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Being the centre of Asaphite collection (Pss 73-83), Ps 78 is a part of the Book III (Pss 73-89) of Psalms, which is also the middle of the Psalter. Ps 78 is framed by Pss 73 and 89. Ps 73 is wisdom oriented and Ps 89 is historical and Ps 78 includes both wisdom and history. Ps 73 at the beginning of the Book III and beginning of Asaph collection (Pss 73-83) restates the promise of Ps 1, as the Book of Psalms takes up its faith and its argument again. Ps 73,1, like Ps 1, begins in an affirmation that God presides over a morally coherent universe. Verse 1 affirms that God’s world of moral symmetry works for the “Pure of Heart” i.e., for those who keep Torah. The second part of the Psalter (after the high hopes of Solomon and the failure in Ps 72) begins again with the same confident affirmation as the first part under the aegis of Ps 1.1052 The uniqueness of Ps 73 lies partly in its honest evaluation of the traditional theology as expressed in Ps 1. Ps 73 does not accept this theology dogmatically, but instead probes it for weaknesses. Brueggemann, writes that Ps 73 “performs a function for Books III-V not unlike that of Ps 1 for Books I-II. That is, Ps 73 reiterates the thesis of Ps 1 and then enters into dispute with that thesis.1053 Like Ps 1, Ps 78 too is an instructional text and not prayer. “Torah” functions as the key word at the beginning of the Psalter in Ps 1,2bis and in Ps 78,1.5.10 (the postulated centre of the Psalter). In the Asaph psalm (Pss 73-83) 78 holds a central position. The middle of 11 psalms and the longest among these 11. Ps 78 is not a prayer to God, neither of the individual nor of the people nor a hymnic text but a theological teaching in poetic form from a speaker who addresses a particular group with authority. The group of Pss 73-77, which precedes Ps 78 are framed by the individual prayers can be roughly described as Israel-centered. The group of Pss 79-83, which follows Ps 78 and framed by community laments, reveals a stronger directedness toward the nations. Both tendencies are retained in Ps 78 – the orientation to Israel in the light of Israel’s history and directedness toward the nations, especially in the depiction of life in the land from the fifth strophe onward (v. 52ff.); the insertion of the Egyptian plagues in vv. 40-51 only emphasizes this.1054 First, the present placement of Ps 78 suggests that it is an answer to the problems raised in Pss 74 and 77.1055 Recovery of the community through the

1052 1053 1054 1055

W. BRUEGGEMANN, “Bounded by Obedience and Praise”, 83-84. W. BRUEGGEMANN, “Bounded by Obedience and Praise”, 80. Cf. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Ps 78”, 441. H. N. WALLACE, Psalms, 138.

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compassion of God is possible. The demise of either or both Jerusalem temple and the Davidic dynasty will not negate the hope of those who do ‘not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments’ (v. 7). Secondly, Ps 78 gives David an important position. He embodies God’s leadership of the people. However, as per Ps 72,20 - yvy-!b dwd twlpt wlk) (“the prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended”), we have moved beyond David’s period. Regarding the identity of the speaker, the use of the term ‘servant’ for David in Ps 78,70 is a clue to the identity of the one imagined speaker in vv. 1-4. Both the unnamed speaker at the start and David at the end of the psalm embody the lessons at the psalm, as well as identify fully with the community: the collective David (note the shift in pronouns from ‘I’ to ‘we’ in vv. 1-3). It may be possible that we have in Ps 78 the first move toward David redivivus, picking up on the reference to David and his descendants in Ps 18,50[51] and anticipating further development in Pss 89; 132 and 144. The use of ‘my people’ already sets both the psalmist among his people, and as representative of God to the people, i.e., in some prophetic or royal role.1056 Hence Ps 78,35 is something more than what we have spoken so far. The psalms where God is addressed as Rock are placed at the beginning of a cluster of psalms, the centre of a cluster, the beginning of a book, and at the end of a book. And the verses (God as Rock) too are placed at the beginning or end of a psalm. Now with Ps 78 we know that it is placed in the middle of the Psalter, and the Rock verse in Ps 78,35 is placed right in the middle of the psalm. Hence, the ‘Rock verse’ in Ps 78,35 becomes the centre of the Psalter. This placement speaks of the centrality of the metaphor of the rock in the Book of Psalms and as a ‘Temple marker’, the centrality of Zion.

1056

H. N. WALLACE, Psalms, 134.

PSALM 89,26[27] MY FATHER, MY GOD, AND THE ROCK OF MY SALVATION! A. Preliminary Observations – Structure and Genre Ps 89 is the third longest psalm in the Psalter after Pss 119; 78; and Ps 18 and further, Ps 89 concludes Book III of the Psalter and thus is positioned at a corner post. Royal psalms have been intentionally placed at the seams of the first 3 books of the Psalter1057 (Pss 2; 72; 89; 110; 132). Concerning the compositional grouping of Pss 2-89, Zenger speaks of a “Messianic Psalter”1058 and Ps 89 serves as a conclusion to this “Messianic Psalter”. Ps 89 is also like a bridge which connects while looking back to Pss 2; 72 and on the other hand points out forward to Pss 110 and 132.1059 A closer look at Ps 89 quickly reveals that here we are dealing with a text which very likely consists of diverse material of different origin. The literary unity of this poem is widely questioned. Kraus admits that Ps 89 is a kind of ‘mixture’.1060 In addition it is widely agreed that vv. 20-38 constitute a version of Nathan’s oracle to David promising eternity to the Davidic dynasty (cf. 2 Sam 7,1-17). Though made up of material from different origin, Ps 89 is a cohesive unity. The combination of originally unrelated elements into an integrated unit is a literary phenomenon familiar to us from the ancient world.1061 Recent exegesis tends to assert its unity.1062 Emmendörffer1063 considers Ps 89 to be a coherent text deriving from the post-exilic period and probably its original Sitz im Leben 1057

1058

1059

1060 1061

1062

1063

G. H. WISLON, „The Use of Royal Psalms at the ‘Seams’ of the Hebrew Psalter“, JSOT 35 (1986) 85-94. E. ZENGER, “Zion als Mutter der Völker in Psalm 87”, in N. LOHFINK and E. ZENGER, Der Gott Israels and die Völker. Untersuchungen zum Jesajabuch und zu den Psalmen, SBS 154 (Stuttgart 1994) 149. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Ps 89”, 581. Cf. also F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, A Commentary on Psalms 51-100 (trans. L. M. MALONEY) (ed. K. BALTZER) (Minneapolis 2005) 402. Cf. H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen, 783. The classic example is the Gilgamesh epic of Babylon, many of its component parts having been formerly independent episodes borrowed from Sumerian compositions. Cf. G. BARBIERO, “Alcune ossevazioni sulla conclusione del Salmo 89 (vv. 47-53), Bib 88 (2007) 536-545. M. EMMENDÖRFFER, Der ferne Gott. Eine Untersuchung der alttestamentlichen Volksklagelieder vor dem Hintergrund der mesopotamischen Literatur. FAT 21 (Tübingen 1998) 239.

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was in connection with the ceremonies of lament and fast which took place after the exile. In the figure of the king the troubles and sufferings of the Israelite people were brought before Yahweh.1064 The poet used earlier traditions when composing his own poem. The psalm begins with a hymn (vv. 1f.[2f]. 5-18[619]) and ends with Lament (vv. 38-51[39-52]). In between vv. 19-37[20-38] is a divine discourse which is literarily connected with the part of the hymn in v. 3f.[4f.]. This speaks that the parts of the psalms are connected with key words.1065 It is noteworthy indeed that Emmendörffer regards both the hymn and the complaint as compatible with each other in this poem and derives them from the same author. A strong interweaving of the verses 1-4[2-5] which introduce the key words and themes of the psalm speak of unity. The operative terms are hnwma (‘steadfastness’ – vv. 1[2].2[3].5[6].8[9].24[25].33[34].49[50]), ~lw[ (‘forever’), which opens vv. 1[2].2[3].4[5] and closes the psalms v. 52[53], and is found repeatedly between vv. 28[29].36[37] and 37[38]. Added to it are the use of “theme of words” that tie together all three sections, and an interweaving of the concepts of creation/parenthood, election, covenant (vv. 3[4].28[29].34[35].39[40]) and faithfulness (dsx vv. 1[2].2[3].14[15].24[25].28[29].33[34] and in 49[50-plural]) in a way that gives the poem a sense of unity.1066 Here in Ps 89 the eternal faithfulness of God’s covenant with David is a central theme.1067 Consequently, the proper name !tya fits well in the superscription as an introduction to the psalm recalling the eternal nature of God’s covenant with David.1068 Hakham has noted that the three levitical singers appointed by David were Asaph, Heman and Ethan according to 1 Chron 6,18.24.29; 15,17.19.1069 Presumably the editor of the heading of the Ps 89 equated Ethan the Ezrahite with Ethan, the temple musician and singer in the time of David (1 Chron 15,17.19). The first of these (Asaph) opens Book III of the Psalter (Pss 73-83) while the second two (Heman, Ethan) close it (Pss 88-89).

1064 1065

1066

1067 1068

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M. EMMENDÖRFFER, Der ferne Gott, 210. Cf. N. M. SARNA, “Psalm 89: A Study in Inner Biblical Exegesis”, in A. ALTMANN (ed.), Biblical and Other Studies (Cambridge 1963) 31f. For a detailed analysis of the “originally unrelated” elements that contribute the integrity of the poem as it now stands, cf. Cf. N. M. SARNA, “Psalm 89: A Study in Inner Biblical Exegesis”, 29-33. Cf. K. SEYBOLD, Die Psalmen, 350. In Ps 74,15 the form in question refers to “permanent streams” (!tya twrhn), which God dried up. This phenomenon of nature is reversed in God’s being faithful to David in Ps 89. HAKHAM, Sefer tehillim, 159.

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There is an agreement among the scholars to divide the psalm into three sections: a) Hymn (vv. 1-18[2-19]); b) Divine Speech (vv. 19-37[20-38]); c) and Lament (vv. 38-51[39-52]) and v. 52[53] as doxological ending of Book III. Veijola1070 influenced heavily by his analysis of the psalm’s stichometric structure, argues for a ‘three-part division’. The oldest part of the psalm is a hymn in vv. 1-2[2-3].5-18[6-19], which was integrated into a late-exilic community song of lament (vv. 3-4[4-5].19-45[20-46]), expanded by two strophes (vv. 46-48[47-49].49-51[50-52]), which made it suitable for lamentation ceremonies in the later exilic period. The last verse, v. 52[53], is probably a very late addition. In fact, it does not even belong to the actual psalm but instead is the final doxology to the third book of the Psalter (Pss 73-89).1071 Later Christoph Rösel1072 in his research demonstrates that “the cola in vv. 19aβ.b46[20aβ.b-47] are apparently shorter in length. This confirms especially the distinction between the introduction, hymn and macarism (vv. 1-18[2-19]) on the one hand and the oracle and lament (vv. 19ff.[20ff.]) on the other hand. At the same time we can see that the cola at the end of the lament again becomes more extensive. We therefore suppose that the different lengths of the cola in vv. 47-51[48-52] indicate, rather, a redactional revision of a conclusion that originally followed vv. 19-46[20-47].1073 The question of genre is not easy to solve because Ps 89 contains both hymnic sections and complaint. In addressing the question of genre it is necessary to look more closely at the individuality of Ps 89. The oscillation between individual and collective “I” in Ps 89 has been repeatedly noted. Hossfeld1074 argues that the transition between individual and collective feature is typical of the Psalms of Asaph and the Korahites. But ultimately Hossfeld does not give clear definition of genre for Ps 89. The collective features in Ps 89 are found in its vocabulary. It all begins with “I” speech (vv. 1-2[2-3]) and then v. 5[6] onward moves to “We”. In turn towards the end the collective perspective, “your 1070

1071

1072 1073 1074

T. VEIJOLA, Verheißung in der Krise. Studien zur Literatur und Theologie der Exilszeit anhand des 89. Psalms, AASF SerB 220 (Helsinki 1982) 34-35. Hossfeld, too regards v. 3-5[4-5] as secondary, likewise v. 35-37[36-38] and 47-48[48-49]. The redaction in v. 34[4-5] and 35-37[36-38] is, in Hossfeld’s opinion, done on the basis of the royal psalms, but the redaction in v. 47-48[48-49] is closely akin to the neighboring Pss 88 and 90. Cf. HOSSFELD, “Ps 89”, 582-583. M. MILLARD, Komposition, 154. For a different opinion cf. Cf. G. BARBIERO, “Alcune ossevazioni sulla conclusione del Salmo 89” (vv. 47-53), Bib 88 (2007) 537ff. Cf. CH. RÖSSEL, Die messianische Redaktion, CThM. BW 19 (Stuttgart 1999) 136f. CH. RÖSSEL, Die messianische Redaktion, 136-137. F.-L. HOSSFLED, “Ps 89”, 584-585.

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servants” ($ydb[) in v. 50a[51a] shifts to “I” in v. 50b[51b], and then swings back to the collectively understood “your anointed” ($xyvm) in v. 51[52]. V. 50a[51a] has $ydb[ as plural, many tried to replace this plural form with the singular form $db[. However, there are no sufficient arguments for an emendation. The plural form $ydb[ fits better with the collective theology that arose during the exile.1075 The concept “your servant” ($db[) in Ps 89,39[40] and v. 51[52] received after the exile a new, collective reference.1076 Even the parallelism in v. 50-51[51-52] between $ydb[ and $xyvm indicates that ‘anointed’ must have a collective reference.1077 Further, Ps 89 shares many lexical and theological similarities with exilic and early post-exilic literature, affinities with Deuteronomistic theology being particularly significant. Deutero-Isaiah reflects throughout theological thoughts akin to Ps 89.1078 Similarities between Ps 89 and Deutero-Isaiah are rather striking. Especially Ps 89,50[51] and Isa 55,3b are very closely related. In DeuteoIsaiah both db[ (“servant”) and ryxb (“chosen”) are really epithets of the whole people; by contrast, Ps 89 mainly limits these concepts to David and his offspring. This is seen in Ps 89,3[4], where David is the servant, db[. But in Ps 89,39[40] the term is used collectively.1079 The theological themes of Ps 89 refer to the era after the inauguration of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (after 515 BCE).1080 B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 89,26[27] 1. Text and Translation Psalm 89:25-29[26-30] `Anymiy> tArh'N>b;W Ady" ~Y"b; yTim.f;w> 26 `yti['Wvy> rWcw> yliae hT'a' ybia' ynIaer"q.yI aWh 27

1075 1076

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1078 1079 1080

M. MARTTILA, Collective Reinterpretation in the Psalms, 143. M. PIETSCH, “Dieser ist der Sproß Davids…”. Studien zur Rezeptionsgeschichte der Nathanverheißung im alttestamentlichen, zwischentestamentlichen und neutestamentlichen Schrifttum, WMANT 100 (Neukirchen-Vluyn 2003) 121. E.-J. WASCHKE, Der Gesalbte. Studien zur alttestamentlichen Theologie. BZAW 306 (Berlin New York 2001) 100. The king, the anointed of Yahweh are the people of Israel. Promises once given to David became the common property of Israel. T. VEIJOLA, Verheißung in der Krise, 48-59. T. VEIJOLA, Verheißung in der Krise, 138. Cf. HOSSFELD, “Ps 89”, 587.

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`#r tybeB. ~yliWtv. 14 `Wyh.yI ~yNIn:[]r:w> ~ynIveD> hb'yfeB. !WbWny> dA[ 15 `AB Îht'l'w>[;Ð ¿ht'l'[oÀ-al{w> yrIWc hw"hy> rv"y"-yKi dyGIh;l. 16 12 “The righteous will flourish like the palm tree, grow like a cedar on Lebanon. 13 Those who are transplanted in the house of Yahweh, they will (greatly)1154 flourish in the courts of our God, 14 even in old age they will bear fruit, they will be fat and green, 15 To proclaim: “Upright/Righteous is Yahweh He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness1155 in him”.

2. Close Reading of Ps 92,15[16] Ps 92 concludes by addressing God as Rock (v. 15[16]), which happens to be also the Wisdom conclusion. The future of the righteous in v. 12[13] contrasts to that of the wicked in v. 7[8]. The wicked are like grass, springing up in profusion, but only to perish quickly. The righteous, on the other hand, will thrive like the fruitful date-palm. The date-palm (rmt) is tall, slender tree with plumelike foliage at the top. Its deep tap roots seek out water in the ground, and it is associated with water sources and oases [Num 33,9; Deut 34,3; Judg 1,16;3,13]) and like the towering cedars (zra) of Lebanon is renowned in biblical references for size and quality (The deep-rooted coniferous tree lives to a great age and grows very high and large [Judg 9,5; 1 Kgs 4,33[5,13]; 2 Kgs 14,9; Ezra 3,7; Isa 2,13; 14,8; Ps 104,16]).1156 The righteous are like trees that grow in the courts of the temple v. 13[14]. The speaker confesses to being “like a leafy olive tree in 1154

1155 1156

E. ZENGER, “Ps 92”, in F.-L. HOSSFELD and E. ZENGER, Psalms 2, 435. wxyrpy Hiph. „They will flourish (greatly)“, in contrast to the Qal in v. 13; probably intended as an intensification (elative over against the flourishing of the wicked). Q htlw[ (for K htl[), “wickedness, evil, unrighteousness”. Date palms grow as tall as 60-70 feet and can be as much as 200 years old; the cedars may be over 120 feet tall, up to 3,000 years old, and can attain a diameter of 9 or 10 feet. Cf. E. ZENGER, “Ps 92”, 637.

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the house of God” (Pss 52,8[10]; 92,12-14[13-15]). By contrast the wicked person will be “torn away” and “uprooted” from a “tent” (lha, Ps 52.5[7]; “doomed to be destroyed” Ps 92,7[8]). These contrasting parallels (note also the agricultural metaphors) may imply this tent is Yahweh’s (cf. “who may sojourn in your tent” (lha, Ps 15,1). The botanical image of growing and withering/flourishing and perishing is placed right at the beginning of the Book IV of the psalms (cf. Pss 90; 92). This standing of a tree at the entrance of the Psalter (Ps 1) is a powerful image that sets in relief the plethora of botanical figures featured in the subsequent psalms, including images of withering and flowering (cf. Pss 35,4-6; 37,1-2; 72,15a.1617a; 83,13-15[14-16]; 90,3.5-8; 102,3-4[4-5].11[12]; 103,15-18; 129,5-6), as well as fertility (cf. Pss 128,1-6; 144,12-13a.14b-15). The power of the metaphor lies not only in its tradition-historical background, but also in its literary foreground, specifically in the presentations of botanical imagery featured throughout the Psalter, to which Ps 1 orients the reader.1157 Most akin to Ps 1 and its central metaphor are two striking references to trees flourishing in the temple found elsewhere in the Psalter. The one example is our Ps 92,12-15[1316] (the other being Ps 52). As the most fertile place on earth, Zion is where the righteous flourish. The date palm symbolizes the vitality that defies even old age, much in contrast to the image of withering grass and mortality conveyed in Pss 90 and 103. Like tôrâ in Ps 1, Zion in Ps 92 constitutes the setting or ethos for the cultivation of righteousness.1158 Zion points to the “rock” of righteousness. God had delivered the psalmist from mortal danger, vindicating him in the presence of “evil assailants” (vv. 10-11[11-12]). The source of righteousness however, comes not from the psalmist’s initiative, but from divine deliverance and beneficence. “Flourishing” in the house of Yahweh is a sign of grace. The righteous receive this righteousness as a gift in and from the Temple as the place of Yahweh’s throne, they receive in abundance the blessing that proceeds from there (cf. Ps 24,3-5).1159 Both Ps 92 (and Ps 52) find their closest analogue to Ps 1, making explicit what is already implicit in the opening psalm, namely, that the righteous, as trees, have their home in Zion. As the king is set on Zion, God’s holy hill (Ps 2,1-6), so the righteous are firmly planted within the temple, which serves as both a refuge and (botanical) conservatory, metaphorically a “hothouse” for growth in righteousness.1160 Thus the metaphor first of all adopts

1157 1158 1159 1160

Cf. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 75. Cf. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 76. E. ZENGER, “Ps 92”, 637. Cf. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 76.

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the idea of the fullness of life associated with Zion as the paradisiacal mountain of God and the dwelling place of the “great king”, which was realized in ancient Near Eastern temple complexes and royal residences by means of handsome parks as real symbol.1161 Vv. 13-14[14-15] probably allude to the idea of the courts of the temple as a paradise, a garden of God with ample water and highly productive trees (Gen 2,46-3,24; Ezek 28,13-14; Cf Ps 36,7-10).1162 Those who are “planted in the house of Yahweh” have enduring vitality, even when old they will be like trees full of sap and with green foliage v. 14[15] (cf also, Ps 52,8[10]). We notice here that in Ps 92,14b[15b] the botanical world is abandoned and the well-being of the righteous even in old age is concretely envisioned (cf. Ps 92,12-14[13-15]). In other words, the very last word in the psalm however, is not about trees but about the Rock (Ps 92,15[16]). The God who birthed the mountains and brought forth Earth and the world (Ps 90,2), is here acclaimed as the Rock, ‘upright’ and without trace of ‘unrighteousness’, hence forever trustworthy (Ps 92,15[16]). In this way Ps 92 connects the first psalm of the Book IV (Ps 90). The root √ltv (“transplant”) is fascinating both in Ps 1,3 and Ps 92,13[14].1163 The tree is not planted from seed but “transplanted” as a branch or shoot that is, transported from a nonspecific location into a well-specified surrounding for it to thrive. As the ancient Near Eastern kings boasted of their horticultural abilities in transplanting exotic plants from their newly conquered territories, so the psalmist speaks of God, the divine Gardner, delivering and cultivating the righteous.1164 The righteous individual “transplanted” on Zion’s soil is paralleled with Israel’s historical passage from bondage to deliverance. By employing the technical term “transplanting”, the poet of Ps 92 looks back on Ps 1 and hence on Israel’s own pilgrimage of release and fulfillment. In Ps 92,13[14], the tree has gained full entrance into the precincts of Yahweh, flouring within the temple itself in contrast to Ps 1,3 where tree is planted/transplanted beside the steams of waters. The righteous, moreover, have aged, reaching full maturity yet still “full of sap” and bearing fruit (Ps 92,14[15]). Near the end of the Psalter, especially in the final ‘Rock-Psalm – Ps 144’, nestled amid peals of praise, botanical imagery has spread its shoots as it were, to envelop the family and nation of Israel (cf also Ps 128).

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E. ZENGER, “Ps 92”, 636-637. Cf. J. D. LEVENSON, Sinai and Zion (Minneapolis 1985) 128-137. Cf. N. M. SARNA, On the Book of Psalms: Exploring the Prayers of Ancient Israel (New York 1995) 42 - translates the passive construction (lwtv) as “well-rooted”. Cf. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 77.

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The last verse of the psalm, v. 15[16], recalls v. 2[3] and together they frame the intervening verses. The psalm had opened with instructions about praising God, explained in v. 2[3] as the proclamation of the faithful beneficial actions of God. In the verses that followed, examples of this action were presented. V. 15[16] closes off the presentation by returning to the call to proclaim. Now what is to be proclaimed is the essential integrity (rvy) of God’s activity, an integrity on which the psalmist, and the righteous, found their lives (yrwc).1165 More than an instruction, the closing verse is a call for the listeners to trust Yahweh in the face of crisis. In addition to the concept of righteousness developed in the psalm as a whole, Yahweh presides as “Rock” in Ps 92,15[16]. The temple mount is not clearly separated from the ‘mythical’ abode of God. Yahweh resides on Zion, from where he bestows refuge and security.1166 Zion is understood as a refuge par excellence. V. 15[16] is a quotation from the “testament and the last will” of Moses, aged 120, gives to his people before his death how Yahweh should be addressed in the generations to come. Yahweh as Rock in v. 15[16] connects to “you on high forever” in v. 8[9] at the centre and at the beginning in v. 1[2] (“Most High”): precisely as the God who combats chaos in all its forms and rescues those in danger, he is the “Rock” who renders unshakable both the cosmos and every individual righteous person.1167 The rock-like quality of God (that Yahweh is “straight/righteous” [rvy]) is expressed in terms of his lack of failure; i.e., in terms of his reliability and consistency (v. 15b[16b], traditional, “injustice/unrighteousness/wrongdoing”). (Qere ht'l'w>[; for Ketib htlw[ - “wickedness, evil, unrighteousness”). The flourishing of the righteous vv. 13-15[14-16] is a living testimony to this characteristic of God (cf. Zeph 3,5).1168 He is the Rock of righteousness. This “rock theology” is also continued in the following Psalms: Pss 94,22 and 95,1, which we will be considering next. 3. Reading Ps 92,15[16] in Context In majority of cases the context demonstrates that the metaphor of the Rock was used to present God as a refuge and a deliverer (2 Sam 22,3.31b-32; Pss 62,78[8-9]; 71,3; 94,22; 144,1-2). In this case, the tenor of the metaphor can mostly be summarized as “protection”. However, when we made a quick study of Deut 32,4, we demonstrated that in some other cases the tenor varies (e.g. Deut 34,4).

1165 1166 1167 1168

Cf. Deut 32,4. On rvy, see H. RINGGREN, L. A. SCHÖKEL and W. MEYER, “rv;;y", rv,yO, hr"v.yi, rwov.ymi, ~yriv'yme, TDOT, 6, 463-472. Cf. E. ZENGER, “Ps 92”, 638, n. 24. E. ZENGER, “Ps 92”, 638. Cf. M. TATE, Psalm, 468.

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It could be “moral righteousness” rather than “protection”. The same happens here in Ps 92,14-15[15-16]. In the description of the coming joy of the righteous Yahweh is also designated as a Rock without iniquity (“wickedness, evil, unrighteousness”). The date of Ps 92 is disputed. Kraus ascribes the psalm a postexilic date.1169 Tate argues: “it probably originated during the monarchical period of pre-exilic Israelite history”.1170 Erich Zenger argues that: “since the psalm as yet reveals no Tôrâ -Wisdom theology, a dating in the fifth/fourth century suggests itself”.1171 “The Wisdom-theological infusion of the psalm would be still stronger if the “house of Yahweh” (v. 13[14]) were understood as a metaphor for God-given wisdom (cf. Prov 9,1); the imagery of fruit trees in v. 14[15], at least, would favor this interpretation”.1172 In some other cases the Rock metaphor seems to express both Yahweh’s righteousness and his protection (2 Sam 22,31-32; cf. also Ps 18,30-31[31-32]). The use of the Rock metaphor for the expression of God’s moral character depends on the stability of rocks.1173 The epithet or name, Rock, emphasizes the stability and permanence of God of Israel. Ps 92,12-15[13-16] expresses an imagery of rootedness in the house of Yahweh through a life of righteousness and praise of God. Yahweh is “straight/righteous” (rvy) (v. 15a[16a]), this refers to Yahweh’s cosmic acts of righteousness, by which, as world ruler, he institutes law and justice. And the statement of v. 8[9], which stands in the center of the psalm and sustains like a thematic pillar, that Yahweh “(is enthroned) on high forever” celebrates his dynamic world-rulership, which sustains and defends the order of creation. The creation theology that is the background for the psalm is now drawn into the foreground by the creation theology associated with the Sabbath (cf. esp. Gen 2,1-3; Exod 20,8-11). This Sabbath Day” (v. 1) song acquired also the eschatological nuance (cf. esp. the futuristic perspective of v. 9[10]). The Mishnah (Tamid 7,4) declares that Ps 92 is “a song for the time that is to come, for the day that shall be all Sabbath and rest in the life everlasting”.1174 Therefore it is the righteous in Ps 92,12-15[13-16]; who both anticipate and experience the paradisiacal life.1175 Sabbath may be compared to the protective and nurturing site of growth in the psalm. When the psalm is recited on the Sabbath day, its 1169 1170 1171 1172 1173 1174

1175

H.-J. KRAUS, Psalmen II, 811. Cf. M. TATE, Psalm,465. E. ZENGER, “Ps 92”, 630. E. ZENGER, “Ps 92”, 630-631. P. C. CRAIGIE, The Book of Deuteronomy (Grand Rapids 1976) 378. Cf. N. M. SARNA, “The Psalm for the Sabbath Day (Ps 92)”, in Studies in Biblical Interpretation (Philadelphia 2000) 398-399. Cf. M. TATE, Psalm, 470.

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recitation itself is an act of “rooting” (cf. v. 13[14]) in the creative power of Yahweh that is in the temple and works outward from it.1176 Freed from obligations and burdens of work, one may still be like an unmoving, solidly grounded tree. Brown1177 points out the frequent contrast in the psalm between the righteous and the wicked in terms of motion, with the righteous having “an ability to stand still and reflect upon true things, as opposed to the frenetic activity of the wicked that leads them to oblivion”. Even the image of the righteous person as a still, unwavering tree, seen especially in the stillness of Sabbath rest, resembles the image of God as a solid, unmoving rock (v. 15[16]). In the temporal space of the Sabbath, the righteous also may gather in the physical space of “the house of the Lord and the courts of God” for worship of the kind described in the opening lines of the psalm (vv. 1-4[1-5]).1178 Two qualities of God are mentioned in v. 2[3]: “Steadfast love” (dsx), the unfailing devotion of God toward those who are in covenant relationship with him. The other is “faithfulness” (hnwma), from a root that means “to stay, to be firm, dependable, and true”. These qualities testify to two fundamental ways in which Yahweh acts. Both these qualities in a way point out to the rock like quality of God (v. 15[16]). Verse 4[5] it is about a musical praise of God, an “I” (through the suffix yntxmf) comes to light for the first time in v. 4[5] which sings the creative power of God. Language with royal associations (“exalted my horn” v. 10[11]; “the downfall of my enemies” v. 11[12]; “my rock” v. 15[16]) is used to express the deliverance theme, making Ps 92 read almost like a king’s thanksgiving for the deliverance promised in Ps 91 (the “righteous” of Ps 92,12[13] is singular in Hebrew.). But the Sabbath reference in the heading (the only mention of Sabbath in the Psalter) and the plural Hebrew pronouns in Ps 92,13-14[14-15] clearly indicate that the psalm is thinking in communal terms, not simply of deliverance for a single person.1179 David becomes a cipher (symbol/representative) for Israel in the Psalter, which refers to God’s servant(s) in Pss 89 and 90. Verses 5-15[6-16] are united by the key word xrp which appears in vv. 7[8].12[13].13[14]. This verb speaks of both the wicked and the righteous – both sprout; the wicked sprout and flourish like the weeds however, the righteous

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E. ZENGER, “Ps 92”, 641. Cf. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 56. Cf. J. S. GREEN, Psalms for Preaching and Worship, 242 (239-242). M. J. STEUSSY, Psalms, 164-165.

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flourish like the palm trees and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. The former they grow and vanish but the latter are lasting. The dominant theme of vv. 5-9[6-10] is the wicked that are doomed to destruction. In vv. 4-6[5-7] the singular “work” (l[p) in v. 4a[5a] could refer to specific help received by the speaker but the parallels in v. 4b[5b] “works of your hands” and v. 5a[6a] indicate that the statement is a general one. Though it is unlikely two divine activities are intended, but the works of the hands of God may apply to creation and other activities of deliverance. If we read with the Sabbath in mind, the expressions should most probably be understood in relation to creation.1180 Verses 7-8[8-9] express the experiences that not only contradict the divine order of righteousness, but also interpret them in the ways of Wisdom theology. The wicked and all evildoers who are not oriented to God’s righteousness flourish (cf. Ps 73,3-12). V. 7[8] summarizes this experience in a frequently used botanical metaphors: The wicked blossom out like the flowers that accompany the growth of herbage but are soon destroyed; they bloom and are gone like wild flowers. The wicked are not identified, but they are generally all those whose behavior is disruptive of community life; behavior which is frequently violent (Pss 94,3-6; 119,110; 140,4[5]). Verse 8[9] is the pivotal verse of the psalm. It stands at the centre of the psalm (if we do not count the superscription in v. 1, there are seven verses before and after v. 8[9]). The botanical metaphor in v. 8[9] prepares the ground for the more extended description of the righteous in vv. 12-14[13-15] as trees, not springing up in the wild, but cultivated close to Yahweh (and also, perhaps, for the more obscure claim of the psalmist in v. 10b[11b]).1181 The mention of Yahweh’s location, ~wrm, anticipates the location where the righteous thrive (i.e., the Temple). The word ~wrm (“Height”) in this verse refers to the realm where Yahweh lives and works. The basic meaning of ~wrm (“Height”) serves as a synonym for the heavens where God dwells and is enthroned (Ps 93,2-4). The conceptual field of ~wrm (“Height”) is undoubtedly inclusive of the idea of the cosmic mountain which is the dwelling place of the deity. In Ps 92 ~wrm (“Height”) may refer to the security provided by Yahweh’s presence in Jerusalem as well as the soundness of God’s heavenly abode. Because Yahweh is ‘on high forever’ (v. 8[9]), he is able to be the ‘rock’ of Israel (v. 15[16]).1182 The concept of ‘height’ is also found in Ps 61,2[3], where the speaker prays to be led

1180 1181 1182

Cf. M. TATE, Psalm, 466. Note the repetition of xrp in vv. 7[8].12-13[13-14]. Cf. J. F. D. CREACH, Yahweh as Refuge, 96.

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to a rock that is inaccessible but secure: “lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (ynxnt ynmm ~wry-rwcb), the meaning is that of a request for refuge which lies beyond the supplicant’s strength and which can only be reached with God’s help. The rock suggests a place where God abides and, especially in the context of the OT, the rock on which the temple was built on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. He rules over the world as the “One-who-is-on-High”. In the religious thought of the ancient world, the cosmic mountain of the deity’s abode functioned as the meeting place of heaven and earth, the axis of the world.1183 From v. 10[11] with the “I”, the fate of the supplicant is contrasted with the earlier mentioned enemies of Yahweh. It presents the total failure which awaits the enemies of Yahweh. The reflexive form of the verb (drp) suggests the ideas of “disintegration/bursting dispersion”, The verbs dba (“perish”) and drp (“divide”) are used together of the dispersal of lions in Job 4,11. Various metaphors of battle and victory are presented in vv. 10-11[11-12]. The first colon of v. 10[11] refers to an empowering of the speaker, whose “horn” (strength and power) has been raised like that of a wild ox ready for combat. Rubbed with oil, the speaker’s “horns” gleam with virility and health, as his head is lifted to look over his fleeing attackers, and his ears hear them running away in panic (cf. vv. 10b-11[11b-12]). Broadly speaking, v. 10[11] suggests that Yahweh has provided strength and physical well-being for the speaker.1184 V. 11[12] recalls an occasion when the voice felt threatened. Whether this threat is past, removed by the action of Yahweh (as wicked were removed in vv. 7[8].9[10]) or remains a continuing experience of the speaking voice (cf. Ps 23,4-6) is not spelled out. In any event, it seems that the Yahweh is a source of security and prosperity for the voice. In short, in this psalm as in Ps 94 also the nature of the human beings is divided into two categories, the righteous (qydc; this category includes the speaking voice) and the wicked (~y[vr, !wa yl[p, $ybya, r[b-vya, lysk). Yahweh is presented as reliable (dsx, hnwma, rvy, ht'l'w>[;-al). The fates of the different parties are presented using botanical motifs derived from metaphors of (transient) grass and (permanent and fruitful) trees. In fact, references to permanence (or impermanence) occur sufficiently often in the psalm that too can be seen as a theme. Yahweh enjoys rock-like permanence (v. 8[9]) and this property of Yahweh is also passed to the righteous, but not the wicked.

1183 1184

Cf. M. ELIADE, Patterns in Comparative Religion (trs. R. SHEED), (New York 1958) 375. Elsewhere, the raising of the horn is a symbol of strength and assurance, e.g., 1 Sam 2,1.10; 2 Sam 22,3; Jer 48,25; Pss 18,2[3]; 75,5-6[6-7].10[11]; 89,17[18].24[25]; 112,9; 118,27; 148,14; Job 16,15; Lam 2,17; 1 Chr 25,5.

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The characterization of the agent Yahweh accentuates activity (vv. 5[6].6[7].11[12]). Even the attributes ascribed to Yahweh stress the constancy and predictability of Yahweh’s actions (dsx, hnwma, rvy, ht'l'w>[-al).1185 These properties are illustrated by the examples of benefits and protection to the righteous. The wicked do not perceive Yahweh’s actions. As a consequence they lead themselves to destruction. 4. Placement of Ps 92 Ps 92 is placed right at the beginning of the Book IV of psalms. Pss 90-92, which introduce the fourth Book of the Psalms, are grouped as thematic units in sequence. Ps 90 begins as a lament for the mortality of mankind and for its suffering, because of God’s wrath. An ascending line, in which there is a prayer for Yahweh’s merciful return to his servants, follows. This complaint and prayer is answered in Ps 91 with an undertaking that is a promise. In the style of a wisdom teaching, an anonymous speaker i.e., a wisdom teacher provides the assurance that those who trust in Yahweh will find in him, their refuge, long life and salvation (cf. Ps 91,16). Ps 92, a psalm of thanksgiving confirms that this is not an empty promise. The beginning of Ps 92 is closely related to the divine oracle in Ps 91 (cf. Ps 91,14 and Ps 92,1).1186 In Pss 90-92 there is a sequence of common related motifs (lament/petition [Ps 90] – assent/promise [Ps 91] – thanksgiving [Ps 92]). The metaphor of the withered grass in Ps 90,5-6 lies in opposition to the metaphor of the fertile palm and the tall cedar of Lebanon in Ps 92,12-15[13-16]. The motif of trust and protection of Ps 90,1 is also seen in its variations in Ps 91 and 92. The prayer in Ps 90,13-17 is taken up in Ps 92. This might suggests that the prayer section was formulated in the light of Ps 92. The prayers in Ps 90,14 echo in Ps 92,2[3].4[5]. The prayer in Ps 90,16 is fulfilled in Ps 92,4[5]. The concluding prayer in Ps 90,17b is given a contrasting theological foundation in Ps 92,4[5].1187 Further, the reference to the righteous dwelling with Yahweh in a tangible location (vv. 12-14[13-15]; cf. also Ps 1), in contrast to Yahweh becoming their ‘dwelling place’ as in Ps 90,1, raises the question of whether a future promise about the temple’s reconstruction is indicated.

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1186 1187

Cf. P. L. TRUDINGER, The Psalms of the Tamid Service: A Liturgical Text from the Second Temple, VTS 98 (Leiden - Boston 2004) 160. E. ZENGER, “Ps 92”,613. E. ZENGER, “Ps 92”, 613-614.

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Not only Pss 90-92 are connected with key words but are also connected to the following set of “Yahweh is King” - Pss 93-100. Yahweh’s rule of the world is expressed through the proclamation of Yahweh’s (dsx), “steadfast love”, and (hnwma) “faithfulness’ (cf. Ps 100,5). If so Ps 92 where the same key words appear functions as the “introduction” or “overture” to the “world cantata” of Pss 93-100.1188 Through Ps 92 “righteous who are planted in the house of Yahweh” (Ps 92,13-14) are challenged to proclaim exactly that praise in which the nations can and should join (cf. Pss 92,3 with 100,5). In short, the group addressed in Ps 92, should come to the knowledge of the true God, whose righteous rule of the world glimmers in Ps 92 and then broadly unfolded in Pss 93-100. The Psalms’ emphasis on righteous prospering (Pss 1,3; 73; 92) and the wicked perishing (Pss 1,6; 73; 92) is sometimes perceived as part of a retribution theology that focuses on material reward for obedience to God. However, the psalms emphasize that the righteous’ greatest ‘reward’ is to be in God’s presence. This is summed up in the psalmist’ declaration, “one thing I ask of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life (Ps 27,4). The righteous claim that the Lord is their “Portion” or inheritance; thus, God is all they need (Ps 73,26[27]). They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God” (Ps 92,13[14]). It is interesting to note the botanical images (of a tree/grass) at the entrance of the Psalter (Ps 1) and at the entrance of the IV Book of Psalms (Ps 92; cf. also Ps 52). The images of withering and flourishing are seen in both Pss. 1 and Ps 92 (cf also Ps 90). In Ps 92,12b[13b] and 14a[15a] the “growth” (v. 12b[13b] – hgf) and “bearing fruit” (v. 14a[15a] - bwn) are botanically equated and concretized as “reproducing” or “multiplying”. Ps 1 begins with the central theme of tôrâ which also gives the conceptual foundation for the Psalter as a whole.1189 If tôrâ is the conceptual foundation of Ps 1 (and the Psalter), the “tree” constitutes the psalm’s most central metaphor. Ps 1 designates the wicked, “like chaff that the wind drives away” (Ps 1,4) or they “sprout like grass and all evil doers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever” – Ps 92,7[8]) serves as an apt antitype. Both these images speak about growing/flourishing and vanishing/withering. These both images are drawn from a common source domain that casts human character in botanical terms. The

1188 1189

E. ZENGER, “Ps 92”, 640. Cf. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 58.

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arboreal image, mapped onto righteous character, both in Ps 1,3 and Ps 92,1213[13-14], connotes various associations such as cultivation, growth, and above all well-rootedness. In both Pss 1 and 92 the metaphor of tree connotes the blessed life of the righteous individual. That the metaphor of the tree targets the individual – specifically the righteous individual – reflects another class of associations that exhibit a distinctly royal provenance.1190 In both biblical and ancient Near Eastern tradition, thus, the individual most typically identified with a tree is a person of royalty.1191 In the Sumerian reference, “Šulgi, the king, the graceful lord, is a date palm planted by the water ditch”.1192 And the same ruler: “Like a cedar rooted by abundant water, of pleasant shadow thou art”.1193 Biblical examples also abound. Ezekiel likens the king of Judah to a vine “transplanted to good soil beside abundant waters so that it might produce branches and bear fruit” (Ezek 17,8; cf. v. 5). In the famous passage of Isa 11,1, the Davidic king is depicted as a “shoot” and a “branch”. In Zech 6,12, “Branch” is used metaphorically. This branch might refer most likely to Zerubbabel, one of the leaders of those returned from exile, whose name means shoot of Babylon (cf. Hag 2,20-23). Firmly planted on Yahweh’s holy hill, this “righteous branch” wields the power to implement justice and, thereby, brings about peace and prosperity for his people (cf. Ps 72,2-3). In addition to its specifically royal and life-giving connotations, arboreal imagery is applied collectively to Israel (cf. Isa 4,2-5). Therefore there is a tightening bond between Individual and Community. The speaker in the psalm, one who has been delivered from the peril of evil foes by the gracious intervention of Yahweh is not identified. J. H. Eaton1194 places Ps 92 among the “Psalms with clearly royal content” and argues that the psalmist is a king because of the way his victory in vv 10-11[11-12] is joined to Yahweh in triumph vv. 8-9[9-10]. The plural reference in v. 13[14] (“our God”) denotes the “participation of the community in the triumph of God and the king”; the royal vitality was a major communal interest.1195 “Our God” in v. 13[14] is matched by “my rock” in 15a[16a], which Eaton argues refers to the royal covenant (Ps 28,1; 18,2[3].46[47]; 62,2[3].7[8]. 144,1).

1190 1191 1192

1193 1194 1195

Cf. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 67. Cf. W. P. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 69. G. WIDENGREN, The King and the Tree of Life in Ancient Near Eastern Religion (Upsala 1951) 42. G. WIDENGREN, The King and the Tree of Life in Ancient Near Eastern Religion, 42. Cf. J. H. EATON, Kingship and the Psalms (Sheffield 1986) 58-59. Cf. J. H. EATON, Kingship and the Psalms, 59.

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Pss 92 (and also Ps 52) emphasize on the righteous being planted “in the house of the Lord”. This growth and flourishing of the righteous person testify to the righteousness of God (v. 15[16]), the one who has rightly ordered the deep structures of the world. Once again in this psalm then, humans reflect God: their righteousness testifies to God’s righteousness just as their exalted status reflects God’s nature as “Most High” (v. 8[9]).1196 The righteous are not simply planted or grounded in God; they are near God by virtue of being in the temple. These two psalms show clearly that being in the temple was for the righteous a primary way of describing the life of faith and the main way to know God’s presence and security. Both psalms probably draw from the actual appearance of the temple on Zion and from images of other sacred places in the ancient Near East.1197 1 Kgs 6 depicts Solomon’s temple as one with carvings of such arboreal pictures at every turn: “He carved the walls of the house all around about with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers in the inner and outer rooms” (v. 29. Cf also, vv. 18.32.35; 7,36). Moreover, the text indicates that part of the temple and palace complex was the “House of the Forest of …Lebanon”, which had cedar beams that approximated a verdant forest (1 Kgs 7,2-12). All of this indicted that the temple mount was intended to depict a paradise. And this depiction of the paradise is the very location of the Garden of God, the paradise from which the world was created (cf. Ezek 28,13-14). It is not surprising, therefore, that Mount Zion and the temple precincts are depicted as places where trees grow in abundance. What does seem somewhat unique in the ancient Near East is the use of such trees as symbolic portrayals of the righteous who know the security of Zion. The notion of planting the righteous on the holy mountain sets the image in Pss 92 and 52 apart from other, more general, plant metaphors that signify human existence and stability. Indeed, the more general image is common in ancient Near Eastern literature and in the Old Testament. In the Sumerian tradition humankind’s origins are depicted as humans sprouting from the earth: “When destinies had been established for all engendered things, when An had engendered the year of abundance when people had broken through the ground like plants…”.1198 Other extra-biblical texts portray stability and security with arboreal imagery. Perhaps the text that has the clearest analogy to biblical imagery is that of the depiction of the wise person in the four chapter of the Egyptian work, the “Instruction of Amen-em-Opet”:

1196 1197 1198

Cf. J. S. GREEN, “Ps 92”, in Psalms for Preaching and Worship, 242. Cf. J. F. D. CREACH, The Destiny of the Righteous in the Psalms (Danvers 2008) 129. Cf. T. FRYMER-KENSKY, Studies in Bible and Feminist Criticism (Philadelphia 2006) 21.

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As for the heated man of the 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.1199 Note that these more general descriptions speak of the wise, righteous, or trustful person being like a tree that flourishes because it is planted in a garden, by a water source and thus is able to send out roots to a source of nourishment. In contrast, Pss 52 and 92 do not speak of water at all. Rather, they emphasize the location in or near the temple. An abundance of water that would feed these trees is merely the by-product of the life-giving presence of God on the holy mountain.1200 Life-giving waters and the miraculous flourishing of arboreal life, is due to a single source, the river of Zion, God’s holy sanctuary (cf. Ezek 47,12). Unlike prophet Ezekiel, the psalms (1 and 92) reflect the more sapiential nuance. While Ps 1 does not mention the temple explicitly, it uses language that evokes images of the temple for those attuned to biblical descriptions of Mount Zion and its place of worship. Ps 1,3 is distinctive, however, in that it says the righteous are made secure-as though they dwell on the holy mountain – meditating on tôrâ. In this way Ps 1 replaces temple with tôrâ. The psalms, in effect, serve as the temple’s surrogate.1201 Like tôrâ in Ps 1, Zion in Ps 92 constitutes the setting or ethos for cultivation of righteousness. In other words, Ps 1 seems to present the secure destiny of the righteous in a way similar to Pss 52,10[11] and 92,1315[14-16]), but it suggests that tôrâ, not the temple, is the direct source of the security. In this way the Sabbath too has a new meaning, which means resting/taking refuge in the Torah. He who observes the commandment and does the will of Yahweh will be careful not to defile the Sabbath (Isa 56,1-7). After the destruction of the temple in 70 C.E., the Jewish people began to think of torah as 1199 1200 1201

ANET, 422. Fourth chapter of the Instruction of Amen-em-Opet. J. F. D. CREACH, The Destiny of the Righteous in the Psalms (Danvers 2008) 130. Cf. W. P BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 75; Cf. also, J. F. D. CREACH, The Destiny of the Righteous in the Psalms 148.

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a replacement for the temple, as Judaism transformed into a “religion of the book” rather than a “religion of ritual and sacrifice”.1202 The righteous, as trees, have their home in Zion. One sees a growth of botanical imagery in the Psalter. In Ps 1 the tree is planted by streams of water (Ps 1,3), whereas in Ps 92 (cf. also Ps 52), the tree has gained full entrance into the precincts of Yahweh, flourishing within the temple itself. One of the most evocative images of the righteous is a tree planted in the temple precincts. The tree is not an ʾăšērâ pole1203 or any stylized tree; it connotes rather the righteous individual who desires to “enter” into the psalmist’s world of worship and study, a literary sanctuary in effect.1204 The tree has taken on the identity of the worshipper. This metaphor of the individual worshipper planted on Mount Zion has in its background the tradition of Israel being planted in the land of promise.1205 Exod 15,17 describes Israel’s planting with language that suggests Zion as the garden in which the people are placed: “You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession, the place, O Lord, that you made your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.” The language and imagery of being planted on Mount Zion suggests a submission to the rule of God that is at the heart of the Psalter’s piety and at the center of Zion theology as well.1206 Ps 92,12-15[13-16]) speaks with a similar piety. As already seen above, the Hebrew word lwtv is often translated “planted”, however, the term has the more specific nuance of “transplanted” (compare with the word [jn that may denote planting as of a seed or a plant in an original location; Jer 2,21). The Hebrew lwtv connotes a plant that begins from its seed in one location and then is moved to a more advantageous plot of ground by a caretaker, in this case by the Divine Gardener.1207 For the psalmist, the benevolence of the true King, the creator and ruler of the universe, was known on Mount Zion. Therefore, it must have been quite natural to speak of and to desire being transplanted there, to be rooted near God. For the righteous to be transplanted was a sign that they were part of God’s rule over the cosmos and part of the order God intended for it. This indicates that the righteous have security as a result of their being made part of the garden of God. Trusting in God’s rule, which is known in 1202 1203

1204 1205 1206 1207

J. F. D. CREACH, The Destiny of the Righteous in the Psalms, 136. An ʾăšērâ pole is a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the Ugaritic mother-goddess Asherah, consort of El. Cf. W. P BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 74. J. F. D. CREACH, The Destiny of the Righteous in the Psalms, 128. J. F. D. CREACH, The Destiny of the Righteous in the Psalms, 130. J. F. D. CREACH, The Destiny of the Righteous in the Psalms, 131. Cf. also W. BROWN, Seeing the Psalms, 67.

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the paradise on Zion, they are made secure by the Divine Gardener who has supplied their every need. The righteous (speaking voice) identifies itself as one of Yahweh’s people, i.e., one of the righteous (vv. 13[14].15[16]). True to this characterization, the voice models the behavior of the righteous, by revealing that it has received protection and sustenance from Yahweh (vv. 11-13[12-14]) in discursive address of praise to Yahweh (vv. 5-15[6-16]). For the righteous, indeed God is the Rock in whom there is no unrighteousness (Qere ht'l'îw>[; for Ketib htlw[). hl'w>[; ‘injustice, unrighteousness, wrong’ are used with reference to violent deeds of injustice, injustice of speech, and injustice in general. The basic meaning of lw[ is violation of justice or violation of the law and it involves crimes of social nature, of property and of commercial nature.1208 lw[ corresponds fairly well to the meaning of the Greek equivalents in the book of Psalms. hl'w>[; occurs 9x in the book of Psalms. It is as a rule rendered by anomia but once by avdiki,a in Ps 91[92],16(MT Q), and once by do,lioj or a;dikoj, (Ps 42[41],1). Yahweh has nothing to do with injustice or wrong; he is completely free of it. “There is no unrighteousness in him” (v. 15[16]) meaning; He makes things right, acts rightly, punishes his adversaries, the wicked and the evildoers, and makes the righteous prosper. The flourishing of the righteous (Ps 92,1315[14-16]) is living testimony to this characteristic of God (“…no unrighteousness in him”). The sense of this is expressed in Zeph 3,5: “The Lord within her is righteous, he does no wrong (hlw[), every morning he shows forth justice, each dawn he does not fail (rd[); but the unjust (lw[) knows no shame”. He is dependable, and is firm as a rock in his steadfast love and faithfulness. On that the righteous can rely. In words of hymnic praise, Deut 32,4 extols Yahweh as being “without deceit” (lw[ !ya), comprehensively denying thus any connection between God and what is evil or false. Nothing about him, neither his planning nor his behavior nor his actions, are just and right.1209 Again to recall, the tenor of the metaphor of the rock is not ‘protection’ but ‘moral righteousness’. This understanding of rwc in moral, or perhaps better, covenantal terms, is matched only in 1 Sam 2,2 - wnyhlak rwc !yaw....hwhyk vwdq-!ya – where the ascription of holiness clearly parallels the rock metaphor, and in Ps 92,15[16], where the intent is equally unambiguous. In the description of the coming joy of the righteous Yahweh is also designated as a Rock in whom there is no unrighteousness (Ps 92,15[16]). One possible additional parallel is in Ps 19, where attributes similar to those enumerated in Deut 32,4 are ascribed to the Law (Ps 19,8-10[9-11]), following which, at the conclusion of the poem, the Lord is addressed as “my Rock” (Ps 19,14[15]), (cf. also. Pss 33,3-4; 111,7; 18,31[32]; 31,2-3[3-4]). 1208 1209

R. KNIERIM, „lw[“ TLOT II, 850. SCHREINER, „lw[“, TDOT, 10, 522-530.

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How can we reconcile this character of God (no unrighteousness in him) with the bipolar function of the Rock: A Rock that saves and a stumbling block? Or a God in Deut 32,39: “I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal”? To add another parallel in Isa 45,7 we read, “I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things”. Lindström observes, the entire section (Isaiah) pertains to Yahweh’s dealings with Israel, not the entire cosmos. This is evidenced by the terms used. “Light (rwa) is not used in Isa 4055 to refer to cosmic creation. Rather, it is used as a metaphor for political liberation from the Babylonians (Isa 42,6; 53,11). The same is true of “darkness” ($vx), which is a metaphor for misfortune and captivity (Isa 42,7; 47,5; 49,9). The creation verbs (rcy, arb, hf[) are used in this section to depict God’s bringing about the impending liberation of Israel.1210 Lindström, sees here an antithetical reference: “the positive phrase ‘who forms light’ and who makes weal’ have to do with Yahweh’s saving intervention on behalf of his people, whereas the negative phrases ‘who creates darkness’ and ‘who creates woe’ refer to Yahweh’s destruction of the Babylonian empire.”1211 In either case the conclusion is the same: Isa 45,7 refers to the specific experiences of Israel in exile and not to the divine pancausality. “I the Lord do all these things” alludes to the promise of the return from exile, not to every single event that happens in life.1212 God is the principle of everything. In Isa 45,7, light and darkness, weal and woe are attributed to him. God is responsible for the entire reality of creation (cf. Deut 32,39: “I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal”). This totality, which arises from the unity and oneness of God does not mean, however that the creator keeps himself equidistance from light and darkness/weal and woe. Although God is responsible for the negative aspects of History and Creation, but facilitation and enforcement of Salvation and Righteousness is what is proper to his being.1213 The rock-like quality of God is expressed in terms of his lack of failure; i.e., in terms of his reliability and consistency (v. 16b, traditional, “injustice/unrighteousness/wrongdoing”). The psalmist has placed a tree at the entrance to the Psalter (cf. Ps 1). And now after the fall of the monarchy in Ps 89 of the III Book, again tree appears as an entrance to the new era of God (IV Book). Towards the end of Ps 92 the psalmist combines the tree metaphor, a gate way to the Psalter (Ps 1) with 1210

1211 1212

1213

F. LINDSTRÖM, God and the Origin of Evil: A Contextual Analysis of Alleged Monistic Evidence in the Old Testament (Lund 1983) 180. F. LINDSTRÖM, God and the Origin of Evil, 198. J. SANDERS, The God who Risks: A Theology of Divine Providence (Downers Grove 2007) 87. U. BERGES, Jesaja 40-48, HThKAT, 403-408.

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metaphor of the Rock. These two images of a Tree and Rock can thus juxtapose two apparent contrasts: destruction of life - resurrection of life. When these two metaphors are associated with the God of Israel, they speak to us about activity of God. Yahweh who causes the kings and kingdoms to fall (cf. Ps 89) can also raise them up again (Book IV - Yahweh Reigns). Yahweh can both fell a tree and cause it sprout again (cf. Job 14,7). Positively speaking, the image of a tree and rock symbolize “Life-force”. Tree is associated with the symbol of life. So also the Rock is life-giving (cf. Exod 17,6 - Water from the Rock and Deut 32,13.18). On the other hand both these images have negative connotations. Yahweh himself who fells the Trees or otherwise brings about their fall (in Isa 10,33-34; 2,13; 6,13; 32,19) can also see that they sprout again (Isa 10,3311,9.10; 37,22b-32; 6,12-13; 4,2). Rock which is saving (life-giving/corner stone) can also be a Rock of stumbling (Isa 8,13-15; cf. 28,16-17). These images of Tree and Rock in Ps 92 convey that the righteous, as trees, have their home in God’s holy hill (Temple precincts – Ps 92,13[14]). As the king is set on Zion (Ps 2,6). Finally, crucial to the message of Ps 1 and of the Psalter as a whole, is a term shared in common by Pss 1,3 and 92,13[14], “transplant” (√ltv). The tree is not planted but “transplanted”, that is, transported from a nonspecific location into a well-specified surrounding for it to thrive. By employing the technical term “transplanting” (Tree) and Refuge imagery (God as “Rock” in Ps 92), the poet of Pss 1 and 92 echo Israel’s own passage from bondage to deliverance, a pilgrimage of release and fulfillment. The righteous now sets his foot on a firm Rock, restored and sustained by “channels of streams”, which echoes the idea of divine enclosure. The Psalms of the Book IV seem to respond to the exile at the end of Book III by pointing back to Moses, celebrating the fact that Yahweh reigns, remembering David’s path through affliction to exultation, and recalling Yahweh’s past faithfulness to Israel.1214 Book IV of the Psalms seems to be an expression of faith in exile. That is, though the walls are breached and the crown is in the dust (Ps 89,39-40[40-41]), yet the faithful trust in Yahweh. The opening statement of this trust is a return to Moses in Ps 90, which bears the superscription, “A prayer of Moses, the man of God”. After the fall of Monarchy, Israel once again finds itself back in the wilderness/exile with Moses. There Israel discovers God as its King. There is a noticeable shift from David to Moses as the primary “voice” in Book IV of the Psalter and the role Moses plays in this portion of the Psalter. In this connection Erich Zenger writes: 1214

G. H. WILSON, “The Structure of the Psalter”, in D. G. FIRTH and P. JOHNSTON (eds.), Interpreting the Psalms, (UK 2006) 229-240.

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“Psalm Book IV has a Moses dimension that distinguishes it from the other psalm books. As the first psalm in the composition Ps 90 begins with the creation of the world and of humanity described in Genesis (Ps 90,3 alludes to Gen 3,19), and Ps 106 as the last psalm recapitulates the conquest and life in the land, with the latter being evaluated under the perspective of Deut 7,1-5.16; 29,26; 31,17; 32,17. To that extent the composition of Psalms 90-106 is Pentateuchoriented, that is, Moses-oriented. Moreover, Moses is named seven times in the collection (Pss 90 [title, MT 1); 99,6; 103,7; 105,26; 106,16.23.31), while he is mentioned elsewhere in the Psalter only a single time (Ps 77,20[21])”.1215 Instead of repudiating Israel’s confidence in the Davidic king, Moses here seems to comfort the righteous people whom David represented. In Ps 90 Moses plays an important role for Israel in exile like the role he played for Israel in the exodus; namely, he stands between the people and God and pleads with God on behalf of the people.1216 Ps 90 opens with a statement about the place of God’s people in God’s presence: “Lord, you have been our dwelling place (!w[m) in all generations” (Ps 90,1). The Hebrew term !w[m (‘dwelling place/habitation”) is also related to the “rock word field”. Ps 90 promises that God’s presence is available in unmediated form “in all generations”. The king, the temple, and the land could all be lost (fleeting existence), but God would remain a dwelling place, a Rock for his people. After the Ps 90, two more psalms (Pss 91 and 92) too speak of mortality (cf. also Ps 89,47-48[48-49]). By virtue of the fact that these psalms do not have titles, they seem intended to be read as prayers of Moses as well. Hence, Moses’ appeal to the Lord on behalf of God’s servants continues in Pss 91 and 92. There are thematic links between Psalm 90 and 91 (cf. e.g., Pss 90,1 and 91,9), and the last words of Ps 92 allude to Deuteronomy 32 (cf. Ps 92,15[16] and Deut. 32,4).1217 This brackets psalms 90-92 with Mosaic material. Just as Ps 90 draws from the well-known intercession of Moses in Exodus 32, the last verse of Ps 92 likewise alludes to Deut 32; Ps 92,15[16]: Showing that the Lord is upright/straight (rvy); He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness (lw[) in him. “The Rock, his work is perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God, there is not unrighteousness (lw[) (in him), just and upright (rvy) is he (cf. Deut 32,4).1218

1215

1216 1217 1218

E. ZENGER, “The God of Israel’s Reign over the World (Psalms 90-106)”, in LOHFINK and ZENGER, The God of Israel and the Nations, 165. G. T. SHEPPARD, “Theology and the Book of Psalms”, Int 46/2 (1992) 150. Cf. E. ZENGER, “The God of Israel’s Reign over the World (Psalms 90-106)”, 167-168. Cf. E. ZENGER, “The God of Israel’s Reign over the World (Psalms 90-106)”, 168.

PSALM 94,22 MY GOD THE ROCK OF MY REFUGE A. Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre The biblical writers pick up the same imagery, using “Rock” as a picture for God. Ps 19 referred to the Lord as “my Rock and my Redeemer” (v. 14[15]). The prayer in Ps 61,2[3] petitions, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I”, while Ps 62,2[3] and 6[7] assert, “He alone is my Rock and my salvation”. The picture of God as Rock appears in a number of psalms in this part of the collection. “He is my Rock”, declares Ps 92,15[16]. Psalm 95,1 refers to the Lord as “the Rock of our salvation”, and 94,22 speaks of “my God the Rock of my refuge”. “My God”, this image is saying, “is as secure, as stable, as steady as the Rock of Gibraltar”.1219 Like Ps 92, Psalm 94 is a reflection on the condition of the righteous in the face of the wicked. A thematic connection to Ps 92 is evident in the call for the dullest of people (~ylyskw ~[b ~yr[b – Ps 94,8) to recognize the breadth of Yahweh’s puissance (Ps 92,5-9[6-10]; 94,8-11). Ps 94 complains throughout that the wicked presently enjoy hegemony. However, Yahweh is a ‘Rock and refuge’ at the time of trouble (Ps 94,22),1220 and torah is a ‘respite’ (jqv - a source of security/refuge) from the attack of enemies (Ps 94,13).1221 Structurally, the psalm may be divided into three parts corresponding to the opening and closing laments and the central section. These may be further refined.1222 The communal lament begins with the invocation of God (vv. 1-2), before the plea (v. 3) and the description of distress (vv. 4-7). The central “sapiential” section (vv. 8-15) can be divided into two on the basis of the ostensible addressees, either the guilty (vv. 8-11) or the people (vv. 12-15). The last section can be divided into two parts each introduced by a rhetorical question (vv. 16-19 and 20-22). The first part has the character of a personal testimony to the people 1219

1220 1221 1222

J. LIMBURG, Psalms, 320. The famous Rock of Gibraltar occupies approximately two square miles of the 2.3 square mile area of Gibraltar. The huge limestone rock is 1,398 feet high and is riddled with many caves and tunnels. G. WILSON, Editing of the Hebrew Psalter, 216-217. Cf. J. F. D. CREACH, Yahweh as Refuge, 96. Cf. M. CONTI, “Dio defensore della causa degli oppressi secondo il Salmo 94”, Antonianum 72 (1997) 3-37.

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and the second, encouragement by way of address to God. The last verse of the psalm recalls the opening invocation. This psalm exhibits a mixed form,1223 combining a communal lament (vv. 1-7), an individual lament (vv. 16-23) and a central “sapiential” section with blessing (vv. 8-15).1224 The complexity of form raises the question of whether one type is dominant. Since retribution is a typical motif in wisdom material and appears in all sections of Ps 94. A request for the destruction of enemies and personal protection, which is the manner in which retribution is expressed in the first and third sections of the psalm, is also extremely frequent in laments, and is often found expressed as a petition that evil-doers receive in return for what they have done (Pss 7,15-16[16-17]; 17,12-13; 31,18[19]; 35,7-8). The psalm, though containing sapiential elements, is closer to one of lament than instruction.1225 In fact, the lament material dominates in Ps 94. Despite the complexity of its form, Ps 94 ought to be treated as a unified work not a composite. The repetition of vocabulary is an evidence for its unity. jpv (vv. 2.15), ytm (vv. 3.8), [vr (vv. 3.13.21), !wa yl[p (vv. 4.16), ~[ (vv. 5.14), hlxn (vv. 5.14), !yb (vv. 7.8), hy (vv. 7.12), rcy (vv. 9.20), [[r (vv. 13.16). In many of these instances, it is not only the word that is repeated, but the thought associated with it. To demonstrate, vv. 2 and 23 both contain bwv (and l[) as well as other words that are semantically close (lwmg, ~nwa, and ~t[r). The final verse provides a positive answer to the plea at the opening of the psalm, and together the pair forms an inclusion.1226 B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 94,22 1. Text and Translation Psalm 94:16-22 `!w yhiy>w: 22 16 Who will rise on my behalf against the wicked? Who will stand for me against evil doers? 17 If Yahweh had not come to my aid, My life would have been silenced. 18 When I said, “My foot is slipping”, your faithfulness, O Yahweh, supported me. 19 When a maelstrom of worries raged within me, your comfort soothed my soul. 20 Can a throne of destruction be associated with you, [or] one who creates woe against [your] decree? 21 They join forces against the life of the righteous, and condemn innocent blood. 22 But Yahweh remains a shelter for me, and my God, my Rock of refuge. 2. Close Reading of Ps 94,22 The Rock-verse appears in vv. 16-22. This section can be divided into two parts each introduced by a rhetorical question (vv. 16-19 and 20-22). The first part has the character of a personal testimony to the people and the second encouragement by way of address to God. Once again as usual God is addressed as Rock in the section of Individual Lament (vv. 16-22) that, however, at the end (v. 23) refers to a collective “we” in the background. While the vv. 20 and 21 look back to the previous lament (vv. 2-7), vv. 16-19.22 contain the motif of personal testimony of trust. The joyful triumph of the guilty in v. 3 now is expressed as their occupation of a seat of power; their criminal behavior as the taking of innocent lives. The psalmist does not dwell on these points, but quickly returns to words of encouragement framed as personal experience using stock metaphors for Yahweh’s activity and protection.1227 The most prominent aspect of characterization of Yahweh in the psalm is the consistent depiction of activity. Yahweh is the one who acts to enforce the ordering of the universe. Almost every reference to Yahweh is one of activity. Yahweh rises, plants, heeds, sees, instructs, supports, destroys, and more.1228 However, it would appear from the 1227

1228

On bgfm and rwc as metaphors for the protective role of Yahweh, see S. OLOFSSON, God is my Rock, 35-45, 78-80. Activity is associated with Yahweh in vv. 1.2.7.9-14.17-19.22.23. By contrast, God appears, but is not active in vv. 5.15.20. Vv. 3.4.6.8.16.21 do not refer to Yahweh.

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situation described in the psalm that God is currently inactive, that is, God is not acting to protect that group at the present time. In other words God has become literally “rock” (unmoved mover). Only towards the end the psalmist expresses his expression of trust in God who has become an active “Rock”. The personal lament begins with two double questions (v. 16). These evoke the situation of a lack of justice in which the petitioner seeks an advocate who will stand by him in trial.1229 Verse 17 expresses the danger of death: but for Yahweh’s help the petitioner would be dead (cf. Pss 31,17[18]; 115,17). The verse encompasses danger and rescue at the same time. Verse 18 expresses this again in conventional psalms language (cf. Pss 17,5; 38,16[17]; 73,2). Vv. 19-20 depict the bi-polar experiences of the psalmist: On the one hand cares and torturous thoughts within (cf. Ps 139,23), on the other hand Yahweh’s consolations (Pss 71,21; 86,17; cf. Jer 16,7; Job 15,11; 21,2). Humanity is divided into two groups in the psalms – the people who belong to Yahweh (wm[, wtlxn, qydc, bl-yrvy-lk, yqn “those taught by Yahweh”, vv. 5.12.14.15.21), and the people who reject Yahweh (~yag, ~y[vr, !wa yl[p, ~yr[b, ~ylysk, ~y[r, vv. 2.3.4.8.13.16). In the psalms these two groups can be labeled as ‘righteous’ and the ‘wicked’. The righteous [who are called God’s “servants” db[; plural ~ydb[; Ps 90,13.16] in the Psalms are constantly set over against the wicked, and God’s righteousness is set over against wickedness. Wickedness amounts to opposition to God’s intentions to create Shalôm.1230 The first group is passive in the psalm. They do not appear as the subject of any verb. They suffer persecution at the hands of the wicked, but are also promised instruction, comfort and protection from Yahweh. The wicked, on the other hand, ruthlessly pursue a course of arrogance, blasphemy, oppression and murder (v. 21). In turn, however, they will become objects of destruction in the future (vv. 13.16.23). In comparison to the concrete danger to the righteous, however, the statement in v. 21 remains impersonal and subject to generalization. The speaking voice of the psalm maintains the same identity throughout, although the addressee alternates between Yahweh and the people. The personal testimony of vv. 16-19.22 reveals the voice to be one of those who belong to Yahweh. The rescue already experienced is here in v. 22 described in statements with which we are familiar from expressions of confidence. In this verse (v. 22) alone three metaphors for God appear: The metaphor of the Rock is preceded by

1229 1230

F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Ps 94”, 455. J. F. D. CREACH, The Destiny of the Righteous, 5.

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bgfm and succeeded by hsxm. For the petitioner personally this is already in the past, or has happened in the meantime. It is the righteous who call God as their Rock, who receive protection from God. This identification is confirmed by the plural suffix (wnyhla – v. 23) in the closing verse. It is important that at the very end the (righteous) petitioner indicates his incorporation by “our God” within a group, something we are accustomed to find in the so-called psalms of the poor.1231 3. Reading of Ps 94,22 in Context The psalm opens not with blessing fixed on spiritual orientation (cf. Pss 1,1-2; 119,1-2) but with an invocation and cry for intercession based on present physical experience. The invocation is closely related to the rest of the psalm. It is both an introduction to and summation of what follows. In its characterization of Yahweh as judge/ruler (jpv) and the one who acts, it circumscribes the horizons within which the assurances and appeals of the following verses operate. The repetition of the unusual epithet “God of vengeance” in v. 1 underscores the intensity with which the need for action is felt, and the nature of the theophany requested in v. 2, in which Yahweh is urged not merely to appear passively but to rear up in action, brings out the urgency of the situation. There is irony in the appeal in v. 2, as Yahweh is called on to ascend (afn) over (l[) those who themselves already appear high. These are described as “proud” (~yag) – an image for the powerful, the rich, and those who have emancipated themselves from God (cf. Isa 2,12; Prov 15,25; 16,19). God, who is Rock and refuge, is only the Most High. Hence, vv. 1-2, which in light of the content can be called an appeal before a tribunal.1232 It calls on Yahweh as judge/ruler. This perspective reappears at other points in the psalm (vv. 15.20.21). Verses 3-7 open with a question that identifies the arrogant as evil-doers who, as the repetition of ytm-d[ in v. 3 suggests, have been unchecked for too long. Their crimes are outlined in vv. 4-7. First, they sin with words that are boastful and arrogant (v. 4). Second, they sin with actions, as they “crush” God’s people. That same crush (akd) verb is used in Isa 3,15, when the prophet accuses the people of Jerusalem of “crushing” and “grinding” the poor persons in the city. But the wicked cannot crush the poor, while the poor have God as their Rock, which cannot be crushed. At the moment, the wicked are triumphing in the joy of victory, and not the petitioner, as in Ps 28,7. Striking here is the designation 1231 1232

F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Ps 94”, 455. F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Ps 94”, 452.

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of the addressee of the oppression as Yahweh’s people and inheritance (cf. Pss 28,9; 78,62.71). In v. 6 the severe accusation refers to the secret murder of personae miserabiles, who are described in conceptual terms typical of Deuteronomic-Deuteronomistic thought.1233 The poor who are described in three termsstrangers, widows and orphans-appear only in Ps 146,9. To what extent should the descriptions of injustice found here and elsewhere in the psalm be taken as reflecting the reality of the performers? The climax of their crime is the cynicism of practical atheism, which denies God’s activity or even God’s living presence. God in v. 7 is titled as “God of Jacob”. This phrase is a further development of the divine appellative “Mighty One of Jacob” (cf. Pss 132,2.5; 24,6 [LXX 23,6]) and conveys the same meaning.1234 Hence “God of Jacob” (cf. Gen 28,10-22) is strength related word and conveys Rock-like strength of God. The implied audience is described as “proud” (hag) (v. 2). Alternatively, the use of the term ~[ , people, allows for the possibility that members of Israel are being reprimanded for their lack of faith in v. 8. The “dullards among the people” and the “fools” (v. 8) appear to be a subgroup within the larger whole, the people; however, in terms of the thought progression of the psalm they must be identical with the wicked/evildoers of the lament.1235 The entire argumentation in vv. 9-11 points to Yahweh’s superiority as the universal, all-comprehending judge, who is not mortal as human beings are. Yahweh is the ruler of the earth (vv. 2.10.12.20) and has an active interest in human affairs (vv. 7. 8-11, 14.1719). Indeed, God has a stake in the world (note the possessives in vv. 5.14) and Yahweh may be relied on to come to its aid (vv. 16-19.22). Improper behavior is epitomized by the oppression of the unprotected (vv. 6), while correct behavior is trust in Yahweh and reception of the Torah (vv. 12-13). Wickedness is associated with lack of wisdom and righteousness with its possession (v. 8.12). The present situation of each class of people is presented in stereotypical ways (exultation, oppression), as is their predicated situation in the future (destruction/security) and their behavior (violence and blasphemy, serenity and study).1236 The central verses of this section (vv. 8-15) console the righteous. The success of the wicked is trivialized in v. 11, while v. 12 holds out to the righteous something better than human ways (~da twbvxm), namely the Torah of

1233 1234 1235 1236

F.-L. HOSSFELD, 454. TDOT, 6, 207. F.-L. HOSSFELD, 454. Cf. P. L. TRUDINGER, The Psalms of the Tamid Service, 119.

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God, which leads to peace of mind in the face of oppression. Such persons who have absorbed some of the biblical tradition will understand that present troubles are temporary, lasting only until the Lord deals with the wicked (v. 13). In other words this verse (v. 13) may have plurality of meanings. It may refer to the one who has been taught by the Lord (for example, the speaker of these verses and vv. 17-19) and who has serenity during and from the troubled times described in the psalm, and, at the same time, the verse may also attempt to comfort others by pointing them towards the teaching of the Lord (for instance, concerning God’s unfailing activity v. 1, and reliability, v. 14).1237 In vv. 10-11, the weightiness of God’s teaching is contrasted with the weightlessness, or perhaps transitoriness of human ideas or intentions (cf. also Pss 144,4; 62,9[10]). This all speaks of Yahweh’s stability in contrast to human mortality or vulnerability (v. 11b) in terms of Qoheleth’s philosophy of lbh (“breath”). In contrast to the fools and dullards, the man guided by wisdom is stable. As noted in the preceding pages (and also in Ps 92,15[16]), the tenor of Rock metaphor is not only protection but also moral import. The question, “Can the throne of destruction be associated with you?” demands the answer - “No”. Yahweh’s throne is a secure throne ($ask !wkn- Ps 93,2), he only destroys the “throne of destruction” (Ps 94,20). The “throne of destruction” (twwh ask) is probably a parody of the “throne of judgement” (twask jpvm) in Ps 122,5. The tribunal intended for the establishment of justice has been perverted into a ‘tribunal of destruction’. Yahweh, the Rock, who is the “turn-backer” of judgment will judge the wicked and show justice onto the righteous (Ps 94,15). The “throne of destruction” has no place before his “secure throne” ($ask !wkn). He makes things right, acts rightly. He does not bend the law and does not err. He “does no wrong” (hlw[ hf[y al cf. Zeph 3,5). Instead Yahweh intervenes for righteousness, quite in contrast to the groups, who do quite the opposite of what their position and vocation demand by exploiting others, putting their own interests first, and falsifying Yahweh’s will (Zeph 3,5). Yahweh always acts correctly. In contrast to his people, who are perverse and crooked, Ps 94 positively emphasizes how Yahweh is and how he acts, and further extolls him as a Rock. Thus Ps 94 sheds additional light on Ps 92. He is the Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him (Ps 92,15[16]). Yahweh as royal “judge” of the world is also its royal savior. God’s refuge constitutes both home and destiny for the righteous and seeking refuge connotes trust in and allegiance to Yahweh to the exclusion of things that do not warrant ultimate reliance, from idols to riches.1238 Creach aptly notes: “In 1237 1238

Cf. P. L. TRUDINGER, The Psalms of the Tamid Service, 118. J. F. D. CREACH, Yahweh as Refuge, 36.

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short, those who ‘seek refuge in Yahweh’ ‘trust in Yahweh’, ‘seek Yahweh’, and ‘wait for Yahweh’ are prototypical believers, ones who perfectly rely upon Yahweh rather than human strength. All such individuals are wise and ‘fortunate’ (Ps 2,12; cf. Also Ps 94,12) because they live in complete trust and humility”.1239 Most important to Creache’s argument is his attempt to cement a bond between torah and refuge. Torah serves as a “surrogate for Yahweh’s refuge” in Ps 94 (cf. also Ps 119), “a retreat for the righteous, a hiding place for the pious person”.1240 In these psalms, however, torah is more than a shelter from external threat. The reference to Ps 94,12-13 is indirect at best: “How fortunate are those whom you discipline, Yahweh, and whom you teach from your torah, giving them “respite” (jyqvhl) from days of trouble.”. Who are the people, who are Yahweh’s inheritance (wtlxnw wm[) (v. 14), who are righteous and upright in heart? (v. 15) - They are the poor (a self-designation of the poor – cf. Pss 7,11; 11,2). V. 16 evokes a situation of a lack of justice in which the petitioner seeks an advocate who will stand by him in a trial. At the end of the psalm the petitioner has a mighty fortress, a stronghold, a Rock that he can depend on for safety.

1239 1240

J. F. D. CREACH, Yahweh as Refuge, 36-37, 47-48. J. F. D. CREACH, Yahweh as Refuge, 69.

PSALM 95,1 MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE TO THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION A. Preliminary Observations: Structure and Genre Several research issues are at stake in the Forschungsgeschichte of this psalm.1241 The issues touch on such themes as: the coherence or unity of the psalm, its relation to other Festival Psalms including Pss 50 and 81; the genre(s) or Gattung(en) of the text; its dating or historical setting; its cultic Sitz im Leben; and the psalm’s relationship to the New Testament. Despite discussions on the original unity and growth of the poem, the text in its present form comprises a coherent and meaningful whole. In agreement with W. S. Prinsloo, F. –L. Hossfeld has argued recently (against T. Seidl) for the unity of the psalm. Stylistic features and repetitions as well as the logical conception of the psalm, serve as major reasons why the interpretations of the psalm as a unity can be maintained.1242 Sound and stylistic features enhance the beauty of the psalm’s composition and the poetic interwovenness of its various components.1243 Poetic conventions that contribute to its literary identity include: rhyme patterns (vv. 1-5); alliteration (vv. 1.5.7.8); assonance (vv. 7ab); wordand sound-play (vv. 1.6); metonymy (v. 2); repetition; antithesis or contrast (vv. 1-7a/7b-11; v.4); anadiplosis (vv. 4-5); chiasms (vv. 1-7c; v. 2;vv. 4-5); inclusion (vv. 6/8); pars pro toto (vv.4-5) metaphor (vv. 1.7b); simile (v. 8); and merism (v. 5).1244 All these figures of speech are applied functionally in order to enhance either aspects of the text, or the significance of its theological content.

1241

1242

1243 1244

G. H. DAVIES, “Psalm 95”, ZAW 85 (1973) 183-187, gives a literature review on the psalm’s research history. See also W. S. PRINSLOO, “If only You would listen to His voice!”, in The Bible in human Society: Essays in Honour of John Rogerson (ed. R. P. CARROL, D. J. A. CLINES and P. R. DAVIES; JSOTS 200 (Sheffield 1995) 393-395; F.-L. HOSSFELD, “Psalm 95. Gattungsgeschichitliche, kompositionskritische und bibeltheologische Anfragen“, in SEYBOLD/ZENGER (Hg.), Neue Wege der Psalmenforschung, 29-44, idem, “Psalm 95”, in Psalmen 51-100, 658. W. S. PRINSLOO, „Psalm 95: If Only You Will Listen to His Voice!”, in M. D. CARROL, D. J. A. CLINES, and P. R. DAVIES (eds.), The Bible in Human Society, 393-410; Cf. Also, HOSSFELD, „Psalm 95“, 661; idem, Psalmen 51-100, 513. B. WEBER, Werkbuch Psalmen II. Die Psalmen 73-150 (Stuttgart 2003) 141-142. D. J. HUMAN, “A Prophetic Voice for Africa from Ps 95”, in Psalms and Hebrews. Studies in Reception (eds. D. J. HUMAN and G. J. STEYN) (New York 2010) 15220.

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The text is characterized not only by summons to praise (vv. 1-5) and worship (vv. 6-7a) this God of Israel; its celebration also includes an admonitory sermon (vv. 7b-11) that convinces the community of believers to maintain their faith in this supreme God. Both exultation and admonition thus build the antithetic atmosphere of praise and warning in the psalm.1245 Some divide the text into two basic sections: namely, vv. 1-7a and 7b-11. The first stanza (vv. 1-7a) is characterized by its typical Old Testament hymn structure; while the second stanza (vv. 7b-11) is described as a prophetic oracle because of the divine admonition or exhortation. The whole psalm can be divided into three sections; A summons to praise Yahweh (vv. 1-5) A summons to worship Yahweh (vv. 6-7a) A prophetic oracle explicated in a Sermon (vv. 7b-11). Different scholars connected Ps 95 with the liturgical traditions1246 of early Judaism and early Christianity. Braulik sees the psalm addressed to all Israel, who live in the Promised Land and who are gathered at the temple in Jerusalem for feast.1247 Mowinckel considers the first part1248 of Ps 95 as having all the characteristics of, and belonging to, the “Enthronement Psalms” (Pss 93; 9699).1249 The second part – from which Hebrews quotes – “expresses an idea other than the mere enthronement”, so that the psalm can be considered as a “liturgical composition.1250 Goulder allocates Ps 95 as part of the morning liturgy in churches from early times.1251

1245 1246 1247

1248 1249 1250 1251

D. J. HUMAN, “A Prophetic Voice for Africa from Ps 95”, 146. Cf. W. S. PRINSLOO, „Psalm 95: If Only You Will Listen to His Voice!”, 393-410. G. BRAULIK, “Gottes Ruhe – Das Land oder der Tempel? Zu Psalm 95,11”, in E. HAAG F.-L. HOSSFELD (eds.), Freude an der Weisung des Herrn: Beiträge zur Theologie der Psalmen, SBB 13 (Stuttgart (1986) 43. S. MOWINCKEL, The Psalms in Israel’s Worship, 1 (Grand Rapids 2004) 106, 122, 156. S. MOWINCKEL, The Psalms in Israel’s Worship, 1 (Grand Rapids 2004) 32. S. MOWINCKEL, The Psalms in Israel’s Worship, 1, 106. M. GOULDER, The Psalms of the Return (Book V, Psalms 107-150), JSOTS 258 (Sheffield 1998) 109.

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B. Metaphorical Meaning and Usage of Ps 95,1 1. Text and Translation Psalm 95:1-5 `Wn[ev.yI rWcl. h['yrIn" hw"hyl; hn"N>r:n> Wkl.1 `Al [:yrIn" tArmiz>Bi hd"AtB. wyn"p' hm'D>q;n> 2 `~yhil{a/-lK'-l[; lAdG" %l,m,W hw"hy> lAdG" lae yKi 3 `Al ~yrIh' tAp[]Atw> #r