At Baalpeor At Meribah In the land of Canaan Under the rule of the Assyrians In exile 28They joined themselves to Baal-peor, 31 And that was counted to him for righteousness 32They angered hima at the waters of Meribah, 34They did not utterly destroy the peoples, 36They also did obeisance to their idols, 37They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons, 38 And shed the blood of the innocent, And the land was polluted with bloodshed. 39Thus they were defiled by their acts, And played the harlot by their doings. 40 And Jehovah's wrath was kindled against his people, And they were brought into subjection under their hand. But they themselves were rebellious against his counsel, 44Nevertheless he regarded their distress, 45And he remembered for them his covenant, And relented according to the abundance of his lovingkindnesses. 46He made them also to be pitied By all those who had carried them captive. 10628 I. e., offered to dead idols or else sacrifices offered to the spirits of the dead. a10632 So Gk. b10633 I. e., Jehovah's spirit. 1067 Probably demons of animal form. The word is from Assyr., shidu. Cf. Dt. 32", Is. 1321, 3414. d 10643 Correcting the Heb. as the context demands. 1064 Correcting with the aid of Lev. 2639. Possibly the line is secondary. § 173. Jehovah's Ability to Deliver as of Old, Ps. 77 Ps. 77 1I will cry to God with my voice, To God with my voice, and he will heed me. The 2In the day of my distress I seek him," My hand is stretched out and slacked not, My soul refuseth to be comforted. I remember God and am disquieted, I muse and my spirit fainteth. 'I lay hold of the night watches with mine eyes, I am so restless that I cannot speak. "I consider the days of old, I recall the years of yore, "I soliloquize by night in my mind, I muse and my spirit maketh diligent search: And will he be favorable no more? Is his lovingkindness clean gone forever? "Hath God forgotten to be gracious? prob lem: Why does Jehovah not respond to the cry of his servants? 110647 An editor has appended to this ps., which concludes the fourth division of the Psalter, the doxology: Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, From everlasting to everlasting. § 173 The unity of the ps. has been questioned. Duhm finds two poems, 1-15, 20 and 16-19; Briggs, 1-15 and 16-20 Vss. 16. are, however, but a highly poetic development of the theme of 15: Jehovah's acts of deliverance in Israel's early history. The thought of the ps. is closely related to that of 78 and 80. It probably comes from the latter part of the Persian or else of the Gk. period when the persecutions of the court at Antioch and of the apostate high priests were making the lot of the faithful increasingly trying. 77 Heb. adds the Lord. h772 Following the Lat. in interpreting the unusual Heb. word. Heb. adds night. 1774 So Lat. and Sym. 177 Correcting with the aid of the Gk. and Lat. 7710 This refers to his doubt. He asserts that he will correct this by recalling what Jehovah has done in the past. In his control of the forces of nature Jehovah's care for his people His entreaty for their loyalty Israel's disloyalty What vah would do if Israel would obey him Thou hast made known thy strength among the peoples. 15Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. 16The waters saw thee, O God; The waters saw thee, they were in travail;' 17The clouds poured out water, The skies sent out a sound, Thine arrows also went abroad. 18 The sound of thy thunder was in the whirlwind, The earth trembled and shook, 16 The depths likewise trembled. 19Thy way, O Jehovah," was in the sea, And the prints of thy feet were not known. 20 Thou leddest thy people like a flock, § 174. A Lesson from Israel's Past, Ps. 817-16 Ps. 81 In distress thou didst call and I delivered thee, Hear, O people, and I will testify to thee: O Israel, if thou hadst but hearkened to me, "There would have been in the midst of thee no strange god, 1oI, indeed, am Jehovah thy God, Who brought thee out of the land of Egypt. Hadst thou opened wide thy mouth, I would have filled it. "But my people hearkened not to my voice, And Israel would have nothing to do with me. 12 And so I let them go in the stubbornness of their heart, 13Oh that my people would hearken to me, 17716 The Heb. adds the depths likewise trembled, but this destroys the parallelism and logical development of the thought and evidently originally stood at the end of 18, where it supplies the line demanded by the context. m7718 So the Gk. MSS., Lat., and Syr. 7719 Supplying the word required by the metre and context. § 174 The teachings of this ps. are familiar to the readers of Dt. and Pr. philosophy of history which a later editor of Judg. has embodied in its framework. ably comes from the latter part of the Persian or the earlier part of the Gk. period. 8113 Slightly revising the Heb. as the context requires. It is the naïve A LESSON FROM THE PAST 14 Right soon would I subdue their enemies, 16I would feed them also with the finest of the wheat, § 175. Jehovah the Source of all Prosperity, Ps. 127 Ps. 127 1Except Jehovah build the house, its builders' labor in vain. Except Jehovah keep the city, the watchman waketh in vain. 2It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit down late, To eat the bread of toil; so he giveth his beloved sleep." Lo, children are a gift from Jehovah, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Het shall not be put to shame when he speaketh with his enemies within The Prosperity of Jehovah's People, Ps. 14412-15 Of ma terial prosperity Of domestic bliss § 176. Ps. 144 12Our sons" are like saplings, grown tall in their youth; Our daughters are like corner-pillars, carved like a temple. 13Our garners are full, affording all kinds of store; The bless ings of peace The sheep are bringing forth thousands and ten thousands in the fields." 14Our cattle are great with young, and none miscarry; There are no goings forth to war, no outcrys in the squares. 15 Happy the people, when they have it so! Happy the people when Jehovah is their God! Their Source P8116 Again revising the Heb. as the context requires. Heb., he will cause him to eat. 4816 So one Heb. MSS., Gk., and Lat. Heb., thee. 175 Many interpreters regard this ps. as a composite, but both stanzas illustrate the fact that in the end all of man's prosperity comes from Jehovah: house, the security of the city, and children. These represent, respectively, material, political, and domestic peace and prosperity. Instead of being composite this is conspicuous for its close literary unity. It probably comes from the Gk. period. It is one of very few examples of Heb. poetry written in a prevailing six-beat measure. 1271 Following the Gk. in revising the corrupt Heb. 1272 Most recent commentators translate in sleep, but there is no indication in the Heb. or VSS. that sleep is not the direct object which the verb demands. The idea is that sleep is a gift of Jehovah. Therefore men are foolish to reject it by rising too early or sitting up too late. 127 Following one Gk. text in translating the verbs in this line as singular rather than as plural. 176 This little four-beat poem is appended to a longer three-beat Maccabean hymn. It is probable that it is a fragment of a longer ps. The presence of many Aramaisms and its position in the Psalter suggest that it is a song of thanksgiving and exultation expressing the feelings of the Jews under their Maccabean rulers, when at last, as in the days of Simon, they enjoyed in peace the fruits of their many conflicts and victories. The figures of speech are vigorous and the constructions original. 1441 The editor who joined this poem to the Maccabean prayer has prefaced it by the word because. 1441 The Heb. word is usually translated streets, but Briggs is undoubtedly right in maintaining that in the present context it has the meaning fields or pastures. II THE VALUE OF THE LAW Pss. 197-14, 119 § 177. The Excellency and Potency of Jehovah's Law, Ps. 197-14 Ps. 19 "The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the life,b The commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes, The judgments of Jehovah are true and righteous altogether, 12 Who can discern his errors; cleanse me from secret faults, 13 And from presumptuous sins restrain thy servant; let them not have dominion over me; Then shall I be perfect and cleared from great transgression. "Let the words of my mouth be acceptable, and the meditation of my heart, In thy sight, O Jehovah, my Rock and my Redeemer. § 178. The Duty and Blessedness of Studying the Law, Ps. 119 Ps. 119 1Blessed are they whose way is blameless, who follow Jehovah's law; "Happy are they who observe his decrees, who seek him whole heartedly; §177 This ps. in praise of the law was appropriately joined with the noble poem in praise of God's glory as revealed in the heavens. Cf. § 92. Like Ps. 119, which it closely resembles in theme and vocabulary, it has in the first stanza at least a regular five-beat measure which appropriately expresses that passionate love and enthusiasm which filled the heart of the psalmist. The language is that of the late priestly school. The law and the ritual are the central forces in Israel's life. The ps. was evidently written after the priestly reformation of Nehemiah and Ezra. Apparently the priestly law has been enforced long enough to develop an intense love and appreciation of it. The ps., therefore, may be dated some time during the Gk. period. It was well adapted for use in the synagogue and for purposes of practical instruction. It is a signal demonstration of the fact that the Jewish law, instead of being regarded as a burden, was considered a blessing, Jehovah's best gift to his loyal worshippers. 197 In this context the Heb. word torah is evidently used in the technical sense as a description of the priestly teachings embodied in the Heb. scriptures. b197 The Heb. idiom means, literally, restores physical vigor. 19 I. e., Jehovah's will and character as revealed through Israel's teachers and through the experiences of the nation and of the individual. It was through the cumulative experience of the race that the simple-that is, the inexperienced-were to be made wise. d19 This is probably here used as a technical definition of the laws which dealt especially with worship. Cf. Ps. 341 199 The Heb. term here translated judgments is a technical designation of the typical civil, social, and ceremonial laws such as are found in Ex. 21-23. 1913 Many translators favor the rendering, also restrain thy servant from the presumptuous. In this case the reference would be to the arrogant rulers and would accord well with the latter part of the line, but it introduces a note not found elsewhere in the ps.; furthermore, it is not supported by the succeeding line. Therefore the current translation is adopted. $178 This ps. is the longest, most elaborate, most artificial poem in the Psalter. It has twenty-two divisions corresponding to the letters of the Heb. alphabet and eight succeeding lines begin with the same letter of the alphabet. In this respect it is akin to Lam. 3, which has three 1192 Lit., testimonies, but in this ps., as in Dt. 620, it is clearly equivalent to decrees or ordinances. |