Psalm 97–99

Footnotes

1. 12 Psalm 97. The psalmist depicts the Lord as the sovereign, just king of the world who comes in power to vindicate his people.
2. 1 The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.
3. 2 Heb “all around.”
4. 3 The translation assumes that the prefixed verbal form in the first line is an imperfect (“are ashamed”) and that the ambiguous form in the third line is a perfect (“bow down”) because the psalmist appears to be describing the effect of the Lord’s mighty theophany on those who witness it (see vv. 5, 8). Another option is to take the prefixed form in the first line as a jussive (“let all who worship idols be ashamed”) and the ambiguous form in the third line as an imperative (“All you gods, bow down before him!”; cf. ).
5. 4 Heb “daughters.” The term “daughters” refers to the cities of Judah surrounding Zion (see Ps 48:11 and H. Haag, 2:336).
6. 5 Traditionally “Most High.”
7. 6 The participle may be verbal, though it might also be understood as substantival and appositional to “the Lord.” In this case one could translate, “Hate evil, you who love the Lord, the one who protects the lives … and delivers them.”
8. 7 Heb “hand.”
9. 8 Heb “Light is planted for the godly, and for the upright of heart joy.” The translation assumes an emendation of זָרַע (zara’, “planted”) to זָרַח (zara’, “shines”) which collocates more naturally with “light.” “Light” here symbolizes the joy (note the following line) that accompanies deliverance and the outpouring of divine favor.
10. 9 Heb “to his holy remembrance.” The Hebrew noun זָכַר (zakhar, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the Lord as invoked in liturgy and praise. Cf. Pss 6:5; 30:4. The Lord’s “name” is “holy” in the sense that it is a reminder of his uniqueness and greatness.
11. 10 Psalm 98. The psalmist summons the whole earth to praise God because he reveals his justice and delivers Israel.
12. 1 A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See Ps 96:1.
13. 2 The perfect verbal forms in vv. 1–3 are understood here as describing characteristic divine activities. Another option is to translate them as present perfects, “has performed … has accomplished deliverance, etc.” referring to completed actions that have continuing results.
14. 3 Heb “his right hand delivers for him and his holy arm.” The right hand and arm symbolize his power as a warrior-king (see Isa 52:10). His arm is “holy” in the sense that it is in a category of its own; God’s power is incomparable.
15. 4 Heb “makes known his deliverance.”
16. 5 Heb “he remembers his loyal love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel.”
17. 6 Heb “the deliverance of our God,” with “God” being a subjective genitive (= God delivers).
18. 7 The verbal forms in v. 9 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions (“will judge …”).
19. 8 Psalm 99. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s just rule and recalls how he revealed himself to Israel’s leaders.
20. 1 The prefixed verbal forms in v. 1 are understood here as indicating the nations’ characteristic response to the reality of the Lord’s kingship. Another option is to take them as jussives: “let the nations tremble … let the earth shake!”
21. 2 Winged angels (Heb “cherubs”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24–27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22–28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.
22. 3 The Hebrew verb נוּט (nut) occurs only here in the OT, but the meaning can be determined on the basis of the parallelism with רָגַז (ragaz, “tremble”) and evidence from the cognate languages (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [], 121).
23. 4 Heb “great.”
24. 5 The pronoun refers to the Lord himself (see vv. 5, 9).
25. 6 Heb “and strength, a king, justice he loves.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation assumes that two affirmations are made about the king, the Lord (see v. 1, and Ps 98:6). The noun עֹז (’oz, “strength”) should probably be revocalized as the adjective עַז (’az, “strong”).
26. 7 Heb “you establish fairness.”
27. 8 Or “exalt.”
28. 9 Or “bow down.”
29. 10 Heb “among those who called on his name.”
30. 11 Heb “those who.” The participle is in apposition to the phrase “those who called on his name” in the preceding line.
31. 12 A pillar of cloud. The psalmist refers to the reality described in Exod 33:9–10; Num 12:5; and Deut 31:15.
32. 13 Heb “a God of lifting up [i.e., forgiveness] you were to them, and an avenger concerning their deeds.” The present translation reflects the traditional interpretation, which understands the last line as qualifying the preceding one. God forgave Moses and Aaron, but he also disciplined them when they sinned (cf. , ). Another option is to take “their deeds” as referring to harmful deeds directed against Moses and Aaron. In this case the verse may be translated, “and one who avenged attacks against them.” Still another option is to emend the participial form נֹקֵם (noqem, “an avenger”) to נֹקָם (noqam), a rare Qal participial form of נָקַה (naqah, “purify”) with a suffixed pronoun. In this case one could translate, “and one who purified them from their [sinful] deeds” (cf. “and held them innocent”).
33. 14 Or “exalt.”