Psalm 122

Footnotes

1. 10 Psalm 122. The psalmist expresses his love for Jerusalem and promises to pray for the city’s security.
2. 11 The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120–134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101–150(), .
3. 1 Heb “in the ones saying to me.” After the verb שָׂמַח (samakh), the preposition בְּ (bet) usually introduces the reason for joy.
4. 2 Or “were.”
5. 3 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
6. 4 Heb “Jerusalem, which is built like a city which is joined to her together.” The meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. Many regard this as a description of the compact way in which the city was designed or constructed. The translation assumes an emendation of the verb חֻבְּרָה (khubbérah, “is joined”) to a noun חֶבְרָה (khevrah, “association; company”). The text then reads literally, “Jerusalem, which is built like a city which has a company together.” This in turn can be taken as a reference to Jerusalem’s role as a city where people congregated for religious festivals and other civic occasions (see vv. 4–5).
7. 5 Or “went up.”
8. 6 Heb “which is where the tribes go up.”
9. 7 Heb “[it is] a statute for Israel to give thanks to the name of the Lord.”
10. 8 Or “for.”
11. 9 Or “sat.”
12. 10 Heb “Indeed, there they sit [on] thrones for judgment, [on] thrones [belonging] to the house of David.”
13. 11 Heb “ask [for].”
14. 12 Or “be secure.”
15. 13 or “security.”
16. 14 The psalmist uses second feminine singular pronominal forms to address personified Jerusalem.
17. 15 Heb “I will seek good for you.” The psalmist will seek Jerusalem’s “good” through prayer.