Psalm 68:4–10

Footnotes

1. 7 Traditionally the Hebrew term עֲרָבוֹת (’aravot) is taken as “steppe-lands” (often rendered “deserts”), but here the form is probably a homonym meaning “clouds.” Verse 33, which depicts God as the one who “rides on the sky” strongly favors this (see as well Deut 33:26), as does the reference in v. 9 to God as the source of rain. The term עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “cloud”) is cognate with Akkadian urpatu/erpetu and with Ugaritic ’rpt. The phrase rkb ’rpt (“one who rides on the clouds”) appears in Ugaritic mythological texts as an epithet of the storm god Baal. The nonphonemic interchange of the bilabial consonants b and p is attested elsewhere in roots common to Hebrew and Ugaritic, though the phenomenon is relatively rare.
2. 8 Heb “in the Lord his name.” If the is retained, the preposition -בְ (bet) is introducing the predicate (the so-called bet of identity), “the Lord is his name.” However, some prefer to emend the text to כִּי יָהּ שְׁמוֹ (ki yah shémo, “for Yah is his name”). This emendation, reflected in the present translation, assumes a confusion of bet (ב) and kaf (ך) and haplography of yod (י).
3. 9 God is depicted here as a just ruler. In the ancient Near Eastern world a king was responsible for promoting justice, including caring for the weak and vulnerable, epitomized by the fatherless and widows.
4. 10 Heb “God [is] in his holy dwelling place.” He occupies his throne and carries out his royal responsibilities.
5. 11 Heb “God causes the solitary ones to dwell in a house.” The participle suggests this is what God typically does.
6. 12 Heb “he brings out prisoners into prosperity.” Another option is to translate, “he brings out prisoners with singing” (cf. ). The participle suggests this is what God typically does.
7. 13 Or “in a parched [land].” God delivers the downtrodden and oppressed, but sinful rebels who oppose his reign are treated appropriately.
8. 14 Heb “when you go out before your people.” The Hebrew idiom “go out before” is used here in a militaristic sense of leading troops into battle (see Judg 4:14; 9:39; 2 Sam 5:24).
9. 15 When you march through the desert. Some interpreters think that v. 7 alludes to Israel’s exodus from Egypt and its subsequent travels in the desert. Another option is that v. 7, like v. 8, echoes Judg 5:4, which describes how the God of Sinai marched across the desert regions to do battle with Sisera and his Canaanite army.
10. 16 Heb “this one of Sinai.” The phrase is a divine title, perhaps indicating that the Lord rules from Sinai.
11. 17 The language of vv. 7–8 is reminiscent of Judg 5:4–5, which tells how the God of Sinai came in the storm and annihilated the Canaanite forces led by Sisera. The presence of allusion does not mean, however, that this is a purely historical reference. The psalmist is describing God’s typical appearance as a warrior in terms of his prior self-revelation as ancient events are reactualized in the psalmist’s experience. (For a similar literary technique, see Hab 3.)
12. 18 The verb נוּף (nuf, “cause rain to fall”) is a homonym of the more common נוּף (“brandish”).
13. 19 Heb “[on] your inheritance.” This refers to Israel as God’s specially chosen people (see Pss 28:9; 33:12; 74:2; 78:62, 71; 79:1; 94:5, 14; 106:40). Some take “your inheritance” with what follows, but the vav (ו) prefixed to the following word (note וְנִלְאָה, vénil’ah) makes this syntactically unlikely.
14. 20 Heb “it [is],” referring to God’s “inheritance.”
15. 21 Heb “it,” referring to God’s “inheritance.”
16. 22 The meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear; it appears to read, “your animals, they live in it,” but this makes little, if any, sense in this context. Some suggest that חָיָּה (khayah) is a rare homonym here, meaning “community” ( 312 ) or “dwelling place” ( III *הַיָּה). In this case one may take “your community/dwelling place” as appositional to the third feminine singular pronominal suffix at the end of v. 9, the antecedent of which is “your inheritance.” The phrase יָשְׁבוּ־בָהּ (yashvu-vah, “they live in it”) may then be understood as an asyndetic relative clause modifying “your community/dwelling place.” A literal translation of vv. 9b–10a would be, “when it [your inheritance] is tired, you sustain it, your community/dwelling place in [which] they live.”