REFLECTIVE AND DIDACTIC PSALMS I. THE LESSONS OF ISRAEL'S HISTORY REGARDING JEHOVAH'S CHARACTER AND DEMANDS Dt. 321-43, Ps. 78, 106, 77, 817-16, 127, 14412-15 II. THE VALUE OF THE LAW Ps. 197-14, 119 III. THE PROPHETIC STANDARDS OF RIGHT AND WRONG Ps. 15, 361-4, 50 IV. THE FATE OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED Ps. 14 (53), 32, 37, 49, 34, 52, 1, 91, 112, 73, 82, 94, 125, 128, 133 REFLECTIVE AND DIDACTIC PSALMS I THE LESSONS OF ISRAEL'S HISTORY REGARDING JEHOVAH'S Dt. 321-43, Ps. 78, 106, 77, 817-16, 127, 14412-15 § 170. Jehovah's Justice and Fidelity Revealed in Israel's History, Dt. 321-43 The Reflective and Didactic Psalms.-The sages speak in this group of pss., which might properly be classified with the other wisdom writings, such as Pr., B. Sir., and Job. Here the didactic purpose of the psalmist is clearly revealed. The wise teachers of old Israel realized that what men sang under the influence of deep emotion sank deepest into their consciousness. Plato voiced the same when he declared, the character of the people depends so much more upon their songs than upon anything else that we ought to make these the chief forces in education. § 170 In this vigorous hymn the thoughts of the prophets and sages mingle. Such passages as 39 and 43 indicate that the author lived very nearly if not quite contemporaneously with the author of Is. 40-55. Like the author of those immortal poems, the psalmist studies the past to learn the lessons which it taught regarding Jehovah's attitude toward his people and their obligations to him. History, in the poet's mind, is but an illustration of Jehovah's character and ways of dealing with men. The resemblance in general theme between this ps. and 78 and 105 is close. Its style is vigorous. It contains many ideas and figures taken from Am., Hos., and Ezek. Its prevailing expressions are those which characterize the writings of Jer. and Ezek. It certainly is not earlier than the period of Judah's decline. The prominence of the reflective, wisdom motif suggests a later date. Vss. 20-33 may refer to the Assyr. invasion but they find their natural background in the period of the Bab. exile. The foes are probably the Edomites and Ammonites, who improved the hours of Judah's humiliations to pay off old scores. The hope that Jehovah will soon rise in judgment finds its closest analogies in the prophecies of Hag. and Zech., so that the ps. is probably to be dated in the first half of the Persian period. The prologue, 3122, and the epilogue, 324, preserve the late tradition that Moses was the author of this ps. Probably the tradition that associated it with Moses is responsible for its place in the book of Deuteronomy. 324 A common designation of the Deity. Cf. 15, 18, 30, 31, 37 and II Sam. 233 and often in pss. It is the symbol of his unchanging character ever present as a protection and refuge for his people. Great Rock was also a title often used of the Assyrians in addressing their gods. b324 Lit., crookedness, the antithesis of upright in the next line. Jehovah's fidelity and Israel's infidelity Jehovah's choice of his people in the past His care for Israel in the wilderness His bountiful provision for Israel's needs "His infamous sons have dealt with him corruptly "Is it Jehovah whom ye thus treat, O senseless and unwise people? Is not he thy father, who produced thee? Is it not he who made thee and established thee? "Remember the days of old, Consider the days of the past; Ask thy father and he will tell thee, Thine elders and they will say to thee: When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, When he separated the sons of men, He set up the boundaries between the peoples, As the number of the sons of God.d "But the portion of Jehovah is his people; 10 He found him in a land that was a wilderness, Protectingly he encircled and cared for him, 12 Jehovah alone did lead him, 13 He caused him to ride on the heights,i And fed him with the fruitage of the field; And he caused him to suck honey from the crag,k Oil, also, from the flinty rock, 14Curd of kine and sheep's milk, With the fat of lambs and rams, With the steers of Bashan and he-goats, 325 All are agreed that this line is corrupt, but the scribal error is evidently a very ancient one. The above reading is based on the Heb. text, corrected with the aid of the Gk., Sam., Syr., and Targ. Another plausible reading suggested by Sym. is, Altogether corruptly have his sons dealt with him. d328 So Gk. Heb., according to the number of the sons of Israel. If the Gk. was the original reading, it reflects the late Jewish doctrine that each nation has an angel presiding over it. Cf. Dan. 1013, 20, 21, 121, B. Sir. 1717. This idea was clearly in the minds of the Gk. translators. e329 Both the Sam. and Gk. join Jacob with this first line and add Israel at the end of the second line. This is strongly supported by the parallelism. 13210 The Gk. adds and. 83210 The popular translation, apple of his eye, while more familiar is in danger of being misunderstood. he ate. h3211 Lit., griffon-vulture. 13213 Lit., on the high places of the earth. 13213 So Gk., Sym., Luc., and Syr., and supported by the context. The Heb. reads, And 3213 In Palestine the limestone cliffs and caves are frequently the home of the bees. The differ ent kinds of threat 13214 I. e., like the fat about the kidneys, the richest and most nutritious. m3214 Both the Gk., Luc., and Lat. have the third person demanded by the context, but the ened Heb. has the second person. 3214 Lit., foaming or fomented. The Gk. and Luc. have simply wine. 3215 This line is lacking in the Heb. but has been preserved in the Sym., Gk., Luc., and Targ., and is quoted in 3120 and Neh. 925. P3215 Lit., the Righteous One, an ancient designation of Israel; so also in 335, 26, Is. 442, and as a title of the primitive song-book, commemorating Israel's early victories. 43215 The figure is that of a fat, sleek, lazy steer. Cf. the same in Am. 41. 3215 So Gk., Luc., Syr., and Lat. The Heb., which suddenly changes to the second person in this line and then in the next reverts to the third, may possibly be right. 3215 The exact meaning of this word is not known. The RV, sleek, is based on a revision of the text and is supported by several versions. t3215 Lit., treated as a senseless fool. 3217 Heb., shedim, probably similar to the Assyr., shidu, minor deities represented by the bulls or colossi. The Gk. rendering demons best reproduces the primitive idea. 3218 Following the better reading of the Gk., Sym., Luc., and Targ. w3218 Lit., travailed in anguish. Jehovah is here conceived of in the double rôle of the father and mother of his people. x3220 Lit., a generation of perversions, i. e., given to perversions. 3221 Lit., breaths or vanities, a scornful designation of the false heathen deities. 3221 A rude, disorganized horde. judgment |