LESSONS TAUGHT BY ISRAEL'S MISTAKES

A band of messengers of calamity. 50 He made a way for his anger;

He spared not their life from death,
But gave their life over to the pestilence,
51 And smote all the first-born in Egypt,
Their strongest in the tents of Ham.

52 But he led forth his people like sheep,

And guided them in the wilderness like a flock. 53 And he led them safely, without dread; But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

54 And he brought them to his sacred border,k

To that mountain,' which his right hand had gained;

55 He drove out the nations before them,

And allotted them an inheritance by line,

And made the Israelites dwell in their tents.m

56 Yet they tempted and rebelled against" the Most High And kept not his testimonies;

Jehovah's deliver

ance

of his

people

Their estab

lishment in Canaan

Their

apos

tasy

57 But turned back, and dealt treacherously like the fathers, They turned aside like a deceitful bow,

58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places, And moved him to jealousy with their graven images.

59 When God heard this, he was wroth,

And greatly abhorred Israel;

60So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent where he dwelt among men,

61 And delivered his strength into captivity,

And his glory into the adversary's hand.

62 He gave over his people to the sword,

And was exceedingly wroth with his inheritance. 63 Fire devoured their young men;

And their virgins sango no marriage song.

64Their priests fell by the sword;

And their widows made no lamentation.

65 Then the Lord awaked us out of sleep, Like a mighty man overcome by wine." 66 And he smote his adversaries backward; He made them a perpetual reproach.

1789 Lit., a mission, i. e., angelic messengers that wrought destruction.

37851 Following the VSS. in correcting the Heb. Lit., the chief of their strength.

k7854 I. e., to the borders of the holy land.

17854 As in Nu. 1317, 29, Josh. 112. Mountain here probably refers to the uplands of Palestine.

m7855 Possibly this vs. is a later expansion of the original text.

n7856 Heb. adds God.

Their

Judg

ment

at the

hands of their

foes

Jehovah's deliver

ance

His

temple at

Jerusalem

Choice of

David

Jeho

vah's good

ness

Prayer for his favor

Jehovah's

care

of ungrateful Israel

at the exodus

67And he refused the tent of Joseph,
And chose not the tribe of Ephraim,
68 But chose the tribe of Judah,

The mount of Zion which he loveth.

69And he built his sanctuary like the heights,

Like the earth which he hath established forever.

70 And he chose David his servant,

And took him from the sheepfolds;

71 From following the ewes with young he brought him,
To be the shepherd of Jacob his people,

And of Israel his inheritance.

72So he shepherded them in the integrity of his heart,
And guided them skillfully with his hand.

§ 172. Israel's Rebelliousness and Jehovah's Goodness in the Past, Ps. 106

Ps. 106 1Oh give thanks to Jehovah, for he is good,
For his lovingkindness endureth forever.

2Who can proclaim the mighty acts of Jehovah,
Or show forth all his praise?

3Blessed are they who guard justice,

And the man who doeth right at all times.

Remember us, O Jehovah, with favor;
Oh visit thy people with thy salvation,

"That we may see the prosperity of thy chosen,

That we may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation,
That we may glory with thine inheritance.

"We have sinned together with our fathers,

We have committed iniquity and transgressed.

"Our fathers" understood not thy wonders,

They remembered not the multitude of thy lovingkindnesses,
And were rebellious against theet at the Sea of Reeds.

But he saved them for the sake of his name,

That he might make his power known.

"He rebuked the Sea of Reeds, and it dried up;

47872 Following the superior text of many Heb. MSS. Lit., with the skill of his hand. § 172 This ps. deals with the same theme as 78 and 105. Its purpose is didactic although it was intended for liturgical use. The author aims to bring out Jehovah's goodness by contrasting it with Israel's rebellions and ingratitude. Hence he begins with the people's lack of faith at the exodus. In general he follows the composite tradition of Ex. and Nu., indicating that he wrote late in the Persian or more probably in the Gk. period. Vs. 47 indicates that the restoration was not yet complete. The ps. is really a midrash set to music. The general theory of Israel's history is that of the author of the book of Judges: it was a repeated cycle of rebellion, affliction at the hands of heathen foes, and divine deliverance.

tion.

1064 So Gk., Aquila, Theod., and certain Heb. MSS. Heb., me, and so throughout the vs. 1067 Heb. adds in Egypt, but this destroys the metre and is probably only a scribal addi1067 Slightly revising the Heb. The Gk. variant indicates that the vs. was corrupt.

JEHOVAH'S GOODNESS IN THE PAST

So he led them in the depths, as in a wilderness,"
10 And he saved them from the hand of the enemy,
And redeemed them from the hand of the foe.
11And the waters covered their adversaries;
Not even one of them was left.

12Then they believed his words,
They sang his praise."

13They soon forgot his works,

They waited not for his counsel,

14But felt a great longing in the wilderness,
And tested God in the desert.

15 And he granted to them their request,
But sent leanness unto their soul.

16In the camp they were envious of Moses,

And of Aaron, the holy one of Jehovah;

17The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan,
And covered the company of Abiram,
18 And a fire consumed their company;
The flame burned up the wicked.*

19They made a calf at Horeb,

And worshipped a molten image; 20Thus they exchanged their glory

For the image of an ox that eats grass. 21They forgot God their Saviour,

Who had done great deeds in Egypt,
22 Wonderful works in the land of Ham,
Terrible deeds at the Red Sea.

23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them,
Had it not been that Moses his chosen

Stood before him, stepping into the breach,
To turn away his wrath from destroying.

24Then they despised the pleasant land,
They believed not his word,

25But murmured in their tents,

And heeded not the voice of Jehovah.

26So he swore unto them with uplifted hand,

That he would let them perish in the wilderness,

27 And that he would sow their seed among the nations,

And scatter them abroady in the lands.

u 1069 An echo of Is. 6313.

v10612 Possibly this two-beat couplet is secondary.

w 10615 The parallel narrative in Nu. 1120 has a similar Heb. word meaning disgust. This may be original and the present Heb. the result of a scribal error. Briggs (Pss., II, 350) proposes to revise so as to read food; but this change is not supported by the parallel treatment of the theme in the rest of the ps.

x10618 This vs., which duplicates 17, may be a later expansion.

10627 Slightly revising the Heb. verb, which is, through a scribal error, but a repetition of that in the preceding lines. Cf. Ezek. 2023.

In the wilder

ness

At

Horeb

On the borders of

Canaan

At Baalpeor

At Meribah

In the land of Canaan

Under the

tit

rule
of the
Assyr-
ians

In

exile

28They joined themselves to Baal-peor,
And ate the sacrifices of the dead."
29 Thus they provoked him by their doings;
And the plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,
And so the plague was stayed.

31 And that was counted to him for righteousness
From generation to generation forever.

32 They angered hima at the waters of Meribah,
So that on their account it went ill with Moses,
33 Because they rebelled against his spirit,b
And he spoke rashly with his lips.

34They did not utterly destroy the peoples,
Even as Jehovah had commanded them,
35 But let themselves mingle with the heathen,
And learned to do as they did;

36They also did obeisance to their idols,
Which became to them a snare.

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 he regarded his inheritance with abhorrence,
41And he gave them into the hand of the heathen,
And those who hated them ruled over them.
42Their enemies, likewise, oppressed them,

And they were brought into subjection under their hand.
43 Many times did he deliver them;

But they themselves were rebellious against hisd counsel,
And they wasted away in their iniquity.

44Nevertheless he regarded their distress,
When he heard their cry of wailing,

45 And he remembered for them his covenant,

And relented according to the abundance of his lovingkindnesses. 46 He 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.

a 10632 So Gk.

b 10633 I. e., Jehovah's spirit.

10637 Probably demons of animal form. The word is from Assyr., shîdu. Cf. Dt. 3217, Is. 1321, 3414.

d10643 Correcting the Heb. as the context demands.

10643 Correcting with the aid of Lev. 2639. Possibly the line is secondary.

JEHOVAH'S GOODNESS IN THE PAST

47Save us, O Jehovah our God,

And gather us from among the nations,

To give thanks to thy holy name,

And to voice our pride in thy praise.'

§ 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.

Prayer for

restoration

The

"In the day of my distress I seek him,"

My hand is stretched outh and slacked not,

My soul refuseth to be comforted.

3I remember God and am disquieted,

I muse and my spirit fainteth.

4I 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:
7 Will the Lord cast off forever?

And will he be favorable no more?

Is his lovingkindness clean gone forever?
Doth his promise fail forevermore?
"Hath God forgotten to be gracious?

Hath he in anger shut up his compassion?'

prob

lem: Why does Jehovah not respond to the cry of his servants?

12I will meditate also upon all thy work,

And muse on the deeds which thou hast done.'

13Thy way, O God, is holy.

Who is a great God like to Jehovah?

14Thou art the God that doest wonders;

#10647 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.
And let all the people say, Amen.

§ 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 f. 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.

772 Heb. adds the Lord.

b772 Following the Lat. in interpreting the unusual Heb. word. Heb. adds night."

1774 So Lat. and Sym.

1776 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 Jeho

vah has done in the past.

in Israel's past