20

To the impious I say, 'Rage not,'

To the wicked, 'Lift not up the voice;
Lift not up your voice to the Aramites,
Nor speak insolently in Missur.

For God will bring them from Arabia,1
From the wilderness of Jerahmeel.2
For the Jerahmeelites will he judge,

The Cushites, the Misrites also, will he destroy.'3

(Liturgical Appendix.)

As for me, I will give thanks to Yahwè,

I will chant praise to the God of Jacob.

1. God of Jacob. So l. 20; cp. xx. 2 (xxiv. 6), lxxvi. 7.-7. Missur, &c. The perfect tenses are anticipative. The approach of the Judge will throw N. Arabia into consternation (cp. Hab. iii. 7).

9 f. The transposition enables us both to avoid a faulty exegesis (as if Israel claimed to cut off the horns' of enemies), and to keep the first person in YN (instead of emending into y). Shall be lifted up. We meet with the same figurative expression in lxxxix. 25, xcii. 11, cxlviii. 14; cp. Job xvi. 15, 1 Macc. ii. 48 (кal ovк ἔδωκαν κέρας τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ) and espe cially Dt. xxxiii. 17. Cp. also the Assyrian phrase, 'A cap (agu) with high horns, a cap of dominion (I set on

Critical Notes. I.

Marduk's head),' quoted in Del. Ass.
HWB, p. 15.

II.

The impious, specially used as a class-name for those Jews who had thrown off legal restraints. See on xiv. I, and cp. xxvi. 4, 1. 18 (corr. texts), lxxiii. 3.-11-18. The party or faction of the 'impious' is warned not to go on like raging madmen, trampling law and religion under foot, and not to continue to speak insolently of the Jews in the land of the Misrites and Jerahmeelites, encouraging these fierce peoples in their aggressions. For soon all will be changed; destruction wilt be for the enemies, restoration to their home for the Jews. 14. pay 7. Cp. xxxi. 19, xciv. 4, 1 S. ii. 3.

אלהים and for ,הודינו Omit the superfluous וקרוב שמך It is quite inadequate to change אֱלֹהֵי יַעֲקוֹב read וקרוב

top; with Dy., Gr., Bä., Che.(1), Kau., We., or

TT:

Twa, with Street (1790) and Duhm (1899), following G S.-2. M

זמר = שמך of which נְזַמֵר Rather - סְפַרְנוּ Street and Duhm - סִפְרוּ

6

is a fragment. Before insert with G.-5. Insert 27-M Tip, which being so singular' Duhm will not 'venture to alter,' but which Grätz rightly pronounces inexplicable. Read DiN TON

from its verb אני cp. lviii. 2). The separation of) אֲנִי מֵישָׁרִים אֶשְׁפָּט .6 וְעַם מִצְרִים is awkward. Read

7.

M. The obscurity of this clause is well known. with v. 3, in its corrected form before us, the difficulty of v. 4 disappears.

1 This means+ Ishmael.

This means+ Jerahmeel.

3 All the wicked of the land.

in . 4, with אנכי . אָנֹכִי תְּכַנְתִּי עַמּוּדֶיהָ M .8- נָמֹגוּ מִצַּר Read . עמ' is not the right word with תכנתי in a. 3, is improbable, and אני

For Gr. reads ; cp. Geoтepéwσa.

אדום=ירחמאל from סלה (ש from ת מ from כי) מִשְׁכְּנוֹת אֲדֹמִים

II.

T :

Restore rather

11. Read (cp. on 1. 6, liii. 2).—12 ff. M. To harmonize with 7. 14, we can hardly help reading ip. For the phrase, see Gen. xxxix. 18.—M, with neck thrown back' (cp. Job xv. 261??). G, however, has κarà Toù Deoû, i.e. a; G constantly (e.g. Dt. xxxii. 4, 15, &c., Isa. xxx. 29) renders the divine title by cós. Hence Baethgen (Th. Stud. u. Krit. 1880, p. 762), Che.(1), Now., Kau., following Cappellus, would restore, which is the more plausible if, with Baethgen, we take in v. 6a to be, like 3, a designation of God, D in New Hebrew.

=

.in שָׁמַיִם for ,בְּצוּר Still

by, is not a natural expression, and the context, as we shall see when v. 7 has been emended, leads us to expect in v. 6 the names of peoples or countries. It so happens that we find elsewhere

con

צוֹעֶר or צער see on vii. 8, lvi. 3), and probably) ירחמאלים cealing

representing (Gen. xiii. 10, xiv. 2, xix. 22; see Enc. Bib., ‘Zoar'), The passage does not become fully significant till we read, in 7. 13,

in l. 13 cp. Isa. xiii. 2, p

For the phrase .בְּצַוָּאר for בְּמִצוּר 14 . and in ,לַמָּרוֹם for לַאֲרָמִים

for not from the east nor from, כִּי לֹא מִמּוֹצָא וּמִמַּעֲרָב M .15 The reason will appear

the west. Read rather, D. The reason will appear
presently.—M
(so Baer, following T, Kimhi, MSS.,

the two Soncino Bibles, and other edd.). Ginsburg, however, following
most vss., Ibn Ezra, and MSS., reads 77, and most moderns
agree with him. Yet if these are the only possibilities, the former is to
be preferred; so Hupf., Kautzsch, Driver. For plainly corresponds
to, and must, therefore, mean 'elevation.' Besides (2) what can 'the
wilderness of the mountains' mean? Had the writer meant the Negeb, he
would surely have said the Negeb. Wellhausen's D is surely a
desperate expedient. And (3) the sentence is incomplete; we have to
supply something, e.g. D. But is such an omission probable? A
little reflection, however, will suggest a remedy. Since 'Jerahmeel' is
the leading figure among Israel's enemies, must not both and

The phrase the .(ירימות and חרים .cp) ירחמאל be mutilations of

. ירחמאל in אל represents ולו in לו the mountains is unnatural. The

wilderness of Jerahmeel' is as natural as the phrase 'the wilderness of

We now turn back to l. 15, and finding, at once discern that it represents. The remaining corrections in l. 15 are self-evident

1

1 Here, obviously, we should read . Cp. in the , xvi. 14.

to a keen critic; so also is for in l. 16. Now, too,

becomes transparent. It is a combination of two

T:.

Parallel is the gloss in 2 S. xiv. 13 (see Crit. Bib.).

וזה

ירים

and זֶה יִשְׁמָעֵאל .respectively, viz (?) הרים and ערב glosses on

..:: -:

17 f. M . Not enough for a trimeter. Duhm would read, but this is one of those superficial cures which are much to be deprecated. Again and again we have found ons, ons,

Read probably here . ירחמאלים or ירחמאל supplanting אלהים and . כִּי יְרַחְמְאֵלִים יִשְׁפֹּט

Verse 9 is full of difficulty. What is 27 (Pasek follows)? And what? is a an. Xey).

to', הגיר) ? ויגר מזה And what

pour out occurs nowhere else). What does the suffix in
refer
to? Why? Various expedients have no doubt been devised
(eg. G S read, but the psalmists would not thank the
critics for crediting them with so little style. Experience warns us that
we have here a specimen, on a large scale, of editorial ingenuity in
dealing with a mass of dittograms and corruptions. I will endeavour to
restore an earlier form of the text, omitting
(which is

כי כוש ירחמאל כשם אף־מצרים .clearly a gloss) and mere dittograms -a regular cor ,משך= מסך and that ,= כי Notice that) יַשְׁחִית

ruption of
see on cxx. 5, and cp. on D, lx. 8). Remove the
dittograms, and we get two trimeters (see translation). for is due
to Olshausen.

19. M

TEN. G, however, ȧyaddiáσopai (V) eis tòv aiŵva

(so Bä., Kau., Beer).

Neither is natural, especially as a parallel to l. 20.

became a in אודה in ה an imperfect) אודה ליהוה Read probably .(עלם became, יהוה written instead of, אלהים ; Aramaic script

T

PSALM LXXVI.

RIMETERS. Anticipations of Yahwè's crowning mercy-the humiliation of Israel's oppressors. It is a companion-psalm to Pss. xlvi. and xlviii.; cp. also xviii. 44-46. No Asaphite psalm is equally vivid and vigorous; it is keen as sword-blades flashing down upon Syrian helms.' Indeed if we work upon the traditional text, it is plausible to regard this as a Maccabean psalm. Hitzig and Olshausen thought of the victory of Judas over Seron (1 Macc. iii. 13-24), and Duhm remarks that, as 'Salem' in v. 3 shows, the psalm is later than Gen. xiv. 18-20, which verses are an insertion in one of the latest chapters of the Pentateuch.' We can hardly hesitate, however, on the analogy of so many other passages in the Psalter, to restore in vv. 4, 6 f., 11 f. the names of the N. Árabian enemies of the Jews, and to accept such a doubtful form as 'Salem' (for 'Jerusalem') on the sole authority of a proper name in the traditional text of Gen. xiv. (which is full of corruption in the proper names), is extremely bold. Kimhi's view that the psalm refers to the wars of 'Gog and Magog' (Ezek. xxxviii., f.), is not without an element of truth.

10

Deposited. Of the Ishmaelites. Marked. Of Asaph. Marked. I

Yahwè has made himself known in Judah,
His name is great in Jerusalem;

Yahwè has rescued his sanctuary,
His dwelling-place he has succoured;
He has broken the quiver of Cusham,

The shield and the sword of Jerahmeel.

O Yahwè! fearful art thou,

[And] venerable is the place of thy glory.
The Ishmaelites fled in amazement,
The men of Jerahmeel were found no more;
At thy stern voice, O God of Jacob!

Jerahmeel and Cusham were routed.

Fearful art thou, and who can stand

Before thee for the violence of thine anger?
From heaven thou didst proclaim sentence,
Earth feared, and held its peace,

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

The remnant of Maacath shall do homage unto him,
The Ishmaelites shall bow down unto him,

12

All the Cushites shall bring him tribute,
+Who is+ terrible to those of Jerahmeel,
Fearful to the kings of Mişşur.

1 f. Cp. xlviii. 2, 4.-3 f. Cp. xlvi. 5, xlviii. 4.-5 f. Cp. xlvi. 10. The quiver of Cusham. Cp. Jer. v. 16,

Their quiver is an open sepulchre.' In the context of this passage the people coming from Saphon (not the north') and from the utmost part of the land (not the earth) are the Jerahmeelites. Cp. also Jer. xlix. 35, I will break the bow of Elam' (miswritten for 'Jerahmeel'). Cp. Enc. Bib., 'Prophet,' §§ 40, 49, and Critica Biblica, Part i. 7. 1. So xlvii. 3. —9. D 2. Cp. xlviii. 6.- 10. Were

TT

found no more = disappeared. Cp. Isa.

13

xxix. 5, 7 f., a late insertion of eschatological purport.-11. ; cp. ix. 6,

Ixviii. 31, lxxx. 17, cxix. 21.

y.

15 f. Cp. xlvi. 7.-18. Same phrase in M of Isa. xi. 4, Zeph. ii. 3, Am. viii. 4, Job xxiv. 4. In Am. and Job Kr. gives "y-19-24. See crit. notes, and cp. lxviii.(2), l. 26-29, lxxxix. 1), 7. 11 f.-20. Maacath. See Enc. Bib., Maacah, ii.' That Maacath' and 'Jerahmeel' are ultimately synony mous, need not surprise us. Maacath' represents only a part of the region occupied anciently by the Jerahmeelites.

Critical Notes. (Title.) G adds πρὸς τὸν ̓Ασσύριον (attested by Theodoret). Did the original of this mean 'concerning the Asshurites (of North Arabia)'?

T:

I f. My. But the theme of the psalm is not that Yahwè is constantly known in Judah by the manifestations of his might, but that a special manifestation has recently taken place. Read y (xlviii. 4), with T, Gr.—M (so too the vss.). 'Israel' and ' Judah,' it is assumed, have become synonymous. In the parallel psalm (xlviii.), however 'Judah' and 'Zion' fill up the canvass, nor can we in the statement of the theme dispense with 'Zion' or 'Jerusalem.' It is true, according to M, 'Salem' (= Jerusalem ?) and Zion are mentioned in the next verse, but, as we shall see, this is more than doubtful. It seems highly probable that is a scribe's slip for ow, as in Jer. xxiii. 6 (cp. xxxiii. 16), li. 49, Zech. ii. 2 (dittogr.), xi. 1, Mal. ii. 11 (dittogr.), Lam. ii. 5 (so Gr., MGWJ, 1880, pp. 97-101), to which add Zeph. iii. 14, according to the Heb. text presupposed by G.

Each of these words is improbable. First, why? Olshausen renders, 'And so (consequently) his lodging is continually'; Ewald, ‘for (= in fact) his lodging was set.' Both renderings imply the faulty reading, and both statements tell us something which is altogether superfluous for the development of the theme of the psalm. Next as to . b. Josephus, it is true, asserts (Ant. vii. 3, 2) that Ɛóλupa was the original form of 'Ieporóλvμa. This, however, is certainly incorrect, nor have we even any sufficient reason (apart from Ps. lxxvi. 3 and the supposed mention of 'Jerusalem' as 'Salem' [but see Enc. Bib., 'Melchizedek,' § 3] in Gen. xiv. 18) that a shortened form 'Salem' existed. G here gives év eipývŋ. If the general structure of v. 3a in M is correct it would be better to read (cp. Ɛaλŋμ, G3 xli. 5, where M has 1, but see Enc. Bib., ' Shiloh'); so Gr. Lastly, as to 10. Certainly we find 120, as Kr. in xxvii. 5, 1, but the reading is very doubtful. Nor is there any reason why the humble designation 'booth' should be applied here to the temple. Rejecting, therefore, M's text, except as material for the critic to work upon, what do the parallel psalms, xlvi. (v. 5) and xlviii. (v. 4) suggest?

6

T:

. יהוה הצִיל מִקְדָּשָׁיו The answer cannot be doubtful. We have to read

The loss of the in pled to the misreading. 0; then the feeling that 'Jerusalem' must be somewhere mentioned led to the further misreadings for the indistinctly written and for the often misread group of letters which forms the Tetragrammaton.—M 1. In civ. 22, Am. iii. 4, means a den. In Deut.

. וּמְעוֹנָתוֹ

xxxiii. 27 and Jer. xxi. 13 the text is doubtful. On the analogy of the preceding correction read y (xlvi. 5, cp. xliii. 3) ; cp. next

note (on ). came from 7, as in 7. 2; (2) from y.