48:11 Mount Zion rejoices;
the towns 1 of Judah are happy, 2
because of your acts of judgment. 3
60:7 Gilead belongs to me,
as does Manasseh! 4
Ephraim is my helmet, 5
Judah my royal scepter. 6
68:27 There is little Benjamin, their ruler, 7
and the princes of Judah in their robes, 8
along with the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.
69:35 For God will deliver Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah,
and his people 9 will again live in them and possess Zion. 10
For the music director; to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of Asaph, a song.
76:1 God has revealed himself in Judah; 12
in Israel his reputation 13 is great.
78:68 He chose the tribe of Judah,
and Mount Zion, which he loves.
97:8 Zion hears and rejoices,
the towns 14 of Judah are happy,
because of your judgments, O Lord.
108:8 Gilead belongs to me,
as does Manasseh! 15
Ephraim is my helmet, 16
Judah my royal scepter. 17
1 tn Heb “daughters.” The reference is to the cities of Judah surrounding Zion (see Ps 97:8 and H. Haag, TDOT 2:336).
2 tn The prefixed verbal forms are understood as generalizing imperfects. (For other examples of an imperfect followed by causal לְמַעַן [lÿma’an], see Ps 23:3; Isa 49:7; 55:5.) Another option is to interpret the forms as jussives, “Let Mount Zion rejoice! Let the towns of Judah be happy!” (cf. NASB, NRSV; note the imperatives in vv. 12-13.)
3 sn These acts of judgment are described in vv. 4-7.
4 sn Gilead was located east of the Jordan. Half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan in the region of Bashan.
5 tn Heb “the protection of my head.”
6 sn Judah, like Ephraim, was the other major tribe west of the Jordan. The Davidic king, symbolized here by the royal scepter, came from this tribe.
7 sn Little Benjamin, their ruler. This may allude to the fact that Israel’s first king, Saul, was from the tribe of Benjamin.
8 tc The MT reads רִגְמָתָם (rigmatam), which many derive from רָגַם (ragam, “to kill by stoning”) and translates, “[in] their heaps,” that is, in large numbers.
10 tn Heb “they”; the referent (God’s people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb “it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to “Zion” (see Pss 48:12; 102:14); thus the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 sn Psalm 76. The psalmist depicts God as a mighty warrior who destroys Israel’s enemies.
14 tn Or “God is known in Judah.”
15 tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
16 tn Heb “daughters.” The term “daughters” refers to the cities of Judah surrounding Zion (see Ps 48:11 and H. Haag, TDOT 2:336).
19 tn Gilead was located east of the Jordan River. Half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan in the region of Bashan.
20 tn Heb “the protection of my head.”
21 sn Judah, like Ephraim, was the other major tribe west of the Jordan River. The Davidic king, symbolized here by the royal scepter, came from this tribe.