68:5 He is a father to the fatherless
and an advocate for widows. 1
God rules from his holy palace. 2
78:12 He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors,
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. 3
89:26 He will call out to me,
‘You are my father, 4 my God, and the protector who delivers me.’ 5
95:9 where your ancestors challenged my authority, 6
and tried my patience, even though they had seen my work.
103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, 7
so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. 8
1 sn 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.
2 tn Heb “God [is] in his holy dwelling place.” He occupies his throne and carries out his royal responsibilities.
3 sn The region of Zoan was located in the Egyptian delta, where the enslaved Israelites lived (see Num 13:22; Isa 19:11, 13; 30:4; Ezek 30:14).
5 sn You are my father. The Davidic king was viewed as God’s “son” (see 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 2:7). The idiom reflects ancient Near Eastern adoption language associated with covenants of grant, by which a lord would reward a faithful subject by elevating him to special status, referred to as “sonship.” Like a son, the faithful subject received an “inheritance,” viewed as an unconditional, eternal gift. Such gifts usually took the form of land and/or an enduring dynasty. See M. Weinfeld, “The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East,” JAOS 90 (1970): 184-203, for general discussion and some striking extra-biblical parallels.
6 tn Heb “the rocky summit of my deliverance.”
7 tn Heb “where your fathers tested me.”
9 tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.
10 tn Heb “those who fear him.”