Psalms 90:3

90:3 You make mankind return ¹  to the dust, ² 

and say, “Return, O people!”

Psalms 105:6

105:6 O children ³  of Abraham, ⁴  God’s ⁵  servant,

you descendants ⁶  of Jacob, God’s ⁷  chosen ones!

¹ tn In this context the shortened prefix form does not function as a preterite, but indicates what is typical of the world.

² tn The Hebrew term דַּכָּא (daka’) carries the basic sense of “crushed.” Elsewhere it refers to those who are “crushed” in spirit or contrite of heart (see Ps 34:18; Isa 57:15). If one understands this nuance here, then v. 3 is observing that God leads mankind to repentance (the term שׁוּב, shuv, “return,” which appears twice in this verse, is sometimes used of repentance.) However, the following context laments mankind’s mortality and the brevity of life, so it is doubtful if v. 3 should be understood so positively. It is more likely that דַּכָּא here refers to “crushed matter,” that is, the dust that fills the grave (see HALOT 221 s.v. s.v. I דַּכָּא; BDB 194 s.v. דַּכָּא). In this case one may hear an echo of Gen 3:19.

³ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

⁴ tc Some mss have “Israel,” which appears in the parallel version of this psalm in 1 Chr 16:13.

⁵ tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Heb “sons.”

⁷ tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.