Exodus 29:39-42

29:39 The first lamb you are to prepare in the morning, and the second lamb you are to prepare around sundown. ¹  29:40 With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah ²  of fine flour mixed with a fourth of a hin ³  of oil from pressed olives, and a fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering. 29:41 The second lamb you are to offer around sundown; you are to prepare for it the same meal offering as for the morning and the same drink offering, for a soothing aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

29:42 “This will be a regular ⁴  burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet ⁵  with you to speak to you there.

Psalms 92:1-3

Psalm 92 ⁶ 

A psalm; a song for the Sabbath day.

92:1 It is fitting ⁷  to thank the Lord,

and to sing praises to your name, O sovereign One! ⁸ 

92:2 It is fitting ⁹  to proclaim your loyal love in the morning,

and your faithfulness during the night,

92:3 to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument and a lyre,

to the accompaniment of the meditative tone of the harp.

Psalms 134:1-2

Psalm 134 ¹⁰ 

A song of ascents. ¹¹ 

134:1 Attention! ¹²  Praise the Lord,

all you servants of the Lord,

who serve ¹³  in the Lord’s temple during the night.

134:2 Lift your hands toward the sanctuary

and praise the Lord!

[29:39]  ¹ tn Heb “between the two evenings” or “between the two settings” (בֵּין הָעַרְבָּיִם, ben ha’arbayim). This expression has had a good deal of discussion. (1) Tg. Onq. says “between the two suns,” which the Talmud explains as the time between the sunset and the time the stars become visible. More technically, the first “evening” would be the time between sunset and the appearance of the crescent moon, and the second “evening” the next hour, or from the appearance of the crescent moon to full darkness (see Deut 16:6 – “at the going down of the sun”). (2) Saadia, Rashi, and Kimchi say the first evening is when the sun begins to decline in the west and cast its shadows, and the second evening is the beginning of night. (3) The view adopted by the Pharisees and the Talmudists (b. Pesahim 61a) is that the first evening is when the heat of the sun begins to decrease, and the second evening begins at sunset, or, roughly from 3-5 p.m. The Mishnah (m. Pesahim 5:1) indicates the lamb was killed about 2:30 p.m. – anything before noon was not valid. S. R. Driver concludes from this survey that the first view is probably the best, although the last view was the traditionally accepted one (Exodus, 89-90). Late afternoon or early evening seems to be intended, the time of twilight perhaps.

[29:40]  ² tn The phrase “of an ephah” has been supplied for clarity (cf. Num 28:5). The ephah was a commonly used dry measure whose capacity is now uncertain: “Quotations given for the ephah vary from ca. 45 to 20 liters” (C. Houtman, Exodus, 2:340-41).

[29:40]  ³ tn “Hin” is a transliterated Hebrew word that seems to have an Egyptian derivation. The amount of liquid measured by a hin is uncertain: “Its presumed capacity varies from about 3,5 liters to 7,5 liters” (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:550).

[29:42]  ⁴ tn The translation has “regular” instead of “continually,” because they will be preparing this twice a day.

[29:42]  ⁵ tn The relative clause identifies the place in front of the Tent as the place that Yahweh would meet Moses. The main verb of the clause is אִוָּעֵד (’ivva’ed), a Niphal imperfect of the verb יָעַד (ya’ad), the verb that is cognate to the name “tent of meeting” – hence the name. This clause leads into the next four verses.

[92:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 92. The psalmist praises God because he defeats the wicked and vindicates his loyal followers.

[92:1]  ⁷ tn Or “good.”

[92:1]  ⁸ tn Traditionally “O Most High.”

[92:2]  ⁹ tn The words “it is fitting” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Verses 1-3 are actually one long sentence in the Hebrew text, but this has been divided up into two shorter sentences in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.

[134:1]  ¹⁰ sn Psalm 134. The psalmist calls on the temple servants to praise God (vv. 1-2). They in turn pronounce a blessing on the psalmist (v. 3).

[134:1]  ¹¹ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[134:1]  ¹² tn Heb “Look!”

[134:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “stand.”