Psalms 45:7

45:7 You love ¹  justice and hate evil. ² 

For this reason God, your God ³  has anointed you ⁴ 

with the oil of joy, ⁵  elevating you above your companions. ⁶ 

John 3:34

3:34 For the one whom God has sent ⁷  speaks the words of God, for he does not give the Spirit sparingly. ⁸ 

John 3:1

Conversation with Nicodemus

3:1 Now a certain man, a Pharisee ⁹  named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council, ¹⁰ 

John 2:20

2:20 Then the Jewish leaders ¹¹  said to him, “This temple has been under construction ¹²  for forty-six years, ¹³  and are you going to raise it up in three days?”

[45:7]  ¹ sn To love justice means to actively promote it.

[45:7]  ² sn To hate evil means to actively oppose it.

[45:7]  ³ tn For other examples of the repetition of Elohim, “God,” see Pss 43:4; 48:8, 14; 50:7; 51:14; 67:7. Because the name Yahweh (“Lord”) is relatively rare in Pss 42-83, where the name Elohim (“God”) predominates, this compounding of Elohim may be an alternative form of the compound name “the Lord my/your/our God.”

[45:7]  ⁴ sn Anointed you. When read in the light of the preceding context, the anointing is most naturally taken as referring to the king’s coronation. However, the following context (vv. 8-9) focuses on the wedding ceremony, so some prefer to see this anointing as part of the king’s preparations for the wedding celebration. Perhaps the reference to his anointing at his coronation facilitates the transition to the description of the wedding, for the king was also anointed on this occasion.

[45:7]  ⁵ sn The phrase oil of joy alludes to the fact that the coronation of the king, which was ritually accomplished by anointing his head with olive oil, was a time of great celebration and renewed hope. (If one understands the anointing in conjunction with the wedding ceremony, the “joy” would be that associated with the marriage.) The phrase “oil of joy” also appears in Isa 61:3, where mourners are granted “oil of joy” in conjunction with their deliverance from oppression.

[45:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “from your companions.” The “companions” are most naturally understood as others in the royal family or, more generally, as the king’s countrymen.

[3:34]  ⁷ tn That is, Christ.

[3:34]  ⁸ tn Grk “for not by measure does he give the Spirit” (an idiom). Leviticus Rabbah 15:2 states: “The Holy Spirit rested on the prophets by measure.” Jesus is contrasted to this. The Spirit rests upon him without measure.

[3:1]  ⁹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[3:1]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “a ruler of the Jews” (denoting a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[2:20]  ¹¹ tn See the note on this phrase in v. 18.

[2:20]  ¹² tn A close parallel to the aorist οἰκοδομήθη (oikodomhqh) can be found in Ezra 5:16 (LXX), where it is clear from the following verb that the construction had not yet been completed. Thus the phrase has been translated “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years.” Some, however, see the term ναός (naos) here as referring only to the sanctuary and the aorist verb as consummative, so that the meaning would be “this temple was built forty-six years ago” (so ExSyn 560-61). Ultimately in context the logic of the authorities’ reply appears to fit more naturally if it compares length of time for original construction with length of time to reconstruct it.

[2:20]  ¹³ sn According to Josephus (Ant. 15.11.1 [15.380]), work on this temple was begun in the 18th year of Herod the Great’s reign, which would have been ca. 19 b.c. (The reference in the Ant. is probably more accurate than the date given in J. W. 1.21.1 [1.401]). Forty-six years later would be around the Passover of a.d. 27/28.