Discovery BoxPsalms 91:4
Context91:4 He will shelter you 1 with his wings; 2
you will find safety under his wings.
His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall. 3
Isaiah 51:16
Context51:16 I commission you 4 as my spokesman; 5
I cover you with the palm of my hand, 6
to establish 7 the sky and to found the earth,
to say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’” 8
Matthew 23:37
Context23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 9 you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! 10 How often I have longed 11 to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but 12 you would have none of it! 13
[91:4] 1 tn Heb “put a cover over you” (see Ps 5:11).
[91:4] 2 tc The Hebrew text has the singular, but the plural should be read. The final yod (י) of the suffix, which indicates the plural, has dropped off by haplography (note the yod [י] at the beginning of the next word).
[91:4] 3 tn Traditionally the Hebrew term סֹחֵרָה (sokherah), which occurs only here in the OT, has been understood to refer to a buckler or small shield (see BDB 695 s.v.). But HALOT 750 s.v., on the basis of evidence from the cognate languages, proposes the meaning “wall.”
[51:16] 4 tn The addressee (second masculine singular, as in vv. 13, 15) in this verse is unclear. The exiles are addressed in the immediately preceding verses (note the critical tone of vv. 12-13 and the reference to the exiles in v. 14). However, it seems unlikely that they are addressed in v. 16, for the addressee appears to be commissioned to tell Zion, who here represents the restored exiles, “you are my people.” The addressee is distinct from the exiles. The language of v. 16a is reminiscent of 49:2 and 50:4, where the Lord’s special servant says he is God’s spokesman and effective instrument. Perhaps the Lord, having spoken to the exiles in vv. 1-15, now responds to this servant, who spoke just prior to this in 50:4-11.
[51:16] 5 tn Heb “I place my words in your mouth.”
[51:16] 6 tn Heb “with the shadow of my hand.”
[51:16] 7 tc The Hebrew text has לִנְטֹעַ (lintoa’, “to plant”). Several scholars prefer to emend this form to לִנְטֹת (lintot) from נָטָה (natah, “to stretch out”); see v. 13, as well as 40:22; 42:5; 44:24; 45:12; cf. NAB, NCV, NRSV. However, since the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa, LXX (and Aquila and Symmachus), and Vulgate support the MT reading, there is no need to emend the form. The interpretation is clear enough: Yahweh fixed the sky in its place.
[51:16] 8 tn The infinitives in v. 16b are most naturally understood as indicating the purpose of the divine actions described in v. 16a. The relationship of the third infinitive to the commission is clear enough – the Lord has made the addressee (his special servant?) his spokesman so that the latter might speak encouraging words to those in Zion. But how do the first two infinitives relate? The text seems to indicate that the Lord has commissioned the addressee so that the latter might create the universe! Perhaps creation imagery is employed metaphorically here to refer to the transformation that Jerusalem will experience (see 65:17-18).
[23:37] 9 sn The double use of the city’s name betrays intense emotion.
[23:37] 10 tn Although the opening address (“Jerusalem, Jerusalem”) is direct (second person), the remainder of this sentence in the Greek text is third person (“who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her”). The following sentences then revert to second person (“your… you”), so to keep all this consistent in English, the third person pronouns in the present verse were translated as second person (“you who kill… sent to you”).
[23:37] 11 sn How often I have longed to gather your children. Jesus, like a lamenting prophet, speaks for God here, who longed to care tenderly for Israel and protect her.
[23:37] 12 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
