Discovery BoxPsalms 107:10
Context107:10 They sat in utter darkness, 1
bound in painful iron chains, 2
Psalms 107:14
Context107:14 He brought them out of the utter darkness, 3
and tore off their shackles.
Psalms 35:6
Context35:6 May their path be 4 dark and slippery,
as the Lord’s angel chases them!
Psalms 88:12
Context88:12 Are your amazing deeds experienced 5 in the dark region, 6
or your deliverance in the land of oblivion? 7
Psalms 105:28
Contextthey did not disobey his orders. 9
Psalms 112:4
Context112:4 In the darkness a light 10 shines for the godly,
for each one who is merciful, compassionate, and just. 11
Psalms 139:11
Context139:11 If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me, 12
and the light will turn to night all around me,” 13
Psalms 18:11
Context18:11 He shrouded himself in darkness, 14
in thick rain clouds. 15
Psalms 18:28
Context18:28 Indeed, 16 you are my lamp, Lord. 17
My God 18 illuminates the darkness around me. 19
Psalms 104:20
Context104:20 You make it dark and night comes, 20
during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around.
Psalms 139:12
Context139:12 even the darkness is not too dark for you to see, 21
and the night is as bright as 22 day;
darkness and light are the same to you. 23
[107:10] 1 tn Heb “those who sat in darkness and deep darkness.” Synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of “darkness” experienced by the exiles. The Hebrew term צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet, “deep darkness”) has traditionally been understood as a compound noun, meaning “shadow of death” (צֵל + מָוֶת [tsel + mavet]; see BDB 853 s.v. צַלְמָוֶת; cf. NASB). Other authorities prefer to vocalize the form צַלְמוּת (tsalmut) and understand it as an abstract noun (from the root צלם) meaning “darkness.” An examination of the word’s usage favors the latter derivation. It is frequently associated with darkness/night and contrasted with light/morning (see Job 3:5; 10:21-22; 12:22; 24:17; 28:3; 34:22; Ps 107:10, 14; Isa 9:1; Jer 13:16; Amos 5:8). In some cases the darkness described is associated with the realm of death (Job 10:21-22; 38:17), but this is a metaphorical application of the word and does not reflect its inherent meaning. In Ps 107:10 the word refers metonymically to a dungeon, which in turn metaphorically depicts the place of Israel’s exile (see vv. 2-3).
[107:10] 2 tn Heb “those bound in suffering and iron.” “Suffering and iron” is a hendiadys (like English “good and angry”), where both words contribute to one idea. In this case the first word characterizes the second; the iron (chains) contribute to the prisoners’ pain and suffering.
[107:14] 3 tn Heb “darkness and deep darkness.” See the note on the word “darkness” in v. 10.
[35:6] 5 tn The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive, indicating this is a prayer.
[88:12] 8 tn Heb “darkness,” here a title for Sheol.
[88:12] 9 tn Heb “forgetfulness.” The noun, which occurs only here in the OT, is derived from a verbal root meaning “to forget.”
[105:28] 9 tn Heb “he sent darkness and made it dark.”
[105:28] 10 tn Heb “they did not rebel against his words.” Apparently this refers to Moses and Aaron, who obediently carried out God’s orders.
[112:4] 11 tn In this context “light” symbolizes divine blessing in its various forms (see v. 2), including material prosperity and stability.
[112:4] 12 tn Heb “merciful and compassionate and just.” The Hebrew text has three singular adjectives, which are probably substantival and in apposition to the “godly” (which is plural, however). By switching to the singular, the psalmist focuses on each individual member of the group known as the “godly.” Note how vv. 5-9, like vv. 1-2a, use the singular to describe the representative godly individual who typifies the whole group.
[139:11] 13 tn The Hebrew verb שׁוּף (shuf), which means “to crush; to wound,” in Gen 3:15 and Job 9:17, is problematic here. For a discussion of attempts to relate the verb to Arabic roots, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 251. Many emend the form to יְשׂוּכֵּנִי (yesukkeniy), from the root שׂכך (“to cover,” an alternate form of סכך), a reading assumed in the present translation.
[139:11] 14 tn Heb “and night, light, around me.”
[18:11] 15 tc Heb “he made darkness his hiding place around him, his covering.” 2 Sam 22:12 reads, “he made darkness around him coverings,” omitting “his hiding place” and pluralizing “covering.” Ps 18:11 may include a conflation of synonyms (“his hiding place” and “his covering”) or 2 Sam 22:12 may be the result of haplography/homoioarcton. Note that three successive words in Ps 18:11 begin with the Hebrew letter samek: סִתְרוֹ סְבִיבוֹתָיו סֻכָּתוֹ (sitro sÿvivotayv sukkato).
[18:11] 16 tc Heb “darkness of water, clouds of clouds.” The noun “darkness” (חֶשְׁכַת, kheshkhat) is probably a corruption of an original reading חשׁרת, a form that is preserved in 2 Sam 22:12. The latter is a construct form of חַשְׁרָה (khashrah, “sieve”) which occurs only here in the OT. A cognate Ugaritic noun means “sieve,” and a related verb חָשַׁר (khashar, “to sift”) is attested in postbiblical Hebrew and Aramaic. The phrase חַשְׁרַת מַיִם (khashrat mayim) means literally “a sieve of water.” It pictures the rain clouds as a sieve through which the rain falls to the ground (see F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, Studies in Ancient Yahwistic Poetry [SBLDS], 146, n. 33).
[18:28] 17 tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki)is asseverative here.
[18:28] 18 tn Ps 18:28 reads literally, “you light my lamp,
[18:28] 19 tn 2 Sam 22:29 repeats the name “
[18:28] 20 tn Heb “my darkness.”
[104:20] 19 tn Heb “you make darkness, so that it might be night.”
[139:12] 21 tn The words “to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
