Psalms 119:105

Context

נ (Nun)

119:105 Your word¹ is a lamp to walk by,

and a light to illumine my path.²

Psalms 132:17

Context

132:17 There I will make David strong;³

I have determined that my chosen king’s dynasty will continue.⁴

Psalms 18:28

Context

18:28 Indeed,⁵ you are my lamp, Lord.⁶

My God⁷ illuminates the darkness around me.⁸

[119:105] ¹tn Many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural (“words”).

[119:105] ²tn Heb “[is] a lamp for my foot and a light for my path.”

[132:17] ³tn Heb “there I will cause a horn to sprout for David.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (cf. Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Pss 18:2; 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). In the ancient Near East powerful warrior-kings would sometimes compare themselves to a goring bull that used its horns to kill its enemies. For examples, see P. Miller, “El the Warrior,” HTR 60 (1967): 422-25, and R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 135-36.

[132:17] ⁴tn Heb “I have arranged a lamp for my anointed one.” Here the “lamp” is a metaphor for the Davidic dynasty (see 1 Kgs 11:36).

[18:28] ⁵tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki)is asseverative here.

[18:28] ⁶tn Ps 18:28 reads literally, “you light my lamp, Lord.” 2 Sam 22:29 has, “you are my lamp, Lord.” The Ps 18 reading may preserve two variants, נֵרִי (neriy, “my lamp”) and אוֹרִי (’oriy, “my light”), cf. Ps 27:1. The verb תָּאִיר (ta’ir, “you light”) in Ps 18:28 would, in this case, be a corruption of the latter. See F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, Studies in Ancient Yahwistic Poetry (SBLDS), 150, n. 64. The metaphor, which likens the Lord to a lamp or light, pictures him as the psalmist’s source of life. For other examples of “lamp” used in this way, see Job 18:6; 21:17; Prov 13:9; 20:20; 24:20. For other examples of “light” as a symbol for life, see Job 3:20; 33:30; Ps 56:13.

[18:28] ⁷tn 2 Sam 22:29 repeats the name “Lord.”

[18:28] ⁸tn Heb “my darkness.”