Discovery BoxPsalms 122:3-9
Context122:3 Jerusalem 1 is a city designed
to accommodate an assembly. 2
122:4 The tribes go up 3 there, 4
the tribes of the Lord,
where it is required that Israel
give thanks to the name of the Lord. 5
122:5 Indeed, 6 the leaders sit 7 there on thrones and make legal decisions,
on the thrones of the house of David. 8
122:6 Pray 9 for the peace of Jerusalem!
May those who love her prosper! 10
122:7 May there be peace inside your defenses,
and prosperity 11 inside your fortresses! 12
122:8 For the sake of my brothers and my neighbors
I will say, “May there be peace in you!”
122:9 For the sake of the temple of the Lord our God
I will pray for you to prosper. 13
[122:3] 1 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[122:3] 2 tc Heb “Jerusalem, which is built like a city which is joined to her together.” The meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. Many regard this as a description of the compact way in which the city was designed or constructed. The translation assumes an emendation of the verb חֻבְּרָה (khubbÿrah, “is joined”) to a noun חֶבְרָה (khevrah, “association; company”). The text then reads literally, “Jerusalem, which is built like a city which has a company together.” This in turn can be taken as a reference to Jerusalem’s role as a city where people congregated for religious festivals and other civic occasions (see vv. 4-5).
[122:4] 4 tn Heb “which is where the tribes go up.”
[122:4] 5 tn Heb “[it is] a statute for Israel to give thanks to the name of the
[122:5] 8 tn Heb “Indeed, there they sit [on] thrones for judgment, [on] thrones [belonging] to the house of David.”
[122:7] 12 tn The psalmist uses second feminine singular pronominal forms to address personified Jerusalem.
[122:9] 13 tn Heb “I will seek good for you.” The psalmist will seek Jerusalem’s “good” through prayer.
