Discovery BoxPsalms 18:10
Context18:10 He mounted 1 a winged angel 2 and flew;
he glided 3 on the wings of the wind. 4
Psalms 19:6
Context19:6 It emerges from the distant horizon, 5
and goes from one end of the sky to the other; 6
nothing can escape 7 its heat.
Malachi 4:2
Context4:2 But for you who respect my name, the sun of vindication 8 will rise with healing wings, 9 and you will skip about 10 like calves released from the stall.
[18:10] 2 tn Heb “a cherub.” Because of the typical associations of the word “cherub” in English with chubby winged babies, the term has been rendered “winged angel” in the translation.
[18:10] 3 tc 2 Sam 22:11 reads “appeared” (from רָאָה, ra’ah); the relatively rare verb דָאָה (da’ah, “glide”) is more difficult and probably the original reading here in Ps 18.
[18:10] 4 sn The wings of the wind. Verse 10 may depict (1) the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option (2) is that two different vehicles (a cherub and the wind) are envisioned. Yet another option (3) is that the wind is personified as a cherub. For a discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in v. 10, see M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.
[19:6] 5 tn Heb “from the end of the heavens [is] its going forth.”
[19:6] 6 tn Heb “and its circuit [is] to their ends.”
[19:6] 7 tn Heb “is hidden from.”
[4:2] 8 tn Here the Hebrew word צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah), usually translated “righteousness” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT; cf. NAB “justice”), has been rendered as “vindication” because it is the vindication of God’s people that is in view in the context. Cf. BDB 842 s.v. צְדָקָה 6; “righteousness as vindicated, justification, salvation, etc.”
[4:2] 9 sn The point of the metaphor of healing wings is unclear. The sun seems to be compared to a bird. Perhaps the sun’s “wings” are its warm rays. “Healing” may refer to a reversal of the injury done by evildoers (see Mal 3:5).
