Discovery BoxPsalms 55:12-15
Context55:12 Indeed, 1 it is not an enemy who insults me,
or else I could bear it;
it is not one who hates me who arrogantly taunts me, 2
or else I could hide from him.
55:13 But it is you, 3 a man like me, 4
my close friend in whom I confided. 5
55:14 We would share personal thoughts with each other; 6
in God’s temple we would walk together among the crowd.
55:15 May death destroy them! 7
May they go down alive into Sheol! 8
For evil is in their dwelling place and in their midst.
Psalms 55:2
Context55:2 Pay attention to me and answer me!
I am so upset 9 and distressed, 10 I am beside myself, 11
Psalms 15:1
ContextA psalm of David.
15:1 Lord, who may be a guest in your home? 13
Who may live on your holy hill? 14
Psalms 15:1
ContextA psalm of David.
15:1 Lord, who may be a guest in your home? 16
Who may live on your holy hill? 17
Mark 14:44-45
Context14:44 (Now the betrayer 18 had given them a sign, saying, “The one I kiss is the man. Arrest him and lead him away under guard.”) 19 14:45 When Judas 20 arrived, he went up to Jesus 21 immediately and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed 22 him.
Luke 6:16
Context6:16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, 23 who became a traitor.
Luke 22:47-48
Context22:47 While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd appeared, 24 and the man named Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He walked up 25 to Jesus to kiss him. 26 22:48 But Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” 27
John 13:18
Context13:18 “What I am saying does not refer to all of you. I know the ones I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture, 28 ‘The one who eats my bread 29 has turned against me.’ 30
[55:12] 2 tn Heb “[who] magnifies against me.” See Pss 35:26; 38:16.
[55:13] 3 sn It is you. The psalmist addresses the apparent ringleader of the opposition, an individual who was once his friend.
[55:13] 4 tn Heb “a man according to my value,” i.e., “a person such as I.”
[55:13] 5 tn Heb “my close friend, one known by me.”
[55:14] 6 tn Heb “who together we would make counsel sweet.” The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to the ongoing nature of the actions (the so-called customary use of the imperfect). Their relationship was characterized by such intimacy and friendship. See IBHS 502-3 §31.2b.
[55:15] 7 tc The meaning of the MT is unclear. The Kethib (consonantal text) reads יַשִּׁימָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashimavet ’alemo, “May devastation [be] upon them!”). The proposed noun יַשִּׁימָוֶת occurs only here and perhaps in the place name Beth-Jeshimoth in Num 33:49. The Qere (marginal text) has יַשִּׁי מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashi mavet ’alemo). The verbal form יַשִּׁי is apparently an alternate form of יַשִּׁיא (yashi’), a Hiphil imperfect from נָשַׁא (nasha’, “deceive”). In this case one might read “death will come deceptively upon them.” This reading has the advantage of reading מָוֶת (mavet, “death”) which forms a natural parallel with “Sheol” in the next line. The present translation is based on the following reconstruction of the text: יְשִׁמֵּם מָוֶת (yeshimmem mavet). The verb assumed in the reconstruction is a Hiphil jussive third masculine singular from שָׁמַם (shamam, “be desolate”) with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix attached. This reconstruction assumes that (1) haplography has occurred in the traditional text (the original sequence of three mems [מ] was lost with only one mem remaining), resulting in the fusion of originally distinct forms in the Kethib, and (2) that עָלֵימוֹ (’alemo, “upon them”) is a later scribal addition attempting to make sense of a garbled and corrupt text. The preposition עַל (’al) does occur with the verb שָׁמַם (shamam), but in such cases the expression means “be appalled at/because of” (see Jer 49:20; 50:45). If one were to retain the prepositional phrase here, one would have to read the text as follows: יַשִּׁים מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashim mavet ’alemo, “Death will be appalled at them”). The idea seems odd, to say the least. Death is not collocated with this verb elsewhere.
[55:15] 8 sn Go down alive. This curse imagines a swift and sudden death for the psalmist’s enemies.
[55:2] 9 tn Or “restless” (see Gen 27:40). The Hiphil is intransitive-exhibitive, indicating the outward display of an inner attitude.
[55:2] 10 tn Heb “in my complaint.”
[55:2] 11 tn The verb is a Hiphil cohortative from הוּם (hum), which means “to confuse someone” in the Qal and “to go wild” in the Niphal. An Arabic cognate means “to be out of one’s senses, to wander about.” With the vav (ו) conjunctive prefixed to it, the cohortative probably indicates the result or effect of the preceding main verb. Some prefer to emend the form to וְאֵהוֹמָה (vÿ’ehomah), a Niphal of הוּם (hum), or to וְאֶהַמֶה (vÿ’ehameh), a Qal imperfect from הָמָה (hamah, “to moan”). Many also prefer to take this verb with what follows (see v. 3).
[15:1] 12 sn Psalm 15. This psalm describes the character qualities that one must possess to be allowed access to the divine presence.
[15:1] 13 tn Heb “Who may live as a resident alien in your tent?”
[15:1] 14 sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill probably refers to Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 43:3; 48:1; 87:1; Dan 9:16.
[15:1] 15 sn Psalm 15. This psalm describes the character qualities that one must possess to be allowed access to the divine presence.
[15:1] 16 tn Heb “Who may live as a resident alien in your tent?”
[15:1] 17 sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill probably refers to Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 43:3; 48:1; 87:1; Dan 9:16.
[14:44] 18 tn Grk “the one who betrays him.”
[14:44] 19 sn This remark is parenthetical within the narrative and has thus been placed in parentheses.
[14:45] 20 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:45] 21 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:45] 22 sn Judas’ act of betrayal when he kissed Jesus is especially sinister when it is realized that it was common in the culture of the times for a disciple to kiss his master when greeting him.
[6:16] 23 sn There is some debate about what the name Iscariot means. It probably alludes to a region in Judea and thus might make Judas the only non-Galilean in the group. Several explanations for the name Iscariot have been proposed, but it is probably transliterated Hebrew with the meaning “man of Kerioth” (there are at least two villages that had that name). For further discussion see D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 1:546; also D. A. Carson, John, 304.
[22:47] 24 tn Grk “While he was still speaking, behold, a crowd, and the one called Judas…was leading them.” The abrupt appearance of the crowd on the scene is indicated in the translation by “suddenly” and “appeared.”
[22:47] 25 tn Grk “drew near.”
[22:47] 26 tc Many
[22:48] 27 sn Jesus’ comment about betraying the Son of Man with a kiss shows the hypocrisy and blindness of an attempt to cover up sin. On “misused kisses” in the Bible, see Gen 27:26-27; 2 Sam 15:5; Prov 7:13; 27:6; and 2 Sam 20:9.
[13:18] 28 tn Grk “But so that the scripture may be fulfilled.”
[13:18] 29 tn Or “The one who shares my food.”
[13:18] 30 tn Or “has become my enemy”; Grk “has lifted up his heel against me.” The phrase “to lift up one’s heel against someone” reads literally in the Hebrew of Ps 41 “has made his heel great against me.” There have been numerous interpretations of this phrase, but most likely it is an idiom meaning “has given me a great fall,” “has taken cruel advantage of me,” or “has walked out on me.” Whatever the exact meaning of the idiom, it clearly speaks of betrayal by a close associate. See E. F. F. Bishop, “‘He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me’ – Jn xiii.18 (Ps xli.9),” ExpTim 70 (1958-59): 331-33.
