Psalms 68:30

68:30 Sound your battle cry ¹  against the wild beast of the reeds, ² 

and the nations that assemble like a herd of calves led by bulls! ³ 

They humble themselves ⁴  and offer gold and silver as tribute. ⁵ 

God ⁶  scatters ⁷  the nations that like to do battle.

Psalms 84:10

84:10 Certainly ⁸  spending just one day in your temple courts is better

than spending a thousand elsewhere. ⁹ 

I would rather stand at the entrance ¹⁰  to the temple of my God

than live ¹¹  in the tents of the wicked.

[68:30]  ¹ tn The Hebrew verb גָּעַר (ga’ar) is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts such as Ps 68 this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Ps 106:9 and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 18:15; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.

[68:30]  ² sn The wild beast of the reeds probably refers to a hippopotamus, which in turn symbolizes the nation of Egypt.

[68:30]  ³ tn Heb “an assembly of bulls, with calves of the nations.”

[68:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “humbling himself.” The verb form is a Hitpael participle from the root רָפַס (rafas, “to trample”). The Hitpael of this verb appears only here and in Prov 6:3, where it seems to mean, “humble oneself,” a nuance that fits nicely in this context. The apparent subject is “wild beast” or “assembly,” though both of these nouns are grammatically feminine, while the participle is a masculine form. Perhaps one should emend the participial form to a masculine plural (מִתְרַפִּם, mitrapim) and understand “bulls” or “calves” as the subject.

[68:30]  ⁵ tc Heb “with pieces [?] of silver.” The meaning of the Hebrew term רַצֵּי (ratsey) is unclear. It is probably best to emend the text to בֶּצֶר וְכָסֶף (betser vÿkhasef, “[with] gold and silver”).

[68:30]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[68:30]  ⁷ tn The verb בָּזַר (bazar) is an alternative form of פָּזַר (pazar, “scatter”).

[84:10]  ⁸ tn Or “for.”

[84:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “better is a day in your courts than a thousand [spent elsewhere].”

[84:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I choose being at the entrance of the house of my God over living in the tents of the wicked.” The verb סָפַף (safaf) appears only here in the OT; it is derived from the noun סַף (saf, “threshold”). Traditionally some have interpreted this as a reference to being a doorkeeper at the temple, though some understand it to mean “lie as a beggar at the entrance to the temple” (see HALOT 765 s.v. ספף).

[84:10]  ¹¹ tn The verb דּוּר (dur, “to live”) occurs only here in the OT.