Psalms 68:31

68:31 They come with red cloth ¹  from Egypt,

Ethiopia ²  voluntarily offers tribute ³  to God.

Psalms 87:4

87:4 I mention Rahab ⁴  and Babylon to my followers. ⁵ 

Here are ⁶  Philistia and Tyre, ⁷  along with Ethiopia. ⁸ 

It is said of them, “This one was born there.” ⁹ 

Psalms 7:1

Psalm 7 ¹⁰ 

A musical composition ¹¹  by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning ¹²  a Benjaminite named Cush. ¹³ 

7:1 O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter. ¹⁴ 

Deliver me from all who chase me! Rescue me!

[68:31]  ¹ tn This noun, which occurs only here in the OT, apparently means “red cloth” or “bronze articles” (see HALOT 362 s.v. חַשְׁמַן; cf. NEB “tribute”). Traditionally the word has been taken to refer to “nobles” (see BDB 365 s.v. חַשְׁמַן; cf. NIV “envoys”). Another option would be to emend the text to הַשְׁמַנִּים (hashmannim, “the robust ones,” i.e., leaders).

[68:31]  ² tn Heb “Cush.”

[68:31]  ³ tn Heb “causes its hands to run,” which must mean “quickly stretches out its hands” (to present tribute).

[87:4]  ⁴ sn “Rahab,” which means “proud one,” is used here as a title for Egypt (see Isa 30:7).

[87:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “to those who know me” (see Ps 36:10). Apparently the Lord speaks here. The verbal construction (the Hiphil of זָכַר, zakhar, “remember” followed by the preposition -לְ [le] with a substantive) is rare, but the prepositional phrase is best understood as indicating the recipient of the announcement (see Jer 4:16). Some take the preposition in the sense of “among” and translate, “among those who know me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). In this case these foreigners are viewed as the Lord’s people and the psalm is interpreted as anticipating a time when all nations will worship the Lord (see Ps 86:9) and be considered citizens of Zion.

[87:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “Look.”

[87:4]  ⁷ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[87:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “Cush.”

[87:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “and this one was born there.” The words “It is said of them” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarification and stylistic purposes (see v. 5). Those advocating the universalistic interpretation understand “there” as referring to Zion, but it seems more likely that the adverb refers to the nations just mentioned. The foreigners are identified by their native lands.

[7:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 7. The psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and deliver him from his enemies. He protests his innocence and declares his confidence in God’s justice.

[7:1]  ⁸ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term שִׁגָּיוֹן (shiggayon; translated here “musical composition”) is uncertain. Some derive the noun from the verbal root שָׁגָה (shagah, “swerve, reel”) and understand it as referring to a “wild, passionate song, with rapid changes of rhythm” (see BDB 993 s.v. שִׁגָּיוֹן). But this proposal is purely speculative. The only other appearance of the noun is in Hab 3:1, where it occurs in the plural.

[7:1]  ⁹ tn Or “on account of.”

[7:1]  ¹⁰ sn Apparently this individual named Cush was one of David’s enemies.

[7:1]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.