Psalms 68:5

68:5 He is a father to the fatherless

and an advocate for widows. ¹ 

God rules from his holy palace. ² 

Psalms 78:12

78:12 He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors,

in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. ³ 

Psalms 89:26

89:26 He will call out to me,

‘You are my father, ⁴  my God, and the protector who delivers me.’ ⁵ 

Psalms 95:9

95:9 where your ancestors challenged my authority, ⁶ 

and tried my patience, even though they had seen my work.

Psalms 103:13

103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, ⁷ 

so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. ⁸ 

[68:5]  ¹ sn God is depicted here as a just ruler. In the ancient Near Eastern world a king was responsible for promoting justice, including caring for the weak and vulnerable, epitomized by the fatherless and widows.

[68:5]  ² tn Heb “God [is] in his holy dwelling place.” He occupies his throne and carries out his royal responsibilities.

[78:12]  ³ sn The region of Zoan was located in the Egyptian delta, where the enslaved Israelites lived (see Num 13:22; Isa 19:11, 13; 30:4; Ezek 30:14).

[89:26]  ⁵ sn You are my father. The Davidic king was viewed as God’s “son” (see 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 2:7). The idiom reflects ancient Near Eastern adoption language associated with covenants of grant, by which a lord would reward a faithful subject by elevating him to special status, referred to as “sonship.” Like a son, the faithful subject received an “inheritance,” viewed as an unconditional, eternal gift. Such gifts usually took the form of land and/or an enduring dynasty. See M. Weinfeld, “The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East,” JAOS 90 (1970): 184-203, for general discussion and some striking extra-biblical parallels.

[89:26]  ⁶ tn Heb “the rocky summit of my deliverance.”

[95:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “where your fathers tested me.”

[103:13]  ⁹ tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.

[103:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “those who fear him.”