Discovery BoxPsalms 78:51-72
Context78:51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power 1 in the tents of Ham.
78:52 Yet he brought out his people like sheep;
he led them through the wilderness like a flock.
78:53 He guided them safely along,
while the sea covered their enemies.
78:54 He brought them to the border of his holy land,
to this mountainous land 2 which his right hand 3 acquired.
78:55 He drove the nations out from before them;
he assigned them their tribal allotments 4
and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down. 5
78:56 Yet they challenged and defied 6 the sovereign God, 7
and did not obey 8 his commands. 9
78:57 They were unfaithful 10 and acted as treacherously as 11 their ancestors;
they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow. 12
78:58 They made him angry with their pagan shrines, 13
and made him jealous with their idols.
78:59 God heard and was angry;
he completely rejected Israel.
78:60 He abandoned 14 the sanctuary at Shiloh,
the tent where he lived among men.
78:61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; 15
he gave the symbol of his splendor 16 into the hand of the enemy. 17
78:62 He delivered his people over to the sword,
and was angry with his chosen nation. 18
78:63 Fire consumed their 19 young men,
and their 20 virgins remained unmarried. 21
78:64 Their 22 priests fell by the sword,
but their 23 widows did not weep. 24
78:65 But then the Lord awoke from his sleep; 25
he was like a warrior in a drunken rage. 26
78:66 He drove his enemies back;
he made them a permanent target for insults. 27
78:67 He rejected the tent of Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
78:68 He chose the tribe of Judah,
and Mount Zion, which he loves.
78:69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; 28
as secure as the earth, which he established permanently. 29
78:70 He chose David, his servant,
and took him from the sheepfolds.
78:71 He took him away from following the mother sheep, 30
and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people,
and of Israel, his chosen nation. 31
78:72 David 32 cared for them with pure motives; 33
he led them with skill. 34
[78:51] 1 tn Heb “the beginning of strength.” If retained, the plural form אוֹנִים (’onim, “strength”) probably indicates degree (“great strength”), but many ancient witnesses read “their strength,” which presupposes an emendation to אֹנָם (’onam; singular form of the noun with third masculine plural pronominal suffix).
[78:54] 2 tn Heb “this mountain.” The whole land of Canaan seems to be referred to here. In Exod 15:17 the promised land is called the “mountain of your [i.e., God’s] inheritance.”
[78:54] 3 tn The “right hand” here symbolizes God’s military strength (see v. 55).
[78:55] 4 tn Heb “he caused to fall [to] them with a measuring line an inheritance.”
[78:55] 5 tn Heb “and caused the tribes of Israel to settle down in their tents.”
[78:56] 6 tn Or “tested and rebelled against.”
[78:56] 7 tn Heb “God, the Most High.”
[78:56] 9 tn Heb “his testimonies” (see Ps 25:10).
[78:57] 10 tn Heb “they turned back.”
[78:57] 11 tn Or “acted treacherously like.”
[78:57] 12 tn Heb “they turned aside like a deceitful bow.”
[78:58] 13 tn Traditionally, “high places.”
[78:61] 15 tn Heb “and he gave to captivity his strength.” The expression “his strength” refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant, which was housed in the tabernacle at Shiloh.
[78:61] 16 tn Heb “and his splendor into the hand of an enemy.” The expression “his splendor” also refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant.
[78:61] 17 sn Verses 60-61 refer to the Philistines’ capture of the ark in the days of Eli (1 Sam 4:1-11).
[78:62] 18 tn Heb “his inheritance.”
[78:63] 19 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
[78:63] 20 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
[78:63] 21 tn Heb “were not praised,” that is, in wedding songs. The young men died in masses, leaving no husbands for the young women.
[78:64] 22 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
[78:64] 23 tn Heb “his.” The singular pronominal suffix is collective, referring back to God’s “people” (v. 62).
[78:64] 24 sn Because of the invading army and the ensuing panic, the priests’ widows had no time to carry out the normal mourning rites.
[78:65] 25 tn Heb “and the master awoke like one sleeping.” The
[78:65] 26 tn Heb “like a warrior overcome with wine.” The Hebrew verb רוּן (run, “overcome”) occurs only here in the OT. The phrase “overcome with wine” could picture a drunken warrior controlled by his emotions and passions (as in the present translation), or it could refer to a warrior who awakes from a drunken stupor.
[78:66] 27 tn Heb “a permanent reproach he made them.”
[78:69] 28 tc Heb “and he built like the exalting [ones] his sanctuary.” The phrase כְּמוֹ־רָמִים (kÿmo-ramim, “like the exalting [ones]”) is a poetic form of the comparative preposition followed by a participial form of the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”). The text should be emended to כִּמְרֹמִים (kimromim, “like the [heavenly] heights”). See Ps 148:1, where “heights” refers to the heavens above.
[78:69] 29 tn Heb “like the earth, [which] he established permanently.” The feminine singular suffix on the Hebrew verb יָסַד (yasad, “to establish”) refers to the grammatically feminine noun “earth.”
[78:71] 30 tn Heb “from after the ewes he brought him.”
[78:71] 31 tn Heb “to shepherd Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance.”
[78:72] 32 tn Heb “He”; the referent (David, God’s chosen king, mentioned in v. 70) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[78:72] 33 tn Heb “and he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart.”
[78:72] 34 tn Heb “and with the understanding of his hands he led them.”
