Psalms 87:1-4

Context

Psalm 87¹

Written by the Korahites; a psalm, a song.

87:1 The Lord’s city is in the holy hills.²

87:2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion

more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.

87:3 People say wonderful things about you,³

O city of God. (Selah)

87:4 I mention Rahab⁴ and Babylon to my followers.⁵

Here are⁶ Philistia and Tyre,⁷ along with Ethiopia.⁸

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

[87:1] ¹sn Psalm 87. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s presence in Zion and the special status of its citizens.

[87:1] ²tn Heb “his foundation [is] in the hills of holiness.” The expression “his foundation” refers here by metonymy to the Lord’s dwelling place in Zion. The “hills” are the ones surrounding Zion (see Pss 125:2; 133:3).

[87:3] ³tn Heb “glorious things are spoken about you.” The translation assumes this is a general reference to compliments paid to Zion by those who live within her walls and by those who live in the surrounding areas and lands. Another option is that this refers to a prophetic oracle about the city’s glorious future. In this case one could translate, “wonderful things are announced concerning you.”

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

[87:4] ⁵tn 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] ⁶tn Heb “Look.”

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

[87:4] ⁸tn Heb “Cush.”

[87:4] ⁹tn 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.