An Old Woman Reading, Probably the Prophetess Hannah by Rembrandt (1631)
Psalm 111
1Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. 2Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. 3Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever. 4He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds; the LORD is gracious and merciful. 5He provides food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant. 6He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of the nations. 7The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. 8They are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. 9He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name. 10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.
The next three psalms all begin with the word Hallelujah.[1]Psalms 111 and 112 are also acrostic poems with each cola[2] beginning alphabetically with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet (after the initial Hallelujah). Most previous acrostic poems have been by verse, but here there are twenty-two cola after the initial word. The acrostic form was used in the book of Lamentations to provide a sense of order to the disordered world of the poet, but in the Psalms acrostic poems are often used to focus on wisdom, describing how life should be lived. For most Hebrew people the organizing center of wisdom is the law (torah) which will be the focus of the acrostic of acrostic poems, Psalm 119. For Psalm 111 the beginning of wisdom is the fear (see below) of the LORD and that is organized around the ‘works of the LORD’ and the ‘works of the people’ in response to the LORD.
A key word for the poem is ‘works’ (Hebrew ma’asim) which occurs in verses 2, 6, and 7 with the same root being used in 4 (NRSV wonderful deeds) and a synonym being used in verse 3. Then the same word is used in verse 8 and 10 (NRSV practice, perform) for the faithful ones responding to the work of the LORD. Wisdom here is recognizing the ‘works of the LORD’s hands’ which are established ‘forever and ever’ and ‘working’ in faithfulness and uprightness. The psalmist when referring to the ‘wonderful deeds’ of God likely has in mind the defining story of the Hebrew people, the exodus where God brings the people out of Egypt and into the promised land.[3] Yet, God’s provision of food, mindfulness to the covenant, demonstrating God’s power before the nations, and granting the people a heritage or inheritance from the nations is an ongoing action. God is known by what ‘works’ God has done, or as Philip Melanchthon would famously say in the 1500s, “that to know Christ is to know his benefits.” (Melanchthon, 2014, p. 24)
The best-known line of this psalm is “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” The Hebrew word for fear (yare’) encompasses a larger meaning than our English fear. As Nancy deClassé-Walford states it also means:
“awe, reverent, respect, honor.” It appears in Hebrew as a synonym for “love.” (‘ahab, Deut 10:12); “cling to” (dabaq, Deut 10:20); and “serve” (‘abad, Deut 6:13; Josh 24:14) (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 841)
Knowing the ‘works’ of God and performing these works should lead to honor and awe, respect and honor, service and love. Wisdom that has good understanding can, to use Martin Luther’s explanation of the first commandment, “fear, love, and trust God above all things.” The ‘fear of the LORD’ leads the poet to ‘give thanks to the LORD with their whole heart.’ This is what a wisely practiced life looks like.
[1] ‘Praise the LORD” (NRSV). Hallelujah is a compound word of the verb to praise (hallel) and the first half of the name of God (yah from Yahweh). Some scholars believe that the final verse of Psalm 113 was originally the opening verse of Psalm 114 which would make four psalms which begin with Hallelujah, but as we have received the text we have three psalms beginning with Hallelujah and with Psalm 113 opening and closing with the word.
[2] Hebrew poetry breaks lines into cola. This is often reflected in the printing of poetic portions of scripture in how they are displayed. Psalm 111 in most bibles is easily divided this way because each on begins alphabetically with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet (excluding verse 1a ‘Hallelujah’). In this poem the cola are marked by punctuation (comma, semi-colon, or period).
[3] Wonderful deed (Hebrew nipla’ot) is often used to refer to God’s works at that time (Exodus 3:20; 15:11; Psalm 77: 11, 14). (NIB IV:1133)
1How lonely sits the city that once was full of people! How like a widow she has become, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the provinces has become a vassal. 2She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has no one to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies. 3Judah has gone into exile with suffering and hard servitude; she lives now among the nations, and finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress. 4The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to the festivals; all her gates are desolate, her priests groan; her young girls grieve, and her lot is bitter. 5Her foes have become the masters, her enemies prosper, because the LORD has made her suffer for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe. 6From daughter Zion has departed all her majesty. Her princes have become like stags that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer. 7Jerusalem remembers, in the days of her affliction and wandering, all the precious things that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the foe, and there was no one to help her, the foe looked on mocking over her downfall. 8Jerusalem sinned grievously, so she has become a mockery; all who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans, and turns her face away. 9Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her future; her downfall was appalling, with none to comfort her. “O LORD, look at my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!” 10Enemies have stretched out their hands over all her precious things; she has even seen the nations invade her sanctuary, those whom you forbade to enter your congregation. 11All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. Look, O LORD, and see how worthless I have become. 12Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the LORD inflicted on the day of his fierce anger. 13From on high he sent fire; it went deep into my bones; he spread a net for my feet; he turned me back; he has left me stunned, faint all day long. 14My transgressions were bound into a yoke; by his hand they were fastened together; they weigh on my neck, sapping my strength; the LORD handed me over to those whom I cannot withstand. 15The LORD has rejected all my warriors in the midst of me; he proclaimed a time against me to crush my young men; the LORD has trodden as in a wine press the virgin daughter Judah. 16For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears; for a comforter is far from me, one to revive my courage; my children are desolate, for the enemy has prevailed. 17Zion stretches out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her; the LORD has commanded against Jacob that his neighbors should become his foes; Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them. 18The LORD is in the right, for I have rebelled against his word; but hear, all you peoples, and behold my suffering; my young women and young men have gone into captivity. 19I called to my lovers but they deceived me; my priests and elders perished in the city while seeking food to revive their strength. 20See, O LORD, how distressed I am; my stomach churns, my heart is wrung within me, because I have been very rebellious. In the street the sword bereaves; in the house it is like death. 21They heard how I was groaning, with no one to comfort me. All my enemies heard of my trouble; they are glad that you have done it. Bring on the day you have announced, and let them be as I am. 22Let all their evil doing come before you; and deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my transgressions; for my groans are many and my heart is faint.
Poetry can be used to speak to things that are at the edge of our ability to articulate. It can be utilized to speak to moments of profound joy, of awe and wonder, of emotions like love and happiness whose meanings seem to transcend our words. Yet poetic words can be utilized in our moments of heartbreak, depression, grief, and trauma as we attempt to make sense of a world which seems senseless. Lamentations is the work of a poet or poets attempting to make sense of their reality in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. The poet has seen death from war and starvation, has seen the foundations upon which their life was built collapse, and the LORD who was supposed to protect Zion has turned away. The poet attempts to make sense of the loss of the home they knew, grieve the family and friends who did not survive the siege and the beginning of the exile, and to walk among a shattered people with shattered dreams into a previously unimagined reality.
The survivors of Jerusalem not only retained the words of the prophets who warned of this reality, but they also retained the words of the prophets and poets wrestling with God, attempting to reconcile their faith with the world they experience. They are living in a disordered world, and yet in their words they attempt to bring some order into the disorder. Kathleen O’Connor in her book Jeremiah: Pain and Promise talks about the way these works written in the time surrounding the exile invite not only the contemporary generation but also future generations to enter the process of being meaning-makers.
It not only reflects the interpretive chaos that follows disasters, when meaning collapses and formerly reliable beliefs turn to dust. Jeremiah’s literary turmoil is also an invitation to the audience to become meaning-makers, transforming them from being passive victims of disaster into active interpreters of their world. (O’Connor, 2011, p. 31)
Making sense of a traumatic world-changing event is not an overnight process. It is a journey through the dark shadows of grief and fear, depression and guilt, the struggle to survive as others surrender to the end. This first poem in the book of Lamentations attempt to bring some order to the disorder and give voice to the pain and humiliation felt by the people. They, like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, understand that the tragedy is a result of their own rebellion and disobedience which have broken their relationship with the LORD who protected them. They also understand that they have no future without the LORD looking, seeing, and considering the fate of this disgraced and displaced people.
The poem has two voices, a narrator and daughter Zion. The narrator is the primary speaker for the first half of the poem and attempts to relate the fate of daughter Zion as an observer of the fall of this city personified as a woman. The poem begins with the interrogative “How?” Although in English translations the word how is used primarily as an inquiry about the state of daughter Zion: How lonely, How like a widow. The word also inquires about the manner or way in which something comes to pass: How did it happen that lonely sits the city, How did she become like a widow? How did this place of honor among the nations become dishonored? How did the princess become the vassal? What has brought about this reversal for daughter Zion and those who made their home in this great city. Something has changed that has brought about the reversal of fortunes for the city and the people.
The narrator voice in the poem has a greater detachment from the suffering and events occurring to daughter Zion. Daughter Zion may weep, but the narrator reports. Yet, the narrator’s reports begin to allude to the reason why daughter Zion weeps. In a world where women were not to have lovers, they were to be faithful to their husband, now this one who has become like a widow[1] we learn is also abandoned by her lovers and friends. Something has gone wrong in the relationships that were supposed to provide support. The narrator slips out of the metaphor to narrate Judah’s entry into exile and the suffering that comes with her displacement from the promised land into the hostile nations. The exclamation that Judah found no resting place echoes the language of the curses for disobedience in Deuteronomy 28:65. As Lamentations, like Ezekiel and Jeremiah, make sense of the catastrophe of the Babylonian exile the utilize the theological perspective of Deuteronomy.
Now the roads that pass through Jerusalem mourn the loss of the pilgrim traffic to the festivals, and the priests who officiated at the festivals groan as the young women grieve. The young women here are teenage women of marriageable age. These may be the women at greatest risk of sexual violence from the enemy soldiers who have breached the city and who now escort them into exile. They also would be the women whose potential partners died in the defense of the city or in the aftermath of the breach. Daughter Zion now returns to the poem as one with a bitter lot, whose foes are now her master, whose enemies prosper. The reason is for the first time explicitly stated by the narrator: she is being made to suffer by the LORD for her transgressions. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Lamentations all share a common perspective on the disastrous events. The tragedy of the siege, destruction, and exile are all a result of Judah’s disobedience to God and the curses of Deuteronomy 28 echo throughout Lamentation’s poetic remembrance.
Yael Zigler has a powerful explanation of the poetic image of the princes being like stags which find no pasture:
The verse portrays the previously powerful leadership as drained of energy, unable to find pastures or the basic means of survival. If they cannot find pasture for themselves, they certainly cannot help their people, whose sufferings are compounded by their leaders’ impotence. (Ziegler, 2021, p. 92)
Nobles, priests, and elders all failed the people in this crisis, but now they are unable to even deliver themselves. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel had harsh words for these leaders who failed to care for the people and who compounded the upcoming crisis, but now as the world is turned upside down the powerful in Jerusalem are now impotent.
As the image once again returns to Jerusalem personified as mourning over her past riches and glories. She is isolated among the nations. Lamentations adopt a similar image to Hosea 1-3, Jeremiah 2–4, and particularly the harsh language of Ezekiel 16. Jerusalem’s past actions have led those who once admired her to despise her. Like the imagery of Ezekiel 16:35-43, Jerusalem is like a woman who is shamed by having her clothing taken away as an act of humiliation. The language of uncleanness enters the poem for the first time, but the uncleanness is literally in her hems at the bottom of her clothing. Whether the poem imagines her walking through the uncleanness of the world around her and it clinging to the skirts or whether it utilizes the image of menstruation[2] (which will come up with uncleanness later in the poem) without rags to catch the blood. Regardless of how exactly her uncleanness is visualized in the imagery of the poem, from the narrator’s perspective her actions which took no thought of the future, are the reason for her humiliated state. Her fall from grace was appalling and former friends and lovers are distant as daughter Zion for the first time raises her voice in the poem calling out to the LORD to “look at my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!”
The narrator concludes his portion of the poem with the enemies of Zion taking her precious things and invading her sanctuary. Nations that were not to be a part of the congregation of Israel in the law now stand in the center of the temple where even priests would not enter. The language behind invade, often rendered “come into,” often denotes sex in the Hebrew scriptures and the poetic intent of the imagery may be to communicate that this is both the pillaging and rape of Zion. (Goldingay, 2022, p. 67) Daughter Zion is stripped, humiliated, dishonored, and disgraced as her people struggle to find the food, they need for the strength to endure the ravages of the siege and now exile. For most of the first half of the poem the narrator has described her sorry state, but now she turns to the LORD and to those who see her and raises her voice to command people to look, see, and consider her.
Rather than cowering in her pitiful state, daughter Zion lifts her voice and demands to be seen. The first one she cries to is the LORD to see the state that the LORD’s fierce anger has left her in. Then she cries to those who pass by to look and see her sorrow. Former friends and lovers who pass by ashamed of her are commanded by daughter Zion to see her in all her suffering and to understand the reason for her suffering. Her betrayal of the LORD has resulted in the LORD’s actions. As Kathleen O’Connor narrates,
Using vivid, violent verbs; she relates Yahweh’s brutal treatment of her. He sent fire; he spread a net; he turned her back; he left her devastated. Divine attacks of the female body again serve as a metaphor for the destruction of the city. (NIB VI: 1033)
In addition to the violent verbs listed above, the transgressions become a yoke which daughter Zion bears. The harsh language of daughter Zion’s appeal may also be designed to call upon the LORD to again assume the protector role. She now is the vulnerable one who needs the protection of the LORD. Like in the Psalms, the LORD may be both the cause of their suffering and the only one who can end the suffering.
The warriors, young men, daughters, and children of Zion now bear the crushing weight of the defeat of Zion by her foes. Warriors and young men have been crushed in the crucible of war and starvation, and in an image that will resonate in Isaiah 63, Joel 3, and Revelation 14 now “girl daughter Judah” is treaded as in a wine press. Daughter Zion weeps, and there is no one to comfort her or wipe away her tears. Children, perhaps orphaned by war or the first to suffer from starvation, are a prime example of the vulnerable caught in situations they cannot control.
In verse seventeen the narrator interrupts daughter Zion’s cries. This narrator can describe her isolation where no one will comfort her because the LORD has commanded her neighbors to become her foes. Yet, even beyond foes Jerusalem has become a “filthy thing” among them. “Filthy thing” (NRSV) or “unclean thing” (NIV) translates the Hebrew term nidda which refers to a “menstrual rag.” As Kathleen O’Connor states daughter Zion, “is not only ritually unclean, but she is also repulsive and dirty.” (NIB VI: 1033) Yet, rather than refute the narrator’s claim daughter Zion proclaims, “the LORD is in the right.” The woman does not deny that her suffering is justified but she also cries out the peoples once again to look and see her sufferings. Her bowels churn and her heart is wrung and death reigns both in the house and in the streets.
The enemies of Zion have seen and heard but their reaction is one of joy. In one final appeal the woman asks for the LORD to judge these enemies. That they may be judged as she was judged. That their evil may come before the LORD as her own rebellion came before the LORD. The LORD has dealt fairly if violently with her, now dealing in a similar fashion with those who abuse and taunt her. With a groaning body and a faint heart, she appeals to God out of her desolation asking for her God to look, see, and consider her words.
This acrostic poem utilizes the voice of a narrator and daughter Zion to express the pain and desolation of the collapse of the world as the people of Jerusalem gives words to the trauma of the exile. Like reading Elie Wiesel’s Night it allows a reader to encounter a small part of the tragic reality that the author encounters. Its language may at times make us uncomfortable, but we should never feel comfortable looking into the courageous act of someone trying to use words to express the inexpressible depths of their pain, their attempts to reimagine the relationship between themselves and their God in the midst of an earthshattering tragedy, and their attempts to make sense in a senseless world. One appeal of the acrostic form is that it imposes order on a chaotic world.
Any time we engage with the scriptures it is helpful to remember that there is some distance between the worldview of the exiles of Jerusalem in 586 BCE and ourselves. To appreciate the courage of the poet in their attempt to make sense of the world with words does not require us to fully endorse the use of vivid, violent verbs against a metaphorical female body. Although I cannot speak with authority about the view of masculinity of this time, I do believe one of the intentional uses of this language is to invoke in the LORD, who plays the masculine role in this imagery here and throughout the prophets, the role of protector. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Lamentations do not shirk from the perspective that Jerusalem’s punishment is justified but that does not prevent Jeremiah, Lamentations, and the Psalms[3] from calling out to the LORD to look, see, consider and to respond in mercy.
The first poem of Lamentations may be able to articulate the pain of daughter Zion, but it is unable to resolve that pain. Even though the poet has worked through their crisis from aleph to tav, the acrostic poem has not brought about a complete expression of the pain. Perhaps that leads to the second poem which also speaks out of the pain of defeat, grief, and an uncertain future. These poems are steps on the way to healing. They are the articulation of the pain and loss of the people of Jerusalem. The loss of home, the loss of identity, the loss of meaning. Yet, in a strange way, these poems are a part of the rediscovery of faith. The LORD is the focal point of daughter Zion’s appeal. Daughter Zion hopes for a future beyond the anger of the LORD in this moment which has brought such devastation and disgrace.
[1] Widows in the bible are not only women who have lost their husbands but also people who have lost familial support and are therefore vulnerable. A person may be a widow and have a son or son-in-law to take her into her house, but widows as a vulnerable portion of the population (like orphans and strangers/resident aliens) would be those outside the familial support structure. (NIB VI: 1029)
[2] This may be a source of discomfort for modern readers, but menstruation occupies a significant place in the law in relation to cleanness and uncleanness. Similar language appears in the prophets.
[3] Ezekiel rarely appeals to the LORD for mercy. Ezekiel tends to value obedience to the LORD and rarely protests like his older colleague Jeremiah.
Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem by Rembrandt van Rijn 1630
I have intentionally worked my way through several books normally overlooked by Christian readers and leaders in our scriptures. The book of Lamentations for most of its history would qualify as an underutilized book within the scriptures we share with our Jewish Ancestors. Although there has been some recent scholarly interest in these five poems, for the average person of faith the name of the book is probably enough to scare the casual reader away. Yet, I do believe that we neglect the breadth of scripture to our own detriment. Over the thirteen years I’ve been writing on signoftherose I’ve gained a much greater appreciation for the wisdom of Hebrew poetry and the open and honest dialogue between God and God’s people that our scriptures capture.
Having worked through Psalms 1-110 and Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon) has given me a much greater appreciation of Hebrew poetry, and Lamentations is poetry. Lamentations is five poems, four of which are structured as acrostics[1] which move sequentially through the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet and the final poem’s twenty-two lines while not acrostic matches the twenty-two verse format of an acrostic. The acrostic form is often used to denote the completion of a thought, but due to the tragic event that evokes these poems it is also may be a tool to provide structure during a traumatic time.
Gwen Sayler and Ann Fritschel, my Hebrew Bible instructors twenty-five years ago at Wartburg Seminary used to joke that the answer to any question in the Hebrew Scriptures was likely to be the Babylonian exile. This event reshaped the Hebrew people when the Davidic king is sent into exile as well as the people. They mourn the loss of their land, the temple, and Jerusalem. Having worked through both Jeremiah and Ezekiel, which bracket Lamentations in the Christian arrangement of scriptures, has involved me dwelling in the writings of this period around 587 BCE. Lamentations current position after Jeremiah is due to the traditional attribution of these poems to Jeremiah.
The Hebrew name of this short book of poems is Eikha which comes from the first word of the first poem. Eikha is the elongated form of the word eikh which means “how?” How has this disaster happened to the people. This question would consume the two long prophetic books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the Deuteronomic historical retelling of the narrative of 1 & 2 Kings which climaxes at the exile at the end of the narrative, and several psalms most notably Psalm137. How has the relationship between God and God’s people come to this point where the central symbols of the people have collapsed: the Davidic monarchy, the city of Jerusalem (Zion), the land, and the temple built by Solomon. As the people find themselves as strangers in strange lands they have to rediscover what it means to be the people of the covenant.
Lamentations is a book with theological implications, but it is not attempting to be systematic. It is emotional, as it should be. Its voice is the voice of the wounded people of a lost city seeing through tear-filled eyes. It may be utilizing structure to help make sense of the chaotic, but it is a book shaped by grief and broken hearts. As John Goldingay states, “Lamentations is a “mandate to question.”” (Goldingay, 2022, p. 30) Theologically Lamentations assumes, like much of Hebrew literature, that the God of Israel is responsible for everything that occurs. Although Lamentations understands that the cause of the exile is the covenant unfaithfulness of Israel to their God, they protest and plead with God to change God’s mind and reverse the punishment they are receiving. Ultimately for the poet or poets of Lamentations their physical and emotional problems are a result of their relational problems with their God.
Resources Used For This Journey
Harvey Cox and Stephanie Paulsell, Lamentations and The Song of Songs. Belief Commentary on the Bible. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Publishing Company,2012.
The Belief Commentary series is a theological commentary written by theologians rather than biblical scholars. Harvey Cox did the Lamentations half of this commentary and uses Lamentations as a springboard into a wide range of theological topics. I read this commentary initially when I was working through Song of Songs.
John Goldingay, The Book of Lamentations. (New International Commentary on the Old Testament series). Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 2022.
The NICOT series of commentaries have often been helpful textual commentaries, and when looking for a volume to assist with the language as well as the historical background these have often been helpful. John Goldingay is a scholar who has written extensively on Jeremiah and the literature associated with Jeremiah.
Kathleen M. O’Connor, “Book of Lamentations” in The New Interpreter’s Bible. Volume VI. Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1996.
The NIB is a solid all-around commentary on the entire bible and apocrypha. It is designed for pastors and those leading in congregations, so it does not normally engage the textual issues as deeply as the NICOT or Anchor Bible commentaries.
Ziegler, Yael, Lamentations: Faith in a Turbulent World. Maggid Studies in Tanakh. Jerusalem. Maggid Books, 2021.
When I can I attempt to utilize a Jewish scholar when reading the scriptures that we share. The Maggid Studies I have utilized in the past have been approachable but also provide a window into perspectives that most Christian scholars may not explore.
[1] Chapter three is acrostic but instead of one verse per letter there are three verses.
Stained Glass window at the Melkite Catholic Annunciation Cathedral in Roslindale, MA depicting Christ the King with the regalia of a Byzantine Emperor
Psalm 110
Of David. A Psalm. 1The LORD says to my lord, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” 2The LORD sends out from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your foes. 3Your people will offer themselves willingly on the day you lead your forces on the holy mountains. From the womb of the morning, like dew, your youth will come to you. 4The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” 5The LORD is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. 6He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter heads over the wide earth. 7He will drink from the stream by the path; therefore he will lift up his head.
Psalm 110 is repeatedly referenced in the New Testament[1] as a way of demonstrating that Jesus is the Messiah and that as the Messiah, he is more important even than David. Yet this psalm so important to early Christians is heard differently by Jewish readers. Within these reflections I’ve tried to hold both Christian and Jewish voices in conversation, and I think that both can help us gain a fuller picture of the scriptures that we share. This enthronement psalm shares similar themes to Psalm 2. Both psalms view this newly anointed lord as the chosen vessel of the LORD the God of Israel. The king may be seated at the right hand[2]
As an enthronement psalm for a Davidic king, these words would likely come from a court prophet or singer to be spoken as God’s words over the new king. The prophet or singer refers to the new king as ‘my lord’ because they serve that king. The capitalization of the letters in the other occurrences of LORD in this psalm indicate that it refers to the divine name, YHWH, and the vowels are pointed around the letters to indicate to the speaker to say ‘Lord’ (or Adonai in Hebrew) instead of the divine name. YHWH speaks through the prophet to the new king and invites the king into this position of honor and promises to fight on the new king’s behalf. Verse three is full of textual difficulties, as Nancy deClaissé- Walford states, the
words appear to be an elevated description of the newly enthroned monarch, obeyed willingly by the people and endowed with strength and stamina—the dew of your childhood—which emanate from the splendor of holiness.” (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 836)
Although there were both royal and priestly roles in the world of the Davidic kings, the kings of Israel did have priestly functions. Now the king is linked to the ancient figure of Melchizedek who comes from Salem, and who is also a king, and blesses Abraham by God Most High. This King of Salem becomes the priestly model for the King of Jerusalem, likely built on the same spot generations later. This installation of the new king in both a royal and priestly role integrates this new leader into their privileged place in God’s ordering of the world. (Mays, 1994, p. 352)
The ancient world was a violent place, and the Davidic kings were expected to lead the nation to both safety and military victory. Yet, Israel was never to be a military power,[3] and their strength resided in the God who executes judgment among the nations. The language of ‘filling the nations with corpses’ and ‘shattering heads over the wide earth’ continues the elevated description of the power behind the new monarch and the power behind the throne that ultimately controls the fate of the nations. The LORD, the God of Israel, will provide the stream beyond the path of the new king allowing this king to lift up his head in honor and strength.
Christian readers will hear this psalm through the lens of Christ, and ‘sitting at the right hand of the Father’ becomes a way that the church will talk about the honored and powerful position of Jesus for the church and the world. Jesus takes on the role of king for Christians and this led to the persecution of many early followers of Jesus who refused to pay honor to the divinity of Caesar. The book of Hebrews also highlights the way Jesus fulfils the role of the priesthood for Christians.[4] In liturgical churches the final Sunday of the church year is Christ the King Sunday which celebrates the way Jesus is enthroned at the right hand of God, but instead of being a conquering king he was a crucified messiah. Revelation 19: 11-16 is the closest the New Testament gets to the militaristic language of verse five and six of this psalm. The quotation of this psalm by Jesus in his conflicts with the Pharisees in Matthew 22:44 and parallels probably was not viewed as a convincing argument by his opponents and most Jewish leaders, if they utilize this psalm today, would be waiting for a return of a Davidic ruler who can rule from the power of the LORD the God of Israel and bring the nation back to a place of security. As large of a role as this psalm plays in the New Testament, I don’t believe that it plays a similar role in the thought of contemporary Judaism.
[1]Matthew 22:44; Mark 14:62; 16:19; Luke 22:69; Acts 2:34-35; 7:55; Romans 8:34; Ephesians1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3,13; 8:1; 10:12; 1 Peter 3:22
[2] Being seated at the right hand is a position of honor and power. It is interesting that in Psalm 109 the psalmists asks for an accuser to take this position for the wicked person. The name Benjamin comes from a conjunction of the Hebrew word for son (bin) and right hand (yamin).
[3]Deuteronomy 17: 14-20 which sets the limits on a king for Israel indicates that the focus is not to be on building a stronger military but instead on a ruler being faithful to the LORD and the covenant.
1Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty, 2wrapped in light as with a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a tent, 3you set the beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind, 4you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers. 5You set the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never be shaken. 6You cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. 7At your rebuke they flee; at the sound of your thunder they take to flight. 8They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys to the place that you appointed for them. 9You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth. 10You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills, 11giving drink to every wild animal; the wild asses quench their thirst. 12By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches. 13From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. 14You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth food from the earth, 15and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart. 16The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 17In them the birds build their nests; the stork has its home in the fir trees. 18The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the coneys. 19You have made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. 20You make darkness, and it is night, when all the animals of the forest come creeping out. 21The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. 22When the sun rises, they withdraw and lie down in their dens. 23People go out to their work and to their labor until the evening. 24O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great. 26There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it. 27These all look to you to give them their food in due season; 28when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. 29When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 30When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground. 31May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works — 32who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke. 33I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. 34May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD. 35Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD!
This psalm and its predecessor are linked by their common opening and closing, “Bless the LORD, O my soul (nephesh).” The pairing of these psalms reminds me of a table prayer that I taught my children as they were growing up, “God is great, God is good, and we thank God for our food.” As Rolf A. Jacobson can state,
Whereas the central theological witness of Psalm 103 is that God is good (that is, the Lord is a God of hesed), the driving witness of Psalm 104 is that God is great. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 774)
This psalm looks in doxological wonder at the beauty, majesty, and order of God’s creation and exuberantly pours out praise at the greatness of the God who created the heavens and the earth. Like earlier psalms that marveled in the intricate connections and scale of creation, the psalmist joins their voice as a humble offering amidst the chorus of creation.
When modern people talk of creation our typical mode of thought is scientific and explanatory. The debate between creationists who try to limit God’s creation to the seven days of Genesis 1 and evolutionists arguing for a natural evolution of the universe are both framed by the language of modernity, a language which would be foreign to the scriptures. The biblical way of approaching the creation is the language of poetry and praise, wonder and curiosity. The entire direction of both the biblical narratives of creation in Genesis 1-2 and the places where the bible poetically wonders at the creation is oriented on giving praise, honor, glory, and majesty to the God of creation. This poem shares the characteristic joyfulness of the faithful ones throughout the scriptures reflecting on God’s own joy at the good creation.
Both Psalm 104 and the Genesis narratives utilize and subvert the mythological language found in the creation myths throughout the Middle East. While the Lord’s chambers are established upon the waters, an image of chaos throughout the Middle Eastern mythologies, both Genesis and the Psalms have the LORD bringing order out of chaos in a non-violent manner. Light and heavens, waters and wind, fires and flames, clouds and earth all become ordered to form the dominion of God and all the elements are brought together to build and serve the order of God. The waters rise up like a garment and though they can cover the mountains they flee at God’s rebuke and are bound and contained. The chaotic waters that threatened to flood the earth become the lifegiving seas and waters which provide for the plants of the earth and the animals of the field.
The psalmist delight’s in “God’s superabundant liberality”[1] and imagines God looking with delight upon the majestic creation. The lens of the psalmist begins his reflection on the works[2] of God’s hands with agricultural images that would likely be closest to their daily experience. God causes grass to grow for cattle, and plants that people harvest that bring forth the food that people eat. God is great and God is good, and they thank God for the food that God provides. God provide for the necessities of life but also for the joyous things: wine to gladden the human heart, oil for the human face, and bread to strengthen the heart.[3] Yet, the reflection on the works of God do not end with the immediate benefits for human society. God provides for the trees and the birds that live in them, wild goats and rabbits. There is a time for everything, daytime and nighttime for humanity and the creatures of the forest, days marked by the sun and seasons marked by the moon. The lion, the representative great beast of the forest, humanity works in the city and fields, and Leviathan the great beast of the sea all joins in the noise of creation calling out to God. Leviathan, the great chaos monster that was a threat to the gods in other societies, is now merely a plaything of the LORD. The great lion of the forest and the dragon of the sea have been tamed by the creating LORD upon whom both depend. Lion, humanity, and Leviathan all know that God is great, and God is good, and it is the LORD who they thank for the food that God provides in due season.
Yet, the creation is dependent upon God’s continual attention and sustainment. Hebrew thought has no conception of the modern image of a god who created the universe as a clockmaker creates a clock, winds it up and then departs. The creation remains dependent upon God’s face being turned towards it and God’s breath[4] residing within and animating the creature. Humanity and all creation are completely dependent upon the continued provision of the LORD which animates the creatures and renews the face of the ground. The face of the ground looks up in adoration at the face of the LORD which provides for it. The earth trembles at the attention of the LORD and the touch of God’s finger upon the mountain causes them to smoke.
The psalmist sings his song amid the majesty of creation as an offering to the LORD. The penultimate line where the psalmist asks for “sinners to be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be not more” may seem like a discordant note to end the psalm with, but within the ordered world of creation and God’s justice and righteousness there is no space for those who undermine the order of creation. Hebrew wisdom does separate good from evil, righteous from sinners, wise from foolish, and the faithful from the wicked. Yet, the LORD is both good and great, providing life, food, and joy for all of creation, and the psalmists humble meditation tries to with their humble offering of praise to bring a little joy to the creator. Their whole life[5] is involved with blessing and praising the good and great God of creation.
Cecil Alexander’s joyous song “All Things Bright and Beautiful” echoes the emotion and orientation of this psalm:
All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all.
And in the final verse of this song, after reflecting on creation from the smallness of flowers to the majesty of the mountains, Cecil Alexander’s words come back to the human standing amid the wonders of God’s works:
God gave us eyes to see them, and lips that we might tell how great is God Almighty, who has made all things well.
Or in the words of the psalmist, Bless the LORD, O my soul (nephesh). Praise the LORD. May our eyes, lips, and entire being continually live in wonder at the greatness of the creation that God’s hands formed, at the faithfulness of God continuing to look upon the face of the earth and sending forth the ruach (wind, spirit, breath) which continues to animate and sustain the creation and to respond in praise.
[2] Works, Hebrew ‘asa, is an important concept in the poem which is sometimes translated make (s)/made (v. 4, 19, 24b) and other times as works (v. 13, 31). (NIB VI: 1096)
[3] Worth noting that the heart in Hebrew is not the instrument of emotion but of will and decision.
[4] This is the Hebrew ruach which can also mean spirit or wind. All creation in both Genesis 1 and Psalm 104 is dependent upon the ruach which originates in God. English translates ruach as breath and spirit in successive verses obscuring this connection.
[5] Hebrew nephesh is not simple the Greek concept of soul but encompasses all of life.
Ezekiel 47: 1-12 The Renewing Waters from the Temple
1Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. 2Then he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and the water was coming out on the south side. 3Going on eastward with a cord in his hand, the man measured one thousand cubits, and then led me through the water; and it was ankle- deep. 4Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was knee-deep. Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was up to the waist. 5Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. 6He said to me, “Mortal, have you seen this?” Then he led me back along the bank of the river. 7As I came back, I saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on the one side and on the other. 8He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh. 9Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes. 10People will stand fishing beside the sea from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. 11But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. 12On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.
Ezekiel’s vision of a renewed society starts with the temple, but then from the temple it flows out to a renewed land and people. This vision of a life-giving stream that flows from the temple may originate in the imagery of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2:10-14 where a river flows from through the garden providing life for both the flora and fauna of creation. This imagery is picked up in Psalm 46:4 and centered in Zion when that poet writes: “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.” This vision of Ezekiel adopts this stream flowing out of Zion and fixes its source as the holy habitation of the Most High, specifically the threshold of the temple becomes the source of this bubbling spring of renewing waters which bring life to dead waters and desiccated lands. A renewed temple where God’s presence dwells is the source of life for the renewed land.
This image of comfort is one of the portions of Ezekiel that would have the greatest reach in later years, but for a people who had been through the destruction of their home and their hope was a potent vision. As Daniel Block can state:
This marvelous picture of renewal would have stirred the heart of any true Israelite, especially one who had lived through the desolation of Judah and spent many years in exile. (Block, 1998, p. 690)
The people of Judah and Israel have no reason to believe that they can be recreated as a people unless the LORD acts in new and creative ways. Here Ezekiel joins with Jeremiah, Isaiah, and other prophets in viewing a land recreated by the God of Israel. This impossible stream which in the span of a little more than a mile and a quarter moves from a trickling flow bubbling up from the foundation to a stream too deep to wade across defies everything that water should be able to do, and yet this impossible stream can only occur within the world made possible by their God.
Daniel Block is correct from a logical point of view that everything about this stream is unrealistic: streams do not grow from a bubbling source to water too deep to cross without tributaries, nor do they come from temple thresholds or flow uphill. Freshwater when it encounters water that is too salty for life becomes fouled rather than renewing the larger body of water. (Block, 1998, pp. 700-701) Yet, the impossibility of this stream is part of the imaginative power of this image, for this is the image of a God who is doing a new thing and making streams of water to flow in the desert.[1] These miraculous waters which bubble up from the temple threshold and rapidly accumulate depth and volume as they proceed away from their source bringing vegetation to the wastelands and renewing the waters of the Dead Sea can only be an act of the creating God. The path from the temple to the Arabah would require the waters to pass over or through the Mount of Olives and a series of valleys and mountain ranges. Perhaps Ezekiel imagines a scene like Zechariah 14: 4 where the Mount of Olives is split in two which would allow the river to proceed through that space, but that is not explicit in this brief image.
The Dead Sea is the lowest land elevation on earth and its salinity is nine and a half times higher than the ocean. These waters are unable to support life and although salt is a valuable commodity in the ancient world, this place is known for its absence of life. The vision shows the image of the sea and surrounding land revitalized to be a place where fishermen gather food, and the land becomes fruitful. Yet, the marshes[2] still provide valuable salt that can be harvested by the people for preservation, seasoning, and sale.[3] The geographical markers of En-gedi and En-eglaim[4] form a “topographical merismus” (Block, 1998, p. 695) indicating the eastern and western borders of the area and indicating that the entire region is renewed.
This section of Ezekiel resonates with Genesis and the Psalms, but this vision of Ezekiel will have echoes in several other portions of scripture. Among the prophets both Joel 3:18 and Zechariah 14:8 will make a passing reference to water flowing out of the temple or Jerusalem and may be influenced by Ezekiel. In John’s gospel, Jesus will paraphrase scripture saying that, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.”[5] It is likely that with John’s imagery that utilizes Jesus as the temple that here Jesus may envision the community of faith as the new temple which these living waters flow out of and may be alluding to Ezekiel 47. The most direct New Testament reference is Revelation 22:1-2 where the water of life flows out of the New Jerusalem and develops Ezekiel’s imagery of trees that continually bear fruit and whose leaves are medicinal. One significant difference between Ezekiel’s and Revelation’s imagery is that in Revelation the living waters, fruit and healing leaves are for the healing of the nations but in Ezekiel there is no indication of any transformation outside of Israel. (NIB VI:1599) Ezekiel’s vision of a renewed temple, a renewed land, and a renewed people emerging out of the devastation of the exile was probably as amazing as this impossible stream that he narrates. Yet, this image of this stream of living water which may have originated in the Garden of Eden will flow through the scriptures to the ultimate chapter of Revelation as God work of healing and renewal reaches its culmination.
Ezekiel 47: 13-23 The Boundaries of the Land
13Thus says the Lord GOD: These are the boundaries by which you shall divide the land for inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions. 14You shall divide it equally; I swore to give it to your ancestors, and this land shall fall to you as your inheritance. 15This shall be the boundary of the land: On the north side, from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, and on to Zedad, 16Berothah, Sibraim (which lies between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath), as far as Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran. 17So the boundary shall run from the sea to Hazar-enon, which is north of the border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north. This shall be the north side. 18On the east side, between Hauran and Damascus; along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel; to the eastern sea and as far as Tamar. This shall be the east side. 19On the south side, it shall run from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribath-kadesh, from there along the Wadi of Egypt to the Great Sea. This shall be the south side. 20On the west side, the Great Sea shall be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This shall be the west side. 21So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. 22You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who reside among you and have begotten children among you. They shall be to you as citizens of Israel; with you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 23In whatever tribe aliens reside, there you shall assign them their inheritance, says the Lord GOD.
Map of the Land of Israel as defined in Numbers 34 and Ezekiel 47 by Emmanuelm 21 October 2007. Shared under CC 3.0.
For most readers this section describing the territory of the renewed Israel is a place where a picture is worth one thousand words. Yet, there is an important caveat that any pictorial representation of Ezekiel’s map of Israel is an educated guess because many of the place, especially along the northern border cannot be identified with any certainty. Ezekiel does generally follow the Mosaic description of the land in Numbers 34: 3-12, even though the order of describing the boundaries is different (SWNE in Numbers, NESW in Ezekiel). Like Numbers, Ezekiel excludes the Transjordanian originally occupied by Gad, Reuben and one half of the tribe of Manasseh and the holy land stops at the Jordan. (Block, 1998, p. 716) The northern boundary of Lebo-hamath[6] to the southern boundary of the Wadi of Egypt is the northern and southern border of Solomon’s Kingdom (1 Kings 8:65) and this recreated land for the people recreates Israel at its peak.
The reconstruction of the land and people of Israel is as incredible as the stream that flows from the temple, crosses mountains, swells in depth, and renews the Arabah. At this point Northern Israel, sometimes called Samaria or Ephraim, has been scattered throughout the former Assyrian empire for two and a half centuries and has been separated from Judah for almost four centuries by the time the first remnants of Judah return to Jerusalem in the time of Cyrus the Great. Even Judah has been brought in exile to Babylon with some portions of the population fleeing to Egypt and others likely scattered across the empire. The recreation of Israel is not a creation ex nihlo[7] but it is a resurrection of a people long imagined as a dead stump, leaderless and lost.
The loss and dispersal of the people may be the reason that there is a space for the gerim, the “resident aliens” to be incorporated into the people and the tribes. Leviticus 19: 33-34 prohibits the resident alien from being oppressed and the people are commanded to treat these aliens like they treat themselves in remembrance of their time as aliens in Egypt. We don’t know how these people were treated throughout the history of Israel, but even Ezekiel seems to have viewed them through the lens of Leviticus 19. In Ezekiel 14:7 these aliens are held to the same standard as the people of Judah in relation to idol worship and in Ezekiel 22 they are listed with the vulnerable members of society: the widows and orphans, the poor and needy who are exploited by the residents and leaders of the bloody city.[8] As Daniel Block remarks, Ezekiel takes the fringe territories of Numbers 35: 13-15 and replaces them with a fringe people. (Block, 1998, p. 717) With the loss of connection between the tribes and the loss of population due to both war and scattering, these aliens now become citizens owning land in the tribes that are now their tribe and whose inheritance they share. They become grafted onto the vine of Israel and are a new growth among the recreated people.
[2] Daniel Block indicates this likely refers to the Lashon, a peninsula jutting into the sea from the eastern shore that has shallow waters that are not deep enough for fish to live in. (Block, 1998, p. 695)
[3] Preservation was the primary usage for salt in a world prior to refrigeration. Meats and fishes were packed in salt to prevent their spoilage. Salt was a heavily traded commodity in the ancient world and was so essential that our word ‘salary’ evolved from the Roman soldier’s allowance to buy salt.
[4] The location of En-eglaim is less certain, (NIB VI:1596) but most scholars believe Ezekiel intends to indicate opposite ends of the region of the Dead Sea.
[6] Jeroboam II also restores this border for Northern Israel in 2 Kings 14:25, yet this is during the divided kingdom but Lebo-hamath seem to be the northern edge of the territory Israel manages to secure during its history.
Sign of the Rose 