Psalm 127
A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.
1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD guards the city,
the guard keeps watch in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil,
for he gives sleep to his beloved.
3 Sons are indeed a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the sons of one’s youth.
5 Happy is the man who has
his quiver full of them.
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
Bolded words have notes on translation below.
Psalm 127 rotates around the basic claim that everything comes from the trustworthy LORD who builds the house, guards the city, and gives the blessing of family. The opening verse introduces the word translated in the NRSVue ‘house’ (Hebrew bayit) which can be used in multiple ways. Nancy deClaissé-Walford illustrates the multiple ways Hebrew uses bayit:
The word house (bayit) has a number of meanings in the Hebrew Bible. It can refer to family dwellings (Gen. 19:2; Judg. 11:31; 2 Kgs. 4:2); to the whole household (Gen. 46:27; Josh. 7:18; Ruth 1:8); to the whole people of Israel (Exod. 40:38; 1 Kgs. 20:31; Ezek. 36:22); to ruling dynasties (2 Sam. 3:1; 7:11; 1 Kgs. 16:3); or to the temple in Jerusalem (2 Kgs. 22:3; Ezra 6:15; Jer. 7:2). (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 918)
Critical to the wordplay in this Psalm is the usage of the term in Nathan’s prophecy to David in 2 Samuel 7: 11-13
The LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house (bayit). When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house (bayit) for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
While the building of a family dwelling or a temple would also be a labor committed to the LORD and the word allows and encourages those meanings, the psalm also wants us to understand the resonance of household, especially when linked thematically and phonetically to the second half of the psalm (see below).
The LORD is the primary actor throughout the psalm as the builder of the house and the guard of the city and the provider of children while the psalmist lives in trust of the LORD. They may participate with God in the building of the house, the protection of the city, and the procreation and raising of a family, but they can trust that the LORD provides that which they need. Instead of anxious toil trying to secure their house, city, and family they can sleep in peace entrusting the LORD to provide that which they need. I am reminded of Martin Luther’s explanation of the petition of the Lord’s prayer on daily bread:
What is this?
In fact, God gives daily bread without our prayer, even to all evil people, but we ask in this prayer that God cause us to recognize what our daily bread is and to receive it with thanksgiving.
What then does “daily bread” mean?
Everything our bodies need such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, fields, livestock, money, property, an upright spouse, upright children, upright members of the household, upright and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, decency, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like. (Luther, 1978, p. 36)
Wisdom is trusting the LORD to provide for the house and the security of the city so that the faithful one can be free from anxiety and worry. The psalmist understands cooperating with God but the idea of securing their own future by working harder or longer is foolishness. For the psalmist God provides for the home, the community, and the family.
As briefly mentioned above there is a phonetic connection between the verses in Hebrew that is not present in English. Nancy deClaissé-Walford is again helpful in showing this:
The word translated here as children (NRSVue sons) is the Hebrew banim, whose acoustic similarity to the Hebrew word build (bana) and house (bayit) in v. 1, coupled with the polyvalent meaning of the word “house” in the Hebrew Bible, strongly connects the two stanzas of Psalm 127. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 918)
The word ‘reward’ (Hebrew sakar) also appears in Genesis 15 when God tells Abram, “your reward (sakar) shall be very great. Within this promise Abram is told to look to the heavens and count the stars…so shall his dependents be. This psalm echoes the story of Abram/Abraham when multiple sons/children are viewed as a ‘reward.’ ‘Warrior’ and ‘man’ in verses four and five are the Hebrew gibbor and its alternate form geber which is an important term often translated “mighty one”[1] which can refer to either military or economic power. Finally, the word ‘happy’ (Hebrew ‘asre) is a term frequently used in wisdom literature. This wise ‘mighty one’ whose house the LORD has built, whose city the LORD has guarded, and whose family has produced many children as a reward from God can live at peace and content because they have trusted in the LORD. The LORD who builds their household, guards them and provides for their family will not allow their enemies to put them to shame.
[1] Hebrew gibbor hehayil which can refer to physical strength or the economic strength to equip oneself and a group for combat. Ruth 4:11 uses this term for economic ability in reference to Boaz.
Sign of the Rose 