The Cornerstone Biblical Commentary series provides students, pastors, and laypeople with up-to-date, accessible evangelical scholarship on the Old and New Testaments. Presenting the message of each passage, as well as an overview of other issues relevant to the text, each volume equips pastors and Christian leaders with exegetical and theological knowledge so they can better understand and apply God's Word. This volume includes the entire NLT text of Psalms and Proverbs.
Other features: Provides pastors, teachers, and students with up-to-date evangelical scholarship. Both exegetical and translation commentary. Part of an 18-volume collection. Features New Living Translation Text.
Mark D. Futato, Ph.D., The Catholic University of America, is Robert L. Maclellan Professor of Old Testament and academic dean at Reformed Theological Seminary in Florida. He is the author of several books and articles, including Beginning Biblical Hebrew and Interpreting the Psalms: An Exegetical Handbook. He has also contributed to The Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible and The New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis. Dr. Futato is an ordained minister and served on the translation team for the book of Psalms in the New Living Translation.
George M. Schwabb, Sr., Ph.D., Westminster Theological Seminary, is associate professor of Old Testament at Erskine Theological Seminary in South Carolina. He is ordained in the Second Presbytery of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and is a member of the So

CORNERSTONE BIBLICAL COMMENTARY

By Mark D. Futato

TYNDALE HOUSE PUBLISHERS, INC.

Copyright © 2009 Mark D. Futato
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8423-3433-4

Contents

Contributors to Volume 7.................................viGeneral Editor's Preface.................................viiAbbreviations............................................ixTransliteration and Numbering System.....................xiiiThe Book of Psalms.......................................1The Book of Proverbs.....................................451

Chapter One

The Book of Psalms MARK D. FUTATO

INTRODUCTION TO Psalms

Psalms is a book of praises. A crescendo of praise overwhelms the reader at the grand finale of the book of Psalms:

Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heaven! Praise him for his mighty works; praise his unequaled greatness! Praise him with a blast of the ram's horn; praise him with the lyre and harp! Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flutes! Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud clanging cymbals. Let everything that breathes sing praises to the LORD!

Praise the Lord!

Harmonizing with the Psalter, Luther opens his own "Preface to the Psalter" with chords of praise:

Many of the holy fathers prized and praised the Psalter above all the other books of the Scripture. To be sure, the work itself gives praise enough to its author; nevertheless we must give evidence of our own praise and thanks.... The Psalter ought to be a precious and beloved book, if for no other reason than this: it promises Christ's death and resurrection so clearly-and pictures his kingdom and the condition and nature of all Christendom-that it might well be called a little Bible. In it is comprehended most beautifully and briefly everything that is in the entire Bible. It is really a fine enchiridion or handbook. In fact, I have a notion that the Holy Spirit wanted to take the trouble Himself to compile a short Bible and book of examples of all Christendom or all saints, so that anyone who could not read the whole Bible would here have anyway an entire summary of it, comprised in one little book. (Luther 1960:254)

Similar praise of the Psalter resounds throughout the history of the church, as a few examples make clear.

I believe that a man can find nothing more glorious than these Psalms; for they embrace the whole life of man, the affections of his mind, and the motions of his soul. To praise and glorify God, he can select a psalm suited to every occasion, and thus will find that they were written for him. (Athanasius, quoted in Bushell 1980:94)

The Law instructs, history informs, prophecy predicts, correction censures, and morals exhort. In the book of Psalms you find all of these, as well as a remedy for the salvation of the soul. The Psalter deserves to be called the praise of God, the glory of man, the voice of the church, and the most beneficial confession of faith. (Ambrose, quoted in Bushell 1980:94)

I have been accustomed to call this book, I think not inappropriately, "An Anatomy of all the Parts of the Soul"; for there is not an emotion of which anyone can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror. Or rather, the Holy Spirit has here drawn to the life all the griefs, sorrows, fears, doubts, hopes, cares, perplexities, in short, all the distracting emotions, with which the minds of men are wont to be agitated ... in short, there is no other Book in which we are more perfectly taught the right manner of praising God, or in which we are more powerfully stirred up to the performance of this religious exercise. (Calvin 1979:1.xxxvi-xxxvii)

The Psalter is a theatre, where God allows us to behold both Himself and His works; a most pleasant green field, a vast garden, where we see all manner of flowers: a paradise, having the most delicious flowers and fruits; a great sea in which are hid costly pearls: a heavenly school, where we have God for our teacher: a compend of all Scripture: a mirror of divine grace, reflecting the face of our heavenly Father: and the anatomy of our souls. (Paul Gerhard, quoted in Bushell 1980:95)

Such a concert of praise well suits the book of Psalms, whose Hebrew title is seper tehillim [TH5612/8416, ZH6219/9335] (Book of Praises). However, this book is not predominantly exhilarating. The dominant mood of the Psalter is characterized by disorientation, sorrow, and perplexity-as the following examples show:

O Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble? (10:1)

O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way?

How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? (13:1-2 [2-3])

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? (22:1 [2])

How can "Book of Praises" be the title, when such psalms of negativity outnumber hymns of praise? Simply put, praise is the final word (Crenshaw 1986:293; Miller 1986:66). Praise is the final word even in the vast majority of the psalms of negativity (Pss 44 and 88 being exceptions). Praise is also the final word in each of the five major divisions of the Psalter (41:13 [14]; 72:18-19 [19-20]; 89:52 [53]; 106:48; 150). And praise is the final word of the Psalter as a whole (Westermann 1981:250-258). While psalms of negativity dominate the beginning of the Psalter (Pss 3-7, 10-13, etc.), resounding praise concludes the work (Pss 146-150) with the final line of the final psalm issuing the command: "Let everything that breathes sing praises to the LORD!" (150:6; my italics).

As Luther said, "So, then, let us see to it that we thank God for all these unspeakable blessings. Let us receive them and use them diligently and carefully, exercising ourselves in them to the praise and honor of God" (1960:257).

AUTHORS

In order to determine the various authors of the psalms, it is first necessary to understand that many of the titles to different psalms include the name of the author. Out of 150 psalms, 116 have titles. Some titles are as brief as that to Psalm 15, "A psalm of David," while others are as full as that to Psalm 60, "For the choir director: A psalm of David useful for teaching, regarding the time David fought Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned and killed 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. To be sung to the tune 'Lily of the Testimony.'" A given title may contain information on the author, the historical background, or matters related to the use of the psalm in worship.

Can we trust that the titles are giving us accurate information about the author of a particular psalm? Even among evangelical scholars there is no consensus on this issue. (For example, compare the views in Craigie 1983:31, Kidner 1973a:32-33, and Young 1949:307.) Dillard and Longman indicate that the "nature and origin of the titles are tricky issues that must be handled with care and scholarly humility" (2006:214). My position is that the preponderance of evidence leads to the conclusion that the titles should be considered canonical. They are as much a part of the Hebrew text as are the titles in 2 Samuel 22:1, Isaiah 38:9, and Habakkuk 3:1, or the editorial notes in Proverbs 10:1, 22:17, and 24:23. The ancient tradition of the Masoretes accents the titles along with the text and thus does not separate the titles from the rest of the text. And the New Testament is at times willing to base a theological argument on information in a title (see Acts 2:29-31). Authenticity does not, however, require a given title to have been written by the original poet (Kidner 1973a:33 and Longman 1995:208 n. 22), any more than it requires Deuteronomy 34:5-8 to have been written by Moses. Authenticity as used here means the titles record accurate information with regard to the particular psalm.

Problems remain in our understanding of some information in several titles. For example, David's concern for the well-being of Absalom in 2 Samuel 18:5, 12, 33 seems to be at odds with his animosity toward his enemies in Psalm 3, written "regarding the time David fled from his son Absalom." And how a song of thanksgiving for restoration from sickness (Ps 30) served as "a song for the dedication of the Temple" also remains problematic.

Many titles contain the prepositional Lamedh followed by a proper name, e.g., ledawid [TH3807.1/1732, ZH4200/1858] (David). While some regard this construction as ambiguous (Craigie 1983:34 and VanGemeren 1991:19-20), the prevailing view is that authorship is indicated (Rendtorff 1986:247; Sawyer 1970:26; Waltke 1991:586). "In the headings ... the connection between ledawid and the description of the situation that follows immediately is so close that it is impossible to construe the lamed in ledawid as anything else than the l auctoris" (Kraus 1988:22). Other evidence supports this conclusion. The expansion of ledawid with, "He sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul" (Ps 18) argues for ledawid as "by David" (Dillard and Longman 2006:216), especially in light of the fact that this same poem is embedded in the historical narrative at 2 Samuel 22:1. The title to the psalm in Habakkuk 3 reads lakhabaqquq [TH3807.1/2265, ZH4200/2487], which in context must mean "by Habakkuk." Hezekiah's hymn is likewise introduced in Isaiah 38:9 with lekhizqiyahu [TH3807.1/2396A, ZH4200/2625] ("by Hezekiah"; see Childs 1971:140). Moreover, Jesus posited an argument for his own identity in the Davidic authorship of Psalm 110 (Mark 12:35-37), and Luke posited an argument for the resurrection of Christ in the Davidic authorship of Psalm 16 (Acts 13:25-37).

DATE AND OCCASION OF WRITING

When considering the date and occasion of the Psalms, a distinction must be made between the individual psalms and the collection as a whole. The various individual psalms were composed over a long period of time, spanning the pre exilic, exilic, and postexilic eras (Crenshaw 1986:293). Approximately one thousand years separates Psalms 90 and 137. The presence of psalms like Psalm 137 demonstrates that the book as a whole could not have reached its final form before the postexilic period. The book of Psalms as we have it was probably completed by the end of the fourth century BC (Craigie 1983:31; Kraus 1988:20). The theological rationale for the final shape will be explored below.

Only 14 psalms contain historical information in their titles, and all of these are related to the life of David. The specific occasion that gave rise to most psalms is unknown to us. Owing to the frequency of figurative and formulaic language in the psalms, it is often impossible to reconstruct the historical background of a given psalm based on its content. Rather than being a liability, however, this lack of historical specificity has always been an asset in the ongoing use of the Psalms. "The psalms are historically nonspecific so that they may be continually used in Israel's corporate and individual worship of God" (Dillard and Longman 2006:216). Given the difference of our own historical situation from that of the ancient psalmist, our own ability to appropriate these ancient texts is enhanced by their historical nonspecificity.

AUDIENCE

The immediate recipients of the psalms were the musicians and singers who performed them, as well as the congregation of Israel who was also encouraged to sing the praises of the psalms to their God. Many of our 150 psalms were composed to be used in the public worship of God, as is clear from the content of numerous psalms. For example, 100:2, 4 summons the nations with these words:

Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise.

Psalm 68:24-26 [25-27] describes a liturgical procession that culminates in God's people gathering for worship:

Your procession has come into view, O God-the procession of my God and King as he goes into the sanctuary.

Singers are in front, musicians behind; between them are young women playing tambourines.

Praise God, all you people [congregation] of Israel; praise the Lord, the source of Israel's life.

Psalm 35:18 also envisions the assembled community in public worship:

Then I will thank you in front of the great assembly. I will praise you before all the people.

USE OF THE PSALMS

Numerous elements of the titles are intended to provide information on the use of the psalms in worship, but the precise meaning of many of these terms is unknown. Only the frequent terms are discussed here. Terms that occur only a time or two will be treated as they occur. (For a comprehensive discussion of this material see Kraus 1988:21-32. For an excellent summary of music in Old Testament worship see Eaton 1986:72-101.)

A title at times provides information on the type of psalm that follows. The general terms shir [TH7892, ZH8877] (song) and mizmor [TH4210, ZH4660] (psalm) must have held some distinction between them, but their precise meaning cannot be determined. Perhaps the denotation of shir is "vocal song," while that of mizmor is "song accompanied by instrumentation" (Kraus 1988:21-22; TDOT 4.93, 96-97). Lyrics may not always be in view in the verbal uses of the root zamar [TH2167, ZH2376] (see TWOT 1.245), from which mizmor is derived. On the other hand, mizmor may simply be more specific than shir, since it is used only in the Psalter exclusively for religious compositions (Sawyer 1970:32). The expression shir hamma'aloth [TH7892/4609A, ZH8877/5092] (song of ascents) occurs in the titles of Psalms 120-134. Psalm 121 is a song for pilgrimage and Psalm 132 has a procession in view. Accordingly, shir hamma'aloth is best taken to refer to a song sung by pilgrims as they made their way up to Jerusalem to worship God at the Temple. The meaning of miktam [TH4387, ZH4846] is not known.

The term maskil [TH4905, ZH5380] occurs for the first time in 32:TITLE. Given that the same root is used in the same stem (Hiphil, meaning "to guide") in the same psalm (32:8), the same sense ("guide/instruct") may be involved: A maskil may be a didactic poem. Such a sense would be quite appropriate in 32:TITLE and 78:TITLE, but not all maskil psalms are explicitly didactic (e.g., Pss 42, 45, 89, 142). The term tepillah [TH8605, ZH9525] (prayer) is used exclusively for "prayer of lament" in psalm titles.

A title may also provide liturgical information. The term lamenatseakh [TH5329A, ZH5904] has traditionally been translated "for the choir director," and that is probably correct based on the use of the corresponding infinitive in 1 Chronicles 15:21, though the precise sense in which a given psalm is "for the choir director" is not known. That lamenatseakh has a liturgical referent is seen not only in the use of the infinitive in a liturgical context (1 Chr 15:21) but also in the frequently accompanying phrase bineginoth [TH5058, ZH5593]. Bineginoth, used only following lamenatseakh, means "[played] on stringed instruments." While not occurring in a title, the ubiquitous selah [TH5542, ZH6138] is also apparently a liturgical note, though the meaning of this term is also unknown.

CANONICITY AND TEXTUAL HISTORY

The canonicity of the book of Psalms is readily seen in the use of "Psalms" for the title to the third division of the Hebrew canon. Jesus said, "When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled" (Luke 24:44). Philo also referred to "Laws, and Oracles given by inspiration through Prophets, and Psalms" (De Vita Contemplativa 25). In texts like Luke 24:44 and Philo, "Psalms" was probably used as part for the whole (Crenshaw 1986:292), i.e., "Psalms" represented the whole third division of the Hebrew Bible, because of the Psalter's importance and initial position in the third division (Beckwith 1985:111-112).

The Hebrew text of the book of Psalms is in relatively good condition (Harrison 1969:999). Irregularities exist, however. For example, Psalms 9 and 10 together form one alphabetic acrostic, indicating that the two were probably a single psalm originally (also, the absence of Mem, Nun, and Samekh lines in Psalm 10 indicate that the text has been damaged in transmission). Similarly, the threefold refrain in Psalms 42 and 43 is evidence for the accidental division of a single original psalm. Moreover, a comparison of Psalm 18 and 2 Samuel 22 or Psalms 14 and 53 gives evidence of other textual irregularities-some transmissional, others editorial. While maintaining general confidence in the Masoretic Text, this commentary will deal with textual problems as they are encountered (see Kraus 1988:13-16).

LITERARY STYLE

Poetry. Readers of the Psalms face special difficulties, one of which is the poetic nature of the text (Longman 1993:10). Evidence of this difficulty is found in the fact that numerous introductions to the literature of the Bible find it necessary to provide a special introduction to the poetry of the Bible but not to the prose (Petersen and Richards 1992:1-2). Accordingly, an overview of poetry is included here. (See Berlin 1985, Fokkelman 2001, Longman 1993, Miller 1994, and Schokel 1988 for more detailed treatments of the material covered here.) Some scholars deny the usefulness of using the category of poetry for the Hebrew Bible (Kugel 1981), but most affirm that a difference exists between prose and poetry. In most current discussions, prose and poetry are said to be different points on a continuum: At the extremes the difference is obvious (compare Gen 12 and Ps 34), but the boundary is at times fuzzy (e.g., Is the book of Haggai prose or poetry?). So rather than defining poetry in terms of its unique features over against prose, scholars now list the features that indicate the presence of poetry when these features occur in high concentration (Berry 1995; Longman 1993; Miller 1994b; Petersen and Richards 1992). Before surveying these features, I need to introduce some basic terminology.

(Continues...)

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