AN
EXEGETICAL STUDY OF PSALM 127
by
Bruce K. Dahlberg
Submitted in partial
fulfillment of requirements
for the degree of
Master of Theology in
Grace
Theological Seminary
May 1984
Digitized by Ted
Hildebrandt,
Title: AN
EXEGETICAL STUDY OF PSALM 127
Author: Bruce K. Dahlberg
Degree: Master of Theology, 1984
Advisers:
John J. Davis and D. Wayne Knife
Proper exegetical study of Psalm 127
is often clouded by
unnecessary
baggage. Presuppositions have torn this psalm away from
its
historical situation. These presuppositions hindered the understanding
of
the psalm and the resolution of specific problems in the psalm.
By way of a contextual analysis that
is confirmed
and
developed through an exegetical study of this psalm, a
proper
focus for exegetical study can be achieved. The
Hebrew
text is clear of any textual difficulties. It is the
LXX
that has created textual difficulties which can be
cleared
up by proper exegesis. This wisdom psalm is com-
posed
of two aphorisms that are unified in one psalm. These
two
aphorisms or proverbs seek to describe and prescribe the
way
to achieve the good life. The psalm evidences a
eudaemonistic
or prudential wisdom flavor. The Sitz im
Leben is probably seen in the
pilgrimages of the Israelite
to
the annual feasts in
are
tied together. The trustworthiness of the psalm titles,
the
nature of wisdom literature, and biblical evidence point
to
a Solomonic authorship and a date around 971-941 B.C. It
is
important to note that wisdom literature does not indicate lateness.
The dictum of Yahweh's sovereignty
is spelled out in
verses
1-2. If the activity of life providing shelter and
security
is done without acknowledgement of Yahweh in the
attitude
of the worker, the thing which is done is evil.
xvw speaks primarily of wickedness, that which is
done
against
the will of God. The dictum of God also speaks to
the
livelihood of man. The life that stretches that day
beyond
normal limits because of anxiety or licentiousness is
declared
evil. xnAwe
means sleep as traditionally understood,
is
the reward of the diligent worker (Ecc 5:18-6:2).
Because
of the literary device used, it is unnecessary to
seek
other meanings for the word xnAwe. The blessing of
Yahweh
is spelled out in verses 3-5. The themes began in
verse
one tie in the second proverb. Sons
become a heritage
of
earthly parents who are like arrows to be used by the
mighty
warrior. In time of need the father can depend on
them
for support against unfair judiciary practice in the city gate.
The beauty of the psalm is not only
in the meaning
of
it, but the literary production is truly superb. Many
types
of parallelism are used along with verbal figures that
tie
the psalm together and guide one in the understanding of
the
semantical aspects of the psalm.
Accepted by the Faculty of Grace
Theological Seminary
in partial fulfillment of
requirements for the degree
Master
of Theology
John J. Davis
D.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi
INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
1
Chapter
I. CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS 3
Textual Critical Note 3
Gattung 4
Sitz im Leben 7
Structure 10
Unity of Psalm 127 10
Outline of Psalm 127 14
Authorship and Date 15
Psalm Titles 15
Wisdom Literature 17
Biblical Evidence 23
II. EXEGETICAL STUDY PROPER 28
Introduction 28
Verse One 29
Grammatical Observations 29
Semantical Studies 31
tyiba/ ryfi 32
xv;wA 37
Interpretative Summary 39
Verse Two 42
Grammatical Observations 42
Semantical Studies 48
xnAwe--A Resolution 49
xnAwe---Other Explanations 55
Interpretative Summary 58
Verse Three 59
Grammatical Observations 59
Semantical Studies 61
Interpretative Summary 63
Verse Four 65
Grammatical Observations 65
Semantical Studies 65
Interpretative Summary 68
Verse Five 69
Grammatical Observations 69
iv
v
Semantical Studies 71
Interpretative Summary 75
Conclusion 76
III. A SUGGESTED TRANSLATION 78
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . .
APPENDICES 79
I. Structural Schematic 79
II. House/City 80
III. Quiver/Arrows 82
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CONSULTED WORKS
86
LIST OF
ABBREVIATIONS
AB Anchor Bible
ANE Ancient Near
East
ANET J. B. Pritchard,
ed., Ancient Near Eastern
Texts
BA Biblical
Archaeologist
BDB Francis
Brown, S. R. Driver, C. A. Briggs,
Hebrew
and English Lexicon of the Old Testament
BHS Biblia
hebraica stuttgartensia
DJD Discoveries in
the
DSS
ExpTim Expository Times
GKC
Grammar
HUCA
ICC International
Critical Commentary
JANESCU Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern
Society of
JAOS Journal
of the American Oriental Society
JSOT Journal
for the Study of the Old Testament
LXX Septuagint
MSS Manuscripts
MT Massoretic
Text
VT Vetus
Testamentum
vi
INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
In a few terse verses, Psalm 127 delineates the
spectrum of God's
sovereignty--a spectrum that moves from
the realm of judgment to the
realm of blessing. The verses
which open up this spectrum are
superficially familiar to
many. They present simple
truths that are often used with-
out consideration for the
context from which they come.
Consequently, the literary
beauty and total impact of the
psalm are lost.
The psalm is not a difficult one. Yet, there are
problems in it that perplex
interpreters. The unity of the
psalm and the final colon of
verse two are problematic areas
of this psalm.1 It
is usually the latter problem which
draws the most attention. Apart
from these two areas of
concern the psalm has not been
inundated with serious study.
Not only does the psalm speak
of tremendous theological
truths, but, it also provides a
sphere in which to see the
literary hand of a poet at
work. Both of these areas tease
the interpreter for further
study. Above all of these, the
canonicity of the psalm is a
major factor for the pursuit of
study. It is part of God's word
which reveals God and any
1Patrick D. Miller,
"Psalm 127--The House that
Yahweh Builds," JSOT (1982):119.
1
2
study in which one's knowledge
of God is expanded is worth-
while (2 Tim 3:16).
The purpose of this thesis is to exegetically under-
stand this psalm as a basis for
valid application for the
modern day believer. In order
to accomplish this goal,
introductory matters must be
dealt with such as the Gattung,
Sitz
im Leben, structure, authorship, and date; an exegeti-
cal study of the verses must be
undertaken; and finally the
application of the psalm is
necessary.
CHAPTER I
CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS
The matters dealt with in this chapter should not
be viewed apart from the
exegetical study. These matters
are derived from and confirmed
by exegetical study. They
are presented here prior to the
exegetical study proper to
alleviate some unnecessary
baggage from the exegetical study
and to provide a proper focus
for the study.
Textual
Critical Note
The text of Psalm 127 is not problematic as it
relates to the Hebrew text. The
MT is substantiated by the
lacunae in regards to Psalm
127, but what is found agrees
with the MT.1 The
LXX, however, presents some problems.
1J. A. Sanders, The Dead Sea Psalm Scroll (
Allegro,
pp.
51-52 and D. Barthelemy and J. T. Milik,
DJD
(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1955), p. 71. It should be
observed
that an orthographic variant exists between the two
texts.
The
Comments
on this variant can be found in David Noel Freedman,
"The
Massoretic Text and the
Orthography,"
in Textus, vol. 2, edited by C. Raben
(Jeru-
supports
the text rather than detracts from it. Even though
the
Essene scribes decided to adapt the plenary spelling,
this
did not change the meaning. Furthermore, it shows the
scribes
were willing to change the text, but they did not
3
4
There are a number of variants
which appear to be misunder-
standings of the MT or
interpretations of the MT. These
differences will be brought to
light in the next chapter.
The outcome of these variants
will be readily seen as the
meaning of the psalm is
unfolded.
Gattung
The Gattung of
Psalm 127 has been generally classi-
fied as a wisdom psalm.1
Yet, there are some who see wisdom
influence but are unwilling to
classify it as a wisdom
psalm.2 Walter
Kaiser has compiled two lists from various
authorities which delineate the
distinctive style and themes
of wisdom psalms.3
Using these lists one can readily iden-
tify Psalm 127 as a wisdom
psalm. Drawing from the list of
stylistic distinctives, Psalm 127
evidences a few of these
distinctives: (1) A
"blessed" saying (yrew;xa) is
used in
verse five; (2) A comparison is
found in verse four; (3)
Admonitions are accounted for
in verses one and two; (4) The
where
many recent scholars would do so. This would support
the
earlier text.
1A. A.
Bible (London: Oliphants,
1972), p. 866. Artur Weiser, The
Psalms (Philadelphia: The
Westminster Press, 1962), p. 764.
2Roland E. Murphy,
"A Consideration of the Classifi-
cation
'Wisdom Psalms,'" in Studies in
Ancient Israelite
Wisdom, edited by James L.
Crenshaw (
lishing
House, 1976), p. 464.
3Toward an Old Testament Theology (
Zondervan Publishing House,
1978), pp. 165-66.
5
use of wisdom vocabulary such
as "vanity" and "sons";1 (5)
The employment of proverbs of
which this psalm is composed.2
Westermann amplifies this
proverbial idea with these com-
ments,
These three 'psalms (127:1-2;
127:3-5; 133)' could
appear in the book of Proverbs
without changing a word,
and no one would imagine that they
were supposed to be
psalms.3
The use of thematic criteria according to Kaiser
would classify this psalm as a
wisdom psalm.4 Themes such
as "the contrast between
the 'rasha ' and 'saddiq "' and
"practical advice as
regards conduct" find expression in
this psalm.5
The literary form associated with "wisdom litera-
ture" can also be broken
down into different styles. Psalm
127 would fall into the
didactic genre.6 C. Hassell Bullock
would group this psalm with the
"lower" wisdom contained in
the Old Testament. This lower
wisdom would be contrasted
1James
L. Crenshaw, Old Testament Wisdom (
John
Knox Press, 1981), p. 184.
2Claus Westermann, The Psalms: Structure, Content
and Message, translated by Ralph D.
Gehrke (
3Ibid.
4Kaiser, Old Testament Theology, p. 166.
5Murphy, "A
Consideration," p. 460. Also cf. Pius
Drijvers,
The Psalms: Their Structure and Meaning
(New
6Leupold Sabourin, The Psalms: Their Origin and
Meaning, vol. 2 (New York: Alba
House, 1969), p. 257.
6
with the "higher"
wisdom such as the book of Job.1 Higher
wisdom is reflective. It takes
an issue and probes it from
various angles.2
Lower wisdom is more eudaemonistic in
nature. It seeks to
"describe and prescribe the way to
achieve the good life,"3
which would include moral obliga-
tions.4 Walter
Kaiser notes that this psalm falls into a
"prudential type of wisdom
writing consisting of smaller
units of thought which are
disconnected and often isolated
contextually."5
Clarifying the Gattung
of this psalm helps in under-
standing it. Being a wisdom
psalm, it mingles the religious
expression of the individual
(i.e. a psalm)6 and the means
to live life skillfully (i.e.
wisdom)7 with the goal of
instruction (i.e. didactic).
Its eudaemonistic motif is
developed and defined in the
content of the psalm which will
be explored in the next
chapter.
Horace D. Hummel gives an appropriate perspective on
lAn Introduction to the Poetic Books of the Old Tes-
tament (Chicago: Moody Press,
1979), p. 140.
2Ibid., p. 25. 3Ibid.,
p. 140.
4Kaiser, Old Testament Theology, p. 178.
5Ibid., p. 94.
6Cf. John J. Davis,
"The Psalms: Studies in the
Hebrew
Text" (
1977),
p. 3.
7Cf. Bruce K. Waltke, Understanding the Old Testa-
ment: A Syllabus (Grand Rapids:
Outreach, Inc., 1976),
pp. 29-30.
7
the role of wisdom literature.
In a word, the main dogmatic
category for properly
approaching wisdom is the 'third use
of the Law.' It
represents an alternate mode of
expression and type of
approach to the illustration of
faithful living found in
the 'legal' sections of the
Pentateuch, and thoroughly
harmonious and compatible with it.
It concentrates on
those aspects of living which the
believer shares with
all men, and where the motivations
or any uniqueness
will often be unapparent to men.1
Sitz im
Leben
Roland E. Murphy is correct when he states, "All
things considered, however, it
must be admitted that the
precise life setting of these
poems [wisdom psalms] eludes
us."2 He speaks
of the original setting of composition.
But perhaps some light can be
shed if the Sitz im Leben is
expanded to include the use of
the psalm.
The first hint of the possible use of the Psalm is
found in the inscription of the
Psalm tOlfEma.ha rywi. Psalm
127
falls into a group of fifteen
psalms (120-134) which contains
this same inscription. The
meaning of rywi is not
disputed.
The meaning BDB assigns to it
is "song"3 and there is no
reason to doubt this meaning.4
Doubt arises, however, in
regards to tOlfEma.ha. It is often translated
"degrees,"
1The Word Becoming Flesh (
Publishing
House, 1979), p. 396.
2Murphy, "A
Consideration," p. 461.
3P. 1010.
4Weston W. Fields,
"Solomon's Most Excellent Song"
(Th.D.
dissertation, Grace Theological seminary, 1979), p.
14.
8
"ascents," or
"goings up."1 These meanings are within the
lexical range suggested by BDB.2
An extended treatment of this subject is beyond the
scope of this thesis. Cuthbert
C. Keet's work, A Study of
the
Psalms of Ascents, overviews this subject and is bene-
ficial for a more indepth
study.3 Of the various views,
four explanations have
possibilities: (1) This particular
term denotes a peculiar
rhythmical structure of these psalms;
(2) The psalms were sung upon
the fifteen steps leading from
the court of the men to the
court of the women; (3) These
psalms were sung by exiles on
their return from
These fifteen songs were sung
by the pilgrims as they went
up to
Deut 16:16; 1 Kgs 12:28).4
The fourth view is the generally accepted view today,
but is far from being
unrefutable. Adopting this view would
suggest a cultic use of Psalm
127. Mowinckel suggests that
Psalm 127 be included with
those psalms that appear to be
1A. F. Kirkpatrick, The Book of Psalms (Fincastle,
VA: Scripture Truth, n.d.), p. xxviii.
2P. 752. The root can be
traced to hlf
which adds
further
dimension to the meaning.
3(Greenwood, SC: The
Attic Press, 1969), pp. 1-17.
4J. J. Stewart Perowne, The Book of Psalms (George
Publishing House, 1976), pp.
87-88.
9
non-cultic.1
Furthermore, Mowinckel denies the possibility
of any of these fifteen psalms
being associated with
"pilgrimages."2
The content of Psalm 127 implies the
acknowledgement of Yahweh as
supreme and would not be diffi-
cult to see this psalm being
sung by the pilgrims as they
journeyed to the temple to
worship their sovereign God.
The second hint is contained in the phrase hmolow;li.
This phrase will be discussed
more completely in the follow-
ing section. But some of its
ramifications can be pursued
here. Accepting the validity of
this expression, it would
not be difficult to see this
psalm composed for or by
Solomon to remind him in his activities3
that God is the
ultimate builder. Another
situation in which this psalm
might have been composed is for
the use in scribal schools.
Solomon might have developed
schools to train his nobles in
the way of Yahweh to counteract
the secular teachings in
which they were also trained.4
In summary, the Sitz
im Leben is not readily obtain-
able. However, the suggested
situations, if retained, would
1Sigmund Mowinckel, The Psalms in
trans.
by D. R. Ap-Thomas (New York: Abingdon Press, 1967),
vol.
1, p. 111.
2Ibid., p. 209.
3See 1 Kings 9:10-26.
4Barry D. Halvorsen,
"Scribes and Scribal Schools in
the
Ancient Near East: A Historical Survey" (Th.M. thesis,
Grace Theological Seminary, May
1981), pp. 149ff.
10
not present any serious
objections by the writer to eluci-
date the setting of the psalm.
Structure
Unity of Psalm 127
Diverse opinion exists on the unity of this psalm.
Some hold that this psalm is
actually two separate psalms
and must be treated as such.1
Others see the psalm as
unified but made up of two
original psalm fragments.2 A
third view is that the psalm is
an original unified psalm
composed of two aphorisms.3
Three avenues can be used to bolster the unity of
this psalm. First the thematic
aspect of the psalm under-
girds its unity. Both
proverbial sayings speak of the
sovereign nature of God. He is
the one who determines what
is worthwhile (v. 1) and He is
the one who decides to give
reward (v. 3). Other variations
of this theme are seen
underlying the two sections of
this psalm. Kidner states,
"Both parts proclaim that
only what is from God is truly
strong."4
Scroggie sees "the underlying thought throughout
1E.g. Charles Briggs, The Book of Psalms, vol. 1, 2,
ICC
(New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1909), p. 458.
2W. O. E. Oesterley, The Psalms (
1962),
p. 517.
3A. A.
Bible
(London: Oliphants, 1972).
4Derek Kidner, Psalms 73-150 (
Press, 1975), p. 441.
11
is the uselessness of all human
effort which does not rely
on the will, power, and
goodness of the Lord."1
Second, the literary and semantic expressions bond
the psalm together. From the
literary vantage point,
Mitchell Dahood observes,
the alliteration of 'b' sounds in
vs. la, yibneh
bayit
. . . bonayw bo is echoed by vs. 5b, yebosu
. . . yedabberu . . . 'oyebim
bassa.'ar; and the
repetition of 's' (=sh) sounds in
vs. lb, yismor . . .
saw'
saqad somer recurs in vs. 5a, 'asre .
. . 'aser
. . aspato.2
Semantically, there are a
number of subtle attractions that
hold the psalm together. In
verse one the city is mentioned
which creates a semantic bond
with verse five which speaks
of the gate of the city.3
This member-class relation shows
off the inclusio technique of
Hebrew poetry. Another
semantic bond between the two
sayings is the concept behind
the words NTeyi (v. 2) and tlaHEna/rkAWA (v. 3). Yahweh is one who
possesses something to give.
Another connection is seen in
the ideas of "house"
and "sons." It is in the house that
sons are born and reared. It is
only natural to see these
concepts as associated.
Conceivably, the best treatment on the unity of this
psalm is found in Patrick D.
Miller's article. He brings
1William Graham Scroggie,
The Psalms (
ering
ering and Inglis Ltd., 1948), p. 245.
2Psalms, vol. 3, AB (
3Ibid., p. 222.
12
together both the thematic and
semantic avenues when he so
appropriately says,
Placing this picture or these verses
(3-5) following
verses 1-2 leads to a hearing and
understanding of the
second part of the Psalm in the
light of the first. One
does not enjoy sons as blessing
unless the 'house' that
is built in and through them is
built by and under the
Lord. The banah-banim connection holds together the two
parts of the Psalm in a single hold.
But the admonition
of the first part has moved to a
positive assurance and
declaration. The transition is in
the final colon of
verse 2 which clearly belongs to the
first part of the
Psalm but anticipates the second
part by the moving from
speaking of Yahweh's gift (natan), which is the subject
of the second part of the psalm and
indicated immedi-
ately by referring to children as nahalat yhwh and sakar.
When Abraham hears from Yahweh that
his sakar will be
very great, he asks: 'What will you
give me seeing that
I go childless?' The banim like the sena' are activities
under Yahweh's direction. That gift
is a rich blessing
for those who receive it.l
A very striking feature of this psalm is the liter-
ary schematic. Observing some
of the key terms in the text,
an interesting pattern unfolds.
Beginning with verse one,
the word pair house/city opens
up the Psalm. tyb lies in
the first line of the first
proverb. Its semantic relative
MyniBA
also
lies in the first line of the second proverb. The
author is tying the two sayings
together. Following this
same rationale, ryfi appears in the second line but cannot be
divorced from the word pair, so
that its position cannot be
secondary to tyiBa. Its semantic cousin is found in the last
line of the second saying and
of the entire psalm. It seems
that the following aphorism is
controlled and contained by
1Miller, "The House," pp. 127-28.
13
the first verse. Continuing this
analysis with the last
line of the first proverb, the
verb NTeyi appears. But its
semantic friends appear in the
first line of the second
saying, again tying the two
aphorisms physically together.1
A third avenue that strengthens the homogeneity is
Psalm 128. It was no accident
that Psalm 128 was juxtaposed
to Psalm 127. Their content is
very similar. Their juxta-
position provides insight into
the meaning of Psalm 127 and
specifically into its unity.
Verses 2-3 of Psalm 128 incor-
porate similar motifs as in
Psalm 127. tyiBa and MyniBA are
combined in Psalm 128 showing
the compatibility of the two
strophes in Psalm 127.
Enlarging the thematic field in
Psalm 128 we see the activity
of man (v. 2), the city of
intermingled which demonstrates
the feasibility of the unity
of Psalm 127.2
Moving outside the biblical sphere, additional
material can be found to
support the apparent divergent
themes in Psalm 127. There are
a few ANE hymns that combine
the thoughts of
"houses," "cities," and "sons (or children)."
It should be noted that
examples of these hymns do not place
these ideas side by side, yet,
they are in the same hymn
showing they can be tied
together.
1See Appendix I for
physical layout.
2Cf. Miller, "The House," p. 128.
14
Miller points out a Sumerian hymn for the goddess
Nisaba that uses the notions of
divine involvement in the
activities of building housesl
and cities and the giving of
fertility to the womb.2
Another example that reminds its
recipients that deity is
involved in the building of houses
and involved in the lives of
children is the Hittite "Ritual
for the Erection of a
House." Again one should note the
interlude between the mention
of house3 and children.
In conclusion, there is a strong foundation for the
unity of the psalm. The
underlying themes, the literary and
semantic facets, the
relationship with Psalm 128, and the
ANE material all provide sure
footings for the unity of the
Psalm. However, orthodoxy will
not be questioned if the
unity of the psalm is denied,
unless the prevailing motives
are less than orthodox.
Breaking the psalm apart destroys
the beauty of thought which
permeates the two strophes.
Outline of Psalm 127
Outlines are good for seeing the overall picture of
literary pieces. Although, many
times they fail to allow
one to see the delicate inner
workings of the composition.
This outline is offered to see
the gross structure of the
1“House” is missing in
this text, but noting other
hymns
of similar nature allows house to be inserted.
2Miller, "The
House," pp. 121-22.
3"House" is
used cultically, referring to the temple
and is translated
"temple."
15
Psalm and to help show how the
Psalm flows together.
Theme: The Sovereign Activity of God
I. The Dictum of Sovereignty (vv. 1-2)
A. The Dictum on Shelter (v. 1)
B. The Dictum on Livelihood (v. 2)
II. The Blessing of Sovereignty (vv. 3-5)
A. The Definition of Blessing (vv. 3-4)
B. The Result of Blessing (v. 5)
Authorship and
Date
In this psalm the authorship and date are inter-
related. Both issues
simultaneously confirm or deny each
other. Therefore it is not
profitable to isolate the two,
but rather allow each to speak
in harmony on the specific
items of discussion. Three
lines of reasoning are founda-
tional to the solution of
authorship and date.
Psalm Titles
The first line of reasoning centers on the general
subject of the psalm titles. If
the psalm titles are reli-
able, this conclusion will
bolster the significance of hmolow;li
in Psalm 127. The response to
the headings has been primar-
ily from two directions. First,
the titles are considered
late and unreliable.1
Second, they are reliable historically
1Mowinckel,
16
and of value.1 A
third mediating position also exists.
This position regards the
headings as preserving certain
Jewish traditions. These traditions
will fluctuate as to
their trustworthiness.2
This issue is not within the scope
of this thesis. However, in
summary, four arguments can be
briefly stated to show the
credibility of the headings.
1. There is Biblical evidence that David was a
sacred poet
(Amos 6:5; Ezra 3:10; Neh 12:24;
1 Chr 6:31;
16:7).
2. An inductive study of Psalm 90 shows Mosaic
authorship.
3. There are evidences from Ugaritic and the Ras
Shamra that
Psalms are not post-exilic, but
early.
4. The witness of Christ and the Apostles to the
Psalms
confirms the titles' information.3
These four pieces of rationale
demonstrate select psalm
rubrics as reliable.
Consequently, if these specific super-
scriptions are historically
accurate, then there is reason
1Gleason Archer, A Survey of Old Testament Introduc-
tion (Chicago:: Moody Press,
1964), pp. 443-45.
2R. K.
(
897-903.
Also cf. Christoph Barth, Introduction to
the
Psalms (New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1966), p. 6.
3Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Psalms: A Syllabus
(Grand
Rapids: Outreach, Inc., 1972), p. 8. Also see
Gleason Archer, Old Testament Survey, pp. 443-45.
17
to see other titles as being
accurate. In turn, Psalm 127's
preface can be of value for
resolving the authorship of the
Psalm.
Wisdom
Literature
The second line of reasoning revolves around the
nature of the Psalm. It was
concluded that Psalm 127
belongs to the family of wisdom
literature. This conclusion
will have a bearing on the
question of authorship. This
second point deals with time
periods. It has been held that
wisdom literature arrived on
the Israelite scene rather
late.1 Perhaps the
earliest date would be put in Hezekiah's
time around the eighth century
according to critical opin-
ion.2 These late
dates are attributed to the theory of
evolutionary development of the
Israelite's religion which
was initiated by Wellhausen. As
this theory relates to the
psalm understudy, this
particular psalm would fall into the
category of "learned
psalmography."3 Briefly what this
jargon says is that Psalm 127
is very late. Psalm 127 is
non-cultic but demonstrates a
literary link with the other
1Derek Kidner, The Proverbs (
Inter-Varsity
Press, 1964), p. 25.
2R. B. Y. Scott,
"Solomon and the Beginnings of
dom
in
edited
by James L. Crenshaw (
House,
1976), p. 101.
3Sigmund Mowinckel,
"Psalms and Wisdom," in Wisdom
in
and D. Winton Thomas (Leiden:
E. J. Brill, 1969), p. 206.
18
cultic psalms. Whereby Psalm
127 is a piece of literature
that was produced by scribes
that learned poetic composition
from the preceding poetic
material of the former cultic era.
Furthermore, the wisdom style
which was late, probably later
than the cultic origin of the
psalms, gives evidence of a
learned trait employed in the
writing of psalms.l Conse-
quently, the conclusion reached
through this type of ratio-
nale is that "the headings
'by David,' 'by Moses,' 'by
Solomon' tell us nothing,
therefore, of the real authors."2
In essence, what the preceding has said is that
because of the wisdom element,
Psalm 127 cannot be dated
early and the heading "by
Solomon" is not credible because
of its early historical
allusions. Now the question must be
asked, does Psalm 127 need to
be dated late because of the
wisdom element? In answering
this question, another ques-
tion needs to be answered, Does
wisdom literature need to be
dated late? The answer to this
question is no. Yielding to
the limits of this paper a
laconic ratiocination can be
given to support this answer.
Before building a proper foundation to support the
superstructure of an early
date, some debris needs to be
cleared away. An examination is
needed of the infrastruc-
ture of the opposing position
so that the benefits of it
1Cf. Mowinckel,
"Psalms and Wisdom," pp. 205-8, pp.
213-17;
and Psalms in
2Mowinckel, Psalms in
19
will not be hindered by the
shortcomings. In this investi-
gation, data from the study of
the psalms and of wisdom
literature will be used. These
two areas are related from
a literary standpoint and from
a methodological standpoint.
Also both areas relate to the
present study of Psalm 127.
The basal case for the lateness of wisdom literature
rests in the viewpoint of
Scripture. Comments such as, "was
based partly on folk tales and
the writer's fancy"1 and "the
romantic and fanciful
elements"2 reflect two writers' opin-
ions of the account of
Solomon's literary achievements in
Scripture. But more importantly
they indicate the appraisal
of Scripture. Without the
acceptance of the soundness of
the Word, one can follow his
own inclinations or those of
others and formulate his own
hypothesis.
Without this control the second level in the infra-
structure can be easily
exposed. Those writers in the
dom movement recognized the
importance of Mowinckel's work.
But much of Mowinckel's work is
based upon the subjective
element. He says, "the age
of an individual psalm must be
decided on 'internal grounds,'
from what may be more or less
clearly read out of it . . . !”3
As seen before, any
1R. H. Pfeiffer, Introduction to the Old Testament
(New
York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1941), p. 383.
2Roland E. Murphy, Wisdom Literature and Psalms
(Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 1981), p. 17.
3Mowinckel, "Psalms in
20
historical allusions (i.e.
psalm titles) are disregarded
unless they fit in one's
system. This is what is done with
the writings associated with
Solomon. Even though Solomon
is mentioned in a book, for
example Proverbs, Solomon's
potential authorship is
disregarded because of the precon-
ceived notion of the origin of
wisdom.1
This preconceived notion leads into a third sub-
stratum of a late date for
wisdom literature. Mowinckel
delimits the use of internal
grounds by stating that due
regard is given to ". . .
what is otherwise known to us
about the spiritual and
religious history and state of
rallys comes to mind is, What
is known? In discussing the
origins of Wisdom literature,
Roland Murphy suggests a
couple3 and then
makes this comment, "How does one 'prove'
that these are the likely
origins? There are no sources
that uncover this for us. These
[suggested origins] are
only inferences, but not
unreasonable ones."4 The point
here is that like Murphy,
others seek elsewhere, ignoring
the data in the Scriptures. So,
apart from Scripture, what
1See: R. B. Y. Scott, Proverbs-Ecclesiastes, in AB,
(Garden
City: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1965), pp. 10-13.
2Mowinckel, op. cit.
3He suggests the family
or tribe and the court
school.
4Murphy, "Wisdom Literature," p. 18.
21
is known?
from the primitive to the
sophisticated, the Wellhausen
approach. So just as Mowinckel
will not admit that all but
a grudging few are post-Davidic
because the cult was not
matured until the Solomonic
temple,1 at which time there was
reason to put the psalms into
literary form. Most of those
who late date the wisdom
materials do so because
an early period was not capable
of such literary thought.2
In transition the denial of Scripture has opened up
the imagination of scholars to
develop models of origin
which are losing ground to
recent Biblical research--research
that is confirming the veracity
of Scripture.
Derek Kidner in his commentary on the book of
Proverbs summarizes the
conservative reaction to the research
going on in the area of Wisdom.
. . . A growing knowledge of
Egyptian and Babylonian
teachings from the millennium before
Solomon, and of
Phoenician literature from
fourteenth century
(Ras Shamra) had made it clear that
the content of
Proverbs (whatever the date of its
editing) is at home
in the world of early
Judaism, in its thought, vocabulary,
style and, often,
its metric forms. The idea that the
wisdom movement in
period is seen now to have been 'a
curious myth' of our
times, and Gunkel's form-criterion
(which is belied by
these early literatures) a 'strait
jacket' too long
endured.3
1Mowinckel, op. cit., p.
152.
2R. B. Y. Scott,
"Solomon," p. 266.
3Derek Kidner, Proverbs, pp. 25-26. Cf. also Ken-
neth A. Kitchen, The Bible in its World (
22
Some of these materials that
Kidner mentions have been
available to some of the most
prolific writers on the wisdom
movement. R. B. Y. Scott takes
note of the Egyptian witness
to wisdom literature in 1955
but concludes that
not mature enough to react to
this literature.1 Ten years
later, this same author begins
to shift in his conclusions.
He first stated the
improbability of Solomonic usage of
dom literature, but in 1965 he
sees some probability that
“ . . . the Wisdom movement
flourished at the court of Solo-
mon and under his patronage.”2
It seems the conclusions
being drawn now could have been
drawn earlier, but the
attestation was not strong
enough to warrant different con-
clusions.
But both Kidner3 and Scott4 were
writing about the
same time but with seemingly
different conclusions. So why
the different conclusions?
Undoubtedly presuppositions were
at the heart of the matter.
Scott still seems impressed by
the thesis of evolutionary
development in the religion of
Fresh inquiry is confirming an early date for wisdom
Inter-Varsity
Press, 1977), pp. 92-107.
1R. B. Y. Scott, op.
cit., p. 266.
2R. B. Y. Scott, Proverbs, p. xxxiii
3Derek Kidner, Proverbs,
copyrighted in 1964.
4R. B. Y. Scott, Proverbs, copyrighted in 1965.
23
literature. With an early
acceptable date, one can agree
with J. H. Eaton in regards to
Psalm 127.
The tentative nature of Mowinckel's
identification of
such psalms (Pss. 1, 19B, 34, 37,
49, (73), 78, 105,
106, 111, 112, (119), 127) is
significant. For the
lateness of the psalms in question
is far from certain.
It is likely that the Wisdom schools
were active in the
vicinity of the
style can hardly be a proof of lateness.l
The early date which is attested to by Scripture is
now coming into vogue. If
Scripture would be given its
proper place, heuristic
conclusions would cease. Also this
early date strengthens the
historical significance of the
rubric of Psalm 127 and opens
up another field of data for
the solution of authorship and
date, the Scriptures.
Biblical
Evidence
This section should be seen in connection with the
preceding. Simply because it is
labeled "Biblical evidence"
does not isolate it as the only
line of reasoning demarcated
as dealing with the Bible. This
division seeks to take the
data available in the Psalm
itself and compare it with other
data in the Scriptures. In
other words, letting the Bible
speak for itself.
Psalm 127 is attributed by the MT to Solomon. The
preliminary issue is the
meaning of hmolow;li. This
phrase
1J. H. Eaton, "The
Psalms and Israelite Worship,"
in
Tradition and Interpretation, edited
by G. W. Anderson
(Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1979).
24
appears in the DSS1
but not in the majority of LXX mss.2
Rahlfs' edition of the LXX
contains this superscription.3
There is no question to the
lexical meaning of hmolow;. It
refers to King Solomon (971-941
B.C.).4 The enigma is the
use of the l. GKC observes the l used in the capacity of
Lamed
auctoris--introduction of author.5 He further states
that this was a customary idiom
of other semitic dialects.6
This use has been substantiated
by Ugaritic studies.7 Gram-
matically it is permissible to
see authorship in this phrase.
However, it is possible to see
this psalm composed "for"
Solomon too.8 This
is Dahood's preference, who in turn sees
this psalm as a royal psalm.9
Sequentially, this royal
character gives the psalm a
pre-exilic date.10
1J. A. Sanders, Psalm Scroll, p. 40.
2Charles Briggs, Book of Psalms, p. 458.
3A. Rahlfs, ed., Septuagint (
Hembergische
Biblelanstalt, 1971), p. 144.
4BDB, p. 1024.
5GKC, p. 298.
6Ibid., p. 420.
7Cyrus
H. Gordon, Ugaritic Textbook (
cal
Biblical Institute, 1965), p. 92.
8Lamed of advantage. See
Ronald J. Williams, Hebrew
Syntax: An Outline (
1976,
reprint 1980), p. 48.
9Mitchell Dahood, Psalms, pp. 222-23. The royal
character
is seen in the verbal clue, Mybyvx, p. xxxviii.
10Ibid., p. 223.
25
Apart from this phrase there is no direct statement
of authorship. Yet, by comparing
this psalm with other
Solomonic passages some
circumstantial evidence appears for
Solomonic authorship.
This evidence encompasses several items. (1) The
term "house" in verse
one has been referred to as Solomon's
temple.1 (2) The
nomina "beloved" in verse two is a reflec-
tion of 2 Samuel 12:25 where
Solomon was called h.yAd;ydiy;--
"beloved of Yahweh."2
(3) The evidence of Solomon's wisdom
(1 Kgs 3:4-28; 2 Chr 1:1-12;
9:1-8, 23). (4) The associa-
tion of Solomon with extant
pieces of wisdom literature
(Prov 1:1-6; 10:1; 25:1; Song
of Solomon; identification of
Koheleth of Eccl as Solomon).3
Most commentaries will acknowledge these pieces of
evidence. But the conclusions
vary. Some will see these as
evidence for authorship,4
while others will see them as
reasons why Solomon's name is
used on this psalm by the
Massoretes.5
1A. A. Anderson, Psalms, p. 867.
2G. Rawlinson, Psalms, in The Pulpit Commentary (New
3Weston W. Fields,
"Ecclesiastes: Koheleth's Quest
for
Life's Meaning" (Th.M. thesis, Grace Theological Seminary,
1975),
pp. 16-81.
4John P. Lange, ed., Psalms, in Commentary on the
Holy Scriptures, trans. by Philip
Schaff (
Zondervan
Publishing House, 1960), p. 619.
5Delitzsch, F., Psalms, in Commentary on the Old
26
The worth of each piece of data varies from one to
another. At this point of the
thesis, it is not feasible to
discuss each one in depth. It
is sufficient to state that
the evidence of Solomon's use
of wisdom is appealing enough
to assign the authorship to
Solomon.1 In addition, the
activities of Solomon's
building program2 can be easily seen
as the background for verse one.
Others have seen the time
of Zerubbabel as the setting
for the Psalm, during she
rebuilding of the temple and
Jerusalem.3
In summary, there is more than enough Biblical evi-
dence to identify the composer
of the Psalm as Solomon.
This aspect will be admitted by
most commentators. It is
the Septuagint's lack of hmolow;li and the late date of wisdom
literature of the old Testament
that prevents most from
acknowledging Solomonic
authorship. It has been demonstrated
sufficiently that the
inscription of Psalm 127 is credible
and wisdom literature can be
dated to Solomon's time. There-
fore, the identification of
Solomon as author is not hin-
dered. The desire for some to
see the Psalm composed "for"
Solomon do so for the same
reasons as those who deny
Solomon's authorship. It will
be admitted, that it is
Testament, trans. by James Martin
(
Eerdmans
Publishing Co., reprint 1975), pp. 295-96.
1Dahood, Psalms, p. 223.
21 Kings 9:10-26; 2
Chronicles 8.
3F. Delitzsch, Psalms, p. 202.
27
possible, that the composition
was written for Solomon
during his life, but it is an
unnecessary view.
Consequently, the authorship gives the date of
composition. The general time
span of Solomon runs from
971-941 B.C. It would probably
be safe to date the psalm
in the midst of the tenth
century B.C. For this would have
been the greatest building
period of Solomon's rule.
CHAPTER II
EXEGETICAL STUDY
PROPER
Introduction
Artur Weiser says in his commentary on Psalm 127,
Since the psalm is couched in
general terms it is not
possible to assign it to any
particular historical situ-
ation; it belongs to the timeless world of the proverb.1
There is truth to what he says,
but the logical outcome of
his words is that any
interpretation of this psalm is per-
missible within reason. This is
the exact opposite of what
this section seeks to do. It is
correct to say that the
timeless factor of the proverb
speaks to all ages, but all
ages do not interpret the
proverb. This chapter seeks to
elucidate the meaning of this
psalm. By assigning the psalm
to Solomon, historical
direction is given to the exegetical
process. Solomon does speak in
general terms, but these
terms find meaning in history
and culture. It should be
remembered that wisdom seeks to
deal with life. The activi-
ties of one life may be similar
to another because of the
nature of the activity.
Exegetically, Psalm 127 is not difficult in general.
But verse two does perplex the
exegete. Also this psalm
presents a literary elegance
that captivates the exegete
1Artur Weiser, Psalms, p. 764.
28
29
tugging for exploration. In
order to understand the psalm,
to resolve its perplexities,
and to digest its literary
refinement, a methodology is
needed to control the exegeti-
cal trek. For the sake of the
writer a three pronged plan
is to be implemented. Each
verse will be dealt with indi-
vidually but not in isolation.
Each verse will be divided
as such: (1) grammatical
studies; (2) semantical studies;
and (3) interpretational
summary will bring both avenues
together.
Verse One
OB vynAOb
rmeOw dqawA xv;wA ryfi rmAw;yi-xlo hvAhy;-Mxi
Grammatical
Observations
It is immediately realized that this passage exudes
poetry. The semantic hint of rywi and the parallelismus
membrorum
of
verse one indicate a poetical passage. Taking
note of this fact will alert
the interpreter to certain
grammatical features which may
seem incongruous with Hebrew
prose, but admissible in Hebrew
poetry.
One of the primary characteristics of Hebrew poetry
is parallelism1
which is very evident in lines two and
three.2 The first
half of these lines exhibits what Adele
1George Buchanan Gray, The Forms of Hebrew Poetry
(New
York: KTAV Publishing House, reprint 1972), p. 7.
2Line numbering according to MT found in BHS.
30
The word order, the parts of
speech, and even semantical
aspects are parallel. The lines
can be roughly diagrammed
as such,
Line 2a object + verb + neg. + subject + part.
Line 3a object + verb + neg. + subject + part.
Both lines follow usual Hebrew
word order except that the
subject occurs at the beginning
of the line in the emphatic
position.
Although similarities are evident so are dissimilar-
ities. The main variants occur
in the verb and objects of
the lines. It is these
differences that motivate
categorize these two lines as
parallel. The first differ-
ence is found in the verbs.
They are lexically different,
or what
of the verbs are different in
gender and meaning. Again
these differences highlight the
parallel structure.
The parallel structure of the apodosis of these two
lines is continued into the
protasis, but not dominant. No
formal connectives are used to
combine the two parts of the
conditional sentence, only
juxtaposition. Once more the
syntactical parallelism can be
diagrammed to show off the
literary style of Solomon.
1Adele
Parallelism,"
in HUCA (1980): 20-21.
2Ibid., p. 20.
31
Line 2b PrePh + subject + verb + Adverb. acc.
Line 3b (gap) + subject + verb + Adverb. acc.
From a class standpoint the
apodoses are identical. The
lack of the prepositional
phrase in line three could be due
to the phenomenon of
"gapping."1
The dissimilarities of these lines are first seen in
the participles. vynAOb has a 3ms
pronominal suffix and is
grammatically linked to tyiba, its antecedent. It is also
plural whereas rmeOw is singular. This difference in number
is probably due to the inherent
nature of the activities.
There are more builders than
watchers, perhaps only one
watchman.
In the apodosis xv;wA is
found in the emphatic posi-
tion. It is a masculine noun
functioning as an adverbial
accusative.2
Particular attention should be given to this
remote part of speech given
such a prominent position in the
sentence.
Semantical
Studies
The grammatical parallelism is only superceded by
the semantic parallelism in
this bi-colon of verse one. The
parallelism, is one of the most
outstanding features of this
psalm. The psalm develops all
three aspects of parallelism
as will be seen. Those three
include: (1) grammatical
1Michael O'Connor, Hebrew Verse Structure (
2Williams, Hebrew
Syntax, pp. 81-82.
32
parallelism; (2) semantical
parallelism; and (3) rhetorical
parallelism.l As
noted two of the three are evident in this
first verse. Even though most
recent studies on Biblical
parallelism seek to define
Hebrew poetry on syntactics, the
driving force is the meaning
which the poet is conveying.
James L. Kugel has received some criticism for his
simplistic elucidation of
Biblical parallelism, but he is
basically right when he states
that the B-clause of the line
continues the A-clause thought
by echoing it, defining it,
restating it, etc.,--that is,
carrying A further in meaning.2
Psalm 127 reveals this concept.
However, the poet of this
psalm uses the grammatical
medium to convey and emphasize a
particular truth. This style of
parallelism is not only a
literary tool, but a
pedagogical tool. Solomon didactically
seeks to incorporate religious
truth into life.
tyiba/ryfi
The truth that the psalmist desires to communicate
lies in the realm of semantic
parallelism. One of the pre-
dominant clues to parallelism
is word pairs.3 The word pair
in verse one includes the words
tyiba and ryfi. There is a
1Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Toward an Exegetical Theol-
ogy (Grand Rapids: Baker
Book House, 1981), p. 2.19.
2James L. Kugel, The Idea of Biblical Poetry (New
Haven:
3William R. Watters, Formula Criticism and the
Poetry of the Old
Testament
(
1976), p. 42.
33
member-class union that
naturally draws these words together.
Dahood brings both Ugaritic
support and scriptural attesta-
tion together, giving credence
to the corollary usage of
these words.1 The
psalmist uses this word pair to cultivate
a merismatic situation with
which to confront his audience.
Solomon does not use these
words as a basis for thought
maturation, but draws them into
the truth he seeks to teach.
These two words help isolate
the sphere of life which
Solomon, the poet, addresses.
To determine what these words mean, it is necessary
to widen the scope of study to
include other related words
in the two lines. tyiba and ryfi are objects of two verbs hn,b;yi
and rmAw;ye, respectively. Lexically, they are not
difficult
words. hn,b;yi
comes
from hnABA "to build."2
rmAw;yi is
from the
stem rmawA, which can be translated "keep, watch,
preserve."3
The second half of these lines contains similar
ideas. Whereas the leading
clauses identify Yahweh as the
actor, the following clauses
seek to identify the human
counterpart and his role in
life. Again the terminology is
not unusual. In line 2b the
author describes the activity
of building tyiba.
1Mitchell Dahood and
Tadeuz Renar, "Ugaritic-Hebrew
Parallel
Pairs," in Ras Shamra Parallels,
vol. 1 (Roma:
Pontificium
Institution Biblicum, 1972), p. 330.
2BDB, p. 124. 3BDB,
p. 1036.
4BDB, p. 765.
34
participal identifies those who
do the labor, presumably
their trade is construction. In
line 3b, a protection
agency is described by rmeOw dqawA. rmeOw identifies a "keeper"
whose job it is to alert the
inhabitants of ryfi to
danger.1
His activity is to watch and be
alert as denoted by dqawA.
In brief the author is comparing the activities of
God with those of man. Those
activities center around the
word pair tyiba/ryfi
or
more particularly the phrases tyiba hnaBA
and ryfi rmawA. The use of the tetragrammaton narrows the
semantic field of these two
phrases.
In reference to tyiba
hnabA,
Patrick Miller has limited
its meaning to four
possibilities:
1. Building
2. Building the temple or the palace
3. Building the Davidic line/house
4. Building anyone's line/house.2
All four suggestions are found
in scripture but their appli-
cability to this passage needs
to be questioned.
The first suggestion is not demanded by context and
no suitable explanation is
given for its connection with
this psalm. The aspect of
discussion on ryfi. The second meaning has been used to
1Cf. Song of Solomon 3:3;
5:7. Also see Delitzsch,
Psalms, p. 293, especially his
comment on "'dqw."
2Miller, "The House," p. 124.
35
explain Solomon's connection
with the Psalm. The word
"house" has been used
by the writers of 1 Kings and 2 Chroni-
cles to refer to the temple.l
This explanation has definite
implications for the ultimate
truth Solomon wants to convey.
But it, too, is not demanded by
the context. Usually when
"house" refers to the
temple there is a modifier connected
with it. For example the phrase
is often used "the house of
the Lord" which is many
times rendered "the temple of the
Lord."2 In
Psalm 127 this modifying phrase is not used.
The third proposal is only acceptable as far as it
is connected with Solomon. But
the link of David with the
Psalm is not particularly
clear. Granted Solomon is in the
Davidic line, but there is no
reason to specify Davidic
intimations into this Psalm.
Of all four, the fourth has reason to be held up as
the meaning of tyb hnb. Furthermore, the suggestion that
tyb
contains two ideas--the physical structure3 and the
dynastic "house"'4--is
contextually apropos. The literary
genius of the author is
revealed by the use of "house."
This general meaning is
preferred because of the nature of
11 Kings 6:1; 2
Chronicles 3:1.
2The NIV renders hvAhyla
tyiBaha as
"the temple of the
Lord"
consistently.
3Cf. Genesis 33:17;
Deuteronomy 8:12.
4Cf. Deuteronomy 25:9; Ruth 4:11.
36
the didactic saying or proverb.l
Verse one presents the
first half of the first proverb
in this Psalm. As charac-
teristic of the proverb,
generalizations are the tenor. The
didactic saying does not
address specific situations.2
Another reason which fits with
the other suggestions is
Solomon's background in
building. A third reason is that
the nouns tyiba and ryfi are
indefinite. It is generally
recognized that Hebrew poetry
avoids the definite article.
But in this context the article
is used frequently. So if
the nouns were to be definite,
statistically the article
would have been used.3
These same arguments are applicable to the word ryfi.
Although there is a remote
possibility that "city" refers to
"
to the pilgrimages, would
indicate
the journey.4 Also
the juxtaposition of Psalm 128 would
give some credence to
"city" as a
generalization.
1Roland E. Murphy, Wisdom Literature, in The Forms
of the Old Testament
Literature
(
mans,
1981), p. 5.
2Ibid.
3Six out of the nine
lines contain the article.
Also
it is realized that the burden of translation deems the
use
of an article.
4Miller, "The House," p. 124.
37
xvawA
Before an interpretative analysis is made of the
verse en toto, another key word in this verse and in verse
two needs to be explored. xv;wA is a word of dictum, in this
psalm as elsewhere. The lexicon
defines the word as "worth-
less, vanity."1
Other meanings attached to the word are,
“unsubstantial, worthless,
unreal,”2 "failure,"3 "futile,"4
"pointless,"5
and "wickedness."6 It is not the same word
used in Ecclesiastes.7
In contrast to the word lbahA in
Ecclesiastes, xv;wA
seems to have moral
connotations. It is used in Exodus 20:7
to characterize the improper
use of Yahweh's name. In
Isaiah 59:4 it is translated
"lies." The aspect of simply
something not worth doing
without moral connotations is the
least common usage.8
Perhaps a general definition of the
word could be, "that which
does not have positive effect."
1BDB, p. 996.
2Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, s.v.
"xvw," by Victor P.
Hamilton.
3Dahood, Psalms, p. 223.
4Weiser, The Psalms, p. 127.
5Kidner, Psalms 72-150, p. 441.
6Gerhard Lisowsky, Koncordanz zum Hebraischen Alten
Testament (Stuttgart:
Wurthembergische Bibelanstalt, 1958),
p.
1406.
7Kidner, Psalms 72-150, p. 441.
8Cf. Jer 4:30.
38
This effect could apply both to
the physical sphere as well
as the spiritual sphere. In
Exodus 23:1 xvawA is used
to
describe a report as false. The
report did not produce a
positive effect. In Jeremiah
6:29 xv;wA is used to describe
the actions of
they did not purge out the
wicked from among them. The case
is a physical situation where a
positive effect was not
produced.
The word is often used to speak of deceit. Psalms
144:8, 4 and 26:4 are passages
where "deceit" is an accepta-
ble translation. The moral
connotation is brought into the
picture at this point. An
interesting passage which uses
xv;wA is
Malachi 3:14. The context is moral in nature and is
speaking to the people of their
sinful behavior and words.
Amidst their sinful words are
"It is futile to serve God."
The idea is that the people did
not gain anything from their
service, but they have the
arrogance to belie God's desires.
The primary meaning of this word is moral in nature.
Whereas Ecclesiastes speaks of
transitoriness, brevity and
the like without moral
connotation, when Solomon uses the
word here it speaks of the
moral implications of the action-
involved. It is permissible to
go so far as to say that
this "vanity" that
Solomon speaks of is "wickedness." The
most common usages of xv;wA are in contexts that speak of the
desires of Yahweh. When those
desires are not met, xv;wA is
declared. In other words, when
God's will is not done,
39
sin-wickedness is the result.
Interpretative
Summary
Psalm 127:1 initiates the topic of the proverbial
sayings. The topic is the
sovereignty of God. The topic is
developed in two admonitions
which make contact with the
world in which the audience of
the psalm lives. The use of
the word pair sums up the life
situation that plays a vital
role in the peoples' lives. The
life situation is composed
of two universal
preoccupations--the erection of shelter and
the provision of security.1
It is not hard to see Solomon as the author of this
psalm. For he was the master
builder and military genius.
The use of "house"
and "city" bring into view stone houses
cramped inside a walled
existence.2 One of Solomon's goals
was to build up the defense of
the land.3 Even though the
situation was peaceful, the
threat of war still existed.
Where the house provided
shelter it was the city that pro-
vided security with its
watchman stationed throughout,
making his rounds through the
night.4
When Solomon speaks concerning building and security,
1Kidner, Psalms 73-150, p. 440.
2Frank S. Frich, The City in Ancient
soula,
MT: Scholars Press, 1977), pp. 25-42.
32 Chr 8:1-10.
4Song of Solomon 3:3, 5:7.
40
he has the experience from
which to draw.1 And his experi-
ence prepared him to utter the
dictum of God's sovereignty.
Without the acknowledgement of
Yahweh's sovereign will, all
that is done is in vain. But
what does Solomon mean by this
statement? Is it a physical
calamity that will result from
disavowing God? Or is he
speaking of an eschatological
judgment?
Looking at
physical calamity would show
the worthlessness of the acti-
vity. A building project that
was undertaken against the
acknowledged will of God was
the
project consummated without the
sanction of God; it was in
vain. The project was
physically interrupted. But probably
the freshest experience for
Solomon was his own undertaking
of the building of the temple.
His father acknowledged the
rule of God and did, not seek
to build the temple. But God's
will was to allow Solomon to
build the temple. It was within
the will of God; it was
worthwhile for Solomon to build.
But the question arises, What of the building
enterprises of the wicked who
build apart from a proper
attitude toward God? Perhaps
this psalm does not deal with
man in general. This psalm is
found in the psalm collection
that is used to acknowledge God
by those who are of Him.
1Cf. 1 Kings 3:1-11.
2Gen 11:1-9.
41
This collection has in mind
those who understand the Will,
not those who contradict it.
Like those of Malachi that
knew what was right, but openly
refused to serve God. What
awaits these? The judgment of
God. Here the eschatological
picture enters the scene. Psalm
37:28 speaks of the
sovereign pronouncement of God
regarding protection.
For the Lord loves the just and will
not forsake his
faithful ones.
They will be protected (rmw) forever, but tie
offspring
of the wicked will be cut off.l
There is no question as to the
eschatological future of
those who shrug off Yahweh's
security. What ever security
is arranged for in this life
will be of no avail in the end.
When the author declares that those who work, without
the proper attitude are
laboring in vain, he is saying that
they are doing that which is in
contradiction to God's will.
From that standpoint it is
evil. The psalmist is not so
concerned with the prosperity2
of the action, but rather the
corollation of the individual
or community to the will of
God.
It should not be a burden for the individual to sub-
mit to the sovereign will of
God. Within the same collec-
tion of psalms exists a psalm
that exalts the divine watch-
man. Psalm 121 divulges the
comforting theme, "The Lord is
1All quotations will be
taken from the New Inter-
national
Version unless otherwise noted.
2Weiser, Psalms, p. 764.
42
my guardian."1
He is the guardian that never slumbers and
who is there in time of need. Yahweh
is not only the
Supreme Guardian but also the
Supreme Architect. The
psalmist declares in Psalm
89:2,
I will declare your loyal love is
established (hnb)
forever.2
Psalm 127 is a wisdom song of admonition in verse
one. But an admonition that promotes
a blessed prognosis.
The themes of verse one will
continue throughout the Psalm.
The psalmist leaves the figure
of the city and the house and
develops a minor theme inherent
in verse two. This minor
theme revolves around the labor
that is also prevalent in
the activities of building and
watching. The theme of the
city as noticed before will be
brought back into view in
verse five. In verse four the
concept of the house will be
drawn into the composition.
More particularly the idea of
lineage contained in
"house" may tie verse one in with verses
three and four.
Verse Two
tb,w,-yreHExam; MUq ymeykiw;ma Mk,lA xv;wA
xnAwe Odydiyli NTeyi NKe MybicAfEhA
MH,l, ylek;xo
Grammatical
Observations
Grammatically, verse two presents no problems. Yet,
1D. Wayne Knife,
"The Lord is My Guardian," Spire
10
(Spring
1982):10.
2Author's own translation.
43
it is an interesting verse from
the grammatical perspective.
Unfortunately, the syntactical
arrangement presents some
semantical problems. Or does
it? The enigma of this verse
occurs in line 5b. Basically,
the word xnAwe causes
the stir
among commentaries. Part of the
solution or at least guid-
ing hand toward the solution
lies in the grammatical
features of this verse and also
in the entire psalm.
The strong parallelism of verse one is not as
dominant in verse two, but
still present. Verse two
exhibits a more subtle family
of parallelism which is
referred to as rhetorical
parallelism.1 Once the subtleties
are recognized, the parallelism
of the verse stands out
markedly. Within this family of
rhetorical parallelism
emerges a genus which is often
called climactic parallelism.2
Climactic parallelism is a literary tool to capture
one's attention too.
"Climactic parallelism or stair-case
parallelism involves the
repetition and development of a
group of two or three words in
successive lines."3 In Psalm
127 the first two lines have
developed the word xv;wA as a
key
concept. In a climactic
instance the Psalmist switches word
order and throws xv;wA first to alert the reader. Kugel sees
xv;wA as an
"interruptive vocative."4 The thought of the
1Kaiser, Exegetical Theology, p. 222ff.
2Ibid.
3Ibid., p. 225.
4Kugel, The
Idea, p. 32.
44
the lines is progressing
smoothly and expectedly until an
interruption. The sudden switch
in literary structure
startles the recipient and
forces him to reanalyze the
thought before him.1
This literary interruption is only the beginning of
the literary genius in this
psalm. The rhetoric in this
psalm continues into the genus
of chiastic parallelism.2
The immediate recognizable
chiastic element is seen in the
apparent word play between xv;wA (line 3a) and xnAwe (line
4b).3
xnAwe
is
the object of NTeyi, which
reverses the word order.
Delitzsch interprets xnAwe as an adverbial accusative.4 If
taken as an adverbial
accusative it is proper to speak of it
as an accusative of time which
would indicate duration of
time.5 Grammatically
this is allowable but not demanded.
The significance of xnAwe is
diametrically stated in
literary fashion. The poet has
used word order and parono-
masia to convey his truth. But
the author is not finished.
Orthographically he could not
align his words any closer.
Where man reaps xv;wA, God gives xnAwe. This
play on words
1Edward Greenstein,
"Two Variations of Grammatical
Parallelism
in Canaanite Poetry and Their Psycholinguistic
Background,"
JANES 6 (1974):87-104.
2Kaiser, Exegetical Theology, p. 225.
3Dahood, Psalms, p. 223.
4Psalms, p. 293.
5Theophile J. Meek,
"The Hebrew Accusative of Time
and Place," JAOS 60 (1940):224-25.
45
should give direction to the
semantical studies of this
passage. Grammatically, the
passage demands that inter-
pretation begin with xnAwe rather than end there last and try
to fit into a preconceived
plan.
This chiastic arrangement not only applies to the
words but to syntactical units.
Part of the solution to
the puzzle of verse two lies in
the grammatical structure of
the verse. This is not
minimizing the necessity of dealing
with the meaning of NKe and xnAwe. But,
it is necessary to see
the placement of the clause in
question (line 5b) in the
entire psalm, more particularly
in the first half of the
psalm.
Before developing the chiasmus of this verse any
further, a couple of
observations are pertinent. The first
is the words that close lines 4
and 5. Apart from their
semantic corollation, there is
an orthographical similarity
that translates into
alliteration. Both words begin with w.
Is this only a coincidence?
Solomon intentionally chose
this word. It is fair to say
that he chose it to coincide
with xv;wA because of the orthographic similarity of xnAwe with
xv;wA.
Solomon could have chosen another word to use such as
HaUn. Also
this corollation helps decide dogmatically that
tb,w, is a nomina verbalia from the verbal stem tbawA.1 xnAwe is
a noun when traditionally
defined semantically parallels tb,w,
1BDB, pp. 991-92.
46
and with its grammatical
symmetry.
The second observation concerns the psalm as a whole.
Looking at every line except
lines four and five, a phenom-
enon appears. Every line except
these two is a complete
thought.1 That is,
if one were to pull each line out of
the psalm, the basic
understanding would still be discerni-
ble. The entire thought may not be comprehended en toto,
but enough of it would. Why
should the author abandon this
practice for these two lines?
He does not have to and a
plausible literary scheme can
be seen.
Line four out of context can be readily understood
as a complete thought.
"Vanity is to them who arise early
in the morning and who delay
rest." There is no conceptual
vagueness present. Line five
can also be understood as a
complete unit of thought. If
one allows for poetic license
where structural elements are
often abandoned, difficulties
diminish.
The first difficulty arises from the string of
participals. Most translations
take them to grammatically
relate pack to Mk,lA.2
Consequently they are not seen in
lA quest for the
determination of what constitutes a
line
in Hebrew poetry has been undertaken in past years.
Parallelism,
metrics, syntactic constraints have been sug-
gested
for line determination. Is it possible to define a
line
by the conceptual pattern?
2American Standard
Version, New English Bible,
Standard Bible, Revised
Standard Version.
47
separate contexts. However, if
the structure of verse two
is seen in a chiastic fashion,
the separating of the third
participial phrase is not too
harsh a measure. A rough
diagram can be used to display
the concept proposed.
Line 4 nominal clause + participial
phrase (2)
Line 5 participial phrasel
+ nominal clause
In this display the author uses
the chiastic structure to
contrast the thought of the
lines. Specifically, the con-
trast involves two different
subjects and two different life
styles.2
If this is the case, one would expect some sort of a
disjunctive, such as v, to proceed lkexo. But given
the
poetic nature of the material,
this grammatical anomoly is
not surprising.3
This lack of connective is evident in the
conditional sentences of verse
one, where the protasis is
connected to the apodosis by
juxtaposition.
Also the syntactical particle NKe is not a problem if
it is seen as relating back to
the participial phrase in the
same line. There is no reason
to pursue the textual variant
1Gray, Hebrew Poetry, p. 76. He points out the
use
of
a participial phrase in a chiastic arrangement.
2The separation of lines
is a concept adapted from
the
article, Samuel Diaches, "Psalm cxxvii.2, ExpTim 45
(1933):24-26.
C. Keet draws attention to this article. How-
ever,
it seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Diaches develops
the
separation of the lines semantically, but fails to iden-
tify
the grammatical plausibility for separation.
3Kaiser, Exegetical
Theology, p. 213.
48
of yKi,1 for NKe makes
perfect sense in this clause.2
Semantical Studies
Introduction
The problem of verse two has caused one commentator
to express, concerning Psalm
127:2b, that it "has probably
caused as much difficulty to
translators and interpreters as
any in the whole book of
Psalms."3 The problem is not of
such a nature that a plausible
explanation is impossible.
Verse two is so designed that
the semantical elements and
grammatical elements point to
the word xnAwe. This
is the
controlling concept in the
verse. The meaning of the
various clauses and phrases
need to be interpreted in light
of this word. Therefore, the
semantical studies will begin
with this word and in turn deal
with the other semantic
facets as they relate to xnAwe.
1J. A. Emerton, "The
Meaning of SENA in Psalm CXXVII
2,"
VT 24 (1974):16, 19, 30. Also a
textual variant appears
on
Odydiyli. The LXX, Jerome,
etc. support plural and is
preferred
by some, e.g. Edward Edwards, "A New Interpreta-
tion
of xnAwe Odydiyli NTeyi NKe (Psalm cxxvii.2b) ," ExpTim 54
(October
1942-September 1943): 25. The singular reading can
be
explained by the fact that switching between plural and
singular
is common. See: Daiches, "A New Explanation," p.
25.
2In a recent publication,
Psalms 101-150, in Word
Bible Commentary, edited by David A.
Hubbard (
Word
Books, 1983), Leslie Allen on page 176 supports the
separation
of lines three and four into separate thoughts.
It
is based primarily on metrical evidence, but he does
incorporate
grammatical considerations.
3Edwards, "A New
Interpretation," p. 25.
49
It is both an unprofitable and prodigious task to
interact with all the various
views.1 It seems that the
views studied may lead to
similar conclusions but always
have a little different nuance
to them and this makes it
difficult to properly respond
to each one. Therefore, the
method proposed here is to
present a feasible explanation,
then to deal with some major
views that have been proposed.
xnw--a resolution
Most, if not all, biblical students see the tradi-
tional meaning of xnAwe to be "sleep." It is the Aramaic
spelling of xnAwe which also means sleep.2 Kirkpatrick
astutely observes, "If it
were not for the exegetical dif-
ficulty, no one would hesitate
to take "sleep," as the
Ancient Versions take it, as
the object of the verb
giveth."3 He is
absolutely correct.
Of the proposed answers to this puzzling verse, two
primary perspectives of its
meaning emerge. On the one hand
the verse is dealt with from
the perspective that xnAwe means
"sleep." The other
perspective seeks to solve the puzzle by
seeking to define xnAwe differently. The former position is
the correct realm to work in.
For the meaning of xnAwe as
"sleep" is well
attested and presents minimal difficulty
1Emerton discusses quite
a few, but misses, Samuel
Daiches'
article.
2GKC, p. 82.
3Kirkpatrick, Psalms, p. 752.
50
from the lexical standpoint.
The difficulty of this verse arises from the context
of the verses 1-2. Verse one
deals with the labor of man
and contrasts that with
Yahweh's work. Then most see this
work motif carried on into
verse two. The motif is usually
seen in the three participial
phrases generally translated,
Vanity is it to those of you who
rise up early and go
late to rest,
Eating bread of anxious toil.l
On top of the work motif is the
result of that motif--bread.
So the problem set forth is the
relationship of "sleep" to
"work" and its
product. The particle NKe sets
up a compara-
tive aspect which indicates
that what God gives to his
beloved must compare to
"the bread of toil."2 The meaning
of "sleep" does not
compare in quality to that which is
produced by work.
The first response to this issue is that xnAwe does
not compare to MH,l, but
that it relates to MH,l,. It is cor-
rect to see that the work motif
continues into verse two.
But as the work of man was
critiqued in verse one, it is
critiqued in verse two.
As the sovereignty of God is taught in verse one, an
underlying implication of
sovereignty is also seen in the
first verse. That implication
is the dependence of God on
1Miller, "The
House," p. 120.
2Emerton, "SENA," p. 20.
51
man. Verse one contrasts the
independence of man with the
desire for dependence. And this
secondary theme is evident
in verse two. Conceivably the
first two verses could be
thematically diagrammed.
Line two Independence Dependence
(xv;wA) (hvAhy; Mxi)
Line three Independence Dependence
Line four
Line five Dependence
When the psalmist cries xv;wA, he is
uttering a pro-
nouncement on the lifestyle of
the person as he does in verse
one. In line four the psalmist
is describing a lifestyle
that is vain, not in accord
with the desires of Yahweh. The
participial clauses tb,w, yreHExam; MUq ymeyKiw;ma express relative
clauses which elucidate the
phrase Mk,lA. They are not diffi-
cult to understand.1
MUq MyKiw;ma
denotes the activity of
arising early. MyKiw;ma is a hiphil participle which could
denote a causative aspect.2
Those described by this word
determine to arise early so as
to get an early start. The
second relative clause, tb,w, yreHExam;, contrasts with the former
clause. It looks at the other
end of the day and speaks of
delaying rest, cessation of
activities.3 This meaning would
1MUq
ymeyKiw;ma
is not a common syntactical structure.
But
Patrick Miller notes that the construct is not unique
(cf.
2 Kings 6:15, 1 Sam 16:17), "The House," p. 131.
2GKC, pp. 350, 145.
3BDB, p. 992.
52
parallel the traditional
meaning of xnAwe.l
Both these participals are active and indicate a
continuing action2
or habitual practice. The habit that is
described is one that extends
the day. The reasons for this
extended day are two. Both fit
with the context. First,
Samuel Daiches sees a
connection between this line and
Isaiah 5:11.3 This
reference contains both participles that
are found in the present study.
The passage in Isaiah
describes men who extended
their days for the sake of drink-
ing. These men idled their time
away on drinking. Daiches
paraphrases Psalm 127:2a like
this,
'It is vain for you who rise up
early and sit up late
(and drink strong drinks, or, do
nothing useful).' This
is no good. You neither work nor
sleep. You idle away
your days, and at night you have no rest.4
This rationale has good potential if this idleness
is contrasted with "the
bread of toil." bc,f, is
defined by
BDB as "hurt, pain,
toil."5 It is used in Genesis 3:17 when
Moses writes, "In toil you
shall eat of it (i.e. ground)."
The bread here is that which is
procured with toil and
trouble.6 This bread
of toil can be compared with the
1The view that tb,w, is from bwayA is possible. See F.
Delitzsch,
Psalms, p. 293.
2Thomas Lambdin, Introduction to Biblical Hebrew
(New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971), p. 19.
3"A New
Explanation," p. 25. 4Ibid. 5P.
780.
6Delitzsch, p. 293. Also
cf. Prov 14:23; 5:10 for
the use of bc,f, for labor.
53
"bread of idleness"
in Proverbs 31:27.1 This verse states,
She watches over the affairs of her
household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Here work is contrasted with
idleness in the excellent wife
of Proverbs 31. So the concept
of idleness is very appro-
priate. It would draw a
negative response such as xv;wA. The
only problem with this view is
other supportive evidence of
these two participial phrases used
this way.
The opposite of this idleness is found in line five
where work is valued and the
result of "toil," or that which
is expected because of the
curse, is "sleep." Conceivably
this sleep is the sweet sleep
of Ecclesiastes 5:12a.
Qoheleth says "The sleep (tnaw;) of a laborer is sweet." So
Daiches concludes that line 5
is saying the same thing as
Ecclesiastes 5:12a. Also by
understanding the verse as
such, NKe can be taken as "thus." "Those
who eat the bread
of labour--thus (through the
labour, by which they eat their
bread) he gives to his beloved
sleep."2 So "his beloved" of
line 5b refers to those who eat
the bread of toil.
Perhaps the psalmist is indicating the independence
of man by showing the idleness
of man. Or another remote
idea is that the man who
understands what has been said in
lEmerton, SENA, p. 17.
2Daiches, "Psalm
cxxvii.2," p. 25. Or as a resul-
tant
clause--the result of toil is God-given sleep. Cf.
Psalm
48:6 for result or consequence usage of Nk. See A. B.
Davidson, Hebrew Syntax, p. 201.
54
verse one, sees no reason to
work because God will provide.
A second possible explanation for the extended day
is that man needs to extend his
day to such a point to meet
his needs. An extension so far
that sleep is squeezed out
of his routine. Anxiety is what
rules the life. Again, an
independence from God causes an
unnatural reaction to life.
It is those who expected to
labor for their bread knowing
where it came from, to these
God grants sleep. The ability
to end the day without anxiety.
So the psalmist maintains
a contrast in this view between
the quality of work. One
type of work is declared vain.
The other is considered
proper and sleep is the reward.
In Ecclesiastes 5:12ff. a similar theme appears. As
mentioned earlier Ecclesiastes
5:12 speaks of the sweet
sleep of the laborer no matter
what the results of labor are.
But the verse continues and
speaks of the rich man who can
not find sleep. The men in
verse two of Psalm 127 put off
rest, perchance they cannot
find. Their abundance als a
result of their labor does not
permit sleep. The passage in
Ecclesiastes develops the work
motif and speaks of the
results of work in 5:18-6:2,
Then I realized that it is good and
proper for a man
to eat and drink, and to find
satisfaction in his
toilsome labor under the sun during
the few days of life
God has given him--for this is his
lot. Moreover, when
God gives any man wealth and
possessions, and enables
him to enjoy them, to accept his lot
and be happy in his
work--this is a gift of God. He
seldom reflects on the
days of his life, because God keeps
him occupied with
gladness of heart. I have seen another evil under the
55
sun, and it weighs heavily on men,
God gives a man
wealth, possessions and honor, so
that he lacks nothing
his heart desires, but God does not
enable him to enjoy
them, and a stranger enjoys them
instead. This is
meaningless, a grievous evil.
Psalm 127:2 speaks of a similar
idea of the man who extends
his day because he is not
satisfied and unable to enjoy that
which he reaps because God is
not fitted into his attitude.
This is in contrast to the man
who toils and does that which
is expected but has considered
God in his work and God gives
him sleep. The ability to enjoy
life is reflected in the
sleep he experiences.
This view is both semantically feasible and gram-
matically allowable. The
contrast developed between these
two aspects fits the context
very well and does not distract
from the entire psalm.
xnAwe--other explanations
Other views accept xnAwe as
only an object of NTeyi. In
these views the three
participial phrases are seen together.
Perowne reacts to the generally
held position of God giving
to his beloved bread--the
necessities of life--in sleep or
during their sleep. He sees
this position as unacceptable
because "bread" must
be supplied and because of the ques-
tionable use of the adverbial
accusative.1 So his conclu-
sion is this:
I am inclined, therefore, to prefer the rendering
"So He
1GKC, p. 374.
56
giveth His beloved sleep,' though it
is no doubt diffi-
cult to explain the reference of the
particle 'so.' I
suppose it refers to the principle
laid down in the
previous verse, there being a tacit
comparison, 'as all
labour is vain with out God's
providence, as He builds
the house, as He watches the city,
so He gives the man
who loves him and leaves all in His
hands, calm refresh-
ing sleep.'l
He later says,
God's 'beloved' are not exempted
from the great law of
labour which lies upon all, but the
sting is taken from
it when they can leave all results
in a Father's hand,