Psa 31:1-8 | KD | STEP | In Ps 31 the poet also, in ואני אמרתּי ( ), looks back upon a previous state of mind, viz., that of conflict, just as in upon that of security. And here, also, he makes all the חסידים partakers with him of the healthful fruit of his deliverance (cf. with ). But in other respects the situation of the two Psalms is very different. They are both Davidic. Hitzig, however, regards them both as composed by Jeremiah. With reference to Ps 31, which Ewald also ascribes to “Jéremjá,” this view is well worthy of notice. Not only do we find recurring in Jeremiah, , but the whole Psalm, in its language (cf. e.g., with ; with ; with ; with ) and its plaintive tenderness, reminds one of Jeremiah. But this relationship does not decide the question. The passage , like many other passages of this prophet, whose language is so strongly imbued with that of the Psalter, may be just as much a reminiscence as , ; and as regards its plaintive tenderness there are no two characters more closely allied naturally and in spirit than David and Jeremiah; both are servants of Jahve, whose noble, tender spirits were capable of strong feeling, who cherished earnest longings, and abounded in tribulations. We abide, though not without some degree of hesitation, by the testimony of the inscription; and regard the Psalm as a song springing from the outward and inward conflict (lxx ἐκστάσεως, probably by a combination of , ἐν ἐκστάσει, בחפזי, with ) of the time of Saul. While is not suited to the mouth of the captive Jeremiah (Hitzig), the Psalm has much that is common not only to Ps 69 (more especially , ), a Psalm that sounds much like Jeremiah’s, but also to others, which we regard as Davidic; viz., the figures corresponding to the life of warfare which David then lived among the rocks and caves of the wilderness; the cheering call, , cf. ; ; the rare use of the Hiph . הפליא ; ; the desire to be hidden by God, , cf. ; ; etc. In common with Ps 22 this may be noted, that the crucified Christ takes His last word from this Psalm, just as He takes His last utterance but three from that Psalm. But in , the prefigurement of the Passion is confined within the limits of the type and does not undergo the same prophetical enhancement as it does in that unique Ps 22, to which only Ps 69 is in any degree comparable. The opening, , is repeated in the centonic Ps 71, the work of a later anonymous poet, just as is in part repeated in Psa 116:11. The arrangement of the strophes is not very clear.

‏ Psalms 31:1-8

Surrender of One Sorely Persecuted into the Hand of God

In Ps 31 the poet also, in ואני אמרתּי (Psa 31:23), looks back upon a previous state of mind, viz., that of conflict, just as in Psa 30:7 upon that of security. And here, also, he makes all the חסידים partakers with him of the healthful fruit of his deliverance (cf. Psa 31:24 with Psa 30:5). But in other respects the situation of the two Psalms is very different. They are both Davidic. Hitzig, however, regards them both as composed by Jeremiah. With reference to Ps 31, which Ewald also ascribes to “Jéremjá,” this view is well worthy of notice. Not only do we find Psa 31:14 recurring in Jeremiah, Jer 20:10, but the whole Psalm, in its language (cf. e.g., Jer 20:10 with Lam 1:20; Psa 31:11 with Jer 20:18; Psa 31:18 with Jer 17:18; Psa 31:23 with Lam 3:54) and its plaintive tenderness, reminds one of Jeremiah. But this relationship does not decide the question. The passage Jer 20:10, like many other passages of this prophet, whose language is so strongly imbued with that of the Psalter, may be just as much a reminiscence as Jon 2:5, Jon 2:9; and as regards its plaintive tenderness there are no two characters more closely allied naturally and in spirit than David and Jeremiah; both are servants of Jahve, whose noble, tender spirits were capable of strong feeling, who cherished earnest longings, and abounded in tribulations. We abide, though not without some degree of hesitation, by the testimony of the inscription; and regard the Psalm as a song springing from the outward and inward conflict (lxx ἐκστάσεως, probably by a combination of Psa 31:23, ἐν ἐκστάσει, בחפזי, with 1Sa 23:26) of the time of Saul. While Psa 31:12 is not suited to the mouth of the captive Jeremiah (Hitzig), the Psalm has much that is common not only to Ps 69 (more especially Psa 69:9, Psa 69:33), a Psalm that sounds much like Jeremiah’s, but also to others, which we regard as Davidic; viz., the figures corresponding to the life of warfare which David then lived among the rocks and caves of the wilderness; the cheering call, Jer 31:25, cf. Psa 22:27; Psa 27:14; the rare use of the Hiph. הפליא Psa 31:22; Psa 17:7; the desire to be hidden by God, Psa 31:21, cf. Psa 17:8; Psa 64:3; etc. In common with Ps 22 this may be noted, that the crucified Christ takes His last word from this Psalm, just as He takes His last utterance but three from that Psalm. But in Psa 31:10-14, the prefigurement of the Passion is confined within the limits of the type and does not undergo the same prophetical enhancement as it does in that unique Ps 22, to which only Ps 69 is in any degree comparable. The opening, Psa 31:2, is repeated in the centonic Ps 71, the work of a later anonymous poet, just as Psa 31:23 is in part repeated in Psa 116:11. The arrangement of the strophes is not very clear. Psa 31:1-8 (Hebrew_Bible_31:2-9) The poet begins with the prayer for deliverance, based upon the trust which Jahve, to whom he surrenders himself, cannot possibly disappoint; and rejoices beforehand in the protection which he assumes will, without any doubt, be granted. Out of his confident security in God (הסיתי) springs the prayer: may it never come to this with me, that I am put to confusion by the disappointment of my hope. This prayer in the form of intense desire is followed by prayers in the direct form of supplication. The supplicatory פלּטני is based upon God’s righteousness, which cannot refrain from repaying conduct consistent with the order of redemption, though after prolonged trial, with the longed for tokens of deliverance. In the second paragraph, the prayer is moulded in accordance with the circumstances of him who is chased by Saul hither and thither among the mountains and in the desert, homeless and defenceless. In the expression צוּר מעוז, מעוז is genit. appositionis: a rock of defence (מעוז from עזז, as in Psa 27:1), or rather: of refuge (מעוז = Arab. m‛âd, from עוּז, עוז = Arab. 'âd, as in Psa 37:39; Psa 52:9, and probably also in Isa 30:2 and elsewhere); ^{▼▼It can hardly be doubted, that, in opposition to the pointing as we have it, which only recognises one מעוז (מעז) from עזז, to be strong, there are two different substantives having this principal form, viz., מעז a fortress, secure place, bulwark, which according to its derivation is inflected מעזּי, etc., and מעוז equivalent to the Arabic ma‛âdh, a hiding-place, defence, refuge, which ought to have been declined מעוזי or מעוּזי like the synonymous מנוּסי (Olshausen §201, 202). Moreover עוּז, Arab. 'âd, like חסה, of which it is the parallel word in Isa 30:2, means to hide one’s self anywhere (Piel and Hiph., Hebrew העיז, according to the Kamus, Zamachshari and Neshwân: to hide any one, e.g., Koran 3:31); hence Arab. 'â‛d, a plant that grows among bushes (bên esh - shôk according to the Kamus) or in the crevices of the rocks (fi-l-hazn according to Neshwân) and is thus inaccessible to the herds; Arab. 'wwad, gazelles that are invisible, i.e., keep hidden, for seven days after giving birth, also used of pieces of flesh of which part is hidden among the bones; Arab. 'ûdat, an amulet with which a man covers himself (protegit}, and so forth. - Wetzstein.

Consequently מעוז (formed like Arab. m‛âd, according to Neshwân equivalent to Arab. ma'wad) is prop. a place in which to hide one’s self, synonymous with מחסה, מנוס, Arab. mlâd , malja‛, and the like. True, the two substantives from עזז and עוז meet in their meanings like praesidium and asylum, and according to passages like Jer 16:19 appear to be blended in the genius of the language, but they are radically distinct.) a rock-castle, i.e., a castle upon a rock, would be called מעוז צוּר, reversing the order of the words. צוּר מעוז in Psa 71:3, a rock of habitation, i.e., of safe sojourn, fully warrants this interpretation. מצוּדה, prop. specula, signifies a mountain height or the summit of a mountain; a house on the mountain height is one that is situated on some high mountain top and affords a safe asylum (vid., on Psa 18:3). The thought “show me Thy salvation, for Thou art my Saviour,” underlies the connection expressed by כּי in Psa 31:4 and Psa 31:5. Löster considers it to be illogical, but it is the logic of every believing prayer. The poet prays that God would become to him, actu reflexo, that which to the actus directus of his faith He is even now. The futures in Psa 31:4, Psa 31:5 express hopes which necessarily arise out of that which Jahve is to the poet. The interchangeable notions הנחה and נהל, with which we are familiar from Psa 23:1-6, stand side by side, in order to give urgency to the utterance of the longing for God’s gentle and safe guidance. Instead of translating it “out of the net, which etc.,” according to the accents (cf. Psa 10:2; Psa 12:8) it should be rendered “out of the net there,” so that טמנוּ לּי is a relative clause without the relative.

Into the hand of this God, who is and will be all this to him, he commends his spirit; he gives it over into His hand as a trust or deposit (פּקּדון); for whatsoever is deposited there is safely kept, and freed from all danger and all distress. The word used is not נפשׁי, which Theodotion substitutes when he renders it τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ ψυχὴν τῇ σῇ παρατίθημι προμηθείᾳ but רוּחי; and this is used designedly. The language of the prayer lays hold of life at its root, as springing directly from God and as also living in the believer from God and in God; and this life it places under His protection, who is the true life of all spirit-life (Isa 38:16) and of all life. It is the language of prayer with which the dying Christ breathed forth His life, Luk 23:46. The period of David’s persecution by Saul is the most prolific in types of the Passion; and this language of prayer, which proceeded from the furnace of affliction through which David at that time passed, denotes, in the mouth of Christ a crisis in the history of redemption in which the Old Testament receives its fulfilment. Like David, He commends His spirit to God; but not, that He may not die, but that dying He may not die, i.e., that He may receive back again His spirit-corporeal life, which is hidden in the hand of God, in imperishable power and glory. That which is so ardently desired and hoped for is regarded by him, who thus in faith commends himself to God, as having already taken place, “Thou hast redeemed me, Jahve, God of truth.” The perfect פּדיתה is not used here, as in Psa 4:2, of that which is past, but of that which is already as good as past; it is not precative (Ew. §223, b), but, like the perfects in Psa 31:8, Psa 31:9, an expression of believing anticipation of redemption. It is the praet. confidentiae which is closely related to the praet. prophet.; for the spirit of faith, like the spirit of the prophets, speaks of the future with historic certainty. In the notion of אל אמת it is impossible to exclude the reference to false gods which is contained in אלהי אמת, 2Ch 15:3, since, in Psa 31:7, “vain illusions” are used as an antithesis. הבלים, ever since Deu 32:21, has become a favourite name for idols, and more particularly in Jeremiah (e.g., Psa 8:1-9 :19). On the other hand, according to the context, it may also not differ very greatly from אל אמוּנה, Deu 32:4; since the idea of God as a depositary or trustee still influences the thought, and אמת and אמוּנה are used interchangeably in other passages as personal attributes. We may say that אמת is being that lasts and verifies itself, and אמונה is sentiment that lasts and verifies itself. Therefore אל אמת is the God, who as the true God, maintains the truth of His revelation, and more especially of His promises, by a living authority or rule.

In Psa 31:7, David appeals to his entire and simple surrender to this true and faithful God: hateful to him are those, who worship vain images, whilst he, on the other hand, cleaves to Jahve. It is the false gods, which are called הבלי־שׁוא, as beings without being, which are of no service to their worshippers and only disappoint their expectations. Probably (as in Psa 5:6) it is to be read שׂנאת with the lxx, Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic versions (Hitzig, Ewald, Olshausen, and others). In the text before us, which gives us no corrective Kerî as in 2Sa 14:21; Rth 4:5, ואני is not an antithesis to the preceding clause, but to the member of that clause which immediately precedes it. In Jonah’s psalm, Psa 2:9, this is expressed by משׁמּרים הבלי־שׁוא; in the present instance the Kal is used in the signification observare, colere, as in Hos 4:10, and even in Pro 27:18. In the waiting of service is included, according to Psa 59:10, the waiting of trust. The word בּטח which denotes the fiducia fidei is usually construed with בּ of adhering to, or על of resting upon; but here it is combined with אל of hanging on. The cohortatives in Psa 31:8 express intentions. Olshausen and Hitzig translate them as optatives: may I be able to rejoice; but this, as a continuation of Psa 31:7, seems less appropriate. Certain that he will be heard, he determines to manifest thankful joy for Jahve’s mercy, that (אשׁר as in Gen 34:27) He has regarded (ἐπέβλεψε, Luk 1:48) his affliction, that He has known and exerted Himself about his soul’s distresses. The construction ידע בּ, in the presence of Gen 19:33, Gen 19:35; Job 12:9; Job 35:15, cannot be doubted (Hupfeld); it is more significant than the expression “to know of anything;” בּ is like ἐπὶ in ἐπιγιγνώσκειν used of the perception or comprehensive knowledge, which grasps an object and takes possession of it, or makes itself master of it. הסגּיר, Psa 31:9, συγκλείειν, as in 1Sa 23:11 (in the mouth of David) is so to abandon, that the hand of another closes upon that which is abandoned to it, i.e., has it completely in its power. מרחב, as in Psa 18:20, cf. Psa 26:12. The language is David’s, in which the language of the Tôra, and more especially of Deuteronomy (Deu 32:30; Deu 23:16), is re-echoed.