Psa 56:1-4 | KD | STEP | To Ps 55, which is gives utterance to the wish: “Oh that I had wings like a dove,” etc., no Psalm could be more appropriately appended, according to the mode of arrangement adopted by the collector, than , the musical inscription of which runs: To the Precentor, after “The silent dove among the far off,” by David, a Michtam. רחקים is a second genitive, cf. , and either signifies distant men or longiqua , distant places, as in , cf. נעימים, Psa 16:6. Just as in , it is questionable whether the punctuation אלם has lighted upon the correct rendering. Hitzig is anxious to read אלם, “Dove of the people in the distance;” but אלם, people, in spite of Egli’s commendation, is a word unheard of in Hebrew, and only conjectural in Phoenician. Olshausen’s אלם more readily commends itself, “Dove of the distant terebinths.” As in other like inscriptions, על does not signify de (as Joh. Campensis renders it in his paraphrase of the Psalms [1532] and frequently): Praefecto musices, de columba muta quae procul avolaverat ), but secundum ; and the coincidence of the defining of the melody with the situation of the writer of the Psalm is explained by the consideration that the melody is chosen with reference to that situation. The lxx (cf. the Targum), interpreting the figure, renders: ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁγίων (from the sanctuary) μεμακρυμμένου, for which Symmachus has: φύλου ἀπωσμένου. The rendering of Aquila is correct: ὑπὲρ περιστερᾶς ἀλάλου μακρυσμῶν. From Ps 55 ( , cf. ) we may form an idea of the standard song designated by the words יונת אלם רחקים; for Ps 55 is not this song itself, and for this reason, that it belongs to the time of Absalom, and is therefore of later date than , the historical inscription of which, “when the Philistines assaulted him in Gath” (cf. בּידם, ), carries us back into the time of Saul, to the same time of the sojourn in Philistia to which Ps 34 is assigned. exhibits many points of the closest intermingling with the Psalms of this period, and thus justifies its inscription. It is a characteristic possessed in common by these Psalms, that the prospect of the judgment that will come upon the whole of the hostile world is combined with David’s prospect of the judgment that will come upon his enemies: ; ; ( ). The figure of the bottle in which God preserves the tears of the suffering ones corresponds to the sojourn in the wilderness. As regards technical form, begins the series of Davidic Elohimic Michtammı̂m , Psa 56:1. Three of these belong to the time of Saul. These three contain refrains, a fact that we have already recognised on as a peculiarity of these “favourite-word-poems.” the favourite words of this are (באלהים אהלל דבר)ו and לי (אדם) מה־יּעשׂה בשׂר. אלהים and אנושׁ, ( ; ), are antitheses: over against God, the majestic One, men are feeble beings. Their rebellion against the counsel of God is ineffective madness. If the poet has God’s favour on his side, then he will face these pigmies that behave as though they were giants, who fight against him מרום, moving on high, i.e., proudly (cf. ממּרום, ), in the invincible might of God. שׁאף, inhiare , as in ; לחם, as in , with ל like אל, e.g., in Jer 1:19. Thus, then, he does not fear; in the day when (Ges. §123, 3, b) he might well be afraid (conjunctive future, as e.g., in ), he clings trustfully to (אל as in , and frequently, ) his God, so that fear cannot come near him. He has the word of His promise on his side (דּברו as e.g., ); בּאלהים, through God will he praise this His word, inasmuch as it is gloriously verified in him. Hupfeld thus correctly interprets it; whereas others in part render it “in Elohim do I praise His word,” in part (and the form of this favourite expression in is opposed to it): “Elohim do I celebrate, His word.” Hitzig, however, renders it: “Of God do I boast in matter,” i.e., in the present affair; which is most chillingly prosaic in connection with an awkward brevity of language. The exposition is here confused by and Psa 44:9. הלּל does not by any means signify gloriari in this passage, but celebrare ; and באלהים is not intended in any other sense than that in Ps 60:14. בּטח בּ is equivalent to the New Testament phrase πιστεύειν ἐν. לא אירא is a circumstantial clause with a finite verb, as is customary in connection with לא, , , and עב, Pro 19:23.

‏ Psalms 56:1-4

Cheerful Courage of a Fugitive

To Ps 55, which is Psa 56:7 gives utterance to the wish: “Oh that I had wings like a dove,” etc., no Psalm could be more appropriately appended, according to the mode of arrangement adopted by the collector, than Psa 56:1-13, the musical inscription of which runs: To the Precentor, after “The silent dove among the far off,” by David, a Michtam. רחקים is a second genitive, cf. Isa 28:1, and either signifies distant men or longiqua, distant places, as in Psa 65:6, cf. נעימים, Psa 16:6. Just as in Psa 58:2, it is questionable whether the punctuation אלם has lighted upon the correct rendering. Hitzig is anxious to read אלם, “Dove of the people in the distance;” but אלם, people, in spite of Egli’s commendation, is a word unheard of in Hebrew, and only conjectural in Phoenician. Olshausen’s אלם more readily commends itself, “Dove of the distant terebinths.” As in other like inscriptions, על does not signify de (as Joh. Campensis renders it in his paraphrase of the Psalms [1532] and frequently): Praefecto musices, de columba muta quae procul avolaverat), but secundum; and the coincidence of the defining of the melody with the situation of the writer of the Psalm is explained by the consideration that the melody is chosen with reference to that situation. The lxx (cf. the Targum), interpreting the figure, renders: ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁγίων (from the sanctuary) μεμακρυμμένου, for which Symmachus has: φύλου ἀπωσμένου. The rendering of Aquila is correct: ὑπὲρ περιστερᾶς ἀλάλου μακρυσμῶν. From Ps 55 (Psa 56:7, cf. Psa 38:14) we may form an idea of the standard song designated by the words יונת אלם רחקים; for Ps 55 is not this song itself, and for this reason, that it belongs to the time of Absalom, and is therefore of later date than Psa 56:1-13, the historical inscription of which, “when the Philistines assaulted him in Gath” (cf. בּידם, 1Sa 21:14), carries us back into the time of Saul, to the same time of the sojourn in Philistia to which Ps 34 is assigned. Psa 56:1-13 exhibits many points of the closest intermingling with the Psalms of this period, and thus justifies its inscription. It is a characteristic possessed in common by these Psalms, that the prospect of the judgment that will come upon the whole of the hostile world is combined with David’s prospect of the judgment that will come upon his enemies: Psa 56:8; Psa 7:9; Psa 59:6 (12). The figure of the bottle in which God preserves the tears of the suffering ones corresponds to the sojourn in the wilderness. As regards technical form, Psa 56:1-13 begins the series of Davidic Elohimic Michtammı̂m, Psa 56:1. Three of these belong to the time of Saul. These three contain refrains, a fact that we have already recognised on Psa 16:1 as a peculiarity of these “favourite-word-poems.” the favourite words of this Psa 56:1-13 are (באלהים אהלל דבר)ו and לי (אדם) מה־יּעשׂה בשׂר.

Psa 56:1-4 אלהים and אנושׁ, Psa 56:2 (Psa 9:20; Psa 10:18), are antitheses: over against God, the majestic One, men are feeble beings. Their rebellion against the counsel of God is ineffective madness. If the poet has God’s favour on his side, then he will face these pigmies that behave as though they were giants, who fight against him מרום, moving on high, i.e., proudly (cf. ממּרום, Psa 73:8), in the invincible might of God. שׁאף, inhiare, as in Psa 57:4; לחם, as in Psa 35:1, with ל like אל, e.g., in Jer 1:19. Thus, then, he does not fear; in the day when (Ges. §123, 3, b) he might well be afraid (conjunctive future, as e.g., in Jos 9:27), he clings trustfully to (אל as in Psa 4:6, and frequently, Pro 3:5) his God, so that fear cannot come near him. He has the word of His promise on his side (דּברו as e.g., Psa 130:5); בּאלהים, through God will he praise this His word, inasmuch as it is gloriously verified in him. Hupfeld thus correctly interprets it; whereas others in part render it “in Elohim do I praise His word,” in part (and the form of this favourite expression in Psa 56:11 is opposed to it): “Elohim do I celebrate, His word.” Hitzig, however, renders it: “Of God do I boast in matter,” i.e., in the present affair; which is most chillingly prosaic in connection with an awkward brevity of language. The exposition is here confused by Psa 10:3 and Psa 44:9. הלּל does not by any means signify gloriari in this passage, but celebrare; and באלהים is not intended in any other sense than that in Ps 60:14. בּטח בּ is equivalent to the New Testament phrase πιστεύειν ἐν. לא אירא is a circumstantial clause with a finite verb, as is customary in connection with לא, Psa 35:8, Job 29:24, and עב, Pro 19:23.