Keil and Delitzsch Commentary - Psalms 31:1 - 31:1

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Keil and Delitzsch Commentary - Psalms 31:1 - 31:1


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(Heb.: 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 (הָסִיתִי) 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 פַלְּטֵנִי 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 מָעֹוז, מָעֹוז is genit. appositionis: a rock of defence (מָעֹוז from עָזַז, as in Psa 27:1), or rather: of refuge (מָעֹוז = Arab. m‛âd, from עוּז, עֹוז = Arab. 'âd, as in Psa 37:39; Psa 52:9, and probably also in Isa 30:2 and elsewhere);

(Note: It can hardly be doubted, that, in opposition to the pointing as we have it, which only recognises one מָעֹוז (מַעֹז) from עָזַז, to be strong, there are two different substantives having this principal form, viz., מָעֹז a fortress, secure place, bulwark, which according to its derivation is inflected מָעֻזּי, etc., and מָעֹוז equivalent to the Arabic ma‛âdh, a hiding-place, defence, refuge, which ought to have been declined מְעֹוזִי or מְעוּזִי like the synonymous מְנוּסִי (Olshausen §201, 202). Moreover עוּז, Arab. 'âd, like חָסָה, of which it is the parallel word in Isa 30:2, means to hide one's self anywhere (Piel and Hiph., Hebrew הֵעִיז, 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 מָעֹוז (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 מַֽחֲסֶה, מָנֹוס, 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 מָעֹוז צוּר, reversing the order of the words. צוּר מָעוז in Psa 71:3, a rock of habitation, i.e., of safe sojourn, fully warrants this interpretation. מְצוּדָה, 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 כִּי 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 הִנְחָה and נִהֵל, 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 טָֽמְנוּ לִּי 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 (פִּקָּדֹון); for whatsoever is deposited there is safely kept, and freed from all danger and all distress. The word used is not נַפְשִׁי, which Theodotion substitutes when he renders it τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ ψυχὴν τῇ σῇ παρατίθημι προμηθείᾳ but רוּחִי; 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 פָּדִיתָה 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 אֵל אֱמֶת it is impossible to exclude the reference to false gods which is contained in אֱלֹהֵי אֱמֶת, 2Ch 15:3, since, in Psa 31:7, “vain illusions” are used as an antithesis. הֲבָלִים, 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 אֵל אֱמוּנָה, Deu 32:4; since the idea of God as a depositary or trustee still influences the thought, and אֱמֶת and אֱמוּנָה 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 הַבְלֵי־שָׁוְא, 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 שָׂנֵאתָ 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 מְשַׁמְּרִים הַבְלֵי־שָׁוְא; 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 בָּטַח which denotes the fiducia fidei is usually construed with בְּ of adhering to, or עַל of resting upon; but here it is combined with אֶל 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 (אֲשֶׁר 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 יָדַע בְּ, 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;” בְּ 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. הִסְגִּיר, 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. מֶרְחָב, 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.