Kejadian 27:28

27:28 May God give you

the dew of the sky ¹ 

and the richness ²  of the earth,

and plenty of grain and new wine.

Ayub 15:30

15:30 He will not escape the darkness; ³ 

a flame will wither his shoots

and he will depart

by the breath of God’s mouth. ⁴ 

Mazmur 133:3

133:3 It is like the dew of Hermon, ⁵ 

which flows down upon the hills of Zion. ⁶ 

Indeed ⁷  that is where the Lord has decreed

a blessing will be available – eternal life. ⁸ 

[27:28]  ¹ tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”

[27:28]  ² tn Heb “and from the fatness.”

[15:30]  ³ tn Some editions and commentators delete the first line of this verse, arguing that it is simply a paraphrase of v. 22a, and that it interrupts the comparison with a tree that falls (although that comparison only starts next).

[15:30]  ⁴ tn This last line in the verse is the difficult one. The MT has “he shall depart by the breath of his mouth.” If this reading stands, then it must be understood that it is the breath of God’s mouth that is intended. In place of “his mouth” the LXX has “flower” (reading פִּרהוֹ [pirho, properly, “his fruit”] instead of פִּיו piv), and “fall” instead of “depart.” Modern commentators and a number of English versions (e.g., RSV, NRSV, TEV) alter יָסוּר (yasur, “depart”) to something like יְסֹעַר (yÿso’ar, from סָעַר [sa’ar, “to drive away”]), or the like, to get “will be swept away.” The result is a reading: “and his blossom will be swept away by the wind.” The LXX may have read the Hebrew exactly, but harmonized it with v. 33 (see H. Heater, A Septuagint Translation Technique in the Book of Job [CBQMS]: 61-62).

[133:3]  ⁵ sn Hermon refers to Mount Hermon, located north of Israel.

[133:3]  ⁶ sn The hills of Zion are those surrounding Zion (see Pss 87:1; 125:2). The psalmist does not intend to suggest that the dew from Mt. Hermon in the distant north actually flows down upon Zion. His point is that the same kind of heavy dew that replenishes Hermon may also be seen on Zion’s hills. See A. Cohen, Psalms (SoBB), 439. “Dew” here symbolizes divine blessing, as the next line suggests.

[133:3]  ⁷ tn Or “for.”

[133:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forever.”