Mazmur 43:3

43:3 Reveal ¹  your light ²  and your faithfulness!

They will lead me, ³ 

they will escort ⁴  me back to your holy hill, ⁵ 

and to the place where you live. ⁶ 

Mazmur 46:4

46:4 The river’s channels bring joy to the city of God, ⁷ 

the special, holy dwelling place of ⁸  the sovereign One. ⁹ 

Mazmur 132:5

132:5 until I find a place for the Lord,

a fine dwelling place ¹⁰  for the powerful ruler of Jacob.” ¹¹ 

Mazmur 132:7

132:7 Let us go to his dwelling place!

Let us worship ¹²  before his footstool!

[43:3]  ¹ tn Heb “send.”

[43:3]  ² sn God’s deliverance is compared here to a light which will lead the psalmist back home to the Lord’s temple. Divine deliverance will in turn demonstrate the Lord’s faithfulness to his people.

[43:3]  ³ tn Or “may they lead me.” The prefixed verbal forms here and in the next line may be taken as jussives.

[43:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “bring.”

[43:3]  ⁵ sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill is Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 15:1; 48:1; 87:1; Dan 9:16.

[43:3]  ⁶ tn Or “to your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the Lord’s special dwelling place (see Pss 46:4; 84:1; 132:5, 7).

[46:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “A river, its channels cause the city of God to be glad.”

[46:4]  sn The city of God is Jerusalem (see Pss 48:1-2; 87:2-3). The river’s “channels” are probably irrigation ditches vital to growing crops. Some relate the imagery to the “waters of Shiloah” (see Isa 8:6), which flowed from the Gihon spring to the pool of Siloam. In Isa 8:6-8 these waters are contrasted with the flood waters symbolizing Assyria. Even if this is the reality behind the imagery, the picture of a river flowing through Jerusalem is idealized and exaggerated. The river and irrigation ditches symbolize the peace and prosperity that the Lord provides for Jerusalem, in contrast to the havoc produced by the turbulent waters (symbolic of the nations) outside the city. Some see here an adaptation of Canaanite (or, more specifically, Jebusite) mythical traditions of rivers/springs flowing from the high god El’s dwelling place. The Songs of Zion do utilize such imagery at times (see Ps 48:2). The image of a river flowing through Zion may have inspired prophetic visions of an eschatological river flowing from the temple (see Ezek 47:1-12; Joel 3:18).

[46:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “the holy [place] of the dwelling places of.” The adjective “holy” is used here in a substantival manner and placed in construct with the following noun (see GKC 428 §132.c). Origen’s transliterated text assumes the reading קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh, “holiness; holy place”), while the LXX assumes a Piel verbal form קִדֵּשׁ (qidesh, “makes holy”) and takes the following form as “his dwelling place.” The plural form מִשְׁכְּנֵי (mishkÿney, “dwelling places of”) is probably a plural of degree, emphasizing the special character of this dwelling place. See GKC 397 §124.b. The form stands as an appositional genitive in relation to the preceding construct noun.

[46:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.

[132:5]  ¹⁰ tn The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; David envisions a special dwelling place (see Pss 43:3; 46:4; 84:1).

[132:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Jacob.”

[132:7]  ¹² tn Or “bow down.”