TheBibleNet: Psalm 112

Psalms:

Bk 1: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41

Bk 2: 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72

Bk 3: 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89

Bk 4: 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106

Bk 5: 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119a 119b 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132
133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150

Additional Psalms: 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 Samuel Chronicles

Essays: Intro - Music - Form & Language

Like Psalm 111, the title is "Halelu Yah"; or it may just be an opening phrase, like adding an "Amen" at the finish; but either way it stands alone. There is no dedication, no descriptor, and the remainder of the poem needs to be set out (I have done so at the foot of the page) in poetical verse-form rather than the prose-verse that is the norm throughout the Tanach, in order that the iambic tetrameter form, and the alphabetical acrostic, can become visible, and the number of verses in the poem easily explained (the Yehudit alphabet has twenty-two letters; each half of the alexendrine that divides each verse begins with the next letter of the alphabet).

112:1 HALELU YAH ASHREY ISH YAR'E ET YHVH BE MITSVOTAV CHAPHETS ME'OD

הַלְלוּ יָהּ אַשְׁרֵי אִישׁ יָרֵא אֶת יְהוָה בְּמִצְוֹתָיו חָפֵץ מְאֹד

KJ (King James translation): Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

BN (BibleNet translation): Hallelu Yah. {N} Happy is a man who fears YHVH, who takes great delight in his commandments.

YAH: Making this a late Psalm, which is to say a rather more ancient Psalm updated, as we can tell easily from the absorption of the ancient moon-goddess into the Omnideity. I have commented on this at 111:1 already, but am repeating it here because....

ASHREY: ... the very first word, provides confirmation of the above note; as noted many times previously, ASHREY always belongs to Asherah, or Sarai/Sarah in the Yehudit versions, another of the many names for the moon-and-fertility goddess, YAH as Madonna (full moon), ASHERAH in the waning or post-menopausal phase.

Always, with one exception: there are occasions when Osher, the Egyptian Earth-god, is intended - see verse 3 for a strong hint that the exception is being included on this occasion. Either that, or the poet is having fun playing complex word-games and letter-games for their own sake (Osher has an Ayin, Asherah an Aleph)!

ASHREY ISH: No definite article.

112:2 GIBOR BA ARETS YIHEYEH ZAR'O DOR YESHARIM YEVORACH

גִּבּוֹר בָּאָרֶץ יִהְיֶה זַרְעוֹ דּוֹר יְשָׁרִים יְבֹרָךְ

KJ: His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.

BN: His seed shall be mighty upon Earth; the generation of the upright shall be blessed.

112:3 HON VA OSHER BE VEITO VE TSIDKATO OMEDET LA AD

הוֹן וָעֹשֶׁר בְּבֵיתוֹ וְצִדְקָתוֹ עֹמֶדֶת לָעַד

KJ: Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.

BN: Wealth and riches are in his house; and his merit endureth for ever.

HON: A word that is only ever found in late texts - Psalms especially, but also Proverbs (1:13, 6:31...), and once in the the book of the Prophet Yechezke-El (Ezekiel 27:33). The inference is that it entered the language late, though from where is not obvious: possibly the Arabic HUN, which has a sense of things being "light" and "easy" and "comfortable", which is what the poor believe things will automatically be if you become rich.

OSHER: With the Ayin on this occasion. Interesting to see the word in this format; OSHER is the correct pronunication of the Egyptian god whom we know through the Greek as Osiris. See my notes on the tribe of Asher, which clearly takes its name from the same source.

The presence in this manner of Osher, who is a variant of the beloved son, further endorses my note to verse 1.

112:4 ZARACH BA CHOSHECH OR LA YESHARIM CHANUN VE RACHUM VE TSADIK

זָרַח בַּחֹשֶׁךְ אוֹר לַיְשָׁרִים חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם וְצַדִּיק

KJ: Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

BN: He shines like a light in the darkness for those who live upright lives; he is gracious and full of compassion, and righteous.

Phrases in this Psalm recurring from the last, and both with the same opening; were they originally grouped?

CHANUN...RACHUM...TSADIK: See my note to verse 4 in Psalm 111. Though 111 used YESHARIM for the righteous, where this prefers TSADIKIM - still more lexical variants, which add weight to my supposition that the same author wrote both Psalms.

112:5 TOV ISH CHONEN U MALVEH YECHALKEL DEVARAV BE MISHPAT

טוֹב אִישׁ חוֹנֵן וּמַלְוֶה יְכַלְכֵּל דְּבָרָיו בְּמִשְׁפָּט

KJ: A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.

BN: He is a good man who deals graciously, and lends, who orders his affairs justly.

Which ties in with PEDUT in 111, redeeming what has been pawned there, not needing to pawn it in the first place here, because charity has intervened, as it should, when the righteously wealthy are looking out at the poor world from their tea party (I have used that phrase for an American audience, and followers of Ayn Rand's "Objectivism", especially).

112:6 KI LE OLAM LO YIMOT LE ZECHER OLAM YIHEYEH TSADIK

כִּי לְעוֹלָם לֹא יִמּוֹט לְזֵכֶר עוֹלָם יִהְיֶה צַדִּיק

KJ: Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.

BN: For he shall never be moved; the righteous shall be held in everlasting remembrance.

LO YIMOT: Is this the same "shall not be moved" as the one "down by the riverside"? The tunes are remarkably similar, and it is a very short distance from the riverside to the waterside. It is a phrase that has recurred throughout the Psalms, so see my earlier notes (Psalm 1:3 for a starting-point).

112:7 MI SHEMU'AH RA'AH LO YIYRA NACHON LIBO BATU'ACH BA YHVH

מִשְּׁמוּעָה רָעָה לֹא יִירָא נָכוֹן לִבּוֹ בָּטֻחַ בַּיהוָה

KJ: He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.

BN: He who is unafraid of hearing evil things, his heart is steadfast, he trusts in YHVH.

MI SHEMU'AH: Or MISHMU'AH? Evil things, or simply "bad news"?

112:8 SAMUCH LIBO LO YIYRA AD ASHER YIR'EH VE TSARAV

סָמוּךְ לִבּוֹ לֹא יִירָא עַד אֲשֶׁר יִרְאֶה בְצָרָיו

KJ: His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.

BN: His heart is set; he shall not be afraid, even when he has to deal with troubles.

TSARAV: Yet again KJ mis-translates this word.

112:9 PIZAR NATAN LA EVYONIM TSIDKATO OMEDET LA AD KARNO TARUM BE CHAVO

פִּזַּר נָתַן לָאֶבְיוֹנִים צִדְקָתוֹ עֹמֶדֶת לָעַד קַרְנוֹ תָּרוּם בְּכָבוֹד

KJ: He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.

BN: He hath scattered abroad, he hath given to the needy; his righteousness endures for ever; {N} his horn shall be exalted in honour.

PIZAR: Scattered what? Is this a way of describing philanthropy, that other object of contempt of Objectivism?

LA AD: See my notes on this too at Psalm 111.

BN (colloquially interpretative alternative translation): He has been doling out the philanthropic dosh with incredible generosity, supporting every worthy cause. His name is already listed for posterity. Plaques in his honour can be found everywhere.

112:10 RASH'A YIR'EH VE CHA'AS SHINAV YACHAROK VE NAMAS TA'AVAT RESHA'IM TOVED

רָשָׁע יִרְאֶה וְכָעָס שִׁנָּיו יַחֲרֹק וְנָמָס תַּאֲוַת רְשָׁעִים תֹּאבֵד

KJ: The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.

BN: The wicked shall see it, and be vexed; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away; {N} the desire of the wicked shall perish. {P}

HALELU YAH

(א) ASHREY ISH YAR'E ET YHVH
(ב) BE MITSVOTAV CHAPHETS ME'OD

(ג) GIBOR BA ARETS YIHEYEH ZAR'O
(ד) DOR YESHARIM YEVORACH

(ה) HON VA OSHER BE VEITO
(ו) VE TSIDKATO OMEDET LA AD

(ז) ZARACH BA CHOSHECH OR LA YESHARIM
(ח) CHANUN VE RACHUM VE TSADIK

(ט) TOV ISH CHONEN U MALVEH
(י) YECHALKEL DEVARAV BE MISHPAT

(כ) KI LE OLAM LO YIMOT
(ל) LE ZECHER OLAM YIHEYEH TSADIK

(מ) MI SHEMU'AH RA'AH LO YIYRA
(נ) NACHON LIBO BATU'ACH BA YHVH

(ס) SAMUCH LIBO LO YIYRA
(ע) AD ASHER YIR'EH VE TSARAV

(פ) PIZAR NATAN LA EVYONIM
(צ) TSIDKATO OMEDET LA AD
(ק) KARNO TARUM BE CHAVO

(ר) RASH'A YIR'EH VE CHA'AS
(ש) SHINAV YACHAROK VE NAMAS
(ת) TA'AVAT RESHA'IM TOVED

As with Psalm 11, the poem is entirely in couplets until the final two verses, which are triplets.

Can we see in this formal structure an origin for the Italian Sonnet? See my note on this at Psalm 111.

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Psalms:

Bk 1: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41