TheBibleNet: Psalm 117

Psalms:

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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

The prize for the shortest of all the Psalms - just two verses; or is it an error, and these two verses actually belong at the end of 116, or at the beginning of 118 - or somewhere else altogether? I wonder if, being part of Hallel, it was simply the congregational chorus sung between all the other Hallel Psalms? Evidence for this in my note, below.

117:1 HALELU ET YHVH KOL GOYIM SHABECHUHU KOL HA UMIM

הַלְלוּ אֶת יְהוָה כָּל גּוֹיִם שַׁבְּחוּהוּ כָּל הָאֻמִּים

KJ (King James translation): O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.

BN (BibleNet translation): Praise YHVH, all you nations; laud him, all you peoples.

SHABECHUHU: See my lengthy note at Psalm 63:4, and a slight variation at 147:12, based on the appearance of the same root but with a possibly different intention at Psalm 89:10

My note at 63:4 also gives the festival text, but this, Psalm 117, is acknowledged as its source, albeit augmented by Isaiah 2:4; the piece of liturgy in question being "LO YISA GOY" (also, incidentally, the source for the African slave-hymn "Down By The Riverside", for which click here).

117:2 KI GAVAR ALEYNU CHASDO VE EMET YHVH LE OLAM HALELU YAH

כִּי גָבַר עָלֵינוּ חַסְדּוֹ וֶאֱמֶת יְהוָה לְעוֹלָם הַלְלוּ יָהּ

KJ: For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.

BN: For his care and concern for us is vast; and YHVH's truth endures for ever. {N} Hallelu Yah.

YAH: If the praise at the end is for the Lady, rather than the Lord, was this Psalm originally entirely about her, or is it simply an acknowledgement that these Psalms are for singing on her birthday, and therefore she has to be included, however diminished in stature?

Orthodox Jews of the post-Talmudic era will tell you that YAH is simply one of the many names for the Omnideity - and they are correct; but the Psalm belongs to the era before the Omnideity, when YAH was the goddess of the full moon.

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Psalms:

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