Psalm 119, 89-91

.Mym#$b bcn Krbd hwhy Mlw(l ⁸⁹  

.dm(tw Cr) tnnwk Ktnwm) rdw rdl ⁹⁰   

.Kydb( lkh yk Mwyh wdm( Ky+p#$ml ⁹¹  

In Psalm 119, vv. 89-91 offer one of the few passages with clear inner progress and coherence. By their content, too, these verses stand out in the text. While elsewhere the psalm speaks of the divine word as addressed, by way of commandments or promises or encouragements, to human beings, vv. 89-91 are about the word by which in heaven YHWH reigns over the world. Meanwhile, the verses in question are not without problems.

 In v. 89 bcn niphal is generally understood as "stand fast" or "endure" (cf. Isa 40,8). A. Deissler ¹, however, has rightly pointed out that bcn niphal has that sense nowhere else, but in most cases simply means "to stand". The correct translation would be then "Forever, O Lord, your word is standing in heaven". In Deissler"s view ², the text holds a personification: the word forever stays with YHWH, being at his disposal like a servant who stands before his king (cf. bcn in 1 Sam 22,6-7.17). This interpretation, however, is unsatisfactory. The idea of the word standing as a servant before YHWH is not really expressed by the text; moreover, if the text would indeed say that the word "stands forever", this would contrast conspicuously with the well-known notion of YHWH "sending" his word (Isa 9,7; 55,11; Ps 107,20; 147,15).

 In my opinion, bc%fni of Ps 119,89 represents a special usage. The participle niphal of bcn, in connection with l(, sometimes means "(standing) in charge of" or, by way of a noun, "official over" (1 Sam 19,20; 1 Kgs 4,7; Ru 2,5-6) ³; in that meaning it is used without l( as well and may be rendered then by "overseer", "officer" (2 Chr 8,10), or "deputy" (1 Kgs 4,5; 5,7; 22,48) ⁴. "Stand over", used in that way, is equal to "claim authority", "be in command" – which suits Ps 119,89 quite well. "Heaven" is the place where, through his word, YHWH rules over all things (Ps 2,4; 11,4; 103,19).

 The idea of stability, which in v. 89 is expressed by Mlw(l, reappears in rdw rdl of v. 90 (cf., e.g., Ps 33,11; 79,13), this time in a form reminding one of human life on earth (cf. rd in e.g. Exod 1,6; Qoh 1,4). Stability is now related to YHWH"s faithfulness (hnwm)). By this "firmness" (Exod 17,12) of his being he has made the earth stand fast and guarantees human existence on it (cf. Ps 89,9ff.; Isa 45,18; 48,12-13).

 In v. 91, by Ky+p#$ml, the notion of "standing" (dm[) is connected with YHWH"s authoritative word (v. 89). Elsewhere dm(, connected with l, is used in a variety of meanings: "stand at" (Ps 109,31), "stand as" (Isa 11,10; Dan 11,1), "represent" (Ezra 10,14), "stand waiting for" (1 Kgs 20,38), "arise for" (Esth 4,14; Dan 11,2; 12,13; Ezra 2,63; Neh 7,65), "remain with" (Qoh 2,9). Since none of them suits the context in Ps 119,91 ⁵, we may assume that l, as in v. 154, means "according to" ⁶, dm( being used in exactly the same sense as in v. 90. The plural wdm( seems to be problematic. It is often assumed that wdm( has heaven and earth as a subject ⁷; this view, however, is open to the objection that Mym#$ (v. 89) is part of a prepositional group which, moreover, stands fairly remote from wdm( (v. 91) ⁸. As wdm( matches Kydb( of the second stich, it is unlikely that, in agreement with dmo(jt%a of v. 90b, the singular hfdm.(f should be read ⁹. Two reasons might be considered for the subject not being mentioned in this verse: (a) the subject could not be indicated briefly; (b) somehow it had been indicated already. In fact, both are the case. What the author has in mind as a subject is the earth (v. 90b), this time as a plurality. When Cr), "earth", is used in a collective sense, it generally refers to the inhabitants of the earth (Gen 19,31; 1 Kgs 2,2; Ps 66,1.4) or to the earth together with all creatures upon it (Ex 19,5; Ps 69,35; 96,11). In Ps 119,90, however, Cr) does not include that "fullness", but is just the habitable earth, and this must be the meaning supposed in the next verse ¹⁰. So v. 91 speaks of the terrestrial world as YHWH established it, a constellation of things "standing according to his statutes", once put in order by his authoritative word (v. 89). The author does not say what things he means, but we may guess he thinks of the underground foundations which make the earth stand fast as a place of habitation (Isa 45,18; Job 38,6; Ps 24,2; 96,10); of mountains, valleys and all habitable regions, safely divided from the sea (Gen 1,9-10; Jer 5,22; Ps 74,17; 104,6-9); of springs and rivers, beneficial to plants and living beings (Ps 74,15; 104,10-11). All of these comply with YHWH"s will, "today" ¹¹ as when they were created, making the earth a habitable place "from generation to generation".

 The passage may be translated as follows:

⁸⁹ Forever, O Lord,
your word is in command in heaven;

Verses 89-91 offer one of the few passages in Psalm 119, which show clear inner progress and coherence. The author here analyses some ideas and notions which speak about the word whereby in heaven YHWH reigns over the world. He ends with a new translation of the passage.

Notes:

¹ A. DEISSLER, Psalm 119 (118) und seine Theologie. Ein Beitrag zur Erforschung der anthologischen Stilgattung im Alten Testament (Mьnchen 1955) 189; id., Die Psalmen (Dьsseldorf 1963-1965) III, 132.

² DEISSLER, Psalm 119, 190, 300; id., Psalmen, III, 132.

³ l( bcn may also simply mean "standing by (before, around)" (1 Sam 22,6.7.17; possibly also in v. 9 – but cf. 21,8). See BDB s.v. l(, II, 3 and 6a.

⁴ The transition from l( bc%fni to bc%fni used as a noun can be seen in 1 Kgs 5,30; 9,23, where l( is separated from Mybcnh yr#& by r#$). The use of bcn niphal in perf. in Gen 37,7 (cf. v. 8) seems to allude to the usage under discussion.

⁵ "Stand waiting for" might qualify if +p#$m, like hwcm or dwqp, could refer to a single command. This, however, is not the case.

⁶ BDB s.v., 5j (b) (p. 516). In v. 38b l may have the same meaning. The antecedent of Kt)ryl r#$) appears to be the preceding clause (cf. v. 85), rather than Kdb( or Ktrm(. If the relative clause is taken to mean "which is for the fear of you", the purport of the verse is similar to that of 2 Sam 7,25-26 (see also Ps 67,8; 130,4). If it means "which is in accordance with (i.e., suits) the fear of you", v. 38 is in harmony with notions of Ps 119 (see the turn of thought in vv. 76-77 and 153-154; see also, e.g., vv. 94.132; cf. )ry in vv. 63.79).

⁷ See, e.g., IBN EZRA; F. DELITZSCH, Die Psalmen (Leipzig ⁴1883) 772; H. GUNKEL, Die Psalmen (HKAT II/2; Gцttingen ⁴1926) 527-528; E.J. KISSANE, The Book of Psalms (Dublin 1953-1954), II, 241; L.C. ALLEN, Psalms 101-150 (WBC 21; Waco 1983) 137.

⁸ This also applies if Mym#$k is read instead of Mym#$b (thus GUNKEL, Psalmen, 528; KISSANE, Psalms, II, 237). In itself, it is not inconceivable that statements about heaven and earth should be followed by a statement in plural about all things heaven and earth comprise; see Isa 66,1-2.

⁹ LXX: diame/nei. It should be noted that Mwyh is taken as the subject.

¹⁰ Statements as those in vv. 21.53.155, too, make it unlikely that wdm( applies to the inhabitants of the earth. Still in itself it is imaginable that "your statutes" refers to the decisions YHWH takes as a ruler of the world and for whose execution anything and anyone can "serve" him; see +p#$m in vv. 52.75.84 and cf., e.g., Exod 7,3-4; 10,1-2; Isa 44,28.

¹¹ After the statement in v. 90b, Mwyh is in fact "to this day". See E. KЦNIG, Stilistik, Rhetorik, Poetik in bezug auf die biblische Litteratur (Leipzig 1900) 197, pointing out similar cases in, among other texts, 2 Sam 18,26; Jer 37,4; Prov 19,18; 24,33.