The Sabbath in the Old Testament Psalms and Wisdom Literature
Richard M. Davidson
In the study that follows, attention will first be given to the only explicit reference to the Sabbath in the OT Psalms/Wisdom Literature, i.e., Psalm 92, followed by exploration of possible allusions to the Sabbath elsewhere in this portion of the biblical canon.
The Sabbath in Psalm 92
Psalm 92 is the only psalm in the Hebrew Psalter expressly connected with the Sabbath.[2] Its superscription reads: mizmôr šîr l.yôm hašabb~t "A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath." Critical scholars have tended to regard this superscription as a later addition totally unrelated to the content of the psalm. On the other hand, conservative Christian scholarship has provided strong evidence for accepting the superscriptions of the psalms as original and not a later addition, providing historically reliable information about the psalms they introduce.[3] Jewish tradition clearly regarded the superscription to Psalm 92 as significant, as this psalm was chanted to accompany the wine libation following the tamîd offering every Sabbath in Second Temple times.[4] Even if the superscription of Psalm 92 is not original, a "final form" canonical reading of the psalm must take seriously the claims of the superscription and the force of Jewish liturgical tradition, and read the entire Psalm with the Sabbath in view. As Marvin Tate acknowledges, "the title and liturgical tradition ask the reader to read it [Psalm 92] with a sabbath repertoire (a referential context of norms and allusions; the 'familiar territory' of a text). . . .[T]he ancient liturgical wisdom . . .asks us to read it with the Sabbath in mind."[5]
In this study I will argue that the 92nd psalm contains both sabbatic literary features and theological content intertextually related with major sabbatic themes and motifs elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, and thus the superscription seems to appropriately connect this psalm to the Sabbath, and the Second Temple practice linking the psalm with the Sabbath appears consonant with the psalm's literary and thematic structure in its canonical form.
Sabbatic Literary Features
First, numerous literary aspects of Psalm 92 highlight the number seven, thus providing evidence of the appropriateness of linking this psalm with the Sabbath in the canonical superscription. This psalm is one of only two psalms in the Hebrew Psalter where the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) is repeated seven times,[6] and Psalm 92 is the only one where predominantly "the Tetragrammaton is used in 'direct' address, unbuffered by any preposition."[7] Jacob Bazak notes that Psalm 92 contains seven different epithets for the wicked and seven positive qualities of the righteous.[8] A closer look at the text confirms this observation. The seven epithets for the wicked are concentrated in vv. 8-12 (ET vv. 7-11):
1. r.š~'îm "wicked" (v. 8a [ET v. 7a])
2. po'|lê '~wen "evildoers" (v. 8b [ET v. 7b])
3. 'oy.bêka "your enemies" (v. 10a [ET v. 9a])
4. 'oy.bêka "your enemies" (v. 10b [ET v. 9b])
5. po'|lê '~wen "evildoers" (v. 10c [ET v. 9c])
6. šûrây "my enemies" (v. 12a [ET v. 11a])
7. q~mîm '~l~y "my evil assailants" (v. 12b [ET v. 11b])
m.r''îm
The seven positive qualities of the righteous are concentrated in verses 13-16:
1. "flourish like the palm tree" (v. 13a [ET v. 12a])
2. "grow like a cedar in Lebanon" (v. 13b [ET v. 12b])
3. "transplanted in the Lord's own house" (v. 14a [ET v. 13a, NLT])
4. "flourish in the courts of our God" (v. 14b [ET v. 13b])
5. "bring forth fruit in old age" (v. 15a [ET v. 14a, RSV])
6. "fresh" (v. 15b [ET v. 14b, NKJV])
7. "flourishing" (v. 15b [ET v. 14b, NKJV])
Bazak also correctly points out that the midpoint and climax of the psalm (v. 9; ET v. 8) is flanked by seven poetic verses on either side.[9] Furthermore, Franz Delitzsch has shown how the overall structure of the psalm contains five stanzas (or strophes), each with six lines (or cola), except for the climactic middle stanza, which contains seven.[10] In v. 10 (ET v. 9), the psalmist gains the number seven by means of an anadiplosis. (See chart 1 for the depiction of this stanza division.) As Delitzsch puts it: "Certainly the unmistakable strophe-schema too, 6.6.7.6.6., is not without significance. The middle of the psalm bears the stamp of the sabbatic number."[11]
The canonical shape of Psalm 92 is an intricately wrought chiasm. This not only reveals the poem's unity and central thrust, but further underscores its "sevenness." We will take up the details of this chiastic structure below, but here we note that the Hebrew poetry divides into seven sections. There are the five stanzas, each with 6 cola except the middle stanza, which has seven. The central stanza has two matching thematically and structurally related tricola (vv. 8 and 10 [ET vv. 7 and 9]]) forming a frame for the central verse in the poem (v. 9 [ET v. 8]) which contains the only colon standing alone without any parallelismic counterpart. Thus with the three-part central stanza and four flanking stanzas, the Psalm is comprised of 7 thematic/structural sections.[12] Again we see evidence consonant with a strong sabbatic character of the poem.
These numerous patterns of sevens running structurally and terminologically throughout the psalm, seem to link literary form and features of the psalm to a septeniary motif, and these patterns are so striking that the superscription is seen to accurately reflect the canonical sabbatic character of the poem.
Sabbatic Chiastic Structure
Before examining the themes in the psalm that correspond with Sabbath theology, let us note in more detail the structure of Psalm 92. Terminological and thematic parallels between the matching parts of the 6 outer sections, coupled with the thematic/structural parallels between the opening, concluding and central sections, suggest a septenary, chiastic macro-structure to the entire psalm.[13] Let us look in more detail at the inverted parallelism of the chiasm (See Chart 1).
Starting at the outer members, A and A' (stanzas 1 and 5), each stanza climaxes with the same central Hebrew verb l.haggîd "to proclaim or show," which occurs only in these stanzas, and emphasizes the same theological motif of proclaiming attributes of the Lord's (Yahweh's) character. Verse 3 (ET v. 2)-"To proclaim (l.haggîd) your steadfast love in the morning and your faithfulness at night." Verse 16 (ET v. 15)-"to proclaim (l.haggîd) that the Lord is upright; He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him." In both of these outer members there is no finite verb, unlike the other matching sections of the chiasm.
In the matching members B and B' (stanzas 2 and 4) the emphasis is upon the Lord's (Yahweh's) creative/re-creative works. Terminologically, only in these two sections in the psalm does the psalmist directly address the Lord using the second masculine singular completed action-"You have made me glad by your work" (v. 5 [ET v. 4]), "You have exalted my horn" (v. 11 [ET v. 10]). Each section begins with this unique direct address/description, and each section ends with a broadening to an indefinite, generalized subject that is also unique to these matching sections: "A senseless man does not know" (v. 7 [ET v. 6]); "A righteous man flourishes" (v. 13 [ET v. 12]). In section B (stanza 2) God's cosmic creative works are particularly in view, while in Section B' (stanza 4) His personal recreative/sustaining works are pronounced (see below for discussion).
Moving to the next level of inverse parallelism, members C and C' (vv. 8 and 10 [ET vv. 7 and 9] in the central stanza) are terminologically interlocked by the double use of the identical term kol-po'|lê '~wen "all workers of evil," which appears in the psalm only in these verses. In both these parallel sections of the central stanza, the prominent theme is divine judgment in the destruction of the enemies with an implicit connotation of the deliverance/redemption of the righteousness. As will be discussed below, v. 8 [ET v. 7] (section C) focuses upon past destruction/redemption, while v. 10 [ET v. 9] speaks with assurance about God's work of future destruction/redemptive work. Both sections contain echoing phraseology from Exodus and Conquest literature (Num 10:35; Deut 7:23; and Judges 5:31) that describes Israel's deliverance/redemption from her enemies.
The central section of the Psalm (v. 9) re-iterates the dominant motif of the introduction and conclusion of the Psalm, the exaltation of Yahweh: "But you, O Lord, are exalted forever."
Verse 9 (ET v. 8) is comprised of only four Hebrew words. "This distinctive prosodic structure makes it visually, metrically, and thematically pivotal. Unlike all the other verses of Psalm 92, this verse has but a single clause: There is no ethnachta, no caesura. Nor is there a main clause. Thus, the verse itself acts as a caesura, a pause between the first and last three stanzas."[14] This is the only poetic line standing alone without a matching parallel line, thus forming the climactic peak of the septeniary chiastic structure.
Sabbatic Themes
If the literary features of Psalm 92 seem to point to its sabbatic character by highlighting the "sevenness" of the psalm, what about the theological content? Most commentators have seen no relationship between the theological themes of Psalm 92 and the Sabbath. Nahum Sarna describes the situation which still holds true among critical scholars: "Scholarly opinion is well-nigh unanimous that . . . there is absolutely no connection between the content of the psalm and the Sabbath day."[15] Such scholars as Hermann Gunkel and Sigmund Mowinckel have classified the literary genre of Psalm 92 as an "individual thanksgiving hymn," totally separated from any liturgical, cultic setting.[16]
A few scholars, however, have recognized the cultic background to this psalm, although they have not connected it in any way to the Sabbath. So C. A. Briggs finds Psalm 92 "eminently suited for worship whether in the temple or synagogue."[17] N. H. Snaith goes further in stating that this psalm "was definitely written for the service of the Temple."[18] And Artur Weiser argues that the psalm "itself originated in the public worship of the cult community."[19]
Nahum Sarna summarizes the evidence for the liturgical character of Psalm 92.[20] He then moves closer to my thesis in his argument that the contents of Psalm 92 correspond to and describe two major themes of the biblical Sabbath (creation and the socio-moral motif).[21] But whereas for Sarna Psalm 92 co-incidentally contained two themes dominant in Israel's Sabbath theology and therefore was later pressed into liturgical service as a Song for the Sabbath, I find more than this.
If one takes the superscription of the psalm as historically accurate and organically connected with the psalm from its inception, or if one at least approaches the psalm from a "final form" canonical perspective which includes the superscription, then this superscription asks the reader to read the psalm with the Sabbath in mind, with a "sabbath repertoire" of themes and allusions (to use Tate's expression). There appear to be not just two Sabbath-related themes, but seven, each developed successively in the seven sections of the Psalm, and corresponding to the major theological Sabbath motifs in the Hebrew Bible. Furthermore, I find strong evidence to support the conclusion that the composer/editor of the psalm in its canonical form deliberately intertwined literary sabbatic features and major intertextually-linked theological Sabbath motifs in an attempt to produce a highly artistic work for use on the Sabbath.[22] In what follows, I will argue that Psalm 92, the only psalm linked explicitly with the Sabbath in the Psalter, was canonically envisioned as the Psalm for the Sabbath par excellence, encompassing the cultic worship mode, prevailing mood, primary motivations, and essential theological meaning of the biblical Sabbath for Israel.
Let us go through each stanza successively, highlighting the "sabbath repertoire" of sabbatic themes and allusions for each stanza, and relating these themes to the corresponding aspects of Sabbath theology elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible (See chart 2).
The opening stanza of the Psalm for the Sabbath provides the cultic context and sets the tone for the remainder of the psalm. The hymnic introduction and reference to elaborate instrumental accompaniment involving instruments used in Temple worship,[23] all point to a congregational worship setting at the sanctuary.[24] The implied praxis or mode for Sabbath theology is thus communal worship and praise at the house of God.
The theme is joyous exultation! The worshipers praise and sing (v. 2 [ET v. 1]); they declare the esed "covenant love" and '.mûn~h "covenant faithfulness" of the Lord (v. 3 [ET v. 2]). Making such declaration in praise is ôb-in Hebrew a word which means not only "good" and "fitting", but also "beautiful." This opening word of the psalm (after the superscription) "shows to what a high degree the aesthetic and artistic and the ethical and religious aspects of the worshiping life are here comprehended as a unity by those who are subject to the vivid impression produced by the glory of God."[25]
From every line of this first stanza comes evidence of the prevailing mood: the thanksgiving, and singing, and instrumental accompaniment are all part of exuberant celebration. This stanza seems to be a thematic counterpart to the keynote of joy in the observance of the Sabbath as set forth in Isaiah 58:13, 14. As Delitzsch comments on this stanza of Psalm 92: "The Sabbath is the day that God has hallowed, and that is to be consecrated to God by our turning away from the business pursuits of the working days (Isa. lviii.13 sq.) and applying ourselves to the praise and adoration of God, which is the most proper, blessed Sabbath employment."[26]
In Isa 58:13-14 Yahweh promises that "if . . . you call the Sabbath a delight ['oneg] . . . then you will find your joy ['~nag] in the Lord." The Hebrew Bible has various words for joy, happiness, pleasure, and delight, each of which appears numerous times. But the noun 'oneg occurs only one other time, where it describes the palaces of royalty (Isa 13:22). As a verb '~nag appears only 10 times, and denotes not just that which brings delight, but in particular that which delights because of its surpassing quality, that which satisfies and pleases because it has a delicate beauty or regal charm. In short, "exquisite delight."[27]
In the first stanza of Psalm 92, the Psalmist seems to catch this vision of exquisite delight. If the psalm in its canonical form is shaped in conscious reference to the theology of the Sabbath, this opening stanza may be seen to canonically point to the prevailing mood of exultation that according to Isaiah 58 is to lie at the heart of the Hebrew understanding of the Sabbath.
Already in this first stanza there are also hints of the motivation that underlies Sabbath exultation, found in the deep meaning and message of the Shabbat. The psalmist rejoices in the name-the character-of the Most High; his character of esed "steadfast covenant love," of '.mûn~h "covenant faithfulness and stability". Beholding the character of God has put a song in His heart. A hint that God's creative activity is a motivation for sabbath joy may also be implied by the reference to "morning" and "night" (v. 3 [ET v. 2]), perhaps alluding to the rhythm of evening and morning in creation week (Gen 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31).[28] But this motivation from creation becomes explicit in the next stanza, to which we now turn our attention.
The stanzas that follow the initial one appear to elaborate on the various motivations or reasons for the joyous exultation of the Sabbath, and at the same time highlight other major motifs of OT Sabbath theology. Stanza 2 begins with the word kî "for, because," a preposition which emphasizes motivation or cause, which provides the "statement of the ground of this commendation of the praise of God."[29] This verse highlights the first motivation for Sabbath joy (v. 5 [ET v. 4]): "For (or because) you have made me glad by your work; at the work of your hands I sing for joy." Verse 6 (ET v. 5) continues: "How great are your works, oh Lord." The Hebrew expression "work(s) of your hands " ma'|s' y~dêka elsewhere in the Psalms consistently refers to creation (see Pss 8:3, 6; 19:1, 102:25; 138:8, etc.), and the parallel "your works" ma'asêka also can refer to the creation motif (see especially Proverbs 8:22). Sarna and Marvin Tate have shown in detail how the creation motif suffuses this section of the psalm.[30]
By means of the pervasive creation motif in this stanza, the psalmist links the exultation and praise of worship on the Sabbath with the divine work of creation. Emerging from this stanza appears to be an implicit allusion to, or at least correspondence with, the Sabbath as the memorial of creation, capturing the motivation of the Sabbath embedded in Gen 2:2-3 and Exod 20:8-11. The song for the Sabbath is thus ultimately rooted in the acknowledgment of the God of creation, and linked to the Sabbath which He set aside as a memorial of His creation.
Psalm 92:7 (ET v. 6) has been taken by many modern versions as referring to the verses that follows (hence punctuated with a colon), but the poetic structure of the poem indicates that this verse is part of Stanza 2 and refers to what precedes, i.e., the creative works (and deep thoughts) of God. Delitzsch captures the nuances of the verse: "A brutish man ['îš ba'ar] remains unconscious, and a fool doth not discern this."[31] Delitzsch point out that the term 'îš ba'ar literally means "a man of animal nature, homo brutus."[32] In the context of the Sabbath and the modern debate over creation and evolution, it is tempting to suggest that the psalmist wrote more than he knew and beyond his time, intimating that those who regard humankind as only evolved from the brute animals, will never grasp the significance of the Sabbath as a memorial of creation by God. And conversely, those who understand the Sabbath will not be led astray into regarding humanity as having evolved through naturalistic mechanisms rather than being directly created by God.
The central stanza of the Psalm for the Sabbath (Stanza 3, vv. 8-10 [ET vv. 7-9]) leads us into the second motivation for joyous worship on the Sabbath day. Here we have an implicit indication of, or at least correspondence with, the fact that the Sabbath is not only a celebration of creation but also of redemption/deliverance from the enemies. The redemption has two temporal aspects.
Verse 8 [ET v. 7] focuses upon the past. Although some English versions translate this verse in the future tense, the most precise rendering refers to a particular event that has taken place in the past.[33] So the NASB: "When the wicked sprouted up like grass, and all the workers of iniquity flourished, it came to pass that they were absolutely destroyed."
E. J. Kissane has pointed out that the historical event referred to here (as well as vv. 9-10) is most probably the Exodus when God delivered Israel from their enemies, which was the time of redemption par excellence for ancient Israel.[34] This seems confirmed by the strong intertextual links between Ps 92:8-10 [ET vv. 7-9] and several passages related to Israel's Exodus and Conquest. The "exaltation" (rûm) of the Lord harks back to the Yahweh's exaltation (rûm) in the Song of Moses (Exod 15:2). The reference to Israel's enemies being "scattered" (prd in the Hithpael, v.10 [ET v. 9]), seems to allude to Moses' statement repeated whenever the camp of Israel set out in the wilderness: "Rise up, O Lord! Let Your enemies be scattered" (Num 10:35, using the cognate term pû). The word šmd in the Nif. infinitive, "to be destroyed" (v. 8 [ET v. 7]) is used elsewhere in a positive sense for Israel only in Deut 7:23, describing the Conquest. An almost exact parallel to v. 10 [ET v. 9] appears in the context of the extended Conquest in the song of Deborah: "Thus let all your enemies perish, O Lord!" (Judges 5:31).
The redemption/deliverance motif implicitly connected with, or at least corresponding to, the Sabbath in Psalm 92 seems to echo the explicit mention of this motivation for Sabbath celebration in the Sabbath commandment of Deuteronomy 5. According to Deut 5:15, each Sabbath God called for Israel to remember in a special way that He had redeemed them from their bondage in Egypt, from the threat of their enemies. This sabbatic motif of redemption and liberation is elsewhere in the Pentateuch extended to the ultimate in the sabbatical year and the jubilee (Exod 21:1-6; 23:10-12; Deut 15:1-18; Lev 25:1-55). The redemptive/deliverance motif is also underscored in the larger context of Isaiah 58, where God's people are to extend the redemptive, liberating work to those around them (vv. 6-12). This motif becomes the heart of Christ's redemptive work in His Sabbath miracles in the NT.
Stanza 3 of Psalm 92 not only emphasizes the past redemptive activity of God in language of the Exodus-Conquest, but looks forward to a cosmic consummation of redemption/deliverance in the ultimate destruction of all God's enemies (v. 10 [ET v. 9]): "For surely your enemies, O Lord, surely your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered." This verse alludes to the cosmic conflict that will find ultimate consummation in the last days, the "final victory of good over evil."[35] Perhaps here the psalm implicitly underscores, or at least is in correspondence with, the eschatological character of the Sabbath, as the sign of the everlasting covenant between God and Israel, a test of Israel's obedience in the context of judgment at the eschatological New Exodus (Ezek 20:12, 20; Exod 31:16, 17; Isa 56:1, 2).
At the heart of this divine work of deliverance and destruction of God's enemies, and at the heart of the entire psalm, v. 9 [ET v. 8]-reveals the focal point in the song for the Sabbath: "But You, O Lord, are exalted forever." The exaltation of Yahweh is paramount in the theology of this psalm. We have already encountered the motif of the exaltation of God's character in stanza 1 and it will reappear at the conclusion of the psalm.
The fourth stanza of the Song for the Sabbath (vv. 11-13 [ET vv. 10-12]) brings us to the here and now: the song's lyrics describe present personal experience.[36] Images of the abundant, victorious life of covenant blessings come fast and glorious in this stanza. In v. 11 (ET v. 10) there is the exalted horn like the wild ox, symbols of power and victory, echoing passages from Israel's salvation history with allusions to the coming Messiah's ultimate fulfillment (Num 23:22; 24:8 [oracles of Balaam]; Deut 33:17; [the blessing of Joseph by Moses]; and 1 Sam 2:1, 10 [the prayer of Hannah]). There is the "anointing" with oil, utilizing a word (b~lal) which elsewhere (when used in connection with oil) always refers to the "mixing" or "mingling" of oil with cakes or flour for the grain offering (see Exod 29:40; Lev 2:4, 5; 7:10, 12; 14:10, 21; 23:13; Num 7 [12x], 28 [7x], etc.): thus the psalmist is like fine flour mixed with oil to be offered to Yahweh.[37] The imagery of victors "soaked in freshening oil" also connotes "a process of revivification, beautification, and consecration."[38]
In v. 12 (ET v. 11) the psalmist also personalizes Yahweh's exploits, and describes the present experience of defeating his (which are also Yahweh's) enemies. Intertextual parallels are found in Pss 112:8; 59:11 (ET v. 10); and Ps 54:7.[39] In v. 13 (ET v. 12) a righteous one is described as flourishing like the graceful date palm, which yields some 600 lbs. of dates in a single season (compare a similar passage in Prov 11:28).[40] He grows/increases (s~gah) like the majestic and mighty cedar of Lebanon (see intertextual parallels in Ps 104:16; Ezek 17:22,23 [Messianic allusions here], and 27:5).
In short, this section of Psalm 92 seems to summarize the ongoing covenant blessings of pre-eminence, strength, victory, and fertility God had promised in Deut 28 and Lev 26 as He establishes them as His "holy people" (Deut 28:9). It describes God's work of sanctification or "making holy" of His people. It is instructive to note that in Lev 26:2 keeping the Sabbath is placed in direct juxtaposition with the covenant blessings of vv. 3-14 which follow. The song of Psalm 92 seems to be the melodic counterpart of Exod 31:13: "You shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you." Just as the Lord rested on the seventh day after creating the earth and was "refreshed," or literally, "took on new life," (npš in the Nif., Exod 31:17), so He offers the worshiper the gifts of this same life, ever new.[41] Psalm 92, stanza 4, uplifts the God who acts in the present in the life of the individual worshiper, Yahweh the Sanctifier.
The final stanza of Psalm 92 takes us from the present to the eschatological future. The stanza break is indicated between vv. 13 and 14 [ET vv. 12 and 13] by (1) the overall poetic metrical structure of the psalm (described above), (2) the grammatical moves from the singular "righteous one" to the plural "they," (3) by the move from the simple "budding, sprouting" of the righteous (Qal impf. of p~ra) to the causative "showing buds or sprouts, flourishing" (Hif. impf. of p~ra), and (4) by a shift of scene to the sanctuary ("the house of the Lord") in the setting of eschatological, paradisaical imagery which follows.
Verse 14 (ET v. 13) literally reads: "Transplanted (š.tûlîm, Qal pass. of š~tal ) into the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God" (see the NLT which more accurately translates š.tûlîm as "transplanted" and not simply "planted" as in most other modern versions). Although some of Mitchell Dahood's analysis of technical terms for the afterlife in the Psalms based upon Ugaritic parallels has been questioned, he has set forth weighty evidence (supplementing the earlier work of Julian Morgenstern) that š~tal "transplant" is here a technical term referring to the eschatological entrance into the future life in the heavenly palace and courtyard of God.[42]
Dahood's interpretation is strengthened by Tate's analysis of the language of vv. 14-15 (ET vv. 13-14) describing the temple courts "as paradise" and the "primal fertility of creation."[43] This eschatological interpretation is further strengthened by the intertextual linking of many of the rare terms and distinctive descriptions in these verses with passages in eschatological contexts referring to the Age to Come. The only other use of nûb in the Polel "bear fruit" (v. 15), is in the description of the eschatological Age in Zech 9:17. There is the eschatological picture of those Gentiles who keep Sabbath being brought "into the house of the Lord" (Isa 56:5; cf. Ps 92:14) and the days of God's people, when He creates the new heavens and new earth, being "as the days of a tree" (Isa 65:22; cf. Ps 92:15 and the link with the Sabbath in Isa 66:22-23). The adjective ra'anan "luxuriant" is found in the eschatological context of Hos 14:9 (Eng. 8; cf. also the eschatological judgment context of Ps 52:8-9). The accompanying adjective d~š'n "full of oil or sap" is found in both of its other two occurrences in the Hebrew Bible in an eschatological context (Ps 22:30; Isa 30:23).
There seems to be sufficient evidence to conclude that in this last stanza of Psalm 92, continuing the imagery of palm and cedar, God promises that the righteous will be "transplanted" (either by translation or resurrection) to the heavenly sanctuary and paradise of God. There they will still bring forth fruit in old age; they will be ever "fresh and flourishing" (v. 15 [ET v. 14]). In light of a parallel psalm, Ps 73:24 which reads, "afterward you will receive me to glory," and which Dahood has likewise shown to refer to the heavenly afterlife,[44] it is appropriate to refer to this stanza as a song of glorification.
This final stanza thus implies that the Sabbath is a celebration in anticipation of glorification. A foretaste of the eschaton. We have the melodic counterpart to the description of the eternal continuation of the weekly Sabbath in the context of the eschatological consummation in Isa 66:21: "From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me, says the Lord."
The Jewish Mishnah recognizes the eschatological vision of Psalm 92: "It is the psalm for the hereafter, for the day that will be wholly Sabbath and rest for eternity."[45] Contemporary scholars have caught the eschatological flavor of the psalm, especially its final verses: "The Sabbath is a proleptic glimpse of the eternal life of the coming age: 'Those who observe the Sabbath experience an earnest of the coming redemption' . . . . So it is with the righteous in Psalm 92:13-16; they both anticipate and experience the paradisaical life."[46]
How does the Song for the Sabbath end? What is the central point which encapsulates the ultimate meaning of the Sabbath? The last verse of the psalm reiterates the underlying theme that has surfaced again and again. It is all toward one end: "to show that the Lord is upright ['straight,' y~šar]; he is my rock [ûr], and there is no unrighteousness ['injustice,' 'l~t~h] in him." All three of the key words in this final declaration converge on the Song of Moses, appearing together in a single verse in Deut 32:4; the psalmist echoes the focus of Moses' final song. The focal point of the Sabbath in the Song for the Sabbath is the same as the focus of all the life of Israel for Moses: a revelation of the character of God.
Psalm 92 may rightly be described as a "theodicy psalm."[47] Delitzsch captures the essential message of the psalm: "It praises God, the Creator of the world, as the Ruler of the world, whose rule is pure lovingkindness and faithfulness, and calm itself, in the face of the flourishing condition of the evil-doers, with the prospect of the final issue, which will brilliantly vindicate the righteousness of God. . . ."[48] Throughout the Psalm Yahweh is shown to be just what the Sabbath reveals Him to be: the Creator, the Redeemer, the Sanctifier, the Glorifier. In the final analysis, the message of the psalm, the meaning of the Sabbath, is not ultimately about the glorification of man, but about the glorification and vindication of God. "You, O Lord, are exalted forever." (v. 9)
Other Possible Allusions to the Sabbath
Psalm 104
Although Psalm 104 does not explicitly mention the Sabbath, there is good evidence to suggest that sabbatic theology is found in this psalm.
Numerous scholars have recognized that Psalm 104 follows the same basic order as the six days of creation in Genesis 1. So, for example, Walter Zorn writes, "A summary of the creation account is contained in the psalm, similar to the record in Genesis chapter one. . . . Following the order of creation as given in Genesis, he [the psalmist] shows how God, in successive stages, was preparing for the welfare and comfort of his creatures."[49] W. T. Purkiser comments: "The major section of the psalm is given to the present magnificence of the creative acts described in Genesis 1. The order of topics follows that of the original creation account, beginning with light and concluding with man."[50] Derek Kidner likewise argues that "The structure of the psalm is modelled fairly closely on that of Genesis 1, taking the stages of creation as starting-points for praise."[51] Other similar statements could be multiplied.[52]
More than noting with a general statement the linkages between Gen 1 and Psalm 104, Kidner points out the linkages in his comments on specific verses, and also provides the following helpful summary of the correspondences between the two creation accounts:[53]
Day 1 (Gen 1:3-5) Light Ps 104:2a
Day 2 (Gen 1:6-8) the firmament divides the waters Ps 104:2b-4
Day 3 (Gen 1:9-10) land and water distinct Ps 104:5-9 (+10-13?)
(Gen 1:11-13) vegetation and trees Ps 104:14-17 (+18?)
Day 4 (Gen 1:14-19) luminaries as timekeepers Ps 104:19-23 (+24)
Day 5 (Gen 1:20-23) creatures of sea and air Ps 104:25, 26 (sea only)
Day 6 (Gen 1:24-28) animals and man Ps 104:21-24 (anticipated)
(Gen 1:29-31) food appointed for all creatures Ps 104:27-28 (+29, 30)
What is surprising about the analysis of Kidner, and most other modern commentaries I have consulted, is not what is said, but what is overlooked! Kidner, Leupold, and others, point out the development of thought in Psalm 104, vv. 2-30, that so closely parallels the six consecutive days of creation in Genesis 1. But in commenting upon the final verses of the Psalm, vv.31-35, there is little or no attempt to connect this last section of the Psalm with the Genesis creation account. If the first 30 verses of Psalm 104 have a clear parallel, section by section, with the sequence of the six days of creation, why is there no recognition of the possibility that the last section of Psalm 104 might parallel the seventh day of creation, the Sabbath?
Fortunately, what has been largely, if not entirely, overlooked by more recent commentators, has been recognized in that classic nineteenth OT commentary by Franz Delitzsch. Delitzsch labels this psalm as a "Hymn in Honour of the God of the Seven Days."[54] He then summarizes its contents: "The Psalm is altogether an echo of the heptahemeron (or history of the seven days of creation) in Gen. i.1-ii.3. Corresponding to the seven days it falls into seven groups. . . .[I]t begins with the light and closes with an allusion to the divine Sabbath."[55]
Delitzsch articulates the thematic parallels between the first six sections of Psalm 104 and the first six days of creation week, with similar results as the summary of Kidner presented above.[56] Then he comes to the final section of the Psalm, vv. 31-35, in which he finds a clear allusion to the sabbath. "The poet has now come to an end with the review of the wonders of the creation, and closes in this seventh group. . .with a sabbatic meditation. . ."[57]
This "sabbatic meditation" begins with the poet's wish: "May the glory of the Lord endure forever; May the Lord rejoice in His works." (v. 31). The psalmist "wishes that the glory of God, which He has put upon His creatures, and which is reflected and echoed back by them to Him, may continue for ever, and that His works may ever be so constituted that He who was satisfied at the completion of His six day's work may be able to rejoice in them."[58]
Especially significant for Delitzsch in linking this final stanza of the poem to the Sabbath is the close relationship between the reference to the poet's rejoicing in Yahweh (v. 34) and the reference to Yahweh's rejoicing in creation (v. 31): "Between the 'I will rejoice,' ver. 34, and 'He shall rejoice,' ver. 31, there exists a reciprocal relation, as between the Sabbath of the creature in God and the Sabbath of God in the creature."[59]
Delitzsch also captures the eschatological implication of the sabbatical meditation, in the poet's linkage of rejoicing in creation with the wicked's destruction:
When the Psalmist wishes that God may have joy in His works of creation, and seeks on his part to pelase God and to have his joy in God, he is also warranted in wishing that those who take pleasure in wickedness, and instead of giving God joy excite His wrath, may be removed from the earth. . .; for they are contrary to the purpose of the good creation of God, they imperil its continuance, and mar the joy of His creatures.[60]
Two Seventh-day Adventist scholars have recognized the allusion to the Sabbath in Psalm 104:31-35. In his doctoral dissertation on the literary structure of the Genesis creation narratives, Jacques Doukhan points out the thematic parallels between Gen 1:1-2:4a and Psalm 104 (with similar conclusions to Kidner and Delitzsch).[61] With regard to the relationship between the seventh day of creation week and Psalm 104:31-32, he notes the thematic correspondence of the glory of God in creation[62] and allusion to the revelation on Sinai in v. 32. Doukhan draws the implication: "This reference to Sinai in direct association with the very concern of creation points to the Sabbath."
Doukhan also indicates the presence of terminological linkages between the account of each day of creation week in Genesis and the respective section of Psalm 104. With regard to specific terminological parallels between the seventh day of Gen 2:1-3 and Ps 104:31-32, both employ the term 'ere "earth" (Gen 2:1 and Ps 104:32) and the same Hebrew root 'Ñh (from which come the verb "to make" [three times in Gen 2:2-3] and the noun "works" [Ps 104:31]). Doukhan also points to the fact that both the introduction and conclusion of Psalm 104 (vv. 1, 33, and no where else in the Psalm) bring together the two names employed for God in Gen 1 and 2, Elohim (used alone only in Gen 1:1-2:4a and together with the Tetragrammaton in Gen 2:4b-25) and Yahweh (used with Elohim in Gen 2:4b-25), which may imply the poet's recognition of the unity and complementarity of the two accounts of creation in Gen 1-2.[63]
The other Adventist scholar to call attention to the Sabbath allusion in Psalm 104 is William Shea. In his article on creation in the Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, Shea exams the correspondences between the creation week of Genesis 1:1-2:4a and Psalm 104.[64] He sets forth the parallels between the first six days of creation week and Psalm 104 in a similar way to that presented by Delitzsch, Kidner, Leupold, and others. Then he elaborates on the parallel between the seventh day of creation week, and the final verses of Psalm 104:
In Genesis the account of Creation week goes on to describe the seventh day. The psalm has something similar. On the Sabbath we recognize that God is our Creator; we honor Him in the commemoration of Creation. That is the first thing mentioned in Psalm 104:31. When God finished His creation, He said that it was "very good." In Psalm 104 He rejoices in His works (verse 31).[65]
Shea's major contribution to the Sabbath theology of Psalm 104 may be in elaborating on the significance of what is described in the next verse (v. 32): "He looks at the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smoke" (NASB). Shea comments: "This is the picture of a theophany, the manifestation of God's personal presence. This is what happens on the Sabbath when the Lord draws near to His people and makes Himself known. Struck with reverential awe, they render Him worship."[66]
As Shea points out, that worship is depicted in the final verses of the psalm:
Human beings bring worship and honor and glory and praise to God (verse 33). This is not a onetime occurrence: The psalmist promises to carry on this activity as long as life lasts. The praises of the Lord are on the lips of the psalmist continually. Silence is another part of worship. In verse 34 the psalmist asks that silent meditation upon the Lord may be pleasing to God. Finally, this reflection upon worship ends with rejoicing (verse 35).[67]
There appears to be sufficient evidence to conclude with a high degree of probability that
Psalm 104 not only refers to the first six days of creation week, but also, in its final stanza, alludes to the seventh-day Sabbath of Gen 2:1-4a. Significant insights into Sabbath theology and praxis emerge from Psalm 104:31-35, including themes of God's glorification and rejoicing in His created works, the presence of God (theophany) leading to both reverential awe and joyous intimacy between the Creator and His creation, exuberant singing and praise in worship of God, silent meditation on the Lord, and the eschatological end of the wicked who refuse to give God praise.
Job 38-41
When Yahweh comes to Job at the end of the book that bears his name, He delivers the longest divine speech of the Scriptures, and it is centered in creation. Several Old Testament scholars have noted the parallels between the final speech of Yahweh in Job 38-41 and the account of creation in Genesis 1. For example, J. Gerald Jansen writes, "The portrayal of creation in chapters 38-41 is reminiscent of Genesis 1, not only in its similar catalogue of the regions of the cosmos and their denizens, but in its light/darkness alternations. The sequence of day/night/day/night in Genesis 1 is partly paralleled in chapters 38-41."[68] Robert Alden comments similarly: "Yahweh's first speech [38:4-39:30] consists of dozens of questions about the cosmos. They begin with creation and advance in a pattern that approximates the first chapter of Genesis."[69]
Jacques Doukhan details the thematic parallels between the Genesis creation narrative and Job 38-41, indicating more than correspondences only with the first six days of creation. He outlines "a pattern in seven steps" corresponding to all seven days of creation week, including the Sabbath:
Day One: Dialectic darkness-light . . . (Job 38:2-3).
Day Two: Basis of the earth; delimitations of the earth with regard to heaven (Job 38:4-7).
Day Three: Delimitation of waters with regard to the earth (Job 38:8-11).
Day Four: Dominion of light over darkness-connotation of time (Job 38:12).
Distinction between light and darkness. . .(Job 38:19).
The mystery of the light (Job 38:24).
Creation of the stars (Job 38:31-32). Rule of heaven on the earth (Job 38:33-38).
Day Five: Theme of animals (Job 38:39-39:30). But the passage is mostly concerned with birds (see vv. 38:41; 39:13-18, 26-30). . . .
Day Six: Man in relation to God (Job 40:1-5).
Man compared with God (Job 40:6-14, especially vv. 9-10). . . .
Animals are here presented in connection with man (cf. especially Job 40:15).
Theme of dominion of animals by man (Job 40:24; 40:33-34; 41:1-10a).
Idea of a relationship with the animals (Job 41:4)
Day Seven: Response of Job:
Confession of faith in the creative power of God (Job 42:1-3).
Closeness of relationship and repentance (Job 42:5,6).[70]
What is significant for our purposes is the response of Job which, according to Doukhan, highlights sabbatic motifs contained in Gen 2:1-3. Job's confession of faith in the creative power of God (Job 38:2, 3) echoes humankind's imitating God's rest on the seventh day in memorial of creation. Job's statement in v. 5 implies his realization of a closer intimacy with Yahweh: "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You." This corresponds to the intimacy between Yahweh and His creatures on the sabbath implied in Gen 2:1-3, as Yahweh makes the Sabbath holy by His presence.[71] In the response of Job, we find the counterpart of God's original plan for humans epitomized by the sabbath: dependance upon God's creative power, and divine-human intimacy.
Proverbs 8 and 9
In a separate study I have argued that the figure of Wisdom in Proverbs 8:21-31 moves beyond personification to a hypostasis of the pre-incarnate Son of God, "Master-craftsman" or Co-Creator with Yahweh, who at the beginning of creation, is installed into the office of "Mediator" between Yahweh and "His inhabited world. . .the sons of men" (v. 30-31).[72]
While Proverbs 8:22-31 does not follow the detailed order of the six days of creation as in Genesis 1, and in Psalm 104 and Job 38-41, nonetheless there is a general movement from the "beginning" (v. 22, using the same word as found in Gen 1:1), emphasizing creating of the foundations of the earth, to the end of creation week, when the Wisdom the Mastercraftsman rejoices with Yahweh and with human beings (v.31). The terminology of two-fold "rejoicing" in Prov 8:30-31-Wisdom rejoicing with Yahweh and with the sons of men-recalls the two-fold "rejoicing" in the sabbatic meditation of Psalm 104:31, 34. The language of Wisdom's mediatorship between Yahweh and humans depicts the same divine-human intimacy implied by the actualizing of God's holiness on the first Sabbath through the divine presence (Gen 2:3).
Prov 8:32-34 contains a two-fold blessing which may possibly echo the blessing of the seventh day in Gen 2:3 (although the Hebrew terms are not the same).
Proverbs 9:1 continues the depiction of Wisdom: "Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars." The reference to Wisdom's building "denotes bringing something into existence through a particular type of craftmanship."[73] "Fundamentally, 'building' always has to do with 'creating' and 'bringing into existence,' and is connected with the idea of a functioning creative power." [74] The "house of Wisdom," in light of the preceding context of of Wisdom's creation of the world, seems to be a reference to the creation mentioned in Prov 8. R.B.Y. Scott seems on the mark: "The house of Wisdom is the 'habitable world' (viii 31). . . ."[75]
Although numerous suggestions have been given for the "seven pillars" of Wisdom's house,[76] with the preceding immediate context of creation, it seems best to interpret the seven pillars as the seven days of creation week. Duane Garrett concurs: "The nature of Widsom's house of seven pillars is uncertain. . . .The significance of 'seven' here is also not elucidated. Some have connected it to the seven planets, but a more reasonable explanations is that it refers to the seven days of creation (note Wisdom's role in creation in 8:22-31)." If the "seven pillars" refer to the seven days of creation, then it is possible that feast described in vv. 2-6 may imply the celebration of rejoicing connected with the Sabbath after the completion of creation. This is plausible, but far from certain.
Proverbs does seem to make allusion to the seventh day of creation, more probably in 8:30-31-with reference to the intimacy between Yahweh and the sons of men at the conclusion of creation-and less probably with reference to the "seven pillars" of Wisdom (the seven days of the week) and the accompanying celebratory feast. Intimacy and celebration are motifs that occur elsewhere in biblical sabbath theology, but if present here in Proverbs, further underscore and enhance the joy and beauty of the Sabbath according to God's design.
[1]See, e.g., the book edited by Kenneth A. Strand, The Sabbath in Scripture and History (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1982), which contains full chapters on "The Sabbath in the Pentateuch" and "The Sabbath in the Prophetic and Historical Literature" but does not even mention the explicit reference and possible allusions to the Sabbath in OT hymnic/wisdom literature. Psalm 92, with its superscription specifically referring to the Sabbath, is not even included in the Scripture index.
[2]In the LXX and later Jewish liturgical tradition (see M. Tamid 7, 3-4), along with the Psalm for the Sabbath day (Psalm 92 = Psalm 91 in LXX), six additional psalms are associated with the other days of the week, in this order for each of the week days: Psalm 24 (LXX 23); 48 (LXX 47); 82 (LXX 81); 94 (LXX 93); 81 (LXX 80); 93 (LXX 92). The LXX superscriptions for the six week days are clearly later additions to the Hebrew text.
[3]See, e.g., Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament: Psalms (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, n.d.), 1:20-23; Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, 3:615-617; H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Psalms (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1959), 5-10; Gleason Archer, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, rev. and expanded ed. (Chicago: Moody, 1994), 488-493; and Daniel J. Estes, Handbook on the Wisdom Books and Psalms (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005), 142-144.
[4]M. Tamid 7, 3-4. The Psalm was also sung at the service connected with the Mincha or evening sacrifice (b. Ros Has. 31a). In today's synagogue service it is sung yet a third time on Sabbath as the psalm of the day.
[5]Marvin E. Tate, Psalm 51-100, Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 20 (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1990), 471.
[6]The only other psalm in the Hebrew psalter which repeats the Tetragrammaton seven times is Psalm 19, in its exaltation of the Torah of the Lord.
[7]Dan Vogel, "A Psalm for Sabbath? A Literary View of Psalm 92," JBQ 28 (2000): 215.
Vogel claims that all seven occurrences of the Tetragrammaton in Psalm 92 are used in direct address without preposition. Actually, five of the seven are in the vocative of direct address; the the first occurrence (v. 2 [ET v. 1)] does contain attach the preposition, but the second part of the sentence moves to the vocative; and the sixth occurrence is in the construct chain "house of the Lord."
[8]Jacob Bazak, "Numerical Devices in Biblical Poetry," VT 38 (1988): 335.
[9]Ibid. See also Vogel, 214.
[10]The division of the psalm into five stanzas is supported by poetic metrical analysis, as well as by grammatical-syntactical, terminological, and thematic evidence. As for the poetic meter, the psalm scans evenly with each stanza (except the middle one) containing three bicola (for a total of six cola) with a predominating meter of 3:3. The middle stanza (vv. 8-10 [ET vv. 7-9]) contains two matching tricola (vv. 8 and 10 [ET vv. 7 and 9]) which scan 3:3:3 and a central single colon which scans as 4 beats, for a total of seven cola. For the layout of poetic meter of the psalm (and scanning similar to my own), see Tate, 460. Evidence beyond the poetic meter supporting the five-stanza division (three English verses for each stanza) will be presented below.
[11]Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament: Psalms (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, n.d.), 3:67.
[12]See Vogel, 211-221, for an alternative analysis of the psalm yielding seven stanzas. Utilizing Hebrew verse numbers the stanzas are the following: I (vv. 2-5), II (v. 6), III (vv. 7-8), IV (v. 9), V (vv. 10-12), VI (vv. 13-15), and VII (v. 16). Although Vogel presents some important evidence to support his structural analysis, and correctly recognizes the apex of the chiasm in v. 9, in the end I do not find his overall structure convincing. Most problematic is his positing of very uneven stanza divisions, with single verses on one side of the inverted parallelism matched with several (up to four) verses on the other side. He also does not recognize crucial terminological parallels and boundaries of the different stanzas which I point out below.
[13]This chiastic structure of Psalm 92 was initially presented by the author in a paper for the SBL meetings in New Orleans, November 1988, and this structure has subsequently been adopted essentially without change by Tate, 468.
[14]Vogel, "Psalm 92," 218.
[15]Nahum M. Sarna, "The Psalm for the Sabbath Day [Psalm 92]," JBL 81 (1962): 158-159.
[16]Hermann Gunkel and J. Begrich, Einleitung in die Psalmen (Gottingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1966), 83-84, 274-280; Sigmund Mowinckel, The Psalms in Israel's Worship (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1962), 2:29, 37; cf. Claus Westermann, The Psalms: Structure, Content and Message (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1980), 72-73; Bernhard W. Anderson, Out of the Depths: The Psalms Speak for Us Today (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1974), 176.
[17]C. A. Briggs, The Book of Psalms, ICC (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1907), 2:283.
[18]N. H. Snaith, Studies in the Psalter (London: Epworth, 1934), 73.
[19]Artur Weiser, The Psalms, OTL (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1962), 614.
[20]Sarna, 158.
[21]Ibid., 167-168.
[22]A recent brief article by Pinchas Kahn, "The Expanding Perspectives of the Sabbath," JBQ 32 (2004):243-244, moves closest to my thesis, suggesting that Psalm 92 traverses "the same sequence of teachings of the Sabbath commandments in Exodus and Deuteronomy," i.e., the two-fold themes of creation and redemption (including a future dimension). I maintain, however, that Psalm 92 encompasses other sabbatical themes as well.
[23]See 1 Chron 13:8; 15:16, 20-21, 28; 25:1, 6; and 2 Chron 5:12.
[24]See especially Weiser, 614-615, for elaboration of this point.
[25]Weiser, 615.
[26]Delitzsch, 3:67.
[27]BDB (Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon), 772.
[28]Hossfeld, Zenger, Maloney and Baltzer, 438.
[29]Delitzsch, 3:67.
[30]Sarna, 159-165. See also Tate, 466-470.
[31]Delitzsch, 3:65.
[32]Ibid.
[33]Sarna, 159-160, and Delitzsch, 3:65, summarize the syntactical data to support this preferred translation of the infinitive with the preposition followed by the imperfect consecutive.
[34]E. J. Kissane, The Book of Psalms (Dublin: Brown and Nolan, 1964), 430, 432.
[35]Delitzsch, 3:69.
[36]In v. 11 (ET v. 10) the perfect tense is employed, in the sense of our English perfect, denoting a past action with continuing effect in the present: "But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil" (NKJV). In v. 12 (ET v. 11), the juxtaposition of the perfect (in the sense of action with continuing present results) combines with the imperfect tense (describing a present condition): "My eye also has seen my desire on my enemies; my ears hear my desire on the wicked who rise up against me" (NKJV). In v. 13 (ET v. 12) the imperfect tense continues the sense of present condition: "The righteous [lit. 'a righteous one'] flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon" (NRSV).
[37]See Kidner, 336; Leupold, 663.
[38]Vogel, 219.
[39]See the discussion in Kidner, 336.
[40]Delitzsch, 3:71.
[41]This revitalizing refreshment also has a humanitarian, as the offer of "taking on new life" (Heb. npš in the Niphal) is extended to the "son of your maidservant and the stranger" in Exod 23:12.
[42]Mitchel Dahood, Psalms, Anchor Bible (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1968), 2:338; 1:3-4; cf. Julian Morgenstern, "Psalm 48," HUCA 16 (1941): 81-82.
[43]Tate, 468, 470.
[44]Dahood, 2:194-195.
[45]M. Tamid 7, 4.
[46]Tate, 470, citing Jon Levenson, Sinai and Zion (xxx), 183-184.
[47]Frank-Lothar Hossfeld, Erich Zenger, Linda M. Maloney and Klaus Baltzer, Psalms 2: A Commentary on Psalms 51-100 (Hermeneia: Minneapolis: Fortress, 2005), 445.
[48]Delitzsch, 3:66-67.
[49]Walter D. Zorn , Psalms, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, Mo.: College Press, 2004), 2: 264, 266.
[50]W. T. Purkiser, "Psalms," in Beacon Bible Commentary, vol 3 (Kansas City, Mo: Beacon Hill, 1967), 356.
[51]Kidner, 368. Kidner nuances his analysis with the following observation: "But as each theme is developed it tends to anticipate the later scenes of the creation drama, so that the days described in Genesis overlap and mingle here."
[52]See, e.g., Willem A. VanGemeren, "Psalms," The Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 5, Psalms-Song of Songs (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991), 657: "The poetic version of Creation [in Psalm 104] is complementary to the prosaic of Genesis 1." Again, note the comments of H.C. Leupold, Exposition of Psalms (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1969), 722: "What is its relation to the creation accound found in Gen. 1? This psalm is not based directly on this Scripture passage, but it does show familiarity with it and may well be regarded as a free treatment of the known facts of creation with particular attention to various other factors that the concise account of Gen. 1 could not have brought into the picture." Throughout his commentary on the psalm, Leupold refers to the days of creation in Gen 1. He points out that v.2a "parallels the work of the first day of creation" (724) and vv. 2b-4 constitute "a reference to the work of the second day of creation (724). He continues: "On the third day of God's great creative work dry land and water were seperated. This aspect of creation is now under consideration (vv. 5-9)" (725). Regarding vv. 13-18, he writes, "the work of the second half of the third day of creation interests the writer chiefly in this section, except that he combines with it the thought of the living beings that come into existence on the sixth day inasmuch as vegetation is the primary article of diet of these beings. So the sixth day gets only incidental attention" (727). Regarding vv. 19-23, Leupold comments, "In the pattern that the writer is following we have arrived at the fourth day's work of creation, the work of providing the heavenly bodies in their various functions" (728). The description of vv. 24-36 is seen as "a part of the work of the fifth day when the birds of the heaven and fish of the sea were brought into being" (729). For earlier, critical studies of the relationship between Gen 1 and Psalm 104, which conclude that Ps 104 is directly dependent upon Gen 1, see Hermann Gunkel, Die Psalmen (4th ed.; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1926), 453; and P. Humbert, "La relation de Genèse l et du Psaume 104 avec la liturgie du Nouvel-An israëlite," Revue des sciences philosophiques dt théologiques 15 (1935):1-27.
[53]Adapted from Kidner, 368. The verses marked with a + in parenthesis are those verses that Kidner sees as developing a theme further.
[54]Delitzsch, 3:125.
[55]Ibid., 127-128. Like Kidner, Delitzsch clarifies that the psalm does not rigidly treat each day of creation in each successive section: "It is not, however, so worked out that each single group celebrates the work of a day of creation; the Psalm has the commingling whole of the finished creation as its standpoint, and is therefore not so conformed to any plan."
[56]For Delitzsch, the Psalm 104:1-30 is divided in six groups. Group 1 (vv. 1-4) "begins the celebration with the work of the first and second days" (128). Group 2 (vv. 5-9) includes the depiction of "primordial waters" and "the coming forth of the dry land on the third day of creation" (130). In third group (vv. 10-14b) the poet is "passing on to the third day of creation" (131). In the fourth group (vv. 14c-18) there is continued discussion of the third day, and "The fifth decastich [vv. 19-23], in which the poet pases over from the third to the fourth day, shows that he has the order of the days of creation before his mind" (133-134). In vv. 24-30, the sixth group, "Fixing his eye upon the sea with its small and great creatures, and the care of God for all self-living beings, the poet passes over to the fifth and sixth days of creation" (134).
[57]Ibid., 136.
[58]Ibid.
[59]Ibid.
[60]Ibid.
[61]See Jacques B. Doukhan, The Genesis Creation Story: Its Literary Structure, Andrews University Seminary Doctoral Dissertation Series, 5 (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 1978), 84-87.
[62]Doukhan, 85, note 4, indicates that the glory of God "belongs especially in the Psalms to the imagery of God as king of the earth, i.e., its Creator (see Ps 145:11; 19:2; 29:2, 3, etc.). On the other hand, this concept is clearly associated with the theophany on Sinai (see Exod 24:16, 17)."
[63]Ibid., 89-90.
[64]William H. Shea, "Creation," in Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, Commentary Reference Series, vol. 12, ed. Raoul Dederen (Hagerstown, Md: Review and Herald, 2000), 430-431.
[65]Ibid., 431.
[66]Ibid.
[67]Ibid.
[68]J. Gerald Janzen, Job, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Atlanta: John Knox, 1985), 229.
[69]Robert L. Alden, Job, The New American Commentary, vol. 11 (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1993), 369. Cf. other commentators who have pointed out some reference to the Genesis creation narratives in Job 38-42: Samuel R. Driver and George B. Gray, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Job, International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1958), 327; and Robert Gordis, The Book of God and Man: A Study of Job (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1966), 301.
[70]Doukhan, 90-92.
[71]See Richard M. Davidson, Flame of Yahweh: Sexuality in the Old Testament (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2007), 51-53, for discussion of the intimacy of Sabbath and marriage implied in God's actualizing the holiness of both by His presence.
[72]See Richard M. Davidson, "Proverbs 8 and the Place of Christ in the Trinity," Journal of the Adventist Theological Society 17 (2006):33-54.
[73]Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 1-15, New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004), 431.
[74]S. Wagner, TDOT, 2:168, s.v. b~n~h.
[75]R. B. Y. Scott, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Anchor Bible, vol. 18 (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1965), 76. See also Allen P. Ross, "Proverbs," The Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991), 947-948: "She [wisdom] has prepared a house and established it on seven pillars. This is probably a reference to the inhabitable world (8:31), which is spacious and enduring. For the equation of a house with the world, see 8:29; Job 38:6; and Psalm 104:5. . . ."
[76]For the range of suggestions, see, e.g., R. N. Whybray, Proverbs, New Century Bible (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994), 142-144.
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