Psalm 5:3 I Present, what exactly?

We know Psalm 5 from the KJV based song, which we will enjoy singing this Sunday.  However there is an interesting case of how to translate.

Scripture song:  “O Lord, in the morning, will I lift up my prayer unto Thee and will look up.”

ESV:  “…in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch”

NIV: “…in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation”

NRSV:”…in the morning i plead my case to you, and watch”

NASV: “in the morning I will order my prayer to Thee and eagerly watch”

The Hebrew says something like “..in the morning I place my  (________) before You…”

In other words there is a verb, a posessive pronoun, a prepositon and an object pronoun, but no noun.  It does not say what it is that the Psalmist sets before God.  The Verb (ydk) can refer to preparing a sacrifice, sticks to make a fire, a legal case, setting a table, aligning for battle and arranging words.  (That is a summary of the Hebrew Lectionary.)  Thus the interpreter and the translators have to decide what is being laid before the Lord.  It seems several of these make good sense.  To lay a case before the Lord is a kind of prayer, arranging words is a prayer, offering a sacrifice (there were morning sacrifices at the temple each day) is also plausible.

One wise seminary professor told us that “bible translations are a form of commentary, therefore look at the better translations.”  This is a verse where that plays out well.

What is one to do?  Can you say, “In the morning i will lay it before the Lord”?  That seems too vague.  Maybe you can rotate the options with each reading?  No, that is only funny for seminarians.

It seems to us that Psalm 5 is about praying (in context), so whether his prayer is in the form of a sacrifice (which would not be the literal case for David, who was not a priest, but it could be a metaphor), or a legal case or a prayer, it amounts to about the same thing.   He is clearly in the psalm dealing with disreputable enemies and he is seeking God’s assistance and assurance.  That boils down to prayer.

One other thought, having a suggestive lack of a noun enriches the options.  Perhaps the point is that we think on the word-gap from different perspectives.  Leaving a gap adds to our meditation.

Readers should note that in High School, Fresh Read received a high score for “tolerance for ambiguity.”  Some careers do not work for “tolerance for ambiguity” such as bridge builders or rocket engineers.  However, reflective spirituality is sometimes served with a little “tolerance for ambiguity.”

FR

Proverbs 14 - with help from Garrett

We have not said much about Proverbs in our FRESH READ project.  We find the relatively accessible commentary by Duane Garrett (New American Commentary, vol 14) to be helpful in the dizzying mass of proverbs that start in chapter 10 and go mostly at what seems to be random.  Garrett has listed a number of ways that these proverbs are clustered in a variety of groupings.  some of these are lost in translation to English and some are easy to see.  Here are some of these clusters.

• Parallel collection (abab form)  eg. 10:27-30 - these proverbs are similar in content and form
• Chiastic collection (abba form) 12:19-22; 14:8-15 - these proverbs link the first and last lines, next to first and next to last, and so on.  the middle proverbs may be the point of the collection.
• Catchword collection - where the proverbs share a catchword (in Hebrew).  15:15-17
• Thematic collection - proverbs sharing a theme.  10:31-32
• Inclusio collection - the first and last proverbs are similar or contain common catch words.  11:23-27

We find in this particular case that a commentary that suggests such structures is very helpful for those who are not Hebrew Scholars.

In the case of Proverbs 14

• v. 4 is a single bi-colon (two part) proverb
• v. 8-25 is a Chiasmus where vs. 8,15; 9,14; 10,13; 11,12 are linked
• v. 16-17 according to Garrett’s reading is a chiasm 16a17b; 16b,17a
• v. 18-24 features an inclusio (v18,19,24) and a structure involving doubled proverbs

Now for fun

Proverbs 14:4
    Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
        but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

    Well then, it seems that oxen are messy, but then you don’t get much farming done without one.  so this is a rather amusing way to say:  it takes money to make money, or  no pain - no gain.

 

Bible Dictionary

We had a good question this week.  “What is a Bible Dictionary?”  FRESH READ, always ready, will try to answer.  And we will start a new category of posts called  Tools.   In these articles we will discuss over time such tools as concordances, dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, commentaries, introductions and so forth.

 A Bible Dictionary is usually a one volume resource.  It is arranged alphabetically.  Short and long articles can be found by simply looking up a word.  The articles range from definitions of terms, identities of people, outlines of biblical books, locations of places and significance of ideas.

FRESH READ has used “The New Bible Dictionary” for a number of years.  It is helpful and quick to get an answer to a question or to get some background.

The term “Zion” came in in a recent text.  when I looked up “Zion” in the NBD, it referred me to an article on Jerusalem.  This six page article has three maps of the city under different time periods.  I was able to find that Zion refers to Jerusalem, sometimes as the historic city, sometimes is a larger and more spiritual context.  The article is arranged under these headings

• Introduction and General Description
• Name
• History
• Growth and Extent

Another passage referred to a unit of money, called denarius.  Under the article called “Money”, the denarius is defined a unit of money in the Roman system, which in New Testament times was the equivalent of a day’s wage for a laborer.  There are charts indicating the relative value of different coins and there are pictures of some coins.

Psalm 87 refers to Rahab.  There are two articles, one refers to a woman who figures in the book of Joshua.  However, the second article indicates that this name has another meaning, based on it’s meaning in Hebrew (”pride”).  This name came to be attached to Egypt as a nick-name.  So in Psalm 87, “Rahab” refers to the nation Egypt.  The significance in Psalm 87 is that salvation can also come to some of the enemies of Israel - Babylonia, Philisitia and Egypt were all enemies at one time, but out of them are those who are “born in Zion.”

You can find several dictionaries of various sizes.  There are specialized volumes such as “The Dictionary of NT Background“, “The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels” and “The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery“.  Check the publisher and the introduction to see the background and biases of the particular dictionary.  “The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology” will, for example, present an “Evangelical” perspective.

Fresh Read recommends the New Bible Dictionary and the multi-volume editions produced by IVP such as “Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels” etc.  (see www.ivpress.com) Christian Book Distributors (www.cbd.com) and Amazon as well as your local book stores will have these available.

Several sites offer on-line use of dictionaries.  Be aware that these free resources are dated, and may not have the most recent results of biblical scholarship.

FRESH READ

About Translation (repeat)

The Bible was not written in English, but in ancient languages.  Except for specialists who know Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, we read the Bible in English translation. There are dozens of translations to choose from.  

With FRESH READ, we will use a literary translation, such as the New Revised Standard Version. 

·        This is midway between “word for word”  literal versions and the freer “idea for idea” versions.  

·        The NRSV strives to be gender inclusive - it will usually only use male pronouns when that was the original intent. This is important for a FRESH READ. 

Since the goal is to experience the biblical text itself.  We will not attend to the observations and opinions of previous readers.  It is important to use a literary version that  reflects the language and the meaning of the Bible, and that is reads clearly in English. If you want to read more on this topic, keep reading.  If not, feel free to stop here! 

Translations can be divided into four categories: Literal, Literary, Dynamic and Interpretive.  Literal translations try to follow the original in a word for word fashion.  This can lead to awkwardness and even confusion in English.  For example, the King James Version of Psalm 48:1: Psalm 48:1‑2 - KJV       “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. [2] Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.”   The phrase “mountain of his holiness” could suggest the image of the immensity of the holiness of God.  It actually is a literal translation of the Hebrew grammar, which means “His holy mountain.” 
 Literary translations try to be “as literal as possible and as free as necessary.”  They try to retain as much as the flavor of the original text, while at the same time making it clear in English. 

Psalm 48:1,2 - NRSV“Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised,in the city of our God.His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation,is the joy of all the earth,Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King.”  Dynamic Translations try to translate ideas for ideas.  They are not as concerned to carry over into English the structure or the words of the original.  They are freer in form, but try to stay close to the meaning of the original text. Psalm 48:1,2 - NIV“Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise,in the city of our God, his holy mountain.It is beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth.Like the utmost heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion,the city of the Great King.” 

Interpretive translations are really a more personal reflection upon the text.  These can be very free and offer insights by the translator into the text.  The New Century Version is one example:

Psalm 48:1,2 - NCV“The Lord is great; he should be praisedin the city of our God, on his holy mountain.It is high and beautifuland brings joy to the whole world.Mount Zion is like the high mountains to the north;it is the city of the Great King.” 

 It us usually best to read more than one translation.  We suggest a more literal translation and a more free version.  The more literal is a safeguard against following some one else’s interpretation.  The more free version guards against obscurity. 
Below is a Chart of some of the most popular current translations, but certainly not all of them: 

Literal

• New American Standard Bible
• English Standard Version
• King James Version
• New King James Version 

Literary      

• Revised Standard Version         
•  New Revised Standard Version
• Revised English Version   
• Jerusalem Bible 

 Dynamic

• New International Version                            
• New Century Version         

Interpretive

• Living Bible The Message         
• Phillips Translation
• New Living Translation 

A good web site where you can search for passages or specific words in the Bible as well as compare several translations is: www.biblegateway.com