Psalm 39 – Job Who Sinned, Ecclesiastes Who Suffered

TEXT(Hebrew text at end)

1. For the leader; for Jeduthun.1 A psalm. Of David.

2. I said I would keep my ways from sinning with my tongue; I would keep my mouth muzzled while the wicked man was in my sight.

3. I was mute, quiet; I was silent [even] about good; and my pain was2 grievous.

4. Hot was my heart within me, in my thoughts a flame burned. I spoke with my tongue:

5. Let me know, O LORD, my end, and what is the measure of my days; I would know how transient I am.

6. Behold – handbreadths have You made my days; my lifetime is as nothing in Your sight; no man endures any longer than any mere breath.      Selah.

7. As a mere shadow a man walks about; mere breath does he murmur, he amasses3 but does not know who will gather them in.3

8. What, then, can I expect, O Lord? My hope is in You.

9. From all my transgressions deliver me; do not make me the scorn of the fool.

10. I am mute, I do not open my mouth, for You, You have acted.

11. Remove Your plague from me; from Your hand’s blow I perish.

12. With reproofs for sin You chastise a man, consuming like a moth what he treasures. No man is more than a mere breath.      Selah.

13. Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; do not be deaf to my tears; for I am an alien with You, a sojourner like all my forebears.

14. Look away from me, that I may hold back, before I pass away and am gone.

Notes

1. Meaning of Hebrew uncertain.

2. Or, “until my pain grew.”

3. Probably implies "riches.”

　

COMMENTARY

Spoken in Pain

Psalm 39 is unique, a dark contemplative poem that leads to prayer without assurance and declares from its beginning that it might have been better had the words not been said. It is a heavy mix of contemplation and supplication, unparalleled in Psalms, but bearing similarities to two other great books of the Bible.

On one hand, Psalm 39 recalls the Book of Job, and the two share several identical phrases. However, here the speaker acknowledges his sin as a prime cause of his suffering, whereas Job is confounded by punishment for what appears to be a moral, good life.

Psalm 39 also resembles Ecclesiastes, with its emphasis on the futility of the search for explanations or logic, particularly in considering human mortality. As that book, it notes the irony of amassed wealth passing to possible strangers. The theme word of Ecclesiastes, “futility” or “breath” (often translated “vanity”), is a theme word of the psalm. However, here the speaker is challenged by suffering, whereas in Ecclesiastes the preacher is challenged by a surfeit of wealth.

The opening (verses 2–4) can be read as connected to the themes of either of these two biblical books. Most understand this entire first section as a reflection of Job-like suffering, and it is that excruciating physical pain that ultimately forces the speaker to break his vow of silence. It is equally legitimate, however, to interpret verse 4 not as a description of the pain, but as a description of the Ecclesiastes-like message (which follows immediately) welling up within him. I suggest that the poet intended verse 4 to reflect both emphases.

The sin and poverty that distinguish Psalm 39 from Job and Ecclesiastes create a very human portrait, one which seems more real than the speakers of either of those books.

The opening and the ending are both incredibly powerful, describing one who tries to stop himself from speaking but cannot, and who ultimately asks (last verse) that God NOT look at him. There is, in addition, a sense of an echo. Half the (Hebrew) words in verses 2–4 include some form of the first-person singular (“I,” “me,” “my”) and the last Hebrew word is ultimately chilling―“I am gone” (literally, “I am not”). The poem itself wells up out of silence and returns to silence!

Several term repetitions reinforce the underlying gloom of the psalm. The thrice-repeated “breath” (verses 6, 7, 12) sets a strong tone, particularly in its extended context “no man is more than a breath” (verses 6, 12), which is emphasized by being surrounded by four uses of the Hebrew ‘ach (“mere”). There is also another strong word echo: “nothing” appears in verse 6 (the span of life is “nothing”), and ends the psalm in the term “I am not.” Emptiness reigns.

Refinements

Several elements of style refine the psalm’s content, as follows.

The final requests (verses 13–14) are particularly powerful and heart-wrenching. The opening triple articulation (verse 13) is poignant, and one hears the desperation. The biblical term “sojourning alien,” here split between the two phrases, indicates a long-term resident who has no rights of citizenship, one who is totally dependent. [The term “forebears” recalls Abraham’s use of “sojourning alien” when he begged the Hittites to be allowed to purchase a burial plot (Gen. 23:4).] Extremely striking is the final request, which as so often in Psalms (e.g., Psalms 27–30) asks for God’s help, but here asks that God remove Himself, that He “look away!” This conclusion is simply astonishing.

All that said, Psalm 39 exhibits an approach-avoidance conflict of no small proportions. Perhaps the strongest reflection of this torn soul is seen in verses 8–10, which are a request for God’s help and forgiveness, but lead to a renewed pledge of silence, now taken because the speaker realizes that God is the cause of his suffering! There may also be an ironic twist in verse 7, man being a “mere shadow,” this term being identical to the Hebrew for “image” in the Creation story [“God created man in His image,” (Gen. 1:27)]. The hesitation and equivocation are also reflected in the use of repeated terms:

(a) The words “mouth” and “dumb” in verses 2–3 and 10: both sets refer to silence, first pledged to honor God and then undertaken because God has caused it all.

(b) The term “in… sight” (verses 2, 6): the speaker is mindful of not speaking when the evil are present; God is not mindful of the speaker’s life.

(c) The word “know” (verses 5, 7): he wants to know the length of his life, but cannot even know what the fate of his possessions will be.

Irony abounds.

Alter points out that most of the verses (1–7, 12–13) have three phrases, whereas most verses in biblical poetry (but by no means all) have two. Given that the third phrase is “often used to introduce an element of surprise or to destabilize,” he suggests that this preference is “a formal expression of a powerful psychological tension.” I further suggest that the same tension is reflected in the odd transition from verse 4 to verse 5. Where we expect an outburst, we hear a measured request. (The poem undergoes a renewed growth of tension at that point, moving from the Ecclesiastes-like hopelessness, to sin, to strong accusation, and finally to prayer).

One also notes the brilliant use of the speaker’s failure to remain quiet. In the first instance, he says that his intention cannot withstand other pressures (verse 4). In the second instance (verses 10–11), the accusatory request simply breaks forth, leading to the triply articulated demand that God either hear (verse 13) or go away (verse 14)!

A Psalm!

Psalm 39 is an occasion for pause to consider the very nature of the Book of Psalms, a subject much debated. Although comprehensive discussion in the present work must await a full review of all of the psalms, certainly this contemplative prayer, with its dark tone and final request that God distance Himself, gives rise to questions concerning any connection to communal prayer. One does note, on the other hand, the opening inclusion “To the leader (conductor),” used in fifty-four other psalms and widely taken to mean an instruction for group presentation. If the Book of Psalms is seen as a hymnal, despite such inclusions, what might that say about the concept of prayer involved? Might this text be read more positively? Questions linger, particularly for the concerned reader who might be able to identify in a personal way with the speaker’s pain.

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Additional Note

There are Christian interpreters, including Broyles and Weiser, who consider this to be an unresolved poem, one that finds its resolution only in the New Testament. It is not my purpose to pursue theological debate, but the psalmist should be appreciated for the way he ends his poem. Resolving all conflict is not necessarily the goal of religion.

　

　

The author of these essays is Rabbi Benjamin Segal, former president of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem　and author of The Song of Songs: A Woman in Love (Jerusalem: Gefen, 2009). This material is copyright by the author, and may not be reproduced. If you are interested in using the texts for study groups, please be in direct contact with the author, at psalmblog@gmail.com.

HEBREW TEXT

(א) לַמְנַצֵּחַ לידיתון {לִידוּתוּן} מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד:

(ב) אָמַרְתִּי אֶשְׁמְרָה דְרָכַי מֵחֲטוֹא בִלְשׁוֹנִי אֶשְׁמְרָה לְפִי מַחְסוֹם בְּעֹד רָשָׁע לְנֶגְדִּי:

(ג) נֶאֱלַמְתִּי דוּמִיָּה הֶחֱשֵׁיתִי מִטּוֹב וּכְאֵבִי נֶעְכָּר:

(ד) חַם לִבִּי בְּקִרְבִּי בַּהֲגִיגִי תִבְעַר אֵשׁ דִּבַּרְתִּי בִּלְשׁוֹנִי:

(ה) הוֹדִיעֵנִי יְהֹוָה קִצִּי וּמִדַּת יָמַי מַה הִיא אֵדְעָה מֶה חָדֵל אָנִי:

(ו) הִנֵּה טְפָחוֹת נָתַתָּה יָמַי וְחֶלְדִּי כְאַיִן נֶגְדֶּךָ אַךְ כָּל הֶבֶל כָּל אָדָם נִצָּב סֶלָה:

(ז) אַךְ בְּצֶלֶם יִתְהַלֶּךְ אִישׁ אַךְ הֶבֶל יֶהֱמָיוּן יִצְבֹּר וְלֹא יֵדַע מִי אֹסְפָם:

(ח) וְעַתָּה מַה קִּוִּיתִי אֲדֹנָי תּוֹחַלְתִּי לְךָ הִיא:

(ט) מִכָּל פְּשָׁעַי הַצִּילֵנִי חֶרְפַּת נָבָל אַל תְּשִׂימֵנִי:

(י) נֶאֱלַמְתִּי לֹא אֶפְתַּח פִּי כִּי אַתָּה עָשִׂיתָ:

(יא) הָסֵר מֵעָלַי נִגְעֶךָ מִתִּגְרַת יָדְךָ אֲנִי כָלִיתִי:

(יב) בְּתוֹכָחוֹת עַל עָוֹן יִסַּרְתָּ אִישׁ וַתֶּמֶס כָּעָשׁ חֲמוּדוֹ אַךְ הֶבֶל כָּל אָדָם סֶלָה:

(יג) שִׁמְעָה תְפִלָּתִי יְהֹוָה וְשַׁוְעָתִי הַאֲזִינָה אֶל דִּמְעָתִי אַל תֶּחֱרַשׁ כִּי גֵר אָנֹכִי עִמָּךְ תּוֹשָׁב כְּכָל אֲבוֹתָי:

(יד) הָשַׁע מִמֶּנִּי וְאַבְלִיגָה בְּטֶרֶם אֵלֵךְ וְאֵינֶנִּי: