Psalm 53 - A Psalm Rewritten

TEXT (Hebrew text at end)
　

1. For the leader, on machalat.1 A maskil.1 Of David.

2. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They act corruptly and perform loathsome iniquity. No one does good.

3. God looks down from heaven on humankind to find a wise man, a man who seeks God.

4. Each has turned away, altogether foul; no one does good, not even one.

5. Do they not understand, those evildoers, who devour my people [as] they devour bread, and do not invoke God?

6. There they were terribly terrified2, as 3-none had previously been terrified, for God has scattered the bones of those who encamp against you. You shamed them, for God has rejected them.-3

7. O that the deliverance of Israel might come from Zion, when God restores the fortunes of His people; Jacob will exult, Israel will rejoice.

Notes

1. Meaning of Hebrew uncertain.

2. “Terribly terrified” reflects the Hebrew use of the root “terrified” twice.

3. Meaning of Hebrew uncertain. Some attribute the fear to the Israelites, reading, approximately, “but there was no reason to be terrified.”

COMMENTARY

Psalm 53 and Psalm 14

Psalm 53 seems to be an alternative version of Psalm 14. One change of note is the substitution of “God” for all four appearances of “LORD” in Psalm 14. (This typifies the second book of Psalms and might indicate only a preference owing either to a local usage, assuming that the second book derives from a different locality within the Land of Israel, or to a preference of a certain era.) The other major change is in verse 6, which corresponds to 14:5–6. The latter reads, “There they were terribly terrified, for God is present in the assembly of the righteous. You would confound the plans of the lowly, but the LORD is his refuge.” When the two texts are set side by side in Hebrew, there are numerous word and letter similarities, which lead many to conclude that the issue is only one of a poorly received text that was then “reconstructed.”

Malbim (mid-nineteenth century) was among the first to suggest that Psalm 53 represents an editing of Psalm 14 for a new situation: specifically, the startling victory over Sennacherib’s troops. (In 701 BCE, that mighty army besieged Jerusalem [note “those who encamp against you,” v. 6], but miraculously abandoned the siege. Among major cities in the area, only Jerusalem was not captured. The enemy retreated, leaving many dead in the camp. For the story, see II Kings 18–19; Isa. 36–37.) This would explain the modified verses. Psalm 14 emphasizes God’s sympathy with the oppressed, and the “evildoers” were their oppressors; Psalm 53 emphasizes the victory and the “evildoers” are an external enemy.

I proceed on the assumption of reuse of a core text for other purposes, giving Psalm 53 its own due. I repeat relevant sections of my interpretation of Psalm 14.

Introduction

Psalm 53, despite some difficulties in translation and understanding (particularly of tenses), presents a widely acknowledged structure: (a) an opening observation by a “fool” of God’s non-presence (v. 2); (b) God’s observation of a total lack of good people (vv. 3–4); (c) a statement of “their” (these fools’) refusal to acknowledge God’s miraculous care (vv. 5–6); and (d) an expression of hope (v. 7). This psalm is not a request, but rather a survey and a report, flavored with a small touch of hope.

I comment below in the following order: (1) the repeated use of the term “God”; (2) the complex use of the phrase “There is no…;” (3) the non-recognition of miracles; and (4) the final hope. I then append additional comments on verse 6, on the comparison to Psalm 14, and on the date of Psalm 53.

The Name of the Deity

In Psalm 53 “God” is repeated seven times, a “complete” biblical number. Although the psalm opens with a focus on humanity, these repetitions would indicate that the subject is the Deity Himself. Indeed, the activities associated with “God” afford an overview of the psalm: (the claim that) there is no God; He looks… for one who seeks Him; none invokes Him; He scatters bones and He rejects them; He restores Israel.

There Is None

The heart-rending (fourfold) use of “there is no…” is not only moving; it is also particularly sophisticated. In verse 2, it is part of a double entendre (the following translation is fairly literal):

- The fool says in his heart - there is no God; - they act corruptly and abominably;

- there is no one who does good [or, there is no One Who does good].　　

　

The first translation of the last phrase implies that there are no good people to be found. In the second translation, “One” refers to God (an approach to the psalm that is found in late homiletic Jewish interpretations). Whilr few would assume that second interpretation on first reading, I suggest that the poet intended both readings, the latter being a quote from the fool(s) (and therefore parallel to the second phrase, “there is no God”), and/or an anonymous challenge to God Himself: if people act corruptly, God must be absent. (Either or both could possibly be implied.)

In verse 4, there is a second double use of “there is no,” referring only to people: “there is no one who does good; there is not even one.” This is a dismal assertion, as depressing a summary of a generation as can be imagined. The verse borders on a confirmation by the poet of the situation that presumably lies behind verse 2, which led the fools to say that there is no God! The fools (properly, confirms the poet) see no evidence of good people in the society.

So read, the poet confirms the observation: there are no good people around, as God Himself observes. However, the speaker’s analysis differs from that of the fools. The latter believe that God’s is not involved, and they can do what they please, whereas the speaker contends that the fools’ behavior is the reason for God’s absence.

We have, then, a reflection here of very basic disagreement: if God is not present, is it God or humankind that is to blame? Presumably, for the speaker, had God’s search in verse 2 been rewarded with the discovery of good people, things would be different: God would be present if humans had let Him in. It is a matter of basic perspective.

This understanding is reinforced by a secondary reading of verse 5, which could be parsed: “Do they not know, the workers of iniquity, these devourers of my people who devour them like bread, that they have not called upon God?” This reading again blames them for God’s absence.

These are weighty assertions, stated forcefully. (The poet, after all, puts the counter contention in the mouth of “the fool.”) The reader is left to contemplate the individual's and society’s role in establishing God’s presence.

The Refusal to Acknowledge Miracles

The differing perspectives paves the way for a second contrast. Verses 5 and 6 set these others against “my people,” clearly the Israelites. The exclusive use of the international appellation “God” for the Deity thus makes sense, since the audience is primarily the enemy. However, there is an understated contention that is even more striking. The speaker, having confirmed the absence of good at the moment, nevertheless insists on God’s loyalty to His people! The miraculous intervention is his proof.

The Hope

As often throughout Psalms, the final verse brings a surprising development. Neither a prayer (as are many final verses) nor an expression of confidence, this is something in between. “Would that” (or “O that”) begins the verse. This phrase is a biblical expression of fervent hope, but not a request for a speedier fulfillment of what is sure to happen. (It is even often followed by a wish that the speaker assumes will not come true!)

It is therefore surprising that that hope is for the “restoration” of Israel and Zion, a wish that would seem to be in stark contrast to verse 6, which implies that God has already saved Israel. Therefore, verse 6 probably refers to the more distant past, not to a miracle recently experienced, but to a miracle recalled. That, in turn, makes the arrogance of the enemy/fool a bit more understandable, for as of the writing of the psalm the situation of the Israelite people is not good. (To clarify, if verse 6 refers to Sennacherib's siege, the text would be written much later.) Indeed, the poem takes on a double edge, for in citing a former miracle, the speaker also indirectly addresses God, Who has the power to accomplish such miracles. The speaker is hinting to God, the subject of the poem, that it will require His renewed miraculous intervention for these fools to acknowledge His presence and stop attacking His people. The speaker accomplishes this without diluting his direct statement to those nations that God will save Israel, based on the miracles that already have occurred.

The final verse, then, makes Psalm 53 bidirectional in its secondary audience. The primary address of all is to an unspecified audience. On one hand, there is an indirect message about (and therefore to) the fool. On the other hand, the indirect message to God, reflected in the last verse, is that if He acts, his presence will be confirmed (undercutting the claim of the fools that "there is no God"). The messages differ, and the reader is left to determine if that reflects innocent or contrived dissonance and whether the motivation (whether conscious or subconscious) reflects on the psyche of the speaker, on political machinations, or on very human internal conflicts.

* * * * * * * *

Additional Notes

Verse 6 is as strong in its images as it is vague in its references. Commentators differ particularly concerning the use of the second person, some referring it to Israel (“the enemies encamped against you.., you shamed them” so translated above) and some to the enemy (“your camps, you were ashamed”). In either case, the effect of the verse is the same, recalling a miraculous intervention in war.

The interpretation above gives Psalm 53 a very different reading from Psalm 14, despite so much that is shared. Other pairs of psalms share words, phrases, verses, and even sections, but none with as much overlap as these two. Are sections then “shared” or is one psalm “based on,” “borrowed from,” “copied from,” “revised from,” or “reconstructed from” the other? The question remains moot. Indeed, a theoretical third, no longer extant, source might have been the model for both. The more important point is that Psalm 53 does not restate Psalm 14, but has a different concern.

The last verse provides a beautiful response to verse 3, wherein God looked for some “wise man” who is “seeking” Him. Indeed, that is precisely what the speaker does in the last verse! In fact (unlike Psalm 14), Psalm 53 is labeled (among other psalms, for reasons that are unclear) a “maskil,” which is precisely the term “wise man,” whom God hopes to find seeking him.

As to its time, as with most psalms, Psalm 53 is not datable. But if indeed the bones in the fields refer to events of 701 BCE and are an historical memory here, one is tempted to date the psalm much later, perhaps soon after the destruction of the First Temple. Such a dating befits the last verse, including the phrase “restores the fortune,” which is used in another psalm of that period (Ps. 126). One would then assume that Psalm 14, without historical references, would be earlier.

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 עַל מָחֲלַת מַשְׂכִּיל לְדָוִד:

(ב) אָמַר נָבָל בְּלִבּוֹ אֵין אֱלֹהִים הִשְׁחִיתוּ וְהִתְעִיבוּ עָוֶל אֵין עֹשֵׂה טוֹב:

(ג) אֶלֹהִים מִשָּׁמַיִם הִשְׁקִיף עַל בְּנֵי אָדָם לִרְאוֹת הֲיֵשׁ מַשְׂכִּיל דֹּרֵשׁ אֶת אֱלֹהִים:

(ד) כֻּלּוֹ סָג יַחְדָּו נֶאֱלָחוּ אֵין עֹשֵׂה טוֹב אֵין גַּם אֶחָד:

(ה) הֲלֹא יָדְעוּ פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן אֹכְלֵי עַמִּי אָכְלוּ לֶחֶם אֱלֹהִים לֹא קָרָאוּ:

(ו) שָׁם פָּחֲדוּ פַחַד לֹא הָיָה פָחַד כִּי אֱלֹהִים פִּזַּר עַצְמוֹת חֹנָךְ הֱבִשֹׁתָה כִּי אֱלֹהִים מְאָסָם:

(ז) מִי יִתֵּן מִצִּיּוֹן יְשֻׁעוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּשׁוּב אֱלֹהִים שְׁבוּת עַמּוֹ יָגֵל יַעֲקֹב יִשְׂמַח יִשְׂרָאֵל: