Psalm 62 – “Twice Have I Heard”

　

TEXT (Hebrew text at end)

1. For the leader. On Jeduthun.1 A psalm of David.

2. Truly for God my soul waits quietly; from Him is my salvation.

3. Truly He is my rock and my salvation; my fortress—I shall never stumble.

4. How long will you attack a man—all of you to slay him—like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?

5. Truly, they lay plans to topple2 him from his eminence; they delight in falsehood; with their mouths they bless, but inwardly they curse.      Selah.

6. Truly, wait quietly for God, O my soul, for from Him is my hope.

7. Truly He is my rock and my salvation, my fortress—I shall not stumble.

8. Upon God: my salvation and my glory; my rock of power, in God is my refuge.

9. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.      Selah.

10. Truly, poor men are but a breath; rich men, false. Placed on a scale, they are together less than a breath.

11. Put no confidence in extortion, and have no illusions3 about plunder; riches accumulated—let your4 heart pay no attention.

12. (Not only) one thing God has spoken (but) twice have I heard: power belongs to God,

13. and faithfulness5 is Yours, my Lord. Thus You requite a man according to what he has done.

Notes

1. Meaning uncertain.

2. Root related to “tottering,” v. 4.

3. “Have illusions” from same Hebrew root as “breath” in v. 10.

4. Second-person plural.

5. Hebrew, “chesed,” often indicates “grace,” “kindness,” or “love.” Later scholarship reveals several uses wherein “strength” is emphasized by this term, the basis of this translation (which is also parallel to the end of v. 12).

　

COMMENTARY

Overview

Psalm 62 is a mix of surface clarity and hidden subtlety.

The tone and base message seem clear. The author seeks to share his trust in God alone, a reliance developed in light of negative experience and/or evaluation of trust in man. The message is reinforced by the repetitions. There is a repeated refrain of confidence (vv. 2, 3 and 6, 7) and four uses of “salvation,” three of “rock,” and two each of “trust,” “fortress,” “heart,” “power,” and “refuge.” The message is firm: “God” is repeated fully seven times; fourteen times the speaker uses “my” with an epithet for God; and there are six repetitions of “truly.” On the human side, there are three uses of “illusion/breath” and two of “false(hood).”

Underlying this unyielding statement, however, are elements of complexity and contrast.

Two Structures

Two overlapping suggested structures of Psalm 62 allow closer analysis of its content. (These are first and foremost technical structures, at first not seeming to reflect sharp changes in content. I shall comment on content after outlining the structures.)

If the placement of the musical indications “selah” after verses 5 and 9 implies division (see Introduction), they reflect a three-part psalm, as proposed by several modern interpreters. The indicators would be the repeated opening refrain (vv. 2–3 and 6–7), the guide-word “illusion/breath” in the third section, the repetition of “refuge” in the second, and the related words “tottering/topple” in the first.

However, refrains usually end sections rather than begin them, and in the three-part division, cross-sectional repetitions far exceed the internal ones. The alternative is a two-part structure, considering the refrain as an enclosure of a first section (with an expansion, to include v. 8) and the second section as opening with the didactic address to others (v. 9). In this division, although there are some repetitions binding the two sections, most of them remain within one or the other.

Dynamic Content (1) – Diminished and Increased Certainty

The two-part structure of Psalm 62 brings to light an interesting development. The refrain that frames the first section reveals through its changes and its added verse (8) that the speaker’s confidence is ever so slightly shaken by his speech to and about those who attack him. Although the content of the second refrain still reads positively, one notes that the speaker addresses his soul rather than describing it, a hint of some turmoil. God is now his “hope,” a positive statement to be sure, but ever so slightly less so than the previous term “salvation.” In place of “never stumble,” we now find the milder “not stumble.” Verse 8, positive to be sure, nevertheless so often emphasizes the direct trust in God that one wonders if God is being reminded. The three-part structure similarly reflects a slight attenuation of confidence: “truly” appears in descending fashion – three times in the first section, twice in the second and once in the third.

This slight (and only slight) diminution is all the more dramatic owing to a sharp, sudden counter movement—the last section (in either division) is marked by absolute certainty. However, there is no indication of change. Do the insubstantiality of man and the emptiness of his wealth recreate the absolute certainty of trust in God? (See my comments on Ps. 60:13, where I note a similar phenomenon.) Does the speaker have a different set of (firmer) criteria when speaking to others (as he begins to do in v. 9) than when meditating? (See my comments on Ps. 22.) Perhaps he simply “protests too much,” an indication of surface certainty coupled with internal doubt.

The final verse (13) reflects both elements. It continues the certainty through direct praise of God, but in subtle undertones it again reminds God of His role.

Dynamic Content (2) – Different Audiences, Ending in Didactics and Praise

Psalm 62 certainly swirls in terms of the audience addressed. Change takes place rapidly—self-contemplation or address to an anonymous audience (vv. 2, 3), followed by address to: attackers (v. 4); self or an anonymous audience about attackers (v. 5); his soul (v. 6); continuing to his soul, or contemplation, or anonymous audience (vv. 7, 8); the “people” (v. 9); people or self (v. 10); people, presumably (addressed to you plural) (v. 11); people, self, or anonymous audience (v. 12); and God (v. 13).

It is therefore possible to view all of verses 9–12 as addressed to the people, an effort of the speaker to teach his audience. The text seems to imply that the speaker's range of experiences (declarations, dialogue, evaluation, contemplation, and so on) properly prepared him to teach others; and that those experiences plus the teaching are a desirable or necessary background for addressing God.

Poetic Phrases

“(Not only) one thing God has spoken, (but) twice have I heard” (v. 12)—literally, God spoke one, I heard two.” This is a Semitic poetic form (two consecutive numbers introducing a statement) whose exact meaning is debated. It is found in several biblical passages (e.g., the repeated phrase in Amos 1, “for three transgressions… for four, I will not revoke it”). In those cases, the phrase is usually followed by a list that corresponds to one of the two digits. (See “Additional notes” below for later re-applications of this phrase.)

Schaeffer sees the single use of “my Lord” at the end, after seven (a complete biblical number) mentions of “God” as an indication that greater intimacy has been achieved (as is also reflected in the direct address to God). He also points out that there are thirteen previous uses of “my” (resulting in fourteen total uses, twice seven).

Schaefer also suggests that the two uses of “heart” for the people (vv. 9, 11) are purposely contrasted to “inwardly” (v. 5, literally “in their innards”) for the others, to whom the speaker does not wish to attribute a heart.

Although the specific references are difficult to discern, there is a marked emphasis on faltering in the start of the psalm: “stumble,” “leaning wall,” “tottering fence,” “topple,” and again “stumble.” Verse 4's “Like a leaning wall, a tottering fence” can be read three ways: first, the phrase may reflect the precarious situation of the victim; second, the terms may be a picturesque representation of the evildoers; third, it may be a quoted aphorism, citing a wall that falls on a fence, which then collapses on man. (The force of the aphorism would be to emphasize that all are responsible, criminals and abettors alike. So Malbim interprets.) I suggest, once again, that one not seek the single meaning, but rather appreciate the multivalence.

Verse 11 implies, if indirectly, that much, if not all, wealth derives from less than legitimate endeavor. This is either a specific critique of the rich or a general critique of humankind, suggesting that all of humankind has some difficulty in sticking to the rules of ethical behavior when it comes to accumulating funds.

* * * * * * * * *

Additional Comments – Later Commentaries

“(Not only) one thing God has spoken, (but) twice have I heard” (v. 12). Taking the phrase out of context, later Jewish tradition used this verse in several ways (including explaining the two versions of the Ten Commandments in the Bible!). Famously, the phrase was used to explain how from one biblical verse one can learn many different (and even somewhat contradictory) things. This was not the original meaning and should not be integrated into our text. The point, however, has great importance for later application of text and the history of the development of religion.

The varied meanings of chesed, verse 13 (I have translated “faithfulness”—see the note), has engendered no small amount of commentary, since the concept “grace” (as undeserved kindness from God) not only does not fit the next phrase, “You requite a man according to what he has done,” but in fact contradicts it. The interpretation suggested above obviates the problem. If one does translate “grace,” among suggested solutions is the concept that in the very act of keeping the covenant (which includes reward according to deeds), God is exhibiting an act of grace in light of the human side's failure to uphold its end.

　

　

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-יְדוּתוּן--    מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד.
ב  אַךְ אֶל-אֱלֹהִים, דּוּמִיָּה נַפְשִׁי;    מִמֶּנּוּ, יְשׁוּעָתִי.
ג  אַךְ-הוּא צוּרִי, וִישׁוּעָתִי;    מִשְׂגַּבִּי, לֹא-אֶמּוֹט רַבָּה.
ד  עַד-אָנָה, תְּהוֹתְתוּ עַל-אִישׁ--    תְּרָצְּחוּ כֻלְּכֶם:
כְּקִיר נָטוּי;    גָּדֵר, הַדְּחוּיָה.
ה  אַךְ מִשְּׂאֵתוֹ, יָעֲצוּ לְהַדִּיחַ--    יִרְצוּ כָזָב:
בְּפִיו יְבָרֵכוּ;    וּבְקִרְבָּם, יְקַלְלוּ-סֶלָה.
ו  אַךְ לֵאלֹהִים, דּוֹמִּי נַפְשִׁי:    כִּי-מִמֶּנּוּ, תִּקְוָתִי.
ז  אַךְ-הוּא צוּרִי, וִישׁוּעָתִי;    מִשְׂגַּבִּי, לֹא אֶמּוֹט.
ח  עַל-אֱלֹהִים, יִשְׁעִי וּכְבוֹדִי;    צוּר-עֻזִּי מַחְסִי, בֵּאלֹהִים.
ט  בִּטְחוּ בוֹ בְכָל-עֵת, עָם--    שִׁפְכוּ-לְפָנָיו לְבַבְכֶם;
אֱלֹהִים מַחֲסֶה-לָּנוּ    סֶלָה.
י  אַךְ, הֶבֶל בְּנֵי-אָדָם--    כָּזָב בְּנֵי-אִישׁ:
בְּמֹאזְנַיִם לַעֲלוֹת;    הֵמָּה, מֵהֶבֶל יָחַד.
יא  אַל-תִּבְטְחוּ בְעֹשֶׁק,    וּבְגָזֵל אַל-תֶּהְבָּלוּ:
חַיִל כִּי-יָנוּב--    אַל-תָּשִׁיתוּ לֵב.
יב  אַחַת, דִּבֶּר אֱלֹהִים--שְׁתַּיִם-זוּ שָׁמָעְתִּי:    כִּי עֹז, לֵאלֹהִים.
יג  וּלְךָ-אֲדֹנָי חָסֶד:    כִּי-אַתָּה תְשַׁלֵּם לְאִישׁ כְּמַעֲשֵׂהוּ.