38:8 He made the large basin of bronze and its pedestal of bronze from the mirrors of the women who served 1 at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
38:1 He made the altar for the burnt offering of acacia wood seven feet six inches long and seven feet six inches wide – it was square – and its height was four feet six inches.
2:2 No one is holy 2 like the Lord!
There is no one other than you!
There is no rock 3 like our God!
23:6 Surely your goodness and faithfulness 4 will pursue 5 me all my days, 6
and I will live in 7 the Lord’s house 8 for the rest of my life. 9
27:4 I have asked the Lord for one thing –
this is what I desire!
I want to live 10 in the Lord’s house 11 all the days of my life,
so I can gaze at the splendor 12 of the Lord
and contemplate in his temple.
84:4 How blessed 13 are those who live in your temple
and praise you continually! (Selah)
84:10 Certainly 14 spending just one day in your temple courts is better
than spending a thousand elsewhere. 15
I would rather stand at the entrance 16 to the temple of my God
than live 17 in the tents of the wicked.
92:13 Planted in the Lord’s house,
they grow in the courts of our God.
135:1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord!
Offer praise, you servants of the Lord,
135:2 who serve 19 in the Lord’s temple,
in the courts of the temple of our God.
1 sn The word for “serve” is not the ordinary one. It means “to serve in a host,” especially in a war. It appears that women were organized into bands and served at the tent of meeting. S. R. Driver thinks that this meant “no doubt” washing, cleaning, or repairing (Exodus, 391). But there is no hint of that (see 1 Sam 2:22; and see Ps 68:11 [12 Hebrew text]). They seem to have had more to do than what Driver said.
2 sn In this context God’s holiness refers primarily to his sovereignty and incomparability. He is unique and distinct from all other so-called gods.
3 tn The LXX has “and there is none righteous like our God.” The Hebrew term translated “rock” refers to a rocky cliff where one can seek refuge from enemies. Here the metaphor depicts God as a protector of his people. Cf. TEV “no protector like our God”; CEV “We’re safer with you than on a high mountain.”
4 tn The noun חֶסֶד (khesed; v. 6) has been the subject of several monographs. G. R. Clark concludes that חֶסֶד “is not merely an attitude or an emotion; it is an emotion that leads to an activity beneficial to the recipient.” He explains that an act of חֶסֶד is “a beneficent action performed, in the context of a deep and enduring commitment between two persons or parties, by one who is able to render assistance to the needy party who in the circumstances is unable to help him- or herself.” (See G. R. Clark, The Word Hesed in the Hebrew Bible [JSOTSup], 267.) HALOT 336-37 s.v. defines the word as “loyalty,” or “faithfulness.” Other appropriate meanings might be “commitment” and “devotion.”
5 tn The use of רָדַף (radaf, “pursue, chase”) with טוֹב וָחֶסֶד (tov vakhesed, “goodness and faithfulness”) as subject is ironic. This is the only place in the entire OT where either of these nouns appears as the subject of this verb רָדַף (radaf, “pursue”). This verb is often used to describe the hostile actions of enemies. One might expect the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 5) to chase him, but ironically God’s “goodness and faithfulness” (which are personified and stand by metonymy for God himself) pursue him instead. The word “pursue” is used outside of its normal context in an ironic manner and creates a unique, but pleasant word picture of God’s favor (or a kind God) “chasing down” the one whom he loves.
6 tn Heb “all the days of my life.”
7 tn The verb form וְשַׁבְתִּי (vÿshavtiy) is a Qal perfect (with vav [ו] consecutive), first common singular, from שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) and should be translated, “and I will return.” But this makes no sense when construed with the following phrase, “in the house of the
8 tn Heb “the house of the
9 tn The phrase אֹרֶךְ יָמִים (’orekh yamim, “length of days”) is traditionally translated “forever.” However, this phrase, when used elsewhere of people, usually refers to a lengthy period of time, such as one’s lifetime, and does not mean “forever” in the sense of eternity. (Cf. Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20.) Furthermore, the parallel phrase “all the days of my life” suggests this more limited meaning. Psalm 21:4, where the phrase is followed by “forever and ever,” may be an exception, though the juxtaposition of the phrases may be an example of intensification, where the second phrase goes beyond the limits of the first, rather than synonymity. Even if one takes both expressions as referring to eternal life, the language is part of the king’s hyperbolic description of the
10 tn Heb “my living.”
11 sn The
12 tn Or “beauty.”
13 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see v. 12 and Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
14 tn Or “for.”
15 tn Heb “better is a day in your courts than a thousand [spent elsewhere].”
16 tn Heb “I choose being at the entrance of the house of my God over living in the tents of the wicked.” The verb סָפַף (safaf) appears only here in the OT; it is derived from the noun סַף (saf, “threshold”). Traditionally some have interpreted this as a reference to being a doorkeeper at the temple, though some understand it to mean “lie as a beggar at the entrance to the temple” (see HALOT 765 s.v. ספף).
17 tn The verb דּוּר (dur, “to live”) occurs only here in the OT.
18 sn Psalm 135. The psalmist urges God’s people to praise him because he is the incomparable God and ruler of the world who has accomplished great things for Israel.
19 tn Heb “stand.”
20 tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”
21 tn Grk “I will make him,” but the pronoun (αὐτόν, auton, “him”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.
22 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
23 sn This description of the city of my God is parenthetical, explaining further the previous phrase and interrupting the list of “new names” given here.