Mazmur 18:10

18:10 He mounted ¹  a winged angel ²  and flew;

he glided ³  on the wings of the wind. ⁴ 

Mazmur 87:1

Psalm 87 ⁵ 

Written by the Korahites; a psalm, a song.

87:1 The Lord’s city is in the holy hills. ⁶ 

Mazmur 102:7

102:7 I stay awake; ⁷ 

I am like a solitary bird on a roof.

Mazmur 149:2

149:2 Let Israel rejoice in their Creator!

Let the people ⁸  of Zion delight in their king! ⁹ 

[18:10]  ¹ tn Or “rode upon.”

[18:10]  ² tn Heb “a cherub.” Because of the typical associations of the word “cherub” in English with chubby winged babies, the term has been rendered “winged angel” in the translation.

[18:10]  sn Winged angel (Heb “cherub”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Pss 80:1; 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind (see the next line of the psalm).

[18:10]  ³ tc 2 Sam 22:11 reads “appeared” (from רָאָה, ra’ah); the relatively rare verb דָאָה (da’ah, “glide”) is more difficult and probably the original reading here in Ps 18.

[18:10]  ⁴ sn The wings of the wind. Verse 10 may depict (1) the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option (2) is that two different vehicles (a cherub and the wind) are envisioned. Yet another option (3) is that the wind is personified as a cherub. For a discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in v. 10, see M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.

[87:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 87. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s presence in Zion and the special status of its citizens.

[87:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “his foundation [is] in the hills of holiness.” The expression “his foundation” refers here by metonymy to the Lord’s dwelling place in Zion. The “hills” are the ones surrounding Zion (see Pss 125:2; 133:3).

[102:7]  ⁷ tn This probably refers to the psalmist’s inability to sleep. Another option is to translate, “I keep watch,” in which case it might refer to watching for a response from the Lord (see vv. 1-2).

[149:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “sons.”

[149:2]  ⁹ sn The Lord is the king here, as the parallelism in the previous line (“their creator”) indicates.