If psalm 133 makes any sense to you, let me know. I like the idea of living together in unity, but I don't want oil poured on my head and running down my beard and onto my collar, and that experience would not remind me of unity. The dew of Hermon refers to the highest mountain in Palestine, while Mount Zion is really just a little hill. I don't really get that metaphor either. Not much to say about 134, which apparently exists for some reason.
Psalm 135 is another of those extended riffs praising Yahweh and trashing his rivals. As the footnote says, Hallelu Yah means praise Yah, which is a shortened form of Yahweh that often occurs in the psalms. And, like many of the psalms, it puts Yah first among many Gods. Yah's main claim to greatness is that he murdered kings who followed other gods and gave their land to the Israelites. And yes, this is the inspiration for Benjamin Netanyahu and his government today.
10 He struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
and all the kings of Canaan—
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to his people Israel.
133 A song of ascents. Of David.
1 How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe.
3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.
134 A song of ascents.
1 Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
who minister by night in the house of the Lord.
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and praise the Lord.
3 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
he who is the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 135
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
Praise the name of the Lord;
praise him, you servants of the Lord,
2 you who minister in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own,
Israel to be his treasured possession.
5 I know that the Lord is great,
that our Lord is greater than all gods.
6 The Lord does whatever pleases him,
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths.
7 He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
he sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
the firstborn of people and animals.
9 He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
and all the kings of Canaan—
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to his people Israel.
13 Your name, Lord, endures forever,
your renown, Lord, through all generations.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
made by human hands.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.
17 They have ears, but cannot hear,
nor is there breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
19 All you Israelites, praise the Lord;
house of Aaron, praise the Lord;
20 house of Levi, praise the Lord;
you who fear him, praise the Lord.
21 Praise be to the Lord from Zion,
to him who dwells in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord.
Footnotes
- Psalm 135:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; also in verses 3 and 21
1 comment:
Cervantes,
I now find myself looking at the number of comments after reading any article that interests me and if there's only one comment, I don't bother because I know who it is and the comment is totally predictable. It's either "Fuck Trump", "Fuck MAGA", or "Fuck Republicans".
Few others comment or, more likely, you don't publish those who may not have these same sentiments. Having differing opinions is not stupid or dangerous. You don't have to feel like you're at war with the world and required to push the hard left agenda 24/7.
As a college teacher, I'm really surprised that you have strayed so far from honoring all viewpoints in the spirit of the 60's speech movement. I'm not saying that rants and raves are appropriate, but those who can make their case would liven up your blog a lot.
I'd like to see those who have different opinions and can give reasonable backing, whether I agree with them or not, speak their minds. The same ol' predictable stuff is tiresome.
Can you make that happen?
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