Robert Alter who is a Hebrew Scholar is taking another look at the book of Psalms. He is taking the Hebrew and asking that painful question, "What does the Text Say"?
I don't know Mr Alter. I do know a bit about Hebrew and think he may have some insight for us to grasp if we can just get past our religion for a minute.
If you go to any funeral, most of them will at some point have the beloved 23rd Psalm read. If you go to any old folks home you will see a plaque with it on. It's very inspiring and comforting.
I take nothing away from it's beauty. I do take something away from it's implied theology. As we know it:
The 23rd Psalm (King James Version)
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
SELAH.
You can rest with that. And should. It was translated at a time when people's lives were hard and hope of heaven was all there was left. Kind of like those at the end of life. Does that mean that for the first 50 or 60 years we read it and say, "Very Nice" but it's richness eludes us.
I believe that the KJV translation is beautiful and in the sense it leans is accurate in it's theology. It's just not (according to Alter) exactly what the Psalm meant. Here's what he has to say:
'The Book of Psalms'
by Robert Alter
23
1 The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
2 In grass meadows He makes me lie down,
by quiet waters guides me.
3 My life He brings back.
He leads me on pathways of justice
for His name's sake.
1. The LORD is my shepherd. Although the likening of God or a ruler to a shepherd is a commonplace in this pastoral culture, this psalm is justly famous for the affecting simplicity and concreteness with which it realizes the metaphor. Thus, in the next line the shepherd leads his sheep to meadows where there is abundant grass and riverbanks and where quiet waters run that the sheep can drink.
2. makes me lie down. The verb used here, hirbits, is a specialized one for making animals lie down; hence the sheep-shepherd metaphor is carefully sustained.
3. My life He brings back. Though "He restoreth my soul" is time-honored, the Hebrew nefesh does not mean "soul" but "life breath" or "life." The image is of someone who has almost stopped breathing and is revived, brought back to life.
pathways of justice. With this phrase, the speaker glides from the sheep metaphor to speaking of himself in human terms.
Though I walk in the vale of death's shadow, 4
I fear no harm,
for You are with me.
Your rod and Your staff—
it is they that console me.
You set out a table before me 5
in the face of my foes.
You moisten my head with oil,
my cup overflows.
4. in the vale of death's shadow. The intent of the translation here is not to avoid the virtually proverbial "in the shadow of the valley of death" but rather to cut through the proliferation of syllables in the King James Version, however eloquent, and better approximate the compactness of the Hebrew—begey tsalmawet. Though philologists assume that the Masoretic tsalmawet is actually a misleading vocalization of tsalmut—probably a poetic word for "darkness" with the ut ending simply a suffix of abstraction—the traditional vocalization reflects something like an orthographic pun or a folk etymology (tsel means "shadow," mawet means "death"), so there is justification in retaining the death component.
I fear no harm. The imbalance between this extremely brief verset and the relatively long first verset, equally evident in the Hebrew, gives these words a climactic effect as an affirmation of trust after the relatively lengthy evocation of the place of fear.
You are with me. / Your rod and Your staff. At this crucial moment of terror in the valley of the shadow, the speaker turns to God in the second person, though the rod and staff are carried over from the shepherd image.
5. You moisten my head with oil. The verb here, dishen, is not the one that is used for anointment, and its associations are sensual rather than sacramental. Etymologically, it means something like "to make luxuriant." This verse, then, lists all the physical elements of a happy life—a table laid out with good things to eat, a head of hair well rubbed with olive oil, and an overflowing cup of wine.
6 Let but goodness and kindness pursue me
all the days of my life.
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
for many long days.
6. for many long days. This concluding phrase catches up the reference to "all the days of my life" in the preceding line. It does not mean "forever"; the viewpoint of the poem is in and of the here and now and is in no way eschatological. The speaker hopes for a happy fate all his born days, and prays for the good fortune to abide in the Lord's sanctuary—a place of security and harmony with the divine—all, or perhaps at least most, of those days.
Excerpted from The Book of Psalms Copyright © 2007 by Robert Alter.
ME AGAIN
I take particular note that he deals in the here and now. That is a particularly Jewish concept. God is the God of NOW. Not someday.
If that's the case then we must live in more of NOW with God and all he has for us. What is that? It's not JUST heaven. It's more.
If I read the Hebrew Alter describes its:
- God's intention towards me is to lead me to good places and things
- He provides a place I can rest in his protection here and now
- He revives me when I am near death metaphorically or otherwise
- He makes the wrong things right in my life (he justifies them)
- He does what he does because it glorifies HIS NAME, not because I deserve anything, but simply because his name is Salvation
- He is with me even in my darkest hour, my deepest discouragement, even death , I will not fear anything or anyone, who should I fear anyway?
- He uses manifestations I may not always see directly as him (Rod and Staff) to console me in these difficult times.
- He provides for me in spite of the enemies around me, overflowing cups of wine, a full table spread and he massages my scalp, shoulders and neck with the comforts of his fresh Oil. This is living higher than just a hope of heaven.
- He pursues me with Goodness and His Kindness all the days I live on this side of the veil. Then after that I even get to go to heaven too. That's a bonus.
- He provides a sanctuary of hope and His deep love for me to live in as long as I live. All the days of my life.
I love the heavenward look of the KJV 23rd Psalm, but I want the here and now promises that Alter properly defines in his essay. So should we all. To seek any less is in a way to reject what God prepared for us before the foundations of the earth.
I want that. How about you.
No comments:
Post a Comment