*

A Jewish Approach to Psalm 111?

Marc Zvi Brettler

I n a previously published article,1 I offered a new interpretation of Psalm

111. I expressed my reservations concerning the current consensus that the
significant similarities between Psalms 111 and 112 suggest that the two
psalms are by the same author,2 and claimed instead that Ps 112 is an inferior
imitation of Ps Ill. I based this on the fact that the differences between the
two psalms are more decisive than their similarities. This has two important
implications for understanding Ps Ill : it should be read as. an independent
composition; and it should not be understood, l ike Ps 112, as ·a wisdom
psalm.3 Based on these findings and an independent look at Ps 'Ill, I sug­
gested that, contrary to most scholars, it is not connected to the cult, does not
offer a reprise of the history of Israel in the wilderness through the conquest,
and does not extol God for his attributes and actions. Instead, it should be
viewed as a riddle psalm extolling the Torah, written for an in-group.
I n this paper, I would like to return to present a more detailed substantia­
tion and development of my thesis by offering a· verse-by-verse contrast be­
tween how the members of the out-group and the in-group would interpret ·

I would like to express my thanks to those who asked penetrating questions and offered
various suggestions to earlier versions of this article at the Hebrew University Bible De­
partment Colloquium, The University ofHaifa Bible Colloquium, a colloquium of the de-­
partment of religion at George Washington University, the International Meeting of the
Society of Biblical Literature in Vienna, and to the students in my Psalms class atHebrew
College and at Brandeis University. Discussion of certain stylistic and linguistic aspects of
the psalm benefited greatly from several conversations with Prof. A viHurvitz ofHebn!w
University.
1 M Brettler, The Riddle of Psalm Ill (2009) 126-50. I mention additional evidence or
bibliography in the current article to support my main theses there, usually introducing
these with the words »In addition«.
2 In addition, see J.P. Fokkelman, Major Poems (2003)213.

3 The issue of wisdom psalms remains very vexed; see the recent study of A. Hurvitz, Wis� '
dom Language ( 1991). On p. 7, he lists Ps Ill in parentheses, and on 93-96 he discusses
the terms ::Ji� ':tv and ;,F1� n�T. If we disengage Ps iii from 112, as I have argued we
must, this evidence, which is only found in a single (final) verse of the Psalm becomes
problematic. Furthermore, ::Ji� '::tv is found only four times in the Bible - here, twice in
Proverbs, and once in 2 Chronicles. It is unclear if it should be seen as a wisdom term, or
as a late term. (The dating of Proverbs is very complex, but many scholars believe that it
is late, at least in its final form; see e.g. A. Rofe, Introduction [2006] 400 408.)
- The other
candidate for being a wisdom term, ;,;;,� n�"i\ is likely not used in its typical wisdom
sense in 111:10. Thus, Ps Ill (in contrast toPs 112)should not be chanicterized as a wis-
dom psalm.
'·
142 Marc Zvi Brettler

the psalm. As noted by Leo Strauss, the technique of »writing between the
lines,«4 which I believe is present in the psalm, was used widely by pre­
modem writers, who »believed that the gulf separating the >wise< and >the
vulgar< was a basic fact of human nature which could not be influenced by
any progress of popular education: philosophy, or science, was essentially a
privilege of >the few.<«5 Given how little we know about the late biblical pe­
riod, I cannot define exactly the »wise« group for whom this psalm was writ­
ten, other than saying that it is not the group typically identified as the wis­
dom school.6 I will, however, venture some guesses on this matter later in the
article.
I begin with the Hebrew text of Psalm 111 and two translations of the
psalm - the JPS translation, which I am using as a representative translation,
and my own. This is followed by a verse-by-verse discussion of the psalm
which emphasizes significant differences between my understanding and the
standard understanding, represented by JPS, and which highlights instances
where my belief that the psalm has an esoteric meaning has significant impli­
cations for the psalm's translation. In all but one case, I follow the MT.7

JPS Brettler MT

Hallelujah. Praise the LORD! i1: i??;:t I

I praise the LORD with all my May I praise the LORD with a :l,��-?1:l i1)i1' i11.iX
heart full heart,

in the assembled congregation amidst a council of righteous i1"W, t:'!�� 1iOJ

of the upright. and an assembly.

The works of the LORD are The LORD's deeds are great; i1J;""l� 'ill!)� t::'?1� 2
great,

within reach of all who desire studied by all who take de- Ci1'::>!:ln-?1? C':Li,i'1
them. light in them.

His deeds are splendid and His action is strength and ;?�� .,l;;rr,;i1 3
glorious; might;

His beneficence is everlasting; his righteousness endures

,�7 n19iJ ii1j;ll::>1
forever.

This term is used frequently in L. Straus, Persecution (1988), esp. 22-37.

Ibid., 34.
6 The psalm knows wisdom literature - see especially its final verse - but is not suffused
with wisdom language. Moreover, it is well on the way to Ben Sira, in its placing the To­
rah, rather than (secular) wisdom, as central.
7 In v.8, I follow almost all of the commentators and BHS, and emend i:;l:1 to i:.:i1'1.
 A Jewish Approach to Psalm I l l ? 143

JPS Brettler MT

He has won renown for His He made a commemoration

wonders. for his wonders:

The LORD is gracious and the LORD is compassionate

compassionate; and gracious.

He gives food to those who He gives food to those who

fearHim; fear him;

He is ever mindful of His he remembers his covenant

covenant. forever.

He revealed toHis peopleHis He told his people the iT;)�? i'Ji1 1'if'P.� l"}j 6
powerful works, strength of his works

in giving them the heritage of in giving them the inheritance

nations. of the nations

His handiwork is truth and His handiwork is truth and n�15 1'"1: 'tv�� 7
justice; justice;
��y�,
allHis precepts are enduring, all his instructions are endur­
ing.

well-founded for all eternity, Forever, perpetually ftrm,

wrought of truth and equity . fashioned with truth and up­

rightness.

He sent redemption to His He sends redemption to his

people; nation;

He ordained His covenant for he commanded that his cove-

all time; nant last forever;

His name is holy and awe- his name is Holy and Awe-
some. some.

The beginning of wisdom is The beginning of wisdom is i1�:=r;t n'tl.;K1 I0

the fear of the LORD; the fear of the LORD;
i1�i1' n�1' ,

all who practice it gain sound it provides good sense to all

understanding. who do them;

Praise ofHim is everlasting. his praise endures forever .

144 Marc Zvi Brettler

i1il1i �'iW' iiO:l ::J:::l'?-?:l:l i1ii1' i1iiK :1' 1?'?i1 1

T'' : ' T : ! T •• T ! T ! •: T ! -

JPS: Hallelujah. I praise the LORD with all my heart in the assembled congre-
gation of the upright.
Brettler: Praise the LORD! May I praise the LORD with a full heart, amidst a
council of righteous and an assembly.

In its rendering of i1'1.iK, JPS and most other English translations are incorrect
- it is a cohortative. W ith ', verbs, the cohortative and imperfect are identical
•

in form.8 Ps 9:2-3, where an initial acrostic i1�_iK is followed by i1'1!?9�,

i1�7P-�1 i1�T?W� and i1")1?!�. clearly marked as cohortatives, suggests this
grammatical analysis here as well.
The idiom �·i\!i' iiO is unique to this context, but each term alone is used
disproportionately in wisdom literature: 8/21 of the uses of iiO are in Pro­
verbs or Job, as are a remarkable 19/32 of C'i\!i' .9 The two words are only
found together in Prov 3:32: iiio !:1'19�-n�: ii',� i11i1� n;ll)in ':l. It is uncertain
how such statistics should be used individually or cumulatively to show in­
fluence of a text or a group of texts. In any case, even though this psalm
should not be considered a wisdom psalm, it was influenced by wisdom lit­
erature. In fact, it uses wisdom terminology in a non-wisdom sense.10
This is the only case where iiO and i1i1' are used together; the most similar
phrase is Prov 5:14: i1")J)i ',;:ti? lin::. Perhaps the author of Ps Ill chose to use
i1i1' to pun on i1i�K at th� beginni� g of the verse.11 The unbound form of i1i1'
is rare - the word typically appears with the article, a suffix, or in the con­
struct, in all situations indicating the specific assembly. In fact, our verse and
Prov 5: 14 are the only two cases in Psalms and Proverbs where i1i1' appears
without the article, a suffix, or in the construct. Perhaps the author of Ps Il l
avoided definite articles - a feature of some biblic al poetry1 2 - indeed none
are attested in the continuation of the psalm. Alternately, i1")J)1 may be
emended to i1")ll�. A final alternative is to take the indefiniteness seriously,
that the psalmist is not standing amidst a specific group.13
A more serious problem that has interpretive significance is whether or
not we should understand i1")!Ji t::'i?� iio:: as a single group or as two sepa­
rate groups - and, especially if the latter, which groups are meant. This issue

8 JM §790.
9 These and other statistics were compiled using Accordance software.
10
See my previous essay on Psalm I l l , The Riddle of Psalm I l l .
11 If the gutturals were already weakened in their pronunciation at this point (see the evi­

dence from the Dead Sea Scrolls noted in E. Qimron, The Hebrew [1986] 25), then the
two words would have sounded very much alike.
12
On the tendency for poetry to avoid r.x, see IV.G.E. Watson, Hebrew Poetry (2005) 58;
also note that Ps Ill never uses r.x, even though could be used at certain points, e.g. I a
before :11;"1' and 5b and 9b before �r.·-::..
13 We must, however, be careful about paying too much attention to the absence or presence

of the defmite article; see J. Barr, Definite Article (1989) 307-35.

 A Jewish Approach to Psalm I l l ? 145

comes out quite clearly when comparing the comments of Ibn Ezra and
Qimhi in the Rabbinic Bible. The former glosses C'1�� 1io� as »privately«
and :-Tll.'1 as »publicly«,14 while Qimhi suggests that both terms refer to the
same group, Israel. JPS, which renders »in the assembled congregation of the
upright,« follows Qimhi. While :1111 is always a broad .term referring to a
(large) group, as extensive as '?x1fD' 'J::J n1ll, 15 a 110 is typically a si:nall group,
as defined in HALOT as »a circle of confidants.«16 Given their different
meanings, it is likely that Ibn Ezra is correct, and :-T"'JJ)1 C'1�� 1iO refer to dif­
ferent groups.17 This fits well with the notion that I began to develop in my
earlier treatment, that this psalm is talking to a small in-group and a broad
out-group, and has both an esoteric and exoteric interpretation. This in-group
of C'1�' 1iO is not mentioned elsewhere in Psalms - in. fact, the typical
. ' '
Psalms' idiom using 1lD' is ::J'? 'ilD' rather than C'1lD' .18 The use of C'1lD' may
reflect influence of wisdom literature/9 or the fact that the term seems to be­
come more common in late psalms.20

cry·��rr'?�7 c·�,,T ;,p� 'til�� c•'?•u 2

JPS: The works of the LORD are great, within reach of all who desire them.
Brettler: The LORD's deeds are great;21 studied by all who take delight in
them.

Although my translation of 2a is nearly identical to JPS, my understanding of

;,p� 'i!J�� differs from the standard interpretation of »the great deeds of Yahweh in
the history of his people.«22 This interpretation, of course, is quite possible, and is
the exoteric meaning of the phrase here; in several texts both in Psalms and outside
it, God's »deeds« refer to acts in history liberating Israel.23 But as noted in my p�e­
vious essay, :-TfDll�, along with the similar terms used in this psalm, can also be un-

14 Translations from the medieval Hebrew are my own [MZB], using the Hebrew edition of
M Cohen, Mikra'ot Gedolot (2003).
15 This idiom appears 27 times, always in the Hexateuch.
6
1 HALOT, s.v. 110.
17 See similarly R. Alter, The Book of Psalms (2007), 399.
18 :::1.'? 'i�' is attested only seven times in Psalms and once in Job; C'i::i' is more common

(32x), but excluding Psalms 111-112, is found only 6x in Psalms.

19 See the graph on p. 144, above.

20 The dating of psalms is notoriously difficult, but note that at the beginning of the Psalter,
it is found twice (Psalms 33 and 49), while it occurs in Psalm 19b, which is often consid­
ered late, and 6x between Psalms 107-140.
21
The Hebrew puts the predicate first, for acrostic reasons; I doubt that such syntactic
changes should also be reflected in the English.
22 H.-
J. Kraus, Psalms 60-150 (1978) 358, and many others. (In general, I will be represen­
tative rather than encyclopedic in my footnotes.)
23 The following list offers some sense of how broad this usage is: Ex 34: I0; Deut 11:7; Josh
24:31; Judg 2:7: Jer 51:10; Ps 107:24.
 146 Marc Zvi Brettler

derstood by a late tradent to refer to the Torah,24 and this is the esoteric meaning
here- this is praise by the initiated for the Torah.
!Li"ii is a highly polysemic root, but as correctly noted in HALOT,25 here
it partakes in the LBH and post-biblical meaning »to study«, and should be
understood on the esoteric level as »worthy to be studied« or »studied.« 26
Those who study the Torah are here called t:l;'1'�£lr1 - from the sense of
»someone who takes delight in something,«27 �d the theology and use of
yon on the esoteric level in the verse is similar to Ps 1:2: ;,�;,� n"}in� c� '"'
71�'�, l:�i' 71:171' imin.:n i�!:m.28
T ;f T T •• • •• T . ; ·:

iJ)? n-v?ll ini?l'"1 ;',�'? il;:trii;'l 3

JPS: His deeds are splendid and glorious; His beneficence is everlasting;
Brettler: His action is strength and might;29 his righteousness endures forever.

The idiom 11�Tii71, always in this order,30 describes royal strength.31 It

becomes more prominent later in the Psalter,32 and can function on two
planes, referring to the acts of creation- the exoteric meaning,33 and to God
as a powerful law-giver - the esoteric meaning.34
i�¥� as noted, is a synonym of71�71' 'ill�� in the previous verse. It, too, is
·

a highly polysemic root, meaning »action, deed, accomplishment, achieve­

ment,«35 and thus can equally refer to the Torah and to God's great acts in
history.
The phrase 1;17 n�l?ll is copied from Ps 19b (v. l0)36 to describe the To­
rah: i!J? ni.7?i1' 71"1i71� 71�71' n�T; otherwise it is only used in Pss 111 and 112
-thus, this verbal phrase, also, is an esoteric reference to Torah. 71pi� has the
wide semantic range of the other nouns noted so far, and can refer to both
God's actions in history,37 and the Torah.38 Also, as I noted in my previous

2� See esp. Ex 34:16 and 18:20.

25 See also D.JA. Clines, Dictionary (1995) 474, definition 7.
26
HALOT, s.v. ::!11.
27 HALOT, S.V. :>!:lr:.
28
It is difficult to determine if Psalm I l l knew Psalm I or vice versa, though I suspect the
latter.
29 In my translation, I have retained rather than toned down the stark metaphor.
30 This follows »the law of increasing members«; see Sh. Friedman, Law of Increasing
Members (1970-1971), I17-29; 192-206 (Hebrew with English summary).
31 M.Z. Brettler, God is King (1989) 60, 66.
32 It is found in Psalms 20, 96, 104, Ill , and once in Job.
33 See esp. Psalm 104:I as an introduction to the psalm as a whole.
34 On law-giving as a royal attribute, see ibid., Psalms I09-l I6; for associations between
God's justice and power see esp. Psalm 97.
35 See HALOT s.v. �::::�.
36 See Z.P. Chajes, Psalms (I970) 242.
37 See esp. I Sam I2:7.
 A Jewish Approach to Psalm 111? 147

essay, the first word of the phrase 1�? 1"1i.1?ll 11"1�1�1. and v.9, the first word of
the phrase 1��'? n?� m1�, may refer to the Torah. Following the insights con­
cerning inner�biblical interpretation· developed by Fishbane: Zakovitch, and
others, these w?rds may be a learned reference to the highly ambiguous Isa
1:27, i1"Wn ����� 11·� i1�)�J ;:t'?-�1 where it is unclear if ��fli� refers to an act
of God or of Israel.. That verse could have easily been understood by a reader
in the late biblical period to mean that Zion will be rt?deen:ed when Isra,el fol­
lows acts of���� and i1�)� of the type narrated in the Torah: Indeed, the
Targum to Isa 1:27 has this understanding, rendering ���� as ��,, and i1i?l�
as �1"1'11�. If theTargum understood it that way, it is certainly possible that
the author of Ps 1 1 1 did as well.

. ;"'!);"'!� t:l1nl1 ]1JO 1'J;1N�!?J� ;-t�� i�� 4

JPS: He has won renown for His wonders. The LORD is gracious and compas­
sionate;
Brettler: He made a commemoration for his wonders: the LORD is compas­
sionate and gracious. ·

The poet c��tinues his ambiguities in 4a: ,��N7!:1�'? i1�� 1;� � the reference of
both i�i and 1'�N7�� is ambiguous. i�i. is often understood in relation to the
cult, as a festival commemorating God's great acts.39 Although the verb i:=i is
often used in relation to Passover and the Exodus,40 and this is certainly pos­
sible on the surface level, it can also be used in reference to written docu­
ments,41 and its esoteric meaning would have been the Torah, in which God's
great deeds are written. .. . . .

Verse 4b is one of many partial restatement of the divine attributes found

in Exod 34:6�7,42 found in its Late Biblical Hebreworder. 43 The contexts in
which these adjectives appear initially support neither an interpretation re­
lated to God and history, nor an interpretation related to the Torah. Yet, it is
possible to understand 4b as explaining what the i�i. of 4a contains- that is
why I put a colon between the two parts. In other words, according to the
esoteric meaning, the i;� is the story of the Torah that shows that God is con­
4
tinually compassionate. 4 Verse 4, 1'�N'?!:i�, can certainly be understood to re­
fer to the Torah, as in Ps 119:27, '9'!)i�7!:l�J i1r:t'ill�1 '�j'::l:J '9'":)1p!:l-lT':T.·

38 See esp. Ps 119:142, where ;"!j'i::l is parallel to ;,;m.

39 See e.g. Rashi to v.4, and A. Weiser, Psalms (1965), 699-700.
40 See e.g. Deut 16:3.
41 See Esth 9:28 · ·

42 On these restatements, seeM Fishbane, Torah and T�adition (1990).

43 SeeMZ. Brett/er, The Riddle of Psalm I l l (2009).
44 This is the likely understanding of Ps 78 of traditions related to the Torah; see esp. v.38,
approximately at the psalm's midpoint: 1;::� ::.·:V�I:> ;,;;;,1 n•n:.:J:-KI:>1 11� ;;:::;:� Cir:"} Ki:-t1
in�?JJ-S:;: i'll:-x�:>,.
148 Marc Zvi Brettler

in'1=? o�ill7 ,jr 1'1;(1'" 10� 'l�t9 s

JPS: He gives food to those who fear Him; He is ever mindful of His covenant.
Brettler: He gives food to those who fear him; he remembers his covenant for­
ever.

"]i� has two main meanings in Biblical Hebrew: prey of a wild animal,
and food.45 The second meaning, which is typical of LBH, is meant here46 -
this is already noted in the Aramaic Targum and in the interpretation of
Rashi.47 Although various commentators connect v.5a to the manna or the
quail tradition,48 and this may well be the exoteric reference, the word "]i� is
never used in those contexts. Thus, on the esoteric level, the colon refers to
the idea that God rewards with food his O'Ki' - in this case those who study
and observe the Torah - an expression of the idea, common in psalms, that
the righteous flourish.49 Although 1m appears in the perfect, which would
support a reading of Sa in reference to the past, it is parallel to the imperfect
i:lT' in 5b, and both should be understood as imperfects. 50
The words in 5b are quite clear, but their referent is not: to which n'i::J do
they refer? Even if we look at the use of the words i:JT, o',1ll, and n'i::J to­
gether - and I am not convinced that we should do so - we have many possi­
ble referents, including God's covenant with Noah never to destroy the world
(Gen 9:16), the covenant to be treated well as God's people (Ezek 16:60),
and the covenant to possess the land (Ps 1 05:8). Many other covenants are
also described in the Bible.51 For most people (Strauss's »vulgar« group),
in'i:J refers to one of these covenants, but to the in-group it refers to the To­
rah itself, which could be described as, and called, a n'i::J.52 The likelihood that
in'i:J refers to the Torah is facilitated by the fact that the composer of this psalm

45 BOB, 383.
46 Ibid.
47 The Targum renders 'j":!.: in v.5 as Km�; D.M. Stec, The Targum of Psalms (2004) 204,
notes that this is the normal translation for food. Similarly, Rashi glosses "]1� with the
word pm.
4 8 See e.g. H.-J. Kraus, Psalms (1989) 358.

49 See Ps 34:10 1'�F' -:1:;;:� j'W':: and Ps 37:25: :.!�l p·"l� WKTK'::1 •m1?rc� w:;; "l!l!
c::�?-�r;� t:�n-
50 The alte� atio� of tenses is a device to avoid repetition. See the discussion of qtll/yqtl in
W.G.E. Watson, Hebrew Poetry (2005) 279-80; that discussion deals only with verbs from
the same root, but the same principle is operative with different roots.
51 The most satisfactory treatment of covenant and the covenants, remains E. W. Nicholson,
God and His People (1986).
52 See Deut 33:9-10 and the evidence sited in S.D. Sperling, Rethinking Covenant (1989)
70--71, which may suggest that already by time of!sa 56:1-7, 1"\'i:. was understood as To­
rah, though he does not make that point.
 A Jewish Approach to Psalm 111? 149

could have even understood the 'use of the word n'1:l in verses like Exod 24:7 and
Deut 28:69 to suggest that the Torah calls itself a n'1:J.53 ·

c:i• n?m cry? no? i�l'? _,WT ,,t?�� l!j 6

JPS: He revealed to His people His powerful works, in giving them the heritage
· · ·

of nations. .
'
Brettler: He 'told his' people the strength of his works, in giving them the inheri-
'
tance of the nations.

What is the re�erent of,'if'P� l'}j? Here, too, most commentators se� only the
exoteric meaning, connecting the phrase to some act in history, or even crea­
tion itself, as in Jer 10: 12: C'7?� ;,9� in�,:lr;'\:l, inl?�\9 ',::ltl 1'::l1,j injf f1tt ;,ipi;.
On the esoteric level, however, it can refer to the Torah, which tells of God's
power· time and again. Indeed, the use of n'1:l in the previous verse, along
with :-t'J;"'l here, suggests that the psalmist may be citing Deut 4:13,
in'1:i-ntt C=?'? ,.�1. which concerns the writing of the Decalogue. The idea that
our psalmist is quoting Deuteronomy 4 is made more likely by the fact that
the phrase C'iJ n�m is unique to the psalm, but the two words are used to­
gether in Deut 4:38.
The infinitive preceded by a lamed has many uses in Biblical Hebrew,
·

and here should be understood as »gerundive, explanatory or epexegetical.«54

In the exoteric readi�g, the emphasis would be on the giving of the land it­
self; in the esoteric reading, the verse refers to the text, the Torah, which
deals with the land promise and the beginning of the conquest of the land.

. ,,l,i'£1-':lf tl'JI?�� ��o/�, n9� ,,T ·w�� 7

JPS: His handiwork is. truth and justice; all His precepts are enduring,
Brettl�r: His handiwork is truth and justice; all his instructions are enduring.
_
On the exoteric level, ,, 'Wl1� here refers to creation, as elsewhere in Psalms,
e.g. C�t?� 1'"'1.: ;,tp��, r;'il�: fl�� t:·��? (Ps 1 02:26); on the esoteric level, it re­
fers to the Torah, which contains or embodies�£lW�, n�N,55 as God's crea­
:
tion.56 Chajes has suggested emending the text to �m' - ��w� or,,,, '�!:lW�,57
which would make the Torah reference much more obvious. In Ps 119:52,
'9'!9�lfi� 'nl:;:! cr;t�.r;'lttJ ;,;;,� o'{il1�,�£lW� also functions as a synonym for Torah.

53 See for example Rashi's commentary on Exod 24:7, where he suggest that n•,J refers to
the sections of the Torah that had already been given, beginning with Genesis I .
54 woe 608e.
55 As the Torah containing ��9D1 n9K., see the following late sources: Ps 19:10; 119:113,
160; Neh 9:13.
56 Indeed, one predominant tradition in post-biblical interpretati�n is that the Torah was cre­
ated before the world, and served as its blueprint; see HN. Bialik I Y.H Ravnitzky, The
Book of Legends 7, #9-10.
57 Z.P. Chajes, Psalms (1970) 242.
 150 Marc Zvi Brettler

I am not certain how a »vulgar« reader would have understood 1'"'J�pEl,

which is used twenty-one times (!) in Psalm 119 to refer to the Torah and its
contents.58 The nifal participle of 1''�K is also used of the Torah in Ps 19:8.
Stated differently, the phrase 1'l�PEl-'?� t:l'��l$� is one of the strongest hints in
the psalm that its main topic is the Torah.

59llil1.i1�) ��:1 n�l5:l c:1il.l� c'{ill'? ill? t:l'::1�o 8

JPS: well-founded for all eternity, wrought of truth and equity.
Brettler: Forever, perpetually firm, fashioned with truth and uprightness.

On the exoteric level, this refers to the creation, as in Ps 148:6, 1p'{ Cl'T��:}
ii:J p� K'?1 1DrPr:t c:::'{ill'?, the only other place the Bible has the phrase
c::: '?ill'? 1p'7. Yet the Torah is also depicted as enduring forever, as in Ps 19:10,
i1J;"P m:n 1p'7 n�9il1 i1lii1:p and Ps 1 19.60 The second part of the verse also
hints strongly at the esoteric meaning of the psalm: although ��:1 ni?K,:l
61
[illi1'1] can be imagined as qualities of the world created by God, they are
never used in this way in the Bible, 62 while these terms are used in two late
texts concerning the Torah. Nehemiah 9: 13 notes Cli)l?l1 i:l'11 J;11'1: '�'o-i;:t '?p1
C:::':li� n1:::m C:::'PJ;l n9K, niiim C:::'iY' c:::-��� c;;r'?1n.n1 C'��lli�. and 2 Chr 31:20,
for whom the Torah was authoritative/3 talks of its Torah-abiding hero Heze­
kiah,64 in the following terms: ��:01 :Ji�;:t iDl!:1 i1"'J1i1�-'?�� �i1:p\n� nKt� iDP:1
1';;t'?K, ;,�;,� '�El'? n�K,::t1· Stated differently, the diction of Ps 1 1 1:8 may allow
for the exoteric reading, but strongly supports the existence of an esoteric
reading, where this psalm refers to the Torah.

',�::! W)iJ1 ::Jiii? i n'i:: c:'{ill'?-;.,1� i� l! '? n?� nml 9

JPS: He sent redemption to His people; He ordained His covenant for all time;
His name is holy and awesome.
Brettler: He sends redemption to his nation; he commanded that his covenant
last forever; his name is Holy and Awesome.

The use of nn� is this verse is often cited to support the historical interpreta­
tion of the psalm, especially given the use of the root '"1El in Exodus contexts
in Deuteronomy. It is striking, however, that the noun n�1 � is used only once

18
The other two referents to C'iY:!:l (the singular is never found in the Bible) also likely re-
fer to the Torah - see Pss 19:9; I03:18.
19 MT is impossible here, and must be emended with the vast majority of scholars.
60 See esp. vv.l42, 152.
61 MT is impossible here, and must be emended with the vast majority of scholars.
62 Similarly, it is noteworthy that the (rare) passive participle of ::"1)0 is never used of crea­
tion in the Bible.
63 For the Torah as a source of Chronicles, seeS. Japhet, Chronicles (1993) 14-15.
64 See e.g. S. Japhet, Chronicles (1993) 912: »Hezekiah is the greatest Judaean monarch af­
ter David and Solomon.«
 A Jewish Approach to Psalm 111? 151

in an Exodus context (Exod 8: 19) the poet may have chosen it rather than a
-

more common Exodus word to hint that this may not be an Exodus reference
after all-on the esoteric level, the Torah is the nation's n1i5:l. Of course, the
proper understanding of this mi� will determine if it should be translated into
English as a: past or as a present.·
· In my translation I have capitalized »Holy« and »Awesome« since I
would like to suggest that they may represent names of God.65 I believe that
�iiJ1 tliiip may have been a compound name of God,66 and that the syntax
T • , T . • ,

and semantics of the end of this verse are similar to those of the phrases
mtli m�::J::; :11:1' or-,;,�� :11:1'.
i�tli m�::J::;, found fourteen times in the Bible. The roots tli"ip and K"i' are
folind frequently in a wide variety of contexts in the Bible; but are of course
especially at home in the Sinai pericope.

in7::rn O;::t'iUir'?:;::? :li� '?;ip :1):1� mq: iit?=?r;t n•!liKi ill? ni.�ll 10
JPS: The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD; all who practice it gain
sound understanding. Praise of Him is everlasting.
Brettler: The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD; it provides good
sense to all who do them; his praise endures forever.

The distribution ;,�;,� n�j' is quite unusual. It is predominantly, but not ex­
clusively, a wisdom term. For the exoteric reader, the wisdom meaning of
;,�;,� n�T fits well - as a result of appreciating all the great acts of God in
history, it is w�rthwhile having ;,�;,� ni'(T, namely following God and his
commandments. However,· in a small number of psalms, ;,�;,� ni'(T seems to
be a technical term for the Torah, as I have discussed elsewhere - it even al­
ludes alliterati�ely to Torah.67 There I also noted that the suffix of
·

ory'ip:V must refer back to 1'"1�PE:l in v.7. This jarring reference to something
three verses earlier also heightens the role of Torah, its study, and obser­
vance. The final clause of the psalm mentions in'?;,n - His [God's] praise.
Quite appropriately, this too is ambiguous, and is open to exoteric and eso­
teric readings: God �an be praised for his acts in history, or for his Torah, as
in Ps (19: 171: :17:1f;1 '1i�� :1�l1�8 '9'Pt:l 'Ji�??n ':l. This is a fitting ambiguity to
conclude a psalm full of these ambiguities.

65 This point is independent of any suggested exoteric or esoteric interpretations of the rest
of the psalm.
66
If this is not a compound name, the� i�� would be wrong, and would have to read 1'm�:.:i.
On divine names, see T.N.D. Mettinger, In Search of God. (1988), who does not include
lliip and Ki1l as names. I hope in the future to expand on why they might be considered
names; meanwhile, see Mal 1: 14; Pss 22:4; 71:22; 47:3; 76:8, and note the comment of A.
Hakham, The Bible (2003) 3.145.
67 See esp. the discussion of Ps 19:10 and 32:14 in my previous article.
 152 Marc Zvi Brettler

Earlier I noted that I would explore why this psalm has both an exoteric
and an esoteric meaning. It is a post-exilic psalm,6 8 but our knowledge of the
history of the post-exilic p eriod, especially its social and socio-religious his­
tory, is very fragmentary. For these reasons, I do not believe that it is possi bl e
to identify the specific i n- and out-group of this psalm, and precisely why the
psalm was written in this riddle fashion.6 9 Wellhausen explains Psalm 111 in
the following historical c ontext:
At one time the heathen meant to abolish the Jewish ordinances, which they deemed ab­
surd; the greater part of the Jews also doubted whether their Law was destined to hold
good for ever. They appeared to be then in imminent danger. But it was firmly re­
established through the deliverance (from the heathen) which JHVH sent (by the Mac­
cabees, 167 B. C.). 70

There is nothing in the psalm that suggests specifically that i t should be

dated to the Maccabean period, and we could i magine many other possible
c ontexts that would explai n i ts production. The l ac k of identification of the
in- and out-group does not, I believe, weaken my i nterpretation, since the so­
ciety of Jehud was complex enough to have had a wide variety of in- and out­
groups. One alternative to Wellhausen's hypothesis would be that the in­
group was responsible, or connected to those responsible, for the formation
or canonization of the Torah. This group may have realized the p roblematic
nature of bringing various documents together into a single text, because this
effort creates as many problems as solutions, and thus may have i magined
that the circulation of the Torah would and should be limited. Such a group
could have composed a psalm like this, but there is too little internal evidence
to suggest that this hypothesis, like Wellhausen's, is c orrect or even likely.

Given the framework of thi s volume, I would like to c onclude with some ob­
servations concerning the extent to which my i nterpretation of Psalm 111
may be viewed as Jewish. The entire concept of what characterizes Jewish
biblical interpretation is fraught with difficul ties, since there are a wide vari­
ety of ways that Jews of different types practiced, and currently engage i n,
biblical scholarship. Some of the differences between »typical« Jewish and
non-Jewish biblical scholarship may derive from specific Jewish commit­
ments or beliefs, while others may derive from knowledge of texts, l an­
guages, or perspectives that Jewish scholars, on average, are more likely to
know than their non-Jewi sh counterparts. Given that in several countries, i n­
cl udi ng the United States, biblical studies has moved out of departments of
theology, the line between Jewish and non-Jewish biblical i nterpretation is

68
See p. 155f .

69 On the psalm as a riddle, see my previous article The Riddle of Psalm 111. I view my
current emphasis on in- and out-groups as a refinement of that position.
70 J. Wellhausen, The Book of Psalms (1898) 207 n. 2 (on v.9).
 A Jewish Approach to Psalm 111? 153

becoming more and more fluid, as Jews engage in the study of Christian tra­
dition, and Christian of post-biblical Judaism.71 The following observations
are thus meant to be suggestive rather than definitive, and are an attempt to
explain in a self-reflective fashion why what precedes, the product of one
Jewish biblical scholar, differs from the typical analyses of Psalm 111.
L The first category of differences concerns sidestepping what may be
considered common assumptions of many non-Jewish interpreters. For ex­
ample, my interpretation· of Psalm 111 ignores the predominant Protestant
category associated with Gerhard von Rad of Heilsgeschichte or »salvation­
history«,7� which suggests that the psalms are very anchored in the cult, and
that Psalms is replete with references to events in Israel's past. While
Heilsgeschichte certainly is an important theme in the Bible, including
Psalms, it sh<:mld not be seen as the over-arching theme.73 Similarly, I am not
sympathetic to the common negative valuation of the post-exilic period in
general (»silver« vs. »gold«), and of many post-exilic psalms. Thus, when
exploring the meaning of Psalm Ill, I have a different perspective than
Kraus, who says: »Obviously the psalmist is contending against torpor and
petrification as they are observable in postexilic Judaism.«74
. · 2. At the same time, as a Jewish interpreter who views Torah study as a
religious value, it is natural for me to appreciate Torah study as positive and
fulfilling. I am deeply sympathetic to the theology of Psalm 119, which con­
tains verses such as v.97: 'n!Tt!l N':1 ci•;:r'?� ·�]l;qin 'n1tr�r;,�, where love of
Torah »replaces« love of God. As a Jew who appreciates the ideal of Torah
story, it is easy for me to understand how a psalm can praise Torah and its
study,75: and to interpret Psalm 111 within this framework.
:: :; 3.,Many Jewish scholars, including me, have more knowledge of, and
easier access to, a variety of Jewish works that are typically not cited in the
mainstream literature of biblical scholars. For example, in the area of Psalms
commentaries, I have included the following three books: the 2003 Psalms
volume of the rabbinic Bible edited by Menachem Cohen,76 the 1981 Psalms

71 For a discussion of the nature of Jewish biblical interpretation, see ES. Frerichs, Intro­
duction (1987) 1---6 . I do not agree with the observations of»reading the Psalms as Jewish
Scripture« that are found in J C. McCann Jr., Reading the Psalms (2007) 13 I .
7 2 For an _exploration of Von Rad's use of this concept, see D. G . Spriggs, Two Old Testa­

ment Theologies (1974) 34-59 and J Barr, Concept (1999) 32-37.

73 For other structures for organizing biblical theology, see J Barr, Concept (1999) 32-37.

74 H.-J Kraus, Psalms 60--150 (1993) 359. This evaluation of the post-exilic period is ac­
cepted by some Jewish scholars as well, but is more typical of Christian scholarship.
75 For some sense of the importance of Torah study in rabbinic culture, see the sixty-one
. sources collected in H.N. Bialik I Y.H. Ravnitzky, The Book of Legends (1992) 403-409.
�6 M. Cohen, Mikra'ot Gedolot (2003). This edition contains reliable texts of the main He­
. brew commentaries in a clear type-face (rather than Rashi script).
154 Marc Zvi Brettler

commentary by Amos Hakham, 77 and the 1902 Hebrew commentary by Zvi

Peretz Chajes.78 The commentary by Hakham, part of the Israeli commentary
series by the Rav Kook Institute, offers an unusual combination of knowl­
edge of modem biblical studies (Hakham studied Bible at the Hebrew Uni­
versity of Jerusalem) and knowledge of the traditional Jewish sources. Zvi
Peretz (Hirsch) Chajes (also spelled Chajot) was an Austrian trained Oriental­
ist born in 1876. He taught in Florence (Cassuto was his student), and served
as chief rabbi of Vienna; his premature death in 1927 prevented him from
serving as the first professor of Bible at Hebrew University.79 I hope that my
observations above showed the insightfulness of these sources.
I have also cited material written in rabbinic, medieval, and modem He­
brew, written in dialects t hat most non-Jewish biblical scholars have not
learned. The use of these post-biblical traditions in a variety of places has of­
fered me a point of view that is different from the typical perspective of non­
Jewish scholars. The use of such Jewish literature even extends into the mod­
em period: it was thus natural for me to be familiar with Leo Straus, Persecu­
80
tion and the Art of Writing, a book which has a c anonical status in Jewish
studies, and offered the conceptual framework of this article. The use of this
wide range of sources by me or by other Jewish scholars is comparable to the
way a Christian is more likely to utilize sources from the New Testament, or
to be influenced by the rich Christian theological tradition.
I believe that my knowledge of Jewish texts and tradition also led me t o a
special sensitivity to the nature of this psalm as an anthological work, a sig­
nificant point of my previous essay. Copying, reintegrating, forming antholo­
gies - all of these are important characteristics of post-biblical literature, and
indeed, as Fishbane has shown, 81 of late biblical literature as well. The fact
that I am used to this style from a variety of Jewish, post-biblical texts made
it easier for me to find it in this psalm. 82
4. Judaism has a much more ambivalent attitude toward translation than
does Christianity, in which non-Hebrew biblical texts have attained canonical
status. For this reason, I typically cite biblical texts only in Hebrew. In addi­
tion, I take the MT very seriously, and my commentary deals with the MT,

77 This has been translated into English as A. Hakham, The Bible (2003).
78 Z.P. Chajes, Psalms (1970).
79 For more biographical information, see S. Baron, Chajes (2007); concerning the Hebrew
University, seeS. Japhet, Establishment and Early History, 1925- 1949 (2005) 286.
80 Straus, Persecution (1988).
81 M. Fishbane, Biblical Interpretation (1985).
82 Here and in all my other comments, I do not mean to imply that you have to be Jewish to
appreciate a particular point. For example, I want to openly acknowledge the comment in
K. Schaefer, Psalms (2001) 276, »Echoes of biblical phrases are heard in Psalm Ill,
which is like an anthology.«
 A Jewish Approach to Psalm 111? 155

unless I find it impossible to interpret. 83 To my mind, any other Hebrew text

is conjectural, while the MT has the status of the text of the Jewish commu­
nity. When I need to refer to a translation, I use the Jewish Publication Soci­
ety translation -the translation of my faith community. My understanding of
Judaism also informed, I believe, the nature of my translation of the psalm. If
translations may be categorized from highly literal to highly periphrastic, to
the extent that Jews write translations, the main Jewish tendency is to avoid
paraphrases. This is seen in many of the ancient translations, most extremely
in Aquila, and iri the two recent translations of sections of the Bible by
Everett Fox and Robert Alter.84 In addition, my choice to avoid the Tetra­
grammaton (see v.1, »Praise the LORD!«) results from Jewish sensitivities,
since within Judaism the Tetragramm aton is traditionally not pronounced.85
. 5. I also take senously the possibility of linguistic dating of biblical texts,
espeCially texts: in Psalms. This method, developed by Avi Hurvitz,86 has
been debated in recent publications,87 and in general, more Jewish scholars
are amenable to, and practice this method than their non-Jewish colleagues.
Thus·, in relation to Psalm 111, in addition to my observations in the ear­
lier article;: I would add the following signs of Late Biblical Hebrew:
The root 1"�l.l is used in its non-literal sense of »endure« rather than
»stand (up)« - this is a sign of LBH. 88

��:1 n��:::. c:1iD� c ? il1' il}? 1:':1�0 Ps Ill :8

n7?15 'i�l itd' :nn�1 n�n-,,�, ���?' n'ryp t!ip:l.Eccll2:10
cry? 1n.nJ o:1?�� o;;t1?JJ 1:::011 J;lil: 'to--,;:� 'lJ1 Neh 9:13
l:':l.it!l ni¥�1 tl'i'r:t n�15 niiin1 tl 'i�: c:-����
'J£l' n�15:;t1 ��:01 :l.it!l;:t tvl}:J ;"1"')1;,:-,�� 1;-;:p�n: n�9 iDJ}:J 2 Chr 31 :20
1':;t'� ;'i);'i'

I do not yet have a clear understanding of why more Jewish than non­
Jewish scholars are interested in, and sympathetic to, the linguistic dating of
biblical texts.

83 Here I follow the method of M Greenberg, Ezekiel 1-20 (1983) and Ezekiel 21-37
(1997); see esp. Ezekiel l-20, 19.
84 See especially their Torah translations: R. Alter, The Five Books of Moses (2004) and E
Fox, The Five Books of Moses (2000). There are of course exceptions to the idea that
Jewish translation is always literal; the most noteworthy of these is the Targum to the
Song of Songs. : .

85 On the development of this idea in rabbinic culture, see EE. Urbach, The Sages (1986)
124-34.
86 A. Hurvitz, Transition Period (1972).
87 See/. Young, Biblical Hebrew (2003). ·

88 J. Gottlieb, -ir.Jl1 =to endure (1987), 383-86.

 156 Marc Zvi Brettler

Thus, even though I do not believe that it is responsible to generalize

about the nature of Jewish biblical scholarship, I see several key aspects of
my interpretation and presentation of Psalm 111 as informed by my interest
in Judaism and knowledge of Jewish texts. I do not, however, mean to say
that the features noted above are sufficient to characterize all Jewish biblical
interpretation, 89 or even Jewish biblical interpretation of Psalm 111. Non­
Jews can and have expressed interpretations similar to my own.90
I believe that my observations should be of interest to all readers of this
psalm. In the early twenty-first century, we must recognize the problems of
purely objective, scientific historical-critical interpretation, and that we are
each informed by our religious upbringing and knowledge.91 We must be
aware of these biases,92 and must be careful not to be overly influenced by
them. At the same time, we must celebrate the way that our particularistic
perspectives allow us to see various features of the text that others, from
other traditions, do not see, just as they, on the basis of different back­
grounds, can call our attention to certain features to which we are initially
blind.

89 For example, discussion of different texts might have led to the inclusion of holistic inter­
pretation, so characteristic of Moshe Greenberg and others.
90 So, for example, the following t\vo articles understand the main theme of Psalm 111 as the
Torah: H. v. Grot, Torah (2001) 229-36; and E. Zenger, Dimensionen (2003) 37-58.
91 This has been the major, though typically unacknowledged, contribution of feminist study
on the humanities, and on later developments such as post-structuralism.
92 See my discussion of biases in interpretation in M Z. Brettler, Creation of History (1995)
10.
 A Jewish Approach to Psalm 111? 157

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