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PSALM 44

STROPHE DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

1. The opening strophes are contrasts between the failure of human plans and efforts and YHWH's effective and purposeful plans.
   
   
2. In a way this Psalm is similar to
   1. Deuteronomy 32
   2. Nehemiah 9
   3. Psalm 78
      
      

      which are the history of Israel's faithlessness and YHWH's faithfulness during the early years (exodus, wilderness, conquest, judges).

3. This Psalm obviously was written after Israel's experience of exile. Its focus is national not individual.
   
   
4. It must be stated again and again that YHWH has an eternal redemptive purpose.
   SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN
   SPECIAL TOPIC: WHY DO OT COVENANT PROMISES SEEM SO DIFFERENT FROM NT COVENANT PROMISES?

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 44:1-3
 ¹O God, we have heard with our ears,
 Our fathers have told us
 The work that You did in their days,
 In the days of old.
 ²You with Your own hand drove out the nations;
 Then You planted them;
 You afflicted the peoples,
 Then You spread them abroad.
 ³For by their own sword they did not possess the land,
 And their own arm did not save them,
 But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence,
 For You favored them.

44:1-3 This strophe recounts (PERFECT VERBS, cf. Deut. 32:7) all of YHWH's activities for Israel during the conquest of Joshua. This conquest fulfilled the promise of Gen. 15:12-21. Notice the Genesis passage emphasizes YHWH's role (i.e., holy war) in the promise. YHWH acted, Abraham slept! The conquest was YHWH's victory, not the Israelite military's (Ps. 44:3).

44:1 "we have heard" The Jewish annual feasts were occasions to instruct the new generations about God's saving activities (cf. Exodus 12; Deut. 6:20-25; note the recurrent phrase, "when your children ask. . .," cf. Exod. 12:26,27; 13:14-15; Deut. 6:20-25; Josh. 4:6-7,21-24). It is the spiritual responsibility of every generation of believers to instruct the new generation about God, His character, and redemptive acts.

SPECIAL TOPIC: FEASTS OF ISRAEL

44:2 "the nations. . .the peoples" This refers to the native tribes of Canaan.

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE PRE-ISRAELITE INHABITANTS OF PALESTINE

▣ "You planted them" In context this still refers to the Canaanite tribes (cf. LXX). The OT viewed YHWH as the establisher of all people groups (cf. LXX of Deut. 32:8). Genesis 15:12-21 asserts that the inhabitants of Canaan were expelled because of their sins; when Israel sins she will be expelled also (cf. Psalm 78).

The TEV, REV, and NET Bible assume that Ps. 43:2 relates to

1. the Canaanite people, Ps. 44:2a,c
2. the Israelites under Joshua, Ps. 44:2b,d (cf. Exod. 15:17; Jer. 45:4)

44:3 It was not Israel's military but YHWH's power to accomplish His purposes that allowed Israel to leave Egypt, travel to Canaan, and dispossess the native tribes!

Notice the parallelism between

1. Your right hand
2. Your arm
3. the light of Your presence (cf. Ps. 43:3a)

Number 3 would refer to the Shekinah Cloud of Glory during the Wilderness Wandering Period.

SPECIAL TOPIC: ANTHROPOMORPHIC LANGUAGE TO DESCRIBE GOD

SPECIAL TOPIC: SHEKINAH

▣ "save" See SPECIAL TOPIC: SALVATION (OT)

▣ "You favored them" This is the purpose of YHWH's promise to Abraham.

1. a seed (i.e., descendants)
2. a land
   1. Abraham — Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 15:18
   2. Israel — Gen. 26:3
   3. Jacob — Gen. 28:13

The VERB "favored" (BDB 953, KB 1280, Qal PERFECT) denotes the covenant purpose (cf. Gen. 12:3) of bringing all peoples to Himself (see SPECIAL TOPIC; YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMTPIVE PLAN). YHWH chose to use Abraham and his seed (cf. Deut. 4:37; 7:7-8; 10:15) to reach all the sons and daughters of Adam.

SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT PROMISES TO THE PATRIARCHS

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 44:4-8
 ⁴You are my King, O God;
 Command victories for Jacob.
 ⁵Through You we will push back our adversaries;
 Through Your name we will trample down those who rise up against us.
 ⁶For I will not trust in my bow,
 Nor will my sword save me.
 ⁷But You have saved us from our adversaries,
 And You have put to shame those who hate us.
 ⁸In God we have boasted all day long,
 And we will give thanks to Your name forever.  Selah.

44:4-8 If the first strophe, dominated by PERFECT VERBS, denotes the past, this one, dominated by IMPERFECTS, denotes the present. Both deal with the concept of "holy war" or " God as Warrior." YHWH (or His name, Ps. 44:5,8) is the source of Israel's victories, not their military.

44:4 "You are my King" YHWH as king probably comes from 1 Sam.8:7. The Israelite king was only an earthly representative of YHWH's rule and reign (cf. Isa. 24:23; 52:7; Ps. 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1). In Jewish literature and ritual, YHWH is called "King of the Universe."

The NET Bible (p. 904, #18) has an interesting note connected to the vacillation between the SINGULAR and the PLURAL.

1. SINGULAR, vv. 4,6
2. PLURAL, vv. 1-3,5,7-8

It suggests that this variation may reflect an antiphonal usage of vv. 1-8 in public worship.

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE KINGDOM OF GOD

▣ "Command victories for Jacob" This is an IMPERATIVE OF REQUEST (BDB 845, KB 1010, Piel IMPERATIVE.

The word "victories" is literally "salvation" (BDB 447). In the OT it denotes deliverance from physical problems and enemies. See SPECIAL TOPIC: SALVATION (OT)

It is possible that the ending letter on Elohim could go with the next word, making it "my Commander" (AB, p. 265), which would be parallel to "My King." AB thinks the next phrase should also be a parallel title, "the Savior of Jacob."

▣ "for Jacob" This is an allusion to YHWH's promises to the Patriarchs (i.e., Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, cf. Genesis 12-35). YHWH has an eternal revelatory, redemptive purpose for the whole world in which Israel and Jesus are key components!

SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT PROMISES TO THE PATRIARCHS

SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN

44:5 "in Your name" See SPECIAL TOPIC: "THE NAME" OF YHWH

▣ "push back. . .trample" These two VERBS are imagery for YHWH's power in battle on behalf of His covenant people.

1. "push back" ‒ BDB 618, KB 667, Qal IMPERFECTS, literally, "to gore," see usage in Deut. 33:17; 1 Kgs. 22:11; 2 Chr. 18:10
2. "trample" ‒ BDB 100, KB 115, Qal IMPERFECT, see usage in Ps. 60;12; 108:13; Isa. 14:25; 63:6; Zech. 10:5

44:6 The covenant people's victories are not won by their numbers, might, or weaponry, but by their covenant God (cf. Ps. 33:16; 60:10-11; 1 Sam. 17:47; Hosea 1:7; Zech. 4:6).

The fall of

1. Egypt
2. Canaanite tribes
3. Philistines
4. Assyria
5. Persia
6. Selucids
7. Rome
8. Anti-Christ

seems impossible but in YHWH they have and will fall! As does Satan himself.

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE FALL OF SATAN AND HIS ANGELS

44:8 Notice the parallelism of Ps. 44:8.

1. boasted ‒ give thanks
2. all day long ‒ forever

▣ "Selah" See Introduction to Psalms, VII and note at Ps. 3:2.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 44:9-16
 ⁹Yet You have rejected us and brought us to dishonor,
 And do not go out with our armies.
 ¹⁰You cause us to turn back from the adversary;
 And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.
 ¹¹You give us as sheep to be eaten
 And have scattered us among the nations.
 ¹²You sell Your people cheaply,
 And have not profited by their sale.
 ¹³You make us a reproach to our neighbors,
 A scoffing and a derision to those around us.
 ¹⁴You make us a byword among the nations,
 A laughingstock among the peoples.
 ¹⁵All day long my dishonor is before me
 And my humiliation has overwhelmed me,
 ¹⁶Because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles,
 Because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.

44:9-16 This strophe is a stark reversal of Ps. 44:1-3 and 4-8. Instead of YHWH fighting for Israel (i.e., 44:9b; Ps. 60:10; 108:11), He is fighting against them. It does not specifically mention why, but the problem was covenant disobedience and its consequences (cf. Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 27-30).

The terrible consequences were not just military defeat but exile, slavery, humiliation!

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE CONSEQUENCES OF IDOLATRY

44:9 "You have rejected us" This VERB (BDB 276, KB 276, Qal PERFECT) is used often in the Psalms where YHWH rejects His covenant people (cf. Ps. 44:9,23; 60:1,10; 74:1; 77:7; 108:11). The reason why is the big question.

1. covenant disobedience (i.e., Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 27-30; see SPECIAL TOPIC: KEEP)
2. their relationship with YHWH (i.e., Job, Psalm 73, Habakkuk)
3. a test of their loyalty not related to blessings (see SPECIAL TOPIC: GOD TESTS HIS PEOPLE)

The Psalm does not answer this, unless Ps. 44:22 is the key to the whole Psalm.

SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT

44:12 "You sell Your people cheaply" This VERB (BDB 569, KB 581, Qal IMPERFECT) is the opposite of "ransom" and "redeem" (see SPECIAL TOPIC: RANSOM/REDEEM). What a shocking reversal for the descendants of Abraham. It also demands we rethink the word "forever."

SPECIAL TOPIC: FOREVER ('olam)

44:14 YHWH's actions toward His covenant people sent exactly the wrong message to the nations/peoples! However, radical action was necessary to insure a proper message about the character of YHWH for the future (cf. Ezek. 36:22-36).

SPECIAL TOPIC: CHARACTERISTICS OF ISRAEL'S GOD (OT)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 44:17-19
 ¹⁷All this has come upon us, but we have not forgotten You,
 And we have not dealt falsely with Your covenant.
 ¹⁸Our heart has not turned back,
 And our steps have not deviated from Your way,
 ¹⁹Yet You have crushed us in a place of jackals
 And covered us with the shadow of death.

44:17-19 This strophe is an attempt to accept responsibility. Israel is claiming innocence.

1. we have not forgotten You
2. we have not dealt falsely with Your covenant
3. our heart (collective) has not turned back
4. our steps have not deviated from Your way

This claim of innocence is continued in the next strophe (cf. Ps. 44:20-22). This may be true for some Israelites, but not for the majority of them, for the majority of their history (cf. Deuteronomy 32; Psalm 78; Nehemiah 9).

Psalm 44:19 is theologically similar to Job where he was willing to make God look bad to enhance his own case. The psalmist is accusing God of acting against them in an unfair manner!

For a different interpretation see Derek Kidner, Tyndale OT Commentaries, vol. 15, pp. 185-186.

44:17 "Your covenant" See SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT.

44:18 "our steps have not deviated from Your way" See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE PATH, THE WAY

The difference between these two is one consonant.

1. jackals — BDB 1072, תנים
2. sea monster — BDB 1072, תנין

The UBS Text Project (p. 237) gives "jackals" a "B" rating (some doubt). The JPSOA gives Ezek. 29:3; 32:2, as parallel passages for tannin (i.e., "sea monster," cf. Gen. 1:21; Job 7:12).

From the Canaanite literature desert creatures are often used as figurative language for the demonic of a nation (see SPECIAL TOPIC: THE DEMONIC IN THE OT, cf. Isa. 13:21-22; 34:11-15; Jer. 9:11; Mic. 1:8; Zeph. 2:14).

SPECIAL TOPIC: LEVIATHAN

The MT has "deep darkness" ("shadow," BDB 853 compound with "death," BDB 559), which is used in several senses.

1. deep darkness as opposed to daylight ‒ Job 3:5; 34:22; Amos 5:8
2. darkness as hidden truth ‒ Job 12:22; 24:17 (i.e., God's knowledge)
3. darkness as opposed to artificial light ‒ Job 28:3 (lantern in mine)
4. terror of night time (i.e., the realmof demons and preditors) ‒ Job 24:17 (for same imagery in Job, see Job 15:24; 18:11,14; 20:25; 27:20)
5. imagery of distress/shame ‒ Ps. 23:4; 44:19; 107:10,14; Jer. 13:16
6. death ‒ Job 10:21-22; 38:17 (possibly Ps. 23:4)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 44:20-26
 ²⁰If we had forgotten the name of our God
 Or extended our hands to a strange god,
 ²¹Would not God find this out?
 For He knows the secrets of the heart.
 ²²But for Your sake we are killed all day long;
 We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
 ²³Arouse Yourself, why do You sleep, O Lord?
 Awake, do not reject us forever.
 ²⁴Why do You hide Your face
 And forget our affliction and our oppression?
 ²⁵For our soul has sunk down into the dust;
 Our body cleaves to the earth.
 ²⁶Rise up, be our help,
 And redeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness.

44:20 This is a specific denial of idolatry. They assert that if they were idolatrous, YHWH would surely have known (Ps. 44:21, cf. Ps. 7:9; 17:3; 26:2; 66:10; 139:23; Jer. 11:20; 17:10; 20:12).

SPECIAL TOPIC: "THE NAME" OF YHWH

▣ "extended our hands" This is literally "spread forth" (BDB 831, KB 975, Qal IMPERFECT). This was a physical gesture of worship, usually denoting prayer (cf. Exod. 9:29; 2 Chr. 6:12; Ezra 9:5; Job 11:13; Ps. 28:2; 88:9; 134:2; 141:2; 143:6; Lam. 2:19), but could include offering (i.e., lifting up) some type of sacrifice (animal, incense, vegetable, or wine).

44:22 This is a claim, like Ps. 44:19, that YHWH has abandoned Israel (cf. UBS Handbook, p. 409). Paul makes use of this verse in Rom. 8:36, and seems to indicate that God's people face problems in a fallen world but He is with them and for them. Nothing can separate us from God's love in Christ (cf. Rom. 8:31-39).

▣ "for Your sake" Some have seen this phrase as the key theological thrust of the Psalm. God's people are persecuted, not because of their sin, but because of their relationship to Him. This motif is clearly seen in the life of Jesus and the Apostles and church.

I am just not sure there is enough textual evidence from this Psalm to make this claim!

44:23-26 This is seen as a separate strophe by NKJV, NRSV. There is a series of prayer requests (IMPERATIVES and JUSSIVES).

1. arouse Yourself, Ps. 44:23 – BDB 734, KB 802, Qal IMPERATIVE, cf. Ps. 7:6; 35:23
2. awake – BDB 884, KB 1098, Qal IMPERATIVE, cf. Ps. 35:23
3. do not reject us forever – BDB 276, KB 276, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense, cf. Ps. 77:7
4. rise up – BDB 877, KB 1086, Qal IMPERATIVE, cf. Ps. 3:7; 7:6; 9:19; 10:12; 17:13; 74:22; 82:8; 132:8
5. redeem us – BDB 804, KB 911, Qal IMPERATIVE, cf. Ps. 25:22; 130:8 (see SPECIAL TOPIC: RANSOM/REDEEM)

44:23 "why do You sleep, O Lord?" This is an idiomatic anthropomorphic phrase (cf. Ps. 78:65). YHWH (here called Adonai) does not sleep (cf. Ps. 121:4), but at times because of Israel's sin, He seems to remove Himself from fellowship with them (cf. Ps. 44:24-25).

For a good brief discussion see Hard Sayings of the Bible, "Does God Sleep?" (pp. 268-269).

SPECIAL TOPIC: GOD DESCRIBED AS HUMAN

SPECIAL TOPIC: LORD 9Adon and Kurios)

▣ "do not reject us forever" "Forever" is another idiom referring to fellowship (cf. Ps. 103:9). It seemed forever to them! But it was simply a period of disfellowship so as to engender repentance and restore long term fellowship.

SPECIAL TOPIC: FOREVER ('olam)

44:25 This is imagery for people praying, either on their knees or prostrate on the ground. This was an unusual position of prayer, which was usually standing with hands lifted and eyes open, looking up. Solomon prayed on his knees (cf. 2 Chr. 6:13); Daniel prayed on his knees (cf. Dan. 6:10); Jesus prayed on His face in Gethsemane (cf. Matt. 26:39)! It is a way to denote intensity!

44:26 "Rise up" Most of the praayer requests involve the imagery of Israel calling for YHWH to act from His throne in heaven (footstool between the Cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant). Stand up, take notice, do something for us!!!

"for the sake of Your lovingkindness" YHWH acts for

1. His love for their fathers (i.e., the Patriarchs)
2. His promise to their fathers (see SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT PROMISES TO THE PATRIARCHS)
3. His wider purpose of the Abrahamic covenant (cf. Gen. 12:3; see SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN)
4. His covenant loyalty, see SPECIAL TOPIC: LOVINGKINDNESS (HESED) to His word (cf. Ps. 6:4; 109:21,26; 119:149)

It was not because of Israel's goodness (cf. Deut. 9:4-6; Ezek. 36:22-38).

SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH's GRACE ACTS TO ISRAEL

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. What aspect of the covenant is brought into question in this Psalm?
2. What does this Psalm teach about the political structure of Israel?
3. Why has Israel been defeated?
4. Why is God asked to respond?

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