A Psalm of thanksgiving, calling all the earth to serve Hashem with gladness and enter His courts with praise, for His mercy and faithfulness endure forever.
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A Psalm of thanksgiving. Shout to Hashem, all the earth.
verse value 1431
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 26 letters. The shortest word is "a·psalm" (מִזְמ֥וֹר, 5 letters) and the longest is "all·the·earth" (כׇּל־הָאָֽרֶץ, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "of·thanksgiving" (לְתוֹדָ֑ה). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·Hashem" (root יהוה, 688x in Psalms); "all·the·earth" (root ארץ, 157x in Psalms); "a·psalm" (root מזמור, 57x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'of·thanksgiving', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 3 words. Full calculation: מִזְמ֥וֹר [a·psalm] (293) + לְתוֹדָ֑ה [of·thanksgiving] (445) + הָרִ֥יעוּ [shout] (291) + לַ֝יהֹוָ֗ה [to·Hashem] (56) + כׇּל־הָאָֽרֶץ [all·the·earth] (346) = 1431.
Rashi
"A song for a thanksgiving offering" — For thanksgiving, to recite it over thanksgiving offerings.
Ibn Ezra
'A psalm of thanksgiving. Shout to Hashem, all the earth' — like 'when a land sins against Me' (Ezekiel 14:13), for 'earth/land' is a term denoting a category that includes all its inhabitants.
Radak
"For thanksgiving" [le-todah] — Its meaning is that you should thank Him for the kindness He did with you, and you shall say, "Shout to Hashem, all the earth," for all the earth will rejoice at your joy.
Metzudat David
"For thanksgiving" — This psalm is recited by one who brings a thanksgiving offering for a miracle done for him. "Shout, etc." — because you see the wonders of Hashem in the miracle done for me.
Malbim
'A psalm of thanksgiving' — for giving thanks for a miracle. 'Shout to Hashem' — for when He conducts Himself according to nature, He is like a king shut up in his palace who governs through his ministers and counselors; but at the time of a miracle He is like a king who goes out from his palace and walks about among the people to oversee their affairs Himself, and then all shout a great shout to proclaim Him king, as it is written, 'All you peoples, clap your hands; shout unto God.'
Serve Hashem with gladness; come before His presence with singing.
verse value 1356
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 28 letters. The shortest word is "come" (בֹּ֥אוּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "Hashem" (אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "with·a·ringing·cry" (בִּרְנָנָֽה). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 688x in Psalms); "before·Him" (root פנים, 131x in Psalms); "come" (root בוא, 79x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·joy', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: עִבְד֣וּ [serve] (82) + אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה [Hashem] (427) + בְּשִׂמְחָ֑ה [with·joy] (355) + בֹּ֥אוּ [come] (9) + לְ֝פָנָ֗יו [before·Him] (176) + בִּרְנָנָֽה [with·a·ringing·cry] (307) = 1356.
Rashi
"Serve the Lord with joy" — Now why so much? You should know the Lord is God, Who recompenses you with reward for your work, but the heathens need not worship with joy because their deities do not give them any reward.
Ibn Ezra
'Serve' — the custom of every servant is to be downcast; therefore [it adds] 'with gladness.' And you shall not appear [before Him] in secret, but rather with joyful song.
Radak
"Serve" — That His service should not be a burden, but done with joy and gladness of heart.
Malbim
'Serve' — there is a difference between the service of Hashem and service of flesh and blood. For one who serves flesh and blood does not rejoice in his service, since he is not certain that he will receive a reward for it; and even if he does receive a reward, the reward is not continuous with the service itself but comes after it. Because of this he serves in sorrow, like anyone engaged with means before he attains the end. Not so the service of Hashem, which is itself the reward and the end — this service will be 'with gladness.' 'Come before Him with singing' — one who comes before flesh and blood to make a request comes with weeping and crying out, and only his departure will be with singing, if his request is granted; but one who comes before Hashem 'comes with singing,' for he will certainly have his request granted.
Know you that Hashem He is God; it is He who has made us, and we are His, His people, and the flock of His pasture.
verse value 1855
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 48 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹ֫הִ֥ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "know" (דְּע֗וּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "He·made·us" (הֽוּא־עָ֭שָׂנוּ, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "know" (דְּע֗וּ), "He·made·us" (הֽוּא־עָ֭שָׂנוּ). The root לא appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that·Hashem" (root יהוה, 688x in Psalms); "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "and·to·Him" (root לא, 174x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'we', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 3 words.
Rashi
"He made us and we are His" — When we were not in the world.
Ibn Ezra
'Know' — that He alone is God, and that we belong to Him. And the word [is written 'and not'/read 'and His'] like every case of kri and ketiv [where the written and read forms differ]. Therefore the Gaon said: that 'and we are His' is the opposite of 'and I made myself' (Ezekiel 29:3); and the word 'His people' refers back to 'know.'
Radak
"Know" — Now you ought to know that Hashem, He is God, and He has power over the world, and He brought you out of exile with honor. "It is He who made us, and not we ourselves" — He made us great and exalted us, as in, "who made Moses and Aaron." "And His we are" — For we are called by His name. "His people, and the flock of His pasture" — It is written velo ("and not") with an aleph, and its meaning is that we cannot say, "our own strength and the might of our hand made this wealth for us."
Metzudat David
"He is God" — meaning, He is the possessor of all power. "It is He who made us" — He raised us up and exalted us; and so too, "Let Israel rejoice in his Maker" (below, Psalm 149). "And His we are" — We are set apart for Him, to be called His people and the flock of His pasture.
Malbim
'Know that Hashem, He is God' — that is, He is the source of all the powers that extend throughout existence, and He is the one who governs them all. 'It is He who made us' — that is, our relationship to Him is fourfold: (1) in that He made us from nothing into being; (2) that He is not like another maker who afterward has no ownership over his handiwork — rather, 'and we are His,' in a relationship of ownership, as it is written, 'Is not He your father who acquired you?'; (3) in respect of governance, in that we are 'His people'; (4) in that He sustains us, and we are 'the flock of His pasture,' like sheep whom the shepherd provides for.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; give thanks to Him, and bless His name.
verse value 2799
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 37 letters. The shortest word is "enter" (בֹּ֤אוּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "His·courts" (חֲצֵרֹתָ֥יו, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "His·gates" (שְׁעָרָ֨יו), "His·courts" (חֲצֵרֹתָ֥יו), "with·praise" (בִּתְהִלָּ֑ה). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "His·name" (root שם, 119x in Psalms); "enter" (root בוא, 79x in Psalms); "bless" (root ברך, 76x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·praise', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: בֹּ֤אוּ [enter] (9) + שְׁעָרָ֨יו [His·gates] (586) + בְּתוֹדָ֗ה [with·thanksgiving] (417) + חֲצֵרֹתָ֥יו [His·courts] (714) + בִּתְהִלָּ֑ה [with·praise] (442) + הוֹדוּ־ל֝֗וֹ [give·thanks·to·Him] (57) + בָּרְכ֥וּ [bless] (228) + שְׁמֽוֹ [His·name] (346) = 2799.
Ibn Ezra
'Enter' — when they come: [enter] the gates with thanksgiving, and the courts with praise.
Radak
"With thanksgiving" — That you should thank Him for His kindnesses.
Metzudat David
"Come" — When a miracle would be done for you, come to His gates with a thanksgiving offering, and praise Him.
Malbim
'Enter' — when people come before flesh and blood, they enter the gates with praises and eulogies to laud him, and afterward, when their request is fulfilled, they go out with thanksgiving. But with Hashem it is the reverse: 'you shall enter His gates with thanksgiving,' for He has already granted you His favors beforehand; 'and within the court' you will attain His mighty deeds and His praises, 'and you shall enter with praise.' 'Give thanks' — and also, it is impossible to praise Hashem in respect of Himself, only in respect of the favors we attain from Him, so that through giving thanks for His favors we arrive at praise. And this is what is meant: through 'giving thanks to Him' for His favors, thereby '[you] bless His name,' for through this we come to recognize His praises.
For Hashem is good; His mercy endures for ever; and His faithfulness to all generations.
verse value 1324
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 32 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְ֭הֹוָה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "and·generation" (וָ֝דֹ֗ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "His·faithfulness" (אֱמוּנָתֽוֹ, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "and·unto·generation" (וְעַד־דֹּ֥ר), "His·faithfulness" (אֱמוּנָתֽוֹ). The root דור appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 688x in Psalms); "forever" (root עולם, 144x in Psalms); "His·mercy" (root חסד, 125x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'His·mercy', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: כִּי־ט֣וֹב [for·good] (47) + יְ֭הֹוָה [Hashem] (26) + לְעוֹלָ֣ם [forever] (176) + חַסְדּ֑וֹ [His·mercy] (78) + וְעַד־דֹּ֥ר [and·unto·generation] (284) + וָ֝דֹ֗ר [and·generation] (210) + אֱמוּנָתֽוֹ [His·faithfulness] (503) = 1324.
Rashi
"and until generation after generation" — His faith will endure. Every expression of truth (אמת) and faith (אמונה) means the realization of a promise, that He makes true and assures His promise.
Ibn Ezra
'For' — this is the thanksgiving, the praise, and the blessing that they shall give: 'For Hashem is good, His kindness is forever.'
Radak
"His mercy is forever" — All the days of the world His mercy shall be with us. And likewise, "His faithfulness" — that is the promise He promised us of good things to come; it shall endure to "all generations," meaning, to all generations, forever.
Metzudat David
"His mercy endures forever" — The mercy of Hashem is a thing that endures forever, unlike the mercy of flesh and blood. "His faithfulness" — The fulfillment of His promise remains valid until the end of all generations.
Malbim
'For Hashem is good' — in the two kinds of governance by which He governs: through 'His mercy,' which is the miraculous governance, and through 'His faithfulness,' which is the fixed, natural governance. And I have already explained this at length in chapter 89.
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Radak
Metzudat David
Malbim