A Maschil of Asaph, a mournful cry over the enemy's destruction of the Temple and the ruin of Zion. A plea that Hashem remember His ancient covenant and rise to defend His own name.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
Maschil of Asaph. Why, O God, have You cast us off for ever? Why does Your anger smoke against the flock of Your pasture?
verse value 2789
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 42 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱ֭לֹהִים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "why" (לָמָ֣ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "Your·pasture" (מַרְעִיתֶֽךָ, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "smokes" (יֶעְשַׁ֥ן), "against·the·flock·of" (בְּצֹ֣אן). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "forever" (root נצח, 73x in Psalms); "Your·anger" (root אף, 40x in Psalms). First appearance of the root מרעית ("Your·pasture") in Psalms. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'forever', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: מַשְׂכִּ֗יל [Maskil] (400) + לְאָ֫סָ֥ף [of·Asaph] (171) + לָמָ֣ה [why] (75) + אֱ֭לֹהִים [God] (86) + זָנַ֣חְתָּ [You·have·cast·off] (465) + לָנֶ֑צַח [forever] (178) + יֶעְשַׁ֥ן [smokes] (430) + אַ֝פְּךָ֗ [Your·anger] (101) + בְּצֹ֣אן [against·the·flock·of] (143) + מַרְעִיתֶֽךָ [Your·pasture] (740) = 2789.
Rashi
"is Your wrath kindled" — lit. do Your nostrils smoke. Whenever one is angry, the nostrils emit smoke.
Ibn Ezra
'A Maskil of Asaph. Why, God, have You cast us off' — the word 'Maskil' [marks] the beginning of a piyyut (liturgical poem), and this psalm follows that same theme. 'Why' — refers to the object [of the verb, explained next]. 'You have cast off' — the flock; because anger is likened to fire, therefore it [anger] is called 'Your nose' [apekha, i.e., the seat of wrath].
Radak
'Maschil' — This psalm speaks of the exile. And he says, 'Why, God, have You cast us off forever?' — You have removed us far away for all time. 'Your anger smokes' — for when a person becomes enraged, he grows hot and smoke issues from his nostrils; and he speaks this way about the Creator, blessed be He, by way of metaphor.
Metzudat David
"Have You cast off forever" — why have You forsaken Israel this long time, until it appears as if it will be so forever? Why does Your anger smoke against Israel, who are the flock that You shepherd?
Metzudat Zion
'Have cast us off' — [i.e.] 'have abandoned,' as in 'Hashem has abandoned (zanach) His altar' (Lamentations 2). 'Smoke' — it is an expression of anger, for through the heat of anger [something] appears to come out of the nostrils like smoke; and Scripture speaks in terms applicable to man, so as to make it accessible to the ear.
Malbim
"A Maschil of Asaph" — this was composed concerning the destruction of the Holy Temple. "Why" — that is to say, the fact that the time has grown long and we have not been saved could be for one of two reasons. (1) If the abandonment was an eternal abandonment, such that He would never return to us again — hence he says, "Why, God, have You cast off forever?" (2) If He abandoned us only for a time, until His anger would be spent, only that His wrath has not yet come to rest — hence he says, "Why does Your anger smoke against the flock of Your pasture?"
Remember Your congregation, which You have gotten of old, Which You have redeemed to be the tribe of Your inheritance; And mount Zion, in which You have dwelt.
verse value 3829
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 40 letters. The shortest word is "this" (זֶ֤ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "Mount·Zion" (הַר־צִ֝יּ֗וֹן, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "Your·congregation" (עֲדָתְךָ֨), "You·have·dwelt" (שָׁכַ֬נְתָּ). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "remember" (root זכר, 64x in Psalms); "Mount·Zion" (root הר, 43x in Psalms); "You·have·dwelt" (root שכן, 29x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Your·inheritance', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: זְכֹ֤ר [remember] (227) + עֲדָתְךָ֨ [Your·congregation] (494) + קָ֘נִ֤יתָ [You·have·gotten] (560) + קֶּ֗דֶם [of·old] (144) + גָּ֭אַלְתָּ [You·have·redeemed] (434) + שֵׁ֣בֶט [tribe] (311) + נַחֲלָתֶ֑ךָ [Your·inheritance] (508) + הַר־צִ֝יּ֗וֹן [Mount·Zion] (361) + זֶ֤ה [this] (12) + שָׁכַ֬נְתָּ [You·have·dwelt] (770) + בּֽוֹ [in·it] (8) = 3829.
Rashi
"which You acquired from time immemorial" — Before the creation of the world, as it is said (below 90: 1,2): “You were a dwelling place for us, etc., before mountains were formed.” "on which You dwelt" — Heb. זה שכנתבו, this upon which You dwelt. This is an improvement of the language, as (Isa. 42: 24): “against whom (זו) we sinned.” It is like אשר שכנתבו, on which You dwelt.
Ibn Ezra
'Remember' — the meaning of 'You have acquired' [kanita] is that they were as though sold in Egypt. It is possible that 'the tribe of Your inheritance' means 'a tribe that is Your inheritance,' like 'and they are Your people and Your inheritance' (Deuteronomy 9:29); or 'Your inheritance' as in 'in the mountain of Your inheritance' (Exodus 15:17), in which case 'tribe' would be in construct [with what follows] — and the proof is 'Mount Zion' [which follows in the same verse].
Radak
'Remember' — Just as You acquired them then from Egypt, so acquire them again from Babylon; and the meaning of 'acquiring' is that they were enslaved to Egypt, as though they had been sold into their hand. 'The tribe of Your inheritance' — he mentions all the tribes together as one, because they were united in Egypt as a single people, and there they were the inheritance of Hashem, called by His name; or he says 'Your inheritance' because, since He acquired them from the house of bondage, they were called His inheritance. 'Mount Zion, wherein You have dwelt' — he says: You acquired them and redeemed them from Egypt, until You brought them to Mount Zion, in which You dwelt. And in saying 'this Mount Zion,' it is either because it is well known, or because this psalm was composed concerning Zion.
Metzudat David
"Which You have gotten of old" — which You acquired for Yourself as a people from ancient times, from when You redeemed them from Egypt and brought them to Mount Zion, where You dwelt; and this is an abbreviated verse [an elliptical text].
Malbim
"Remember" — three things. (1) "Your congregation, which You acquired of old" — for from of old, in the days of the fathers and the tribes, You acquired this congregation to be Yours, and You already promised the fathers to be a God to them and to their seed after them, and it is fitting that You not abandon Your acquisition. (2) That afterward "You redeemed the tribe of Your inheritance" — at the time when strangers took hold of Your possession and Your inheritance, You were the redeemer (for one is a redeemer on the basis that he has a claim and a right in the matter), and so it is fitting that You redeem them a second time, since they are the tribe of Your inheritance, which are Yours as an eternal inheritance. (3) "This Mount Zion" — behold, "You dwelt in it" — so shine Your face upon Your desolate sanctuary, for the sake of Hashem who dwelt there.
Lift up Your steps because of the perpetual ruins, Even all the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary.
verse value 2155
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 32 letters. The shortest word is "perpetual" (נֶ֑צַח, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·the·ruins·of" (לְמַשֻּׁא֣וֹת, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "lift·up" (הָרִ֣ימָה), "Your·steps" (פְ֭עָמֶיךָ), "to·the·ruins·of" (לְמַשֻּׁא֣וֹת). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "perpetual" (root נצח, 73x in Psalms); "enemy" (root איב, 71x in Psalms); "to·the·ruins·of" (root נשא, 52x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'perpetual', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: הָרִ֣ימָה [lift·up] (260) + פְ֭עָמֶיךָ [Your·steps] (220) + לְמַשֻּׁא֣וֹת [to·the·ruins·of] (777) + נֶ֑צַח [perpetual] (148) + כׇּל־הֵרַ֖ע [all·he·has·done·evil] (325) + אוֹיֵ֣ב [enemy] (19) + בַּקֹּֽדֶשׁ [in·the·sanctuary] (406) = 2155.
Rashi
"Raise Your blows to inflict eternal ruin" — Raise Your blows and Your terrors that Your enemies will experience as eternal ruin for every evil thing that the enemy did in the Temple. In this manner, Menachem (p. 144) associates it with (Gen. 41:8): “that his spirit was troubled (ותפעם).” "to...ruin" — Heb. למשאות, an expression of destruction, as (Isa. 24:12): “through desolation (שאיה)”; (Isa. 6:11), “and the ground lies waste (למשאות) and desolate.”
Ibn Ezra
'Lift up' — the meaning is in the manner of 'Arise, Hashem.' Rabbi Moshe HaKohen said: that 'le-mashu'ot' ('to the ruins') is a noun used in place of an infinitive, as if it were written 'le-hashot' ('to bring to ruin') — '[because of] all the evil the enemy [has done] in the sanctuary,' [meaning] every enemy that did evil in the sanctuary — for it is inverted [in word order], like 'take away all iniquity, and receive [us] graciously' (Hosea 14:3), where the meaning is 'take away all iniquity.' But in my opinion, the lamed of 'le-mashu'ot' is like [the lamed of] 'ba'avur' ('on account of'), like the lamed of 'lest they say concerning me' — [a lamed of reference] — and thus it means: 'Lift up Your steps' on account of 'Your inheritance' mentioned above, which has become 'perpetual ruins' on account of all the evil the enemy has done in the sanctuary. And likewise 'take away all iniquity' — insofar as You take away our iniquity, so accept the good that is in our hands, which is the confession of our tongue, that our lips are good, bringing forth fruits [of praise]. And this vav, which is in 've-kach tov' ('and receive graciously'), no one is able to understand how it functions, except by the language of Ishmael [Arabic], in which a soft peh functions the same way — and so too: 'it is good that one should hope and be still' (Lamentations 3:26); 'and on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes' (Genesis 22:4); 'and he left his servants.'
Radak
'Lift up Your steps (pe'amekha)' — literally, Your feet; and this is in the manner of [the verse], 'Arise, Hashem, and let Your enemies be scattered' (Numbers 10:35). 'To the everlasting ruins (le-mashuot netzach)' — a noun used in place of an infinitive, as if to say 'le-hashot' (to lay waste). 'All the evil the enemy [has done] in the sanctuary' — its meaning is as if the words were inverted, [reading] 'the enemy has done evil'; and the meaning of the verse is: 'Lift up Your steps to lay everlasting waste upon every enemy who has done evil in the sanctuary' — meaning, in the Temple.
Metzudat David
"Lift up Your steps" — lift up Your feet to go and bring everlasting darkness upon every enemy who did evil in the Temple; and this [phrase] is inverted, [meaning] it is like "every enemy who did evil in the holy [place]," and so too "כל תשא עון" (Hosea 14:3), whose meaning is "כל עון תשא" ["take away all iniquity"].
Metzudat Zion
'Your steps' — the feet with which one strides; and likewise 'the feet (pa'amei) of the poor' (Isaiah 26). 'The perpetual ruins' — an expression of darkness/desolation.
Malbim
(3-4) "Lift up" — the sense of the verse is: "Lift up Your steps because of the perpetual ruins; Your foes have roared in the midst of Your meeting-place." "Your foes" — when they came into the sanctuary of Hashem, they "roared" over it "with a voice," saying: "Lift up Your steps" from here — go away from here "to everlasting ruins," to eternal desolation, meaning that here waste and desolation will remain forever, and instead of dwelling in the Sanctuary, You will dwell in eternal desolations. For "all the evil that the enemy has done is in the sanctuary" — that is, all the evil that the enemy did is in the sanctuary: he did evil and destroyed everything that was in the sanctuary; so too the foes roared in the midst of Your meeting-place, in the Sanctuary. And in addition to this, "they have set up their own signs for signs" — that they set this up as a sign and a wonder, [implying] that You have no power to save, for they said, "it shall be known." They said: behold, by this "it shall be known" that this matter is such, as though whatever they destroy in the Temple below is "brought" "up above" — that is, that it is regarded as evil in the eyes of heaven above. "If the tree ensnares the axes" — if the axes become swallowed up in the tree and are unable to perform their function, this will be a sign that the matter is regarded as evil above. Or it may be interpreted thus: by this "Hashem shall know" whether the axes that strike the tree are "brought up above" — "in the thicket of the tree" — if they become swallowed up in the tree. (And indeed, the Sages, of blessed memory, said that the axes were swallowed up in the gates — that at first the sign did occur, only that afterward this miracle ceased — and by this, "they have set up their own signs for signs," that Hashem consents to the destruction.)
Your adversaries have roared in the midst of Your meeting-place; They have set up their own signs for signs.
verse value 3274
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 30 letters. The shortest word is "have·set" (שָׂ֖מוּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "Your·adversaries" (צֹ֭רְרֶיךָ, 5 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "have·roared" (שָׁאֲג֣וּ), "Your·meeting-place" (מוֹעֲדֶ֑ךָ), "their·signs" (אוֹתֹתָ֣ם). The root אות appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·the·midst·of" (root קרב, 37x in Psalms); "have·set" (root שים, 33x in Psalms). First appearance of the root מועד ("Your·meeting-place") in Psalms. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Your·meeting-place', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: שָׁאֲג֣וּ [have·roared] (310) + צֹ֭רְרֶיךָ [Your·adversaries] (520) + בְּקֶ֣רֶב [in·the·midst·of] (304) + מוֹעֲדֶ֑ךָ [Your·meeting-place] (140) + שָׂ֖מוּ [have·set] (346) + אוֹתֹתָ֣ם [their·signs] (847) + אֹתֽוֹת [signs] (807) = 3274.
Rashi
"Your meeting place" — That is the Temple about which it is said (Exod. 25:22): וְנוֹעַדְתִּי לְךָ שָׁם, “There I will meet with you at appointed times.” "they made their signs for signs" — When they became powerful enough to destroy it, then they themselves accepted that the signs of their divination were true signs. Now what were their divinations? “He shook the arrows, he consulted the terafim.”
Ibn Ezra
'They have roared' — the sanctuaries are called 'mo'adim' (appointed places), because of the gathering of the people of Israel there at the appointed times. And similarly: 'they have burned up all the meeting-places of God in the land' (Psalm 74:8). 'And their signs' — according to their own devising, in the manner of 'and the men pursued after them' (Joshua 2:7).
Radak
'Your meeting-place (mo'adekha)' — the Temple is called 'mo'ed' because Israel gathers there for the festivals. And he says 'they have roared' — as it is said, 'they raised their voice in the House of Hashem, as on the day of a festival' (Lamentations 2:7). 'They have set up their own signs for signs' — Nebuchadnezzar set up omens in order to destroy the Temple, as it says, 'he consulted the teraphim' (Ezekiel 21:26).
Metzudat David
"In the midst of Your meeting-place" — in the midst of the Temple, the place where all of Israel would gather, with the Divine Presence among them. "They have set up their own signs for signs" — they said that their sign was a true sign, for before Nebuchadnezzar went up against Jerusalem he performed divinations to know whether he would succeed, as it is written, "he consulted the teraphim, he looked at the liver" (Ezekiel 21:26), and the sign came to him to proceed; and after he had conquered [Jerusalem], he declared that there was real substance in these signs.
Metzudat Zion
'Have roared' — [i.e.] 'have cried out.' 'Your meeting-place' — from the language of assembly and gathering.
It seemed as when men wield upwards Axes in a thicket of trees.
verse value 1332
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 26 letters. Verse gematria: 1332 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "it·is·known" (יִ֭וָּדַע, 4 letters) and the longest is "in·a·thicket·of·trees" (בִּסְבׇךְ־עֵ֝֗ץ, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "like·one·bringing" (כְּמֵבִ֣יא), "upward" (לְמָ֑עְלָה), "in·a·thicket·of·trees" (בִּסְבׇךְ־עֵ֝֗ץ). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "it·is·known" (root ידע, 95x in Psalms); "like·one·bringing" (root בוא, 79x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upward', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: יִ֭וָּדַע [it·is·known] (90) + כְּמֵבִ֣יא [like·one·bringing] (73) + לְמָ֑עְלָה [upward] (175) + בִּסְבׇךְ־עֵ֝֗ץ [in·a·thicket·of·trees] (244) + קַרְדֻּמּֽוֹת [axes] (750) = 1332.
Rashi
"May he be known as though bringing on high; the hatchets were in the thicket of the trees" — The enemy knows that when he strikes the gates of the entrances of the Sanctuary, it was as though he was bringing his blows on high, even into the sky. Now how did he know it? For he would see that the trees would entangle, grasp, and swallow up the hatchets, as our Rabbis said (Sanh. 96b): One gate of Jerusalem swallowed them all up. "the hatchets were in the thicket of the trees" — Heb. בסבך-עץ, an expression of (Gen. 22:13): “caught in the thicket (בסבך).” The tree entangles them, and they become entangled in it.
Ibn Ezra
'It seemed' — Rabbi Moshe said: that this is connected to the verse that follows it, and it tells that at the time Solomon built the House of Hashem, and the quarrymen quarried the stones, the one who brought the hand-tools with the axe to hew the stone would think [about it], for the sound rose higher and higher, and so it was made known on high — like one bringing axes into a thicket of trees. But in my opinion: at the time the axes were brought into the thicket of trees, to cut the timber that was for the building of the House, there was a great noise from it on high.
Radak
'It seemed as when' — When the Temple was built, whoever brought his axe into a thicket of trees to cut wood for the building, it was regarded as though he were bringing it up above, in heaven, before the Throne of Glory — so greatly did they rejoice and take pride in the building. 'In a thicket (be-savakh)' — like 'caught in the thicket (ba-savakh)' (Genesis 22:13); but it follows a different grammatical pattern, for this bet is vocalized with a chataf-kamatz.
Metzudat David
"It seemed, etc." — everyone who brought his axe into the thicket of the trees of Lebanon to hew cedars to bring for the building of the Temple, it felt to him as though he were bringing it up before the Throne of Glory, for it was regarded in his eyes as a great mitzvah.
Metzudat Zion
'In a thicket' — a branch is called 'sevakh' because [branches] become entangled and caught, one in another, as in 'caught in the thicket (basevakh)' (Genesis 22). 'Axes' — hatchets.
And now all its carved work together They strike down with hatchet and hammers.
verse value 2543
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 34 letters. The shortest word is "together" (יָּ֑חַד, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·hammers" (וְ֝כֵילַפּ֗וֹת, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "its·carvings" (פִּתּוּחֶ֣יהָ), "with·a·hatchet" (בְּכַשִּׁ֥יל), "and·hammers" (וְ֝כֵילַפּ֗וֹת). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "together" (root יחד, 27x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'together', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words.
Rashi
"And now" — although he saw that this troubled the Holy One, blessed be He, he did not refrain from striking all its entrances and all its gates together. "with hatchets and hammers" — They are tools of destruction used by carpenters (Jer. 46:22): “and will come against her with axes (ובקרדמות).” Jonathan renders: בּכשיליא. כֵּילַפּוֹת is Arabic. This is how Dunash (p. 34) explained it, and it is one of the carpenters’ tools. "they strike" — The enemies [strike].
Ibn Ezra
'And now with hatchet and hammers' — iron tools for destruction. Some say that kashil (hatchet) is from the same root as kishalon (stumbling, failure), and that kelapot (hammers) reflects an interchange of the letter kaf for a qof — from the sense of 'peeling' — like the two spellings of the word for 'helmet,' kova (with a kaf) and kova (with a qof).
Radak
"And now," "together" — [these refer to] all the doors and carved figures that were made of gold: all of them, together, they struck it down with hatchet and hammers. And the suffix in "its carvings" refers to the craftsmanship, that is, the craftsmanship of the House — it was its carvings that the enemies struck. "Hatchet" — this is an axe. "And hammers" — this is a wooden implement, like the axe.
Metzudat David
"And now" — at the time of the destruction, all the golden carvings that were on the walls, the adversaries were striking and smashing with hatchet and hammers.
Metzudat Zion
'Its carved work' — its meaning is the carving and engraving of shapes and palm-figures, as in 'the engravings (pituchei) of a signet' (Exodus 28). 'With hatchet and hammers' — names of tools made for breaking stones. 'They strike down' — an expression of striking and breaking, as in 'let the righteous strike me (yehelmeni)' (below, Psalms 141).
Malbim
'And now' — have we not seen that this sign was not done? For 'they strike with hatchet and hammers' and destructive tools 'the carved work' of the gold that was on the walls, and afterward 'they set Your sanctuary on fire' and burned it, and also 'they have profaned to the ground the dwelling-place of Your name' — that is, the Ark and the holy vessels.
They have set Your sanctuary on fire; They have profaned the dwelling-place of Your name even to the ground.
verse value 2276
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "in·the·fire" (בָ֭אֵשׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·dwelling-place·of·Your·name" (מִֽשְׁכַּן־שְׁמֶֽךָ, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "they·have·sent" (שִׁלְח֣וּ), "Your·sanctuary" (מִקְדָּשֶׁ֑ךָ), "they·have·profaned" (חִלְּל֥וּ). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·the·ground" (root ארץ, 157x in Psalms); "they·have·sent" (root שלח, 33x in Psalms); "in·the·fire" (root אש, 20x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Your·sanctuary', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: שִׁלְח֣וּ [they·have·sent] (344) + בָ֭אֵשׁ [in·the·fire] (303) + מִקְדָּשֶׁ֑ךָ [Your·sanctuary] (464) + לָ֝אָ֗רֶץ [to·the·ground] (321) + חִלְּל֥וּ [they·have·profaned] (74) + מִֽשְׁכַּן־שְׁמֶֽךָ [the·dwelling-place·of·Your·name] (770) = 2276.
Ibn Ezra
'They have set on fire' — the lamed is light [without a dagesh], even though the word is in the heavy conjugation [like a piel], similar to 'they have sought my soul' (bikshu nafshi). Ben Bilaam said that this is an inversion, and that the correct order should be 'they set fire in Your sanctuary.' But it is possible that the sense is that the fire was all around, as if the sanctuary itself were 'sent forth' [consumed].
Metzudat David
"They have set Your sanctuary on fire" — [this means] like "they sent fire into Your sanctuary." "To the ground" — the place of the dwelling of Your name they profaned and brought down to the ground.
Metzudat Zion
'Have set on fire' — an expression of kindling and burning. 'Have profaned' — from the language of the profane/common (chullin).
They said in their heart: 'Let us make havoc of them altogether'; They have burned up all the meeting-places of God in the land.
verse value 1583
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 32 letters. The shortest word is "together" (יָ֑חַד, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·the·meeting-places·of·God" (כׇל־מוֹעֲדֵי־אֵ֣ל, 9 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "let·us·oppress·them" (נִינָ֣ם), "they·have·burned" (שָׂרְפ֖וּ), "all·the·meeting-places·of·God" (כׇל־מוֹעֲדֵי־אֵ֣ל). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·the·land" (root ארץ, 157x in Psalms); "they·said" (root אמר, 111x in Psalms); "in·their·heart" (root לב, 74x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'together', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: אָמְר֣וּ [they·said] (247) + בְ֭לִבָּם [in·their·heart] (74) + נִינָ֣ם [let·us·oppress·them] (150) + יָ֑חַד [together] (22) + שָׂרְפ֖וּ [they·have·burned] (586) + כׇל־מוֹעֲדֵי־אֵ֣ל [all·the·meeting-places·of·God] (211) + בָּאָֽרֶץ [in·the·land] (293) = 1583.
Rashi
"They said in their heart, their rulers together" — Heb. נינם, their rulers, and similarly (above 72: 17): “his name will be magnified (ינון) ; (Prov. 29:21), “he will ultimately be a ruler (מנון).” All their rulers devise one plot, the first as the last: namely, to get at the protector of Israel first and afterwards they would get at them [Israel], You should know this by the fact that they burned all the meeting places of God in the land, all His meeting houses. The Philistines destroyed Shiloh; Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the First Temple; Titus destroyed the Second Temple.
Ibn Ezra
'They said,' 'let us destroy them altogether' — ninam is missing a vav, and it does not say who said it. Rabbi Marinus said that ninam is from the same root as the word in 'you shall not wrong' (lo tonu), even though lo tonu is in the heavy conjugation and ninam is in the light conjugation, in the manner of veniram. In my opinion this is correct, and the proof is the phrase 'the oppressing sword' (cherev ha-yonah).
Radak
"Let us destroy them altogether" — [the root of] "ninah" means to wrong; that is to say, to kill them — like [the phrase] "the sword of the oppressor," for this term connotes wronging both in money and in body, and like [the phrase] "and I will feed your oppressors." "All the meeting-places of God" — this is the Temple.
Metzudat David
"Let us make havoc of them altogether" — all their princes were of one accord. "All the meeting-places of God" — all the places designated for Hashem, [that is,] synagogues and study halls.
Metzudat Zion
'Ninam' [their dominion] — an expression of dominion, as in 'Yinnon shall be his name' (above, Psalms 72).
Malbim
'They said' — that not only did the Temple remain in ruins in their days, but their great-grandchildren and their children's children 'said in their heart together' that they 'burned all of God's meeting-places in the land,' for the destruction extended until the days of their great-grandchildren, so that even their great-grandchildren boast that God no longer has an appointed place where He causes His Presence to dwell in the land. And this is indeed borne out by their own words, for 'our signs' — [this refers to the fact that] the divine Presence in the land used to be revealed: first, through signs and wonders, and now 'we have not seen our signs'; second, it used to be revealed through the influence of prophecy upon the prophets, and now 'there is no longer a prophet'; third, it used to be revealed through the holy spirit, and now 'there is none among us who knows how long.'
We see not our signs; There is no more any prophet; Neither is there among us any who knows how long.
verse value 2072
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "who·knows" (יֹדֵ֥עַ, 3 letters) and the longest is "our·signs" (אֽוֹתֹתֵ֗ינוּ, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "our·signs" (אֽוֹתֹתֵ֗ינוּ), "not·we·have·seen" (לֹ֥א־רָ֫אִ֥ינוּ), "there·is·no·more" (אֵֽין־ע֥וֹד). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·not·with·us" (root לא, 174x in Psalms); "not·we·have·seen" (root ראה, 100x in Psalms); "who·knows" (root ידע, 95x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'prophet', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: אֽוֹתֹתֵ֗ינוּ [our·signs] (873) + לֹ֥א־רָ֫אִ֥ינוּ [not·we·have·seen] (298) + אֵֽין־ע֥וֹד [there·is·no·more] (141) + נָבִ֑יא [prophet] (63) + וְלֹֽא־אִ֝תָּ֗נוּ [and·not·with·us] (494) + יֹדֵ֥עַ [who·knows] (84) + עַד־מָֽה [how·long] (119) = 2072.
Rashi
"our signs" — which You promised us through Your prophets—we have not seen them in the many days that we have been in exile. Asaph prophesied concerning the days of the (last) exile. "how long" — How long we will be in this trouble.
Ibn Ezra
'Our signs' — the opposite of 'they have set up their own signs as signs' (Psalm 74:4). And the meaning of 'our signs' — according to our interpretation, these are the words of the prophets.
Radak
"Our signs" — we have not yet seen the signs of the redemption, and our exile has lasted a long time. "There is no more a prophet" — since Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi died, we have had no more a prophet to tell us of future things and when the redemption will come. Or the interpretation of "there is no more a prophet" is "there is not yet" — that is to say, the prophet who is destined to be revealed to us close to the redemption, namely Elijah the Prophet, has not yet come. "Neither is there among us any who knows how long" — [i.e., how long] the redemption will be; and "mah" [what] here means "when."
Metzudat David
"Our signs" — We have not yet seen the signs of the redemption, and there is no longer a prophet to reveal the time. "Neither is there among us" — There is no one among us who knows how long it will be delayed.
Metzudat Zion
'How long' — [i.e.] 'until when,' and likewise 'how long (ad mah), Hashem, will You be angry forever?' (below, Psalms 79).
How long, O God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme Your name for ever?
verse value 1906
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 31 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱ֭לֹהִים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "adversary" (צָ֑ר, 2 letters) and the longest is "how·long" (עַד־מָתַ֣י, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "shall·reproach" (יְחָ֣רֶף), "adversary" (צָ֑ר), "shall·blaspheme" (יְנָ֘אֵ֤ץ). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "Your·name" (root שם, 119x in Psalms); "forever" (root נצח, 73x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'adversary', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: עַד־מָתַ֣י [how·long] (524) + אֱ֭לֹהִים [God] (86) + יְחָ֣רֶף [shall·reproach] (298) + צָ֑ר [adversary] (290) + יְנָ֘אֵ֤ץ [shall·blaspheme] (151) + אוֹיֵ֖ב [enemy] (19) + שִׁמְךָ֣ [Your·name] (360) + לָנֶֽצַח [forever] (178) = 1906.
Ibn Ezra
'How long' — pa'ul [a passive, impersonal form]. 'Shall the adversary reproach' — [i.e., reproach] Your name, in the manner of 'why, God, have You rejected us forever' (Psalm 74:1).
Metzudat David
"Shall the adversary reproach" — by saying that Hashem, lacking the power [to save], has left them in the hand of the enemy. "Shall blaspheme" — and shall the enemy blaspheme Your name forever? — asked in wonderment.
Metzudat Zion
'Blaspheme' — an expression of contempt/scorn.
Malbim
'How long' — he begins to argue that it is fitting for Hashem to act for the honor of His name, for 'how long, O God, shall the adversary reproach, and the enemy blaspheme Your name' — will this be 'forever'?
Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand? Draw it out of Your bosom and consume them.
verse value 1626
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 31 letters. The shortest word is "why" (לָ֤מָּה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Your·right·hand" (וִימִינֶ֑ךָ, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "do·You·withdraw" (תָשִׁ֣יב), "from·the·midst·of" (מִקֶּ֖רֶב), "Your·bosom" (חֵיקְךָ֣). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Your·hand" (root יד, 78x in Psalms); "do·You·withdraw" (root שוב, 72x in Psalms); "and·Your·right·hand" (root ימין, 43x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Your·right·hand', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words.
Rashi
"Draw it out from within Your bosom" — Cast it and draw it out from within Your bosom and wage battle with Your enemies. כַּלֵה is an expression of driving out, as (Exod. 11:1): “he will drive you out completely (כלה).”
Ibn Ezra
'Why do You withdraw' — in the manner of 'He has withdrawn His right hand' (Lamentations 2:3). 'Your hand' is Your left hand, as if He mentioned both of Your hands, by way of a figurative expression. And the truth is that the sense is: destroy, from the midst, the one dwelling there, who is Your enemy.
Radak
"Why do You withdraw" — like [the phrase] "He has drawn back His right hand because of the enemy." "Your hand" — that is, the left [hand]. "Draw it out of Your bosom and consume" — destroy the enemy from the midst of Your bosom, that is, the Temple, which is Your place of concealment, just as the lap is for a person. Or its interpretation is: bring Your right hand to an end from the midst of Your bosom and take Your vengeance, for one who keeps his hand in his lap performs no action, in the manner of the lazy man who puts his hand in his lap. And the sense of "consume" is that You should not return it again to Your bosom until it has executed judgment on the wicked — and all of this is by way of parable.
Metzudat David
"Why do You withdraw Your hand" — backward, so as not to strike the enemy with it. "Consume" — Bring Your right hand out fully from within Your bosom; take it out from there and strike Your enemies with it forcefully.
Metzudat Zion
'Kalleh' — that is to say, 'withhold.'
Malbim
'Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand' — is it not so that You do not even need to perform an action against him, but only need refrain from preventing the action? For You withdraw Your hand and Your right hand, and You do not let Your hand go forth against him; rather, You hide them within Your bosom so that they do nothing. And if [You were to bring them out] 'from within Your bosom, consume [them]' — would they not then be consumed of themselves? So why do You restrain them in Your bosom and not let them go forth and consume them? The meaning is that sometimes the enemy is strong by nature, and it is impossible to destroy him except through a miracle and a suspension of the natural order, and for this the merit of the generation is required; and when the generation is not meritorious, Hashem will not perform a miracle to make Himself manifest. But here no miracle is needed for this, for the enemy is weak by his very nature, and if only You would not keep Your hand in Your bosom — if You would bring it out from Your bosom, it could act by the natural way. But instead You hide Your hand and prevent it from consuming him.
Yet God is my King of old, Working salvation in the midst of the earth.
verse value 1948
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 31 letters. The shortest word is "working" (פֹּעֵ֥ל, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·God" (וֵ֭אלֹהִים, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "and·God" (וֵ֭אלֹהִים). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "the·earth" (root ארץ, 157x in Psalms); "my·king" (root מלך, 70x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·of·old', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: וֵ֭אלֹהִים [and·God] (92) + מַלְכִּ֣י [my·king] (100) + מִקֶּ֑דֶם [from·of·old] (184) + פֹּעֵ֥ל [working] (180) + יְ֝שׁוּע֗וֹת [salvation] (792) + בְּקֶ֣רֶב [in·the·midst·of] (304) + הָאָֽרֶץ [the·earth] (296) = 1948.
Rashi
"But God is my King from time immemorial" — Behold, You were our salvation from time immemorial.
Ibn Ezra
'Yet God' — in the manner of what was just said, 'the enemy blasphemes Your name forever' — He is the King of Israel. 'Working salvation' — salvation made known through us, in the midst of the land.
Radak
"Yet God" — how can this be, that You leave us in exile? From of old He is my King, and works salvation for me in the midst of the earth; but now it is as if He were not my King, for other gods have ruled over us instead of Him. And the sense of His saying "in the midst of the earth" is, that is to say, even though You are on high, You attend to those below and do with them as You please. And the sense of "in the midst" is: even in the midst of the land of the heretical enemies — they have no power to be saved from His hand, even within their own land.
Metzudat David
"Of old" — From eternity He is my King, and He is the worker of salvation.
Malbim
'Yet God is my King of old' — was it not so that from of old You were my King, when You not only did not withdraw Your hand to Your bosom, but even bared Your outstretched arm by way of a miracle, so that You were 'working salvation in the midst of the earth'? The meaning is that the salvations which Hashem performs by way of nature and the [heavenly] order, He performs them in the heavens — for since He is the God of the heavens and the director of the heavenly order, He arranges them in such a way that Israel is saved according to the natural order. But if He performs a miracle not in accordance with the natural order fixed in the heavens, then He performs the salvations in the midst of the earth below, even though the prior causes descending from the heavens do not concur with this.
You did break the sea in pieces by Your strength; You did shatter the heads of the sea-monsters in the waters.
verse value 3609
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 34 letters. The shortest word is "sea" (יָ֑ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "sea-monsters" (תַ֝נִּינִ֗ים, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "You·broke" (פוֹרַ֣רְתָּ). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "You" (root אתה, 115x in Psalms); "by·Your·strength" (root עז, 40x in Psalms); "upon·the·waters" (root מים, 38x in Psalms). First appearance of the root פרר ("You·broke") in Psalms. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'sea', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: אַתָּ֤ה [You] (406) + פוֹרַ֣רְתָּ [You·broke] (886) + בְעׇזְּךָ֣ [by·Your·strength] (99) + יָ֑ם [sea] (50) + שִׁבַּ֥רְתָּ [You·shattered] (902) + רָאשֵׁ֥י [the·heads·of] (511) + תַ֝נִּינִ֗ים [sea-monsters] (560) + עַל־הַמָּֽיִם [upon·the·waters] (195) = 3609.
Rashi
"the beads of the sea monsters" — They are the Egyptians, who are called sea monsters, as it is said (Ezek. 29:3): “the great sea monster, etc.”
Ibn Ezra
'You did break' — a doubled root among those with a latent middle letter, in the manner of 'the earth is utterly broken' (Isaiah 24:19), or in the manner of 'He shattered me' (va-yefarpereni) — the opposite of 'at ease' (Job 16:12). And the sense is that Your dominion rules over the land, as was mentioned, 'in the midst of the land'; and also 'in the sea' — and the sea-monsters that are in it. Some say that this alludes to the splitting of the Sea of Reeds. And the sense of 'You did shatter' — when the sea returned to dry land. Some say that 'the sea-monsters' are Pharaoh and his officers.
Radak
"You did break in pieces" — a term of breaking and crushing. He says: of old You performed for us all these salvations, for our sake: You broke the sea by Your strength, and we passed through it, and You broke the heads of our enemies in the water — He likened Egypt to sea-monsters.
Metzudat David
"By Your strength" — By Your power You broke the sea into twelve pieces, a path for each tribe by itself; so said our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed. "Upon the waters" — for the waters of the sea became hard like rocks, and the Egyptians were thrown upon them, and their heads were broken.
Metzudat Zion
'Did break in pieces' — its meaning is to crush into many pieces, as in 'the earth is utterly broken (por hitporerah)' (Isaiah 24:19). 'Tanninim' [sea-monsters] — 'tannin' is the name of a great sea creature; Pharaoh is called 'tannin,' as is written of him: 'the great monster that lies...' etc. (Ezekiel 29:3); therefore the Egyptians are called 'tanninim.'
Malbim
'You did break the sea in pieces by Your strength' — was this not the miracle of the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, that the sea broke apart and became dry land before Israel, a miracle in the midst of the earth, not by way of the nature of the heavens and the [heavenly] order? 'You did shatter the heads of the sea-monsters upon the waters' — and at that time, when it became dry land before Israel on one side, He drowned the Egyptians on the other side, and it was a double miracle. Now, the Egyptians are called by the name 'sea-monsters,' as it is written, 'the great monster that lies in the midst of its rivers... that has said, my river is mine own, and I have made it for myself' (Ezekiel 29:3) — for they believed that they had power through the water and the Nile river, which they worshiped, along with the sea-monsters within it, as explained there. And nevertheless, 'You broke them upon the waters.'
You did crush the heads of leviathan, You gave him to be food to the folk inhabiting the wilderness.
verse value 3510
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 33 letters. Verse gematria: 3510 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "You" (אַתָּ֣ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "leviathan" (לִוְיָתָ֑ן, 5 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "You·crushed" (רִ֭צַּצְתָּ), "to·desert-dwellers" (לְצִיִּֽים). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·a·people" (root עם, 135x in Psalms); "You" (root אתה, 115x in Psalms); "You·gave·him" (root נתן, 95x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'leviathan', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: אַתָּ֣ה [You] (406) + רִ֭צַּצְתָּ [You·crushed] (780) + רָאשֵׁ֣י [the·heads·of] (511) + לִוְיָתָ֑ן [leviathan] (496) + תִּתְּנֶ֥נּוּ [You·gave·him] (906) + מַ֝אֲכָ֗ל [food] (91) + לְעָ֣ם [to·a·people] (140) + לְצִיִּֽים [to·desert-dwellers] (180) = 3510.
Rashi
"the heads of Leviathan" — Pharaoh is called [by] this [name], as it is said (Isa. 27:1): “the Lord will visit with His hard...sword on leviathan, etc.” "You give it as food to the people in companies" — You gave his money to the people of Israel to consume. "in companies" — Heb. לציים. To the companies and hosts that You took out. ציים are companies, as (Num. 24:24): “And companies from the Kittites,” which is translated as וסיען, and companies.
Ibn Ezra
'You' — Rabbi Moshe said that any creature that swims in the sea and whose body is great is called 'leviathan,' and the proof he gives is that Scripture says 'its heads' (rashei) and not simply 'a head.' In my opinion, leviathan is a large fish, and the word 'all' is elided, as if it read 'the heads of every leviathan.' And behold, Hashem gave it as food to the people, to the ziyyim, who dwell in ships opposite the sea; and it is known that there are places where they eat it periodically, at a set time. Rabbi Moshe said that 'to the people, to the ziyyim' is like the construction 'to Your servant, to Jacob.' And the sense of 'ziyyim' is 'seafaring men.'
Radak
"The heads of leviathan" — this is Pharaoh, for "leviathan" means the great sea-monster, as in "against leviathan the elusive serpent." And he said "heads" [in the plural] referring to his officers and his mighty men. "You gave him to be food to the folk, to the ciyim" — this refers to the plunder of the sea, which Israel plundered, they being the people who were traveling through the wildernesses. "Ciyim" — means deserts, for when they went out from Egypt, all their journeys were through the desert.
Metzudat David
"The heads of leviathan" — the officers and captains of Pharaoh, who is called leviathan. "You gave him to be food" — You gave their wealth as plunder to the people of Israel, who walked in the wilderness, a place of drought and desolation.
Metzudat Zion
'Did crush' — an expression of breaking into pieces. 'Leviathan' — this is Pharaoh, for the great sea-monster is the leviathan, as it is written: 'the great sea-monsters (hatanninim hagedolim)' (Genesis 1) — that is, the leviathan and its mate. 'To the folk inhabiting the wilderness' — from the language of dryness and desolation (tziyah).
Malbim
'You did crush the heads of leviathan' — that is, the princes of Egypt and their great men. 'You gave him to be food for the people, for the desert-dwellers' — the people who walked in the dry land and the wilderness, who plundered the plunder of Egypt and the spoil of the leviathan.
You did cleave fountain and brook; You dried up ever-flowing rivers.
verse value 3483
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 32 letters. The shortest word is "You" (אַתָּ֣ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "You·dried·up" (ה֝וֹבַ֗שְׁתָּ, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 406: You, You. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "You·split" (בָ֭קַעְתָּ), "You·dried·up" (ה֝וֹבַ֗שְׁתָּ), "ever-flowing" (אֵיתָֽן). The root אתה appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "You" (root אתה, 115x in Psalms). First appearance of the root בקע ("You·split") in Psalms. First appearance of the root מעין ("spring") in Psalms. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·brook', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: אַתָּ֣ה [You] (406) + בָ֭קַעְתָּ [You·split] (572) + מַעְיָ֣ן [spring] (170) + וָנָ֑חַל [and·brook] (94) + אַתָּ֥ה [You] (406) + ה֝וֹבַ֗שְׁתָּ [You·dried·up] (713) + נַהֲר֥וֹת [rivers] (661) + אֵיתָֽן [ever-flowing] (461) = 3483.
Rashi
"You split" — for Israel fountains from the rock. "You dried up" — the Jordan, which is a mighty river.
Ibn Ezra
'You did cleave' — on dry land, as in 'He split rocks in the wilderness' (Psalm 78:15). 'Ever-flowing' [eitan] — a noun, as in 'and the sea returned, at the turn of morning, to its steady flow' (Exodus 14:27).
Radak
"You did cleave" — for them, the dry rock, until water came out from it. "Fountain and brook" — he named it by its outcome, "fountain," for fountains themselves are not cleaved; rather, the rock is cleaved and becomes a fountain. "You did dry up ever-flowing rivers" — a thing and its opposite: for You turned the flint rock into a fountain, and the place of water You turned into dry land. And concerning the Jordan he said "ever-flowing rivers," for it was at its full strength, overflowing all its banks, and Israel crossed through it on dry land. And he said "rivers" [in the plural], though it is one river, because of the other streams that pour into it. "And eitan [ever-flowing]" — this is a noun, not an adjective; therefore "rivers" stands in construct with it.
Metzudat David
"You did cleave" — the rock, and brought forth for them a spring and a stream. "Ever-flowing rivers" — this is the Sea and the Jordan; that is to say, You performed for them reversed miracles: in the place of dryness You poured forth water, and in the place of water You dried it up.
Metzudat Zion
'You dried up' — from the language of drying (yavesh). 'Ever-flowing' — an expression of strength, as in 'strong (eitan) is your dwelling place' (Numbers 24).
Malbim
'You' — and we also saw that You perform opposite actions: on one side, 'You did cleave' the rock and it became a spring and a brook, and on the other side, 'You dried up' ever-flowing rivers — so that You make water out of dust and dust out of water, as it is written, 'What ails you, O sea, that you flee?... who turns the rock into a pool of water' (Psalms 114:5, 8).
Yours is the day, Yours also the night; You have established luminary and sun.
verse value 2102
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 30 letters. The shortest word is "to·You" (לְךָ֣, 2 letters) and the longest is "You·have·established" (הֲ֝כִינ֗וֹתָ, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "You·have·established" (הֲ֝כִינ֗וֹתָ), "luminary" (מָא֥וֹר), "and·sun" (וָשָֽׁמֶשׁ). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "day" (root יום, 121x in Psalms); "You" (root אתה, 115x in Psalms); "You·have·established" (root כון, 52x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'night', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: לְךָ֣ [to·You] (50) + י֭וֹם [day] (56) + אַף־לְךָ֥ [also·to·You] (131) + לָ֑יְלָה [night] (75) + אַתָּ֥ה [You] (406) + הֲ֝כִינ֗וֹתָ [You·have·established] (491) + מָא֥וֹר [luminary] (247) + וָשָֽׁמֶשׁ [and·sun] (646) = 2102.
Rashi
"Day is Yours" — The redemption of Israel. "even night is Yours" — And they were with You in the darkness of the night. "You established the luminary and the sun" — You established the light of the Torah for them.
Ibn Ezra
'Yours' is the day — the sense is that You perform these wonders at every time, day and night, for it is You who established the bodies that rule over them. 'Luminary' — this is the moon, and He mentioned it before the sun because He had just finished with the word 'night'; for such is the way of Scripture, as in 'and I gave to Esau' (Joshua 24:4).
Radak
"Yours [is the day]" — since he mentioned the reversals that He performed for the salvation of Israel, making the dry into wet and the wet into dry, he also mentions the reversals that He performs in the world through His creation — nature set against nature — for every single day He reverses the natures according to His will, as His servants need, to show that everything is in His hand, and that He created all of them thus for the need of His creatures. For the night is the rest of mankind and the time of prey for the beasts; therefore he says "even" — that is, even the night, which does not appear to have great benefit, is also Yours, for You established it to be darkness for half the time, for the benefit of the creatures.
Metzudat David
"Yours is the day" — that is to say, You created them. "You have established" — to remain in their fixed order, and not to change their function. "Luminary" — this is the moon, which is called "the lesser light" (Genesis 1).
Metzudat Zion
'You have established' — from the language of a base and foundation (ken).
Malbim
'Yours is the day' — and he explains the reason that it is in Your power to change and reverse the orders of existence: because the entire natural order is fixed by You and is attributed to You, and therefore You are able to change it as You wish. And he explains that the order of the course of the heavenly lights is fixed by You — both the daily course, in which they circle the sphere every day from east to west, from which day and night come: 'Yours is the day, Yours also is the night' — even though the night is the absence of light, it too is attributed to You, for 'You have established the luminary and the sun' — for even for the night You prepared the light of the moon, which receives its light from the sun.
You have set all the borders of the earth; You have made summer and winter.
verse value 3331
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 33 letters. The shortest word is "You" (אַתָּ֣ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·the·borders·of" (כׇּל־גְּבוּל֣וֹת, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 497: You·have·set, all·the·borders·of. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "You·have·set" (הִ֭צַּבְתָּ), "all·the·borders·of" (כׇּל־גְּבוּל֣וֹת), "and·winter" (וָ֝חֹ֗רֶף). The root אתה appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "land" (root ארץ, 157x in Psalms); "You" (root אתה, 115x in Psalms); "all·the·borders·of" (root כל, 82x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'land', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: אַתָּ֣ה [You] (406) + הִ֭צַּבְתָּ [You·have·set] (497) + כׇּל־גְּבוּל֣וֹת [all·the·borders·of] (497) + אָ֑רֶץ [land] (291) + קַ֥יִץ [summer] (200) + וָ֝חֹ֗רֶף [and·winter] (294) + אַתָּ֥ה [You] (406) + יְצַרְתָּֽם [You·have·made·them] (740) = 3331.
Rashi
"You set" — for them all the boundaries of their land with all good. "summer and winter—You formed them" — This is similar to (Jer. 5:24): “the weeks of the laws of harvest He keeps for us.” You did not alter for us the order of the years.
Ibn Ezra
'You' — the sense is that He mentioned the matter and its opposite — 'You did cleave' and 'You did dry up' — and all of these pertain to the land; and He mentioned that the seven boundaries stand forever, and the inhabited world does not change. And the sense of 'summer and winter' — because most of the inhabited world is on the northern side (lit. 'the left') and part of it on the southern side; and the reason for mentioning this together with the borders of the earth is that when it is summer in one place, it is winter in another.
Radak
"Summer and winter" — this too is a thing and its opposite; and included within "winter" and "summer" are cold and heat, each of which the creatures need. And he mentioned the continual motion of day and night, and [likewise] he mentioned the continual motion of summer and winter. So too, all the boundaries of the earth, which are seven regions, each region being the opposite of the other, its climate differing from its fellow's — and all of this is for the need of the creatures. "Luminary and sun" — its meaning is: the light of the moon and the stars together are called "luminary" at night, and the light of the sun by day; and all of this You prepared for the need of the creatures, for the benefit of the sun's light is evident in its light and its heat, while the light of the moon and the stars are needed by those who travel the deserts and those who go down to the sea, and they are also needed by the plants. The moon, too, has power over the water, and each and every star has power over plants, or over stones and metals.
Metzudat David
"All the borders of the earth" — that every region be in the place fitting for it.
Metzudat Zion
'You have set' — [i.e.] 'You have established.' 'Summer' — the days of the sun. 'And winter' — the days of the rains.
Malbim
'You' — and also the annual movement, in which the sun travels from north to south and from south to north along the ecliptic, is from You, for 'You have set all the borders of the earth' — through which the habitation of the earth in the north and in the south is formed, for 'summer and winter, You have formed them' — through which summer and winter come about, according to how the sun deviates from the equatorial line toward the north and toward the south, as is known, and as [explained] above in Psalm 19. So that even in the natural order there are found opposite actions, and all of it is for the purpose of the habitation of the earth, and all of it You made in wisdom.
Remember this, how the enemy has reproached Hashem, And how a base people have blasphemed Your name.
verse value 1673
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 30 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֑ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "has·reproached" (חֵרֵ֣ף, 3 letters) and the longest is "remember·this" (זְכׇר־זֹ֗את, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "remember·this" (זְכׇר־זֹ֗את). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 688x in Psalms); "and·a·people" (root עם, 135x in Psalms); "Your·name" (root שם, 119x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: זְכׇר־זֹ֗את [remember·this] (635) + א֭וֹיֵב [enemy] (19) + חֵרֵ֣ף [has·reproached] (288) + יְהֹוָ֑ה [Hashem] (26) + וְעַ֥ם [and·a·people] (116) + נָ֝בָ֗ל [base] (82) + נִאֲצ֥וּ [have·blasphemed] (147) + שְׁמֶֽךָ [Your·name] (360) = 1673.
Rashi
"Remember how the enemy, etc." — And since all our salvation is through You, remember how the enemy reviled You by destroying us.
Ibn Ezra
'Remember' — I say, concerning the enemy: 'remember this.' 'And a base people' — who have blasphemed Your name, like 'let your heart be whole' (I Kings 8:61).
Radak
"Remember" — You, who did all this, remember that the enemy denies You despite all of this, and blasphemes Your name; remember this against him, and bring him low, and bring us out from his hand, and never give us into his hand.
Metzudat David
"Remember" — that is to say, if indeed everything is in Your hand and You watch over everything, remember also this: how the enemy reproached Hashem. "And a base people" — this repeats the matter in different words.
Metzudat Zion
'Have blasphemed' — an expression of contempt/scorn.
Malbim
'Remember this, how the enemy has reproached Hashem' — even though the order of day and night and the laws of nature are from You, this itself is the very reason that the enemy reproaches Hashem: for by seeing that nature proceeds according to a fixed, established order, he says that the world follows its own course, and there is no judgment and no judge. 'And a base people have blasphemed Your name' — the name renowned as belonging to the One who creates everything — and he says that everything is [merely] nature. And if so, it is fitting that You show Your wonders and Your miracles as in the days of old.
O deliver not the soul of Your turtle-dove to the wild beast; Forget not the life of Your poor for ever.
verse value 3900
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 34 letters. Verse gematria: 3900 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "the·soul·of" (נֶ֣פֶשׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "do·not·forget" (אַל־תִּשְׁכַּ֥ח, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "to·the·beast·of" (לְ֭חַיַּת), "Your·turtledove" (תּוֹרֶ֑ךָ), "Your·poor" (עֲ֝נִיֶּ֗יךָ). The root חי appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·soul·of" (root נפש, 143x in Psalms); "do·not·give" (root נתן, 95x in Psalms); "forever" (root נצח, 73x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Your·turtledove', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: אַל־תִּתֵּ֣ן [do·not·give] (881) + לְ֭חַיַּת [to·the·beast·of] (448) + נֶ֣פֶשׁ [the·soul·of] (430) + תּוֹרֶ֑ךָ [Your·turtledove] (626) + חַיַּ֥ת [the·life·of] (418) + עֲ֝נִיֶּ֗יךָ [Your·poor] (160) + אַל־תִּשְׁכַּ֥ח [do·not·forget] (759) + לָנֶֽצַח [forever] (178) = 3900.
Rashi
"Do not deliver to the company" — To the companies of the nations, as (II Sam. 23:11): “Now the Philistines were gathered together into a troop (לחיה).” "the soul of Your turtledove" — Heb. תורך, Your turtledove. And Jonathan rendered this as (sic) an expression of turtledoves and young pigeons. This turtledoveas soon as the male recognizes its mate, it does not mate with another. So have Israel not exchanged You for another god, although You have distanced Yourself from them and they were like a widow. "the soul of Your poor ones" — Heb. חית ענייך, the soul of Your poor ones.
Ibn Ezra
'Do not, to the beast' — vocalized with a patach, because it is in construct and the noun it governs is elided, as in 'a multitude, [which] I see.' And the sense is: 'the beast of the field.' 'Your dove' — as in 'two turtledoves.' Some say that '[to the] beast' is like 'rebuke the beast of the reeds' (Psalm 68:31), or like 'the beast of the Philistines.'
Radak
"O deliver not the soul of [Your turtle-dove] to the beast" — the construct noun is missing [its completion], as if it said "to the beast of the needy ones": [it means] the soul of Israel, who is Your turtledove, for Israel is likened to a dove and a turtledove, because they are weak in strength and are preyed upon and do not prey [on others]. "Chayat" [in "chayat anyekha"] means "the company of," and likewise "chayat anyekha" means "the company of Your poor."
Metzudat David
"To the beast" — Do not give over the soul of Israel to the congregation of idol-worshippers. "The beast of Your poor" — the congregation of Israel, who are poor and subdued.
Metzudat Zion
'Lechayat' [to the company of] — an expression of a company and gathering, and likewise 'the troop (chayat) of the Philistines' (II Samuel 23). 'Your turtle-dove' — from the language of 'tor' (turtle-dove); it refers to the congregation of Israel, likened to a turtle-dove just as it is likened to a dove, as in 'my dove, in the clefts of the rock' (Song of Songs 2).
Malbim
'O deliver not' (second argument) — is it not also fitting that You save us for our own sake? For Israel, who resembles 'a turtle-dove' and a fledgling, should not be preyed upon by 'the wild beasts' that prey. And also, 'the life of Your poor' — that is, its living soul, which is its divine soul — '[forget] not forever.' The meaning is that it is explained from the mystery of existence that forms are subjugated one beneath another, so that the weak animals are therefore subjugated before the predatory ones, owing to the nature of their forms. He is saying that even though Israel resembles a turtle-dove, which is a weak domestic bird that migrates by its nature — so too are they [Israel] wandering, tossed about, and weak — it is nonetheless fitting that You not give it over to the predatory beasts, because of its life-force, the soul of life within it, which is the highest of all the forms in this lower world, for it is the daughter of the living God.
Look upon the covenant; For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
verse value 1999
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·dark·places·of·the·land" (מַחֲשַׁכֵּי־אֶ֝֗רֶץ, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "upon·the·covenant" (לַבְּרִ֑ית), "the·dark·places·of·the·land" (מַחֲשַׁכֵּי־אֶ֝֗רֶץ). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "for" (root כי, 216x in Psalms); "are·full" (root מלא, 30x in Psalms); "upon·the·covenant" (root ברית, 21x in Psalms). First appearance of the root מחשך ("the·dark·places·of·the·land") in Psalms. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upon·the·covenant', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 5 words. Full calculation: הַבֵּ֥ט [look] (16) + לַבְּרִ֑ית [upon·the·covenant] (642) + כִּ֥י [for] (30) + מָלְא֥וּ [are·full] (77) + מַחֲשַׁכֵּי־אֶ֝֗רֶץ [the·dark·places·of·the·land] (669) + נְא֣וֹת [the·habitations·of] (457) + חָמָֽס [violence] (108) = 1999.
Rashi
"Look to the covenant" — which You formed with our forefathers. "with dwellings of violence" — Heb. נאות חמס, a dwelling of violence, an expression of a dwelling place.
Ibn Ezra
'Look upon the covenant' — vocalized with a patach under the lamed because it is definite, and the word 'look' serves for another clause as well, as if it read: 'and look, they are full.' And the sense of 'the dark places of the land' — parallel to 'look,' its meaning is the hidden places there. 'Habitations' — as in 'the pastures of the shepherds' (Amos 1:2).
Radak
"Look upon [the] covenant" — the lamed [in "labrit"] is vocalized with a patach to indicate the definite article, that is to say, the covenant which You made with our forefathers. "The dark places of the land" — these are the places of exile, which are darkness and gloom for Israel, and they are "habitations of violence," for the Babylonians do violence to them. And he said "are full," because all the places of exile are habitations of violence.
Metzudat David
"Look" — See the covenant that You made with our fathers, to redeem their children. "The dark places of the land" — the places where they dwelt, in the darkness of the destruction, have become filled with dwellings of violence.
Metzudat Zion
'The dark places' — from the language of darkness. 'Habitations' — dwelling places.
Malbim
"Look upon the covenant" — (Claim 3) For at the end of the rebukes in Torat Kohanim (Leviticus) it says, "and I will remember My covenant with Jacob, etc.," "and I will remember the land," "and the land shall be forsaken by them," "and I will remember for them the covenant of the ancestors" — explaining that after a multitude of troubles overtakes them, and the land too is forsaken, then He will remember the covenant of the fathers and the covenant He made with them concerning the land. And so it says: since already "the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of violence" — meaning that in a land of distress and darkness, its dark places are filled with the habitations of violence — it is fitting "that You look upon the covenant" that You made about this with the fathers.
O let not the oppressed turn back in confusion; Let the poor and needy praise Your name.
verse value 1153
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 28 letters. The shortest word is "oppressed" (דַּ֣ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·needy" (וְ֝אֶבְי֗וֹן, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "let·not·turn·back" (אַל־יָשֹׁ֣ב), "oppressed" (דַּ֣ךְ), "ashamed" (נִכְלָ֑ם). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Your·name" (root שם, 119x in Psalms); "let·them·praise" (root הלל, 94x in Psalms); "let·not·turn·back" (root שוב, 72x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'ashamed', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: אַל־יָשֹׁ֣ב [let·not·turn·back] (343) + דַּ֣ךְ [oppressed] (24) + נִכְלָ֑ם [ashamed] (140) + עָנִ֥י [poor] (130) + וְ֝אֶבְי֗וֹן [and·needy] (75) + יְֽהַלְל֥וּ [let·them·praise] (81) + שְׁמֶֽךָ [Your·name] (360) = 1153.
Rashi
"Let not the poor turn back in disgrace" — Let the poor not turn back from before You disgraced in his prayer.
Ibn Ezra
'O let not' — the particle of negation, not the divine name: 'let not the oppressed turn back in confusion; let the poor and needy praise Your name forever.'
Radak
"Let not turn back" — this refers to the poor one who prays before You: let him not turn back ashamed, [for fear] that You would not hear his prayer; and the "poor one" is Israel in exile. "Let the poor and needy praise Your name" — see, they praise Your name even in their exile. Or its interpretation is: when he does not turn back ashamed from before You, he will praise Your name.
Metzudat David
"The oppressed" — the crushed one; let him not return ashamed at the time of his prayer, but accept them with favor, and then the poor and needy will praise Your name for this.
Malbim
"O let not" — (Claim 4) that it is fitting that You save the one who hopes in You, "so that the oppressed not turn back in shame," and so that "the poor and needy may praise Your name" — that You save those who take refuge in You and hear the needy.
Arise, O God, plead Your own cause; Remember Your reproach all the day at the hand of the base man.
verse value 1914
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 37 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱ֭לֹהִים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "remember" (זְכֹ֥ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·the·base·man" (מִנִּי־נָ֝בָ֗ל, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "Your·cause" (רִיבֶ֑ךָ), "Your·reproach" (חֶרְפָּתְךָ֥), "from·the·base·man" (מִנִּי־נָ֝בָ֗ל). The root ריב appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "all·the·day" (root יום, 121x in Psalms); "remember" (root זכר, 64x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Your·cause', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: קוּמָ֣ה [arise] (151) + אֱ֭לֹהִים [God] (86) + רִיבָ֣ה [plead] (217) + רִיבֶ֑ךָ [Your·cause] (232) + זְכֹ֥ר [remember] (227) + חֶרְפָּתְךָ֥ [Your·reproach] (708) + מִנִּי־נָ֝בָ֗ל [from·the·base·man] (182) + כׇּל־הַיּֽוֹם [all·the·day] (111) = 1914.
Rashi
"Your disgrace" — Your blasphemies, as (verse 18): “Remember how the enemy reviled.”
Ibn Ezra
'Arise' — the sense of 'Your cause' is that the enemy has reproached Your name; and the yod of mini ('from') is extra, as in 'mini Ephraim' (Judges 5:14).
Radak
"Arise" — if You will not act for our sake, act for Your own sake, for our grievance is Your grievance, since the enemy reproaches You and says that You have no power to bring us out from them.
Metzudat David
"Your cause" — for they have risen up against You to blaspheme. "All the day" — that which he has reproached at every moment.
Metzudat Zion
'At the hand of' — [i.e.] like 'min' (from).
Malbim
"Arise" — (Claim 5) Is it not fitting that You arise "to plead Your cause," concerning what pertains to Your desecrated honor? For it is fitting that You remember "Your reproach from the base man all day long," which consists of: (1) the lowliness of the one who shames You, who is base; (2) the constancy of the reproach, "all day long"; (3) that they themselves mock You about this, saying "do not forget the voice of Your adversaries" — likewise "the tumult of those who rise against You goes up continually," that the people themselves say, in tumult and voice, in scorn and contempt, that You should not forget the voice of Your adversaries. He portrays, in poetic figure, that through their tumult rising up continually, they themselves are the ones reminding You always not to forget the voice of Your adversaries for even a moment.
Forget not the voice of Your adversaries, The tumult of those who rise up against You which ascends continually.
verse value 2501
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "the·voice·of" (ק֣וֹל, 3 letters) and the longest is "do·not·forget" (אַל־תִּ֭שְׁכַּח, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "those·who·rise·against·You" (קָ֝מֶ֗יךָ). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·voice·of" (root קול, 55x in Psalms); "those·who·rise·against·You" (root קום, 52x in Psalms); "do·not·forget" (root שכח, 34x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Your·adversaries', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: אַל־תִּ֭שְׁכַּח [do·not·forget] (759) + ק֣וֹל [the·voice·of] (136) + צֹרְרֶ֑יךָ [Your·adversaries] (520) + שְׁא֥וֹן [the·tumult·of] (357) + קָ֝מֶ֗יךָ [those·who·rise·against·You] (170) + עֹלֶ֥ה [ascending] (105) + תָמִֽיד [continually] (454) = 2501.
Ibn Ezra
'Forget not' — the sense of 'the voice of Your adversaries' is what was mentioned earlier: 'Your adversaries have roared in the midst of Your meeting-place' (Psalm 74:4). 'The tumult of those who rise up against You' — let it ascend continually, until it reaches You in the heavens; and this is a figurative expression.
Radak
"Forget not" — their voice and their tumult, which they continually raise against You, ascends before You; do not forget it.
Metzudat David
"Ascends continually" — which continually rises up to blaspheme against Him on high.
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Radak
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim