BOOK OF PSALMS: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Psalms 32:5b  Does“You forgave the guilt of my sin” mean that God removed his feelings of guilt, of not being able to forgive himself?

No, the Hebrew word for “guilt” in this verse is awon, which always refers to objective guilt against God, not subjective feelings of guilt. (Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis)

So what does this phrase mean? At least two commentators have mentioned that “guilt of my sin” is a very unusual construction. One possibility is that when the same word (or a synonym in this case) is repeated with “of” in the middle, it is a way of intensifying that word. For example, Song of Songs and King of Kings, refer, respectively, to the great or greatest song and king. According to this pattern, the phrase is to be read literally as “my sin of sins,” meaning “my great(est) sin,” or as TEV and the Living Bible translate it, “all my sin.”

Another tack is taken by NEB, recognizing that awon can on rare occasions by translated as “punishment for sin.” Their translation thus reads “you have removed the penalty of my sin.”

A third possibility is adopted by Jerusalem Bible following the suggestion (New Century Bible Commentary, Psalms and Bible Knowledge Commentary) that the consonants for selah and hattah (sin) should be joined together to form salahhtah, meaning “forgive.” Thus, their translation of 32:5b reads “you have forgiven the wrong I did and have pardoned my sin.”

Psalm 46 It has been noted that the 46^th word from the start of this psalm is “shake” while the 46^th word from the end is “spear.” Doesn't this prove that Shakespeare was part of the team that translated the King James Version?

Shakespeare's 46^th birthday was in 1710 toward the end of his career, the year when fifty English scholars put the finishing touches on the King James Bible. Shakespeare is not listed as one of those translators. However, it is possible that one of the final editors slipped his name into this psalm in his honor. Less likely is the possibility that Shakespeare himself did it. There is absolutely no historical evidence linking Shakespeare with the actual translating of the KJV. In fact, it is felt that he came from a Catholic family and thus might have been excluded from participating.

For the scheme to work, one needs to omit the final word of Psalm 46, “Selah.” This is not a problem since selah is probably some sort of musical direction and not really part of the Psalm's content.

Also, for it to work one must translate the two pertinent Hebrew words as shake and spear. There was no real fudging of the text to do this since these two English words appear in two previous translations made before Shakespeare was even born. However, there are some judgment calls involved that would allow the translators of the KJV a little leeway to use these particular words. For example, the same Hebrew word is translated as shake in verse 3 but as move in verse 6. Also, the Hebrew word for spear can also be translated as spears (as in the Good News Bible.)

My gut feel is one of the translators noted the existing coincidences and made sure that the exact word count and specific choice of words completed the puzzle.

My own analysis of this Psalm seems to have nothing to do with the Shakespeare phenomenon:

    A. God is our refuge (1-3) (ends in Selah)

            B. God's power over nations and the earth (4-6)

    A. God is our refuge (7) (ends in Selah)

            B. God's power over nations and the earth (8-10)

    A. God is our refuge (11) (ends in Selah)

Ps. 55:20 “My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant...” Who is "he" in this verse?

Here is another complicated answer to a simple question. First, we need to recognize that this is a difficult psalm on several levels – some words are almost impossible to translate so that the sentences make sense, and the author jumps around in mood, style and subject matter. This last phenomenon has been explained as reflecting the emotional strain of his dealing with treachery from enemies and supposed friends alike. (A. A. Anderson, Psalms 73-150, p. 412)

Next, let's look at the particular verse in question. The NIV, as well as some other translations, identifies this man as David's “companion.” However, the Hebrew only identifies him as “He.” NIV therefore clearly feels, as do most commentators, that the description of this man in verses 20-21 applies to the same companion mentioned earlier in verses 12-14. This is probably the most likely identification; however, other possibilities are (1) each one of the plural enemies mentioned elsewhere in the psalm (Anderson, p. 418) or (2) an entirely different individual than the companion of verses 12-14.

 Assuming that a close companion of David's is the “he” of verse 20, we have several viable candidates who have been proposed over the years. These include King Saul and David's sons Amnon and Absalom. More likely candidates are Joab, the trusted confidant of David who turned against David's wish to install Solomon as his successor, and Ahithophel, David's counselor, who supported Absalom's rebellion (2 Samuel 15:12). John Beigent (The International Bible Commentary, p. 545) concludes that attempts to specifically identify this individual with one of the above people “though attractive, are incapable of proof. It is better to admit that we have no idea of either the historical setting, or the personal circumstances of the writer.”

More important than the exact identity of this person in its original setting is what the psalm had to say to subsequent generations and how it can be applied to us today.

Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (p. 488) alludes to this psalm as being parallel to Jesus being “stirred up inside” in regard to “extreme anguish over the betrayal of a close friend.” (see John 13:21) In that sense, Psalm 55 can be viewed as a prophetic psalm, much the same as Psalm 41.

John Calvin found comfort in this psalm because he “always had to sustain some conflict either from enemies without or within the Church.” (William L. Holladay, The Psalms through Three Thousand Years, p. 196)

This psalm is usually classified as an “individual lament” although others call it a “national lament.” This latter designation recognizes that it is appropriate to use any time a nation is beset with problems caused externally or internally. In other words, the “he” of the psalm may in fact be “us” at times (as Pogo shrewdly noted years ago).

Finally, there is the individual application of this psalm to use when we have been betrayed by someone close to us. Occasions of sexual or spousal abuse might specifically come to mind. Beth Tanner (The Book of Psalms, p. 479) summarizes, “Even in the midst of suffering and betrayal by human enemies and friends, the one praying knows that he can depend on God. Thousands of years later, we can still relate to the roller-coaster emotions of betrayal and fear and know, as this prayer claims, that we too can call upon God, the one enthroned from old, to come to our aid.”