Reading the Psalms in Hebrew

Dr Peter J Williams discovers how the original language of the Psalter uses sounds and poetic devices to reinforce the meaning of the text.

Judging from manuscript numbers alone, since the earliest times the Psalms seem to have been the most popular part of the Bible. In most ancient languages into which they have been translated, Psalms manuscripts are even more common than Gospel manuscripts. Cherished by Orthodox monks and Reformed Presbyterians alike, the Psalms have historically been central to Jewish and Christian liturgical traditions.

The Psalms are great in English, but even better in Hebrew. In Hebrew they’re shorter and punchier. For example, Psalm 1 has 129 words in the first KJV, 124 in the ESV, 123 in the NIV, but just 67 in the Hebrew. Not only are there fewer words, but also far fewer letters. The first edition KJV has 542 letters, the NIV has 499 letters, the ESV 481, but the Hebrew has just 248.

The alphabet in Psalm 37

The key word, occurring 13 times in this Psalm, is “wicked” or rāshāʿ, beginning with the letter R or resh (ר). As we read through the Psalm we come to verses 34–36, where 15 words in a row contain the letter resh, as seen highlighted below.

Here are the same words from ESV (emphasis mine):

34 Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. 36 But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.

Although there are just 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, the likelihood that the letter resh (only the sixth or seventh most common letter) would randomly occur in 15 short words is low. Since Psalm 37 is an alphabetic Psalm we already know that the poet is thinking about the letters of the alphabet. Our suspicion that the use of resh is deliberate is confirmed when we look at the content. Beginning with the word “keep” in verse 34, which can also mean “watch”, the addressee is invited to observe God’s ways carefully.

The attentive addressee can also observe that, from this point on, the letter resh is being used in each word. Verse 34 says “you will look on when the wicked are cut off”. It sounds simple and positive; the wicked should be gone soon. But that’s where verse 35 surprises us by taking a more negative turn as the Psalmist says “I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree.” The first word “I have seen” begins with the letter resh and is prominent because it is the resh at the beginning of the verse which carries forward the alphabetic structure of the Psalm.

We look at his vision and are dismayed to see that the wicked, who begin with the letter resh, are spreading like a green tree. Surely this should not be happening! The contrast is even greater because the Hebrew word order in verse 34 had made that verse end on the verb “you will look on”, which is the same word as begins verse 35 “I have seen”. The contrast between what was announced in verse 34 and the reality of verse 35 is stark.

Verse 36 resolves this tension with one Hebrew word: “and he passed away”. The last letter of this word is the last resh we see till the end of the verse. The wicked man passes away and so does the letter which was connected with him. The verse continues: “and behold he was no more” (no wicked and no letter resh) and then “though I sought him (or it), he could not be found”. The thing that is true of the wicked is also true of the letter resh.

This is how the language of the poem and the message of the poem go together. The whole Psalm is about not worrying when evildoers prosper. It says wait for God, even if the wicked seem to be doing well for a while. Like the letter resh, the wicked won’t last.

Re-reading Psalm 10 in the light of Psalm 37

Having seen this in Psalm 37, we can recognise a less obvious use of the same feature in Psalm 10, which like Psalm 37 happens to be alphabetic. As mentioned above, it’s part of a pair with Psalm 9. They share the alphabet between them. Psalm 9:1 begins optimistically: “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.” All three times the wicked (rāshāʿ) are mentioned in Psalm 9, they’re being defeated (9:5, 16, 17). But Psalm 10 has a different mood. It begins “Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” The wicked (rāshāʿ) are mentioned five times in this Psalm, and they just seem to be prospering. They pursue the poor (10:2), boast (10:3), don’t seek God (10:4), and renounce God (10:13).

Then we have the fifth and final time when the rāshāʿ is mentioned. In 10:15 we get a string of the letter resh shown with highlighting below:

The affected words are underlined here, when it says, “Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.”

Again we have a series of the letter resh, coming to a sudden halt when it is said that wickedness will not be found. If we didn’t know about Psalm 37 we might think it was just a coincidence, but in light of what we’ve seen earlier, we should see this as deliberate.

Seeing Psalm 1 and Psalm 37 together

Psalm 1 begins with aleph (א), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. That might just be a coincidence. It was a common enough letter. But the second word, once we’ve removed the definite article at the beginning also begins with aleph, and so does the third word. That might not be significant, nor even the fact that the last word of the Psalm, of how the wicked perish, begins with taw (ת), the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Whether you judge these things to be significant will depend on the extent to which you find similar patterns elsewhere in the Psalms. It’s easy to read things into the text and we need to be wary of doing so.

Clearly the theme of Psalm 1 is the prosperity of those who delight in God’s law and the rapid fate of the wicked. The one who delights in God’s law is like a tree flourishing with multiple constant water sources. Compare the flourishing tree with the chaff, being driven by the wind during winnowing. The wicked, reshāʿīm (plural of rāshāʿ), do not prosper, even though they occur in the first and last lines of the Psalm.

It is against the backdrop of Psalm 1 that the message of Psalm 37:35 falls into place. The wicked may seem to be prospering, but as we see in Psalm 1, the righteous, not the wicked, are supposed to be like a tree. It is the careful use of letters (the reoccurring resh throughout the verse) which assures us that this is indeed deliberate. Psalm 1 articulates the way things always are, while Psalm 37:35 tells us that they may seem to be otherwise for a while. But don’t worry. It won’t last.