Psalms 136 — RVA — Scriptura

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136O GIVE thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
^{Verse 2}O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.
^{Verse 3}O give thanks unto the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.
^{Verse 4}To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.
^{Verse 5}To him that by understanding made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.
^{Verse 6}To him that spread forth the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.
^{Verse 7}To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:
^{Verse 8}The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:
^{Verse 9}The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.
^{Verse 10}To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever:
^{Verse 11}And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever:
^{Verse 12}With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.
^{Verse 13}To him which divided the Red Sea in sunder: for his mercy endureth for ever:
^{Verse 14}And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever:
^{Verse 15}But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.
^{Verse 16}To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever.
^{Verse 17}To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:
^{Verse 18}And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:
^{Verse 19}Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever:
^{Verse 20}And Og king of Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever:
^{Verse 21}And gave their land for an heritage: for his mercy endureth for ever:
^{Verse 22}Even an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy endureth for ever.
^{Verse 23}Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever:
^{Verse 24}And hath delivered us from our adversaries: for his mercy endureth for ever.
^{Verse 25}He giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.
^{Verse 26}O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Commentary

Like the preceding Psalm, this Psalm allies itself to the Book of Deuteronomy. Psa 136:2 and Psa 136:3 (God of gods and Lord of lords) are taken from Deu 10:17; Psa 136:12 (with a strong hand and stretched-out arm) from Deu 4:34; Deu 5:15, and frequently (cf. Jer 32:21); Psa 136:16 like Deu 8:15 (cf. Jer 2:6). With reference to the Deuteronomic colouring of Psa 136:19-22, vid., on Psa 135:10-12; also the expression "Israel His servant" recalls Deu 32:36 (cf. Psa 135:14; Psa 90:13), and still more Isa 40:1, where the comprehension of Israel under the unity of this notion has its own proper place. In other respects, too, the Psalm is an echo of earlier model passages. Who alone doeth great wonders sounds like Psa 72:18 (Psa 86:10); and the adjective "great" that is added to "wonders" shows that the poet found the formula already in existence. In connection with Psa 136:5 he has Pro 3:19 or Jer 10:12 in his mind; תּבוּנה, like חכמה, is the demiurgic wisdom. Psa 136:6 calls to mind Isa 42:5; Isa 44:24; the expression is "above the waters," as in Psa 34:2 "upon the seas," because the water is partly visible and partly invisible מתּחת לארץ (Exo 20:4). The plural אורים, luces, instead of מארות, lumina (cf. Eze 32:8, מאורי אור), is without precedent. It is a controverted point whether אורת in Isa 26:19 signifies lights (cf. אורה, Psa 139:12) or herbs (Kg2 4:39). The plural ממשׁלות is also rare (occurring only besides in Psa 114:2): it here denotes the dominion of the moon on the one hand, and (going beyond Gen 1:16) of the stars on the other. בּלּילה, like בּיּום, is the second member of the stat. construct.

Up to this point it is God the absolute in general, the Creator of all things, to the celebration of whose praise they are summoned; and from this point onwards the God of the history of salvation. In Psa 136:13 גּזר (instead of בּקע, Psa 78:13; Exo 14:21; Neh 9:11) of the dividing of the Red Sea is peculiar; גּזרים (Gen 15:17, side by side with בּתרים) are the pieces or parts of a thing that is cut up into pieces. נער is a favourite word taken from Exo 14:27. With reference to the name of the Egyptian ruler Pharaoh (Herodotus also, ii. 111, calls the Pharaoh of the Exodus the son of Sesostris-Rameses Miumun, not Μενόφθας, as he is properly called, but absolutely Φερῶν), vid., on Psa 73:22. After the God to whom the praise is to be ascribed has been introduced with ל by always fresh attributes, the ל before the names of Sihon and of Og is perplexing. The words are taken over, as are the six lines of Psa 136:17-22 in the main, from Psa 135:10-12, with only a slight alteration in the expression. In Psa 136:23 the continued influence of the construction הודוּ ל is at an end. The connection by means of שׁ (cf. Psa 135:8, Psa 135:10) therefore has reference to the preceding "for His goodness endureth for ever." The language here has the stamp of the latest period. It is true זכר with Lamed of the object is used even in the earliest Hebrew, but שׁפל is only authenticated by Ecc 10:6, and פּרק, to break loose = to rescue (the customary Aramaic word for redemption), by Lam 5:8, just as in the closing verse, which recurs to the beginning, "God of heaven" is a name for God belonging to the latest literature, Neh 1:4; Neh 2:4. In Psa 136:23 the praise changes suddenly to that which has been experienced very recently. The attribute in Psa 136:25 (cf. Psa 147:9; Psa 145:15) leads one to look back to a time in which famine befell them together with slavery.

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