and warring nations, the psalmist gave expression to the fears and uncertainties that troubled the present situation. Similarly, the joy of victory, the gratitude for prayers answered, and wonder at the marvels of creation all become part of the praise that is lifted up to the God who rules the world and brings all life into being. The psalmist attests with unshakable conviction that the One and Almighty God who touches every movement of history and each human life is the focus of all praise, the healer of every ill, and the source of all blessing” Introduction, xv.
Note: This anthology of protective songs of trust and confidence, from the Grail Translation, is provided with one exception: The name “Yhwh” has been inserted in place of “LORD.”
14. Day, Psalms in Old Testament Guides, 128.
15. Bellinger. “The Interpretation of Psalm 11,” Evangelical Quarterly 56. “. . . the psalm (11) had come to be viewed as a strong spiritual affirmation of trust in the midst of difficulty: God will protect the faithful. The language has no mythical component but both a literal and a figurative element are present. Perhaps it has been reinterpreted and ‘redacted’ as it was used through the years in worship to allow a more metaphorical, ‘spiritual’ meaning. However, any editing would only have been slight and gradual. Thus, it may very well be that at least two levels of meaning are still present in the text as we have it–the cultic and spiritual or figurative.” 100.
16. Dahood, Psalms, “Since Yahweh is the Just One, the psalmist is confident that justice will ultimately prevail. This type of psalm may have developed from the laments, in which expressions of confidence are a common feature.”68.
17. Dahood, Ibid.
Hallowed Names
Throughout this book we will be treating Psalms 90, 91 and 92 as a specific literary unit in the Psalms. There is much evidence to support its supposition. We focus first on Psalm 91 where only here in the Psalter, the poet employs four different names for God, each of which is intended to emphasize the total sovereignty and power and incomparability of the Hebrew God.
The one who dwells in the secret shelter of the Most High (עליון), and passes the night in the shadow of Shaddai (שדי) speaks: ‘I will say of the LORD (יהוה), my refuge and my bulwark; my God Elohay (אלהי) in whom I put my trust’ (91:1,2, LW). Here עליון (Elyon) is God Most High.18 עליו (Elyon Most High) also occurs in certain other psalms identified with Zion and is often times used with the prefix אל (El)
In Psalm 78:56, it is the continued sin of the people that is met by divine anger, but it is anger tempered with compassion. For they tested the Most High God, and were in utter rebellion. They did not observe the divine decrees, but turned away and were faithless like their ancestors. Again it is used in its plural form אלהים (Elohim, gods) in Psalm 57:3. I cry to God Most High, to God (אלהים) who fulfills [his] purpose for me. God will send from heaven and save me; God will put to shame those who trample me under foot. God will send forth [his] constant love and faithfulness (LW). God as the exalted ruler of the universe vindicates the innocent and confronts the faithless.
In Psalm 113, we read how the personal, intimate יהוה is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like יהוה our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? אלהי ( Elohay, my God), which only occurs in three other places in the book of Psalms, is the singular, feminine form of אלהים , the plural (Elohim, gods). Both אלהים (Elohim) and אלהי (Elohay) are derivations of the broader prefix אל (El) the chief god in the Canaanite pantheon.
With the conjunctive יהוה עליון, YHWH and Elyon are also used in apposition in several other psalms.
I will give thanks to יהוה with my whole heart; . . .I will sing praises to your name, O עליון (Ps 9:2); For יהוה thundered in the heavens, and עליון (elyon) raised [his] voice (18:13); For the king trusts in יהוה and through the constant love of עליון (elyon) he shall not be moved (21:7, NRSV). This close association between the two names is found throughout the Hebrew Bible and is particularly noteworthy in the Psalms. Elyon (עליון) connects Psalm 92 to Psalm 91. It is good to give thanks to יהוה and to sing praises to your name, O עליון (elyon). cf. 92:1, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 15. Psalm 92 is a thanksgiving hymn for the just order. It speaks to the deliverance by יהוה of Israel out of the hands of her enemies and oppressors. It is a resounding hymn which builds on the majestic confidence and trust of Psalm 91.
In Psalm 91:4 a distinctly unique metaphor for refuge is employed. יהוה will cover you with [his] pinions, and under [his] wings you will find refuge. The Hebrew noun סֹחֵרָה (sokherah), which occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible, refers to a surrounding enclosure, a rampart, or an enveloping and rounded shield. This metaphor is intended to evoke the powerful image of יהוה encompassing the poet with complete protection against all assaults. Included in this imagery is the understanding of the life of faith and trust as one that is embattled, requiring the unfailing assistance and continuously abiding protection of the presence of יהוה throughout one’s life. Assurance of the presence of יהוה is appealed to by the poets over and over again and is a constant theme in the life of faith for the ancient people of God.
Psalm 91 uses two names for the deity which are typically associated with pre-Mosaic religion: עליון (Elyon, Most High) and שדי (Shaddai, the God of Heaven) which are both names of great antiquity.19 Shaddai is usually translated the Almighty in the LXX. יהוה is referred to in the prophet Hosea as “the living God.” Moses is told in Exodus 6:2–8 that שדי (Shaddai, Almighty) is the name by which the patriarchs knew God. The most likely meaning of this divine appellative is god of the fields, or mountain, but the name יהוה was possibly unknown to them. What we have in the name אל שדי (el shaddai) is an ancient divine appellative with roots deep in the Semitic past. The derivation and meaning of אל שדי (el shaddai) is mostly translated (Almighty) in the Septuagint—whose interpreters themselves were unfamiliar with the original meaning of the name.
Another feature of the LXX (Septuagint) 20 is the reference to the God of Israel, translated the Lord of all the earth. In Psalm 97:5 it states: The mountains melt like wax before יהוה before the Lord of all the earth; and 98:4: All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. Make a joyful noise to יהוה, all the earth. In a non-biblical reference, it is used of the Greek god, Zeus and the Egyptian god, Osiris, specifically by Plutarch (cf. Isis and Osiris 355e).
The origin of the sacred name, יהוה, goes something like this. In its classical form the traditional Kenite hypothesis postulates the view that the Israelites became acquainted with the worship of יהוה through Moses. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law in one account was, according to an old tradition, a Midianite priest (Ex 2:16; 3:1; 18:1) who worshiped יהוה (e.g. Ex 18:10–12). In two other accounts Hobab is referred to also as Moses’ father-in-law (in Judg 1:16; 4:11; Num 10:29) and belonged to the Kenites (Judg 1:16; 4:11) a branch of the Midianites. By way of Hobab and Moses, then, the Kenites were the mediators of the cult of יהוה.
Dependency on the historical role of Moses, moreover, is problematic. It seems more prudent not to put too much weight on the figure of Moses—to say nothing of the discrepancy that is found in scripture regarding the actual identities of Jethro and Hobab who are each cited as Moses’s father-in-law
