119. McCann, Theological, 128.
120. Brueggemann and Bellinger, Psalms, 123. Brueggemann and Bellinger observe, “We may picture a sheep living without water or grass, exposed to wild animals, and therefore at risk. This protective, attentive shepherd changes all of that and the sheep is given a life of well-being” (ibid.). Some commentators see the term for “restore” (shuv) as the language of repentance. Thus, the verse conveys returning to God in repentance for the purpose of being restored (DeClaissé-Walford, et al., Psalms, 241–42). While the term at times conveys repentance (Hos 14:1; Joel 2:12), Ps 23 is not a “penitential psalm,” and to spiritualize the text in such a way goes beyond its original shepherding imagery. Nevertheless, the two views need not contradict each other, and, as Derek Kidner notes, may even converge, so that the rescue of a sheep pictures the deeper renewal of the person of God in his or her spiritual helplessness (Psalms 1–72, 110).
121. McCann, Theological, 128.
122. Mays, Preaching, 120. I use “traditions” and “memories” to refer loosely to both oral and written materials, but am conscious of not arguing for a genetic connection between specific biblical texts per se. We simply cannot be precise about the dating of Ps 23, or the other passages in their final form that I reference in this context. I think it best to assume an interpretive milieu from which the psalmist and other OT authors drew when reflecting on Israel’s redemption at the exodus, and these have been woven throughout the biblical witness. I have adapted my list of passages from Mays, Psalms, 118.
123. Menukhot is a feminine pl. noun and mayim (“waters”) is a masculine pl. noun. This may point away from the traditional translation “still waters” (where “still” functions as an adjective modifying “waters”) to “resting places,” which happen to be near a water source. Not to put too fine a point on the grammar, but I am conscious of a possible objection to seeing a connection between still waters and the flowing water from the rock.
124. “Valley of the shadow of death” is the traditional translation, and is often preached in funerals as a note of confidence as the deceased passes from life in this world to eternal life in God’s presence. Of course, this idea is profoundly true, but the main idea of the psalm is that God protects the psalmist from all kinds of dangers associated with “darkest valley”; death, per se is not mentioned, but is implicit as but one of the dangers of the valley (Longman, Psalms, 135–36).
125. DeClaissé-Walford, et al., Psalms, 243.
126. Ibid.
127. McCann, Theological, 131.
128. Ibid. Hence, the NET translation, “Surely your goodness and faithfulness will pursue me all my days.”
129. DeClaissé-Walford, et al., Psalms, 244.
130. The Heb. word khesed is exceedingly difficult to translate into Eng. with only one word. Translators often translate it “steadfast love,” “covenant loyalty,” “covenant faithfulness,” “covenant mercy,” “lovingkindness,” “covenant of love,” “faithful love,” etc. Therefore, many reference works simply transliterate it as khesed and do not translate it. The pairing of “goodness and mercy” is by no means limited to exodus contexts (Pss 100:5; 106:1; 107:1; 118:1; 136:1).
131. A literal translation for “forever” is “length of days,” which signifies the duration of the psalmist’s life. The OT lacks a developed doctrine of the afterlife, which gains momentum in the intertestamental period, and becomes even more fully developed in the NT (Longman, Psalms, 137).
132. Brueggemann and Bellinger, Psalms, 124.
133. Longman, Psalms, 137.
134. McCann, Theological, 132.
135. DeClaissé-Walford, et al., Psalms, 245.
136. Bullock, Encountering, 171–72.
137. O’Day and Hylen, John, 106.
138. “Eternal life” in John does not wait until the last days; it is available now through Jesus (ibid.).
139. Reardon, Christ, 43.
140. Bryant and Krause, John, 233. Reardon also notes that Jesus as the good shepherd appears in the catacombs of Rome, a second-century work called The Shepherd of Hermas, and in Polycarp’s The Martyrdom of Polycarp 19:2 (Christ, 43).
141. Augustine, Expositions 23, in Blaising and Hardin, eds., Psalms, 178.
142. DeClaissé-Walford, et al., Psalms, 245–46.
143. Reardon, Christ, 44. Reardon refers to the messianic banquet as an “altar,” symbolizing Christ’s sacrifice on the cross where the bread is his body and the cup is his blood; but I see this as the pinnacle moment of fellowship among Christians, and think of it more in terms of a table. See Hicks, Table.
144. McCann, Theological, 135.
145. Reardon, Christ, 44.
146. McCann, Theological, 135; Reardon, Christ, 43. Matthew 14:19 mentions only “grass,” Luke does not mention grass at all but that the place was “desolate” (Luke 9:12), recalling God’s provisions in the wilderness; John 6:10 mentions that there was “much grass” in the place.
147. McCann, Theological, 135.
148. Ibid., 132.
149. Ibid., 135–36.
150.
