make c a prep., but fail to understand ncD. A ^1 iK-rrenf^us (or ^Trip-
THE PSALM 19
pixf/ius) x^^°^, """o X'^"'^'^' dvfjLoO (Tov. Origen's E read ^J dirpoiSoKi^-
Toi; dvaTpoirijs ttjs dpfTJs ffov. The sufiBx of incn offers some difficulty,
and is omitted by <S & A and 21. S reads ^auroO. But sf. is original
and represents rapid transition. M anni;;D We. emends ann^c after
Na. 3'. This is suggested by <6's error <r7ri}\aia aiiruv. — 16. Either
the first or last clause of this verse should be expunged, perhaps both.
We. removes the first clause, and puts it in place of the last, chang-
ing n>'3»' to j.'3'trn. It is better to retain the last clause (changing
pSp'p to |iSp, as 3?3B' is hardly the word to follow Dio in v. " and the
words for drinking in v. '^ For M "riyn 05 has kxI diaa-aXevd-riTi, A
KaddrjTi. ^ and 3 also probably read Siyni, as do many commenta-
tors; but the text of M makes better sense. — 17, M inini makes no
sense. ^ Trroijcret ce. So&andS. Ew., Ols., We., Oort emend in^n\
M '•ma. The last couplet, to be dropped from v. », seems required
here, with omission of the prep, which the connection required in v. «
and was then intruded here. — 18. This verse is not rhythmical and is
an intruded gloss. St., We., et al., transpose w. 's. 19.— 19. ffl my. <S
oial 6 \^uv rip ^^"Kip eKvrj^pov, i^eyipd-qri, Kal tQ \ld(p in/'ti^TjTt, Kal
aird i<TTLv (pavraa-la. This gives a division of the members preferable
to that in M, although (5 erroneously read Tn for ann, and hnid
(as it did in v. '«) for nnv (mm in v. '«). (Read niiy for my to corre-
spond with nx''pn,) By putting Dcn and niv in the same line we
get a fine antithesis, and niv makes a paronomasia with ^^1J; in the
previous line.
THE PSALM — CHAPTER 3.
For emendations of the text of chs. i and 2 we have had to de-
pend mainly on (|, but we have occasionally noted another small
class of mss. For ch. 3 we fortimately have more help from this
class of mss., chiefly 23, 62, 86 and 147 of HP. Two of these are
among the more ancient mss., and one is an uncial. They agree
in being based on a text quite variant from M and so of special
value. Cornill says in his Ezekiel that 62, 147 are not Lucianic.
So VoUers, ZATW., 1883, 4, p. 239, says that this group goes
back to "sehr alte und wertvolle Vorlagen.'"
Ch. 3 is not a recoimting of past triumphs, and contains only
covert allusions to early Hebrew history. It simply considers the
present distress, and seeks and receives a theophany of deliver-
ance. Yahweh comes in the guise of an armed warrior, with
horses and chariot, bow and quiver, in storm and lightning, to
20 HABAKKUK
overthrow the enemy. He starts from his Olympus in Mount
Paran, moves northward to Palestine, and aflFrights land and sea
with his thunder and tempest. It is to Palestine that Yahweh
comes with help, but there is nothing by which we can decide
what particular exigency required his aid. We are told of the
possible or actual failure of the fruits of the earth, but whether
by drought or by the ravages of war we are not told, but the aid
of Yahweh implies the latter. Very likely this psalm belongs to
the Maccabean period.
1. The Prayer of Habakkuk the Prophet. On the Stringed
Instruments. This is the title. Inasmuch as ® translates Shig-
ionoth with the same word wS7}9 as it does Neginoih in v. ^^,
we may make the correction.
Introductory Prayer for a Theophany, V. «.
». Yahweh, I hear the sound of thee;
I see, Yahweh, thy work.
In the midst of the years display it;
In the midst of the years make it known;
In wrath remember mercy.
In the first part of this verse the psalmist anticipates the desired
theophany, and in the last part prays that it may speedily develop.
The change of I fear of H3 to / see, gives a much more appropri-
ate sense as well as a perfect parallelism. He desires that the
theophany be not long delayed, but that deliverance might come
during the present years.
Theophany in the Storm. Vv. »->».
«. God cometh from Teman
And the Holy One from Mount Paran.
His glory covereth the heavens,
And the earth is full of his praise.
«. Before him it is like the light;
Rays he hath at his side.
And he rejoiceth in the glory of his strength.
'. Before him goeth Pestilence,
And Plague followeth behind him.
THE PSyVLM 21
•. He standeth, and the earth trembleth;
He looketh, and the nations melt away;
And the mountains of old are scattered,
The ancient hills bow down.
'. [Untranslatable, probably two lirtes.']
The tents of Cushan tremble,
The curtains of the land of Midian.
8. With the rivers art thou wroth, O Yahweh?
[Is thy indignation against the rivers?]
Is thine anger against the sea.
That thou ridest upon thy horses,
Thy chariot of salvation?
». Thou dost quite uncover thy bow,
Thy quiver is filled with shafts. Selah.
[With rivers thou cleavest the earth.]
•«. The waters see thee and they writhe;
The clouds pour down their waters.
The depth giveth forth his voice.
The height lifteth his hands.
u. The sun [is hidden in his chamber].
The moon standeth still in his dwelling.
For light thine arrows go forth,
For brightness the glittering of thy spear.
'5. Thou treadest the sea with thy horses,
The mighty waters foam up.
>*. In rage thou marchest over the earth,
In wrath thou tramplest the nations.
Thou goest forth for the salvation of thy people,
To save thine anointed ones.
i». Thou crushest the head of the wicked. [Thou piercest with thy shafts
the head of the oppressors; they stormed out to scatter me; their rejoicing
was as to devour the poor secretly.]
It is better to put this whole theophany in the present tense.
That which the prophet has prayed for he sees now in vision as
on the way. First Yahweh is described, then his companions
are designated, and then follows the description of his march in
lightning and storm. His home is in the Arabian mountains;
his movement is recognised in thunder and rain; the lightnings
are his arrows and spear, the thunder the rattling of his chariot
and horses. There follows a deluge of rain, and the rivers over-
flow, and the sea dashes with foam. The storm-cloud hides the
sun and moon, as he marches forth trampling Israel's foes. With
his home on the mountains, his weapons of thunder, lightning,
storm and war, he is such a god as the Syrian and Babylonian
22 HABAKKUK
Adad. We now have, not a recounting of past triumphs, but only
covert allusions to the events of Sinai and Canaan. The prophet
simply considers the present distress, and seeks and receives a
theophany of deliverance.
3. The mountain home of Yahweh is based on the memory
of Sinai. The first couplet is imitated from Dt. 33^ — 4. The
rays proceed from his side, not hand, as in RV. The older Baby-
lonian art often represented solar deities with rays proceeding
from the body. And there is the hiding of his power ^ M, is jejune
and has to be conjecturally emended. While that here proposed
is not assured, some such change is necessary. — 5. Pestilence and
plague are here personified as Yahweh 's attendants, just as Homer
gives to Ares the companions Fear and Terror {^6^o<i and
A€Lfi6<i) when he goes forth to fight the Greeks. It is also in
accordance with oriental ideas to represent pestilence or a de-
structive wind as a demon, or chimera, accompanying a god.
Marduk was thus accompanied when he fought Tiamat. So an
angel of pestilence appeared after David had numbered the
people. 2 S. 22^^- ".
6-7. There is no intelligible meaning in M., He stood and meas-
ured the earth, (g indicates how the text must be corrected. The
last clause of this verse with the beginning of v. '', is untranslatable,
and we have not the material for reconstruction. The mss. al-
ready quoted had a Hebrew text which gave a full couplet. The
roadways of old shall he changed; on his account the world shall be
shaken. RV. has His goings were as of old, as if referring to
Sinai. The margin has His ways are everlasting. Both are
unsatisfactory, and CI gives a more satisfactory translation, his
eternal roadways, i. e., the mountains and hills. The last six
words of v. ' make a good couplet, leaving the first three words
/ saw in affliction (RV.) as material for the couplet which begins
with the last three words of v. ^. The lands of Cushan and
Midian first feel the terror of the theophany, as nearest to Mount
Paran.
8. Here the prophet turns from the thunder and wind which
shook the hills to note the effect of the rain and storm on the rivers
and sea. But he very natiurally turns to view the God who ere-
THE PSALM 23
ates the commotion as he comes with horses and chariot. An ap-
parent infelicity in representing him as upon horses, and yet with
a chariot, has led (& to translate chariot by IrmraaLa, while our
special class of mss. put the chariots, apixara, in the first clause,
and liT'Traa-ia in the second, which avoids the confusion of thought.
— 9. It is only by a bold conjecture, following our special class
of mss., that any intelligible meaning can be made out of this verse.
The correction thus suggested makes a good parallelism, and the
only difficulty is with the translation of mtOD as shafts, i.e., arrows
or javelins. Our mss., however, translate it by ^oXChw;, unless they
possibly read mxn for mi3ID. The order of thought is then
clear. The rivers and sea were afifrighted as Yahweh approached
with the thunder of his chariot and horses. They saw him with
his bow uncovered, taken from the armoury where it was protected
by a covering, and now ready to be drawn. From his quiver he
takes his weapons and hurls his spear and arrows of lightning.
They see, and the next verse tells us that they writhe in terror.
Syrian and Hittite art frequently represents Adad-Ramman, god
of storm, as armed with the same weapons, while the Babylonian
art gave this western god the forked thunderbolt. The last, un-
balanced clause of this verse may be regarded as intruded.
10. Fortunately we have in Ps. 77*^-2" the means for some emen-
dations of w. ^*''^^- ^^. The Psalm is later, and adds a third mem-
ber after the couplets. It also has a different purpose, that of re-
calling the escape of Israel from Egypt, while Habakkuk makes
no reference to Israelite history, but simply presents a theophany of
judgment under the figure of a storm. The correction of moun-
tains to waters, follows the Ps. and makes a much better connec-
tion of thought with v. *. Equally the emendation in the second
member of this couplet greatly strengthens the thought, for the
passing of the tempest is no occasion for fear. — 11. A couplet
originally took the place of the single line of four beats which tells
how the dark clouds hid the sun and moon. We must here fol-
low our class of mss. The dwelling, "^IZT, has no relation to the
rabbinic use of the word as one of the seven firmaments, but is
used indefinitely as is tabernacle in Ps. 19*. The translation of
the last couplet in RV. is jejune, at the light of thine arrows as they
24 HABAKKUK
went. The meaning is that of Ps. 77*^, The lightnings enlightened
the world. For the use of the preposition cf. Is. 60'^. There is
no reference here to Joshua's miracle, but only the statement that
the sun and moon retire behind the black clouds, and that their
place is taken by flashes of lightning, represented as Yahweh's
arrows.
12-15. It is evident that v. ^^ is out of place after vv. ^^". It
belongs with w. ^^- ", as it continues in order the series of expres-
sions foimd in Ps. 77^^"^". It must therefore follow v. ". — 15.
This corresponds to Ps. 77^", the resemblance being much closer
in the Hebrew than in an English translation. If placed before
V. ^ the connection might seem better, but the parallelism with
Ps. 77 fixes it after v. ". The trampling of the nations of v. *^
also fitly follows the treading of the sea of v. ^^. — 13. In a we have
the purpose of all this theophany. Kuenen shows that the title
of thine anointed applied to Israel is proof of a postexilic period,
as Ps. 84^". But as it antedates Ps. '^f'-'^^ it does not belong to
the later postexilic period, but might well belong to the 5th or
4th century B.C. The sg. is probably correct, although the Jewish
recensions of (g make anointed pi., as do the special mss. quoted.
The latter part of the verse would require much change to make it
intelligible, and the Vrss. give no real help. The house and the
foundation have no pertinence, and they have no relation to the
rock. — 14. This verse is equally unintelligible, except as to the last
clause, which is quite out of place, as it represents a personal and
not a national calamity, in which the pious poor were the suf-
ferers. As the text stands it cannot be made metrical, and we
have not the data for restoring it. Probably the whole is an in-
trusion.
THE PROPHET'S MEDITATION ON THE THEOPHANY. Vv. "•».
". I have heard, and my belly trembleth;
My lips quiver at the sound.
Rottenness entereth into my bones,
And my steps tremble under me.
I moan in view of the day of trouble,
Of the coming up of the people that will assail me.
THE PSALM 25
«'. For though the fig-tree bear no fruit,
And there be no vintage on the vines;
Though the yield of the olive fail,
And the fields produce no food;
Though the flock be cut off from the fold.
And there be no herd in the stall,
««. Yet I will exult "in Yahweh."
I will rejoice "in the God of my salvation."
•9. Yahweh, the Lord, is my strength,
And he setteth "my feet like those of hinds
And he maketh me" tread "on my high places."
To the chorister on the stringed instruments.
16. This verse requires correction to make the latter half in-
telligible. The correction of which to my steps is assured, but that
of / moan in place of I rest is only suggested. The immediate
effect of the theophany is not the faith and courage that might
have been expected, but affright; and yet not fear of the terrible
theophany, but of the approaching foe. It may be that the original
text avoided this revulsion of fear, and anticipated rest after the
invasion, just as the succeeding verses begin with the anticipation
of evil, but end with trust and exultation. Cf. Dn. 1 2^1— 17. The
couplets in this verse may properly be translated as conditional, al-
though the text would allow them to describe the state of desola-
tion and famine following the invasion of an enemy. — 18. This
verse is based on Mi. f, but is not a close quotation. — 19. This is
taken almost directly from 2 S. 22^ which is identical with Ps.
18**, and indirectly from Dt. 32^^ 33^^ It denotes possession and
rule of the land. The quotations in the two last verses, with those
in 2^^", indicate an authorship at a period later than the first
standard collection of the Sacred Books. The writer was familiar
with Deuteronomy, 2 Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Micah, who
is quoted twice. We have also the parallelism of 2^"- "• ^^ with
Ps. 77^^"^^ in which we have preferred, but with reserve, to regard
Habakkuk as the original source. The facility of quotation, es-
pecially from Micah, is an argument in favor of a common author-
ship of chs. 2 and 3.
1. iH nurjc, (& fiera vdrjs, reading mrJJ as in v.".— 2. M 'nN-\\
which destroys both parallel and measure. Rd. 'P'ni. The fear is
not appropriate till after the theophany, and not to be expected before
26 HABAKKUK
V. •«. M. in>in. <S fv'w, as reading nrn. § read o^n. The parallel
requires in^in, c/". Ps. 19', corresponding to ;nin. — 3, In M inxn omit
art. inserted by dittog. — 4. njji as if njj were fem. Rd. rinjj, the final
n being 3 masc. sf., as in nrj?, v. *. nijj corresponds with n>c, at his
side, in the next member. The f. ninn is impersonal, Before him it
is like light. M, P''3n dcm. The text is corrupt, and was not understood
by the Vrss. (& Kal edero dydTrrjo-iv, reading DU", as do also A S. An
important class of mss. given by HP. related to one of Origen's un-
named mss., and representing an independent version of part, at least,
of this chapter, read e/cei eiricrrripiKTai ij SOva/xis rijs So^tjs aiiTov. The
most probable emendation is ^ly jiNja ncti'i. For the use of ps'j see
Ez. 24=1 30I8 3328 Mi. 53 Is. 210- '»• 21. Make D-np pi. for M dual.
— 6. M "nnii <g Kal ia-aXeijdr] ij yrj. We. suggests JJD"'!, but that destroys
the paronomasia. CS may have read lynni, but in bibl. use IJJD is con-
fined to steps, feet or knees. Of the earth we would expect jcni. M
inM. <& Kal BieTaKt] edv-q, as reading i:in\]. So also §>. — 7. M 3*^1)? niO'Sn
in-'NT pt< nnn nS. We. says: Der Vers wird iiberfUU durch aSiy niDiSn.
The change of metre indicates either an insertion or corruption for
V. ', probably the latter, as the sense is appropriate. According to M.
niD'''?n means the mountain ranges which are Yahweh's roadway, but
the word means caravans or processions, and should apply to the ter-
rified caravans of the desert. The valuable class of mss. referred to
in v. ■• followed a very different text and verse division, reading, al bbol
ai i^ d,pxv^ dWoiud-qcroi'Tar avrov evfKa ffeKxdrja-eTai rj olKOvp.4vtj.
KaravevdriKa rds ffKujvas KWibiruv k. t. X., omitting iS and connecting
niD"iSn with a succeeding verb, and then adding a new parallel member.
Possibly for pN nnn we should read pnnnn (the caravans were affrighted),
but there is not material to make a probable reconstruction, and in-
deed it is not certain whether •'niNn — mDi'?n represents one member
or two. The second appearance of nSiy is suspicious, vSy? — 8. M
^B^< onnja on, which is redundant, following Bi., et al. M nnn. (&
«bpylffdr]s KTjpie. Perhaps we should read nnn. — 9. M myn pass, is
weak. We expect 2 sg. m. as 05 ivreivuv ip^reivas. Rd. nnjn, which
is better. M nnx mMa nu'3if is untranslatable and corrupt. None of
the versions give aid, except those mss. which read ix^praa-as ^oXldas
TTJs (pap^Tpas avT^s. This makes an admirable parallel. For nijjja'
they read a form of v. ^ 3?3S', and for nnx they read ny^fn, ^o\ls also
translates ^ixn in v. ". ^ also takes niBD as arrows. Probably the
original read nyar (or nj???') riovn mt3C or ^nDtt'N. In the older writ-
ing the resemblance of noN and nscN is much closer than in the
square letters. The last three words of this verse have either lost their
parallel member, or are intruded. — 10. Vv. '"• '2- 1* must be emended
by Ps. 7717 20, which is based on Habakkuk, but with a third member
THE PSALM 27
added to the couplet. M n'-\n. (g \aol, reading a^cy. Both come from
D>Dn, which we accept, following Ps. 77" ^hm•' D'-d iin-\. M ■•^y en mr
must be corrected after Ps. 77". niap D>o rant ... HI on. (^ &\f/oi
as reading ana, which gives a better parallel. — 11. M inserts ni'' to the
injury of metre and grammar. The MSS. quoted above give a full
couplet. 0WS rb Xafiirpdv roi> ijXlov eirecrxev rh bi <f>iyyos tt)s ffeX'^vrjs
iffTad-q. The second member must be filled up, to say that the moon
was withdrawn into its dark chamber behind the clouds. Bi. vent-
ures to complete the couplet by inserting npMnn mix before tt'DC. M
irSn^jshould be emended idShp', after Ps. 77". The subject is i^xn, as in (S
eh <j>Qs poXldes crov irope^ffovrai. For use of prep, in niN'? and njjS see
Is. 6oi9.
12-15. Vv. "â– '< interrupt the series of quotations from Ps. 77'^ -",
and interrupt the sense by the insertion of a difficult and irrelevant ex-
planatory passage. Gumpach, De Goeje and Kue. put v. " after v. ^,
but it is better to throw w. '^-u after v. ". We then have w. i"- "• ^'
parallel to Ps. 77H-19, and the corresponding passages in the same order,
Hb. 3'"' corresponding to Ps. 77""; v. ■•"'tois^; nbtoisb; ubtoisb; and '5»
and b to 2"" and *â– . To put v. " after v. ^ would dislocate the parallel.
— 15. M ">nn. We. suggests doubtfully nnn; Bi. emends to nanj. The
mss. already quoted read: irapdxOv (nsn) tA i^al<na vdara; d rapdcr-
covras ("i?n) iidup ttoXiJ. M gives no connected sense. Perhaps icn
should be corrected to icn, following Je. 51^5 d^3-> dts DH'-Sj ram, cf.
Ps. 46* or ^^\•'zn, cf. Ps. 46^ The corresponding passage in Ps. 77'"
has I3"n for T'Did no-n, and y^^2^ for icn. — 12. -\r\^VD pn ys'iS. (g
rov ffdaai rhv xP'CT''^'' <^ov. The mss. quoted above read pvaaa-dai.
Tovs x^'o'^'o'^s <^°^- Both make y!J'''V a vb. as required by ns. We.
emends to V^W'' for y'^'^^''. The second couplet is corrupt past recovery.
The Vrss. have made no sense of it. (S seems to have read rra (ddvaTov)
for HOC. Our special mss. make sense, but vary much from IH. They
read KarerS^evaai Ke(pa\ds dvdpcbiruv virep7)<pdv(i}v ews d^^ffffov rov
rrji 0a\d(T(n)s Karadvaovrai, as if rsnn were related to o^xn. It appears
to have begun with Dinn v. One of Jerome's mss. gave ornasti, as if
reading nnj; in place of t\'['\^. The last clause seems to have been
greatly corrupted after the intrusion of n^a in the previous clause,
making it fit a house instead of a wicked people, cf. Ps. 68" iio^ ^ —
14. This verse appears to be prose. The first four words correspond to
the first four of v. ", and the intrusion seems to be quite late, as the
devouring of the poor secretly has no relation to the foreign oppressor.
M. vt3D3. Bi. and We. emend to T'Bca. The mss. cited read, i^-
eS/KTjtraJ (ncpj) /teri 5i/f(i/i€a>y <xov toi/s dpx'77oi)s twv anapTwXwv (a'S^is)
Toi>s ireiroid&rai ("i'D') itrl t^ avdaSdq. (Prabbinic NBXin) avrwp Jve/cev
ToO KaratpayeTv roiis irrwxoi's \d6pa. (§ gives SUKO\f/as iv iKcrrdcrei (for
eKTdffei) K€<f>a\ki dwdcrruv, ffeiffO-^ffovrai, iv airry (nS nyO', for ■'.^).
28 HABAKKUK
Siavol^ovai (from nxc) x'*^'*'"''^ airruv (oniSxD, Zc. 14") wi effOwv
vruxoiis Xddpa. The corruption inDoa 'jp San*? may have come from
an original -jSsnS.
16. M 1CN iJ-\N emended by Bi. and We. to read '•"ik'n with cor-
responding vb. ncN takes a f. sg. vb., see Ps. 37" 44" 75^ ^
irdpaxOr) rj e|is /wv. From M uiu'' ojj'? niSj''? ms DvS nuN it is im-
possible to get any consistent meaning. <8 follows M except that for
ijiij'' aj.'S it has els \abv trapoiKlas reaching a form of iiJ with i p. sg.
aflBx. The mss. quoted read ravra (pvXd^rjs iv vn^pg. dXifeus, iiraya-yetv
iirl edvos (or f<p€yos) iro\ep.ovv (or iroX^/iov) rbf "Kadv <tov. & is quite
variant for this couplet, and its text it is not easy to recover. For M
•uiiji it appears to have read iiT'J\ 3 has ad populum accinctum
nostrum for M mu^ dj?S, reading a form of njn. Both (B and 3 agree
in reading i for n. Perhaps <S's lu is correct, but with the meaning, to
fear, instead of, to sojourn. We should probably read ^i'\^3^', who will
attack me, or something like unjN, or i-njD, whom I fear. For the
inappropriate M nuN it might be hazardous to conjecture njNK, mean-
ing / moan in view of the day of trouble, but nothing better occurs.
For use of prep. S in place of S>" or p after njSvX, cf. use of S after nja
and ^1i, Je. za'" Jb. 30". — 17. M mnn <& Kapirocpopi^a-ei. We. emends
to rnon. nrj? f. pi. (J. P. Peters, Hebraica, 1888, p. iii). itj. We. itjj.
ITO hSddd for wSdoc. — 18. M ^nu'^jja Ew., et at., emend by omitting
sf. Kue. either thus or vnuuja following <& iv t j ySj oi5toO.
A
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL
COMMENTARY
ON
OBADIAH AND JOEL
BY
JULIUS A. BEWER, Ph.D.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL PHILOLOGY UNION THEOLOGICAL
SEMINARY, NEW YORK.
INTRODUCTION TO OBADIAH.
§ I. THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOOK.
The first literary problem in Ob. is the relation of w. ^"^ to Je.
49' ^•, These passages are so much alike that they cannot be in-
dependent of one another. Either Ob. quoted from Je., or Je.
quoted from Ob., or both quoted from an older oracle. Every one
of these positions has been taken by scholars. At present, as a
result of Caspari's investigation, almost all writers beHeve that Je.
49 quoted from Ob. But a renewed comparison of both texts
shows that the more original text is contained in Je. 49; that Ob.
quoted w. ^-* ahnost, though not quite, literally; that he com-
mented on this older oracle in w. ^''^ partly in the words of the
older prophet, partly in his own words, in order to show that it had
been fulfilled in his own day; and that in w. ^- ^ he quoted once
more from the older oracle without any show of literahess.
These conclusions involve the originality of w. ^- ^- ^ See the
detailed discussion on pp. ss ff.
In w. ^°- " Ob. proceeds to state the reasons for Edom's ca-