Two Words the Psalm Didn’t Need (Psalm 3)
The heading of Psalm 3 tells us when it was written: “When he was fleeing from Absalom.” And then it adds two words that, strictly speaking, do no work at all: “his son.”
Victory, Not Salvation (Psalm 3)
At the center of Psalm 3 sits a single word, repeated three times: yeshuah, usually translated as “salvation.” Yet a careful study reveals a problem with this translation.
An Aramaic Word in a Hebrew Poem (Psalm 2)
Psalm 2 ends with a command that has puzzled readers for centuries: “Kiss the son, or else he will become angry…” The word for “son” has generated more scholarly debate than almost any other in the Psalter. Scriptura dedicated a full exegetical analysis to the question.
“I Have Cast My King on Zion” (Psalm 2)
In Psalm 2:6, YHWH announces: “But I have poured out my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” But what does this phraseology actually mean?
The Psalm That Can’t Make Up Its Mind (Psalm 2)
Verse 11 of Psalm 2 contains one of the most debated lines in the entire Psalter: “Serve YHWH with fear and rejoice with trembling.”
“Meditates” Means Something Closer to Muttering
Psalm 1:2 says the righteous person “meditates on [YHWH’s] instruction day and night.” In modern usage, meditation suggests inward silence — a stilled mind, eyes closed. That image is almost certainly wrong here.
“Happy” Is Not the Same as “Blessed” (Psalm 1)
Most English Bibles translate Psalm 1:1 with “Blessed is the man…” But that’s not quite what the terminology means.
