997
Psalms 72:20
May its fruit trees flourish like the
  
forests of Lebanon!
May its crops be as abundant as the
grass of the earth!
72:17 May his fame endure!
May his dynasty last as long as the sun
remains in the sky!
May they use his name when they formu-
late their blessings!10
 tn The antecedent of the third masculine singular pro-
nominal suffix is unclear. It is unlikely that the antecedent is
‫’( אֶ רֶ ץ‬erets, “earth”) because this noun is normally grammati-
cally feminine. Perhaps ‫ֹאש‬ ׁ ‫( ר‬ro’sh, “top [of the mountains]”)
is the antecedent. Another option is to understand the pro-
noun as referring to the king, who would then be viewed as an
instrument of divine agricultural blessing (see v. 6).
 tn Heb “fruit.”
 tc According to the traditional accentuation of the MT,
this verb belongs with what follows. See the note on the word
“earth” at the end of the verse for a discussion of the po-
etic parallelism and interpretation of the verse. The present
translation takes it with the preceding words, “like Lebanon
its fruit” and emends the verb form from ּ‫( וְ י ִָציצו‬vÿyatsitsu; Qal
imperfect third masculine plural with prefixed vav, [‫ )]ו‬to ‫י ִָציץ‬
(yatsits; Qal imperfect third masculine singular). The initial vav
is eliminated as dittographic (note the vav on the ending of
the preceding form ‫ ִּפ ְרי ֹו‬, piryo, “its/his fruit”) and the vav at
the end of the form is placed on the following emended form
(see the note on the word “crops”), yielding ‫( ַוע ֲִמיר‬va’amir,
“and [its] crops”).
 tn Heb “like Lebanon.”
 tc The MT has “from the city.” The translation assumes an
emendation to ‫’( ע ֲִמיר‬amir, “crops”).
 tn The translation assumes that the verb ‫“( צוץ‬flourish”)
goes with the preceding line. The words “be as abundant” are
supplied in the translation for clarification.
 tc The traditional accentuation and vocalization of the MT
differ from the text assumed by the present translation. The
MT reads as follows: “May there be an abundance of grain
in the earth, / and on the tops of the mountains! / May its
[or “his”?] fruit [trees?] rustle like [the trees of] Lebanon! /
May they flourish from the city, like the grass of the earth!”
If one follows the MT, then it would appear that the “fruit” of
the third line is a metaphorical reference to the king’s peo-
ple, who flow out from the cities to populate the land (see
line 4). Elsewhere in the OT people are sometimes compared
to grass that sprouts up from the land (see v. 7, as well as
Isa 27:6; Pss 92:7; 103:15). The translation understands a
different poetic structural arrangement and, assuming the
emendations mentioned in earlier notes, interprets each line
of the verse to be a prayer for agricultural abundance.
 tn Heb “may his name [be] permanent.” The prefixed ver-
bal form is jussive, not imperfect.
 tn Heb “before the sun may his name increase.” The Ket-
hib (consonantal text) assumes ‫( יָנִ ין‬yanin; a Hiphil of the ver-
bal root ‫נִ ין‬, nin) or ‫( יְ ַניֵן‬yÿnayen; a Piel form), while the Qere
(marginal reading) assumes ‫( יִנּ וֹן‬yinnon; a Niphal form). The
verb ‫ נִ ין‬occurs only here, though a derived noun, meaning
“offspring,” appears elsewhere (see Isa 14:22). The verb ap-
pears to mean “propagate, increase” (BDB 630 s.v. ‫נוּן‬, ‫ )נִ ין‬or
“produce shoots, get descendants” (HALOT 696 s.v. ‫)נין‬. In
this context this appears to be a prayer for a lasting dynasty
that will keep the king’s name and memory alive.
10 tn Heb “may they bless one another by him,” that is, use
the king’s name in their blessing formulae because he is a
prime example of one blessed by God (for examples of such
blessing formulae, see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11). There is
some debate on whether the Hitpael form of ‫( ּ ָברַ ְך‬barakh,
“bless”) is reflexive-reciprocal (as assumed in the present
translation) or passive. The Hitpael of ‫ ּ ָברַ ְך‬occurs in five other
passages, including the hotly debated Gen 22:18 and 26:4.
In these two texts one could understand the verb form as pas-
sive and translate, “all the nations of the earth will be blessed
through your offspring,” or one could take the Hitpael as re-
May all nations consider him to be fa-
vored by God!11
72:18 The Lord God, the God of Israel,
deserves praise!12
He alone accomplishes amazing things!13
72:19 His glorious name deserves praise14
forevermore!
May his majestic splendor15 fill the whole
earth!
We agree! We agree!16
72:20 This collection of the prayers of
David son of Jesse ends here.17
flexive or reciprocal and translate, “all the nations of the earth
will pronounce blessings [i.e., on themselves or one another]
by your offspring.” In the first instance Abraham’s (or Isaac’s)
offspring are viewed as a channel of divine blessing. In the
second instance they are viewed as a prime example of bless-
ing that will appear as part of the nations’ blessing formulae,
but not necessarily as a channel of blessing to the nations.
In Deut 29:18 one reads: “When one hears the words of this
covenant [or “oath”] and invokes a blessing on himself (Hitpa-
el of ‫ ) ּ ָברַ ְך‬in his heart, saying: ‘I will have peace, even though
I walk with a rebellious heart.’” In this case the Hitpael is
clearly reflexive, as the phrases “in his heart” and “I will have
peace” indicate. The Hitpael of ‫ ּ ָברַ ְך‬appears twice in Isaiah
65:16: “The one who invokes a blessing on himself (see Deut
9:18) in the land will invoke that blessing by the God of truth;
and the one who makes an oath in the land will make that
oath by the God of truth.” A passive nuance does not fit here.
The parallel line, which mentions making an oath, suggests
that the Hitpael of ‫ ּ ָברַ ְך‬refers here to invoking a blessing. Both
pronouncements of blessing and oaths will appeal to God as
the one who rewards and judges, respectively. Jer 4:2 states:
“If you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ with truth, integ-
rity, and honesty, then the nations will pronounce blessings
by him and boast in him.” A passive nuance might work (“the
nations will be blessed”), but the context refers to verbal pro-
nouncements (swearing an oath, boasting), suggesting that
the Hitpael of ‫ ּ ָברַ ְך‬refers here to invoking a blessing. The log-
ic of the verse seems to be as follows: If Israel conducts its
affairs with integrity, the nation will be favored by the Lord,
which will in turn attract the surrounding nations to Israel’s
God. To summarize, while the evidence might leave the door
open for a passive interpretation, there is no clear cut pas-
sive use. Usage favors a reflexive or reciprocal understand-
ing of the Hitpael of ‫ ּ ָברַ ְך‬. In Ps 72:17 the Hitpael of ‫ ּ ָברַ ְך‬is fol-
lowed by the prepositional phrase ‫( ב ֹו‬vo, “by him”). The verb
could theoretically be taken as passive, “may all the nations
be blessed through him” (cf. NIV, NRSV), because the preced-
ing context describes the positive effects of this king’s rule on
the inhabitants of the earth. But the parallel line, which em-
ploys the Piel of ‫’( ָא ׁ ַשר‬ashar) in a factitive/declarative sense,
“regard as happy, fortunate,” suggests a reflexive or recipro-
cal nuance for the Hitpael of ‫ ּ ָברַ ְך‬here. If the nations regard
the ideal king as a prime example of one who is fortunate or
blessed, it is understandable that they would use his name in
their pronouncements of blessing.
11 tn Heb “all the nations, may they regard him as happy.”
The Piel is used here in a delocutive sense (“regard as”).
12 tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21;
41:13.
13 tn Heb “[the] one who does amazing things by himself.”
14 tn Heb “[be] blessed.”
15 tn Or “glory.”
16 tn Heb “surely and surely” (‫וְאמֵ ן‬ ָ ‫’[ ָאמֵ ן‬amen vÿ’amen],
i.e., “Amen and amen”). This is probably a congregational
response of agreement to the immediately preceding state-
ment about the propriety of praising God.
17 tn Heb “the prayers of David, son of Jesse, are conclud-
ed.” As noted earlier, v. 20 appears to be a remnant of an
earlier collection of psalms or an earlier edition of the Psal-
ter. In the present arrangement of the Book of Psalms, not
all psalms prior to this are attributed to David (see Pss 1-2,
10, 33, 42-50, 66-67, 71-72) and several psalms attributed