Psalms

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Psalm 112

1 Praise the Lord! How blessed is the one who obeys the Lord, who takes great delight in keeping his commands. 2 His descendants will be powerful on the earth; the godly will be blessed. 3 His house contains wealth and riches; his integrity endures. 4 In the darkness a light shines for the godly, for each one who is merciful, compassionate, and just.⁠ 5 It goes well for the one who generously lends money and conducts his business honestly. 6 For he will never be shaken; others will always remember one who is just. 7 He does not fear bad news. He is confident; he trusts in the Lord. 8 His resolve is firm; he will not succumb to fear before he looks in triumph on his enemies. 9 He generously gives to the needy; his integrity endures. He will be vindicated and honored. 10 When the wicked see this, they will worry; they will grind their teeth in frustration and melt away.⁠ The desire of the wicked will perish.

Texts in conversation

Compare Exodus 34:6 and Psalm 112:4

Hebrew Bible

Summary

Exodus 34 describes God as compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and full of loyal love and faithfulness, used throughout the Hebrew Bible. Psalm 112 applies the same language to a righteous person, portraying human character similarly to God.

Passages

Exodus 34:6

Hebrew Bible

4 So Moses cut out two tablets of stone like the first; early in the morning he went up to Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him, and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone. 5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the Lord by name. 6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, 7 keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.” 8 Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshiped

750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Exodus

Psalm 112:4

Hebrew Bible

2 His descendants will be powerful on the earth; the godly will be blessed. 3 His house contains wealth and riches; his integrity endures. 4 In the darkness a light shines for the godly, for each one who is merciful, compassionate, and just. 5 It goes well for the one who generously lends money and conducts his business honestly. 6 For he will never be shaken; others will always remember one who is just.

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... Similarly, the singular noun רֶחֶם ("hesed") differs in its meaning from the plural form רַחֲמִים ("heshedim", sometimes translated "acts of compassion"). A humble or weak person requests רַחֲמִים when needing help from a stronger person. The humble person may appeal to the emotions of the stronger one (e.g., Isaiah 63:15), and it was expected that such an emotional response would lead to action (Jeremiah 42:12; Psalm 51:3). The רחם ("hesed") word group denotes a positive, emotional, and active response to a person in a weak or penitent state. This suggests that the adjective רַחוּם ("rahum") should be translated "compassionate." חַנּוּן ("racham") also appears 13 times, 12 of which refer to YHWH. (They appear together in Exodus 34:6; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Psalm 86:15; 103:8; 111:4; 112:4; 145:8; Nehemiah 9:17; and 2 Chronicles 30:9 ... In Psalm 112:4 both adjectives refer, seemingly, to a righteous person. This exception must stand even though many LXX manuscripts specify God as the subject) ..."

Austin Surls, Making Sense of the Divine Name in the Book of Exodus: From Etymology to Literary Onomastics, BBRSup 17 (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2017), 145.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Psalms150 psalms

Compare Exodus 34:6 and Psalm 112:4

Summary

Passages

Exodus 34:6

Psalm 112:4

References

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