Psalms

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Psalm 118

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, and his loyal love endures. 2 Let Israel say, “Yes, his loyal love endures.” 3 Let the family of Aaron say, “Yes, his loyal love endures.” 4 Let the loyal followers of the Lord say, “Yes, his loyal love endures.” 5 In my distress I cried out to the Lord. The Lord answered me and put me in a wide open place. 6 The Lord is on my side; I am not afraid. What can people do to me? 7 The Lord is on my side as my helper. I look in triumph on those who hate me. 8 It is better to take shelter in the Lord than to trust in people. 9 It is better to take shelter in the Lord than to trust in princes. 10 All the nations surrounded me. Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away. 11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me. Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away. 12 They surrounded me like bees. But they disappeared as quickly as a fire among thorns. Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away. 13 “You aggressively attacked me and tried to knock me down, but the Lord helped me. 14 The Lord gives me strength and protects me; he has become my deliverer.” 15 They celebrate deliverance in the tents of the godly. The Lord’s right hand conquers. 16 The Lord’s right hand gives victory; the Lord’s right hand conquers. 17 I will not die, but live, and I will proclaim what the Lord has done. 18 The Lord severely punished me, but he did not hand me over to death. 19 Open for me the gates of the just king’s temple. I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the Lord’s gate—the godly enter through it. 21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me, and have become my deliverer. 22 The stone that the builders discarded has become the cornerstone.⁠ 23 This is the Lord’s work. We consider it amazing! 24 This is the day the Lord has brought about. We will be happy and rejoice in it. 25 Please, Lord, deliver! Please, Lord, grant us success! 26 May the one who comes in the name of the Lord be blessed.⁠ We will pronounce blessings on you in the Lord’s temple.⁠ 27 The Lord is God, and he has delivered us. Tie the offering with ropes to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will give you thanks. You are my God and I will praise you. 29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good and his loyal love endures.

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 118:22 and Matthew 21:42 and Targum Psalm 118:22

Hebrew Bible · New Testament · Targum

Summary

In Matthew, a parable connects the rejected ‘son’ with the rejected ‘stone,’ quoting Psalm 118 to identify both in one story. Behind the parable lies a Hebrew pun and an Aramaic interpretive tradition preserved in the Targum of Psalm 118.

Passages

Psalm 118:22

Hebrew Bible

20 This is the Lord’s gate—the godly enter through it. 21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me, and have become my deliverer. 22 The stone that the builders discarded has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord’s work. We consider it amazing!

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Matthew 21:42

New Testament

34 When the harvest time was near, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his portion of the crop. 35 But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them the same way. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ 39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will utterly destroy those evil men! Then he will lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his portion at the harvest.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

Targum Psalm 118:22

Targum

20 This is the entrance of the sanctuary of the Lord; the righteous will enter by it. 21 I will give thanks in your presence, for you have received my prayer, and become for me a redeemer. 22 The child the builders abandoned was among the sons of Jesse; and he was worthy to be appointed king and ruler. 23 “This has come from the presence of the Lord,” said the builders; “it is wonderful before us,” said the sons of Jesse.

200–600 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Targum Psalms

References

"... The wordplay between “stone” and “son” is well-known in Hebrew and is even attested in the Gospels. The wordplay is also found in the parable of the tenants in Matt 21:33–46 and parallels, where the synoptic authors record Jesus quoting from Psalm 118:22–23 in which the “stone that the builders rejected” is used to explain the murder of the landowner’s son ...) None of the options for stone in Aramaic would be confused with the Aramaic word for “son”. Also, the Aramaic words for “come” (feminine) and “come” (masculine) have different vowels and would not be as easily confused as in Hebrew where the masculine and feminine use the same vowel ..."

Randall Buth and Chad Pierce, “Hebraisti in Ancient Texts: Does Ἑβραϊστί Ever Mean 'Aramaic'?” in The Language Environment of First Century Judaea, ed. Randall Buth and R. Steven Notley, JCPS 26 (Leiden: Brill, 2014), 66–109.

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 Psalm 118:22 and Matthew 21:42 and Targum Psalm 118:22

Summary

Passages

Psalm 118:22

Matthew 21:42

Targum Psalm 118:22

References

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