Go to Related Reading
About this book

Psalms

About this book
Psalm 86

1 A prayer of David. Listen, O Lord. Answer me. For I am oppressed and needy. 2 Protect me, for I am loyal. You are my God; deliver your servant who trusts in you. 3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry out to you all day long. 4 Make your servant glad, for to you, O Lord, I pray. 5 Certainly, O Lord, you are kind and forgiving, and show great faithfulness to all who cry out to you. 6 O Lord, hear my prayer. Pay attention to my plea for mercy. 7 In my time of trouble I cry out to you, for you will answer me. 8 None can compare to you among the gods, O Lord. Your exploits are incomparable.⁠ 9 All the nations, whom you created, will come and worship you, O Lord. They will honor your name. 10 For you are great and do amazing things. You alone are God. 11 O Lord, teach me how you want me to live. Then I will obey your commands. Make me wholeheartedly committed to you. 12 O Lord, my God, I will give you thanks with my whole heart. I will honor your name continually. 13 For you will extend your great loyal love to me and will deliver my life from the depths of Sheol. 14 O God, arrogant men attack me; a gang of ruthless men, who do not respect you, seek my life. 15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God. You are patient and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness.⁠ 16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me. Give your servant your strength. Deliver this son of your female servant. 17 Show me evidence of your favor. Then those who hate me will see it and be ashamed, for you, O Lord, will help me and comfort me.

Texts in conversation

Compare Exodus 34:6 and Psalm 86:15

Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

Psalm 86 repeats the language of Exodus 34, where God is described as compassionate, gracious, and faithful. The psalm transforms the language into a personal prayer of trust incorporated into Israel's liturgy.

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 86:15

Hebrew Bible
13 For you will extend your great loyal love to me and will deliver my life from the depths of Sheol. 14 O God, arrogant men attack me; a gang of ruthless men, who do not respect you, seek my life. 15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God. You are patient and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness. 16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me. Give your servant your strength. Deliver this son of your female servant. 17 Show me evidence of your favor. Then those who hate me will see it and be ashamed, for you, O Lord, will help me and comfort me.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... Let us return to Sarah, who may be described as “theologically skilled”. The first blessing has its closest templates within the Tanakh, in Psalm 119 / 118:12 and in 1 Chronicles 29:10 which have their equivalent in the Hebrew formula being used and extended up to present time in the Jewish prayers on different occasions ... If we compare those occurrences mentioned above to our text in the book of Tobit, Sarah adds in GI after “Blessed are you, o Lord” only ὁ θεός μου (“my God”), so she makes the address more personal as she speaks to her God. GII varies with (“Blessed are you, merciful God!”). This way Sarah addresses God as a “compassionate” one ... Usually the Hebrew (“gracious, friendly”) is the base for the Greek (“pitiful, merciful, compassionate”; 12x: Exodus 22:26; 34:6; 2 Chronicles 30:9; Nehemiah 9:17, 31; Psalm 86:15; 103:8; 111:4; 112:4; 116:5; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2), 3x (Proverbs 11:17; 20:6; 28:22) and only once (Jeremiah 3:12) or (Psalm 145:8) ... With this phrase she expresses her positive attitude towards God, who sympathizes with needy people and on whom she sets her hope ..."
Renate Egger-Wenzel, “Sarah's Grief to Death (Tob 3:7–17),” in Ancient Jewish Prayers and Emotions, ed. Stefan C. Reif and Renate Egger-Wenzel (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2015), 193–219.

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

Tags

Your feedback

Exodus 34:6 and Psalm 86:15

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library