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Psalms

About this book
Psalm 90

1 A prayer of Moses, the man of God. O Lord, you have been our protector through all generations. 2 Even before the mountains came into existence, or you brought the world into being, you were the eternal God. 3 You make mankind return to the dust, and say, “Return, O people.”⁠ 4 Yes, in your eyes a thousand years are like yesterday that quickly passes, or like one of the divisions of the nighttime.⁠ 5 You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.” In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up:⁠ 6 In the morning it glistens and sprouts up; at evening time it withers and dries up. 7 Yes, we are consumed by your anger; we are terrified by your wrath. 8 You are aware of our sins; you even know about our hidden sins. 9 Yes, throughout all our days we experience your raging fury; the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh. 10 The days of our lives add up to 70 years, or 80, if one is especially strong.⁠ But even one’s best years are marred by trouble and oppression. Yes, they pass quickly and we fly away.⁠ 11 Who can really fathom the intensity of your anger? Your raging fury causes people to fear you. 12 So teach us to consider our mortality, so that we might live wisely. 13 Turn back toward us, O Lord. How long must this suffering last? Have pity on your servants. 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your loyal love. Then we will shout for joy and be happy all our days. 15 Make us happy in proportion to the days you have afflicted us, in proportion to the years we have experienced trouble. 16 May your servants see your work. May their sons see your majesty. 17 May our Sovereign God extend his favor to us. Make our endeavors successful. Yes, make them successful.

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 90:4 and Jubilees 4:30

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions

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Summary

Jubilees uses Psalm 90, which says 1000 years are like one day to explain Adam's death in Genesis. By redefining a "day" to mean 1000 years, it tries to resolve the problem of how Adam could be told he would die "that day" but still live a long life.

Passages

Psalm 90:4

Hebrew Bible
1 A prayer of Moses, the man of God. O Lord, you have been our protector through all generations. 2 Even before the mountains came into existence, or you brought the world into being, you were the eternal God. 3 You make mankind return to the dust, and say, “Return, O people.” 4 Yes, in your eyes a thousand years are like yesterday that quickly passes, or like one of the divisions of the nighttime. 5 You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.” In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up:
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Jubilees 4:30

Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
29 And at the close of the nineteenth jubilee, in the seventh week in its sixth year [930], Adam died, and all his sons buried him in the land of his creation, and he was the first to be buried in the earth. 30 And he lacked seventy years of one thousand years; for one thousand years are as one day in the testimony of the heavens and therefore it was written concerning the tree of knowledge: 'On the day that you eat of it you shall die.' For this reason he did not complete the years of this day; for he died during it.
170–125 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jubilees

References

"... This verse addresses an exegetical problem in Genesis 2:17. According to that verse, God commanded the man not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, and threatened him “for on the day you eat from it you shall surely die.” Soon after, the snake promised the man and the woman that they would not die if they ate from the fruits of the Garden, and accused God of deception ... Jubilees 4:30 solves this problem by a reinterpretation of the word “day” in Genesis 2:17, “for on the day you eat from it you shall surely die,” not as 24 hours, but rather as a 1000-year period. The first man, who died at the age of 930 (Genesis 5:5), therefore did indeed die on the same “day” on which he ate, during the same 1000-year period. The identification of “one day” with “1000 years” is based upon Psalm 90:4, which equates the two “in the eyes of God” ..."
Michael Segal, The Book of Jubilees: Rewritten Bible, Redaction, Ideology and Theology (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 310–311.

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

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  • How can I get or this book please?

    Beatrice Coiffet, January 30, 2025

Psalm 90:4 and Jubilees 4:30

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