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Targum Psalms

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Psalm 118

1 Sing praise in the presence of the Lord, for he is good, for his goodness is forever. 2 Let Israel now say, “For his goodness is forever.” 3 Let the house of Aaron now say, “For his goodness is forever.” 4 Let those who fear the Lord now say, “For his goodness is forever.” 5 Out of distress I called to Yah, Yah accepted my prayer in a broad place. 6 The word of the Lord is my help, I will not fear, what will a son of man do to me? 7 The word of the Lord is helping me, and I will behold vengeance on my foes. 8 It is better to trust in the word of the Lord than to rely on a son of man. 9 It is better to trust in the word of the Lord than to rely on rulers. 10 All the Gentiles have surrounded me; in the name of the word of the Lord I have put my trust, for I will tear them apart. 11 They have encompassed me, indeed, surrounded me; in the name of the word of the Lord I have put my trust, for I will tear them apart. 12 They have encompassed me like hornets; they burned like fire in thorns; in the name of the word of the Lord I have put my trust, for I will tear them apart. 13 But you have knocked me down to make me fall; and the word of the Lord has given me help. 14 My strength and my praise are fearful against all the world; the Lord gave command by his word, and has become my redeemer. 15 The sound of praise and redemption is in the tents of the righteous; the right hand of the Lord has done mightily. 16 The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord has done mightily. 17 I will not die, for I will live, and I will tell of the deeds of God. 18 Truly has Yah punished me, but he did not hand me over to death. 19 Open to me the entrances of the city of righteousness; I will enter them, I will praise Yah. 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. 24 “This day the Lord has made,” said the builders; “let us rejoice and be glad in it,” said the sons of Jesse. 25 “If it please you, O Lord, redeem us now,” said the builders; “if it please you, O Lord, prosper us now,” said Jesse and his wife. 26 “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the word of the Lord,” said the builders; “they will bless you from the sanctuary of the Lord,” said David. 27 “God, the Lord, has given us light,” said the tribes of the house of Judah; “bind the child for a festal sacrifice with chains until you sacrifice him, and sprinkle his blood on the horns of the altar,” said Samuel the prophet. 28 “You are my God, and I will give thanks in your presence; my God, I will praise you,” said David. 29 Samuel answered and said, “Sing praise, assembly of Israel, give thanks in the presence of the Lord, for he is good, for his goodness is everlasting.”

Texts in conversation

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

Hebrew Bible · New Testament · Targum

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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.

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

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