Textual Criticism of Psalm 45

SBL 2018 International Meeting Helsinki, Finland, August 2nd

SBL 2018 International Meeting Helsinki, Finland, August 2nd Working with Biblical Manuscripts (Textual Criticism)

Identifying Davidic Beloved King And The Bride of His:

Textual Criticism of Psalm 45 Hadi Sabouhi, Hadi Taqavi, University of California-Irvine [email protected]

Introduction

Psalm 45:  A specific Royal Wedding between:

A divinely blessed King, and A princess who must abandon her country for the King’s sake.  The figures of these two, due to the complexity of the

text, shrouded in ambiguity.

Hadi Sabouhi, Hadi Taqavi, University of California-Irvine, [email protected]

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Ambiguity

Significant Uncertainties in Psalm 45:  Grammatical Difficulties  Syntactical Problems  Lexical Obscurities, mostly rooted in the historical

transmission of the Bible

Literature Review

Historical: King and his bride have been identified as:  David & Maacah (Abraham ibn Ezra)  Solomon & Pharaoh's daughter (Kirkpatrick)  Ahab and Jezebel (Hitzig)  Joram & Athaliah (Delitzsch)  Alexander Balas & Cleopatra, daughter of Ptolemy Philometer (Olshausen,

Haupt)  Aristobulus I & Salome (Duhm)  Jeroboam II (Ewald) or Jehu (Briggs), Bride’s identity undetermined


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Literature Review

Messianic Figures 1/2:  Apocalyptic Overtones in Psalm 45 due to early Jewish

literature, and old versions of the Old Testament, e.g. pesher on Ps 37 in DSS  Targum represents the King of the Psalm 45 as the

King Messiah (Ps 45:3 PST)  LXX interpreted Ps 44 (45) in a messianic way as it has

been introduced: “εἰς τὸ τέλος”, (For the end, Ps. 44:1 LXX)

Literature Review

Messianic Figures 2/2:  Syriac Peshitta

(Meshikha) in its heading, [Pss

22, 45, 72, 110]  Georgian Psalters: Psalm 45 begins with “Psalm, at the

end, on change of times


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Literature Review

Modern Scholars:  Mulder’s work can facilitate other researchers’ studies in this field, as he managed to construct a critical edition of Psalm 45.  His approach is to find “The Literary Background” or

“Parallels” of Psalm 45 in ancient Egyptian, WestSemitic, Akkadian cultures and Biblical literature.  His efforts exclude “Variation-scope” of old major

versions and comparison of parallel passages to reach Vorlage.

Methodology

Textual Criticism:  Textual criticism is an effective method to resolve some of the before-mentioned problems.  In this brief presentation, the textual criticism of the Heading of Psalm 45 will be carried out, which eventually facilitate a deeper historical understanding of The Manuscript, providing a new interpretation for Psalm 45, once the textual criticism of other words’ emendation in Psalm 45 is done .  The purpose of this paper is to reflect on some of the principles and procedures of the textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible, using an important passage to illustrate the wider methodological considerations with which it is directly concerned.


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Methodology

 This paper is divided into two parts, Text and

Translation.  In the first part, Text, to find the Vorlage of Ps 45, the

textual criticism techniques, e.g. HBCE, is followed, leading to an eclectic text, associated with critical apparatus and partially different from BHS.  In Translation part, nearly the same approach

implemented as Mitchell Dahood ‘s in “Isaiah 53, 8-12 and Masoretic Misconstructions” and Ginsberg’s “The Oldest Interpretation of the Suffering Servant”

Textual Critical Analysis

Psalm 45:1 ‫יד ֹת‬ ֽ ‫שׁיר י ְִד‬ ֣ ִ ‫ל־שׁ ֹשַׁ נִּים לִ ְבנֵי־קרח מַ֜ שְׂ ִ֗כּיל‬ ֭ ַ‫לַ מְ נ ֵַצּ֣חַ ע‬

About Shoshans , so as they submit to (the authority of) the Sons of Kariah, a contemplative song of love


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Psalm 45:1 ‫יד ֹת‬ ֽ ‫שׁיר י ְִד‬ ֣ ִ ‫ל־שׁ ֹשַׁ נִּים לִ ְבנֵי־קרח מַ֜ שְׂ ִ֗כּיל‬ ֭ ַ‫ע‬ About Shoshans ,

ַ‫לַ מְ נ ֵַצּ֣ח‬

so as they submit to (the authority of) the Sons of Kariah, a contemplative song of love

 The translation and interpretation of the titles of the Old Testament psalms is one of the most complicated issues in Psalms research.  The word ‫ למנצח‬which occurs in 55 psalm headings, is one of the terms which the exact original meaning is uncertain.  Although in MT it is commonly assumed that it is a musical connotation, the exact meaning of the Hebrew term is not yet clear.


Psalm 45:1 ‫יד ֹת‬ ֽ ‫שׁיר י ְִד‬ ֣ ִ ‫ל־שׁ ֹשַׁ נִּים לִ ְבנֵי־קרח מַ֜ שְׂ ִ֗כּיל‬ ֭ ַ‫ע‬ About Shoshans



 Ausloos, H. (2004) reckons in “‫ למנצח‬in the Psalm Headings and Its Equivalent in LXX” that semantics of ‫’למנצח‬s root should be sought through the root of ‫נצח‬.  Arabic parallel ‫ﻧﺻﺢ‬, specifically as this sense is more consistent with Ps 45. Based on lexical studies which need separate analysis, it could be concluded that two meanings can be claimed for ‫ﻧﺻﺢ‬: 1) Bonding and joining two things 2) Being sincere to somebody.  So the meaning of ‫ ﻧﺻﺢ‬or being sincere to someone, means to be honest and avoid deceiving, and matches with Hebrew sense of submission to the authority and guardianship of a Superior.


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Psalm 45:1 ‫יד ֹת‬ ֽ ‫שׁיר י ְִד‬ ֣ ִ ‫ל־שׁ ֹשַׁ נִּים לִ ְבנֵי־קרח מַ֜ שְׂ ִ֗כּיל‬ ֭ ַ‫ע‬ About Shoshans ,



 This meaning is in reasonable harmony with the one which Mowinckel provides for ‫למנצח‬, i.e. guardianship, accepting the guardianship or paying homage.  Therefore, the usage of ‫ למנצח‬is for joining/bonding two things or objects, which could be implied on the marriage between two persons, a relationship in which the bride would be under protectorate of the bridegroom.  Psalm 45 narrates the wedding ceremony of Tyrian Daughter with the King or His descendants, it could be reckoned ‫( ֭שׁ ֹשַׁ נִּים‬The Lilies) hints at The Brides, and The Sons of Kariah are the offspring of the King. In this Psalm, Psalmist tells the story of one of these Shoshans (Lilies).


Psalm 45:1 ‫יד ֹת‬ ֽ ‫שׁיר י ְִד‬ ֣ ִ ‫לִ ְבנֵי־קרח מַ֜ שְׂ ִ֗כּיל‬

‫ל־שׁ ֹשַׁ נִּים‬ ֭ ַ‫לַ מְ נ ֵַצּ֣חַ ע‬


 Jan Mulder reckons the Masoretic reading of ‫ל־שׁ ֹשַׁ נִּים‬ ֭ ַ‫( ע‬šôšannîm), The Lilies, and matches Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion as well.  ‫ל־שׁ ֹשַׁ נִּים‬ ֭ ַ‫( ע‬šôšannîm) is an accurate reading which contradicts translation of LXX (τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων) and VUL (pro his qui commutabuntur), that meets ‫( עַ ל־שֶׁ שּׂנִים‬šešônnîm) of the Hebrew Vorlage which the LXX translator had access to.  Mulder states the reading ‫( עַ ל־שֶׁ שּׂנִים‬šešônnîm) “hardly makes sense”.


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Psalm 45:1 ‫יד ֹת‬ ֽ ‫שׁיר י ְִד‬ ֣ ִ ‫לִ ְבנֵי־קרח מַ֜ שְׂ ִ֗כּיל‬

‫ל־שׁ ֹשַׁ נִּים‬ ֭ ַ‫לַ מְ נ ֵַצּ֣חַ ע‬


Points can be added to Mulder’s comments:  Excluding Ps 45:1, ‫( שׁשׁנים‬šôšannîm) has been used both in Ps 69:1 and Ps 80:1.  In Ps 69:1 it has been recorded as ‫( שׁושׁנים‬šušannîm) which directly challenges the reading in LXX.  Furthermore, ‫ שׁושׁנים‬can be found in the context of this verse in Qumarn versions, verifying the Masoretic reading and disapproves LXX and Vulgate ones.


Psalm 45:1 ‫יד ֹת‬ ֽ ‫שׁיר י ְִד‬ ֣ ִ ‫מַ֜ שְׂ ִ֗כּיל‬ About Shoshans , so as they submit

‫לַ מְ נ ֵַצּ֣חַ עַ ֭ל־שׁ ֹ ַשׁנִּים לִ ְבנֵי־קרח‬

to (the authority of) the Sons of Kariah, a contemplative song of love

 In Hebrew, the root ‫ קרח‬baldness has appeared 23 times in the OT. In Syriac, qerah means (to be bald), and in Arabic the term ‫( ﻗرح‬qarh) is used in the sense of ‫ ﺟرح‬wound or the sign of wound.  There is a close correlation between ‫ קרח‬and the Arabic term ‫( ﻗرح‬the wound or injury on the head) which is actually hair loss due to injury on the head and going bald. That is why the Aqrah horse (‫ )ﻓرس اﻻﻗرح‬is a horse with a white facial marking as large as one Dirham on its forehead. ֵ (qareah) is the one whose hair is thinning out due to wound or  Consequently, ַ‫קרח‬ slashes.


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‫ֵי־ק ֹ ַרח‬ ֑ ‫לַ מְ נ ֵַצּ֣חַ עַ ֭ל־שׁ ֹ ַשׁנִּים לִ ְבנ‬


The combination of ‫ֵי־ק ֹ ַרח‬ ֑ ‫( ִל ְבנ‬for the Sons of Kariah) has appeared at the beginning of 11 Psalms: Ps 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 84, 85, 87 and 88.  ‫ֵי־ק ֹ ַרח‬ ֑ ‫ ְבנ‬occurs in parallel in three occasions: (Exo 6:24, Num 26:11, 1Ch 6:7). It seems within the Psalms of David, ‫ קרח‬in ‫ ִל ְבנֵי־קרח‬cannot be assumed as Korah, the great-grandson of Levi.



‫לַ מְ נ ֵַצּ֣חַ עַ ֭ל־שׁ ֹשַׁ נִּים לִ ְבנֵי־קרח‬


ֵ (Kariah) has been preferred to ‫֑ק ֹ ַרח‬ Accordingly, the vocalization ַ‫קרח‬ (Korah) based on the followings: Considering Morphological aspects in old Hebrew manuscripts such as Biblical Qumran Scrolls and extra-biblical Hebrew texts, Korah has been mostly recorded as ‫ קורח‬rather than ‫קרח‬. In Syriac texts, it had appeared as ‫ ܪܚ‬instead of ‫ ; ܚ‬while in only one out of eleven verses of the Pslams in DSS which ‫ ִל ְבנֵי־קרח‬preserves, (Ps 49:1), it seems ‫ קרח‬appears without ‫( ו‬Wav).


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‫לַ מְ נ ֵַצּ֣חַ עַ ֭ל־שׁ ֹ ַשׁנִּים לִ ְבנֵי־קרח‬


 Based on the Messianic prophecies in this Psalms these verses could not be correlated to the Sons of Korah.  In order to clarify who the ‫ ְבנֵי־קרח‬are, it seems essential to seek possible relationship between ‫( ֭שׁ ֹשַׁ נִּים‬The Lilies) and them.  Excluding Psalms, comparing the appearances of ‫ ִל ְבנֵי־קרח‬with ,‫ הַ קָּ ְר ִ ֑חי‬,‫מִ שְׁ ַ ֖פּחַ ת הַ קָּ ְר ִ ֑חי‬ ‫הַ קָּ ְר ִחֽים‬,‫ ב ְֵנ֥י הַ קָּ ְר ִ ֖חי‬in the whole OT, discloses that the first occasion refers to the immediate offspring of Korah, and the latter ones hint at his later generations.  However, in Ps 45:1 the Psalmist addressed the contemporary ones to him as ‫ ִל ְבנֵי־קרח‬, so this term cannot hint at the Sons of Korah who had lived hundred years ago in the time of Moses.

Conclusion ‫יד ֹת‬ ֽ ‫שׁיר י ְִד‬ ֣ ִ ‫ל־שׁ ֹשַׁ נִּים לִ ְבנֵי־קרח מַ֜ שְׂ ִ֗כּיל‬ ֭ ַ‫לַ מְ נ ֵַצּ֣חַ ע‬ About Shoshans , so as they submit to (the authority of) the Sons of Kariah, a contemplative song of love

 In this brief presentation, the textual criticism of the Heading of Psalm 45 was carried out, just as sample for more 15 words’ emendation in Psalm 45 textual criticism; which eventually facilitate a deeper historical understanding of the Manuscript, providing a new interpretation for Psalm 45.  As a conclusion, it could be claimed that in the heading of Ps 45 Shoshans are the ones, who will convert for the sake of the Sons of the Kariah, and eventually marry them.  In the first 10 verses of Psalm 45, the characteristics of the King and a Hero, who is the protector of the King, are noted. The Psalmist’s beloved King has a Divine Eternal Kingdom and is praised in these verses. His description is quite unique within the Psalm, entirely.  Verses 10-16 narrate the marriage of one of the King’s offspring. Based on the Heading, the Bridegroom is one of The Sons of Kariah, and one of The Shoshans is the Bride. Textual Criticism of other 15 words’ emendation in Psalm 45, will disclose more comprehensive description of the bride: She is of David's Lineage.


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Identifying Davidic Beloved King And The Bride of His:

Textual Criticism of Psalm 45 Hadi Sabouhi, Hadi Taqavi, University of California-Irvine [email protected]


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