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Dear Friends,
Today I would like to do something slightly different than what we usually do in our newsletters. I would like to study a few verses from Psalm 92 with you, and learn about the agricultural metaphors used there and the different that appear in the verses used and their meaning.
Psalm 92 is the Psalm that was sung by the Levites in the Temple on the Sabbath day, and is recited as part of the Jewish prayers on the Sabbath, to this day. The Psalm itself is a popular song that is sung during the service, and one version of it is also a popular folk dance. If you would like to learn this dance, check out the following links on youtube:
Video 1
Video 2
The Psalm begins with a praise of God and a description of what a pleasure it is to praise Him. Then it discusses how the wicked and ignorant man does not know this, creating a contrast between him and the righteous man. I would like to discuss the verses of the Psalm that compare the righteous man with different parts of nature in bloom – verses 13-15. Let us first read these verses in Hebrew, their transcription, and their translation:
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| צַדִּיק כַּתָּמָר יִפְרָח כְּאֶרֶז בַּלְּבָנוֹן יִשְׂגֶּה: שְׁתוּלִים בְּבֵית ה' בְּחַצְרוֹת אֱלֹהֵינוּ יַפְרִיחוּ: עוֹד יְנוּבוּן בְּשֵׂיבָה דְּשֵׁנִים וְרַעֲנַנִּים יִהְיוּ |
| Tzadik catamar yifrax c’erez baLevanon yisgeh: Shetulim beveit YHWH bexatzerot elohenu yafrixu: Od yenuvun beseiva deshenim vera’ananim yihyu |
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The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar tree in the Lebanon: Planted in the house of God they shall flourish in the courts of our God: Still in old age they shall bring forth fruit, they shall be fat and fresh
The general imagery here is clear: the righteous man is like an impressive tree – whether it be the native Israeli palm tree, or a cedar tree which is typical of Lebanon to this day. Cedar wood was considered very valuable in the ancient world.
The modern Lebanese flag, depicting the Cedar Tree
Not only is the righteous an impressive tree to start with, he is promised a long and prosperous life: planted in God’s garden and flourishing even at an old age, thus defying the rules of nature thanks to his faith in God.
Let us now learn about some of the words used in the Psalm:
Tamar תָּמָר
Tamar is the name both for the fruit – date – and for the palm tree. The Tamar is one of the seven species with which the Land of Israel is blessed (Deuteronomy 8:8, referred to there as “honey”). It is a sign of abundance as well as a tree which is considered tall and beautiful. In the Song of Songs, when the male lover wishes to praise his love, he says to her:
זֹאת קוֹמָתֵךְ דָּמְתָה לְתָמָר
“This, your stature, is similar to a palm tree” (Songs of Songs 7:8)
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Palm trees grow mainly in the Jordan Valley, and Jericho, the major city in the area, is also called “The city of the palm trees”,
עִיר הַתְּמָרִים. |
Lebanon לְבָנוֹן (Levanon)
In the Bible, in addition to being a country north of Israel with which the Israelites have different kinds of interaction throughout history, Lebanon is a place of mystic abundance, full of good, high mountains, snows, cedar trees and more. A good example of this can be found in the Song of Songs, where Lebanon is mentioned numerous times, always as a sign of good and blessing, such as in 4:11, when the male lover describes the abundance he will give to his love, saying:
נֹפֶת תִּטֹּפְנָה שִׂפְתוֹתַיִךְ כַּלָּה דְּבַשׁ וְחָלָב תַּחַת לְשׁוֹנֵךְ וְרֵיחַ שַׂלְמֹתַיִךְ כְּרֵיחַ לְבָנוֹן
Your lips shall drip with honey, honey and milk are under your tongue, and the scent of your garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
Seiva שֵׂיבָה
Seiva is the name used in the Bible for hair turned white with age, and it can also simply mean old age or an old man. An expression used to this day to describe one who passed away at an old age after having a full life is שֵׂיבָה טוֹבָה, “seiva tova”, literally “good old age”. Abraham is promised that this will be his fate (Genesis 15:15), and we are told that he in fact died “at a good old age, an old man and full of years” (Genesis 25:8). The other people in the Bible who we hear of dying at a good old age are the judge Gideon (Judges 8:32) and King David (1 Chronicles 29:28).
Ra’anan רַעֲנָן
Ra’anan literally means fresh, and is used in our Psalm in the plural form – רַעֲנַנִּים, “ra’ananim”, speaking of the righteous in the plural. An additional place where the righteous man who trusts in God is described as being like a fresh tree, is in Jeremiah 17:8. In Psalm 52:10 the psalmist describes himself as one who trusts in God and is “as a fresh olive in the house of God”. Clearly this is a common analogy and an interesting one as such, because it shows that he who trusts in God is blessed not only with a long life, but is also constantly rejuvenated. You will notice that the name of the Israeli city Ra’anana, רַעֲנָנָה, is in fact the feminine form of the same word, meaning “fresh”.
Have a great week!
The Biblical Hebrew Online Team
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תָּמָר
Transcription: Tamar
Literal Meaning: Date, palm tree
More about Tamar: Tamar is the name of two important women in the Bible, both related to King David: 1. In Genesis 38 we hear of Tamar, who married one of the Patriarch Judah’s sons. After this son dies, and his brother dies as well after refusing to marry her, she is left to wait for the oldest son to grow up so that she can be his wife. However, when she sees that he has grown up and failed to marry her, she dresses up as a harlot and tempts the father, Judah, and becomes pregnant. After realizing that he has done her wrong, Judah marries her. King David is a direct descendant of this union. 2. In 2 Samuel 13 we hear of the intrigues amongst King David’s children, and of how David’s son Amnon raped his half sister, David’s daughter by another wife. This sister’s name is Tamar.
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