PSALMS 42

READING CYCLE THREE(see “Guide
to Good Bible Reading“)

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR’S INTENT AT
PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary which means
that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of
us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are
priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3).
Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above.
Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original
author’s intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has
one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph

2. Second paragraph

3. Third paragraph

4. Etc.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

A. The first verse has always spoken deeply to me. This is the
essence of what a personal relationship should be. But even this deep
intimacy does not mean that problems, illness, vicious attacks do not
occur. The great promise is not the absence of problems, but His presence
(cf. Ps. 23:4; 16:8).

B. I think the psalmist is in exile.

1. he cannot go to the temple, Ps. 42:4

2. he longs for Canaan, Ps. 42:6

3. he is being taunted by his captors, Ps. 42:3, 10 (cf. Psalm 137,
which is also an exilic Psalm).

The NASB Study Bible (p. 781) has an interesting suggestion that the
psalmist was a Korahite Levite taken captive by Syria. It gives an example
of a Syrian raid (e.g., 2 Kgs. 12:17-18). The Korahites lived in the
northern area of Israel. This may explain

1. the exile theory

2. the northern geographical sites in Ps. 42:6

C. The recurrent phrase is “in despair” (lit. “cast
down,” BDB 1005, KB 1458, Hithpolel (imperfect)
occurs three times in this short poem, Ps. 42:5, 6, and 11. The psalmist
is hurting inside (Ps. 42:5) and out (Ps. 42:10).

Also note the repetition of Ps. 42:5 and 11 with only slight changes. This
same verse appears again in Ps. 43:5, which implies these Psalms are
closely connected, possibly one Psalm (UBS Handbook, p. 398).

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 42:1-4
 ¹As
the deer pants for the water brooks,
 So
my soul pants for You, O God.
 ²My
soul thirsts for God, for the living God;
 When shall I come and appear before
God?
 ³My tears
have been my food day and night,
 While
they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
 ⁴These things I remember
and I pour out my soul within me.
 For
I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to
the house of God,
 With the
voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.

42:1-4 In this strophe one wonders what the
problem is.

1. the psalmist feels cut off from YHWH

2. the psalmist cannot worship at the temple (cf. Ps. 42:4b,c)

3. the psalmist’s faith is being challenged by his current conditions
(i.e., exile) and the taunting of his oppressors (Ps. 42:3,10; 79:10;
115:2)

See Contextual Insights, B.

42:1

NASB, NKJV“pants”
NRSV, TEV,
LXX, REB“longs”
NJB“yearns”
JPSOA“crying”

This verb (BDB 788, KB 881, Qal imperfect) is found only three times in the OT, two
here and one in Joel 1:20, where it is used of the beasts of the field.

Should the interpreter emphasize the deep desire of the psalmist for God
(cf. Ps. 63:1) or his desire to be in the temple on a feast day (Ps. 42:4)? I
think option #2 fits the context better.

▣ “soul” This is the Hebrew
term nephesh (BDB 659, cf. Ps. 42:2,4,5,6,11). See notes at Psalm
3:2 and Ge. 35:18 online. It was an idiom of self reference.

▣ “the living God” This is a
play on the words

1. live (verb, היח, BDB
310)

2. living (יח, adjective, BDB
311 I)

3. YHWH (יהוה, BDB 217, covenant name for
Deity, cf. Gen. 2:4; see

SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY)

YHWH is the only-living, ever-living God (see SPECIAL
TOPIC: MONOTHEISM). All else is alive by Him, through Him,
and for Him (cf. Ps. 18:46). This characterization of Israel’s God as
“living” contrasts with the pagan idols that are blind, deaf,
mute, and non-existent (cf. Isa. 44:9-20; Hab. 2:18-19).

42:2 “appear before God” This is
an idiom for being in the temple on a feast day. The psalmist is being
hindered from being in Jerusalem during feast days.

There is a question of how to understand the consonants.

1. NASB follows the MT, “appear before”

2. RSV changes the vowels to “and behold the face of God”

The UBS Text Project (p. 232) gives option #2 a “C” rating
(i.e., considerable doubt).

42:3 “they“ The text is not
specific who this refers to.

1. captors

2. enemies

3. pagans

I think #1 fits the Psalm best. The NJB entitles this Psalm “Lament
of a Levite in Exile.”

Notice the psalmist feels that these persons taunt him all day long (Ps.
42:3b; 79:10; 115:2).

42:4 Worship should be a joyful, anticipated
experience. I hope your experience of worship can be so characterized!

The psalmist remembers his past worship times.

1. I remember — BDB 269, KB 269, Qal cohortative

2. I pour out my soul within me — BDB 1049, KB 1629, Qal
cohortative

NASB, NRSV“throng”
NKJV“multitude”
TEV,
JPSOA“crowds”
NJB“under
the roof”
LXX“tent”

The word (BDB 697) translated “throng” occurs only here in the
OT, but the same consonants can mean “thicket,” “cover,”
“tent,” “booth.” The LXX saw the parallelism of the
second option as the best way to interpret this word (so too, UBS Text
Project notes, p. 233). For a good brief discussion see NIDOTTE, vol. 3,
p. 247.

▣ “lead them in procession”
There is some confusion on the meaning of this word.

1. “walk slowly” — BDB 186, KB 214, Hithpael
imperfect (psalmist was a Korahite Levite
singer involved in the temple rites, songs, and liturgy, cf. 2 Chr. 20:19)

2. “of the majestic ones” — referring to the tent of
place of worship (NJB, REB)

3. UBS Text Project (p. 234) gives a “C” rating
(considerable doubt) to “I led them.”

The only difference in all three options is the vowel marks.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 42:5-8
 ⁵Why
are you in despair, O my soul?
 And
why have you become disturbed within me?
 Hope in God, for I shall again
praise Him
 For the help of
His presence.
 ⁶O
my God, my soul is in despair within me;
 Therefore
I remember You from the land of the Jordan
 And the peaks of Hermon, from Mount
Mizar.
 ⁷Deep
calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
 All Your breakers and Your waves
have rolled over me.
 ⁸The
Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime;
 And His song will be with me in the
night,
 A prayer to the God
of my life.

42:5-8 The psalmist tries to reassure
himself. This is conveyed by two questions in Ps. 42:5. He answers the
questions:

1. “hope” (“wait,” BDB 403, KB 407, Hiphil
imperative) in God

2. “I shall again praise Him — BDB 392, KB 389, Hiphil
imperative) for the help of His presence”

3. “I remember (BDB 269, KB 269, Qal imperfect)
You from”

a. land of Jordan

b. peaks of Hermon (BDB 356, the name is plural
in the OT only here, therefore, “peaks”)

c. Mount Mizar (“little hill,” BDB 859, LXX) found only
here in the OT. It could refer to

(1) small hill near Mt. Hermon

(2) a way of referring to Mt. Moriah, the site of the temple in
Jerusalem

Hebrew poetry is slippery stuff! Its imagery is often vague (see
Special
Topic:
Hebrew Poetry).

42:7 The imagery is powerful. The phrase
“deep calls to deep” is moving but ambiguous. What waterfalls is
he talking about?

1. the psalmist’s tears, Ps. 42:3

2. the Jordan River Valley and its origin in the mountains, Ps. 42:6

The next line implies it may be figurative of problems the psalmist is
facing (cf. Ps. 69:1-2; 88:7). Notice they are YHWH’s

1. waterfalls

2. breakers

3. waves

that have rolled over (BDB 716, KB 778, Qal perfect)
the psalmist! Faithful followers live in a fallen world but believe/trust
that YHWH is “the God of my life” (Ps. 42:8c). The “why”
is unknown, but the “Who” is with us and this is certain!

The imagery of “water” in this Psalm is multi-fold.

1. water brooks, Ps. 42:1 (i.e., drought)

2. tears, Ps. 42:3 (i.e., pain)

3. a river (i.e., Jordan), Ps. 42:6

4. deep, Ps. 42:7

a. emotions

b. imagery from God’s defeat of chaos in Genesis 1

5. waterfalls (i.e., hiding place in the north may be under a
waterfall)

6. breakers/waves (i.e., a flood of problems)

42:8 As the psalmist’s tears were his food
day and night (Ps. 42:3), now YHWH’s (notice this is the only use of YHWH
in the Psalm; Book 2 of the Psalter is dominated by the use of Elohim
for Deity, as Book 1 by YHWH) lovingkindness and song are his companions.

▣ “His song” Is this the
result of YHWH’s lovingkindness (hesed, see

SPECIAL TOPIC: LOVINGKINDNESS (HESED)) or is it parallel to it? What is YHWH’s song? How is the psalmist’s
prayer of line 3 related to “the song”? It probably refers to
the content of the psalmist’s praises of YHWH’s mercy and faithfulness.
The details of poetry are ambiguous. We must let the weight and feel of
the strophe, and the parallelism of the lines guide us in an overall
impression! Do not push the details! Do not build doctrine on isolated
lines of poetry!

▣ “the God of my life”
Faithful followers are not alone; there is purpose in their lives; there
is a merciful Creator who is with them and for them! Nothing “just
happens” to faithful followers (cf. Psalm 139).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 42:9-11
 ⁹I
will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
 Why do I go mourning because of the
oppression of the enemy?”
 ¹⁰As
a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me,
 While they say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
 ¹¹Why
are you in despair, O my soul?
 And
why have you become disturbed within me?
 Hope
in God, for I shall yet praise Him,
 The
help of my countenance and my God.

42:9-11 Do you see the intended parallel
with Ps. 42:3 and 10; Ps. 42:5 and 11?

This is like a reinforcing summary. The psalmist feels alone (Ps. 42:9a),
attacked (Ps. 42:9b), discouraged (Ps. 42:11a,b). How should he respond?

1. wait — same form as Ps. 42:5

2. praise — BDB 392, KB 389, Hiphil cohortative

3. remember the God of Ps. 42:8 and his former worship times with Him
in 42:4. Faith projects forward and builds on past acts of trust.

42:9 “my rock” See note at Psalm
18:1-3.

42:10 The words of his adversaries were so
painful that the psalmist describes them as “death in his bones.”
Words do hurt. They can destroy. They reveal the heart and one day every
human will give an account to God for his/her words (cf. Matt. 12:36-37).

42:11d This last noun
clause functions like the noun clause
of Ps. 42:8c. It is an affirmation of God’s presence and care! He is with
us and for us!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means
that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of
us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are
priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the
major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be
thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. In Book 2 (Psalms 42-72) of the Psalms there are two names for
Deity that occur most often.

a. Elohim

b. YHWH

Explain what they mean.

2. How is “living God” a play on YHWH?

3. Is the author

a. a Levite?

b. in exile?

4. Where is Mt. Mizar?

5. Who would say, “Where is your God?”

6. Why is it thought that Psalms 42 and 43 were once one Psalm?

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