Psalm 68 continuing

I am glad to see continued interaction over the translation issues in Psalm 68 at BBB. The issue of who receives what from whom when is a small part of the discussion. Does God receive or give gifts? I was asked if I was making a theoretical statement about Christian translation.

I have a hard time following long comment strings so I thought I had better try and clarify some of my own bias in translation. Here is the interaction:

Bob: God receives gifts in response to having given them - so the reversal of the citation is not problematic.
J.K.Gayle: Are you making a theoretical statement about Christian translation of the Scriptures?

I don't think I have a position on 'Christian' translation at all. I try not to use such adjectives. If I have a theory of translation, it is pattern dependent: we must observe the repeating patterns and see if we can discern the contained and the containing. In the case of the psalms, there are several observable patterns. Finding the significant ones is still difficult.

Now to come to this particular question: As Suzanne points out, in Psalm 68 in this passage, God seems to be receiving gifts. This might mean that the armies were successful and there are captives in Jerusalem which are being received. I pointed out before that it is surprising that even the rebellious are being received. Is this a shame to them or a gift to them?

`ALithA LàMAROm ShAbithA ShEbi
עָלִיתָ לַמָּרוֹם שָׁבִיתָ שֶּׁבִי
you are gone up on high captives you have captured

LAQàXTA màTAnOth BA)ADAm
לָקַחְתָּ מַתָּנוֹת בָּאָדָם
you have received gifts of humanity

A few questions: what does the preposition and article BA mean? 'in the' (in the human) or 'of' or 'for' or 'when'? These Hebrew prepositions are difficult for non-natives to appreciate. So I need to look for clues in other references to gift in the poem: verses 30, 32, 33 and verses 4-5 - God receives praise and song - according to Psalm 50, these glorify God and so may be deemed gifts. There is further evidence of unity in the poem: the three mentions of the rider (verses 5, 18, 34). Note how these are bound to the sections we are already considering.

Briefly, the overall structure seems something like this:
Outer section: theophany, righteous rejoice, sing - chariot (the holy), theophany, blessing

Middle section: announcement, retreat, booty, God's hill - chariot (the holy), [passage under consideration], blessing, salvation and its cost (wound - see psalm 110), procession

Outer section: praise of Israel, praise of Gentiles, chariot (the holy), giving and gift summary, blessing

In this case, Psalm 68, we are still in the middle of understanding the whole. There seems to be a whole and this verse is near its centre. Was there a sudden freeing of a threat to the people, and the poet remembered the passage in Judges, and created this poem of praise as an elaboration of the song of Deborah and Barak?

See a prosodic image here

Note how the first section is bound together by the word 'presence' and the last section by the word 'strength'. I don't think I have marked quite enough connections in the word structure yet. Holiness and the chariot are in all three sections. Singing and praise - extending beyond Israel - form an outer circle as parts of sections 1 and 3. So in section 2 in the middle - what does the gift giving signify - by whom and to whom? Is the KJV justified in its use of 'for'?

How can God receive even the rebellious without the cost of redemption? If God receives someone, is that not gift in itself? If God receives a gift in a human, or a human as gift, is this a reflection of the gift of ourselves to God through the Spirit? If I were a first century reader, I would be inclined as I am now to read the psalm this way after the experience of the Spirit as groaning in us who believe, or as water abundant in our earth. This is in itself both gift from God and gift to God through his Son.

I think I would render it as:
you have received gifts in the human,
even the rebellious in the tent of Yah, God.

And I would hope people could see the cost to God of receiving such a gift and in doing so would glorify God in music and song. Then if I were citing this psalm to a first century Diaspora community, I would note how the ultimate gift of the Son resulted in the disbursement of the Principal sum (not a down payment) of the Spirit to those with whom God is pleased.