| 1. A maskil of Asaph. Hearken, my people, to my instruction, extend your ear to the words of my mouth. |
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א. |
| 2. I shall open my mouth with a parable; I shall express riddles from time immemorial. |
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ב. |
| … my mouth with a parable: They are the words of Torah. |
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| 3. That we heard and we knew them, and our forefathers told us. |
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ג. |
| 4. We shall not hide from their sons; to the last generation they will recite the praises of the Lord, and His might and His wonders, which He performed. |
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ד. |
| We shall not hide from their sons: We, too, shall not hide [these words] from our fathers’ sons by not letting them know what they told us. |
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| 5. And He established testimony in Jacob, and He set down a Torah in Israel, which He commanded our forefathers to make them known to their sons. |
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ה. |
| 6. In order that the last generation might know, sons who will be born should tell their sons. |
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ו. |
| 7. And they should put their hope in God, and not forget the deeds of God, and keep His commandments. |
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ז. |
| their hope: Heb. כסלם, their hope, and so (Job 31: 24): “If I made gold my hope (כסלי).” |
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| 8. And they should not be as their forefathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, who did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God. |
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ח. |
| as their forefathers: who were in Egypt and in the desert. |
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| 9. The sons of Ephraim, armed archers, retreated on the day of battle. |
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ט. |
| The sons of Ephraim: who left Egypt forcefully before the end [of the exile] and trusted in their might and in their arrows. Ultimately, they retreated and fled on the day of battle, as is delineated (I Chron. 7:21): “and the men of Gath, who were born in the land, slew them.” |
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| archers: Heb. רומי, who cast and shoot, as (Exod. 15:1): “cast (רמה) into the sea.” |
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| 10. They did not keep the covenant of God, and they refused to follow His Torah. |
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י. |
| 11. They forgot His deeds and His wonders, which He showed them. |
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יא. |
| 12. Before their forefathers He wrought wonders, in the land of Egypt, the field of Zoan. |
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יב. |
| Before their forefathers He wrought wonders: (NeverthelessShem Ephraim) Afterwards, when the end arrived, they too “continued to sin against Him,” as he further concludes. (Another explanationShem Ephraim) |
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| Before their forefathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob came beside the sea, and the Holy One, blessed be He, showed them how He was redeeming their children. |
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| 13. He split the sea and took them across, He made the water stand as a heap. |
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יג. |
| as a heap: Heb. נד, a tall heap, as Onkelos renders (Exod. 15: 8): “the flowing water stood up like a נֵד,” stood up like a wall. |
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| 14. He led them with a cloud by day, and all night with the light of fire. |
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יד. |
| 15. He split rocks in the desert and gave them to drink as [from] great deeps. |
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טו. |
| He split rocks: (Exod. 17:6): “and you shall strike the rock.” |
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| and He gave them to drink as [from] great deeps: in the great deeps. Even as they went through the midst of the sea, whose waters are salty, He sweetened fountains for them in the midst of the sea. |
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| 16. He drew flowing water from a rock and brought down water like rivers. |
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טז. |
| and brought down water like rivers: [Water] that was flowing from the well. The princes would make a line with their staffs and the water would be drawn after them to the encampment of each tribe, as the matter that is stated (Num. 21:18): “by the order of the lawgiver, with their staffs,” as is explained in tractate Makkoth. |
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| 17. But they continued further to sin against Him, to provoke the Most High in the desert. |
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יז. |
| to provoke: Heb. למרות, to provoke, as (Deut. 9: 7): “you have been provoking (ממרים).” |
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| 18. They tried God in their heart by requesting food for their craving. |
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יח. |
| 19. And they spoke against God; they said, "Can God set a table in the desert? |
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יט. |
| 20. True, He struck a rock and water flowed, and streams flooded. Can He give meat too? Can He prepare flesh for His people?" |
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כ. |
| flesh: Heb. שְׁאֵר, flesh. |
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| 21. Therefore, God heard and was incensed; fire was kindled against Jacob, and also wrath ascended upon Israel. |
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כא. |
| fire was kindled against Jacob: Heb. נשקה, as (Ezek. 39: 9): “and make fires and heat up (והשיקו) ,” which is an expression of heating and burning. As it is written (Num. 11:1): “and God’s fire broke out against them.” |
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| 22. Because they did not believe in God and did not trust in His salvation. |
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כב. |
| 23. And He had commanded the skies from above, and He had opened the portals of heaven. |
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כג. |
| 24. He had rained upon them manna to eat, and He had given them corn of heaven. |
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כד. |
| 25. Men ate the bread of the mighty; He sent them provisions for satisfaction. |
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כה. |
| bread of the mighty: Bread of the angels. Another explanation: אַבִּירִים means אֵבָרִים, limbs, for it was absorbed into the limbs, and they did not have to excrete. |
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| 26. He caused the east wind to set forth in heaven, and He led the south wind with His might. |
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כו. |
| He caused the east wind to set forth: (Num. 11:31): “And a wind set forth from the Lord, and it made quails fly.” |
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| 27. He rained down flesh upon them like dust, and, like the sand of the seas, winged fowl. |
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כז. |
| 28. And He let it fall in the midst of their camp, around their dwellings. |
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כח. |
| 29. They ate and were very satisfied, and He brought them their desire. |
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כט. |
| 30. They were not estranged from their desire; while their food was still in their mouth, |
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ל. |
| They were not estranged from their desire: They did not become estranged from their desire, for they achieved all their desire. Another explanation: לא זרוּ מתאותם They were not distanced from their desire until the retribution came upon them.“While their food was still in their mouth, the wrath of the Lord (sic), etc.” |
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| 31. The wrath of God ascended upon them and slew [some] of their stoutest and caused the chosen of Israel to fall. |
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לא. |
| and… the chosen of Israel: The chosen of them and the men of the assembly, הָאסַפסוּף (Num. 11:4). They are the elders, as it is said (Num. 11:16): “Assemble (אספו) to Me, etc.” |
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| 32. Despite all this, they sinned again and did not believe despite His wonders. |
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לב. |
| 33. And He ended their days in vanity and their years in terror. |
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לג. |
| 34. When He slew them, they would seek Him, and they would repent and pray to God. |
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לד. |
| When He slew them, etc.: Yet all this was not in truth, but with guile in their mouth and by lying with their tongue. |
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| 35. And they remembered that God is their rock and the Most High God is their Redeemer. |
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לה. |
| 36. They beguiled Him with their mouth, and with their tongue they lied to Him. |
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לו. |
| 37. Their heart was not sincere with Him; they were not faithful in His covenant. |
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לז. |
| Their heart: was not sincere as with their mouth. |
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| 38. But He is merciful, He expiates iniquity and does not destroy; many times He takes back His wrath and does not arouse all His anger. |
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לח. |
| But He is merciful: to them and constantly expiates their iniquity, and He did not destroy them. |
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| many times: Many times He withdraws His wrath from them, and even if He punishes them, He does not arouse all His anger but little by little, because He remembers that they are flesh and that the evil inclination is hidden in their heart. That is a spirit that goes away when they die, and that spirit does not return to them in the world to come. When they are resurrected, the evil inclination will have no control over them.“A spirit that goes away and does not return” cannot be explained to mean their spirit of life, because if you say so, you have denied the resurrection of the dead. In this manner, it is explained in Aggadath Tehillim (Mid Ps. 78:8). |
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| 39. He remembers that they are flesh, a spirit that goes away and does not return. |
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לט. |
| 40. How often they provoked Him in the desert, vexed Him in the wasteland! |
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מ. |
| How often: [How many] times. |
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: |
| they provoked him: always in the desert. |
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| 41. They returned and tried God, and they sought a sign from the Holy One of Israel. |
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מא. |
| they sought a sign: Heb. התוו, an expression of a sign, as (Ezek. 9:4): “and set a mark (והתוית תו).” “A mark” is an expression of a wonder and a trial. They asked him for a sign and a mark (Exod. 17:7): “Is the Lord in our midst or not?” |
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: |
| 42. They did not remember His hand, the day that He redeemed them from distress. |
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מב. |
| 43. Who placed His signs in Egypt and His wonders in the field of Zoan. |
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מג. |
| 44. He turned their canals into blood, and their flowing waters they could not drink. |
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מד. |
| 45. He incited against them a mixture of wild beasts, which devoured them, and frogs, which mutilated them. |
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מה. |
| which mutilated them: They would pull off their testicles. |
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: |
| 46. He gave their produce to the finishing locusts and their toil to the increasing locusts. |
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מו. |
| 47. He killed their vines with hail and their sycamore trees with locusts. |
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מז. |
| with locusts: Heb. בחנמל, the name of the locust. According to the Midrash (Mid. Ps. 78:13) [it is composed of the following words]: בָּא חָן מָל, it comes, encamps, and cuts. It cut off the greens of the tree and the grass and ate it. |
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| 48. He gave over their animals to the hail and their cattle to the fiery bolts. |
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מח. |
| He gave over their animals to hail: When the hail began to fall, the Egyptian drove his sheep (his animal) into the house, and the hail came before him like a wall. The Egyptian slaughtered it [the animal] and put it on his shoulder, to take it to his house to eat it, but the birds came and took it from him. That is [the meaning of] “and their cattle to the birds (לרשפים) ,” as (Job. 5:7): “but flying creatures (בני רשף) fly upward.” This is its midrashic interpretation (Mid. Ps. 78:14), but according to its simple meaning, רשפים are bolts of fire, as it is written (Exod. 9:24): “and fire flaming within the hail.” |
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| 49. He dispatched against them the kindling of His anger-wrath, fury, and trouble, a delegation of evil messengers. |
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מט. |
| 50. He leveled a path for His anger; He did not withhold their soul from death, and He delivered their body to pestilence. |
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נ. |
| He leveled a path for His anger: Although the plagues were dispatched in anger, they performed only their orders; what they were commanded to kill, they killed, but nothing else. They went in their paths. In other commentaries I found as follows: |
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| He leveled a path for His anger: When He smote every firstborn in Egypt, He showed the way for [the angel] who was destroying with anger to enter the houses of the Egyptians, but not the houses of the children of Israel. |
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| … and… their body: Heb. וחיתם, their body. |
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| 51. He smote every firstborn in Egypt, the first fruit of their strength in the tents of Ham. |
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נא. |
| 52. Then He caused His people to journey like sheep, and He led them as a flock in the desert. |
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נב. |
| 53. He led them securely and they were not afraid, and the sea covered their enemies. |
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נג. |
| 54. He brought them to the border of His sanctuary, this mountain that His right hand had acquired. |
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נד. |
| 55. He drove out nations from before them, and allotted them an inheritance by line, and He caused the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents. |
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נה. |
| He drove out… from before them: the seven nations. |
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| in their tents: of the nations. |
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| 56. Yet they tried and provoked the Most High God, and did not keep His testimonies. |
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נו. |
| Yet they tried and provoked: during the days of the judges. |
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: |
| 57. They turned back and dealt treacherously as their forefathers; they turned around like a deceitful bow. |
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נז. |
| like a deceitful bow: which does not shoot the arrow to the place the archer wishes. |
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: |
| 58. They provoked Him with their high places, and with their graven images they angered Him. |
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נח. |
| 59. God heard and became incensed, and He utterly rejected Israel. |
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נט. |
| 60. And He abandoned the Tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent that He had stationed among men. |
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ס. |
| 61. He delivered His might into captivity, and His glory into the hand of the adversary. |
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סא. |
| He delivered His might into captivity: He delivered the Ark and the tablets into the hands of the Philistines. |
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| 62. And He delivered His people to the sword, and He became incensed with His inheritance. |
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סב. |
| 63. Fire consumed his youths and his virgins were not married. |
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סג. |
| Fire consumed his youths: [The fire of] His wrath. |
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: |
| were not married: Heb. לא הוללו. They were not married by being brought into a litter [under] a canopy because the youths died in battle. הוּלָלוּ is an expression of nuptials (הִלוּלָא) in Aramaic. Our Sages, however, explained it in reference to Nadab and Abihu (Mid. Ps. 78:18), but I feel uncertain about explaining it that way because he already commenced with the Tabernacle of Shiloh. |
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| 64. His priests fell by the sword, but his widows did not weep. |
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סד. |
| His priests fell by the sword: Hophni and Phinehas. |
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| but his widows did not weep: Even his widow was not allowed to bewail him, for she too died on the day of the tidings, as it is said (I Sam. 4:19): “And she knelt and gave birth, for her pains had suddenly come upon her.” |
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| 65. And the Lord awoke as one asleep, as a mighty man, shouting from wine. |
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סה. |
| shouting: Heb. מתרונן, awaking and strengthening himself with speech to awaken from his wine. מתרונן is an expression of רנה, shouting. |
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: |
| 66. And He smote His adversaries from the rear; He gave them perpetual disgrace. |
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סו. |
| And He smote His adversaries from the rear: Plagues of the rear with hemorrhoids, which is a disgrace of perpetual ridicule for them. |
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: |
| 67. He rejected the tent of Joseph and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim. |
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סז. |
| He rejected the tent of Joseph: That is Shiloh, which is in Joseph’s territory. |
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| 68. He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved. |
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סח. |
| 69. And He built His Sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth He established it forever. |
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סט. |
| And He built His Sanctuary like the high heavens, etc.: Like the heavens and the earth, about which two hands are mentioned, as it is stated (Isa. 48: 13): “Even My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand measured the heavens with handbreadths.” Also the Temple was with two hands, as it is said (Exod. 15:17): “Your hands established.” (Cf. Mechilta, Shirah 10, Keth. 5a, Rashi to Exod. 15: 17.) Another explanation: |
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| And He built His Sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth He established it: Just as heaven and earth have no substitute, neither does the Temple have a substitute in which to let the Shechinah rest. |
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| 70. And He chose His servant David and took him from the sheepcotes. |
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ע. |
| and took him from the sheepcotes: Heb. ממכלאתצאן, from the stalls of the sheep, as (Hab. 3:16): “The flock will be cut off from the fold (ממכלה).” |
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| 71. From behind the nursing ewes He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people and Israel His heritage. |
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עא. |
| From behind the nursing ewes He brought him: For he would shepherd the nursing ewes for his father, because he was merciful and would bring the kids first and feed them the upper tips of the grasses, which are tender. Then after them he would bring out the he-goats, who would eat the middle of the grasses, and afterwards, he would bring out the older ones, who would eat the roots. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, “This one is fit to shepherd My people.” |
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: |
| 72. And He shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and with the skill of his hands he led them. |
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עב. |
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