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He said:

A Historical Review

“The Lord came from Sinai
and revealed himself[a] to Israel[b] from Seir.
He appeared in splendor[c] from Mount Paran,
and came forth with ten thousand holy ones.[d]
With his right hand he gave a fiery law[e] to them.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 33:2 tn Or “rose like the sun” (NCV, TEV).
  2. Deuteronomy 33:2 tc Heb “to him.” The LXX reads “to us” (לָנוּ [lanu] for לָמוֹ [lamo]), the reading of the MT is acceptable since it no doubt has in mind Israel as a collective singular.tn Heb “him”; the referent (Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  3. Deuteronomy 33:2 tn Or “he shone forth” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
  4. Deuteronomy 33:2 tc With slight alteration (מִמְרִבַת קָדֵשׁ [mimrivat qadesh] for the MT’s מֵרִבְבֹת קֹדֶשׁ [merivevot qodesh]) the translation would be “from Meribah Kadesh” (cf. NAB, NLT; see Deut 32:51). However, the language of holy war in the immediate context favors the reading of the MT, which views the Lord as accompanied by angelic hosts.
  5. Deuteronomy 33:2 tc The mispointed Hebrew term אֵשְׁדָּת (ʾeshdat) should perhaps be construed as אֵשְׁהַת (ʾeshhat) with Smr.

O God, when you lead your people into battle,[a]
when you march through the wastelands,[b] (Selah)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 68:7 tn Heb “when you go out before your people.” The Hebrew idiom “go out before” is used here in a militaristic sense of leading troops into battle (see Judg 4:14; 9:39; 2 Sam 5:24).
  2. Psalm 68:7 sn When you march through the wastelands. Some interpreters think that v. 7 alludes to Israel’s exodus from Egypt and its subsequent travels in the wilderness. Another option is that v. 7, like v. 8, echoes Judg 5:4, which describes how the God of Sinai marched across the plains of Edom to do battle with Sisera and his Canaanite army.

the earth shakes.
Yes, the heavens pour down rain
before God, the God of Sinai,[a]
before God, the God of Israel.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 68:8 tn Heb “this one of Sinai.” The phrase is a divine title, perhaps indicating that the Lord rules from Sinai.
  2. Psalm 68:8 sn The language of vv. 7-8 is reminiscent of Judg 5:4-5, which tells how the God of Sinai came in the storm and annihilated the Canaanite forces led by Sisera. The presence of allusion does not mean, however, that this is a purely historical reference. The psalmist is describing God’s typical appearance as a warrior in terms of his prior self-revelation as ancient events are reactualized in the psalmist’s experience. (For a similar literary technique, see Hab 3.)