The remarkable Psalm 119 (Jehovah, Bible, Israel)

[Jayhawker Soule]

I was reading an article yesterday that led me to revisit Psalm 119. One of the many acrostic psalms, Psalm 119 is almost certainly post-exilic and is really rather remarkable in a number of ways. Rabbi Segal [referenced above] writes: "Psalm 119, unique in length and format, also proposes a totally new way of relating to God. It may represent a formative moment in the history of Israel's faith." Similarly wiki notes:

Psalm 119 (Greek numbering: Psalm 118) is the longest psalm as well as the longest chapter in the Bible. It is referred to in Hebrew by its opening words, "Ashrei temimei derech" ("happy are those whose way is perfect"). It is the prayer of one who delights in and lives by the Torah, the sacred law. With its 176 verses, Psalm 119 has more verses than 13 Old Testament Books and 16 New Testament Books.

This psalm is one of about a dozen alphabetic acrostic poems in the Bible. Its 176 verses are divided into twenty-two stanzas, one stanza for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet; within each stanza, each of the eight verses begins (in Hebrew) with that letter. The name of God (Yahweh/Jehovah) appears twenty-four times.

Employed in almost (but not quite) every verse of the psalm is a synonym for the Torah, such as dabar ("word, promise") mishpatim ("rulings"), etc.

The acrostic form and the use of the Torah words constitute the framework for an elaborate prayer. The grounds for the prayer are established in the first two stanzas (alef and beth): the Torah is held up as a source of blessing and right conduct, and the psalmist pledges to dedicate himself to the law. The prayer proper begins in the third stanza (gimel, v. 17). Like many other psalms, this prayer includes both dramatic lament (e.g. verses 81–88) joyous praise (e.g., verses 45–48) and prayers for life, deliverance and vindication (e.g., verses 132–134). What makes Psalm 119 unique is the way that these requests are continually and explicitly grounded in the gift of the Torah and the psalmist's loyalty to it.

The first and fifth verse often state the same theme in a stanza followed by a statement of opposition, affliction of conflict and the final (eighth) verse in each stanza tends to be a transition introducing the next stanza. Several dozen prayers are incorporated into the Psalm. "Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law" Themes include opposition by man, affliction, delight in the law and the goodness of God, which sometimes run into each other. "I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me." in verse 75. Or "If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction." in verse 92. The Psalmist at times seems to appeal to God sovereignty "inclining his heart to the law" in stunning contrast with the Psalmist saying "I incline my heart." It ends with an appeal to God to seek his servant who strayed.

- [Wiki]

It would be more than a little interesting if we could somehow learn something about the time and place of authorship, about the author, and about the author's intent, Sadly, that information is almost certainly lost to us.