Psalm 34


Psalm 34:1–22

God Delivers Those Who Take Refuge in Him


Outline of Chapter 34:

 

       Inscription       Psalm 34 Inscription

       vv.    1–4        David Praises Jehovah God

       vv.    5–7        David Gives Reasons for His Praise

       vv.    8–10      David Exhorts His Listeners to Taste of Jehovah

       vv.   11–14      David Teaches the Fear of Jehovah

       vv.   15–18      God’s Direct Involvement in the Life of the Believer

       vv.   19–22      God’s Redemption of the Believer


Charts and Maps:

 

       Inscription       Why Do We Have Abimelech here rather than Achish?

       v.     14           Psalm 34:8–14: David Outlines the Spiritual Life for the Old Testament

       v.     22           Psalm 34:19–22 A View of the Messiah


Doctrines Covered

Doctrines Alluded To

Messianic Psalms

Angel of Jehovah

Sins of the Tongue

Peace

The Method of Salvation


I ntroduction: Psalm 34 was written by David after he had escaped from Ahimelech, the ruler of Gath, a major Philistine city (I Sam. 21:10–15). There is no telling whether this psalm began to formulate in David’s mind as he feigned madness, but my thinking is, David named his sins to God after leaving Gath, thought back on this experience, and then wrote the psalm. As David has to be filled with the Holy Spirit or empowered by the Holy Spirit when he writes Scripture, it would not make sense for him to be out of fellowship (as he apparently is in I Sam. 21), and still to write this psalm (or Psalm 56, which was apparently written at the same time). That God would still protect him, even though he is not guided or empowered by the Holy Spirit testifies to the faithfulness of God, despite David’s initial lack of confidence in God.


Psalm 34, interestingly enough, is thought to be one of the Messianic Psalms. Therefore, this leads us to the Doctrine of the Messianic Psalms, which we will examine first.


Psalm 34 is called an acrostic psalm, as each verse (more or less) begins with successive letters of the alphabet (the Emphasized Bible calls it an alphabetical psalm, which is a good English understanding). Interestingly enough, the wâw (ו), which is by far the most common letter to begin a sentence in Hebrew narrative, at first appear to be omitted. Psalm 25, also written by David, is also an acrostic psalm with the wâw missing (it’s time frame is less well-defined). However, in this psalm, the wâw does occur in the midst of v. 6, after the hê, which is where it should be found. But the rest of the letters begin pair of lines. Also, the final verse, v. 22 (v. 23 in the Hebrew), does not begin with the next letter in the alphabet, as we have run out of letters at the previous verse. The 17th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, פ (pê), which begins v. 16, is repeated. These verses are opposite sides of the same coin: in v. 16, we have the disapprobation of God to those who have rejected Him (evildoers); and eternal approbation toward those who trust in Him.


in this psalm, David both praises and blesses Jehovah God, and exhorts others to join him in this (vv. 1–3). He speaks of God delivering him, and how God provides protection for His own (vv. 4–7). David then exhorts those listening to or reading this psalm to taste Jehovah, to see that He is good (vv. 8–9). Even though lions might go hungry, the believer will be provided for (v. 10). Then David promises to teach the listening the fear of Jehovah, which includes avoiding sins of the tongue, avoiding evil and seeking peace (vv. 11–14). God pays attention to and protects those who are His (vv. 15, 17–18) and is against those who are not (v. 16). David warns that the righteous will suffer to some degree (v. 19), but that there will be limits on this suffering (v. 20). Those who stand condemned will be slain by evil (v. 21), but God will redeem the soul of the righteous (v. 22).


The outline of a psalm is occasionally given simply to help us break the psalm down into bite-sized pieces. However, here there are portions of this psalm which demand separation from the rest of the psalm. In vv. 8–14, we have a series of imperatives which all end with the word good. What David is giving here is the spiritual way of life for the Old Testament believer. Later, at the very end of this psalm, David takes a radical departure from his problems and how he has trusted God, and he takes us to the cross, and the basis of our salvation. What we find in these final 4 verses (vv. 19–22) is a stanza with a double-meaning; it can be applied to David and his situation and it also applies to the Messiah and His work on our behalf on the cross.


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Psalm 34 Inscription

Slavishly literal:

 

Moderately literal:

To David in his changing of his taste to faces of Abimelech and so he casts him out and so he goes.

Psalm

34 inscription

Belonging to David (when he changed his behavior before Abimelech and he drove him away and he departed.

Written by David when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, causing Abimelech to remove him from Gath.


Here is how others have translated this verse:


Early translations:

 

The Septuagint                      By David, when he changed his countenance before Abimelech; and he let him go and he departed.


Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

 

CEV                                       [Written by David when he pretended to be crazy in front of Abimelech, so that Abimelech would send him away, and David could leave.]

NLT                                A psalm of David, regarding the time he pretended to be insane in front of Abimelech, who sent him away.

TEV                                       In Praise of God’s Goodness [HEBREW TITLE: By David, who left the presence of Abimelech after pretending to be crazy and being sent away by him].


Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

 

Updated Emphasized Bible   David’s. When he disguised his sanity before Abimelech, —who dismissed him and he departed. [An alphabetical psalm.]

God’s Word                         By David when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech; Abimelech threw him out, so David left.

JPS (Tanakh)                        Of David, when he feigned madness in the presence of Abimelech, who turned him out, and he left. [This is v. 1 in the JPS, although presented as a title or inscription; all subsequent verses will be off by one].


Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

 

NASB                                    A Psalm of David when he feigned madness before Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed.

Young's Updated LT              By David, in his changing his behaviour before Abimelech, and he drives him away, and he goes.


What is the gist of this verse? This tells us that David wrote this psalm either while feigning insanity before Ahimelech, the king of Gath, or while thinking back about it while he was escaping.


Psalm 34 inscription a

Hebrew/Pronunciation

Common English Meanings

Notes/Morphology

BDB and Strong’s Numbers

lâmed (ל) [pronounced le]

to, for, towards, in regards to, with reference to, as to, with regards to, belonging to

preposition

No Strong’s # BDB #510

Dâvid (ד̣וָ); also Dâvîyd (די.וָ) [pronounced daw-VEED]

beloved and is transliterated David

masculine proper noun

Strong’s #1732 BDB #187


Translation: Belonging to David... As we have seen many times before, the lâmed preposition plus David means that David wrote this psalm.


Psalm 34 inscription b

Hebrew/Pronunciation

Common English Meanings

Notes/Morphology

BDB and Strong’s Numbers

be (׃) [pronounced beh]

in, into, at, by, near, on, with, before, in the presence of, upon, against, by means of, among, within

a preposition of proximity

Strong’s# none BDB #88

When verbs in the infinitive construct are preceded by the bêyth preposition, be acts as a temporal conjunction; that is, in their being created = when they were created (Gen. 2:4); in their being in the field = when they were in the field (Gen. 4:8). Footnote

shânâh (הָנ ָש) [pronounced shaw-NAW]

to change, to vary; to transfer to another place; to deform

Piel infinitive construct with the 3rd person masculine singular suffix

Strong’s #8138 BDB #1039

êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]

generally untranslated

indicates that the following substantive is a direct object

Strong's #853 BDB #84

ţa׳am (םַע ַט) [pronounced TAH-ģahm]

taste, flavor of food; taste [in the sense of personal judgment], discretion; sentence of a king, a royal decree, behavior

masculine singular noun with the 3rd person masculine singular suffix

Strong’s #2940 BDB #381

lâmed (ל) [pronounced le]

to, for, towards, in regards to

preposition

No Strong’s # BDB #510

pânîym (םי̣נָ) [pronounced paw-NEEM]

face, faces; presence

masculine plural construct (plural acts like English singular)

Strong’s #6440 BDB #815

Together, they mean upon the face of, before, before the face of, in the presence of, in the sight of, in front of. When used with God, it can take on the more figurative meaning in the judgment of.

ăbiymeleke (∵ל∵מי.ב ֲא) [pronounced ub-vee-MEH-lek]

my father is Melek, my father is king; transliterated Abimelech

masculine singular proper noun

Strong’s #40 BDB #4

We would have expected rather to find âkîysh (שי.כָא) [pronounced aw-KEESH], which is transliterated Achish. Strong’s #397 BDB #37.


Translation: ...(when he changed his behavior before Abimelech... The bêyth preposition combined with an infinitive construct gives us often a temporal sense; therefore, this psalm was written while thinking back to changing his behavior before Abimelech (it would have been difficult to write it while acting crazy). This takes us back to I Sam. 21:10–15.


In I Sam. 21:10–12, 14, the king of Gath is named Achish rather than Abimelech. Therefore, we need to explain that.

Why Do We Have Abimelech here rather than Achish?

Before we actually begin with the various theories, we ought to examine a few facts first:

1.    The two names Achish and Abimelech) are actually closer in the Hebrew than we might imagine. The first 3 letters are almost identical; the bêyth (ב) is often confounded with the kaph (כ).

2.    We find Achish in I Sam. 21, 27–29 and in I Kings 2; although we are probably speaking of the same person in Samuel, it is likely a different king of Gath in I Kings (he is called the son of Maoch in I Sam. 27:2 and the son of Maacah in I Kings 2:39, which names are also actually pretty close).

3.    There is an Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gen. 26:1, 8, during the time of Isaac.

4.    In the Hebrew, Abimelech means my father is Melek or my father is king. It was not an uncommon name among the Jews—the son of Gideon had that name (Judges 8:31—he, by the way, was the actual first king of Israel), as did a priest during David’s time (I Chron. 18:16).

5.    There are only two names for Philistine kings given in Scripture: Achish and Abimelech.

1.    The simplest explanation, which I have not seen elsewhere is, Abimelech would be a natural designation for Achish, as Achish is the son of Maoch and Abimelech means son of a king; it would be a play on words. Maacah may come from the Hebrew word for to press, to oppress; which could also designate a ruler of sorts. Given the friendship which apparently blossomed between David and Achish, David may not have wanted to specify his friend by name, so he calls him son of a king instead.

2.    Given the meanings for this in the Hebrew, it is very reasonable that Abimelech is actually a Jewish designation for the king of Gath. This designation could be based upon the play of words referenced above.

3.    Since we find Abimelech king of Gath in Gen. 26 and in Psalm 34, we might reasonably suppose that this is a title more than the personal name for the king of Gath, which is the standard explanation which is given by most commentators. The title Abimelech for the Philistines is similar to the title pharaoh in Egypt. Gleason Archer gives us additional illustrations of Persian and Mede kings as well in The Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties; Zondervan Publishing House; ©1982; p. 244. Given that this was the case for many kings of surrounding nations, this gives us added reason to assume that this is true for the Philistines.

4.    A fourth explanation is that Abimelech was just another name for Achish, just as Solomon had two names (Jedidiah—II Sam. 12:25) and as Gideon had two names (Jerubbaal—Judges 6:32 7:1).

5.    The final possible explanation is that this was simply a blunder on the part of a copyist later on down the line or an error on the part of someone who added these titles to the psalms long after the fact. This is the least likely explanation.

A reasonable question is: okay, so David uses a different name for Achish here; in Psalm 34, David calls him Abimelech; why? At the time that David wrote this psalm, he was in fear for his life and he feared Achish (I Sam. 21:12). However, after that point in time, David actually became friends with Achish and they trusted one another (I Sam. 27–29). So, David’s final memories of Achish were as of a friend. However, writing a psalm about fearing a friend makes little sense; so David gave Achish the more formal title of being king, as the son of a king. If this explanation is true, that would indicate that David wrote the psalm before he became friends with Achish but he possibly added this title after he had become friends with Achish. This would make sense that David would affix some sort of title to each of his psalms when he handed them over to the court choir (or, the musical conductor added these titles, as dictated by David). This would make more sense than David writing a psalm of David at the beginning of every psalm when he writes the psalm. A good writer rarely starts out with the title first and then a by-line second. A good writer begins with the writing and adds a title and by-line later.

Whereas this explanation is simple, there have been believers who have questioned the inspiration of Holy Write over this apparent, but not actual, discrepancy. Realize, when you are dealing with Scripture, and you think that you have come across a contradiction, bear in mind that the contradiction is really in the mind of the reader. You are either misreading or misunderstanding one or more passages; or you lack some key information which would explain the apparent contradiction. McGee gives the illustration of a Bible institute student who came to him and was very distressed by this apparent contradiction. Footnote


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Psalm 34 inscription c

Hebrew/Pronunciation

Common English Meanings

Notes/Morphology

BDB and Strong’s Numbers

wa or va (ַו) [pronounced wah]

and so, then

wâw consecutive

No Strong’s # BDB #253

gârash (שַרָ) [pronounced gaw-RASH]

to cast out, to throw out, to drive out

3rd person masculine singular, Piel imperfect with the 3rd person masculine singular suffix

Strong's #1644 BDB #176

wa or va (ַו) [pronounced wah]

and so, then

wâw consecutive

No Strong’s # BDB #253

hâlake ( ַל ָה) [pronounced haw-LAHKe]

to go, to come, to depart, to walk; to advance

3rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect

Strong’s #1980 (and #3212) BDB #229


Translation: ...and he drove him away and he departed. Ahimelech is not worried about David, but he apparently wants David out of his palace and probably out of town. David shared his sentiments.


We should set the scene for this psalm as we did for Psalm 56. David, in I Sam. 21, was running for his life in fear of Saul. He went to Nob, the city of priests, and endangered their lives (and he did not reveal that he was a fugitive). Then he went to Gath, a city of Philistines, and many of them were probably related to men that David had killed in battle. Furthermore, he had killed the greatest national hero, Goliath. However, he shows up there not as a conquering hero, but as a man needing refuge; and when that doesn’t seem to play well, then he presents himself as an insane person, which is what causes him to write this psalm. What doesn’t seem to cross his mind is that, he is endangering Israel by going to Gath and pretending to be insane. This tells the king of Gath, as well as all the people of Gath, that Israel’s greatest hero is no longer a threat. In other words, prior to this psalm, David exhibited some atrocious and faithless behavior (I am grading him on an objective scale of merit, not on a comparative scale with myself, as I would only come out looking much worse in similar circumstances). In Psalm 56, David rebounded—he named his sins to God, and for that psalm and this (and for his subsequent travels in Israel as a fugitive), David is back in fellowship. Therefore, these psalms will be written from a position of strength, even though David is probably alone (or with a very small group—a possibility that I doubt) and a fugitive.


You will recall just how carefully David structured Psalm 56? David also has given structure to this psalm, but a very different sort of structure. Each stanza begins with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The letter is not by itself in the Hebrew; it is the first letter of the first word of each stanza. Some translations demonstrate this. The NJB and the JPS both put the Hebrew letter to the left of each stanza (a separate Hebrew letter does not occur in the Hebrew); and Rotherham precedes each stanza with the name of the letter written out. It would be equally accurate to precede each verse with a verse number (which is done in virtually every translation for every verse). In order to write this, David simply has to choose the first word of each verse so that it begins with the proper letter.


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David Praises Jehovah God


Slavishly literal:

 

Moderately literal:

I praise Yehowah in every time;

continually his praise [is] in my mouth.

Psalm

34:1

I will praise Yehowah at all times;

[my] praise for Him [lit., his praise] is continually on my lips [lit., in my mouth].

I will praise Yehowah in all situations;

my praise for Him is continually on my lips.


Here is how others have handled this verse:


Early translations:

 

The Septuagint                      I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise is continually in my mouth.


Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

 

CEV                                       I will always praise the Lord.

NJB                                        I will bless Yahweh at all times,

his praise continually on my lips.

NLT                                I will praise the Lord at all times.

I will constantly speak his praises.


Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

 

JPS (Tanakh)         א             I bless the Lord at all times;

praise of Him is ever in my mouth.


Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

 

God’s Word                         I will thank the Lord at all times.

My mouth will always praise him.

NASB                                    I will bless the Lord at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

 

Young's Updated LT              I do bless Jehovah at all times,

Continually His praise is in my mouth.


What is the gist of this verse? David can celebrate God’s care and guidance in all situations.


Psalm 34:1a

Hebrew/Pronunciation

Common English Meanings

Notes/Morphology

BDB and Strong’s Numbers

bârake ( ַר ָ) [pronounced baw-RAHKe]

to invoke God, to praise, to celebrate, to adore, to bless [God]; to bless [men], to invoke blessings; to bless [as God, man and other created things], therefore to cause to prosper, to make happy; to salute anyone [with a blessing]; to curse

1st person singular, Piel imperfect

Strong’s #1288 BDB #138

êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]

generally untranslated

indicates that the following substantive is a direct object

Strong's #853 BDB #84

YHWH (הוהי) [pronunciation is possibly yhoh-WAH]

transliterated variously as Jehovah, Yahweh, Yehowah

proper noun

Strong’s #3068 BDB #217

be (׃) [pronounced beh]

in, into, at, by, near, on, with, before, in the presence of, upon, against, by means of, among, within

a preposition of proximity

Strong’s# none BDB #88

kôl (לֹ) [pronounced kohl]

every, each, all of, all; any of

masculine singular construct not followed by a definite article

Strong’s #3605 BDB #481

׳êth (ת ֵע) [pronounced ģayth]

time, the right time, the proper time

feminine singular noun

Strong’s #6256 BDB #773


Translation: I will praise Yehowah at all times;... David, although he has spent the previous week or month out of fellowship, is now back in fellowship, and he recognizes that God is on his side in all circumstances. This is a very difficult thing to learn and to act upon. I have gone through some difficult times over the past several years, there were times when I was able to recognize God’s hand and His guidance and there were times that I fail this test miserably. I know that throughout all of this, God has been faithful, even though I have not been. I know that I could always trust God, even though there were many times when I did not. This is where David is—his life has gone through some very difficult changes. He has gone from being a national hero to a national fugitive, and he had trouble initially with that change. However, God hasn’t changed and God’s promises and protection have never changed. My less than literal translation may better convey the concept of this half of v. 1: I will praise Yehowah in all situations.

 

Barnes comments on at all times: In every situation of life; in every event that occurs. The idea is, that he would do it publicly and privately; in prosperity and in adversity; in safety and in danger; in joy and in sorrow. It would be a great principle of his life, expressive of the deep feeling of his soul, that God was always to be regarded as an object of adoration and praise. Footnote


Now you may think, well, sure David is praising God; God just delivered him from the hand of Abimelech. David put himself in that position. He was still being hunted by Saul, which is going to go on for the remainder of the book of I Samuel. So David is praising God, despite the fact that he was still in danger.


Psalm 34:1b

Hebrew/Pronunciation

Common English Meanings

Notes/Morphology

BDB and Strong’s Numbers

tâmîyd (די.מ ָ) [pronounced taw-MEED]

continuously, continuity

masculine singular noun/adverb

Strong’s #8548 BDB #556

tehîllâh (ה- ̣ה ) [pronounced tehil-LAW]

praise, a song of praise

feminine singular noun with a 3rd person masculine singular suffix

Strong’s #8416 BDB #239

be (׃) [pronounced beh]

in, into, at, by, near, on, with, before, in the presence of, upon, against, by means of, among, within

a preposition of proximity

Strong’s# none BDB #88

peh (ה) [pronounced peh]