Humanistic Tradition 7th Edition Fiero

Solutions Manual
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Chapter 07 Instructor’s Manual Resources

Study Questions
Factual
1. When is Confucius thought to have lived? Why did he become a central figure in Chinese
culture?
2. What subjects are covered in the Five Chinese Classics?
3. Briefly describe the teachings in the Confucian Analects. Do they fall in the category of
religion, politics, or ethics?
4. How did Mencius view the role of the state?
5. How did Legalism modify Confucian ideals?
6. What were some of the main achievements of the Qin dynasty? The Han dynasty?
7. Why is Han culture called “classical”?
8. Name some of the technological achievements of the Chinese between 300 B.C.E. and
300 C.E.
9. What evidence of Chinese aristocratic life is provided by Han burial artifacts?
10. What similarities can be drawn between the Roman rise to empire and the Chinese rise to
empire?

Challenge
1. What are the principal themes to be found in the Confucian Analects? Give examples of these
by specific numbers from the Analects of Confucius. What do these teachings suggest about
Chinese values? How does this work compare with Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics?
2. Offer an argument in favor of Mencius’ view of human nature; then offer one that supports
the Legalist viewpoint. Which do you believe is more persuasive? Why?
3. What features of classical Chinese society may be called “practical” and “materialistic”?
What features might be called “mystical” and “intuitive”? Give specific examples.
4. Discuss the similarities between the cultures of ancient Rome and China in the areas of
technology and engineering. Give specific examples.
5. Most of what we know about the Qin and Han empires comes from their tombs. Most of
what we know about Rome comes from its public monuments. What does this reveal about
the differences between these two civilizations?
6. What insights into Chinese society and values are revealed in the selection of Chinese poetry
(From a Selection of Han Poems)? How do these concerns differ from those found in the
selection of Roman poems in Chapter 6?
7. What limitations do Western students encounter when they attempt to understand Eastern
cultures? Are we able to know as much about ancient China as we do about ancient Rome?
8. Research the bronze bells of Marquis Yi of Zeng. Similar sets of bells appear in numerous
Chinese graves through the Ming era. What role might these bells have played in Chinese
life?
9. In what evidence do we find the principles discussed in Chapter 3, such as the natural order,
yin/yang, and the Mandate of Heaven, still operating in the Qin and Han empires? Give
specific examples.

IM – 7 | 1
10. China’s royal tomb burials can be compared with those of Egypt. What similarities exist?
What differences?
11. Sima Qian (From Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian) holds that wealth and virtue
are interchangeable; would Confucius agree? Why or why not?

Strategies for Discussion/Lecture

1. One obvious theme for lecture would be a comparison between the Qin and Han
consolidation of territory and culture and that of the Roman Empire. The “rise to empire”
theme can be better confronted by students who have prepared a mini-theme on Factual
question #10. A second focus: the significance of this era in Chinese history as a classical
age. Here the definition of “classical” may be revisited, with examples drawn from the
enduring aspects of Chinese culture: language, the Confucian tradition, techniques in the arts,
lyric poetry, and so on.
2. Confucius was a civilizing force in Chinese society. Invite class discussion as to why this has
been the case. Then ask students to identify those figures from Greco-Roman culture who
have been similarly “civilizing” in Western society and culture. Are we Westerners, as
Shelley suggested, “all Greeks”? Are the Chinese “children of the Han”? Some scholars
argue that the sixth to fifth centuries B.C.E. constituted an “Axis Age” in which emerged
such important figures as Zoroaster, Socrates, Pythagoras, and Confucius. Discussion on the
relationship between these figures works as effective review of Chapters 2 through 7.
3. As an effort at synthesizing the materials in the unit “The Classical Legacy,” the lecturer
might pose a series of questions and ask students to answer them according to how they
believe each of the cultures discussed in the unit (Greek, Roman, Chinese) might respond.
The class might be divided into Greeks, Romans, and Chinese; each group would have a
“say” in responding to such questions as: “What is my attitude toward the gods?” “What are
the obligations of a wife?” “Would I want to be a soldier in this society?” “How does one
best prepare for death?” “Which is more important, the family or the state?” “What kind of
education is most valuable?” “Is freedom essential to the good life?”
4. Research on the Qin and Han dynasty yields a wealth of information from recent
archeological discoveries. The actual tomb of the First Emperor has yet to be uncovered, and
it is likely that our knowledge of the Qin era will change in time. Nevertheless, students
might be encouraged to read further in Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian and to
assess the extent to which Sima’s reports are trustworthy. Were they written to glorify the
imperial position? Is Sima more objective than, say, Virgil or Livy?

IM – 7 | 2
Another random document with
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 ¹ Or, before.

8. over all Israel] in 2 Samuel v. 17, over Israel. In both passages

the reference is to the later anointing by the whole people (2 Samuel
v. 3).

all the Philistines] David, as king of Judah, was of little or no

political importance to the Philistines; as king of united Israel, he
became a possible menace, and was accordingly attacked without
delay.

went up] i.e. from their own low-lying territory by the sea into the
hill-country of Judah.

went out against them] margin went out before them, i.e.
anticipated them, did not wait for them to attack him. In 2 Samuel v.
17 went down to the hold, an expression which might refer to some
part of the difficult hill-country of Judah in which he had long defied
Saul, or may mean the “hold” of Jerusalem, which David had seized
from the Jebusites (see note on xi. 5).

⁹Now the Philistines had come and made a

raid in the valley of Rephaim.
9. the valley of Rephaim] probably the shallow valley, now called
Beḳā‘a, across which runs the road from Jerusalem to Beth-lehem
(Bädeker, Palestine⁵, pp. 15, 99).

¹⁰And David inquired of God, saying, Shall I go

up against the Philistines? and wilt thou
deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord
said unto him, Go up; for I will deliver them
into thine hand.
 10. inquired of God] doubtless by means of the sacred lot, the
Urim and Thummim (see Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible s.v., and
Kirkpatrick’s notes on 1 Samuel x. 22, xxiii. 6).

¹¹So they came up to Baal-perazim, and David

smote them there; and David said, God hath
broken ¹ mine enemies by mine hand, like the
breach of waters. Therefore they called the
name of that place Baal-perazim ².
¹ Or, broken forth upon mine enemies.

² That is, The place of breakings forth.

11. Baal-perazim] probably to be identified with the Mount

Perazim of Isaiah xxviii. 21, but the situation is unknown.

like the breach of waters] i.e. like the breach made by waters,
Probably the scene of the victory was a hill deeply scarred with
watercourses. The force with which God broke through the army of
the Philistines is compared with that of a torrent bursting forth from
the hill-side or forcing its way through all obstacles. Baal-perazim =
the Lord of breakings forth, i.e. upon the foe.

¹²And they left their gods there; and David

gave commandment, and they were burned
with fire.
12. David gave commandment, and they were burned] In 2
Samuel v. 21 (Revised Version) David and his men took them away.
The Chronicler alters this statement so as to make David’s conduct
agree with the Law (Deuteronomy vii. 5, 25) which enjoined that
graven images were to be burnt with fire.
 ¹³And the Philistines yet again made a raid in
the valley.
13. yet again] This invasion of “all the Philistines” (verse 8) was
too serious to be repelled by a single defeat.

in the valley] in 2 Samuel v. 22, in the valley of Rephaim, as in

verse 9 above.

¹⁴And David inquired again of God; and God

said unto him, Thou shalt not go up after
them: turn away from them, and come upon
them over against the mulberry ¹ trees.
¹ Or, balsam trees.

14. Thou shalt not go up after them] In 2 Samuel v. 23 the words

after them are connected with the following verb: Thou shalt not go
up: make a circuit behind them. In Samuel the command is to assail
the rear of the enemy, in Chronicles to avoid the rear (which was
perhaps protected by a rear-guard) and to attack (presumably) the
flank. The reading in Chronicles is to be preferred as a harder
reading, which yields good sense on examination.

from them] The Hebrew word suggests that David occupied a

commanding position from which he would be tempted to attack.

over against the mulberry trees] Render, along, parallel to. The
line of David’s attack is to be parallel to a line of mulberry trees (or to
a ridge on which mulberry trees stood) situate probably at right
angles to the line of the Philistine march. Thus David’s advance
would be concealed from the Philistines until the very moment of the
attack, which would fall on the flank of the Philistine march.
 mulberry trees] or, as margin, balsam trees. Some kind of tree or
shrub from which gum exudes seems to be meant.

¹⁵And it shall be, when thou hearest the sound

of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees,
that then thou shalt go out to battle: for God is
gone out before thee to smite the host of the
Philistines.
15. the sound of marching] the sound of the wind in the trees is to
be taken as an omen from Jehovah, indicating the favourable
moment for the assault. The Targum, characteristically, has the
sound of angels coming to thy help.

thou shalt go out to battle] Samuel has a more vivid phrase, thou
shalt bestir thyself.

¹⁶And David did as God commanded him: and

they smote the host of the Philistines from
Gibeon ¹ even to Gezer. ¹⁷And the fame of
David went out into all lands; and the Lord
brought the fear of him upon all nations.
¹ In 2 Samuel v. 25, Geba.

16. smote the host of the Philistines from Gibeon even to Gezer]
This victory was decisive; the main army of the Philistines was
routed.

Gezer] compare vi. 67, note.

 Chapter XV.
1‒24.
David’s Preparations for Bringing the Ark to Jerusalem.

There is no parallel in Samuel to this section.

In 2 Samuel vi. 12 the reason given for the renewal of David’s

attempt to bring the Ark to Jerusalem is the report of the blessing
which was said to have befallen Obed-edom, in whose house the
Ark had been left. The Chronicler is not ignorant of this tradition
since he refers to it incidentally in xiii. 14, but it would be very far
from his sense of the fitness of things to adduce it as the motive for
David’s action. On the contrary he declares in this section that David
was prompted by a realisation that the ill-success of the first attempt
was due to failure to observe the regulations of the Levitical Law. Full
attention now being given to the prescribed ritual, David succeeds in
his pious purpose.

¹And David made him houses in the city of

David; and he prepared a place for the ark of
God, and pitched for it a tent.
1. made him houses] Compare 2 Samuel v. 9.

a tent] a new tent, not the old tabernacle which the Chronicler
believed to be at Gibeon (see xvi. 39).

²Then David said, None ought to carry the ark

of God but the Levites: for them hath the Lord
chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister
unto him for ever.
2. None ... but the Levites] Numbers i. 50, vii. 9. Nothing is said in
the parallel place (2 Samuel vi. 13) of the Levites, but bearers (and
not a cart) are spoken of with regard to this second attempt.
Compare 2 Chronicles v. 4, note.

³And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem,

to bring up the ark of the Lord unto its place,
which he had prepared for it. ⁴And David
gathered together the sons of Aaron, and the
Levites:
3. assembled all Israel] It was a solemn religious assembly
(Hebrew Ḳāhāl, Greek ἐκκλησία).

⁵of the sons of Kohath; Uriel the chief, and his

brethren an hundred and twenty: ⁶of the sons
of Merari; Asaiah the chief, and his brethren
two hundred and twenty: ⁷of the sons of
Gershom; Joel the chief, and his brethren an
hundred and thirty: ⁸of the sons of Elizaphan;
Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two
hundred: ⁹of the sons of Hebron; Eliel the
chief, and his brethren fourscore: ¹⁰of the sons
of Uzziel; Amminadab the chief, and his
brethren an hundred and twelve.
5‒10. Remark that besides the three great Levitical divisions,
Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites, three additional classes
(sons of Elizaphan, of Hebron, and of Uzziel) are given in verses 8‒
10. This unusual sixfold division, and the smallness of the numbers
of Levites have been taken as indicating that the whole passage xv.
1‒15 is drawn by the Chronicler from an earlier source, but the
argument is not convincing. “The text does not imply that Elizaphan,
Hebron, and Uzziel were coordinated with Kohath, Gershom, and
Merari”; and the small numbers are accounted for by the view that
only selected Levites were chosen for the task (so Curtis,
Chronicles, p. 127).

5. the sons of Kohath; Uriel] Kohath had four sons (Exodus vi. 18
= 1 Chronicles vi. 18): Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Here the
descendants of Amram (exclusive of the priests, the Aaronites)
represented by Uriel head the list (verse 5), and the descendants of
Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel appear in verses 8, 9, 10 respectively.
Elizaphan (verse 8) either stands for the Izhar of Exodus vi. 18, or is
the name of some prominent descendant of Izhar after whom the
whole family was named. He is mentioned again in 2 Chronicles
xxix. 13. As regards number the Kohathites were 512 against 350 of
the sons of Merari and the sons of Gershom combined. In vi. 60‒63
(45‒48, Hebrew) 23 cities are reckoned to Kohath against 25 to
Merari and Gershom combined. The Kohathites formed the largest
and most important of the three divisions of the Levites.

¹¹And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the

priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah,
and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and
Amminadab,
11. Zadok and Abiathar] This double priesthood (2 Samuel viii.
17, xv. 29, 35, xix. 11, xx. 25) came to an end in the reign of
Solomon (1 Kings ii. 27, 35). Zadok is always mentioned first as
being descended from Eleazar the third son of Aaron, while Ithamar
from whom Abiathar (Ahimelech) was descended through Eli (1
Kings ii. 27) was the fourth son (xxiv. 1, 3). In two of the passages
quoted in this note Abiathar (probably being confused with his father)
is called Ahimelech or Abimelech (2 Samuel viii. 17 = 1 Chronicles
xviii. 16; 1 Chronicles xxiv. 3). Conversely in Mark ii. 26 Ahimelech is
called Abiathar. In the Chronicler’s list of high-priests (vi. 4‒14)
Zadok alone is mentioned, the line of Eleazar alone being given.
 the priests] Only the two chief priests are mentioned here. Other
priests blew with the trumpets in front of the Ark (verse 24).

¹²and said unto them, Ye are the heads of the

fathers’ houses of the Levites: sanctify
yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye
may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of
Israel, unto the place that I have prepared for
it.
12. sanctify yourselves] Compare 2 Chronicles xxix. 5. For the
method of sanctifying compare Exodus xix. 10, 15.

¹³For because ye bare it not at the first, the

Lord our God made a breach upon us, for
that we sought him not according to the
ordinance. ¹⁴So the priests and the Levites
sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of
the Lord, the God of Israel.
13. made a breach] xiii. 11, xiv. 11 (compare margin).

we sought him not] i.e. God; but a better rendering is we sought

not unto it. Compare note on xiii. 3.

according to the ordinance] For its observance, see verse 15.

¹⁵And the children of the Levites bare the ark

of God upon their shoulders with the staves
thereon, as Moses commanded according to
the word of the Lord.
 15. the children of the Levites bare ... upon their shoulders] in
accordance with the regulation of Numbers i. 50, vii. 9, which was
not observed in the first attempt when the Ark was placed in a cart,
xiii. 7.

the staves] Exodus xxv. 13, 14.

¹⁶And David spake to the chief of the Levites

to appoint their brethren the singers, with
instruments of music, psalteries and harps
and cymbals, sounding aloud and lifting up the
voice with joy.
16. psalteries] See note on xiii. 8.

¹⁷So the Levites appointed Heman the son of

Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of
Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their
brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah;
17. Heman the son of Joel] a descendant of Samuel the prophet;
vi. 33 (vi. 18, Hebrew). Compare Psalms lxxxviii. (title). As Heman
was descended from Kohath, Asaph from Gershom, and Ethan from
Merari, each division of the Levites was represented by a chief
musician. Heman was king’s seer (xxv. 5).

Asaph the son of Berechiah] a descendant of Gershom; vi. 39‒43

(24‒28, Hebrew). Asaph was the chief of the musicians; xvi. 5, 7.
One of the small collections of Psalms from which our Psalter was
compiled was named after him; compare the titles of Psalms l.,
lxxiii.‒lxxxiii.

Ethan the son of Kushaiah] a descendant of Merari; vi. 44‒47.

Compare Psalms lxxxix. (title). He is apparently called Jeduthun in
xxv. 1‒6. See also the note on xvi. 41.
 18‒24. These verses present several obscurities which can
hardly be explained except by the supposition that the original text of
the Chronicler has been added to by a later writer with intricate
results. Several reconstructions are possible, the most plausible
being that of Curtis which is followed in these notes.

¹⁸and with them their brethren of the second

degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and
Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and
Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and
Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom,
and Jeiel, the doorkeepers.
18. their brethren of the second degree] Read rather their twelve
brethren: twelve being the number of names from Zechariah to
Mikneiah. The last two, Obed-edom and Jeiel, were “doorkeepers,”
not “singers,” although they were mistakenly supposed to belong to
the list of singers by the author of verses 19‒21 (see further
regarding Obed-edom the note on xvi. 38).

Ben] This word, which means “son,” is an error. Read probably

Bani.

the doorkeepers] See the notes on ix. 17.

¹⁹So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan,

were appointed, with cymbals of brass to
sound aloud;
19‒21. Probably an addition interpolated by someone interested
in the detailed organisation of the Levitical choirs. The names are
taken from verse 18, except that Ben is omitted, and a new name
Azaziah is added at the end of the list. Since Obed-edom and Jeiel
are included among the singers here, the reading “of the second
degree” (which is regarded above as an error for an original “twelve”:
a slight change in Hebrew) must have been found in the text of verse
18 which the interpolator used.

to sound aloud] The cymbals mark the time for the other
instruments.

²⁰and Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth,

and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and
Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries set to
Alamoth;
20. set to Alamoth] an obscure phrase, its musical significance
being uncertain; compare Psalms xlvi. (title), Revised Version.

²¹and Mattithiah, and Eliphelehu, and

Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, and
Azaziah, with harps set to the Sheminith, to
lead.
21. set to the Sheminith] As in the case of Alamoth, the precise
musical significance of Sheminith is obscure. Compare Psalms vi.
(title, Revised Version margin).

²²And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was

over the song ¹: he instructed about the song ¹,
because he was skilful.
¹ Or, the carrying of the ark Hebrew the lifting up.

22. was over the song] The Hebrew word (massa) here twice
rendered “song” means “uplifting,” either of the voice in song, or in a
physical sense = “burden”; hence margin was over the carrying of
the ark.
 ²³And Berechiah and Elkanah were
doorkeepers for the ark.
23. were doorkeepers for the ark] The same statement is made in
verse 24 concerning Obed-edom and Jehiah (= Jeiel)! On Curtis’
view, this verse was added by the same writer as verses 19‒21,
who, having taken Obed-edom and Jeiel as part of the list of singers
in verse 18 no doubt thought that the names of the doorkeepers (the
last word of verse 18) had somehow been omitted. He supplied
therefore here the names Berechiah and Elkanah (taken perhaps
from ix. 16). A still later writer has attempted to put matters straight
by further adding at the conclusion of verse 24 “and Obed-edom and
Jehiah (Jeiel) were doorkeepers for the ark.”

²⁴And Shebaniah, and Joshaphat, and

Nethanel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and
Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, did blow with
the trumpets before the ark of God: and Obed-
edom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the
ark.
24. the priests] In Numbers x. 1‒10 it is enjoined to make two
silver trumpets to be blown by the priests on days of joy and on
feast-days. This festal trumpet was different from the “cornet” (verse
28), properly a ram’s horn, which was freely used for secular
purposes. See Driver, Amos, pp. 144 ff. (with illustrations).

25‒XVI. 3 (compare 2 Samuel vi. 12‒20).

The Bringing Home of the Ark. Michal despises David.

²⁵So David, and the elders of Israel, and the

captains over thousands, went to bring up the
ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the
house of Obed-edom with joy: ²⁶and it came to
 pass, when God helped the Levites that bare
the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that they
sacrificed seven bullocks and seven rams.
26. when God helped the Levites] In 2 Samuel vi. 13, when they
that bare the ark of the Lord had gone six paces. The Chronicler
interprets the safe start as a sign of Divine assistance.

seven bullocks and seven rams] In Samuel an ox and a fatling

(so Revised Version, not, oxen and fatlings as Authorized Version).
The smaller sacrifice of Samuel is represented as the king’s own
offering, the larger sacrifice of Chronicles as that of the king and his
elders combined.

²⁷And David was clothed with a robe of fine

linen, and all the Levites that bare the ark, and
the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the
song ¹ with the singers: and David had upon
him an ephod of linen.
¹ Or, the carrying of the ark Hebrew the lifting up.

27. of the song] margin, of the carrying of the ark. Compare verse
22, note.

an ephod of linen] worn exceptionally by David for the purpose of

the religious procession. A linen ephod was the ordinary vestment
for all priests (1 Samuel xxii. 18). The high-priest’s ephod was a
more elaborate garment (Exodus xxviii. 6‒12), fitted with the means
of divination (1 Samuel xxiii. 6, 9‒12).

²⁸Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the

covenant of the Lord with shouting, and with
 sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and
with cymbals, sounding aloud with psalteries
and harps.
28. with shouting] The Hebrew word (tĕrū‘ah) is technical in the
sense of a blast with the festal trumpets (Numbers x. 1‒10), and in
this sense it should be taken here, since the Chronicler has
expanded the account given in Samuel by introducing a mention of
these trumpets.

²⁹And it came to pass, as the ark of the

covenant of the Lord came to the city of
David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looked
out at the window, and saw king David
dancing and playing; and she despised him in
her heart.
29. playing] a synonym of dancing, obsolete in modern English.
The closest rendering is perhaps, leaping as in sport. The
unrestrained joyousness of this action might easily degenerate (as in
idolatrous worship) into licence. The Chronicler omits to say that the
dancing was “before the Lord” (2 Samuel vi. 16). David’s subsequent
interview with Michal (2 Samuel vi. verses 20‒23) is also passed
over in Chronicles.
 Chapter XVI.
¹And they brought in the ark of God, and set it
in the midst of the tent that David had pitched
for it: and they offered burnt offerings and
peace offerings before God.
1. the tent] Compare xv. 1, note.

they offered] In 2 Samuel vi. 17, David offered. The Chronicler

associates the elders with David as in xv. 26.

burnt offerings] Compare Leviticus i. 1‒9.

peace offerings] The “peace offering” (Hebrew shelem) was a

thank-offering or an offering made in expiation of a vow; compare
Proverbs vii. 14.

²And when David had made an end of offering

the burnt offering and the peace offerings, he
blessed the people in the name of the Lord.
2. blessed the people] Compare 2 Chronicles vi. 3.

³And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man

and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and
a portion of flesh ¹, and a cake of raisins.
¹ Or, of wine.
 3. a loaf of bread] A flat round cake such as is still made in Egypt
is meant.

a portion of flesh] margin “of wine.” The meaning of the Hebrew

word is unknown. Of flesh is rightly in italics here as in 2 Samuel vi.
19.

a cake of raisins] Compare Isaiah xvi. 7 (Revised Version) where

the same Hebrew word is used.

4‒6 (compare verses 37, 38).

David’s Arrangements for Ministration before the Ark.

⁴And he appointed certain of the Levites to

minister before the ark of the Lord, and to
celebrate and to thank and praise the Lord,
the God of Israel:
4. to celebrate] The literal meaning is to call to mind; compare
verse 12 (remember). Compare Psalms xxxviii., lxx. (titles).

⁵Asaph the chief, and second to him

Zechariah, Jeiel ¹, and Shemiramoth, and
Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah,
and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, with psalteries and
with harps; and Asaph with cymbals, sounding
aloud;
¹ In chapter xv. 18, Jaaziel.

5. Asaph] Compare xv. 17, note.

and Obed-edom] It is possible that the names Obed-edom, and

Jeiel and Asaph (in the latter part of the verse) have been inserted
by the interpolator who wrote xv. 19‒21 and wished to accommodate
these verses to the altered text in chapter xv.

⁶and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests with

trumpets continually, before the ark of the
covenant of God.
6. Benaiah and Jahaziel] Two priests for the two trumpets.

Benaiah] In xxvii. 5, 6 a Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest

(Revised Version) is mentioned who may possibly be identified with
the Benaiah who was one of the thirty heroes (xi. 24, 25). Compare
also xii. 27.

7‒36.
The Psalm of Praise.

⁷Then on that day did David first ordain ¹ to

give thanks unto the Lord, by the hand of
Asaph and his brethren.
¹ Or, make it the chief work.

The psalm which follows consists of Psalms cv. 1‒15, Psalms

xcvi. 1b‒13a, Psalms cvi. 1, 47, 48. It has been compiled from the
Psalms just mentioned and placed here as an utterance such as
would be appropriate to the situation. For detailed criticism as to the
original form and present text of these Psalms, the reader must be
referred to the commentaries on the Psalter. Only such comment is
here given as seems called for in their present setting.

8‒22 (= Psalms cv. 1‒15).

⁸O give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name;

Make known his doings among the peoples.
8, 9. These verses are perhaps based upon Isaiah xii. 4, 5.

⁹Sing unto him, sing praises unto him;

Talk ¹ ye of all his marvellous works.

¹⁰Glory ye in his holy name:

Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.

¹ Or, Meditate.

9. Talk ye] margin Meditate. Meditation leads to fresh

proclamation.

marvellous works] (compare verse 12). i.e. works beyond man’s

expectation; compare Genesis xviii. 14, Is anything too hard
(wonderful, Revised Version margin) for the Lord?

¹¹Seek ye the Lord and his strength;

Seek his face evermore.

11. and his strength] Perhaps (altering only the points of the
Hebrew word) and be ye strong. So LXX. καὶ ἰσχύσατε (in Psalms
cv. 4 καὶ κραταιώθητε). A promise is sometimes expressed in Hebrew
by the imperative.

¹²Remember his marvellous works that he hath done;

His wonders, and the judgements of his mouth;
12. His wonders] in particular, the marvels of the deliverance from
Egypt; Psalms cv. 27‒36.

¹³O ye seed of Israel his servant,

Ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

13. of Israel] Psalms cv. 6, of Abraham.

¹⁴He is the Lord our God:

His judgements are in all the earth.

14. His judgements are in all the earth] Compare verses 20‒22.

¹⁵Remember his covenant for ever,

The word which he commanded to a thousand

generations;

¹⁶The covenant which he made with Abraham,

And his oath unto Isaac;

¹⁷And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a statute,

To Israel for an everlasting covenant:

 15. Remember] Read (with Psalms cv. 8) He hath remembered.
Compare Exodus xxiv. 3‒8, xxxiv. 10‒27.

¹⁸Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan,

The lot ¹ of your inheritance:

¹ Hebrew cord, or, line.

18. The lot] The Hebrew word (“ḥebel”) means a portion not
assigned by lot but measured by line; compare margin Canaan is co-
extensive with Israel’s inheritance.

inheritance] All nations receive an inheritance from God;

Deuteronomy xxxii. 8.

¹⁹When ye were but a few men in number;

Yea, very few, and sojourners in it;

19. When ye were] Psalms cv. 12, When they were.

sojourners] The patriarchs were not simply strangers, but

strangers who made a long sojourn in Canaan.

²⁰And they went about from nation to nation,

And from one kingdom to another people.

20. kingdom ... people] The “kingdom” is Egypt (Genesis xii.); the
“people” the Canaanite and Perizzite (Genesis xiii.).

²¹He suffered no man to do them wrong;