The psalmist mourns and weeps in Psalm 74 over all the burned synagogues and study halls: the Philistines destroyed the Tabernacle of Shiloh; Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the First Temple. Jews have been in exile for so long, without seeing any signs of redemption! When will redemption finally come?
- Text Psalm 74
- Hebrew text of Psalm 74 – תהילים עד
- Listen to Psalm 74
- Explanation of Psalm 74 by Rabbi Ya’akov Trump
- Commentary by Rashi on Psalm 74
- Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
- Psalm 1 to 92
Text Psalm 74
A maskil of Asaph. Why, O G-d, have You forsaken forever? [Why] is Your anger kindled against the flock of Your pasture? Remember Your church, which You have acquired from time immemorial; You redeemed the tribe of Your inheritance, Mount Zion where You dwelt. Lift up Your blows to cause eternal destruction, for all the evil the enemy has done in the Sanctuary. Your adversaries roared in the midst of Your meeting place; they made their signs for signs.
….Deliver the soul of Your turtledove if not to the wild beast; never forget the soul of Your poor. Look to the covenant, for the dark places of the earth are filled with mansions of violence. Let not the poor return in shame; the poor and needy will praise Your name. Arise, O G-d, plead Your own cause; remember Your shame of a villain all those days. Do not forget the voice of Your adversaries, the tumult of those who rise against You, which is continually rising.
Hebreeuwse tekst van Psalm 74 – Psalms until
A Mashkil for Osfalma, God, forsaken you forever, let your nose be in the sheep of your shepherd. In remembrance of your congregation, you bought before, you found out the tribe of your inheritance, this Mount Zion, in which you dwelt. C. Lift up your people as eternal banners of all evil, the enemy of the sanctuary. D. When your snares roared in the battle of your time, put them in the same place. He is known to bring up the Kardomot tree. And now (and now) its openings together in failure and kilapot yahlamun. 7. Send fire from your temple to the land, desecrate the dwelling place of your name. 8 They said in their hearts, sleep together, burn all the altars of God in the land. 9 We have not seen any other prophet, nor do we know until now. How long will God punish the enemy of your name forever. Why do you withdraw your hand and your right hand from your law (your bosom)? 12 And God, my king, from before has worked salvation in the midst of the earth. 13 You tore up the sea with your anger, you broke the heads of crocodiles on the water. By the hand you ran the heads of leviathans you will give food to the people to the fleets. You have created a spring and a valley, you have planted rivers with them. 16 For you day and for you night you made light and sun. 17 You set all the borders of the land of summer and winter, you created them. 18 Remember this, the enemy of Jehovah’s winter, and a wicked people, your name is despised. 19 Do not give your life to the soul of your poor, do not forget forever. So look at the covenant, because the darkness of the beautiful land of Hamas is full. 10 God dwells in your house, the poor and the destitute, let your name be glorified. 22 Arise, O God, your riba, remember your shame from the scoundrel all day long. 23 Do not forget the voice of your cries, the noise of your cries always rising.
Listen to Psalm 74
Listen to Psalm 74 in Hebrew.
Explanation of Psalm 74 by Rabbi Ya’akov Trump
This chapter is a prophetic prayer composed by Asaph. The Jewish people beg G-d to deliver them from the seemingly endless exile. Jews ask G-d to defend His honor against the blasphemous words of other nations, claiming that G-d is unable to save the Jewish nation.
In addition, there is mourning for the synagogues and study halls that were burned. The Philistines destroyed the tabernacle in Shiloh; Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the first temple. Jews have been in exile for so long with no signs of redemption! When will redemption come?
Psalm 74 has the same dark theme as Psalm 73. However, Psalm 73 is about individual suffering, while in Psalm 74 the enemies of Israel profane HaShem’s name.
According to Rabbi Ya’akov Trump, Psalm 74 can be divided into three basic sections. The first section covers verse 1 through verse 11 and concerns the public desecration of HaShem’s name. The second section concerns verse 12 through verse 17 in which the power of G-d’s actions are praised. In the last section of verses 18 to 23, HaShem is begged for mercy.
Commentary by Rashi on Psalm 74
Per verse the commentary of Rashi, the Jewish Bible commentator who lived from 1040-1105. Rashi is considered the teacher of teachers. All traditional Jews regard Rashi as an authority on the Jewish Bible and Talmud. Hence it is important to record his commentary on the Psalms. Rashi uses new Hebrew supplemented with Old French words. His language is sometimes somewhat oracularly short. For further explanation it is wise to consult an orthodox Jewish rabbi.
Verse 1
A maskil of Asaph. Why, O G-d, have You forsaken forever? [Why] is Your anger kindled against the flock of Your pasture?
Your wrath is kindled : When someone is angry, their nostrils emit smoke.
Verse 2
Remember Your church, which You have acquired from time immemorial; You redeemed the tribe of Your inheritance, Mount Zion where You dwelt.
which You have acquired from time immemorial : Before the creation of the world, as said (under 90:1,2): ,You were a dwelling place for us, etc., before mountains were formed.,
where You dwelt : Hebrew זה שכנתבו, this where You dwelt. This is an improvement of the language, as (Isaiah 42:24): ,against whom (זו) we have sinned., It is like אשר שכנתבו, on which You dwelt.
Verse 3
Lift up Your blows to cause eternal destruction, for all the evil that the enemy has done in the Holy Place.
Lift up Your blows to cause eternal destruction : Lift up Your blows and Your terrors which Your enemies will experience as eternal destruction for every evil thing the enemy did in the temple. In this way, Menachem (p. 144) associates it with (Gen. 41:8): ,that his spirit was troubled (ותפעם).,
to…cause : Hebrew למשאות, an expression of destruction, as (Isaiah 24:12): ,by desolation (שאיה),; (Isaiah 6:11), “and the ground is waste (למשאות) and desolate.”
Verse 4
Your adversaries roared in the midst of Your meeting place; they made their signs for signs.
Your meeting place : That is the temple about which it is said (Exodus 25:22): וְנוֹעַדְתִּי לְ שָׁם: ,There I will meet you at appointed times.,
they made their signs for signs : When they became powerful enough to destroy it, they themselves accepted that the signs of their divination were real signs. What were their observations? “He shook the arrows, he consulted the teraphim.”
Verse 5
May he be known as lifting up [their blows]; the axes were in the thickets of trees.
May he be known as raising [their blows]; the axes were in the thickets of trees. : The enemy knows that when he strikes the gates of the entrances of the Sanctuary, it was as if he lifted his blows high, even into the air. How did he know now? For he would see that the trees would entwine, grasp and swallow the axes, as our Rabbis said (Sanh. 96b): a gate of Jerusalem has swallowed them all up.
the axes were in the thicket of trees : Hebrew בסבך-עץ, an expression of (Genesis 22:13): ,caught in the thicket (בסבך)., The tree entangles them and they become entangled in it.
Verse 6
And now they are the entrances together, they beat with axes and hammers.
And now : though he saw that this troubled the Holy One, blessed be He, he did not refrain from striking all his entrances and all his gates together.
with axes and hammers : They are tools of destruction used by carpenters (Jeremiah 46:22): ,and will come against her with axes (ובקרדמות)., Jonathan returns: בּכשיליא. כֵּילַפּוֹת is Arabic. This is how Dunash (p. 34) explained it, and it is one of the tools of the carpenters.
they strike : [strike] the enemies.
Verse 8
They said in their hearts, their rulers together; they burned all the meeting places of G-d in the land.
They said in their hearts, their rulers together : Hebrew נינם, their rulers, and in the same way (above 72:17): his name will be magnified (ינון); (Proverbs 29:21), he will ultimately be a ruler (מנון). All their rulers devise one plot, the first as the last: namely, to come first to the protector of Israel and then they would come to them [Israel], You should know this by the fact that they have placed all the meeting places of G-d in the land, all His meeting houses were burned up. The Philistines destroyed Shiloh; Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the First Temple; Titus destroyed the Second Temple.
Verse 9
We have not seen our signs; there is no more prophet, and no one among us knows how long.
our signs : which You promised us through Your prophets, we have not seen them in the many days that we have been in exile. Asaph prophesied about the days of the (last) captivity.
how long : How long will we be in this trouble.
Verse 11
Why do you withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand? Draw it out from Your bosom.
Draw it out from Your bosom : Cast it out and draw it out of Your bosom and fight with Your enemies. כַּלֵה is an expression of driving out, such as (Exodus 11:1): “he will completely drive you out (כלה).”
Verse 12
But G-d is my King from time immemorial, who saves in the midst of the earth.
But G-d is my King from time immemorial : Behold, You have been our salvation from time immemorial.
Verse 13
You have crushed the sea with Your power; You crushed the heads of the sea monsters on the water.
the heads of the sea monsters : They are the Egyptians who are called sea monsters, as it is said (Ezekiel 29:3): ,the great sea monster, etc.,
Verse 14
You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You give it as food to the people in arid places.
the heads of Leviathan : Pharaoh is called [by] this [name], as it is said (Isaiah 27:1): ,the Lord will visit with His hard … sword upon leviathan, etc.,
You give it as food to the people in dry places : You gave its money to the people of Israel to consume.
Verse 15
You divide the fountain and the stream; You have dried up mighty rivers.
You divide : for Israel fountains of the rock.
You have dried up the Jordan, which is a mighty river.
Verse 16
Day is Yours, even night is Yours; You have established the light and the sun.
Day is Yours : The Redemption of Israel.
even night is Yours : And they were with You in the darkness of the night.
You have established the light and the sun : You have established for them the light of the Torah.
Verse 17
You set all the boundaries of the earth; summer and winter – You formed them.
You state : for them all the borders of their country with all the good.
summer and winter – You have formed them : This is similar to (Jeremiah 5:24): “the weeks of the harvest laws which He keeps for us.” You did not change the order of the years for us.
Verse 18
Remember how the enemy reviled the Lord, and the wicked people blasphemed Your name.
Consider how the enemy, etc. : And since all our salvation is through You, consider how the enemy has taunted You by destroying us.
Verse 19
Do not deliver the soul of your turtledove to the wild beast; never forget the soul of Your poor.
Deliver not to the wild beast : To the nations of the world, as (II Sam. 23:11): “Now the Philistines were gathered into a band (לחיה).”
the soul of Your turtledove : Hebrew תורך, Your turtledove. And Jonathan rendered this as (sic) an expression of turtledoves and young pigeons. These turtle doves, once the male recognizes its mate, it does not pair with another. So Israel did not exchange You for another god, although You distanced Yourself from them and they were like a widow.
never forget the soul of Your poor : Hebrew חיתענייך, the soul of Your poor.
Verse 20
Look at the covenant, for the dark places of the earth are filled with mansions of violence.
Look at the covenant you made with our ancestors.
with mansions of violence : Heb. נאותחמס, a dwelling place of violence, an expression of a dwelling place.
Verse 21
Let not the poor return to shame; the poor and needy will praise Your name.
Let not the poor return to shame : Let not the poor return from before You disgraced in his prayer.
Verse 22
Arise, O G-d, plead Your own cause; remember Your shame of a villain all those days.
Your shame : Your blasphemies, such as (verse 18): “Remember how the enemy reviles.”
Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
The Hebrew word for exile is ‘galut’. The Jews have lived in the galut for almost 2000 years. It is a tear-soaked exile that Jews hope will soon end and that they will be returned to the Holy Land by the Messiah.
It is often suggested that the exile of Jews is a punishment from G-d for not adhering to the Torah. But that’s not quite right. The exile was told by G-d to Abraham even before the Jewish people existed. So it is a plan of G-d. There is also the general view that the Messianic age will be a reward for the exile. While this view is certainly true, it is not the ultimate goal. The point is that Jews must first experience the hostile climate in which G-d is not felt or almost not felt and in which the Jew has the feeling of being independent. With the coming of the Messiah, Gd’s presence will eventually be felt in the world. At that moment, G-d’s ‘dwelling’ in this lower world is realized.
How does this work? All of G-d’s creations, according to the Torah, have a soul, but it is hidden. For this reason, it is often said that humans are independent and not creations of G-d. Jews’ job is to destroy the veil of the soul. This is done through Torah study, performing good deeds, observance of mitzvot, etc. In this way they transmit the ‘sparks’ of holiness everywhere in the world. This is a gradual process; no radical change of Creation. Once the Messiah arrives, the Jews will see the results of Jewish labor (observance of the Torah) in the galut. G-d will then be felt again, just as it was at the time of the Jewish Bible when G-d often and openly interfered with His people.
Psalm 1 to 92
Would you like to read more Psalms with a Jewish interpretation? Go to: Psalms 1 through 92. my view on