Psalm-129
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Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of Thy Law!
Tehillim - Psalm 119:18..
(JPS-1917 version
of the Tanakh).
Please Note: Some alterations or (additions) have been
made relating to ‘Names’ and ‘Attributes’ of אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim, having been corrected like it once was pre the “Masoretic Text”.
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Remember the following truth from our beloved
Torah!
“Ye shall NOT ADD TO THE WORD which
I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH FROM
IT, that ye may keep the commandments of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם - the LORD your Eloleichem,
which I command you”. Davarim -
Deuteronomy 4:2.
However, sadly both the later priests as well as our rabbis of long ago have shamefully disobeyed this command of אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the LORD Elohim, בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם קָדוֹשׁוֹ - ‘Baruch Shem Kadosho’ – ‘Blessed be His Holy Name!’
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With Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Introduction:
Psalm 129 is A Song of Ascents that remembers long standing affliction and affirms אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s vindication; it contrasts persistent oppression with יְהוָה - the LORD’s justice and ends with a communal imprecation against Zion’s enemies.
Let us read Tehillim -
Psalm Chapter 129: (JPS-1917 version of the Tanakh).
1. “A Song of Ascents.
‘Much have they afflicted me from my youth up’, let Israel now say;
2. ‘Much have they afflicted me from my youth up; but
they have not prevailed against me.
3. The plowers plowed upon my
back; they made long their furrows.
4. יְהוָה - the LORD is righteous; He hath cut
asunder the cords of the wicked’.
5. Let them be ashamed and turned backward, all they
that hate Zion.
6. Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which
withereth afore it springeth
up;
7. Wherewith the reaper filleth
not his hand, nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.
8. Neither do they that go by say: 'The blessing of יְהוָה
- the LORD be upon
you;
we bless you in the name of יְהוָה
- the LORD’”.
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Let us now look at
‘verse by verse’ item with text and explanations:
Verse 1. “A Song of Ascents. ‘Much have they afflicted me from my youth up’, Let Israel now say’;
Explanation: The Psalm opens as a communal refrain: the people are invited to acknowledge a history of suffering that has shaped them.
Verse 2. ‘Much have they afflicted me from my youth up; But they have not prevailed against me’.
Explanation: Repeated line emphasizes resilience: despite repeated oppression, the community endures victory is moral and existential, not merely military.
Verse 3. ‘The plowers plowed upon my back; They made long their furrows’.
Explanation: Agricultural imagery conveys severe, repeated abuse; the “furrows” suggest wounds that are deep and long.
Verse 4. ‘יְהוָה - the LORD is righteous; He hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked’.
Explanation: The Psalmist shifts from complaint to theological claim: אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s righteousness undoes the instruments of oppression.
Verse 5. ‘Let them be ashamed and turned backward, All they that hate Zion’.
Explanation: An imprecatory petition asks for the reversal of fortune for Zion’s enemies—shame and retreat replace their aggression.
Verse 6. ‘Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, Which withereth afore it springeth up;’
Explanation: The enemies’ fate is likened to fragile rooftop grass, brief and unproductive—underscoring futility of their hostility.
Verse 7. ‘Wherewith the reaper filleth not his hand, Nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom’.
Explanation: The image continues: the harvest yields nothing for those who attack Zion; their efforts bring no gain.
Verse 8. ‘Neither do they that go by say: “The blessing of יְהוָה - the LORD be upon you; We bless you in the name of יְהוָה the LORD”’.
Explanation: The psalm closes with a wish that the usual benediction be withheld from the enemies social exclusion as final judgment.
My Closing message:
Psalm 129 models communal memory turned into theological trust: remember the wounds, name the oppressor, and rest in אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s righteous undoing.
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Remember what אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, blessed be He, said
the following via several of our prophets...
“Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה- the LORD
of hosts”. Mal’a’chi - Malachi 3:7. (JPS).
And Remember ...
Enjoy your Sabbath Rest, Shabbat Shalom!
אֲנִי
יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, בְּחֻקּוֹתַי
לֵכוּ; וְאֶת-מִשְׁפָּטַי
שִׁמְרוּ, וַעֲשׂוּ
אוֹתָם
וְאֶת-שַׁבְּתוֹתַי, קַדֵּשׁוּ; וְהָיוּ
לְאוֹת, בֵּינִי
וּבֵינֵיכֶם-לָדַעַת, כִּי
אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם
“I am אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה - the LORD your Eloheichem; walk
in My statutes, and keep Mine ordinances,
and do them; and hallow My Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between Me and
you, that ye may know that I am אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה
- the LORD your Eloheichem”. Yechezkel - Ezekiel 20:19-20. (JPS).
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שָׁלוֹם
עֲלֵיכֶם - Shalom Aleichem - Peace be with you!
Rabbi,
Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens,
PhD.
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