Psalm-137
-hebraicstudies.net-
Please do NOT visit this site on שַׁבָּת - Shabbat or on the מוֹעֲדִים - Mo’a’dim - Feasts!
Tanakh versions:
Throughout this site I
may use any of the following three versions of the TaNaKh: 1. “Jewish
Publication Society” (JPS-1917), 2. Mechon-Mamre.org”
(MEC), and 3. “Sefaria.org” (SEF).
Colour coded
details of the - TaNaKh:
1. Torah =
History & Law, 2. Nevi’im = The Prophets. 3. *Ketuvim = all
other Writings.
*The Ketuvim - Includes, Poetical
books - Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the Megillot, or Scrolls - Song of Solomon,
Ruth, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes, and
Esther, prophecy of Daniel, and history of Ezra, Nehemiah, and
Chronicles I & II.
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”.
YYYYYYY
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!’
YYYYYYY
With Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben
Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Introduction:
Psalm 137 captures the exiles’ sorrow by the rivers of Babylon,
their refusal to sing אֱלֹהִים -
Elohim’s (God) song in a foreign land, a vow of remembrance for
Jerusalem, and an imprecatory close that voices the depth of their grief and
desire for vindication.
Let us now
read Tehillim - Psalms Chapter 137: (JPS-1917 version of the Tanakh).
1. By the rivers of Babylon, there we
sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2. Upon the willows in the midst thereof we hanged up
our harps.
3. For there they that led us captive asked of us
words of song, and our tormentors asked of us mirth: ‘Sing us one of the songs
of Zion’.
4. How shall we sing יְהוָה - the LORD'S song in a foreign land?
5. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand
forget her cunning.
6. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I
remember thee not;
if I set not Jerusalem above my chiefest joy.
7. Remember, O יְהוָה - LORD, against the children of Edom the day of Jerusalem;
who said: ‘Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof’.
8. O daughter of Babylon, that art to be destroyed; happy
shall he be, that repayeth thee as thou hast served
us.
9. Happy shall he be, that taketh
and dasheth thy little ones against the rock.
YYYYYYY
Let us
now look at the ‘verse by verse’ Item with as explanation:
Verse 1. “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion”.
Explanation: Opens with place and posture, exile beside Babylon’s rivers and immediate emotional response: public sorrow rooted in memory.
Verse 2. “Upon the willows in the midst thereof we hanged up our harps”.
Explanation: Harps hung on willows symbolize suspended worship; music is present but unused because the heart cannot sing.
Verse 3. “For there they that led us captive asked of us words of song, And our tormentors asked of us mirth: “Sing us one of the songs of Zion”.
Explanation: Captors demand entertainment; the request becomes an added insult forced performance of the exiles’ sacred songs.
Verse 4. “How shall we sing יְהוָה - the LORD’s song in a foreign land?”
Explanation: Rhetorical question: worship is context dependent; singing אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s song away from Zion feels impossible and inauthentic.
Verse 5. “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget her cunning”.
Explanation: A solemn vow: forgetting Jerusalem would mean losing one’s skill and identity memory is moral and vocational.
Verse 6. “Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, If I remember thee not; If I set not Jerusalem Above my chiefest joy”.
Explanation: Intensifies the vow speech itself would fail rather than betray remembrance; Jerusalem is supreme joy.
Verse 7. “Remember, O יְהוָה - LORD, against the children of Edom the day of Jerusalem; Who said: “Rase it, rase it, Even to the foundation thereof”.
Explanation: The psalmist calls אֱלֹהִים - Elohim to remember hostile rejoicing at Jerusalem’s ruin an appeal to divine justice grounded in historical grievance.
Verse 8. “O daughter of Babylon, that art to be destroyed; Happy shall he be, that repayeth thee As thou hast served us”.
Explanation: An imprecatory wish: the psalmist pronounces retributive justice on Babylon, mirroring the harm done to Israel.
Verse 9. “Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the rock”.
Explanation: The closing line is stark and violent; it expresses the rawest edge of grief and desire for vengeance, a theological and pastoral challenge for readers and teachers.
Closing reflection:
Psalm 137 models honest communal lament that refuses easy pieties. Learn to teach you how memory fuels prayer, how coerced worship wounds the soul, and how imprecatory language reveals the depth of suffering while requiring careful pastoral framing. Be encouraged to hold the Psalm’s pain and its ethical tensions together rather than smoothing them over.
YYYYYYY
Please
Note: “hebraicstudies”
links are located down the page!
This site was originally created, for those who desired to return to our blessed and wonderful faith. Thus be wise and work on your faith and pray at least two or three times a day (if possible) and always seek our beloved אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s guidance, for His love is always with us, especially when we seek Him, blessed be He! However this site has become very much a teaching site with hundreds of studies!
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).
YYYYYYY
“Hebraic Studies” motto is as follows;
“The More Torah, the More Life”
For אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the LORD Elohim, Blessed be His Sanctified Name,
He is
the one who gave us our Life!”
May the שָׁלוֹם - Shalom = Peace of צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה= the LORD of hosts. be with
you, and please always uphold our blessed שַׁבָּת - Shabbat, as well as
the מוֹעֲדִים - Mo’a’dim -
Feasts, and continue saying your daily תְּפִלָּה - Tefeelah’s (Prayers)
and regular בְּרָכָה - Be’ra’chah’s
(blessings) before food and drinks, etc!
שָׁלוֹם
עֲלֵיכֶם - Shalom Aleichem - Peace be with you!
Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens,
PhD.
Enter ...
http://www.hebraicstudies.net/Site-Index.htm
Enter ...
https://www.hebraicstudies.net
-hebraicstudies.net-
Email
the Rabbi
If the email link does not open
- You can also copy the link and use it.
Although the author does not believe in having to copyright “Hebraic Studies” commenced in the mid 1980’,
but there have been occasions where there parts of his studies have been taken and quoted out of context
under my name, and thus he has been misquoted by those who have their own reasons for doing so.
Thus, it is only for this reason these
works are fully covered under strict ...
Copyright © 2025 - “Hebraic Studies” - All rights reserved.