MESSIAH IN THE ARAMAIC PSALMS

samshmn
6 hours ago
6 min read

In this post I will cite specific Psalms, which the Aramaic paraphrase called the Targumim interpret as messianic prophecies. I will be employing Targum Psalms — a new translation by Edward M. Cook, 2001. All emphasis will be mine.

PSALM 18

“He gives great salvation to His king, And shows lovingkindness to His anointed, To David and his seed forever.” Psalm 18:50 Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

Targum

32. For because of the miracle and deliverance that you will perform for your Messiah, and for the remnants of your people who will remain, all the Gentiles, nations, and tongues will confess and say, There is no God but the Lord, for there is none besides you; and your people^[96] will say, There is none mighty except our God. (Book 1 – Psalms 1-41)

PSALM 21

“O Yahweh, in Your strength the king will be glad, And in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice! You have given him his heart’s desire, And You have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah. For You meet him with the blessings of good things; You set a crown of fine gold on his head. He asked life of You, You gave it to him, Length of days forever and ever. His glory is great through Your salvation, Splendor and majesty You bestow upon him. For You make him most blessed forever; You make him joyful with gladness in Your presence. For the king trusts in Yahweh, And through the lovingkindness of the Most High he will not be shaken.” Psalm 21

Targum

2. O Lord, in your strength the King Messiah will rejoice,^[109] and how greatly will he exult in your redemption!

3. You have given him the desire of his soul; and you have not withheld the expression of his lips forever.

4. For you will make good blessings go before him; you will place on his head a crown of refined gold.

5. Eternal life he asked of you; you gave him length of days forever and ever.

6. Great is his glory in your redemption; praise and splendor you will place on him.

7. Because you will give him blessings forever; you will gladden him with the gladness that is from your presence.

8. Because the King Messiah hopes in the Lord;^[110] and through the favor of the Most High he is not shaken. (Book 1)

PSALM 45

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions… So the King will greatly desire your beauty; Because He is your Lord, worship Him… I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations; Therefore the people shall praise You forever and ever.” Psalm 45::6-7, 11, 17 New King James Version (NKJV)

Targum

3. Your beauty, O King Messiah, is greater than the sons of men; the spirit of prophecy has been placed on your lips; because of this the Lord^[25] has blessed you forever.

4. Gird your sword on your thigh, O champion;^[26] your glory^[27] and your brilliance is to kill kings as well as rulers.

5. And your brilliance is great; therefore you will succeed in mounting the horse^[28] of the kingdom, by reason of faithfulness and truth and humility and righteousness; and the Lord will teach you to do fearful things with your right hand.

6. Your arrows are drawn to kill Gentile hordes; beneath you they will fall; and the sons^[29] of your bow will be released into the heart of the enemies of the king.

7. The throne of your glory, O Lord,^[30] lasts forever and ever; the scepter of your kingdom is an upright scepter.

8. Because you^[31] have loved righteousness and hated wickedness – because of this the Lord your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your fellows. (Book 2 – Psalms 42-72)

PSALM 61

“You will add days to the king’s life; His years will be from generation to generation. He will sit enthroned before God forever; Appoint lovingkindness and truth that they may guard him. So I will sing praise to Your name forever, As I pay my vows day by day.” Psalm 61:6-8

Targum

For you, O Lord, have heard my vows; you have given the inheritance to those who fear your name.

You will add days to the age to come, the days of the King Messiah; his years are like the generations of this age and the generations of the age to come.

He will dwell forever in the presence of the Lord; goodness and truth from the Lord of the World will guard him.

Therefore will I praise your name forever, when I pay my vows in the day of the redemption of Israel, and in the day the King Messiah is anointed^[101] to be king. (Book 2)

PSALM 72

“May he also have dominion from sea to sea And from the River to the ends of the earth. Let the desert creatures kneel before him, And his enemies lick the dust. Let the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands bring a present; The kings of Sheba and Seba offer tribute. And let all kings bow down to him, All nations serve him… May his name endure forever; May his name increase as long as the sun shines; Let all nations be blessed in him; Let all nations call him blessed.” Psalm 72:8-11, 17

Targum

1. Composed by Solomon, uttered in prophecy. O God, give your just rulings to the King Messiah, and your righteousness to the son of King David. (Book 2)

PSALM 80

“O Shepherd of Israel, give ear, You who guide Joseph like a flock; You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth! Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your might And come to save us! O God, restore us And cause Your face to shine upon us, that we would be saved… O God of hosts, return now, we beseech You; Look down from heaven and see, and visit this vine, Even the sapling which Your right hand has planted, And on the son whom You have strengthened for Yourself. It is burned with fire, it is cut down; They perish at the rebuke of Your face. Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.” Psalm 80:1-3, 14-17 LSB

Targum

16. And the branch that your right hand planted, and the King Messiah whom you made mighty for yourself.

17. [It is] being burned by fire and crushed; they will perish because of the rebuke that [comes] from your presence.

18. Let your hand be on the man to whom you have sworn with your right hand, on the son of man whom you made mighty for yourself. (Book 3 – Psalms 73-89)

PSALM 89

“Formerly You spoke in vision to Your holy ones, And said, ‘I have bestowed help to a mighty one; I have exalted one chosen from the people. I have found David My servant; With My holy oil I have anointed him, With whom My hand will be established; My arm also will strengthen him. The enemy will not deceive him, Nor the son of unrighteousness afflict him. But I shall crush his adversaries before him, And strike those who hate him. My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him, And in My name his horn will be exalted. I shall also set his hand on the sea And his right hand on the rivers. He will call to Me, “You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.” I also shall make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth. My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall be confirmed to him. So I will set up his seed to endure forever And his throne as the days of heaven. If his sons forsake My law And do not walk in My judgments, If they profane My statutes And do not keep My commandments, Then I will punish their transgression with the rod And their iniquity with striking. But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him, Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness. My covenant I will not profane, Nor will I alter what comes forth from My lips. Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David. His seed shall endure forever And his throne as the sun before Me. It shall be established forever like the moon, And the witness in the sky is faithful.’ Selah.” Psalm 89:19-37 LSB