The Hallel Psalms 113-118

The Hallel Psalms 113-118
Psalms 113-118 form the Hallel, the Hymns of Praise, which were to be sung at the three great Festivals of Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost), and Sukkot (Tabernacles), as well as at Chanukah (the Festival of the Dedication) and at Rosh Chodesh (New Moon).

These chapters are expressions of joy and faith in G-d, and of gratitude for salvation from our enemies. They were incorporated into the Book of Psalms by King David, and they were singled out for inclusion in Hallel because they contain the following fundamental themes of the faith of Judaism: the Exodus, the Giving of the Torah by G-d at Sinai, the future Resurrection of the Dead, and the Coming of the Messiah.

The Hallel recited during the Passover Meal
The overarching theme of Passover is redemption. The Hallel shows us both the past redemption and the future redemption. Thus, before the meal, we recite those parts of Hallel which pertain to the past (to historical memory of the redemption from Egypt Psalms 113 and 114), and after the meal we recite those parts of the Hallel (Psalms 115-18) which pertain to the future and ends with the wish "Next year in Jerusalem!".

In addition to the usual festival Hallel, on seder night we add the "Great Hallel" (Psalm 136). Both of them feature the famous refrain, "Give thanks to the L-rd, for G-d is good! G-d's kindness is forever!" Some rabbis require or at least permit that an extra cup be drunk with the Great Hallel.

I want to go over each Psalm individually, just giving you an idea where I am headed

Psalm 113
Psalm 113 is a song of praise and begins and ends with “Hallelujah” which means “praise G-d.”

King James Version KJV
1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.
Stone Tanach
1 Halleluyah! Give praise, you servants of HASHEM; praise the Name of HASHEM!

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KJV
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.
Stone Tanach
2 Blessed be the Name of HASHEM, from this time and forever.

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KJV
3 From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name [is] to be praised.
Stone Tanach
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting, HASHEM’S Name is praised

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KJV
4 The LORD [is] high above all nations, [and] his glory above the heavens.
Stone Tanach
4 High above all nations is HASHEM, above the heavens is His glory.

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KJV
5 Who [is] like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high,
Stone Tanach
5 Who is like HASHEM, our G-d, Who is enthroned on high –

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KJV
6 Who humbleth [himself] to behold [the things that are] in heaven, and in the earth!
Stone Tanach
6 yet deigns to look upon the heavens and the earth?

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humbleth/deigns - They are translating the same Hebrew word here. Deign means to condescend. Both take this to apply to HaShem. What an interesting concept. We get similar imagery in the Aaronic Blessing.

KJV
7 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, [and] lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
Stone Tanach
7 He raises the needy from the dust, from the trash heaps He lifts the destitute,

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KJV
8 That he may set [him] with princes, [even] with the princes of his people.
Stone Tanach
8 To seat them with nobles, with the nobles of His people.

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princes/nobles- this word carries with it the idea of being willing.

visionary said:

Reminds me of that great resurrection day with the Lord will not only raise us from the death but will honor us with crowns as kings and priests in His kingdom.

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The word that is used for raising/set does in fact imply resurection

KJV
9 He maketh the barren woman to keep house, [and to be] a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.
Stone Tanach
9 He transforms the barren wife into a glad mother of children. Halleluyah!

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This Psalm begins and ends with a word that is very familiar – Halleluyah. This is two Hebrew words – hallelu and Yah.

Yah is a shortened form of the Tetragrammaton or YHVH. Yah appears numerous times in scripture.

Hallelu comes from the root llh. When we want to understand a Hebrew word we first find the root. This gives us the base meaning of the word. Then other letters are added to make it a noun or a verb. When we talk about verbs we can compare it to a tree, the three letters are the root, then there are stems (or verb patterns) that are built from those roots to form the varies types of verbs. For example: the root har in the Qal stem means “to see” , in the Niphal stem means “to reveal oneself”, in the Pual stem means “to be seen”, in the Hiphil stem means “to cause to see”, in the Hophal stem means “to be shown something”, in the Hithpael stem means “to look at one another”. All these nuances are a result of the way Hebrew verbs function.

There is another major verb pattern in the Bible. It is the Piel. Hallelu in this Psalm is in the Piel pattern. Traditionally the Piel has been taught as being intensive of the Qal. For example: the root rbv in Qal means “to break” so in the Piel the same root would mean “to smash”. In the last century there has been a growing chorus of voices that is rethinking the idea that the Piel is intensive of Qal.

The Piel in recent decades has been recognized as the key to the Hebrew verbal system* Semantic associations may be present in many verbs in the Qal and Piel, but this is not always the case. The Piel often expresses the bringing about of a state, focusing on causation and the outcome of the action. So then when we think of the Piel meaning “to smash” we don’t focus on the act of smashing, our attention is drawn to the condition of the object that was smashed. When Moses smashed the tablets that is in a Piel. Rather than looking at the action of Moses smashing the tablets, the Piel should cause us to think about someone walking by those tablets say the next day and observing them – the condition that they are in as a result of the action: smashed.

Hallelu in this Psalm is in Piel and it is in a command form. How does this influence the way we look at this very familiar word. If the above is correct about the meaning of the Piel, then we should consider that our behavior should cause Yah to be in a condition of being praised. Additionally, we should contemplate that this command expresses Adonai’s desire of mankind.

*For further reading:
Albrecht Goetze 1942 “The So-Called Intensive of the Semitic Languages”. Journal of the American Oriental Society 62:1-8
Ernst Jenni 1968 “Das hebraische Pi’el: Syntaktisch-semasiologische Untersuchung einer Verbalform im Alten Testament”. Zurich: EVZ
Waltke & O’Connor 1990 “An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax”. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns.
Steven Fassberg 1999 “The Lengthened Imperative in Biblical Hebrew”
Arnold & Choi 2003 “A Guide To Biblical Hebrew Syntax” Cambridge University Press
Malcom Horsnell 1999 “A Review And Reference Grammar For Biblical Hebrew” McMaster University Press, Hamilton, Ontario