Psalm 126....?

[freespirit2001]

Can anyone tell me about the meaning of this Psalm?
How old it is and the author of the verse?
What were the watercourses of the Negeb?
What were the fortunes of Zion?

PSALMS 126

"WHEN THE LORD RESTORED THE FORTUNES OF ZION,
WE WERE LIKE THOSE WHO DREAM.
THEN OUR MOUTH WAS FILLED WITH LAUGHTER,
AND OUR TONGUE WITH SHOUTS OF JOY;
THEN THEY SIAD AMONG THE NATIONS,
"THE LORD HAS DONE GOOD THINGS FOR THEM,"
THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US;
WE ARE GLAD.

RESTORE OUR FORTUNES, O LORD,
LIKE THE WATERCOURSES OF THE NEGEB!
MAY THOSE WHO SOW IN TEARS
REAP WITH SHOUTS OF JOY!
HE THAT GOES FORTH WEEPING,
BEARING THE SEED FOR SOWING,
SHALL COME HOME WITH SHOUTS OF JOY,
BRINGING SHEAVES WITH HIM." RSV
[bible]Psalms 126:1-6[/bible]


The sheaves and the Psalm remind me of the engraving of a Hebrew Coin called the "Judea Liberata" with a picture of a Roman centuran helping the widow "Judea" bring home the sheaves...The other side of the coin is called "Judea Captivia" and shows her enslavement or the Babylonian captivity symbolized with an image of a woman being tied to a tree, from Biblical Archeological Review

 

[TrevorL]

Howdy freespirit 2001,

Greetings. freespirit 2001 asked:

Can anyone tell me about the meaning of this Psalm?
How old it is and the author of the verse?
What were the watercourses of the Negeb?
What were the fortunes of Zion?

Not answering all the above, but one suggestion is that all of the Songs of Degrees commemorate the recovery of Hezekiah from sickness and the destruction of the Assyrian by means of the prayer of Hezekiah at that time. The sun went down 10 degrees on the sundial, and there are 10 anonymous Psalms in this collection. He was given 15 years extension of life and there are another 5 selected Psalms in this collection by older authors, making a total of 15 Psalms. Each of these Psalms could be shown to have some relevance to Hezekiah's circumstances at the time of his dual crisis.

The 10 anonymous songs appear to be written by Hezekiah, who did not add his name so that David would remain known as the Psalmist of Israel, recognising the greatness of David.

Isaiah 38:20 (KJV): "The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD."

Kind regards
Trevor

 

[daveleau]

I'll answer what I can off the top of my head and get back with more information later.

The Negeb is an area south of Jerusalem. It is known for its extremely arid climate and harsh conditions. Some translations change the references of Negeb to "south" which is not the real intent. The verses that use Negeb are intended to bring about a mental picture of extremely harsh climate. The water in Negeb is cherished like nowhere else in Israel because of its rarity. So, this passage speaks of nothing mystical, but of sources of water where water is extremely rare.

I have seen two spellings for this region: Negeb and Negev.

 

[daveleau]

Some believe this Psalm was written by Ezra, Haggai, Zechariah or another Israelite after Babylonian captivity. Some believe there is no way to tell when it was written or by whom.

What is known is that there has been a turning in Israel. Many believe this could be a turning from wickedness rather than a turning from physical oppression. Some say it is a Messianic Psalm.

The riches of Zion are not keyed in on anything that I have read. The things restored are not the key, but rather the one doing the restoration. If it is the older prophets that wrote this, then it very well could be the freedom to return to their land (decree by Cyrus) from Babylonian captivity. If it is Messianic in nature, then it could be Salvation that is meant. It is hard to say for sure.

What we can glean from this Psalm is that those that return from captivity, spiritual or physical, are to be thankful to God and recognize His hand in the turning.

 

[freespirit2001]

I'll answer what I can off the top of my head and get back with more information later.

The Negeb is an area south of Jerusalem. It is known for its extremely arid climate and harsh conditions. Some translations change the references of Negeb to "south" which is not the real intent. The verses that use Negeb are intended to bring about a mental picture of extremely harsh climate. The water in Negeb is cherished like nowhere else in Israel because of its rarity. So, this passage speaks of nothing mystical, but of sources of water where water is extremely rare.

I have seen two spellings for this region: Negeb and Negev.

daveleau,
Thank you for your help and information.

I have seen the Negeb spelled both ways myself.
Below are two thumbnails of a road and the desert like area that is known as the Negeb.

While researching, I have noticed some sermons on the internet will suggest this as a Psalm of Thanksgiving, while others will celebrate this Psalm in the spring, around Easter, during the times of "April Showers".

 

[filosofer]

I have seen two spellings for this region: Negeb and Negev.

Phonetically in Hebrew, B and V have the same value. This depends on whether a Daghesh (small dot inside the Hebrew letter) is present: without Daghesh it is "soft", so V sound; with Daghesh it is "hard", so B sound.