# Psalm 96:10



## Warren (Dec 29, 2014)

I read that Justin Martyr accused the Jews of editing places in the Bible to look less Christological. Specifically, Psalm 96, in verse 10 we "should" read Say among the nations "The LORD reigns from the tree." Justin's accusation was leveled in the face of the rabbi Trypho... No Christian forgery would pass the discernment of a rabbi. Augustine also writes in his commentaries, "Let the entire earth be moved before His face. Say to the nations, 'The Lord reigns from the Wood.' ..."

Yet in my source, Michael Reeves' _The Breeze of the Centuries_, Mr. Reeves notes we _don't_ have the texts they were talking about... Can we believe the Ancient Fathers in this, that certain passages were destroyed by the Masorites?

Do any Reformers comment on this accusation, and Psalm 96 in particular? I think its serious to charge anyone of editing the Bible, so is there more conclusive evidence of Masorites doing this?

Thanks


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## Contra_Mundum (Dec 29, 2014)

The claim is fabulous, in the sense of "its a fable."

According to 19th cent. commentator Delitzsch, belief that the line "apo xylu" (Latinizing ἀπὸ τῷ ξύλω) or "a ligno," typically the Latin psalters, except _Vulgate_ is found only in the Latin/western church.

Besides the impossibility of expunging every trace of this term from the history of the Jews (if it had been there) in the face of Jewish objections to the impiety of such a move, one is forced to believe only Latin texts preserve the Greek text source that preserve the Hebrew text source of inspiration.

Read Ps.96. The supposed terminology does not remotely fit the context. A good guess: a pious gloss migrated from the margin of an early hymnal, thence into the religious vocabulary of many western Christians.


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## Peairtach (Dec 29, 2014)

Interestingly there's a real reference to trees in v 12. I don't know what, if any relevance, that would have.

I don't know much about textual matters, but, as Bruce says, a reference to tree or wood in v10 would be totally incongruous.


Sent from my HTC Wildfire using Tapatalk 2


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## Warren (Dec 29, 2014)

A gloss makes much more sense. That was a charge I'd never heard before.


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