Like a Tree Planted

by the Temple Stream:

The Portrait of the Righteous
in Psalm 1:3

JEROME F. D. CREACH
Barton College
Wilson, NC 27893

MUCH RECENT RESEARCH on the Hebrew Psalter is focused on the full

form of the book and on the possible editorial interests that gave rise to that
form.1 One of the few points of agreement on this complex problem is that
Psalm 1 was placed, was perhaps even composed, as an introduction to the
collection.2 Despite this common assumption, however, no study demonstrates

1
For an overview, see D. M. Howard, Jr., "Editorial Activity in the Psalter: A State of the
Field Survey," Word and World 9 (1989) 274-85, and the assessments of this work by N. Whybray,
Reading the Psalms as a Book (JSOTSup 222; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996), and
by E. S. Gerstenberger, "Der Psalter als Buch und als Sammlung," in Neue Wege der Psalmen-
forschung (ed. K. Seybold and E. Zenger; Herders biblische Studien 1; Freiburg: Herder, 1994)
3-13. Perhaps the most important single effort in this area is G. H. Wilson, The Editing of the
Hebrew Psalter (SBLDS 76; Chico, CA: Scholars, 1985). Representative of recent attempts to
discern the form of the book are J. F. D. Creach, Yahweh as Refuge and the Editing of the
Hebrew Psalter (JSOTSup 217; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1996); D. M. Howard, The Structure of
Psalms 93-100 (Biblical and Judaic Studies 5; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1997); The Shape
and Shaping of the Psalter (ed. J. C. McCann, Jr.; JSOTSup 159; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1993);
and the major essays in the April issue of Int 47 (1993). Note also the impact of this research
on more narrowly focused studies like that of L. D. Crow, The Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120-
134): Their Place in Israelite History and Religion (SBLDS 148; Atlanta: Scholars, 1996).
2
Whybray's warning (Reading the Psalms as a Book, 41) that the notion of Psalm 1 as
introduction is merely "an inference" offers a helpful word of caution. However, the genre and
subject matter of Psalm 1, coupled with the fact that the psalm lacks a superscription has led
to a broad consensus on the purpose of this work at the head of the Psalter. See J. L. Mays, "The
Place of the Torah-Psalms in the Psalter, "TBL 106 (1987) 3-17; P. D. Miller, Jr., Interpreting the
Psalms (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986) 81-86; also the study of the structure of the psalm by

34
 PSALM 1:3 35

linguistic links between Psalm 1 and subsequent psalms that might define
with any specificity what Psalm 1 as introduction is meant to communicate.3
A study of the intertextual character of the psalm might shed light on this
question, but no such investigation of Psalm 1 has been done with this goal
in mind.4 The purpose of this study is to examine Ps 1:3a, a line known for
its rich interplay with other texts, in order to determine, as far as possible,
the origin and prefatory implications of its language. The anticipated result
is a modest advance in the discussion of Psalm 1 as introduction to the Psalter.
In Ps 1:3a the psalmist says of the one who meditates on torà:
wëhâyâ këcës satûl cal-palgê mäyim
D
äser piryô yittën bèHttô wëcâlëhû loD-yibbôl5
And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water,
which gives its fruit in season and its leaves do not wither.
This simile has two close parallels in the Psalter. One is Ps 92:13-15:
The righteous one is like a palm tree that flourishes,
like a cedar planted in Lebanon,
planted (sëtûlîm) in the house of God,
in the courts of our God they flourish (yaprîhû)\
they bear fruit in old age,
they remain fresh and green.
The other is Ps 52:10:
But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the steadfast love of God perpetually.

D. L. Petersen and K. H. Richards, Interpreting Hebrew Poetry (GBS, OT series; Philadelphia:

Fortress, 1995) 89-97.
3
This is a criticism of Whybray, Reading the Psalms as a Book, 41. However, some solid
and helpful observations of a more general nature have been made. It is commonly noted that
Psalm 1 has two emphases that may be intended to direct the reading of subsequent psalms:
(1) the centrality of torà for the righteous, (2) the security of the righteous vis-à-vis the wicked.
4
N. M. Sarna (Songs of the Heart: An Introduction to the Book of Psalms [New York:
Schocken, 1993] 26-47) perhaps comes close, but he does not make any of the specific arguments
made in this study.
5
Ps 1:3b, weköl DaSer-yacäseh yaslîah, seems to be a play on Josh 1:7-8. In fact, the text in
Joshua reverberates throughout Psalm 1. Though the relationship between Ps 1:3b and Josh 1:7-8
is not treated at length here, it might be an interesting subject for future discussion. G. von Rad
(Theology of the Old Testament [2 vols.; New York: Harper & Row, 1962] 1. 200) notes that
Ps 1:3 displays an attitude towards torà similar to that found in the Deuteronomistic History.
It is perhaps worth mention that in at least three parallel passages (Isa 17:13; 29:5; 41:15) the
simile given in Ps 1:4b for wicked ("like chaff," kammös) refers to the enemies of the nation.
 36 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY I 61, 1999

If Ps 1:3a were dependent on these two passages, that would seem significant
for the introductory capacity of Psalm 1. Such a literary relationship seems
unlikely, however.
An even closer parallel to Ps 1:3a can be found in Jer 17:8:
wëhâyâ këcës Sâtûl cal-mayim
wëcal-yûbal yësallah sorâsâyw
wëlô^ yirDe [sic the ketib] ki-yäböD hörn
wëhâyâ câlëhû racänän
ûbisnat bassöret lö^yid^äg
welöD yâmîs mëcâsôt perì
And he shall be like a tree planted by water;
by a flowing stream it shall send out its roots.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall remain green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not stop bearing fruit.
A portion of the two verses is nearly identical, wëhâyâ këcês sâtûl cal-palgê
mâyim ("he is like a tree planted by streams of water") in Ps 1:3a, wëhâyâ
këcës sâtûl cal-mayim ("he is like a tree planted by water") in Jer 17:8, but two
questions on the affiliation of these passages are unresolved. (1) Does the
psalm writer depend upon Jeremiah, or does Jeremiah depend on the psalmist,
or do both derive from a common wisdom tradition? (2) If Ps 1:3 borrows
from Jer 17:8, should the psalm be understood as a play on the Jeremian
text? Does Ps 1:3a in some sense derive meaning from Jer 17:8?
I will attempt to show that Ps 1:3a can be fully explained neither as a
recapitulation of the Jeremian text nor as a line of prosaic wisdom. Although
Ps 1:3a borrows from Jer 17:8, the psalm deviates significantly from Jeremiah
at points. Furthermore, when Ps 1:3a departs from Jer 17:8, it consistently
includes vocabulary drawn from other texts in which Zion or the temple is
depicted as a garden paradise. Thus, the writer of Ps 1:3a transforms the
simile of the tree (as it appears in Jer 17:8) into a comparison of the righteous
to trees planted in the temple precincts.6 In so doing, he brings Ps 1:3a much
closer to Pss 52:10 and 92:13-15 than has been recognized. Since the question
of possible dependence on Jer 17:8 is crucial for this study, the discussion
begins here.

6
Since the author of the psalm alters and transcends his "sources" in such an orderly
fashion, the psalm may be said to contain a kind of "exegesis" defined by M. Fishbane (Biblical
Interpretation in Ancient Israel [Oxford: Clarendon, 1985] 285): among the examples Fishbane
cites for this phenomenon of internal interpretation are the uses of Ps 8:5-7 in Job 7:17-18 and
of Gen 1:26-29 in Gen 9:1-7 (see 286-87, 318-19).
 PSALM 1:3 37

I. Jeremiah 17:8 and Literary Dependence

Despite the similarity of Ps 1:3a to the phrase in Jer 17:8, at least three
types of differences between the two lines have not been explained adequately.
First, Ps 1:3a is one word longer than Jer 17:8aa. Ps 1:3a has palgê mayim,
"streams of water," while Jer 17:8aa lacks pëlâgîm;1 however, the term yûbal,
"flowing stream," appears, parallel to mayim, in Jer 17:8aß. Second, there
are numerous lexical and thematic deviations in the immediate contexts of
the two lines. For example, the idea of bearing fruit is expressed with ntn in
Ps 1:3, but with csh in Jer 17:8; reference to the unwithering leaves is absent
from Jer 17:8 but present in Ps 1:3a. Finally, there are significant differences
in the overall structure of the two poems. Although both contain the common
ancient Near Eastern simile of stability (as a tree), Psalm 1 differs from
Jer 17:5-8 in the development ofthat image. Jer 17:5-8 begins with a description
of the unrighteous as a shrub in the wilderness; Psalm 1 starts with a delineation
of the saddîq (as one who meditates on torà). In treatment of the wicked, the
image of the tree is not continued in Psalm 1 as it is in Jer 17:5-8; instead,
the rëSâcîm are compared to "chaff"" (Ps 1:4b).
These differences lead some to suggest that the similarity of Ps 1:3a and
Jer 17:8 is accidental, simply illustrative of the conventional nature of the
arboreal simile. R. P. Carroll argues, most directly, that "the image of the
green tree as a mark of the person blessed by the deity is too common for
literary dependence to be involved."8 It seems reasonable to say that one of
the poems is not exclusively a play on the other, given the differences between
the two, but Carroll's assessment is too decisive, since the language of the two
passages is nearly indistinguishable.
The prevailing opinion is that the author of Ps 1:3a has indeed borrowed
from Jer 17:8.9 Nevertheless, W. L. Holladay presents a formidable argument
against this view. He avers that Ps 1:3a is actually the prototype for Jer 17:8,
primarily on the grounds that Psalm 1 contains simpler, "static" categories.10

7
Although pëlâgîm occurs in some MSS of Jeremiah, it is almost certainly a later reading,
probably influenced by Ps 1:3. Unfortunately, Jer 17:8 is only partially represented in the Dead
Sea Scrolls. The beginning of fragmentary 4QJer* includes only part of the last two words of
the verse in question. From the information at hand, it seems that the shorter version of Jer 17:8,
supported by the MT and the LXX, is to be preferred.
8
R. P. Carroll, Jeremiah: A Commentary (OTL; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986) 351.
9
See the discussion by H.-J. Kraus, Psalms 1-59: A Continental Commentary (Minne-
apolis: Fortress, 1993) 113. A primary factor in considering Psalm 1 later than Jer 17:5-8 is the
fact that in Psalm 1 obedience to torà is presented as a matter of individual piety.
10
W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah 1: A Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah,
Chapters 1-25 (Hermeneia; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986) 489-90; see also Holladay, The Psalms
through Three Thousand Years: Prayerbook of a Cloud of Witnesses (Minneapolis: Fortress,
1993) 41-45.
 38 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY I 61, 1999

Holladay's assertion that Jer 17:5-8 is more "dynamic" than Psalm 1 has at
least two outstanding weaknesses, however. First, because he examines these
two texts without reference to other writings that might help establish a norm
of what is "static," his judgment that the presentation of one work is "static"
and the other "dynamic" is largely subjective. Second, although chap. 4 of the
Instruction of Amen-em-Opet could provide the kind of control I have
suggested, Holladay does not include this work in his discussion of literary
dependence. Indeed, his thesis is weakened substantially when parallels between
Jer 17:5-8 and the Egyptian text (which probably antedates both Jer 17:5-8
and Psalm 1) are recognized. Table 1 shows that Jer 17:5-8 follows almost
exactly the pattern found in Amen-em-Opet 4.6.1-12: the foolish are compared
to a shrub in the desert, then the wise are likened to a tree in a garden.11
The parallels between Jer 17:5-8 and Amen-em-Opet 4.6.1-12 indicate
that the structure of the text in Jeremiah not only is not anomalous but also
seems to follow an established pattern.12 In contrast, Psalm 1 deviates from
these texts in a variety of ways: the positive model is described first, and the
psalm returns to the subject of the righteous in its final verse; the simile of
the tree is discontinued in the description of the wicked; the comparison of
the righteous and the wicked is made not so much in clearly delineated strophes
as in comparative statements throughout, including a kind of envelope of the
"way of the wicked" (or "of sinners") in Ps 1:1, 5-6. Thus, when Amen-em-
Opet is included in the comparison of texts, it seems that Psalm 1 is not less
but more dynamic than Jer 17:5-8, if "dynamic" means deviating from conven-
tional patterns. This point suggests in turn that the psalm is later than
Jer 17:5-8 (and perhaps dependent on it), by Holladay's reasoning.

11
J. A. Wilson (ANET, All) offers the following translation of Amen-em-Opet 4.6.1-12:
As for the heated man of the temple,
He is like a tree growing in the open.
In the completion of a moment (comes) its loss of foliage,
And its end is reached in the shipyards;
(Or) it is floated far from its place,
And the flame is its burial shroud.
(But) the truly silent man holds himself apart.
He is like a tree growing in a garden.
It flourishes and doubles its yield;
It (stands) before its lord.
Its fruit is sweet; its shade is pleasant;
And its end is reached in the garden. . . .
12
Psalms 52 and 92 do not develop the simile as completely as Jer 17:5-8 and Amen-
em-Opet do, but they both follow the same pattern. The instability of the wicked is treated first
in a distinct section, then the security of the righteous concludes the psalm. This development,
and its parallel to Jer 17:5-8 and Amen-em-Opet, are particularly evident in Psalm 92.
 PSALM 1:3 39

Table 1 Similar Pattern in Jeremiah 17:5-8 and Amen-em-Opet 4

Jeremiah 17:5-8 Amen-emrOpet 4
Strophe I Verses 5-6 Column 6, lines 1-6
Subject: Type Those trusting in mortals Heated man of temple
Judgment Like shrub in desert Like tree in open country
Not seeing relief Losing foliage
Living in parched land Ending in shipyards
Floated far
Flame as burial shroud
Strophe 2 Verses 7-8 Column 6, lines 7-12
Subject: Antitype Those trusting in Yhwh Truly silent man
Blessed state Like tree planted by water Like tree growing in garden
Sending out roots Flourishing, doubling its yield
Leaves staying green Sweet fruit, pleasant shade
Bearing fruit Ending in garden

Some of these "departures" from Jer 17:5-8 and "additions" to it may be

inconsequential for understanding Psalm 1 as an introduction to the Psalter,
but the variations illustrate the fact that Psalm 1 is neither a simple repetition
of the Jeremian text nor a replica of the common words of wisdom on the
stability of the righteous. Although an established simile, expressed by phrase-
ology from a parallel text (Jer 17:8), has been incorporated into the psalm,
the figure of speech in Psalm 1 is altered by the addition of fresh vocabulary
and images.

II. Other "Sources" of Psalm 1:3a

At least two of Psalm l's deviations from Jer 17:5-8 may be explained
best by the psalmist's reliance on texts heretofore not widely recognized.
One possible case of such reliance is based on the fact that the description
of the tree's green leaves in Ps 1:3, câlëhû lôD-yibbôl ("its leaves shall not
wither"), seems to be a virtual citation of a portion of Ezek 47:12, löD-yibbol
c
âlëhû ("its leaves shall not wither").13 The two clauses contain nearly duplicate

13
The similarity of the two clauses is recognized by C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, A
Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Psalms (1 vols.; ICC; Edinburgh: T. &
Clark, 1906) 1. 6-9. Sarna (Songs of the Heart, 43) recognizes the parallel between Ps 1:3a and
Ezek 47:12; he cites the Briggses but does not himself argue for literary dependence. To the
knowledge of this writer, the Briggses' view of Ps 1:3*s dependence on Ezek 47:12 has not been
followed by any subsequent commentator.
 40 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY I 61, 1999

language, the only difference being the different order of subject and verb. The
possibility of literary dependence is particularly strong, since use of the verb
nâbal to express the idea of a plant's withering is relatively infrequent, and
in passages where the verb is used that way the specific mention of leaves
fading is rare.14 The other texts in which the verb is used cannot be adduced
as parallels to Ps 1:3.15
A second possible case of the psalmist's reliance on another text entails
the depiction of the tree giving fruit in Ps 1:3a {piryô yittën bëHttô). In
Jer 17:8b there is also reference to a tree furnishing a harvest, but the language
is different. The word connoting fructification in Ps 1:3a is nâtan rather than
c
âsâ, the more common term found in Jer 17:8 as well as in most other texts
where this subject is taken up.16 Elsewhere, nâtan connotes a tree producing
fruit only in Ezek 34:27; Lev 26:4, 20.17 However, the vocabulary in Ps 1:3a
is unique in that the tree is simply an cës, "tree," not an ces hassâdeh, "tree
of thefield,"as in Ezek 34:27; Lev 26:4,20. Therefore, the possibility that the
reference to the fruit of the tree in Ps 1:3a was drawn from the same source
from which its description of leaves came (Ezek 47:12) seems worth exploring
(if, in fact, literary dependence is involved). Although Ezek 47:12 does not
contain the verb nâtan, it includes a form of the root tmmf meaning "spend"
or "wear out," with a striking likeness to yittën in Ps 1:3a. Note the similarity
of the two lines: lö^-yittöm piryô ("its fruit shall not give out") in Ezek 47:12,
piryô yittën bëHttô ("its fruit it gives in season") in Ps 1:3.
The case for literary dependence here is not clear-cut. Besides the fact
that nâtan is absent from the text in Ezekiel, in Ezek 47:12 piryô is the subject
of the verb, while in Ps 1:3a it is the verb's object. However, piryô yittën
(Ps 1:3a) and yittôm piryô (Ezek 47:12) themselves differ in only one conso-
nant and the preceding vowel. In the light of the nearly certain dependence
of Ps 1:3a on Ezekiel's imagery of the leaf, it seems more than coincidence
that the psalm's delineation of the fruit of the tree corresponds so neatly to
Ezek 47:12 as well. It seems possible that the writer of Ps 1:3a borrows both
lôD-yibbôl câlëhû and löD-yittöm piryô from Ezek 47:12, altering the latter to
fit his purposes.
If indeed the description of the leaves and fruit of the tree in Ps 1:3a is
derived from Ezek 47:12, the nature of the psalmist's source at this point
raises some interesting interpretive possibilities. Ezek 47:12 is in that part of
the prophet's temple vision where a healing stream flows from the holy place

14
There are only four examples, in only two prophetic books: Isa 1:30; 34:4; 64:5; Jer 8:13.
15
The only occurrences are in Isa 1:30; 28:1, 4; 34:4; 40:7, 8; Jer 8:13.
16
See Gen 1:11, 12; 2 Kgs 19:30; Isa 37:31; Jer 12:2; 17:8; Ps 107:37.
17
The same verb appears in Zech 8:12, but the reference is to a vine, not to a tree.
 PSALM 1:3 41

into the Judaean desert; the trees of 47:12 are nourished by this stream.18
Since the righteous themselves are presented as "trees" in Ps 1:3, is it possible
that the author of Psalm 1 intends to compare the righteous to the trees
planted in the temple precincts? Such a comparison of the righteous to the
temple trees would be similar to that in Pss 52:10 and 92:13-15 mentioned
above. Before drawing such a conclusion, however, another piece of evidence
needs to be considered.

III. The Streams of Water and the Temple

We turn now to the word pëlâgîm, "streams," in Ps 1:3a, perhaps the

most obvious difference between this verse and Jer 17:8. This term is arresting
both because it does not appear in Jer 17:8aa and because Jer 17:8aß contains
a different word, yûbal, "flowing stream," as a parallel to mayim.19 The question
raised is this: Is there any discernible reason for the choice of pëlâgîm from
the available word stock, which presumably included words derived from the
root ybl (Jer 17:8; Isa 30:25; 44:4)? Such a word would have fitted Ps 1:3a,
since the same basic simile of the "righteous like a tree" is present there.
Moreover, a word derived from ybl would have made a clever wordplay with
yibbôl, "it withers," from nbl, in Ps 1:3.20 The presence oí pëlâgîm, therefore,
is somewhat enigmatic. It is possible that pëlâgîm appears simply because it
was a word used in a particular postexilic literary tradition (see Ps 119:136;
Prov 5:16; 21:1; Lam 3:48; Isa 32:2),21 but there is perhaps a more compelling
explanation for its occurrence in Ps 1:3a.
Of the nine appearances of a word derived from the root pig outside
Ps 1:3a (and outside proper names), four (Isa 30:25; 32:2; Pss 46:5; 65:10)
designate water channels.22 Only one of these four texts, Isa 32:2, shows signs

18
See the discussion of this concept in the Hebrew Bible offered by J. D. Levenson, Sinai
and Zion: An Entry into the Jewish Bible (New Voices in Biblical Studies; Minneapolis: Winston,
1985) 111-37.
19
That the term yûbal denotes a stream that is flowing or running is suggested by the
contexts of the pi. constr. of its cognate *yäbäl in Isa 44:4 and Isa 30:25. Isa 44:4 promises that
postexilic Israel will be like cârâbîm, "willows" (?), on flowing waters.
20
Holladay (Jeremiah 1, 492) recognizes the potential wordplay, but opines, interestingly,
that Jeremiah chose yûbal because of its likeness to yibbôl in Ps 1:3. This is a much more
difficult argument to make, since Jer 17:5-8 does not include yibbôl.
21
Kraus, Psalms 1-59, 113. This would reduce the likelihood that the term in question is
part of any intentional "exegetical" activity. See Fishbane, Biblical Interpretation, 281-85.
22
In five other places a word derived from the root describes the flowing of some substance,
tears (Ps 119:136; Lam 3:48), oil (Job 29:6), or water (Prov 5:16; 21:1).
 42 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY I 61, 1999

of a late date. Most important, perhaps, is the fact that in each of these four
texts the word derived from pig describes the water that flows from the holy
mountain.23
This point is abundantly clear in Pss 46:5 and 65:10, where one finds the
ancient Near Eastern idea that the earth's water originates on the mountain
of the gods. In Ps 46:5 (nâhârpëlâgâyw yësammëhû cîr Dëlohîm, "a river, the
streams of which make glad the city of God"), pëlâgâyw are the courses of
the river that flow through the holy city, and the water of this stream is
contrasted with the chaotic sea beneath the mountain (46:2-4). In Ps 65:10
(peleg Dëlohîm maleJ mâyim, "the stream of God shall be full of water"), the
"stream of God" signifies the deity's power experienced on Zion, and it is
spoken of in relation to the taming of the waters of chaos (65:6-8). Clearly,
the connection between the watering of the earth and the flowing of the peleg
D
ëlohîm reflects the belief so common in mythopoetic lore that deities con-
trolled the waters of the earth and guided them to their proper places. The
idea of watering the earth (65:10) may include the giving of rain, but the
contrast of the "stream of God" with the chaotic waters denotes a water
source of "universal" import.24
The last two occurrences of pëlâgîm (in Isa 30:25; 32:2) may support
further the association of this term with the waters of paradise. Isa 30:23-25
is a word of hope addressed to the residents of Zion. It declares that on the
day of Zion's restoration the hills and mountains will flow with "streams of
water." The text has striking thematic and verbal similarities to Ps 65:6-10.
Further, the adjective dâsën, "fat," "rich" (of growing plants) in Isa 30:23
appears in Ps 92:15 in reference to the health of trees planted in the temple
(cf. the use of the cognate noun desen in Pss 36:9; 63:6; 65:12).
Although the masoretes have understood the consonantal text of Isa 32:2
as "like streams of water in a dry place" (këpalgê-mayim bësâyôri), the LXX
reads "as from running water, and he shall appear in Zion" (bësîyyôn). The
LXX translator seems to rely on a corrupt MS, but the reading "in Zion" has
at least three points in its favor: (1) a word with the same consonants clearly
meaning "in a dry place" appears in Isa 25:5, and this may have prejudiced
the masoretic understanding of 32:2; (2) the LXX reading is the more difficult
reading; (3) the addition of kai phanësetai, "and he shall appear, is difficult
to explain simply on the basis of scribal error. The last point raises the
possibility that the LXX translator has been influenced by ideas like those

23
M. Dahood (Psalms /[AB 16; Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966] 4) notes this pattern
in mythic contexts, but he does not draw any broad conclusions from the data.
24
A comparable text is the Egyptian Hymn to Aton that depicts the Nile rising from the
underworld for Egypt and from the heavens, in the form of rain, for other nations (cf. Ps 104:8,
13; Deut 33:13). See ANET, 369-71.
 PSALM 1:3 43

expressed in Ps 36:8-10, combining the waters of Zion and the creation of

light. Whether the Hebrew pëlâgîm of Isa 32:2 originally referred to the
waters of Zion or not, it seems that the text conveyed that idea at some point
to some readers (including the LXX translator). In this way, Isa 32:2 is similar
to the three other texts in which the term in question refers to waters of
paradise.
These data on the location of peleg in these four texts viewed alone would
be inconclusive; however, they are suggestive in light of the parallels between
Ps 1:3a and Ezek 47:12. The fact that the word "streams" and the vocabulary
used to describe the leaves and fruit of the tree occur most prominently (and
in some cases exclusively) in descriptions of the temple mountain seems more
than accidental. Indeed, it seems probable that the writer of the psalm
includes the particular image of "streams of water," as well as the description
of the tree as fruitful and evergreen, in order to portray the righteous person
as a tree firmly rooted because it is planted in the temple and is made secure
by the temple stream.25 This thesis offers a logical explanation of the striking
differences between Ps 1:3a and Jer 17:8. The theory is supported by the fact
that two other psalms contain similar delineations of the righteous person as
a tree in the temple. If the thesis is correct, however, the inclusion of torà in
the equation also needs to be explained.

IV. The Place of Ps 1:3 in Late Biblical and Postbiblical

Literature
In Psalm 1 it is meditation on torà that makes the righteous person "like
a tree planted by streams of water." This idea seems to be in contrast with
Pss 52:10; 92:13-15 (though the imagery is similar) and with numerous other

25
That an Israelite author writes of the temple or Zion as the location of primeval waters
and fruitful trees is not surprising in light of the widespread diffusion of these ideas in the ancient
Near East. The construction of Baal's house was liked to the establishment of the rainy season
(see ANET, 133, lines 68-69). The Myth of Enki and Ninhursag celebrates the regenerative forces
of river water (see T. Jacobsen, The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Reli-
gion [New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976] 113; for a translation of the full text by S. N. Kramer,
see ANET, 38-41). Mesopotamian reliefs disclose a widespread association of temples with the
primeval sea (see O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconog-
raphy and the Book of Psalms [Crossroad Book; New York: Seabury, 1978] 117-18, 136, 140;
note, for example, the picture of Ur-Hannu of Ur offering a libation to Nanna, the moon god,
in the temple [p. 140]). The Cylinders of Gudea connect the temple of Ningirsu to abundant,
flowing waters (see the discussion of Cylinder A in Jacobsen, Treasures of Darkness, 80). More-
over, in the Hebrew Bible itself the temple is frequently depicted as a paradise (Ezek 47:1-14),
or as a place of abundant water where trees flourish (Ezek 31:2-18; Pss 52:10; 92:13-15). For a
discussion of the description of trees as sacral objects, see J. A. Soggin, "c£y," Theologisches
Handwörterbuch zum Alten Testament (1 vols.; ed. E. Jenni and C. Westermann; Munich: Kaiser,
1971) 2. 356-60.
 44 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY I 61, 1999

psalms in which the righteous find security by their presence in the temple.26
Is it possible that Psalm 1, like postbiblical writings in general, presents torà
as a replacement for that holy place? In rabbinic material, torà has a broad
tutelary function,27 and it serves as a surrogate for the temple.28 This possible
link is interesting, since some rabbinic passages in which this opinion is
expressed are focused on Ps 1:3 or on other texts that contain the simile of
the tree. For example, three midrashic comments identify the location of the
tree of Ps 1:3a as either Eden or the land of Israel:29

The Holy One, blessed be He, lifted Adam up, and planted him in the Garden
of Eden.30
The Holy One, blessed be He, lifted Abraham up and planted him in the
Garden of Eden. Or the verse may imply that the Holy One, blessed be He,
planted Abraham in the land of Israel.31
[This] also refers to the tribe of Levi whom the Holy One, blessed be He,
planted in the land of Israel.32

These comments are significant, since the rabbinic material associates

the temple closely with paradise. Even more to the point of this study is a
comment in m. Qid. 4:14 (followed by b. Qid. 82b), where Ps 92:15 ("in old
age they still produce fruit") is cited in support of the idea that the study of
torà offers security. This is noteworthy because Psalm 92 itself does not use
the word torà or any other terms that refer to divine commands or decrees.
Yet the rabbinic reader understands the security of the righteous in Psalm 92
to derive from torà. I contend that Ps 1:3 contains an implicit view of torà,
and an "interpretation" of the simile of the tree, stated explicitly in the
rabbinical text cited. In short, Ps 1:3a in the biblical material marks a stage
of development that will culminate in postbiblical writings.
Within the biblical period there are at least two other signposts that mark
this development. (1) Psalm 19, as D. J. A. Clines argues, contains language

26
The general idea, without the simile of the tree, appears in multiple psalms of different
genres and in many different forms of speech. A representative list would include Psalms 11, 15,
23 (see 23:6), 24, 29, 46, 48, 61, 63, 73, 122, 132.
27
See, for example, b. Ber. 14a: meditation on torà before bed gives protection through
the night.
28
See the sample of rabbinic texts and ideas in Levenson, Sinai and Zion, 178-84.
29
Note this association also in Midr. Lev. 11:7, where Zech 14:8 and Ps 1:3 are quoted
together.
30
The Midrash on Psalms (trans. W. G. Braude; 2 vols.; Yale Judaica Series 13; New
Haven: Yale University Press, 1959) 2. 13.
31
Ibid., 2. 18.
32
Ibid., 2. 19.
 PSALM 1:3 45

meant to present tôrâ as a source of life greater than the tree of life;33 thus,
the connection between tôrâ and paradise appears in another biblical text.
(2) In Sir 24:25-27 the writer says of tôrâ:
It overflows, like the Pishon, with wisdom,
and like the Tigris at the time of the first fruits
It runs over, like the Euphrates, with understanding,
and like the Jordan at harvest time.
It pours forth instruction like the Nile,
like the Gihon at the time of vintage.
In this play on Gen 2:10-14 tôrâ is painted as a wellspring of vitality like the
rivers that flow from Eden.34 The writer adds the Jordan and the Nile to the
list of streams and moves the Gihon to the end of the enumeration.35 These
alterations indicate that he has in mind Jerusalem (with Gihon, its sacred
stream), or perhaps the whole of Judaea (with the Jordan, its major river) as
the paradise of God.36
These associations of tôrâ with Eden in Psalm 19 and Sir 24:25-27 provide
evidence that the proposed interpretation of Ps 1:3a is not completely with-
out parallel in the biblical period. Perhaps Ps 1:3a comes closer than any
other biblical text to the rabbinic view of tôrâ as a replacement for the
temple.

33
D J A Chnes, "The Tree of Knowledge and the Law of Yahweh (Psalm XIX)," VT 24
(1974) 8-14 Chnes avers that Ps 19 8-11 incorporates the language of Gen 2 9, 17, 3 5-13 as a
means of presenting tôrâ as the superior source of life He argues that the expression "enlightening
the eyes" (Ps 19 9b) directly correlates to Gen 3 7, and that this phrase, along with other
somewhat less exact parallels, shows dependence on the narrative in Genesis The fact that tôrâ
is said to endure forever (Ps 19 10a) indicates a comparison with the fruit from the tree of the
garden
u
In addition, note the mention of the first man (ho prötos) in Sir 24 28
,5
The mention of the Nile goes against the idea of J G Snaith (Ealesiastuus. or, The
Wisdom of Jesus Son ofSirach [CBC, Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 1974] 125) that
"Gihon" refers to the Egyptian river
16
Reconstruction of the original text of Sirach is extremely difficult, as Snaith (Ealesi-
asticus, 2) points out No fragments of the present passage were discovered in the Cairo Geniza
For the Greek, Latin, and Synac, see Ecclesiastico Testo ebrau o c on apparato e ritu o e versioni
greca, latina e siriaca (ed F Vattioni, Pubblicazioni del Seminano di Semitistica, Testi 1, Naples
Istituto Orientale di Napoli, 1968) 128-31 Although Ρ J Skehan ("Structures in Poems on
Wisdom Proverbs 8 and Sirach 24," CBQAX [1979] 374) offers a reconstruction of the Hebrew
for comparison with Proverbs 8, his suggestion that Hebrew \ubal stands behind the Greek
diöryx in Sir 24 30-31 must remain conjectural, for the Hebrew text of Sirach 24 has not been
found For Ben Sira's Hebrew vocabulary Skehan relies on D Barthélémy and O Ricken-
bacher, Konkordanz zum hebräischen Sirach (Gottingen Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1973)
 46 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY I 61, 1999

IV. Conclusion
I have argued that the differences between Ps 1:3 and Jer 17:8 are best
explained by the psalmist's borrowing from other texts, particularly texts
that contain a tradition equating Zion and the temple with paradise. The
clearest source for the writer of the psalm is Ezek 47:12, from which he draws
the description of the righteous person as a verdant and fruitful tree in
Ps 1:3a. Additional evidence is the term pëlâgîm in Ps 1:3, a word selected
perhaps because of its presence in various passages where the waters of the
holy mountain and its temple are described (as in Pss 46:5; 65:10). With this
collocation of texts and images a simile drawn from the wisdom tradition is
transformed in Psalm 1. Hence, Ps 1:3 perhaps should be read with other
psalms (Pss 52:10; 92:13-15) in which the righteous person is depicted with
the image of a tree planted in the holy place. In Ps 1:3, however, tôrâ, not the
temple, assures security. Thus, tôrâ is implicitly compared to the temple and
is perhaps seen as the temple's replacement.
This conclusion on tôrâ and the righteous in Ps 1:3 has at least two
important implications. First, the psalm shows evidence that the prevalent
attitude toward tôrâ after 70 C E . is present in incipient form earlier, in
postexilic Israel.37 Second, the results of this study may supply additional
information about the editorial interests behind the full form of the Psalter.
E. S. Gerstenberger tells us that "we have to read the Psalter as a whole in
the light of Jewish community organization in Persian and Hellenistic times
to understand its significance at this latest stage of liturgical use," because
"the psalms . . . were read and prayed in local assemblies and, at least
primarily, not in the temple community of Jerusalem."38 Although Gersten-
berger lacks tangible support for his assertion that the Psalter as a whole was
used outside the temple community of Jerusalem, he is certainly correct in
the more general conclusion that the Book of Psalms came into present form
when the frailty of the temple, and perhaps its remoteness (in the aftermath
of 587 B.C.E.), were distinct problems. This situation evoked a sense of trust
in tôrâ that would eventually become a central mark of faith.39 Ps 1:3 seems
to indicate a shift in the perceived source of safety, from temple to tôrâ.
Whatever else may be said about the introductory role of Psalm 1,
Ps 1:3a gives a particular cast to subsequent references to the temple as
security (in Pss 52:10; 92:13-15). It is now meditation on tôrâ that makes the
righteous steadfast, like a tree planted by the temple stream.

37
As Fishbane (Biblical Interpretation, 281-85) suggests, the roots of what rabbinical
writers say about tôrâ may often be seen in pristine form in the Bible itself (ι e , in Ps 1 3a)
38
E S Gerstenberger, Psalms, Part 1, with an Introduction to Cultic Poetry (FOTL 14,
Grand Rapids Eerdmans, 1988) 28
39
For a discussion of the tension in attitudes toward the importance of the earthly temple
in postexilic Israel, see Ρ D Hanson, The People Called The Growth of Community in the
Bible (San Francisco Harper & Row, 1986) 253-68