Thijs Booij, «Psalm 127,2b: a Return to Martin Luther», Vol. 81 (2000) 262-268

In Ps 127,2b )n# (s\e4na4)) tells about the manner of giving (H. Irsigler); it does so by denoting the state of the dydy when he is receiving God’s gift. The particle Nk, as related to Ntn, means ‘according to that’, referring to the notion of toil. The tenor of v. 2b is to underscore that it is God who ‘builds the house’, ‘keeps the city’. What humans receive is not the outcome of toil, not a divine reward for it, but an expression of favour, a gift just like that. Translation: ‘To his beloved one He gives it in sleep’.

been in vain? Apparently ‘toil’, not ‘bread’, is the essential element here. Mxl lk) stands for ‘lead a life’⁴⁰, Mybc(h denoting the quality of life.

        At the beginning of v. 2⁴¹, Mkl )w# has to be connected with what precedes; the )l ... M) statement of v. 1 (dissociated from the examples of that verse) is presupposed. At the beginning of v. 2b, Nk not simply refers to the preceding statement, but to a notion essential in it. The author’s style, apparently somewhat bold, reflects a mode of thought. In v. 1 things of primary importance (‘house’, ‘city’) are mentioned which, to exist and to function, are specifically dependent on human activity and human care; it is however God, the psalm says, who builds and watches⁴². It would be wrong now to conclude that humans do not build and watch, as is shown by a rewording of v. 1: ‘If YHWH builds the house, those who build it do not labour in vain’. The exertion of those building makes sense; it could even be necessary. The city may be kept though the watchman is sleeping; with the builders asleep, however, the city is not likely to be built. V. 2, although intensifying the message, may not be expected to hold elements contradictory to v. 1. Therefore the statement that God gives things ‘in sleep’ need not mean (even if it cannot be excluded) that the receiver has only to rest⁴³; it rather underscores that it is God who ‘builds the house’, ‘keeps the city’. ‘He gives it in sleep’ is to say: what humans receive is not the outcome of toil, not a divine reward for it, but a gift just like that. ‘He gives to his beloved’ means: the gift is a manifestation of favour. By the singular — ‘his beloved one’ — the gift is situated in a personal relationship⁴⁴. V. 2b does not change the tenor of vv. 1-2; it just makes the notion of favour more personal and graphic. A little scene is pictured: God shows favour to a human being dear to him.