Psalm 85 Study Notes

Ps 85 title On sons of Korah, see note at Ps 42 title.

85:1 The perfect form of the Hebrew verbs, denoting completed action, supports a postexilic date for this psalm that celebrates Jacob’s return from Babylonian captivity. The idiomatic expression restored the fortunes includes the concept of a release from imprisonment or debt combined with the return of the Lord’s people to their homeland (14:7; 53:6; 126:4; Dt 30:3; Jr 29:14; 30:3,18; Am 9:14; Zph 2:7). As a key word of this psalm, the root shuv (“turn,” “return,” “restore,” “revive”) occurs five times (vv. 1,3-4,6,8).

85:2 The Hebrew term for covered, when combined with the word for sin, means “forgave,” especially in context with the previous line (32:1).

85:3 The Hebrew root ‘avar (“anger, fury”) functions as a wordplay with a second related Hebrew root ‘avar, meaning “pass over, forgive” (“pardon” in Jb 7:21). The Lord has forgiven Israel’s sins and turned (Hb shuv) his anger away from them.

85:4 If God had already forgiven, restored, and showed favor to the exiles, why did the psalmist call on him to do so again? His request acknowledged that God’s renewal of his wrath against the people remained a tangible reality.

85:5 On Will you be angry with us forever? compare 79:5; 80:4; 88:14. To prolong . . . anger for all generations recalls Ex 34:7, where the Lord promised to punish descendants for the sins of their fathers. The nation of Israel experienced suffering as a consequence of previous sin, suggesting that all God’s people shared responsibility for the welfare and moral condition of the nation.

85:6-7 Faithful love (Hb chesed, “covenant loyalty”) is a cultic term indicating a unique relationship between Yahweh and his people, a relationship built on loyalty by those not obligated to demonstrate that loyalty. Revive us again (lit “restore our lives”) uses the Hebrew word shuv. The Lord restores Israel’s fortunes by turning his anger from them, thereby restoring Jacob’s vitality. The salvation of the Lord results from a demonstration of his covenant loyalty.

85:8 Go back is the Hebrew word shuv (cp. vv. 1,3,6).

85:9-10 Reconciliation is characterized by renewal and the return of peace and prosperity to the land (119:151; 145:18; Is 50:8; 55:6; 62:2).

85:11-12 Personification of God’s attributes as pastoral imagery reinforces the connection between material prosperity and the perfect state of fairness and righteousness operative under the Lord’s kingship. Fertility and abundant rainfall affirm God’s faithfulness (Is 30:23-25; 32:15-18; 45:8; 55:10; 61:11; Am 9:13).

85:13 Righteousness accompanies the Lord in his procession back to Jerusalem (43:3; 89:14; 96:6; Is 40:10; 58:8; 62:11), representing a reversal from when the land was overrun by injustice.