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The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. Psalm 121:5 NASB
Shade – When you live in a desert climate, your greatest enemy is the sun. It withers the plants, kidnaps the dew, and scalds your skin. Perhaps that’s why Arabs wore heavy cloaks despite the heat. Better to be hot than fried. For this reason, the Psalmist uses the metaphor of shade for the idea of protection. As we would expect, the theme is present throughout Scripture:
Yahweh is the shade or the source of protection for his people (Ps 121:5f.; Isa 25:4). Therefore the Psalmist prays that God may hide him under “the shadow of his wings” (Ps 17:8; cf. 36:7 [H 8]; 91:1). God promises to hide the suffering servant in the shadow of his hand in order that he can proclaim his penetrating message for a period of time (Isa 49:2). And in the latter days Yahweh’s glory will return to Jerusalem. It will be a shade from the heat and a shelter from the other elements (Isa 4:6; cf. Hos 14:8).[1]
But what we might not have expected is that this root, ṣālal, is also found in the derivative ṣalmāwet, a term of foreboding.
“(ṣalmāwet). Deep darkness. (ASV prefers ‘the shadow of death’ and also has ‘thick darkness,’ ‘thick gloom’; RSV prefers ‘deep darkness’ and also has ‘gloom.’) Some treat it as a combination of ṣalāmu ‘be dark’ (Akkadian, also Arabic) plus ût as an abstract ending. Most versions understand it as combination of ‘shadow’ and ‘death.’”[2]
As Hartley notes, this is “the strongest word in Hebrew for darkness.”[3]
Shade might be protection, but it can also portend destruction. Running for cover might just take us into the shadows of death. It all depends on why you need covering. In the gospel of John, the wicked seek the shadows so that their evil deeds will not be exposed to the light. In the Tanakh, the thick darkness can hide the true face of God or reveal His wrath. While the Psalmist cries out for God’s šomerekâ (His “keeping”), the word should remind us that who we encounter in the dark makes all the difference. If God is there, we’re safe. If we find only ourselves, we’re lost.
Finally, notice the odd connection to the “right hand.” Did you expect that? Why is the Lord’s shade on the right hand (yāmîn)? Did you recall Jacob’s unusual blessing of Joseph’s two sons? Or the name Benjamin (ben yāmîn), Jacob’s alteration of Rachel’s name for her last born? Or were you thinking of the theological metaphor “right hand of the Lord,” an allusion of God’s omnipotence, as in Exodus 15:6? “It is the Lord’s right hand that becomes the hope and confidence of God’s people in time of need. Isaiah 41:10b explicitly conjoins strength and help to the instrumental usage of right hand, . .”[4]
All of these connections validate the Psalmist’s claim. If you seek shade in a hostile land, find the place under His wings, not an umbrella of your own making.
Topical Index: shade, ṣālal, ṣalmāwet, thick darkness, death, protection, Psalm 121:5
[1] Hartley, J. E. (1999). 1921 צָלַל. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 767). Chicago: Moody Press.
[4] Gilchrist, P. R. (1999). 872 ימן. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 382). Chicago: Moody Press.
