Nicodemus and the Pole
You have given a banner to those who fear You, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah. Psalm 60:4 NASB
Given a banner – The Hebrew word nes means a flag, a standard (as in military combat) or a banner. In ancient times, factions involved in wars flew banners to identify themselves. The banner was a visible sign of camaraderie, command and safety. David employs this image, familiar in his day, in order to express the protection and community that YHVH provides for those who rally to His flag.
The ESV translates the second half of this verse very differently. Instead of “displayed because of the truth,” the ESV continues with the military metaphor and translates, “that they may flee to it from the bow.” Since these translations are so different, there must be some reason why the Hebrew could be read either way. The text is lehitnoses mipnei qoshet. The verb, nasas, is quite unusual. In Isaiah 10:18 it occurs in its first root form and means “be sick.” But in this root, it occurs only in one Hebrew tense and is found only in this verse and in Zechariah 9:16. In both cases, the meaning is not certain. What we do know is that nes, the word for banner, is a derivative of this verb. It is obvious that David is employing a play on words but what precisely that play is has been lost over time. The next word, mipnei, is a form of pana, most often found in panim, meaning “face.” With the preposition, the expression seems to be connected with turning from something, like turning away from the face of danger or from a dangerous time. But the expression, once again, is not clear. The final word, qoshet, means “bow,” but another word spelled in the same way means “truth,” apparently found only in Proverbs 22:21. So now you see the difficulty. The NASB takes the meaning from qoshet in Proverbs and supplies the context for pana. The ESV takes qoshet as “bow,” maintaining David’s military metaphor, and supplies the context of pana from the noun. Both are possible. Neither is certain. In fact, David may have something entirely different in mind; a message that made sense to the use of the words in the tenth century BCE but is no longer understood by anyone, translator or reader of the Hebrew.
What does this mean? Does it mean that you can’t trust your Bible? After all, if no one really knows what this verse says, then no translation of the verse can be considered accurate. This isn’t the only verse that poses such a problem, although fortunately there aren’t many. But it does demand that the translators tell us about verses like this. When they don’t mention these difficulties, we are left with the mistaken assumption that we have an accurate rendition of what David wrote. And the simple fact is that we don’t have such a thing. In this case, it doesn’t really make too much difference. We get the general idea even if we don’t know precisely what David intended. The message is still clear. Somehow God protects.
One other important point needs to be made about this verse. The use of nes in this verse (and in others) is certainly about an ensign, a signal pole, a banner or a flag of identification. But the same word shows up in the famous account of Moses raising the “pole” in the wilderness when snakes were biting the people. In fact, Yeshua refers to this event in his discussion with Nicodemus. When the Son of Man is lifted up like Moses lifted up the serpent is the context of that discussion. And it is certainly about the cross. That means that the cross is not a pole, per se. It is a nes, a banner, a sign, a flag of identification. It represents something about what God is doing. Just as Moses’ “pole” was really a symbol of something God was doing, so the cross is a symbol of something God is doing. What precisely it is that God is doing requires a great deal more investigation, but this much we know from the word itself. It is about identification with God’s purposes.
David suggests (perhaps) that we can run to the banner to be safe. I would guess that Yeshua may be employing the same Davidic idea.
Topical Index: banner, pole, nes, pana, panim, face, qoshet, bow, truth, Psalm 60:4
But was the “cross” a cross? Was it not a tree?
As a symbol, what can be more profound that if the Messiah Ben Yosef had been hung on an ancient almond tree? … the tree which sprung from Aaron’s staff which David planted (stuck into the ground and left it there) on the Mount of Olives when he was fleeing from his own offspring (branches). The mount on which he may even have been sitting when he composed this Psalm.
From a Roman perspective, it was certainly a cross (perhaps not the same shape that we are used to), but as a symbol, the “tree” fits just as well in Hebrew thought. Since the cross as a means of torture and execution was invented by the Romans, there is no perfectly equivalent word in Hebrew. However, be careful about the context of the use of “tree” in Paul’s midrash.
Why do they translate qoshet as a bow? Qeshet as a bow or rainbow is with a taw-ת, not tet- ט. That leaves us only with the Proverbs option, doesn’t it?
Unless you believe that the text is corrupt and must be rewritten.
What text? You said both translations for qoshet, bow and truth, are possible. I’m asking what’s the basis for the bow option since bow is spelt differently in the rest of the hebrew bible.
Robert Alter (The Book of Psalms) writes: The Hebrew phrase here is doubtful. The rare term qoshet does mean “truth” in Aramaic. The Septuagint and the Syraic understood this to mean “because of [or “in the face of”] the bow,” reading qeshet instead of qoshet, with the last consent taw instead of tet.”
The UBS handbook on the Psalms makes generally the same remark, noting that the text is debatable. Various translations either choose to follow the rare word in the current Hebrew text or emend it by following one of the alternatives as above. So the translation depends on whether or not you believe the text is without corruption.
Does this help?
Yes! Thank you.