Punctuation Perspective

For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.  Today, ^[c]if you will hear His voice,   Psalm 95:7  NASB

Today, – Since the original has no punctuation, how exactly are we to read this verse.  Look closely at the NASB translation and compare it to the Chabad translation:

For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the flocks of His hand, today, if you hearken to His voice.

The use of punctuation in both translations sets the first thought (being the people of God) apart from the second thought (a reminder of obedience) found in the next verse, namely:

Today, ^[c]if you will hear His voice, ⁸ Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on the day of Massah in the wilderness,

The NASB footnote recognizes this implication when it offers “Or O that you would obey” for the phrase “if you will hear His voice.”  Certainly there is a connection between “He is our God” and obedience.  Exactly what that connection is in Hebrew is a bit ambiguous (as always):

כִּ֘י ה֚וּא אֱלֹהֵ֗ינוּ וַֽאֲנַ֚חְנוּ עַ֣ם מַ֖רְעִיתוֹ וְצֹ֣אן יָד֑וֹ הַ֜יּ֗וֹם אִם־בְּקֹל֥וֹ תִשְׁמָֽעוּ

I have highlighted the critical words.  הַ֜יּ֗וֹם is obvious.  Literally, “the day”—hayyom.  Pay attention to the fact that it is preceded by a definite article: “the day.”  The translators take this to mean “today,” but it doesn’t actually say that.  The next word creates the ambiguity.  It is ʾim, translated as “if, not, whether, when, since.”^[1]  Now read this without the punctuation.  Does it say, “For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the flocks of His hand today if you hearken to His voice” or “For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the flocks of His hand today when you hearken to His voice” or “For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the flocks of His hand today whether you hearken to His voice.”  Is He our God today based on our obedience or is He our God no matter if we don’t obey today?  Remember the definite article.  Is He our God the day we obey (and not our God on the days we don’t obey)?  Should we read the verse, “He is our God the day when we obey” or “He is our God the day since we obey (not like Meribah and Massah)”?  Just how tight is the connection between obedience and God’s commitment?

Most translations suggest that God is the God of His people and therefore we, His people, are called to obedience.  This assumes that God remains the God of His people independently of their obedience.  But what if the psalmist draws the connection tighter?  What if He is our God the day that we obey?  Does this imply that our obedience is the determining factor in God’s choosing us?  What would that mean for those who do not obey?  For religions that dismiss the necessity of obedience?

I suppose the ambiguity in the verse, and the necessity to add punctuation to break the thought, is really based on the very scary question: “When is God really our God?”

Topical Index:  hayyom ʾim, today, the day, His people, obedience, Psalm 95:7

^[1] Scott, J. B. (1999). 111 אִם. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 48). Chicago: Moody Press.