Quit Claim

Redeem me from oppression by man, so that I may keep Your precepts.  Psalm 119:134  NASB

Redeem me – First position in the verse.  Important.  Imperative.  Important.  Etymology.  Important.  Now let’s unpack it all.

pādâ is the Hebrew verb translated “redeem.”  But it doesn’t mean what most Christians would expect.  When those who grew up in Western Christianity hear “Redeem me,” they think of being saved, of going to heaven, of having their sins forgiven.  pādâ doesn’t mean those things.  “The basic meaning of the Hebrew root is to achieve the transfer of ownership from one to another through payment of a price or an equivalent substitute.”^[1]  When God redeemed Israel from Egypt, He transferred ownership of the slave population from Pharoah to Himself.  He didn’t “save” them, get them to Heaven, forgive their sins, or any of that.  He merely took over the title.   “Originally, it had to do with the payment of a required sum for the transfer of ownership, a commercial term.”^[2]  God asked for their transfer.  Pharaoh refused.  God applied some pressure.  The title was eventually transferred.  What was the price?  Ah, well maybe you’ll need to rethink Passover.  “The word was given special religious significance by the Exodus. When God delivered Israel from servitude to Egypt, he did so at the price of the slaughter of all the firstborn in Egypt, man and beast.”^[3]  We should add some further remarks in order to understand why Jews today continue to talk about an exile and await redemption (this is long, but worth it):

The theme of redemption was not to be related merely to the firstborn of Israel. Israel itself was the firstborn of God (Ex 4:22) and had been redeemed by Yahweh: “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you … ” (Deut 15:15; 24:18). Israel had been delivered, ransomed from servitude in Egypt by the hand of God. This fact was to color Hebrew thought through the centuries to come (cf. II Sam 7:23; Ps 78:42; 111:9; Mic 6:4). Isaiah even saw God’s calling of Abraham from Ur as redemption (Isa 29:22; cf. I Pet 1:18). Likewise he saw the future deliverance of Zion as the result of that same redemptive activity (Isa 35:10; 51:11; cf. also Isa 50:2; Zech 10:8).

The concept of redemption continued to broaden. God, who had redeemed his people from Egypt, would also deliver them from other difficulties. David could affirm that God had redeemed him from all adversity (II Sam 4:9; I Kgs 1:29); therefore he could pray, “Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his trouble” (Ps 25:22).

The Psalms often speak of God’s deliverance or redemption of life from some danger (Ps 26:11; 31:5; 34:22 [H 23]; 44:26 [H 27]; 71:23), or from the hand of human oppression (Ps 55:18 [H 19]; 69:18 [H 19]; cf. also Job 6:23). The greatest danger or adversary that man faces is Death, Sheol, the Pit. The Psalmist gives poignant expression to man’s inadequacy in Ps 49:8–9, but concludes that God’s redemptive power is not limited (v. 16). The resurrection is God’s ultimate redemption of man.

Interestingly enough, only once is pādâ used with reference to redemption from sin (Ps 130:7–8). This remained for the completed revelation of the new covenant. Unfortunately, this emphasis has become so dominant in Christian redemptive theology, there is the tendency to overlook the fact that the nt as well as the ot sees redemption, or salvation, in terms of the total human situation. Even a cursory reading of Luke’s Gospel will catch the reflection of the ot heritage in the concept of salvation.^[4]

Take Coker’s remark seriously.  There is little doubt that the biblical view of redemption is not focused on forgiveness of sin or escape from this veil of tears.  To read that mistake into the Psalms only betrays a priori Christian theology.  The psalmist is focused on what is happening in the present.  That should be quite clear when he decries “the oppression of Man” (ʿōšeq ʾādām).  There aren’t any satanic forces or invisible demons haunting him.  His problem is his own species.  No doubt this is true for us too.  Paul’s apocalyptic vision might allow him to write about principalities and powers in high places, but it’s the crowd that wants to kill him.  Yeshua wasn’t nailed to the cross by evil spirits.

Today, the day before Christendom’s great celebration, we might reconsider the meaning of the Messiah’s name: salvation.  What do you suppose that meant to Jews in the first century?  Do you think they would have endorsed the common Christian phrase: “Jesus died on the cross to forgive my sins”?  If ʿōšeq ʾādām is “the abuse of power or authority, the burdening, trampling, and crushing of those lower in station,”^[5] do we have to look further afield than our own history to find evidence of this rampant disorder?  The psalmist took notice three thousand years ago, and it scared him.  How do you suppose he would feel today?

Topical Index: ʿōšeq ʾādām, oppression of man, pādâ, redeem, ransom, title, Psalm 119:132

^[1] Coker, W. B. (1999). 1734 פָּדָה. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 716). Moody Press.

^[2] Ibid.

^[3] Ibid.

^[4] Ibid.

^[5] Allen, R. B. (1999). 1713 עָשַׁק. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 705). Moody Press.