Introduction to Psalm 118
Psalm 118 Text: The Passover Hallel Psalm and the Liturgical Inclusio
Psalm 118 is the concluding psalm of the Egyptian Hallel (Ps 113-118), the collection sung by Jews during the Pilgrimage Festivals (Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot) and Hanukkah. It is therefore one of the most sung psalms in Jewish and Christian liturgy, and the richest in New Testament citations in the Psalter together with Ps 110. It opens and closes with the same formula: hodu la-YHWH ki-tov ki le-olam chasdo — "give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his hesed endures forever" (Ps 118:1, 29). This inclusio is typical of the liturgical structure of the Hallel.
The heart of the psalm is a thoda (song of thanksgiving) personal to the individual, which the community takes up collectively. The section vv.5-18 recounts a deliverance: min ha-metzar qarati Yah anani va-merchav Yah — "out of my distress I called upon Yah, Yah answered me with freedom" (Ps 118:5). The term metzar (distress, narrowness) is opposed to merchav (breadth), and the abbreviated form Yah (contracted form of YHWH) is almost a cry. Mishnah Pesachim 10:7 establishes that the Hallel is recited during the Passover Seder, and Ps 118 is the culminating point of this recitation: the personal deliverance of the psalmist becomes a symbol of Israel's deliverance from Egypt.
| Verse (MT) | Key Hebrew term | Theological meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Ps 118:1 | hodu la-YHWH ki-tov (הוֹדוּ לַיהוָה כִּי־טוֹב) | Give thanks to the Lord for he is good |
| Ps 118:14 | azzi ve-zimrat Yah (עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ) | My strength and song is Yah |
| Ps 118:22 | even ma'asu ha-bonim (אֶבֶן מָאֲסוּ הַבּוֹנִים) | The stone the builders rejected |
| Ps 118:24 | zeh ha-yom asah YHWH (זֶה־הַיּוֹם עָשָׂה יְהוָה) | This is the day YHWH has made |
| Ps 118:25 | hosha na (הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא) | Save now! |
Psalm 118 Commentary: 'The Stone the Builders Rejected' in the Gospel
Verse 22 is among the most cited by the New Testament: even ma'asu ha-bonim hayetah le-rosh pinnah — "the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone" (Ps 118:22). Jesus himself cites this verse in Matt 21:42, Mark 12:10-11, Luke 20:17 after the parable of the wicked tenants, applying it to himself as the rejected one who becomes the foundation of the new spiritual edifice. Peter cites it in Acts 4:11 before the Sanhedrin: houtos estin ho lithos ho exouthenetheis hyph' hymon ton oikodomon (this is the stone that you builders have rejected).
The christological application is further developed in 1Pet 2:4-7, where Peter combines Ps 118:22 with Isa 28:16 (the cornerstone of Zion) and Isa 8:14 (the stone of stumbling). The triple citation constructs a messianic testimonium in which the rejection of the Messiah by the leaders is not an obstacle to the divine plan but its confirmation. Mishnah Pesachim 10:6 establishes the sequence of the Hallel in the Passover Haggadah, and the Jewish tradition sees in Ps 118:22 the metaphor of the deliverance of the humble people from powerful oppressors — a reading that precedes and confirms the christological reading.
Psalm 118 Explanation: 'This Is the Day the Lord Has Made' and 'Hosanna'
The two verses 24-26 have become the pre-eminent liturgical formula of paschal joy: zeh ha-yom asah YHWH nagilah ve-nismechah vo, anna YHWH hoshi'ah na anna YHWH hatzlichah na, barukh ha-ba be-shem YHWH — "this is the day that YHWH has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it, save us now, O Lord! grant us success, O Lord! blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" (Ps 118:24-26). The formula hosha-na (save now) became hosanna in the Gospels, shouted by the crowd at Jesus' entry into Jerusalem: Matt 21:9, Mark 11:9-10, John 12:13 cite hosanna en tois hypsistois combining Ps 118:25-26 with Ps 148.
Mishnah Sukkah 4:5 describes the rite of the aravot (willow branches) during Sukkot: the priests made seven circuits around the altar crying anna YHWH hoshi'ah na, anna YHWH hatzlichah na (Ps 118:25). The seventh day (known as Hoshana Rabbah) took its name precisely from this invocation. The liturgical explanation of Psalm 118 thus makes verse 25 the foundation of an entire Jewish cultic practice preserved to this day. The phrase barukh ha-ba be-shem YHWH (Ps 118:26) is still the priestly blessing of welcome for the pilgrim at the sanctuary, and the Gospels place it on the lips of the crowd that recognizes Jesus as the awaited pilgrim and the Messiah.