Introduction to Psalm 120
Psalm 120 text: the first of the Songs of Ascents
Psalm 120 is the first of the fifteen shire ha-ma'alot (songs of ascents or of pilgrimages, Ps 120–134), a collection unified by the identical title in all fifteen psalms. The Jewish and Christian tradition has proposed several interpretations of the term ma'alot (steps, ascents): (1) psalms sung by pilgrims during the ascent to Jerusalem for the three pilgrimage festivals (Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot); (2) psalms that celebrate the multiple ascents and liberations of Israel — Midrash Tehillim 120 observes that the title uses the plural ma'alot and not the singular ma'alah, because «when Israel ascends, it does not ascend in a single step but in multiple steps,» like the great liberations from Egypt, from the Babylonian furnace and finally from exile; (3) psalms sung by the exiles during the return from Babylon.
The psalm opens with a typical thanksgiving formula: el-YHWH ba-tzaratah li qarati va-ya'aneni — «to the Lord, in my distress, I cried, and he answered me» (Ps 120:1). The term tzarah (distress, narrowness) is the antithesis of divine opening — the righteous in distress calls, and God responds. Mishnah Middot 2:5 explicitly establishes that the fifteen steps of the Temple corresponded to the fifteen Songs of Ascents, and that the Levites sang these psalms on them. Ps 120 is therefore the first step of the liturgical ascent to the sanctuary.
| Verse (MT) | Key Hebrew term | Theological meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Ps 120:1 | el-YHWH ba-tzaratah (אֶל־יְהוָה בַּצָּרָתָה) | To the Lord in distress |
| Ps 120:2 | mi-sefat sheqer mi-lashon remiyyah (מִשְּׂפַת־שֶׁקֶר מִלָּשׁוֹן רְמִיָּה) | From lying lips, from a deceitful tongue |
| Ps 120:5 | garti Meshekh shakhanti im-aholei Qedar (גַּרְתִּי מֶשֶׁךְ שָׁכַנְתִּי עִם־אָהֳלֵי קֵדָר) | I dwell by Meshech, I live among the tents of Kedar |
| Ps 120:7 | ani shalom ve-ki adabber hemmah la-milchamah (אֲנִי־שָׁלוֹם וְכִי אֲדַבֵּר הֵמָּה לַמִּלְחָמָה) | I am peace, and when I speak, they are for war |
Psalm 120 commentary: 'from lying lips' and the destructive power of speech
Verse 2 contains the central supplication of the psalm: YHWH hatzilah nafshi mi-sefat-sheqer mi-lashon remiyyah — «Lord, deliver my soul from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue» (Ps 120:2). The terms sheqer (falsehood) and remiyyah (deception, fraud) designate structural falsity, not merely an occasional error. The psalmist does not ask for liberation from a physical enemy but from a verbal enemy: slander, destructive gossip, false testimony.
Verse 3 poses a rhetorical question to the lashon remiyyah: mah yitten lekha u-mah yosif lakh lashon remiyyah — «what shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, O deceitful tongue?» Verse 4 responds: chitzei gibbor shenunim im gachalei retamim — «a warrior's sharp arrows, with glowing coals of the broom tree» (Ps 120:4). The image is drastic: the lying tongue deserves the most severe punishments (arrows and fire). Mishnah Avot 1:17 quotes Shimon the Just: kol ha-margil leshon ha-ra... ke-illu kafar ba-iqar — «whoever habitually engages in slander... is as if he had denied the fundamental principle.» The Tannaitic tradition knows lashon ha-ra (the evil tongue) as one of the gravest sins, and Ps 120 is the classic scriptural foundation of this theology of speech.
Psalm 120 explanation: 'I dwell by Meshech, I live among the tents of Kedar'
Verse 5 contains an enigmatic geographical declaration: oyah-li ki-garti Meshekh shakhanti im-aholei Qedar — «woe is me, for I sojourn by Meshech, I dwell among the tents of Kedar» (Ps 120:5). Meshech is a people of the northern Caucasus (cf. Gen 10:2, Ezek 27:13), and Kedar is a nomadic Arab tribe of the Syro-Arabian desert (cf. Gen 25:13, Isa 21:16). The two localities are geographically distant and almost incompatible: the psalmist cannot literally dwell in both simultaneously. The mention is therefore metaphorical: the psalmist feels exiled among hostile peoples, far from the house of God.
The psalm closes with verse 7, one of the most dramatic declarations in the Psalter about the solitude of shalom: ani shalom ve-ki adabber hemmah la-milchamah — «I am peace, and when I speak, they are for war» (Ps 120:7). The psalmist embodies peace (shalom) but is surrounded by those who seek war (milchamah). The phrase ani shalom (I am peace) does not simply mean «I am peaceful» but «I am shalom» — the identity of the righteous coincides with peace itself, against the hostile identity of his neighbors. Mishnah Avot 1:12 quotes Hillel: hevei mi-talmidav shel Aharon ohev shalom ve-rodef shalom — «be among the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace.» The traditional Jewish and Christian explanation of Psalm 120 makes this text the classic model of persecuted shalom: peace is not weakness but resistance to the system of violence.