Introduction to Psalm 70
Psalm 70 text: 'Make haste, O God, to deliver me' and the urgency of prayer
Psalm 70 is one of the shortest in the Psalter (5 verses) and is almost entirely identical to the concluding section of Ps 40 (vv.14–18). It opens with the best-known verse: Elohim le-hatzileni YHWH le-ezrati hushah — «O God, hasten to deliver me! O YHWH, make haste to help me!» (Ps 70:2). The verb hush (to hasten, to accelerate) is technical in biblical urgent prayer: the psalmist does not simply ask for help but for immediate help. This petition has an existential quality of emergency that runs through the entire psalm.
The double divine name in v.2 — Elohim (God) and YHWH (Lord) — is typical of the Elohistic collection of the Psalter (Ps 42–83), in which the divine name Elohim frequently replaces YHWH. Ps 70 is therefore a redactional version of the ending of Ps 40, adapted for use in the Elohistic collection. This redactional duplication is not an error but an ancient liturgical practice: the same text was used in different cultic contexts, and was preserved in parallel forms in the canon.
| Verse (MT) | Key Hebrew term | Theological meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Ps 70:2 | Elohim le-hatzileni hushah (אֱלֹהִים לְהַצִּילֵנִי חוּשָׁה) | O God, hasten to deliver me |
| Ps 70:3 | yevoshu ve-yachperu (יֵבֹשׁוּ וְיַחְפְּרוּ) | Let them be put to shame and confusion |
| Ps 70:4 | yashuvu al eqev boshtam (יָשׁוּבוּ עַל־עֵקֶב בָּשְׁתָּם) | Let them turn back because of their shame |
| Ps 70:5 | yagdal Elohim (יִגְדַּל אֱלֹהִים) | Let God be magnified |
| Ps 70:6 | ani ani u-evyon (אֲנִי עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן) | I am poor and needy |
Psalm 70 commentary: the relationship with Psalm 40 and canonical duplication
The relationship between Ps 70 and Ps 40:14–18 is one of the most notable cases of textual duplication in the Psalter. The final section of Ps 40 is almost word for word identical to Ps 70, with a few significant variants: the YHWH of Ps 40:14 becomes Elohim in Ps 70:2 (respecting the Elohistic collection), and some minor particles change. This phenomenon also occurs with other sections: Ps 14 is almost identical to Ps 53 (again with variation YHWH/Elohim), and parts of Ps 108 echo Ps 57 and Ps 60.
Form criticism sees in these duplications evidence of redactional practices in the Psalter: the same text was used in different cultic contexts (Temple of Jerusalem vs. northern collections, or individual vs. communal use). Mishnah Tamid 7:4 establishes the psalms sung in the Temple for the seven days of the week, and attests to the organized liturgical use of the Psalter. Ps 70, with its brevity and urgency, was particularly suited to contexts of personal or communal emergency, while the longer Ps 40 preserved the narrative context of past deliverance that preceded the petition.
Psalm 70 explanation: 'I am poor and needy'
The final verse of the psalm is one of the most intense confessions in the Psalter: va-ani ani ve-evyon Elohim chushah-li — «I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God!» (Ps 70:6). The terms ani (humble, poor) and evyon (needy, beggar) do not describe only material poverty: in the biblical and Tannaitic theology they designate a spiritual condition of total dependence on God, the opposite of gai'ut (pride) of one who trusts in his own resources.
The self-definition ani ve-evyon is central in the psalmic theology of anavah (humility). Mishnah Avot 4:4 cites Rabbi Levitas of Yavne: me'od me'od hevei shefal ru'ach — «be very, very humble of spirit». This rabbinic virtue is a Tannaitic attestation of the same spiritual attitude of the psalmist. The psalm closes by rejoining its beginning: Elohim chushah-li (hasten to me, O God) takes up the hushah of v.2, forming a structural inclusio. The prayer of Psalm 70 is therefore a classic teaching on urgent petition: confession of poverty, acknowledgment of divine greatness (yagdal Elohim, v.5), and immediate invocation.