18:42 I grind them as fine windblown dust; 1
I beat them underfoot 2 like clay 3 in the streets.
72:9 Before him the coastlands 4 will bow down,
and his enemies will lick the dust. 5
90:3 You make mankind return 6 to the dust, 7
and say, “Return, O people!”
1 tn Heb “I pulverize them like dust upon the face of the wind.” The phrase “upon the face of” here means “before.” 2 Sam 22:43 reads, “like dust of the earth.”
2 tc Ps 18:42 reads, “I empty them out” (Hiphil of ריק), while 2 Sam 22:43 reads, “I crush them, I stomp on them” (juxtaposing the synonyms דקק and רקע). It is likely that the latter is a conflation of variants. One, but not both, of the verbs in 2 Sam 22:43 is probably original; “empty out” does not form as good a parallel with “grind, pulverize” in the parallel line.
3 tn Or “mud.”
4 tn Or “islands.” The term here refers metonymically to those people who dwell in these regions.
5 sn As they bow down before him, it will appear that his enemies are licking the dust.
6 tn In this context the shortened prefix form does not function as a preterite, but indicates what is typical of the world.
7 tn The Hebrew term דַּכָּא (daka’) carries the basic sense of “crushed.” Elsewhere it refers to those who are “crushed” in spirit or contrite of heart (see Ps 34:18; Isa 57:15). If one understands this nuance here, then v. 3 is observing that God leads mankind to repentance (the term שׁוּב, shuv, “return,” which appears twice in this verse, is sometimes used of repentance.) However, the following context laments mankind’s mortality and the brevity of life, so it is doubtful if v. 3 should be understood so positively. It is more likely that דַּכָּא here refers to “crushed matter,” that is, the dust that fills the grave (see HALOT 221 s.v. s.v. I דַּכָּא; BDB 194 s.v. דַּכָּא). In this case one may hear an echo of Gen 3:19.