2 Samuel 22:21

The Lord repaid ¹  me for my godly deeds; ²  he rewarded ³  my blameless behavior. ⁴ 

1Sa 26:23; 2Sa 22:25; 1Ki 8:32; Job 17:9; Ps 7:3,4,8; Ps 18:20-25; Ps 19:11; Ps 24:4; 1Co 15:58; Jas 4:8

¹ tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect.

² tn Heb “according to my righteousness.” As vv. 22-25 make clear, David refers here to his unwavering obedience to God’s commands. He explains that the Lord was pleased with him and willing to deliver him because he had been loyal to God and obedient to his commandments. Ancient Near Eastern literature contains numerous parallels. A superior (a god or king) would typically reward a subject (a king or the servant of a king, respectively) for loyalty and obedience. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 211-13.

³ tn The unreduced Hiphil prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, in which case the psalmist would be generalizing. However, both the preceding and following contexts (see especially v. 25) suggest he is narrating his experience. Despite its unreduced form, the verb is better taken as a preterite. For other examples of unreduced Hiphil preterites, see Pss 55:14a; 68:9a, 10b; 80:8a; 89:43a; 107:38b; 116:6b.

⁴ tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands he repaid to me.” Hands suggest activity and behavior.