[110:3] Verse 3 divides into two sayings that are
to be contrasted to each other. First we should take note of עמד נדבת ביום חילך. נדיבה,
according to Isa. 32:8 and Job 30:15, has the meaning “that which is noble,”
“nobility.” נדיב is the “noble person,” “the member of the
nobility” (1 Sam. 2:8; Isa. 13:2; 32:5; Pss. 83:11; 107:40; 113:8; 118:9; 146:3;
and often). The plural נְדִיבֹת
could denote the nobility as a whole, which accompanies and surrounds the ruler
on the day of the military review of the potential of his power and wealth.
This first section of v. 3 we may understand to be a description of the
situation, the admiring reference to the splendor and the extent of the
ceremonial. The second part of v. 3 has an altogether different meaning. Here
(see above, “Form”) suddenly an “I-saying” of Yahweh is cued in, the important
theme of which can quickly be recognized. The allusion here is to the wondrous
birth of the enthroned king. The emendation יְלִדְתִּיךָ is suggested not only by a number of Mss, Origen, ὁ Ἑβρ, Gk, S, but especially also by Ps. 2:7.
Of course, the difference between Ps. 2:7 and Ps. 110:3 is still considerable.
Psalm 2:7 declares the wondrous adoption of the king as “son of God” (cf. the
commentary on Ps. 2:7); Ps. 110:3, conversely, describes the begetting of the
king in mysterious images: “on holy mountains,” “from the womb of the rosy
dawn” “like dew.” In Isa. 14:12 the king of Babylon is called בן־שׁחר, “son of the rosy dawn.” But we should
probably not think of a hieros gamos.
Also no reference to the god šḥr,
known in Ugarit, should be looked for. We should rather think of a figure of
speech. The rosy dawn functions as a metaphor of hope and change (from night to
day) in Josh. 8:20 and Isa. 58:8. In this respect the statement is to be
compared with the star coming forth out of Jacob (Num. 24:17). But above
all—and this seems to be the real intention of the mysterious saying—the place
and procedure of the begetting belong to the “heavenly sphere.” The “divine
king” comes from superworldly heights, from God’s world. His coming forth is ἀνατολὴ ἐξ ὕψους (“dawn from on high,” Luke 1:78). The
wondrous birth from the “heavenly world,” from the height and hope of the
dawning light, is disclosed to the ruler on the day of his enthronement as the
beginning of his existence and is promised him as the honor of his kingship.
Viewed thus, v. 3b belongs together with Ps. 2:7; that is, the promise reveals
itself as a parallel to the declaration of adoption. Cf. H. Gese, “Natus ex
virgine,” Probleme biblischer
Theologie. G. von Rad zum 70. Geburtstag (1971) 81. Accordingly, all mythologizing should be left aside, but,
on the other hand, the “holy mountains” should not simply be identified with
Zion. The whole verse is a reference to the heavenly, divine origin of the king
and should be understood accordingly. The (possibly secondary) simile בטל (“like the dew”) could refer to the
quickening strength of life which the “divine king” brings with him (cf. Ps.
72:3f., 6, 10; Lam. 4:20). On טל,
cf. G. Dalman, AuS I 95f. (Hans-Joachim
Kraus, A Continental Commentary: Psalms
60–150 [trans. Hilton C. Oswald; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993], 350)
