Psalms 123:3

The second strophe takes up the "be gracious unto us" as it were in echo. It begins with a Kyrie eleison, which is confirmed in a crescendo manner after the form of steps. The church is already abundantly satiated with ignominy. רב is an abstract "much," and רבּה, Psa 62:3, something great (vid., Bצttcher, Lehrbuch, ֗624). The subjectivizing, intensive להּ accords with Psa 120:6 - probably an indication of one and the same author. בּוּז is strengthened by לעג, like בּז in Eze 36:4. The article of הלּעג is restrospectively demonstrative: full of such scorn of the haughty (Ew. ֗290, d). הבּוּז is also retrospectively demonstrative; but since a repetition of the article for the fourth time would have been inelegant, the poet here says לגאיונים with the Lamed, which serves as a circumlocution of the genitive. The Masora reckons this word among the fifteen "words that are written as one and are to be read as two." The Kerמ runs viz., לגאי יונים, superbis oppressorum (יונים, part. Kal, like היּונה Zep 3:1, and frequently). But apart from the consideration that instead of גּאי, from the unknown גּאה, it might more readily be pointed גּאי, from גּאה (a form of nouns indicating defects, contracted גּא), this genitival construction appears to be far-fetched, and, inasmuch as it makes a distinction among the oppressors, inappropriate. The poet surely meant לגאיונים or לגּאיונים. This word גּאיון (after the form רעיון, אביון, עליון) is perhaps an intentional new formation of the poet. Saadia interprets it after the Talmudic לגיון, legio; but how could one expect to find such a Grecized Latin word (λεγεών) in the Psalter! dunash ben-Labrat (about 960) regards גאיונים as a compound word in the signification of הגּאים היונים. In fact the poet may have chosen the otherwise unused adje…

This psalm was penned at a time then the church of God was brought low and trampled upon; some think it was when the Jews were captives in Babylon, though that was not the only time that they were insulted over by the proud. The psalmist begins as if he spoke for himself only (Psa 123:1), but presently speaks in the name of the church. Here is, I. Their expectation of mercy from God (Psa 123:1, Psa 123:2). II. Their plea for mercy with God, (Psa 123:3, Psa 123:4). In singing it we must have our eye up to God's favour with a holy concern, and then an eye down to men's reproach with a holy contempt. A song of degrees.