Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Six

In the Hebrew Bible the psalm has no inscription with the author’s name, but in the Latin and Greek versions the name of David is given. The latter indication cannot be considered correct: the content of the psalm (Ps 136:1-3) represents a remembrance of the Babylonian captivity already after its end and the return of the Hebrews to their homeland, events of which David could not be a witness. The very character of the narrative is a vivid and touching account of the author about what he experienced, which could not have been experienced by David. A more precise determination of the time of composition of the psalm can be found in the indication of Ps 136:8 and Ps 136:9, where Babylon is presented as threatening and not yet despoiled. From the comparison of the content of the first three verses of the psalm with the last two, it can be concluded that the psalm was written soon after the return of the Hebrews from captivity under Cyrus the Persian, before the destruction of Babylon in 517 BC in the 6th year of Darius Hystaspis, that is, before the completion and consecration of the second temple.

In Babylonian captivity our songs became silent and our harps hung on the trees (1–2). Our oppressors asked us to sing some of the Zion songs. May my tongue become parched and my hand withered if I sing and play in a foreign land, and if I forget you, Jerusalem (3–6)! Lord, repay Edom for its malice toward Jerusalem. Blessed is he who shatters your children against the stones, daughter of Babylon, you devastator (7–9).

Psalm 136:1. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept when we remembered Zion; “By the rivers of Babylon” – the rivers referred to are the Tigris and Euphrates, with their tributaries and artificial channels made by the Babylonians for the irrigation of their fields.

Psalm 136:2. Upon the willows, in the midst of it, we hung our harps. “Upon the willows.” Along the banks of the numerous rivers and tributaries of the Babylonian lowland grew many willows. The banks of the rivers were a favorite place for the captives to visit.

Psalm 136:3. There those who carried us away captive asked us for words of songs, and those who oppressed us asked for gladness: “Sing to us from the songs of Zion”. The Hebrew people was one of the most musical peoples of the ancient East. The Hebrews were famous both for the abundance of poetic works and for the development of instrumental music. But the music and poetry of the Hebrew people was of a religious character: it concerned the singing of God and Zion and had prayerful content. It was closely tied to Palestine, the temple, and to the various manifestations of God’s guidance of the Hebrew people. The singing of these songs therefore had sacred and national significance. The request of the Babylonians that the Hebrews sing them some of the sacred Zion songs was merely simple curiosity, entertainment, and the fulfillment of this request by the captive Hebrews appeared in the eyes of the latter as a profanation, an offense against the sanctity of the content of their poetry and their religious feeling, wherefore it was indignantly rejected.

Psalm 136:5. If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill; Psalm 136:6. Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above the chief of my joy. “Let my right hand forget its skill” – cease to act, that is, wither. – “Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth” – likewise wither. “Set Jerusalem above the chief of my joy” – to rejoice only in what is a joy to all Jerusalem. While the Hebrews were in captivity, Jerusalem was laid waste and lay in ruins. Its repopulation and restoration to its former significance for the Hebrew people was the only dream and the chief joy of the captives.

Psalm 136:7. Remember, O Lord, what the children of Edom said on the day of Jerusalem, when they said, “Destroy it, destroy it down to its foundation”. Edom or the Idumaeans, a people related to the Hebrews, was always hostile to its brother people, and in all the sorrowful events of its life took an active and evil part. So it was also at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, when the Idumaeans rejoiced at this national calamity (Amos 1:11; Obad 1:10-15).

Psalm 136:8. Daughter of Babylon, you devastator! Blessed is the one who will repay you for what you have done to us! Psalm 136:9. Blessed is the one who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock! In the prophet Isaiah (Isa 13:16-18) the terrible fate of Babylon is foretold by the very features indicated in this psalm. The severity of this judgment is the immutable will of God, which will likewise be immutably carried out and will find its executor. The latter is called by the writer of the psalm blessed because through him one of God’s determinations is fulfilled, and therefore just and beneficial, though it may seem cruel and harsh in the eyes of man. The entire psalm beautifully conveys the sorrowful and penitent mood in which the Hebrews lived in captivity, their longing for their homeland, and their dream of national renewal.