What Does Psalm 113:3 Mean?
From the rising of the sun to its going in, the name of the LORD is praised.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’s name is to be praised.THE KEY
The sun’s full course measures the praise due to the LORD’s nature, made known in his name.
THE MEANING
The LORD’s nature is worthy of praise from the first light to the last. The verse places the whole day within that horizon.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It dissolves the belief that the LORD is worthy of praise only in special moments: the sun’s entire course is named as praise’s horizon.
THE ROOT
שֵׁם
shem
GROWS FROM
שם
Name, reputation; the identity or character by which one is known.
Here, the LORD’s name is not a sound detached from its bearer but the nature by which the LORD is known. That nature is the object of praise throughout the day.
ALSO GROWS
shemo: The possessive form of shem: “his name.”
שְׁמוֹ
It keeps the name tied to the one who bears it, as the verse ties praise to the LORD’s known nature.
shem YHWH: The name of YHWH.
שֵׁם־יְהוָה
This phrase repeats in the verse, making the LORD’s revealed identity the focus of praise.
מְהֻלָּל
mehullal
GROWS FROM
הלל
Praise, acclaim.
“is praised” in this verse is mehullal. The word rendered “praised” shares its root with “Hallelujah” and “tehillah.” It points to voiced acclaim, extending across the whole span from sunrise to sunset.
ALSO GROWS
halal: To praise or acclaim.
הָלַל
This verb is the seed of the word translated “praised” here.
tehillah: Praise, including praise voiced in song.
תְּהִלָּה
It shows the same root branching into praise as an expression.
hallelu-yah: Praise Yah.
הַלְלוּ־יָהּ
The familiar call to praise carries the same root as the praise named in this verse.
מִמִּזְרַח
mimmizraḥ
GROWS FROM
זרח
Rise, come forth; of light, shine forth.
The word for the sun’s rising comes from a root of coming forth. The day’s horizon is pictured through light emerging and later giving way to sunset.
ALSO GROWS
zāraḥ: To rise or come forth, especially of light.
זָרַח
It gives the sunrise phrase its sense of emergence.
mizraḥ: The east, the direction of sunrise.
מִזְרָח
It shows how the root for rising also names the horizon from which the sun comes forth.
THE PATTERN
Praise for the LORD’s revealed nature spans the full horizon of the day and the reach of creation.
A Psalm of Asaph. The mighty God, even the LORD, speaks, and calls the earth from the rising of the sun to its going in.For from the rising of the sun to where it goes in, my name is great among the nations. And in every place incense is made to smoke, and a clean gift is brought near to my name, for my name is great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.And every created thing in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and in the sea, and all that is in them, I hear them saying, Blessing, and honor, and weight, and power, be to the one who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb, into the ages of the ages.THE THREAD
Let every thing that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.The praise verb here and the call “Praise ye the LORD” share the root הָלַל (halal, praise or acclaim). Psalm 150 carries the praise of this verse beyond the sun’s span, naming every breathing creature as part of it.
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