What Does Psalms 87:4 Mean?

(4) **This verse may be paraphrased**— I will mention to my intimates Rahab and Babylon; (I will say) look at Philistia and Tyre—yes, and even Ethiopia. So-and-so was born there. The last clause is literally *this was born there, *and on its reference the whole meaning of the verse and the whole intention of the psalm turn. Now immediately after the mention of a place, *there *must surely refer to that place, and not to a place mentioned in the previous verse and there too addressed as in the second person. The demonstrative *this, *is evidently used in a general way. (Comp. the fuller form, Judges 18:4, &c.) The poet begins his special addition to the praises of Zion, by enumerating various renowned nations much in the same way as Horace’s “Laudabunt alii claram Rhodon, aut Mitylenen.” only instead of leaving them as a theme to others he tells us what he himself in ordinary conversation might say of these places, and of the estimation in which their natives were held. It is hardly possible to escape from the conclusion that the Palestinian Jew is here implying his superiority to those of his race who were born abroad, a spirit shown so strongly in the relations of the Hebrews to the Hellenistic Jews in the New Testament. **Rahab **undoubtedly stands for *Egypt, *but the exact origin of the term and of its connection with Egypt is much disputed. Most probably it is a term (possibly Coptic) for some large sea or river monster symbolic of Egypt. (Comp. the word “dragons,” Psalm 74:13, and see Job 9:13; Job 26:12.) **Ethiopia—**Heb., *Khûsh *(in Authorised Version *Cush*)*. *(See Genesis 10:6 : 2Kings 19:9.) There is no need with our explanation to look for emblematic reasons for the choice of names in this verse—as Egypt for antiquity; Babylon, strength; Tyre, wealth, &c. There is no one of the districts where Jews of the Dispersion might not have been found, but no doubt in his enumeration the poet takes care to mention countries near and far, as Philistia and Ethiopia. There appears, however, to have been a district in Babylonia known to the Hebrews as *Khûsh *(Lenormant, *Origines de l’Histoire; *and see a paper on the site of Eden, in the *Nineteenth Century *for October, 1882). The parallelism would be improved by this reference here.