What You Don't Know About Psalm 3 | Sami Bsoul

Sami Bsoul, PhD

Most people assume Psalm 3 is simply a cry of fear from a father fleeing his rebellious son. But the Midrash reveals something astonishing

 Music

David was not weeping, he was rejoicing. When the attribute of justice struck David for his sin, he began to sing. Fleeing from Absalom was his purification, and the psalm is a song of joy.

Fact 1 (Midrash Tehillim 3:1, Punishment as Purification)

The Midrash opens with a radical statement. On the words "A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son," it cites Proverbs 21:15: "It is joy to the righteous to do justice." This means that when the Holy One, Blessed be He, executes judgment, it brings Him joy, not because of suffering, but because judgment exalts Him in the world. But then the Midrash adds a third interpretation: "It is joy to the Righteous One of the world when the attribute of justice cleanses them from their iniquities. You can learn this, for David was struck by the attribute of justice, yet he began to rejoice and sing, saying, 'A Psalm.'"

Fact 2 (Midrash Tehillim 3:2, The Evil Son Worse Than Gog and Magog)

Rabbi Yaakov bar Acha makes a stunning comparison: "Why was the section of Absalom placed adjacent to the section of Gog and Magog? To teach that an evil son is worse for a father than the war of Gog and Magog." While the war of Gog and Magog is a cosmic, end-of-days catastrophe, the betrayal of a son is more devastating personally. This explains David's depth of anguish, not merely political rebellion, but familial collapse.

Fact 3 (Radak on Psalm 3:7, The Overwhelming Betrayal)

The Radak explains the verse "I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people" (Psalm 3:7) by noting the historical context: "For all Israel were with Absalom, except those who were with David in Jerusalem, and had gone out with him, and those who had joined him afterwards." The "ten thousands" is not hyperbole, according to Radak, it was the entire nation turning against its king.

Fact 4 (Rashi on Psalm 3:7, The Grammar of Destruction)

Rashi, on the same verse, analyzes the Hebrew word שתו (set themselves). He interprets it as an expression of desolation, like "to destroy," rather than simply "to place" or "to array." The enemies were not merely standing against David; they were actively laying waste to everything around him.

Fact 5 (Talmud Eruvin 54a, The First Appearance of Selah)

Psalm 3 contains the first occurrence of the word סֶלָה in the Book of Psalms. The Talmud (Eruvin 54a) states that selah means "forever." The Radak adds that it is a musical instruction for the singers to raise their voices, while other commentators (including the Malbim) see it as a marker of a pause or the end of a section.

Fact 6 (Midrash Tehillim 3:3, Weeping and Singing)

The Midrash asks a piercing question: When David was going up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, he was weeping (from II Samuel 15:30). If he was weeping, why was he singing? And if he was singing, why was he weeping? The answer is that David held both emotions simultaneously, sorrow over his son's rebellion and the punishment for his sin, yet joy in knowing that this suffering was purifying him.

These are glimpses into the depth of Psalm 3, a psalm not of despair, but of a king who sang even in the midst of judgment.

You can listen to this psalm in original Hebrew here   Music

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