Walketh not: Commentary on Psalm 1:1

[Note: The following article is an excerpt from a commentary on Psalm 1 that I am preparing.]

walketh

            The word “walketh”  הָלַךְ֮ is a verb defined as “go, come, walk,”¹⁾Francis Brown, S.R. Driver, C.A. Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, (Claredon Press: Oxford, 1980, p. 229 with the figurative meaning as flexible as “to die” (1 Kings 2:2) or “to live” (Psalm 23:4). To “live” would press the continual activity of a religious or moral life (Proverbs 15:21), or to walk in one’s integrity as would be the meaning in Psalm 1:1.²⁾Francis Brown, S.R. Driver, C.A. Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, (Claredon Press: Oxford, 1980, p. 235 Gesenius places the word’s use in Psalm 1:1 in general terms “to walk i.e. to live, to follow any manner of life[.]”³⁾Gesenius’ Hebrew and Chaldean Lexicon of the Old Testament Scriptures, Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. (Grand Rapids, MI: 1957), p. 224 Because the “word denotes movement in general”⁴⁾Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., Bruce K. Waltke) Moody Press (Chicago, IL 1980), Vol. 1, p. 216 it expresses activity. This is no passive walk of merely resting in God by faith, but an active desire to escape the corruption of worldly lust by “giving all diligence” (2 Peter 1:4-5). A walk aggressively avoiding lusts of the flesh is how we walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 25). This is the only walk which is worthy of God’s calling and pleasing to Him (Colossians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:12; 4:1).

“Walketh” in Hebrew is a Qal perfect but translated to bring the sense of continuous. Israel was given conditional promises if they would “keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the Lord thy God, and to walk ever in his ways” (Deuteronomy 19:9), indicating a continual “walking” in obedience. Perowne explains the continual sense of Psalm 1:1, “I would rather say, the perfect expresses the past resolve and conduct of which the effects still abide.”⁵⁾J.J. Stewart Perowne, The Book of Psalms, Zondervan (Grand Rapids, MI: 1966), Vol. 1, p. 111 This blessed man has, like Daniel, resolved to not defile himself (Daniel 1:8) by not walked in the wicked path and continues on into the present to avoid the path of ungodly. Edward Young commenting on Isaiah 9:2 speaks of the word “walking,” “Life is conceived as a journey; the verb indicates course of life[.]”⁶⁾Edward Young, The Book of Isaiah, Eerdmans (Grand Rapids, MI: 1972), Vol. 1, p. 324 Thus it is imperative to decide to live for God while we are yet young and remain steadfast in the purpose. As Stedman correctly wrote, “he refers to the choices we make each day throughout our lives.”⁷⁾Ray C. Stedman, Psalms: Folk songs of Faith, Discovery House Publishers (Grand Rapids, MI: 2006), p. 22

            Jeremiah 16:6 encourages us to stand in the ways and walk in the old paths, implying that the ways of God had been forsaken for a new way and doctrines. The kings who did things right in the sight of God are said to have walked after David (2 Kings 22:2; 2 Chronicles 11:17; 34:2). This is because David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14) and emulating him would cause his descendants to receive God’s blessings (1 Kings 9:4). God blesses those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:10-12). Isaiah defines walking uprightly as not being oppressive for gain or taking bribes (Isaiah 33:15). To walk in the ways of David or uprightly before God is to agree with God (Amos 3:3). Who we walk with dictates our future (Proverbs 13:20). The two disciples that walk with Christ on the Emmaus road rejoiced to hear His teaching of Scriptures about Himself (Luke 24:13-32). They agreed with godly counsel. Being reminded of the immanent return of Christ is also godly counsel that will purify our thoughts and actions (2 Peter 3:10-14; 1 John 2:28-3:3). As many view end times prophecy of doom and gloom, they are intended to give hope of vindication to God’s children the same way Psalm 1 does. “Ps 1 is a recipe for unassailable happiness. It is a fitting introduction to the Psalms, because the Psalms are all about the movement from despair to hope, and the happiness this Psalm praises is of the kind that hopes in the face of unhopeful circumstances.”⁸⁾John Hobbins, “Psalm 1: Text, Translation, and Interpretation,” (PDF) p. 2; accessible at https://ancienthebrewpoetry.typepad.com/files/psalm-1-bilingual-and-commentary.pdf

To have the right walk is to separate from those who might influence you to follow the wrong path. Proverbs is full of counsel to separate from the wicked. Proverbs 1:15-16 says, “my son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: for their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.” Similarly, Proverbs 2:12-15 declares godly counsel is given “to deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths[.]” John Calvin commented on Psalm 1:1, said, “Commencing with a declaration of his abhorrence of the wicked, he teaches us how impossible it is for any one to apply his mind to meditation upon God’s laws who has not first withdrawn and separated himself from the society of the ungodly.”⁹⁾John Calvin, Commentary on Psalm 1:1; https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/psalms-1.html This commands us to be extremely cautious of choosing friends. “The fact is, the man whom this psalm describes will not be supremely anxious to have any companions. If he cannot have the right ones, he will do without them.”¹⁰⁾The Pulpit Commentary (Ed. H. D. M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell), Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (Grand Rapids, MI: 1950, 1962), Vol. 8, p. 1 When Rehoboam took the advice of his friends, it devastated his kingdom (1 Kings 12:1-20). God promised blessings to Israel was to establish them if they would continue to “walk in His ways” (Deuteronomy 28:9).

Apostasy in the Old Testament often uses this word as to walk or follow after false gods (Exodus 32:1; Jeremiah 5:23). Rejecting God’s word for one’s own imagination or heart’s desire is the apostasy warned against (Jeremiah 7:24; 11:8). This is described as “walking in darkness” (Isaiah 9:2) before receiving the light of God’s word. Such apostasy will cause God to walk contrary to the promise of blessings (Leviticus 26:24). God gives them up to their own counsel because they walk in their own way (Psalm 81:12-13). Sadly, today many Christians ignore the doctrine of separation for their whims of ecumenical fellowship and build bridges to apostasy. Such ecumenicalism is not walking after the apostolic examples (Philippians 3:17-18). Those who have Jesus Christ are to walk in Him with the faith established in Him avoiding false philosophies (Colossians 2:6-8).

These Scriptural warnings are repeated by later Jewish text. Because the Hithpael form of הָלַךְ is used to denote the continuous actions of men who lived before God such as Enoch, Noah Abraham (Genesis 5:22; 6:9; 17:1); it is no surprise that Pseudepigrapha use these personas to exhort a godly walk to their descendants. Enoch is presented as given such warnings to his children. “Now listen to me, my children, and walk in the way of righteousness, and do not walk in the way of wickedness, for all those who walk in the ways of injustice shall perish.” (1 Enoch 91:19)¹¹⁾The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (Ed. James H. Charlesworth) Doubleday (New York, NY: 1983), Vol. 1, p. 73 This is not just an outwardly manifested obedience to the law but an affection from the heart to love what is right. “Now, my children, I say to you: Love righteousness and walk therein! For the ways of righteousness are worthy of being embraced; (but) the ways of wickedness shall soon perish and diminish.” (1 Enoch)¹²⁾The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (Ed. James H. Charlesworth) Doubleday (New York, NY: 1983), Vol. 2, p. 74 Note how the author of 1 Enoch mirrors the language of Psalm 1 with the ways of the wicked will perish (Psalm 1:6). The Book of Jubillees records Isaac’s last words: “Behold I am one hundred and seventy-five years old, and throughout all of the days of my life I have been remembering the LORD and sought with all my heart to do his will and walk uprightly in all his ways.” (Jubilees 21:2)¹³⁾The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (Ed. James H. Charlesworth) Doubleday (New York, NY: 1985), Vol. 2, p. 95 Joseph speaking to his mother Rebecca, states. “Trust that I will do your will. And I will walk uprightly and will never corrupt my ways.” (Jubilees 25:10)¹⁴⁾The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (Ed. James H. Charlesworth) Doubleday (New York, NY: 1985), Vol. 2, p. 105 this thought is reiterated in the Dead Sea Scrolls: “Hearken onto me, O my sons, and do not rebel against the words of YHWH, Do not walk… [but in the way He established] for Jacob, and in the path which He decreed for Isaac.” (4Q185 II 3-4) [ellipsis and brackets in original]¹⁵⁾The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls In English (Trans. Geza Vermes), Penguin Classics (London, England: 1962, 2004, p. 420

The Community Rule of the Qumran community speaks of a man’s ways being directed by the “spirit of true counsel”, “the spirit of holiness”, and “the spirit of uprightness and humility” to cause submission to God’s precepts. This thought concludes with “Let him then order his steps [to walk] perfectly in all the ways commanded by God concerning the times appointed for him, straying neither to the right nor to the left and transgressing none of His words, and he shall be accepted by virtue of a pleasing atonement before God and it shall be to him a Covenant of the everlasting Community.” (1QS III 9-12) [brackets in original]¹⁶⁾The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls In English (Trans. Geza Vermes), Penguin Classics (London, England: 1962, 2004, p. 101 Part of the Covenant of this Community includes “These are the ways in which all of them shall walk, each man with his companion, wherever they dwell. The man of lesser rank shall obey the greater in matters of work and money. They shall eat in common and bless in common an deliberate in common.” (1QS VI 2-3)¹⁷⁾The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls In English (Trans. Geza Vermes), Penguin Classics (London, England: 1962, 2004, p. 105 This indicates the way the Qumran community was to walk included the commonality of all possessions. “As for the property of men of holiness who walk in perfection, it shall not be merged with that of the men of injustice who have not purged their life by separating themselves from iniquity and walking in the way of perfection.” (1QS IX 8)¹⁸⁾The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls In English (Trans. Geza Vermes), Penguin Classics (London, England: 1962, 2004, p. 110 This also includes the “prophet and the Messiahs of Aaron and Israel” who are to come and “He shall conceal the teaching of the Law from men of injustice, but shall impart true knowledge and righteous judgement to those who have chosen the Way. He shall guide them all in knowledge according to the spirit of each and according to the rule of the age, and shall thus instruct them in the mysteries of marvelous truth, so that in the midst of the men of the Community that may walk perfectly together in all that has been revealed to them.” (1QS IX 18-20)¹⁹⁾The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls In English (Trans. Geza Vermes), Penguin Classics (London, England: 1962, 2004, p. 111 This is similar to how Jesus Christ spoke in parables and quoted Isaiah to explain why: “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: for this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.” (Matthew 13:13-16) So in this Community was possessions and understanding of truth held in common as preparation for their concept of these Messianic figures to come.

The ultimate concept of this community’s premise in the way to walk is depicted in the following passage which belongs more specifically in the “two way” tradition (which will be comment on an Excurses in verse 6), but share so many grammatical parallels to explain much of Psalm 1 being understood by the Essenes. The grammatical and conceptual parallels are emphasized in bolds.

These are their ways in the world for the enlightenment of the heart of man, and so that all the paths of true righteousness may be made straight before him, and so that the fear of the laws of God may be instilled in his heart: a spirit of humility, patience, abundant charity, unending goodness, understanding, and intelligence; (a spirit of) mighty wisdom which trusts in all the deeds of God and leans on His great loving-kindness; a spirit of discernment in every purpose, of zeal for just laws, of holy intent with steadfastness of heart, of great charity towards all the sons of truth, of admirable purity which detests all unclean idols, of humble conduct sprung from an understanding of all things, and of faithful concealment of the mysteries of truth. These are the counsels of the spirit to the sons of truth in this world.

And as for the visitation of all who walk in this spirit, it shall be healing, great peace in a long life, and fruitfulness, together with every everlasting blessing and eternal joy in life without end, a crown of glory and a garment of majesty in unending light.

But the ways of the spirit of falsehood are these: greed, and slackness in the search for righteousness, wickedness and lies, haughtiness and pride, falseness and deceit, cruelty and abundant evil, ill-temper and much folly and brazen insolence, abominable deeds (committed) in a spirit of lust, and ways of lewdness in the service of uncleanness, a blaspheming tongue, blindness of eye and dullness of ear, stiffness of neck and heaviness of heart, so that man walks in all the ways of darkness and guile.

And the visitation of all who walk in this spirit shall be a multitude of plagues by the hand of all the destroying angels, everlasting damnation by the avenging wrath of the fury of God, eternal torment and endless disgrace together with shameful extinction in the fire of the dark regions. The times of all their generations shall be spent in sorrowful mourning and in bitter misery and in calamities of darkness until they are destroyed without remnant or survivor. (1QS IV 1-14)²⁰⁾The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls In English (Trans. Geza Vermes), Penguin Classics (London, England: 1962, 2004, p. 102

Note how in this passage there are temporal and eternal blessings reaped by the righteous and temporal and eternal destruction meted out to the ungodly. This passage can be viewed as an extended interpretive paraphrase of Psalm 1, giving more space to define exactly what the way to walk is as well as which path to avoid and separate from.

The Damascus Document also portrays an end time retribution upon those who have walked in the ways of the ungodly. This document displays what the end of the “apostates… shall be the day when God will visit.” “For they shall hope for healing but He will crush them. They are all of them rebels, for they have not turned from the way of traitors but have wallowed in the ways of whoredom and wicked wealth. They have taken revenge and borne malice, every man has sinned against his near kin, and has approached for unchasity, and has acted arrogantly for the sake of riches and gain. And every man has done that which seemed right in his eyes and has chosen the stubbornness of his heart. They have not kept apart from the people and have willfully rebelled by walking in the ways of the wicked…” (CD VIII 1-9)²¹⁾The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls In English (Trans. Geza Vermes), Penguin Classics (London, England: 1962, 2004, p. 135-136

In fact, The Dead Sea Scrolls consistently expressed concepts from Psalm 1 and the Psalm itself as an eschatological passage. In a manuscript entitled Florilegium or Midrash on the Last Days, where in is the only quotation from Psalm 1 found out of the whole corpus of Dead Sea Scrolls, “walk not in counsel of wicked” is expounded as: “Interpreted, the saying [concerns] those who turn aside from the way [of the people] as it is written in the book of Isaiah the Prophet concerning the last days, It came to pass that [the Lord turned me aside, as with a mighty hand, from walking in the way of] the people (Isa. viii, 11). They are those of whom it is written in the book of Ezekiel the Prophet, The Levites [strayed far from me, following] their idols (Ezek. xliv, 10). They are the sons of Zadok who [seek their own] counsel and follow [their own inclination] apart from the Counsel of the Community.” (4Q174 I 14-18) [bracket and italics in original]²²⁾The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls In English (Trans. Geza Vermes), Penguin Classics (London, England: 1962, 2004, p. 526 So, again it is connected with the end time apostasy, and the very next statement is a citation from Psalm 2:1. So Psalm 1 is historically viewed as a “here and now” reaping of blessing as well as being fulfilled in the Messianic age to come when judgement is meted out upon the wicked.

not… nor… nor

This verse structures the idea by presenting negative statements “walketh not… nor stand… nor sit.” This is a rhetorical antithesis technique that amplifies the thought. Similarly, Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, saying, “For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:  but as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:3-4). The Masoretic Hebrew expresses the triple negative with לֹ֥א… לֹ֥א… לֹ֣א… with the Greek translation οὐκ… οὐκ… οὐκ…[.] Josephus, who originally wrote the War of the Jews in Aramaic²³⁾Josephus War of the Jews, Preface 1.3; The Complete Works of Flavius Josephus the Jewish Historian (trans. William Whiston), Kregel Publications (Grand Rapids, MI: 1960, 1981), p. 427 having translated it into Greek had followed this same rhetorical structure. His comments followed, “that neither the multitude of their enemies, nor the strength of their places, nor the largeness of their cities, nor the rash boldness and brutish rage of their antagonists, were sufficient at any time to get clear of the Roman valor…”²⁴⁾Josephus War of the Jews, 7.7; The Complete Works of Flavius Josephus the Jewish Historian (trans. William Whiston), Kregel Publications (Grand Rapids, MI: 1960, 1981), p. 589 Elsewhere he uses the triple negative of οὔτε.²⁵⁾Josephus War of the Jews, 2.155; The Complete Works of Flavius Josephus the Jewish Historian (trans. William Whiston), Kregel Publications (Grand Rapids, MI: 1960, 1981), p. 478

David Aune explains that this rhetorical device

is a technique that amplifies thought by contrasting ideas using negation, antonyms, and other devices… This fits the tendency of paraenesis, which also combines the positive “do this” with the negative “stop doing that.”²⁶⁾David Aune, The New Testament in Its Literary Environment (ed. Wayne A. Meeks), The Westminster Press (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 1989), p. 206

The prophets often used negative phrases to emphasized their message. “The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.” (Jeremiah 2:8) Here Jeremiah uses the emphatic negatives of the Israelites walking away from God which does not cause blessings.

Many passages could be referenced to identify negatives used for emphasis (Exodus 30:9; 34:3; Leviticus 18:26; 19:26; 21:5, 11; 23:14; 25:11; 26:1; Numbers 11:19; Deuteronomy 4:28, 31; 7:3; 13:8; 26:14; 33:9; Joshua 6:10; 23:7 Judges 1:27-30, 33; 13:7, 14; 1 Samuel 12:4; 24:11; 26:12; 30:19; 2 Samuel 19:24; 21:4; 1 Kings 6:7; 13:8, 16; 18:29; 2 Chronicles 32:15; Nehemiah 2:16; 4:23; 9:34; Job 18:19; Psalm 22:24; 75:6; 131:1; Ecclesiastes 9:11; Isaiah 5:27; 23:4; 43:23; 44:19; 49:10; 64:4; Jeremiah 5:12; 7:16; 16:6; 19:4-5; 35:6-9; 44:3, 10; Ezekiel 2:6; 7:11; 16:4; 20:18; 24:16; 29:11; 32:13; 48:14; Daniel 10:3; 11:37; Jonah 3:7; Zechariah 11:16; Matthew 6:20, 26; 10:9; 12:19; Luke 9:3; 10:4; 14:12; Acts 23:8; 25:8; Romans 8:38; 14:21; 1 Corinthians 2:9; 6:9; 10:32; Galatians 3:25; Colossians 3:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:2 Revelation 9:21). All of these passages uses negatives at least three times for emphasis as in Psalm 1 where “the writer used a dramatic threefold parallelism to note what divinely blessed people avoid doing.”²⁷⁾Dan Lioy, “A Comparative Analysis of Psalm 1 and the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12,” Conspectus, (2016) Vol. 22, p. 152 Other passages correspond with Psalm 1 more specifically by presenting a threefold parallel in a negative but also contrasts with the positive (2 Chronicles 1:11; Ezra 9:12; Psalm 15:1-3; Jeremiah 17:23; Ezekiel 37:23; Daniel 11:6; Ephesians 5:4; Revelation 21:4).

The literary expression of triplets is also significant. There is a common rhetorical “use of groups of three, or triplets… in the ancient world.”²⁸⁾David Aune, The Westminster Dictionary of New Testament and Early Christian Literature and Rhetoric, Westminster John Knox Press (Louisville, Kentucky: 2003), p. 473 Notably, the triplet of Psalm 1 is identifying the negative, that is to declare the apostates that should be avoided. The short epistle of Jude, which also focuses on apostates, “contains 20 sets of triplets”²⁹⁾David Aune, The Westminster Dictionary of New Testament and Early Christian Literature and Rhetoric, Westminster John Knox Press (Louisville, Kentucky: 2003), p. 473 to produce the same effect. The Mishna also compiles triplets in similar context to Psalm 1:1. “Rabbi said: Which is the straight was that man should choose? That which is an honour to him and gets him honour from men…. Consider three things and thou wilt not fall into the hands of transgression: know what is above thee—a seeing eye and a hearing ear and all thy deeds written in a book.”³⁰⁾Aboth 2:1 in The Mishna (Trans. Herbert Danby), Hendrickson Pub. (Peabody, MA: 1933, 2016), p. 447 Another passage states, “Akabya b. Mahalaleel said: Consider three things and thou wilt not fall into the hands of transgression. Know whence thou art come and whither thou art going and before whom thou art to give account and reckoning.”³¹⁾Aboth 3:1 in The Mishna (Trans. Herbert Danby), Hendrickson Pub. (Peabody, MA: 1933, 2016), p. 449

The tripling has an aesthetic quality which is worthy of the divinely inspired poetry. It could have compiled an exhaustive list as in Judges 1:27-33 which condenses 19 negatives within the short passage to develop the impression of how extremely wicked Israel was for their negligence of completely obeying the LORD’s command to abolish the pagans out of the land they were given. The lack of obedience in this command is emphasized to the major theme of the book of Judges, how Israel failed to separate from the pagan culture and ended up walking in their ways (Psalm 106:34-43). Israel lost sovereignty of their land on multiple occasions because of their idolatry:

• Judges 3:8 Israel was enslaved by Mesopotamia for 8 years
• Judges 3:14 Israel was enslaved by Moab for 18 years
• Judges 4:2-3 Israel was enslaved by Canaan for 20 years
• Judges 6:1 Israel was enslaved by Midian for 7 years
• Judges 10:8 The tribes on the other side of the Jordan river were enslaved by Ammonites for 18 years
• Judges 13:1 Israel was enslaved by Philistines for 40 years

This failure to avoid the influence and counsel of the ungodly ultimately led them into the Babylonian captivity being exiled out of their promised land for 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11-12; Daniel 9:2).

Psalm 15:1 asks the question “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?” The answer is returned with a threefold contrast of the positive and negative chiasm.

a) He that walketh uprightly,

      b) and worketh righteousness,

            c) and speaketh the truth in his heart.

            c’) He that backbiteth not with his tongue,

      b’) nor doeth evil to his neighbour,

a’) nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. (Psalm 15:2-3)

In this Psalm, David writes how we should walk, work, and speak with contrast to what we should not speak, do, and lift up. The conclusion is “He that doeth these things shall never be moved [out from abiding/dwelling the Lord’s tabernacle/holy hill] (Psalm 15:5). The parallel with Psalm 1 is the intertextual sense of avoiding the mingling with the surrounding culture would allow them to remain in the land of God’s blessings (see Ezra 9:1-4, 10-15). Walking after other gods and their own heart, forsaking the law and worship of Jehovah, causes God to send Israel into captivity out of the land (Jeremiah 16:11-14)

Rabbi Joseph Telushkin relating to this Psalm, writes:

However, rather than starting with a description of what a good person does, Psalm 1 describes what a good person avoids—most notably, association with the wicked….

Significantly, this psalm doesn’t speak of a person who avoids associating with the wicked as “good,” or “wise,” although such terms surely apply; rather, it refers to such a person as “happy” (alternatively, “satisfied,” or “happy with oneself”). One who avoids dealings with immoral people, and thereby avoids the troubles such involvements entail, will end up a happier person.³²⁾Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, Biblical Literacy, William Morrow and Company (New York, NY: 1997), p. 332-333

It is important to be reminded that this is no mere superficial happiness, though it is true one will be much happier to live morally and upright. The “blessed” in Psalm 1 finalizes with the corporate sense of the nation of Israel and is intrinsically link to the land for the Jewish nation, as it is where God promised to dwell with them (1 Kings 612-13; Psalm 68:16, 18).