Ps 87:5 Strong man born

*Psalm 87:5: The Vav That Shouldn’t Be There* _How Ancient Texts Point to the Strong Man Born in Zion_ --- ### *The Problem in Your Hebrew Bible* *Psalm 87:5 MT*: *וּלְצִיּוֹן יֵאָמַר אִישׁ וְאִישׁ יֻלַּד־בָּהּ וְהוּא יְכוֹנְנֶהָ עֶלְיוֹן* _“And of Zion it shall be said, ‘man and man was born in her,’ and He, the Most High, will establish her.”_ *Grammatical problem*: _’ish ve-’ish_ “man and man” is plural, but _yullad_ “he was born” is singular. *“Man and man he-was-born in her”* makes no sense. The verb doesn’t match the subject. Something broke. And the break is one letter: *וְ* _vav_. --- ### *The Hebrew Idiom: Doubling = Strength* Biblical Hebrew uses repetition for superlatives: **Phrase** **Literal** **Actual Meaning** **קֹדֶשׁ קָדָשִׁים** holy of holies **most holy** **שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים** song of songs **best song** **עֶבֶד עֲבָדִים** servant of servants **lowest servant** **אֱלֹהֵי הָאֱלֹהִים** God of gods **supreme God** *Remove the vav from Psalm 87:5*: *אִישׁ אִישׁ יֻלַּד־בָּהּ* _’ish ’ish yullad-bah_ *“A Man of men was born in her” = “A Champion, a Strong Man was born in her”* *The vav destroys the idiom.* With vav it means “man and man.” Without vav it means “Mighty Man.” --- ### *What the Ancient Versions Read* The oldest translations don’t have the vav problem. They read it as “Strong Man.” #### *1. Septuagint [LXX] — 3rd century BC Greek* *Μήτηρ Σιων, ἐρεῖ ἄνθρωπος, καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἐγενήθη ἐν αὐτῇ* _“‘Mother Zion,’ a man will say, ‘and a man was born in her’”_ *Two things matter:* 1. *Adds Μήτηρ “Mother”* — Zion is personified as the mother. 2. *Singular “a man was born”* — Not “men.” The LXX sees one birth, one man. #### *2. Peshitta — 2nd century AD Syriac* *ܘܠܨܗܝܘܢ ܢܐܡܪ ܓܒܪܐ ܓܒܪܐ ܐܬܝܠܕ ܒܗ* _“And of Zion it will be said: Mighty man, mighty man was born in her”_ *Syriac doubles for emphasis*: _gavra gavra_ = *“the mightiest man.”* The Peshitta translators ignored the vav. They translated the meaning: *Champion born in Zion.* #### *3. Targum Psalms — Aramaic paraphrase* *ולציון יתאמר מלכא משיחא וגברא יתיליד בה* _“And of Zion it shall be said: ‘King Messiah and a Mighty Man was born in her’”_ *Targum explains the idiom*: _’ish ’ish_ = *Malka Meshicha ve-gavra* — *“King Messiah who IS the Mighty Man.”* One person, two titles. Born from Zion. --- ### *The Pattern: Zion as Mother Birthing the Strong Man* This isn’t isolated. It’s a biblical theme the ancient versions preserve: 1. *Isaiah 66:7-8* — _“Before she was in labor she gave birth... for as soon as Zion travailed she bore her sons.”_ *Zion labors. Gives birth to a nation in one day.* 2. *Galatians 4:26* — _“The Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother.”_ Paul quotes the LXX tradition of Mother Zion. 3. *Revelation 12:5* — _“She bore a male son who is to rule all nations.”_ The woman = Zion. The male son = Messiah, quoting Psalm 2 and Psalm 110. *The Targum to Isaiah 9:6* seals it: *אִתְיְלִיד לַנָא בַּר... וְאִתְקְרֵי שְׁמֵהּ... גִּבָּר אֱלָהָא* _“A son is born to us... and his name is called... Mighty God”_ *גִּבָּר* _gibbar_ = *gavra* = *the Strong Man of Psalm 87:5.* --- ### *Why the Vav Was Inserted* *MT reading*: _’ish ve-’ish_ “man and man” — plural, generic, non-messianic. *LXX/Peshitta/Targum reading*: _’ish ’ish_ “Strong Man” — singular, messianic, specific. *This matches other scribal changes in Psalms:* *Psalm 110:5* — MT: _Adonai at your right hand_. Original: _YHWH at your right hand_. *Psalm 68:30* — MT changes letters to hide “tribute to Yah.” *After 70 AD*, texts that pointed too clearly to a Messiah born in Zion were smoothed. The vav turns “Champion” into “men.” It de-messianizes the verse. *But the verb _yullad_ “he was born” was left singular.* The grammar betrays the edit. --- ### *So Who Is the Mother?* *Zion.* In MT she’s the birthplace: _yullad-bah_ “born in her.” In LXX she’s Μήτηρ Σιων “Mother Zion.” In Targum she births _Malka Meshicha_. In Revelation 12 she births the male son who rules. *The female is Zion/Jerusalem — Israel personified.* *The Strong Man born from her is Messiah.* *Then she births more sons*: Acts 2:41 — 3,000 in one day, fulfilling Isaiah 66:8. --- ### *Putting It Together* *Original Psalm 87:5*: *וּלְצִיּוֹן יֵאָמַר אִישׁ אִישׁ יֻלַּד־בָּהּ וְהוּא יְכוֹנְנֶהָ עֶלְיוֹן* _“And of Zion it shall be said: ‘A Champion was born in her,’ and He, the Most High, will establish her.”_ *One letter — וְ — changed prophecy into platitude.* *Remove it, and the ancient versions agree: Mother Zion births the Mighty Man, King Messiah.* *The Most High then establishes her through Him.* *Psalm 68:35*: _nôrā’ ’ĕlōhîm mimmiqdāšêḵā_ — “God is awesome from your sanctuaries.” Two sanctuaries. Two Zions. Earthly and heavenly. Both mother. Both birth — first the Strong Man, then His sons. *The vav doesn’t belong. The Strong Man does.*