(Part 1)

JBTM Jeffrey G. Audirsch
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commonplace—meaning the ancient memories of the exodus, Sinai, the wilderness
experience, etc. connect the historic acts of God in the past with the generations centuries
removed from the events. 20 In doing so, the faithfulness of God is implicitly taught to
the people. Verse 3b is intimately related to the faithfulness of God. The phrase “paths of
righteousness” is reminiscent of Prov 2:9 and 4:11.
Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path. (Prov 2:9)
I have taught you the way of wisdom;
I have led you in the paths of uprightness. (Prov 4:11)
Like the texts from Proverbs, Ps 23:3b contains ethical and theological points of reference.
The paths of God must be followed through obedience to his divine will and commands.
Thus, the paths of God, when taken by the faithful follower, become safe and easy paths.
Psalm 25 makes a similar assertion: “All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and
faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies” (Ps 25:10).
The phrase “for his names sake” can be perplexing. Yet, Psalm 31:3 might provide some
assistance for interpretation: “For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s
sake you lead me and guide me.” If there exists a correlation between Pss 23:3 and 31:3, then
the phrase “for his name’s sake” probably means God’s faithfulness and reputation are at
stake. 21 Along these lines, John Goldingay remarks that when God acts in faithfulness his
name becomes a reflection of his character. 22 After the horrendous idolatry at the base of
Sinai by Aaron and the Israelites (Exod 32), God’s anger burned hot. Moses interceded on
behalf of the people and God’s wrath was abated. Upon seeing the idolatry of the people,
Moses smashed the two tablets he received from God. In Exod 34, Moses encounters God
again and receives a second set of tablets. While at the top of Sinai, God describes his
character to Moses:
The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love
and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression
and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
throughout the Old Testament. Furthermore, the allusion to Egyptian bondage in Ps 23 is related to
principle 4 in my “Guiding Principles for Interpreting Poetry.” On the relationship between Ps 23
and the Israelite bondage in Egypt, see Nancy deClaisse-Walford, Rolf A. Jacobson, and Beth LaNeel
Tanner, Psalms, New International Commentary of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
2015), 241–42.
20
For a brief overview of the cultural memories in the Psalter, see Bullock, Encountering the Book
of Psalms, 100–17.
21
deClaisse-Walford, Jacobson, and Tanner, Psalms, 242.
22
Goldingay, Psalms 1–41, 350; cf. Miller, Interpreting the Psalms, 115.