Psalms 48:2

“Beautiful in its height, the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, the far reaches of the north, the city of the great king.”
Psalms 48:2 · direct translation from the Hebrew

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With the Hebrew beneath

Beautifulיְפֵהin its height,נוֹףthe joyמְשׂוֹשׂof allכָּלthe earth,הָאָרֶץMountהַרZion,צִיּוֹןthe far reachesיַרְכְּתֵיof the north,צָפוֹןthe cityקִרְיַתof the great king.מֶלֶךְ רָב

Allusion · Matthew 5:35

Go to Matthew 5:35

Both texts call Jerusalem (Zion) “the city of the great King.”

They share words that are rare in the original, without a quotation.

קִרְיַתkiryatH7151πόλιςpolisG4172“city, town”
רָבravH7227μεγάλουmegalouG3173“much, great, numerous”
מֶלֶךְmelejH4428βασιλέωςbasileōsG935“king”

Psalms 48:2, word by word

Beautifulיְפֵהyefe

beautiful

Beautiful, handsome, of fine appearance.

Where else “yefe” appears

in its heightנוֹףnof

elevation

Height, elevation. It appears only once in the Bible, said of Mount Zion.

Where else “nof” appears

the joyמְשׂוֹשׂmesos

joy, delight

Joy, delight; also what causes it.

Where else “mesos” appears

the earthאָרֶץarets

earth

The whole world, everything under the sky.

Where else “arets” appears

Mountהַרhar

mountain

A great rise of land, like Sinai or Zion.

Where else “har” appears

Zionצִיּוֹןtsiyon

Zion

See it on the map Where else “tsiyon” appears

the far reachesיַרְכְּתֵיyarkte

far end, recess

The farthest or deepest part: the back of a house or a cave, the ends of the earth, the edge of a territory.

Where else “yarkte” appears

of the northצָפוֹןtsafon

north

North.

Where else “tsafon” appears

the cityקִרְיַתkiryat

town, city

Town: a poetic way of saying "city."

Where else “kiryat” appears

of the great kingמֶלֶךְmelech

supreme king

YHWH, king of Israel and the earth.

Where else “melech” appears

of the great kingרָבrav

great

Of great size or power; the one who stands out.

Where else “rav” appears

Translation note

“The far reaches of the north”: an expression of disputed sense; it describes Zion as the high and distant mountain where Elohim dwells. Jesus calls Jerusalem “the city of the great King” in Matthew 5:35.

Places in this verse

Approximate location. A “?” means it is not known for sure where it was.

Zion
Today: Mount Zion hill, Jerusalem
A hill in Jerusalem; it first named the fortress David captured, and later sometimes the whole city.
David captured the stronghold of Zion and called it the city of David (2 Sam 5:7). The Psalms and prophets call it the place where God lives among his people (Ps 48:2).
2 Samuel 5:7 Psalms 48:2 Hebrews 12:22 Romans 9:33

The context

1A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah. Great is YHWH and greatly to be praised in the city of our Elohim, his holy mountain.

2 · This verse (above)

3Elohim, in her citadels, has made himself known as a high refuge.

Read all of Psalms 48

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