“The psalm is ascribed to Solomon, and has perhaps a concealed signature in the expression his beloved (2), which is the word from which Jedidiah, his personal name from God, was formed (II Sam. 12:25)” Kidner, 440. Solomon carried on many building activities (I Kings 3:1-2; 7:1-11; 8:13; 9:1). This psalm has more of the characteristics of a wisdom psalms than other types. “A wisdom psalm ... ‘provides instruction in right living and right faith” NICOT, 917. “In Jewish practice the psalm is recited as a part of thanksgiving as a part of a thanksgiving service after children” VanGemeren, 793

127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house- “The Hebrew bayit equally means ‘house’ and ‘home.’ The emphasis in the second half of the psalm on progeny suggests that both sense of the word are in play here” Alter, 449. “House could refer to a literal dwelling house (Gen. 19:10), a household (Gen. 7:1), the temple, or the king’s palace (I Kings 9:1), or the nation as a whole (Amos 3:1, 13; 7:10)” Miller, 407. See NICOT, 918, for even more possibilities for the word house.

They labor in vain who build it- Prov. 14:23 uses this word for labor and says in all labor there is a profit. The word for in vain is used three times in vss. 1-2. It is translated vain in the command not to take God’s name in vain in Exodus 20:7; Deut. 5:11. It is translated false in warnings against false reports in Exodus 23:1; Deut. 5:20. It refers to worthless idols in Jer. 18:15; Jonah 2:8 and the false messages of false prophets in Ezekiel 13:6, 7, 8, 9, 23.

Unless the LORD guards the city- Num. 6:24; Pss. 25:20; 34:20; 86:2; 97:10; 116:6; 121:3-5, 7-8.

127:2 For He gives to His beloved even in His sleep
The NIV has He grants sleep to those He loves. “This could signify the blessing God gives, or taken adverbially the time or way to which He gives it” Kidner, 442.

127:3 Behold, children are a gift of the LORD- Gen. 33:5; Deut. 7:13. The word children here and in vs. 4 is literally sons. “The martial imagery of the rest of the poem argues for the masculine sense of the term” Alter, 450. “The patriarchs of Israel and their wives recognized that children are gifts from God (Gen. 29:31-35; 30:1-6, 17-23; I Sam. 1:5-6, 11, 19-20) How much better our society would be if we recognized as much!” Miller, 407. The word sons vss. 3, 4 in Hebrew is very similar to the word for builders in vs. 1- McCann, 1198.

The fruit of the womb is a reward- “It is not untypical of God’s gifts that first they are liabilities, or at least responsibilities, before they become obvious assets” Kidner, 442. Gen. 15:1 God is our ultimate reward.

127:4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior- The word for warrior “is often used to describe military figures…II Sam. 23:8 names David’s ‘mighty men’ and in II Kings 24:16, the king of Babylon took captive all of the gibborim of Jerusalem, 7000” NICOT, 919.

So are the children of one’s youth- “. One might recall David’s original power base was in part a kind of family militia, led by three nephews” Alter, 450. “Sons provide sufficient strength to enable the family to defend itself against marauders” Miller, 407.

127:5 How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them- “The larger the family, the greater the defense against the enemy” Miller, 407. “Children confer real advantage on a person in the battle of life. Indeed, the more the better” Longman, 426.