On the anniversary of America’s independence, the abolitionist chief Frederick Douglass made a biblical Psalm—Psalm 137—greatest recognized for its opening line, “By the rivers of Babylon,” a centerpiece of his most well-known speech, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”
Douglass informed the viewers at Corinthian Corridor in Rochester, New York, on July 5, 1852, that for a free Black like himself, being anticipated to rejoice American independence was akin to the Judean captives being mockingly coerced to carry out songs in reward of Jerusalem.
Not solely did it encourage the well-known abolitionist, however this 2,500-year-old Hebrew psalm has lengthy served as an uplifting historic analogy for a wide range of oppressed and subjugated teams, together with African People.
Origins of the psalm
Psalm 137, the topic of my guide, Song of Exile, is exclusive within the Bible. The one one out of 150 psalms to be set in a specific time and place, it pertains to the Babylonian Exile—the period between 587 and 586 B.C. in Israel’s history, when Jews had been taken captive in Babylon and the Jerusalem temple was destroyed.
Its 9 verses paint a scene of captives mourning “by the rivers of Babylon,” mocked by their captors. It expresses a vow to recollect Jerusalem even in exile, and closes with fantasies of vengeance in opposition to the oppressors. The Babylonian exile served as a crucible, forcing the Israelites to rethink their relationship to Yahweh, reassess their standing as a selected individuals, and rewrite their historical past.
The exile story, which echoes by the Bible, is central to the most important prophets, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Lamentations, and Isaiah. And the aftermath of exile, when Cyrus the Nice conquered Babylon and allowed the Judeans to return to Israel, is narrated within the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Bible scholar Rainer Albertz estimates that “about 70% of the Hebrew Bible tackles the questions of how the disaster of exile was attainable and what Israel can study from it.”
Inspiring music
As a result of the psalm offers with music—a well-known verse asks, “How may we sing the Lord’s track in a overseas land?”—it has been like “poetic catnip,” intriguing to musicians and composers. Bach, Dvorak, and Verdi all wrote musical settings for it. Verdi’s first standard opera, “Nabucco,” retells the story of the captivity.
Widespread music variations have been recorded by American singer and songwriter Don McLean (and utilized in a memorable scene in Mad Men). It has been utilized by the musical Godspell. Dozens of artists have recorded their very own model of “rivers of Babylon.” This features a Rastafarian-tinged version by the Jamaican group the Melodians and a version by Boney M that turned a blockbuster disco hit in 1978.
Message for social justice
The psalm has additionally impressed quite a few political leaders and social actions, and immigrants as assorted as Irish and Korean have recognized with the story.
America’s first homegrown composer, William Billings, who lived throughout the Struggle of Independence, created an anthem that places Bostonians within the function of oppressed Judeans and the British oppressors within the function of Babylonians. “By the Rivers of Watertown we sat down and wept when we remember’d thee O Boston . . . ”
Frederick Douglass, in fact, claimed the message of the psalm for enslaved African People.
Within the wake of World Struggle II, the dissident actor and singer Paul Robeson noticed deep parallels between the plight of Jews and African People and cherished to carry out Dvorak’s setting of the psalm.
A few of the most celebrated African American preachers, including C. L. Franklin of Detroit (Aretha Franklin’s father), additionally preached on the psalm. Franklin answered the psalm’s central query of whether or not to sing with a convincing sure. So did Jeremiah Wright, who was Barack Obama’s pastor when he lived in Chicago.
Valuing the act of remembrance
So, what’s the central message of the psalm for as we speak’s world?
The issue of what to recollect, what to forgive, and the right way to obtain justice has never been more vexing. By the unique rivers of Babylon, now war-torn regions of Iraq and Syria devastated by the Islamic State, tales emerge of captives taking refuge in the river. The compelled migration of millions of people from the region, primarily from Syria, is having worldwide penalties. These embody serving to the rise of anti-immigration populism throughout Europe and the USA.
In the meantime, Bible students are working to interpret a trove of cuneiform tablets that give a extra nuanced image of what life was actually like in Babylon for the Judean exiles. And rightly so. For, within the midst of all of the injustices that confront us each time we examine information headlines, remembering is as essential as forgiving.
That was Frederick Douglass’ level as properly. He mentioned of his enslaved compatriots,
“If I do neglect, if I don’t faithfully keep in mind these bleeding youngsters of sorrow today, ‘might my proper hand neglect her crafty, and should my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth!’”
Remembering their historical past is what many Jews worldwide will do once they observe Tisha B’av, probably the most somber of Jewish holidays, this summer season. It commemorates the destruction of the 2 temples in Jerusalem, first by the Babylonians and centuries later by the Romans. Jews will mirror on these two historic calamities together with many others.
And that’s the message of Psalm 137 as properly. It captures succinctly the methods individuals come to grips with trauma: disbelief, turning inward, and venting their rage. There’s a purpose it continues to resonate with individuals.
David W. Stowe is a professor of English and non secular research at Michigan State University.
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