“Returning” to the Hospitality of the Lord 395 Jerusalem temple is referred to as “the house of the Lord” on other occasions in the Psalter, our findings would support the argument that the ancient Israelites likely recited this psalm while making pilgrimages to the Jerusalem temple. * ** The image of God as host in Ps 23,5-6 was understandable to the ancient hearers/readers of this psalm regardless of the form, structure, or setting in which they may have read it or with which they may have associated it. Just as the rod and the staff make complete sense within the metaphor of the Lord as a shepherd apart from any liturgical double meaning, so also the imagery in Ps 23,5-6 has an independent logic that can be located within the custom of hospitality apart from its liturgical double meaning. As interpreters of Ps 23, we should not, therefore, allow legitimate conversations about the liturgical setting to blur the metaphor in the text nor our translation of the text. Rather, the key to interpreting Ps 23,5-6 is found in ancient Israel’s custom of hospitality. This ancient Israelite cultural expression would have most certainly provided the angle of vision from which the ancient Israelites heard or read and interpreted these verses. Finally, a grasp on the custom of hospitality not only helps us to make sense of the ideas present in Ps 23,5-6, but it also encourages us to follow the Masoretic Text more boldly and translate the text as “I shall return to the house of the Lord” as opposed to the more traditional translation of “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord”. Baylor University Andrew E. ARTERBURY One Bear Place # 97284 William H. BELLINGER, JR. Waco, Texas, USA 76798-7284 SUMMARY The image of God as host in Ps 23,5-6 is best interpreted in light of the ancient custom of hospitality. The subsequent interpretation then emboldens us to translate Ps 23,6 more literally as “I shall return to the house of the Lord” rather than “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord”.