Biblica_1_Layout 1 20/01/12 11:44 Pagina 501 501 THE INTERPRETATION OF PS 144,14 and without argument.) The closest parallels belong to Puritan com- mentator Henry Ainsworth (1639) and Rabbi David Kimchi (1160- 1235). Ainsworth claims that “none going out” means “no cattell driven away by the enemy”, while Kimchi asserts that tacwy is a reference to the non-captivity of both people and cattle 76. Although these expositors recognize the interrelationship between military hostilities and pastoralism, they also — in contrast to my position — understand tacwy as a direct activity against livestock. Other- wise, Cimosa mentions the possibility of cattle as tribute, but with respect to the !ac in v. 13 — rather than the ~ypwla in v. 14 — based, evidently, on the larger martial context of the psalm: “I greggi, non decimati dai tributi al nemico si moltiplicheranno, a decine di migli- aia nelle campagne e nei pascoli” 77. * * * The following reasons make this proposal more compelling than its predecessors: (1) it preserves the integrity of the Masoretic reading and the early versions, by not requiring any emendations (text or punctuation); (2) it fully exploits the virtues of the martial proposal, with its well attested meanings for the terms in v. 14b-c; (3) it maintains the parallelism between v. 13 and 14 (wnnwac and wnypwla; wnytwcwxb and wnytbxrb) and the continuity of v. 14, by re- taining the pastoral theme throughout the colon, instead of chang- ing topics midstream; (4) the theory is relatively uncomplicated, requiring only a minor realignment in orientation; (5) it addresses a genuine and well known threat to pastoralism; (6) it results in the fewest semantic difficulties and permits flexibility with the sense of ~ylbsm and tacwy; with respect to ~ylbsm, both “well cared for” and “well fed/healthy/strong” are entirely consistent with the proposed context of this verse, although “well cared for” is pre- ferred because of its superior documentation and self-sufficiency 76 H. AINSWORTH, Annotations upon the Five Books of Moses, the Booke of the Psalmes, and the Song of Songs, or, Canticles (London 1639) 185; KIM- CHI, Psalms CXX-CL, 127. 77 CIMOSA, Salmi 101-150, 333.