Ps. 35.5-6 (pursued by Yhwh's angel)

“Let them / be like chaff / before the wind – with Yhwh’s angel / chasing them. – Let their path / be darkness / and slippery surfaces – with Yhwh’s angel / pursuing them.” The first part of these two verses sound very similar to other curses we have encountered. The use of “Let…” as an opening for this judgment/curse is itself familiar and we have commented on it, extensively, in other reflections. Primarily, we noted how there is the sense of Yhwh’s simply allowing these curses to unfold. “Let happen” what is going to happen anyway—do not put a stop to it” is what they seem to be saying. What we have noted, in this regard, is that Yhwh does not, himself, need to do anything but…nothing. Evil works out its own form of punishment. However, in the second part of these verses something new emerges—the ‘angel of Yhwh’ chasing and pursuing these enemies of Yhwh’s son. Notice how the first line flows into the second with the word “with Yhwh’s angel…”. It is as if the psalmist acknowledges the fact that evil works itself out on the wicked, so long as Yhwh does not put a stop to it. However, here, he wants to add to that curse and implore that in addition Yhwh’s angel would actually pursue and hound these enemies. It is not that he is attempting abrogate the first part; he is merely adding do it. The image is terrifying—the angel of Yhwh, in an angry fit of judgment, actively and with intent chases these men. The natural outworking of evil seems almost like a blind force of deterioration; here, eyes are upon the wicked. “Like chaff before the wind”: Psalm 1 refers to this judgment upon the wicked. There, we noted out chaff is blown by the slightest breeze. It is insubstantial in comparison with the solidity of the blessed (here, he anointed). They are pure objects, unable to control themselves, their position or their future. With the addition of the angel this image becomes horrifying: added to the fact that they have no control over themselves is the fact that they are aware of an angel seeking their destruction, an angel that is not subject to the same ‘buffeting’ but, rather, navigates its way through the wind in order to compound their terror and destruction. “Let their path be darkness and slippery surfaces…”: unlike the first image, here the wicked are at least moving themselves and therefore have some control over their actions. And yet, to have control in a dark room and on slippery surfaces introduces a fear of its own: unlike with the wind that moves the wicked uncontrollably, here, the wicked are likely to be frozen and immobile with the full realization that they are about to step into their own destruction. And yet, they cannot afford to remain immobile: Yhwh’s angel is ‘pursuing’ them. As with the first image—the natural outworking of evil is here compounded by the presence of the angel who forces the wicked into a darkness even more profound than what the evil would produce of its own. This is a ‘curse’ in the full sense. And here it is helpful to note that it is possible that these verses represent the anointed’s use of the treaty language itself to call down these curses; meaning, the treaty itself likely had this language in it and the anointed is simply saying, “Yhwh, now ‘let’ this happen; release the angel.”