Five-minute study · Day 301 · Psalms 100
Psalm 100:3
A word worth stopping on: made עָשָׂה asah
'Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.' One Hebrew letter changes the meaning of this verse. The written text (the Ketiv) has lo spelled with an aleph, meaning 'not': he made us and not we ourselves. The marginal reading (the Qere) spells lo with a vav, meaning 'his': he made us and we are his. The Masoretes, the scribes who preserved the Hebrew text for centuries, recorded both. They did not choose. They handed you both readings and let the verse hold two truths at once. You did not make yourself. And you belong to the one who did. The Hebrew verb behind 'made' is asah. It means to do, to make, to fashion with purpose. Asah is an artisan's word. It appears in Genesis 1:26 when God said, 'Let us make man in our image.' The same verb. The same maker. Psalm 100 reaches back to the creation account and places you inside it.
Word study: made
- Hebrew
- עָשָׂה
- Pronounced
- asah
- Strong's
- H6213
- Definition
- To do, to make, to fashion, to accomplish, to produce. One of the most common verbs in the Hebrew Bible, used for a wide range of actions from creating to preparing to performing. Implies purposeful, deliberate activity.
Asah appears over 2,600 times in the Hebrew Bible. BDB provides extensive semantic range: to do, to make, to work, to accomplish, to deal with, to act, to produce. The verb is used for God's creative acts (Genesis 1:7, 1:16, 1:25, 1:26, 1:31, 2:2, 2:4), for human labor and craftsmanship (Exodus 25:10, making the Ark of the Covenant), for performing signs and wonders (Exodus 10:2), and for keeping or observing religious obligations (Exodus 12:48, keeping the Passover).
Tate's commentary on Psalms 51-100 in the Word Biblical Commentary series examines the textual crux in Psalm 100:3. The Ketiv (written consonantal text) reads lo with aleph (meaning 'not'), producing 'he made us and not we ourselves.' The Qere (marginal reading tradition) reads lo with vav (meaning 'to him' or 'his'), producing 'he made us and we are his.' Tate notes that the two readings are not contradictory. Both are theologically sound. The Ketiv emphasizes creaturely dependence: you did not bring yourself into existence. The Qere emphasizes belonging: you are God's possession. Ancient scribal tradition preserved both readings, and the Masoretic apparatus allows interpreters to hold them together.
Tate places Psalm 100 within the 'Enthronement Psalms' cluster (Psalms 93-100), hymns celebrating God's kingship over creation and the nations. The verb asah in verse 3 connects to the creation theology of Genesis 1-2 where asah is used alongside bara (to create). In Genesis 1:26-27, both verbs appear: 'Let us make (asah) man in our image' and 'So God created (bara) man in his own image.' The use of asah in Psalm 100 recalls this foundational act. The worshiper entering the Temple courts with praise (verse 4) does so as a creature acknowledging the Creator. The psalm moves from summons (verse 1: 'Make a joyful noise'), to knowledge (verse 3: 'Know ye that the LORD he is God'), to response (verse 4: 'Enter into his gates with thanksgiving'). The verb asah anchors the knowledge: the God you are praising is the God who fashioned you with purpose.
Historical context · 6th-10th century AD (Masoretic activity), though the textual traditions are much older
The Masoretic Text and the Ketiv-Qere System
The Masoretes were Jewish scribes working primarily in Tiberias, Palestine, and Babylonia between the 6th and 10th centuries AD. Their task was monumental: preserve the Hebrew Bible's exact consonantal text, add vowel pointing (the original Hebrew script had no written vowels), and record notes on spelling, pronunciation, and textual variants. The result, the Masoretic Text (MT), became the standard Hebrew Bible used in Jewish worship and the basis for most English Old Testament translations.
One of their most careful systems was the Ketiv-Qere apparatus. Ketiv (Aramaic for 'written') refers to the consonants in the text itself. Qere (Aramaic for 'read') refers to the marginal note indicating how the word should be pronounced aloud in synagogue reading. In most Ketiv-Qere instances, the difference is minor: a spelling variant, a grammatical correction, or a euphemism. Psalm 100:3 is one of the more theologically significant examples. The written text has lo-aleph ('not'), while the marginal reading has lo-vav ('to him/his'). In synagogue practice, the reader would typically follow the Qere and read 'we are his.' The printed Hebrew Bible includes both: the consonants of the Ketiv in the main text and the vowels of the Qere underneath them, with the Qere consonants in the margin.
The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered at Qumran beginning in 1947, shed light on the antiquity of these textual traditions. Some Qumran manuscripts align with the Ketiv reading of certain passages, others with the Qere. The textual plurality visible in the Masoretic apparatus was already present centuries before the Masoretes codified it. Psalm 100 itself was a processional hymn, likely sung by worshipers entering the Temple in Jerusalem. The superscription reads 'A Psalm of praise' (mizmor letodah), and todah can mean both 'thanksgiving' and 'confession.' The psalm was liturgical: corporate, public, sung at the gates.
For reflection
Sit with the two readings of this verse for a full minute. 'He made us and we did not make ourselves.' 'He made us and we are his.' Which reading grips you more today, and why?
Consider what you have been trying to build, fix, or control on your own this week.
Sources: BDB; Tate, 'Psalms 51-100' (WBC)