Jeff A. Benner
Should the beginning phrase of Psalm 2:12 be translated as “be equipped with purity," such as is found in Jewish translations, or "Kiss the son," such as is found in Christian translations? The Hebrew word for "son" is ben (Strong's # 1121) and this word is even used in this Psalm (verse 7). We see the author of Psalms 2 using the Hebrew word ben for son and it would not make sense that he would change to Aramaic later in the psalm. Therefore it makes sense that he was using the Hebrew word "bar" meaning "purity," not the Aramaic word meaning "son". The Psalmist uses the same word word is bar (Strong's #1249, 1252), in several other Psalms, in each case it is translated as; pure, cleanness, and not as "son". The precepts of Yehovah are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of Yehovah is pure( בָּ֝רָ֗ה, ) enlightening the eyes. Psalm 19:8 One who has clean hands and a pure (וּֽבַר ) heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to deceit And has not sworn deceitfully. Psalm 24:4 Elohim certainly is good to Israel, To those who are pure (לְבָרֵ֥י ) in heart! Psalm 73:1 Yehovah has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness ( כְּבֹ֥ר ) of my hands He has repaid me. Psalm 18:20 Therefore Yehovah has repaid me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness ( כְּבֹ֥ר ) of my hands in His eyes. Psalm 18:24
The phrase in Hebrew is nashku var (The word var is actually the word bar but because it is preceded by a vowel it takes the spirant sound "v" instead). The word nashku is from the root N-SH-K (Strong's #5401), which means "kiss”, “to touch”, “be equipped with”. The u at the end of the word is the masculine plural imperative. When the author uses the word nashku he is telling a group of people to "Kiss …/be equipped with…” The second word is bar (Strong's #1249, 1250, 1252, 1253) and this word can have several meanings in Hebrew including "grain", "clean" or "pure". When combined, these two Hebrew words can mean "kiss grain" or “be equipped with purity" with the second possibility being more in context with the verse.
But, there is also the Aramaic word bar (Strong's # 1247, 1248, 1251), which can mean "son" or "field". We now have the possible translation "Kiss the son", or do we? The question is, "Is the word bar in Psalm 2:12 a Hebrew or Aramaic word? All of the Psalms are written in Hebrew, though there are a few Aramaic words scattered through them. So, is this a case of an Aramaic word being used in this Hebrew Psalm?
The Hebrew word for "son" is ben (Strong's # 1121) and this word is even used in this Psalm (verse 7). We see the author of Psalms 2 using the Hebrew word ben for son and it would not make sense that he would change to Aramaic later in the psalm. Therefore it makes sense that he was using the Hebrew word "bar" meaning "purity," not the Aramaic word meaning "son".
There is another aspect of the Aramaic word bar that is often overlooked. Technically, the Aramaic word for son is ben (the same as Hebrew, Strong's #1123). The word bar does not mean "son," but is the construct form (son of…) of the word ben. For example, in Hebrew, the phrase ben avraham means "son OF Abraham." But in Aramaic this phrase would be bar avraham and means "son OF Abraham." The common phrase "bar mitzvah" is actually Aramaic, not Hebrew, and means "son OF commandments". So, in Hebrew and Aramaic the phrase "Kiss the son" would be written as nashqu ben not nashqu var.
The Aramaic word bar is used in Proverbs 31:2; "What, my son? and what, O son of my womb? And what, O son of my vows?" But again, in each case, the word bar is used in the construct state - son OF…" (The translation "my son" at the beginning of the verse is a little misleading as the literal translation would be "son OF me").
In conclusion, it is my opinion that the phrase nashqu bar should be translated as “be equipped with purity" rather than "kiss the son" for the following reasons.