The interpretation timeline

Ps 145:5

How this passage has been read — the sources, oldest to newest.

From the early Church Fathers to now.

3 Patristic · 3 Jewish · 1 Lutheran

Ps 145:5 · Douay-Rheims
“Blessed is he who hath the God of Jacob for his helper, whose hope is in the Lord his God:”
Patristic before A.D. 750
430
A.D.
Augustine of Hippo Patristic
A.D. 354–430
“What then must we do, if we are not to hope in sons of men, nor in princes? What must we do? "Blessed is he whose Helper is the God of Jacob" (ver. 5): not this man or that man; not this angel or that angel; but, "blessed is he whose Helper is the God of Jacob:" for to Jacob also so great an Helper was He, that of Jacob He made him Israel. O mighty help! now he is Israel, "seeing God." While then thou art placed here, and a wanderer not yet seeing God, if thou hast the God of Jacob for thy Helper, from Jacob thou wilt become Israel, and wilt be "seeing God," and all toil and all groans shall come to an end, gnawing cares shall cease, happy praises shall succeed. "Blessed is he whose Helper is the God of Jacob;" of this Jacob. Wherefore is he happy? Meanwhile, while yet groaning in this life, "his hope is in the Lord his God."”
Source
430
A.D.
Augustine of Hippo Patristic
A.D. 354–430
“Indeed God is able, both to give salvation in this life, to remove poverty, and to grant sufficiency to the Christian. And yet, if this were not so, what would you choose? To be that poor man, or to be that rich man? Do not be deceived. Hear the end, and observe the bad choice. For without a doubt, that poor man, because he was pious, placed in temporal troubles, thought someday that life would end, and eternal rest would be attained. Both died, but the thoughts of that poor man did not perish on that day. For it came to pass that the poor man died, and was carried by angels to Abraham's bosom. On that day all his thoughts were healed. And since Lazarus is interpreted in Latin as "helped" - in Latin "helped" is said who in Hebrew is Lazarus - the Psalm well reminded: Blessed is he whose helper is the God of Jacob. When his spirit departs, and his flesh returns to his own dust, his thoughts will not perish, because his hope is in the Lord his God. This is learned in the school of Christ the teacher, this is hoped for by the faithful listener's soul, this is the truest reward of the Savior.”
Source
533
A.D.
c. A.D. 468–533
“Hold most firmly and never doubt that the holy Trinity, the only true God, is the Creator of all things, visible and invisible—concerning which it is said in the psalms, "Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them." Concerning this the apostle too says, "For from him and through him and in him are all things. To him be glory forever."”
Source
572 years pass — nothing from this stretch is hosted yet
Scholastic c. 1100 – 1500
1105
A.D.
Rashi Jewish
1040–1105
“Praiseworthy is he in whose help is the God of Jacob, for the Holy One, blessed be He, promised him (Gen. 28:15): “Behold I am with you, and I shall guard You, etc., and I shall return you.” Now why is He praiseworthy? Because He made heaven and earth and the sea, and since all is His, He has the power to guard him on the sea and on dry land; but a mortal king, although he watches him on dry land, cannot watch him on the sea.”
Source
1167
A.D.
Ibn Ezra Jewish
1089–1167
“"Fortunate" - The meaning is that [fortunate is one] that leans on none but God, and does not request help from man. And the meaning of "...the God of Ya'akov as his aid" is [based on that which] he(Ya'akov) said [in Bereshit 28:21]: "and Hashem will be as God for me," as I explained [that verse] in its place.”
1235
A.D.
Radak Jewish
c. 1160–1235
אשרי שאל יעקב בעזרו."Happy is he who has the God of Ya῾aqov for his help": He mentioned Jacob our forefather because he trusted in God, as his brother sought to kill him and he fled from him. Jacob trusted in his heart that God would provide for his needs, even as he went towards him, for God had said to him that He would give him bread to eat and clothes to wear. Similarly, the children of Israel, who trusted in God, were brought out of exile by Him. This repeats the idea using different words.”
Source
640 years pass — nothing from this stretch is hosted yet
Post-Reformation c. 1650 – 1900
1875
A.D.
Keil & Delitzsch Lutheran
1861–1875
“Man's help is of no avail; blessed is he (this is the last of the twenty-five אשׁרי of the Psalter), on the contrary, who has the God of Jacob (שׁאל like שׁיהוה in Psa 144:15) as Him in whom is his succour (בּעזרו with Beth essentiae, vid., on Psa 35:2) - he, whose confidence (שׂבר as in Psa 119:116) rests on Jahve, whom he can by faith call his God. Men often are not able to give help although they might be willing to do so: He, however, is the Almighty, the Creator of the heavens, the earth, and the sea, and of all living things that fill these three (cf. Neh 9:6). Men easily change their mind and do not keep their word: He, however, is He who keepeth truth or faithfulness, inasmuch as He unchangeably adheres to the fulfilling of His promises. שׁמר אמת is in form equivalent substantially to שׁמר חסד and שׁמר הבּרית. And that which He is able to do as being the Almighty, and cannot as being the Truthful One leave undone, is also really His mode of active manifestation made evident in practical proofs: He obtains right for the oppressed, gives bread to the hungry, and consequently proves Himself to be the succour of those who suffer wrong without doing wrong, and as the provider for those who look for their daily bread from His gracious hand. With השּׁמר, the only determinate participle, the faithfulness of God to His promises is made especially prominent.”
Source
Modern · 1953 →

The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.