Psalm 11 Poetic Structure
Trapped birds
Psalm 11
Poetic Structure
In poetic structure, we analyse the structure of the psalm beginning at the most basic level of the structure: the line (also known as the “colon” or “hemistich”). Then, based on the perception of patterned similarities (and on the assumption that the whole psalm is structured hierarchically), we argue for the grouping of lines into verses, verses into sub-sections, sub-sections into larger sections, etc. Because patterned similarities might be of various kinds (syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, sonic) the analysis of poetic structure draws on all of the previous layers (especially the Discourse layer).
Poetic Macro-structure
If an emendation or revocalization is preferred, that emendation or revocalization will be marked in the Hebrew text of all the visuals.
| Emendations/Revocalizations legend | |
|---|---|
| *Emended text* | Emended text, text in which the consonants differ from the consonants of the Masoretic text, is indicated by blue asterisks on either side of the emendation. |
| *Revocalized text* | Revocalized text, text in which only the vowels differ from the vowels of the Masoretic text, is indicated by purple asterisks on either side of the revocalization. |
Notes
- vv. 1-3. Verse 2-3 are bound together by similar syntax (כי + noun phrase with definite article + yiqtol with he-suffix) and similar sounds (e.g., מוֹ־אֹ֝֗פֶל // מַה־פָּעָֽל). These two verses are bound together with v. 1 both because vv. 2-3 are syntactically subordinated to v. 1d and because together vv. 1d-3 are quoted speech.
- vv. 4-6. Verses 4-5 are bound together by similar word order (fronting of YHWH) and the repeated word בחן. Although there is a shift from v. 5 to v. 6 (deontic modality, no mention of YHWH's name), vv. 4-5 are bound together with v. 6 by similar language (רשע) and logic (the prayer in v. 6 is based on vv. 4-5). Just as vv. 2-3 ground the speech act in v. 1c, so vv. 4-5 ground the speech act in v. 6.
- Inclusio (vv. 1, 6). There are a number of connections between v. 1 and v. 6. (1) These are the only two verses with deontic modality ("flee!... may he rain!"); (2) These are the only two verses that use bird imagery ("birds... [bird] traps"); (3) There are similar sounds in both verses (תֹּאמְר֣וּ // יַמְטֵ֥ר)
- v. 7. The final verse summarizes and grounds the entire psalm. Cf. Pss 1 and 5.
- The structure of Psalm 11 is similar to the structure of both Psalm 1 and Psalm 5. Each of these three psalms has two main sections and a final verse beginning with כי that summarizes and grounds the entire psalm. These three psalms also have similar themes (e.g., strong contrast between righteous and wicked).
- Others (e.g., Fokkelman, van der Lugt) have argued that Psalm 11 has three sections which are chiastically arranged: (A) vv. 1-3, (B) v. 4, (A') vv. 5-7. Several lines of evidence are given in defense of this structure. For example, (1) vv. 1-3 and vv. 4-7 speak of the righteous and the wicked, while v. 4 speaks of people in general; (2) "there is a cluster of words occurring exclusively in vv. 1-3 and 5-7"[1] (e.g., "wicked", "upright", "righteous"); (3) "the three strophes are marked by the proper name for God."[2] In light of this structure, which has v. 4 as its center, van der Lugt writes, "the quintessential thought of this psalm is to be found in the pivotal strophe (v. 4): from heaven God tests humankind."[3] The main difficulty with this structure is that it requires a strophic break between v. 4 and v. 5, and these verses are very similar to one another (similar word order, similar language [בחן]). Furthermore, v. 7, which uses language from vv. 2-5, has the character of a summarizing verse (cf. Pss 1:6; 5:13).
Line Divisions
Line division divides the poem into lines and line groupings. We determine line divisions based on a combination of external evidence (Masoretic accents, pausal forms, manuscripts) and internal evidence (syntax, prosodic word counting and patterned relation to other lines). Moreover, we indicate line-groupings by using additional spacing.
When line divisions are uncertain, we consult some of the many psalms manuscripts which lay out the text in lines. Then, if a division attested in one of these manuscripts/versions influences our decision to divide the text at a certain point, we place a green symbol (G, DSS, or MT) to the left of the line in question.
| Poetic line division legend | |
|---|---|
| Pausal form | Pausal forms are highlighted in yellow. |
| Accent which typically corresponds to line division | Accents which typically correspond to line divisions are indicated by red text. |
| | | Clause boundaries are indicated by a light gray vertical line in between clauses. |
| G | Line divisions that follow Greek manuscripts are indicated by a bold green G. |
| DSS | Line divisions that follow the Dead Sea Scrolls are indicated by a bold green DSS. |
| M | Line divisions that follow Masoretic manuscripts are indicated by a bold green M. |
| Number of prosodic words | The number of prosodic words are indicated in blue text. |
| Prosodic words greater than 5 | The number of prosodic words if greater than 5 is indicated by bold blue text. |
If an emendation or revocalization is preferred, that emendation or revocalization will be marked in the Hebrew text of all the visuals.
| Emendations/Revocalizations legend | |
|---|---|
| *Emended text* | Emended text, text in which the consonants differ from the consonants of the Masoretic text, is indicated by blue asterisks on either side of the emendation. |
| *Revocalized text* | Revocalized text, text in which only the vowels differ from the vowels of the Masoretic text, is indicated by purple asterisks on either side of the revocalization. |
Notes
- v. 1. A number of manuscripts do not have a space after חָסִיתִי and so treat v. 1 as a bicolon: בַּֽיהוָ֨ה ׀ חָסִ֗יתִי אֵ֭יךְ תֹּאמְר֣וּ לְנַפְשִׁ֑י // נ֝֗וּדִו הַרְכֶ֥ם צִפּֽוֹר׃. E.g., LXX (B, S, A, so also Rahlfs), Or2373. The Nahal Hever Pss., however, scroll appears to break at this point. The clause boundary makes a line division likely.
- v. 5. See The Division of Psalm 11:5.
- v. 6. The second line of v. 6 is unusually long (6 words) and it is possible that there should be a line break at the revia replacing atnach (זִלְעָפ֗וֹת). There is no clause break, however, and the manuscripts in the Greek tradition divide the text exactly as here (B, S, A, so also Rahlfs).