Psalm 133 Participant Analysis
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Psalm 133/Participant Analysis
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Dwelling Together
Psalm 133
Participant Analysis
Participant Analysis focuses on the characters in the psalm and asks, “Who are the main participants (or characters) in this psalm, and what are they saying or doing? It is often helpful for understanding literary structure, speaker identification, etc.
For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Participant Analysis Creator Guidelines.
There are 5 participants/characters in Psalm 133:
Profile List
| David |
| YHWH |
| Congregation of Israel |
| "Families" |
| Aaron |
| Oil |
| Dew |
Profile Notes
- Families: The word אַחִים "brothers" are not necessarily biological brothers, but rather a way to denote the extended family/the entire congregation of Israel. In the context of this psalm, these are the pilgrims who have been traveling to Jerusalem for a holy festival.
- Oil and Dew: Though not exactly participants per se, these two liquids play a prominent role in this psalm. They are used for comparison to the pleasantness of the congregation's unity, and they display the heart of the psalm's message.
- Aaron: The first high priest of the people of Israel. Here, he is not an active participant, but rather is used as a symbol for the priesthood.
| Hebrew | Line | English |
|---|---|---|
| שִׁ֥יר הַֽמַּעֲל֗וֹת לְדָ֫וִ֥ד | 1a | The song of the ascents. By David. |
| הִנֵּ֣ה מַה־טּ֭וֹב וּמַה־נָּעִ֑ים | 1b | Look, how good and how right |
| שֶׁ֖בֶת אַחִ֣ים גַּם־יָֽחַד׃ | 1c | that brothers dwell—even together! |
| כַּשֶּׁ֤מֶן הַטּ֨וֹב ׀ עַל־הָרֹ֗אשׁ | 2a | [It is] like the valuable oil on the head, |
| יֹרֵ֗ד עַֽל־הַזָּקָ֥ן זְקַֽן־אַהֲרֹ֑ן | 2b | flowing down onto the beard, the beard of Aaron; |
| שֶׁ֝יֹּרֵ֗ד עַל־פִּ֥י מִדּוֹתָֽיו׃ | 2c | which flows down onto the collar of his garments. |
| כְּטַל־חֶרְמ֗וֹן שֶׁיֹּרֵד֮ עַל־הַרְרֵ֪י צִ֫יּ֥וֹן | 3a | [It is] like the dew of Hermon, which flows down onto the hills of Zion. |
| כִּ֤י שָׁ֨ם ׀ צִוָּ֣ה יְ֭הוָה אֶת־הַבְּרָכָ֑ה | 3b | For there YHWH has sent the blessing— |
| חַ֝יִּ֗ים עַד־הָעוֹלָֽם׃ | 3c | life everlasting. |
Participant Relations Diagram
The relationships among the participants may be abstracted and summarized as follows:
Participant Analysis Summary Distribution
