Psalm 3 Discourse
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
Psalm 3/Discourse
Choose a PsalmNavigate Psalm 3
Victory is YHWH's!
Psalm 3
About the Discourse Layer
Our Discourse Layer includes four additional layers of analysis:
- Participant analysis
- Macrosyntax
- Speech act analysis
- Emotional analysis
For more information on our method of analysis, click the expandable explanation button at the beginning of each layer.
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 3:
Profile List
| David |
| YHWH's people |
| YHWH |
| "YHWH" (vv. 2a, 4a, 6b, 8a, 9a) |
| "[my] God" (vv. 3b, 8a) |
| Enemies |
| "my adversaries" (v. 2a) |
| "those rising against me" (v. 2b) |
| "those saying about me..." (v. 3a) |
| "tens of thousands of people" (v. 7a) |
| "my enemies" (v. 8b) |
| "wicked people" (v. 8c) |
| Absalom |
Profile Notes
- The speaker in this psalm is David, the king of Israel and the representative of YHWH's people.
- YHWH is David's God. YHWH made a covenant with David, promising to give him an eternal dynasty and kingdom and to rescue him from all of his enemies (see 2 Sam 7; Ps 89).
- The enemies in this psalm are the many people who joined in rebellion against David under the leadership of Absalom, David's own son (see 2 Sam 15ff). Absalom is David's third-born son, the first by his wife Ma'acha, daughter of Talmi, king of Geshur (a "small Aramaic state between Bashan and Hermon" [HALOT, 205]) (2 Sam 3:3).
| Hebrew | Line | English |
|---|---|---|
| מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִ֑ד בְּ֝בָרְח֗וֹ מִפְּנֵ֤י ׀ אַבְשָׁל֬וֹם בְּנֽוֹ׃ | 1 | A psalm. By David. When he was fleeing from Absalom, his son. |
| יְ֭הוָה מָֽה־רַבּ֣וּ צָרָ֑י | 2a | YHWH, how my adversaries have become many! |
| רַ֝בִּ֗ים קָמִ֥ים עָלָֽי׃ | 2b | Many are those rising against me. |
| רַבִּים֮ אֹמְרִ֪ים לְנַ֫פְשִׁ֥י | 3a | Many are those saying about me, |
| אֵ֤ין יְֽשׁוּעָ֓תָה לּ֬וֹ בֵֽאלֹהִ֬ים סֶֽלָה׃ | 3b | "There is no victory for him in God!" Selah. |
| וְאַתָּ֣ה יְ֭הוָה מָגֵ֣ן בַּעֲדִ֑י | 4a | But you, YHWH, are a shield for me, |
| כְּ֝בוֹדִ֗י וּמֵרִ֥ים רֹאשִֽׁי׃ | 4b | my honor, and the one who lifts my head. |
| ק֭וֹלִי אֶל־יְהוָ֣ה אֶקְרָ֑א | 5a | I call aloud to YHWH, |
| וַיַּֽעֲנֵ֨נִי מֵהַ֖ר קָדְשׁ֣וֹ סֶֽלָה׃ | 5b | and he answers me from his holy mountain. Selah. |
| אֲנִ֥י שָׁכַ֗בְתִּי וָֽאִ֫ישָׁ֥נָה | 6a | I lay down and fell asleep. |
| הֱקִיצ֑וֹתִי כִּ֖י יְהוָ֣ה יִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃ | 6b | I woke up, because YHWH supports me. |
| לֹֽא־אִ֭ירָא מֵרִבְב֥וֹת עָ֑ם | 7a | I will not be afraid of tens of thousands of people |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר סָ֝בִ֗יב שָׁ֣תוּ עָלָֽי׃ | 7b | who have taken position against me all around. |
| ק֘וּמָ֤ה יְהוָ֨ה ׀ הוֹשִׁ֘יעֵ֤נִי אֱלֹהַ֗י | 8a | Rise up, YHWH! Save me, my God! |
| כִּֽי־הִכִּ֣יתָ אֶת־כָּל־אֹיְבַ֣י לֶ֑חִי | 8b | For you have struck all my enemies on the jaw. |
| שִׁנֵּ֖י רְשָׁעִ֣ים שִׁבַּֽרְתָּ׃ | 8c | You have broken wicked people's teeth. |
| לַיהוָ֥ה הַיְשׁוּעָ֑ה | 9a | Victory is YHWH's! |
| עַֽל־עַמְּךָ֖ בִרְכָתֶ֣ךָ סֶּֽלָה׃ | 9b | Your blessing is on your people. Selah. |
- The psalmist alternates from addressing YHWH in the second person (vv. 2-4, 8, 9b) to speaking about him in the third person (vv. 5-6, 9a). The clearest instance of such person shifting is in v. 9, where the first half mentions "YHWH" in the third person, and the second half addresses him in the second person ("your"). This kind of person shifting is common in Hebrew poetry and also occurs in prose, e.g., when someone is speaking to a king (see e.g., Esth 3:8-9; Ps 45:2). When the psalmist says something about YHWH in the third person, it does not necessarily imply that he is no longer speaking to YHWH (cf. Pss 7; 18).
Participant Relations Diagram
The relationships among the participants may be abstracted and summarized as follows:
.jpg)
Participant Analysis Summary Distribution
Macrosyntax
Macrosyntax Diagram
| Macrosyntax legend | |
|---|---|
| Vocatives | Vocatives are indicated by purple text. |
| Discourse marker | Discourse markers (such as כִּי, הִנֵּה, לָכֵן) are indicated by orange text. |
 |
The scope governed by the discourse marker is indicated by a dashed orange bracket connecting the discourse marker to its scope. |
 |
The preceding discourse grounding the discourse marker is indicated by a solid orange bracket encompassing the relevant clauses. |
| Subordinating conjunction | The subordinating conjunction is indicated by teal text. |
 |
Subordination is indicated by a solid teal bracket connecting the subordinating conjunction with the clause to which it is subordinate. |
| Coordinating conjunction | The coordinating conjunction is indicated by blue text. |
 |
Coordination is indicated by a solid blue line connecting the coordinating clauses. |
 |
Coordination without an explicit conjunction is indicated by a dashed blue line connecting the coordinated clauses. |
 |
Marked topic is indicated by a black dashed rounded rectangle around the marked words. |
 |
The scope of the activated topic is indicated by a black dashed bracket encompassing the relevant clauses. |
| Marked focus or thetic sentence | Marked focus (if one constituent) or thetic sentences[1] are indicated by bold text. |
 |
Frame setters[2] are indicated by a solid gray rounded rectangle around the marked words. |
| [blank line] | Discourse discontinuity is indicated by a blank line. |
| [indentation] | Syntactic subordination is indicated by indentation. |
 |
Direct speech is indicated by a solid black rectangle surrounding all relevant clauses. |
| (text to elucidate the meaning of the macrosyntactic structures) | Within the CBC, any text elucidating the meaning of macrosyntax is indicated in gray text inside parentheses. |
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. |
(Click diagram to enlarge)
- The discourse can be divided based on the recurrence of selah at the ends of sections (vv. 3b, 5b, 7b) and vocatives at the beginnings of sections (vv. 2a, 4a, 8a).
- vv. 2b, 3a. Although רַבִּים could be read as the unmarked topic of a verbless predication in these two clauses, we have preferred to interpret the topic of these clauses as קָמִ֥ים עָלָֽי, (since צָרָ֑י "my adversaries" has already been discourse-activated in v. 2a), such that the comment, רַבִּים, is clause-initial. Thus, the initial placement of this comment seems to function as scalar/confirming focus (see the grammar notes for further details).
- v. 5a. The first constituent of the clause is the noun phrase קוֹלִי ("aloud," lit.: "my voice"). The pre-verbal position of this constituent might not be related to information structure but to some unique usage of the phrase קוֹלִי.[3] It also results in the poetic juxtaposition of "my voice" at the beginning of v. 5 and "my head" at the end of v. 4. The fronting of the prepositional phrase "to YHWH" is probably related to information structure, marking this prepositional phrase as focal.
- v. 6a. The previous clause describes YHWH's action, while this section (vv. 6-7, following the selah of v. 5b) is now about the psalmist and his actions. The independent pronoun אֲנִי marks this transition and activates "I" as the topic of the following clauses.[4] The presence of the personal pronoun also contributes to the division of these poetic sections (see poetic structure).[5]
- v. 6b. The כִּי clause at the end of v. 6 has subject-verb word order, marking the clause as a thetic, which grounds the previous propositional content.
- v. 7b. The adverb סָבִיב ("all around") is fronted, probably for marked focus. The enemies do not just take position against him on one side (which would allow him an escape route), but on every side, all around him.
- v. 8c. The fronting of the object "wicked people's teeth" (שִׁנֵּי רְשָׁעִים) results in a symmetrical structure with the previous line: A. you have struck B. my enemies C. on the jaw // C. the teeth B. of wicked people A. you have broken.
- v. 9a. The prepositional phrase לַיהוָה is fronted for exclusive focus. Victory belongs to no one else but YHWH; he alone determines who wins and who loses.
- v. 9b. The phrase "on your people" is fronted for exclusive focus. YHWH's blessing is not on the enemy "people" (see v. 7), but on his own "people."
- v. 2. The opening vocative is clause-initial, as often at the beginning of psalms (cf. Pss 6; 7; 8; 15; 21; 109; etc.; but see e.g., Pss 4; 5; 10; 13; 16; 17; 18; etc., though in several of these examples [e.g., Pss 4; 5; 10; 13] there are poetic and/or pragmatic explanations for the non-initial position of the vocative). The initial position of the vocative at the beginning of a psalm might reflect the discourse function of the clause-initial vocative to signal the beginning of a conversational turn.[6]
- v. 4. The vocative "YHWH" is placed after וְאַתָּה to allow for adversative waw and create the intensive focus reading of the pronouns (אַתָּה), as claimed by Miller.[7]
- v. 8. The fact that the imperatives in v. 8 ("rise... save") occur before the vocatives ("YHWH... my God") might increase the urgency of the imperatives.
There are no notes on Discourse Markers for this psalm.
- v. 6. The כִּי in v. 6 is causal, explaining how it is that the psalmist was able to wake up safely, without having been killed in his sleep.
- v. 8. The כִּי in v. 8 is a speech-act causal כִּי.[8] The psalmist grounds his request for YHWH to save (v. 8a) in the recollection of YHWH's past acts of salvation (v. 8bc). See The Verbal Semantics of Psalm 3:8b–c for details.
Speech Act Analysis
The Speech Act layer presents the text in terms of what it does, following the findings of Speech Act Theory. It builds on the recognition that there is more to communication than the exchange of propositions. Speech act analysis is particularly important when communicating cross-culturally, and lack of understanding can lead to serious misunderstandings, since the ways languages and cultures perform speech acts varies widely.
For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Speech Act Analysis Creator Guidelines.
Summary Visual
| Speaker | Verses | Macro Speech Acts | Addressee | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David | v. 1 A psalm. By David. When he was fleeing from Absalom, his son. | Superscription (v. 1) | YHWH | |||||
| v. 2 YHWH, how my adversaries have become many! Many are those rising against me. | Dismayed description (vv. 2–3) |
|||||||
| v. 3 Many are those saying about me, "There is no victory for him in God!" Selah. | My enemies are many! | |||||||
They say, "There is no victory for him in God!" |
||||||||
| v. 4 But you, YHWH, are a shield for me, my honor, and the one who lifts my head. | Profession of trust (vv. 4–5) |
|||||||
| v. 5 I call aloud to YHWH, and he answers me from his holy mountain. Selah. | But you, YHWH, are a shield for me. | |||||||
| v. 6 I lay down and fell asleep. I woke up, because YHWH supports me. | Re-evaluation (vv. 6-7) |
|||||||
| v. 7 I will not be afraid of tens of thousands of people who have taken position against me all around. | I will not be afraid! | |||||||
| v. 8 Rise up, YHWH! Save me, my God! For you have struck all my enemies on the jaw. You have broken wicked people's teeth. | Call for action (v. 8) |
|||||||
| Rise up and save me! | ||||||||
For You have always helped me in the past. |
||||||||
| v. 9 Victory is YHWH's! Your blessing is on your people. Selah. | Declaration (v. 9) |
|||||||
| Victory is YHWH's! | ||||||||
Speech Act Analysis Chart
The following chart is scrollable (left/right; up/down).
| Verse | Hebrew | CBC | Sentence type | Illocution (general) | Illocution with context | Macro speech act | Intended perlocution (Think) | Intended perlocution (Feel) | Intended perlocution (Do) |
| Verse number and poetic line | Hebrew text | English translation | Declarative, Imperative, or Interrogative Indirect Speech Act: Mismatch between sentence type and illocution type |
Assertive, Directive, Expressive, Commissive, or Declaratory Indirect Speech Act: Mismatch between sentence type and illocution type |
More specific illocution type with paraphrased context | Illocutionary intent (i.e. communicative purpose) of larger sections of discourse These align with the "Speech Act Summary" headings |
What the speaker intends for the address to think | What the speaker intends for the address to feel | What the speaker intends for the address to do |
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. |
| Verse | Text (Hebrew) | Text (CBC) | Sentence type | Illocution (general) | Illocution with context | Macro speech act | Intended perlocution (Think) | Intended perlocution (Feel) | Intended perlocution (Do) | Speech Act Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִ֑ד בְּ֝בָרְח֗וֹ מִפְּנֵ֤י ׀ אַבְשָׁל֬וֹם בְּנֽוֹ׃ | A psalm. By David. When he was fleeing from Absalom, his son. | Fragment | Assertive | Giving information about the psalm's genre, author, and historical setting | - There are multiple intended perlocutions for this psalm. At the most basic level, the psalmist wants YHWH to rise up and save him (v. 8). At the same time, however, it seems that the psalmist intends the psalm to work an emotional change within himself; by praying this psalm, he stirs himself up to confidence and courage. Finally, there is an additional intended perlocution for others who might read or hear this psalm. The psalmist wants them to learn from his example that victory belongs to YHWH and that they should call out to YHWH when they are in distress. | ||||
| 2 | יְ֭הוָה מָֽה־רַבּ֣וּ צָרָ֑י | YHWH, how my adversaries have become many! | Declarative | Expressive | Expressing dismay at how many enemies he has | Describing his situation and expressing his dismay | - YHWH will consider the magnitude of the threat facing David | - YHWH will rise up and save David - Others will follow David's example of calling out to YHWH in their distress |
• The word מָה here "functions as an introduction to an exclamation in which a speaker usually expresses a value judgment about something" (BHRG §42.3.6). | |
| רַ֝בִּ֗ים קָמִ֥ים עָלָֽי׃ | Many are those rising against me. | Assertive | Describing how vast in number his opposition is | |||||||
| 3 | רַבִּים֮ אֹמְרִ֪ים לְנַ֫פְשִׁ֥י | Many are those saying about me, | Declarative • "Declarative" |
Assertive • "Assertive" |
Describing how vast in number are those claiming he has no hope • "Claiming that God will not save the psalmist" |
|||||
| אֵ֤ין יְֽשׁוּעָ֓תָה לּ֬וֹ בֵֽאלֹהִ֬ים סֶֽלָה׃ | "There is no victory for him in God!"" Selah. | |||||||||
| 4 | וְאַתָּ֣ה יְ֭הוָה מָגֵ֣ן בַּעֲדִ֑י | But you, YHWH, are a shield for me, | Declarative | Assertive | Professing trust in YHWH for protection and the restoration of his honor | Professing trust in YHWH | - YHWH will consider how David trusts in him for victory | - David himself will regain confidence in YHWH | ||
| כְּ֝בוֹדִ֗י וּמֵרִ֥ים רֹאשִֽׁי׃ | my honor, and the one who lifts my head. | |||||||||
| 5 | ק֭וֹלִי אֶל־יְהוָ֣ה אֶקְרָ֑א | I call aloud to YHWH, | Declarative | Assertive | Describing how, time and time again, he calls out to YHWH | |||||
| וַיַּֽעֲנֵ֨נִי מֵהַ֖ר קָדְשׁ֣וֹ סֶֽלָה׃ | and he answers me from his holy mountain. Selah. | Describing how, time and time again, YHWH answers his call for help | ||||||||
| 6 | אֲנִ֥י שָׁכַ֗בְתִּי וָֽאִ֫ישָׁ֥נָה | I lay down and fell asleep. | Declarative Declarative |
Assertive Assertive |
Recalling how he was able to lie down and fall asleep the previous night | Re-evaluating his present situation in light of his renewed trust in YHWH | • In vv. 6-7, having reoriented his perspective (vv. 4-5), David is able to re-evaluate his current situation. He looks back on the previous night and sees how YHWH has protected him (v. 6), and so he commits himself to courage in the face of the ongoing threat (v. 7). | |||
| הֱקִיצ֑וֹתִי כִּ֖י יְהוָ֣ה יִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃ | I woke up, because YHWH supports me. | Recalling how he woke up safely this morning Explaining how he was able to sleep and wake up safely |
||||||||
| 7 | לֹֽא־אִ֭ירָא מֵרִבְב֥וֹת עָ֑ם | I will not be afraid of tens of thousands of people, | Declarative | Commissive | Committing himself to courage even in the face of vast opposition | |||||
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר סָ֝בִ֗יב שָׁ֣תוּ עָלָֽי׃ | who have taken position against me all around. | |||||||||
| 8 | ק֘וּמָ֤ה יְהוָ֨ה ׀ הוֹשִׁ֘יעֵ֤נִי אֱלֹהַ֗י | Rise up, YHWH! Save me, my God! | Imperative Imperative |
Directive Directive |
Calling on YHWH to rise up and save him | Calling on YHWH to rise and save him | • The כִּי in v. 8 is a speech-act causal כִּי (see Locatell 2017, 162; cf. Locatell 2019). The psalmist grounds his request for YHWH to save (v. 8a) in the recollection of YHWH's past acts of salvation (v. 8bc). | |||
| כִּֽי־הִכִּ֣יתָ אֶת־כָּל־אֹיְבַ֣י לֶ֑חִי | For you have struck all my enemies on the jaw. | Declarative | Assertive | Recalling how YHWH has saved him in the past, thus giving a reason for his request for YHWH to save him now | ||||||
| שִׁנֵּ֖י רְשָׁעִ֣ים שִׁבַּֽרְתָּ׃ | You have broken wicked people's teeth. | Declarative | Assertive | Recalling how YHWH has saved him in the past, thus giving a reason for his request for YHWH to save him now | ||||||
| 9 | לַיהוָ֥ה הַיְשׁוּעָ֑ה | Victory is YHWH's! | Declarative | Asssertive | Declaring that victory is YHWH's (and no one elses) | Declaring the unique ability of YHWH to save and the unique privilege of his people to receive his blessing | - Others will know that victory is YHWH's | - Others will feel confident in YHWH's ability to save | ||
| עַֽל־עַמְּךָ֖ בִרְכָתֶ֣ךָ סֶּֽלָה׃ | Your blessing is on your people. Selah. | Assertive | Declaring that YHWH's people (and not the enemy) are the ones who experience his blessing |
Emotional Analysis
This layer explores the emotional dimension of the biblical text and seeks to uncover the clues within the text itself that are part of the communicative intent of its author. The goal of this analysis is to chart the basic emotional tone and/or progression of the psalm.
For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Emotional Analysis Creator Guidelines.
Emotional Analysis Chart
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. |
| Verse | Text (Hebrew) | Text (CBC) | The Psalmist Feels | Emotional Analysis Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִ֑ד בְּ֝בָרְח֗וֹ מִפְּנֵ֤י ׀ אַבְשָׁל֬וֹם בְּנֽוֹ׃ | A psalm. By David. When he was fleeing from Absalom, his son. | ||
| 2 | יְ֭הוָה מָֽה־רַבּ֣וּ צָרָ֑י | YHWH, how my adversaries have become many! | • David is dismayed at the vast number of his enemies • David is sad and ashamed, having been forced by his own son to leave Jerusalem • v. 3b: the psalmist's enemies feel triumph at David's imminent defeat |
• dismay: sudden loss of courage or resolution from alarm or fear (Merriam-Webster); cf. the Hebrew word נבהל/בהלה: state in which humans experience a great fear combined with severe distress (SDBH) • Note especially the repetition and fronting of many (vv. 2-3), implying a sense of overwhelming fear; also note the exclamative מָה—how many...! • The narrative in 2 Samuel 15ff also implies sadness and mourning, at least upon leaving Jerusalem: But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot... (2 Sam 15:30, NIV). • Verse 4 (my honor and the one who lifts my head) implies that David has lost his honor and is experiencing shame. |
| רַ֝בִּ֗ים קָמִ֥ים עָלָֽי׃ | Many are those rising against me. | |||
| 3 | רַבִּים֮ אֹמְרִ֪ים לְנַ֫פְשִׁ֥י | Many are those saying about me, | ||
| אֵ֤ין יְֽשׁוּעָ֓תָה לּ֬וֹ בֵֽאלֹהִ֬ים סֶֽלָה׃ | There is no victory for him in God! Selah. | |||
| 4 | וְאַתָּ֣ה יְ֭הוָה מָגֵ֣ן בַּעֲדִ֑י | But you, YHWH, are a shield for me, | • David is confident in YHWH and hopeful for the victory that he gives | |
| כְּ֝בוֹדִ֗י וּמֵרִ֥ים רֹאשִֽׁי׃ | my honor, and the one who lifts my head. | |||
| 5 | ק֭וֹלִי אֶל־יְהוָ֣ה אֶקְרָ֑א | I call aloud to YHWH, | ||
| וַיַּֽעֲנֵ֨נִי מֵהַ֖ר קָדְשׁ֣וֹ סֶֽלָה׃ | and he answers me from his holy mountain. Selah. | |||
| 6 | אֲנִ֥י שָׁכַ֗בְתִּי וָֽאִ֫ישָׁ֥נָה | I lay down and fell asleep. | ||
| הֱקִיצ֑וֹתִי כִּ֖י יְהוָ֣ה יִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃ | I woke up, because YHWH supports me. | |||
| 7 | לֹֽא־אִ֭ירָא מֵרִבְב֥וֹת עָ֑ם | I will not be afraid of tens of thousands of people, | • The clearest emotional statement in the psalm is I will not be afraid (לֹֽא־אִירָא—state in which humans experience fear [SDBH]). This implies that the emotional tone of this section is the opposite of fear, i.e., confidence (Hebrew: בטח). It further implies that the emotional tone of vv. 2-3 is one of fear or dismay. | |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר סָ֝בִ֗יב שָׁ֣תוּ עָלָֽי׃ | who have taken position against me all around. | |||
| 8 | ק֘וּמָ֤ה יְהוָ֨ה ׀ הוֹשִׁ֘יעֵ֤נִי אֱלֹהַ֗י | Rise up, YHWH! Save me, my God! | • David is confident in YHWH and hopeful for the victory that he gives • David is courageous in the face of many enemies • David is triumphant because his victory is guaranteed |
• The tightly clustered imperatives and vocatives in v. 8a (Rise up, YHWH! Save me, my God!), together with the highly graphic imagery in v. 8bc (strike on the jaw... break teeth), implies an increase in emotional intensity. Thus, the statement at the end of v. 7b—I will not be afraid...!—launches the psalmist into a state of even greater confidence, even triumph or courage. The declarations in v. 9 (Victory is YHWH's!) also suggest a triumphant tone. |
| כִּֽי־הִכִּ֣יתָ אֶת־כָּל־אֹיְבַ֣י לֶ֑חִי | For you have struck all my enemies on the jaw. | |||
| שִׁנֵּ֖י רְשָׁעִ֣ים שִׁבַּֽרְתָּ׃ | You have broken wicked people's teeth. | |||
| 9 | לַיהוָ֥ה הַיְשׁוּעָ֑ה | Victory is YHWH's! | ||
| עַֽל־עַמְּךָ֖ בִרְכָתֶ֣ךָ סֶּֽלָה׃ | Your blessing is on your people. Selah. |
Bibliography
- Aejmelaeus, Anneli. 2024. “Translation Technique in the Greek Psalter.” In Editing the Greek Psalter, edited by Felix Albrecht and Reinhard G. Kratz, 41–60. De Septuaginta Investigationes. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
- Anderson, A. A. 1972. The Book of Psalms. Vol. 1. NCBC. Greenwood, SC: Attic.
- Baethgen, Friedrich. 1904. Die Psalmen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht.
- Carbajosa, Ignacio. 2020. “10.3.4 Peshitta.” Textual History of the Bible. 2020.
- Delitzsch, Friedrich. 1920. Die lese- und schreibfehler im Alten Testament. Berlin ; Leipzig: De Gruyter.
- Goldingay, John. 2006. Psalms: Psalms 1–41. Vol. 1. BCOT. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.
- Hardy, H. H. 2022. The Development of Biblical Hebrew Prepositions. Ancient Near East Monographs 28. Atlanta, GA: SBL Press.
- Hossfeld, Frank-Lothar, and Erich Zenger. 1993. Die Psalmen I: Psalm 1–50. Neue Echter Bibel. Würzburg: Echter.
- Hupfeld, Hermann. 1855. Die Psalmen. Vol. 1. Gotha: Friedrich Andreas Perthes.
- Ibn Ezra. Ibn Ezra on Psalms.
- Jenni, Ernst. 1992. Die Hebräischen Präpositionen Band 1: Die Präposition Beth. Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer.
- Jenni, Ernst. 2000. Die Hebräischen Präpositionen Band 3: Die Präposition Lamed. Stuttgart: Verlag W. Kohlhammer.
- Kennicott, Benjamin. 1776. Vetus testamentum hebraicum : cum variis lectionibus.
- Kim, Young Bok. 2023. Hebrew Forms of Address: A Sociolinguistic Analysis. Atlanta: SBL Press.
- Kirtchuk, Pablo. 2011. “Onomatopoeia & Phono-Iconicity in Hebrew.”
- Kselman, John. 1987. “Psalm 3: A Structural and Literary Study.” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 49 (4): 572–80.
- Locatell, Christian. 2019. “Causal Categories in Biblical Hebrew Discourse: A Cognitive Approach to Causal כי.” Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages 45 (2).
- Locatell, Christian S. 2017. “Grammatical Polysemy in the Hebrew Bible: A Cognitive Linguistic Approach to כי.” PhD Dissertation, Stellenbosch: University of Stellenbosch.
- Miller, Cynthia L. 2010. “Vocative Syntax in Biblical Hebrew Prose and Poetry: A Preliminary Analysis.” Semitic Studies 55 (1): 347–64.
- R. Moshe Yitzchak Ashkenazi. הואיל משה.
- Radak. Radak on Psalms.
- Rashi. Rashi on Psalms.
- Ryken, Leland, Jim Wilhoit, Tremper Longman, Colin Duriez, Douglas Penney, and Daniel G. Reid, eds. 1998. Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press.
- Witthoff, David J. 2021. The Relationships of the Senses of נֶפֶשׁ in the Hebrew Bible: A Cognitive Linguistics Perspective. PhD Dissertation, University of Stellenbosch.
- Yeivin, Israel. 1980. Introduction to the Tiberian Masorah. Masoretic Studies, no. 5. Missoula, Mont: Published by Scholars Press for the Society of Biblical Literature and the International Organization for Masoretic Studies.
Footnotes
- ↑ When the entire utterance is new/unexpected, it is a thetic sentence (often called "sentence focus"). See our Creator Guidelines for more information on topic and focus.
- ↑ Frame setters are any orientational constituent – typically, but not limited to, spatio-temporal adverbials – function to "limit the applicability of the main predication to a certain restricted domain" and "indicate the general type of information that can be given" in the clause nucleus (Krifka & Musan 2012: 31-32). In previous scholarship, they have been referred to as contextualizing constituents (see, e.g., Buth (1994), “Contextualizing Constituents as Topic, Non-Sequential Background and Dramatic Pause: Hebrew and Aramaic evidence,” in E. Engberg-Pedersen, L. Falster Jakobsen and L. Schack Rasmussen (eds.) Function and expression in Functional Grammar. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 215-231; Buth (2023), “Functional Grammar and the Pragmatics of Information Structure for Biblical Languages,” in W. A. Ross & E. Robar (eds.) Linguistic Theory and the Biblical Text. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers, 67-116), but this has been conflated with the function of topic. In brief: sentence topics, belonging to the clause nucleus, are the entity or event about which the clause provides a new predication; frame setters do not belong in the clause nucleus and rather provide a contextual orientation by which to understand the following clause.
- ↑ See e.g., Ps 27:7; 142:2; cf. Ps 66:17, with פִּי; cf. GKC §144l-m.
- ↑ Though we would typically expect וַאֲנִי for such a topic shift, Kennicott 206 (see VTH: vol. IV, 308) indeed reads such.
- ↑ Alternatively, the sentence beginning אֲנִ֥י שָׁכַ֗בְתִּי could be read as thetic, but there appear to be too many verbal predicates to accommodate such a construal.
- ↑ Cf. Kim 2023, 213-217.
- ↑ Miller 2010, 357.
- ↑ See Locatell 2017, 162; cf. Locatell 2019.