Psalm 38 Academics
No healthy spot left
Psalm 38
Academic Resources
Explore our academic Psalms resources for Psalm 38, including our Layer-by-Layer analysis, select Exegetical Issues, and Overview Videos.
Overview 
- This page will introduce and provide orientation to Psalm 38 as a whole. It covers the message, structure, background and participants of the psalm.
Layer-by-Layer Analysis 
- The heart of our process is our layer-by-layer exegetical analysis, where we unfold the semantics, story behind, discourse, and poetics of each psalm.
Grammar & Semantics
Semantics is the study of how language is used to represent meaning. The goal of semantic analysis is to understand the meaning of words and how they relate to each other in context. Our Semantics analysis consists of the following sub-layers:
- Grammar & Textual Criticism
- Lexical Semantics
- Phrase-Level Semantics
- Verbal Semantics
Story Behind
The Story Behind the Psalm shows how each part of the psalm fits together into a single coherent whole. Here, we analyze the meaning of sentences and larger units of discourse, up to and including the entire psalm. This also include historical background and figurative imagery.
Discourse
Our Discourse Layer moves beyond semantic-level meaning, and analyzes features of the text dependent on the speaker, addressee, and macrosyntax.
Poetics
Exploring the Psalms as poetry is crucial for understanding and experiencing the psalms and thus for faithfully translating them into another language.
Verse-by-Verse Notes 
- Explore the psalm verse-by-verse and section-by-section.
Psalm 38 Exegetical Issues 
- These issues examine the top three tough questions for each psalm, explaining different scholarly interpretations, and offering our perspective.
- The meaning and translation of לְהַזְכִּיר in this psalm's superscription are not clear. There are three main options for its interpretation: (1) a simple petition or lament; (2) a reminder; or (3) referring to a psalm written to be used at memorial offerings.
- The כִּי in v. 16 could be functioning in one of four ways: (1) it could be causal, subordinate to the following clause (v. 16b), giving the reason why YHWH will answer; (2) it could be causal, but subordinate to the preceding section (vv. 12-15), giving the reason why David gives no arguments; (3) it could be adversative, introducing a counter statement to the previous segment, contrasting David's lack of speech with YHWH's speaking to answer; (4) it could be asseverative, emphasizing the surety of the entire clause.
- The issue in this verse revolves around חַיִּ֣ים. Some scholars and translators believe that the word חַיִּ֣ים is not original and that חִנָּם "for no reason" is the original text. Most modern translations follow חַיִּ֣ים as the original reading. However, because of the difficult interpretation, this phrase is translated in several different ways (e.g., "my foes are vigorous," "my mortal enemies").
