Psalm 3/Grammar

From Psalms: Layer by Layer
(Redirected from Psalm 3/Grammar)
Jump to: navigation, search

Psalm Overview

About the Grammar Layer

The grammar layer visually represents the grammar and syntax of each clause. It also displays alternative interpretations of the grammar. (For more information, click "Expand" to the right.)

The grammatical diagram provides a way to visualise how different parts of a sentence work together. It represents the “surface-level” grammar, or morphosyntax, of a sentence. Morphosyntax includes both the form of words (morphology) and their placement in the sentence (syntax). This approach to visualising the text, based on the Reed-Kellogg diagramming method, places the grammatical subject in one slot, the verb in another slot, and modifiers and connectives in other slots.

For a detailed description of our method, see the Grammar Creator Guidelines.

Grammar Visuals for Psalm 3

v. 1

מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד בְּבָרְחוֹ מִפְּנֵי ׀ אַבְשָׁלוֹם בְּנֽוֹ׃


Preferred

SimpleGrammar
DiscourseUnit [v. 1]
    Fragment
      noun: מִזְמוֹר a psalm
    Fragment
      PrepositionalPhrase
        Preposition
          preposition: לְ by
        Object
          noun: דָוִד David
    Fragment
      PrepositionalPhrase <gloss="when he was fleeing from Absalom, his son">
        Preposition
          preposition: בְּ when
        Object
          Clause
            Subject <located="after infinitive construct">
            Predicate
              ConstructChain
                verb-infinitive: בָרְח fleeing
                suffix-pronoun: וֹ him
              Adverbial
                PrepositionalPhrase
                  Preposition
                    preposition: מִ from
                  Object               
                    ConstructChain
                      noun: פְּנֵי  the presence
                      Apposition
                        noun: אַבְשָׁלוֹם Absalom
                        Nominal
                          ConstructChain <gloss="his son">
                            noun: בְּנ son
                            suffix-pronoun: וֹ him


v. 2

יְהוָה מָֽה־רַבּוּ צָרָי רַבִּים קָמִים עָלָֽי׃


Preferred

SimpleGrammar
DiscourseUnit [v. 2]
    Fragment
      Vocative
        noun: יְהוָה YHWH
    Fragment
      Clause
        Subject
          ConstructChain <gloss="my adversaries">
            noun: צָר adversaries
            suffix-pronoun: ָי me
        Predicate
          verb: רַבּוּ have become many
          adverb: מָה how
    Fragment
      Clause
        Subject
          Nominal
            Clause
              Predicate
                verb-participle: קָמִים those rising
                Adverbial
                  PrepositionalPhrase
                    Preposition
                      preposition: עָל against
                    Object
                      suffix-pronoun: ָי me
        Predicate
          verb: are
          Complement
            adjective: רַבִּים many
    Fragment <status="alternative">
      Clause
        Subject
          Nominal
            adjective: רַבִּים many
        Predicate
          verb-participle: קָמִים are rising
          Adverbial
            PrepositionalPhrase
              Preposition
                preposition: עָל against
              Object
                suffix-pronoun: ָי me

Note for v. 2

  • The participial phrase translated those rising against me (קָמִים עָלָי) could either be the main verbal predication of the clause ("are rising against me," cf. LXX, Aquila, Symmachus, Jerome [iuxta Hebr.], ESV, NRSV, NET, NEB) or the subject of the clause ("those rising against me," cf. Peshitta, Targum, KJV, NJPS, REB). In context, the focus of the clause appears to be on the vast number of his enemies (cf. v. 2a, 3a): "those rising against me are many." This emphasis is clearer if we interpret קָמִים עָלָי as the subject of the clause, with "many" (רִבִּים) as the fronted predicate complement (see Macrosyntax).


v. 3

רַבִּים אֹמְרִים לְנַפְשִׁי אֵין יְֽשׁוּעָתָה לּוֹ בֵֽאלֹהִים סֶֽלָה׃


Preferred

SimpleGrammar
DiscourseUnit [v. 3]
    Fragment
      Clause
        Subject
          Clause
            Predicate
              verb-participle: אֹמְרִים those saying
              Adverbial
                PrepositionalPhrase
                  Preposition
                    preposition: לְ about
                  Object
                    ConstructChain <gloss="my soul >> me">
                      noun: נַפְשׁ soul
                      suffix-pronoun: ִי me
              Object
                Clause
                  Subject
                    noun: יְשׁוּעָתָה victory
                  Predicate
                    Adverbial
                      noun: אֵין there is no
                    Complement
                      PrepositionalPhrase
                        Preposition
                          preposition: לּ for
                        Object
                          suffix-pronoun: וֹ him
                      Adjectival
                        PrepositionalPhrase
                          Preposition
                            preposition: בֵ in
                          Object
                            noun: אלֹהִים God
        Predicate
          verb: are
          Complement
            adjective: רַבִּים many
    Fragment <status="alternative">
      Clause
        Subject
          Nominal
            adjective: רַבִּים many
        Predicate
          verb-participle: אֹמְרִים are saying
    Fragment
      particle: סֶלָה selah

Note for v. 3

  • On the syntactic function of the participle saying (אֹמְרִים) see the note on v. 2b.


Note for v. 3

  • The noun victory (יְשׁוּעָה) is highlighted, not only by its repetition throughout the psalm (vv. 3b, 9a; verbal form in 8b) but by its morphology. The first occurrence of the word here in v. 3b has a unique ending (תָה- cf. Ps 80:3; Jon 2:10). This ending appears to be the remains of an earlier case ending which is now, according to GKC, "used merely for the sake of poetical emphasis [= poetic foregrounding]."[1] The word is also prosodically foregrounded by the Masoretic accentuation (יְֽשׁוּעָ֓תָה); it has the rare accent shalshelet qetana (only 8 times in the Hebrew Bible).[2] The foregrounding of the word is appropriate because "victory" is "the key motif in the psalm."[3] The same word (יְשׁוּעָה) occurs again in the last verse of the psalm as the only word in the psalm to have the definite article (ה).


Note for v. 3

  • The vast majority of the modern translations consulted follow the Masoretic Text of v. 3b: "There is no help for him in God" (CSB, et al.). By contrast, the NRSV, following the Syriac Peshitta (so NRSV footnote), says, "There is no help for you in God" (NRSV; Peshitta: ܕܠܝܬ ܠܟܝ ܦܘܪܩܢܐ ܒܐܠܗܟܝ). But the Peshitta Psalter characteristically "deviates from its Hebrew base text and accommodates the translation to the immediate context, following a certain logic or overcoming a certain difficulty." [4] In this case, the Peshitta is almost certainly giving a free translation of the same text as we have in the MT and all of our other witnesses. The translator probably used 2ms language ("for you... your God") because he interpreted the phrase לְנַפְשִׁי in v. 3a as indicating the addressee of the speech: "saying to me" instead of "saying about me."


Note for v. 3

  • Instead of in God (בֵאלֹהִים), the Septuagint has "in his God" (ἐν τῷ θεῷ αὐτοῦ = באלהיו?). There is a good chance that the variant reflects a different Hebrew text (באלהיו), since the Septuagint Psalter is typically literal in its attempt to represent pronominal suffixes, and since it is easy to see how באלהים and באלהיו might have been mistaken for one another.[5] It is difficult to determine which reading is the earlier reading. Both readings have early attestation, the MT reading being supported by Symmachus and Jerome. In the MT's reading, the ים ending of בֵאלֹהִים rhymes with other words in the context (cf. רבים and אמרים in this verse and מרים in the next verse), perhaps making this reading preferable on poetic grounds.


v. 4

וְאַתָּה יְהוָה מָגֵן בַּעֲדִי כְּבוֹדִי וּמֵרִים רֹאשִֽׁי׃


Preferred

SimpleGrammar
DiscourseUnit [v. 4]
    Fragment
      conjunction: וְ but
    Fragment
      Vocative
        noun: יְהוָה YHWH
    Fragment
      Clause
        Subject
          pronoun: אַתָּה you
        Predicate
          verb: are
          Complement
            Nominal
              noun: מָגֵן shield
              Adjectival
                PrepositionalPhrase
                  Preposition
                    preposition: בַּעֲד for
                  Object
                    suffix-pronoun: ִי me
            Conjunction
              conjunction:
            Nominal
              ConstructChain <gloss="my honor">
                noun: כְּבוֹד honor
                suffix-pronoun: ִי me
            Conjunction
                conjunction: וּ and
            Nominal
              Clause
                Predicate
                  verb-participle: מֵרִים one who lifts
                  Object
                    ConstructChain <gloss="my head">
                      noun: רֹאשׁ head
                      suffix-pronoun: ִי me


v. 5

קוֹלִי אֶל־יְהוָה אֶקְרָא וַיַּֽעֲנֵנִי מֵהַר קָדְשׁוֹ סֶֽלָה׃


Preferred

SimpleGrammar
DiscourseUnit [v. 5]
    Fragment
      ClauseCluster
        Clause
          Subject
          Predicate
            verb: אֶקְרָא I call out
            Adverbial
              PrepositionalPhrase
                Preposition
                  preposition: אֶל to
                Object
                  noun: יְהוָה YHWH
            Adverbial
              ConstructChain <gloss="with my voice >> aloud">
                noun: קוֹל voice
                suffix-pronoun: ִי me
        Conjunction
          conjunction: וַ and
        Clause
          Predicate
            verb: יַּעֲנֵ he answers
            Object
              suffix-pronoun: נִי me
            Adverbial
              PrepositionalPhrase
                Preposition
                  preposition: מֵ from
                Object
                  ConstructChain <gloss="his holy mountain">
                    noun: הַר mountain
                    ConstructChain
                      noun: קָדְשׁ holy
                      suffix-pronoun: וֹ him
    Fragment
      particle: סֶלָה selah

Note for v. 5

  • The phrase my voice >> aloud (קוֹלִי) appears to be functioning adverbially. Thus, the Peshitta, for example, adds a bet preposition: "with (ב) my voice (קלי)" (cf. LXX: φωνῇ μου ["with my voice"], Jerome [iuxta Hebr.]: voce mea ["with my voice"]; R. Moshe Yitzchak Ashkenazi: אקרא בקול רם). Similarly, modern European translations render the phrase adverbially, either as "[cry] with my voice" (KJV, ESV, cf. LUT, ELB) or "[cry] aloud" (NRSV, CSB, NJPS, NEB, REB, HFA, EÜ, ZÜR).
  • Alternatively, GKC analyzes קוֹלִי as a second subject: "my voice—I cry unto the Lord."[6] According to GKC, "A peculiar idiom, and one always confined to poetic language, is the not infrequent occurrence of two subjects in a verbal sentence, one of the person and the other of the thing. The latter then serves—whether it precedes or follows—to state the instrument, organ, or member by which the action in question is performed, and may be most often rendered in English by an adverb, as a nearer definition of the manner of the action."[7] The debate on how best to analyze these syntactic constructions goes back centuries. See, for example, the different opinions presented by Radak in his book on Hebrew roots.


v. 6

אֲנִי שָׁכַבְתִּי וָֽאִישָׁנָה הֱקִיצוֹתִי כִּי יְהוָה יִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃


Preferred

SimpleGrammar
DiscourseUnit [v. 6]
    Fragment
      Clause
        Subject
          noun: אֲנִי I
        Predicate
          Predicate
            verb: שָׁכַבְתִּי lay down
          Conjunction
            conjunction: וָ and
          Predicate
            verb: אִישָׁנָה fell asleep
    Fragment
      Clause
        Predicate
          verb: הֱקִיצוֹתִי I woke up
        SubordinateClause
          Conjunction
            conjunction: כִּי because
          Clause
            Subject
              noun: יְהוָה YHWH
            Predicate
              verb: יִסְמְכֵ upholds >> supports
              Object
                suffix-pronoun: נִי me


v. 7

לֹֽא־אִירָא מֵרִבְבוֹת עָם אֲשֶׁר סָבִיב שָׁתוּ עָלָֽי׃


Preferred

SimpleGrammar
DiscourseUnit [v. 7]
    Fragment
      Clause
        Predicate
          verb: אִירָא I will be afraid
          Adverbial
            particle: לֹא not
          Adverbial
            PrepositionalPhrase
              Preposition
                preposition: מֵ from >> of
              Object
                ConstructChain
                  noun: רִבְבוֹת tens of thousands
                  Nominal
                    noun: עָם people
                    RelativeClause
                      RelativeParticle
                        particle: אֲשֶׁר who
                      Clause
                        Subject <located="relative clause head">
                        Predicate
                          verb: שָׁתוּ have taken position
                          adverb: סָבִיב all around
                          Adverbial
                            PrepositionalPhrase
                              Preposition
                                preposition: עָל against
                              Object
                                suffix-pronoun: ָי me


v. 8

קוּמָה יְהוָה ׀ הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי אֱלֹהַי

כִּֽי־הִכִּיתָ אֶת־כָּל־אֹיְבַי לֶחִי

שִׁנֵּי רְשָׁעִים שִׁבַּֽרְתָּ׃


Preferred

SimpleGrammar
DiscourseUnit [v. 8]
    Fragment
      Clause
        Subject
        Predicate
          verb: קוּמָה rise up
    Fragment
      Vocative
        noun: יְהוָה YHWH
    Fragment
      Clause
        Subject
        Predicate
          verb: הוֹשִׁיעֵ save
          Object
            suffix-pronoun: נִי me
    Fragment
      Vocative
        Nominal
          ConstructChain <gloss="my God">
            noun: אֱלֹה God
            suffix-pronoun: ַי me
    Fragment
      particle: כִּי for
    Fragment
      Clause
        Predicate
          verb: הִכִּיתָ you have struck
          Object
            particle: אֶת 
            Nominal  <gloss="my enemies">
              ConstructChain
                noun: אֹיְב enemies
                suffix-pronoun: ַי me
            quantifier: כָּל all
          Adverbial <gloss="on the jaw">
            noun: לֶחִי jaw
    Fragment
      Clause
        Predicate
          verb: שִׁבַּרְתָּ you have broken
          Object
            ConstructChain <gloss="wicked people's teeth">
              noun: שִׁנֵּי  teeth
              Nominal
                adjective: רְשָׁעִים wicked

Note for v. 8

  • The word jaw or "cheek bone" (לֶחִי) is an adverbial accusative, "indicating the part or member specially affected by the action, e.g., Ps 3:8 for thou hast smitten all mine enemies לֶחִי (as to) the cheek bone, equivalent to upon the cheek bone."[8]


v. 9

לַיהוָה הַיְשׁוּעָה עַֽל־עַמְּךָ בִרְכָתֶךָ סֶּֽלָה׃


Preferred

SimpleGrammar
DiscourseUnit [v. 9]
    Fragment
      Clause
        Subject
          article: הַ the
          noun: יְשׁוּעָה victory
        Predicate
          verb: is
        Complement
          PrepositionalPhrase <gloss="YHWH's">
            Preposition
              preposition: לַ to
            Object
              noun: יהוָה YHWH
    Fragment
      Clause
        Subject
          ConstructChain <gloss="your blessing">
            noun: בִרְכָת blessing
            suffix-pronoun: ֶךָ you
        Predicate
          verb: is
          Complement
            PrepositionalPhrase
              Preposition
                preposition: עַל on
              Object
                ConstructChain <gloss="your people">
                  noun: עַמְּ people
                  suffix-pronoun: ךָ you
    Fragment
      particle: סֶּלָה selah



Bibliography

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.

References

  1. ↑ GKC §90g.
  2. ↑ Cf. Price 2010, 242.
  3. ↑ Goldingay 2006, 114.
  4. ↑ Carbajosa 2020, §10.3.4.5.
  5. ↑ Cf. Delitzsch 1920, §132e on the scribal interchange of יו and מ/ם.
  6. ↑ GKC §144l-m; so Hupfeld 1855, 41; Baethgen 1904, 8.
  7. ↑ GKC §144; examples with קול: Pss 27:7; 142:2; Isa 10:30; example with פה: Ps 66:17; example with נפשׁ: Isa 26:9; examples with יד or ימין: Pss 17:14; 60:7; 44:3.
  8. ↑ GKC §117ll.