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{{LayerbyLayer
{{LayerbyLayer
|Chapter=3
|Chapter=3
}}
}}
=Emotions=
=About the Discourse Layer=
==Emotional Profile==
{{DiscourseIntro}}
Emotions involve thoughts, feelings, and actions. The following visual shows the "emotional profile" of Psalm 2 in terms of what the psalmist is thinking, feeling, and doing.  
=Discourse Visuals for Psalm 3=
[[File: Psalm 3 - Emotional Profile - Psalm 3.jpg|825px|class=img-fluid]]
==Macrosyntax==
[[File:Psalm 003 - Macrosyntax.jpg|class=img-fluid|825px]]
===Notes===
====Discourse Discontinuities====
* 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).
====Vocatives====
* '''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.<ref>Cf. Kim 2023, 213-217.</ref>
* '''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.<ref>Miller 2010, 357.</ref>
* '''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.
====Conjunctions====
* '''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.<ref>See Locatell 2017, 162; cf. Locatell 2019.</ref> 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.
====Word Order====
* '''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.<ref> See e.g., Ps 27:7; 142:2; cf. Ps 66:17, with פִּי; cf. GKC §144l-m.</ref> 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.<ref>Though we would typically expect וַאֲנִי for such a topic shift, Kennicott 206 (see VTH: vol. IV, 308) indeed reads such.</ref> The presence of the personal pronoun also contributes to the division of these poetic sections (see poetic structure).<ref>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.</ref>
* '''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."
==Speech Act Analysis==
===Summary Visual===
[[File:Psalm 003 - Speech Act Summary.jpg|class=img-fluid|600px]]
===Speech Act Chart===
[[File:Psalm 003 - Speech Acts.jpg|class=img-fluid|825px]]
==Emotional Analysis==
===Summary visual===
[[File:Psalm 003 - Think-Feel-Do.jpg|class=img-fluid|825px]]
===Emotional Analysis Chart===
[[File:Psalm 003 - Emotional Chart.jpg|class=img-fluid|825px]]
===Affective Circumplex===
[[File:Psalm 003 - Affective Circumplex.jpg|class=img-fluid|825px]]
 
==Participant analysis==
There are five participants/characters in Psalm 3:
[[File:Psalm 003 - Participants.jpg|500px|class=img-fluid]]  
* The speaker in this psalm is <mark style="background-color: #FEF445;">'''David'''</mark>, the king of Israel and the representative of <mark style="background-color: #FFDC4A;">'''YHWH's people'''</mark>.
* <mark style="background-color: #BF78F0;">'''YHWH'''</mark> 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 <mark style="background-color: #808080;">'''enemies'''</mark> in this psalm are the many people who joined in rebellion against David under the leadership of <mark style="background-color: #B0B0B0;">'''Absalom'''</mark>, 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).
 
===Participant Relations Diagram===
The relationships among the participants may be abstracted and summarized as follows:


==Think-Feel-Do Chart==
[[File:Psalm 003 - PA Relations Diagram (Triangle).jpg|500px|class=img-fluid]]
[[File: Psalm 3 - think-feel-do.jpg|825px|class=img-fluid]]
 
===Notes===
[[File:Psalm 003 - Participants mini story.jpg|500px|class=img-fluid]]  
====vv. 2-3====
===Participant Analysis Table===
*'''THINK''': The interjection ''ma'' (cognitive interjection expressing judgement)<ref>Wierzbicka 1991; Van der Merwe 2017, 479</ref> focuses the size of the horde. Outside of a sarcastic context, this would reflect an evaluation that the horde is dangerous.
[[File:Psalm 003 - Text Table.jpg|825px|class=img-fluid]]
*'''FEEL''': A number of features point to a high level of distress: (1) In vv. 2b and 3a, ''rabim'' is the predicate, yet it is fronted in both clauses for constituent focus. The function is a rhetorical one: to repeat what was expressed through ''ma'' in v. 2a: ‘Many (not a few!) are...’. Such repetition and focus directed at God suggests desperation and distress. (2) David says that their taunts are directed his ''nefesh'', a word which the psalmist frequently uses in place of a personal pronoun when expressing emotion. Semantically, this suggests that if the taunt is true, this would threaten his ‘vital self.’<ref>''TDOT'', IX:510–511</ref> This is indeed what's at stake: whether or not God will rescue him. This also reflects the degree of dependence and trust the psalmist has in God: to claim that God won't save him is not just to threaten David, it's threatening that which David perceives as constituting his most ‘real’ self. The natural reaction to this would be one of distress.
 
*'''DO''': David expresses this distress through the interjection plus the presentation of his enemies. The purpose in presenting the problem  to Yahweh is to encourage Him to intervene.
* 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).
====vv. 4-5====
*'''THINK''': All of the appellatives David applies to God are a result of his knowing God will save him. He knows this because this has been his past experience. This knowledge is also reflected in the phrase ‘his holy mountain.’ By this phrase, David implies God's endorsement of him, since God's ‘mountain’ is on Zion—David's city.
*'''FEEL''': Taken together, the discourse function of vv. 4-5 is to correct v. 3. The opening ''waw'' ("but") cancels the presupposition behind the enemies' statement (that Yahweh will not protect him; this is also evident in the poetry). Verse 5 offers the reason for this: When David cries out, God answers. The fronting of "with my voice" focuses the entire utterance and confirms the fact that this is the grounds for the preceding statement. (This is also suggested by the timelessness of the verb). That God answers David presupposes that that God accepts David's cry for help (cf. Ps. 5:3). This is the very thing the enemies are questioning in v. 3, and so v. 5 also corrects v. 3. The contrast reflects a change in the emotion from distress to courage.
*'''DO''': See [[#Speech Acts|Speech Act analysis]].
====vv. 6-7====
*'''THINK''': See feel’ below. Note how David describes the enemies in this verse vs. vv. 2–3. In vv. 2–3, they are referred to as ‘enemies’ (''tsar''), those who ‘rise against me’ and those who verbally attack him. Here, in v. 7, they are simply ‘people’ ('''am'').
*'''FEEL''': Increased confidence may be seen from the following: (1) The psalmist plainly says ‘I will not be afraid’. (2) In v. 6, the content of the ''ki'' clause provides the reason for why David is able to sleep and awake unharmed; it is the timeless fact YHWH is the one who habitually supports him.
*'''DO''': See [[#Speech Acts|Speech Act analysis]].
====vv. 8-9====
*'''THINK''': (1) The ''ki'' clause is grounding the speech act. It states the grounds on which David can call upon YHWH to rescue him, i.e. YHWH's past acts of deliverance. (2) David not only invokes the Divine Name, but calls God ''his'' God. David ends the Psalm with the thetic statement that YHWH is the one who saves his people. All of this reflects David's certainty that YHWH will keep His promises and rescue.
*'''FEEL''': (1) [https://psalms.cdbr.org/w/Psalm_3_Poetics#3._The_Sound_of_Silencing Poetically], this verse has the most vivid imagery and sound symbolism, indicating a heightened sense of arousal which, in this context, must be confidence. (2) The volitives indicate that these future events must happen, viz., the Psalmist's confidence.
*'''DO''': The Psalmist is plainly calling on YHWH to deliver (locution), but only has an expression (illocution) of the knowledge that He will respond.


=Speech Acts=
===Participant Analysis Summary Distribution===
==Speech Act Summary==
[[File:Psalm 003 Participant Distribution.jpg|825px|class=img-fluid]]
[[File: Psalm 3 - Speech Act Summary.jpg|class=img-fluid|500px]]


==Speech Act Chart==
=Bibliography=
[[File:Psalm 3 Speech Act Analysis.jpg|825px|class=img-fluid]]
:Kennicott, Benjamin. 1776. [https://archive.org/details/kennicott_vetus-testamentum-hebraicum-cum-variis-lectionibus-1776 ''Vetus testamentum hebraicum : cum variis lectionibus''].
===Notes===
:Kim, Young Bok. 2023. ''Hebrew Forms of Address: A Sociolinguistic Analysis''. Atlanta: SBL Press.
:Locatell, Christian. 2019. [https://www.academia.edu/41203834/Causal_Categories_in_Biblical_Hebrew_Discourse_A_Cognitive_Approach_to_Causal_כי. “Causal Categories in Biblical Hebrew Discourse: A Cognitive Approach to Causal כי.”] Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages 45 (2).
:Locatell, Christian S. 2017. [https://scholar.sun.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/a8b80157-23d3-4822-b16f-e98b73803fa0/content “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.


=Word Order=
==Notes==
=References=
=References=

Latest revision as of 10:09, 14 June 2025

Psalm Overview

About the Discourse Layer

Our Discourse layer includes four analyses: macrosyntax, speech act analysis, emotional analysis, and participant analysis. (For more information, click 'Expand' to the right.)

Macrosyntax

The macrosyntax layer rests on the belief that human communicators desire their addressees to receive a coherent picture of their message and will cooperatively provide clues to lead the addressee into a correct understanding. So, in the case of macrosyntax of the Psalms, the psalmist has explicitly left syntactic clues for the reader regarding the discourse structure of the entire psalm. Here we aim to account for the function of these elements, including the identification of conjunctions which either coordinate or subordinate entire clauses (as the analysis of coordinated individual phrases is carried out at the phrase-level semantics layer), vocatives, other discourse markers, direct speech, and clausal word order.

For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Macrosyntax Creator Guidelines.

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.

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.

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.

Discourse Visuals for Psalm 3

Macrosyntax

Psalm 003 - Macrosyntax.jpg

Notes

Discourse Discontinuities

  • 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).

Vocatives

  • 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.[1]
  • 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.[2]
  • 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.

Conjunctions

  • 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.[3] 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.

Word Order

  • 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.[4] 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.[5] The presence of the personal pronoun also contributes to the division of these poetic sections (see poetic structure).[6]
  • 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."

Speech Act Analysis

Summary Visual

Psalm 003 - Speech Act Summary.jpg

Speech Act Chart

Psalm 003 - Speech Acts.jpg

Emotional Analysis

Summary visual

Psalm 003 - Think-Feel-Do.jpg

Emotional Analysis Chart

Psalm 003 - Emotional Chart.jpg

Affective Circumplex

Psalm 003 - Affective Circumplex.jpg

Participant analysis

There are five participants/characters in Psalm 3: Psalm 003 - Participants.jpg

  • 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).

Participant Relations Diagram

The relationships among the participants may be abstracted and summarized as follows:

Psalm 003 - PA Relations Diagram (Triangle).jpg

Psalm 003 - Participants mini story.jpg

Participant Analysis Table

Psalm 003 - Text Table.jpg

  • 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 Analysis Summary Distribution

Psalm 003 Participant Distribution.jpg

Bibliography

Kennicott, Benjamin. 1776. Vetus testamentum hebraicum : cum variis lectionibus.
Kim, Young Bok. 2023. Hebrew Forms of Address: A Sociolinguistic Analysis. Atlanta: SBL Press.
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.

References

  1. ↑ Cf. Kim 2023, 213-217.
  2. ↑ Miller 2010, 357.
  3. ↑ See Locatell 2017, 162; cf. Locatell 2019.
  4. ↑ See e.g., Ps 27:7; 142:2; cf. Ps 66:17, with פִּי; cf. GKC §144l-m.
  5. ↑ Though we would typically expect וַאֲנִי for such a topic shift, Kennicott 206 (see VTH: vol. IV, 308) indeed reads such.
  6. ↑ 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.