The Grammar and Meaning of Ps. 67:3: Difference between revisions

From Psalms: Layer by Layer
Jump to: navigation, search
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 66: Line 66:


=Argument Maps=
=Argument Maps=
E.g.,
<argdown>
[Main point]: State main point here.
+ <Supporting reason 1>: Give reasoning here.
  + [Evidence 1]: Cite evidence here.
+ <Supporting reason 2>: Give additional reasoning here.
  + [Evidence 2]: Cite evidence here.
</argdown>
*The following is a template of an argument map to copy and paste onto your wiki page.
<argdown>
===
model:
    removeTagsFromText: true
    shortcodes:
      ":C:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ฒ"}
      ":G:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ถ"}
      ":A:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ฐ"}
      ":I:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ธ"}   
      ":L:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ป"}
      ":D:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ณ"}   
      ":M:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ผ"} 
selection:
    excludeDisconnected: false
dot:
    graphVizSettings:
        concentrate: true
        ranksep: 0.2
        nodesep: 0.2
===
[Main point title]: Main point.
+ <Supporting argument title>: Type supporting argument here (Author Date:Page :C:).
  + <Supporting statement title>: Type supporting statement here (Author Date:Page :G:).
  + [Supporting evidence title]: List supporting evidence here.
  <_ <Undercutting statement title>:Type undercutting statement here (Author Date:Page :C:).#dispreferred
  - <Refuting statement title>:Type refuting statement here (Author Date:Page :C:; Author Date:Page :A:).#dispreferred
</argdown>




Revision as of 08:02, 22 November 2022

Introduction

Translators and interpreters have differed in their understanding of the syntax and semantics of Psalm 67:3, especially the first word ืœึธื“ึทึฃืขึทืช. These differences change how one understands the relationship between verses 2-4, with implications for how we understand the Psalm as a whole.

The text is as follows:


2 โ€ ืึฑืœึนื”ึดึ—ื™ื ื™ึฐื—ึธื ึตึผึฅื ื•ึผ ื•ึดึฝื™ื‘ึธืจึฐื›ึตึ‘ื ื•ึผ| May God be gracious to us and bless us.
ื™ึธึคืึตึฅืจ ืคึธึผื ึธึ–ื™ื• ืึดืชึธึผึฃื ื•ึผ ืกึถึฝืœึธื”ืƒ | May he make his face shine on us {selah},

3 ืœึธื“ึทึฃืขึทืช ื‘ึธึผืึธึฃืจึถืฅ ื“ึทึผืจึฐื›ึถึผึ‘ืšึธ | ? to know ? your way on earth,
ื‘ึฐึผื›ึธืœึพื’ึผึื•ึนื™ึดึ—ื ื™ึฐืฉืื•ึผืขึธืชึถึฝืšึธืƒ | your salvation among all nations.

4 ื™ื•ึนื“ึ–ื•ึผืšึธ ืขึทืžึดึผึฅื™ื ื€ ืึฑืœึนื”ึดึ‘ื™ื | Let the peoples praise you, O God.
ื™ึื•ึนื“ึ—ื•ึผืšึธ ืขึทืžึดึผึฅื™ื ื›ึปึผืœึธึผึฝืืƒ | Let the peoples praise you, all of them.


Five Options:

There are five main options for rendering this verse. Four of them read ืœึธื“ึทึฃืขึทืช as introducing a purpose/result clause continuing v.2, and one of them as a circumstantial clause prefacing v.4.

These options, illustrated by modern translations, are as follows:


Purpose/result clause:

1. โ€œUsโ€ as subject
We will know - your way - on earth

  • Douay: That we may know thy way upon earth, thy salvation in all nations.


2. โ€œWayโ€ as subject
Your way - be made known - on earth

  • ESV: that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.


3. โ€œEarthโ€ as subject
The earth - will know - your way

  • NJB: Then the earth will acknowledge your ways, and all nations your power to save.


4. Preserve ambiguity
To know - your way - on earth

  • Robert Alter: to know on the earth Your way, among all the nations Your rescue


Circumstantial clause:

5. Circumstantial
Knowing - your way - on earth

  • Marvin Tate (WBC): Knowing your way on the earth, your saving-work among all the nations,


In the following argument maps we will first address the issue of whether ืœึธื“ึทืขึทืช here should be read as a introducing a purpose/result clause or as a circumstantial clause. Then we will consider the strengths and weaknesses of the four purpose/result clause options.


Argument Maps

E.g., 


[Main point]: State main point here.
 + <Supporting reason 1>: Give reasoning here.
  + [Evidence 1]: Cite evidence here.
 + <Supporting reason 2>: Give additional reasoning here.
  + [Evidence 2]: Cite evidence here.


Argument Mapn0Main pointState main point here.n1Evidence 1Cite evidence here.n3Supporting reason 1Give reasoning here.n1->n3n2Evidence 2Cite evidence here.n4Supporting reason 2Give additional reasoning here.n2->n4n3->n0n4->n0




  • The following is a template of an argument map to copy and paste onto your wiki page.

===
model:
    removeTagsFromText: true
    shortcodes:
      ":C:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ฒ"}
      ":G:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ถ"}
      ":A:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ฐ"}
      ":I:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ธ"}    
      ":L:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ป"}
      ":D:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ณ"}    
      ":M:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ผ"}   
selection:
    excludeDisconnected: false
dot:
    graphVizSettings:
        concentrate: true
        ranksep: 0.2
        nodesep: 0.2
=== 
[Main point title]: Main point.
 + <Supporting argument title>: Type supporting argument here (Author Date:Page :C:).
  + <Supporting statement title>: Type supporting statement here (Author Date:Page :G:).
   + [Supporting evidence title]: List supporting evidence here.
  <_ <Undercutting statement title>:Type undercutting statement here (Author Date:Page :C:).#dispreferred
  - <Refuting statement title>:Type refuting statement here (Author Date:Page :C:; Author Date:Page :A:).#dispreferred


Argument Mapn0Main point titleMain point.n1Supporting evidence titleList supporting evidence here.n3Supporting statement titleType supporting statement here (Author Date:Page ๐Ÿ„ถ).n1->n3n2Supporting argument titleType supporting argument here (Author Date:Page ๐Ÿ„ฒ).n2->n0n3->n2n4Undercutting statement titleType undercutting statement here (Author Date:Page ๐Ÿ„ฒ).n4->n2n5Refuting statement titleType refuting statement here (Author Date:Page ๐Ÿ„ฒ; Author Date:Page ๐Ÿ„ฐ).n5->n2



"YHWH examines the righteous"


===
model:
    removeTagsFromText: true
    shortcodes:
      ":C:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ฒ"}
      ":G:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ถ"}
      ":A:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ฐ"}
      ":I:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ธ"}    
      ":L:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ป"}
      ":D:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ณ"}    
      ":M:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ผ"}   
selection:
    excludeDisconnected: false
dot:
    graphVizSettings:
        rankdir: LR
        concentrate: true
        ranksep: 0.2
        nodesep: 0.2
=== 
[Righteous / wicked]: The text should be divided as follows: "YHWH examines the righteous / but the wicked and the one who loves violence, his soul hates."
 + <MT accents>: The word ื™ึดึซื‘ึฐื—ึธึฅืŸ has the accent *ole-weyored*, and this accent very frequently corresponds to a line end (Sanders & de Hoop forthcoming :A:).
  <_ [Not grammatical or logical]:The accentuation "seems, however, to be rather musical than grammatical or logical" (Alexander 1864:62 :C:) "Die Akzentuation ist jedenfalls in Unordnung" (Kittel 1922:36-37 :C:). #dispreferred
 + <Pausal form>: The word ื™ึดื‘ึฐื—ึธืŸ is in pause and so marks the end of the line (Revell 1981 :A:).
 + <Hebrew manuscripts>: The Aleppo Codex, Sassoon 1053, and the Babylonian codex Or 2373 support this division of the text.
 + <Ancient versions>: Both Jerome (see Codex Amiatinus) and the Syriac Peshitta (see Codex Ambrosianus) divide the text in the same way.
 + <Word order>: The order of the words (ื™ื”ื•ื” ืฆื“ื™ืง ื™ื‘ื—ืŸ ื•ืจืฉืข instead of ื™ื”ื•ื” ื™ื‘ื—ืŸ ืฆื“ื™ืง ื•ืจืฉืข) suggest that ืจืฉืข is not coordinate with ืฆื“ื™ืง as a second object of ื™ื‘ื—ืŸ.
  - [Textual error]:The original arrangement of the words is as follows: ื™ื”ื•ื” ื™ื‘ื—ืŸ ืฆื“ื™ืง ื•ืจืฉืข (BHS; Duhm 1899:35 :C:; Kraus 1960:88 :C:).#dispreferred
   + [LXX & Syriac]: Both the LXX and Syriac Peshitta appear to swap the order of "examine" (ื™ื‘ื—ืŸ) and "righteous" (ืฆื“ื™ืง). #dispreferred
  - [Poetic purpose]: "The word order helps to make the point: literally, 'Yhwh faithful examines and faithless.' Yhwhโ€™s examining divides faithless from faithful" (Goldingay 2006:192 :C:). #dispreferred
  - ["YHWH is righteous"]: "Righteous" (ืฆื“ื™ืง) is not an object but a predicate complement ("YHWH is righteous") (so ฮฑฮปฮปฮฟฯ‚: ฮบฯ…ฯฮนฮฟฯ‚ ฮดฮนฮบฮฑฮนฮฟฯ‚). The object of ื™ื‘ื—ืŸ is ื•ืจืฉืข; the *waw* is emphatic. "We take into account in this way the unusual order of the words" (Auffret 1981 :A:; cf. Dahood 1966:68 :C:; Zenger 1993:90-1 :C:). #dispreferred
   + [Emphatic waw]: According to Dahood and Penar (1966:361ff :G:), emphatic *waw* is prefixed to an object following a verb in the following instances: Ps 27:8 71:20 83:17 109:4 64:7 (Auffret 1981 :A:). #dispreferred
 + <Semantic contrast>: "We get a better antithesis by contrasting God's dealings with the righteous and the wicked in the two lines. ื•ืจืฉืข is the proper antith. to ืฆื“ื™ืง" (Briggs 1906:93 :C:; cf. Craigie 2004:132 :C:).
 - <Imbalance>: According to this division, the lines are imbalanced (3 words / 5 words).#dispreferred
  - ["Lover of violence" gloss]: The phrase ืื”ื‘ ื—ืžืก "seems, for metrical reasons, to be a gloss" (Baethgen 1904:31; cf. Morgenstern 1950 :A:; Briggs 1906:93 :C:).
   - [Love / Hate]: The terms "love" (ืื”ื‘ ื—ืžืก) and "hate" (ืฉื ืื” ื ืคืฉื•) are juxtaposed in v. 5b (cf. Ps. 97:10) (Olshausen 1853 :C:; cf. Ehrlich 1905:23 :C:; Gunkel 1927:42-43).#dispreferred


Argument Mapn0Righteous / wickedThe text should be divided as follows: "YHWH examines the righteous / but the wicked and the one who loves violence, his soul hates."n1Not grammatical or logicalThe accentuation "seems, however, to be rather musical than grammatical or logical" (Alexander 1864:62 ๐Ÿ„ฒ) "Die Akzentuation ist jedenfalls in Unordnung" (Kittel 1922:36-37 ๐Ÿ„ฒ). n9MT accentsThe word ื™ึดึซื‘ึฐื—ึธึฅืŸ has the accent ole-weyored , and this accent very frequently corresponds to a line end (Sanders & de Hoop forthcoming ๐Ÿ„ฐ).n1->n9n2Textual errorThe original arrangement of the words is as follows: ื™ื”ื•ื” ื™ื‘ื—ืŸ ืฆื“ื™ืง ื•ืจืฉืข (BHS; Duhm 1899:35 ๐Ÿ„ฒ; Kraus 1960:88 ๐Ÿ„ฒ).n13Word orderThe order of the words (ื™ื”ื•ื” ืฆื“ื™ืง ื™ื‘ื—ืŸ ื•ืจืฉืข instead of ื™ื”ื•ื” ื™ื‘ื—ืŸ ืฆื“ื™ืง ื•ืจืฉืข) suggest that ืจืฉืข is not coordinate with ืฆื“ื™ืง as a second object of ื™ื‘ื—ืŸ.n2->n13n3LXX & SyriacBoth the LXX and Syriac Peshitta appear to swap the order of "examine" (ื™ื‘ื—ืŸ) and "righteous" (ืฆื“ื™ืง). n3->n2n4Poetic purpose"The word order helps to make the point: literally, 'Yhwh faithful examines and faithless.' Yhwhโ€™s examining divides faithless from faithful" (Goldingay 2006:192 ๐Ÿ„ฒ). n4->n13n5"YHWH is righteous""Righteous" (ืฆื“ื™ืง) is not an object but a predicate complement ("YHWH is righteous") (so ฮฑฮปฮปฮฟฯ‚: ฮบฯ…ฯฮนฮฟฯ‚ ฮดฮนฮบฮฑฮนฮฟฯ‚). The object of ื™ื‘ื—ืŸ is ื•ืจืฉืข; the waw  is emphatic. "We take into account in this way the unusual order of the words" (Auffret 1981 ๐Ÿ„ฐ; cf. Dahood 1966:68 ๐Ÿ„ฒ; Zenger 1993:90-1 ๐Ÿ„ฒ). n5->n13n6Emphatic wawAccording to Dahood and Penar (1966:361ff ๐Ÿ„ถ), emphatic waw  is prefixed to an object following a verb in the following instances: Ps 27:8 71:20 83:17 109:4 64:7 (Auffret 1981 ๐Ÿ„ฐ). n6->n5n7"Lover of violence" glossThe phrase ืื”ื‘ ื—ืžืก "seems, for metrical reasons, to be a gloss" (Baethgen 1904:31; cf. Morgenstern 1950 ๐Ÿ„ฐ; Briggs 1906:93 ๐Ÿ„ฒ).n15ImbalanceAccording to this division, the lines are imbalanced (3 words / 5 words).n7->n15n8Love / HateThe terms "love" (ืื”ื‘ ื—ืžืก) and "hate" (ืฉื ืื” ื ืคืฉื•) are juxtaposed in v. 5b (cf. Ps. 97:10) (Olshausen 1853 ๐Ÿ„ฒ; cf. Ehrlich 1905:23 ๐Ÿ„ฒ; Gunkel 1927:42-43).n8->n7n9->n0n10Pausal formThe word ื™ึดื‘ึฐื—ึธืŸ is in pause and so marks the end of the line (Revell 1981 ๐Ÿ„ฐ).n10->n0n11Hebrew manuscriptsThe Aleppo Codex, Sassoon 1053, and the Babylonian codex Or 2373 support this division of the text.n11->n0n12Ancient versionsBoth Jerome (see Codex Amiatinus) and the Syriac Peshitta (see Codex Ambrosianus) divide the text in the same way.n12->n0n13->n0n14Semantic contrast"We get a better antithesis by contrasting God's dealings with the righteous and the wicked in the two lines. ื•ืจืฉืข is the proper antith. to ืฆื“ื™ืง" (Briggs 1906:93 ๐Ÿ„ฒ; cf. Craigie 2004:132 ๐Ÿ„ฒ).n14->n0n15->n0


"YHWH examines the righteous and the wicked"


===
model:
    removeTagsFromText: true
    shortcodes:
      ":C:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ฒ"}
      ":G:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ถ"}
      ":A:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ฐ"}
      ":I:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ธ"}    
      ":L:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ป"}
      ":D:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ณ"}    
      ":M:": {unicode: "๐Ÿ„ผ"}   
selection:
    excludeDisconnected: false
dot:
    graphVizSettings:
        concentrate: true
        ranksep: 0.2
        nodesep: 0.2
=== 

<argdown>


Argument Mapn0argdown


Conclusion

Research

Translations

Ancient

Modern

Secondary Literature

References

67:3