Psalm 34 Discourse

Psalm Overview

• Grammar
• Semantics
• Story behind the Psalm
• Discourse
• Poetics

Psalm Overview

• Grammar
• Semantics
• Story behind the Psalm
• Discourse
• Poetics

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 34

Macrosyntax

Notes

• The psalm is mostly paratactic.
• The psalm contains no direct speech (though the entire psalm itself [vv. 2-23] is, in a sense, the direct speech of David [cf. v. 1]).

Conjunctions

• Subordinating particles and subordinated clauses are few.
  • Ki clauses (v. 10b). The ki clause in v. 10b provides the grounds of the exhortation in v. 10a ("speech-act causal כי" cf. Locatell 2019): "the reason why you should fear YHWH is because those who fear YHWH have no lack."
  • Asyndetic relative clauses (vv. 7a, 9b)
  • Purpose/result infinitive constructs (v. 17b)
• By contrast, the coordinating conjunction waw occurs many times in this psalm. It functions (1) to coordinate clauses within a line, and (2) to coordinate lines within a verse.
  • Coordinating clauses within a line: (vv. 3b, 5a, 6a, 7a, 11a, 15a, 15b; cf. v. 9a). This use of waw is most common in the a-line of a verse (vv. 5, 6, 7, 11, 15), though it occurs twice in the b-line of a verse (vv. 3, 15).
  • Coordinating lines within a verse: (vv. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23)
  • In this psalm, waw never coordinates verses; no verse begins with waw, which is probably due to the acrostic nature of the psalm. (Interestingly, there is no waw verse.) The lack of explicit connectors between verses (waw or otherwise) has contributed to the feeling of some commentators that "the psalm is not subdivided into thought units longer than the verse."

Vocatives

• The psalm contains two vocatives:
  • v. 10a. קְדֹשָׁיו. The vocative קְדֹשָׁיו ("you holy ones of his") occurs at the end of the clause, which leaves the focal nature of the imperative in no doubt. The position of the vocative may also be affected by the acrostic structure.
  • v. 12a. בָנִים. "The use of a kinship term as a vocative implies that speaker and addressee have a close and friendly relationship, equivalent to the ideal form of the family relationship named (parent, child, or sibling). Where there is no blood relationship, a kinship term is typically used in address where the speaker is trying to persuade the addressee to some course of action." On the position of the vocative at the end of the clause, see the previous note.

=Word order

• v. 2b. The adverb תָּמִיד is fronted, probably for verum focus; the psalmist is confirming what he has said in the a-line (בכל עת). At the same time, the fronting of תָּמִיד results in a chiastic structure: (a) I will bless YHWH (b) at all times, (b') continually (a') his praise will be in my mouth. At the same time, תָּמִיד may be fronted
• v. 3a. The prepositional phrase בַּיהוָה is fronted, and this fronting has two effects: (1) the second verse of the poem begins with beth and thus fits the acrostic structure; (2) the constituent בַּיהוָה is focused: "It is in YHWH (and not in myself or in any other) that my soul will boast."
• v. 5b. fronted constituent: וּמִכָּל־מְגוּרוֹתַי. Phrases with כל are often fronted for marked focus: "YHWH saved me (not from some, but) from all my terrors." Cf. vv. 7b, 18b, 20b.
• v. 6b. The subject פְנֵיכֶם is fronted before the verb and before אל, probably for poetic reasons. The current order strengthens the phonological (chiastic) correspondence between הַבִּיטוּ אֵלָיו and אַל־יֶחְפָּרוּ. (a) "Gaze" (הַבִּיטוּ) (b) "on him" (אֵלָיו) (c) "and glow", (d) "and your faces" (b' ) "may they not" (אַל) (a' ) "be ashamed" (יֶחְפָּרוּ). (Note the correspondence between אֵלָיו and אַל and between הבּ and הפּ. Note also that if the MT reading is followed, there is a further sound correspondence between נהרו and פניהם [repetition of נה]).
• v. 7aβ. In the second clause of v. 7a, the subject "YHWH" is fronted, probably for marked focus: YHWH is the one who heard his cry for help and rescued him.
• v. 7b. fronted constituent: וּמִכָּל־צָרוֹתָיו. See note on v. 5b.
• v. 8a. fronted constituent: חֹנֶה. Subjects normally precede predicate-active participles, such that "the marked order is participle + subject." The word order in this clause, in which the participle (חֹנֶה) precedes the subject (מַלְאַךְ־יְהוָ֓ה) is therefore marked. The marked order is probably best explained poetically: the acrostic structure required that the verse begin ח.
• v. 9a. The predicate complement טוב is fronted, probably for predicate focus. A person "tastes" (טעם) something to discover its quality (i.e., to find out whether it is good or bad). The question, then, is: how is YHWH? Is he good or bad? The psalmist says that YHWH is good.
• v. 11ab. The subject in v. 11a (כְּפִירִים) and the subject in v. 11b (דֹרְשֵׁי יְהוָה) are both fronted as contrasting topics: "As for young lions... as for those who seek YHWH..." Here, the "tasting" results in the discovery that YHWH is (not bad, but) good.
• v. 12b. The previous imperatives ("Come...! Listen to me!") and the labeling of the addressee as "children" (> students) raises the expectation that something is about to be taught. Using a marked-focus construction, David specifies in the next line what is going to teach them: יִרְאַת יְהוָה.
• v. 18a. See note on v. 7a.
• v. 18b. fronted constituent: וּמִכָּל־צָרוֹתָם. See note on v. 5b.
• v. 19a. The normal word order for verbless clauses is subject + predicate complement. Here, the predicate complement קָרוֹב is fronted, probably so that the verse begins with qof, according to the acrostic pattern.
• v. 19b. The direct object וְאֶת־דַּכְּאֵי־רוּחַ is fronted, probably for the purpose of poetic binding; the syntax of v. 19 is chiastic: (a) YHWH is near (b) to the broken-hearted, (b') the crushed in spirit (a') he saves.
• v. 20a. fronted constituent: The predicate complement רַבּוֹת is fronted. It will not suffice to explain the fronting in terms of the acrostic structure, since the author could have equally achieved a verse beginning with resh by using default word order (רעות צדיק רבות). Instead, רַבּוֹת is probably fronted for predicate focus, as often elsewhere (cf. רבות in Prov. 19:21; 31:29; Lam. 1:22; רבים in Ps. 32:10; 56:3; 119:57; רב in Pss. 25:11; 31:20; 123:3; Job 5:25; 31:25; 39:11).
• v. 20b. fronted constituent: וּמִכֻּלָּם. See note on v. 5b.
• v. 21b. The subject אַחַת מֵהֵנָּה is fronted, probably for marked focus. Together with the לא the fronting of אַחַת מֵהֵנָּה creates an absolute negative structure and provides a kind of counterpoint to the prevalent מכל phrase throughout the Psalm. At the same time, the fronting means that constituents in v. 21 are arranged chiastically: (a) guards (שמר) (b) all his bones, (b') one of them, (a') is not broken (שבר [which sounds like שמר]).
• v. 22a. The object (רָשָׁע) precedes subject (רָעָ֑ה), probably so that רָשָׁע corresponds with צַדִּיק in the chiastic structure (see following note on v. 22b).
• v. 22b. The subject וְשֹׂנְאֵי צַדִּיק is probably fronted for the purpose of poetic binding; the constituents in v. 22 are arranged in a partial chiasm: (a) Will finish off (verb) (b) the wicked (רָשָׁע—direct object) (c) hardship (subject), (c') but those who hate (subject) (b') a righteous person (צַדִּיק—object of participle) (a') will bear their guilt (verb).
• v. 23a. fronted constituent: פּוֹדֶה. See notes on v. 8a.

Speech Act Analysis

Summary Visual

Speech Act Chart

Emotional Analysis

Summary visual

Emotional Analysis Chart

Participant analysis

There are 4 participants/characters in Psalm 34:

• Young lions: Lions are a metaphor for those who don't fear YHWH. (See [Psalm 34 Story Behind | Story Behind]).
• Non-Agentive Participants - YHWH's Body / The Righteous One's Body:While not agentive participants per se, included in this list of participants are inanimate entities personified as performing relational actions, or entities representing a metonymy for an agentive participant.
• The Afflicted vs. the Righteous: While there is significant overlap between these two participant sets (hence their grouping as related sets), the distinction made here is between the psalmist's addressee (the Afflicted) and the hypothetical person whom the addressee is encouraged to emulated (the Righteous).

Participant Relations Diagram

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

Participant Analysis Table

Bibliography

Craigie, Peter C. 2004. Psalms 1–50. WBC 19. Waco, TX: Word, 1983.

Locatell, Christian S. 2017. “Grammatical Polysemy in the Hebrew Bible: A Cognitive Linguistic Approach to כי.” PhD Dissertation, University of Stellenbosch.

Lunn, Nicholas P. 2006. Word-Order Variation in Biblical Hebrew Poetry: Differentiating Pragmatics and Poetics. Paternoster Biblical Monographs. Milton Keynes: Paternoster.

Miller, Cynthia L. 2010. “Vocative Syntax in Biblical Hebrew Prose and Poetry: A Preliminary Analysis.” Semitic Studies 55, no. 1: 347–64.

Revell, E.J. 1996. The Designation of the Individual: Expressive Usage in Biblical Narrative. (Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology 14.) Kampen: Kok Pharos.

Speech Act Analysis

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Indirect speech acts

• v. 2b. The clause "His praise will continually be in my mouth" is declarative—in Hebrew, a verbless clause (תָּ֝מִ֗יד תְּֽהִלָּת֥וֹ בְּפִֽי׃). Following the cohortative (אֲבָרֲכָה) in the first half of the verse, which has a commissive function, this clause is probably also commissive. The psalmist is committing himself to praising YHWH (not just occasionally, but) continually.
• v. 13a. The NET does an excellent job of translating the pragmatic force of this question into English: "Do you want to really live? Would you love to live a long, happy life?" (NET). As they, note, "The rhetorical question is used to grab the audience’s attention" (NET note). The technique is similar to that used today in advertisements (e.g., "Do you want to make more money?" "Do you want to lose twenty pounds in a week?" "Are you tired of X?"). When Peter quotes this verse in the NT (1 Pet. 3:10-11), he changes the form but maintains the pragmatic force: “Whoever would love life (ὁ γὰρ θέλων ζωὴν ἀγαπᾶν)... let him restrain (παυσάτω)... let him turn from (ἐκκλινάτω)... let him seek (ζητησάτω)."

Global speech acts

• In terms of global speech acts, the psalm divides into two parts (vv. 2-11; vv. 12-23) (cf. Bratcher and Reyburn 1991:319; Zenger 1993:210–214). In terms of the genre categories of modern form criticism, the first part (vv. 2–11) is usually described as an individual thanksgiving, and the second part (vv. 12-23) as wisdom teaching (e.g., Zenger; Craigie). These labels are helpful to an extent but ultimately fall short of accurately and sufficiently describing what the psalm is doing (cf. Eriksson 1991:56–80)
  • vv. 2-11. The first part is usually categorized as an individual thanksgiving. Indeed, Gunkel assigned the whole psalm to this category (Einleitung). There are certainly elements of "thanksgiving" in the first half of the psalm (e.g., resolve to praise YHWH; narrating YHWH's deliverance), but these elements are subordinated to the larger goal of encouraging the afflicted to trust in YHWH. Thus, the first half of the psalm, is filled with exhortations (vv. 3b, 4, 6, 9a), and it is not addressed to YHWH (as in most thanksgiving psalms) but to people (cf. Eriksson 1991:56–80).
  • vv. 12-23. In the second part of the psalm, the psalmist explicitly describes what he is doing: "I will teach you the fear of YHWH" (v. 12). The verb למד (piel) refers to a "causative action by which humans or deities cause humans or animals -- intentionally or unintentionally -- to acquire knowledge, skill, or behavior; usually refers to learning to the point of doing." The last part of the definition is crucial—"usually refers to learning to the point of doing"—because the psalmist not only wants his audience to understand what it means to fear YHWH but to live accordingly (see esp. the directives in vv. 14-15).
• How do the two halves of the psalm relate to one another in terms of the psalmist's overall purpose? Both halves of the psalm share the same perlocution (intended result of the speech act): that others would come to fear YHWH and thereby experience his provision and protection. The first half of the psalm seeks to accomplish this purpose by means of a stirring personal testimony of YHWH's deliverance, intermingled with exhortations to trust in YHWH, and the second half of the psalm seeks to accomplish this by a lesson in what it means to fear YHWH, the goal of which is understanding that leads to doing. To state it another way, the first half of the psalm aims at the emotions, the second half aims at the mind, and both halves aim at the will, so that the reader/hearer might come to fear YHWH and thereby experience YHWH's provision and protection.

Affect Analysis

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