Back to Psalm 4

Overview

In terms of grammar, Psalm 4 is relatively complex. Making sense of the grammar of this psalm is foundational to understanding its message. Some of the grammatical difficulties relate to the following:

The implied relative clause in v. 2
The verb-less clause in v. 3
The morphology of נםה ("lift"?) in v. 7
The extent of the direct speech in v. 7
The min prepositional phrase and the large amount of elision in v. 8.
The syntactic function of the modifier לבדד ("alone") in v. 9

Grammatical Diagram

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

Visualization	Description
	The clause is represented by a horizontal line with a vertical line crossing through it, separating the subject and the verb.
	The object is indicated by a vertical line that does not cross the horizontal line of the clause. Infinitives and participles may also have objects. If the direct object marker (d.o.m.) is present in the text, it appears in the diagram immediately before the object. If the grammar includes a secondary object, the secondary object will appear after the object, separated by another vertical line that does not cross the horizontal line of the clause.
	The subject complement follows the verb (often omitted in Hebrew) separated with a line leaning toward the right. It can be a noun, a whole prepositional phrase or an adjective. The later two appear modifying the complement slot.
	When a noun further describes or renames the object, it is an object complement. The object complement follows the object separated by a line leaning toward the right.
	In a construct chain, the noun in the absolute form modifies the noun in the construct form.
	Participles are indicated in whatever position in the clause they are in with a curved line before the participle. Participles can occur as nominal, where they take the place of a noun, predicate, where they take the place of a verb, or attributive, where they modify a noun or a verb similar to adjectives or adverbs.
	Infinitives are indicated by two parallel lines before the infinitive that cross the horizontal line. Infinitive constructs can appear as the verb in an embedded clause. Infinitive absolutes typically appear as an adverbial.
	The subject of the infinitive often appears in construct to it. In this situation, the infinitive and subject are diagrammed as a construct chain.
	The object of the infinitive is indicated by a vertical line that does not cross the horizontal line of the infinitival clause.
	Modifiers are represented by a solid diagonal line from the word they modify. They can attach to verbs, adjectives, or nouns. If modifying a verb or adjective, it is an adverb, but if modifying a noun, it is an adjective, a quantifier, or a definite article. If an adverb is modifying a modifier, it is connected to the modifier by a small dashed horizontal line.
	Adverbials are indicated by a dashed diagonal line extending to a horizontal line. These are nouns or infinitives that function adverbially (modifying either a verb or a participle), but are not connected by a preposition.
	Prepositional phrases are indicated by a solid diagonal line extending to a horizontal line. The preposition is to the left of the diagonal line and the dependent of the preposition is on the horizontal line. They can modify verbs (adverbial) or nouns (adjectival).
	Embedded clauses are indicated by a "stand" that looks like an upside-down Y. The stand rests in the grammatical position that the clause fulfills. Extending from the top of the stand is a horizontal line for the clause. If introduced by a complementizer, for example כִּי, the complementizer appears before the stand. Embedded clauses can stand in the place of any noun.
	When clauses are joined by a conjunction, they are compound clauses. These clauses are connected by a vertical dotted line. The conjunction is placed next to the dotted line.
	Within a clause, if two or more parts of speech are compound, these are represented by angled lines reaching to the two compound elements connected by a solid vertical line. If a conjunction is used, the conjunction appears to the left of the vertical line. Almost all parts of speech can be compound.
	Subordinate clauses are indicated by a dashed line coming from the line dividing the subject from the predicate in the independent clause and leading to the horizontal line of the subordinate clause. The subordinating conjunction appears next to the dashed line.
	Relative clauses also have a dashed line, but the line connects the antecedent to the horizontal line of the relative clause. The relative particle appears next to the dashed line.
	Sentence fragments are represented by a horizontal line with no vertical lines. They are most frequently used in superscriptions to psalms. They are visually similar to discourse particles and vocatives, but most often consist of a noun phrase (that does not refer to a person or people group) or a prepositional phrase.
	In the body of the psalm, a horizontal line by itself (with no modifiers or vertical lines) can indicate either a discourse particle or a vocative (if the word is a noun referring to a person or people group). A discourse particle is a conjunction or particle that functions at the discourse level, not at the grammatical level. Vocatives can appear either before or after the clause addressed to them, depending on the word order of the Hebrew.
	Apposition is indicated by an equal sign equating the two noun phrases. This can occur with a noun in any function in a sentence.

Hebrew text colors
Default preferred text	The default preferred reading is represented by a black line. The text of the MT is represented in bold black text.
Dispreferred reading	The dispreferred reading is an alternative interpretation of the grammar, represented by a pink line. The text of the MT is represented in bold pink text, while emendations and revocalizations retain their corresponding colors (see below).
Emended text	Emended text, text in which the consonants differ from the consonants of the Masoretic text, is represented by bold blue text, whether that reading is preferred or dispreferred.
Revocalized text	Revocalized text, text in which only the vowels differ from the vowels of the Masoretic text, is represented by bold purple text, whether that reading is preferred or dispreferred.
(Supplied elided element)	Any element that is elided in the Hebrew text is represented by bold gray text in parentheses.
( )	The position of a non-supplied elided element is represented by empty black parentheses. For example, this would be used in the place of the noun when an adjective functions substantivally or in the place of the antecedent when a relative clause has an implied antecedent.

Gloss text colors
Gloss used in the CBC	The gloss used in the Close-but-Clear translation is represented by bold blue text.
Literal gloss >> derived meaning	A gloss that shows the more literal meaning as well as the derived figurative meaning is represented in blue text with arrows pointing towards the more figurative meaning. The gloss used in the CBC will be bolded.
Supplied elided element	The gloss for a supplied elided element is represented in bold gray text.

v. 1

v. 2

The relative particle (אשר) is sometimes omitted in relative clauses, especially in poetry (e.g. Ps. 34:9; Job 3:3b; Isa. 54:1).^[1] So Perowne: "The second clause of this verse is undoubtedly a relative clause, with the usual omission of the relative."^[2]

v. 3

v. 3a is a verb-less clause (כְבוֹדִי לִכְלִמָּה). There are two options for interpreting the grammar of this clause:
- 1) כְבוֹדִי ("my honour") is the subject of the clause with an implied verb "become" (היה) ("how long will my honour become shame?")
- 2) The subject of the clause is an implied second person plural pronoun ("you" = "sons of man"), and כְבוֹדִי ("my honour") is the object of the clause with an implied verb like "turn" (הפך) ("how long will you [people] turn my honour into shame?")

The first option is represented in the diagram above, but the second option is equally possible and perhaps more likely, since the psalmist is speaking directly to the "sons of man." This second option is reflected in our close-but-clear translation: "you mortal humans, how long will you turn my honour into shame?"

v. 4

v. 5

v. 6

v. 7

The interpretation of this clause (Ps. 4:7b) involves two main grammatical issues:
- The form נסה. Is this (a) a 2ms imperative form of נשא (so most translations), (b) a 3fs qatal form of נוס (“to flee”, so NEB), or (c ) from the root נס (“banner,” so LXX and Symmachus)?
- The extent of the quotation begun in v. 7a. This colon (v. 7b) is either (a) the Psalmist’s own prayer in response to the “many”, or (b) a continuation of the speech of the “many” begun in v. 7a.

Given the allusion to the Aaronic blessing of Num. 6:24-27, along with the fact that “God lifting his face” is a common idiom, the verb נסה is naturally interpreted as an orthographic variant of נשא (“lift”). However, one must explain why such an odd form was chosen; the normal ms imperative form is שא. The best explanation for the anomalous form (נסה) is that the Psalmist intended a double meaning (נשא, “lift” + נסה, “has fled”).^[3] The MT vowels + the allusion to Num. 6 suggests the former, while the consonantal form נסה + the parallel line (v. 7a) suggests that latter. Both interpretations are further supported by the wider context of the Psalm (vv. 2, 4b: psalmist as intercessor; vv. 3-7a: “many” as those who have given up on Yahweh and turned to idols). Therefore, both are likely intended. The “many” lament the fact that Yahweh has apparently turned away from them; the light of his face has fled. At the same time, the psalmist (the king) intercedes on behalf of the people (as a priest), calling on Yahweh to lift up the light of his face.

For a more detailed discussion, see The Morphology of נסה in Ps 4:7b.

v. 8

Psalm 4:8 alternative diagram

Most modern day interpreters read Ps. 4:8 as a statement of comparison: "You have put joy in my heart (greater/more than the joy which you put in their hearts at) the time when their grain and wine multiplied." This view requires a significant amount of elision. Yet, as BDB notes with regard to this verse (and others), "sometimes in poetry the idea on which min is logically dependent, is unexpressed, and must be understood by the reader."^[4] GKC, citing several passages, notes similarly that "the attributive idea, on which מן logically depends, must sometimes... be supplied from the context."^[5] Psalm 4:8 is regarded as a "still bolder pregnant construction."^[6] Nearly every English translation reflects this view,^[7] and we have adopted it in our analysis.
One alternative to the comparative view is to understand the prepositional phrase temporally: "You put joy in my heart when their grain and wine increased."^[8] This interpretation is reflected in the the LXX,^[9] Jerome's translation of the Hebrew text,^[10] and the most recent NIV translation.^[11] Bruce Waltke makes a strong argument for this view:
- "1) elsewhere me'et is always temporal, never comparative (1 Chron. 9:25; 2 Chron. 25:27; Isa. 48:16; Ezek. 4:10, 11; Dan. 12:11).
- 2) Min by itself after simha has a temporal meaning in Deuteronomy 28:47.
- 3) If the min is comparative, the psalmist gives no reason for any joy apart from God answering his request. In contrast, by taking it temporally, his joy, or festive mirth, is connected with the increase of crops, a common motif in the Old Testament (Deut. 28:47; 29:22; Neh. 8:12; Esther 9:17-19; Prov. 14:10; Eccl. 9:7; Isa. 9:3 [2]; 16:10; 22:13; 24:11; Jer. 25:10; 33:11-12)."^[12]

v. 9

It is possible that לבדד ("alone") modifies the verb ("make me dwell alone") instead of the subject ("you alone make me dwell").^[13] It is more likely, however, that לבדד ("alone") modifies the subject (YHWH). This is supported by the word order, the prosodic structure (atnah after לבדד), and the overall message of the psalm, which insists that YHWH (and no other God) is the one who provides good for his people.

Full Diagram (vv. 1-9)

References

↑ See GKC §155f.
↑ J. J. Stewart Perowne, The Book of Psalms: A New Translation, with Introductions and Notes Explanatory and Critical, From the 3rd London ed. (Andover: Warren F. Draper, 1882).
↑ On the question of deliberate ambiguities (double meanings) in the Psalter, see Paul Raabe, “Deliberate Ambiguity in the Psalter,” *Journal of Biblical Literature* 110, no. 2 (1991): 213–227.
↑ BDB. Cf. HALOT.
↑ GKC §133e.
↑ GKC §133e.
↑ E.g. KJV, RSV, CEV, GNT, NASB, ESV, CSB, NET, NLT
↑ See Goldingay, John. 2006. “Psalm 4: Ambiguity and Resolution.” Tyndale Bulletin 57 (2): 161–72.
↑ ἔδωκας εὐφροσύνην εἰς τὴν καρδίαν μου, ἀπὸ καιροῦ σίτου καὶ οἴνου καὶ ἐλαίου αὐτῶν ἐπληθύνθησαν
↑ dedisti laetitiam in corde meo: in tempore frumentum et vinum eorum multiplicata sunt
↑ "...when their grain and new wine abound." Cf. the similar view that the min prepositional phrase indicates source ("from the time...") (Mannati, M. 1970. “Sur Le Sens de Min En Ps 4:8.” Vetus Testamentum 20, 3: 361–66).
↑ Bruce K. Waltke, J. M. Houston, and Erika Moore, The Psalms as Christian Worship: A Historical Commentary (Grand Rapids, Mich: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 2010), 240.
↑ See, e.g., Fokkelman 2000:61:-62.

[1] See GKC §155f.

[2] J. J. Stewart Perowne, The Book of Psalms: A New Translation, with Introductions and Notes Explanatory and Critical, From the 3rd London ed. (Andover: Warren F. Draper, 1882).

[3] On the question of deliberate ambiguities (double meanings) in the Psalter, see Paul Raabe, “Deliberate Ambiguity in the Psalter,” *Journal of Biblical Literature* 110, no. 2 (1991): 213–227.

[4] BDB. Cf. HALOT.

[5] GKC §133e.

[6] GKC §133e.

[7] E.g. KJV, RSV, CEV, GNT, NASB, ESV, CSB, NET, NLT

[8] See Goldingay, John. 2006. “Psalm 4: Ambiguity and Resolution.” Tyndale Bulletin 57 (2): 161–72.

[9] ἔδωκας εὐφροσύνην εἰς τὴν καρδίαν μου, ἀπὸ καιροῦ σίτου καὶ οἴνου καὶ ἐλαίου αὐτῶν ἐπληθύνθησαν

[10] dedisti laetitiam in corde meo: in tempore frumentum et vinum eorum multiplicata sunt

[11] "...when their grain and new wine abound." Cf. the similar view that the min prepositional phrase indicates source ("from the time...") (Mannati, M. 1970. “Sur Le Sens de Min En Ps 4:8.” Vetus Testamentum 20, 3: 361–66).

[12] Bruce K. Waltke, J. M. Houston, and Erika Moore, The Psalms as Christian Worship: A Historical Commentary (Grand Rapids, Mich: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 2010), 240.

[13] See, e.g., Fokkelman 2000:61:-62.

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Psalm 4 Grammar