Property: Discussion
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
P
*v.11b. לֹֽא־עָזַ֖בְתָּ
*v.13b. לֹֽא־שָׁ֝כַ֗ח
*v.19b. לֹ֣א לָ֭נֶצַח יִשָּׁכַ֣ח
*v.20a. אַל־יָעֹ֣ז
The four negative clauses happen to form a kind of chiasm: '''a''' לֹֽא־עָזַ֖ '''b''' לֹֽא־שָׁ֝כַ֗ח '''b'''' לֹ֣א...יִשָּׁכַ֣ח '''a'''' אַל־יָעֹ֣ז
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*v.16b. The demonstrative זוּ is used "somewhat frequently in poetic language to introduce both dependent and independent relative clauses.'"`UNIQ--ref-0000106D-QINU`"'
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*v.1bc (See [[#Classifying parallelisms|above]])
*v.6ab See [[#Classifying parallelisms|above]])
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*v.2ab – (V S // S V)
*v.5ab – (M V // V M)
*v.8cd – (a b c // c' b' a')
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*v.5 (כִּי). Consequence (v.4) – action (v.5). David's enemies will turn, stumble, and perish (v.4), ''because'' Yahweh has enacted judgment (v.5). Gives cohesion to strophe (vv.4-5).
*v.11b (כִּי). Exhortation (v.11a) – reason (v.11b). They should trust in Yahweh (v.11a), ''because'' he has not forsaken those who seek him (v.11b). Gives cohesion to verse (v.11).
*v.13 (כִּי). Exhortation (v.12ab) – reason (v.13). Praise Yahweh (v.12ab), ''because'' he remembers (v.13a) and does not forget (v.13b) the lowly. Gives cohesion to strophe (vv.12-13).
*v.15 (לְמַעַן). Petition (v.14) – reason/purpose (v.15). Rescue me, ''so that'' I may praise you (v.15). Gives cohesion to strophe (vv.14-15).
*v.19 (כִּי). Consequence (v.4) – fact (v.5). The wicked will return to Sheol (v.18), ''because'' the poor will not remain abandoned (v.19). Gives cohesion to strophe (vv.18-19).
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*v.7bc
יְֽהוָ֗ה אָמַ֨ר אֵלַ֥י </br>
בְּנִ֥י אַ֑תָּה
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*v.7c. הֵמָּה
*v.9a. וְה֗וּא
*v.21c. הֵמָּה
There is a clear connection between v.7c and v.21c. Both end with the pronoun הֵמָּה and thus conclude a tricolon and a stanza (''epiphora''). This feature argues strongly for the MT [[#Line divisions|line division]]. The 3ms personal pronoun (הוּא) in v.9a, with its antecedent in v.8a (יהוה), binds v.9 to v.8 (cohesion).
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*vv.2-3. lines beginning with א
*vv.6a,7b. lines beginning with ער/גער
*vv.8-11. verses beginning with ו
*v.16ab. words beginning with ט
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*vv.2b-3a. lines ending in ךְ/ךָ
*vv. 5-7. words ending in תָּ
*vv.12-13. words ending in ים
*v.15ac. lines ending in ךָ
*vv.18-19. words ending in ים
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*vv.4-5, bound by an inclusio (ודעו / ודמו) evoke images of eerie quietude (דמם) and darkness (משׁכב), as people lie on their beds at night in contemplative silence. By contrast, vv.7-8, also bound by an inclusio (רבים / רבו) introduce the contrasting image of light (אור) which gives sight (יראנו) and life/abundance (רבב). In other words, vv.7-8 represent the dawning of day upon the darkness of night (vv.4-5). The pivotal point between the two is v.6 (the center of the psalm: צדק [cf.v.2a], בטח [cf.v.9c]) which depicts a turning to Yahweh with worship (v.6a) and trust (v.6b). Repentance (v.6) hastens the dawn – the transition from a life of darkness and silence (vv.4-5) to one of light and blessing (vv.7-8).
*The themes of darkness/evening and light/morning, which are prominent in vv.4-8, appear at the beginning and end of the psalm as well. The first word of the psalm (בְּקָרְאִי) sounds like the word for "morning" (בֹּקֶר), and the final verse of the psalm (v.9) evokes the image of evening (אשׁכבה ואישׁן). The Psalm thus alternates between images of morning and evening:
::'''Morning''' (v.2)
:::'''Evening''' (vv.4-5)
::'''Morning''' (vv.7-8)
:::'''Evening''' (v.9)
*figurative/evocative language is concentrated in v.5, perhaps marking the thematic peak of the psalm.
**metonymy: רגזו
**idom: אמרו בלבבכם
**imagery: lying down to sleep (cf. v.9); silence
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*אַ֥שְֽׁרֵי־הָאִ֗ישׁ - '''meaning''' and '''pragmatic function'''
:'formal introduction of a blessing' per Zimmerli (pursue)'"`UNIQ--ref-000008BD-QINU`"'.
:The phrase in Psalm 1 has been translated "blessed/happy is the one/man" (NIV, ESV, NASB, NJPS), "happy are those" (NRSV, NLT, TEV) "+God+ blesses those people" (CEV).
:The Hebrew noun is an emphatic abstract plural, ֥אַשְׁרֵי (‘happinesses/joys-of’), i.e. “Oh, how joyous!” Goh suggests “commendable” '"`UNIQ--ref-000008BE-QINU`"', which seems more appropriate in this setting.
:אַשְׁרֵי is to be distinguished from ברך, the principal word in the Old Testament referring to the multiplying and abundant benefits of the Covenant. Here to be ‘blessed’ (אַשְׁרֵי) means to be considered fortunate and blessed, to be admired by others.'"`UNIQ--ref-000008BF-QINU`"' "''Barak'' is a benediction, ''ashar'' more of a congratulation."'"`UNIQ--ref-000008C0-QINU`"'
:In other contexts the word refers metonymically to the peace and contentment that God-given fellowship and security produce (see v. 3; Pss. 2:12, 34:9, 41:1, 65:4, 84:12, 89:15, 106:3, 112:1, 127:5, 128:1, 144:15).
:"The Old Greek and the Vulgate interpret the opening Hebrew word, אשרי, as a declaration of blessedness. This view maybe corroborated by the juxtaposition of the verbs אשר and ברך in Ps 72:17. The equivalence is further suggested by Jer 17:7-8, which has ברוך הגבר אשר (“Blessed is the man who ...”) in a context that, as in Psalm 1, speaks of a tree being planted by waters. Yet the verb אשר is never used with God as the subject or the object, and the form אשרי is never used of God or by God. The closest one comes to the use of the verb with Gods involvement is only by implication: “May Yhwh keep him and preserve him; may he be commended [יאשר] in the land” (Is 41:3). One may conclude, therefore, that אשר is an atheological equivalent of ברך. Whereas ברך is “bless,” אשר in the piel means something like “commend.""'"`UNIQ--ref-000008C1-QINU`"'
*אַ֥שְֽׁרֵי־הָאִ֗ישׁ '''as a title?''' [[#Section divisions|see below]]
*The opening word of the Psalm, “Blessed is…” is a theme frame (a word that holds the theme together in a longer stretch of text). Languages have different ways to position a theme framing word in a story or in a poem. In Hebrew, it is the first word of the poem. It is likely the same in many languages, but it is necessary to research local poems for examples. It can even be left-dislocated, followed by a comma, or a relative clause “The one who is blessed is…”, or even by a cleft sentence.
* שָׁת֪וּל – The verb שׁתל appears 10 times in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible (Jer. 17:8; Ezek. 17:8, 10, 22, 23; 19:10, 13; Hos. 9:13[?]; Ps. 1:3; 92:14) only in the Qal stem and most often as a passive participle (8/10 times). Its use here indicates that this is an agricultural context, i.e. we are talking about something cultivated rather than natural. The word suggests an intentional “planting” (or “trans-planting”) at a particular favorable place by some other agent, with God being implied (v. 6a). In this way, the word is distinguished from the more general נטע ("plant"). This act of “transplanting” (שׁתל) is associated in the biblical literature with gardens (Ezek. 17:8, 10, 22, 23; 19:10[LXX]), water (Jer. 17:8; Ezek. 17:8; 19:10; Ps. 1:3) and fruit/productivity (Jer. 17:8; Ezek. 17:8, 23; 19:10; Ps. 1:3; 92:14). The most illustrative occurrences of the meaning of the verb are in Ezekiel 17, where a “twig/sapling” (יֹנֶקֶת) plucked from among the tops of the high cedar trees (Ezek. 17:22-23) is planted (שׁתל) on Yahweh’s high and lofty mountain for the purpose of growing branches, producing fruit, and becoming a majestic cedar (Ezek. 17:23).
*אַל תֶּחֱטָאוּ (v.5a)
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*אַתָּה (v.9b)
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*אשׁר – Wordplay with אשׁרי and רשׁע.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000991-QINU`"' "The three occurrences of the relative particle אשר [in the first section] (vv. 1a, 3b, 3b) echo the title [אשרי האיש], thus keeping the commendable person on track, as it were, whereas the wicked are not so."'"`UNIQ--ref-00000992-QINU`"'
*'''v. 2a.''' כִּי אִם (also in v.4b) is contrastive, but it does not seem to be simply ‘but.’ It contrasts the type of input that the blessed man delights in with the type of input and lifestyle that he refuses to live in from the previous verse. It introduces a sudden contrast between the sinful behavior depicted in v. 1 and the godly lifestyle described in v. 2. In translation, such a connective calls for some mechanism of contrast in the TL. It doesn’t need to be a connective, although it is likely that a contrastive connective may be required.
*'''v. 4a.''' כֵן refers back to the righteous who succeed at what they do.
*'''v.4b.''' As in v. 2, the Hebrew expression כִּי אִם ִ֤(“instead”) is strongly disjunctive and introduces a consequent disparity between the prosperity of the godly depicted in v. 3 and the destiny of the wicked described in v. 4. This contrast between the righteous and the ungodly has already been strongly signaled by the initial לא כן of v. 4.
*'''v. 5a.''' The expression עַל-כֵּן may indicate either (1) an explanation of the metaphors, or (2) a definitive conclusion based on the preceding v. 4. In the case of the latter, עַל-כֵּן refers back to the fact that the wicked’s destruction will be evident as well as the prosperity of the righteous. For this reason, the wicked will have nothing to accuse the righteous with because it will be evident who is in the right.
*'''v. 6a.''' כִּי introduces the reason why the wicked will not be able to go to judgment with the righteous. Alternatively, כִּי may just have a discourse function asserting a final conclusion. Another option is to understand כִּי as introducing a ground for the whole Psalm. The righteous succeed (vv. 1-3) and the wicked come to nothing (vv. 4-5) ''because'' (כִּי) of Yahweh's action on behalf of the righteous (v. 6a grounds vv. 1-3) and because of the nature of the wicked's path (v. 6b grounds vv. 4-5).
*ג - one time
*ז - none (only in superscription)
*ח - one time (additional occurrence in superscription)
*ט - none
*פ - one time
*שׂ - none
[[File:Phonological overview of ps. 3.jpg|thumb|Phonological Overview]]
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-0A*%D7%97-20-2D-20one-20time-20(additional-20occurrence-20in-20superscription)-0A*%D7%98-20-2D-20none-0A*%D7%A4-20-2D-20one-20time-0A*%D7%A9%D7%82-20-2D-20none-0A-5B-5BFile:Phonological-20overview-20of-20ps.-203.jpg-7Cthumb-7CPhonological-20Overview-5D-5D){kind=link}
*ג - twice
*פ - three times
*צ - three times
*שׂ - once
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*ג - two times
*ז - one time
*ט - one time
*צ - three times
*ק - three times
*שׂ - two times
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*דֶּרֶךְ – “Pathway” (דֶּרֶךְ) in v. 1 refers to the characteristic lifestyle of people, in this case, that of God-hating sinners. So also in v.6, it seems to refer to the life of each group, the righteous’ and wicked’s lives being described as a path/road/journey metaphorically (see v. 1). In this verse, the “way of the wicked” may refer to their course of life (Ps. 146:9; Pr. 4:19; Jer. 12:1), their sinful behavior (Pr. 12:26; Pr. 15:9)—or both, with the latter means implying the former inevitable result.
*רְשָׁעִים – Who are the ‘wicked’ as opposed to the Law-loving ‘righteous’? They are not merely bad and immoral people, but actively enemies of the Law and God’s people. The wicked were not only the unbelieving people of neighboring pagan nations opposed to Israel and persecuting it, but also Israelites not living lives aligned to the Law and persecuting those who are, the righteous ones. In the psalms, רְשָׁעִים describes people who are proud, practical atheists (Pss. 10:2, 10:4, 10:11), who hate God’s principles and commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps. 50:16-20), and cheat or deceive others (Ps. 37:21). Rendering it as mere ‘bad people’ will be weak.
*צַדִּיקִים – The righteous are more than mere good people, they are Torah-loving people, they are people in line with God’s will, they are the true people of the Covenant. Translating the word with ‘good people’ will be inadequate. Maybe a term like faithful ones, or aligned ones, or even straight ones, will work better. But the chosen word needs to be considered in the light of other Hebrew Biblical terms like the upright ones, the blameless ones, and so on.
*תּוֹרָה – The word תּוֹרָה can refer either to instruction in general or specifically to God’s instruction as contained within the first five books. The choice to render this key concept is important because it will appear many more times. It has been translated "law (ESV, NRSV, NASB, NIV, NLT, TEV, NET (commands)), "teaching" (NJPS, CEV). In English, the translation “commands” is too limiting (and legalistic!) a rendering for תּוֹרָה; in this context, “instructions” is closer to the original meaning, and even “God’s word” would also be broadly appropriate. Yet it may also refer specifically to the Pentateuch.
:"Often the Hebrew word ''torah'' is identified with ''the'' Law – the primary identifying document of Israelite (and later Jewish) faith. The Torah in this sense refers to the first five books of our Old Testament–Genesis through Deuteronomy–which as a unified collection came to a final form as authoritative Scripture only in the exilic period (ca. 450-400 B.C.). While this is an appropriate understanding of ''torah'' in many contexts, the word often has a much more general sense of 'guidelines, instruction.' This sense is by far the more common use in wisdom contexts, and since our psalm clearly moves in the wisdom environment, many have suggested it is the more general meaning that is appropriate here."'"`UNIQ--ref-000008B2-QINU`"'
:"It may be possible to affirm both levels of meaning. As James L. Mays has shown us, Psalm 1 is the first of several Torah psalms strategically placed within the book of Psalms (1; 19; 119). These psalms exhort the hearers/readers to pay close attention to God's commandments and to be faithful in their response to them. At the same time, however, the wisdom understanding of ''torah'' prevents easy limitation to the first five books of ''the'' Torah. Biblical wisdom literature had already begun to identify ''torah'' (the life-giving commandments of Yahweh) with the life-giving insights given by Yahweh through the wisdom tradition. Thus, most likely ''torah'' here implies the traditional commandments of God in ''the'' Torah–commandments Israel is expected to obey–as well as the life-giving guidance God gives elsewhere in Scripture."'"`UNIQ--ref-000008B3-QINU`"'
:"Our comprehension of this verse and of the whole psalm now depends on the interpretation of the term תורה (Torah)... תורה is 'instruction' in the sense of the 'merciful revelation of the will of God (Von Rad). In Psalm 1 this merciful revelation of the will of God is presupposed as something fixed and written. For an understanding of this view of תורה we must in the first place adduce the late Deuteronomic, or Deuteronomistic, conception. The תורה is the complete, written revelation of the will of God, which may be read in public (Deut. 31:9-11) or in private (Josh. 1:7)... The תורה in this sense is the authoritatively valid 'Sacred Scripture.' The scope of sacred Scripture in Ps. 1:2 cannot be determined. Is the reference to Deuteronomy, to the Pentateuch, or even to the (partly) completed canon? This question is related to the uncertainty of the dating of Psalm 1. Indeed, in its nature as a preamble to the Psalter, the concept תורה in any case–and even primarily–includes the scriptural scroll of the Psalms."'"`UNIQ--ref-000008B4-QINU`"'
:"Torah was in the pre-exilic period not so much 'law' in our sense as 'teaching, instruction.'"'"`UNIQ--ref-000008B5-QINU`"'
:"Given these wisdom connections, it seems natural to understand תורה in Psalm 1:2 as 'instruction.' This sense seems to be confirmed by the antithesis of תורה, which is 'the advice (עצת) of the wicked' (v.1), not their legal commands." However, "it seems that at the time of writing of Ezra and Chronicles the תורת יהוה, given through Moses, was identical to the תורת משׁה, given by the Lord, and that both refer to the Five Books of Moses (cf. 2 Chron. 34:14; Ezra 7:6). So the תורת יהוה in Psalm 1 naturally refers to the Five Books of Moses." "When we combine the sense of תורה as 'instruction' with תורת יהוה as the Five Books of Moses, we conclude that the book of Psalms invites believers to meditate on the Five Books of Moses as a source of instruction for experiencing the joys/blessings (v.1) and prosperity/success (v.3) held out in Psalm 1."'"`UNIQ--ref-000008B6-QINU`"'
*מוֹשָׁב – Here the Hebrew term מוֹשָׁב, although often translated “seat” (cf. NEB, NIV), appears to refer to an entire assembly of evildoers. The word also carries the sense of “assembly” in Ps. 107:32, where it stands in synonymous parallelism with קָהָל (“assembly”).
*יָשָב – To “sit in the assembly” of לֵצִים means to completely identify with them in their proud, sinful plans, discourse, and behavior. יָשַׁב here may mean more than just ‘sit,’ though it is having physically sat in the company of scoffers (to hear their evil speech) that is the problem; it may indicate something more long-term like ‘dwelt’ in parallel with the other two verbs (הלך and עמד).
{|style="border-spacing: 10px;"
|-
| 1a ||
|-
| 1b || <big>'''רשׁעים'''</big>
|-
| 1c || || <big>דרך</big> || חטאים
|-
| 1d
|-
| 2c || || || || תורה || <span style="color:#FF0000"><big>'''יהוה'''</big></span>
|-
| 2d || || || || תורה ||
|-
| 3a
|-
| 3b
|-
| 3c
|-
| 3d
|-
| 4a || <big>'''רשׁעים'''</big>
|-
| 4b
|-
| 5a || <big>'''רשׁעים'''</big>
|-
| 5b || || || חטאים || || || צדיקים
|-
| 6a || || <big>דרך</big> || || || <span style="color:#FF0000"><big>'''יהוה'''</big></span> || צדיקים
|-
| 6b || <big>'''רשׁעים'''</big> || <big>דרך</big>
|}
*הָאִישׁ – As in the case of all ANE literature, Hebrew wisdom texts often assume and reflect the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. However, the principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern reference and application, one may translate the gender and age specific “man” with the more neutral “one”; “person” would also be possible. Since the godly person described in the psalm is representative of all followers of God (note the plural form צַדִּיקִים [“righteous, godly”] in vv. 5-6), one could translate the collective singular with the plural “those” both here and in vv. 2-3, where singular pronouns and verbal forms are utilized in the Hebrew text (cf. NRSV). However, here the singular form may serve to emphasize that godly individuals are usually outnumbered by the wicked and must bear the social consequences. Retaining the singular allows the translation to retain this common contrastive perspective.
**On the other hand, the tree imagery of Psalm 1 may suggest identifying the blessed man (הָאִִישׁ) as Israel's king. Trees functioned as images of kings in the Ancient Near East.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000955-QINU`"' “In both biblical and ancient Near Eastern tradition, the individual most typically identified with a tree is a person of royalty.”'"`UNIQ--ref-00000956-QINU`"' This identification of the blessed man as Israel's king is supported by the fact that the king was expected to transcribe the Torah and spend his life studying it (Deut. 17:18-19). In other words, the ideal king was to "delight in Yahweh's Torah and muse on [it] day and night" (Ps. 1:2). This identification is also supported by the distinctly royal profile of the Psalter as a whole. It is only fitting that a book largely written by and focused on Israel's king should begin with a description of him. If this identification is correct, then it would be important to preserve the masculine referent in translation where possible.
*'''v.3.''' For a discussion of tree imagery in the Bible and in the Ancient Near East, see Osborne, ''Trees and Kings.'''"`UNIQ--ref-00000957-QINU`"'
**'''v.3a.''' The tree is said to be "transplanted" (שָׁתוּל) “on water channels” (עַל פַּלְגֵי מַיִם). The noun פֶּלֶג (from the verb which means “to divide”) refers to an “artificial water channel.”'"`UNIQ--ref-00000958-QINU`"' According to Bullinger, “the word פֶּלֶג is used for any little channel by which the water is distributed or divided, especially the channels which divide-up a garden.”'"`UNIQ--ref-00000959-QINU`"' The use of the phrase פַּלְגֵי מַיִם together with the attributive participle שָׁתוּל suggests a garden context for the tree.
*'''v.4b.''' Chaff is separated from grain and blown away by the wind during the winnowing process. “In winnowing, grain is threshed in order to separate the kernel of grain from the husk and straw. The mixture is thrown into the air with a winnowing fork or shovel. The wind blows the light husks away, the heavier straw falls near the edge of the threshing floor, and the grain falls back to the floor to be collected. Both the light husks and the heavier straw are referred to in the words translated ‘chaff’ in the Bible.”'"`UNIQ--ref-0000095A-QINU`"'
*'''v.5.''' Is the “מִשְׁפָּט” of verse 5 (1) Ordinary court cases, (2) court cases accusing the wicked of exploiting the poor, or (3) the final judgment by God. If the first or second, perhaps we should describe the cultural background for how judgment against the wicked worked. Note the definite article here.
*הוֹלֹלִים – The ''qal'' participle of הלל occurs only in the Psalms (Pss. 5:6; 73:3; 75:5). In Ps. 5:6 it is parallel to the phrase פעלי און, and in Pss. 73:3 and 75:5 it is parallel to the common term רשׁעים. Each time the LXX translates it as παράνομος/παραναμῶν/ἄνομος/ ("lawless person"), which is used to translate a number of other words (e.g., פָּשָׁע, בְּלִיַּעַל, זֵד). Holladay says that הוֹלֹלִים refers to someone who is "deluded," while BDB has "boastful ones, boasters." In Psalm 75 (vv.5-11), the הוללים are wicked people who boast (הלל) and exalt themselves. The same appears to be the case in Ps. 5, where the הוללים attempt to station themselves before Yahweh's eyes (i.e., attain to a position of royal power [cf. Ps. 41:13]).
*שׁוֹרְרַי – This noun occurs only in the Psalms (Pss. 5:9; 27:11; 54:7; 56:3; 59:11). The meaning is difficult to determine based on usage alone. What is clear is that the term, like הוללים (above) is part of the semantic domain of "enemies" (אֹיְבִים). These enemies are described disparagingly in v.10. שׁוֹרר is translated consistently in the LXX by the general term ἐχθρός, in the Vulgate by ''insidiator'' ("someone who lies in wait"), and in the Targum by מעיק ("oppressor"). In Ps. 5:9, Aquila has ἐφοδεύω (ptc) + dative ("watch over", so BDB) and Theodotion has, similar to Targum, ἀποθλιβω ("oppress, afflict").
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