PEOPLE ARE PLANTS/RichKnowledge

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Psalm 1:3 (v. 3) Seasonal fruitfulness for a tree relies on being planted near a suitable water supply


Psalm 1:3 (v. 3) The leaves of a tree by water will not dry up


Psalm 1:4 (v. 4) Some worthless parts of plants (מֹץ) are blown away by the wind


Psalm 1:4 (v. 4) Chaff is light and cannot be used (apart from animal feed). It is often used to symbolise the worthless.


Psalm 1:4 (v. 4) Wind is the means of winnowing (separating grain from chaff). It depends on the lightness of chaff compared to the heaviness of grain. This plays into the HONOUR is HEAVY and TRIVIAL is LIGHT metaphors…


Psalm 35:5 (v. 5) Some worthless parts of plants (מֹץ) are blown away by the wind


Psalm 37:2 (v. 2) Grass (חציר) and green leafy plants )ירק דשׁא) quickly wither away


Psalm 37:35 (v. 35) leafiness is a sign of flourishing


Psalm 52:7 (v. 7) A plant that has roots may regrow even if cut down, but if the roots are taken out it is gone forever


Psalm 52:10 (v. 10) A leafy olive tree is a positive image when associated with the house of God


Psalm 80:8 (v. 8) Vine roots can be dug up and transplanted to new locations


Psalm 80 (v. ) Vineyards require skilled gardeners, prepared soil, protected space (walls)


Psalm 80:12-13 (v. 12) Vines are at risk from wild boars, insects, people who pass by and pick fruit


Psalm 80:15 (v. 15) A vine can regrow from a root that is carefully transplanted


Psalm 90:5-6 (v. 5) Grass (חציר) sprouts in the morning and dries by the evening (ie. life cycle of one day?)


Psalm 92:7 (v. 7) Green vegetation is short-lived and weak and spreads rampantly and widely


Psalm 92:13 (v. 13) Palm trees are difficult to cut down but very productive (oil, nuts, etc.)


Psalm 92:13 (v. 13) Cedar trees are strong but grow slowly


Psalm 92:14 (v. 14) Plants in the courtyards of the house of Yahweh are fruitful and leafy for many years [however, the conceptual blend is complex here to what extent does the reader infer a plant or a person in the courtyard of Yahweh? See Brown 2002 for iconographic associations between palms and temples, eg. the relief from palace at Mari - so perhaps there were actual palms associated with the temple. Also note the conclusion p.73-74: ‘trees in proximity to the sanctuary held an ambivalent place in ancient Israelite faith and cultic practice’. Note also the ‘leafy tree’ here is a positive image because of association to Yahweh, as opposed to the more general condemnation of leafy trees in unorthodox cultic practice elsewhere in the Bible]


Psalm 102:5 (v. 5) Green vegetation (עשב) is susceptible to being ‘struck’ and ‘drying out’ (common occurrence in arid climate?)


Psalm 102:12 (v. 12) Green vegetation is susceptible to drying out / withering


Psalm 103:16 (v. 16) Wild flowers are susceptible to hot winds (wither in their presence)


Psalm 103:16 (v. 16) Wild flowers leave no lasting impact, once they die there is no trace they were there [potential contrast to roots or stumps from which shoots will come again]


Psalm 129:6 (v. 6) [Perhaps this should go under ‘cultural knowledge’ above] The grass that naturally grows on earthen rooftops will wither quickly under the hot sun

Grass on a roof (חֲצִ֣יר גַּגּ֑וֹת ) dries before it has a chance to be plucked [is this because of lack of roots? Would be helpful for someone to explore the cultural background here, and check this interpretation] “These lines gives us a picture of a house with a flat roof where dust could settle, forming a fertile but shallow environment for the germination of grass seeds. However, the grass was doomed to wither and die quickly because of the lack of moisture and soil.” (comment on the parallel in 2 Kings 19.26 in the article about ‘grass’ in ‘Plants and Trees in the Bible’)


Psalm 129:7 (v. 7) Withered grass is insubstantial, not enough to fill the hand of harvesters


Psalm 128:3 (v. 3) Vines and olive trees produce useful, good tasting food (is it part of the point of the similes here that vines and olive branches produce food that is ‘beyond the basics’ - the nice things? Or…?)