Participant Analysis

• Grammar
• Semantics
  • Semantics/Lexical Semantics
  • Phrase-Level Semantics
  • Verbal Semantics
  • Semantics/Story behind the Psalm
• Exegetical Issues
• Discourse
  • Participant Analysis
  • Macrosyntax
  • Speech Act Analysis
  • Emotional Analysis
• Poetics
  • Poetic Structure
  • Poetic Features
• Synthesis
  • Verse-by-Verse Notes
  • Translation and Performance Notes
• Close-but-Clear
• Videos
  • Overview
  • Top 3 Exegetical Issues
  • Top 3 Poetic Features
• Post to wiki

Version: 1.0
Overseer: Ryan Sikes

Introduction

The ultimate question of participant analysis is, What “story” do the participants of this psalm tell? To answer this question the participant reference data of the psalm will be analyzed in the following three phases. Each of these phases and its sub-tasks will be explained in detail below.

Overview

Step 2 - Analysis

2.1. Participant Sets List: Create a highlighted list of participant sets

2.2. Speaker/Addressee Participants: Track and highlight speaker and addressee participants

2.3. Subject/Predicative Participants: Track and highlight subject and predicative participants

2.4. Notes on Ambiguities: Write notes clarifying ambiguities

2.5. Specific Issues in Analysis: YHWH's name and Non-agentive participants

Step 3 - Synthesis

3.1. Participant Profile Notes: If necessary, write brief informative notes introducing participants

3.2. Summary Relationship Visual: Create a visual summary clarifying the most important participant relationships

3.3. Summary Distribution Visual: Create a table summary of the distribution of participants, including person (first, second, third)

3.4. Mini-Story: Write a brief mini-story summarizing the most important participant relationships

Two Levels of Participant Analysis

It is important to clarify from the beginning that participant analysis happens on two levels. The first level analyzes the speaker and addressee of the text. In other words, at any given point in the psalm, who is speaking and to whom are they speaking?

The second level involves the subject/predicative participants. On this level, we analyze the participants being referred to in the text itself. The subject participant is indicated by the subject of the verbs/clauses, and the predicative participant is any other participant not functioning as a subject. This second level usually relates to the question: "Who (subject) is doing what to whom (predicative)?".

Definition of a 'Participant'

A participant is an “agent, individual or corporate, who plays a unique relational role in the story of the psalm” (working definition). The main feature here is agency. In the psalms there are many inanimate referents that become participants when ascribed with agency (usually by becoming the subject of a verb). In Ps 98, for example, the sea roars, the rivers clap their hands, and the mountains sing before YHWH. They are all agentive subjects of verbs, and have a participant relationship with YHWH, and are therefore considered participants. However, in other psalms, these same referents are not agentive, and therefore not participants (e.g. Ps. 146 "YHWH...made the sea").

For further discussion on defining a participant, see the specific issues of YHWH's name (§2.5.1. below) and non-agentive participants (§2.5.2. below).

Steps

1. Creating a Text Table

Ps 19 - Text Table (Before Analysis)

Using the participant analysis text table on the Miro template page (Template), create a text table for your own psalm. You can use either the blank template or the example template from Ps. 19.

Begin by organizing the Hebrew text (using the open-source Hebrew text) according to verses and clauses, with one verse per row-box and one clause per-line within the box. For all preferred emended or revocalized Hebrew texts, replace the MT reading in the main text with the emended or revocalized Hebrew with asterisks on either side of the altered Hebrew text (e.g., *מֵחֹשֶׁךְ*). The asterisks should be colored purple if the change is a revocalization and blue if an emendation of the consonantal text. Do not supply accents for the altered Hebrew text. At the bottom of the visualization, add a note for each emendation or revocalization referring to the primary discussion for each variant (usually a note in the grammar layer or an exegetical issue) and providing the MT for comparison. E.g., ** For the revocalization מֵחֹשֶׁךְ, see grammar note (MT: מַחְשָֽׁךְ).

Add the corresponding CBC with each clause aligning with the Hebrew. Both the Hebrew and the English text should be in Times New Roman. At this point the text table should look like the adjacent image from Ps 19's text table.

2. Analysis

Guardians will now begin their analysis of all the participant reference data in the psalm. By the end of their analysis the text table and adjacent participant list should look similar to the following example from Ps 118 (this example can be seen in better quality on the Miro board for Ps. 118.

2.1. Participant Sets List

Ps 118 - Participant Sets List

To the left of the text table add the Participant Sets list/table. By the end of your analysis, this will include a complete list of all participants mentioned throughout the psalms, organized according to participant sets. Participant sets are simply closely related participants that act like a single participant by virtue of their literary function. For instance, the “man” and the “tree” in Psalm 1 are a participant set: they are closely related in the psalm and therefore can be considered a single participant for the sake of analysis. By the end of your analysis, the participant set table should look like the adjacent example from Ps 118.

This table is organized according to the following guidelines:

• Each row contains a participant set.
• Each participant should be assigned a highlight-colour.
  • The color suggestions in the template on the Miro Templates page should be followed as closely as possible, but ultimately color choice is the guardian's decision.

Ps 118 - Synonymous Participants

• Synonymous participants should be given the same highlight-colour but listed in rows.
  • Synonymous participants are different participants who have an identical function or are used interchangeably.
  • For example, in Ps 118:8-9, the participants "man" and "noblemen" are used interchangeably in a parallelism.
  • Similarly, in Ps 118 there are both general references to priests (e.g. 118:3) and specific references to priestly gatekeepers (118:19-20). Thus priests and priestly gatekeepers are included as synonymous participants.

Related Participants

• Related (but not synonymous) participants should be given a different shade of the same colour.
  • For example, in Ps 118 there are both priests and a specific "chorus leader" who leads the opening chorus. This chorus leader was probably a priest or Levite and performs similar, but not identical, functions to the priests in the rest of the psalm.
  • Sometimes the difference between synonymous (same color) and related participants (different shades of the same color) will be unclear. Guardians should follow their intuitions here.

Differing Appellations (Ps 118)

• Differing Appellations: Sometimes a given participant will be called by multiple different appellations (names, titles, epithets, etc...) throughout the psalm. Each distinct appellation should be listed in quotation marks (unbolded text, no highlight color) beneath the main participant label.
  • For example, in Ps 118 YHWH is also called "Yah", "My helper", "God", and "My God". Similarly, enemies are referred to as "Those who hate me", "All nations", and "Bees."

Best practice is to fill out this table as you work through the participant tracking tasks (§2.2. and §2.3.), to ensure that every single participant is included. However, guardians may want to, at least partially, add participants and assign them colors before beginning analysis.

2.2. Speaker/Addressee Participants

Guardians will now work through the text and identify (as far as possible) both speaker and addressee for every clause (for ambiguities see §2.4 "Notes on Ambiguities" below). The following formatting guidelines should be followed:

• In the first column on the left identify the speaker in bold text with the highlight color assigned to that participant.
• Add that participant to the participant set list (see §2.1. above) to the left of the text table.
• In the same way, in the furthest column on the right, identify the addressee.

Speaker/Addressee Shifts within a Verse

• If there are speaker or addressee shifts within a verse, then split the verse into multiple rows (e.g. 2a, 2b), as in the following example:
• When the same speaker or addressee occurs over multiple verses, merge the rows.

30% Opacity

• Background Colors - Format the colors of the table as follows:
  • The background color of the speaker box and the text boxes should all align. Color these boxes at 30% opacity from the same color that highlights the participant.
  • The background of the addressee column is likewise colored at 30% opacity of the same color that highlights the participant.

Embedded/Quoted Speech (Ps 91)

• If there is embedded speech, where one participant quotes the speech of another participant, this should be formatted as follows (compare the adjacent example from Ps 91):
  • The quoted speaker should be written within "quotation marks" and to the right side of the column.
  • The background shade of the quoted speaker box should remain the same as the shade of the main speaker.
  • However, the actual text boxes to the right of the speaker column should be shaded according to the color of the speaker.
  • As you can see in the adjacent example from Ps 118:15-16, the Leader is the main speaker, but he is quoting the "Righteous." Therefore the background shade of the speaker column remains yellow, the color of the leader, but the text boxes are shaded orange, the color of "the righteous."
  • Embedded speech should correspond to quotation marks in the English CBC text itself.

2.3. Subject/Predicative Participants

Guardians will now work through the text itself in great detail and track (as far as possible) the referent of every single participant mention. Mentions include anything that refers to a participant, including, for example, proper names, titles, nouns, suffixes (of all kinds), pronouns (of all kinds), and the subject of verbs.

• Bold and highlight each mention according to the highlight-colour of the participant.
  • Ensure that the same participant is listed with the same highlight color in the participant sets list to the left of the table.
  • For verbs, highlight the whole verb (including waw if part of the verbal form, but not including any suffixes, which will have a different color) according to the participant-color of the subject.
• Prepositions: For suffixes on prepositions (e.g. לִי, לָנוּ), only highlight and bold the suffix.
• If formatting variations in highlight colors becomes a time-consuming problem, contact the overseer.
• All highlights in the Hebrew text should be highlighted and bolded identically in the corresponding English text.

2.4. Notes on Ambiguities

As guardians work through their psalm, they will often come across ambiguities, both in identifying and in tracking participants. Identification issues relate to determining who are the participants of a given psalm. An example would be if the psalm is spoken in first person, but the speaker is never introduced explicitly. Tracking issues relate to correctly identifying the participant reference of a given mention. Most often these occur when there are unexplained PGN shifts (Person-Gender-Number) in the text. In Ps 118:19-29, for example, there are constant PGN shifts, without any explicit participant reference, and it is very difficult to track which participant is speaking, and to whom, at any given point.

All ambiguities should be noted, explained, and resolved as best as possible. Create a section of notes to the right of the text table for each ambiguity. These notes will be included on the wiki alongside the text-table visual, so they should be clear and concise. Format these notes as follows:

Participant Tracking Note (Example - Ps 118:1-4)

• Title the note with the verse reference and the possible participants, highlighted according to their highlight color. Compare the following example from Ps 118:1-4.
• Below the title include bullet-point explanations explaining the case for each interpretation and your preferred reading.
• Try to be as concise as possible, but these notes can be as long or short as the guardian deems necessary.
• For longer, more complex, or more important cases, an exegetical issue page may need to be created. See the following examples:
  • Identification Issues:
    • The Identity of "Those Who Fear YHWH" in Ps. 118:4
    • The Identity of the Person in Psalm 112
    • The Identity of the Daughter of Tyre in Ps. 45:13
    • The Identity of the Person in Ps. 1:1
  • Tracking Issues:
    • The Subject(s) in Ps. 110:5-7
    • The Grammar and Participants of Ps. 91:2
    • The Referent of God (Elohim) in Ps. 45:7
    • Grammar, Participants, and Meaning of Psalm 14:4
    • Who Are the Subjects in Psalm 7:13–14?

Note Title (Including Hebrew Text)

• Sometimes it will be helpful to include in the title the Hebrew text under discussion. These should be formatted as in the adjacent example from Ps 118:4:

2.5. Specific Issues in Analysis

As the Layer by Layer project continues, specific re-occurring issues arise and are resolved. Best practice for these issues is documented here.

2.5.1. YHWH's Name/etc. - A Participant or Not?

Throughout the Psalter, there are many references to YHWH's "name" (שֵׁם; also "arm," "hand," etc.). It is not always clear if this should be treated as a participant or not. Our current position is to treat YHWH's name as a participant only when agency is involved (see Definition of a 'Participant' in Introduction above). In other words, is YHWH's name 'doing something' in the psalm or just referenced as an inanimate non-active referent?

To illustrate, compare the following two examples:

Ps. 118:15-16 Ps. 111:9

In Ps. 118, agency is ascribed to YHWH's hand, in this case functioning as the grammatical subject of the verbs. YHWH's hand then has a participant-like literary function in the psalm. In contrast, in Ps. 111 YHWH's name simply receives a description of being "holy and awesome", without becoming a personified agent of any actions. It is therefore not highlighted as a participant.

2.5.2. Non-Agentive Participants

Ps. 133 Participant Profile Notes

Although the key feature defining a participant is agency (see Definition of a 'Participant' in Introduction above), in certain cases exegetes may choose to include non-agentive referents as participants, especially when certain referents play a significant role in the psalm. In such cases this should be noted in the participant profile notes (see §3.1. below) including a justification for their inclusion. Consider the example of Oil and Dew in Ps. 133:

2.5.3. Vocatives

Our experience so far indicates that the role of vocatives is best handled at macrosyntax, so they need no additional marking here. They should still be highlighted like other referential words.

2.5.4. Apposition

If the Guardian considers the nouns in an appositional relationship to be a participant mention, the nouns should be highlighted the same color, as both refer to the same entity. How the nouns are represented in the sets list depends on their semantic relationship within the appositional phrase. E.g., for the appositional noun phrases within Ps 7:2 — יְהוָה "YHWH" and אֱלֹהַי "my God" — "YHWH" would be listed as the head/first member of its respective set and "my God" listed in quotes below as an appellation.

2.5.5. Negated verbs

Highlight negators in verb phrases along with the verb itself.

2.5.6. Participial phrases

Treat participial phrases as any other: the participle is highlighted according to its inflection, but complements and objects are not.

2.5.7. Infinitival phrases

Although infinitival phrases are not encoded for PGN, they are to be highlighted according to their presumed subject.

2.5.8. Superscriptions

Only highlight participants within the superscription if they appear elsewhere in the body of the psalm; in other words, reserve highlighting in the superscription for those participants who play a unique relational role in the psalm, not those that only appear in the superscription and thus have little to no role in the body of the psalm.

Regarding formatting, leave the superscription row unshaded (white) and include "(Superscription)" within the speaker box. See the example from Ps. 53:1 below:

3. Synthesis

3.1. Participant Profile Notes

Next to the Participant Sets list, it will often be helpful to add brief introductions or explanations to the participants of the psalm. Perhaps it is not a participant users will be familiar with. Perhaps some brief historical background explanation is helpful. Notes are not required for every participant. See, for example, the participant profile notes for Ps 118:

3.2. Summary Visual (Relations Diagram)

Based on the participant relationships identified in the text table, create a visual summary that represents the most essential relationships between the main participants of the psalm. The visual summary can be done either using a triangle format, as in the example below from Ps. 111, or using a diamond format, as in the example below from Ps. 21.

Note: If there is no participant relationship in the psalm, omit the connecting arrow altogether.

3.3. Summary Distribution Visual

1. Create a table with a column for verse number and each participant. Using the participant colors, color every verse in which the participant occurs (whether lexically or through verbal inflection).
2. Merge adjacent cells in which the participant occurs with continuity of person.
3. Include the person and number within each colored cell.

See the example for Psalm 28:

Lastly, use rectangles to suggest possible sections, based on participant distribution. (This is intended to become a reference at Poetic Structure where participants might play a role in the structure. As always, we will be looking for the convergence of multiple layers that all argue for a given structure.)

3.4. Mini-Story

Write a summary of these participant relationships in just one or two sentences. Focus on the key relationships between participants and events affecting those relationships. The mini-story need not follow the psalm’s order of presentation. Use plain English (avoid figurative language that is not itself found in the psalm) and bold and highlight the participants with the appropriate colors. Adjust text color to coordinate with participants. Consider the following example from Ps. 21:

Help

Good Examples

As questions arise while working through this layer, please reference the following completed psalms:

• Psalm 19
• Psalm 91
• Psalm 111
• Psalm 118

Common Mistakes

• Make sure to highlight verbs according to the participant-color of the subject, not the presumed agent(s) (e.g., passives) or referent(s) (e.g., imperatives).
• Pay special attention to "Specific Issues in Analysis" (CG 2.5), particularly:
  • When (not) to highlight YHWH's name (שֵׁם) and the body parts of participants (e.g., יָד, נֶ֫פֶשׁ, רֶ֫גֶל , etc.) (2.5.1).
  • Do not shade the superscription box; instead, leave it unshaded (white) and set off from the remainder of the psalm (2.5.6).
• Once the text table analysis is completed, make sure highlighted words or phrases in the Hebrew column are also highlighted in the CBC column.
• Make sure to include participant profile notes (CG 3.1) for (1) participants who play a unique relational role in the psalm and (2) uncommon or unfamiliar participants (e.g., priestly gatekeepers [Ps. 118]).

Additional Resources

De Regt, Lénart J. 1999. Participants in Old Testament Texts and the Translator: Reference Devices and Their Rhetorical Impact. Studia Semitica Neerlandica 39. Assen: Van Gorcum.

———. 2013. “Participant Reference in Discourse: Biblical Hebrew.” In , Vol. 3 P-Z, 30.

———. 2019a. Linguistic Coherence in Biblical Hebrew Texts: Arrangement of Information, Participant Reference Devices, Verb Forms, and Their Contribution to Textual Segmentation and Coherence. Revised and Extended edition. Perspectives on Hebrew Scriptures and Its Contexts 28. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press.

———. 2019b. “Participant Tracking in Biblical Hebrew and Obligatory Explicitation of Anaphors in Translation: ‘Theoretical Approaches to Anaphora and Pronouns in Biblical Hebrew’: Papers Forming Part of the 2017 SBL Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew Seminar (Boston, USA).” Journal for Semitics 28 (2).

———. n.d. “Participant Reference in Some Biblical Hebrew Texts.” Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society “Ex Oriente Lux” 32:150–72.

Dooley, Robert A., and Stephen H. Levinsohn. 2001. Analyzing Discourse: A Manual of Basic Concepts. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Especially Chapter 17: "Strategies of Reference." (Open Access)

Erwich, Christiaan M. 2021. “Who Is Who in the Psalms?: Coreference Resolution as Exegetical Tool for Participant Analysis in Biblical Texts.” Dissertation, [The Netherlands]: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. (Open Access)

Højgaard, Christian Canu. 2024. Roles and Relations in Biblical Law: A Study of Participant Tracking, Semantic Roles, and Social Networks in Leviticus 17-26. Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers. (Open Access)

Jacobson, Rolf A. 2004. Many Are Saying: The Function of Direct Discourse in the Hebrew Psalter. London: T & T Clark International. (Perlego)

Rubric

Dimension	Description
Completeness	The page includes every element required by the creator guidelines. Analysis Tasks: Completed Participant Sets List (§2.1) Completed Text Table (§2.2-3) Completed Notes Section (§2.4) Synthesis Tasks: Completed Participant Profile Notes (§3.1) Completed Summary Visual (Relations Diagram) (§3.2) Completed Summary Distribution Visual (§3.3) Completed Mini-story (§3.4)
Quality of Analysis	In the case of difficulties and alternatives, each view is thoroughly explained and defended with a note. Preferred views are well grounded in evidence.
Engagement with secondary literature	Effort was made to consult commentaries, articles and other reference sources ambiguities in participant reference. Notes are well-researched and citations are properly documented.
Clarity of language	Prose (within notes) is clear and concise. Language is not too technical so as to be inaccessible to Sarah. If a technical concept is unavoidable, it must be clearly explained.
Formatting/Style	All tables and visuals are formatted exactly according to the creator guidelines. All sources are properly cited (Author Date, Page). Notes are free of typos.

Submitting your draft

Copy the text below into your forum submission post, entitled Participant Analysis - Psalm ###. After posting, change your post into a wiki post so the reviewers can check the boxes. To change your forum post into a wiki post, click on the three dot menu at the end of the text.

Click on the wrench.

Select "make wiki."

[Participant Analysis Layer Rubric](https://psalms.scriptura.org/w/Participant_Analysis#Rubric)

|Guardian Review|Overseer Review|Final Checks|Description|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|||| **Completeness**
|[ ]||| The page includes every element required by the creator guidelines.
|||| *Analysis Tasks*
|[ ]||| Completed Text Table (§2.1-2)
|[ ]||| Completed Participant Sets List (§2.3)
|[ ]||| Completed Notes Section (§2.4)
|||| *Synthesis Tasks*
|[ ]||| Completed Participant Profile Notes (§3.1)
|[ ]||| Completed Summary Visual (Relations Diagram) (§3.2)
|[ ]||| Completed Summary Distribution Visual (§3.3)
|[ ]||| Completed Mini-story (§3.4)
|||| **Quality of Analysis**| 
|[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| In the case of difficulties and alternatives, each view is thoroughly explained and defended with a note.
|[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| Preferred views are well grounded in evidence.
|||| **Engagement with secondary literature**
|[ ]|[ ]|| Effort was made to consult commentaries, articles and other reference sources ambiguities in participant reference.
|[ ]|[ ]|| Notes are well-researched and citations are properly documented.
|||| **Clarity of language** 
|[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| Prose (within notes) is clear and concise.
|[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| Language is not too technical so as to be inaccessible to [Sarah](https://psalms.scriptura.org/w/Personas). If a technical concept is unavoidable, it must be clearly explained.
|||| **Formatting/Style** 
|[ ]|[ ]|| All tables and visuals are formatted exactly according to the creator guidelines.
|[ ]||| All sources are properly cited (Author Date, Page).
|[ ]||| Notes are free of typos.