Property: Structure
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
This is a property of type Text.
P
"The psalm’s final adverbial noun רָֽגַע ('[in a] moment') contrasts markedly and thematically with close of stanza A: עַד־מָתָֽי ('how long').'"`UNIQ--ref-00000D1B-QINU`"' +, "Reference to 'all my enemies' (כָּל־אֹיְבָ֑י) in v.11a forms a stanza-bounding inclusio with 'all workers of iniquity' (כָּל־פֹּ֣עֲלֵי אָ֑וֶן) in 9a and a parallel structural 'closure' with 'all my adversaries' (כָל־צוֹרְרָֽי)."'"`UNIQ--ref-00000D1C-QINU`"' +
Repetition of the tetragrammaton is dense in this psalm; Yahweh's name is used 8 times. This repetition is confined largely to the outer sections. In the middle of the psalm, as the Psalmist is on the brink of Sheol, the place where Yahweh is neither remembered nor praised (v.6ab), the divine name is no where to be found. The absence of the divine name in vv.6-8 underscores the despair of these sections, whereas the dense recursion of the name in sections 1 and 4 underlines the feelings of desperation and confidence respectively. +, "The divine vocative that opens this psalm is an early indication of its urgency and intensity."'"`UNIQ--ref-00000D13-QINU`"' +
"The initial cluster of three parallel ''qatals'' (1b-d) is followed by a verbless line (2a) and a line with ''yiqtol'' (2b); the changes from verbal to nonverbal and then to a different conjugation parallel the change in content, which moves from what does not characterize the happy man (1a-d) to what does (2a-b)."<ref>Frederic Putnam, “Working with Biblical Hebrew Poetry,” in ''Basics of Hebrew Discourse,'' edited by Miles van Pelt (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2019), 184-185.</ref> +, (see above cell) +, "The only non-finite predicate in the poem is the participle יוֹדֵעַ (v. 6a). Since the six verbal predicates in lines 3b-6a are ''yiqtols'', it seems highly probably that the poet used a participle here... to mark the shift from the description of the wicked to the summary statement that closes the poem and maintains the "righteous...wicked" pattern of the body of the poem (6a-b)."<ref>Frederic Putnam, “Working with Biblical Hebrew Poetry,” in ''Basics of Hebrew Discourse,'' edited by Miles van Pelt (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2019), 184-185.</ref> +
gives cohesion to bicola/tricola (vv.6, 7, 16) and the final strophe (vv.20-21); gives cohesion to vv.6-7; creates suspense in v.13, where the referent of אותם (v.13a) is not revealed until the next line (v.13b) +, gives cohesion to bicola, occurring each time in the b-line with "Yahweh" as the antecedent in the a-line +, ''Inclusio'', gives cohesion to vv.2-11 +, …
A significant proportion of the phonological recursion in Ps. 5 (e.g., בְּרֹב, בָךְ, קֶבֶר/קִרְבָּם, קוֹל) happens to include sounds related to בֹּקֶר (v.4ab). This feature highlights the thematic significance of בֹּקֶר, which is emphatically repeated in fronted position in v.4ab. It also gives cohesion to the psalm as a whole. +, gives cohesion to v.7ab +, gives cohesion to vv.9ab +
Gives cohesion to first and fourth sections; suggests structural correspondence between these sections +, Anadiplosis. Strengthens the contrastive correspondence between the first and second sections. +, Is the cluster in v.6 meant to foreground the first-person suffix and thereby emphasize Yahweh's role in the events described? Or is it purely euphonic? +
Aperture/Anaphora (vv.2a, 8a, 12a, 14a, 20a); Inclusion (vv.8a, 11b); Anadiplosis (vv.11-12) +
Cohesion. +
Creates a measure of continuity at the boundary of the final two sections +
The infrequency of ל and the frequency of ר in the fourth section (vv.10-12) set off this section from the rest of the psalm, thus giving cohesion and creating discontinuity. +, On a microstructural level, the feature reinforces parallelisms that form bicola (vv.5ab, 7ab, 10ab). +, On a microstructural level, this feature forms bicola (v.5, 9) and possibly a tetracolon (v.12abcd). On a macrostructural level, the infrequency of מ and the frequency of ב in the fourth section (vv.10-12) set off this section from the rest of the psalm. +, …
Volitives bookend the first two sections (vv.2-6) and predominate in the following two sections (vv.7-10) as the psalmist calls on Yahweh to bring judgment. The verbs in vv. 11-17 are modally indicative. +, Gives cohesion and prominence to vv.7-9 +, chiasm (vv.13-14): '''a''' ''yiqtol'' '''b''' ''qatal'' '''b''' ''qatal'' '''a''' ''yiqtol''; following the chiasm, there is an alternation of form in vv.15-17: ''yiqtol'' (v.15), ''qatal'' (v.16), ''yiqtol'' (v.17) +, …