Psalm 1 Academics
Happy is the one
Psalm 1
Academic Resources
Explore our academic Psalms resources for Psalm 1, including our Layer-by-Layer analysis, select Exegetical Issues, and Overview Videos.
Overview 
- This page will introduce and provide orientation to Psalm 1 as a whole. It covers the message, structure, background and participants of the psalm.
Layer-by-Layer Analysis 
- The heart of our process is our layer-by-layer exegetical analysis, where we unfold the semantics, story behind, discourse, and poetics of each psalm.
Grammar & Semantics
Semantics is the study of how language is used to represent meaning. The goal of semantic analysis is to understand the meaning of words and how they relate to each other in context. Our Semantics analysis consists of the following sub-layers:
- Grammar & Textual Criticism
- Lexical Semantics
- Phrase-Level Semantics
- Verbal Semantics
Story Behind
The Story Behind the Psalm shows how each part of the psalm fits together into a single coherent whole. Here, we analyze the meaning of sentences and larger units of discourse, up to and including the entire psalm. This also include historical background and figurative imagery.
Discourse
Our Discourse Layer moves beyond semantic-level meaning, and analyzes features of the text dependent on the speaker, addressee, and macrosyntax.
Poetics
Exploring the Psalms as poetry is crucial for understanding and experiencing the psalms and thus for faithfully translating them into another language.
Verse-by-Verse Notes 
- Explore the psalm verse-by-verse and section-by-section.
Psalm 1 Exegetical Issues 
- These issues examine the top three tough questions for each psalm, explaining different scholarly interpretations, and offering our perspective.
- The first phrase of Ps 1:1 (אַשְׁרֵי הָאִישׁ) has been translated in a variety of ways. The translation of this phrase depends, in part, on how one understands the identity of the person (הָאִישׁ) described in Psalm 1:1–3. Is this person a specific individual, perhaps a royal figure? Or, is this person merely a typical righteous person, representative of anyone who rejects wickedness and meditates on Torah? This issue not only affects how one translates הָאִישׁ in v. 1, it also affects how one understands the entire psalm.
- The final line of Ps 1:3 (וְכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁר־יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה יַצְלִֽיחַ׃) is difficult to interpret, and translations reflect several different interpretations. The differences in translation reflect two distinct issues in this line: (1) the syntactic function of the phrase כֹל אֲשֶׁר־יַעֲשֶׂה, and (2) the subject of the verbs (יַעֲשֶׂה and יַצְלִיחַ).
- There are various interpretations of the phrase "in [the] judgment" (בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֑ט) in v. 5a. It is not clear whether the word "judgment" (מִשְׁפָּט) here refers to human judgment (i.e., the local Israelite institution of deciding cases at the city gate) or to divine judgment (so GNT). And if it refers to divine judgment, it is not clear whether it refers specifically to the final, eschatological judgment (so NJB) or to the judgment that YHWH periodically visits upon people (so perhaps NEB).
