Psalm 1/Nouns

Nouns

Number

Definition Feature being studied	Occurrences Sections where this feature is present or absent	Clustering	Intersection	Connections	Structure
plural	אַשְׁרֵי (v.1a), רְשָׁעִים (v.1b), חַטָּאִים (v.1c), לֵצִים (v.1d), פַּלְגֵי (v.3a), מַיִם (v.3a) הָרְשָׁעִים (v.4a), רְשָׁעִים (v.5a), וְחַטָּאִים (v.5b), צַדִּיקִים (v.5b), צַדִּיקִים (v.6a), רְשָׁעִים (v.6b). Nearly all of the plural nouns refer to classes of people (e.g. רְשָׁעִים, צַדִּיקִים).	v.1 (4x); vv. 5-6 (x5); almost absent in vv.2-3.	beginning and ending of psalm; beginning (v.1) of first section (vv.1-3); beginning (v.4) of second section (vv.4-5), final section (v.6)	vv.5-6 connected to v.1	Plurals within the first line of each section (anaphora). The lack of plural nouns in v.2 indicates a measure of discontinuity with v.1.
singular	הָאִישׁ (v.1a), בַּעֲצַת (v.1b), וּבְדֶרֶךְ (v.1c), וּבְמוֹשַׁב (v.1d), בְּתוֹרַת (v.2a), חֶפְצוֹ (v.2a), וּֽבְתוֹרָתוֹ (v.2b), יוֹמָם (subst. as adv. v.2b), וָלָיְלָה (v.2b), כְּעֵץ (v.3a), פִּרְיוֹ (v.3b), בְּעִתּוֹ (v.3b), וְעָלֵהוּ (v.3c), וְכֹל (v.3d), כַּמֹּץ (v.4b), רוּחַ (v.4b), בַּמִּשְׁפָּט (v.5a), בַּעֲדַת (v.5b), דֶּ֣רֶךְ (v.6a), וְדֶרֶךְ (v.6b)	Mostly in the first section of the Psalm (vv.1-3), where הָאִישׁ (sg.) is the topic.			הָאִישׁ (singular), the topic of the first section, is contrasted with the wicked (plural), which are the topic of the second section.

See the table below on noun morphology.
This feature is considered relevant for this psalm.,

Gender

Definition Feature being studied	Occurrences Sections where this feature is present or absent	Clustering	Intersection	Connections	Structure
masculine	אַשְׁרֵי (v.1a), הָאִישׁ (v.1a), רְשָׁעִים (v.1b), וּבְדֶרֶךְ (v.1c?), חַטָּאִים (v.1c), וּבְמוֹשַׁב (v.1d), לֵצִים (v.1d), חֶפְצוֹ (v.2a), וָלָיְלָה (v.2b), כְּעֵץ (v.3a), פַּלְגֵי (v.3a), מָיִם (v.3a), פִּרְיוֹ (v.3b), וְעָלֵהוּ (v.3c), וְכֹל (v.3d), הָרְשָׁעִים (v.4a), כַּמֹּץ (v.4b), רְשָׁעִים (v.5a), בַּמִּשְׁפָּט (v.5a), וְחַטָּאִים (v.5b), צַדִּיקִים (v.5b), דֶּ֣רֶךְ (v.6a?), צַדִּיקִים (v.6b), רְשָׁעִים (v.6b)
feminine	בַּעֲצַת (v.1b), וּבְדֶרֶךְ (v.1c), בְּתוֹרַת (v.2a), וּֽבְתוֹרָתוֹ (v.2b), בְּעִתּוֹ (v.3b), רוּחַ (v.4b), בַּעֲדַת (v.5b), דֶּ֣רֶךְ (v.6a), וְדֶרֶךְ (v.6b)	distributed rather evenly throughout the psalm		There is a clear connection between בַּעֲצַת(v.1b) and בַּעֲדַת (v.5b). Morphologically, both nouns are feminine, singular, construct nouns from a I-yôd root (יעץ/יעד). Phonologically, they sound very much like (see above on Phonology).	The connection between בַּעֲצַת(v.1b) and בַּעֲדַת (v.5b) suggests a correspondence between these lines.

See the table below on noun morphology.

• The morphological gender of דרך is masculine, but the syntactic gender of דרך in v.1c and v.6a is impossible to determine. In v.6b, the syntactic gender of דרך is feminine.

This feature is considered relevant for this psalm.,

Definiteness

See the table below on noun morphology.

• v. 1. It may be significant that there is no definite article with the three construct nouns, i.e. ‘who has not walked in a piece of advice of wicked people…in a path of sinners…in a seat of scoffers.’

• v. 5. Despite the fact that there is no article on any of the plural nouns that refer to people, it still refers to the class, which might require the article in some languages to express (including English). This is quite common in BH.

• v. 5a. The definite article on מִשׁפָּט indicates a specific judgment in the mind of the speaker. This may refer either a temporal-historical judgment, which the author anticipates, or to the final eschatological judgment. Periodically during the OT period, God would come in judgment, removing the wicked from the scene, while preserving a godly remnant (see Gen. 6-9; Ps. 37; Hab. 3). The LXX’s addition of “from the face of the earth” at the end of the preceding colon would also suggest a climactic eschatological judgment.

• v. 6. Hebrew often omits the definite article for definite things (see verse 5).

This feature is considered relevant for this psalm.,

Pronominal suffixes

Noun Morphology

Verse	Noun	Gender	Number	"Declension"	Suffix	Definiteness	Root
1a	אַשְׁרֵי	m	p	cst.		*	אשׁר
1a	הָאִישׁ	m	s	abs.		*(h)	אישׁ
1b	בַּעֲצַת	f	s	cst.			יעץ
1b	רְשָׁעִים	m	p	abs.			רשׁע
1c	וּבְדֶרֶך	m / f	s	cst.			דרך
1c	חַטָּאִים	m	p	abs.			חטא
1d	וּבְמוֹשַׁב	m	s	cst.			ישׁב
1d	לֵצִים (ptc)	m	p	abs.			ליץ
2a	בְּתוֹרַת	f	s	cst.		*	ירה
2a	יְהוָה			abs.		*
2a	חֶפְצוֹ	m	s	abs.	3ms	*	חפץ
2b	וּבְתוֹרָתוֹ	f	s	abs.	3ms	*	ירה
2b	וָלָיְלָה	m	s	abs. (adv.)
3a	כְּעֵץ	m	s	abs.			עצה
3a	פַּלְגֵי	m	p	cst.			פלג
3a	מָיִם	m	d	abs.			מי
3b	פִּרְיוֹ	m	s		3ms	*	פרה
3b	בְּעִתּוֹ	f	s	abs.	3ms	*	ענה
3c	וְעָלֵהוּ	m	s	abs	3ms	*	עלה
3d	וְכֹל	m	s	abs.			כלל
4a	הָרְשָׁעִים	m	p	abs.		*(h)	רשׁע
4b	כַּמֹּץ	m	s	abs.		*	מוֹץ
4b	רוּחַ	f	s	abs.			רוּח
5a	רְשָׁעִים	m	p	abs.			רשׁע
5a	בַּמִּשְׁפָּט	m	s	abs.		*	שׁפט
5b	וְחַטָּאִים	m	p	abs.			חטא
5b	בַּעֲדַת	f	s	cst.			יעד
5b	צַדִּיקִים	m	p	abs.			צדק
6a	יְהוָה			abs.		*
6a	דֶּ֣רֶךְ	m / f	s	cst.			דרך
6a	צַדִּיקִים	m	p	abs.			צדק
6b	וְדֶרֶךְ	f	s	cst.			דרך
6b	רְשָׁעִים	m	p	abs.			רשׁע

,

Addressee change

See tablebelow.

No second-person forms or vocatives. The topic shifts:

• blessed one (subject)
• wicked one (patient)
• closing
  • wicked (subject w/ negative verb)
  • righteous (object, known by God)
  • wicked (effective subject)

This feature is considered relevant for this psalm.,

Speaker change

Third person throughout. See table below.
This feature is considered relevant for this psalm.,

Subject change

Subjects
The subjects are:

• the blessed man > the tree that represents him
• the wicked > the wind that blows away chaff representing them > wicked/sinners
• the LORD
• way of the wicked

(The last two form one couplet, whereas the first two each form, separately, multiple cola.)

Semantic Roles
(Righteous as agent / positive undergoer)

1. The blessed (righteous) avoids the wicked's ways.
2. The righteous seeks the Torah of the LORD.
3. He will prosper like a tree.

(Wicked as patient & wind as agent)

1. The wicked are like chaff
2. Which the wind blows away

(The LORD as experiencer > implied agent / way of the wicked as undergoer)

1. The wicked will not withstand judgment, nor sinners the assembly of the righteous
2. The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked perishes

There is a shift from agency (especially active, deliberate choices of the righteous) to the passivity of the wicked, who only receives his due. The only time the wicked are a subject is denying their ability to survive judgment.

>> The Lord has an implicit role, which may set up the book of Psalms: his agency does need to be explicit in order to be present. He is the source of the Torah which leads to good choices, and he is the one overseeing and thus ensuring the results. The wicked doesn't need to do anything additional to receive the punishment for his wickedness: it comes as a natural result to his prior choices to become wicked.

Ref.	Speaker	Addressee	Person	Subject/Agent
1a	Psalmist		3	הָאִישׁ
1b	Psalmist		3	הָאִישׁ
1c	Psalmist		3	הָאִישׁ
1d	Psalmist		3	הָאִישׁ
2a	Psalmist		3	חֶפְצוֹ
2b	Psalmist		3	הָאִישׁ
3a	Psalmist		3	הָאִישׁ
3b	Psalmist		3	עֵץ = הָאִישׁ
3c	Psalmist		3	עֵץ = הָאִישׁ
3d	Psalmist		3	עֵץ = הָאִישׁ
4a	Psalmist		3	הָרְשָׁעִים
4b	Psalmist		3	הָרְשָׁעִים/רוּחַ
5a	Psalmist		3	רְשָׁעִים
5b	Psalmist		3	חַטָּאִים
6a	Psalmist		3	יהוה
6b	Psalmist		3	דֶּרֶךְ רְשָׁעִים

• v.3d. This colon is probably the biggest translation problem in this Psalm. The subject of יעשה might be 1. the man or 2. the tree, and that of יצליח might be a. “what the man/tree does”, b. the man /tree or c. God.”

1a. everything the man does is successful (NIV, Darby, Douay-Rheims, RV, KJV; most French, German and Russian translations)

1b. everything the man does, he makes succeed

1c. everything the man does, God makes succeed

1d. (in) everything the man does, he prospers (most English translations!)

2a. everything the tree produces flourishes (NJPS, or perhaps “every bud the tree produces, turns into fruit”?)

2b. everything the tree produces, the tree makes successful

2c. everything the tree produces, God makes flourish

• Who or what is the subject of יַעֲשֶׂה (v.3d)?

“Some think that a tree is the subject of this last line (see American Translation [AT] ‘and whatever it bears comes to maturity’; see also NJV). But most commentaries and translations take the righteous person to be the subject; so TEV ‘they succeed.’”

“It is only with וכל, where the language becomes unemblematic, that the man who loves the Law of God again becomes the direct subject. The accentuation treats this member of the verse as the third member of the relative clause; one may, however, say of a thriving plant צלח, but not הצליח. This Hiph. (from צלח, Arab. tslh, to divide, press forward, press through, vid., Psalms 45:5) signifies both causative: to cause anything to go through, or prosper (Genesis 34:23), and transitive: to carry through, and intransitive: to succeed, prosper (Judges 18:5). With the first meaning, Jahve would be the subject; with the third, the project of the righteous; with the middle one, the righteous man himself. This last is the most natural: everything he takes in hand he brings to a successful issue (an expression like 2 Chronicles 7:11; 2 Chronicles 31:21; Daniel 8:24).”

“From the point of view of the semantic content, it cannot be said that D follows on as a third parallel line from B and C. The colon does not concern part of the tree but rather, like line A, is a statement of a more general nature. Moreover, the clause contains no proforms (such as ‘its’ in lines B and C) referring back to the tree, and grammatically it is not contained within the relative clause in which lines B and C are situated. Line D, therefore, evidently stands independently of the preceding two lines. The subject of its first verb, יעשׂה, is 3rd person masculine singular which is best taken as agreeing with והיה at the beginning of the A-line (as, for example, in NIV NASB REB). The subject of והיה, ‘he’, refers to the man who delights in and meditates on God’s law (v.2). The man who esteems the divine law in this way will also prosper in everything he does.”

“The syntax is ambivalent, and the line could refer to the tree. But the line is best taken as referring to the righteous man and as concluding the first section (vv.1-3).”

“The closing colon of the stanza [v.3d] introduces a degree of ambiguity. It states, it prospers in everything. The subject of the phrase is ambiguous; it could either be the tree of v. 3 or the righteous one of v. 1. If it is the tree, then the point is that in all weather conditions the tree flourished. If it is the human, then the point is that the environment created by the wicked cannot extinguish the righteous. Like heat applied to a chemical reaction, this ambiguity serves to help the tenor and the vehicle of the simile (the righteous one and the vibrant tree, respectively) marry. The one who studies God’s instruction is the tree transplanted near water.”

"There is poetic play as well in the ambiguity of the subject of the verb עשׂה which can mean 'produce' or 'do,' as medieval Jewish commentators regularly noticed. In light of the arboreal imagery, one should first take the verb to refer to the plant (Cf. עשה used of plants in Gen 1:11-12; Isa 5:2,4,10; 37:31 [= 2 Kgs 19:30]; Jer 12:2; 17:8; Hos 8:7; 9:17). Ezekiel 17:8-10 is an especially pertinent parallel, for it speaks of a vine planted (שתל) by abundant waters to be productive (עשה), a plant that is expected to flourish (צלח). Understanding the well-rooted plant to be the subject, therefore, one might translate the subject with the English neuter: “whatever it produces thrives” (NJPS). This is the interpretation of the Targums and was followed by Radaq. At the same time, as Ibn Ezra and others prefer, the subject may be the commendable person who delights in Yhwh's תורה and, like Joshua, engages it 'day and night.' Hence the subject of עשה is not only the plant ('it') but also the commendable one ('he'): 'whatever he does prospers' (NIV; similarly KJV, NRSV). Diodore of Tarsus is perceptive in his interpretation, for he recognizes that the poet is moving from the figure (the tree) to its referent (the person). Ambiguity is a tool of the poet at this point, and it is particularly shrewdly employed, for the commendable person and the tree become one and the same."

• Who or what is the subject of יַצְלִיחַ (v.3d)?

"Furthermore, just as the subject of עשה is not exclusive, so also the subject of is not exclusive. It may refer to all that the tree produces—its fruit (v. 3a) and צלח foliage (v. 3b) will be abundant: “all that it produces will flourish” (so Jerome; similarly Augustine, Hilary of Foitiers, Cassiodorus). It may refer to all that the commendable person does: “all that he does will succeed” or he will bring all he does to a successful conclusion (so Midr. Teh. 1:12,13; Peshitta; Diodore ofTarsus; Aquinas; NJB: “every project succeeds”), an interpretation that is compelling in light of the intertextuality with Josh 1:7-8. It may also refer to God, as Erasmus implies: “Whatever they do, they have God as their guide.... How could anyhing undertaken with Gods guidance fail to prosper?” So one may translate, “All that he does. He will prosper.” Indeed, the hiphil of the verb, which may be transitive, intransitive, or causative, allows a surfeit of meaning here, altogether performing the flourishing that is conveyed. The promise of flourishing is being played out in the abundance of lines and in the polyvalence of the text."

See the related discussion Verb stem types (binyanim)

This feature is considered relevant for this psalm.