Psalm 109 Semantics

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About the Semantics Layer

Semantics is the study of how language is used to represent meaning. The goal of semantic analysis for interpreting and translating the Bible is to understand the meaning of words and how they relate to each other in context. We want to understand what is implicit about word meaning – and thus assumed by the original audience – and make it explicit – and thus clear for us who are removed by time, language, and culture. The semantics layer is composed of three major branches: lexical semantics, phrase-level semantics and verbal semantics. (Click 'Expand' to the right for more information.)

About Lexical Semantics

One major branch of semantic study is lexical semantics, which refers to the study of word meanings. It examines semantic range (=possible meanings of a word), the relationship between words (e.g. synonymy, hyponymy), as well as the relationship between words and larger concepts (conceptual domains). One component of our approach involves not only the study of the Hebrew word meaning, but also of our own assumptions about word meaning in modern languages. Because the researcher necessarily starts with their own cultural assumptions (in our case, those of Western-trained scholars), this part of the analysis should be done afresh for every culture.

For a detailed description of our method, see the Lexical Semantics Creator Guidelines.

About Phrase-level Semantics

The Phrase-level Semantics layer analyses the meaning of syntactic units which are larger than the level of the word and smaller than the level of the clause. Specifically, this layer analyses the meaning of prepositional phrases (e.g., לְאִישׁ), construct phrases (e.g., אִישׁ אֱלֹהִים), phrases formed by a coordinating waw conjunction (e.g., אִישׁ וְאִשָּׁה) and noun phrases which consist of a noun plus a determiner (e.g., הָאִישׁ) or a quantifier (e.g., כֹּל אִישׁ).

For a detailed description of our method, see the Phrase-level Semantics Creator Guidelines.

About Verbal Semantics

This sub-layer focuses on the relationship between verbs, time and modality. These are important categories for interpretation and translation, and how one analyses a verb can have a significant effect on how it is rendered. This sub-layer has been through several iterations, as it strives to accomplish two things: (1) Transparency for the native Hebrew structures, and (2) Transparency for the interpretation necessary to translate the verbal semantics into other languages.

For a detailed description of our method, see the Verbal Semantics Creator Guidelines.

Semantics Visuals for Psalm 109

Lexical and Phrase-level Semantics Diagram

For legend, click "Expand" to the right

	Prepositional phrase	Construct chain	Construct chain within a prepositional phrase	Phrase-level waw	Article and כֹּל
Diagram Shading
Definition	- A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition plus its object. The phrase usually modifies the clause or another constituent in the clause.	- A construct chain, also called a 'genitive phrase', is a grammatical encoding of the relationship 'A of B,' in which A is a phonologically modified noun (in the construct state), and B is a phonologically unmodified noun (the absolute state).	- Some construct chains occur within prepositional phrases	- A waw conjunction can join units of all sizes. Phrase level waw join units at the word or phrase level (i.e., below the level of the clause).	- Definite articles tell you something about the identifiability or inclusiveness about the word it is attached to - כֹּל is a quantifier that tells you about the scope of a word it is attached to

• See our growing collection of Venn Diagrams, not only for Psalm 109, but for all of the psalms.
• See SDBH on Psalm 109.

v. 1

• The psalmist begins by addressing YHWH as the God whom I praise (אֱלֹהֵי תְהִלָּתִי) (so NIV, NLT, and NET), or, as Jerome translated the phrase, "God who is worthy of my praise." By alluding to his own "praise," the psalmist is saying, in effect, "I have not been silent towards you. Instead, I have always praised you. And because I have not been silent towards you, do not be silent towards me! Take action for me, and I shall praise you again (cf. v. 30)!"
• The verb translated stay silent (תֶּחֱרַשׁ) refers to an "action by which humans or deities purposely refrain from responding, either with words or with actions." In this case, the psalmist wants YHWH to act on his behalf (cf. vv. 21, 26), so "to be silent" means "to refrain from action." The choice of a word from the semantic domain of "communication" creates a contrast between the speech desired from YHWH and the unjust, hateful speech of the psalmist's enemies (vv. 2-5). "YHWH, please don't remain silent, because my accusers sure aren't!"
• The context assumes that YHWH is currently "silent >> inactive." Thus, we have glossed the verb as stay silent (cf. NIV: "do not remain silent").

v. 2

• In the legal context, the expression they have spoken with me (דִּבְּרוּ אִתִּי) probably has a more technical meaning. Elsewhere the expression דּבֵּר את simply means "speak with (someone)." In legal contexts such as we have in Ps 109, however, it seems to have the more specific meaning "contend with." See, for example, Ps 127:5: "They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents (כִּֽי־יְדַבְּר֖וּ אֶת־אֹויְבִ֣ים) in court" (NIV; cf. Jer 12:1).
• In the phrase lying tongues (לְשׁוֹן שָׁקֶר), the word "lying" (שָׁקֶר) is the same word used elsewhere to describe false witnesses (e.g., Exod 20:16, Deut 19:15-21).

v. 3

v. 4

Notes

• The verb accuse (שׂטן) occurs only six times in the Old Testament, and three of them are in this psalm (vv. 4, 20, 29). Translations disagree on whether the verb means "oppose" (GNT) or, more specifically, "accuse" (NIV, ESV, CSB, NLT, NET). Normally, the root שׂטן (also שׂטם) "describes various forms of disputes and hostility between people," and so it has the more general meaning of "oppose." But in the specific legal context of Ps 109, "the adversaries are accusers who are taking the accused to court... The root שׂטן can thus also be translated 'accuse' in vv. 4, 20, 29." The verb often appears in the context of warfare, and its legal use here probably assumes the metaphor "Litigation is warfare" (see note on previous verse).

• The yiqtol form of the verb "accuse" in v. 4 probably implies gnomic, habitual semantics: "they accuse, they keep accusing." Alternatively, the yiqtol form could imply habitual action in the past: "they have been accusing me."
• The phrase "my love" (אַהֲבָתִי) probably means "the love that I have shown to them."

v. 5

• The phrase translated they give me (alternatively, "they repay me," NIV, NET, CSB, cf. NLT, ESV, KJV, CEV, GNT) is, literally, "they place on me" (see e.g., Gen 22:6). Given the context (vv. 4-5) and other parallels in the Psalter (e.g., Ps 35:12; Ps 38:21), the expression must mean something like "they give/repay me." See, for example, Gen 21:14, where "placing on her shoulder" (שָׂ֧ם עַל‏־שִׁכְמָ֛הּ) is an act of "giving to her" (וַיִּתֵּ֣ן אֶל).
• The wayyiqtol verb and they give (וַיָּשִׂימוּ) in v. 5 probably continues the habitual semantics of the yiqtol in v. 4.

v. 6

• It is not clear whether the wicked person (רָשָׁע) in v. 6a is the same participant as the "accuser" in the following line or is a distinct figure, e.g., a judge. The GNT, for example, says "Choose some corrupt judge to try my enemy" (GNT). If the "wicked person" is a corrupt judge, then the prepositional phrase עָלָיו in the a-line would mean "over him," implying authority over the accused. If, however, the "wicked person" is coreferential with the "accuser" in the b-line, then the preposition would mean "against" (ESV, NLT; cf. NIV: "to oppose"). Given the nature of parallelism as expressing one thought across two lines, it seems best to interpret the "wicked person" and the "accuser" as referring to the same person. As Baethgen writes, "The wicked person (רָשָׁע) in v. 6a is identical to the accuser (שָׂטָן) in v. 6b... רָשָׁע and שָׂטָן form a single idea..."
• The word accuser (שָׂטָן) is the nominal form of the verb that occurred in v. 4 (and which occurs again in vv. 20, 29). Some translations interpret this noun in v. 6 (שָׂטָן) as a proper noun: "Satan" (KJV; cf. Jerome iuxta Hebr.). But the psalmist is praying for YHWH to do to his enemies exactly what his enemies are trying to do to him (cf. the punishment for false witnesses in Deut 19:16-19). So, the word שׂטן must have the same meaning in v. 6 as it does in vv. 4, 20, 29.
• The fronting of "accuser" in the b-line creates a chiasm: (a) Appoint against him (b) a wicked person. (b) And an accuser, (a) let him stand at his right.
• In a formal legal setting, accusers stand at the right side of those whom they accuse. See especially Zech 3:1—"Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him" (Zech 3:1, ESV).

v. 7

• The infinitival phrase when he is judged (בְּהִשָּׁפְטוֹ) appears first in the clause as a frame setter, introducing the legal context in which the verse should be understood. Accordingly, the expression translated may he come away guilty (יֵצֵא רָשָׁע) probably means "to come out a guilty person" >> "to be found guilty." "The verb יצא suggests the conclusion of proceedings and has the purpose—via the terms linked to it—of indicating the kind of verdict passed by the judge."
• In this legal context, the word prayer (תְּפִלָּה) refers specifically to a prayer to God for vindication (cf. Pss 4:2; 17:1). For the prayer to become a sin (i.e., be regarded as sinful), cf. Prov 28:9: "God detests the prayers of a person who ignores the law" (NLT).
• Most translations interpret the yiqtol verbs in v. 7 as jussives: "...let him be condemned... let his prayer become sin" (KJV). The NET note argues that, because the verb in the b-line is a long yiqtol (תִּהְיֶה) and not a short yiqtol (תְּהִי, cf. v. 19), the b-line is probably indicative, and so the parallel clause in the a-line is probably also indicative: "When he is judged, he will be found guilty. Then his prayer will be regarded as sinful" (NET). The verse would thus describe the outcome of the events requested in v. 6. But this interpretation is not well-founded. When in the second position, it is normal for an expected volitional form to assume a long yiqtol form and yet keep the semantics of a volitional. The volitional interpretation best fits the context of this section (vv. 6-15), which is characterized by volitionals.

v. 8

• The yiqtol verbs in this verse—May...be (יִהְיוּ) and May...take (יִקַּח)——are morphologically ambiguous in terms of their modality (so also the verbs in vv. 9-11, 13, 14a, 15a). Nevertheless, most translations agree that these verbs are jussives. The jussive modality that predominates this section (vv. 6-15) is explicit in the opening imperative (v. 6a), the short yiqtol forms in vv. 12-13, and the use of the negative adverb אַל in v. 14b.
• Most translations interpret פְּקֻדָּתוֹ as the man's position (so NLT, NJPS), "office" (ESV), "job" (CEV, GNT, NET), or "place of leadership" (NIV). SDBH defines it as "a certain responsibility or position of authority with regards to an object, a group of people, or an entire land or nation." Other interpreters think that it refers to the man's possessions. But financial devastation and the confiscation of the man's goods are the theme of the following section (vv. 10-11). The current section (vv. 8-9), by contrast, is about the man's death (v. 8a) and the resultant changes in status: his children become orphans, his wife becomes a widow, and someone else takes his job.

v. 9

v. 10

• The infinitive absolute aimlessly (נוֹעַ) probably specifies "the intensity or extreme nature" of their wandering.
• The verb translated and beg (וְשִׁאֵלוּ) usually occurs in the qal stem (שָׁאַל), but here it occurs in the piel stem (שִׁאֵל, only elsewhere in 2 Sam 20:18). Similarly, the verb translated and plead (וְדָרְשׁוּ) appears to be in the poel stem (only here for this verb). The Masorah Parva in the Leningrad Codex notes that the qametz vowel in וְ֝דָרְשׁ֗וּ is "חטף" and that this precise form occurs only here in the OT. Given the rarity of these verbs, it is difficult to determine their meaning based on usage.
  • The Septuagint translates the first verb (שִׁאֵלוּ) as "let them beg." This translation both works well in the context and with the known (pluractional) function of the piel stem: "to ask >> to ask repeatedly (i.e., to beg)."
  • The precise meaning of the second verb (וְדָרְשׁוּ) is more difficult to determine, though it is likely synonymous with שִׁאֵלוּ in the a-line. SDBH says, "meaning unsure; possibly: = action by which humans request other humans for a hand-out." In the qal stem, the verb usually means "seek" or "search." Thus, several translations render the verb here as "seek" or "search" and supply the direct object "food." Zenger supplies the direct object "a home." Barthélemy suggests that the poel form of the verb has the intensive meaning "to beg" or "to plead."
• The verbs beg and plead probably continue the volitional semantics of the preceding yiqtol-jussive verb (יָנוּעוּ). When weqatal follows a volitional form (imperative, jussive, or cohortative), it often continues the volitional semantics and expresses "a consequent (logical and/or chronological) situation to a situation represented by [the] volitive form."

v. 11

• The phrase translated the fruits of his labor (יְגִיעוֹ) (so NIV) refers to "what he has worked for" (CSB, cf. GNT), i.e., his property.

v. 12

• The word loyalty (חֶסֶד) occurs four times in this psalm (vv. 12, 16, 21, 26) and refers to a "state in which humans or deities are committed towards fulfilling their obligations and show that by their actions."
  • In v. 12, it refers specifically to someone caring for the man's children, i.e., showing חֶסֶד to the deceased by taking care of his orphaned children. Cf. 2 Sam 9:1—"David asked, 'Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness (חֶסֶד) for Jonathan’s sake?'" (2 Sam 9:1, NIV).
  • In v. 16, it refers to the man's failure to fulfill his relational obligations to his friend, the psalmist. Whereas the psalmist loved him, did good to him, and regularly prayed for his well-being (vv. 4-5), the man responded with hate, harm, and curses (vv. 2-5, 16-18).
  • In vv. 21, 26, it refers to YHWH's loyalty towards the psalmist. If the psalmist is identified as "David" (see v. 1), then this "loyalty" should be understood in the context of YHWH's covenant to David (cf. 2 Sam 7).

v. 13

Notes

• The phrase translated be doomed to destruction (יְהִי...לְהַכְרִית), a copular verb (היה) complemented by a lamed infinitive construct phrase, must mean something like "to fall prey to destruction." According to Jenni, היה + lamed + infinitive construct can communicate "necessity." Hence: "May his posterity be doomed to destruction" instead of simply, "May his posterity be destroyed."
• The expression translated next generation (דוֹר אַחֵר) (lit.: "another generation") occurs in Judges 2:10 and Joel 1:3. In the latter passage, it refers to "the next generation" and probably has the same meaning here: "may his family name be blotted out in the next generation" (NLT).

v. 14

• The expression may...be brought to YHWH's remembrance is a round-about-way of saying "may the Lord remember" (GNT). The 3ms impersonal/passive language is characteristic of most of the curse section. Throughout the curse, YHWH's agency is implicit and only becomes explicit in the very last line (v. 15b).
• To "not remember" a past iniquity is to pardon it, whereas to "remember" a past iniquity is to refuse to pardon it.
• Although the word עֲוֺן is singular (lit.: "iniquity"), it probably does not refer to a specific iniquity. The fact that it is in construct with a plural phrase ("his ancestors") suggests that it should be understood as a collective: "the collective iniquity of his ancestors >> their iniquities."

v. 15

• The weyiqtol verbal form (וְיַכְרֵת) implies purpose-result semantics: so that he destroys. Some translations revocalize the hiphil verb as a niphal (וְיִכָּרֵת), which requires analyzing the phrase "their memory" (זִכְרָם) as the grammatical subject instead of the direct object. See, for example, the NIV: "and may his name disappear from human memory." Both vocalizations are plausible.

v. 16

• On the keyword loyalty (חָסֶד), see the note on v. 12.
• The fixed word pair afflicted and poor (עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן) (cf. v. 22) describes someone who is oppressed, who is suffering some kind of persecution and has no one to depend upon except YHWH. In this verse, the phrase refers to the psalmist who is being persecuted and falsely accused (vv. 1-5, 16) and who has no one to help him but YHWH (vv. 21-31).
• The psalmist describes himself as disheartened (נִכְאֵה לֵבָב) (so NET). Other translations say "brokenhearted" (NIV, NLT, ESV, NEB) or "crushed in spirit" (NJPS). The word נִכְאֵה refers to a "state in which humans lack confidence." The "heart" (לֵבָב) is the "seat of feelings and emotions."
• The word translated finish...off (מוֹתֵת) is a relatively rare word for killing. It is used to refer to David killing (an already injured) Goliath with a sword (1 Sam 17:51), Abimelech's armor-bearer killing (an already injured) Abimelech (Judg 9:54), the Amalekite killing (an already injured) Saul (2 Sam 1:9-10), and Jonathan's armor-bearer killing those whom Jonathan has already injured (1 Sam 14). In these examples, the patient is already in the process of dying. Hence, the gloss "finish off" is more accurate than merely "kill."

v. 17

• The verbs translated and so it will come upon him (וּתְבוֹאֵהוּ) and and so it will stay far from him (וְתִרְחַק) could also be translated as "and it has come upon him" and "and it has distanced itself from him" (cf. NET, NLT) depending on how the Hebrew consonantal text is vocalized. Our preferred understanding of the verbs vocalizes them as weyiqtols, following the Septuagint and most modern translations (cf. KJV, ESV, NIV, NJPS, GNT, NRSV). Translations that have past tense verbs vocalize these verbs as wayyiqtols (וַתְּבוֹאֵהוּ...וַתִּרְחַק), following the Masoretic text. The weyiqtol vocalization assumed by the Septuagint makes the most sense in the context. For a curse to "come" (בוא) means for it to take effect. Thus, the wayyiqtol form וַתְּבוֹאֵהוּ would have to be "understood in such a way that the psalmist is mentally transported into the future and looks back from here." Yet there is no clear indication (apart from the verb form in question) that the text should be read in this way. The text makes more sense if the form is vocalized as a weyiqtol (וּתְבוֹאֵהוּ). The parallel verb about blessing should be similarly vocalized (וְתִרְחַק).
• To curse (קלל):

v. 18

v. 19

• There is a subtle shift in the verse from being like (כְּ) clothes that he wears (v. 19a) to becoming ([היה] + ל) a belt that he always puts on. This shift, in addition to the adverb "always" in the b-line, has an intensifying effect.

v. 20

v. 21

v. 22

• For the phrase afflicted and poor (עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן), see the note on v. 16.
• The verb translated in anguish (חָלַל) is difficult. Some translations have "pierced" (NRSV), "stricken" (ESV), or "wounded" (NIV, KJV, CSB), from the root חלל). But for this meaning, we would have expected the polal stem, not the qal, which, with the possible exception of Ps 77:11, is otherwise unattested for this root. The nearly identical clause in Ps 55:5—לִ֭בִּי יָחִ֣יל בְּקִרְבִּ֑י ("my heart is in anguish within me")—suggests that the verb חָלַל in Ps 109 has a similar meaning to the verb יָחִיל in Ps 55. On this basis, some scholars propose emending the text in Psalm 109, for example, to חֹלַל (so BHS). But this kind of interchange among weak roots (e.g., חלל/חיל) is common in Hebrew. As the forthcoming Oxford Grammar of Biblical Hebrew states, "One specific root may be used in the qatal form, whereas another root may be used for the yiqtol form." In this case, יחיל is used in the yiqtol form (Ps 55), and חלל is used in the qatal form (Ps 109). The following definition by SDBH (for חִיל) would therefore apply to the word in Ps 109: "state in which humans experience strong fear and distress, compared to the state of mind of a woman in labor; often accompanied by physical side-effects, like writhing, and trembling."

v. 23

Notes

• The phrase when it is stretched out (כִּנְטוֹתוֹ) refers to the lengthening of a shadow in the late afternoon, as the sun is setting. Thus, as the NET Bible helpfully explains, "He is like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness." The phrase (כְּצֵל־כִּנְטוֹתוֹ) is probably fronted as a frame setter, introducing the controlling image according to which this clause is to be understood.
• The verb translated I have faded (נֶהֱלָכְתִּי) occurs only here in the OT (in the niphal stem). Yet most lexicons and modern translations agree that it means something like "fade" or "vanish." The Septuagint has "I am erased", and Jerome has "I am taken away." The Targum has, "I am diminished." In the qal stem, the verb הלך can be a euphemism for death ("pass away"). It can also describe the "walking" of a shadow.
• The Bible uses a number of words for "locust," and אַרְבֶּה is "the commonest and most general word."
• The verb I have been shaken off (נִנְעַרְתִּי) is rare, occurring (in the niphal stem) only here and in Job 38:13. The corresponding qal verb can refer to trees shaking off their leaves (Isa 33:10). Thus, the verb here probably means "shaken off." It could be, as Zenger explains, that "The petitioner was/is shaken off a garment to the ground like an annoying bug, to be trodden underfoot." Thus, some translations say, "brushed off" (NLT) or "tossed aside" (CEV). It is more likely, however, that the images allude to the practice of harvesting locusts by shaking them out of trees in the early morning hours when they are stiff and still. This meaning works well in the context: the psalmist is completely helpless, and his destruction is imminent, like a locust that has just been shaken from a tree and is about to be consumed. The following story triangle depicts this recurring sequence of events.

v. 24

• The verb has become gaunt (כָּחַשׁ, qal) is another rare verb in a series of rare verbs in these verses, occurring only here in the OT. The Aramaic cognate verb כחשׁ occurs several times in the Babylonian Talmud with the meaning "to become weak, deteriorate." This meaning works well in the context: in the previous line (v. 24a), he describes his fasting, and in this line (v. 24b), the verb כחשׁ (with the subject "body") is modified by the prepositional phrase "without any fat" (מִשָּׁמֶן). Thus, the ESV translates the line, "My body has become gaunt, with no fat." See also the more idiomatic translation of the GNT: "I am nothing but skin and bones." Compare the similar description in Ps 22:18: "I can count all of my bones."
• The min preposition in the phrase translated without any fat (מִשָּׁמֶן) is a privative min ("away from" >> "without").

v. 25

• The sequence of yiqtol verbs in v. 25b—When they see me, they shake (יִרְאוּנִי יְנִיעוּן)—is a serial verb construction; the two verbs express immediately consecutive actions. Thus, most English translations render the first clause as subordinate: "when they see me, they shake their heads" (NIV, NLT, NET, cf. ESV, CEV).

v. 26

• In a legal context, help (עזר) refers to "a successful intervention by the defender. Just as the action of an accuser is a sort of threat that tends to become a condemnation, so the action of a defender—by bringing out the accused's innocence and the accuser's lying—tends to decide the juridical conflict favourably."

v. 27

• The weyiqtol verbal form (וְיֵדְעוּ) following the imperatives in the previous verse probably indicates purpose-result semantics: so that they know.
• The phrase translated your doing (יָדְךָ) (so NLT) is, literally, "your hand" (NIV, ESV). "Hand" is figurative for action (metonymy).

v. 28

Notes

• The clause-initial position of the verb Let them curse! (יְקַֽלְלוּ) implies jussive semantics. The NLT does a good job rendering this line: "Then let them curse me if they like, but you will bless me!"
• The verb risen up (קום) is sometimes used to refer to the judicial initiative taken by an accuser (i.e., getting up to speak). As Bovati writes, "The verb קום may be considered typical of a speech at a trial."
• Shame (בושׁ) often has a forensic connotation: "may my accusers be shown to be in the wrong", "let me not be shown to have been in the wrong to have trusted in you", "may my enemies admit to having been mistaken (always culpable) in their estimate of me."

v. 29

• It is unclear whether the yiqtol verbs in v. 29 are indicative ("they will be clothed...") or jussive ("may they be clothed..."). The fact that the immediately preceding (vv. 28b) and following (v. 30) clauses are indicative supports an indicative reading of the clauses in v. 29. Furthermore, the tone of vv. 28-31 is one of confident expectation, not petition. Whereas in vv. 6-15, the psalmist prays for his enemies' destruction, in vv. 28-31, he confidently expresses the assurance that his enemies will come to shame (v. 29). He, by contrast, will praise YHWH for his deliverance (v. 30).

vv. 30-31

• YHWH is described as one who (generally, habitually) stands at a poor person's right. The language and imagery recall v. 6: "May an accuser stand at his right." But whereas standing at a person's right in v. 6 implied accusation, here it implies commitment and help (cf. v. 26). According to Bovati, "Someone who takes an active part in a debate, and takes a person's side, formally stands by that person—as a party—and falls under the same judgment."
• The phrase translated those who condemn him to death (שֹׁפְטֵי נַפְשׁוֹ) is, more literally, "judge his life" or "render a judgment on his life," but here it "appears to have the otherwise unattested meaning 'condemn to death.'"

Verbal Semantics Chart

For legend, click "Expand" to the right

	Tense	Aspect	Reference point movement	Modality
Definition	A situation's location in time	Internal temporal constituency of a situation as portrayed	Whether or not the expected reference point in the discourse is updated after the situation.	Distinguishing between indicative, volitional and other forms of modality, as determined by morphology; word order; particles; context
Options	Relative: a situation's location in time relative to a reference point Absolute: a situation's location in time relative to the moment of speech	Continuous Habitual/iterative Stative	Expected movement: usually perfective No expected movement: usually imperfective	indicative jussive imperative cohortative wish purpose/result past (conditional) possible probable interrogative
Symbol

For steps to determine relative tense and reference point movement click "Expand" to the right:

Where is action relative to reference point?				What question is prompted by verb tense?			Do we expect reference point to move?
	After reference point (Posterior)
		Imperative			What next?	Posterior (relative future)	Yes	⇐
		Yiqtol			What next? What now?	Posterior (relative future Simultaneous (relative imperfective present)	Yes	⇐
		Weqatal
		Weyiqtol					No	⇍
		Wayyiqtol
	At reference point (Simultaneous)
		Yiqtol			What now?	Simultaneous (relative imperfective present)	No	⇍
		Participle
		Weyiqtol
		Infinitive
	Before reference point (Anterior)
		Qatal			What next? What now?	Anterior (relative past) Simultaneous (relative imperfect present)	Yes	⇐
		Wayyiqtol					No	⇍

Bibliography

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Barthélemy, Dominique. 2005. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament. Tome 4: Psaumes. Fribourg, Switzerland: Academic Press.

Bovati, Pietro. 1994. Re-Establishing Justice: Legal Terms, Concepts, and Procedures in the Hebrew Bible. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. Supplement Series 105. Sheffield, England: JSOT Press.

Egwim, Stephen C. 2011. A Contextual and Cross-Cultural Study of Psalm 109. Biblical Tools and Studies, v. 12. Leuven ; Paris ; Walpole, MA: Peeters.

Hossfeld, Frank-Lothar, and Erich Zenger. 2011. Psalms 3: A Commentary on Psalms 101-150. Edited by Klaus Baltzer. Translated by Linda M. Maloney. Hermeneia. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress.

Jenni, Ernst. 2000. Die Hebräischen Präpositionen Band 3: Die Präposition Lamed. Stuttgart: Verlag W. Kohlhammer.

Kaddary, M. Z. 1963. “‮חלל‬ = ‘Bore’, ‘Pierce’? Note on Ps. CIX 22.” Vetus Testamentum 13 (4): 486–89.

Olley, J. W. 1976. “A Forensic Connotation of Bôs̆.” Vetus Testamentum 26 (2): 230–34.

Penney, Jason. 2023. “A Typological Examination of Pluractionality in the Biblical Hebrew Piel.” MA, Dallas: Dallas International University.

Radak. Radak on Psalms.

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Riede, Peter. 2000. Im Netz des Jägers : Studien zur Feindmetaphorik der Individualpsalmen. Neukirchen-Vluy: Neukirchener Verlag.

Staszak, Martin. 2024. The Preposition Min. Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament (BWANT) 246. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.

Tsumura, David Toshio. 2023. Vertical Grammar of Parallelism in Biblical Hebrew. Ancient Israel and Its Literature 47. Atlanta: SBL Press.