Psalm 110 Poetic Features
Sit at my right side
Psalm 110
Poetic Features
In poetic features, we identify and describe the “Top 3 Poetic Features” for each Psalm. Poetic features might include intricate patterns (e.g., chiasms), long range correspondences across the psalm, evocative uses of imagery, sound-plays, allusions to other parts of the Bible, and various other features or combinations of features. For each poetic feature, we describe both the formal aspects of the feature and the poetic effect of the feature. We assume that there is no one-to-one correspondence between a feature’s formal aspects and its effect, and that similar forms might have very different effects depending on their contexts. The effect of a poetic feature is best determined (subjectively) by a thoughtful examination of the feature against the background of the psalm’s overall message and purpose.
Claimed and Confirmed
Feature
The psalm is structured in two parallel halves (vv. 1-3 // vv. 4-7).
Both halves begin (v. 1 // v. 4) by quoting YHWH's speech according to a similar pattern: quotative frame beginning with נ + divine name + quoted speech. In the middle of both halves (v. 2 // vv. 5-6), the psalmist reflects on YHWH's speech in the previous verses (vv. 1, 4) and describes the extent of the king's dominion over his enemies, referring to "rule" (with different words) over enemies. Both halves conclude (v. 3 // v. 7) by mentioning a nourishing water source: "dew" (v. 3) and "wadi" (v. 7).
But the two halves of the psalm are also different in some important respects. The second half of the psalm not only corresponds to the first half, it also carries its meaning forward. In the first half, YHWH invites the king to sit at his right hand (v. 1), and in the second half, YHWH confirms the king's special status with an unchanging oath (v. 4). In the first half, the psalmist assures the king that YHWH will extend his dominion so that he rules among his enemies (v. 2), and in the second half (vv. 5-6), the psalmist describes these same events in much more graphic language. In the first half, the psalmist assures the king that his army gathered before the battle will be like dew (v. 3), and in the second half he says that after the battle, YHWH will drink from the enemy's wadi, thus confirming his complete conquest.
Effect
If the purpose of the psalm is "to assure the king of his certain success" (see Speech Act Analysis), then the psalmist accomplishes this goal through patterned repetition. After assuring the king, in vv. 1-3, that he has a special status (v. 1), that YHWH will extend his dominion (v. 2), and that he will have military victory (v. 3), the psalmist repeats and amplifies all of these points. The king's status is confirmed with an oath (v. 4), the expansion of his dominion is reported in vivid detail (vv. 5-6), and his victory is described from the perspective of its completion (v. 7) rather than its preparation.
The Lord and the lord
Feature
In v. 1, the king is referred to as "my lord" (אדני), and he is invited to sit at YHWH's "right side" (ימין). In v. 5, YHWH is referred to as "the Lord" (אדני) and is said to be at the king's "right side" (ימין). In both v. 1 and v. 5, the consonantal text אדני is identical, though the Masoretic vowel points distinguish "my lord" (v. 1—אדנִי) from "the Lord" (v. 5—אדנָי).
And not only are these two participants—the lord and the Lord—described in similar terms, but in vv. 5-7 (especially v. 7), it is difficult to determine which of them is the subject. See The Subject(s) in Ps. 110:5-7.
Effect
Even if YHWH is the most likely subject throughout vv. 5-7, the lack of complete clarity on the issue (evident from the variety of interpretations) may be a deliberate feature of the text. As Van der Lugt notes, "it is a basic constituent of the overall framework of the psalm that God and the king are mutually exchangeable;" both are called אדני, and both position themselves at the right hand of the other."[1] Thus, "there seems to be a conflation of YHWH and the king... presumably to stress their oneness of will and purpose."[2] A similar ambiguity of subject and conflation of YHWH and the king takes place in Ps. 2:12.
Pentateuchal Prophecy
Feature
David meditated on the Torah day and night (cf. Ps. 1; Deut. 17). It is no surprise, therefore, that a psalm of David (see superscription) should be filled with allusions to passages in the Torah (cf. allusions to Deut. 33 in Ps. 4). Psalm 110 strongly alludes to two passages in the Torah: Genesis 14 and Numbers 24:15-19.
Genesis 14 is the only other passage in the Hebrew Bible to mention "Melchizedek" (Gen. 14:18; cf. Ps. 110:4). The same chapter also describes a great battle in which kings are defeated across the wide world (cf. Ps. 110:5-6) and which concludes in the victors drinking (Gen. 14:18; cf. Ps. 110:4).
Numbers 24:15-19 is, like Psalm 110, an "oracle" (נְאֻם). and, like Ps. 110, the oracle in Numbers describes a "staff" (שֵׁבֶט) that will come "from Israel" (מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל) (cf. Ps. 110:2a), "smash" (מָחַץ) the heads of his enemies (cf. Ps. 110:5-6) and "rule" (רדה) (cf. Ps. 110:2b). The word חיל ("power") is also used in Numbers 24 (cf. Ps. 110:3).
Effect
Psalm 110 is an oracle—a divine revelation—that develops previous divine revelation. Like the Messianic figure in Balaam's oracle, the king in Ps. 110 will conquer his enemies and "rule" (רדה) from Jacob. Psalm 110 develops the Messianic picture of Numbers 24 by blending it with Genesis 14: the Messiah will be, like Melchizedek, both king and priest in Zion. The characters and events of Genesis 14 are thus read typologically. Just as the coalition of evil kings was defeated across the wide world in the days of Melchizedek, so too when the new "Melchizedek" comes, YHWH (with the king at his side) will conquer the rebellious kings of the earth.
Repeated Roots
The repeated roots table is intended to identify the roots which are repeated in the psalm.
- Repetition of מחץ and ראש in the b-lines of vv. 5-6 seems to bind these verses together, just as the repetition of יהוה and איביך seems to bind together vv. 1-2.
- The following words or combinations of words are repeated in both halves of the psalm: יהוה (v. 1a // v. 4a); אדני + ימין (v. 1a // v. 5); בְּיוֹם (v. 3a // v. 5b)
Repeated Roots Mini-story
