Psalm 112/Notes/Grammar.V. 1.938134

• Is הַ֥לְלוּ יָ֨הּ׀ a clause ("praise Yah") or a single-word exclamation ("Hallelujah!")? In the MT, הַלְלוּ יָהּ is treated as two words; sometimes הַלְלוּ and יָהּ are joined by maqqef, and, when they are not, each word receives its own accent (e.g., Ps. 111:1 - הַ֥לְלוּ יָ֨הּ ׀). The division of הַ֥לְלוּ יָהּ into two words suggests (though it does not require) that the words are understood as a clause: "praise Yah." By contrast, the LXX does not translate הַלְלוּ יָהּ as a clause, but rather transliterates הַלְלוּ יָהּ as an exclamation: Αλληλουια (cf. Revelation 19: Αλληλουια; Jerome: Alleluia; Targum: הללויה; so HALOT). In the DSS, הללו יה is sometimes written as two words (e.g., 4QPsf Apostrophe to Judah) and sometimes as one (e.g., 4QPsd, 4QPse), though sometimes it is difficult to tell. In the Babylonian manuscript EC1 (Ps. 106:48), הללויה is written clearly as a single word.

If הללויה was added by the final editors of the psalter, not too long before the LXX was translated, then it should probably be interpreted as the LXX understood it: as a single-word exclamation.

Even if הללויה is understood as a single word exclamation, it seems unlikely that it would have completely lost its original sense ("praise Yah!"). For this reason, we have diagrammed it as a complete clause, even though it probably functions (illocution) as an exclamation.

• The verbs יָרֵא and חָפֵץ could be either participles that modify אִישׁ adjectivally (as in Prov. 28:14— אַשְׁרֵ֣י אָ֭דָם מְפַחֵ֣ד תָּמִ֑יד) or qatal verbs that modify אִישׁ as asyndetic relative clauses (as in Prov. 3:13—אַשְׁרֵ֣י אָ֭דָם מָצָ֣א חָכְמָ֑ה). The morphology is ambiguous. The parallel in v. 5 ( טֽוֹב־אִ֭ישׁ חוֹנֵ֣ן וּמַלְוֶ֑ה) might support reading a participle here (so probably LXX, Peshitta, Targum). In either case, there is no real difference in meaning.
• The second half of v. 1 might be an independent clause (cf. LXX), but the correspondence of חָפֵץ to יָרֵא suggests that חָפֵץ, like יָרֵא, syntactically modifies אִישׁ (so e.g., Symmachus: ος τας εντολας αυτου θελει σφοδρα; so most modern translations).