Psalm 112 Semantics

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Psalm Overview

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 112

Lexical and Phrase-level Semantics Diagram

(For more information, click "Phrase-level Legend" below.)

Visualization Description
3 Legends - Prepositional Phrase.png
The prepositional phrase is indicated by a solid green oval.
3 Legends - Construct Chain.png
The construct chain is indicated by a solid yellow oval.
3 Legends - phrase-level ו.png
When the conjunction ו appears at the phrase-level (not clause-level), it is indicated by a solid light purple oval.
3 Legends - Article.png
The article is indicated by a solid blue oval.

v. 1

Psalm 112 - v. 1.jpg

  • For the phrase אַשְׁרֵי־אִישׁ, see the notes on Psalm 1.
  • The verb חפץ is usually accompanied by a beth preposition which indicates the object of delight.[1]

v. 2

Psalm 112 - v. 2.jpg

  • The word גִּבֹּור refers to "a human being... who is renowned for his characteristics, such as physical strength, power, bravery, skill, wealth, good character, or a combination thereof." It is associated with kingship, and is often applied to kings (cf. Ps. 45:4; Ps. 24:8 [// מלך]; Ps. 33:16 [// מלך]; Dan. 11:3 [מֶלֶךְ גִּבֹּור]). The phrase גבור בארץ occurs only elsewhere in Gen. 10:8//1 Chron. 1:10, where it describes Nimrod, who, though he is not called a "king" (מלך) is said to have had a "kingdom" (ממלכה). Although it is possible, in this instance, that the word גבור is describing Nimrod's greatness as a hunter and not as a king per se (cf. the phrase גִבֹּר־צַיִד in the following clauses), it's more likely that גבור בארץ is a general description of his greatness as a ruler (cf. Ges-18 "Gewaltherrscher auf Erden") and that skilled hunting is but one manifestation of his greatness/kingship—"to be a great hunter... was a claim associated with royal status."[2] Thus, the use of גבור (singular!) in Ps. 112 is one indication that the "man" in this psalm is a king.[3]
  • Most translations read אָרֶץ as "the land (of Israel)", but if the man is a king with international significance, then ארץ might refer more broadly to the "the earth", as in Gen. 10:8.
  • The meaning of "blessed" (יברך pual) depends on who is doing the blessing and who is being blessed. If the generation of upright ones is being blessed by YHWH, then the verb refers to a "causative action by which deities grant a special favor to humans."[4] If, however, the generation of upright ones is "blessing" the "man," then it would mean "to pronounce blessed," or, "to congratulate" (see e.g. 2 Sam. 8:10; Ps. 49:19), or, perhaps even "to praise". In either case, the meaning might be similar to Psalm 72:17 which, like Ps. 112:2, celebrates the king's legacy; the king is both blessed by others and a source or blessing to them: יְהִ֤י שְׁמ֨וֹ לְֽעוֹלָ֗ם לִפְנֵי־שֶׁמֶשׁ֮ יָנִין שְׁ֫מ֥וֹ וְיִתְבָּ֥רְכוּ ב֑וֹ כָּל־גּוֹיִ֥ם יְאַשְּׁרֽוּהוּ׃.

v. 3

Psalm 112 - v. 3.jpg

  • The phrase translated immense wealth (הוֹן־וָעֹשֶׁר) is a combination of two nouns ('wealth and riches'). The use of two co-referential nouns (instead of one noun) stresses the immensity of the man's wealth.[5] The ideal king in Ps 112 is thus depicted, like Solomon, as having immense wealth.[6]

v. 4

Psalm 112 - v. 4.jpg

  • The verb translated has risen refers not to the general act of 'rising' but to the specific "process by which the sun appears in the morning to provide light and warmth to the world; ≈ associated with a new period of well-being."[7] Elsewhere, the subject of the verb is almost always the sun.[8]

vv. 5-6

Psalm 112 - vv. 5-6.jpg

  • SDBH defines טוב as the "state in which humans and deities have character, integrity, and good fortune." In this passage, the emphasis is on the "good fortune" part of the definition: "fortunate," as a parallel to אשרי in v. 1.[9]
  • The phrase translated who lends generously is a combination of two Hebrew verbs (חוֹנֵ֣ן וּמַלְוֶ֑ה, 'being generous and lending') which communicate a single idea ('lending generously').[10]
  • The verb translated manages (יְכַלְכֵּל) most often refers to a "causative action by which humans... ensure that (other) humans received the food and care that they need."[11] In this way, the verb 'manages' corresponds lexically and poetically to the phrase 'lends generously' in the previous line. In this context, however, the meaning seems to be different. Most understand the phrase here to mean "to conduct one's affairs."[12] Understood in this sense, the whole verse is about the man's finances. The first half of the verse says that he is generous with his finances; the second half says that he is just in the administration of his finances.
  • The noun משפט could mean either "place/process of judgment" (NASB; so BDB) or "justice" (NIV, NRSV, NLT, ESV, NET, GNT, CEV, JPS85; so SDBH; cf. Targum). The absence of the definite article and the parallel with Psalm 111 favor interpreting the word as an abstract noun "justice."

v. 7

Psalm 112 - v. 7.jpg

v. 8

Psalm 112 - v. 8.jpg

v. 9

Psalm 112 - v. 9.jpg

  • The verb פזר (piel) sometimes belongs to the contextual domain of war (cf. Ps. 89:11) and sometimes to the contextual domain of finances (cf. Prov. 11:24). In this context, it functions as a kind of janus, pointing back to the war imagery of v. 8 and forward to the financial imagery in v. 9.

v. 10

Psalm 112 - v. 10.jpg

Verbal Semantics Chart

(For more information, click "Verbal Legend" below.)

Conjugations
qatal yiqtol-jussive
wayyiqtol (following qatal)* cohortative
yiqtol participle
wayyiqtol (following yiqtol)* wayyiqtol (following participle)*
weyiqtol inf. construct
weqatal inf. absolute
*Wayyiqtol is colored a darker version of the conjugation it follows.
Relative tense arrows
Relative tense arrows (placed within the appropriate 'Fut/Pres/Past' column) are color coded according to the conjugation of the verb. The arrows in the table below are colored according to the typical uses of the conjugations.
After/posterior/future Imminent future Simultaneous/right now Recent past Before/anterior/past


Aspect
Continuous Habitual or iterative Stative Perfective
Encoded in words ⟲⟲⟲
Inferable from context ⟲⟲⟲
Reference point movement
Movement No movement
Modality
indicative purpose/result
jussive necessity
imperative possible
cohortative probable
wish ability
(past) conditional interrogative, etc.

If an emendation or revocalization is preferred, that emendation or revocalization will be marked in the Hebrew text of all the visuals.

Emendations/Revocalizations legend
*Emended text* Emended text, text in which the consonants differ from the consonants of the Masoretic text, is indicated by blue asterisks on either side of the emendation.
*Revocalized text* Revocalized text, text in which only the vowels differ from the vowels of the Masoretic text, is indicated by purple asterisks on either side of the revocalization.

Psalm 112 - Verbal Semantics.jpg

Bibliography

Baethgen, Friedrich. 1904. Die Psalmen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht.
Delitzsch, Franz. 1877. Biblical Commentary on the Psalms: Vol. 3. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
De Wette, Wilhelm Martin Leberecht. 1892. Die Psalmen. Heidelberg: J.C.B. Mohr, 1829.
Gordon, Amnon. 1982. “Gordon - The Development of the Participle in Biblical, Mishnaic, and Modern Hebrew.” Afroasiatic Linguistics 8, no. 3.
Hupfeld, Hermann. 1860 Die Psalmen. Vol. 3. F. A. Perthes.
Sherwood, Stephen K. 1989. “Psalm 112—A Royal Wisdom Psalm?” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 51, no. 1: 50–64.
Notarius. 2010. "The Active Predicative Participle in Archaic and Classical Biblical Poetry: A Typological and Historical Investigation." Ancient Near Eastern Studies 47: 241–69.
Ryken, Leland, Jim Wilhoit, Tremper Longman, Colin Duriez, Douglas Penney, and Daniel G. Reid, eds. 1998. Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press.

References

  1. E.g., Pss. 73:25; 109:17; 119:35; 147:10; cf. Ps. 1:2. Cf. BHRG 39.6(1)(b)(ii)
  2. DBI "Hunting".
  3. Cf. Sherwood 1989.
  4. SDBH.
  5. The decision to read these nouns as coreferential might be supported by the way they are vocalised. "With concepts that are closely related (provided the first syllable of the second word is stressed, [waw] becomes וָ" (BHRG 40.23). Cf. the merism in Prov 30:8 — רֵאשׁ וָעֹשֶׁר.
  6. Cf. 1 Kgs 5:2ff.
  7. SDBH.
  8. Gen 32:32; Exod 22:2; 2 Sam 34:4; 1 Kgs 3:22; Jonah 4:8; Nah 3:17; Ps 104:22; Eccl 1:5.
  9. Cf. Jer. 44:17 and Isa. 3:10; so De Wette, Delitzsch, Baethgen, Hupfeld. Cf. Radak: טוב איש כמו אשרי איש. Cf. the Aramaic expression טוביה דגברא which is equivalent to אשרי איש. In light of this parallel, טוֹב אִישׁ might even be a construct chain, equivalent to טוב יהיה לאיש (cf. Eccl. 8:12–13).
  10. Cf. NLT, CEV, GNT, NET. The same expression is used in Ps 37:26 — כָּל־הַ֭יּוֹם חוֹנֵ֣ן וּמַלְוֶ֑ה. In Ps 37:27, the verb חונן is used in a similar hendiadys חֹונֵ֥ן וְנֹותֵֽן. The two verbs are also juxtaposed in Prov 19:17.
  11. SDBH. E.g., Gen 47:12; 1 Kgs 18:4.
  12. HALOT; cf. Ges–18 "seine Angelegenheiten rechtmäßig besorgt." Cf. LXX οἰκονομήσει τοὺς λόγους αὐτοῦ ἐν κρίσει (which can be understood in this sense; see Ps 111:5 in Septuaginta Deutsch). Cf. Sirach 49:9 המכלכל כל (full line reconstructed as המכלכל כל דרכי צדק.