Psalm 11 Discourse
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
Macrosyntax
- v. 1a. "I have sought refuge in YHWH." The PP (בַּיהוָה) is in marked focus (so Lunn 2006:297 "MKD"). "I have sought refuge in YHWH (and in nothing else)." Cf. Pss. 7:2; 31:2; 71:1; 141:8. Whereas David's advisors are focused on the protection offered by the city's fortifications (v. 3a), David has sought refuge in YHWH.
- v. 2a. The כִּי at the beginning of this verse provides the grounds for the speech act in v. 1c. "Flee... because" (cf. Locatell 2019:86-88). The subject-first word order probably marks the clause as thetic (cf. Lunn "MKD").
- v. 3a. The כִּי at the beginning of this verse functions exactly like the כִּי in v. 2a; it provides further grounds for the speech act in v. 1c. "There may also be a series of parallel causal כי clauses all providing multiple grounds for the same preceding clause" (Locatell 2017:224). David's advisors thus give two reasons to support their advice to flee: (1) The wicked are preparing for an attack (v. 2); (2) There is no hope of a successful defense (v. 3). The second of these reasons has two parts: (a) the wall will be destroyed (v. 3a), and (b) YHWH (who has allowed this disaster to come upon the innocent) cannot be relied on for protection (v. 3b). (See expanded paraphrase.) The noun phrase הַשָּׁתוֹת ("the foundations") is fronted ("as for the foundations..."), perhaps marking this clause (like v. 2a) as thetic (cf. Lunn "MKD"). Note the syntactic similarities between v. 3a and v. 3b: ki + definite NP + 3mp yiqtol with he suffix.
- v. 3b. The noun phrase צַדִּיק ("righteous one") is fronted as a marked topic ("and as for the righteous one") (cf. Lunn "MKD"). The NP even occurs before the interrogative pronoun, which might suggest it is left dislocated (but see footnote in JM 155pb).
- v. 4. YHWH becomes the topic of the discourse (vv. 4-7). The fronting the NP's (vv. 4bcd-5a) along with the repetition of YHWH's name (v. 4ab) dramatically underscores this shift in topic. Whereas his advisors never mention YHWH, David responds by drawing their attention to YHWH and thereby reorienting them to the situation.
- v. 4b. Left dislocation for the purpose of topic identification (BHRG 48.2.2). The PP בַּשָּׁמַ֪יִם is fronted for marked focus ("as for YHWH – his throne is [not on earth, but] in heaven")
- v. 4cd. S-V // S-V-O. Lunn regards the word order in these clauses as pragmatically marked (Lunn 2006:297). The fronting is probably topical, as in v. 4b. It may be an example of listing (cf. Ps. 1:3).
- v. 5. Both clauses in this verse have marked word order (so Lunn 2006:297). In the first clause, צַדִּיק ("righteous one") is fronted for marked focus. It is the righteous one whom YHWH (loves and) refines. Cf. Prov. 3:12 – כִּ֤י אֶ֥ת אֲשֶׁ֣ר יֶאֱהַ֣ב יְהוָ֣ה יוֹכִ֑יחַ. By contrast, he does not refine the wicked. Instead, he hates them. The contrast is sharpened by the fronting of the NP's in v. 5b (cf. Ps. 1:6). (See The Division of Ps. 11:5.) The fronting of "YHWH" in the first clause looks like in instance of marked topic, but since there is no reason why "YHWH" should be marked as a topic at this point, it is probably better to explain it as poetic-structural (either marking a new strophe [cf. v. 1, v. 4] or binding v. 5 together with v. 4).
- v. 7a. The כִּי in v. 7 grounds the whole psalm (cf. Pss. 1:6; 5:13). "The reason why I can say all of this is because 'YHWH is righteous...'"
- v. 7ab. Lunn regards the word order of both verb clauses in this verse as pragmatically marked (Lunn 2006:297). The fronted object in v. 7aβ is probably in marked focus: YHWH loves righteous deeds, not deeds of violence (cf. v. 5b, 2ab). The fronted subject in v. 7b (ישר) may be either topic ("as for the upright...") or focus ("it is the upright who will see his face." The grammatical discord (singular subject, plural verb) may suggest that ישר is topical ("as for the upright one – they will see his face").
Speech Act Analysis
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Affect Analysis
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