Psalm 11 Poetics
Poetic Structure
- vv. 1-3. Verse 2-3 are bound together by similar syntax (כי + noun phrase with definite article + yiqtol with he-suffix) and similar sounds (e.g., מוֹ־אֹ֝֗פֶל // מַה־פָּעָֽל). These two verses are bound together with v. 1 both because vv. 2-3 are syntactically subordinated to v. 1c and because together vv. 1c-3 are quoted speech.
- vv. 4-6. Verses 4-5 are bound together by similar word order (fronting of YHWH) and the repeated word בחן. Although there is a shift from v. 5 to v. 6 (deontic modality, no mention of YHWH's name), vv. 4-5 are bound together with v. 6 by similar language (רשע) and logic (the prayer in v. 6 is based on vv. 4-5). Just as vv. 2-3 ground the speech act in v. 1c, so vv. 4-5 ground the speech act in v. 6.
- Inclusio (vv. 1, 6). There are a number of connections between v. 1 and v. 6. (1) These are the only two verses with deontic modality ("flee!... may he rain!"); (2) These are the only two verses that use bird imagery ("birds... [bird] traps"); (3) There are similar sounds in both verses (תֹּאמְר֣וּ // יַמְטֵ֥ר)
- v. 7. The final verse summarises and grounds the entire psalm. Cf. Pss. 1; 5.
The structure of Psalm 11 is similar to the structure of both Psalm 1 and Psalm 5. Each of these three psalms has two main sections and a final verse beginning with כי that summarises and grounds the entire psalm. These three psalms also have similar themes (e.g., strong contrast between righteous and wicked).[1]
Top Poetic Features
1. Trapped birds and bird traps
Feature
The psalm begins (v. 1) with bird imagery: "Flee from your mountain, birds!" By calling David and his entourage "birds," the advisors imply that David is (or is about to be) trapped like a bird in a cage – an image for a king under siege (cf. ANET 288; Quine 2017). The body of the psalm (vv. 1-6) ends with the same image in v. 6: "may he rain [bird] traps." The word for "[bird] traps" (פַּחִים) sounds like the word for "coal" (פֶּחָם) (cf. Symmachus and several modern translations).
Effect
The poet has creatively chosen a word in v. 6 that forms a connection with v. 1 ("traps") and yet fits the immediate context of "fire" and "brimstone" (v. 6b) by virtue of its sounding like the word "coal".
The connection between v. 1 and v. 6 is significant. Whereas David appears (in v. 1) to be in the position of a trapped bird, he prays (in v. 6) that the situation would be reversed and that his enemies would be like trapped birds instead.
2. Fire
Feature
The image of "fire" is subtly pervades the second major section of the psalm (vv. 4-6). "Testing" (בחן) (v. 4d) involves fire (cf. Zech. 13:9), as does "refining" (same word: בחן) (v. 5a). Verse 6b mentions "fire" explicitly.
Effect
In terms of structure, the image of fire unites vv. 4-6.
In terms of message, Psalm 11 teaches that all people experience YHWH's fire. Like a goldsmith who puts gold in the fire to examine its quality, he exposes everyone to testing to see what they are made of (v. 4d). YHWH's fire has different results for the righteous and the wicked. The righteous are refined (v. 5a), and the wicked are destroyed (v. 6).
3. Summing it up
Feature
Nearly every word/root in the last verse of the psalm (v. 7) is used elsewhere in the psalm (vv. 1-6).
- "righteous" (vv. 3a, 5a)
- "YHWH" (vv. 1a, 4ab, 5a)
- "loves" (v. 5b)
- "upright" (v. 2c)
- "looks at" (v. 4c)
The only exception is the word "face" (v. 7b), though v. 4cd does mention components of a face ("eyes" and "eyelids"). Among these repeated words, the word חזה ("look at") is the most unique (only 9 times in Psalms).
Effect
Verse 7, which begins with כִּי and repeats words from throughout the psalm, has the character of a final summary (cf. Ps. 1 and Ps. 5, which are also structured in two parts with a final summary beginning with כִּי). This verse both summarises and grounds the entire psalm.
The repetition of the word חזה (vv. 4c, 7b) is especially significant. In v. 4, it is YHWH who "looks at" all people. In v. 7, the roles are reversed and it is the upright who will "look at" YHWH (cf. the same feature in Ps. 17:2, 15). The upright whom God has "looked at" (=examined) will "look at" his face (=experience his pleasure and protection).
The word/concept which is not repeated in v. 7 is "the wicked." They have been completely destroyed (cf. v. 6), so that only the righteous remain.
Line Divisions
Line Length
Repeated Roots
References
- ↑ Others (e.g., Fokkelman, van der Lugt) have argued that Psalm 11 has three sections which are chiastically arranged: (A) vv. 1-3, (B) vv. v. 4, (A') vv. 5-7. Several lines of evidence are given in defense of this structure. For example, (1) vv. 1-3 and vv. 4-7 speak of the righteous and the wicked, while v. 4 speaks of people in general; (2) "there is a cluster of words occurring exclusively in vv. 1-3 and 5-7" (van der Lugt 167) (e.g., "wicked", "upright", "righteous"); (3) "the three strophes are marked by the proper name for God" (Fokkelman 2000:85). In light of this structure, which has v. 4 as its centre, van der Lugt writes, "the quintessential thought of this psalm is to be found in the pivotal strophe (v. 4): from heaven God tests humankind" (van der Lugt 167). The main difficulty with this structure is that it requires a strophic break between v. 4 and v. 5, and these verses are very similar to one another (similar word order, similar language [בחן]). Furthermore, v. 7, which uses language from vv. 2-5, has the character of a summarising verse (cf. Pss. 1:6; 5:13).