Psalm 12 Semantics

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	Prepositional phrase	Construct chain	Construct chain within a prepositional phrase	Phrase-level waw	Article and כֹּל
Diagram Shading
Definition	- A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition plus its object. The phrase usually modifies the clause or another constituent in the clause.	- A construct chain, also called a 'genitive phrase', is a grammatical encoding of the relationship 'A of B,' in which A is a phonologically modified noun (in the construct state), and B is a phonologically unmodified noun (the absolute state).	- Some construct chains occur within prepositional phrases	- A waw conjunction can join units of all sizes. Phrase level waw join units at the word or phrase level (i.e., below the level of the clause).	- Definite articles tell you something about the identifiability or inclusiveness about the word it is attached to - כֹּל is a quantifier that tells you about the scope of a word it is attached to

v. 1

v. 2

• פַסּוּ. The verb פסס occurs only here. Modern versions agree that it must mean something like "have vanished" (NIV, NLT, ESV, NET), "have disappeared" (CEV), "can no longer be found" (GNT). The Targum reads ספו ("have come to an end"), and the LXX ὠλιγώθησαν ("became scarce"). It is probably related to the verb אפס ("to come to an end"). The parallel verb גמר (Ps. 12:2a) occurs in parallel with אפס in Ps. 77:9: הֶאָפֵ֣ס לָנֶ֣צַח חַסְדּ֑וֹ גָּ֥מַר אֹ֝֗מֶר לְדֹ֣ר וָדֹֽר׃. According to HALOT, the form is אפס in Ps. 77:9 is a "denom. from אֶפֶס." Cf. Gen. 47:15-6; Isa. 16:4; 29:20.

v. 3

• אִישׁ אֶת־רֵעֵהוּ. The preposition את is sometimes used with verbs of speaking (e.g., Gen. 34:6, דבר + את). On איש as a distributive, see GKC 139.
• בְּלֵב וָלֵב. Waltke and O'Connor note that "a singular noun may be repeated syndetically to form a phrase indicating diversity... 'They speak with a double heart (o.e., with deception)" (IBHS 7.2.3c).

v. 4-5

v.5

• לִלְשֹׁנֵנוּ נַגְבִּיר. This clause is difficult and has been interpreted in a number of ways. Most modern translations, following the Targum (בלישננא), have "by/with our tongues" (NIV, ESV, GNT, NRSV, NJB; LUT [durch], ZUR, NGU, EU [mit]), interpreting the lamed as a lamed of "instrument, by (means of)" (DCH; cf. Rashi) or as a lamed of reference ("with reference to") (Perowne 1870:170; cf. Duhm 1883:36; Baethgen 1904:33). Yet this is "grammatically not so easy" (Briggs 1906:96); if it were correct, then we might have expected a beth preposition instead of a lamed (Delitzsch 1883:246). In light of the many examples where the hiphil form of an intransitive verb combines with a lamed prepositional phrase functioning as the object of the verb (e.g. Gen. 9:27; Isa. 53:11; see BDB 511 s. 3 for more examples), it seems better to follow the LXX (Τὴν γλῶσσαν ἡμῶν μεγαλυνοῦμεν – "our tongue we will magnify" [NETS]) and Jerome (linguam nostram roboremus) in understanding the phrase to mean "we empower our tongues" (Briggs 1906:95; Delitzsch 1883:246).
• שְׂפָתֵינוּ אִתָּנוּ. The preposition את can indicate possession. Our lips (=our speech) are ours (=in our control) >> "no one tells us what to say." Cf. LXX: τὰ χείλη ἡμῶν παρʼ ἡμῶν ἐστιν (NETS: "our lips are our own").
• אָדוֹן לָנוּ. The noun אדון is indefinite, and the pronoun suffixed to לנו is definite. The mismatch in definiteness means that a construct phrase (אדוננו) cannot be used. "Who is our lord?" = "we have no lord."

v. 6

• יָפִיחַ לוֹ. This verb occurs with the preposition על (Ezek. 21:36), ב (Ps. 10:5), and ל (Ps. 12:6; Hab. 2:3). If our interpretation of the grammar is correct, then the meaning of the phrase here is similar to the meaning in Ps. 10:5 with the ב preposition.

v. 7

• בַּעֲלִיל לָאָרֶץ. The meaning of the phrase בעליל לארץ has long been the subject of confusion.
  • בַּעֲלִיל. The word עֲלִיל has been understood in several different ways.
    • The Targum interpreted the phrase to mean "a furnace on the ground" (בכורא על ארעא) (Stec 2014). Several modern translations adopt this interpretation: "furnace on the ground (ESV, NET). For ancient depictions of metal smelting, in which both furnace and crucible are in/on the ground, see Keel 1997:184-5. Some translations agree that עליל refers to a furnace but disagree on the meaning of the following prepositional phrase (לארץ). Some take it as a specification of the material of which the furnace is made: "earthen furnace" (CSB). Some translations do not translate this prepositional phrase at all: "furnace" (NLT, CEV, GNT), Schmelzofen (NGU), el horno (DHH).
    • Others think that the word refers to a "crucible" (NIV, REB), Tiegel (LUT), Schmelztiegel (ZUR), el crisol (NVI). (Whereas "furnace" refers to the entire mechanism used to produce heat, "crucible" refers only to the container of hot metal which is placed in the furnace.) So DCH: "crucible, of clay, for refining silver and other precious metals, less prob. furnace." So SDBH (?): "meaning unsure; possibly: = a construction ◄ made of hardened clay or of bricks ► and used for the smelting of ore; ≈ associated with purity and uprightness." If a crucible, then it may be either "a crucible on the earth" or an "earthen crucible" (JPS85) (cf. DCH).
    • Jerome translated the phrase separatum a terra ("[the purified metal is] separated from earth"). Some modern translations (e.g., ZUR) understand לארץ in this sense, though they separate group לארץ with the following line and interpret בעליל to mean "furnace."
    • Elberfelder translated the phrase, "Eingang zur Erde" (ELB). Cf. NJB fn: "lit.: 'smelted at the going into the earth' i.e. already refined when found.'" In Job 16:15, the verb עלל (polel) means "insert" - וְעֹלַ֖לְתִּי בֶעָפָ֣ר קַרְנִֽי. The noun in Ps. 12:7, then, may mean "entrance." This is the view of the CTAT committee.

• • לָאָרֶץ. If, with many lexicons and translations, we take the difficult term בעליל to mean either "crucible" (DCH, HALOT, BDB; NIV, REB, LUT, ZUR, NVI) or "furnace" (Tg.; SDBH, BDB; ESV, NET, NLT, CEV, GNT, NGU, DHH), then the lamed prepositional phrase (לארץ) may refer to (1) the location of the crucible (i.e., "in the earth/ground" or "on the earth/ground") (Tg., ESV, NET), (2) the material from which the crucible is made (i.e., "made of earth") (CSB, JPS85; cf. DCH), or (3) the place to which the molten silver flows (i.e., "[flowing] into the earth/ground") (Olshausen 1853:73-74; Baethgen 1904:33), in which case, the PP modifies כסף instead of בעליל. The second option is unlikely, since ארץ is not normally used in this sense; if this were the intended meaning, one might have expected עפר or אדמה (Hupfeld 1855:259). The third option is attractive insofar as it understands the lamed in a natural sense: movement to a location. Yet this view is also unlikely, since it requires the elision of a participle ("flowing") and the PP לארץ to modify כסף, from which it is separated by two words. The first option is attractive both because it has some ancient attestation (Targum Pss.) and because it coheres with ancient depictions of metal smelting, in which both furnace and crucible are in/on the ground (see Keel 1997:184-5). But does this view adequately account for the lamed preposition? Would not ב or על (as the Targum has) be more appropriate indicators of location? Since ארץ is definite ("the earth/ground") and בעליל is indefinite ("a crucible"), the lamed on ארץ may be explained as standing for a construct relationship: a crucible of the ground (cf. BHRG 25.3.2; GKC 129bc). The phrase may then be interpreted as "a crucible which is in the ground."

v. 8

• מִן־הַדּוֹר. For examples of נצר + מן, see Pss. 32:7; 64:2; 140:2, 5. It means "to guard someone from something/someone." הַדּוֹר is definite because it refers to a specific generation, i.e., the one "which is forever" >> "the everlasting generation" (see notes on grammar).

v. 9

• זֻלּוּת. The word זלות occurs only here, and its use in this instance might be explained in terms of sound. (Note the alliteration between זלות and זו לעולם in the previous verse.) Its meaning is uncertain, and the ancient versions struggled with it. Despite the uncertainty, most modern interpreters seem to agree that the word is probably an abstract noun from the root זלל (so BDB, HALOT, DCH; cf. JM 88Mj on the ות- suffix) and that it means "vileness" (HALOT) or "worthlessness" (BDB, DCH). SDBH gives both glosses as options and defines the word as "state in which someone is regarded as of frivolous and base conduct." Most modern translations have something similar: "what is vile" (NIV), "evil" (NLT, NET), "what is of little worth" (REB), "worthlessness" (NJB), "shameless deeds" (CEV), Gemeinheit (ELB, LUT, HFA, EU, GNB), la maldad (NVI, DHH).
• כְּרֻם זֻלּוּת. "kaf + temporal construction is used to indicate that an event referred to in the main clause, which typically follows the temporal clause with the kaf temporal construction, immediately follows it in time. The kaf + temporal construction can typically be translated 'as soon as,' 'just when,' etc. Often 'when' is also adequate" (BHRG 39.10.4).
• לִבְנֵי אָדָם. The lamed prepositional phrase refers to relative location: "among" (DCH; so ESV, JPS85, NEB). It may be short for לפני בני אדם (cf. Jon. 3:3; Jer. 33:9) (Baethgen 1904:34). The lamed probably does not mean "by" (introducing the agent) (so NIV, NET, CEV, NLT). Although lamed sometimes governs "the subject of a passive verb" (e.g., Jer. 8:3) (IBHS 11.2.10g), the verb here is not passive.