Psalm 16/Notes/Grammar.v. 8.422493

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  • Another option is to interpret v. 8 as follows: "I have set YHWH before me forever; // yes [I have set him] at my right hand! I will not be shaken."[1] According to this interpretation, כִּי is an asseverative particle: "yes." This use of כִּי is admittedly rare,[2] but a good example is found in Ps 49:16 (מִיַּד־שְׁאוֹל כִּי יִקָּחֵנִי, see The Syntax and Meaning of Psalm49:16) and perhaps also Ps 128:2 (יְגִיעַ כַּפֶּיךָ כִּי תֹאכֵל).[3] This interpretation would have the advantage of explaining why there is no pronoun (הוּא).
  1. ↑ So Ḥakham 1979, 71; Spronk 1986, 335.
  2. ↑ See Locatell 2017, 275–276.
  3. ↑ Note, however, that in these cases, כִּי precedes the verb, and it is itself preceded by a verbal argument. By contrast, in Ps 16:8b, כִּי is at the beginning of the line, and it precedes a prepositional phrase.