Psalm 16 Participant Analysis
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Psalm 16/Participant Analysis
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Delights forever
Psalm 16
Participant Analysis
Participant Analysis focuses on the characters in the psalm and asks, “Who are the main participants (or characters) in this psalm, and what are they saying or doing? It is often helpful for understanding literary structure, speaker identification, etc.
For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Participant Analysis Creator Guidelines.
There are 3 participants/characters in Psalm 16:
| David |
| "David" (v. 1) |
| "your loyal one" (v. 10) |
| David's body |
| "my kidneys" (v. 7) |
| "my heart" (v. 9) |
| "my liver" (v. 9) |
| "my body" (v. 9) |
| YHWH |
| "YHWH" (vv. 2, 5, 7, 8) |
| "God" (v. 1) |
| "my Lord" (v. 2a) |
| "my good" (v. 2b) |
| "the portion I possess" (v. 5a) |
| "my cup" (v. 5a) |
| Other gods |
| "the holy ones who are in the earth" (v. 3) |
| "the 'all-my-pleasure-is-in-them mighty ones" (v. 3) |
| "another (god)" (v. 4) |
| Those who worship other gods |
| "they" (v. 3) |
- David is the king of Israel. As an Israelite living the land that YHWH gave to Israel, David has YHWH as his god (cf. 1 Sam 26:19). Moreover, David is in a special covenant relationship with YHWH (2 Sam 7; Ps 89).
The psalm also refers to various parts of David's body. - YHWH is the god of Israel. When he assigned lands to the nations and divided up the human race, he chose Israel as his own special possession (Deut 32:8–9). YHWH demands total allegiance from his people (cf. Exod 20:1–5; Deut 6:4–5).
- In contrast to David, other people worship other gods. The initial description of these gods in v. 3 portrays them as underworld deities (see Lexical Semantics and Story Behind), whom people would worship and consult for advice. The identity of the people who worship these gods is unspecified (and even downplayed) in the psalm.
| Hebrew | Verse | English |
|---|---|---|
| מִכְתָּ֥ם לְדָוִ֑ד | 1a | A miktam. By David. |
| שָֽׁמְרֵ֥נִי אֵ֝֗ל כִּֽי־חָסִ֥יתִי בָֽךְ׃ | 1b | Protect me, God, because I have taken refuge in you. |
| אָמַ֣רְתִּ לַֽ֭יהוָה אֲדֹנָ֣י אָ֑תָּה | 2a | I have said to YHWH, "You are my Lord, |
| ט֝וֹבָתִ֗י בַּל־עָלֶֽיךָ׃ | 2b | my good; there is no one above you." |
| לִ֭קְדוֹשִׁים אֲשֶׁר־בָּאָ֣רֶץ הֵ֑מָּה | 3a | They are on the side of the holy ones who are in the earth, |
| וְ֝אַדִּירֵ֗י כָּל־חֶפְצִי־בָֽם׃ | 3b | the "all-my-pleasure-is-in-them" mighty ones. |
| יִרְבּ֥וּ עַצְּבוֹתָם֮ אַחֵ֪ר מָ֫הָ֥רוּ | 4a | Their idols increase; they have acquired another. |
| בַּל־אַסִּ֣יךְ נִסְכֵּיהֶ֣ם מִדָּ֑ם | 4b | I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood, |
| וּֽבַל־אֶשָּׂ֥א אֶת־שְׁ֝מוֹתָ֗ם עַל־שְׂפָתָֽי׃ | 4c | and I will not utter their names with my lips. |
| יְֽהוָ֗ה מְנָת־חֶלְקִ֥י וְכוֹסִ֑י | 5a | YHWH is the portion I possess and my cup. |
| אַ֝תָּ֗ה תּוֹמִ֥יךְ גּוֹרָלִֽי׃ | 5b | You are holding my lot. |
| חֲבָלִ֣ים נָֽפְלוּ־לִ֭י בַּנְּעִמִ֑ים | 6a | Property lines have fallen for me in the most delightful places. |
| אַף־נַ֝חֲלָ֗תִ שָֽׁפְרָ֥ה עָלָֽי׃ | 6b | Yes, my inheritance is beautiful to me. |
| אֲבָרֵ֗ךְ אֶת־יְ֭הוָה אֲשֶׁ֣ר יְעָצָ֑נִי | 7a | I will bless YHWH, who has advised me. |
| אַף־לֵ֝יל֗וֹת יִסְּר֥וּנִי כִלְיוֹתָֽי׃ | 7b | Yes, throughout the night, my kidneys instructed me. |
| שִׁוִּ֬יתִי יְהוָ֣ה לְנֶגְדִּ֣י תָמִ֑יד | 8a | I have placed YHWH before me always; |
| כִּ֥י מִֽ֝ימִינִ֗י בַּל־אֶמּֽוֹט׃ | 8b | because he is at my right side, I will not be shaken. |
| לָכֵ֤ן ׀ שָׂמַ֣ח לִ֭בִּי וַיָּ֣גֶל כְּבֵדִ֑י | 9a | Therefore, my heart rejoices, and my liver is glad. |
| אַף־בְּ֝שָׂרִ֗י יִשְׁכֹּ֥ן לָבֶֽטַח׃ | 9b | What's more, my body will dwell securely. |
| כִּ֤י ׀ לֹא־תַעֲזֹ֣ב נַפְשִׁ֣י לִשְׁא֑וֹל | 10a | For you will not abandon my life to Sheol; |
| לֹֽא־תִתֵּ֥ן חֲ֝סִידְךָ֗ לִרְא֥וֹת שָֽׁחַת׃ | 10b | you will not let your loyal one experience decay. |
| תּֽוֹדִיעֵנִי֮ אֹ֤רַח חַ֫יִּ֥ים | 11a | You will show me the way to life |
| שֹׂ֣בַע שְׂ֭מָחוֹת אֶת־פָּנֶ֑יךָ | 11b | – fullness of joy in your presence, |
| נְעִמ֖וֹת בִּימִינְךָ֣ נֶֽצַח׃ | 11c | delights in your right hand – forever. |
- Addressee.
Psalm 16 begins and ends with second-person references to YHWH (vv. 1, 10–11). Therefore, YHWH is the addressee at least in these verses, as well as in the embedded speech in v. 2. In the absence of any other explicit addressee, it seems likely that YHWH is the addressee throughout the whole psalm, even where he is referred to in the third person (vv. 2a, 5a, 7–8). Psalms addressed to YHWH often alternate between second and third person (cf. Pss 7; 18), just as someone addressing a king might alternate between second and third person (cf. Esth 3:8–9; Ps 45:2ff). Thus, in v. 5, the psalmist can move seamlessly from the third person (v. 5a) to the second person (v. 5b).
Participant Relations Diagram
The relationships among the participants may be abstracted and summarized as follows:
Participant Analysis Summary Distribution
