Psalm 18/Participant Analysis/Notes

• Speaker and Addressee: Fortunately, the Superscription for the Psalm provides the speaker and addressee, for the Psalm: לְדָ֫וִ֥ד אֲשֶׁ֤ר דִּבֶּ֨ר ׀ לַיהוָ֗ה אֶת־דִּ֭בְרֵי הַשִּׁירָ֣ה הַזֹּ֑את “David, who recited the words of this song to YHWH”. There is no good evidence within the song to suggest otherwise.
• v. 3: For the addition of וּמְנוּסִי מֹשִׁעִי מֵחָמָס תֹּשִׁעֵנִי׃ see grammar note (MT ø).
• v. 5: For the emendation to מִשְׁבְּרֵי see grammar note (MT חֶבְלֵי).
• v. 8: אֶרֶץ “land, earth” and הַר “mountain” are paired throughout scripture (e.g., Isa 42:5; 44:23; Ezek 32:6; 37:22, etc), most likely because the latter was constituent of the former (cf. GW “Then the earth shook and quaked. Even the foundations of the mountains trembled.“). They are therefore analyzed here as related participants here.
• v. 9: The smoke, fire and coals here all serve a similar function: to express anger (cf. Baethgen 1904, 50). These elements, of course, naturally accompany each other, and so we see them together elsewhere (e.g., Job 41:12–15). We analyze them as synonymous participants.
• v. 12: For the emendation to חֶשׁרַת see grammar note (MT חֶשְׁכַת).
• v. 13: For the removal of MT עָבָ֥יו see grammar note.
• v. 14: For the removal of MT בָּרָ֗ד וְגַֽחֲלֵי־אֵֽשׁ׃ see grammar note.
• v. 15: For the removal of MT רָ֝ב see grammar note.
• v. 15: Note that many translations (NIV, NLT, CEV, GNT) take the enemies as the referent of the suffixes on the verb וַיְפִיצֵ֑ם and וַיְהֻמֵּֽם. This is unlikely, however. No enemies have been mentioned in the previous discourse. From the context, it is reasonable to assume that what is fleeing is the mythological waters (cf. next verse). We therefore take the referents of the antecedents to be the waves, torrents, cords and traps mentioned in vv. 5–6, since all of these symbolize watery chaos.
• v. 13: Both hail and fire function together as instruments of God's judgement in Exod 9:23, 24; Isa 30:30; Pss 105:32; 148:8. Due to the similar function in those places as well as here, we analyze them as synonymous participants.
• v. 16: The ocean floor and foundations of the world are both terrestrial elements that react to God's wrath, just like the “earth” and “mountains' foundations” in v. 8 (so Hupfeld 1885, 294–295). We therefore group them as synonymous participants.
• v. 17: Back in vv. 5–6, the Psalmist symbolizes his distress by describing being underwater; cf. Jonah's prayer in Jonah 3:3–5. We have therefore analyzed the “waters” here as co-referential with with the implements belonging to Death in vv. 5–6. On the symbolic association between death and water, cf. Jonah 2:7.
• v. 19: On the emendation to מִשְׁעָן see grammar note (MT לְמִשְׁעָ֣ן).
• v. 30: On the revocalization to אָרִץ see grammar note (MT אָרֻ֣ץ).
• v. 32: The words אֱ֭לוֹהַּ and צ֝֗וּר appear in a question and are thus non-real entities. They are therefore not analysed as participants.
• v. 35: On the emendation to נִחַת see grammar note (MT נִחֲתָ֥ה).
• v. 36: On the emendation to עֶזְרָתְךָ see grammar note (MT עַנְוַתְךָ֥).
• v. 43: On the emendation to אֹרַח see grammar note (MT ר֑וּחַ).
• v. 43: On the emendation to אֶרְקָעֵם see grammar note (MT אֲרִיקֵֽם).
• v. 44: On the emendation to עַמִּים see grammar note (MT עָ֥ם).