Psalm 18 Poetics

Psalm Overview

• Grammar
• Semantics
• Story behind the Psalm
• Discourse
• Poetics

About the Poetics Layer

Exploring the Psalms as poetry is crucial for understanding and experiencing the psalms and thus for faithfully translating them into another language. This layer is comprised of two main parts: poetic structure and poetic features. (For more information, click 'Expand' to the right.)

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Poetic Structure

In poetic structure, we analyse the structure of the psalm beginning at the most basic level of the structure: the line (also known as the “colon” or “hemistich”). Then, based on the perception of patterned similarities (and on the assumption that the whole psalm is structured hierarchically), we argue for the grouping of lines into verses, verses into strophes, strophes into stanzas, etc. Because patterned similarities might be of various kinds (syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, sonic) the analysis of poetic structure draws on all of the previous layers (especially the Discourse layer).

Poetic Features

In poetic features, we identify and describe the “Top 3 Poetic Features” for each Psalm. Poetic features might include intricate patterns (e.g., chiasms), long range correspondences across the psalm, evocative uses of imagery, sound-plays, allusions to other parts of the Bible, and various other features or combinations of features. For each poetic feature, we describe both the formal aspects of the feature and the poetic effect of the feature. We assume that there is no one-to-one correspondence between a feature’s formal aspects and its effect, and that similar forms might have very different effects depending on their contexts. The effect of a poetic feature is best determined (subjectively) by a thoughtful examination of the feature against the background of the psalm’s overall message and purpose.

Poetics Visuals for Psalm 18

Poetic Structure

Poetic Macro-structure

Notes

As indicated by the superscription, David sang this Psalm on the occasion of God rescuing him “out of the palm of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul” (v. 1). Thus, the psalm is about David's deliverance from his enemies. This basic theme is reinforced by the Psalm's poetic structure.

• The Psalm is flanked by the first (vv. 2–3) and last (vv. 50–51) strophes of the poem in which David declares his love and commitment to God and actively praises him, respectively. His utterances are expressions of their covenant relationship, which is poetically reflected in the multiple epithets + possessive suffixes in these sections. It is this special relationship that entitles David to deliverance (root יש׳׳ע).
• The remaining 102 lines divide neatly into 2 51-line halves.
• At the heart of each half is the deliverance event itself. The reason for two deliverance events is that one is mythological (YHWH's) and one is material (David's). They are necessarily linked, viz., they are one and the same event, because the covenant relationship. David is the expression on earth of YHWH's kingship.
  • The first half consists of vv. 4–25.
    • The main deliverance event (vv. 12–16) is depicted from YHWH's cosmic perspective.
      • Fittingly the binding element for (vv. 12–16) is the cluster of suffixes with YHWH as their antecedent. In discourse terms, this means that YHWH is very high in salience, since his name does not need to be explicitly repeated. The effect is a slowing down of the discourse in order to focus on the cosmic battle.
    • The main deliverance event is the central member of a chiastic pattern, the outer stanzas of which consist of vv. 4–7 and 21–25 and the inner stanzas of which consist of vv. 8–11 and 17–21.
      • The outer stanzas both share a unique stanza structure and contain the divine name in identical places within that structure.
        • In vv. 4–7 the outer strophes (vv. 4 and 7) create an inclusio around the inner strophe (vv. 5–6) via the repetition of the phrase “I cry out to YHWH” (ארקא יהוה).
        • In vv. 21–25 the outer strophes (vv. 21 and 25) create an inclusio around the inner strophe (vv. 22–25) via the repetition of the phrases “according to my righteousness” (כצדקי) and “according to the cleanliness of my hands” (כבר ידי).
        • These two stanzas bookend the deliverance event by introducing the cry for deliverance (vv. 4–7) and the reason God answers the cry (vv. 21–25).
      • The inner stanzas form an ABB'A' pattern, in which the corresponding members are connected in both sound and sense.
        • The A-A' strophes (vv. 8–9, vv. 19–20) evoke each other due to depicting God's emotional state towards the participants and the result of that state. Towards the enemies God feels anger which results in “smoke” (עָשָׁן). Towards the Psalmist he feels delight, which results in him becoming a “support” (מִשְׁעָן, consisting of virtually the same letters as smoke).
        • The B-B' strophes (vv. 10–11 and 17–18) depict the great heights from which God delivered David, and the great depth from which David was delivered. God came “down” (ירד) from “heaven” (שמים) to “pull up” (ימשני) David from the “waters” (מים). The phonological coherence is established through the labials and sibilants of heaven” (שמים), “pull up” (ימשני) and “waters” (מים).
          • vv. 8–11 cohere as a stanza due to the natural paring of their beginnings, which mention heaven and earth. There is also a high concentration of body parts in this stanza, which simultaneously express God's imminency and counter the “hands” of the enemies mentioned in the superscription.
          • vv. 17–20 cohere by virtue of the sound similarity of יַֽ֝מְשֵׁ֗נִי and מִשְׁעָ֣ן, which together constitute parts of the larger structure.
  • The second half consists of vv. 26–47.
    • The main deliverance event (vv. 36–39) is depicted from David's military perspective.
      • This stanza explicitly juxtaposes opposite states of David versus his enemies. While God enables his feet to not falter (v. 37), his enemies cannot stand (v. 39).
    • Like the previous half of the Psalm, this main deliverance event is the central member of a chiastic pattern, the outer stanzas of which consist of vv. 26–30 and 41–49 and the inner stanzas of which consist of vv. 31–35 and 40–43.
      • The outer stanzas contain virtually every instance of a word spelled with the consonants עם—“with” (עִם) and “peoples” (עַם). As expressed within those stanzas, David will rule over “peoples” (v. 44) because God acts faithfully, purely and blamelessly “with” David (vv. 26–27).
      • Like the previous half, the inner stanzas here form an ABBA pattern.
        • The A-A' strophes (vv. 31–32 and 42–43) evoke each other through the interaction of their lexemes in the semantic domains of “path” and “speech”. God's “sayings” (v. 31) to David are true and his “way” perfect (v. 31). Those who do not walk in God's way, however, end up crushed like dust on a “road” (v. 43) and God is silent towards them (v. 42).
        • The B-B' strophes give the main reason why David can defeat his enemies. Because God equips him for war.
• Fokkelman (2003, 27) includes v. 4 in the first strophe since it too uses a 1st person yiqtol in its A-line and since 2a and 4b thematically form the contrast of love-hate. Note, however, that v. 7 also has a first-person yiqtol. Also, the theme of “hate” is only implied in 4b, not explicitly stated as “love” is in 2a. Our structure accounts for both of these facts by placing v. 4 within the main body of the poem (cf. van der Lugt 2006, 215).
• Note the alliterations in vv. 5 and 6. V. 5 has nice alliteration with yod/bet/'ayin. And v. 6 has sibilant/bet/lamed in the first line, and mem/qof/dental in the second. Only strophe-binding elements are highlighted on the visual, otherwise this alliteration would be noted.
• Van der Lugt (2006, 215) groups vv. 14–16 as a strophe as well as vv. 29–31 as a strophe since “the name yhwh demarcates these units by inclusion; this phenomenon does not occur elsewhere in the psalm”. Not only could his argumentation extend the latter strophe to v. 32, but inclusio with the divine name also occurs in vv. 4–7 and 21–25.
• Van der Lugt (2006, 216) groups vv. 25–28 as the central strophe of the poem calling it a “generalizing conclusion” since it reinforces what he claims is the Psalm's main message (God supports the innocent). Structurally, this strophic grouping breaks up the series of כִּי-clauses that begin vv. 28–30. Semantically, it is at odds with what the Psalm's own superscription and the poem's opening words cite as the Psalm's main message.
• Van der Lugt (2006, 215) groups vv. 14–16 as a strophe as well as vv. 29–31 as a strophe since “the name yhwh demarcates these units by inclusion; this phenomenon does not occur elsewhere in the psalm”. Not only could his argumentation extend the latter strophe to v. 32, but inclusio with the divine name also occurs in vv. 4–7 and 21–25.
• Fokkelman (2003, 31–32) groups vv. 30–31 together, mostly for long-distance structural reasons. First is the repetition of מָגֵן “shield” and חסה in light of v. 3, claiming that these form “an inclusion for sections I–III”. The second is an inclusio within v. 31's own stanza (vv. 26–31) via the root תמם. This ignores, however, the repetition of the fronting of האל in v. 33. This proximity, we argue, is more cognitively salient than Fokkelman's long-distance connections, since “The Gestalt principle of proximity states that stimuli near each other tend to be grouped together” (Grosser 2023, §4.3).
• Fokkelman (2003, 33) groups vv. 32–33 together into a strophe. This is largely motivated by a thematic (“thanks and praise” inclusio he sees between v. 32 and v. 47ff. This structure, however, ignores the clear discourse connection to v. 31 made by the particle כִּי.
• Note the conceptual parallel of the earth trembling in v. 8 and the foreigners trembling in v. 46.
• Van der Lugt (2006, 204–205) divides the poem into five sections (he calls them “cantos”): vv. 2–3; vv. 4–16; vv. 17–31; vv. 32–46 and vv. 47–51. Lugt's primary structural argument is that the middle three sections each consist of 15 verses, and that the “pivotal colon” is v. 26b since it is “a terse formulation of a central idea of the poem as a whole: God supports the blameless/honest person” (212). There are two issues with this argument, however. First, while the middle three sections are well-balanced, the first and last are grossly out of proportion in terms of line count as well as number of verses. Second, by Lugt's own admission, that God supports the blameless/honest person is only a central idea of the poem, one that could be applied to any Psalm. Our structure rather highlights the theme expressed in the text's superscription—rescue and deliverance.
• 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. 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. 19: On the emendation to מִשְׁעָן see grammar note (MT לְמִשְׁעָ֣ן).
• v. 30: On the revocalization to אָרִץ see grammar note (MT אָרֻ֣ץ).
• 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).

Line Division

The following observations on the line delineation of the poem are mostly based on Sanders (2000). Thus only page numbers from this article will be cited (instead of repeating author-date).

• vv. 1–2 ויאמר: The superscription is most likely prosaic. This is suggested by the final line, which has an unusually high number of conjunctives in it. More importantly, The verse is not lineated in any of the major Greek majuscules (Vaticanus, Alexandrinus, Siniaticus) nor in the Cairo Codex version of 2 Sam., which consistently breaks between cola (291). Although וַיֹּאמַ֡ר comes after the silluq of the superscription (viz., in v. 2) there is good evidence to suggest that it belongs with the prosaic introduction. (1) The form וַיֹּאמַ֡ר is a pausal form, which is more characteristic of the end of major unit, than a minor break at the beginning of another; cf. the fact that it is also accented with a relatively weak disjunctive (pazer). (2) None of the three major Greek witnesses of LXX Psalms 18 include καὶ εἶπεν (=וַיֹּאמַ֡ר) within the colometric layout of the rest of the poem. (3) In the book of Job, poetic speeches are regularly introduced by the pausal form וַיֹּאמַ֡ר at the end of a verse (e.g., 3:2; 4:1; 6:1; 8:1; 9:1; 11:1; 12:1; 15:1; 16:1; 18:1; etc.) (291–292).
• vv. 2–3: These verses present a number of difficulties. We will discuss each in turn.
  • All of the Greek witnesses have Ἀγαπήσω σε, κύριε ἡ ἰσχύς μου (=אֶרְחָמְךָ֖ יְהוָ֣ה חִזְקִֽי) as the first colon of the poem (292–3).
  • The Samuel version in the Cairo codex and the Leningrad codex have a break after וּמְצֻדָתִ֖י. However, not only is this not supported by the Masoretic accents, but in the Aleppo Codex the words וּמְפַלְטִי־לִֽי are grouped with the beginning of v. 3 with no space, most likely due to space considerations, since וּמְפַלְטִי־לִֽי would have been too short on its own (293). According to Sanders, “Precisely in view of this shortness, it seems unjustified to adopt the colometry suggested by the lay-out of the Leningrad Codex and the Cairo Codex” (293). On the other hand, Codex Alexandrinus fully supports this 2b as one colon (and, most likely, Vaticanus, which inserts a dot after its translation of וּמְפַ֫לְטִ֥י).
  • Restoring וּמְנוּסִי מֹשִׁעִי מֵחָמָס תֹּשִׁעֵנִי׃ to the Psalms text means that מִשְׂגַּבִּי is no longer grouped with what precedes (וְקֶֽרֶן־יִ֝שְׁעִ֗י), as in the Psalms text, but is grouped with what follows, i.e., the beginning of the addition (...וּמְפַלְטִי). While the Greek witnesses of the Psalms מִשְׂגַּבִּי with what precedes (since they, of course, do not contain the extra material from Samuel), the interpunction in 2 Sam in Vaticanus for this verse suggests it be grouped with what follows. Most importantly, however, grouping v. 3b&c according to the accents of Samuel brings nice balance to the two lines—two groups of two epithets each joined by waw (cf. 294).
  • Finally, there is the question of line groupings. We have chosen to group v. 3a with all of v. 2, while keeping 3b-d as their own groups. This is primarily on the basis of poetic considerations. Two sets of tricola brings balance to the six lines, given their poetic features. In the first three lines (vv. 2–3a) each contain a name of God (יהוה and אל). The second tricolon (vv.3b–d) is bound together by a cluster of poetic features, most notably the repetition of the letter mem, the syntactic similarity of the first two cola, and the inclusio created by root/sound repetition of the ends of 3b (יִ֝שְׁעִ֗י) and 3d (תֹּשִׁעֵנִי).
• v. 4: As Rahlfs notes (1931, 100), this verse is lineated as a single line in many witnesses of the LXX. According to Sanders (295), this (lack of) line division “may have been inspired by και” and thus “It is clear that the colometry suggested by the Masoretic accents is preferable”.
• v. 6: The stress retraction on מ֣וֹקְשֵׁי—also known as nesigah— is regarded by Revell (2015, 36–43) as a minor pausal form. It is therefore highlighted. Nesigah also occurs in v. 8 (חָ֥רָה); v. 12 (יָ֤שֶׁת); v. 16 (אֲפִ֥יקֵי); v. 20 (חָ֥פֵֽץ); v. 39 (יֻ֣כְלוּ); v. 44 (רִ֪יבֵ֫י); v. 45 (יִשָּׁ֣מְעוּ); v. 51 (וְעֹ֤שֶׂה). One motivation for nesigah is to avoid two stressed syllables being too close together. Thus both the word on which stress retraction occurs and the following stressed syllable are highlighted.
• v. 12: Codex Alexandrinus combines 12a and b into one line. However, Vaticanus, Siniaticus as well as 8Q2 assume three cola whose divisions conform to that reflected by the Masoretic accents (see 295–296).
• v. 13: Our emendation is based on the Lucianic text, which does a good job explaining the many variants of this verse we find in other witnesses. Our line division thus follows that of the critical edition of the Lucianic text (see Fernandez Marcos and Busto Saiz 1989, 157). Note, however, that this also creates a well balanced line both in terms of prosodic words (3-2) and syntax (break between verb and object phrase)
• v. 14: Our emendation closely resembles this verse in Samuel (except we retain בשמים instead of מן שמים). The line division into a bicolon there “is supported by the lay-out of the Leningrad Codex, the Aleppo Codex and the Cairo Codex and by the interpunction in Codex Vaticanus” (297).
• v. 16: The Cairo Codex divides this verse in the Samuel text into three lines instead of four by combining everything after the word תבל into one line. Syntactically, this is unlikely, given the occurrence of the vocative יהוה (see 299) in our 16c. This would also make for a very unbalanced set of lines (3-3-5). On the other hand, the accentuation of the MT Psalms text is fully supported by Vaticanus, Alexandrinus and Sinaiticus (298). We read two sets of bicola here on semantic and poetic grounds. The first two lines share the structure wayyiqtol + construct phrase, while the second set of lines both open with a prepositional phrase, describing the cause of the events in 16a and b.
• v. 18: Vaticanus divides this verse into three lines, where וּ֝מִשֹּׂנְאַ֗י gets its own line. But this is most likely secondary since, due to the length of the translation of this phrase into Greek (καὶ ἐκ τῶν μισούντων με,). Alexandrinus divides the verse into two lines, but groups its translation of וּ֝מִשֹּׂנְאַ֗י with what precedes. Poetically, this is undesirable since it obscures the parallelism מֵאֹיְבִ֥י עָ֑ז // וּ֝מִשֹּׂנְאַ֗י (see 299–300). We therefore divide according to the accents (and pausal form) as well with the major Hebrew codices.
• v. 25: The line division suggested by the accents is supported by 5/6ḤevPsalms and Sinaiticus. Vaticanus places its translation of כְּבֹ֥ר יָ֝דַ֗י on its own line, “probably because of the extraordinary length of the Greek text” (καὶ κατὰ τὴν καθαριότητα τῶν χειρῶν μου). Alexandrinus has an identical division as Vaticanus except that it repeats the word ἀνταποδώσει (=וַיָּֽשֶׁב) at the end of the second line. “The secondary addition in Codex Alexandrinus suggests that the delimitation of cola as found in Codex Vaticanus was unsatisfactory to those who transmitted the Greek text. Of course the lay-out [sic] of Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus represents only a secondary development” (301).
• v. 29: With the major greek witnesses and 5/6ḤevPsalms (see Charlesworth et al. 2000, 157), we group יהוה with what precedes it, contrary to the Masoretic accents. Note also that this also conforms structurally to the Samuel version, where a divine name appears in both lines (302).
• v. 36: There are complications in the division of this verse within the Greek witnesses, but these are solely due to textual differences. See (302–3) as well as the grammar note for this verse.
• v. 51: Both Leningrad and the Cairo codex suggest a break after ולזרעו in the Samuel text. But this would result an extremely short line consisting of a single prosodic word (עד־עולם). For the Psalms text, the tricolon is supported by the accents and Greek witnesses (304). Sanders entertains the possibility that the revia over וּלְזַרְע֗וֹ is a transformed athnach, suggesting a tradition where there was a break here. Nevertheless, the interpretation as a tricolon is much more well-balanced (304).

Poetic Features

1. Because, you, YHWH are my strength and my protection!

Feature

A central theme in Ps 18 is YHWH's deliverance and rescue of David, with many references throughout the psalm: ישע deliver/deliverance (vv. 3, 28, 36, 42, 47) חלץ deliver (20) נצל rescue (1, 18, 49) פלט rescue (3, 44, 49).

Three inclusios within the Psalm iconically portray YHWH “rescuing” David. Structurally the inclusios accomplish this through YHWH's actions “surrounding” David. Semantically each inclusio describes some way in which YHWH helps David. Although there are many repeated roots in Ps 18, there are only three places where a specific phrase is repeated in close proximity, creating three noteworthy inclusios.

-The first inclusio consists of vv 4 and 7. Both verses contain the clause “I cry out to YHWH” (אֶקְרָ֣א יְהוָ֑ה). Additionally, 4b and 7b each contain a verb with yod, shin and 'ayin in the root: “I am delivered” (אִוָּשֵֽׁעַ) and “I cry for help” (אֲשַׁ֫וֵּ֥עַ), respectively.

- The second inclusio consists of vv. 21 and 25. Both verses contain the verb “he will repay” (יָשִׁ֥יב and וַיָּֽשֶׁב respectively), the phrase “according to my righteousness” (כְּצִדְקִ֑י) and the phrase “according to the cleanliness of my hands” (כְּבֹ֥ר יָ֝דַ֗י).

- The third inclusio consists of vv. 33 and 40. They are bound by the virtually identical repetition of a clause: “...who arms me with strength” (הַמְאַזְּרֵ֣נִי חָ֑יִל v. 33); “You armed me with strength” (וַתְּאַזְּרֵ֣נִי חַ֭יִל v. 40).

David's response (see below) for this deliverance is also provided iconically:

-The entire poem is flanked by identical structures, a 1cs yiqtol verb with a 2ms suffix referring to YHWH: “I shall keep loving you” (אֶרְחָמְךָ֖) in v. 2 and “I shall praise you” in v. 50 (אוֹדְךָ֖).

Effect

This structure reinforces the main message of the poem: YHWH delivers and protects David by equipping him with strength because David is committed to YHWH. In response, David continues his commitment and praise.

In v. 2 David calls YHWH his “strength” but then immediately speaks of God as his protection and deliverer in v. 3. The main message of the poem answers this tension: God protects and delivers David by strengthening him.

-The first inclusio states that YHWH delivers David. David expresses that he is surrounded by Death's instruments (vv. 5–6). At the same time, he is surrounded by a promise: whenever he cries out, YHWH answers with deliverance. This is exactly what follows in vv. 8–20, YHWH's deliverance of David from the chaotic waters.

-The second inclusio shows why YHWH delivers David. David expresses that he keeps the way of the Lord (vv. 22–24). David's efforts are not in vain, but rather protected by YHWH, for YHWH always repays David according to his righteousness (vv. 21 and 25). This is because YHWH is just, as is further elaborated in the following verses (vv. 26–32).

-The final inclusio shows how YHWH delivers David. David is equipped for war and defeats his enemies (34–39). His strength is not his own, however, but a form of YHWH's deliverance, for YHWH is the one who equips David for war (vv. 33 and 40). Because of David's great strength given by YHWH, nations submit to him as expressed in the following verses.

-Finally, the reason and result of YHWH being committed to protecting David is that David has always been committed to YHWH (reason) and will continue to be committed (result). David proclaims this at the beginning and end of the Psalm when he says “I shall keep loving you” (v. 2) and “I shall praise you” (v. 50). This is an expression of the covenant relationship between David. Thus: the flanking verses represent David's expression of his commitment to his side of the covenant, and the internal inclusios illustrate YHWH's commitment to the covenant.

2. And my fight is your fight...

Feature

YHWH's battle and David's battle occupy a structurally similar spot in the body of the Psalm.

In poetic structure, it was demonstrated that the Psalm is divided into two halves. At the heart of each half is the deliverance event itself. The reason for two deliverance events is that one is cosmic (YHWH's) and one is material (David's). They are necessarily linked, viz., they are one and the same event, because of the covenant relationship. David is the expression on earth of YHWH's kingship. Note that vv. 42–43 are not included in David's battle because of the verbal semantics. The battle there is not narrated like that in vv. 36–39, but rather descriptive of what regularly happens.

Effect

The structural placement of the two battles poetically expresses a central concept of the Psalm: that David's battle is YHWH's battle.

In the Psalms, the king was YHWH's representative on earth (cf. Psalm 2:11–12; Keel 1997, 246–247), such that the king's enemies are God's enemies: "The Israelite king's view of his enemies can be compared with that of other sacred kings. The Assyrian king, for example, considered his enemies as enemies of his gods, guilty of impious rebellion” (Eaton 1975, 141). On the connection between YHWH's enemies and God's enemies, see the feature ‘My enemies are your enemies’.

3. My enemies are your enemies...

Feature

Towards the middle of the Psalm (vv. 17b, 18a), David explicitly makes a connection between the “waters” that YHWH fights in the first half of the Psalm, and his enemies, whom he defeats in the second half of the Psalm. This connection is reinforced by a number of literary features:

-The first literary link is lexical in nature. In v. 6, Death's traps “rush upon” (קִ֝דְּמ֗וּנִי) the Psalmist. The same verb is predicated of the Psalmist's enemies in v. 19. He describes them as “rushing upon” him (יְקַדְּמ֥וּנִי).

-The second literary link is achieved through imagery. A participant related to YHWH's enemies in the Psalm is the earth, who “trembles ” at YHWH's appearance in vv. 8–9. Similarly, the participants related to David's enemies, foreign nations, “tremble” at the mere rumor of David in v. 46.

-The final link is thematic and phonological. All of the 3mp suffixes throughout the Psalm refer to enemies. In v. 15, they refer to God's enemies (most likely waves, torrents, cords and traps of death back in vv. 5–6). Within the narrative of David's battle in vv. 38–43, they refer to his enemies. The verbs of which God is the subject and those of which David is the subject all express similar themes of defeating enemies: "dispersed them", "routed them" (v. 15), "overtook them", "violently beat them", "wipe them out", and "crush them" (v. 38-43). Beyond the clear thematic links, the phonological similarities between these verbs are striking. In addition to the rhyme created by the 3mp ending itself, hearing the latter set of verbs would have no doubt evoked the first set. The salient correspondences consist of gutturals, labials, sibilants, the long ī sound, and the sound -ēm created by the 3mp suffix plus its connecting vowel.

Effect

These literary links (1) support the symbolic link between water and enemies, and (2) reinforce David's equation of YHWH's enemies with his own. This is crucial to the central message of the Psalm: David is YHWH's representative on earth, because of their binding covenant relationship (cf. Psalm 2:11–12; Keel 1997, 246–247). This bond is reflected in the fact that David's enemies become YHWH's enemies (see Eaton 1974, 141), that is, what happens to one happens to both.

The symbolic link between water and enemies is that both were seen as gateways to death (May 1955, 12). Hostile enemies are life-threatening; in biblical cosmology, the earth and the place of the dead are separated by subterranean waters (Job 26:5; cf. Ps 139:8). Also, the seas are viewed as chaotic forces to be defeated, and so earthly foes can also be seen as rebellious agents of chaos to be defeated.

Another link between water and enemies is simply that, throughout scripture, YHWH is regularly seen battling the oceans and the seas (Isa 27:1; Jer 5:22; Psa 89:9–10; 104:24–26; Job 26:12).

Repeated Roots

The repeated roots table is intended to identify the roots that are repeated in the psalm.

(For more information, click "Repeated Roots Legend" below.)

Repeated Roots Legend

Repeated Roots legend
Divine name	The divine name is indicated by purple text.
	Roots occurring only in the first half of the psalm are indicated in a green box.
	Roots occurring only on the second half of the psalm are indicated in a blue box.
	Roots occurring in both halves of the psalm are indicated in a black box.
	The Mid-way point for the repeated roots is indicated by a yellow box.
	Roots connected across sections are indicated by a vertical black line connecting the roots.
	Roots that repeat in the second half of the psalm relate to war and subsequent subduing of nations are indicated by a light orange box.

• The divine name is the most numerous reoccurring root, occurring 19 times.
• David's name occurs in the first and last verse of the psalm.
• vv. 26–27 seem to be a fitting mid-way point for the repeated roots.
  • Each verse repeats at least one root.
  • No other repeated root in the psalm occurs in these two verses.
  • In terms of content, vv. 26–27 express the theological truth both introduced by the Song of Hannah (see 1 Sam 2:6–8) and evident throughout the life of David—that God opposes the proud but exalts the humble (cf. Prov 3:34; James 4:6).
• The only root that occurs before, within and after the line of symmetry is תמם.
• Many of the roots that repeat in the second half of the Psalm relate to war and subsequent subduing of nations (עמם, אזר, לחם, קום, גוי, נכר, גדל).

Bibliography

Charlesworth, James et. al. 2000. Miscellaneous Texts from the Judaean Desert. DJD XXXVIII. Oxford: Claredon Press.

Fernández Marcos, Natalio, and José Ramón Busto Saiz. 1989. El texto antioqueno de la Biblia Griega. 1: 1-2 Samuel. Textos y estudios Cardenal Cisneros de la Biblia Políglota Matritense 50. Madrid: Inst. de Filología.

Fokkelman, J.P. 2000. Major Poems of the Hebrew Bible: At the Interface of Prosody and Structural Analysis (Vol 2: 85 Psalms and Job 4–14). Vol. 2. Studia Semitica Neerlandica. Van Gorcum.

Keel, Othmar. 1997. The Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.

Lugt, Pieter van der. 2006. Cantos and Strophes in Biblical Hebrew Poetry: With Special Reference to the First Book of the Psalter. Vol. 1. 3 vols. Oudtestamentische Studiën 53. Leiden: Brill.

May, Herbert G. 1955. “Some Cosmic Connotations of Mayim Rabbîm, ‘Many Waters.’” Journal of Biblical Literature 74 (1): 9–21. https://doi.org/10.2307/3261949.

Sanders, Paul. 2000. “Ancient Colon Delimitations: 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18.” In Delimitation Criticism: A New Tool in Biblical Scholarship, edited by Marjo Korpel and Josef Oesch, 277–311. Leiden: Brill.