Psalm 19 Discourse

Psalm Overview

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

About the Discourse Layer

Our Discourse layer includes four analyses: macrosyntax, speech act analysis, emotional analysis, and participant analysis. (For more information, click 'Expand' to the right.)

Macrosyntax

The macrosyntax layer rests on the belief that human communicators desire their addressees to receive a coherent picture of their message and will cooperatively provide clues to lead the addressee into a correct understanding. So, in the case of macrosyntax of the Psalms, the psalmist has explicitly left syntactic clues for the reader regarding the discourse structure of the entire psalm. Here we aim to account for the function of these elements, including the identification of conjunctions which either coordinate or subordinate entire clauses (as the analysis of coordinated individual phrases is carried out at the phrase-level semantics layer), vocatives, other discourse markers, direct speech, and clausal word order.

For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Macrosyntax Creator Guidelines.

Speech Act Analysis

The Speech Act layer presents the text in terms of what it does, following the findings of Speech Act Theory. It builds on the recognition that there is more to communication than the exchange of propositions. Speech act analysis is particularly important when communicating cross-culturally, and lack of understanding can lead to serious misunderstandings, since the ways languages and cultures perform speech acts varies widely.

For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Speech Act Analysis Creator Guidelines.

Emotional Analysis

This layer explores the emotional dimension of the biblical text and seeks to uncover the clues within the text itself that are part of the communicative intent of its author. The goal of this analysis is to chart the basic emotional tone and/or progression of the psalm.

For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Emotional Analysis Creator Guidelines.

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.

Discourse Visuals for Psalm 19

Macrosyntax

Notes

Paragraph Divisions

• The topic of vv. 2-5b is הַשָּׁמַ֗יִם, the first word of this section.
• In v. 5c, the topic changes (or rather narrows) to the sun (לַשֶּׁמֶשׁ), the first word of this section, which remains the topic up through v. 7.
• In v. 8a, the topic changes to תּ֘וֹרַ֤ת יְהוָ֣ה, the opening phrase of this section, and it remains the topic throughout vv. 8-11.
• Verse 12 also introduces a new topic ("your servant").

Word Order

• v. 2. The word order in the a-line is default (Subject, Verb-participle, Object). The word order in the b-line is arranged to form a chiasm with the a-line: S-V-O // O-V-S.
• v. 3. The predicates in v. 3 ("pours out speech... imparts knowledge") are presupposed, and the phrases י֣וֹם לְ֭יוֹם (v. 3a) and לַ֥יְלָה לְּ֝לַ֗יְלָה (v. 3b) are fronted for marked focus. If the grammatical analysis of v. 3 is correct and these phrases are the subjects of the clause, then the verse is explaining how the sky is speaking. In other words, v. 2 raises the question: "how is it that the sky is speaking?" Verse 3 provides the answer: "It's the movement of day to day that pours forth speech and the movement of night to night that imparts knowledge." Alternatively, if the PP's are adverbial (they pour out speech day after day..."), then the verse is highlighting the constancy of the sky's communication. Cf. Lunn 2006, 143—"Having stated the fact of the revelation of God in the universe (v. 2), the psalmist then expands upon this through these two bicola giving salience firstly to the time (day and night, v. 3) and then place (everywhere, v. 5) where this revelation is discernible. The initial M constituent in each instance is therefore made the dominant focal element."
• v. 5ab. The PP בְּכָל־הָאָ֨רֶץ׀ is fronted for marked focus (cf. Lunn MKD 2006, 299). The previous verse has stated (in negative terms) that not a single word of the heavens goes unheard. Verse 5 now states, in positive terms, that their words have gone forth throughout the whole earth (v. 5a), to the very edge of the world (v. 5b). There is no place on earth where their words are not heard.
• v. 5c. The fronted PP לַ֝שֶּׁ֗מֶשׁ is the topic of a new poetic paragraph (vv. 5c-7) (cf. Lunn MKD 2006, 299).
• v. 7ab. The word order in v. 7ab forms a chiasm (Sub-PP // PP-Sub), beginning and ending with the word קצה ("edge"). Verse 7ab thus iconically represents the sun's course from one edge to another. It may also be that the predicate complement מִקְצֵ֤ה הַשָּׁמַ֨יִם ׀ is fronted for marked focus. The subject of the clause, "his starting point" (מֽוֹצָא֗וֹ), is presupposed from the previous clause which mentions the sun's "course." The focus of v. 7a is, then, the location of the starting point: "from one edge of the sky."
• v. 12b. The PP בְּ֝שָׁמְרָ֗ם introduces a new topic. The first half of the verse is about what YHWH's word does to someone who doesn't keep it—they are warned. The second half of the verse then addresses what happens when YHWH's Word is kept. The word order in v. 12 also forms a chiasm (Subject—Pred with beth PP // Predicate with beth PP—Subject). (It would also be possible to read בְּ֝שָׁמְרָ֗ם as marked for focus—it's only in keeping YHWH's rules that one experiences great reward; those who fail to keep them have no hope of reward."
• vv. 13-14a. These three lines clauses discuss three different kinds of sin (see notes on lexical semantics). Each kind of sin is fronted as the topic of each clause (cf. Lunn MKD 2006, 299): "As for mistakes (שְׁגִיא֥וֹת), who can realize them? As for hidden sins (מִֽנִּסְתָּר֥וֹת), clear me from their guilt! And as for presumptuous sins (גַּ֤ם מִזֵּדִ֨ים), prevent me from committing them!"

Vocatives

• The psalm's only vocative is in the last clause (v. 15), and the vocative itself constitutes the last line of the poem: יְ֝הוָ֗ה צוּרִ֥י וְגֹאֲלִֽי. This seventh mention of YHWH's name in the final line of the poem is a poetic feature. Prior to this line, YHWH's name is mentioned six times (vv. 8-10). In a psalm that highlights the theme of "perfection" (cf. תמם in vv. 8, 14), the number six is a glaring imperfection. The tension is resolved in the final line of the poem (v. 15c), where YHWH's name is mentioned for the seventh time. This time, however, YHWH is not only the perfect lawgiver (vv. 8-10), but the one who protects and redeems his servant.

Discourse Markers

• v. 12. The particle גם in v. 12a signals that the information in v. 12a is an addition to the information in v. 11 (and perhaps also to the information in vv. 8-10) (cf. ESV: "Moreover...", CSB: "In addition..."). The preceding verse has elaborated on the value, desirability, and sweetness of YHWH's Word. Verse 12 then introduces new information about YHWH's Word: not only is it desirable and sweet, but it also warns those who fail to keep it (v. 12a) and rewards those who do (v. 12b).
• v. 14. The particle גם in v. 14 introduces the final request to round off the psalmist's plea for blamelessness. First, he requests forgiveness from hidden sins (v. 13b), and then he (in addition) requests protection from presumptuous sins (v. 14a) (cf. NET and CSB: "Moreover..."). The particle has scope over the entire clause; i.e., the entire proposition is marked as an addition.
• v. 14. אז. See note on grammar.

Conjunctions

• Waw conjunctions are used to coordinate clauses within a line (v. 4a) and lines within a verse (vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 11, 14).
• The waw in v. 6a (וְה֗וּא) probably indicates that the verbless clause (וְה֗וּא כְּ֭חָתָן יֹצֵ֣א מֵחֻפָּת֑וֹ) is providing some background information, as often happens, e.g., in narrative passages (e.g., Gen 14:8 וּמַלְכִּי־צֶ֙דֶק֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ שָׁלֵ֔ם הוֹצִ֖יא לֶ֣חֶם וָיָ֑יִן וְה֥וּא כֹהֵ֖ן לְאֵ֥ל עֶלְיֽוֹן).
• On the definite article in v. 11, see notes on grammar. Formally, the article functions like a relative marker. Semantically, it introduces a conclusion: "For all of these reasons (vv. 8-10), they are..."

Speech Act Analysis

Summary Visual

Speech Act Chart

Notes

Indirect speech acts

• v. 13a. The interrogative in v. 13a is rhetorical: "who can discern mistakes?" = "No one can discern mistakes!" Cf. GNT: "None of us can see our own errors"; CEV: "None of us know our faults." The psalmist's purpose in asking the question is to emphatically deny the ability of anyone to know the entirety of YHWH's law, to understand how it applies to every life situation, and, therefore, to be able to discern (and avoid) all mistakes.

Global speech acts

• In terms of speech acts, the psalm has three main parts.
  • The first part (vv. 2-7) is a poetic description of the way in which the sky communicates God's glory.
  • The second part (vv. 8-11) extols the qualities and benefits of YHWH's covenant instruction (cf. Ps 119), implicitly comparing YHWH's instruction to the sun.
  • The third part (vv. 12-15) is a prayer for blamelessness. The prayer begins with a kind of confession. By saying that he is "warned" (v. 12a), the psalmist implies that he has sinned and has come to recognize the danger of his situation. By saying that keeping YHWH's rules bring great reward (v. 12b), he expresses a desire to become blameless, to become someone who keeps YHWH's rules and thereby experiences great reward. In v. 13a, he implies that he is guilty of errors, for no one is able to discern all errors. Following this confession, he asks for forgiveness (v. 13b) and protection (v. 14a) from sin. If YHWH answers his request, then he will be blameless (v. 14bc) and will be able to keep YHWH's commands and experience the fullness of their benefits. He concludes by praying in v. 15 that, having been made blameless, his words and thoughts would be an acceptable sacrifice to YHWH.
• Psalm 19, in its canonical form, is a unity. Indeed, it has probably always been a unity (see The Unity of Ps 19). How, then, do these three speech act sections fit together? Michael Fishbane has offered the most likely explanation. As he writes, "the whole of Psalm 19... turns on the offering of words and the request for divine favor in the concluding line" (Fishbane 1998, 90). In other words, the whole psalm is leading up the prayer for blamelessness in vv. 12-15. The first two sections "provide both the prologue and the counterpoint to his request. His desire to be forgiven for covenantal transgressions is set within a larger praise of God as lawgiver and creator" (Fishbane 1998, 86). See Story Behind for more details.

Emotional Analysis

Summary visual

Emotional Analysis Chart

Notes

• The major emotional shift in the psalm comes in v. 12. As Fishbane writes, "The style shifts; the words of hope and need are disjunctive and anxious, as contrasted with the hymnic, parallel strophes of part 1 [vv. 2-7] and the explicatory didacticisms of part 2 [vv. 8-11]. They express hesitant, anxious emotions. They burst from the soul and shatter the stately elegance of the language of the psalm's opening lines. The lines of part 3, by contrast, reveal the psalmist in his radical subjectivity, with his own torment and anxiety" (Fishbane 1998, 89). In the end however, in the very last line, the psalm ends on a note of hope: "YHWH, my rock and my redeemer."

Participant analysis

There are four participants/characters in Psalm 19:

• David refers to himself twice as "your servant" (עבדך) (vv. 12a, 14a), which is a polite form of self-reference used when speaking to a superior (cf. HALOT). The term creates a connection to the superscription of the previous psalm, where David is called "YHWH's servant" (עבד יהוה) (for more on connections between Ps 18 and Ps 19, see Hossfeld and Zenger 1993, 130).
• YHWH is called by the more general term "God" (אל) in the first half of the psalm, which focuses on his role as the universal creator whose glory is revealed to all people (cf. אלהים in Gen 1), and by his name "YHWH" (יהוה) in the second half of the psalm (7 times), which focuses on the covenant instruction of YHWH as the God of Israel in particular (cf. Cassuto 1941, lectures 2-3).
• Sins are regarded as a participant here, because "presumptuous sins" are the subject of the verb "rule" in v. 14, i.e., they are personified as a volitional agent. On the meaning of each of these different words for sin, see Lexical Semantics.
• The sky (vv. 2a, 7a), also referred to by the more specific term, "the firmament" (v. 2b) (cf. Gen 1:8), probably includes "everything in the heavens (a metonymy of subject)—primarily the sun, moon, clouds, stars, and planets" (Ross 2011, 472). The sky is also referred to metonymically as "day after day" and "night after night" (v. 3), i.e., it is the movement of day-to-day as seen within the sky that pours out speech, declaring God’s honor.

In v. 5c, the topic shifts to one particular part of "the sky", i.e., the sun, who is personified as a happy bridegroom and as a warrior (a warrior-poet, like David?) who runs each day from one edge of the sky to the other.

Participant Relations Diagram

The relationships among the participants may be abstracted and summarized as follows:

Participant Analysis Table

Participant Analysis Summary Distribution

Bibliography

Cassuto, Umberto. 2006. The Documentary Hypothesis and the Composition of the Pentateuch: Eight Lectures. New York: Shalem Press.

Fishbane, Michael A. 1998. Biblical Text and Texture: A Literary Reading of Selected Texts. Oxford: Oneworld.

Hossfeld, Frank-Lothar, and Erich Zenger. 1993. Die Psalmen I: Psalm 1–50. Neue Echter Bibel. Würzburg: Echter.

Lunn, Nicholas P. 2006. Word-Order Variation in Biblical Hebrew Poetry: Differentiating Pragmatics and Poetics. Paternoster Biblical Monographs. Milton Keynes: Paternoster.

Ross, Allen. 2012. A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 1: 1-41. Vol. 1. Kregel Exegetical Library. Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic & Professional.