Psalm 19 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.)

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 19

Poetic Structure

Poetic Macro-structure

Many have argued that the Psalm is a composite of two originally individual psalms (Ps 19A: vv. 2-7; Ps 19B: vv. 8-15). But the evidence for this view is weak. See The Unity of Ps 19. The semantic and poetic correspondences between the two sections suggest a unified poem whose parts have always existed next to one another. Some of these correspondences include the repetition of נִסְתָּר (vv. 7c, 13b) and בָּהֶם (vv. 5c, 12a), the theme of speech which runs throughout the psalm, the solar imagery which pervades both halves (see Story Behind and The Unity of Ps 19), and the fact that both sections ends with pair of tricola (vv. 5c-7; vv. 14-15). Furthermore, the device of similar endings is used in both halves of the psalm to structure the sections (v. 4 // v. 7; v. 11 // v. 14).

Most interpreters of Psalm 19 agree that the psalm divides into two major sections: vv. 2-7 // vv. 8-15 (cf. Quinn 2023 who are argues for a tripartite division: vv. 2-7; vv. 8-11; vv. 12-15). Each section begins by announcing its theme (v. 2: "the heavens"; v. 8: "YHWH's instruction"), and each section closes with a pair of tricola (vv. 6-7; vv. 14-15).

• The first section (vv. 2-7) is about the glory of YHWH in the heavens. The first word of this section is, appropriately, הַשָּׁמַיִם (v. 2a). The only other use of the word הַשָּׁמַיִם is in the last verse of this section (v. 7). Thus, vv. 2-7 are bound by an inclusio. This first section is further subdivided into two smaller sections, each of which end with a negative statement using אין (vv. 4, 7c):
  • vv. 2-4 are about the speech of the heavens, which is heard all the time (v. 3) and by everyone (v. 4). This section is bound by the repetition of the word אֹמֶר (vv. 3a, 4a).
  • vv. 5-7 is bound by the repetition of the words יצא and קצה (cf. Quinn 2023, 44). This section is about the communication of the sky, and of the sun in particular, going out to the very ends of the world.
  • The two units are joined together by a chiasm at the seam: a. דְּבָרִים b. קוֹלָם b.' קַוָּם a.' מִלֵּיהֶם (so van der Lugt 2006, 221; cf. Quinn 2023, 43). The b-items sound similar to one another (both begin with ק and with ם), and the a-items are semantically related (מלים is the Aramaic equivalent of דברים).
  • An alternative possibility would be to group vv. 5c-7 together as a unit, with the topic of this unit as the sun (לַשֶּׁמֶשׁ as the first word) (cf. Fokkelman 2000; Weber 2016). According to this division, the previous unit, v. 2-5b, would be bound by a subtle chiasm: a. heavens (v. 2), b. אמר (v. 3), b.' אמר (v. 4) a.' earth (v. 5).
• The second section (vv. 8-15) is about the Torah of YHWH in the life of his servant. The first word of this section is, appropriately, תּוֹרַת יְהוָה. The root תמם ('complete', 'perfect') also occurs in the opening line of this section and is repeated near the end of the section (v. 14b). Van der Lugt rightly points out that "this root represents the key notion of vv. 8–15" (van der Lugt 2006, 224). The perfection of YHWH's instruction (v. 8) leads the psalmist to desire to be blameless/perfect (v. 14). The word לב (vv. 9, 15) and the divine name (vv. 8-10, 15) work together with the root תמם to form an inclusio around this section. The second section further divides into two or three smaller sections:
  • vv. 8-11 are bound by the similar theme of YHWH's instruction. The first three verses of this unit (vv. 8-10) are tightly bound together by the six-fold repetition of the divine name (once in each line), the virtually identical syntactic structure of each line (construct phrase, adjective, participle), the similar length of each line (5 words, an allusion to the Pentateuch? [cf. Rashi]). It may be that "the structural regularity (strict parallelism of nominal and participial clauses) is the linguistic counterpart to the order that the law is intended to establish" (TDOT 2006, 630). The Mesopotamian Shamash hymn, which focuses on the sun god as the god of law and order, shows a similar order itself, being "precisely 200 lines" (Foster, COS, 1.117). Verse 11 is bound syntactically to these verses by the anaphoric article (הַֽנֶּחֱמָדִ֗ים), and because it too is about YHWH's instruction. The whole is thus organized as an abc//c'b'a' + d structure, which (not coincidentally) is exactly how Genesis 1 is structured (cf. Quinn 2023, 44-45):
    • a//a' — feminine singular nouns (תּ֘וֹרַ֤ת // מִצְוַ֥ת); synonymous phrases (מְשִׁ֣יבַת נָ֑פֶשׁ // מְאִירַ֥ת עֵינָֽיִם)
    • b//b' — singular nouns ending in tav (עֵד֥וּת // יִרְאַ֤ת); description as "enduring" (נֶ֝אֱמָנָ֗ה // עוֹמֶ֪דֶת לָ֫עַ֥ד)
    • c//c' — masculine plural nouns (פִּקּ֘וּדֵ֤י // מִֽשְׁפְּטֵי); synonyms related to righteousness (יְ֭שָׁרִים // אֱמֶ֑ת צָֽדְק֥וּ)
    • d — v. 11.
    • 
  • vv. 12-14 are bound by the repetition of the words גם... עבדך (vv. 12a, 14a), the root נקה (vv. 13b, 14c), and the word רב (vv. 12, 14, also v. 11). The section is further bound by a similar theme: sin and warning (note the various words for "sin" in vv. 13-14 and the reference to "warning" in v. 12). Whereas the previous unit (vv. 8-11) extols the benefits of YHWH's instruction, this unit laments the human inability to keep YHWH's instruction perfectly. This unit ends similarly to the previous unit: the phrase מִפֶּ֥שַֽׁע רָֽב (v. 14c) echoes the phrase וּמִפַּ֣ז רָ֑ב (v. 11a). The similar endings in the second half of the psalm (vv. 11, 14) parallel the similar endings in the first half of the psalm (vv. 4, 7).
  • v. 15 concludes the second section and the entire psalm—notice the reference to 'words' אמר which echoes the beginning of the psalm. It is closely related to the previous verses with its first person language yet it also stands apart from them by not sharing in the features that bind vv. 11-14.

Line Division

Notes

• The above line division agrees completely with the LXX according to Rahlfs' 1931 edition. With the exception of v. 15a, it also agrees completely with the Masoretic accents (as interpreted by de Hoop and Sanders 2022; according to their system, pazer does not mark a line division, so v. 15 would be divided as a bicolon).
• It would be possible to further subdivide each of the lines of vv. 8-10 in half (so e.g., BHS, Fokkelman 2000, van der Lugt 2006), but it seems better to follow the traditions mentioned above (MT accents, LXX, see also the Sassoon codex).
• Most interpreters agree that v. 5c should be grouped with v. 6 (e.g., NLT, NIV, ESV, GNT; so van der Lugt 2006; Hossfeld and Zenger 1993; Fokkelman 2000; Waltke 2010; et al.). Normally, the Masoretic versification is a helpful guide to poetic structure. In this case, however, it is misleading.

Poetic Features

1. Like the Sun

Feature

The sun features prominently in the first half of Ps 19 (vv. 2-7, esp. vv. 5c-7). And, although it is not explicit, the solar imagery continues, by means of careful word plays, into the second half of the psalm as well.

The descriptions which are applied to YHWH's instruction (vv. 8-11) could also apply to the sun. The sun, for example, is associated with "righteousness" and "justice" (vv. 9a, 10b, cf. Mal 3:20), with the ability to "give light" (v. 9b) and "restore life" (v. 8a, cf. Mal 3:20), with "flawlessness" (v. 9b, cf. Song 6:10) and "joy" (v. 9a, cf. Mal 3:20), with reliability (v. 8b) and everlastingness (v. 10a, cf. Ps 89:37-38).

Furthermore, a few words in the second half of the psalm appear to have secondary meanings/associations related to the sun. The word בָּרָה (v. 9b), for example, can mean either "flawless" or "bright" ("...bright [בָּרָה] as the sun", Song 6:6 NIV). Similarly, the word טְהוֹרָה means "pure," but it has associations with brightness ("...as bright [לָטֹהַר] blue as the sky", Exod 24:10, NIV; "When is the sky seen in its brightness [בטיהריה]?" B'rakhoth 59a [Aramaic]; cf. Eaton 1968). Finally, the word נִזְהָר in v. 12a could mean either "warned" or "illuminated" (cf. Dan 12:3; Ezek 8:2; cf. Eaton 1968).

(See The Unity of Ps 19 for more details on each of these points.)

Another, more prominent, connection between the two halves of the psalm is the repetition of the verb נִסְתָּר ("hidden") in v. 7c and v. 13b.

Effect

The first half of the psalm (vv. 2-7) is about the sky and, specifically, the sun (vv. 5c-7) (note how הַשָּׁמַ֗יִם is the first word of vv. 2-7 and לַ֝שֶּׁ֗מֶשׁ is the first word of vv. v. 5c-7) . The second half of the psalm is about YHWH's instruction (vv. 8-11) in the life of his servant (vv. 12-15) (note how תּ֘וֹרַ֤ת יְהוָ֣ה is the opening phrase of vv. 8-15, and גַּֽם־עַ֭בְדְּךָ is the opening phrase of vv. 12-15). On the surface, it is difficult to see how these two halves relate to one another. For this reason, many scholars have suggested that the two halves of Ps 19 were originally two separate poems (see e.g., GNT; see The Unity of Ps 19 for details).

The solar imagery, however, ties the two parts of the psalm closely together. Although the psalm never makes the point explicit, there is an implicit comparison between YHWH's instruction and the sun. The idea—and this idea is the key to understanding the psalm—is that YHWH's instruction is like the sun. Just as the sun is the source of all physical life on the earth, so YHWH's instruction is the source of all spiritual life for his people. And just as there is nothing "hidden" (נִסְתָּר) from the heat of the sun (v. 7c), so there is no sin that is "hidden" (מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת) from YHWH's instruction (v. 13b). It is precisely this inescapable "heat" of YHWH's instruction that leads the psalmist to pray for blamelessness in vv. 12-15 (see Speech Act Analysis). C. S. Lewis, who called Ps 19 "the greatest poem in the Psalter" was right to claim that "the key phrase on which the whole poem depends is 'there is nothing hid from the heat thereof'... As [the psalmist] has felt the sun, perhaps in the desert, searching him out in every nook of shade where he attempted to hide from it, so he feels the Law searching out all the hiding-places of his soul" (Lewis 1958, 54-55).

2. Complete Revelation

Feature

The name YHWH, the personal name of the God of Israel, occurs seven times in Psalm 19, six times in vv. 8-10 and one time in the final line of the psalm (v. 15c; cf. Ps 7, where YHHW's name also occurs 7 times). The number seven is significant: "Of the numbers that carry symbolic meaning in biblical usage, seven is the most important. It is used to signify completeness or totality" (Ryken et al. 1998, 774; cf. Gen 1 and the seven days of creation). The idea of "completeness" is a prominent theme in this psalm; the root תמם ('be complete') occurs in v. 8 (תְּמִימָה) and in v. 14 (אֵיתָם), forming an inclusio around the second half of the psalm (vv. 8-15, see poetic structure).

In the first half of the psalm, the divine name YHWH never occurs. Instead, the psalm begins with a reference to God, which is not a personal name, but a common noun (SDBH: "the highest God, creator of heaven and earth").

Effect

Psalm 19 shows a progression in the knowledge of God. The first line of the psalm uses the common noun "God" (אֵל). At this point in the psalm, the knowledge of God is general and rather hazy and ill-defined—this "God", whoever he is, is the creator of heaven and earth.

The second half of the psalm, however, refers to this God by his personal name "YHWH"—the name which by which he revealed himself to Moses (Exod 3:14-16). The divine name clusters in vv. 8-10, occurring six times within the space of six lines. In this unit, "YHWH" is identified as the God whose covenant instruction (v. 8), which consists especially of commands to fear him (vv. 9-10), is "perfect" (תָּמִימָה).

Despite the emphasis on perfection/completion, however, there remains in the psalm a glaring imperfection. The fact that YHWH's name occurs only six times (one less than seven) creates a tension and leaves the reader expecting something more.

The tension is resolved in the final line of the psalm, where YHWH's name is mentioned for the seventh time—this time, however, not as the one who commands his people, but the one who protects and redeems them—"my rock and my redeemer."

In other words, God is not only the creator of heaven and earth (vv. 2-7), he is also the personal God of Israel who has given covenant instruction to his people (vv. 1-6). But even this description is 'incomplete,' for YHWH not only teaches his people how to be blameless, he also makes them blameless by forgiving their hidden sins (cf. v. 13) and protecting them from presumptuous sins (cf. v. 14), as their "rock" and "redeemer" (v. 15).

3. In the Beginning

Feature

Many of the words and ideas in Psalm 19 are found also in the first four chapters of Genesis.

The first verse of the psalm alludes to the act of creation with the phrase "workmanship of his hands" (v. 2b, cf. Ps 8:7; 102:26; 103:22), and the first half of the psalm goes on to describe a number of the things which God made in the beginning: "sky" and "firmament" (vv. 2, 7a, cf. Gen 1:6-8), "day" and "night" (v. 3, cf. Gen 1:3-5), "earth" (v. 5a, cf. Gen 1:9-10) and "sun" (v. 5c).

The creation language then continues into vv. 8-11. Not only does the description of YHWH's instruction in these verses evoke the image of the sun (see poetic feature #1), but these verses are arranged in an abc//a'b'c + d pattern, which is exactly the structure of the seven days in Genesis 1 (on the structure of Gen 1 see e.g., Wenham 1987, 6-7):

a//a' — feminine singular nouns (תּ֘וֹרַ֤ת // מִצְוַ֥ת); synonymous phrases (מְשִׁ֣יבַת נָ֑פֶשׁ // מְאִירַ֥ת עֵינָֽיִם)

b//b' — singular nouns ending in tav (עֵד֥וּת // יִרְאַ֤ת); description as "enduring" (נֶ֝אֱמָנָ֗ה // עוֹמֶ֪דֶת לָ֫עַ֥ד)

c//c' — masculine plural nouns (פִּקּ֘וּדֵ֤י // מִֽשְׁפְּטֵי); synonyms related to righteousness (יְ֭שָׁרִים // אֱמֶ֑ת צָֽדְק֥וּ)

d — v. 11.

The description of YHWH's instruction in vv. 8-11 is also reminiscent of the tree of knowledge of good and evil in Gen 2-3 (cf. Clines 1974; Quinn 2023, 45), which was "desirable" (נחמד, cf. Ps 19:11a) to "make wise" (Gen 3:6 [השׂכיל], cf. Ps 19:8b [החכים]), able to "open eyes" (Gen 3:7, cf. Ps 19:9b), "good for food" (Gen 3:6); cf. "restore life" in Ps 19:8a), and probably "sweet" to the taste (cf. Ps 19:11b). In light of these connections, the law-related terms in vv. 8-11 (especially the term מִצְוָה "command" in Ps 19:9b) recall YHWH's command not to eat of the tree (Gen 2:16 - ...וַיְצַו֙ יְהוָ֣ה "Then YHWH commanded"), which is, arguably, the first command given in the Bible.

Finally, vv. 12-15 continue to echo the early chapters of Genesis by describing sin in relation to the verb "rule" (משׁל): "And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it (תִּמְשָׁל־בּֽוֹ)" (Gen 4:7, ESV). As Clines writes, "‘Let them... not reign over me’ (v. 14) recalls the divine address to Cain... where sin is represented as a crouching animal attempting to gain the mastery over the human" (Clines 1974, 7-8). Furthermore, the "great crime" in v. 14c might allude to man's rebellion in Gen 3-4 (cf. Craigie 1983, 183, cf.).

Effect

The progression of Psalm 19 might be summarized as creation --> commandment --> sin. The first part of the psalm (vv. 2-7) is a description of God's glory in creation, and the second part (vv. 8-11) is a celebration of YHWH's perfect commandments, which are like the sun—the source of all spiritual light and life (see poetic feature #1). But the commandments, like the sun with its inescapable heat, also have an unpleasant effect on the psalmist. Through the commandments, the psalmist comes to realize just how sinful he is: he is incapable of avoiding mistakes (v. 13a), guilty of hidden sins (v. 13b) and threatened by the rule of presumptuous sins (v. 14a). Thus, he is "warned" by YHWH's commandments (v. 12a; cf. Rom 7:7-8).

The progression of creation --> commandment --> sin in Ps 19 echoes (and was perhaps inspired by) the same progression in Gen 1-4 (the first chapters of "YHWH's instruction", Ps 19:8). These chapters, like Ps 19, describe God's creation (Gen 1), the commandment he gives to his people to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:16), and the sin which, once the commandment is given, "rules" (Ps 19:14b) over Adam and Eve and brings them to commit "great crime" (פֶּשַׁע רָב, Ps 19:14c).

This tragic story is not just the story of Adam and Eve; it is the story of humanity. It is the story of David who wrote Ps 19 and of everyone who prays Ps 19. But the story does not end in tragedy. Psalm 19 ends, like Gen 1-4, with the hope of redemption. YHWH is the "rock and redeemer" of his people (v. 15) who will crush the serpent's head (cf. Gen 3:15) and rescue his people from sin's dominion.

Repeated Roots

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

Repeated Roots Legend

Repeated Roots legend
Divine name	The divine name is indicated by bold purple text.
Roots bounding a section	Roots bounding a section, appearing in the first and last verse of a section, are indicated by bold red text.
	Roots occurring primarily in the first section are indicated in a yellow box.
	Roots occurring primarily in the third section are indicated in a blue box.
	Roots connected across sections are indicated by a vertical gray line connecting the roots.
	Section boundaries are indicated by a horizontal black line across the chart.

Based on repeated words/roots, the psalm might be divided into four sections:

1. vv. 2–7. This first section is bound by the repetition of הַשָּׁמַ֨יִם in the first and last verses of the section. Other repeated roots (אין, יצא, and קצה) occur only in this section.
2. vv. 8–10. This second section is bound by the six-fold repetition of יהוה, once in each line.
3. vv. 11–14. This third section is bound by the repetition of רב in the first and last lines of the section. Other repeated roots that occur only in this section are גם, עבדך, and נקה.
4. v. 15. The final verse of the psalm stands out. Unlike the other sections, it has no repeated roots to itself. Rather, it repeats roots from previous sections. It repeats אמר from the first section and לב from the second section. It also repeats the divine name for the seventh time.

For the most part, the repetition of words/roots is local, not spanning beyond a single section. There are several exceptions, however. The following words are repeated relatively far apart from one another and form long-range connections among the sections:

• אמר (vv. 3, 4, 15) — the psalm begins with the 'speech' of the sky and ends with the 'speech' of the psalmist.
• נסתר (vv. 7, 13)
• יהוה (vv. 8-10, 15)
• תמם (vv. 8, 14)
• לב (vv. 9, 15)

Bibliography

Clines, D. J. A. 1974. “The Tree of Knowledge and the Law of Yahweh (Psalm XIX).” Vetus Testamentum 24, no. 1: 8–14.

Craigie, Peter C. 1983. Psalms 1–50. WBC 19. Waco, TX: Word.

Eaton, J. H. 1968. “Some Questions of Philology and Exegesis in the Psalms.” The Journal of Theological Studies 19, no. 2: 603–609.

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.

de Hoop, Raymond, and Paul Sanders. 2022. “The System of Masoretic Accentuation: Some Introductory Issues.” Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 22.

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

Lewis, C.S. 1958. Reflections on the Psalms. London: Geoffrey Bles.

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.

Quinn, Carissa. 2023. The Arrival of the King: The Shape and Story of Psalms 15-24. Studies in Scripture and Biblical Theology. Bellingham: Lexham Academic.

Ryken, Leland, Jim Wilhoit, Tremper Longman, Colin Duriez, Douglas Penney, and Daniel G. Reid, eds. 1998. Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press.

Waltke, Bruce K., J. M. Houston, and Erika Moore. 2010. The Psalms as Christian Worship: A Historical Commentary. Grand Rapids, Mich: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.

Weber, Beat. 2016. Werkbuch Psalm 1: Die Psalmen 1 bis 72. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer Verlag.

Wenham, Gordon J. 1987. Genesis 1–15. Vol. 1. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, Incorporated.