Psalm 1 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 1

Poetic Structure

Poetic Macro-structure

Notes

The structure of Ps 1 is extremely intricate, and it could be visualized in a number of different ways. The visual below highlights only a few of the most prominent structural features.

• The psalm is bound by an inclusio.
  • The word "way" (דֶּרֶךְ) appears only in the first and last verses (vv. 1, 6).
  • The first word of the psalm begins with alef (the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet) and the last word of the psalm begins with tav (the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet). (Cf. the same feature in Ps 5 and Ps 112).

• The psalm consists of a body (vv. 1-5) and a summary conclusion (v. 6).
  • The body of the psalm is bound by an inclusio. Note the negated verbs of movement (v. 1: "has not walked... taken a stand... settled" // v. 5: "will not stand") and the similarity of sound between בַּעֲצַת רְשָׁעִים (v. 1) and בַּעֲדַת צַדִּיקִים (v. 5). In other words, the main body of the psalm begins with the righteous not standing with the wicked, and it ends with the wicked not standing with the righteous.
  • Verse 6 functions as a grounding summary of the entire discourse.
    • Verse 6a summarizes vv. 1-3, and v. 6b summarizes vv. 4-5.
    • The כִּי in v. 6 grounds the entire discourse. It explains, in summary, why the righteous (and not the wicked) are to be considered "happy."
    • It is a common pattern in the Psalter for the final verse to begin with כִּי and function as a summary of the whole (see e.g., Pss 5, 11, 100, 134).

• The body of the psalm (vv. 1-5) divides naturally into two main sections (vv. 1-3; vv. 4-5).
  • The discourse topic of the first section is "the one" (הָאִישׁ) and the discourse topic of the second section is "the wicked people" (הָרְשָׁעִים). Each topic is introduced with the definite article (the only two instances of the explicit ה article in the psalm).
  • The two sections have similar beginnings.
    • As noted above, each section begins by introducing the topic of the section and uses the definite article: "the one" (הָאִישׁ) // "the wicked people" (הָרְשָׁעִים)
    • Each section begins with a sentence fragment: "the happiness of the one! // "not so the wicked people!" These are the only two fragments in the psalm.
    • There is a similarity of sound between הָרְשָׁעִים and אַשְׁרֵי הָאִישׁ (note esp. the sounds sh, and r).
  • The two sections parallel one another in other ways. For example, each section follows the sequence of a negative (לֹא, v 1 // v. 4), followed by a contrast (כִּי אִם, v. 2 // v. 4), followed by an agricultural simile (כְּעֵץ // כַּמֹּץ, v. 3 // v. 4), followed by a relative clause (אֲשֶׁר, v. 3 // v. 4).
  • Each of the two sections exhibits syntactic cohesion.
    • In the first section (vv. 1-3), vv. 1-2 are bound together syntactically by the logical connector כִּי אִם, and vv. 2-3 are bound together syntactically by waw (והיה).
    • The two verses of the second section (vv. 4-5) are bound together syntactically by עַל־כֵּן.

Another way to think about the structure of Ps 1 is with the image of a chain (see below). Each verse is like a link in the chain, bound to both the immediately following and preceding verse. So, for example, v. 1 is the first link, and it is tightly bound to v. 2. Verse 2, in turn, is also bound to v. 3, and v. 3 is also bound to v. 4, etc.

• vv. 1-2. "not in (ב) the counsel of the wicked... Instead, in (ב) YHWH's instruction"
• vv. 2-3. "he delights in... and rehearses his instruction day and night. And (as a result) he will become like a tree transplanted by water channels..." Note especially the sound play between "rehearses day and night" (יֶהְגֶּה יוֹמָם וָלָיְלָה) and "beside water channels" (עַל־פַּלְגֵי מָיִם).
• vv. 3-4. "like a tree... that... like chaff that..." "Tree" and "chaff" not only belong to a similar lexical domain, they even sound similar (one syllable words ending in ץ).
• vv. 4-5. The image of "chaff" is closely associated with legal/courtroom imagery. Because the wicked are like chaff (v. 4), "therefore, the wicked will not stand firm in the judgment..."
• vv. 5-6. The word "righteous people" (צַדִּיקִים) occurs only in these verses.

Line Division

• The proposed line division agrees completely with the Masoretic accents as interpreted by de Hoop and Sanders and with the Septuagint.
• The first line is rather long (6 words). In the Aleppo Codex, where there is no maqqef (אַ֥שְֽׁרֵי הָאִ֗ישׁ), the line is even longer (7 words). The fact that the Psalter begins with a seven-word line, however, might be deliberate, perhaps echoing the seven-word clause that begins the Torah (Gen 1:1).

Poetic Features

1.No Standing

Feature

There are striking correspondences between v. 1 and v. 5. The clauses in both verses are negated (לֹא, "not"), and both verses contain motion verbs (e.g., "take a stand" in v. 1, "stand firm" in v. 5). In addition to these correspondences, the phrase, "counsel of wicked people" (בַּעֲצַת רְשָׁעִים) in v. 1a is very similar to the phrase, "group of righteous people" (בַּעֲדַת צַדִּיקִים) in v. 5b. Both phrases begin with a bet preposition ("in") followed by a two-part construct chain ("counsel of wicked people" // "group of righteous people"). The last part of each construct chain refers to the antonyms "wicked people" and "righteous people" respectively. The first parts contain words that sound remarkably similar to each other: בַּעֲצַת (v. 1a) and בַּעֲדַת (v. 5b)—bet + 'ayin + dental (צ/ד) + taw.

Effect

The correspondence between v. 1 and v. 5 has a structural effect, serving as a frame around the main body of the psalm (vv. 1-5, see Poetic Structure).

The correspondence also creates a poetic reversal. Just as the righteous do not stand with the wicked in their wickedness (v. 1), so the wicked will not stand with the righteous in their righteousness (v. 5). The former is true by choice. The latter will be true by the judge's decree.

2.The Climax of Flourishing

Feature

The final word of the psalm's first section (see Poetic structure) is יַצְלִיחַ ("cause to flourish").

- The verb צלח can refer to success on a journey (see e.g., Josh 1:8) as well as the to flourishing of a plant (see e.g., Ezek 17:9), and both of these images are prominent in Ps 1 (journey imagery in vv. 1, 6; tree imagery in v. 3).

- The verb יַצְלִיחַ is part of a network of intertextual connections that help to connect Ps 1 to both Joshua 1:8 and the Joseph story in Genesis (Gen 39:3, 23). (See Poetic Feature #3.)

- The subject of the verb is ambiguous. Is it the righteous person, the tree, or YHWH? See The Grammar of Ps 1:3d.

Effect

The word יַצְלִיחַ, the final, climactic word of the psalm's first, celebratory section, is arguably the most poetically rich word in the psalm. It unites in itself the two most important images in the psalm: the image of a journey and the image of a flourishing tree. Furthermore, with its ambiguous subject, it ties together the flourishing of the tree, the flourishing of the righteous person, and YHWH as the cause of all flourishing. Finally, it also helps to evoke the characters of Joshua and Joseph—two powerful examples of faithfulness and flourishing under YHWH's care.

3.Day and Night Meditation

Feature

Psalm 1 alludes to multiple passages in the Old Testament.

• The language of "meditating" (הגה) on YHWH's "instruction" (תּוֹרָה) "day and night" (יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה) in v. 2 is a clear allusion to Joshua 1:8. The words "way" (דֶּרֶךְ, vv. 1, 6) and "make successful" (הצליח, v. 3) are also found in Josh 1:8.
• The initial description of the righteous person as a tree in v. 3a is almost identical to the similar description in Jeremiah 17:8. Where the description differs from Jeremiah (e.g., water channels, leaves not withering), Psalm 1 appears to be drawing from other passages of Scripture, especially Ezekiel 47:12.
• The language of Ps 1:3d, in addition to echoing Josh 1:8, has strong connections to Genesis 39:3 and the description of Joseph (who, notably, was Joshua's ancestor, Joshua being from the tribe of Ephraim, Joseph's son). The connection is strengthened by the fact that Joseph is elsewhere described as a fruitful tree by a water source (cf. Gen 49:22).
• The Garden of Eden imagery in v. 3 (see notes below) recalls the first chapters of Genesis, when YHWH plants a garden and places the man in it. (Psalm 1's position at the beginning of Book I of the Psalter, with its five books corresponding to the Torah's five books, further strengthens the connection with the beginning of Genesis).
• The language of "walking," "way," and "sitting/settling" recalls Deuteronomy 6 and the command to love YHWH with one's whole being.
• In the order of the Hebrew canon, the Psalter follows immediately after Malachi. It is surely no coincidence that the themes of Ps 1 are also themes at the end of Malachi (e.g., "blessedness," righteous vs wicked, chaff, Torah, coming judgment). Psalm 1 picks up where Malachi leaves off. Even if Ps 1 was written before Malachi (such that the connections are not to be classified as allusions by the author), their juxtaposition in the canon must reflect the thoughtful work of an editor.

The passages to which Ps 1 alludes were not randomly chosen. The psalm alludes to the first and last books of the Torah (Genesis and Deuteronomy) as well as to the first and last books of the Prophets (Joshua and Malachi), including the first book of the latter prophets (Jeremiah), according to the order in the Talmud (Baba Bathra 14b).

Effect

Psalm 1, which celebrates meditation on YHWH's instruction (v. 2), is itself a meditation on that instruction. The psalmist models what he celebrates; he practices what he preaches. And not only does the psalm show what it looks like to meditate on YHWH's instruction, it also provides a guided tour through YHWH's instruction. The psalm takes us through the Law and the Prophets and distills the essence of their teaching into a short but powerful poem.

Repeated Roots

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

For legend, click "Expand" to the right

Legend for Repeated Roots

Bibliography

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Barbiero, Gianni. 1999. Das erste Psalmenbuch als Einheit: eine synchrone Analyse von Psalm 1-41. Österreichische biblische Studien ; Bd. 16. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.

Creach, Jerome. 1999. “Like a Tree Planted by the Temple Stream: The Portrait of the Righteous in Psalm 1:3.” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 61:34–46.

Gentry, Peter. 2024. “OT Canonical Order and the Three-Fold Division of the Talmud.” At ETS. San Diego.

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

Ibn Ezra. Psalms.

Janzen, Waldemar. 1965. “’Ašrê in the Old Testament.” The Harvard Theological Review 58 (2): 215–26.

Mitchell, David Campbell. 2021. Messiah Ben Joseph. Newton Mearns, Scotland: Campbell Publications.

Schnittjer, Gary Edward. 2021. Old Testament Use of Old Testament: A Book-by-Book Guide. Grand Rapids: HarperCollins Christian Publishing.

van der Lugt, Pieter. 2013. Cantos and Strophes in Biblical Hebrew Poetry III: Psalms 90–150 and Psalm 1. Vol. 3. Oudtestamentische Studiën 63. Leiden: Brill.

Weber, Beat. 2016. Werkbuch Psalmen. 1: Die Psalmen 1 bis 72, zweite aktualisierte Auflage. Stuttgart: Verlag W. Kohlhammer.