Psalm 2 Discourse

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My king on Zion

Psalm 2

Please note: Resources for Psalm 2 are in the process of being reformatted for visual consistency and improved functionality.

About the Discourse Layer

Our Discourse Layer includes four additional layers of analysis:

• Participant analysis
• Macrosyntax
• Speech act analysis
• Emotional analysis

For more information on our method of analysis, click the expandable explanation button at the beginning of each layer.

• Participants
• Macrosyntax
• Speech Act
• Emotional Analysis

Participant Analysis

  What is 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.

• Tracking Text
• Relations
• Distribution

Participant Relations Diagram

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

Participant Analysis Summary Distribution

This resource is forthcoming.

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Macrosyntax

  What is 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.

Macrosyntax Diagram

  Legend

Macrosyntax legend
Vocatives	Vocatives are indicated by purple text.
Discourse marker	Discourse markers (such as כִּי, הִנֵּה, לָכֵן) are indicated by orange text.
	The scope governed by the discourse marker is indicated by a dashed orange bracket connecting the discourse marker to its scope.
	The preceding discourse grounding the discourse marker is indicated by a solid orange bracket encompassing the relevant clauses.
Subordinating conjunction	The subordinating conjunction is indicated by teal text.
	Subordination is indicated by a solid teal bracket connecting the subordinating conjunction with the clause to which it is subordinate.
Coordinating conjunction	The coordinating conjunction is indicated by blue text.
	Coordination is indicated by a solid blue line connecting the coordinating clauses.
	Coordination without an explicit conjunction is indicated by a dashed blue line connecting the coordinated clauses.
	Marked topic is indicated by a black dashed rounded rectangle around the marked words.
	The scope of the activated topic is indicated by a black dashed bracket encompassing the relevant clauses.
Marked focus or thetic sentence	Marked focus (if one constituent) or thetic sentences are indicated by bold text.
	Frame setters are indicated by a solid gray rounded rectangle around the marked words.
[blank line]	Discourse discontinuity is indicated by a blank line.
[indentation]	Syntactic subordination is indicated by indentation.
	Direct speech is indicated by a solid black rectangle surrounding all relevant clauses.
(text to elucidate the meaning of the macrosyntactic structures)	Within the CBC, any text elucidating the meaning of macrosyntax is indicated in gray text inside parentheses.

If an emendation or revocalization is preferred, that emendation or revocalization will be marked in the Hebrew text of all the visuals.

Emendations/Revocalizations legend
*Emended text*	Emended text, text in which the consonants differ from the consonants of the Masoretic text, is indicated by blue asterisks on either side of the emendation.
*Revocalized text*	Revocalized text, text in which only the vowels differ from the vowels of the Masoretic text, is indicated by purple asterisks on either side of the revocalization.

(Click diagram to enlarge)

This resource is in the process of reformatting. To view the notes on the Macrosyntax of Psalm 2, click here.

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Speech Act Analysis

  What is 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.

Summary Visual

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Speech Act Chart

The following chart is scrollable (left/right; up/down).

  Legend

Verse	Hebrew	CBC	Sentence type	Illocution (general)	Illocution with context	Macro speech act	Intended perlocution (Think)	Intended perlocution (Feel)	Intended perlocution (Do)
Verse number and poetic line	Hebrew text	English translation	Declarative, Imperative, or Interrogative Indirect Speech Act: Mismatch between sentence type and illocution type	Assertive, Directive, Expressive, Commissive, or Declaratory Indirect Speech Act: Mismatch between sentence type and illocution type	More specific illocution type with paraphrased context	Illocutionary intent (i.e. communicative purpose) of larger sections of discourse These align with the "Speech Act Summary" headings	What the speaker intends for the address to think	What the speaker intends for the address to feel	What the speaker intends for the address to do

If an emendation or revocalization is preferred, that emendation or revocalization will be marked in the Hebrew text of all the visuals.

Emendations/Revocalizations legend
*Emended text*	Emended text, text in which the consonants differ from the consonants of the Masoretic text, is indicated by blue asterisks on either side of the emendation.
*Revocalized text*	Revocalized text, text in which only the vowels differ from the vowels of the Masoretic text, is indicated by purple asterisks on either side of the revocalization.

Emotional Analysis

  What is 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.

• Analysis
• Think-Feel-Do

Emotional Analysis Chart

  Legend

If an emendation or revocalization is preferred, that emendation or revocalization will be marked in the Hebrew text of all the visuals.

Emendations/Revocalizations legend
*Emended text*	Emended text, text in which the consonants differ from the consonants of the Masoretic text, is indicated by blue asterisks on either side of the emendation.
*Revocalized text*	Revocalized text, text in which only the vowels differ from the vowels of the Masoretic text, is indicated by purple asterisks on either side of the revocalization.

Summary Visual

(Click visual to enlarge).

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Bibliography

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Cook, John A. 2024. The Biblical Hebrew Verb: A Linguistic Introduction. Learning Biblical Hebrew. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

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

Creach, Jerome F. D. 1996. Yahweh as Refuge and the Editing of the Hebrew Psalter. A&C Black.

Delitzsch, Franz. 1996. “Psalms.” In Commentary on the Old Testament, translated by James Martin. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson.

Eaton, J. H. 1975. Kingship and the Psalms. London: S.C.M. Press.

Fokkelman, J. P. 2000. Major Poems of the Hebrew Bible: At the Interface of Hermeneutics and Structural Analysis. Studia Semitica Neerlandica. Assen, The Netherlands: Van Gorcum.

Garr, W. Randall. 2003. In His Own Image and Likeness : Humanity, Divinity, and Monotheism. Leiden ; Boston: Brill.'

Gentry, Peter J. 1998. “The System of the Finite Verb in Classical Hebrew.” Hebrew Studies 39:7–39.

Gesenius, W. Donner, H. Rüterswörden, U. Renz, J. Meyer, R. (eds.). 2013. Hebräisches und aramäisches Handwörterbuch über das Alte Testament. 18. Auflage Gesamtausgabe. Berlin: Springer.

Goldingay, John. 2006. Psalms: Psalms 1–41. Vol. 1. BCOT. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

Hengstenberg, Ernst Wilhelm. 1863. Commentary on the Psalms. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.

Herion, Gary A. 1992. “Wrath of God (OT).” In Anchor Bible Dictionary, edited by David Noel Freedman, 6:989–96. New York: Doubleday.

Hilber, John. 2009. “Psalms.” In Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: The Minor Prophets, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, edited by John Walton. Vol. 5. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Hoffmeier, James. 1994. “The King as Son of God in Egypt and Israel.” The Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities 24:28–38.

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

Hupfeld, Hermann. 1855. Die Psalmen. Vol. 1. Gotha: Friedrich Andreas Perthes.

Ibn Ezra. Ibn Ezra on Psalms.

Jenni, Ernst. 2000. Die hebräischen Präpositionen Band 3: Die Präposition Lamed. Stuttgart: Verlag W. Kohlhammer.

Jones, G H. 1965. “The Decree of Yahweh (Ps. II 7).” Vetus Testamentum 15 (3): 336–44.

Kim, Young Bok. 2023. Hebrew Forms of Address: A Sociolinguistic Analysis. Atlanta: SBL Press. vvo.

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.

Malbim. Malbim on Psalms.

Mena, Andrea K. 2012. “The Semantic Potential of עַל in Genesis, Psalms, and Chronicles.” MA Thesis, Stellenbosch University.

Murnane, William Joseph, and Edmund S. Meltzer. 1995. Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt. Writings from the Ancient World 5. Atlanta: Scholars Press.

Niccacci, Alviero. 2006. “The Biblical Hebrew Verbal System in Poetry.” In Biblical Hebrew in Its Northwest Semitic Setting: Typological and Historical Perspectives, edited by Steven E. Fassberg and Avi Hurvitz, 247–68. Publication of the Institute for Advanced Studies, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1. Jerusalem: Hebrew University Magnes Press.

Penney, Jason. 2023. “A Typological Examination of Pluractionality in the Biblical Hebrew Piel.” MA, Dallas: Dallas International University.

Poole, Matthew. 1678. Synopsis Criticorum Aliorumque Sacrae Scripturae. Vol. 2: a Jobi ad Canticum Canticorum.

Raabe, Paul. 1991. “Deliberate Ambiguity in the Psalter.” Journal of Biblical Literature 110 (2): 213–27.

Radak. Radak on Psalms.

Radner, Karen. 2016. “3 Revolts in the Assyrian Empire: Succession Wars, Rebellions Against a False King and Independence Movements.” In Revolt and Resistance in the Ancient Classical World and the Near East, edited by John J. Collins and J.G. Manning, 39–54. Brill.

Rashi. Rashi on Psalms.

Ringgren, Helmer. 1983. “Psalm 2 and Bēlit’s Oracle for Ashurbanipal.” In The Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth, edited by Carol L Meyers and M. O’Connor, 91–95. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.

Robar, Elizabeth. 2015. The Verb and the Paragraph in Biblical Hebrew: A Cognitive-Linguistic Approach. Vol. 78. Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics. Leiden: Brill.

Robar, Elizabeth. 2022. “Morphology and Markedness: On Verb Switching in Hebrew Poetry: SBL Annual Meeting 2020 Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew Seminar: Typological and Grammatical Categorization of Biblical Hebrew.” Journal for Semitics 30 (2).

Tatu, Silviu. 2006. “The Rhetorical Interpretation of the Yiqtol//Qatal (Qatal//Yiqtol) Verbal Sequence in Classical Hebrew Poetry and Its Research History.” Transformation: An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies 23 (1): 17–23.

Tsumura, David Toshio. 2023. Vertical Grammar of Parallelism in Biblical Hebrew. Ancient Israel and Its Literature 47. Atlanta: SBL Press.

Victor, Peddi. 1966. “Note on Choq in the Old Testament.” Vetus Testamentum 16 (3): 358–61.

Walton, John H. 2018. Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible. Second edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

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

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