Psalm 20/Notes/Phrasal.v. 6.655687

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  • Over your victory (בִּ֘ישׁ֤וּעָתֶ֗ךָ): The בְ preposition in the phrase in (=over/because of) your victory >> over your victory is analysed as a Beth Causae: Occasions of joy.[1]
  • All your requests (כָּל־מִשְׁאֲלֹותֶֽיךָ): With a plural and definite noun, כָּל can be glossed 'all.' The reference is to the totality of an identifiable group.[2]
  • The construct chain כָּל־מִשְׁאֲלֹותֶֽי - ךָ (all your requests) conveys the verbal notion and the subject of that verbal notion, so all the requests (verbal notion) of (by) you (subject) >> all requests made by you >> all your requests.
  1. ↑ Jenni (1992, 100 and 106) categorizes this use of the בְ as Beth Causae - Freude (joy). He presents a list of verbs of rejoicing (section 163 - "163 die Verben des Sich-Freuens"). With such verbs, the use of the בְ will point to the cause/occasion from which joy emerges. In Ps 20:6a "over your victory" follows the verb to shout for joy (רָנַן) which expresses joy (cf. also Ps 92:5). So BHRG (§39.6 (b)): "Closely related to [beth instrumenti] are instances where the 'instrument' is not used by an agent to realize an action. Instead, the entity ('instrument') governed by ְבּ is the ground or cause of the situation referred to in an intransitive clause. Typically the ground of joy or the ground of a sinful state of affairs are involved."
  2. ↑ BHRG 2017, 310.