Psalm 29 Participant Analysis

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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.

There are 5 participants/characters in Psalm 29:

Profile List

David

YHWH (vv. 1–8, 10–11)
"The glorious God" (v. 3)
YHWH's voice (vv. 8, 9)

Divine beings (v. 1b)

Forces of chaos
"The water" (v. 3)
"The Flood" (v. 10)

YHWH's people (v. 11)

Profile Notes

  • YHWH's heavenly court consists of lesser divine beings ('gods') whose duty it is to serve him (cf. 1 Kgs 22:19; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Pss 82; 89:6-7). In Psalm 29, the psalmist summons these divine beings to submit to YHWH, acknowledging that all glory and strength belong to YHWH alone.
  • The water (v. 3a, 3c) and the Flood (v. 10a) are not active participants in this psalm since they do not function as agentive subjects of a verb. Nevertheless, we have included them in the participant list because they play a relational role in the psalm. Water is a symbol of chaos (Pss 74:13-14; 89:10) and threat to God's people (Pss 18:17, 32:6; 124:4). The phrase "the water" most likely refers to the chaotic waters of the (Noahic) Flood (מבול v. 10a) (see lexical semantics notes). Thus, the psalmist appears to be comparing YHWH's defeat of his enemies to the time when YHWH overcame the water of the ancient flood, thundering against it and making it return its proper place.[1]
  • For a discussion of YHWH's voice and the phrase קוֹל יהוה that occurs throughout this psalm, see The Syntactic Function of קוֹל יְהוָה in Psalm 29.
Hebrew Verse English
מִזְמ֗וֹר לְדָ֫וִ֥ד v. 1a A psalm by David.
הָב֣וּ לַֽ֭יהוָה בְּנֵ֣י אֵלִ֑ים v. 1b Ascribe [glory and strength] to YHWH, divine beings;
הָב֥וּ לַ֝יהוָ֗ה כָּב֥וֹד וָעֹֽז׃ v. 1c ascribe glory and strength to YHWH.
הָב֣וּ לַֽ֭יהוָה כְּב֣וֹד שְׁמ֑וֹ v. 2a Ascribe to YHWH the glory that his name deserves;
הִשְׁתַּחֲו֥וּ לַ֝יהוָ֗ה בְּהַדְרַת־קֹֽדֶשׁ׃ v. 2b bow down to YHWH dressed in holy attire.
ק֥וֹל יְהוָ֗ה עַל־הַ֫מָּ֥יִם v. 3a The sound of YHWH against the water!
אֵֽל־הַכָּב֥וֹד הִרְעִ֑ים v. 3b The glorious God has thundered;
יְ֝הוָ֗ה עַל־מַ֥יִם רַבִּֽים׃ v. 3c YHWH [has thundered] against much water.
קוֹל־יְהוָ֥ה בַּכֹּ֑חַ v. 4a The sound of YHWH [thundering] in power!
ק֥וֹל יְ֝הוָ֗ה בֶּהָדָֽר׃ v. 4b The sound of YHWH [thundering] in majesty!
ק֣וֹל יְ֭הוָה שֹׁבֵ֣ר אֲרָזִ֑ים v. 5a The sound of YHWH breaking cedars!
וַיְשַׁבֵּ֥ר יְ֝הוָ֗ה אֶת־אַרְזֵ֥י הַלְּבָנֽוֹן׃ v. 5b And YHWH is breaking the cedars of Lebanon,
וַיַּרְקִידֵ֥ם כְּמוֹ־עֵ֑גֶל לְבָנ֥וֹן v. 6a And he is causing Lebanon to skip like a calf,
וְ֝שִׂרְיֹ֗ן כְּמ֣וֹ בֶן־רְאֵמִֽים׃ v. 6b And Sirion like a wild ox.
קוֹל־יְהוָ֥ה חֹצֵ֗ב לַהֲב֥וֹת אֵֽשׁ׃ v. 7 The sound of YHWH hewing with lightning bolts!
ק֣וֹל יְ֭הוָה יָחִ֣יל מִדְבָּ֑ר v. 8a YHWH’s voice causes the wilderness to tremble;
יָחִ֥יל יְ֝הוָ֗ה מִדְבַּ֥ר קָדֵֽשׁ׃ v. 8b YHWH causes the wilderness of Kadesh to tremble.
ק֤וֹל יְהוָ֨ה׀יְחוֹלֵ֣ל אַיָּלוֹת֮ v. 9a YHWH’s voice causes fallow deer to give birth,
וַֽיֶּחֱשֹׂ֪ף יְעָ֫ר֥וֹת v. 9b and it strips forests,
וּבְהֵיכָל֑וֹ כֻּ֝לּ֗וֹ אֹמֵ֥ר כָּבֽוֹד׃ v. 9c and in his temple everyone is saying, "Glory!"
יְ֭הוָה לַמַּבּ֣וּל יָשָׁ֑ב v. 10a YHWH sat enthroned over the Flood,
וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב יְ֝הוָ֗ה מֶ֣לֶךְ לְעוֹלָֽם׃ v. 10b and YHWH sits enthroned as king forever.
יְֽהוָ֗ה עֹ֭ז לְעַמּ֣וֹ יִתֵּ֑ן v. 11a YHWH gives strength to his people;
יְהוָ֓ה׀יְבָרֵ֖ךְ אֶת־עַמּ֣וֹ בַשָּׁלֽוֹם׃ v. 11b YHWH blesses his people with peace.
  • The psalm opens by addressing divine beings (בְּנֵי אֵלִים). David summons these divine beings to ascribe all glory and strength to YHWH. Then, the climax of the poem comes in v. 9cβ when YHWH finally receives the worship commanded. In the temple, already hinted at with the cedars and stone, the divine beings now call out exactly as they were commanded in vv. 1–2, ascribing “Glory!” to YHWH alone.
  • v. 9cα: What is the antecedent for the 3ms suffix in כֻּלּוֹ ("everyone")?
The word translated everyone (כֻּלּוֹ) has a pronominal suffix (lit.: "all of it") whose antecedent is not immediately clear. Since כֻּלּוֹ follows the phrase "in his temple," the pronominal suffix probably refers to "each of the beings there" (i.e. in his temple).[2] Moreover, the psalm is addressed to divine beings who have already been summoned in vv. 1-2 to worship YHWH like priests in a temple. Hence, the participant here is most likely the divine beings.[3].

Participant Relations Diagram

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

Participant Analysis Summary Distribution

Notes:

  • The psalm opens by addressing divine beings.
  • At the end of v. 9, there is a shift in both subject and speaker/addressee.
  • After v. 9, "The sound of YHWH" is no longer mentioned.
  • YHWH's people is mentioned only in v. 11.
  1. ↑ Cf. Pss 104:7; 114; Gen 6ff; 8:1f.
  2. ↑ Delitzsch; cf. Hupfeld (jeder der darin Wohnenden); Perowne ("all that are therein"); Kidner ("everything in the temple").
  3. ↑ Cf. Targum: "in his sanctuary on high all his attendants" (Stec). So Hengstenberg, Delitzsch, Baethgen, Briggs.