Psalm 3/Mathematical

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Mathematical

Fokkelman's prosody and syllable counts

The following table is from Fokkelman's Major Poems of the Hebrew Bible Volume 2, Appendix I.[1]

Strophe Verse Syllables per word Syllables per line Syllables per strophe
1 2 2.1.2.2 / 2.2.2 7 + 6 = 13 30
3 2.3.3 / 1.4.1.3 8 + 9 = 17
2 4 3.2.2.2 / 3.3.2 9 + 8 = 17 32
5 2.1.2.2 / 4.2.2 7 + 8 = 15
3 6 2.3.4 / 4.1.2.4 9 + 11 = 20 35
7 1.2.3.1 / 2.2.2.2 7 + 8 = 15
4 8ab 2.2 / 4.3 4 + 7 = 11 31
8cd 1.3.1.1.3.2! / 3! 3.3 11 + 9 = 20
5 9 3.4 / 2! 3.4 7 + 9 = 16 16
  • "18 cola with 144 syllables: average per colon 8.00"[2]
  • "Psalm 3 needs a more drastic emendation than is necessary in other cases, but nothing in the meaning is changed or manipulated... I add the copula we - to the last B-cola, vv.8d and 9b, supported by MSS and Peshitta; and in v.8c I add the suffix -am to the noun "jaw", as do Peshitta and Targum."[3]
  • "The sequence of strophe totals 30-32-35-31-16 is a variation of, or may be shown up as, 4 x 32 plus 16. The figure 16 is the exact double of the perfect 8, with 32 in turn the double of 16."[4]
  • "The verses with a total of 17 or 20 mirror each other as regards their cola figures:"[5]
v. 3 – 8 + 9 = 17
v. 4 – 9 + 8 = 17
v. 6 – 9 + 11 = 20
v. 8cd – 11 + 9 = 20,

Cola distribution

Bicola

  • v.2ab
  • v.3ab
  • v.4ab
  • v.5ab
  • v.6ab
  • v.7ab
  • v.8ab?
  • v.8cd?
  • v.9ab

Alternatively, v. 8 may be an A/B/B' tricolon. The question is whether the first two clauses of v. 8 are to be considered as two cola or as a single colon. If parallelism (semantic and syntactic) is "the principal guide,"[6] then the former option is to be preferred. The length of the lines, in this case, is admittedly short – 8a would be the shortest in the psalm – yet not much shorter, in terms of syllables, than the lines in v. 9. The short length of v. 8a (4 syllables) falls within the range proposed by Fokkelman[7] and may be explained as an indication of discontinuity (peak/climax?) in the text. Perhaps the paseq after יהוה supports the decision to see a division at this point? If the text is divided at this point, then the four lines should probably distributed into two bicola, though a tetracolon may also be a possibility.,

Classifying parallelisms

v. 2ab.

יְ֭הוָה מָֽה־רַבּ֣וּ צָרָ֑י
רַ֜בִּ֗ים קָמִ֥ים עָלָֽי
  • Syntax - If the participle קָמִים is regarded as the predicate, the two lines are chiastic with respect to the order of arguments (V-S//S-V).
  • Morphology - Both predicates (רַבּוּ//קָמִים) are Qal plural. Both lines end with a first person pronominal suffix (י).
  • Lexical associations - רַבּוּ and רַבִּים are clearly associated (from the same root רבב), although they are not syntactically parallel.
  • Semantic relationship between cola - Paradigmatic, synonymous. There is a kind of intensification from the a-line, where the foes are merely described in terms of their quantity, to the b-line, where the foes are taking action ("rising against") the psalmist. The first verb (רַבּוּ) is stative and the second verb (קָמִים) is active.
  • Phonology - רַבּוּ//רַבִּים (alliteration); צָרָי//עָלָי (assonance/end-rhyme); ē + m ending (rhyme)
  • Prosody - Syllables: 7//6. Stressed syllables: 3//3.

v. 3ab.

רַבִּים֘ אֹמְרִ֪ים לְנַ֫פְשִׁ֥י
אֵ֤ין יְֽשׁוּעָ֓תָה לּ֬וֹ בֵֽאלֹהִ֬ים סֶֽלָה׃
  • Syntax – The two lines are syntactically dependent, together forming a sentence of the type S-V-IO-O. The a-line has S-V-IO, and the b-line has O, which is itself an embedded clause.
  • Semantic relationship between cola – the a-line introduces the direct speech of the b-line.
  • Phonology – בִּים, -רִים, -שִׁי // -הִים- (assonance/end-rhyme)
  • Prosody – Syllables: 8//9. Stressed syllables: 3//4.

v. 4ab.

וְאַתָּ֣ה יְ֭הוָה מָגֵ֣ן בַּעֲדִ֑י
כְּ֜בוֹדִ֗י וּמֵרִ֥ים רֹאשִֽי׃
  • Syntax – (S-SC//SC)
  • Morphology – parallel noun phrases (מגן בעדי//כבודי ומרים ראשי); first person singular suffix (בעדִי//ראשִי)
  • Semantic relationship between cola: Paradigmatic (AB//B'). There is an intensification from the static metaphor of the a-line (מָגֵן) to imagery that is more dynamic in the b-line (מָרִים רֹאשִׁי).
  • Phonology – גֵ֣ן בַּעֲדִ֑י (v.4a) sounds like כְּ֜בוֹדִ֗י (v.4b) (guttural + dental + ē ending)
  • Prosody – Syllables: 9//8. Stressed Syllables: 4//3.

v. 5ab.

ק֭וֹלִי אֶל־יְהוָ֣ה אֶקְרָ֑א
וַיַּֽעֲנֵ֙נִי מֵהַ֖ר קָדְשׁ֣וֹ סֶֽלָה׃
  • Syntax – The arrangement of constituents is chiastic (M-V//V-M). The unusual word order (DEF/CAN), according to Lunn, has a discourse function (see above).
  • Morphology – The 1st-person constituents of the a-line (קוֹלִי...אֶקְרָא) are parallel to 3rd person constituents in the b-line (וַיַּֽעֲנֵנִי...קָדְשׁוֹ). Perhaps more striking is the pairing of verb conjugations (yiqtol//wayyiqtol).
  • Lexical association – קָרָא//עָנָה
  • Semantic relationship between cola – Syntagmatic (action → consequence).
  • Phonology – Both the first word of the a-line (קוֹלִי) and the last word of the b-line (קָדְשׁוֹ) begin with -קֹ, forming a phonological inclusio.
  • Prosody – Syllables: 7//8. Stressed Syllables: 3//3.

v. 6ab.

אֲנִ֥י שָׁכַ֗בְתִּי וָֽאִ֫ישָׁ֥נָה
הֱקִיצ֑וֹתִי כִּ֖י יְהוָ֣ה יִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃
  • Syntax – Each line has 2 clauses (S-V-V//V-c-S-V+o)
  • Morphology – The bicolon begins and ends with a first person pronoun (אֲנִי//נִי). The perfective intransitive qal verbs of the a-line are parallel with the perfective intransitive hiphil verb in the b-line. As in the previous bicolon (5ab), there is a switch from 1st person verbs to a third person verb (יִסְמְכֵֽנִי) in the b-line.
  • Lexical associations – (שׁכב ישׁן // קיץ)
  • Semantic relationship between cola – Syntagmatic, temporal progression (a: lying down → falling asleep → b: waking up). The כִּי clause in the b-line probably grounds only the action of waking up (הֱקִיצוֹתִי) and not the actions of the a-line as well.
  • Phonology – נִי (rhyme)
  • Prosody – Syllables: 9//11. Stressed Syllables: 3//4.

v. 7ab.

לֹֽא־אִ֭ירָא מֵרִבְב֥וֹת עָ֑ם
אֲשֶׁ֥ר סָ֜בִ֗יב שָׁ֣תוּ עָלָֽי׃
  • Syntax – The lines are syntactically dependent; the second is a relative clause modifying the final constituent of the a-line (עם).
  • Morphology – A qal imperfect 1cs verb (אִירָא) in the a-line parallels a qal perfect 3cp verb (שָׁתוּ) in the b-line, thus continuing the pattern of alternation between 1st and 3rd person.
  • Semantic relationship between cola – Syntagmatic, base-attribution. There is an intensification from the a-line, where the people are merely said to exist in great number, to the b-line, where they actively and aggressively surround the psalmist (cf. 2ab).
  • Prosody – Syllables: 7//8. Stressed Syllables: 3//4.

v. 8ab.

ק֨וּמָ֤ה יְהוָ֙ה׀
הוֹשִׁ֨יעֵ֤נִי אֱלֹהַ֗י
  • Syntax – Parallel (V - voc // V+o - voc)
  • Morphology – Parallel imperatives (קוּמָה//הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי) and vocatives (יְהוָה//אֱלֹהַי). The a-line impv. is qal, and the b-line impv. is hiphil. The paired lexical items לֶחִי//שִׁנֵּי are morphological opposites: לֶחִי m.s.abs. // שִׁנֵּי f.pl.cstr.
  • Lexical association – יהוה//אלהים
  • Semantic relationship between cola – Syntagmatic (action → purpose). The psalmist calls on Yahweh to rise up (a) in order to rescue him (b).
  • Prosody – Syllables: 4//7. Stressed Syllables: 2//2.

v. 8cd.

כִּֽי־הִכִּ֣יתָ אֶת־כָּל־אֹיְבַ֣י לֶ֑חִי
שִׁנֵּ֖י רְשָׁעִ֣ים שִׁבַּֽרְתָּ׃
  • Syntax – Chiastic (V - O - M // O - V)
  • Morphology – This is the only pairing of two non-qal verbs in the psalm. The contrast between relatively unique verb stems (hiphil//piel) is highlighted by the fact that the morphology of the verbs is otherwise the same (qatal 2ms).
  • Lexical association – נכה//שׁבר; איב//רשׁע; לחי//שׁן
  • Semantic relationship between cola – Syntagmatic (action → consequence). The shattering of teeth results from the striking of the jaw.
  • Phonology – alliteration of כ/ח in the a-line and of שׁ in the b-line.
  • Prosody – Syllables: 11//8. Stressed Syllables: 3//3.

v. 9ab.

לַיהוָ֥ה הַיְשׁוּעָ֑ה
עַֽל־עַמְּךָ֖ בִרְכָתֶ֣ךָ סֶּֽלָה׃
  • Syntax – Parallel verbless clauses (SC-S//SC-S)
  • Morphology – The parallel nouns are both feminine singular (ישועה//ברכה). The third person reference to Yahweh in the a-line becomes 2nd person pronominal suffixes in the b-line.
  • Semantic relationship between cola – Syntagmatic (fact → consequence). The fact that Yahweh can save means that his people will be blessed. The rescue of God's king results in blessing for God's people.
  • Prosody – Syllables: 6//7. Stressed Syllables: 2//2.,

Selah

סֶלָה appears 3 times according to the MT, Vulgate, and Targum (3b, 5b, 9b) but only twice in the LXX, which omits the final occurrence in 9b.

  • Each time, סֶלָה appears at the end of a poetic line.
  • Each time, it may be argued, סֶלָה appears at the end of a section, concluding sections 1, 2, and 4.
  • סֶלָה appears once at the end of the Psalm.,

Quotations / direct speech

Naturally, the entire psalm is expressed as direct speech, a prayer to the Lord, especially vv. 2 and 8; moreover, it also incorporates a direct quote that ironically (but typically for psalmic discourse) illustrates popular negative opinion about the psalmist (v. 3b).

Jacobson makes the following generalization about the discourse function of enemies' speech directed against the psalmist: "Because enemy quotations in which the enemies attack the Psalmist are both less frequent and more subtle than the quotations in which the enemies attack God, less uniform conclusions can be drawn about their formal role. These quotations do not seem to occur as the culmination of the they-complaint nor do they function as significantly at the turning point of the psalm. Nor does the content of these quotations play a central role in the psalms in which they occur."[8] Psalm 3 appears to be an exception to Jacobson's general observation, since in Psalm 3 the enemies' speech (v. 3b) does appear at the culmination of the complaint (vv. 2-3), a turning point in the psalm.

Jacobson also comments on the rhetorical function of enemies' speech directed against the psalmist: "When the psalmist quotes words in which the enemy originally performed an illocutionary act, the psalmist is re-performing that original illocutionary action for her current audience–God–in order to persuade God (perlocutionary act) to answer her prayer."[9],

Elision

  • v.2ab. The left-dislocated vocative (יהוה) and exclamation (מה) may "apply to the second colon as well as the first."[10] It may be similarly gapped in v.3a as well.,

Chiasms

  • v.2ab – (V S // S V)
  • v.5ab – (M V // V M)
  • v.8cd – (a b c // c' b' a'),

Lunn on Word order

The following table has been adapted from Nicholas Lunn's Word-Order Variation in Biblical Hebrew Poetry, Appendix 2.[11] For a key to the various symbols and abbreviations, click here.

Ref. Text Constituent Order Colon-Type
2 ‎יְ֭הוָה מָֽה־רַבּ֣וּ צָרָ֑י // רַ֜בִּ֗ים קָמִ֥ים עָלָֽי׃ [Voc] Q-V S // S Vpt M CAN//Ptcp
3 ‎רַבִּים֘ אֹמְרִ֪ים לְנַ֫פְשִׁ֥י / אֵ֤ין יְֽשׁוּעָ֓תָה לּ֬וֹ בֵֽאלֹהִ֬ים סֶֽלָה S Vpt M / Eneg S Comp M Selah Ptcp/Nom
4 ‎וְאַתָּ֣ה יְ֭הוָה מָגֵ֣ן בַּעֲדִ֑י // כְּ֜בוֹדִ֗י וּמֵרִ֥ים רֹאשִֽׁי׃ w-Spn [Voc] Comp / Comp Nom/Nom
5 ‎ק֭וֹלִי אֶל־יְהוָ֣ה אֶקְרָ֑א / וַיַּֽעֲנֵ֙נִי מֵהַ֖ר קָדְשׁ֣וֹ סֶֽלָה׃ M M V // w-V-o M Selah DEF/CAN
6 ‎אֲנִ֥י שָׁכַ֗בְתִּי וָֽאִ֫ישָׁ֥נָה / הֱקִיצ֑וֹתִי / כִּ֖י יְהוָ֣ה יִסְמְכֵֽנִי Spn V w-V / V / C S V-o MKD-CAN/CAN/MKD
7 ‎לֹֽא־אִ֭ירָא מֵרִבְב֥וֹת עָ֑ם / אֲשֶׁ֥ר סָ֜בִ֗יב שָׁ֣תוּ עָלָֽי Vng M / R M V M CAN/MKDR
8ab ‎ק֨וּמָ֤ה יְהוָ֙ה׀ // הוֹשִׁ֨יעֵ֤נִי אֱלֹהַ֗י V [Voc] // V-o [Voc] CAN//CAN
8cd ‎כִּֽי־הִכִּ֣יתָ אֶת־כָּל־אֹיְבַ֣י לֶ֑חִי // שִׁנֵּ֖י רְשָׁעִ֣ים שִׁבַּֽרְתָּ׃ C-V O O // O V CAN//DEF
9 ‎לַיהוָ֥ה הַיְשׁוּעָ֑ה / עַֽל־עַמְּךָ֖ בִרְכָתֶ֣ךָ סֶּֽלָה׃ Comp S / Comp S Selah Nom/Nom

,

Middle word (maqqef)

  • total: 55; middle: שָׁכַבְתִּי
  • total w/selah: 58; middle: וָֽאִישָׁנָה הֱקִיצוֹתִי
  • total w/ superscription and selah: 64; middle: מֵהַר קָדְשׁוֹ,

Middle word (independent lexemes)

  • total: 61; middle: וָֽאִישָׁ֥נָה
  • total w/selah: 64; middle: שָׁכַבְתִּי וָֽאִישָׁנָה
  • total w/superscription and selah: 70; middle: קָדְשׁוֹ סֶלָה,

Middle line

v.6ab. אֲנִ֥י שָׁכַ֗בְתִּי וָֽאִ֫ישָׁ֥נָה הֱקִיצ֑וֹתִי כִּ֖י יְהוָ֣ה יִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃
In terms of syllables, this is also the longest line the psalm (20 syllables).

If v.8 is considered a tricolon, then the middle line of the psalm would be v.6a.

  1. ↑ J.P. Fokkelman, Major Poems of the Hebrew Bible: At the Interface of Prosody and Structural Analysis, Vol. 2 (Assen: Van Gorcum, 2000), 388.
  2. ↑ J.P. Fokkelman, Major Poems of the Hebrew Bible: At the Interface of Prosody and Structural Analysis, Vol. 2 (Assen: Van Gorcum, 2000), 388.
  3. ↑ J.P. Fokkelman, Major Poems of the Hebrew Bible, 57.
  4. ↑ J.P. Fokkelman, Major Poems of the Hebrew Bible, 59.
  5. ↑ J.P. Fokkelman, Major Poems of the Hebrew Bible, 59.
  6. ↑ Wilfred Watson, 'Classical Hebrew Poetry: A Guide to its Techniques (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 19.
  7. ↑ J.P. Fokkelman, Major Poems of the Hebrew Bible: At the Interface of Prosody and Structural Analysis, Vol. 2 (Assen: Van Gorcum, 2000), 25.
  8. ↑ Rolf A. Jacobson, Many Are Saying : The Function of Direct Discourse in the Hebrew Psalter in the Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Supplement Series (London: T&T Clark, 2004), 52.
  9. ↑ Rolf A. Jacobson, Many Are Saying : The Function of Direct Discourse in the Hebrew Psalter in the Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Supplement Series (London: T&T Clark, 2004), 56-57.
  10. ↑ John Goldingay, Psalms: 1-41, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006).
  11. ↑ Nicholas Lunn, Word-Order Variation in Biblical Hebrew Poetry: Differentiating Pragmatics and Poetics (Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2006).
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