Psalm 33 Participant Analysis
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Psalm 33/Participant Analysis
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YHWH's Plan Stands Forever
Psalm 33
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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 33:
| Israel / Righteous |
| "Righteous people" (v. 1) |
| "Upright people" (v. 1) |
| "the nation" (v. 12) |
| "the people (who are) his permanent possession" (v. 12) |
| "those who fear him" (v. 18) |
| Chorus Leader |
| Israel / Righteous + Chorus Leader |
| "we ourselves" (v. 20) |
| "our hearts" (v. 21) |
| YHWH |
| "The one who gathered the sea waters" (v. 7) |
| "The one who placed the deeps" (v. 7) |
| "The one who forms hearts" (v. 15) |
| "The one who discerns works" (v. 15) |
| Attributes of YHWH |
| "the eye of YHWH" (v. 18) |
| "your loyal-love" (v. 22) |
| All people |
| "All the earth" (v. 8) |
| "All the dwellers of the inhabited world" (v. 8) |
| "All humanity" (v. 13) |
| "All the dwellers of the earth" (v. 14) |
| Enemies |
| "the nations" (v. 10) |
| "the peoples" (v. 10) |
| Agents of War |
| "a king" (v. 16) |
| "a warrior" (v. 16) |
| "a horse" (v. 17) |
| Hebrew | Verse | English |
|---|---|---|
| רַנְּנ֣וּ צַ֭דִּיקִים בַּֽיהוָ֑ה | 1a | Shout for joy in YHWH, righteous people! |
| לַ֝יְשָׁרִ֗ים נָאוָ֥ה תְהִלָּֽה׃ | 1b | Praise is fitting for upright people. |
| הוֹד֣וּ לַיהוָ֣ה בְּכִנּ֑וֹר | 2a | Give YHWH praise with a lyre! |
| בְּנֵ֥בֶל עָ֝שׂ֗וֹר זַמְּרוּ־לֽוֹ׃ | 2b | Make a song for him with a ten-string harp! |
| שִֽׁירוּ־ל֭וֹשִׁ֣יר חָדָ֑שׁ | 3a | Sing a new song to him! |
| הֵיטִ֥יבוּ נַ֝גֵּ֗ן בִּתְרוּעָֽה׃ | 3b | Play skillfully with a blast! |
| כִּֽי־יָשָׁ֥ר דְּבַר־יְהוָ֑ה | 4a | Because YHWH’s word is upright, |
| וְכָל־מַ֝עֲשֵׂ֗הוּ בֶּאֱמוּנָֽה׃ | 4b | and all of his work is [done] in faithfulness. |
| אֹ֭הֵב צְדָקָ֣ה וּמִשְׁפָּ֑ט | 5a | He loves righteousness and justice; |
| חֶ֥סֶד יְ֝הוָ֗ה מָלְאָ֥ה הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | 5b | the earth is full of YHWH’s loyal-love. |
| בִּדְבַ֣ר יְ֭הוָה שָׁמַ֣יִם נַעֲשׂ֑וּ | 6a | The heavens were made by YHWH’s word, |
| וּבְר֥וּחַ פִּ֝֗יו כָּל־צְבָאָֽם׃ | 6b | and all their hosts [were made] by the breath of his mouth. |
| כֹּנֵ֣ס כַּ֭נֵּד מֵ֣י הַיָּ֑ם | 7a | the one who gathers the sea water as a heap! |
| נֹתֵ֖ן בְּאֹצָר֣וֹת תְּהוֹמֽוֹת׃ | 7b | the one who places the deep oceans into storehouses! |
| יִֽירְא֣וּ מֵ֭יְהוָה כָּל־הָאָ֑רֶץ | 8a | All the earth should be afraid of YHWH! |
| מִמֶּ֥נּוּ יָ֝ג֗וּרוּ כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵ֥י תֵבֵֽל׃ | 8b | All the dwellers of the inhabited world should be in dread because of him! |
| כִּ֤י ה֣וּא אָמַ֣ר וַיֶּ֑הִי | 9a | For he spoke, and it was; |
| הֽוּא־צִ֝וָּ֗ה וַֽיַּעֲמֹֽד׃ | 9b | he commanded, and it came about. |
| יְֽהוָ֗ה הֵפִ֥יר עֲצַת־גּוֹיִ֑ם | 10a | YHWH has thwarted the nations’ plan; |
| הֵ֝נִ֗יא מַחְשְׁב֥וֹת עַמִּֽים׃ | 10b | he has blocked the peoples’ intentions. |
| עֲצַ֣ת יְ֭הוָה לְעוֹלָ֣ם תַּעֲמֹ֑ד | 11a | YHWH’s plan stands forever; |
| מַחְשְׁב֥וֹת לִ֝בּ֗וֹ לְדֹ֣ר וָדֹֽר׃ | 11b | the intentions of his heart [stand] forever and ever. |
| אַשְׁרֵ֣י הַ֭גּוֹי אֲשֶׁר־יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֑יו | 12a | Happy is the nation whose god is YHWH, |
| הָעָ֓ם ׀ בָּחַ֖ר לְנַחֲלָ֣ה לֽוֹ׃ | 12b | the people [whom YHWH] chose as a permanent possession for himself. |
| מִ֭שָּׁמַיִם הִבִּ֣יט יְהוָ֑ה | 13a | YHWH looked from heaven: |
| רָ֝אָ֗ה אֶֽת־כָּל־בְּנֵ֥י הָאָדָֽם׃ | 13b | he saw all of humanity, |
| מִֽמְּכוֹן־שִׁבְתּ֥וֹ הִשְׁגִּ֑יחַ | 14a | he gazed from his dwelling place, |
| אֶ֖ל כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵ֣י הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | 14b | at all the dwellers of the earth, |
| הַיֹּצֵ֣ר יַ֣חַד לִבָּ֑ם | 15a | the one who forms all their hearts, |
| הַ֝מֵּבִ֗ין אֶל־כָּל־מַעֲשֵׂיהֶֽם׃ | 15b | the one who discerns all their works. |
| אֵֽין־הַ֭מֶּלֶךְ נוֹשָׁ֣ע בְּרָב־חָ֑יִל | 16a | king is not saved by a great force; |
| גִּ֝בּ֗וֹר לֹֽא־יִנָּצֵ֥ל בְּרָב־כֹּֽחַ׃ | 16b | warrior is not delivered by great might. |
| שֶׁ֣קֶר הַ֭סּוּס לִתְשׁוּעָ֑ה | 17a | horse is a deceptive means for victory, |
| וּבְרֹ֥ב חֵ֝יל֗וֹ לֹ֣א יְמַלֵּֽט׃ | 17b | and it will not rescue by its great force. |
| הִנֵּ֤ה עֵ֣ין יְ֭הוָה אֶל־יְרֵאָ֑יו | 18a | Consider: YHWH’s eye is upon those who fear him; |
| לַֽמְיַחֲלִ֥ים לְחַסְדּֽוֹ׃ | 18b | upon those who wait for his loyal-love, |
| לְהַצִּ֣יל מִמָּ֣וֶת נַפְשָׁ֑ם | 19a | to deliver their lives from death, |
| וּ֝לְחַיּוֹתָ֗ם בָּרָעָֽב׃ | 19b | and to keep them alive during famine. |
| נַ֭פְשֵׁנוּ חִכְּתָ֣ה לַֽיהוָ֑ה | 20a | We ourselves wait longingly for YHWH |
| עֶזְרֵ֖נוּ וּמָגִנֵּ֣נוּ הֽוּא׃ | 20b | he is our help and our shield– |
| כִּי־ב֭וֹ יִשְׂמַ֣ח לִבֵּ֑נוּ | 21a | because our hearts rejoice in him; |
| כִּ֤י בְשֵׁ֖ם קָדְשׁ֣וֹ בָטָֽחְנוּ׃ | 21b | because we have come to trust in his holy name. |
| יְהִֽי־חַסְדְּךָ֣ יְהוָ֣ה עָלֵ֑ינוּ | 22a | YHWH, may your loyal-love be upon us, |
| כַּ֝אֲשֶׁ֗ר יִחַ֥לְנוּ לָֽךְ׃ | 22b | just as we have been waiting for you! |
Notes
- vv. 1-19: Unlike many psalms, there is no superscription identifying the speaker. The addressor must be inferred; it could be a single Chorus Leader or it could be the entirety of Israel /Righteous People singing to one another, as they are in vv. 20-21. In other psalms (cf. Psalm 118) a single Chorus Leader leads the people in praise; this was probably the conventional method for worship and is the preferred reading here.
- YHWH appears in every verse of the psalm except vv. 16-17. Although YHWH is not always an agent, his unique identity and presence are essential to understanding the actions of the agents in every verse where he appears. Thus, for example, the praise of Israel/Righteous People in vv. 1-3 only makes sense if YHWH is a participant who receives the praise. The fear and dread in v. 8 are to be directed at YHWH and no one else. The longing, trust, and waiting of vv. 20-22 are to be directed at YHWH alone. Thus, he is a participant even when he is not an agent.
- vv. 8-15: The phrasing of the term all the earth in v. 8 may be intentionally ambiguous. As the psalm was heard for the first time, listeners would think that it refers to the earth itself, as the word earth does in v. 5b. Only when the rest of the phrase was heard would the interpretation turn to "people." The parallelism with v. 8b confirms that the term means "people," and synonyms for this participant are found in vv. 13-15, where they are the objects of YHWH's actions. While the psalmist declares that all the earth "should fear/dread," it is unlikely that there is a shift in the audience to include those outside Israel / Righteous People here. Such a shift would be the only occurrence in the whole psalm, and the statement instead makes sense as a rhetorically-charged declaration to Israel / Righteous People about the supremacy of YHWH (cf. The Addressee of Ps 100). The participant all humanity is not found at all at the beginning (vv. 1-7) or end (vv. 16-22) of the psalm, but it dominates the main middle section. In light of this, the presence of Israel/Righteous People at the center of the main middle section in v. 12 is striking.
- v. 10: This verse is the first hint in the psalm that there is an existential threat to the people of God (cf. Craigie 2004, 315). Kittel thinks that v. 10 is the theme of the Psalm and provides the reason it was written, which is "salvation from the hands of pagan enemies, probably a victory or miraculous liberation" (Kittel 1922, 124). Although a subset of all the earth/humanity, the nations and peoples are distinct enough participants to warrant their own set. They are distinct from the Righteous People. YHWH actively opposes their plans and intentions. Some commentators describe these nations not as "rebellious" against YHWH but merely "disruptive" to Israel (deClaisse-Wolford 2014, 315). However, the allusions to a military threat in vv. 16-19 imply that the nations and peoples pose an existential threat to Israel. The particular identity of these nations and peoples is not stated in the psalm. After v. 10, they are never mentioned again.
- vv. 16-17, 20: the various agents of war do not function as grammatical agents within the psalm. Rather, their agency is implied. They are significant as participants because they corroborate that the background of this psalm is the threat to Israel implied in v. 10. In v. 20, YHWH himself is ascribed two monikers that mark him as an agent of war - albeit a defensive one. Though the noun help does not inherently connote warfare, elsewhere it denotes a participant in war (Deut 33:7, 26-29; Ezek 12:14; Hos 13:9; Pss 20:3; 115:9-11; Dan 11:34), and its coupling with shield in v. 20 means that it should be understood here as a participant in war. These two words could be colored purple, as though they were simply epithets for YHWH. However, it seems more likely that the roles of "help" and "shield" are assumed as participants in the psalm, and the question that Ps 33:20 answers is, who will fill those roles?
- How were the addressors and addressees organized to chant this psalm? 1 Chr 25:1-8 may be instructive. There, David appointed certain Levitical families to prophesy with lyres (כִּנּוֹר, cf. Ps 33:2), harps (נֵ֫בֶל, cf. Ps 33:2), and cymbals. Additionally, David established these temple musicians with the help of military officers (1 Chr 25:1; cf. Boda 2010, 195; Merrill 2015, 281), which comports with the notion that a military threat was the impetus for this psalm (cf. vv. 10, 16-17, 20).
Participant Relations Diagram
The relationships among the participants may be abstracted and summarized as follows:
Participant Analysis Summary Distribution
This resource is forthcoming.