Psalm 34 Discourse

From Psalms: Layer by Layer
Psalm 34/Discourse
Jump to: navigation, search

Choose a PsalmNavigate Psalm 34

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.

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 4 participants/characters in Psalm 34:

David
"Poor man" (v. 7)
David's Soul

The Afflicted
"Holy ones" (v. 10)
"Children" (v. 12)
The Righteous
"Those who fear [YHWH]" (v. 8)
"The man who seeks refuge in [YHWH]" (v. 9)
"Those who seek YHWH" (v. 11)
"The person who desires life" (v. 13)
"The broken-hearted" (v. 19)
"The crushed in spirit" (v. 19)
"[YHWH's] servants" (v. 23)
The Righteous One's Body
"[The righteous one's] lips" (v. 14)

YHWH
YHWH's Body
"YHWH's face" (v. 17*)
"YHWH's eyes" (v. 16*)
"YHWH's ears" (v. 16*)
YHWH's Angel

Enemies
"Wicked person" (v. 22)
"Those who hate a righteous person" (v. 22)
Young lions
Abimelek

  • Young lions: Lions are a metaphor for those who don't fear YHWH. (See [Psalm 34 Story Behind | Story Behind]).
  • Non-Agentive Participants - YHWH's Body / The Righteous One's Body: While not agentive participants per se, included in this list of participants are inanimate entities personified as performing relational actions, or entities representing a metonymy for an agentive participant.
  • The Afflicted vs. the Righteous: While there is significant overlap between these two participant sets (hence their grouping as related sets), the distinction made here is between the psalmist's addressee (the Afflicted) and the hypothetical person whom the addressee is encouraged to emulated (the Righteous).
Hebrew Line English
לְדָוִ֗ד בְּשַׁנּוֹת֣וֹ אֶת־טַ֭עְמוֹ לִפְנֵ֣י אֲבִימֶ֑לֶךְ וַֽ֝יְגָרֲשֵׁ֗הוּ וַיֵּלַֽךְ׃ 1 By David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, and Abimelek drove him out, and he went.
אֲבָרֲכָ֣ה אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה בְּכָל־עֵ֑ת 2a I will bless YHWH at all times.
תָּ֝מִ֗יד תְּֽהִלָּת֥וֹ בְּפִֽי׃ 2b His praise will continually be in my mouth.
בַּ֭יהוָה תִּתְהַלֵּ֣ל נַפְשִׁ֑י 3a My soul boasts in YHWH.
יִשְׁמְע֖וּ עֲנָוִ֣ים וְיִשְׂמָֽחוּ׃ 3b May the afflicted hear and be glad!
גַּדְּל֣וּ לַיהוָ֣ה אִתִּ֑י 4a Extol YHWH with me,
וּנְרוֹמְמָ֖ה שְׁמ֣וֹ יַחְדָּֽו׃ 4b and let us exalt his name together!
דָּרַ֣שְׁתִּי אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה וְעָנָ֑נִי 5a I sought YHWH and he answered me
וּמִכָּל־מְ֝גוּרוֹתַ֗י הִצִּילָֽנִי׃ 5b and he rescued me from all my terrors.
הַבִיטו אֵלָ֣יו וּנְהָרוּ 6a Gaze at him and glow,
וּפְנֵיכֶם אַל־יֶחְפָּֽרוּ׃ 6b and do not let your faces be ashamed!
זֶ֤ה עָנִ֣י קָ֭רָא וַיהוָ֣ה שָׁמֵ֑עַ 7a This is a poor man who called out and YHWH heard
וּמִכָּל־צָ֝רוֹתָ֗יו הוֹשִׁיעֽוֹ׃ 7b and saved him from all his troubles.
חֹנֶ֤ה מַלְאַךְ־יְהוָ֓ה 8a YHWH’s angel encamps
סָ֘בִ֤יב לִֽירֵאָ֗יו וַֽיְחַלְּצֵֽם׃ 8b all around those who fear him and he delivers them.
טַעֲמ֣וּ וּ֭רְאוּ כִּי־ט֣וֹב יְהוָ֑ה 9a Taste and see that YHWH is good!
אַֽשְׁרֵ֥י הַ֝גֶּ֗בֶר יֶחֱסֶה־בּֽוֹ׃ 9b Happy is the man who seeks refuge in him.
יְר֣אוּ אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה קְדֹשָׁ֑יו 10a Fear YHWH, you holy ones of his!
כִּי־אֵ֥ין מַ֝חְס֗וֹר לִירֵאָֽיו׃ 10b For those who fear him have no lack.
כְּ֭פִירִים רָשׁ֣וּ וְרָעֵ֑בוּ 11a Young lions have suffered want and been hungry,
וְדֹרְשֵׁ֥י יְ֝הוָ֗ה לֹא־יַחְסְר֥וּ כָל־טֽוֹב׃ 11b but those who seek YHWH will not lack any good.
לְֽכוּ־בָ֭נִים שִׁמְעוּ־לִ֑י 12a Come, children! Listen to me!
יִֽרְאַ֥ת יְ֝הוָ֗ה אֲלַמֶּדְכֶֽם׃ 12b I will teach you the fear of YHWH.
מִֽי־הָ֭אִישׁ הֶחָפֵ֣ץ חַיִּ֑ים 13a Who is the person who desires life,
אֹהֵ֥ב יָ֝מִ֗ים לִרְא֥וֹת טֽוֹב׃ 13b wants to live a long time, [who loves] to see good?
נְצֹ֣ר לְשׁוֹנְךָ֣ מֵרָ֑ע 14a Keep your tongue from evil
וּ֝שְׂפָתֶ֗יךָ מִדַּבֵּ֥ר מִרְמָֽה׃ 14b and your lips from speaking deceit!
ס֣וּר מֵ֭רָע וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב 15a Turn away from evil and do good!
בַּקֵּ֖שׁ שָׁל֣וֹם וְרָדְפֵֽהוּ׃ 15b Seek peace and pursue it!
עֵינֵ֣י יְ֭הוָה אֶל־צַדִּיקִ֑ים 16a YHWH’s eyes are directed towards the righteous,
וְ֝אָזְנָ֗יו אֶל־שַׁוְעָתָֽם׃ 16b and his ears are attentive to their cries for help.
פְּנֵ֣י יְ֭הוָה בְּעֹ֣שֵׂי רָ֑ע 17a YHWH’s face is against those who do evil,
לְהַכְרִ֖ית מֵאֶ֣רֶץ זִכְרָֽם׃ 17b so as to remove the memory of them from the earth.
צָעֲק֣וּ וַיהוָ֣ה שָׁמֵ֑עַ 18a They called for help, and YHWH heard,
וּמִכָּל־צָ֝רוֹתָ֗ם הִצִּילָֽם׃ 18b and he delivered them from all their troubles.
קָר֣וֹב יְ֭הוָה לְנִשְׁבְּרֵי־לֵ֑ב 19a YHWH is near to the broken-hearted
וְֽאֶת־דַּכְּאֵי־ר֥וּחַ יוֹשִֽׁיעַ׃ 19b and he saves the crushed in spirit.
רַ֭בּוֹת רָע֣וֹת צַדִּ֑יק 20a The hardships of the righteous are many,
וּ֝מִכֻּלָּ֗ם יַצִּילֶ֥נּוּ יְהוָֽה׃ 20b but YHWH rescues him from all of them.
שֹׁמֵ֥ר כָּל־עַצְמוֹתָ֑יו 21a He protects all his bones.
אַחַ֥ת מֵ֝הֵ֗נָּה לֹ֣א נִשְׁבָּֽרָה׃ 21b Not one of them has broken.
תְּמוֹתֵ֣ת רָשָׁ֣ע רָעָ֑ה 22a Hardship finishes off a wicked person,
וְשֹׂנְאֵ֖י צַדִּ֣יק יֶאְשָֽׁמוּ׃ 22b and those who hate a righteous person bear their guilt
פּוֹדֶ֣ה יְ֭הוָה נֶ֣פֶשׁ עֲבָדָ֑יו 23a YHWH redeems his servants’ lives,
וְלֹ֥א יֶ֝אְשְׁמ֗וּ כָּֽל־הַחֹסִ֥ים בּֽוֹ׃ 23b and no one who seeks refuge in him will ever bear guilt.

Participant Relations Diagram

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

Psalm 034 - Participant Analysis Summary.jpg

Psalm 034 - PA Mini-Story.jpg

Participant Analysis Summary Distribution

This resource is forthcoming.

Macrosyntax

  What is Macrosyntax?

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.
Macrosyntax legend - discourse scope.jpg The scope governed by the discourse marker is indicated by a dashed orange bracket connecting the discourse marker to its scope.
Macrosyntax legend - preceding discourse.jpg 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.
Macrosyntax legend - subordination.jpg 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.
Macrosyntax legend - coordination.jpg Coordination is indicated by a solid blue line connecting the coordinating clauses.
Macrosyntax legend - asyndetic coordination.jpg Coordination without an explicit conjunction is indicated by a dashed blue line connecting the coordinated clauses.
Macrosyntax legend - marked topic.jpg Marked topic is indicated by a black dashed rounded rectangle around the marked words.
Macrosyntax legend - topic scope.jpg 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[1] are indicated by bold text.
Macrosyntax legend - frame setter.jpg Frame setters[2] 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.
Macrosyntax legend - direct speech.jpg 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)


Psalm 034 macrosyntax.jpg

This resource is in the process of reformatting. To view the notes on the Macrosyntax of Psalm 34, click here.


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

Psalm 034 - Speech Act Summary.jpg

Speech Act Analysis 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.

Psalm 034 - Speech table.jpg

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.


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.

Psalm 034 - Emotional analysis.jpg

Summary Visual

(Click visual to enlarge).


Psalm 034 - Emotional Analysis Summary.jpg



Bibliography

Allegro, John Marco. 1955.“Uses of the Semitic Demonstrative Element Z in Hebrew.” Vetus Testamentum, vol. 5, no. 3 July: pp. 309–12.
Baethgen, Friedrich. 1904. Die Psalmen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht.
Bratcher, Robert G., and William D. Reyburn. 1991. A Handbook on Psalms. UBS Handbook Series. New York: United Bible Societies.
Ceresko, Anthony. 1985. “The ABCs of Wisdom in Psalm Xxxiv.” VT 35: 99–104.
Craigie, Peter C. 2004. Psalms 1–50. WBC 19. Waco, TX: Word.
Delitzsch, Franz. Biblical Commentary on the Psalms: Vol. 1. Translated by Eaton David. Vol. 1. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1883.
Eriksson, Lars Olov. 1991. “Come, Children, Listen to Me!”: Psalm 34 in the Hebrew Bible and in Early Christian Writings. Coniectanea Biblica 32. Stockholm: Almquist & Wiksell.
Fokkelman, J.P. 2003. Major Poems of the Hebrew Bible: At the Interface of Prosody and Structural Analysis (Vol 3: The Remaining 65 Psalms). Vol. 3. Studia Semitica Neerlandica. Van Gorcum.
Freedman, David Noel. 1992. "Patterns in Psalms 25 and 34", in Priests, Prophets, and Scribes JSOT 149, Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.
Gentry, Peter. 2013. "The Meaning of 'Holy' in the Old Testament." Bibliotheca Sacra 170, no. 677-680: 400-417.
Goldingay, John. 2006. Psalms: Psalms 1–41. Vol. 1. BCOT. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006.
Gunkel, Hermann. Die Psalmen. 4th ed. Göttinger Handkommentar Zum Alten Testament 2. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1926.
Hossfeld, Frank-Lothar, and Erich Zenger. 1993. Die Psalmen I: Psalm 1–50. Neue Echter Bibel. Würzburg: Echter.
Hupfeld, Hermann. 1868. Die Psalmen. Vol. 2. Gotha: Friedrich Andreas Perthes.
Jenni, Ernst. 1992. Die Hebräischen Präpositionen Band 1: Die Präposition Beth. Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer.
___. 2000. Die Hebräischen Präpositionen Band 3: Die Präposition Lamed. Stuttgart: Verlag W. Kohlhammer.
Kimhi, David. 1900. The Book of Psalms, with commentary. Berlin, Schocken.
Krohn, Rachel. 2021. “A Syntactic Description of Biblical Hebrew Poetry: The Revised and Extended Hebrew Verse Structure Model.” Doctoral thesis.
Locatell, Christian S. 2017. “Grammatical Polysemy in the Hebrew Bible: A Cognitive Linguistic Approach to כי.” PhD Dissertation, University of Stellenbosch.
López, René A. 2010. "Identifying the 'Angel of the Lord' in the Book of Judges." Bulletin for Biblical Research 20 (1):1-18.
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.
Lunn, Nicholas P. 2006. Word-Order Variation in Biblical Hebrew Poetry: Differentiating Pragmatics and Poetics. Paternoster Biblical Monographs. Milton Keynes: Paternoster.
Malone, Andrew S. 2011. "Distinguishing the Angel of the Lord." Bulletin for Biblical Research 21 (3): 297-314.
Milgrom, Jacob. 1991. Leviticus 1–16. New York: Doubleday.
Miller, Cynthia L. 2010. “Vocative Syntax in Biblical Hebrew Prose and Poetry: A Preliminary Analysis.” Semitic Studies 55, no. 1: 347–64.
Revell, E.J. 1996. The Designation of the Individual: Expressive Usage in Biblical Narrative. (Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology 14.) Kampen: Kok Pharos.
Roberts, J. J. M. 1973. “The Young Lions of Psalm 34, 11.” Biblica 54, no. 2: 265–67.
Rogland, Max. 2003. Alleged Non-Past Uses of Qatal in Classical Hebrew. Assen, The Netherlands: Royal van Gorcum.
Sanders, Paul. Forthcoming. "A Long Life as a Blessing in the Old Testament and the Ancient Levant."
Skehan, Patrick William. 1951. “Structure of the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy (Deut 32:1-43).” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 13, no. 2 (April 1951).
Strawn, Brent A. 2005. What is Stronger than a Lion? Leonine Image and Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East. Fribourg, Switzerland: Academic Press Fribourg.



Footnotes

  1. When the entire utterance is new/unexpected, it is a thetic sentence (often called "sentence focus"). See our Creator Guidelines for more information on topic and focus.
  2. Frame setters are any orientational constituent – typically, but not limited to, spatio-temporal adverbials – function to "limit the applicability of the main predication to a certain restricted domain" and "indicate the general type of information that can be given" in the clause nucleus (Krifka & Musan 2012: 31-32). In previous scholarship, they have been referred to as contextualizing constituents (see, e.g., Buth (1994), “Contextualizing Constituents as Topic, Non-Sequential Background and Dramatic Pause: Hebrew and Aramaic evidence,” in E. Engberg-Pedersen, L. Falster Jakobsen and L. Schack Rasmussen (eds.) Function and expression in Functional Grammar. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 215-231; Buth (2023), “Functional Grammar and the Pragmatics of Information Structure for Biblical Languages,” in W. A. Ross & E. Robar (eds.) Linguistic Theory and the Biblical Text. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers, 67-116), but this has been conflated with the function of topic. In brief: sentence topics, belonging to the clause nucleus, are the entity or event about which the clause provides a new predication; frame setters do not belong in the clause nucleus and rather provide a contextual orientation by which to understand the following clause.