Psalm 36 Participant Analysis
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Psalm 36/Participant Analysis
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YHWH's Unending Loyalty
Psalm 36
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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 4 participants/characters in Psalm 36:
| David |
| "YHWH's servant" (v. 1) |
| YHWH's people |
| "those who know you" (v. 11) |
| "the upright in heart" (v. 11) |
| Humans |
| Mortals |
| YHWH |
| "God" (v. 8) |
| Animals |
| Enemies |
| "the wicked [person]" (v. 2) |
| "the arrogant [people]" (v. 12) |
| "the wicked [people]" (v. 12) |
| "evildoers" (v. 13) |
| Body Parts of Enemies |
| "the foot [of the arrogant]" (v. 12) |
| "the hand [of the wicked]" (v. 12) |
| Rebellion |
- Enemies: It is unclear whether the enemies in Ps 36 are from within (i.e., fellow Israelites) or without (i.e., foreign powers), yet the descriptions of YHWH's attributes and the allusions to the temple suggest that they are "criminally minded, powerful and arrogant Israelites or Judaeans" (Botha 2004, 518). A singular wicked person is the focus of vv. 2-5 and appears to be representative of a larger group referred to later as "arrogant" (v. 12), "wicked" (v. 12), and "evildoers" (v. 13) (cf. Botha 2004, 517; le Mat 1957, 68). The enemies set themselves up against YHWH and David (and, by extension, YHWH's people). Because of their hostility towards YHWH and his people, such enemies fall, are thrust down, and are not able to stand up (v. 13); in other words, they die.
- Rebellion: Rebellion is personified as an "inspiring demon" who, masquerading as a prophet, speaks to the wicked person (Gunkel 1926, 152; cf. Gen 4:7; Ps 119:133b) and flatters him (see The Syntax and Meaning of Psalm 36:3). Instead of listening to the נאם יהוה "declaration of YHWH," the wicked person heeds its antithesis — the נאם פשׁע "declaration of Rebellion."
- Animals: The mention of "humans and animals" (v. 7) could be meristic, encapsulating "the totality of living beings" (Botha 2004, 511n17; Hossfeld and Zenger 1993, 227). The inclusion of animals in v. 7 is fitting in light of the preceding creation language (e.g., sky, clouds, etc.). Here, as in other places (cf. Jonah 4:11; Pss 104:14; 147:9), YHWH demonstrates his concern for both humans and animals.
| Hebrew | Verse | English |
|---|---|---|
| לַמְנַצֵּ֬חַ ׀ לְעֶֽבֶד־יְהוָ֬ה לְדָוִֽד׃ | 1 | For the director. By the servant of YHWH — by David. |
| נְאֻֽם־פֶּ֣שַׁע לָ֭רָשָׁע בְּקֶ֣רֶב לִבוֹ | 2a | Rebellion’s declaration [speaks] to the wicked in the midst of his heart. |
| אֵֽין־פַּ֥חַד אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים לְנֶ֣גֶד עֵינָֽיו׃ | 2b | There is no fear of God before his eyes. |
| כִּֽי־הֶחֱלִ֣יק אֵלָ֣יו בְּעֵינָ֑יו | 3a | For [Rebellion] has flattered him in his eyes, |
| לִמְצֹ֖א עֲוֺנ֣וֹ לִשְׂנֹֽא׃ | 3b | that he has found his iniquity and hated it. |
| דִּבְרֵי־פִ֭יו אָ֣וֶן וּמִרְמָ֑ה | 4a | The words of his mouth are evil and deceit. |
| חָדַ֖ל לְהַשְׂכִּ֣יל לְהֵיטִֽיב׃ | 4b | He has ceased to act wisely and to do good. |
| אָ֤וֶן ׀ יַחְשֹׁ֗ב עַֽל־מִשְׁכָּ֫ב֥וֹ | 5a | He plots evil on his bed. |
| יִ֭תְיַצֵּב עַל־כֹל דֶּ֣רֶךְ לֹא־ט֑וֹב | 5b | He remains beside every way that is not good. |
| רָ֝֗ע לֹ֣א יִמְאָֽס׃ | 5c | He does not refuse evil. |
| יְ֭הוָה בְּהַשָּׁמַ֣יִם חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ | 6a | YHWH, your loyalty is in the sky; |
| אֱ֝מֽוּנָתְךָ֗ עַד־שְׁחָקִֽים׃ | 6b | your faithfulness [extends] up to the clouds. |
| צִדְקָֽתְךָ֨ ׀ כְּֽהַרְרֵי־אֵ֗ל | 7a | Your justice is like the mighty mountains; |
| מִ֭שְׁפָּטֶךָ תְּה֣וֹם רַבָּ֑ה | 7b | your judgment is [like] the great ocean. |
| אָ֤דָֽם־וּבְהֵמָ֖ה תוֹשִׁ֣יעַ יְהוָֽה׃ | 7c | You deliver humans and animals, YHWH. |
| מַה־יָּקָ֥ר חַסְדְּךָ֗ אֱלֹ֫הִ֥ים | 8a | How precious is your loyalty, God! |
| וּבְנֵ֥י אָדָ֑ם בְּצֵ֥ל כְּ֝נָפֶ֗יךָ יֶחֱסָיֽוּן׃ | 8b | Mortals take refuge within the protection of your wings. |
| יִ֭רְוְיֻן מִדֶּ֣שֶׁן בֵּיתֶ֑ךָ | 9a | They drink to the full from the abundance of your house |
| וְנַ֖חַל עֲדָנֶ֣יךָ תַשְׁקֵֽם׃ | 9b | and you give them drink from your delightful stream, |
| כִּֽי־עִ֭מְּךָ מְק֣וֹר חַיִּ֑ים | 10a | Because the spring of life is with you. |
| בְּ֝אוֹרְךָ֗ נִרְאֶה־אֽוֹר׃ | 10b | By your light we can see light. |
| מְשֹׁ֣ךְ חַ֭סְדְּךָ לְיֹדְעֶ֑יךָ | 11a | Continue your loyalty for those who know you; |
| וְ֝צִדְקָֽתְךָ֗ לְיִשְׁרֵי־לֵֽב׃ | 11b | and [continue] your righteousness for the upright in heart! |
| אַל־תְּ֭בוֹאֵנִי רֶ֣גֶל גַּאֲוָ֑ה | 12a | Do not let the foot of the arrogant come against me; |
| וְיַד־רְ֝שָׁעִ֗ים אַל־תְּנִדֵֽנִי׃ | 12b | and do not let the hand of the wicked drive me away! |
| שָׁ֣ם נָ֭פְלוּ פֹּ֣עֲלֵי אָ֑וֶן | 13a | Evildoers have fallen there. |
| דֹּ֝ח֗וּ וְלֹא־יָ֥כְלוּ קֽוּם׃ | 13b | They have been thrust down and have not been able to stand up. |
vv. 2-5: The Identity of the Addressee
- Unlike vv. 6-12 which is addressed to YHWH, the addressee of vv. 2-5 is unspecified. Within the section addressed to YHWH, a group is referred to as "those who know you" (v. 11), and "the upright in heart" (v. 11). Taken together, these references suggest that "YHWH's people" are in view as the likely addressee of vv. 2-5. This is further evidenced by the juxtaposition of this group with "arrogant [people]" and "wicked [people]" (v. 12) (i.e., not YHWH's people; see Botha 2004).
v. 3a: The subject(s) and referent(s) of כִּי־הֶחֱלִיק אֵלָיו בְּעֵינָיו For he has flattered himself in his eyes
- For a fuller treatment of the participants involved in v. 3a, see The Syntax and Meaning of Ps. 36:3.
vv. 8-10: The subject(s) of יֶחֱסָיוּן, יִרְוְיֻן, and נִרְאֶה YHWH's people or both YHWH's people and Divine Beings?
- The subject(s) of three verbs is/are determined by whether אֱלֹהִים (v. 8) is grouped with the preceding clause as a vocative (so ESV) or the succeeding clause as part of a compound subject (so REB). If the former, the subject is בְנֵי אָדָם "people"; if the latter, the subjects are both בְנֵי אָדָם "people" and אֱלֹהִים "divine beings." The latter is preferred so that "divine beings and people" both "take refuge," "drink to the full," and "see" light. For a fuller treatment on the position of אֱלֹהִים, see The Division of Psalm 36:8.
- The person shift at v. 10, from third to first, most likely marks the end of a section (see de Regt 2000).
v. 13: The Identity of the Addressee
- That the addressee switches back to YHWH's people here, and does not continue with YHWH, is not signalled by an overt person-shift, for third-person language appears throughout vv. 12-13. Based on the parallels with v. 5 however, there is reason to believe that the psalmist stops addressing YHWH and begins to address YHWH's people again: both include a three-fold description of the wicked person(s) (with three verbs in each), along with a contrast between where the wicked person stands (v. 5b) and where he falls down (v. 13a; see Botha 2004, 516n30).
Participant Relations Diagram
The relationships among the participants may be abstracted and summarized as follows:
Participant Analysis Summary Distribution
