Psalm 4/Notes/Lexical.v. 5.456350

• The expression אמר בלב (and similar expressions) means to "say in one’s heart, think, or, without proposition following, ponder" (DCH). Normally, there is a proposition or a direct object following, specifying the content of the internal speech/thought (e.g., Gen 17:17; Deut 7:17; 8:17; 9:4; 18:21; Isa 14:13; 47:8, 10; 49:21; Jer 5:14; Pss 10:6, 11; 35:25; 74:8; etc.). But here, there is no proposition or object (cf. Gen 4:8 [MT and 4QGen^b]; Exod 19:25). There is a possible parallel for this omission in the later, non-biblical Hebrew composition Psalm 151: "And I rendered glory to YHWH; I pondered in my soul (אמרתי אני בנפשי)" (11QPs^a column 28, line 5).
• In light of this difficulty, various emendations to the text have been proposed, e.g., מַר ("bitterly," cf. Kselman 1987, 103-105), הָמֵרוּ ("show bitterness," cf. Barré 1995, 59-60), and מָאֱרוּ ("feel hatred," cf. Driver 1942, 150; NEB). The most plausible of these emendations is הָמֵרוּ ("show bitterness"). "Showing bitterness" (i.e., weeping bitterly) occurs elsewhere in the context of repentance and mourning, and it would be fitting in the context if the following verb דֹמּוּ is understood to mean "wail, lament" (see lexical note). See e.g., Zech 12:10—"When they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly (וְהָמֵר) over him, as one weeps (כְּהָמֵר) over a firstborn" (Zech 12:10, ESV). Reading הָמֵרוּ in Ps 4:5 would also fit with the prepositional phrase "in/with your hearts" (see e.g., Hos 7:14—זָעֲקוּ אֵלַי בְּלִבָּם; Ben Sira 39:35—בכל לב הרנינו; cf. Zeph 3:14).
• Because the MT's reading אִמְרוּ is supported by all of the textual witnesses, Barthélemy et al. 2005, 9-10 give it an A rating, but they do not address the issue of the lack of speech content.
• In light of the grammatical issue with אִמְרוּ (see above), some interpret אִמְרוּ to mean "search" (e.g., Waltke 2010, 236; cf. Dahood 1963, 295-296; cf. NIV: "search your hearts").