Psalm 4/Participant Analysis/Notes

• v. 3: It is possible that YHWH is the speaker of v. 3. The vocative "mortal humans" or "human beings" (בְּנֵי אִישׁ) might imply a divine speaker.
• v. 4: The phrase "one who is loyal to him" refers primarily to David, the king (cf. the "I" in the parallel line), and, through him, to all of YHWH's people—everyone who rejects idolatry (v. 3) and is loyal to him. (The rest of the psalm makes clear that YHWH's people [and not David only] are set apart for special treatment [see vv. 7–8]).
• vv. 7–8: There are multiple participant-related ambiguities in vv. 7–8.
  • Who are the "many" in v. 7a? It is possible that the "many" are to be identified with the "mortal humans" addressed in vv. 3–6. The speech of the "many" in v. 7a—"who will show us something good?"—would be entirely consistent with the attitude of the "mortal humans" described in v. 3. As Wilson writes, "This question reveals a rather crass pragmatism that led at the beginning of this psalm [see v. 3] to the callous disregard of covenant obligations and the pursuit of false hopes among the fertility deities." But v. 7b—"the light of your face is made a banner over us, YHWH" or "lift up the light of your face on us, YHWH"—implies trust in YHWH. If v. 7b is part of the speech, then the "many" should be identified with people who trust in YHWH. Thus, the identification of the "many" largely depends on the extent of the speech. If, as we argue, the speech continues through the end of v. 7, then the "many" refer to YHWH's people and the question in v. 7a is rhetorical. It could either express an intense desire for good, a wish, or it could be a liturgical question to which v. 7b gives the response: "Who shows us good? (YHWH does!) The light of your face, YHWH..." (cf. Ps 24:8, 10).
  • Who is speaking in v. 7b? Verse 7b is either the psalmist’s own words in response to the "many" (e.g., NIV, NET, CEV, JPS85, NJB, NLT, LUT, NGÜ, TOB, BDS, S21, RVR95, NVI, DHH94I), or a continuation of the speech of the "many" begun in v. 7a (e.g., NRSV, REB, ESV, GNT, HFA, GNB, PDV2017, NFC). The parallelism suggests that v. 7a and v. 7b come from the same speaker. As Goldingay writes, "Both cola refer to ‘we’ and it is natural with NRSV to read the whole verse as referring to the same ‘we’; it is the transition to verse 8 that marks the transition from ‘we’ to ‘I’. Hypothesising a transition to the suppliant’s words within verse 7 works against the poetry." Furthermore, when direct speech is introduced and begun in the a-line of a couplet, it usually continues into the b-line (e.g., Pss 2:7; 10:6, 11; 12:5; 16:2; 38:17; 39:2; 40:8; 41:5; 42:10; 50:16; 53:2?; 55:7; 58:12; 66:3; 68:23; 71:11; 73:11; 77:11; 82:6; 83:5, 13; 87:5; 89:3; 91:2; 94:7; 102:25; 105:11; 139:11; 140:7?; exceptions: Pss 13:5; 14:1?; 27:8; 31:23; 35:10?; 74:8; 79:10; 94:18; 96:10?).
• Whose grain and new wine multiplied (v. 8b)? The suffix "their" in v. 8b naturally refers to YHWH's people, the "many" described in v. 7.