Psalm 4 Poetics
Poetic Structure
- The first section shift in the psalm comes in v. 3, where David turns to address the "mortal humans." The address continues through v. 6.
- Within this section (vv. 3-6), there are three sub-sections, demarcated by selah (v. 3b and v. 5b) and reinforced by an inclusio that binds together vv. 4-5 (v. 4a: ודעו / v. 5b: ודמו). Both ודעו (v. 4a) and ודמו (v. 5b) are imperatives prefixed by waw that begin with the consonant ד (d) and end with the vowel ו (u).
- Verses 7-8 are bound together by an inclusio (repetition of the root רבב at the beginning and ending).
- Verse 6 is sandwiched by two sections bound by inclusios (vv. 4-5 / v. 6 / vv. 7-8). This central position of v. 6 is reinforced by lexical recursion.
- The psalm ends as it began: with a three-line verse beginning with a bet preposition.
Poetic Features (Top 3)
1. Doubles
Feature
Nearly every root in v. 5b is repeated in vv. 7-9 in the same order in which they first appear in v. 5b:
- אמר - v. 7a ("saying") - v. 5b ("think)
- לבב - v. 8a ("heart") - v. 5b ("minds")
- שכב - v.9a ("lie down") - v. 5b ("beds")
Verse 6, which repeats none of the roots of v. 5b, repeats roots from the first line of the Psalm (צדק "righteous/right") and the last line of the Psalm (בטח "trust/security").[1]
With the exception of the repetition of אמר, every repeated root refers once in relation to David (e.g., "my heart") and once in relation to David's enemies (e.g., "your minds").
Effect
David, the king, is the model Israelite who looks for "righteousness" and "security" in YHWH alone and so "lies down" with joy in his "heart." He exhorts others to follow his example: "think in your minds on your beds... Offer right sacrifices and trust in YHWH."
2. A New Day Dawns
Feature
In v. 7, YHWH's favour is portrayed as the dawning sun: "Lift up the light of your face upon us!" This image of morning is followed in v. 9 by language associated with night ("lie down and sleep").
Language associated with morning and night also occurs in the first half of the Psalm: the first word of the Psalm בקראי ("when I call"), repeated in v. 4, sounds like the word for "morning" (בקר). The image of "beds" and "silence" in v. 5 is associated with night.
Effect
The imagery of the Psalm moves from day to night (vv. 2-5) and again from day to night (vv. 7-9), with verse 6 at the center of this movement (see feature #3). A day of intercessory prayer (vv. 2-4) leads to a night of silent reflection (v. 5) which results in proper worship and trust (v. 6) brings about a new day of blessing (vv. 7-8) and a night of peace (v. 9)
3. Sleeping in Shalom
Feature
The Psalm ends (as it began) with a three-line verse (tricolon/triplet). The line length of this last verse (measured in terms of stress count) gradually decreases across the three lines (4-3-2). The last two lines of the verse contain a single clause, with the subject in one line (9b) and the verb in another (9c). The verb does not appear until the very end of the last word of the clause. The sound "sh" occurs four times in the verse. Repetition of other consonant clusters also occur (sh + b; l + b + dental) in a chiastic pattern.
Effect
The various features of this verse (decreasing stress, enjambment, phonological chiasm, "shh" sound, the delayed appearance of the verb) work together to produce a feeling of shalom ("peace," v. 9a) and a sense of closure. It’s as though David is already drifting off to sleep. The Psalm, which began in distress and anger, ends now in peaceful rest.[2]
Poetic Verses
v. 2
Psalm 4 opens with a triplet, the first and last lines of which are semantically synonymous (an ABA' triplet). Each individual phrase in the first line is mirrored in the last line (my calling//my prayer; answer//hear; righteous//merciful [cf. Ps. 112:4; 116:5]), forming a chiastic structure (acb // c'b'a') across the A and C lines. The intervening B line is syntactically subordinate to the A line by an implied relative particle, and it functions semantically to ground the requests for present action in an action of the past. The beginning of this middle line sounds like the beginning of the A line (b + r + emphatic consonant [q/ts]), while the end of this middle line sounds like the end of the C line (p/b + l + t).
v. 3
v. 4
v. 5
v. 6
v. 7
v. 8
v. 9
Poetic Lines
Lineation
| Proposed lineation | Line | Supporting evidence | Conflicting evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ בִּנְגִינ֗וֹת מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד | v. 1 | ||
| בְּקָרְאִ֡י עֲנֵ֤נִי ׀ אֱלֹ֘הֵ֤י צִדְקִ֗י׃ | v. 2a | rg Sin-Vat Am | |
| בַּ֭צָּר הִרְחַ֣בְתָּ לִּ֑י | v. 2b | a Sin-Vat Am | P[3] |
| חָ֝נֵּ֗נִי וּשְׁמַ֥ע תְּפִלָּתִֽי׃ | v. 2c | s Or2373[4] Sin Vat Am | |
| בְּנֵ֥י אִ֡ישׁ עַד־מֶ֬ה כְבוֹדִ֣י לִ֭כְלִמָּה | v. 3a | Am | d Or2373[5] Sin-Vat[6] |
| :תֶּאֱהָב֣וּן רִ֑יק תְּבַקְשׁ֖וּ כָזָ֣ב סֶֽלָה | v. 3b | s Or2373* Sin-Vat* Am | P[7] |
| וּדְע֗וּ כִּֽי־הִפְלָ֣ה יְ֭הוָה חָסִ֣יד ל֑וֹ | v. 4a | a Or2373 Sin-Vat Am | |
| יְהוָ֥ה יִ֝שְׁמַ֗ע בְּקָרְאִ֥י אֵלָֽיו׃ | v. 4b | s Or2373 Sin-Vat Am | |
| רִגְז֗וּ וְֽאַל־תֶּ֫חֱטָ֥אוּ | v. 5a | P oy Sin-Vat Am | Or2373[8] |
| אִמְר֣וּ בִ֭לְבַבְכֶם עַֽל־מִשְׁכַּבְכֶ֗ם וְדֹ֣מּוּ סֶֽלָה ׃ | v. 5b | s Or2373* Sin-Vat Am | |
| זִבְח֥וּ זִבְחֵי־צֶ֑דֶק | v. 6a | a Or2373 Am | Sin-Vat[9] |
| וּ֝בִטְח֗וּ אֶל־יְהוָֽה | v. 6b | s Or2373 Sin-Vat* Am | |
| רַבִּ֥ים אֹמְרִים֮ מִֽי־יַרְאֵ֪נ֫וּ ט֥וֹב | v. 7a | oy Or2373 Sin-Vat Am | |
| נְֽסָה־עָ֭לֵינוּ א֨וֹר פָּנֶ֬יךָ יְהוָֽה׃ | v. 7b | s Or2373 Sin-Vat Am | |
| נָתַ֣תָּה שִׂמְחָ֣ה בְלִבִּ֑י | v. 8a | a Or2373 Sin-Vat Am | |
| מֵעֵ֬ת דְּגָנָ֖ם וְתִֽירוֹשָׁ֣ם רָֽבּוּ | v. 8b | P s Or2373 Sin-Vat Am | |
| בְּשָׁל֣וֹם יַחְדָּו֮ אֶשְׁכְּבָ֪ה וְאִ֫ישָׁ֥ן׃ | v. 9a | P oy Or2373 Sin-Vat Am | |
| כִּֽי־אַתָּ֣ה יְהוָ֣ה לְבָדָ֑ד | v. 9b | aoy | Or2373[10] Sin-Vat[11] Am[12] |
| לָ֝בֶ֗טַח תּוֹשִׁיבֵֽנִי׃ | v. 9c | s Or2373* Sin-Vat* Am* |
Line Length Patterns
- Ps 4 has a very regular line number pattern: six couplets book-ended by two triplets. The two triplets correspond to the psalm opening and closing.
- It has roughly equal numbers of line-length variation: 2 equal length, 3 long-short, and 3 short-long. None of the adjacent parallel lines vary in length more than one prosodic word, except 5a–b, which varies by 3 words (2//5).
- Verse 6 is remarkably short, with only two prosodic words per line.
References
- ↑ Other commentators have noted that "a key poetic device in Psalm 4 is the way in which key words or roots are repeated, often endowing the psalm with a sense either of contrast or of reversal" (Jacobson 2014). "The psalm is so closely integrated by the use of double terms that the structure cannot easily be determined" (Craigie 2004).
- ↑ Cf. Delitzsch: "The iambics with which the Psalm closes are as the last sound of a cradle-song which dies away softly, and, as it were, falling to sleep itself."
- ↑ בַּצָּר is a pausal form.
- ↑ Entire verse on single row without spaces (due to space constraint).
- ↑ Division corresponds to MT accents
- ↑ The Septuagint divided its Hebrew Vorlage differently, both in terms of word division (כבדי לב למה) and line division, with the first line end at לב and the next line beginning with למה.
- ↑ תֶּאֱהָבוּן is a pausal form.
- ↑ Division instead at revia: מִשְׁכַּבְכֶ֗ם
- ↑ This line is combined with the following.
- ↑ Combined with following line.
- ↑ Combined with following line.
- ↑ Combined with following line.