Psalm 51 Academics
Create a clean heart for me, God!
Psalm 51
Academic Resources
Explore our academic Psalms resources for Psalm 51, including our Layer-by-Layer analysis, select Exegetical Issues, and Overview Videos.
Overview 
- This page will introduce and provide orientation to Psalm 51 as a whole. It covers the message, structure, background and participants of the psalm.
Layer-by-Layer Analysis 
- The heart of our process is our layer-by-layer exegetical analysis, where we unfold the semantics, story behind, discourse, and poetics of each psalm.
Grammar & Semantics
Semantics is the study of how language is used to represent meaning. The goal of semantic analysis is to understand the meaning of words and how they relate to each other in context. Our Semantics analysis consists of the following sub-layers:
- Grammar & Textual Criticism
- Lexical Semantics
- Phrase-Level Semantics
- Verbal Semantics
Story Behind
The Story Behind the Psalm shows how each part of the psalm fits together into a single coherent whole. Here, we analyze the meaning of sentences and larger units of discourse, up to and including the entire psalm. This also include historical background and figurative imagery.
Discourse
Our Discourse Layer moves beyond semantic-level meaning, and analyzes features of the text dependent on the speaker, addressee, and macrosyntax.
Poetics
Exploring the Psalms as poetry is crucial for understanding and experiencing the psalms and thus for faithfully translating them into another language.
Verse-by-Verse Notes 
- Explore the psalm verse-by-verse and section-by-section.
Psalm 51 Exegetical Issues 
- These issues examine the top three tough questions for each psalm, explaining different scholarly interpretations, and offering our perspective.
- Psalm 51:8 [Eng. 6] reads הֵן אֱמֶת חָפַצְתָּ בַטֻּחוֹת וּבְסָתֻם חָכְמָה תוֹדִיעֵנִי. The meaning and referents of the Hebrew words טֻחוֹת and סָתֻם are uncertain and contested in the translations. While the basic meaning of סָתֻם as "closed off >> secret" is clear, opinions vary on what טֻחוֹת means. The same word appears in Job 38:36, where the meaning is even more controversial. Furthermore, even once the meanings of these words are determined, translators and commentators differ with regard to what they refer to in the context.
- Psalm 51:8 [Eng. 6] is one of the most contested verses in Ps 51. In addition to the exegetical issue on the lexical semantics of טֻחוֹת and סָתֻם (see above), the verbal semantics of תוֹדִיעֵנִי have been construed in widely different ways with significant impact on the interpretation of the passage.
- The most significant exegetical issue regarding Ps 51 is the Story Behind the psalm--namely the background circumstances in which it was composed and performed--and how this relates to elements in the psalm. The superscription is often understood as an attribution of Davidic composition/authorship. However, according to most modern interpreters, the Story Behind the psalm implied by these verses seems rather to be a (post-)exilic context.
Psalm 51 Videos 
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