Psalm 51/Participant Analysis/Set

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There are # participants/characters in Psalm 51:

Profile List

Psalmist/David
Psalmist's body
"bones" (v. 10)
"tongue" (v. 16)
"mouth" (v. 17)

God
"the God who saves me" (v. 16)
"Lord" (v. 17)

Israel
"sinners" (v. 15
"transgressors" (v. 15)
"(people)" (v. 21)
Jerusalem
"Zion" (v. 20)

Psalmist's mother

Profile Notes

  • Psalmist / David: In Story Behind, we determined to treat David as the "I" of the psalm based on the traditional superscription. The psalmist also refers metonymically to himself when he speaks of his body in agentive terms.
  • God: In the version of the psalm we have today (within the context of the Elohistic psalter), God is referred to as "God," "the God who saves me," and "Lord," but never YHWH.
  • Israel and Jerusalem: The city Jerusalem/Zion is mentioned explicitly twice in v. 20 and may be understood to refer implicitly also to the people who inhabit the city or at least have it as their capital (= the people of Israel). Israel is never explicitly mentioned, but must be supposed by the impersonal verb יַעֲלוּ in v. 21. The "sinners" are only mentioned explicitly in v. 15, but they may also be implied as the threat in "Deliver me from bloodshed" in v. 16, depending on the interpretation of the situation in view. The text is not explicit whether these sinners are foreigners or Israelites, but their anticipated returning to the Lord suggests that these sinners constitute the restored faithful of Israel who offer right sacrifices in Jerusalem in v. 21. Thus, there seems to be an ironic blend/twist involved, where Israel and the sinners are one and the same participant, just at different points in time and in different roles (the faithless enemies become faithful worshippers). Just as David moves from sinner to restored worshipper, so also does the nation of Israel. The reference to "hearing" gladness and joy in v. 10 may also be an allusive reference to restored Israel in joyful corporate worship.
  • Psalmist's mother: The psalmist's mother plays only a limited background role in v. 7 (and some interpret v. 8 as referring to the mother's womb), setting the context for the psalmist's pre-natal sinfulness.