Psalm 6/Phonology
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
Phonology
Consonants
This feature is considered relevant for this psalm.,
Sound combinations
| Definition Feature being studied | Occurrences Sections where this feature is present or absent | Clustering | Intersection | Connections | Structure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| guttural + sonorant/sibilant | אַל (v.2ab), חָנֵּ֥נִי (v.3a), אֻמְלַ֫ל אָ֥נִי (v.3b), רְפָאֵ֥נִי (v.3c), עֲצָמָֽי (v.3d), חַלְּצָ֣ה (v.4a), ה֜וֹשִׁיעֵ֗נִי לְמַ֣עַן (v.4c), אֵ֣ין (v.6a), בְּֽאַנְחָתִ֗י (v.7a), אַשְׂחֶ֣ה (v.7b), עַרְשִׂ֥י אַמְסֶֽה (v.7c), עָֽשְׁשָׁ֣ה מִכַּ֣עַס עֵינִ֑י (v.8a) | sections 1-3; especially section 3; virtually absent in section 4 | highlights boundary between sections 3 and 4 | The sounds guttural + sonorant/sibilant give cohesion to the first three sections of the psalm. They seem to be particularly associated with the psalmist's dire situation (vv.2-3; 7-8). Where the lament is the deepest (vv.7-8), the sounds are especially prominent. When lament gives way to confidence (section 4), the sounds disappear. The sudden shift in mood is thus accompanied by a shift in sound. | |
| sibilant + liquid (ר) | תְיַסְּרֵֽנִי (v.2b), צוֹרְרָֽי (v.8b), ס֣וּרוּ (v.9b) | vv.8b-9a | The sharp discontinuity between sections 3 and 4 (see above table cell) is smoothed over by this point of continuity. The adjacent words (צררי – סורו) is an case of anadiplosis. |
See below for a phonological overview highlighting these features.
This feature is considered relevant for this psalm.,
Infrequent letters or sounds
- ג - two times
- ז - one time
- ט - one time
- צ - three times
- ק - three times
- שׂ - two times,
Similar sounds in adjacent lines
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Section 1
- Divine name (vv.2a, 3ac, 4b)
- Alliteration of א (vv.2ab, 3bc, 4ab)
- Repetition of אל (v.2ab); also, אמלל (v.3b)
- Repetition of בּ + guttural + labial (2a: בְּאַפְּ // v.2b: בַּחֲמָ)
- Repetition of ךָ ending (v.2ab)
- Final words of 2ab begin with ת and end with ני (v.2a: תוֹכִיחֵ֑נִי // v.2b: תְיַסְּרֵֽנִי)
- Repetition of נִי ending (vv. 2ab, 3abc)
- Repetition of כִּי (v.3bd)
- Repetition of אני (v.3b: אָ֥נִי; v.3c: רְפָאֵ֥נִי)
- Repetition of נבהל (vv.3d, 4a)
- Alliteration of נ + labial (ב/פ): נבהל (vv.3d, 4a), נפשׁי (v.4a)
- Line-final words with מ (vv.3d, 4ab)
- End rhyme: עֲצָמָי (v.3d), עַד מָתַי (v.4a)
- Alliteration of guttural (א/ע) + dental (ת/ד): אֹ֑ד (4a), אַתָּ (4b), עַד (4b)
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Section 2
- End rhyme: v.5a: שׁוּבָ֣ה // v.5b: חַלְּצָ֣ה
- Repetition of שִׁי (v.5bc)
- Alliteration of guttural + נ/ן (v.5c, 6a)
- Alliteration of בּ (v.6ab)
- Alliteration of מ in accented syllable (vv.5c, 6ab)
- End rhyme v.5c, חַסְדֶּֽךָ; v.6a, זִכְרֶ֑ךָ; also, לָּֽךְ (v.6b)
- Alliteration of consonantal sounds in חלץ and שׁאול (v.5, guttural + sibilant + ל)
- Rhyme: כִּ֤י (v.6a), מִ֣י (v.6b)
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Section 3
- Alliteration of gutturals, especially ע (vv.7abc, 8ab)
- Repetition of תִּי ending (v.7a: יָגַ֤עְתִּי, בְּֽאַנְחָתִ֗י; v.7b: מִטָּתִ֑י; v.7c: בְּ֜דִמְעָתִ֗י)
- Alliteration of guttural + sonorant/sibilant (v.7a: בְּֽאַנְחָתִ֗י, v.7b: אַשְׂחֶ֣ה, v.7c: עַרְשִׂ֥י אַמְסֶֽה, v.8a: עָֽשְׁשָׁ֣ה מִכַּ֣עַס עֵינִ֑י)
- Repetition of ב (vv.7abc, 8b)
- "The initial noun of this third line of the tricolon בדמעתי ֝ phonologically reflects the final באנחתי of 6a."[1]
- Rhyme, alliteration, assonance (v.7b: אַשְׂחֶ֣ה // v.7c אַמְסֶֽה)
- Alliteration of בכל + liquids: בְכָל־לַ֭יְלָה (vv.7b), בְּכָל־צוֹרְרָֽי (v.8b)
- Alliteration of מ + dental + תִּי ending: מִטָּתִ֑י (v.7b) // בְּ֜דִמְעָתִ֗י (v.7c)
- Phonological chiasm: a אַשְׂחֶ֣ה b מִטָּתִ֑י // b’ בְּ֜דִמְעָתִ֗י a’ אַמְסֶֽה
- "Note the rhyme of the initial verbs in this bicolon": v.8a עָֽשְׁשָׁ֣ה, v.8b עָֽ֜תְקָ֗ה[2]
- Alliteration of velars: v.8a מִכַּ֣עַס; v.8b עָֽ֜תְקָ֗ה
- “The alliterative noun צוֹרְרָֽי complements the alliterative verb עָֽשְׁשָׁ֣ה at the beginning of v. 7.”[3]
- The last verb of section 3 (עתקה) sounds similar to the first verb (יגעתי). Both have guttural + velar + dental.
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Section 4
- Repetition of ִי ending: מִ֭מֶּנִּי (v.9a), בִּכְיִֽי (v.9b), תְּחִנָּתִ֑י (v.10a), תְּֽפִלָּתִ֥י (v.10b)
- Alliteration of velar (כ/ק) + ל (v.9a: כָּל // v.9b: ק֣וֹל; v.11a: כָּל)
- Repetition of שׁמע יהוה (vv.9b, 10a)
- Rhyme (alliteration and assonance) in תְּחִנָּתִ֑י (v.10a) and תְּֽפִלָּתִ֥י (v.10b)
- Alliteration of velar (ק/ג) + guttural (ע/ח) in יִקָּֽח׃ (v.10b) and רָֽגַע׃ (v.11b); this end rhyme is parallel to that in vv.3b/4b
- Dense alliteration of י/שׁ/ב in יֵבֹ֤שׁוּ (v.11a) // יָ֜שֻׁ֗בוּ יֵבֹ֥שׁוּ (v.11b)
- The play on בושׁ and שׁוב is used here "to denote reversal,"[4] as a number of commentators have observed. "The compound verbal expression contains a paronomasia, yāšubû yēbōšû: the reversal of the letters mirrors the reversal the words describe.”[5] “The reiterated verb יֵבֹ֥שׁוּ accents the psalmist’s wish, “be shamed,” and forms an ironic audible pun with the hoped-for overall outcome, as expressed in the sound-alike verb יָ֜שֻׁ֗בוּ “turn” (i.e., a great reversal in fates).”[6],
Other observations
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Phonological Overview
Rhythm and Line Length
The following table shows the length of each line in terms of syllables, words, and stress units. The highest and lowest numbers in each category are emboldened.
| Ref | Syllables | Words | Stress Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2a | 11 | 4 | 3 |
| 2b | 12 | 3 | 2 |
| 3a | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| 3b | 13 | 5 | 5 |
| 4a | 8 | 3 | 3 |
| 4b | 8 | 4 | 3 |
| 5a | 9 | 4 | 4 |
| 5b | 9 | 3 | 3 |
| 6a | 7 | 4 | 4 |
| 6b | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| 7a | 7 | 2 | 2 |
| 7b | 9 | 4 | 3 |
| 7c | 8 | 3 | 3 |
| 8a | 7 | 3 | 3 |
| 8b | 8 | 3 | 2 |
| 9a | 10 | 5 | 4 |
| 9b | 8 | 5 | 4 |
| 10a | 8 | 3 | 3 |
| 10b | 8 | 3 | 3 |
| 11a | 14 | 5 | 4 |
| 11b | 7 | 3 | 3 |
- According to stress units, the b-line of each verse is either the same (vv.3, 4, 7bc, 9, 10) or shorter than the a-line (vv. 2, 5, 6, 8, 11).
- v.7a. The middle line (7a) is marked in terms of length. It is unusually short (7 syllables, 2 words, 2 stress units). The fact that it is 7-syllables may be significant, given the apparent significance of the number 7 in the structuring of the psalm. (See below)
- v.7ab. "An isomorphic equivalent of the length of time in suffering being referred to is reflected orally in the lexical length of the poetic line (7b)—that is, in comparison with the shorter, 'exhausted' expression of the psalmist in v.7a."[7]
- v.11. The difference between a given a-line and its b-line in this psalm is never more than 1 word and 2 or 3 syllables. The only exception is v.11, where the a-line is longer than the b-line by 2 words and 7 syllables. The exceptional length of v.11a leads Fokkelman, following Kraus, to "desert the Masoretes here as regards the caesura and place the subject, 'all my enemies', in the B-colon," in order to achieve "a better balance of 10 + 12 syllables."[8] Watson, also disregarding the Masoretic accents, divides the verse as a tricolon (יֵבֹ֤שׁוּ ׀ וְיִבָּהֲל֣וּ מְ֭אֹד / כָּל־אֹיְבָ֑י / יָ֝שֻׁ֗בוּ יֵבֹ֥שׁוּ רָֽגַע׃).[9] Yet the brevity of 11b measured against 11a may be intended to highlight the swiftness (רֶגַע) with which the enemies will be shamed and thus brings the psalm to a dramatic close.
- ↑ Ernst Wendland, "'Do the Dead Praise God?' – A Literary-Structural Analysis and Translation of Psalm 6" in Studies in the Psalms–Supplement Version (E-Publication: 2017), 108.
- ↑ Ernst Wendland, "'Do the Dead Praise God?' – A Literary-Structural Analysis and Translation of Psalm 6" in Studies in the Psalms–Supplement Version (E-Publication: 2017), 108.
- ↑ Ernst Wendland, "'Do the Dead Praise God?' – A Literary-Structural Analysis and Translation of Psalm 6" in Studies in the Psalms–Supplement Version (E-Publication: 2017), 108.
- ↑ Wilfred G.E. Watson, Classical Hebrew Poetry: a Guide to its Techniques (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 246
- ↑ John Goldingay, Psalms: 1-41, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006).
- ↑ Ernst Wendland, "'Do the Dead Praise God?' – A Literary-Structural Analysis and Translation of Psalm 6" in Studies in the Psalms–Supplement Version (E-Publication: 2017), 109.
- ↑ Wendland, 107.
- ↑ Fokkelman, 66.
- ↑ Wilfred G.E. Watson, Classical Hebrew Poetry: a Guide to its Techniques (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 183.