Psalm 7 Poetics

Psalm Overview

• Grammar
• Semantics
• Story behind the Psalm
• Discourse
• Poetics

Poetic Structure

• vv. 3 and 6 both contain an enjambment: two verbs who share a similar object ("me" in both verses), with the object sandwiched between them. Both verses describe hypothetical situations in which the enemy destroys David, and serve as endings for their sections.
• The section consisting of vv. 2-3 (David's plea for rescue/opening of his case) is similar to the section consisting of vv.4-6 (David's oath of innocence) in that they begin with vocative "YHWH, my God" and end with the enjambment described in the note above
• Together, these two sections form a larger section (vv. 2-6), marked by the inclusio repetition of נַפְשִׁ֑י (me) and רֹדפ (pursue/pursuers) in vv. 2/3 and 6.
• vv. 2-3 is also united as section with similar endings for both verses: words meaning "rescue"
• vv. 4-6 is one long oath, consisting of 4 "if" clauses (the "if" is implied in the last one) followed by 4 consequence clauses in quick sequence. Verse 6 is noteworthy in that each line grows in intensity of verbiage (pursue me > beat me to death > and leave my dead body (and my reputation) on the ground)
• vv. 7-8 form a section: a plea for YHWH to convene his court and execute justice. It's marked by the inclusio of "rise up" and "return over it"; see Poetic Feature #3
• vv. 9-10 form a mini-section, with an inclusio of a grammatical feature: an imperative surrounded by indicatives.
• vv. 15-17 is a grouping, marked by the interjection הִנֵּ֥ה. These verses focus on the wicked's actions, employing vivid metaphors to portray the "fertility and futility of evil" (Kidner 1973), as well as wordplay in v. 16 (וַ֝יִּפֹּ֗ל יִפְעָֽל)
• vv. 2-10 form a larger section of David making his case, and vv.11-18 form a larger section about God's righteousness and the fate of the wicked. Both sections have similar beginnings in v. 2 and 11: "God" and "saves"
• vv. 7-10 form a section that serves as the call to YHWH for judgment, centered around the peak of the Psalm, line 9a. It contains numerous instances of language related to judgment (see Poetic Feature #2).
• vv. 6 and 17 serve as similar endings for their sections, marked by the "down" spatial imagery (see Poetic Feature #3).
• vv. 2, 4, 7, and 9 mark new sections with vocative "YHWH"

Top Poetic Features

1. Who's Responsible?

Feature

The section comprised of verses 11-17 is about the interaction between YHWH and the wicked person--and the consequences of wickedness. Within this section, in vv. 13-17, the subject of all the verbs, as well as the possessor of the objects mentioned, are ambiguous: the Hebrew simply uses forms for 3ms (third-person masculine singular). The psalm doesn't specify whether the "he" being referred to in each instance is YHWH or the wicked person. (To see our discussion on who the participant is in each case, see Who Are the Subjects in Psalm 7:13–14?.)

Effect

While we can easily deduce that the subject of vv. 15-16 is the wicked person (because YHWH cannot logically do the actions in these two verses), the reader is still left wondering as they read vv. 13-14 whether YHWH is the one preparing weapons for the wicked man; OR, if the wicked man is preparing weapons for himself by his own wickedness!

We have concluded that the "he" who does not repent in 13a is most likely the wicked person; all other subjects in these two verses are most likely YHWH, if forced to choose one or the other for each verb. (See exegetical issue.)

However, the psalmist might have chosen to leave the participants grammatically ambiguous in this entire section to create tension in what is a prominent section of the psalm (which is it, YHWH or the wicked?!), as well as to teach an important lesson in line with the meaning of this psalm: to be wicked is to bring death upon oneself; but YHWH is the one who ensures the destruction (cf. Ps. 1:6). So the subtle answer to the question of Who is the one who destroys the wicked? might be, BOTH the wicked person and YHWH!

2. King, Judge, and Warrior

Feature

There are a number of explicit and implicit references to YHWH as both WARRIOR and JUDGE, which are both important functions of a KING.

YHWH as warrior:

• "Rise up": similar to the prayer for God's presence in battle, Num. 10:35
• "Awake": reminiscent of the battle cry in Deborah's war, Judges 5:12--the same verb used in 7c of this psalm appears four times in that verse
• Weapons of war: YHWH is described in vv. 11-14 as bearing a shield, as well as weapons like a sword, bow, and flaming arrows

YHWH as judge:

• The various references to God as being high above are references to his authority as judge over all: "lift yourself up", "rise up", "awake", "return over it" are pleas for YHWH to take his rightful place and to execute justice
• The verb root שפטֵ֥ ("judge") appears in vv. 9 and 12; יָדִין (also "judge") in v. 9
• In v 8, the psalmist is calling for court to convene: the nations gather around for judgment, and YHWH takes his place "over it" as he takes his judge's seat (some say the the verb for "return" in this verse is actually an imperative of "take a seat")
• in v. 10, the psalmist is longing for justice to be served: the righteous get rewarded, and the wicked receive their due destruction. Then YHWH is described as the one who examines/tests/judges the inward parts of each person.

Effect

All these implied and explicit references to the metaphors of YHWH as judge and YHWH as warrior add to the poetic beauty of the psalm by building imagery. This imagery reinforces the psalmist's confidence in YHWH to act as warrior and judge, avenging David from false accusations that probably led to the writing of this psalm. This psalm is a plea for justice to be served; and the psalmist uses imagery to show that YHWH the judge and warrior is on his side, and justice WILL be served.

Because Israelite kings acted both as warriors and judges for their people, these metaphors of JUDGE and WARRIOR are united into one larger metaphor: YHWH as KING, which is a "root metaphor" in the Psalter (see J.L. Mays, The Lord Reigns.)

3. Heights and Depths

Feature

Spatial imagery runs throughout the poem, defining its structure and underlining its message.

• The first stanza (vv.2-6) ends with the image of "ground" (לָאָרֶץ) // "dust" (לֶעָפָר) (v.6bc), metonymic for defeat and death. The last word of this section is ישׁכן ("lie down).
• From this low-point, the psalm rises progressively to a peak in the second stanza (vv.7-10). YHWH is called to "rise" (קוּמָה, the first word of this section), to "be lifted" (הִנָּשֵׂא), to "wake" (שׁוּבָה) and to return "to the highest place" (לַמָּרוֹם; note morphological similarities to לָאָרֶץ and לֶעָפָר) from which to judge the world (v.9a). "The upward movement has been motivated by God's anger, aims at pronouncing judgment, and ends up at God's throne" (Fokkelman 2000:67).
• The third stanza (vv.11-17) returns down to the land as YHWH executes the judgment he has decreed. The downward motion is emphasized as the wicked "dig" a "hole" (בּוֹר, v.16a) and "fall down" (נפל) into a "pit" (שַׁחַת, v.16b), where their violence "descends" upon them (יֵרֵד, the final word of this section). The psalm concludes with praise to יהוה עליון, "Most High" being the final word of the psalm.

Effect

Spatial imagery thus defines the basic three-part structure of the psalm:

1. The Psalmist is brought down (vv.2-6)
   1. (vv.2-3)
   2. (vv.4-6)
2. YHWH goes up to the highest place (vv.7-10)
   1. (vv.7-8)
   2. (vv.9-10)
3. The enemies are brought down (vv.11-17)
   1. (vv.11-14)
   2. (vv.16-17)
4. Praise to the Most High God (v.18)

This interrelated complex of images underlines the message of the Psalm: When YHWH judges the world, there is a great reversal whereby everything is set right. The righteous are brought up from the dust, and the wicked fall down into pits. In other words, when YHWH goes up, the righteous also go up, and the wicked go down.

Line Divisions

Line Length

There are two perfectly symmetrical patterns in this psalm:

• vv. 5-8:
  • Bicola (3 words-3 words)
  • Tricola (4-3-3)
  • (axis between vv. 6 and 7)
  • Tricola (3-3-4)
  • Bicola (3-3)
• vv, 12-18: (all bicola)
  • (3-3)
  • (4-3)
  • (3-3)
  • (v. 15 serves as axis)
  • (3-3)
  • (3-4)
  • (3-3)
  • The regularity of 3/3 may be a poetic reinforcement of the absolute reliability of God's justice, as 3 often symbolizes completion in Scripture. And, the pink sections that mirror one another (vv. 13 and 17) have similar semantic content as well; v. 13 describes YHWH's weapons against the wicked, and v. 17 describes the demise the man brings on himself.
• V. 11 is unique: a bicola with only 2 words per line, the shortest in the Psalm. It begins a new section about the just God's vengeance.
• Vv. 9-10 are also unique, in that they are tricola and quatrain. The sequence of unusual line length/cola in vv. 9-11 help to unite them as a group, which arguably serves as a summary of the content of the whole psalm.

Repeated Roots

• Most of the roots begin to repeat after v. 5. This is somewhat striking because this is only about one quarter of the way through the Psalm.
• 'The two key words of the psalm are the titles and descriptions of “I AM” 59 and words related to the concept of righteousness (e.g., justice, upright, integrity, vv. 6, 8[7, 9] [4×], 9[10] [2×], 10[11], 11[12], 17[18]). 60 The two combine in: “righteous judge,” “decree justice” (vv. 6, 11[7, 12]); “judge the peoples,” “vindicate me” (v. 8[9]); “righteous God” (vv. 9[10], 17[18]); “saves the upright” (v. 10[11]); “I will give thanks to ‘I AM’ because of his righteousness” (v. 17[18])' (Waltke 2014:85).