Psalm 8/Mathematical
Mathematical
Fokkelman's prosody and syllable counts
The following table is from Fokkelman's Major Poems of the Hebrew Bible Volume 2, Appendix I.[1]
| Strophe | Verse | Syllables per word | Syllables per line | Syllables per strophe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2ab | 2.4 / 1.2.2.2.2 | 6 + 9 = 15 | 15 |
| 2 | 2c3a | 2.2.3.1.3 / 2.3.4 | 11 + 9 = 20 | 39 |
| 3bc | 3.1.2.4 / 3.2.4 | 10 + 9 =19 | ||
| 3 | 4 | 1.2.3.2.5 / 2.4.2.3 | 13 + 11 = 24 | 41 |
| 5 | 1.2.1.4 / 2.2.1.4 | 8 + 9 = 17 | ||
| 4 | 6 | 6.2.4 / 3.3.5 | 12 + 11 = 23 | 40 |
| 7 | 5! 3.3 / 1.2.1.2 | 11 + 6 = 17 | ||
| 5 | 8 | 2.4.2 / 2.3.2 | 8 + 7 = 15 | 30 |
| 9 | 2.2.3.2 / 2.2.2 | 9 + 6 = 15 | ||
| 6 | 10 | 2.4 / 1.2.2.2.2 | 6 + 9 = 15 | 15 |
- "20 cola with 180 syllables; average per colon 9.00, per verse 18 syllables"[2]
- "If we have v.7a start with a simple waw, parallel to the narrative form that opens v.6a, the full glory of the numerical perfection of this poem is revealed."[3]
- "Strophe 4 has the biblical number 40 as a syllable total, and strophes 2 and 3 take their cue from this with the figures 39 and 41, which complement one another."[4]
- "The envelope consists of 15 + 15 = 30 syllables, exactly the same number as strophe 5. Each of the verses of strophe 5 also has 15 syllables."[5]
- "The fact that strophes 3 and 4 belong together as question and answer is also reflected in their lengths. Both units consist of a long and short verse: 24 + 17 in strophe 3, and 23 + 17 in strophe 4."[6],
Cola distribution
Bicola
- v.2ab
- vv.2c,3a
- v.3bc
- v.4ab
- v.5ab
- v.6ab
- v.7ab
- v.8ab
- v.9ab
- v.10ab
For the division and distribution of lines in vv.2-3, see below.,
Classifying parallelisms
"The famous cry of amazement over God's singling out of man (line 5) is a particularly striking instance of the intuition of counterpoint that often guided biblical poets in their occasional use of static semantic parallelism. In every other line of the poem, there is dynamic movement between the versets: specification, focusing, heightening, or sequentiality. Here, by contrast, at the exact thematic center and in the fifth of the poem's ten lines, semantic movement is slowed to allow for the strong, stately emphasis of virtual synonymity, noun for noun and verb for verb in the same syntactical order."[7],
Chiasms
- v.6ab. abb'a'
- v.7ab. abb'a',
Lunn on Word order
The following table has been adapted from Lunn.[8] For a key to the various symbols and abbreviations, click here.
| Ref. | Text | Constituent Order | Colon-Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | יְהוָ֤ה אֲדֹנֵ֗ינוּ מָֽה־אַדִּ֣יר שִׁ֭מְךָ בְּכָל־הָאָ֑רֶץ / אֲשֶׁ֥ר תְּנָ֥ה ה֜וֹדְךָ֗ עַל־הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ | [Voc] Q-Comp S M / C Inf S M | Nom/Inf |
| 3 | מִפִּ֤י עֽוֹלְלִ֙ים׀ וְֽיֹנְקִים֘ יִסַּ֪דְתָּ֫ עֹ֥ז לְמַ֥עַן צוֹרְרֶ֑יךָ / לְהַשְׁבִּ֥ית א֜וֹיֵ֗ב וּמִתְנַקֵּֽם׃ | M V O M / Inf O w-O | MKD/Inf |
| 4 | כִּֽי־אֶרְאֶ֣ה שָׁ֭מֶיךָ מַעֲשֵׂ֣י אֶצְבְּעֹתֶ֑יךָ / יָרֵ֥חַ וְ֜כוֹכָבִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר כּוֹנָֽנְתָּה׃ | C-V O O / O w-O R V | CAN/Nom(CANR) |
| 5 | מָֽה־אֱנ֥וֹשׁ כִּֽי־תִזְכְּרֶ֑נּוּ // וּבֶן־אָ֜דָ֗ם כִּ֣י תִפְקְדֶֽנּוּ׃ | Q-S C-V-o // w-S C V-o | Nom-CAN//Nom-CAN |
| 6 | וַתְּחַסְּרֵ֣הוּ מְּ֭עַט מֵאֱלֹהִ֑ים // וְכָב֖וֹד וְהָדָ֣ר תְּעַטְּרֵֽהוּ׃ | w-V-o M // w-O w-O V-o | CAN//DEF |
| 7 | תַּ֭מְשִׁילֵהוּ בְּמַעֲשֵׂ֣י יָדֶ֑יךָ / כֹּ֜ל שַׁ֣תָּה תַֽחַת־רַגְלָֽיו׃ | V-o M / O V M | CAN/MKD |
| 8 | צֹנֶ֣ה וַאֲלָפִ֣ים כֻּלָּ֑ם / וְ֜גַ֗ם בַּהֲמ֥וֹת שָׂדָֽי׃ | O w-O / w-O P | Nom/Nom |
| 9 | צִפּ֣וֹר שָׁ֭מַיִם / וּדְגֵ֣י הַיָּ֑ם עֹ֜בֵ֗ר אָרְח֥וֹת יַמִּֽים׃ | O / w-O VPt O | Nom/Nom |
| 10 | יְהוָ֥ה אֲדֹנֵ֑ינוּ מָֽה־אַדִּ֥יר שִׁ֜מְךָ֗ בְּכָל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | V S O // S O V | Nom |
,
Middle word (maqqef)
- Total number of words (ss excluded): 62
- Middle words: כִּ֣י תִפְקְדֶֽנּוּ (v.5b),
Middle word (independent lexemes)
- Total number of words (ss excluded): 72
- Middle words: וּבֶן־אָ֜דָ֗ם,
Middle line
- Total number of lines: 20
- Middle lines:
- וּבֶן־אָ֝דָ֗ם כִּ֣י תִפְקְדֶֽנּוּ׃ (v.5b)
- וַתְּחַסְּרֵ֣הוּ מְּ֭עַט מֵאֱלֹהִ֑ים (v.6a)
- ↑ J.P. Fokkelman, Major Poems of the Hebrew Bible: At the Interface of Prosody and Structural Analysis, Vol. 2 (Assen: Van Gorcum, 2000), 393.
- ↑ J.P. Fokkelman, Major Poems, 393.
- ↑ J.P. Fokkelman, Major Poems, 71.
- ↑ J.P. Fokkelman, Major Poems, 71.
- ↑ J.P. Fokkelman, Major Poems, 71.
- ↑ J.P. Fokkelman, Major Poems, 71.
- ↑ Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Poetry (New York: Basic Books, 2011), 150.
- ↑ Nicholas Lunn, Word-Order Variation in Biblical Hebrew Poetry: Differentiating Pragmatics and Poetics (Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2006), 296.