Psalm 8/Notes/Verbal.V. 3.151620

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  • These are substantival participles.[1]
  • In order to put an end to. This verb (the hiphil of שבת) is used some 40 times. When the patient is an inanimate object or an abstract noun, it usually means "cause to cease."[2] The verb can also mean to "destroy" or "exterminate,"[3] especially when the patient is animate.[4] This latter meaning of the verb fits the usage in Ps 8:3, where the patient is animate ("vengeful enemy").[5] According to this interpretation, translations such as "silence,"[6] and "still"<ef>ESV.</ref> may be too weak. A better rendering might be "stop,"[7] or, even better: "put an end to."[8]
  1. ↑ Cf. BHRG §20.3.2.3 [2], (page 186).
  2. ↑ E.g. Ps 46:10, Hos 2:13; see DCH שבת hiphil 1a for more examples.
  3. ↑ BDB, DCH 1e.
  4. ↑ E.g., 2 Kgs 23:5, 11; Jer 36:29; Amos 8:4; Ps 119:119.
  5. ↑ So BDB, DCH.
  6. ↑ NIV, NLT, NRSV; cf. CEV.
  7. ↑ GNT.
  8. ↑ NET, JPS85; cf. LXX αναλυειν ("put down" NETS).