Psalm 88 Poetics

Psalm Overview

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

About the Poetics Layer

Exploring the Psalms as poetry is crucial for understanding and experiencing the psalms and thus for faithfully translating them into another language. This layer is comprised of two main parts: poetic structure and poetic features. (For more information, click 'Expand' to the right.)

Poetic Structure

In poetic structure, we analyse the structure of the psalm beginning at the most basic level of the structure: the line (also known as the “colon” or “hemistich”). Then, based on the perception of patterned similarities (and on the assumption that the whole psalm is structured hierarchically), we argue for the grouping of lines into verses, verses into strophes, strophes into stanzas, etc. Because patterned similarities might be of various kinds (syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, sonic) the analysis of poetic structure draws on all of the previous layers (especially the Discourse layer).

Poetic Features

In poetic features, we identify and describe the “Top 3 Poetic Features” for each Psalm. Poetic features might include intricate patterns (e.g., chiasms), long range correspondences across the psalm, evocative uses of imagery, sound-plays, allusions to other parts of the Bible, and various other features or combinations of features. For each poetic feature, we describe both the formal aspects of the feature and the poetic effect of the feature. We assume that there is no one-to-one correspondence between a feature’s formal aspects and its effect, and that similar forms might have very different effects depending on their contexts. The effect of a poetic feature is best determined (subjectively) by a thoughtful examination of the feature against the background of the psalm’s overall message and purpose.

Poetics Visuals for Psalm 88

Poetic Structure

Poetic Macro-structure

• ** for revocalization see The Text and Meaning of Ps. 88:19b (MT: מַחְשָֽׁךְ).
• ** for emendation see The Text and Meaning of Ps. 88:16b (MT: אָפֽוּנָה).
• ** for emendation see the verse-by-verse note on v. 17b (MT: צִמְּתוּתֻֽנִי).

Many exegetes follow Gunkel's 1926 tripartite division of this psalm: 2-10a:10b-13:14-19 (20:8:12). This structural division sees the three invocations as marking the beginning of each of the three parts, with the central unit, the sequence of the rhetorical questions, being its logical center ("Sinnachse").

We, on the other hand, have recognized a compelling dual chiastic pattern with partial overlap (in vv. 7-10), the core of each of which lies in the following two sections: v. 6 (core I) and vv. 11-13 (core II). Both these core sections focus on the realm of the dead and have words/themes repeated in both (מֵתִים, קֶבֶר, אֶרֶץ נְשִׁיָּה/לֹא זְכַרְתָּם). These core sections are also characterized by a formal absence of the psalmist (in v. 6a he is the implicit subject of the clause, but is prominently missing from the text, uncommon for a nominal clause).

Notes

• The two chiastic patterns will be described in the following sections. We will also note how an interesting pattern of participants' disappearance and reappearance emerges from these patterns. For a more detailed visual of each chiasm, see the images below.
• Selahs: Selahs often mark transitions or highlights in the text, and this may be the case in our psalm as well:
  • The Selah at the end of v.8 stands in the middle of the overlapping unit (vv. 7-9), the one that marks both the end of the first chiasm and the beginning of the second chiasm may therefore signal the transition from the first to the second one.
  • The Selah at the end of v.11 marks the beginning of the rhetorical climax of the psalm (vv. 11-13), which is also the core of the second chiasm.

Chiasm 1 (vv. 2-10)

vv. 2-3: theme: invocation; inclusio: יהוה.. יום; repeated alliteration: אלהי ישועתי; YHWH and psalmist both participants

v. 4: theme: suffering; words denoting vitality (or lack of): נפשי, חיי; YHWH is absent

v. 5: themes: I have lost my strength, I am being marked by society; repeated words: יורדי בור; inclusio: passive verb נחשבתי (by the society). YHWH is still absent.

v. 6: CORE psalmist is (formally) absent

vv. 7-9: themes: WHY I have lost my strength, WHY I am being marked by society; repeated words: בור תחתיות; inclusio: passive verb כָּלֻא (in quarantine imposed by the society).                YHWH, who was absent in v.5 reappears here as the CAUSE of the psalmist's misery, answering WHY everything happened to him.

v. 10a: theme: suffering; words denoting vitality (or lack of): עיני; YHWH is absent

v. 10bc: theme: invocation, inclusio: יהוה.. יום, repeated alliteration: שטחתי אליך ;YHWH and psalmist both participants

Chiasm 2 (vv. 7-19)

vv. 7-9: theme: affliction and shunning of friends; similar beginnings: focal עָלַי; similar motives: wrath-water-friends; YHWH (active) and psalmist (passive) participants.

vv. 10a: theme: suffering and gradual fading; repeated root: עני; repeated alliteration: ני; YHWH absent.

v. 10bc: theme: invocation, temporals: יוֹם, repeated vocative: YHWH, repeated alliteration: שטחתי אליך; YHWH and psalmist both participants.

vv. 11-13: CORE psalmist is absent

vv. 14-15: theme: invocation, temporals: בֹּקֶר, repeated vocative: YHWH, repeated alliteration: אליך שועתי; YHWH and psalmist both participants.

v. 16: theme: suffering and gradual fading; repeated root: עני; repeated alliteration: ני; YHWH absent.

vv. 17-19: theme: affliction and shunning of friends; similar beginnings: focal עָלַי; similar motives: wrath-water-friends; YHWH (active) and psalmist (passive) participants.

Line Division

Most verses pose no major difficulties as far as their line divisions are concerned, matching the ones found in the major manuscripts. This division is supported by Van der Lugt 2014, 450). 15 out of 19 verses are bicola, 2 are tricola (+superscription), and one verse (v. 6) has four cola. This verse is also the hardest and enjoys least consensus among the various manuscripts in terms of its line division. It deserves a special note:

• v. 6: Sassoon has a line division after חֲלָלִים with no line division before אשר to get 4:6:3. Aleppo Codex and Leningrad have a line division after חפשי and no division until עוד to get a tricolon of 2:8:3, a highly imbalanced one. In LXX, במתים חפשי belongs to v.5, l.2 to get a shorter v.6 of 4:4:3 (some manuscripts have במתים חפשי as a separate line in v. 5; one manuscript has it in v. 6 as a separate line; some manuscripts have כמו...עוד in one line like Aleppo Codex and Leningrad). We prefer a division into four more balanced cola of 2:4:4:3, matching LXX (bar LXX's assigning l.1 to v. 5): (a) במתים חפשי, supported by the accents, LXX, Aleppo Codex and Leningrad. (b) כמו חללים שכבי קבר, supported by the clause boundaries and LXX. (c) אשר לא זכרתם עוד, supported by the clause boundaries and LXX. (d) והמה מידך נגזרו: consensual among all manuscripts and supported by the accents, pausal form and clause boundary. This division is supported by van der Lugt (2014, 450) as well. See synoptic table below.

• v. 11b: Selah is taken out of consideration here in terms of word count. Absent in LXX, excluding it from the word count creates a more balanced verse of 2-3 rather than 2-4.
• v. 19: Aleppo Codex has a line division after ממני to get a division of 2:4. We prefer to go with the 4:2 division attested in all other manuscripts (Sassoon, LXX) and suggested also by van der Lugt (2014, 450). This division is further supported by the accents and clause boundaries.

Poetic Features

1. No way out

• ** for revocalization see The Text and Meaning of Ps. 88:19b (MT: מַחְשָֽׁךְ).
• ** for emendation see The Text and Meaning of Ps. 88:16b (MT: אָפֽוּנָה).
• ** for emendation see the verse-by-verse note on v. 17b (MT: צִמְּתוּתֻֽנִי).

Feature

The vocalic sequence נִי is repeated 14 times in the psalm, in the second chiasm (vv. 7-19) bar the core from which the psalmist is absent (vv. 11-13). When it occurs, then it does once per line. In line 16a it is repeated twice as a sound play עָנִי אֲנִי, but it is only in line 10a that this sequence is repeated three times in a very condensed vocalic pattern. This line occupies a strategic position in the psalm, being line #20 in a psalm of 40 lines. In addition to that, we witness a concentric structure, with עֹנִי in v. 10a at the center, and the other instances of the vocalic sequence ני enveloping it more sparsely from both sides. A word count reveals that this word (עֹנִי) stands at the very center of the whole psalm (excluding the superscription), with exactly 65 words before and after (words joined by maqqef counted as separate words), and constitutes "the pivot of the psalm" (Van der Lugt 2014, 454).

Effect

The pun in line 16a creates an equation between the psalmist and misery: "The paronomasia suggests that “weakness” totally defines “me"" (Goldingay 2007); The repetitive sequence ני in vv. 7-10a keeps reminding one of the psalmist's miserable conditions, culminating in v. 10a where the psalmist finally cries out loud stating his misery explicitly. At the same time, the word עֹנִי, the pivot of the psalm, marks misery as a central motif and simultaneously places the psalmist (אני=עני) at its very core. The psalmist describes himself as trapped and surrounded by walls or enemies twice in the psalm, in v. 9c (quarantine) and v. 18 (surrounded by YHWH's terrifying assaults). The concentric structure mentioned above with the increasing tension leading up to an explosion of ני's in line 10a, culminating with the pivot (misery=the psalmist) iconically portrays that feeling of "no way out", of isolation which is a defining component of the psalmist's miserable condition. The psalmist is a prisoner not only in his own house, engulfed by "whirls of water," but also of his own misery.

2. The primordial elements

• ** for revocalization see The Text and Meaning of Ps. 88:19b (MT: מַחְשָֽׁךְ).
• ** for emendation see The Text and Meaning of Ps. 88:16b (MT: אָפֽוּנָה).
• ** for emendation see the verse-by-verse note on v. 17b (MT: צִמְּתוּתֻֽנִי).

Feature

בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃ וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֨הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters." Gen 1:1-2 (NLT).

In the immortal first two verses of the Bible we read about the primordial elements that had existed before God started to put order in the universe and create life: earth, darkness and (deep) waters (=ׁתְּהוֹם, which in the Hebrew Bible stands for (a) the primordial ocean (b) underground water (BDB)). Upon examining the psalm we note that the only things the psalmist has direct physical contact with are the above three primordial elements: בוֹר תַּחְתִּיּוֹת, מַחֲשַׁכִּים, and מְצֹלוֹת (v. 7; it is noteworthy that in Exod 15:5 מְצֹלוֹת stands parallel to תְּהוֹם); מִשְׁבָּרֶיךָ (v. 8), מַיִם (v. 18) and מַחְשָׁךְ (v. 19). The psalmist, throughout almost the entire psalm, is passive, either subject to YHWH's afflictions or being avoided by the society and considered dead. It is therefore not the psalmist's choice to have these elements in his vicinity, them being forced on him by God. As someone who is (in the poetic metaphorical sense) in the Underworld, he is also surrounded by these elements there: בוֹר (v. 5a); אֶרֶץ, חֹשֶׁךְ(v. 13). The only places throughout the whole psalm where the psalmist is active and takes initiative are in the three invocations, in all of which a temporal word is mentioned: יוֹם and לַיְלָה (v. 2); יוֹם (v. 10b); בֹּקֶר (v. 14b). These four elements are already an integral part of the six days of creation, day and night being created on the first day, and morning being a derivative of the installation of the astronomical bodies on the fourth day.

Effect

The primordial elements represent the chaotic nature of the universe prior to creation. The poetics of the psalm portray them as the sole environment of the psalmist, symbolizing the chaos his life has become, having lost his social network, having lost control over his routine, passively being passed from the hands of one of YHWH's agents to the other.

The three latter elements, on the other hand, already part of creation and order, symbolize the psalmist's attempt to find some order and reason in his life. His only attempt to do something is in his routine prayers. The progression from day-night to the final morning in v. 14b injects some hope. However, all these elements, whether primordial or not, are lifeless. They are not part of the living creation. When we read the psalm from beginning to end we realize that the psalmist, whether passive or active, has direct contact and sole relation with (bar God) inanimate objects or concepts. Not a single mention of either vegetation or animals, even as imagery, is made. His friends are gone. He is not surrounded by life, but by death only. In fact, the very last word of the psalm, חֹשֶׁךְ, becomes synonymous with him, symbolizing his distress: the psalmist has been "infected" by death, which has become part of his own self.

3. From despair to submission

• ** for revocalization see The Text and Meaning of Ps. 88:19b (MT: מַחְשָֽׁךְ).
• ** for emendation see The Text and Meaning of Ps. 88:16b (MT: אָפֽוּנָה).
• ** for emendation see the verse-by-verse note on v. 17b (MT: צִמְּתוּתֻֽנִי).

Feature

Three independent poetic features are interwoven in the psalm, each contributing to the main hidden message of the psalm. Since the effect of these poetic features builds up synergically with one another, they were grouped together under one poetic feature.

1. Vocatives: The psalm has three direct invocations to YHWH in which the psalmist proclaims his daily prayers and insists that he has fulfilled his part of the covenant. These invocations are located in vv. 2, 10bc and 14-15. We can notice that the vocative YHWH moves one slot forward from one invocation to the next one. However, the last vocative in the series, in v. 15, moves one slot backwards.
2. Contrasting words: The psalm starts, in v. 2, with a call to YHWH the God of salvation (יְשׁוּעָתִי), followed by יוֹם, which is negated in the same verse by לַּ֣יְלָה. The latter opens a long series of terms that refer to death, either to the Underworld or to the dead (see words highlighted in grey in the visual, starting at v. 4).
   

   קבר to בקר
   It is only in v. 10 that יוֹם is back to mark the beginning of a section (vv. 11-13) containing an interesting mixture of words of both types: those denoting death and those denoting God's, the source of life, loving attributes (see words highlighted in light blue in the visual). Starting from v. 14 all the death words disappear for good and the whole line of contrasting terms is concluded by בֹּקֶר in v. 14, a prominent metathesis of קֶבֶר in v. 12 (see image to the right).
3. God's vs. God's agents' affliction: We find yet another contrasting pattern in the psalm: in vv. 7-9b and 17-19, the ones that contain the direct accusations of YHWH, we come across a series of painful acts inflicted upon the psalmist on YHWH's initiative. Each of these acts has either YHWH or one of his agents (see participant analysis) as the direct agent and formal subject of the respective verb. In vv. 7-9b YHWH is the second person subject of four verbs while his agents are the third person subject of one verb only, whereas in vv. 17-19 we find an opposite one-to-four count respectively.

Effect

Upon a first superficial reading, the reader might find the psalm only gloomy, with no ray of light or hope, and an ongoing bitter tone. In spite of the initial proclamation of YHWH as "God of my salvation", the word "night" in the same verse quickly shifts the reader's attention to the psalmist's misery and bleak perspective enhanced by all those words denoting death. The psalmist's misery indeed continues up until the very end of the psalm, and we even see how YHWH is going further away from the psalmist along the line of vocatives, BUT the last of these vocatives, in v. 15, actually brings YHWH back closer to him. The turning point is in fact in vv. 11-13, the rhetorical climax of the psalm. It is here that the negative words are numerically balanced with the positive ones. The psalmist's attempt to convince God to save him brings back to mind that whatever God does, it is always motivated by his faithfulness and loving character. This realization brings the psalm to its emotional climax in v. 14b, poetically symbolized by "the morning": the psalmist may not know the reason why YHWH is afflicting him, but that is not important anymore. Whether he has managed to convince God or not, whether he is going to die as a scapegoat or not - death is no longer his concern, because God does everything out of his faithful love. The psalmist has now accepted this fact and therefore starts to see the light of the morning. He also realizes or experiences that God has not completely abandoned him as he originally thought, which is symbolized by the last vocative drawing nearer in v. 15. The psalmist is going to keep praying to God as long as he can, keeping his covenant with him (cf. Story Behind). Having realized that, the psalmist also mitigates his accusation of God: in vv. 7-9b he bluntly accuses God using mostly direct second person verbal forms, while in the last section of the psalm in vv. 17-19 it is mostly YHWH's agents that are the third person subjects of the series of accusations.

Repeated Roots

The repeated roots table is intended to identify the roots which are repeated in the psalm.

For legend, click "Expand" to the right

Legend for Repeated Roots

Notes

Given the tripartite division of the psalm, the structural patterns of the repeated roots above have been created in light of such a division, instead of one based on one line of symmetry. Four of these repeated roots are repeated in all three parts, and five of them are repeated only in parts 1 & 3, while only two connect between parts 1 & 2. This shows a strong affinity between parts 1 & 3 and a much less strong one between part 2 and the two other parts. It is also interesting to note that while the root ידע appears in all three parts, it is repeated by the same lexical item only in parts 1 & 3 (מְיֻדָּע), while in part 2 it is represented by a completely different lexeme (the verb יִוָּדַע).

Prominence

Legend

• not most prominent
• tertiary prominence
• secondary prominence
• primary prominence

In vv. 11-13 (secondary prominence) there are six interrogatives, all indirect speech acts and a cluster of terms connoting death. Moreover, this is the only place in Psalm 88 wherein the psalmist participant is absent. In vv. 14-15 there is preponderance of macro-syntactical markedness along with two declarative illocutions (expressive/commissive) in v. 14, the second being the only commissive speech act in the psalm, followed by a pair of interrogative (v. 15). vv. 14-15 encapsulate the purpose and message of Psalm 88.

Bibliography

Goldingay, John. 2007. Psalms: Psalms 42–89. Vol. 2. BCOT. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

Gunkel, Hermann. 1926. Die Psalmen. 4th ed. Göttinger Handkommentar Zum Alten Testament 2. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

Lugt, Pieter van der. 2010. Cantos and Strophes in Biblical Hebrew Poetry II: Psalms 42-89. Vol. 2. 3 vols. Oudtestamentische Studiën 57. Leiden: Brill.