Psalm 9 Participant analysis
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Back to Psalm 9
Overview
There are four participants/characters in Psalm 9:
- David
- YHWH
- YHWH
- Most High (עֶלְיוֹן)
- God (אֱלֹהִים)
- One who raises me from the gates of death (מְרוֹמְמִי מִשַּׁעֲרֵי מָוֶת)
- One who avenges bloodshed (דֹרֵשׁ דָּמִים)
- Enemies
- The Enemy / My (=David's) Enemies (הָֽאוֹיֵב / אוֹיְבַי)
- Nations (גוֹיִם)
- Wicked (רְשָׁעִים / רָשָׁע)
- Those who hate me (שֹנְאָי)
- Humans (אֱנוֹשׁ)
- The poor
- Oppressed (דַּךְ)
- Poor (אֶבְיוֹן)
- Afflicted (עֲנִיִּים / עֲנָוִים)
- Those who know your (=YHWH's) name (יוֹדְעֵי שְׁמֶךָ)
- Those who seek you (=YHWH) (דֹרְשֶׁיךָ)
Participant Relations
The relationships among the participants may be abstracted and summarised as follows:
- Based on YHWH's past acts of power against the wicked and justice for the oppressed, David asks YHWH to see the affliction of his enemies and save him.
Participants in the Psalm
- There's a correspondence between vocative of direct address (YHWH) and person switch (3rd to 2nd). See vv. 14 and 20.
- Vocative also marks what may be the main break in this psalm: v. 14. This verse marks a strong speech act shift from praise to petition (indicated by imperative mood vbs.). Similarly in vv. 20 and 21, the other vocatives (YHWH) correspond with imperative vbs.
- David identifies with the poor and afflicted in this psalm, and this identification is the basis for his appeal to YHWH. David's actions mirror those of the "poor" (who trust and diligently seek YHWH) and his petition is based on YHWH's past actions toward them (he protects and doesn't forsake them).
Participant Analysis Diagram
Legend
Diagram
The following image is the grammatical diagram overlaid with information regarding the participants, or characters, of the psalm. It makes explicit who is doing what to whom.
Chart
