Psalm 9 Poetics

Psalm Overview

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

Poetic Structure

• Psalms 9 and 10 are bound together, not only by its acrostic (see top poetic features below), but by a symmetry. Each Psalm (1) has around 145 words, (2) spans both halves of the alphabet evenly (11 letters each), (3) and contains 42 lines.
• The two halves in psalm 9 are also symmetrical, each containing around 75 words, 22 poetic lines and a number of repeated roots (e.g., זמ"ר in vv. 3 and 12; שׁו"ב in vv. 4 and 18; שׁפ"ט in vv. 5 and 17, etc.).
• Each half of Psalm 9 forms a chiasm.
  • The A-sections of the first half (vv. 2–5 and 8–11) each contain one of the two vocatives in this stanza (v. 2 and 11); each has a number of volitionals (e.g., אוֹדֶ֣ה, אֲ֝סַפְּרָ֗ה, אֶשְׂמְחָ֣ה in v. 2 // וִ֘יהִ֤י [v. 10], וְיִבְטְח֣וּ [v. 11]); the inner edge of each has a high concentration of legal terms (vv. 5, 8–9); each consists of eight lines.
  • The B-section of the first half is flanked by an inclusio (אִבַּ֣דְתָּ v. 6 // אָבַ֖ד v. 7) and contains a high concentration of both words for perpetuity (e.g., לְעוֹלָ֥ם וָעֶֽד v. 6, לָ֫נֶ֥צַח v. 7) and words referring to enemies (e.g., ג֭וֹיִם v. 6, רָשָׁ֑ע v. 6, הָֽאוֹיֵ֨ב v. 7). The syntax of both verses also appears to exhibit a chiastic structure:
    • a/a': qatal 2ms verb + object (note sound correlation between resh/'ayin); 2 words
    • b/b' qatal verb from אבד + object (enemy SD)
    • c/c' fronted noun + qatal verb + two adverbials
  • The A-sections of the second half exhibit symmetry. Each opens with some form of praise (vv. 12, 18), followed by a כִּי-clause (vv. 13 and 19) that functions as an introduction to a following prayer/petition (in the form of volitionals; vv. 14–15 and 20–21). A number of unique feature between all the strophes that make up the A-sections:
    • In the inner strophes (vv. 14–15 and 18–19)
      • The only use of apposition in this half of the psalm: מרוממי and כל גוים. This serves to contrast the wicked, who forget God, with YHWH himself, who saves his people from the gates of death.
      • This is the only instance in the psalm of the plural form of רשע. The word רשעים sounds like שערי מות, thereby connecting שאול with the gates of death—the wicked's rightful place.
    • The first strophe in each set (vv. 12–13, 18–19):
      • The sound play of yoshev and yashuvu.
      • The root שכח
      • Each bicola in the zayin-strophe (which is about YHWH) has 7 words whereas the bicolon in the yod -strophe (which is about the enemies) only has 6.
    • The second strophe in each set (vv. 14–15, 20–21):
      • The word אנוש sounds like שׂונֵא 'those who hate' (v. 14) backwards, thereby identifying the latter.
      • Inclusio with יהוה in second position (vv. 14, 21).
  • The B-section of the second half is held together by the similar syntax of the b-lines: a modifier introduced by the preposition בְּ followed by the main verb.
• Each half of psalm 10 is introduced by a vocative 'YHWH' in 2nd position.
  • The main feature that structures the first half is that each stanza closes with the refrain אָמַ֣ר בְּ֭לִבּוֹ ‘he has said to himself’ (vv. 6, 11).
  • The two sections of the second half:
    • Each contain 29 words
    • Each open with an imperative in the first strophe and a qatal verb of perception in the second strope.

Top Poetic Features

1. The Fortress and the Pit

Feature

In poetic structure, it was shown that the Psalm-9 half of this psalm consists of 2 main sections, each with 3 stanzas. It was also shown that the three stanzas in each section are arranged in an A-B-A' pattern (chiasm). The chiasms graphically symbolise the message contained therein:

First half. Stanzas 1 (MT 9:2–5) and 3 (MT 9:8–11) mirror each other in terms of participants and semantic domains. The psalmist and the 'poor'/'oppressed' (among whom the psalmist considers himself) flank the entire section by standing at the outer edges. The insides of the A-sections (vv. 4–5; 8–9) contain words/imagery from the semantic domain of judgement. In Stanza 2, the B section, all of the major words used to describe the enemy appear together. Importantly, this section is also characterised by a striking number of sequences of sibilant + liquid.

Second half. In stanzas 1 (MT 9:12–15) and 3 (MT 9:18–21), the main structuring device is the prayer (imperatives). Stanza 2 (MT 9:16–17) is held together by, among other things, the imagery of the wicked falling into a pit/trap.

Effect

As stated above, the arrangement of poetic features within the stanzas graphically represent their message.

First half. In MT 9:10 YHWH is called a 'fortress'. This is illustrated in the stanza itself. God, in his capacity as king and judge stands between the poor/the Psalmist and the wicked as a buffer, like a fortress protecting the former from the latter. The sentence to which the judge condemns the wicked is reinforced by the repeated sound pair sibilant + labial, all of which allude to the sentence itself: God erasing the name of the wicked (v. 6—middle letter). This is among the wonderful works (נפלאות; v. 2) by which God makes himself known—by which His name is known (v. 3).

Second half. The actions of the wicked rouse the righteous and oppressed to prayer. The prayers in this second half surround the wicked, thereby forming a kind of 'trap'. As vv. 16–17 explain, the wicked's downfall is their own doing. This is the trap—the 'poetic justice'—that God has set for them (v. 17).

2. God of Order

Feature

The question of Psalm 9/10's unity divides commentators. The reason is that its most unifying feature is precisely the point of contention: the acrostic that runs through both psalms. Eight letters of the acrostic, are completely missing: צ, פ, ע, ס, נ, מ, כ, ד. This and the following poetic feature will demonstrate that these omissions are intentional.

All eight letters occur together in one verse only twice, in MT 9:5 and 10:18—before the first mention רשע and after the last, respectively.

Effect

Psalm 9/10 is of particular importance for the Old Testament's view of the 'poor' (see Bremer 2016). The manipulation of the acrostic draws attention to the Psalm's main participants and illustrates their relations. The wicked person (marked by the absence of letters) wrongly oppresses those who are vulnerable (revealed through the absence of letters). Seeing that caring for the poor was the duty of a king (Miller 2004), the earthly king David cries out to the heavenly king to perform this duty, after which things are set right (marked by the continuation of the acrostic).

3. The ABC's of Justice

Feature

The omission of צ, פ, ע, ס, נ, מ, כ, ד from the acrostic seems to be motivated in both halves of this Psalm (traditionally Psalm 9 and 10).

In the first half (MT Psalm 9). The letters omitted spell out the word ְדַך 'oppressed'. This aniconic representation of the ‘oppressed’ may be shown to be intentional since Psalm 9/10 contains two of the four occurrences of this word in the Bible (MT Psalms 9:10; 10:18; 74:21; Prov. 26:28). Such a relatively high concentration of what is—as far as we know—a rare word very reasonably leads to the poetic exploitation of that word.

In the second half (MT Psalm 10). The omitted letters coincide with what many commentators have noted is an unusually long description of the wicked in vv. 2–11. If the acrostic is taken to represent order (see previous poetic feature) the wicked, to whom this section draws our attention, is a symbol for disorder.

In both halves. The acrostic picks back up around the mention of YHWH in his capacity as king. After a missing dalet-strophe and a he-strophe that focuses on the wicked (notice the fronting of האויב) the yod-strophe, which opens with a declaration of YHWH's enthronement, continues the acrostic. The place in which we'd expect the kap-strophe is replaced by a command to 'rise up'—an action normally predicated of kings in battle (cf. Psalm 7:7). The acrostic is resumed with lamed after YHWH's kingly action. This is also the case after the extended description of the wicked, when the king is once again asked to 'rise' (MT 10:12).

Effect

Psalm 9/10 is of particular importance for the Old Testament's view of the 'poor' (see Bremer 2016). The manipulation of the acrostic draws attention to the Psalm's main participants and illustrates their relations. The wicked person (marked by the absence of letters) wrongly oppresses those who are vulnerable (revealed through the absence of letters). Seeing that caring for the poor was the duty of a king (Miller 2004), the earthly king David cries out to the heavenly king to perform this duty, after which things are set right (marked by the continuation of the acrostic).

Line Divisions

• MT 9:7. G combines clauses A and B into one line and is supported by MS Harly 5711. A seems to break after 7a and OR 2373 seems to take the whole verse as one line. This portion in the DSS is damaged. S (Ambrosianus) combines lines b and c together. The MSS, therefore, are largely conflicting regarding the division of this verse. None of them reflect a tri-colon here. However, dividing these into a tricolon gives balance to the lines gives symmetry to the psalm (see poetic structure above).
• MT 9:14. Despite the absence of a clause boundary, משׂנאָי is pausal, contains athnach a division after this word is supported by the Greek witnesses.
• MT 9:15. The accents suggest a tricolon. Revell (2015) lists תהלתיך as possibly a pausal form (plene singular), which could either support a tricolon or grouping בשערי בת ציון with what follows as a bicolon. The Greek witnesses seemingly ignore the Pausal form and group 15 a and b together. The Syriac (Ambrosianus) has a pasoqa dot after each clause, suggesting a tricolon.
• MT 9:16. The masoretic tradition seems to be at odds with itself here. The word טמָנוּ is in pause, despite being accented with a non-pausal accent. The intention was probably to ensure that the phrase ברשת זו טמנו was a second complement of the verb טבעו (cf. Ibn Ezra and Kimchi's interpretation). The Aleppo codex does not insert a space after טמנו. The greek witnesses reflect the division of the accents, viz., starting a new line at ברשת. The Syriac places pasoqa after the equivalent of עשו but not טמנו, suggesting that it too reflects an interpretation similar to the accents. It is certainly possible that זו is acting as a demonstrative, which would more closely bind it with the preceding clause; this is most likely what the pausal form is reflecting (nations sank in a pit that they made—in this net (which) they hid; see Psa 31:5 where it was avoided). However, the division of the accents will be followed here
  • This is by far the more common usage of זו.
  • The verse would then have balance 4+4 prosodic words
  • The parallel verse in psa 10:2 also uses זו as a relative pronoun.
• MT 9:18. Although what follows is not its own clause, the form שאולה does not show pause (cf. 9:14) most likely because it does not have the capacity to do so. Cf. other verses where this word is accented with a major disjunctive (Gen 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 31; Numb 16:30, 32).
• MT 9:21. The greek witnesses group ידעו גוים and אנושׁ המה together. The aleppo codex crams the entire verse onto one line. Ambrosianus has pasoqa after its translation of מורה להם, but not after גוים, in agreement with the greek witnesses. 2372 also divides after the ole-wayored. MS Harley 5711, however, divides after the athnach. This is most likely due to the fact that they read מורה as 'teacher' or 'law' and joined it to the semantically similar ידע. Breaking at the ole-wayored, in addition to the weight of most of the external evidence, also provides balance to the lines. We will divide after ole va-yored.
• MT 10:4. G splits MT 10:4 into 2 lines because they read נאץ יהוה (end of v. 3) with the beginning of v. 4. This division, however, is not justified on the basis of the DSS (5/6 Hev1b f1ii:25), where נאץ יהוה clearly follows directly after ברך.
• MT 10:6. G combines the entire verse into one line. A and L place 6b on a new line due to space considerations. Or 2373, Harley 5711 follow the division reflected by the MT accents, viz., indicating that 6a and 6b are two different lines. The Dead Sea Scrolls (5/6Hev1b f1ii:28) very clearly join אמוט to לדור, similar to G. The Syriac has pasoqa after the equivalent of לדור ודר (note the waw with qamets in the MT). Thus, at least three different divisions of the verse are attested. It is not entirely clear what is at stake, since the grammatical dependencies are clear and explicit. The division of the accents will be followed here. It has some attestation in manuscripts and brings balance to the lines. The division reflected by G and DSS would create a 7-word monocolon—an unlikely structure.
• MT 10:9. G places ברשתו on the next line. The sense, however, suggests that it belongs with v. 9. Symmachus construes במשכו ברשתו together (ܟܕ ܢܓܕܗ ܒܡܨܝܕܬܐ ܕܝܠܗ) and Field's (p. 101) record of Aquilla's reading of v. 10 shows no evidence of ברשתו being construed with that verse. Finally, our preference of the qere in v. 10 (the subject of which is the lion) makes it unlikely that that verb would be modified by ברשתו.
• MT 10:15. See notes on this verse in grammar.
• MT 10:18. G places 18a and b on one line. Both Harley 5711 and Or2373 have a line break after עוד (but also combine it with the previous clause). S does not have pasoqa after its translation of עוד, and so matches G. The DSS are too damaged at this place to glean any useful information. Breaking after עוד would provide nice balance (2+3) but the grammar suggests keeping the lines together, since the verb. יסף needs the infinitive complement to form a complete predicate. A keeps the entire verse on one line.

Line Lengths

Repeated Roots

Psalm 9

Psalm 10

• 7a is the only line without a repeated root
• Most roots begin to repeat after v. 9