Semantics/Story behind the Psalm

• Grammar
• Semantics
  • Semantics/Lexical Semantics
  • Phrase-Level Semantics
  • Verbal Semantics
  • Semantics/Story behind the Psalm
• Exegetical Issues
• Discourse
  • Participant Analysis
  • Macrosyntax
  • Speech Act Analysis
  • Emotional Analysis
• Poetics
  • Poetic Structure
  • Poetic Features
• Synthesis
  • Verse-by-Verse Notes
  • Translation Challenges
• Close-but-Clear
• Videos
  • Overview
  • Top 3 Exegetical Issues
  • Top 3 Poetic Features
• Post to wiki

Overseer: Ryan Sikes

Introduction

The "Story behind the Psalm" is the capstone of our semantic analysis. The first three steps of our semantic analysis (Semantics/Lexical Semantics, Phrase-Level Semantics, Verbal Semantics) have focused on the level of words and phrases. In the "Story behind the Psalm" we analyze the meaning of sentences and larger units of discourse, up to and including the entire psalm.

Example: Psalm 6

When we come to Psalm 6, we read about God’s anger (v. 2), discipline (v. 2), troubled bones (v. 3b), a prayer for healing (v. 3b), and a plea for God to “turn” (v. 5a). We read about death and Sheol (v. 6), weeping in the night (v. 7), beds that float and melt (v. 7), and an eye that is wasting away (v. 8). Finally, near the end of the psalm, we read about opponents and “evildoers (v. 8b-11) who, after a jarring shift in mood, are told to leave because “YHWH has heard” (vv. 9b-10).

What is going on in Psalm 6? How do all of these elements fit together? Throughout the centuries, there have been a number of explanations. Gregory of Nyssa is typical of early Christian interpreters, who read Psalm 6 literally as a Davidic psalm of penitence and allegorically as referring to the return of the Messiah to judge the world and restore all things. Rabbinic exegesis connected Psalm 6 with the covenant of circumcision, and David sang it when he got out of the bathtub. Ibn Ezra interpreted this as a psalm of David when he was sick, though he claimed it could also be read as a prophecy about Israel in exile. Most interpreters in the last two centuries would agree that Psalm 6 presupposes a situation of sickness, even if, according to some, the author is someone other than David. Some, however, don’t see sickness here at all. The primary problem, they would say, is not sickness, but enemies. Those who do think there is real sickness in Psalm 6 have explained the enemies variously as bad friends (like those of Job), sorcerers who caused the illness with their magic, rebels who plot against the king on his sickbed, demons that cause sickness, or even as the personification of the sickness itself.

Key Concepts

What all of the above interpretations of Psalm 6 have in common is the assumption that the psalm is coherent. According to Dooley and Levinsohn, “a text is said to be coherent if, for a certain hearer on a certain hearing/reading, he or she is able to fit its different elements into a single overall mental representation.” A mental representation is “a reflection of how content comes together and is stored in the mind.” Each of the above interpretations of Psalm 6 is an attempt at constructing a viable mental representation of the text of Psalm 6 - an attempt at building a conceptual framework in which all of the elements of the Psalm fit together. This is the goal of the "Story Behind the Psalm."

The elements that go into a mental representation are not limited to what the text actually says. If this were the case, then we might expect more agreement among the interpreters of Psalm 6. The fact is that “hearers may bring as much to their understanding of a discourse as they get from what the speaker actually says; ‘discourses... force us to draw upon all we know about our culture, language, and world’ (Everett 1992:19).” For this reason, the further removed one is from the culture and language of a discourse, the more difficult it becomes to construct a mental representation of that discourse. This is why the "Story Behind the Psalm" focuses so much on the biblical and Ancient Near Eastern backgrounds of each psalm.

Recommended Resources

• SDBH
• The Context of Scripture: Canonical Compositions from the Biblical World (vol. 1)
• The Context of Scripture: Monumental Inscriptions from the Biblical World (vol. 2)
• The Context of Scripture: Archival Documents from the Biblical World (vol. 3)
• The Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms
• Dictionary of Biblical Imagery
• CDBR Zotero library, Psalms commentaries

Steps

1. Complete the propositions and assumptions part of the table.

The propositions-and-assumptions columns of the discourse table are a tool we use to gather and store information for "the Story Behind the Psalm." It is foundational to the rest of our analysis at this layer.

Complete the following steps for your psalm:

1. Navigate to the Discourse spreadsheet for your psalm (see instructions in the CBC guidelines).
2. In the column titled "Propositional Content (Story Behind)" (column D), write the Story Behind propositional content of each clause using third-person present-tense indicative sentences and full noun phrases for any pronouns in the text (e.g., "do not discipline me" >> "YHWH disciplines David").
3. In the "Story Behind" columns of the table (columns F, G, H), write out the most relevant assumptions for each proposition. Focus especially on common-ground assumptions.

Propositional Content

Propositional content is "that part of the meaning of a clause or sentence that is constant, despite changes in such things as the voice or illocutionary force of the clause." It refers to “the kind of situation or event described by the underlying proposition.” Consider, for example, the following sentences.

• John threw the ball to Bill.
• It was John who threw the ball to Bill.
• The ball was thrown to Bill by John.
• John throws the ball to Bill.
• John will throw the ball to Bill.
• John, throw the ball to Bill!
• Did John throw the ball to Bill?
• John will not throw the ball to Bill.
• (Bill says), "John, throw me the ball!"

These sentences vary in voice, tense, illocutionary force, negation, person, and pragmatic marking, but they all share the same propositional content: "John throws the ball to Bill." (For the sake of convenience and consistency, we will use third-person present tense indicative sentences to express the propositional content of a sentence.)

Consider now the first eight clauses of Psalm 6 (vv. 2-4). The propositional content of these clauses may be expressed as follows.

Verse #	Text (CBC)	Propositional content
2a	YHWH, do not correct me in your anger,	YHWH corrects David in his anger.
2b	and do not discipline me in your wrath.	YHWH disciplines David in his wrath.
3a	Have mercy on me, YHWH,	YHWH has mercy on David.
3b	for I am languishing.	David languishes.
3c	Heal me, YHWH,	YHWH heals David.
3d	for my bones have become dismayed.	David's bones are dismayed.
4a	And my soul has become very dismayed.	David's soul is very dismayed.
4b	And you, YHWH, how long?	...

Assumptions

Once we have identified the propositional content, we ask, “what would the world have to be like for this [proposition] to be true?” That is, what does this proposition presuppose about the world? What does it entail? What might be implied? In what kind of situation does this make sense? In other words, what assumptions are bound up with this proposition? We distinguish three kinds of assumptions:

1. Common-ground assumptions
2. Local-ground assumptions
3. Playground assumptions

Common-Ground

Common-ground assumptions include information shared by the speaker and hearers. In our analysis, we mainly use this category for Biblical/ANE background - beliefs and practices that were widespread at this time and place. This is the background information necessary for understanding propositions that do not readily make sense to those who are so far removed from the culture in which the proposition was originally expressed.

For example, the propositional content of Ps 6:2a is "YHWH disciplines David in his wrath." This proposition assumes the following cultural background information:

• David is the king (cf. 1 Sam 16:13; 2 Sam 2:4; 5:1-4).
• YHWH is the king's father, and the king is his son (cf. Pss 2:7; 89:27; 2 Sam 7:14).
• Fathers discipline their sons when they disobey (cf. Prov 13:24; 23:13-14; cf. 2 Sam 7:14).

All common-ground assumptions should include references to primary and/or secondary sources. The Old Testament itself is often the best source to use for understanding the background of a proposition. Look up instances in the OT where similar language or imagery occurs; check cross-references; and check SDBH, which will sometimes include common-ground associations in its definition of a word. In addition to the OT itself, it is helpful to check other ancient texts related to the OT. As a starting point, you might browse the indices of each of the above books for references to your psalm. Write out as many common-ground assumptions as are useful for understanding the proposition, and cite any sources used.

Local-Ground

Local-ground assumptions are those propositions which are necessarily true if the text is true. They include both presuppositions and entailments. Presuppositions are those implicit propositions which are assumed to be true by an explicit proposition. Entailments are those propositions which are necessarily true if a proposition is true. Consider, for example, the following proposition: "the man killed his cat." This proposition presupposes that "the man has a cat." An entailment of this proposition is that "the cat is dead."

In Ps 6:2b, the proposition, “YHWH disciplines David in his wrath” presupposes that YHWH is in a state of wrath. The proposition that "YHWH heals David" (v. 3a) presupposes that "David was in need of healing." The same proposition also entails that (having been healed) "David is well and no longer needs healing."

Playground

Whereas local-ground assumptions are inferences which are necessarily true if the text is true, play-ground assumptions are those inferences which might be true if the text is true. For example, knowing that the verb "discipline" in Ps 6:2b usually implies negative behavior and that fathers discipline their sons for disobedience and not for no reason, the reader (familiar with the common-ground) might infer that David has sinned. This inference could be confirmed as we continue to read, if, for example, David goes on to confess some sin. The inference could also be canceled, if, for example, David goes on to state his innocence. The nature of play-ground assumptions is that they may be challenged and negated as the text progresses, forcing us to revise our mental representation. Another playground assumption might be that "if YHWH disciplines in wrath, then David will die" (cf. Ps 118:18).

2. Create tables for imagery.

Create a table for each of the most prominent instances of metaphorical language in your psalm. Here is an example from Psalm 37, with instructions below:

1. Copy the imagery table from the template board and paste it onto the board for your psalm.

2. In each table, start by specifying the following information:

The clause(s) in which the image is found, with the clause number(s) and letter(s) in parentheses.

For most metaphors, Input 1 is the source domain: that is, the image itself. In the example above, the source domain is Grass.

For most metaphors, Input 2 is the target domain: that is, what the image represents. In the example above, the target domain is Wicked People.

Identify the parts of each input. Drawing as much as possible from other OT and ANE references for your image, pay attention to the characteristics and functions of the image, as well as other participants or elements that act upon or are affected by the image. Identify the categories of those characteristics, functions, participants, and other elements. In the example above, the target image Grass is described elsewhere in terms of its beginnings, place, ability to last, end, and cause of end. In their respective columns on the table, describe each image input by the parts you have identified.

The blend: this is a brief description of the blending of the two inputs. In addition to the example above, other examples might be a ‘life-journey’ or a ‘divine fortress.’

Implicatures: list out implications (playground assumptions) resulting from the blend.

Figure Prominence: Rank the prominence of the image within your psalm. Provide reasons for your choice.

For the theory behind our imagery analysis, see the background knowledge document.

3. Create story triangles.

Next, all of the information in the propositions–assumptions columns of the table needs to be structured in a meaningful and visual way. The chosen tool for this task is a story triangle. The story triangle is the scaffolding on which we attempt to construct, clause by clause, our mental representation of the psalm. The purpose is to understand how the propositional content of each clause along with its assumptions relates to each of the other propositions and to the psalm as a whole.

1. Copy the story triangle from the template board and paste it onto the board for your psalm:

2. Copy the text from the "Propositional Content (Story Behind)" column of the table and paste it onto your MIRO board. Bold the text and include a verse number in parentheses. It should look like the following (from Ps 110):

3. Now, the goal of this layer is to show how all of these propositions fit together—to visualize a mental representation in which all of the parts (the propositions) are connected to the whole. Start by organizing the propositions themselves. It is often helpful to begin by grouping them into two categories: events and non-events. Events will usually go directly on story triangles. Non-events (e.g., states or timeless statements) will usually function as explanations, hovering around the story triangles and explaining why certain events take place within the world of the psalm. In the example below (Ps 110), the events are on the left, and the non-events are on the right. For your psalm, other systems of categorization might be helpful (e.g., by topic or theme).

4. Begin to arrange the events in chronological sequence—the order in which they occur in the world of the psalm (not necessarily the order in which they appear in the text). For example, in Ps 110, the events appear to unfold in the following order (top to bottom).

In some cases, multiple propositions might represent the same event. For example, in Ps 110, the propositions "YHWH...smashes kings on the day his anger is unleashed (v. 5)" and "YHWH smashes heads across the wide world (v. 6b)" are two descriptions of the same event. Group them together visually and place a box around them. For example:

As you order the events in this way, pay close attention to verb forms as they appear in the actual text (see esp. the time columns of your verbal semantics table). Also, pay attention to any other logical or temporal indicators in the text. For example, Ps 110:1 says, "Sit at my right until I make your enemies your footstool." It is clear that the initial act of "sitting at YHWH's right" happens before the enemies become the king's footstool.

5. Begin to organize the events along a story triangle. The sequence of events will almost always tell a story, i.e., there will be some tension in the sequence of events that eventually gets resolved. Identify the tension in the sequence as well as the point at which the tension begins to resolve. The point at which the tension begins to resolve is the turning point, and it goes at the top of the triangle. Everything on the left side of the triangle (before the turning point) represents the increasing tension of the story, and everything on the right side of the triangle (after the turning point) represents the decreasing tension of the story.

In Ps 110, an initial attempt to place most of the events along the story triangle looked like this:

At this early point in the process, it might not be clear where some events belong. For example, in Ps 110, it was not initially clear where to put "YHWH/lord drinks from a wadi on the campaign." As you progress through the following steps and continue to think about the psalm's story, these issues should become clear.

Note also that the initial attempt to place events on the triangle was able to account for one of the non-event propositions in the psalm. The proposition "The lord's people are willing on the day he manifests his power (v. 3a)" functions as an explanation for why "The young men of the lord... come into the lord's possession (v. 3bc). They come to him, in other words, because they are willing. Use an arrow with a "that's why" label to connect explanations to events.

6. Begin to identify assumptions that are necessary to make sense of the story. Currently, the terse (and incomplete) story triangle above raises a number of questions: why does the king sit at YHWH's right side? What does that even mean? Why do young men come into the Lord's possession, and what does that mean? Who are these "kings" who are being smashed, and why are they being smashed? In order to have a coherent story, we have to answer these questions. And in order to answer these questions, we have to look behind the text of the psalm itself. This part of the process is where you return to the assumptions columns of your table and look for assumptions that are necessary for making sense of the story. As with the propositions, some of these assumptions will function as events on the triangle, and others will function as explanations. As you add assumptions, the triangle should begin to look something like the following:

In terms of formatting, assumptions should be colored according to whether they are common-ground, local-ground, or playground assumptions. Use the color scheme provided in the MIRO template. Do not use parentheses or periods. Make sure that the size and style of the text and the arrows matches the MIRO template.

7. Once you have completed a triangle, give the triangle a name and list the relevant verses to which the propositions in and around the triangle correspond. The name should capture the theme of the story. For example:

8. Place a star icon along the edge of the story triangle to indicate the point of the story in which the psalm itself (as a speech event) takes place. The following example is from Ps 19:

In Ps 19, as the psalmist is praying, he has already made mistakes, committed sins, and suffers from having words and thoughts that are not acceptable to YHWH. Thus, the star should go after these events. At the same time, YHWH has not yet cleared his servant from the guilt of hidden sins or prevented his servant from committing presumptuous sins, etc. So, the star should go before these events. The star tells the reader of the psalm "You are here."

9. Most psalms will require multiple triangles. See e.g., the story triangles for Ps 19. In the end, however, all of the triangles should be connected. There will usually be a main triangle within which other story triangles are embedded. Color this main triangle grey. The following example of embedded triangles is from Ps 19:13-15:

10. The embedded triangles in Ps 19:13-15 illustrate another visual tool for creating these story triangles: red X's. If there are negative statements within the psalm, then the propositional content of the psalm will include events and explanations that do not actually happen within the world of the psalm. For example, in Ps 19, the psalmist asks that YHWH would prevent presumptuous sins from ruling over him (v. 14bα). Thus, the story triangle in which "Presumptuous sins rule over YHWH's servant" is negated with a red X, because this story does not actually happen within the world of the psalm (see image above).

11. In addition to the red "X", another visual tool that you might find useful when creating your story triangles is the repeat arrow (⟲). The semantic logic of Ps 34:23, for example, can be structured in terms of a story that repeats over and over.

12. Once you have completed your story triangle and accounted for every piece of propositional content in the psalm, create a single story triangle that summarizes the story of the whole psalm. Use the same color scheme as in Participant Analysis. Include a theme at the bottom of the story. The theme is the main message conveyed by the Story Behind. The following is the summary of the Story Behind Psalm 34:

Be sure to place the star at the point of the triangle where the psalm itself takes place. In some psalms, the psalm itself might represent some progression along the story triangle. For example, in the Ps 34 example above, the psalm begins with David celebrating YHWH's protection and provision. But then, in the psalm itself, David goes on to encourage the afflicted to join him in worshipping and fearing YHWH. Thus, the star "moves" along the triangle as the psalm unfolds. If this is the case for your psalm, then use the visual tools provided in the MIRO template to indicate this movement.

4. Write an expanded paraphrase.

Next, we return to the text itself. The goal is to create an expanded paraphrase of the text that captures the most valuable information represented in the story triangles. The base of the paraphrase is the CBC.

1. Copy and paste the CBC, one text box per verse, and make the text bold.
2. In non-bold italics, add implicit information (assumptions) in and around the CBC. Only incorporate assumptions that are necessary for making sense of the CBC text and, specifically, the connections between clauses and verses in the CBC. In the end, the expanded paraphrase should 'make sense' of the psalm. It should be clear how and why one verse leads logically to the next.
3. The expanded text should read naturally and reflect the perspective of whoever is speaking at that point in the psalm. The assumptions should be phrased in such a way so that they sound as though they are part of the psalm.

For example, the expanded paraphrase of Psalm 19:13-15 is as follows:

13. Yet how can I keep your rules and experience the great reward that they bring? I cannot avoid but making mistakes, i.e., inadvertently doing that which you have prohibited. Who can know the entirety of your instruction and how it applies to every area of life and so can realize mistakes before it's too late? And in addition to the mistakes I have committed, there are a countless number of hidden sins of which I am guilty and not even aware. Yet you see them, for you are the one who searches the heart. Clear me from the guilt of hidden sins!

14. Also, prevent your servant from committing presumptuous sins! Do not let them rule over me! Only then —only if you forgive my hidden sins and protect me from presumptuous sins— I will be a blameless sacrifice pleasing to you and, no longer threatened by the rule of presumptuous sins, I will be innocent of great crime.

15. Let me be a pleasing sacrifice to you, YHWH! Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, i.e., my thoughts, be an acceptable sacrifice before you, YHWH, my rock, who protects me from sin's threatening dominion, and my redeemer, who forgives all my iniquities!

5. Select background ideas.

Identify the common-ground assumptions which are the most helpful for making sense of the psalm. List them and elaborate on them as necessary. For example, the following common-ground assumptions are important for understanding Psalm 37:

• YHWH is the judge of all the earth who rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked (see Gen 18:25).
• The success of the wicked poses a perennial challenge to the idea of YHWH's justice (see Jer 12:1; Mal 3:14-15; Ps 73; Job 20-21; cf. The Babylonian Theodicy VII, XXIII in COS 1.154).
• YHWH promised to give the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants (see Gen 12:7; 15:7, 18-21), and in the conquest of Canaan under Joshua, YHWH fulfilled his promise (see Josh 21:43-45; Jdg 2:6; 1 Kgs 8:56). But Israel's continued possession of the land depended on their faithfulness to the covenant (see Lev 26; Deut 28; cf. Ezra 9:10-12; 1 Chron 28:8) (cf. Martin 2013).
• In the end, "all of [YHWH's] people will be righteous, and they [i.e., the righteous] will possess the land forever" (Isa 60:21; cf. Isa 57:13; 65:9; Jer 30:3; Gen 13:15; 17:8; 48:4; Exod 32:13; Josh 14:9).

6. Visualize the background situation.

The background situation is the series of events leading up to the time in which the psalm is spoken. These are taken from the story triangle – whatever lies to the left of the star icon.

1. Copy the background situation diagram from the template board and paste it onto the board for your psalm.
2. Copy and paste the events from your summary triangle (to the left of the star) into the boxes.
3. The names of any participants should be bolded and colored according to the scheme in Participant Analysis.

For example, the background situation for Psalm 6 is as follows:

Help

Good Examples

• For a completed discourse table (including propositions, assumptions, and an expanded paraphrase), see Psalm 37.
• For story triangles, see Ps 37 and Ps 19.

Common Mistakes

Of all of the steps in this process, the third step is probably the hardest. While the story triangles are an invaluable tool for capturing the semantic logic of a psalm, they can be difficult to understand at first. Here are some common mistakes to avoid as you work with story triangles.

• Not properly distinguishing events from explanations. Events are things that happen. Explanations are things that do not happen. Events belong directly on story triangles. Explanations hover outside of the story triangles, though each explanation should ultimately be connected to some event on some triangle. For example, the expression "Thank YHWH, for he is good, for his loyalty endures forever" (Ps. 136:1; etc.) includes three propositions, the content of which can be expressed as follows: (1) People thank YHWH; (2) YHWH is good; (3) YHWH's loyalty endures forever. The first of these propositions is an event, and so it belongs on a story triangle (along with other events). The second and third of these propositions are explanations which explain some event(s) in the triangle.
• Incomplete story triangles. A story necessarily consists of multiple events. Therefore, each story triangle should include multiple events. Furthermore, stories necessarily include some tension (i.e., some rising action) which gets resolved. Therefore, each story triangle should include at least one event on the left side of the story triangle (rising action) and a turning point at the tip of the triangle (climax). If either of these elements is missing, then the "story" is not actually a story.
• Using explanations to explain why some event was mentioned in the psalm and not why the event itself happened within the story. Each explanation should ultimately be connected to an event on the triangle with a "that's why" arrow. The explanation ("that's why") should explain why the event itself takes place ("that's why X happened") and not why the speaker of the psalm might refer to that event ("that's why the psalmist refers to X" or "that's why the psalmist says X").
• Analyzing speech acts instead of propositional content. Consider, for example, the common expression, "Thank YHWH, for he is good, for his loyalty endures forever" (Ps. 136:1; etc.). The story triangle analyzing this expression should not say, "The psalmist says, 'Thank YHWH, for he is good, for his loyalty endures forever'" or "the psalmist summons the people to thank YHWH," but rather (1) "People thank YHWH, (2) "YHWH is good", (3) "YHWH's loyalty endures forever." The goal of this analysis is not to analyze what the psalmist is doing but rather the content of what the psalmist is saying.

Additional Resources

Kroeger, Paul. Analyzing Meaning: An Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics. Textbooks in Languages Sciences 5. Language Science Press, 2018. This title can be downloaded here.

Rubric

Dimension	Description
Completeness	Every element required by the creator guidelines is included. Complete propositions and assumptions table. A complete imagery chart for each instance of metaphorical language in the psalm. Complete story triangles which account for all of the psalm's propositional content. Complete summary story triangle. Complete expanded paraphrase. List of key background ideas. Visualised sequence of background events.
Quality of analysis	Common ground assumptions have been thoroughly researched and are well grounded in evidence. Each story triangle, including the summary triangle, tells a coherent and compelling story. Common mistakes are avoided. The expanded paraphrase makes sense of the psalm.
Engagement with secondary literature	For areas of difficulty and debate, an effort was made to engage with secondary sources.
Clarity of language	Prose is clear and concise (especially the expanded paraphrase). Language is not too technical so as to be inaccessible to Sarah.
Formatting/Style	Propositional content is correctly represented as statements which are present/timeless, indicative, third person, and positive. Furthermore, all pronouns are replaced by full noun-phrases. All colours, fonts, and shapes match those which are given in the template and creator guidelines.

Submitting your draft

Copy the text below into your forum submission post, entitled Story Behind the Psalm - Psalm ###. After posting, change your post into a wiki post so the reviewers can check the boxes. To change your forum post into a wiki post, click on the three dot menu at the end of the text.

Click on the wrench.

Select "make wiki."

[Story Behind the Psalm Layer Rubric](https://psalms.scriptura.org/w/Semantics/Story_behind_the_Psalm#Rubric)

|Guardian Review|Overseer Review|Final Checks|Description|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|||| **Completeness**
|[ ]|||  Every element required by the creator guidelines is included.
|[ ]|||  Complete propositions and assumptions table.
|[ ]|||  A complete imagery chart for each instance of metaphorical language in the psalm.
|[ ]|||  Complete story triangles which account for all of the psalm's propositional content.
|[ ]|||  Complete summary story triangle.
|[ ]|||  Complete expanded paraphrase.
|[ ]|||  List of key background ideas.
|[ ]|||  Visualised sequence of background events.
|||| **Quality of analysis**
|[ ]|[ ]||  Common ground assumptions have been thoroughly researched and are well grounded in evidence.
|[ ]|[ ]|[ ]|  Each story triangle, including the summary triangle, tells a coherent and compelling story.
|[ ]|[ ]||  [Common mistakes](https://psalms.scriptura.org/w/Semantics/Story_behind_the_Psalm#Appendix:_Common_Mistakes) are avoided.
|[ ]|[ ]|[ ]|  The expanded paraphrase makes sense of the psalm.
|||| **Engagement with secondary literature** 
|[ ]|[ ]||  For areas of difficulty and debate, an effort was made to engage with secondary sources.
|||| **Clarity of language** 
|[ ]|[ ]|[ ]|  Prose is clear and concise (especially the expanded paraphrase).
|[ ]|[ ]|[ ]|  Language is not too technical so as to be inaccessible to [Sarah](https://psalms.scriptura.org/w/Personas).
|||| **Formatting/Style**
|[ ]|||  Propositional content is correctly represented as statements which are present/timeless, indicative, third person, and positive. Furthermore, all pronouns are replaced by full noun-phrases.
|[ ]|||  All colours, fonts, and shapes match those which are given in the template and creator guidelines.|