Synthesis
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Overseer: Ryan Sikes
Introduction[ ]
The synthesis layer provides summaries of each psalm that serve as an at-a-glance introduction for the translator: the most important information on one page, presented as concisely as possible. In many cases, this layer will be the first point of contact with the exegetical material for a psalm and a doorway into more details as needed.
The synthesis should clearly convey a minimal coherent interpretation of the psalm, particularly how the different poetic sections cohere to convey a single message. This layer draws from all the previous analytic layers, going beyond the individual analyses to present the poem as a unified whole. Each claim should be substantiated with information that shows how the conclusion was reached and equips others to make an informed decision of their own.
Of all the layers, the synthetic analysis is the least mechanical and requires the most creative (yet rigorous!) thinking. As you work through this layer, consider what activities will help stimulate the creativity you need to accomplish each task. Some suggestions are given along with each step. Get to know how you do creative work the best and pace yourself accordingly.
A final word of general introduction to this layer: Because aspects of this layer are less technical and more subjective (i.e., choosing an icon or representative phrase), you can expect more back-and-forth conversations in the review process. Leave as thorough a trail as possible on your reasoning behind your choices and be ready to be flexible in exploring a variety of options if needed.
Steps[ ]
The template includes:
- Prominence Analysis
- Overview section
- Title and icon
- Purpose
- Content
- Message
- Orientation section
- Background ideas
- Background situation
- At-a-glance diagram
For the most helpful work flow, we recommend constructing these components in the following order, which is the order these creator guideline instructions will follow:
- Prominence analysis
- At-a-glance diagram
- Overview section
- Purpose
- Content
- Message
- Title and Icon
- Orientation section
Crafting these components will be an iterative process as you come to a more thorough understanding of the psalm--it's helpful to think of the at-a-glance diagram, purpose, content, and message statements in dialogue with one another, influencing and refining their final forms.
Prominence Analysis[ ]
The goal for this step is to identify which part or parts of the psalm would have stood out the most in the original psalm, that would have grabbed people’s attention. This kind of analysis helps translators, songwriters, preachers, and anyone presenting the psalm to others to know what to highlight in their performance/presentation. In other words: What was prominent in the original poem? If someone were going to perform this psalm today, what part(s) need to be brought out to help convey the primary message? This visual is about showcasing prominence in the textual form of the poem. A feature may be evenly distributed throughout a psalm and convey conceptual, rather than textual, prominence. However, conceptual prominence is not the focus here. If a feature is repeated throughout a psalm, without appearing in every verse/strophe, it is worth looking into whether it indicates textual prominence.
Briefly defined, prominence happens when something stands out from its surroundings. In communication, this effect generally comes from contrast (something that shifts unexpectedly after a fairly predictable baseline has been established) or from repetition (a large quantity relative to other elements present).
Authors will use the communicative resources they have at their disposal to create prominence. They might achieve prominence through semantics (word choices), pragmatics (speech acts), or aesthetic elements (imagery, sounds, rhythms/syntax, etc.).
Procedure for finding prominence in a psalm:
- Copy and paste the template provided.
- Insert a clean copy of the text as laid out in the poetic features layer under each heading of prominence.
- Look for clusters of features. A thorough review of all the previous layers is in order here, looking especially for contrast and repetition in any element. The following features often prove to be productive sources of prominence:
- Semantics (based on old analysis): Significant repeated roots, repeated semantic domains, or any other repetitions, such as repeated lines?
- Semantics (new analysis): Words that are more vivid/emotionally charged/specific? For example, in English "evil" is more generic, while "iniquity" feels more intense. Words less frequently used throughout the Old Testament are often good candidates to examine.
- Verbal semantics: Patterns/contrasts in the use of verb stem, conjugation, and/or modality?
- Speech acts: Where are the big changes, if any? Varying levels of politeness throughout, e.g., commanding God, violating norms by telling God He hasn’t been living up to what He said He would do?
- Emotion analysis: Big changes/shifts? Points of particular intensity?
- Participant Analysis: Major shifts, especially “crowding the stage” with more participants or suddenly removing all but one? Distribution of divine names?
- Macrosyntax: Marked lines (focus, topic, thetic)?
- Imagery: Metaphorical language—especially creative or unusual metaphors, or an unusual angle on a fairly common metaphor in Scripture?
- Poetics: Distribution of sound features?
- For a more complete (but not exhaustive) list of linguistic resources potentially used in Hebrew to create prominence and other effects, see the Appendix at the end of this page.
- Identify the 5 features you consider most significant in terms of their contrast/repetition/or distribution. (If you cannot find 5 good ones, just go with 4 but note any other possibilities in the notes box at the bottom of the board.) Depict one feature per text on the board, color-coding, using boxes, or otherwise visualizing the feature, much like you do poetic features. Include a key (legend)/explanation at the top.
- Viewing your 5 features together, note if/where a cluster of features line up, occurring in the same place in the psalm. Where do they converge (if anywhere)? If multiple features do not converge, do one or two features seem strong/dominant enough to suggest prominence?
- In the last slot of the board, create a summary “heat map” on a copy of the text, using highlighting to show varying levels of prominence: red for most prominent and orange for secondary prominence. It is expected to have proportionally little of the text highlighted (e.g., a few words to a few lines).
- In the Notes box, list the verses where prominence is evident (including in parentheses which features contribute, e.g., repeated lines, repeated semantic domains, etc.).
Creative approach: Internalize the text in English, using a fairly literal translation (e.g., Lexham, Legacy Study Bible), or memorize it in Hebrew, then perform it multiple times over multiple days. In doing so, you will activate the semantic/pragmatic domains in the text and develop a sense of where things shift most dramatically. You should then be able to confirm these shifts by looking at features such as those listed in the categories above. The time you spend internalizing the text will pay dividends for the rest of this layer.
At-a-glance[ ]
Note the 4 elements of this diagram: verse numbers, sections (with headings and sentence summaries), section connections, and section icons. Copy and paste the template provided. Be sure to take the "notes" box and "section heading" table, too.
The purpose of the at-a-glance is to visualize the sections of the psalm and highlight key connections in the text. The section headings and summaries provide users with an idea of how each section plays a role in contributing to the overall development of the text.
Verse numbers[ ]
Modify the needed number of verses on the side. For acrostics, you may like to add the relevant letters (for example, see Psalm 111. After you decide on your sections and section colors, you will return to modify these boxes accordingly.
Sections (with headings and summaries)[ ]
- To identify the sections of the psalm, begin with the analysis of the poetic structure (see the poetics layer). Which 3-5 main sections honor the structure of the psalm best? People seeing this at-a-glance diagram should have an accurate first impression of the major structural components of the psalm.
- Next, compose a provisional sentence (or phrase/clause) summary for each proposed section. Be sure these sentences capture the essence of the psalm's content. Take wording directly from the text whenever possible.
- Look for the story line that makes the most sense across 3-5 main sections in the poem. What progressions and/or turning points occur in the text? Places to look for significant features/turning points that inform the psalm's story:
- poetic features
- shifts in the dominant words/themes of the psalm
- speech acts
- emotional analysis
- rhetorical devices
- point(s) of prominence
- the story behind (but using only those components that are the story OF the text of the psalm itself)
- Be prepared to modify your initial poetic sections if needed, as long as they continue to honor the poem's poetic structure. If you have a long Psalm, there may be multiple levels of sections. Especially for longer psalms, multiple levels of sections may communicate the story most effectively. See the Psalm 111 at-a-glance for an example of highly effective section layering.
- provide a heading for each section that encapsulates its significance in as few words as possible (ideally 1-2, maximum 3). The section headings should help make sense of the psalm, highlighting the significant turning points/progressions.
- Crafting section headings can take time! Aim to find headings that:
- provide a succinct journey through the psalm's story
- are consistent with each other (part of speech, type of label, etc.)
- consist of 1-2 (max 3) words
- are catchy/memorable in the language in which you're working (for example, in English, using alliterative beginnings can be helpful)
- honor the purpose, content, and message of the psalm (to be checked/modified after you work on those steps)
Creative activity: Line up your sentence summaries, top to bottom. Then start playing with lists of labels. Type/write as many options as you can in 5 minutes, without censoring any of the ideas. Play with synonyms, alliterative beginnings, etc. An example table, which can be expanded, is provided on the template board.
Tracking your work: Keep track of your thought processes and rationale so you and your reviewers can retrace your work and consider other options if needed. Create a table or series of sticky notes with your top choices of label sets and WHY each is helpful--what aspect of the text's progression do they highlight best?
Your and your reviewers' final choice of section labels may not be the only one possible, but aim for one that is convincing--the "best" one from the team's perspective, the one that can help others follow the flow of the text. Again, be sure to leave a record of all the "really good" options to stimulate reviewers' thinking!
Section emotion labels[ ]
For each section, provide an emotion representative of the section. These are the labels that will be used in the Overview/Verse-by-Verse videos. The emotions should come directly from the Emotional Analysis layer. Note any exceptions or possible alternatives in the Notes box.
Section connections[ ]
Indicate distinctive connections between sections with commonly colored sections (e.g. two purple sections), commonly colored text (for closely related wording, e.g. the heavens and your heavens below) and related headings (e.g. Question and Answer). Aim for 2-3 connections of closely related wording in the At-a-Glance. While most of these connections should be clear, include any additional observations or possible connections in the Notes section for this layer.
Section icons[ ]
For each section, find a representative icon (we currently use icons from The Noun Project). Depending on the nature of the psalm, the icon may encapsulate the emotion or some of the content. Its purpose is to capture, at a glance, the section itself. If other psalms feature similar content, feel free to repeat the use of a relevant icon. For example, it's ideal if "house of God" icons are consistent across the Layer by Layer materials. An icon should be the same color as the section to which it corresponds (the color of an icon can be changed before it is downloaded).
Showing Prominence[ ]
Create two text boxes, rotate them 90%, and superimpose them onto the verse numbers. One is the “Emotional peak,” noting the highest point of emotion (in terms of intensity), and the other is the “Didactic peak," noting the most significant development in the theme/message (often the “aha” moment).
Examples[ ]
See Psalm 6 for another inspiring example, especially demonstrating the connections among sections.
Overview[ ]
This section of the synthesis layer contains 4 elements: title/icon, purpose, content, and message. We recommend saving the title/icon for last, after you have narrowed in on the purpose, content, and message.
Purpose[ ]
This one-clause statement is intended to answer the question: What was the psalmist trying to accomplish with this psalm? Or...why did the psalmist pray this to God? The goal is to identify the author’s main aim in speaking, considering the discourse as a whole. This information is designed to help translators, songwriters, Bible-study leaders, and others who consult this resource to think about what communication forms (genres) will communicate the same purpose to their audiences.
The purpose should be consistent with the sections within the Speech Act Summary and can often be derived directly from the final, global speech act. (If you find the speech act summary unsatisfactory for explaining the purpose of the psalm, you will need to revisit your proposed purpose as well as the speech act analysis until the two can be reconciled.)
When several purposes seem to converge in the psalm, explore what higher-arching purpose might unify these, until you can settle on one statement that accounts for all the parts. Leave a rationale and alternate options in the Notes section for this layer.
Creative activity: How do you imagine this psalm being performed out loud to achieve its purpose? Perform it for yourself. Does your proposed purpose account for all the parts of the psalm? Do all the parts contribute to the purpose you've identified? If not, what purpose would fit the parts better?
Content[ ]
The content briefly summarizes the main point(s) of the psalm. It answers the question: How does the psalm say what it says? What succinct statements capture the essence of the psalm? If possible, use wording from the text itself (the CBC). If the psalm expresses an argument to accomplish its communicative purpose, make this as transparent as possible in the content summary. This information gives translation teams a way to check the big-picture accuracy of their translated work.
Creative activity: Draw a mind map of the entire psalm. What main argument(s)/theme(s) appear in central positions?
Message[ ]
A psalm intended for prayer or meditation has an agenda. The message is the underlying agenda that drives the psalm and that the psalmist wants to persuade the hearer/reader to believe. What message makes sense of all the constituent parts? The message answers the question: What primary thought did the psalmist want people to walk away with? This information helps translation teams check their work with community members--are people catching the significance of the text, beyond the surface-level words? Our goal with the message is to make explicit what may not be readily apparent from just the content of the poem, but rather what is encoded in the form/presentation/aesthetics of the poem. If the original hearers would have perceived a message that people today might miss, it should be made explicit.
Possible paths for arriving at the message statement:
- Start with the theme of the Summary triangle in Story Behind and test it -- does it account for each verse of the psalm (in context of the discourse as a whole)? If not, how might the statement be modified to communicate the over-arching message?
- Look at the top poetic features. What message do these features seem to be conveying? The message is generally conveyed by at least one of the poetic features.
- Consider the at-a-glance section headings and story line. What message are they conveying?
- Consider the point(s) of prominence. What message are they conveying?
As with the other components of this layer, provide a rationale for your final choice as well as any other viable options that should be considered during the review process. Empower the team to help focus on the "best" of multiple possible choices!
Examples[ ]
Below is the overview section for Psalm 5. Note the "mind-map" style of the content at this stage of development. When presented on the wiki, this information will be presented as a logical sequence, as seen on the Psalm 5 page.
Iterative Check[ ]
As a final consistency check, evaluate to what extent the purpose, content, and message statements are consistent with the prominence analysis, at-a-glance sections, section headings, and section summaries. If needed, make adjustments to bring all of these pieces into alignment with one another. Continue tracking all work/rationales in the Notes sections!
Title and Icon[ ]
Having worked through all these big-picture angles on the psalm, give your psalm a title: a brief, distinctive tagline, often a representative phrase taken from the psalm itself. Ask the question: What makes this psalm unique, different from any other psalm? A second question might be: “How would I summarize this psalm in a single phrase?” The purpose of this title, however, is to be memorable, to help people remember the unique thrust of this psalm as distinct from all others. It is therefore more important that it be memorable than that it literally summarize the psalm.
Select an icon that represents the title's idea with a simple, black and white graphic. Usually you can find an appropriate icon at the Noun Project.
Technical notes:
- In order to be sure that a tagline/icon has not already been used, consult the existing Psalm bank of titles and icons (click Expand).
| Chapter | Memorable Phrase | Icon
|
|---|---|---|
| Psalm 1 | Delight in YHWH's instruction | 
|
| Psalm 2 | My king on Zion | 
|
| Psalm 3 | A shield over me | 
|
| Psalm 4 | Shine on us! | 
|
| Psalm 5 | Hear my case! | 
|
| Psalm 6 | The sound of my weeping | 
|
| Psalm 7 | If I have done this... | 
|
| Psalm 8 | How majestic is your name | 
|
| Psalm 9 | A refuge for the oppressed | 
|
| Psalm 10 | A refuge for the oppressed |
|
| Psalm 11 | Trapped birds | 
|
| Psalm 12 | Pure words | 
|
| Psalm 13 | How long, YHWH? | 
|
| Psalm 14 | Do they not understand? | 
|
| Psalm 15 | Who may dwell with YHWH? | 
|
| Psalm 17 | YHWH, hear a righteous case! | 
|
| Psalm 18 | YHWH fights my battles | 
|
| Psalm 19 | Nothing is Hidden | 
|
| Psalm 20 | May YHWH answer you! | 
|
| Psalm 21 | In YHWH's strength | 
|
| Psalm 22 | Have you forsaken me? | 
|
| Psalm 23 | YHWH is My Shepherd | 
|
| Psalm 24 | Meeting the king | 
|
| Psalm 26 | Where your presence dwells | 
|
| Psalm 27 | Wait for YHWH | 
|
| Psalm 28 | Don't be deaf to me! | 
|
| Psalm 29 | The sound of YHWH | 
|
| Psalm 31 | In YHWH's Hand | 
|
| Psalm 33 | YHWH's Plan Stands Forever | 
|
| Psalm 34 | Taste and see! | 
|
| Psalm 36 | YHWH's Unending Loyalty | 
|
| Psalm 37 | They will soon wither | 
|
| Psalm 38 | No healthy spot left | 
|
| Psalm 44 | Sheep to Be Slaughtered | 
|
| Psalm 45 | Royal wedding song | 
|
| Psalm 46 | God is Our Fortress | 
|
| Psalm 51 | Create a clean heart for me, God! | 
|
| Psalm 67 | Praise from the whole earth | 
|
| Psalm 68 | Celebrate YHWH's victory! | 
|
| Psalm 88 | Among the Dead | 
|
| Psalm 91 | The sheltered one | 
|
| Psalm 93 | Your throne is stable | 
|
| Psalm 98 | A new song for YHWH, the king! | 
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| Psalm 100 | His Joyful Flock | 
|
| Psalm 109 | May his days be few! | 
|
| Psalm 110 | Sit at my right side | 
|
| Psalm 111 | YHWH's deeds | 
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| Psalm 112 | The one who fears YHWH | 
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| Psalm 118 | Tight place to thanksgiving | 
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| Psalm 119 | Walking the way of YHWH's word | 
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| Psalm 132 | David's house, YHWH's house | 
|
| Psalm 133 | Dwelling together | 
|
| Psalm 134 | Reciprocal blessing | 
|
| Psalm 150 | Praise him! | 
|
- If the title is spoken in the voice of the psalmist, place it in quotation marks; if not, do not include quotation marks.
- Include rationales and additional possibilities for consideration in the Notes box of this layer.
Example: For Psalm 5, the title and icon capture the legal terminology that is prominent in the psalm.
Orientation[ ]
This section has just 2 elements: background ideas and background situation. Both are derived directly from previous work.
Background ideas[ ]
Background ideas are 2–5 common-ground assumptions, selected from the “assumptions table” (“Story behind the Psalm” layer). These assumptions are key in that they are necessary for understanding the psalm, yet likely to be missed or misunderstood by readers today. These have already been selected at the story-behind layer, so you just need to copy/paste from there. They should be as brief as possible; you may abbreviate them if necessary.
Background situation[ ]
The background situation is a schematic representation of the situation into which the psalm was spoken. Each box represents an event leading up to the time the psalm was spoken. The background situation answers the question, “What is the situational context for the prayer (including events and participants)? What has happened leading up to the time of prayer?” Like the background ideas, the background situation is taken from the “Story Behind the Psalm,” and usually includes the events that lie to the left of the star icon (which represents the psalm itself). Copy/paste the material from the “Story-behind” layer and include an icon/icons above each box. The icons should represent the content of the boxes. Below is the orientation section for Psalm 5.
Help[ ]
Good Examples[ ]
Common Mistakes[ ]
Rubric[ ]
| Dimension | Description |
|---|---|
| Completeness |
|
| Quality of analysis |
|
| Clarity of language |
|
| Formatting/Style |
|
Submitting your draft[ ]
Copy the text below into your forum submission post, entitled Synthesis - 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."
[Synthesis Layer Rubric](https://psalms.scriptura.org/w/Synthesis#Rubric) |Guardian Review|Overseer Review|Final Checks|Description| | --- | --- | --- | --- | ||||**Completeness** |[ ]||| Each element required by the creator guidelines has been included. |[ ]||| Prominence analysis (4-5 features) |[ ]||| Prominence summary heat map |[ ]||| Icon for the psalm |[ ]||| Title for the psalm |[ ]||| Purpose, content, message |[ ]||| Background ideas |[ ]||| Background situation |[ ]||| At-a-glance verse numbers and sections |[ ]||| Section headings |[ ]||| Section emotion labels |[ ]||| Section summaries |[ ]||| Section connections (where relevant) |[ ]||| Section icons ||||**Quality of analysis** |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| Both title and icon are distinctive and memorable. Ideally, the title will use language from the psalm itself. |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| The features chosen for prominence analysis show clustering, contrast, and/or repetition. |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| The prominence summary heat map derives logically from the features presented. |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| The notes supporting prominence provide useful additional information/observations. |[ ]||| The 'purpose' is consistent with the Speech Act Analysis. |[ ]||| The 'purpose' has been narrowed to one over-arching main verb. |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| The 'content' accurately summarizes the main point(s) of the psalm. |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| * The 'message' is consistent with the Story Behind, poetic features, and at-a-glance section headings/summaries. |[ ]||| The background ideas and situation are drawn from the Story Behind. |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| Sections are based on the Poetic Structure visual. |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| Connections are based on the Poetic Structure and/or Poetic Features visuals. |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| Section headings are concise (1-2 words where possible), accurate (outlining the story/flow of the poem), and memorable (e.g., relatable to real life and catchy, if possible, through contrast, alliteration, etc.). |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| Section summaries are concise and accurately summarize the content of each section, using language directly from the psalm where possible. |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| Each icon captures something distinctive about each section. |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| The notes about each item provide a clear rationale for each decision. |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| The notes for purpose, content, message, title, and icon provide alternate options to be considered. |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| The visual, as a whole, captures what is most distinctive about the psalm in terms of structure and content (even if this requires the use of some unique visual elements not specified in the guidelines!). ||||**Clarity of language** |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| Titles and headings are clear and concise. |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| All summaries (including section summaries, purpose, content, and message) use language that is clear and natural. |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| The At-a-Glance visual is not too busy. |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| Language is not too technical so as to be inaccessible to [Rinda](https://psalms.scriptura.org/w/Personas). |[ ]|[ ]|[ ]| Icons are not too difficult to interpret. ||||**Formatting/Style** |[ ]||| The visuals are based on the templates in MIRO and so use the correct font sizes, styles, and colors. |[ ]||| Icons are appropriately positioned. |[ ]||| The color of each icon corresponds to the color of the relevant section. |[ ]||| If the psalm has a superscription, it is formatted similarly to the superscription in the Ps. 24 example in the creator guidelines.