The Referent of "this" in Psalm 41:12a

Introduction

Psalm 41:12 reads as follows according to the Masoretic Text:

בְּזֹ֣את יָ֭דַעְתִּי כִּֽי־חָפַ֣צְתָּ בִּ֑י

כִּ֤י לֹֽא־יָרִ֖יעַ אֹיְבִ֣י עָלָֽי

The following modern English translations illustrate two different ways of interpreting this verse:

• By this I know that you are pleased with me: because my enemy has not triumphed over me (NRSVue).
• Then shall I know that you delight in me and that my enemy will not triumph over me (REB).

According to the NRSVue, the demonstrative pronoun "this" (זֹאת) points forward (cataphoric) to the following clause: "my enemy has not triumphed over me." In other words, the psalmist knows that YHWH is pleased with him because his enemy has not triumphed over him.

According to the REB, however, the pronoun "this" (זֹאת) points backwards (anaphoric) to something in the preceding verse: "[once you have raised me up] then I will know (1) that you are pleased with me, (2) that my enemy will not triumph over me." According to this interpretation, the כִּי in v. 12b introduces the second thing that the psalmist will know once YHWH has had mercy on him.

The interpretation of this verse involves other issues as well, e.g., the tense of the verb "know" (יָדַעְתִּי) in v. 12a and the tense of the verb "shout in triumph" (ַיָרִיע) in v. 12b. These secondary issues will be addressed within the larger discussion of the referent of "this" (זֹאת).

Argument Maps

Cataphoric (preferred)

Most modern translations understand זֹאת as cataphoric, pointing forward to the following כִּי clause. For example, the NRSVue says, "By this I know that you are pleased with me: because my enemy has not triumphed over me."

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[Cataphoric]: The pronoun "this" (זֹאת) points forward (cataphoric) to the כִּי clause in v. 12b: "By this I know that you are pleased with me: because my enemy has not triumphed over me" (NRSVue; Ibn Ezra :C: \[בזאת – הטעם כי לא יריע\]; Delitzsch 1996, 308 :C:).
 + <Cataphoric בְּזֹאת + "know that">: The expression בְּזֹאת ידע כִּי occurs several other times in the Bible, and every time the pronoun זֹאת is cataphoric, pointing forward.
  + [Cataphoric בְּזֹאת + "know that"]: "By this I shall know that (בְּזֹאת אֵדַע כִּי) you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me..." (Gen 42:33, ESV); "By this you will know that (בְּזֹאת תֵּדַע כִּי) I am the Lord: I am going to strike the water of the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned into blood" (Exod 7:17, NET); "Hereby you shall know that (בְּזֹאת תֵּדְעוּן כִּי) the LORD has sent me to do all these works, and that (כִּי) it has not been of my own accord: If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the LORD has not sent me..." (Num 16:28–29, ESV); "By this... you shall know that (בְּזֹאת תֵּדְעוּן כִּי) a living God is among you...: the Ark of the Covenant of the Sovereign of all the earth is advancing before you into the Jordan..." (Josh 3:10–11, RJPS); see other examples of cataphoric בְּזֹאת in Gen 34:15, 22; Lev 16:3; 1 Sam 11:2; Isa 27:9; Jer 9:23.
  <_ <No כִּי clauses>: In none of these examples does the pronoun זֹאת point forward to a כִּי clause. In these examples, כִּי is used to introduce the content of what is to be known ("know that") but never the content of "this" (זֹאת).#dispreferred
 + <Causal semantics for בְּ and כִּי>: The בְּ preposition before "this" (בְּזֹאת) is most likely causal: "because of this" or "on this basis" (so Jenni 1992, 147 :M:). Similarly, the כִּי clause in v. 12b can be interpreted as a causal conjunction: "because my enemy..." (so Locatell 2017, 179 :M:: epistemic causal כִּי). The similar causal semantics would suggest that "this" points forward to the content of the כִּי clause.
  +  <Epistemic causal כִּי>: Elsewhere, when כִּי follows the verb "know" (יָדַע), it can introduce the basis for knowing ("epistemic causal כִּי;" Locatell 2017, §8.1.3).
   + [2 Chr 25:16]: E.g., "So the prophet stopped, but said, 'I know that (יָדַעְתִּי כִּי) God has determined to destroy you, because (כִּי) you have done this and have not listened to my counsel'" (2 Chr 25:16, ESV; cf. Locatell 2017, 180 :M:).
 + <Rescue as a sign of pleasure>: It makes sense that rescue from enemies (v. 12b) would confirm YHWH's pleasure in the psalmist (v. 12a) (cf. Ps 18:20).
  + [Ps 18:19–21]: "They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support. He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me (כִּי חָפֵץ בִּי). The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me" (Ps 18:18–20, ESV \[Eng.: vv. 18–20\]).
  <_ <Tense>: Rescue from enemies is described in v. 12b as a future event: "because my enemy will not shout in triumph (יָרִיעַ yiqtol) over me". But how can a future event, which may or may not happen, ground a *present* assurance of God's pleasure: "by this I know (יָדַעְתִּי, qatal) that you delight in me" (see ESV)?#dispreferred
   - <יָרִיעַ past tense>: The yiqtol verb יָרִיעַ is past-tense: "By this I know that you are pleased with me: because my enemy has not triumphed over me" (NRSVue). The failure of the enemy is a sign of God's pleasure. 
   - <יָרִיעַ present tense>: The yiqtol verb יָרִיעַ has present habitual semantics: "By this I know that you are pleased with me: because my enemy does not (ever) triumph over me." The continual failure of enemies to triumph over the psalmist, including in the most recently experienced situation (vv. 5–11), must mean that YHWH takes pleasure in him.
   - <יָדַעְתִּי future knowledge>: The verb "know" (יָדַעְתִּי) in v. 12a refers to future or potential knowledge: "Then shall I know that You are pleased with me: when my enemy cannot shout in triumph over me" (RJPS, cf. NJB, CEB, Symmachus: γνώσομαι; Delitzsch 1996, 308: "יָדַעְתִּי in the sense of... cognoverim").

Anaphoric

Some interpreters argue that זֹאת in v. 12 is anaphoric, pointing backwards to something in the preceding context. This view is reflected in the translation of the REB: "Then shall I know that you delight in me and that my enemy will not triumph over me."

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[Anaphoric]: The pronoun "this" (זֹאת) points backwards (anaphoric) to something in the preceding context: "Then shall I know that you delight in me and that my enemy will not triumph over me" (REB; Radak :C: \[אם תקימני אדע ואכיר כי חפצת בי שלא תרצה שיריע איבי עלי\]; Craigie 1983, 321 :C:; Hossfeld 1993, 262 :C:; cf. Symmachus). #dispreferred
 + <Anaphoric בְּזֹאת>: Sometimes בְּזֹאת is anaphoric, pointing to something in the preceding context.#dispreferred
  + [Anaphoric בְּזֹאת]: "But if in spite of this (וְאִם־בְּזֹאת) you will not listen to me, but walk contrary to me..." (Lev 26:27, ESV; cf. Ezek 16:29; Ps 78:32).#dispreferred
   <_ <Different constructions>: None of these three examples is simply בְּזֹאת. Leviticus 26:27 includes אִם, Ezekiel 16:29 includes גַּם, and the expression in Psalm 78:32 is בְּכָל־זֹאת, an idiom meaning "despite all this."
 + <Similar syntax>: The anaphoric interpretation lends itself to understanding the second כִּי clause as a second complement clause: "I know that... that..." This syntactic construction finds a close parallel in Numbers 16:28–29, where the phrase "by this you will know" (בְּזֹאת תֵּדְעוּן) is followed by two כִּי complement clauses.#dispreferred
  + [Num 16:28–29]: "Hereby you shall know that (בְּזֹאת תֵּדְעוּן כִּי) the LORD has sent me to do all these works, that (כִּי) it has not been of my own accord: If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the LORD has not sent me..." (Num 16:28–29, ESV modified).#dispreferred
 + <Parallelism>: The two clauses in v. 12 are parallel, so it makes sense that they would have similar semantics and that the כִּי's would be interpreted in a similar way.#dispreferred
  + [Ps 41:12 parallelism]: "By this (בְּזֹאת) I know that (כִּי) you delight in me; \[by this I know\] that (כִּי) my enemy will not triumph over me."#dispreferred
 - <No clear referent>: The pronoun "this" (זֹאת) does not have a clear referent if it points backwards. What would "this" refer to?
  - <"Raise me up" (v. 11)>: "This" (זֹאת) refers to the content of the preceding verse (v. 11), i.e., YHWH's act of raising up (= healing) the psalmist so that he can repay his enemies (Radak :C:; Ross 2011, 889 :C:: "'in this' refers to the healing and restoration").#dispreferred
   + [Ps 41:11]: "But you, YHWH, raise me up, so that I can repay them."#dispreferred
   - <Tense>: If this were the case, then we would expect the verb "know" to be future tense: "Then shall I know that you delight in me..." (REB; cf. Symmachus). But the verb is qatal (יָדַעְתִּי = "I know"), not yiqtol (אֵדַע).
    - <Time lapse>: There is an implicit time lapse between the request in v. 11 and the declaration of assurance in v. 12. By the time the psalmist speaks in v. 12, the prayer for healing (vv. 5–11) has already been granted, and the psalm returns to the period of time with which the psalm began (vv. 2–4). #dispreferred
  - <Oracle>: "In the larger cultic context, the antecedent is clearly the positive oracle from God indicating the coming of healing" (Craigie 1983, 321 :C:).#dispreferred
  - <Internal assurance>: "Between v. \[11\] and v. \[12\] lies the great fact of the assurance of being heard. Through the certainty of victory, which the Lord imparts to the Psalmist... he is strengthened in the conviction of God's gracious satisfaction in him" (Hengstenberg 1846, 83 :C:).#dispreferred

Conclusion (C)

In conclusion, we prefer to interpret the demonstrative pronoun "this" (זֹאת) as cataphoric, pointing forward to the causal כִּי clause in v. 12b: "By this I know that you take pleasure in me: because my enemy does not shout joyfully over me." In terms of verbal semantics, the verb "know" in v. 12a is understood as a present-tense stative ("I know"), and the verb "shout joyfully" in v. 12b is understood as a habitual ("does not [ever] shout joyfully"). In other words, YHWH's continual rescue of the psalmist, including in the most recently experienced situation (vv. 5–11), is a sign of YHWH's favor.

This interpretation makes sense according to the worldview of the Psalms and of Davidic Psalms in particular (cf. Ps 18:20). This interpretation is also syntactically viable. The frequent expression "By this I know that..." (בְּזֹאת ידע כִּי) is always cataphoric. Furthermore, there are other examples of the verb ידע followed by two כִּי clauses, in which the first כִּי clause introduces the complement ("that") and the second כִּי clause introduces the basis for knowing ("because") (e.g., 2 Chr 25:16).

The primary difficulty with our preferred view pertains to verbal semantics. The ESV's translation of the verbs hardly makes sense: "By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me." How can a future event, which may or may not happen, ground a present assurance of God's pleasure? Thus, proponents of this view are forced to interpret the yiqtol verb יָרִיעַ as something other than a future or the verb יָדַעְתִּי as something other than a stative. For example, some interpret the verb יָדַעְתִּי as future-tense: "By this I will know that you delight in me" (cf. RJPS, CEB, NJB). Others interpret יָרִיעַ as past-tense: "my enemy has not triumphed over me" (NRSVue). Yet it is questionable whether either of these interpretations respects the form of each verb. We have interpreted the verbs as stative and present (habitual), respectively: "By this I know that you take pleasure in me: because my enemy does not shout joyfully over me." This interpretation not only respects the verbal forms but also makes sense in the context (see Story Behind).

Research

Translations

Ancient

• LXX: ἐν τούτῳ ἔγνων ὅτι τεθέληκάς με, ὅτι οὐ μὴ ἐπιχαρῇ ὁ ἐχθρός μου ἐπʼ ἐμέ.
  • "By this I knew that you want me: that my enemy shall not be happy over me."
• Symmachus: διὰ τοῦτο γνώσομαι ὅτι θελήσεις με ἐὰν μὴ καταλαλάξῃ ὁ ἐχθρός μου ἐπ’ ἐμέ.
  • "Therefore, I will know that you will want me if my enemy does not exult over me."
• Jerome (iuxta Hebr.): in hoc cognovi quod velis me quia non insultavit inimicus meus mihi
  • "In this I know that you love me, because my enemy has not insulted me."
• Targum: בהדא ידעית ארום איתרעיית בי ארום לא איתגבר עלי בעיל דבבי לאבאשא׃
  • "By this I know that you delight in me, (in) that my enemy shall not prevail against me to do evil."
• Peshitta: ܒܗܕܐ ܝܕܥܬ ܕܨܒܐ ܐܢܬ ܒܝ܂ ܡܛܠ ܕܠܐ ܡܒܐܫ ܠܝ ܒܥܠܕܒܒܝ܂.
  • "By this I know that you take pleasure in me, for my enemy does not harm me."

Modern

Cataphoric

• By this I know that you are pleased with me: because my enemy has not triumphed over me. (NRSVue)
• By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me. (ESV)
• Then shall I know that You are pleased with me: when my enemy cannot shout in triumph over me. (RJPS)
• This will convince me that you delight in me, if my enemy no longer exults over me. (NJB)
• Then I’ll know you are pleased with me because my enemy won’t be shouting in triumph over me. (CEB)
• Daran habe ich erkannt, dass du an mir Gefallen hast: wenn mein Feind nicht über mich triumphieren kann. (EÜ)
• Daran merke ich, dass du Gefallen an mir hast, dass mein Feind über mich nicht frohlocken wird. (LUT2017)
• Daran erkenne ich, dass du Gefallen an mir hast, dass mein Feind nicht über mich jauchzt. (ELB)
• Daran erkenne ich, dass du Gefallen an mir hast, dass mein Feind nicht über mich frohlocken darf. (ZÜR)
• Wenn meine Feinde nicht die Oberhand behalten, erkenne ich, dass du Gefallen an mir hast. (NGÜ)
• Wenn das Siegesgeschrei meiner Feinde verstummt, dann weiß ich, dass du es gut mit mir meinst. (GNB)
• Du lässt nicht zu, dass sie über mich triumphieren; daran erkenne ich, dass du mich liebst. (HFA)
• Voici à quoi je reconnais ta bienveillance : mon ennemi ne crie plus victoire. (TOB)
• Voici comment je saurai que tu es pour moi : quand mon ennemi cessera de crier victoire à mon sujet. (NFC)
• Si mon ennemi ne crie plus victoire contre moi, alors je reconnaîtrai ton affection pour moi. (PDV)
• A ceci je sais que tu as pris plaisir en moi : c'est que mon ennemi ne lance pas d'acclamation guerrière contre moi. (NBS)
• Voici comment je reconnaîtrai ╵ton affection pour moi : c’est quand mon ennemi ╵cessera de clamer ╵qu’il triomphe de moi. (BDS)
• Voici à quoi je reconnais que tu m'as pris en affection, C'est que mon ennemi ne triomphe pas de moi. (NVS78P)
• Je saurai que tu m'aimes, si mon ennemi ne triomphe pas de moi. (S21)
• En esto conoceré que te he agradado: en que mi enemigo no se alegre de mí. (RVR95)
• En esto conozco que te he agradado: en que mi enemigo no triunfe sobre mí. (NVI)
• En esto conoceré que te he agradado: en que mi enemigo no cante victoria sobre mí. (DHH94I)
• En esto conoceré que te complaces en mí: En que mi enemigo no triunfe sobre mí. (BTX4)

Anaphoric

• Then shall I know that you delight in me and that my enemy will not triumph over me. (REB)
• Then shall I know that thou delightest in me and that my enemy will not triumph over me. (NEB)
• By this I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me. (NET)

Ambiguous

• Then my enemies won't defeat me, and I will know that you really care. (CEV)
• They will not triumph over me, and I will know that you are pleased with me. (GNT)
• I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me. (NIV)
• I know you are pleased with me, for you have not let my enemies triumph over me. (NLT)

Secondary Literature

Craigie, Peter C. 1983. Psalms 1–50. WBC 19. Waco, TX: Word.

Delitzsch, F. 1996. “The Psalter.” In Commentary on the Old Testament. Peabody: Hendrickson.

Hengstenberg, E. W. 1846. Commentary on the Psalms. Translated by John Thomson. Vol. 2. T&T Clark.

Hossfeld, Frank-Lothar, and Erich Zenger. 1993. Die Psalmen I: Psalm 1–50. Neue Echter Bibel. Würzburg: Echter.

Ibn Ezra. Ibn Ezra on the Psalms.

Jenni, Ernst. 1992. Die Hebräischen Präpositionen Band 1: Die Präposition Beth. Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer.

Locatell, Christian S. 2017. “Grammatical Polysemy in the Hebrew Bible: A Cognitive Linguistic Approach to כי.” PhD Dissertation, University of Stellenbosch.

Radak. Radak on the Psalms.

Rashi. Rashi on the Psalms.

Ross, Allen. 2012. A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 1: 1-41. Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic.

References

41:12