Users Guide: Layers
User's Guide Contents
Introduction to Layers
Welcome to our section on the layers in our Layer by Layer analysis. To understand these layers, consider comparing a psalm to a city. There are two ways you can explore the city: the first is by foot: you can go to the city, walk around, and take in the sights, smells and unique atmosphere around you - in other words, explore the psalm verse by verse, word by word, immersing yourself in the text.
The other way is to explore by maps, which offer a different perspective - each one revealing a different layer of information. For example: a geological map shows the layers beneath the surface; a terrain map reveals elevation and vegetation; a street map aids navigation; and a population map shows where people live. These maps are similar to our layer-by-layer resources. Just like these maps, each layer of analysis provides a different layer of information, a different unique view and understanding of the psalm.
There are 11 layers which come in 5 groups:
- Grammar
- Semantics
- Lexical Semantics
- Phrase-Level Semantics
- Verbal Semantics
- Story Behind the Psalm
- Discourse
- Poetics
Like a pyramid, each layer builds on the ones below. As scholars, we begin our research with the foundation of Grammar and Semantics, followed by Story Behind. With these layers complete, we work through the discourse and poetic layers, and then bring everything together in our final synthesis layer.
When using our resources, we recommend you follow the opposite order! Begin at the top with the synthesis (on the overview page) to get oriented to the psalm as a whole, and then dive into specific layers according to your needs and interests.