I do, of course, have a domain of 'Trouble'. You can't see it in the Glossary since there I have suppressed the domains and listed only the subdomains (non-overlapping). My allocation of each of the 305,000+ words in the Hebrew Bible to their subdomains is imperfect, but it's a start.
Trouble includes many subdomains. This image is from my published work. It may have morphed slightly over the past 2 years.
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| Subdivision of 'Trouble' in the Hebrew Scriptures, about 6% of the total words. |
At the beginning of the psalms, in the first 9, we see some words associated with trouble and we have focused on them to some extent. Psalms 9 has a few: enemies, stumble, and perish, ruins, blotted out, crushed, trouble, afflicted.
Curious as I explore the words related to trouble and selected glosses, I note that translators tend to move away from what is said to what they think is the consequence of what is said, and towards therefore what is left unsaid by HP. The word for avenges here is not the root for vengeance, but the root for search out. These two statements are significantly different.
For he who avenges blood is mindful of them (NRSV)
Because searching out (drw) blood, he remembers (zcr) them. (What is written)
Searching out is such a positive aspect of God. Searching out is not in the same domain as avenge.
Vengeance (nqm) may not be in God's mind at all. I am very disappointed in the standard translations we use. KJV - has a searching synonym with the wrong connotations for us today 'makes inquisition for'. But at least it is in the right semantic domain.
Daresh - is what we are supposed to do with our study - search things out. It is in the domain of Engagement.
Searching out is not about 'trouble'. It is not that we are hell bent on vengeance. God is not like this. When he says 'vengeance is mine' it is so that he can 'cease enemy and vengeance', (psalms 8) not do vengeance.
Translation is a very serious problem.
Our dialogue on the psalms is continuing. But the chosen translation is very problematic.
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