Tuesday 31 August 2021

Psalms 20

 It's been a while since I have posted any psalms - I wonder if the band of saints down the road will take up the next 10. What would these reveal?

SimHebrew English Fn Min Max Syll
a lmnxk mzmor ldvid 1 For the leader. A psalm of David. 3e 3f 9
b iynç ihvh biom xrh
iwgbç wm alohi iyqob
2 Yahweh answer you in the day of trouble,
the name of the God of Jacob be your retreat,
3e 4C 9
11
g iwlk-yzrç mqodw
umxion isydç
3 send your help from holiness,
and from Zion confirm you,
3e 4A 8
8
d izcor cl-mnkotiç
vyoltç idwnh slh
4 remember all your gifts,
and your burnt offerings fatten. Selah.
3e 4B 7
9
h iitn-lç clbbç
vcl-yxtç imla
5 May he give to you what is in your heart,
and all your counsel fulfill.
3e 4A 8
8
v nrnnh biwuytç ubwm-alohinu ndgol
imla ihvh cl-mwalotiç
6 We will shout for joy in your salvation, and in the name of our God we set up our banners.
Yahweh will fulfill all your requests.

3e 4C 16
11
z yth idyti ci howiy ihvh mwiko
iynhu mwmi qodwo
bgburot iwy imino
7 Now I know, because Yahweh will save his anointed.
He will answer from his holy heaven,
in the prevailing of the salvation of his right hand.
3e 4C 14
8
8
k alh brcb valh bsusim
vanknu bwm-ihvh alohinu nzcir
8 Some in the chariot and some in the horses,
but we ourselves in the name of Yahweh our God remember.
B 3e 4B 11
14
't hmh cryu vnplu
vanknu qmnu vntyodd
9 They are bowed down and fallen,
but we ourselves are arisen and relieved.
g 3e 4B 8
10
i ihvh howiyh
hmlç iynnu biom-qoranu
10 Yahweh save,
let the king answer us in the day of our call.
3e 4A 5
12

Who is the king? (Is this poem a political statement against royalty?) Who is the you of verses 1 to 6? To whom does the pronoun 'we' apply? And who is the speaker of the psalm?

Is there a hidden theme in the background - see e.g. psalms 3 and 8 mentioning the people and the odd verse of earlier Psalms (17:11, 18:32) with a first person plural pronoun. 

The focus on first person plural will be higher in later books of the psalms than in book 1.
Book 1 has 0.5% of the words in first person plural, book 2 (Psalms 42-72) 1.9%, book 3 (Psalms 73-89) 1.3%, book 4 (Psalms 90-106) 1.7%,  and the last book (Psalms 107-150), 1.2%.

Here is the shape of the music. Verses 3, 4, and 5 are subdued. Verses 6 and 7 are more ebullient but with a memory of the previous 3 verses. Verses 8 and 9 are attached to the thought of verse 7. (Score is available here.)

e rev,f# e
e B g B ^A ger-rev,C ill,e
e f# ^A ger-rev,e
e f# ^A g B e
e f# ^A e f# e
e C zar,C rev,e f# ^A f# ger-rev,e
e C rev,C f# rev,ole,f# g B ^A ger-rev,B e
B g B ^A shl,g B e
g B ^A f# ger-rev,e
e f# ^A ger-rev,f# e

Recurring roots don't really begin to repeat until verse 6.
The full set of 12 recurring roots is ynh, ihvh, ivm, wm, alvh, qdw, zcr, cl, mla, iwy, alh, anknv.
The longest series of concentric usage surrounding verse 6 is ynh, ihvh, wm-...-alvh, qdw.
If we take verse 6a as the centre, we can add two more inner circles, fulfill (mla) and all (cl).

Word / Gloss 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 Vs Stem
יענך answer you
2 ענה
יהוה Yahweh
2 יהוה
ביום in the day of
2 יום
שם the name of
2 שם
אלהי the God of
2 אלוה
מקדש from holiness
3 קדש
יזכר remember
4 זכר
כל all
4 כל
וכל and all
5 כל
ימלא fulfill
5 מלא
בישועתך in your salvation
6 ישע
ובשם and in the name of
6 שם
אלהינו our God
6 אלוה
ימלא will fulfill
6 מלא
יהוה Yahweh
6 יהוה
כל all
6 כל
הושיע will save
7 ישע
יהוה Yahweh
7 יהוה
יענהו he will answer
7 ענה
קדשו his holy
7 קדש
ישע the salvation of
7 ישע
אלה some
8 אלה
ואלה and some
8 אלה
ואנחנו but ... ourselves
8 אנחנו
בשם in the name of
8 שם
יהוה Yahweh
8 יהוה
אלהינו our God
8 אלוה
נזכיר we remember
8 זכר
ואנחנו but ... ourselves
9 אנחנו
יהוה Yahweh
10 יהוה
הושיעה save
10 ישע
יעננו let answer us
10 ענה
ביום in the day of
10 יום