Hey wait a minute, how is this "Ha'azinu" a psalm tweet? Deuteronomy is not psalms. Indeed that is true, but Deuteronomy 32 and 33 are poetry in the midst of prose. And chapter 32 has been brought to my attention repeatedly in the last week or two, not to mention about 18 months ago, so I thought I would look at it a few verses at a time to see what I discover. (See this post for the whole chapter.)
This is somewhat unfamiliar ground, so during the process I will do larger chunks than one verse and of course review my translation as I struggle to underlay the text to the raw material of the Hebrew music.
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Deuteronomy 32:1-3 Poetry in the prose books. Sing as Recitative. |
| Note how verses 1 and 3 have similar musical shape. The shape of verse 1 occurs 76 times in the prose books. The shape of verse 3 occurs 6 times. (Deuteronomy 32:1, Isaiah 55:4, 63:4, Hosea 6:6, Habakkuk 2:12, 1 Chronicles 20:8). The opening d (rather than the tonic e) connects the verse to the prior verse. So the descriptions of what Moses has received are characteristic of the name of Yahweh. |
| הַאֲזִ֥ינוּ הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וַאֲדַבֵּ֑רָה וְתִשְׁמַ֥ע הָאָ֖רֶץ אִמְרֵי־פִֽי ר |
1 Give ear, O heavens, and I will
speak, and hear, O earth, the promises of my mouth. |
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a hazinu hwmiim vadbrh vtwmy harx amri-pi r |
12 10 |
h/azn\v
h/wmim
va/dbr\h vt/wmy h/arx amr\i p\i |
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יַעֲרֹ֤ף כַּמָּטָר֙ לִקְחִ֔י תִּזַּ֥ל כַּטַּ֖ל אִמְרָתִ֑י כִּשְׂעִירִ֣ם עֲלֵי־דֶ֔שֶׁא וְכִרְבִיבִ֖ים עֲלֵי־עֵֽשֶׂב ר |
2 What I have received will seep in as
rain. My promise will flow as dew, as drizzle over verdant herbs, and as copious showers on field-grass. |
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b iyrof cm'tr lqki tizl c'tl amrti
cwyirim yli-dwa vcrbibim yli-ywb r |
15 14 |
i/yrp
c/m'tr
lqk\i
t/zl
c/'tl
amr\ti c/wyr\m yl\i dwa vc/rbb\im yl\i ywb |
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כִּ֛י שֵׁ֥ם יְהוָ֖ה אֶקְרָ֑א הָב֥וּ גֹ֖דֶל לֵאלֹהֵֽינוּ ר |
3 ♪d For the name of Yahweh I
proclaim. Ascribe greatness to our God. |
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g ci wm ihvh aqra hbu godl lalohinu r |
6 9 |
ci
wm
ihvh
a/qra hb\v gdl l/alh\inv |
Resonances with psalms. Do you see any? I have noted some common words with Psalms 29:1-3, 37:1-3, and 96. Nothing too surprising, but particularly focused on the name (character / reputation) of Yahweh - and how we think about the promises of justice. You may note that field-grass in the psalms is sometimes a metaphor for the wicked (Psalm 92). Deuteronomy 32 and Psalm 90 (a prayer of Moses) share about a third (215/678) of their total words.
And there is some resonance with the final psalm of Book 3 of the Psalter,
Psalm 72.
| Word / Gloss | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Vs | Stem | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| הארץ O earth |
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DEU 32:1 | arx | ||||||
| כמטר as rain |
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DEU 32:2 | m+r | ||||||
| וכרביבים and as copious showers |
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DEU 32:2 | rbb | ||||||
| עשב field-grass |
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DEU 32:2 | ywb | ||||||
| שם the name of |
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DEU 32:3 | wm | ||||||
| יהוה Yahweh |
░
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DEU 32:3 | ihvh | ||||||
| כמטר as rain |
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PSA 72:6 | m+r | ||||||
| כרביבים as copious showers |
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PSA 72:6 | rbb | ||||||
| ארץ earth |
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PSA 72:6 | arx | ||||||
| ארץ the earth |
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PSA 72:8 | arx | ||||||
| בארץ in the earth |
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PSA 72:16 | arx | ||||||
| כעשב like the herbs of |
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PSA 72:16 | ywb | ||||||
| הארץ the earth |
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PSA 72:16 | arx | ||||||
| שמו his name |
░
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PSA 72:17 | wm | ||||||
| שמו his name |
░
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PSA 72:17 | wm | ||||||
| יהוה Yahweh |
░
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PSA 72:18 | ihvh | ||||||
| שם the name of |
░
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PSA 72:19 | wm | ||||||
| הארץ the earth |
░
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PSA 72:19 | arx |
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