Mary and the 144000

Bosco Peters has continued his posts on the creed here. This comment of mine may be too large, so I have posted it here as well. It may appear on his - but I cannot tell. I began with my brief understanding of Mary:

Mary represents our yes to God that Christ might be born in us. Her perpetual virginity is reflected in the image of the 144000. I was always bothered by the Mary issue until I began to appreciate the role I need to assume when reading the Song – Who is this coming up from the desert, leaning on her beloved? It is Mary, it is the Church, it is me.
Who can untangle these images?

Bosco then asks if there is a tradition connecting the virginity of Mary to the 144000 virgins in the book of Revelation. This is my response.

I have not done a close reading of Revelation though I did read many books on it in ancient days - from medieval art with comic dragons to Bauckham's little monograph on the theology. The pericope of the 144000 is treated here as a rejection of Roman prowess. This might be extended to a rejection of all domineering use of sexuality (including the record of Sodom).
The companions of the Lambkin are the only ones who can learn the new song. This is such an important phrase in the psalms - beginning with the first of the pillars that support the tent, Psalm 33 and to the last, 144:9. Each of these poems precedes an acrostic. the first and last of these with the last and first in Books 1 and 5 form a grand chiasm that supports the whole Psalter as tent poles support a tent, or pillars a temple. (See Psalm 15:1 for my intent - הוה who will guest in your tent?) 

If we cannot learn the new song, how can we be part of the new creation? How can we be redeemed? This is a tough image if one interprets it with exclusion in mind.  It is even worse if one interprets it as abstinence - though that image is not completely off the table. 

So as far as tradition is concerned, I am not aware of the linkage between Mary and the 144000 though the connection could be made in Revelation, but it is a part of my own thinking. The new song is able to be learned - perhaps this restores virginity in that there is a complete healing of all the shame that can be raised by the very intimate and vulnerable reality of sex. 

The 144000 are 'the redeemed' so in that sense they represent the church and therefore include us who seek (and find). If they are the church they are the place where God's word, his seed, finds a home, and where virginal conception, birth and growth in the Spirit therefore take place. The holiness of the temple, or tent, our body, individual or corporate is maintained by the same word. 

It is in this sense, which I hope I have expressed in the chink of this digital wall, that Mary and the 144000 are connected. Again our response is a yes in imitation of hers: be it unto me according to thy word.

(And like Romeo and Juliet, it is a love story with identity strained by familial relations - the world of the beast vs the redemption).

Key verses - Psalm 147

Do numbers work with texts? I persevere (for a while).

When you have a theory and a poem does not conform to the theory, it sometimes means you need to find some words to add to the poem to support the theory. I am suspicious of this number thing. But the results are close (not as hard or as much fun as the music).

I looked at Labuschange's Psalm 147. I looked because his total words did not add to the number I have in my text (141 including both Hallelu Yah's). He has 140 (20 x 7) to fit his theory. But he added 3 words from the Septuagint to verse 8 (borrowing a colon from the middle of Psalm 104.14) and subtracted 4 for the Hallelu Yah's to get 140. (But he objected to a word count of 70 in Psalm 3!)

There are patterns here but finding them may result in projecting the pattern the theory seems to require onto the text rather than reading the pattern that is there. Sorry for these notes - I don't think this is fruitful - or if it is, it is also distracting.

What is the key verse for 147 - in my opinion? Is it the strength of a rider's legs? (Which is at the numerical centre - sort of). But in the Septuagint, Psalm 147 is two psalms (so the numbering can catch up) and the central verse is the last verse of the first psalm of the pair. So do we pick and choose whether to use the Septuagint or not?

The element that stands out for me in this psalm (Hebrew 147) is that it is the first time that רצה (favour) is used as a recurring word in any psalm. (I have a theory that if framing is significant, and if the Psalter is coherent, then in the gallery, a new frame will stand out.) So these middle verses do stand out - but not because of counting, a process that would useless and distracting in a performance. To get the sense, we need both verses:

Psalm 147:10-11

לֹא בִגְבוּרַת הַסּוּס יֶחְפָּץ לֹא בְשׁוֹקֵי הָאִישׁ יִרְצֶה	10	not in the valour of the horse will he delight not in the legs of the rider will he find favour
רוֹצֶה יְהוָה אֶת יְרֵאָיו אֶת הַמְיַחֲלִים לְחַסְדּוֹ	11	יהוה favours those who fear him those who hope for his loving-kindness

It is, I admit, rather striking that these are numerically the middle two words of the poem - almost a joke, the horse and rider bit. But it will help me remember that this is Psalm 147 (Hebrew numbering).  Now look also at the first occurrence of רצה in the Psalter. It is in the part of Psalm 40 that mostly repeats in Psalm 70 (but רצה does not occur in Psalm 70). Psalm 40 is crucial (in the Septuagint version - but that is of little consequence) in the epistle to the Hebrews. Here we see how the Psalms anticipate and teach the reality of the perseverance of Christ.

Key verses - Psalm 4 - and the process of inspiration

Labuschange and I are bound to disagree on this one. My recurrence table shows that verse 3 is without recurrence. That makes it stand out.

Children, each of you,

how long will you humiliate my glory?

your love empty? 

your seeking a lie?

Selah

Labuschange has verse 5 as would be expected since he is doing mid-point verses. (There is no atenach in this verse - curious. I am using the Me'ir Halevi (Max) Letteris edition of the te'amim.)

Shudder and do not sin

promise in your heart

where you lie down and be mute

Selah

The numerological approach could be a strategy for locking in the copying process.

Similar to verse 3, no word is repeated from verse 8 in the rest of the poem.

You have given gladness in my heart

more than when their grain

and their new wine multiplied

Imagine this: 

1. Poet reads Torah, or an early prophet 
2. inspired to write psalm, composes or copies key text(s) on the gift(s) received
3. sketches the keywords, 
4. writes poem around the key verses using keywords and parallelism to lock in the vertical grammar, 
5. holds the word(s) revealed (in this case verses 3, 8), 
6. sketches the music, 
7. and then locates the centre of the poem and locks in the content by imposing word counts.

Redaction process to come ... Courage, friends - and count the words in the whole book...

Word and gloss * first usage

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Vs

Root

* בקראי when I call

░

2

קרא

* צדקי my righteousness

░

2

צדק

* ושׁמע and hear

░

2

שׁמע

סלה Selah

░

3

סלה

כי --

░

4

כי

יהוה יהוה

░

4

יהוה

יהוה יהוה

░

4

יהוה

* ישׁמע will hear

░

4

שׁמע

* בקראי when I call

░

4

קרא

* אמרו promise

░

5

אמר

* משׁכבכם you lie down

░

5

שׁכב

סלה Selah

░

5

סלה

* זבחו offer

░

6

זבח

* זבחי offerings of

░

6

זבח

* צדק righteousness

░

6

צדק

* ובטחו and trust

░

6

בטח

יהוה יהוה

░

6

יהוה

* אמרים say

░

7

אמר

יהוה יהוה

░

7

יהוה

* אשׁכבה I will lie down

░

9

שׁכב

כי for

░

9

כי

יהוה יהוה

░

9

יהוה

* לבטח to trust

░

9

בטח

Key verses - Psalm 3

Y'all know that I have studied the psalms a little. I don't do it for magic. I was once asked if I thought the patterns I was finding were there by magic. Simple answer is no. Don't need magic. (Faith is not magic but rather a simple expression of both knowledge and not-knowledge.) If there is structure in a poem, then it must have been possible and meaningful for the human poet to have put it there. It must be possible for the poet to have conceived the poem. At least that is the assumption I impose. True, I do my colour coding by gematria, the sum of the letters of a Hebrew word. But that's for fun and for convenience. (And like the tables I can produce at will, it is automated.) It allows me to display the tables to assist someone in reading the columns. There is no meaning to it.

But do I even present meaning? No. Meaning implies that I have an answer and I am not into answers in the ways I used to be (or so they thought when I was half my current age or less). Probably, if I were honest with the attitude I projected at that time, I was into hope and fear more than answers. What hope did I think I had? (Except, of course, to fulfill my responsibilities as best I could.)

Anyway, I present poetry to let it speak for itself. I search for a way to present it that is as clear as I can manage. I see another site by Casper Labuschagne, a person who may be as passionate about the psalms as I am. And he has answers concerning structure that are calculated from word counts. If the word counts are too rigid, then my conclusion would be that they are forced because normal human beings could not have done the job of creating them - and we would be in the presence of magic. Such magic might force us to believe in a way that we should not.

When I have done my human eyeful, and earful thinking, then I will look at his analysis (for it is the site of a scholar) and see if his results concur with mine. (There's sticking your neck out. Incidentally, we already disagree on Psalm 85. Of course it has a centre, but it also has progression, and the progression seems to me to demand more attention than the centre.)

So what about Psalm 3?  There is a central verse. In the first strategy for memorization, I was looking at first verses or words following the inscription (if present). For this key-verse strategy, I chose a verse that is surrounded by audible word repetition, if it is there in the poem.

For Psalm 3 it is verse 6:
I lie down and I sleep
I awake
for יהוה supports me

such a simple verse (and I consider that the recurrence of awake in Psalm 139 has significance - for the meaning suggested by analogy is the awakening from death to resurrection).

Anyway - there's your memory verse for Psalm 3. Easy-peasy as they say. Here's the recurrence table. I excluded several words for simplicity (and so leave verses 4, 5 and 6 without recurrence). The four words in sequence that surround verse 6 are reasonably obvious.

Word and gloss * first usage	1	2	3	4	5	Vs	Root
* רבו multiplied	░					2	רבב
* קמים arise		░				2	קום
* ישׁועתה salvation			░			3	ישׁע
* באלהים in God				░		3	אלוה
* מרבבות the multiplicity	░					7	רבב
* עם people					░	7	עם
* קומה arise		░				8	קום
* הושׁיעני save me			░			8	ישׁע
* אלהי my God				░		8	אלוה
* הישׁועה is the salvation			░			9	ישׁע
* עמך your people					░	9	עם

(And Casper Labuschagne agrees about the mid-point but I find it painful to see all those numbers as if they constrained the poet. There must be a better way to present this schema.)

I could be, answers apart, quite interested in Casper's idea - because it locates the atnach firmly in the poet's time and thus ties directly into the music as deciphered by Suzanne Haik-Vantoura. Unfortunately, I need better evidence than that.

So what happens if we count the words before and after the atnach, the midpoint of the verse harmonically; the subdominant, the place of rest. I have marked them all below.

מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד֑ בְּבָרְחוֹ מִפְּנֵי אַבְשָׁלוֹם בְּנוֹ	1	A psalm of David, when he ran away from the face of Absalom his son
יְהוָה מָה רַבּוּ צָרָי֑ רַבִּים קָמִים עָלָי	2	יהוה, how multiplied my straits! Many arise over me
רַבִּים אֹמְרִים לְנַפְשִׁי אֵין יְשׁוּעָתָה לּוֹ בֵאלֹהִים סֶלָה	3	Many say of me There is no salvation for him in God Selah
וְאַתָּה יְהוָה מָגֵן בַּעֲדִי֑ כְּבוֹדִי וּמֵרִים רֹאשִׁי	4	But you, יהוה, a shield about me my glory, and lifting high my head
קוֹלִי אֶל יְהוָה אֶקְרָא֑ וַיַּעֲנֵנִי מֵהַר קָדְשׁוֹ סֶלָה	5	My voice, to יהוה I call and he answers me from his holy hill Selah
אֲנִי שָׁכַבְתִּי וָאִישָׁנָה ֑הֱקִיצוֹתִי כִּי יְהוָה יִסְמְכֵנִי	6	I lie down and I sleep I awake for יהוה supports me
לֹא אִירָא מֵרִבְבוֹת עָם֑ אֲשֶׁר סָבִיב שָׁתוּ עָלָי	7	I will not fear the multiplicity of people that surround set over me
קוּמָה יְהוָה הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי אֱלֹהַי ֑כִּי הִכִּיתָ אֶת כָּל אֹיְבַי לֶחִי שִׁנֵּי רְשָׁעִים שִׁבַּרְתָּ	8	Arise יהוה save me my God for you strike all my enemies on the cheek the teeth of the wicked you break
֑לַיהוָה הַיְשׁוּעָה עַל עַמְּךָ בִרְכָתֶךָ סֶּלָה	9	Of יהוה is the salvation On your people your blessing Selah

Hebrew words: 70. Percentage of Hebrew words that recur in this psalm: 39%. Average keywords per verse: 3.

Ignoring Selah, the count of words preceding / following the atenach is as follows: 2/4 4/3 7/0 4/3 4/3 4/3 4/4 10/3 2/3. Total excluding verse 1 39/22. I must admit I do not find this significant. I would rather listen to Purcell in Latin - in spite of the poor rendering of the Hebrew. Note also - I arrange the poem in 3 strophes, 2-3, 4-6, 7-9. My reasoning is from the recurrence table. In a sense, in the final stanza, the poet is responding to the first half of the poem. I could be convinced otherwise but not by word-counts. I will hold my breath for one or two more tests - but really, I think the numbers are a considerable distraction from the poetry. Not every poem is a haiku.

What do people want re Church

There are a lot of posts related to the World Youth Day, and even a CBC article on the news about RC and 'Evangelical'. Here is a comment I left on Bosco Peters' Liturgy blog - a great blog. I think the comment got lost in the ether so I repeat it here.

It is interesting that a question in my own mind is related to 'what do I see / desire in the "church"?'  This is a very difficult question and one that almost should not be asked - or should be unasked once asked. For who can judge the quality of the bride? She is by definition without spot or wrinkle.  Who can even allow my question with its gender-specific image?

Yet I must answer. Some list rules for behaviour and commend them - but rules do not make the grade. Some consider the community - and certainly this is comforting (sometimes). Some consider the form of worship - and with great skill. But one thing is needful...

The pious image of Mary at the feet of Jesus is too misleading - I need something beyond piety - a real transformative experience - out of sin, stupidity, or whatever else one can imagine - and into these gifts of community, liturgy, worship, learning etc.  I need to consider that others also carry heavy baggage with them into presence - they can put the baggage aside... I recently read a book by one who is old on his youth. Who helped this man relieve himself of the burden accumulated and carried through the collapse of Empire...?

There it is - we are alone with our burdens - and we are together. Community may be experienced everywhere - but Christ names the need as does Rashi - forgiveness - a new creation. I think the name must be named - but in naming it, we must not assume we have control of it.

In my notes for Psalm 48 (the city) which follows the bride (45), the destruction of war (46), the ascension (47) - all these more tightly related than one word will allow, I wrote this:

On the surface, we must be engaged in faithfulness to what we are called to. Under the surface, we are the kings of Psalm 2, with empty muttering, yet disturbed in our engagement, one by one, in the holy city. The provocation is inevitable and unavoidable. It is painful like birth, or, appropriately as a consecrated offering, like death, our death (T. S. Eliot, Journey of the Magi). But having been born, (the closing bracket for this major cell of the Psalter will be seen in Psalm 87) we also are in Zion, and observers of her towers and ramparts, so that we may recount them to a generation to come. We are in all roles in this redeemed creation. Rashi, as usual, has an important insight. Why is the city the joy of the whole earth? Because of the north side where the sin offerings and guilt offerings are slaughtered. The sinner ‘receives expiation and he departs from there happy. Thus by virtue of the sacrifices, happiness comes into the world.’ Rashi is rightly seeing what is there, of course.

Today's Psalm 85

It's pretty hard to beat today's psalm for beauty. For the sake of example, I have removed several recurring words. The result shows a different poetic strategy to the circular patterns observable in other psalms. Here we have a progressive and climax seeking pattern. It may even be reinforced by some of the words I removed. But what is left shows a progression of recurrence (and there are clearly some circles as well evident from the table). The focus keeps moving forward as the poem is written from land, to people, to salvation, to kindness, to peace, to truth, to righteousness.  Verse 11 is hard to forget.

חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת נִפְגָּשׁוּ צֶדֶק וְשָׁלוֹם נָשָׁקוּ

....

Kindness and truth have met together righteousness and peace have kissed each other

Selected recurring words

Word and gloss * first usage	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Vs	Root
ארצך with your land	░									2	ארץ
שׁבת you turned		░								2	שׁוב
עמך your people			░							3	עם
השׁיבות you have turned		░								4	שׁוב
שׁובנו turn us		░								5	שׁוב
ישׁענו our salvation				░						5	ישׁע
עמנו with us			░							5	עם
תשׁוב you turn		░								7	שׁוב
ועמך so your people			░							7	עם
חסדך your kindness					░					8	חסד
וישׁעך and your salvation				░						8	ישׁע
תתן give						░				8	נתן
שׁלום peace							░			9	שׁלם
עמו his people			░							9	עם
ישׁובו let them turn		░								9	שׁוב
ישׁעו his salvation				░						10	ישׁע
בארצנו in our land	░									10	ארץ
חסד kindness					░					11	חסד
ואמת and truth								░		11	אמת
צדק righteousness									░	11	צדק
ושׁלום and peace							░			11	שׁלם
אמת truth								░		12	אמת
מארץ from earth	░									12	ארץ
וצדק and righteousness									░	12	צדק
יתן gives						░				13	נתן
וארצנו and our land	░									13	ארץ
תתן gives						░				13	נתן
צדק righteousness									░	14	צדק

Help - I need somebody - help! not just anybody

Help - a plea for some more input on the music - The not just anybody means someone who is a musician, knows about cantillation practice, maybe a theologian too...

A draft of an article for an online journal is here - it is on the music implicit in the te'amim. What do you think? It is not due for a while yet (2Q2014) - but what could I do to add to it?  David Mitchell's article cited within is already excellent - but you know - you write an article and it gets seen and then forgotten.  At least this paper advertises his article if nothing else.

The journal is for religion, media, and digital culture. I have already submitted a draft for 1Q2014 of my first article on the text of the psalms and presenting the same from a database. (Draft text is available if you would like to read and critique it. Be part of the peer review team. Please leave a comment that I can send a link to if interested.)