Smith DTh Thesis (final).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

Chapter 4: Analysis of Psalms 3-8who practices חֶ‏ סֶ‏ ד (HALOT 1999:337). הָ‏ סִ‏ יד occurs 32 times in the MasoreticText, 25 of which are in the Psalter, but only here in my corpus. The cognate6:6. however, occurs in Psalm 5:9 and Psalm ‏,חֶ‏ סֶ‏ דThe first strophe also describes the circumstances that caused the psalmist’slament. First, he describes his circumstances as “distress” ‏,קַ‏ ש)‏ 67:24:1, v. 2b),a word that literally denotes a narrow or confined space, but figuratively maydescribe “the strong emotional response that one experiences when pressedexternally by enemies or internally by wrong decisions or passions” (Hartley1999b:778). 42 Next, he cites the source of his distress as a group he calls“sons of men” ( נֵ‏ י אִ‏ יש ‏,בְ‏ v. 3a). The phrase בְ‏ נֵ‏ י אִ‏ יש occurs three times in thePsalter. In both other occurrences, Psalm 49:3 and 62:10, בְ‏ נֵ‏ י אִ‏ יש is used incontrast to בְ‏ נֵ‏ י אָ‏ דָ‏ ם to denote men of influence and importance in society, menof “high social status and means” (Swanson 1997:§§1201.8-10; cf. Hamilton1996a:§132.12; HALOT 1999:43, s.v. ‏,אִ‏ יש §3a). The source of the psalmist’sdistress seems to be a group of people of high social status.The nature of what the “sons of men” had done is described in three phrases.‏,כָ‏ בוד)‏ honour” 30:7:1, v. 3a) on “my ‏,כְ‏ לִ‏ מָ‏ ה)‏ “shame” First, they had brought42 For a more detailed discussion of ש ‏,קַ‏ see the earlier treatment of the same term in Psalm3:2.116