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

Chapter 4: Analysis of Psalms 3-8before and after the alleged betrayal, as seems likely to me, then we mayinfer that the psalmist is charged with betraying a treaty with a close ally byplundering him.Each of the four apodosis clauses builds on the previous, reaching a climaxwith the fourth. Each one takes “the form of a self-imprecation or self-curse”(Wilson 2002:189) as the psalmist calls down judgement upon himself if he befound guilty. Each self-imprecation is expressed by a jussive verb; the subjectof each verb is “the enemy” ‏,אָ‏ יַב)‏ 283:74:4, v. 6a). The cumulative effect of thefour imprecatory verbs is that if the psalmist is guilty, his enemy ought to143:20:2, 77 ‏,שָ‏ דַ‏ פ)‏ “pursue” triumph over him. Justice would be for the enemy tov. 6a) him, “overtake” ‏,נָ‏ שַ‏ ג)‏ 50:4:1, v. 5b) him, “trample” ‏,שָ‏ מַ‏ ס)‏ 19:2:1, v. 5c) hislife to the ground and “lay” ‏,שָ‏ כַ‏ ן)‏ 129:23:1, v. 5d) his glory in the dust. The verb“pursue” continues the analogy of his enemy as a lion hunting him downmercilessly (see v. 2).(a) we have no external evidence for amending the Masoretic Text and (b) we can make goodsense of the Masoretic Text, I base my analysis on the Masoretic Text and follow theinterpretation implied by the ESV.יְשַ‏ דֵ‏ פ and the Piel יִשְ‏ דֹפ a hybrid of the Qal ‏,יִשַ‏ דֹפ 77 In the Masoretic Text, the verb is vocalised(see Gesenius, Kautzsch and Cowley 2003:§63). The distinction in meaning would be limitedto a matter of emphasis, with the Piel intensifying the sense of the Qal.160