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

Chapter 4: Analysis of Psalms 3-8‏,שוץֵ‏ ט קַ‏ דִ‏ יר)‏ judge” 82 119:25:1, v. 11b). 81 Last, he is a “righteous ‏,יָשָ‏ ש)‏ “upright”v. 12a) who “expresses his wrath” ‏,זָ‏ ףַ‏ ם)‏ 12:1:1, v. 12b; NIV). 83In verses 13-17, the psalmist describes the fate of the wicked when Yahweh“expresses his wrath”. Two subsections portray the downfall of the wicked.First, God will hunt and shoot him down (vv. 13-14). Second, he will be caughtin his own evil traps (vv. 15-17). I shall treat each subsection separately.Verses 13-14. In a series of four lines consisting of two bicola employingalternating parallelism, the psalmist describes God preparing Himself to shootor strike down the wicked man who does not “repent” 84 ‏,שּוב)‏ 1062:72:5, v.81 These third and fourth depictions of Yahweh as “my shield” גִ‏ נִ‏ י)‏ ‏,(מָ‏ “who saves the upright inheart” reaffirm the psalmist’s confidence that the Judge will prove to be on his side becausehe is innocent.82 This Hebrew phrase does not occur elsewhere in the Old Testament. The only otherScripture that calls God a “righteous judge” (ὁ δίκαιος κριτής) is 2 Timothy 4:8.83 The fourfold use of אֱ‏ ‏ֹלהִ‏ ים in verses 10-12 is striking given that the dominant name for the‏.יהוה Lord in these psalms is84 No subject is expressed for the third person singular verbs in verses 13-14. The mostcommon interpretation takes the implied subject “he” of יָשּוב as referring to the psalmist’s163