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

Chapter 5: Concatenation in Psalms 3-8appears to be a deliberate use of inclusio to frame the opening stanza and toset the programme for the psalm (Craigie 1998:79-80). חָ‏ סִ‏ יד depicts a godlyman who is loyal to his covenant with Yahweh, thus the opening stropheportrays the psalmist as a man with a pious character and righteous cause. InPsalm 5, חֶ‏ סֶ‏ ד collocates with קְ‏ דָ‏ רָ‏ ה in the pivotal centre strophe (vv. 8-9). Hereboth terms portray Yahweh as a loyal, righteous, covenant-keeping God. Thusthe programmatic stanza of Psalm 4 portrays the psalmist the same way thepivotal strophe of Psalm 5 portrays the Lord, namely, as faithful ‏(חסד)‏ and‏.(קדר)‏ righteousThe final pair of cognate words comes from the root ‏,שמח denoting rejoicing.Both the noun ‏,שִ‏ מְ‏ חָ‏ ה)‏ 4:8) and the verb ‏,שָ‏ מַ‏ ח)‏ 5:12) occur in the penultimateverse of their respective psalms. Both denote joy springing from the psalmists’blessed relationship with Yahweh and the resulting protection he provides tothem. The concluding strophes of the two psalms are thus strikingly similar intone and in content. These similarities are strengthened by the use of thephrase כִ‏ י־אַ‏ ָ ה יְהוָ‏ ה (“for you Lord”) in the final verse of both psalms. 106ְ בָ‏ שֵ‏ ‏ְך is broken by insertion of the words כִ‏ י־אַ‏ ָ ה יְהוָ‏ ה 106 Admittedly, in Psalm 5:13 the phrasebut this insertion is immaterial. Whether the word order reads “for ‏,יהוה and אַ‏ ָ ה between קָ‏ דִ‏ יר199