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

Chapter 3: Methodology3.5.1 Conduct an exhaustive analysis of shared terminologyShared lexemes provide the most concrete links between adjacent psalms.The first step in this stage of the study is to conduct an exhaustive analysis ofshared terminology between a pair of psalms. I begin by listing all lexemesfound in both psalms. This list is compiled by hand and presented in thefollowing notation: סֶ‏ לָ‏ ה (3:2). This means the term סֶ‏ לָ‏ ה occurs in both psalms,three times in the first and twice in the second. If the two psalms were Psalms3 and 4, it would mean סֶ‏ לָ‏ ה occurs thrice in Psalm 3 and twice in Psalm 4.Next, I indicate the overall percentage of all the lexemes in each psalm thatare shared with the other psalm.Finally, I discuss in detail any shared lexemes that appear to be significantlinks, offering a qualitative assessment of how strong a link it providesbetween the two psalms. In terms of the criteria employed in this assessment,these factors contribute to the significance of a link word.• The frequency with which the word occurs: the less frequently a word isused, either in the Hebrew Bible or in the Psalter itself, the moresignificant its occurrence in consecutive psalms is.80