Exegetical Reflections

I was talking to my Hebrew class, and they commented that I had not posted in a while. Here is another Hebrew diagram from the Psalter. Nothing specific to point out, but these diagrams continue to show clear parallelism (e.g. v. 2 [1]) and chiasm (e.g. v. 10 [9]), among other things.
Psalm 6 Diagram

Looking at my diagram for Psalm 5, the literary technique that stands out to me is chiasm. I’ve tried to make this evident by showing the parallel parts of the verse(s).

Psalm 5

Also, since this is the first occurrence of the term chesed in the Psalter, I thought I would provide a short handout I use to talk about this important word. Nothing fancy, just a short analysis with the verses provided (in English).

Use of Hesed in the Psalter

I heard a great message on Psalm 96 yesterday and it got me thinking about a comparison I worked up on 1 Chronicles 16:8-36 and the related portions of text in the Psalter. Thought someone may find this helpful in studying the passage. I do some analysis in footnotes 4 & 5.

1 Chronicles 16:8-36 and the Psalter

Besides being an example of how psalms are closely related in their context (see the connections to Psalm 3, of which I provided a comparison in the last post), I believe Psalm 4 demonstrates how repetition of key words help structure and understand the psalm more effectively. The diagram has these highlighted, and I’ll let you come to your own conclusions about their significance in showing the confidence that the psalmist has in Yahweh.

Psalm 4

I am in the midst of teaching a course on Psalms. Although it is an English-Bible based class, I have been active in diagramming and working with the Hebrew text. This is with a view to using some of this in teaching Hebrew exegesis in the future. I thought I might use this blog to share some of these diagrams. This may be profitable to those who read, teach, and preach the Hebrew Bible.

I have basically approached the psalm in a two-fold manner: (1) trying to use a diagram to discern the structure of the text as well as any other features (chiasm, inclusio, etc.) that the text may demonstrate and (2) demonstrating the contribution of both the masora parva and the critical apparatus. Moreover, on some occasions (like this one) I intend to show how some psalms relate to one another. If you don’t read Hebrew (or if your copy of the Hebrew text that you bought in Seminary still creaks when you open it), this may not be much help, but it is provided with the greatest of intentions. Here’s the document…I would love to have some feedback.

Psalm 3

Recently in preparation for an introduction to the Psalter, I ran across this quote from Brevard Childs (IOTS, 523). Though this is not a recent work, I found it interesting and worth sharing:

With all due respect to Gunkel, the truly great expositors for probing to the theological heart of the Psalter remain Augustine, Kimchi, Luther, Calvin, the long forgotten Puritans buried in Spurgeon’s Treasury, the haunting sermons of Donne, and the learned and pious reflections of de Muis, Francke and Geier. Admittedly these commentators run the risk, which is common to all interpretation, of obscuring rather than illuminating the biblical text, but because they stand firmly within the canonical context, one can learn from them how to speak anew the language of faith.

You would have to read the whole section to get the full impact of what he is saying, but any thoughts?