Psalm 9 - The Unfinished Symphony

(Initial note – some English translations do not number the title verse.)

TEXT

1. For the leader; Almuth labben1. A psalm. Of David.

2. I acclaim You, LORD with all my heart; I tell all Your wonders.
3. I rejoice and exult in You, singing a hymn to Your name, O Most High.
4. When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish from Your presence.
5. For You uphold my judgment and adjudication, staying on the throne as righteous judge.
6. You blast the nations; You cause the wicked to perish; You blot out their name forever, eternally.
7. The enemy - gone, in perpetual ruins; You have torn down their cities; the very recollection of them has perished.
8. But the LORD stays forever; He has set up His throne for judgment;
9. it is He who judges the world with righteousness, adjudicates the peoples with equity.
10. The LORD is a fortress for the oppressed, a fortress in times of trouble.
11. Those who know Your name trust You, for You do not abandon those who seek You, O LORD,
12. Sing a hymn to the LORD, who stays in Zion; declare His deeds among the peoples.
13. For He who seeks revenge recalls them; He does not forget the cry of the lowly.

14. Have mercy on me, O LORD; see my low status at the hands of my foes, You who lift me from the gates of death,
15. so that in the gates of the Daughter of Zion I might tell all Your praise, I might exult in Your deliverance.
16. The nations sink in the pit they have made; their own foot is caught in the net they have hidden.
17. The LORD has made Himself known: He works judgment; the wicked man is snared by his own handiwork.      Higgaion.1      Selah.
18. Let the wicked turn back to Sheol, all the nations who forget God!
19. The needy shall not be forgotten perpetually, nor shall the hope of the poor perish eternally.
20. Arise, O LORD. Let not men flaunt power; let the nations be judged in Your presence.
21. Strike fear into them, O LORD; let the nations know they are but men.      Selah.

Notes
1. meaning uncertain

COMMENTARY

A Word of Introduction—Psalms 9 and 10

Are Psalms 9 and 10 two poems or one? There are many reasons to see them as a single unit. In a somewhat disjointed manner, the combined poem reflects an alphabetical acrostic, Psalm 9 beginning with the first and ending with the eleventh letter and Psalm 10 beginning with the twelfth letter (although it then abandons the alphabetic structure until it ends with the last four letters). Indeed, the Septuagint treats them as one poem. Both psalms are marked with an enormous amount of word and root repetition, with at least twenty-three terms echoed between them. Further, the almost universal inclusion of a dedication to David in the first Book of Psalms is missing from Psalm 10.

Arguing against unity are the identity of the enemies, who are radically different in the two psalms; the fact of their division into two in the Masoretic text; and the end of Psalm 9, which is a summary request, including two of the last four letters of the alphabet (which is similar to the end of Psalm 10, where the last four letters of the alphabet are a request). These features would seem to indicate that these are not one poem, but at most the creations of the same poet, later either blended or set back to back. (Psalm 10 also makes frequent use of the term bal meaning “not” [five times], a relatively rare term that tends to be often repeated by an author who uses it. Therefore its non-appearance in Psalm 9 in two appropriate places also argues against unity.)

The evidence argues both for unity and division! I approach each psalm separately, but with an underlying assumption of connection—if you will, as separate movements of a symphony by a single composer. After treating each individually, I return to the question of a connection between the two, at the end of Psalm 10.

* * * * * * *

I review Psalm 9 through three of its outstanding form characteristics: its two sections, the repetitions (which highlight a central sentence), and enallage (change of address).

The Two Sections: Two “I’s” Have I

In reading Psalm 9, one is struck by the sharp change in tone in verse 14. To that point the poem had reflected great assurance and praise. These are replaced by a somewhat desperate request. Tranquility gives way to anxiety.

The content is reinforced by form, in this case, by parallel openings. Both sections begin with the narrator speaking in the first person: verses 1–4 and 14-15. Moreover, both speak of “telling” (same word, 'asaprah)—in verse 2 the speaker “tells” and in verse 14 he hopes that he “might tell.”

The first section reads smoothly, expressing an approximate vision of what is or should be. The speaker's intention to praise God (1–4) is seen in light of what God does or will have done (5–7). Verses 8–11 detail the situation that he envisions as a result, including the single use of the imperative in this first half—Praise God.

The second section presents a dramatic reversal, marked by a return to first person and a later, radically different use of the imperative, now addressed to God—the speaker demanding mercy. The contrast could not be starker. (For example, compare verses 13 and 14 of the two halves: “For he does not forget the cry of the lowly …,” as opposed to “Have mercy on me, O LORD; see my low status.”) The repetition of “tell,” now as a conditional ("might tell") has the effect of retroactively making the first “telling” also conditional, the tone being: “I would say the above if You had mercy on me!” Thus, in only a few words, all that came before is changed!

This dramatic transformation is highlighted by the contrast articulated in verses 16–19. The first two lines are reassuring and out of step with the rest of the second half of the poem, and are possibly a quotation of the praise the speaker refers to in verse 15—what he will say if God has mercy on him. Verses 18 and 19 return to the desire to be free of these evildoers, verse 19 being a particularly bleak view of the present. The return to the imperative in verses 20 and 21 is again dramatic, a call for reversal of the unhappy situation and for God’s judgment.

It is not unusual for psalms to have sharp changes. The power of Psalm 9 is in its dramatic turn. There is no hint in the first thirteen verses of a problem. Indeed, because the imperfect in biblical Hebrew spans what we call present and future tenses, one tends to first read the description of the first section not as a vision of what will be but rather as a description of what is, which interpretation is reflected in many Bible translations. This reading of the psalm greatly enhances the power of the reversal when it arrives.

The reader is faced at the end of the poem with the challenge of understanding the speaker. The first section, unchallenged through verse 13, remains. It is as much a "part" of the speaker as his personal confession of suffering (verse 14) and his subsequent summary of the continuing domination by the (wicked) nations. In fact, measuring by dimensions alone, one notes a clear emphasis on the first, positive outlook. The cup seems more than half full; nevertheless, it is not full, possibly hinting that the speaker's conviction is closer to "probability" than it is to "certainty."

The Repetitions

Lest one guess that two separate poems have been placed back to back, repetitions come to bind the two halves together (over and above the alphabetic acrostic!). Psalm 9 is rife with repetition—some twenty-six terms or roots are echoed. So numerous are they that one is unable to attribute a uniform implication to the repetitions. Instead, they seem to call out “unity,” binding the two halves closely together.

Most translations, as opposed to that above, do not reflect all repetitions. I here provide a list, indicating the verses in parentheses – hymn (also "psalm" - 1, 3, 12), name (3 ,6, 11), turn back (4, 18) enemy (4, 7), perish (4, 6, 7, 19), presence (4, 20), make (5, 16 – in verse 5, "upheld'), judge, judgment (root sh-p-t – 5, 5, 8, 9, 17, 20), adjudicate (din - 5, 9), stay (5, 8, 12), throne (5, 8), righteous (5, 9), nations (6, 16, 18, 20, 21), wicked (6, 17, 18), forever (6, 8), perpetual (6, 19) eternal (7, 19), recollection (7, 13), fortress (10, 10), know (11, 17, 21), seek (11, 13), Zion (12, 15), forget (13, 18, 19), lowly/poor (13, 14, 19), gates (14, 15), and men (20, 21).

While the sheer mass of repetitions makes comprehensive analysis difficult, I illustrate the power of the repetitions though a number of examples. Appearing only in verses confirming God's goodness are such appropriate terms as "fortress," "seek," "recollection," "forever," "righteous," "stay," "throne," "name," "hymn," "adjudicate," et al. Other terms seemed used for comparison. The following terms each in its last appearance contradicts the rosy picture painted previously: "turn back," "perish," "presence," "judge," "wicked," "know," and the two terms for "everlasting" in verse 19 (compared to three terms in verses 6-8). As noted above, the uses of "tell" and "lowly" also mark the change from one section to the other.

Though the number of repetitions is massive (there is no sentence lacking an echo to some other), two sentences stand out: verses 5 and 6, wherein fully thirteen terms are echoed elsewhere. Do they encapsulate the psalm? (“When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish from Your presence. For You uphold my judgment and adjudication, staying on the throne as righteous judge.”). If so, the essential message would seem to be that of assurance.

Enallage

Psalm 9 includes much enallage—change of person: God being addressed (second person) or spoken about (third person). The overview: verses 1–7 to God; 8–10 about God (anonymous audience, perhaps himself); 11 to God; 12, 13 about God (addressed to a group) 14, 15 to God; 16 uncertain; 17, 18 about God; 19 uncertain; 20, 21 to God.

This leaves much room for ongoing thought about the psalm. I trace one possible progression, the movement from one address to the other creating a sense of drama. The first prayer and address (verses 1–7), ends in an all-embracing, eternal rule of God, which in turn leads to an equally enthusiastic public declaration of the same ilk (verses 8–10). Ostensibly, the next verse (11) of address continues the celebratory tone, but the careful reader notes that the two phrases "those who know Your name" and "those who seek You" inherently imply a non-monolithic world. Not yet aware of the implication of his own sentence, the speaker goes on to another public call for all to praise God (verses 12, 13), but the mention of "revenge" and the "lowly" in verse 13 breaks through the uniform tone. Clearly the speaker sees himself within these groups (note the terms "low" and "foes" in verse 14), for suddenly this next prayer to God (verses 14–15) is a request for desperately needed help. If we might see verses 16 and 17 as the citation of the praise he so wishes to declare, it is bittersweet, for while it is ostensibly positive, it is only imagined, and again one term - this time, "wicked" - triggers other thoughts. The final observation (18–19), beginning with the "wicked," while hopeful, reflects present suffering, as does the final prayer, now addressed to God (20–21). This reading clearly ends on a negative note about the present, with hope and prayer for the future.

In the end, the essential challenge remains. The psalmist has presented a speaker who does more than reflect two experiences in life—he reflects two different readings of the present, at least on the international plain (note the emphasis on the "nations"). One is positive, but less "real" and one is more problematic, a more "real" view that breaks through. In the latter, the future and prayer are the sole solutions to the present suffering, which is reflected at the end. The second section seems to cast doubt on the first, even if the first articulates a strength that allows one to live through the second.

Psalm 9 ends not in resolution, but in thought.

Toward the Second Movement

Although I do not wish to anticipate the study of Psalm 10, I nevertheless note that the enemy (evildoer) of Psalm 9 is external. As one commentator (M. Cohen) puts it, the psalm is geopolitical. The evildoers of Psalm 10 are from among the speaker's own people. Still, both situations will be solved by God “arising” and doing “justice” against those called “men” (same terms, with twenty-three terms or roots shared across the two psalms). Diversity and unity are evidently not total opposites.


The author of these essays is Rabbi Benjamin Segal, former president of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and author of The Song of Songs: A Woman in Love (Jerusalem: Gefen, 2009). This material is copyright by the author, and may not be reproduced. If you are interested in using the texts for study groups, please be in direct contact with the author, at psalmblog@gmail.com.