Psalm 59 - The Howling Dogs

TEXT (Hebrew text at end)

1. For the leader; al tashheth.1 Of David. A michtam1; when Saul sent out to watch the house in order to kill him.

2. Save me from my enemies, O my God; from those who rise against me, shelter2 me.

3. Save me from evildoers; deliver me from bloodthirsty men.

4. For behold, they lie in wait for me; mighty men plot against me, for no misdeed of mine, for no sin of mine, O LORD.

5. With no guilt, they rush and make ready. Rouse Yourself on my behalf! Observe!

6. As for You, O LORD God of hosts, God of Israel, awake to bring all nations to account; have no mercy on any evil traitor.    Selah.

7. They come back each evening, howling like dogs, roaming the city.

8. Behold—they bellow with their mouths, swords from their lips; for “Who hears?”

9. As for You, O LORD, You laugh at them; You mock all the nations.

10. O my3 Mighty One, I wait for You; for God is my shelter2,

11. my faithful God.

He will come to meet me, God; He will let me observe [the fall of] my watchful foes.

12. Do not kill them lest my people forget. With Your power make them wander; bring them down, O our shield, O Lord,

13. for the transgression is that of their mouth, the words of their lips. Let them be trapped in their pride, by the oaths and lies they utter.

14. Destroy in fury; destroy that they be no more4; that men may know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth.      Selah.

15. Still they come each evening, howling like dogs, roaming the city.

16. They wander for food, and whine if not sated.

17 But as for me, I sing of Your might, extol each morning Your faithfulness; for You have been my shelter2, a refuge in my day of distress.

18. O my Mighty One, to You I chant hymns; for God is my shelter2, my faithful God.

Notes

1. Meaning of Hebrew uncertain.

2. The Hebrew root for “shelter” usually implies safety achieved by height, “fortress.”

3. With several manuscripts and most modern translations. Masoretic text reads “his.”

4. On conflict between vv. 12 and 14, see commentary.

　

COMMENTARY

Ostensibly the cry to God of an innocent victim, one that is answered in the course of the poem, Psalm 59 is marked by deep contradictions. A firm base structure grants the poem solidity. Overlapping structures in part reinforce that solidity, but multiple metaphors, self-contradictory requests, and an emphasis on evolution lead to disorientation and a need to consider the speaker and his worldview. I deal first with the elements that give the poem its tight structure.

Two Sections

Psalm 59 has a recurring chorus that marks the ends of the two halves of the poem. Recalling that our verse division postdates the writing by many centuries, it is easy to see that verse 10 when joined with the first two words of verse 11 echoes the last verse, with the purposeful change of one phrase (“chant hymns” for “wait for”). Thus the translation divides the psalm after those two words.

The two halves thus created are consistent and clear, and the changed phrase in the chorus reflects the change in content. In the first half, the speaker “waits,” for the LORD is his shelter (a virtual statement), whereas in the second half he “chants hymns” because the LORD is his shelter (a factual statement). There are six petitions in the first half calling for help for the speaker, and there are six petitions in the second half directed against his enemies. The emphases of the two halves are quite different, the first half apprehensive and the second self-assured. The dogs that roam as a threat in the first half (v. 7) roam as starving unfortunates in the second (vv. 15, 16). Although petition dominates the whole psalm, there is movement from requested shelter (v. 2), to the fact that God is the shelter (v. 10), to celebration of that shelter (v. 18).

The Subdivisions

The two halves, in turn, are subdivided by a second chorus, the graphic picture of wild dogs circling the city. In each half, the image initiates a change: in the first, from an emphasis on the innocence of the speaker (with a general description of the danger) to a very graphic confrontational threat and in the second, from a request to a celebration. The circling of the dogs is used brilliantly. The same image symbolizes imminent threat in the first half and the decrepit situation of these enemies in the second.

A Tightly Bound Poem

Overlapping structures serve to bind the two halves tightly together. Thus the psalm is framed by an initial, middle, and end use of the term “shelter,” indicating the basic concern. Indeed the unity of the whole is even stronger, for there are elements that seem to create a chiasm—the frame-word “shelter” beginning and end, the repeated verse about the wild dogs (vv. 7, 15), and two verses that focus on “mouth” and “lips” (vv. 8, 13). This a-b-c/c-b-a structure converges upon verse 10, which is the repeated chorus that defines the two halves. (That middle verse also includes the use of the term “shelter”).

This harmony is buttressed by further use of repetition, as follows. Twice, close repetitions simply bring home the point graphically: “save” (vv. 2, 3) and “destroy” (v. 14). Within the first half, verses 6 and 9 echo the call to God to see the external enemy, both using “As for You, Lord” and “nations.” The same half emphasizes the immediacy of the threat through “behold” (vv. 4, 8) and “evil” (vv. 3, 6). The second half focuses on the enemy’s “wandering” (vv. 12, 16). The four uses of “might(y),” once for the enemy and three times for God (vv. 4, 10, 17, 18), set the tone of confrontation. The penultimate verse uses three terms that are repeated in the final refrain: “might,” “faithful,” and “shelter.”

Nevertheless, Confusion

The taut structure of Psalm 59 hides within it an apparently undisciplined series of references and requests. This confusion is most discernible in terms of the enemy, who seems, on one hand, to be other nations that attack—they are “bloodthirsty and “rise up” and use “swords.” On the other hand, their sins are identified with their speech and their pride, and their fate is only to wander among the people! This element of confusion, in turn, leads to another, concerning whether the speaker prays primarily for himself or for his people, perhaps as their king or representative. Clearly there are references to the people (other “nations,” “my people,” “God rules over Jacob”), but most of the verses emphasize individual requests and the end is written as a personal thanksgiving. Indeed, even the requested punishments are self-contradictory: “Do not kill them” and “Destroy that they be no more” (vv. 12, 14).

The strongest contradiction, of course, is the very framework of the poem, which begins as a request for shelter and ends as a celebration for having achieved shelter. Often understood to reflect a change of circumstance, one still must note that most of the psalm is request, with only the end being a celebration. Had everything changed, there would be no need for the poet to include the first fifteen verses—he could have just celebrated! One seeks an explanation that accounts for the poem as a whole.

Conceivably, one could conclude that the poet simply was not in tight control, but the careful structure of the poetry belies such a contention. Efforts at harmonization (e.g., the individual requests really represent the group; the request for punishment is not for death immediately, but later; and so on) are forced, and ultimately unsatisfactory. Thus if we are to conclude that the confusion is purposeful, we must seek internal indications of its cause.

One such indication might be the recurring metaphor of the howling, prowling dogs: the same image is taken to indicate totally different situations in the two verses, as noted above. There may also be a hint of a cyclical motion, for the dogs roam at night and the speaker sings praises each morning.

The portrait emerging from this psalm is not one of “an” event or a clear development, but rather of a person who sees himself as living a righteous life and yet constantly under siege. Our speaker feels set upon by various forces, some of which at times seem particularly powerful, but the feeling is not constant. There are moments of assurance. Indeed, he takes the same fact at different times to be a sign of entirely different circumstances. He is in need of God’s help on many fronts and on occasion feels that he is assured of the that help. At those times he is able to interpret what is around him in terms that allow him to deal with threats as either less potent, passing, or ultimately destined to fail. Prayer, particularly of request, is part of the process, as is praise. This is not a sharply focused picture, but almost an amalgam of foci found in other psalms. As to the movement between personal and national prayer, there does seem to be an understanding (at least on the part of the speaker) that enemies, internal and external, plot together. He strikes out in both directions.

In the end, the reader is left with a psalm that reflects firm reassurance in its form and in its conclusion, but has with no small degree of chaos in its content. Perhaps that is the poem’s contention, that is, that even for the harried, form and basic orientation can make for survival.

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Additional Notes

The historical reference in the title is to I Samuel 19:11. As is the case with so many attributions, it is partially, not totally, appropriate. (David could scarcely have referred to Saul as the other nations.)

Verse 5 opens with a fine double entendre, wherein “without guilt” could refer either to the speaker being innocent of wrongdoing or to the evildoers feeling no guilt (and so it might imply both).

　

　

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.

 

　

HEBREW TEXT

(א) לַמְנַצֵּחַ אַל תַּשְׁחֵת לְדָוִד מִכְתָּם בִּשְׁלֹחַ שָׁאוּל וַיִּשְׁמְרוּ אֶת הַבַּיִת לַהֲמִיתוֹ:

(ב) הַצִּילֵנִי מֵאֹיְבַי אֱלֹהָי מִמִּתְקוֹמְמַי תְּשַׂגְּבֵנִי:

(ג) הַצִּילֵנִי מִפֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן וּמֵאַנְשֵׁי דָמִים הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי:

(ד) כִּי הִנֵּה אָרְבוּ לְנַפְשִׁי יָגוּרוּ עָלַי עַזִּים לֹא פִשְׁעִי וְלֹא חַטָּאתִי יְהֹוָה:

(ה) בְּלִי עָוֹן יְרֻצוּן וְיִכּוֹנָנוּ עוּרָה לִקְרָאתִי וּרְאֵה:

(ו) וְאַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהִים צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הָקִיצָה לִפְקֹד כָּל הַגּוֹיִם אַל תָּחֹן כָּל בֹּגְדֵי אָוֶן סֶלָה:

(ז) יָשׁוּבוּ לָעֶרֶב יֶהֱמוּ כַכָּלֶב וִיסוֹבְבוּ עִיר:

(ח) הִנֵּה יַבִּיעוּן בְּפִיהֶם חֲרָבוֹת בְּשִׂפְתוֹתֵיהֶם כִּי מִי שֹׁמֵעַ:

(ט) וְאַתָּה יְהֹוָה תִּשְׂחַק לָמוֹ תִּלְעַג לְכָל גּוֹיִם:

(י) עֻזּוֹ אֵלֶיךָ אֶשְׁמֹרָה כִּי אֱלֹהִים מִשְׂגַּבִּי:

(יא) אֱלֹהֵי חסדו {חַסְדִּי} יְקַדְּמֵנִי אֱלֹהִים יַרְאֵנִי בְשֹׁרְרָי:

(יב) אַל תַּהַרְגֵם פֶּן יִשְׁכְּחוּ עַמִּי הֲנִיעֵמוֹ בְחֵילְךָ וְהוֹרִידֵמוֹ מָגִנֵּנוּ אֲדֹנָי:

(יג) חַטַּאת פִּימוֹ דְּבַר שְׂפָתֵימוֹ וְיִלָּכְדוּ בִגְאוֹנָם וּמֵאָלָה וּמִכַּחַשׁ יְסַפֵּרוּ:

(יד) כַּלֵּה בְחֵמָה כַּלֵּה וְאֵינֵמוֹ וְיֵדְעוּ כִּי אֱלֹהִים מֹשֵׁל בְּיַעֲקֹב לְאַפְסֵי הָאָרֶץ סֶלָה:

(טו) וְיָשֻׁבוּ לָעֶרֶב יֶהֱמוּ כַכָּלֶב וִיסוֹבְבוּ עִיר:

(טז) הֵמָּה ינועון {יְנִיעוּן} לֶאֱכֹל אִם לֹא יִשְׂבְּעוּ וַיָּלִינוּ:

(יז) וַאֲנִי אָשִׁיר עֻזֶּךָ וַאֲרַנֵּן לַבֹּקֶר חַסְדֶּךָ כִּי הָיִיתָ מִשְׂגָּב לִי וּמָנוֹס בְּיוֹם צַר לִי:

(יח) עֻזִּי אֵלֶיךָ אֲזַמֵּרָה כִּי אֱלֹהִים מִשְׂגַּבִּי אֱלֹהֵי חַסְדִּי: