Which quotation from the psalms shows parallelism

Therefore, the three-dimensional reading strategy is an effective method for gaining a more valid understanding of the content, context and theological implications of Ps In this article, the Hebrew text and the author's own translation of Ps will be given.

The basic literary structure of the psalm will be given. For practical purposes, Ps will be sub-divided into cola, strophes and stanzas. The reference to the Edomites introduces a new element to the content of the psalm. Although the overt subject is this unknown agent, on a covert level YHWH is still the agent, since he is the one to whom the last petition was explicitly directed 7a and he is probably regarded as the eventual avenger of evil.

Ernst Wendland 11 and Mary Des Camp 12 observe that vv. This three-fold subdivision of the psalm is underwritten by the majority of scholars. The three stanzas of Ps may be sub-divided into the following strophes: Stanza I : Setting and complaint.

Strophe A Description of trouble. Strophe B 3 Taunt of enemies. Strophe C 4 Plaintive answer. Stanza II : Total commitment and devotion to Jerusalem. Strophe D Total commitment and devotion to Jerusalem. Strophe E 7 Implicit curse against Edom. Strophe F Implicit curse against Babylon. The above structure of Ps is discussed in detail in the subsequent analysis. Stanza I gives the setting of the Israelite captives and their distress. This stanza consists of three strophes: A vv. Strophe A describes the setting of the Israelite captives and their lament over the destruction of Zion.

Strophe A consists of a bicolon v. As far as coherence or semantic relations are concerned, v. The poplars correspond to the rivers where they grew and the hanging up of the lyres corresponds to the passiveness sit and sadness of the psalmist and his companions.

The figure of hanging the lyre on the trees is metaphorical and means that the owners set aside their instruments and did not play them again. There is also an extended parallelism with the pattern a b c a'b' in vv.

The purpose of the extended parallelism is to emphasize the point that the psalmist and his companions' memory of the destruction of the temple or Zion is the crescendo of vv. There is pivotal parallelism in vv. The musicians' memory of Zion affects their behaviour or actions; their sad memory makes them sit and mourn over the temple and to put away their instruments.

To sum up Strophe A , the psalmist, his fellow musicians and other Judeans were in exile in Babylon, besides the irrigation canals. There they recalled the destruction of the temple in Zion and they were deeply saddened and as a result, they sat down and mourned. The joy of the presence of YHWH in the temple now existed only as a memory in their hearts because Zion was in ruins.

They hung their musical instruments on the trees and they did not play them again. The tone of this strophe is passiveness and sadness.

Strophe B consists of a single tricolon. In the tricolic verse v. Their request was a mockery of Israel's worship at the temple, which was also an indirect attack on the character of YHWH, because the songs of Zion celebrated the majesty and protection of YHWH over his people. The temple symbolised the presence of YHWH. Zion was central to the identity and survival of God's people.

When they made their request, by implication the captors were asking the Israelite captives the mocking question "where is your God? They also implied that YHWH was weak, powerless and could not deliver his people in their time of trouble. As far as coherence or semantic relations are concerned in v. The song is further specified in 4a as a song of YHWH. Strophe C consists of a single colon v.

It was impossible for the Israelite captives to sing a song intended to praise YHWH for the amusement of their masters. The captives' words in v. This stanza consists of a single strophe: D vv. Strophe D consists of a bicolon v. As far as coherence or semantic relations are concerned, there is a causal correlation, reason-result in 5ab - more specifically condition-outcome.

If the protasis expresses what would happen, it is a real or hypothetical result, to be translated as "then will my right hand forget". If the protasis expresses what should happen, it is the desired result, as in the translation: "May my right hand forget. Verse 6 contains two negative conditional clauses: 6b and 6c, following the main clause 6a which expresses the result or outcome of the double condition.

It indicates the consequence of what would or should happen to the psalmist should he not remember 6a or exalt 6b Jerusalem. As far as coherence or semantic relations are concerned, there is a synonymous parallelism, base-amplification in 5a, 6b and 6c. Verse 6c further expands in detail what it means to forget Jerusalem in 5a and 6b. As far as coherence or semantic relations are concerned, there is also a synonymous parallelism, base-restatement in vv. In both cola, the psalmist calls a curse on himself, by asking God to paralyse him so that he would not be able to play his instrument or sing if he should forget Jerusalem.

There is also a synonymous parallelism, base-restatement in 5a, 6b and 6c. Forgetting Jerusalem in 5a and 6b is the same as not making Jerusalem the source of one's joy and happiness in 6c.

There is an extended parallelism with a chiastic pattern a b b'a' in vv. The purpose of the extended parallelism is to highlight or emphasize the psalmist's self-imprecation and faithfulness towards Jerusalem. If he forgets Jerusalem which is disloyalty to YHWH , he will be calling a curse on himself - he will lose the skill of playing musical instruments with his right hand and the ability to sing songs of Zion with his mouth.

This implies that remembering Zion or Jerusalem leads to a renewed devotion to the Lord. Verses show that love for Zion is not separate from love for God.

For the exiled community of Israelites, love for God and Jerusalem was intertwined because of the temple. The Israelite captives could not forget Jerusalem and everything it stood for: the covenant, the temple, the presence and the kingship of YHWH, atonement, forgiveness and reconciliation. In a nutshell, the psalmist in Strophe D vv. However, it is impossible for the psalmist to forget Jerusalem because it is his greatest joy.

The psalmist shows his passionate love for Jerusalem, the central place of worship. His devotion takes the form of a solemn vow invoking upon himself the penalty of total or partial paralysis. Should he forget where his loyalty lies, namely Jerusalem, he would lose control of the most important organs of a musician - his hands and tongue 30 - so that he would never be able to play his musical instrument or sing again.

The psalmist's loyalty to Jerusalem is a measure of his loyalty to YHWH since the city symbolizes the divine presence. Stanza III is a series of imprecations on the nations that were hostile to Israel. Stanza III consists of two strophes: E v. Strophe E is an imprecation against the nation of Edom. Strophe F is an imprecation against the nation of Babylon. Strophe E consists of a single bicolon. In the bicolic verse v. During the destruction of Jerusalem in BCE, the nation of Edom trod behind the Babylonians like hyenas following a lion.

Strophe F consists of a bicolon v. He wants Babylon to experience the same treatment that they gave Judah "retribution principle" A blessing lies on anyone who is used in bringing down Babylon.

The inclusion rounds off the psalm 34 and rhetorically it emphasizes a reversal of roles. The ruthless conqueror, Babylon, will now be destroyed. In the last colon v. The psalmist thus prays that YHWH would unleash on Babylon the atrocities they themselves had committed in Judah and elsewhere.

Like in v. There is also an extended parallelism with a chiastic pattern a b c b'a' in vv. The purpose of the extended parallelism is to highlight or emphasize the point that Babylon's atrocity against Judah is the very reason for her destruction. As far as coherence or semantic relations are concerned in vv. Psalm begins with a portrayal of the psalmist and his companions, probably fellow musicians, when they were in exile in Babylon, beside the irrigation canals.

When they recalled the destruction of the temple in Zion and they were filled with deep sadness, so they sat down and mourned. They hung their musical instruments on the trees and they ceased to play them. The Babylonian masters asked the Israelite captives to sing the sacred songs used to worship God in the temple. Their request is a mockery of Israel's worship at the temple, an indirect attack on the character of YHWH because the songs of Zion celebrated the majesty and protection of YHWH over his people.

In response to the captors' request, the Israelite captives refused to participate in the mockery of YHWH. However, for the psalmist, it is impossible to forget Jerusalem because that is his greatest joy. The psalmist shows his passionate love for Jerusalem. The psalmist deems it impossible or unthinkable that he would forget Jerusalem and not exalt her. His devotion takes the form of a solemn vow invoking upon himself the penalty of total or partial paralysis, in which he would lose control of the most important organs of a musician - his hands and tongue - so that he would never be able to play his musical instrument or sing again, should he forget where his loyalty lies, namely Jerusalem.

He concludes by praying for divine retribution lex talionis 44 on Babylon because of her ruthless atrocities against Judah vv. YHWH's honour will only be restored if Babylon is destroyed. An inversion of roles is envisaged in the petition. Babylon's destroyer will be blessed because he will be the instrument of divine retribution. There has been considerable disagreement amongst scholars with regards to the Gattung of Ps Anderson and Schmidt point out that the psalm does not fit in any of the usual categories.

Hermann Gunkel 46 assigns the psalm to the category "Imprecatory Psalms" on the basis of its content. Schmidt 48 calls Ps a "ballad"; an epic poem recounting an event from the nation's history. James Mays classifies Ps as a song about Zion and not one of the "songs of Zion" because the songs of Zion are hymns full of joy, confidence and they portray Jerusalem as majestic and invincible. Hans-Joachim Kraus contends that Ps is a communal lament.

Leslie Allen sees Ps as a modified version of a song of Zion. Burden argues that the main focus of Ps is Zion and he views the psalm as an unusual song of Zion which also contains elements of lament and vengeance.

Ulrich Kellermann argues that Ps is Mischgattung consisting of a lament, a song of Zion and a curse. Like Kellerman, Prinsloo 54 also proposes a Mischgattung for Ps Stanza I vv. However, the content of Stanza II do not reflect a song of Zion. He argues that the song of Zion is turned upside down and Stanza II is an individual lament with a strong element of self-imprecation.

Stanza III vv. Erhard Gerstenberger views the denomination of Ps as a communal complaint. The lament is haphazard with regards to the elements which make up laments. The standard form of a lament seems to have been modified in Ps Albert Anderson 56 sees Ps as "a Communal Lament culminating in an imprecation upon the enemies.

In light of the above views, and the structure and content of Ps , it is probably best to concur with those scholars 59 who argue that Ps is a Communal Lament or Complaint culminating in an imprecation on Israel's enemies. Psalm may be seen as a communal lament because of the following reasons:.

Firstly, as Anderson 60 observes, the lament genre is determined by the opening verses of the Psalm. In Stanza I vv. This may be a literary device if the Psalm is a communal lament, where the singular is used collectively or representatively. The psalmist, in Stanza II vv. Secondly, as VanGemeren 61 and Gerstenberger 62 observe, imprecation is a common feature of Ps The psalmist prays for God's judgment on the nations that mistreated Judah and were responsible for their misery.

Thirdly, the general literary structure of Ps and the content are similar to that of a lament, even though the invocation and initial plea are missing. The psalm also has "a vow of allegiance instead of a vow of confidence or a vow to give thanks. Fourthly, the theme of being zealous for YHWH and his worship which is seen in one of the laments, Ps 69 Ps , is also seen in Ps From the Psalms, the quotation which shows parallelism is b. Search for an answer or ask Weegy.

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