A CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF PSALMS 107-118

Barry Craig Davis

B.A., University of Hawaii, 1968

M.Div., Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1971

Ph.D., University of Southern California, 1976

Th.M., Talbot School of Theology, 1989

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to the Faculty

in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Deerfield, Illinois

June 1996

ABSTRACT

Psalms research has undergone many changes in recent years.

One method of analysis that has been on the ascendency is the

literary method, especially as it applies to the structure and

context of groups of psalms. This dissertation fits into that

classification.

Specifically, this study seeks to demonstrate that there

are intentional--and not just accidental or random--lexical and

thematic links among the psalms of the Psalms 107-118 corpus and

that the corpus as a whole exhibits a coherent and unified

structure. This dissertation compares the lexemes of each psalm

with those of the other 11 psalms, in order to differentiate

among key-lexeme links, thematic-lexeme links, and incidental-

lexeme links. This study also traces the 3 primary thematic

threads that run throughout the corpus--the need for God's

people to honor Him, God's ability to deliver His people from

distress, and God's dominion over the created order.

This dissertation reveals that, within the Psalms 107-118

corpus:

iii

1. Psalms that are closer to each other tend to share a

greater number of key- and thematic-lexeme links than do psalms

that are farther apart;

2. Key- and thematic-lexeme links occur primarily in 3

areas: praise, distress and deliverance, and God's character;

3. Two of the major themes--God deserves praise and God

delivers His people from distress--appear in at least 10 psalms;

the third--God dominates over the created order--appears in a

minimum of 6 psalms; and

4. The structure of the corpus is tightly knit, with

Psalms 107 and 118 forming an inclusio of thanksgiving around

the corpus, with Psalms 108-110 being linked by Davidic

superscriptions, with Psalm 114 linking the hallelujah (hy vllh)

rubric psalms (Psalms 111-113) to the hallelujah (hy-vllh)

colophon psalms (Psalms 115-117), and with Psalms 113-118

comprising a sequence of psalms known as the Egyptian Hallel

used in Israel's worship.

In conclusion, this dissertation demonstrates that the

literary approach is a valid method by which to study a series

of psalms in order to assess the significance of lexical,

thematic, and structural linkages.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT iii

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xii

Chapter

1. INTRODUCTION 1

Importance of the Study 1

Problem of the Study 6

Scope of the Study 7

Text of the Study 11

Assumptions of the Study 13

Overview of the History of Psalm-Sequence

Analysis 16

Methodology of the Study 22

General Analyses 23

Structural Analysis 37

Plan of the Study 28

2. THE TEXTS IN CONTEXT 29

Psalm 107 in Context 31

Introduction to Psalm 107 31

Psalms 107 and 108 33

Psalms 107 and 109 40

Psalms 107 and 110 45

Psalms 107 and 111 47

Psalms 107 and 112 50

Psalms 107 and 113 53

Psalms 107 and 114 55

Psalms 107 and 115 57

Psalms 107 and 116 59

Psalms 107 and 117 62

Psalms 107 and 118 63

Psalm 107--A Retrospective 67

Psalm 108 in Context 76

Introduction to Psalm 108 76

Psalms 108 and 109 78

Psalms 108 and 110 83

Psalms 108 and 111 85

Psalms 108 and 112 87

Psalms 108 and 113 90

Psalms 108 and 114 91

Psalms 108 and 115 93

Psalms 108 and 116 95

Psalms 108 and 117 97

Psalms 108 and 118 99

Psalm 108--A Retrospective 102

Psalm 109 in Context 109

Introduction to Psalm 109 119

Psalms 109 and 110 110

Psalms 109 and 111 113

Psalms 109 and 112 115

Psalms 109 and 113 119

Psalms 109 and 114 121

Psalms 109 and 115 123

Psalms 109 and 116 126

Psalms 109 and 117 129

Psalms 109 and 118 131

Psalm 109--A Retrospective 136

Psalm 110 in Context 143

Introduction to Psalm 110 143

Psalms 110 and 111 148

Psalms 110 and 112 150

Psalms 110 and 113 152

Psalms 110 and 114 155

Psalms 110 and 115 156

Psalms 110 and 116 158

Psalms 110 and 117 159

Psalms 110 and 118 160

Psalm 110--A Retrospective 162

Psalm 111 in Context 169

Introduction to Psalm 111 169

Psalms 111 and 112 170

Psalms 111 and 113 177

Psalms 111 and 114 179

Psalms 111 and 115 181

Psalms 111 and 116 185

Psalms 111 and 117 187

Psalms 111 and 118 189

Psalm 111--A Retrospective 192

vii

Psalm 112 in Context 198

Introduction to Psalm 112 198

Psalms 112 and 113 199

Psalms 112 and 114 201

Psalms 112 and 115 203

Psalms 112 and 116 207

Psalms 112 and 117 209

Psalms 112 and 118 210

Psalm 112--A Retrospective 216

Psalm 113 in Context 223

Introduction to Psalm 113 223

Psalms 113 and 114 224

Psalms 113 and 115 226

Psalms 113 and 116 230

Psalms 113 and 117 234

Psalms 113 and 118 236

Psalm 113--A Retrospective 237

Psalm 114 in Context 244

Introduction to Psalm 114 244

Psalms 114 and 115 245

Psalms 114 and 116 248

Psalms 114 and 117 250

Psalms 114 and 118 251

Psalm 114--A Retrospective 253

Psalm 115 in Context 259

Introduction to Psalm 115 259

viii

Psalms 115 and 116 260

Psalms 115 and 117 266

Psalms 115 and 118 268

Psalm 115--A Retrospective 273

Psalm 116 in Context 281

Introduction to Psalm 116 281

Psalms 116 and 117 282

Psalms 116 and 118 283

Psalm 116--A Retrospective 286

Psalm 117 in Context 291

Introduction to Psalm 117 291

Psalms 117 and 118 291

Psalm 117--A Retrospective 293

Psalm 118 in Context 297

Introduction to Psalm 118 297

Psalm 118--A Retrospective 298

3. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS 306

Summary 306

Conclusions 308

General Findings 308

Lexical Findings 309

Thematic Findings 311

Structural Findings 314

Structural and Thematic Development 320

Overall Conclusion 335

Implications 336

Doctrine of Inspiration 336

Psalms Research 344

Appendix

A. FREQUENCY OF POTENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT

LEXEMES FOUND IN PSALMS 107-118 354

B. PSALMS 107-118: LEXEME FREQUENCY TABLES 356

Psalm 107 357

Psalm 108 395

Psalm 109 408

Psalm 110 436

Psalm 111 444

Psalm 112 455

Psalm 113 465

Psalm 114 475

Psalm 115 482

Psalm 116 504

Psalm 117 525

Psalm 118 529

C. PSALMS 107-118: SUMMARY OF LEXEME

FREQUENCY DATA BY PSALM 565

D. PERCENTAGE OF DISCRETE LEXICAL UNITS OF

A GIVEN PSALM REPLICATED IN AT LEAST

ONE OTHER PSALM OF THE PSALMS 107-118

CORPUS 568

BIBLIOGRAPHY 569

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure Page

1. Identification of psalms containing one or

more of the primary themes of the

Psalms 107-118 corpus 312

2. Overall structure of the Psalms 107-118 corpus 315

3. Internal connections between the hallelujah

(hy vllh) rubric psalms and the hallelujah

(hy-vllh) colophon psalms 316

4. Psalm 110 as a thematic unifier of Psalms 107-113 319

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

God is gracious. He brings into our lives all that is

required to meet our needs--and then He blesses us still more.

In regard to this dissertation, He has more than met my needs.

He has given me the opportunity to study His Word and He has

brought alongside of me many people who have been gracious like

their heavenly Father in helping me to complete this work. The

following is but a meager way to acknowledge the contribution

that those chosen servants of God have made.

No dissertation would be complete without a first reader--

someone willing to take the brunt of faulty thinking and poor

writing, while managing to maintain sanity in his own life and

to give structure to the dissertation itself. In the case of

this dissertation, Dr. David M. Howard, Jr., made that

sacrifice. Fortunately, Dr. Howard not only understands the

rigors of dissertation work, but also has the compassion to

offer encouragement and much needed help--a rare combination, to

be sure. Dr. Howard, moreover, went beyond the call of duty,

returning draft copies of the dissertation with amazing speed

and yet, at the same time, with insightful comments regarding

content, organization, style, and grammar. Without his

xii

guidance, this dissertation would have been a far poorer

composition.

Dissertations also require second readers. Dr. Dennis R

Magary graciously volunteered for that role. His support and

encouragement have also helped to move this dissertation along

to its conclusion.

Within the Ph.D. office of Trinity Evangelical Divinity

School, three people also deserve to be recognized: Dr. Douglas

J. Moo, Director, Ph.D. in Theological Studies, who gave

guidance to the overall dissertation process and who presided at

the dissertation defense; Dr. James Moore, who oversaw the

scheduling and formatting of the dissertation; and Mr. (soon-to-

be Dr.) Gunther H. Juncker, who read through the dissertation to

ensure that it complied with the Ph.D. office guidelines.

Finally, there are my family and my friends. These have

helped me in ways--in good ways--that are beyond words to

express.

My sincerest thanks go out to all of these wonderful

people.

To the one who declared:

ytxrb hylf Mdxv Crx ytyWf yknx

:ytyvc Mxbc-lkv Mymw vFn ydy ynx

(Isa 45:12)

and yet who has shown an interest in my life

--to Him be all glory, praise, and honor.

xiii

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Importance of the Study

Throughout the years, interest in the study of the Hebrew

Psalter has risen and waned as new theories and methods for

analysis are proposed, applied, and then set aside when newer

approaches are developed and tried. According to Stek, this

lack of consistent commitment to the study of the Psalms may be

due “on the one hand, to overriding devotional, homiletical,

theological and religious (history of religions, comparative

religions) interests in this literature; and, on the other hand,

to the fact that professional students of the OT texts, while

receiving (more or less adequate) training in languages,

history, theology, and religion, have not been trained in the

aesthetic aspect of OT literature--or any literature, for that

matter.”¹

_________________

¹John H. Stek, "The Stylistics of Hebrew Poetry: A

(Re)New(ed) Focus of Study," Calvin Theological Journal 9 (April

1974): 15. Stek's lament is made as a general reference to the

field of Hebrew (OT) poetry--"its prosody, rhetoric (including

rhetorical conventions), and architectonic forms"--but may,

quite logically, be applied to the study of the Hebrew Psalter,

the most extensive gathering of Hebrew poetry in the Old

Testament. Broadribb concurs that, generally speaking, there

has been a fragmented approach to the study of Hebrew poetry

with few significant discoveries and "little attempt at a

systematic analysis of Hebrew poetry as a whole, such as

Yet, despite the inconsistent appreciation that scholars

have exhibited toward the Psalms, the value of interacting with

the words of the ancient Hebrew poets cannot be denied. Wilson

makes that point abundantly clear when, in regard to Psalm 1

(which many agree functions as an introductory psalm to set the

tenor for the reading of the entire Psalter),² he declares

that "[t]he whole chiastic and antithetical structure of Psalm 1

points up the absolute seriousness with which one should

approach the Psalter. It is a matter of life and death, not

casual acquaintance. It calls for a lifetime of study, not

casual acquaintance."³

Despite the importance of the Psalter as a guide for living

and even simply as an ancient literary work worthy of study,

there is a dearth of materials of a critical nature that address

certain significant segments of the Psalter. For example, few

technical works of an extensive nature exist on the various

_________________

characterized the work of Lowth." He continues: "In

consequence, it can be said that general agreement on the

structure of Hebrew poetry is little more advanced than it was

two or three centuries ago." Donald Broadribb, "A Historical

Review of Studies of Hebrew Poetry," Abr-Nahrain 13 (1972-73):

84. Fortunately, however, subsequent to Broadribb's review,

numerous book-length works--both technical and popular--on the

Psalter have found their way into print, as the bibliography to

this treatise reveals.

²Brevard S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as

Scripture (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979), 512-13; Hans-

Joachim Kraus, Psalms 1-59: A Commentary, trans. Hilton C.

Oswald (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1988), 113-14.

³Gerald H. Wilson, "The Shape of the Book of Psalms,"

Interpretation 46 (April 1992): 137.

psalms of Book V (i.e., Psalms 107-150); and of those that do

exist, very few expound the psalms that form the basis of this

study (i.e., Psalms 107-118).

A current search for works on psalms and psalms-related

topics reveals little interest in the content, much less on the

structure, of any of the psalms in the Psalms 107-118 corpus,

apart from a focus on the Messianic issue associated with Psalm

110 and a general concern with the contents of Psalm 118.

Furthermore, although certain studies assess the structure of

individual psalms throughout the Psalter,⁴ few have sought to

discover whether or not literary or thematic structures reveal

any evidence of editorial activity between 2 juxtaposed

psalms.⁵ Recently, however, a ground-breaking effort by

_________________

⁴See for example Robert L. Alden, "Chiastic Psalms (III):

A Study in the Mechanics of Semitic Poetry in Psalms 101-150,"

Journal of the Evanaelical Theological Society 21 (1978): 199-

210; Pierre Auffret, The Literary Structure of Psalm 2, trans.

David J. A. Clines, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament:

Supplement Series 3 (Sheffield: JSOT, 1977); numerous articles

in Pierre Auffret, La Sagesse a Bâti sa Maison: Études de

Structures Littéraires dans l'Ancien Testament et Spécialement

dans les Psaumes (Fribourg: Éditions Universitaries, 1982);

David Noel Freedman, Pottery, Poetry, and Prophecy (Winona Lake,

Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1980); David Noel Freedman and C. Franke

Hyland, "Psalm 29: A Structural Analysis," Harvard Theological

Review 66 (1973): 237-56; Walter Vogels, "A Structural Analysis

of Ps 1," Biblica 60 (1979): 410-16; Dennis Pardee, "Structure

and Meaning in Hebrew Poetry: The Example of Psalms 23," in

Sopher Mahir: Northwest Semitic Studies Presented to Stanislav

Segert, ed. Edward M. Cook (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns,

1990), 239-80.

⁵There is a growing (though not yet extensive) body of

literature that addresses the question of editorial impact on

the Psalter. See David M. Howard, Jr., "Editorial Activity in

the Psalter: A State-of-the-Field Survey," in The Shape and

Howard on Psalms 93-100 offers an in-depth structural analysis

of a group of psalms larger than a dyad.⁶ His work in Book IV

of the Psalter has been the impetus for a dissertation by Suhany

on the psalms of Book III (i.e., Psalms 73-89), as well as for

this current study.⁷

Only 1 published work to date attempts an in-depth,

comparative analysis the literary structure of 1 psalm in Psalms

107-118 with that of another psalm in the same corpus. That

work, by Pierre Auffret, which is an analysis of Psalms 111-112

(the 2 acrostic psalms of the corpus), emphasizes the

_________________

Shaping of the Psalter, ed. J. Clinton McCann, Journal for the

Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series, 159 (Sheffield:

JSOT, 1993), 52-70. Brennan's work on Book V of the Psalter

(Psalms 107-150) provides an overview of the basic thematic

interrelationships among the various psalms. Joseph P. Brennan,

"Some Hidden. Harmonies in the Fifth Book of Psalms," in Essays

in Honor of Joseph P. Brennan, ed. Robert F. McNamara

(Rochester, N.Y.: Saint Bernard's Seminary, 1976), 126-58.

⁶David Morris Howard, Jr., "The Structure of Psalms 93-

100" (Ph.D. diss., University of Michigan, 1986), forthcoming as

The Structure of Psalms 93-100, University of California at San

Diego Biblical and Judaic Series 5 (Winona Lake, Ind.:

Eisenbrauns). Subsequent to his dissertation, Howard has

completed additional work on Psalms 90-94. David M. Howard,

Jr., "A Contextual Reading of Psalms 90-94," in The Shape and

Shaping of the Psalter, ed. J. Clinton McCann (Sheffield: JSOT,

1993), 108-23.

The term "dyad" (here and passim in this dissertation) is

used simply to reference any set of 2 psalms, whether or not

those psalms occur sequentially in the text. The term does not

convey any further meaning, as might be the case in various of

the other sciences.

⁷Alan Michael Suhany, "Unity and Theme in the Third Book

of the Psalter" (Ph.D. diss., Trinity Evangelical Divinity

School, in progress).

interconnections between the 2 psalms based on an assessment of

the significant words that are repeated within and across those

2 psalms.⁸ Auffret draws the following conclusion: "Ainsi les

deux psaumes manifestent-ils leur complémentarité en attribuant

aux mots récurrents qui à chacun appartiennent en propre des

fonctions très comparables comme indices de leurs structures

littéraires respectives."⁹

This study, therefore, seeks to provide an additional piece

of information to the recently begun effort to close the

knowledge gap that exists relative to a structural and an

exegetical understanding of Psalms 107-118.

_________________

⁸Pierre Auffret, "Essai sur la Structure Littéraire des

Psaumes CXI et CXII," Vetus Testamentum 30 (July 1980): 257-79.

To date, not even Auffret, who has executed extensive structural

analyses of numerous psalms in the Psalter, has focused any

attention on Psalms 107-118 (apart from the work just cited).

See Pierre Auffret, La Saaesse a Bâti sa Maison. Lohfink,

however, does provide a brief comparison between Psalm 114 and

Psalm 115 as the 2 psalms are presented by the MT and the LXX

and then discusses the lexical and semantic connections between

the 2 psalms. Norbert Lohfink, "Ps 114/115 (M und G) und die

deuteronomische Sprachwelt," in Freude an der Weisuna des Herrn:

Beiträge zur Theologie der Psalmen: Festgabe zum 70. Geburststag

von Heinrich Groß, eds. Ernst Haag and Frank-Lothar Hossfeld

(Stuttgart: Katholisches Bibelwerk GmbH, 1986), 199-205.

⁹"Thus the 2 psalms manifest their complementarity while

attributing to the recurring words which belong to each in its

own right the very comparable functions as indices of their

respective literary structures." Auffret, "Essai sur la

Structure Littéraire des Psaumes CXI et CXII," 279.

This translation and all others within this dissertation

are mine unless otherwise specified.

Problem of the Study

The primary purpose of this study is to demonstrate that

there are intentional--and not just accidental or random--

lexical and thematic links among the psalms of the Psalms 107-

118 corpus and that the corpus as a whole exhibits a coherent

and unified structure. In doing so, this dissertation traces

the 3 primary thematic threads that run throughout the corpus--

the need for God's people to offer Him praise and thanksgiving

for who He is and for what He has done, God's ability to deliver

His people from their distress, and God's dominance over the

created order. This study identifies those themes by means of

lexical, structural, and contextual analyses. As a

consequence, this study generates several important results:

1. An identification of the textual context of the various

psalms severally and jointly;

2. A picture of the lexical and thematic contours across

the face of the Psalms 107-118 corpus;

3. Data regarding structural, content, and thematic

relationships among the psalms under study; and

4. Information regarding possible editorial activity in

the arrangement of the psalms in question.

The findings of such a study should be beneficial in

understanding both the meaning of the individual psalms of the

Psalms 107-118 corpus and the function of each psalm within the

first segment of Book V of the Psalter. Furthermore, the

determination of the presence of editorial activity would

suggest an underlying intent that guided the development of the

final product, i.e., the canonical text. The recognition of the

existence of such an intent would have far-reaching implications

on the exegesis of Psalms 107-118. Even greater than the impact

that the compilation of the psalms into their present order has

on how these psalms are to be understood, the imprint of an

editorial hand would signify that the canonical psalms need to

be understood in their literary context rather than as a product

of some historical event. The psalms then should be read

sequentially as chapters in a book, their contextual meaning

being derived from their association with the Psalter as a whole

and, in particular, with the remaining psalms in the corpus of

which they are a part.

Scone of the Study

The present study focuses specifically on the first 12

psalms of Book V of the Psalms, i.e., Psalms 107-118. The

grouping of these psalms together, however, runs counter to

Wilson's position that Psalm 118 belongs with the subsequent

corpus that ranges from Psalm 118 to Psalm 135.¹⁰ Wilson bases

his argument on the presence of vdvh (give thanks) at the

beginning of Psalm 118, which he maintains functions within Book

_________________

¹⁰Whether the Psalms 118-135 (or even Psalms 119-135)

grouping is correct is a matter of debate which goes beyond the

scope of this paper.

V as an editorial marker to identify the first psalm of a

corpus.¹¹

In contrast to Wilson's strong argument for the exclusion

of Psalm 118 from the corpus under study, the following 4

arguments are posited. Taken together, these arguments outweigh

Wilson's view:

1. Psalm 118:29 forms an inclusio with Ps 107:1 to

delimit the boundaries of the corpus.¹² Both verses contain

_________________

¹¹Wilson maintains that Psalm 118 does not belong to the

Psalms 107-118 corpus but rather is the first psalm in the

following corpus, which he understands to run from Psalm 118 to

Psalm 135. Wilson, summarizes the thrust of his reasoning in the

following statement:

A single qualification needs to be made apropos the

evidence of MT. Taking Pss 104-105-106-107 as the point of

departure, it becomes clear that MT makes a slightly

different use of hllwyh and hwdw pss at the conclusion of a

segment of MT Psalter. With the addition of Ps 107, however,

the picture changes considerably.

104 hllwyh

105 hllwyh

106 hllwyh-hwdw doxology-hllwyh

107 hwdw

Here we have the addition of another ps beginning with

the characteristic hwdw phrases. One would expect this ps to

form part of the conclusion to the preceding segment. But

the doxology at the end of Ps 106, marking the end of Book

Four, clearly makes this impossible. Does this supply the

key to understand the position of Pss 118 and 136 as well?

Both immediately follow hllwyh groupings. The situation with

Ps 107 would seem to indicate that these pss (118 and 136) do

not form part of the conclusion, but introduce the segment

which follows.

Gerald Henry Wilson, The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter

(Chico, Calif.: Scholars, 1985), 129.

¹²Psalm 118:29 forms an obvious inclusio with Ps 118:1.

This fact does not negate the possibility of Ps 118:29 having

double-duty responsibility as the concluding component of an

exactly the same words: nom vdsH Mlvfl yk bvF-Yk hvhyl vdh¹³

(Give thanks to the LORD because He is good--because His

lovingkindness is forever!).

2. Psalm 118 has a history of being combined (though not

exclusively) with psalms that precede rather than follow it--in

the so-called "Egyptian Hallel" (Psalms 113-118)¹⁴ and in

connection with what are termed the hallelujah (hy vllh) psalms

(Psalms 111-118).¹⁵

_________________

inclusio with Ps 107:1. If anything, the existence of 2 verses

in Psalm 118 that parallel Ps 107:1 should arrest the attention

of astute readers of the Psalter, drawing their thoughts back to

that earlier verse.

¹³There is, however, a spelling variation that occurs

between the first word of each of the 2 verses. Psalm 107:1

reads vdh (using the simple holem) whereas Ps 118:29 follows

the plene (or full) reading of holem waw, i.e., vdvh. Such a

variation, however, in no way affects the present argument.

¹⁴Psalms 113-118 are traditionally read in connection with

the Festival of Passover. Craigie accords to them an equal

status as a collection of psalms as he does to those psalms that

are grouped together by author as a consequence of their

superscriptions, e.g., the Psalms of David, of Asaph, and of the

Sons of Korah. Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50, Word Biblical

Commentary 19, ed. David A. Hubbard and Glen W. Barker

(Aylesbury, UK: Word [UK] Ltd., 1986), 28-29.

¹⁵Wilson acknowledges the existence of both of these

groupings. Yet, he observes from various Qumran Codices that

Psalm 118 is at times paired with Psalm 117 and at times with

Psalm 119. Wilson, The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter, 134, 135,

179, 220. In this regard, Skehan finds a Qumran manuscript, 4Q

Ps^b, to contain in canonical order portions of psalms beginning

at 91:5 and ending with 118:26 (with a space indicator

suggesting that the psalm originally contained the now missing

verses, 27-29), but giving no indication that Psalm 119 had also

been attached (note, however, that from this manuscript, Psalms

3. Although Psalms 107, 118, and 119 make extensive use of

the term dsH (lovingkindness), Psalms 107 and 118 utilize the

term differently than does Psalm 119.¹⁶ The 2 psalms of the

present corpus recognize God's dsH (lovingkindness) as a reason

for giving praise and thanks to God. Psalm 119, however,

presents God's dsH (lovingkindness) as the way in which the

individual speaker in the psalm desires to be dealt with by God,

rather than as a grounds for his praising God.

4. The subject matter of Psalms 107-118 is significantly

different from that of Psalm 119. The corpus under study

focuses on God's ability to deliver His people from distress and

on the importance of God receiving honor from the individual,

the community, and the world. By contrast, Psalm 119 emphasizes

_________________

104-111 are also missing). Patrick W. Skehan, "A Psalm

Manuscript from Qumran (4Q Ps^b)," The Catholic Biblical

Quarterly 26 (July 1964): 313-22. Furthermore, BHS notes that

many manuscripts combine Psalms 117 and 118 into 1 psalm, but

makes no similar reference for the combination of Psalms 118 and 119.

Westermann, however, argues (without manuscript support)

that the Psalms 120-134 collection "was later added to the

collection framed by Pss. 1 and 119." Claus Westermann, Praise

and Lament in the Psalms, trans. Keith R. Crim and Richard N.

Soulen (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1981), 255.

Interestingly, Zunz notes that the Midrash Tehillim was

edited in its present form through Psalm 118 during the second

half of the 9th century, C.E., and that the rabbinic

incorporation of the remaining psalms (i.e., Psalms 119-150)

into that work occurred at a much later date. Zunz-Albeck, Die

gottesdienstliche Vorträge der Juden, 2d ed. (Frankfurt: n.p.,

1982), 375. See also the Introduction to The Midrash on Psalms,

2 vols., trans. William G. Braude, Yale Judaica Series 13, ed.

Leon Nemoy (New Haven: Yale University, 1959), xxvii-xxviii.

¹⁶Psalms 107:1, 8, 15, 21, 31; 118:1, 2, 3, 4, 29; 119:41,

64, 76, 88, 124, 149, 159.

the importance of the Word of God. In order to convey its basic

theme, Psalm 119 makes extensive use of such terms as hrvt

(law), hdf (testimony), Mydvqp (precepts), qH (statute), hvcm

(commandment), Fpwm (ordinance), and tmx-rbd (word of truth).

For the most part, these lexemes or phrases are missing from the

Psalms 107-118 corpus.¹⁷

Text of the Study

The current study is a literary analysis of Psalms 107-118,

from the perspective of the Masoretic Text (MT) itself. As

such, the study does not attempt to reconstruct either the

actual historical events described in the psalms themselves

(except as those events may be portrayed within the texts) or

the factors that may have motivated the authors, editors, or

compilers of the various psalms to proceed with the shaping of

these literary compositions.¹⁸

_________________

¹⁷The frequency of occurrence of the terms used in Psalm

119 as descriptive of the Word of God is as follows--the first

number being the total of instances in the Psalms 107-118 corpus

(which consists of 200 verses), the second number being the

total number of incidences in Psalm 119 (which consists of 176

verses): hrvt--0, 25; hdf--0, 14; Mydvqp--1, 21; qH--0, 21;

hvcm-1, 22; Fpwm--2, 23; and tmx-rbd--0, 1 (see also Ps

119:160 in which God's word is called tmx [truth]).

¹⁸Only 3 of the psalms in the corpus under study (Psalms

108, 109, and 110) contain superscriptions that provide any

information regarding the development of the psalms. None of

those superscriptions, however, reveals much regarding the

generation of those psalms, other than that all 3 were written

by David (dvdl) and that Psalm 109 was written for the

Being restricted to the canonical Masoretic Text, moreover,

this study does not concern itself with any texts that may or

may not have been used in the development of individual psalms,

nor does it focus any extended attention on the materials from

Qumran.¹⁹ This study, therefore, derives its findings from an

analysis of the MT which is, as Howard points out, "at the very

least . . . a legitimate and old canonical tradition, one which

certainly reflects the official Pharisaic . . . canon of the

turn of the Christian era."²⁰ Childs accords to the MT still

further importance, stating that the MT is "the vehicle both

for recovering and for understanding the canonical text of the

Old Testament."²¹ The MT, moreover, is the text tradition that

has exerted the greatest influence over the community of

believers.

_________________

choir director (Hcnml). There is, therefore, no indication

whatsoever for any of the psalms in the corpus under study as to

what event or events formed the contextual backdrop for the

writing of those psalms.

¹⁹Wilson notes a lack of standardized sequential

arrangement of the individual psalms in the Qumran materials,

particularly in Book V of the Psalter. Gerald H. Wilson, "The

Qumran Psalms Manuscripts and the Consecutive Arrangement of

Psalms in the Hebrew Psalter," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly

45 (1983): 377, 378, 387.

²⁰Howard, "The Structure of Psalms 93-100," 31.

²¹Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture,

97.

This study, however, does not accept the Masoretic Text

uncritically. When appropriate, as required by textual

analysis, textual variations are adopted that reflect a

tradition more closely approximating the original Hebrew

manuscripts than does the Masoretic Text. Yet, only 1 of those

accepted emendations has an impact on the results of this study.

That emendation is the addition of the construct noun tyb (house

of) immediately prior to the noun lxrWy (Israel) in Ps 115:9.

This emendation increases the frequency total of the lexeme tyb

(house) by 1.

Assumptions of the Study

Contemporary exegesis has been influenced by at least 3

major movements: historicism, existentialism, and

structuralism.²² As methods of understanding the Scripture,

historicism (including form criticism, tradition criticism, and

redaction criticism) and existentialism have tended to ignore

the canonical text itself, preferring to be preoccupied either

with historical and developmental trends (in the case of

historicism) or with anthropocentric concerns (in the case of

existentialism).

_________________

²²François Bovon, "French Structuralism and Biblical

Exegesis," in Structural Analysis and Biblical Exegesis:

Interpretational Essays, R. Barthes and others, trans. Alfred M.

Johnson, Jr. (Pittsburgh: Pickwick, 1974), 7.

By contrast, structuralism (together with its allied

disciplines of canon criticism and rhetorical criticism) focuses

its exegetical attention on the text itself. As Armerding

indicates, structuralism eschews historical and diachronic

research and finds "in the writing itself, in the relationship

of words and themes, the key to interpretation."²³ Thus the

structural critic looks at synchronic truth, locating the

meaning of Scripture in the text itself, not in the pre- or

post-history of the text.²⁴ Because of its very nature as a

structural analysis and because (as noted above) there is a lack

of historical information provided by the psalms under study

regarding their origins, this study de-emphasizes the analysis

of the history of the development and transmission of the text.

This study therefore presents a literary analysis of the various

psalms in the Psalms 107-118 corpus.²⁵

_________________

²³Carl Armerding, "Structural Analysis," Themelios 4

(April 1979): 96.

²⁴Robert Martin-Achard, "An Exegete Confronting Genesis

32:23-33," in Structural Analysis and Biblical Exegesis:

Interpretational Essays, R. Barthes and others, trans. Alfred M.

Johnson, Jr. (Pittsburgh: Pickwick, 1974), 35.

²⁵Wilson comments that the shaping of the Psalter into its

final canonical form resulted in "a collection of psalms

loosened from their 'historical moorings' and allowed to

continue to speak with power in an almost unlimited series of

circumstances in the lives of the reader." Wilson, "The Shape

of the Book of Psalms," 138. Separating the text from its

historical origins, however, does not imply that meaning is to

be sought in the horizon of the reader. Meaning (in this study)

is found in the text itself which provides sufficient clues for

understanding authorial intent.

Although the present study identifies itself, in part, as a

structural analysis of Psalms 107-118, it does not place itself

in the stream of contemporary French structuralism which (under

the leadership of de Saussure, Levi-Strauss, and Barthes),

emphasizes the psychological, ethnological, or mythological

understanding of the text.²⁶ Instead, the approach which this

study follows is more in the line of the rhetorical or literary

criticism advanced by such individuals as Freedman, Howard, and

Auffret.²⁷

In essence, the nature of this contextual study is part

structural, part literary. The study seeks to find in the text

of Psalms 107-118 those relationships of lexemes and themes that

are key to the interpretation of each individual psalm and to

the understanding of the interconnections of each psalm to every

other psalm in the corpus.

_________________

²⁶Bovon, "French Structuralism and Biblical Exegesis," 9-

19; Roland Barthes, "The Struggle with the Angel: Textual

Analysis of Genesis 32:23-33," in Structural Analysis and

Biblical Exegesis: Interpretational Essays, R. Barthes and

others, trans. Alfred M. Johnson, Jr. (Pittsburgh: Pickwick,

1974), 21-33.

²⁷David Noel Freedman, Pottery, Poetry, and Prophecy;

Howard, "The Structure of Psalms 93-100" and "A Contextual

Reading of Psalms 90-94," 108-23; Auffret, "Essai sur la

Structure Littéraire des Psaumes CXI et CXII," 257-79; and La

Sagesse a Bâti sa Maison.

Overview of the History of Psalm-Sequence

Analysis

Throughout history, many scholars have treated the Psalter

as a compilation of individual psalms that are to be exegeted

independently of each other. Typically, that exegesis centered

its efforts either in a given psalm's historical context or in

an allegorical conceptualization of the interpreter. In more

recent years, other students of Scripture have analyzed the

various psalms of the Psalter based on an assumed liturgical

function of a psalm.²⁸ Generally, these 3 approaches exhibited

minimal concern for the order in which individual psalms

appeared in the canonical text, that order being understood to

be entirely random or at best to reflect a random compilation of

smaller ordered collections with few or no interrelationships

between the individual psalms themselves.

History also records a less well-known yet significant

tradition of scholarship dating back to the time of the Church

_________________

²⁸Hermann Gunkel, Einleitung in die Psalmen: die Gattungen

der religiösen Lyrik Israels, 2d ed. (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck &

Ruprecht, 1966); Sigmund Mowinckel, The Psalms in Israel's

Worship, 2 vols. (New York: Abingdon, 1962). Tur-Sinai argues

against the traditional liturgical position, stating "this view

and the interpretation based on it can be shown to be

fundamentally wrong." N. H. Tur-Sinai, "The Literary Character

of the Book of Psalms," vol. 8, Oudtestamentische Studien, P. A.

H. De Boer (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1950), 264. Tur-Sinai

concludes that the psalms are primarily songs drawn from

historical books (in which they originally functioned as

poetical insertions) to meet the cultural and cultic needs of

Israel in its post-exilic rebirth. Tur-Sinai, "The Literary

Character of the Book of Psalms," 265, 280-81.

Fathers that acknowledges a purposeful ordering to the contents

of the Psalter. Exegesis based on this perspective tends to

identify interconnections between the various psalms and often

places a greater emphasis on the literary context than on either

the historical or the functional context of a given psalm.

In the earlier centuries of the Common Era, there was

disagreement as to whether each of the psalms stood alone as

independent entities or whether the sequence of the individual

psalms held some importance relative to the understanding of the

Psalter. On the one hand, Jerome (347-419 C.E.) declared:

"Psalterium ita est quasi magna domus, quae unam quidem habet

exteriorem clavem in porta, in diversis vero intrinsecus

cubiculis proprias claues habet. . . . [S]ic singuli paslmi

quasi singulae cellulae sunt, habentes proprie claves suas."²⁹

Cassiodorus Senator (ca. 487-ca. 580 C.E.), viewing the

individual psalms as prophecies regarding the coming Christ,

maintained a similar position of the independence of individual

psalms. Doing so, allowed him the freedom to apply a different

hermeneutic to given psalms. As P. G. Walsh comments,

Cassiodorus Senator saw "no need to maintain consistency between

_________________

²⁹"The Psalter is like a spacious mansion which in fact

has one exterior key for the entrance, by contrast, however,

each separate room has its own key. Similarly, an individual

psalm is like an individual room having its own personal key."

Jerome, S. Hieronvmi Presbvteri Opera: Part II: Opera

Homiletica, S. Hieronvmi Presbvteri Tractatus siue Homiliae in

Psalmos, in Marci, Euanaelium Aliaque Uaria Argumenta, ed. D.

Germanus Morin (Turnholti: Typographi Brepols Editores

Pontificii, 1958), 3.

a concept or image recurring in different passages; in one

context 'arrows' may represent apostles or evangelists, but in

another, diabolical powers."³⁰

On the other hand, Hippolytus, Bishop of Rome (170-236

C.E.), recognizing that the psalms do not occur in a regular

historical order, suggested that the reason for such a

discrepancy "is to be found in the numbers according to which

the psalms are arranged."³¹ Augustine (354-430 C.E.) also

perceived the order of the psalms to be significant, although he

was unable to determine what that significance was.³²

_________________

³⁰P. G. Walsh, "Introduction to Cassiodorus, Flavius

Magnus Aurelius," Cassiodorus: Explanation of the Psalms, trans.

and annotated by P. G. Walsh, vol. 1, Psalms 1-50 (Psalms 1-

51(50)1. Ancient Christian Writers: The Works of the Fathers in

Translation, ed. Walter Burghardt and Thomas Comerford Lawler,

51 (New York: Paulist Press, 1990), 10.

³¹Hippolytus, The Extant Works and Fragments of

Hippolytus, trans. S. D. F. Salmond, in vol. 5 of The Ante-

Nicene Fathers: Translations of the Writings of the Fathers down

to A.D. 325, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (reprint,

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925), 200. Hippolytus

concluded that the numbering of the psalms held spiritual

significance. He was not specifically concerned, however, with

making an exegetical interface between various psalms.

³²Augustine writes: "Quamvis ordo Psalmorum, qui mihi

magni sacramenti videtur continere secretum nondum mihi fuerit

revelatus; tamen quia omnes centum quinquaginta numerantur,

etiam nobis qui totius ordinis eorum altitudinem adhuc acie

mentis non penetravimus, insinuant aliquid, unde non impudenter,

quantum Dominus adiuvat, disputare possimus." Which is

translated: "Although the order of the Psalms, which to me

contains the secret of a great mystery, has not yet to me been

revealed, nevertheless, because they number one hundred fifty,

they suggest even to us who thus far have not penetrated with

the eye of the mind the depth of their entire order, whereon we

During medieval times, various rabbis carried on heated

debates regarding the nature of the relationship that exists

between individual psalms. Abraham Ibn Ezra argued that there

are no consistent chronological or thematic connections between

psalms, thus each psalm stood alone. Simon summarizes Ibn

Ezra's view, noting that "he [Ibn Ezra] does not see the Book of

Psalms as a single unified work like the Pentateuch, but as five

collections of psalms, which were gathered, assembled, and

written down by the Men of the Great Assembly many years after

their composition."³³

In direct contrast to the view espoused by Ibn Ezra, rabbis

such as Saadiah Gaon, Salmon ben Yeruham, Yefet ben 'Ali Halevi,

and David Kimhi (RaDaK) defended the view that there are

interconnections (primarily at the thematic level) between the

various psalms, most particularly between adjacent psalms.³⁴

_________________

may, without being impudent, as far as God assists, be able to

speak." Augustine, Sancti Aurelii Augustini Hipponensis

Episcopi Opera Omnia. Enarrationes in Psalmos: Contenta in

Ouato Tomo: Lars Altera, vol. 37, Patriologiae Cursus Completus,

ed. J. P. Migne (Paris: n.p., 1845), 1960.

³³Uriel Simon, Four Approaches to the Book of Psalms: From

Saadiah Gaon to Abraham Ibn Ezra, trans. Lenn J. Schramm

(Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York, 1991), 218.

³⁴Ibid., 29, 71, 96. See also David Kimhi, The Longer

Commentary of R. David Kimhi on the First Book of Psalms (I-X,

XV-XVII, XIX, XXII, XXIV), trans. R. G. Finch, Introduction by

G. H. Box (London: SPCK, 1919), 12, 21.

The Reformers, by contrast to the medieval rabbis,

generally speaking, left the issue of psalm-interrelationship

untouched.³⁵

Unlike for the Reformation Era, the 19th and 20th centuries

have brought forth numerous scholars committed to the belief

that the Psalter is a unified literary work, whose

interpretation must be derived partly or solely from a literary

perspective.³⁶ Most of the work has been done either at the

thematic level (cf. Brennan, Brueggemann, Mays, McCann,

Wilson)³⁷ or at the level of adjacent psalms (cf. Alexander,

_________________

³⁵Calvin, however, noted the introductory function of

Psalm 1 in the present collection of the Psalter: "He who

collected the Psalms into one volume . . . appears to have

placed this Psalm at the beginning, by way of preface, in which

he inculcates upon all the godly the duty of meditating upon the

law of God." John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of Psalms,

vol. 1 [Psalms i.-xxxv.], trans James Anderson (Edinburgh: The

Calvin Translation Society, 1845), 1. Calvin does not suggest

how the psalms were to be understood, whether in their literary

context or otherwise. Furthermore, he makes no attempt, at

least in his analysis of Psalms 107-118, to relate those psalms

to each other or to suggest a specific purpose behind their

ordering.

³⁶For a comprehensive presentation of the history of

literary and structural approaches to the Psalter see Howard,

"Editorial Activity in the Psalter: A State-of-the-Field

Survey," 52-70.

³⁷In his introductory comments on the various psalms in

rabbinic commentary on the psalms, Tehillim: A New Translation

with a Commentary Anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic and

Rabbinic Sources, Avrohom Chaim Feuer frequently makes thematic

connections from the present psalm to a previous psalm. The

commentators themselves, however, do not regularly do so. See

also Howard, "Editorial Activity in the Psalter: A State-of-the-

Field Survey," 52-70.

Auffret, Delitzsch, Freedman). As noted above, Howard's

dissertation on Psalms 93-100 and his article on Psalms 90-94

are the most extensive technical works to date dealing with the

interrelationships among a group of psalms.³⁸ Howard, in his

dissertation, analyzing the psalms from the syllabic through

lexical and thematic levels, concludes that "Psalms 93-100 form

a logically coherent unit within Book IV of the Psalter. . .

[and even though] [t]hey did not likely exist as a separate

collection after the fashion of Psalms 120-134, . . . a clear

_________________

³⁸In the late 1800's, John Forbes completed a commentary

on the Psalter which highlights throughout various

interconnections among the psalms. In the following he

summarizes his central thesis for the understanding of the

psalms:

we must not regard the Psalms merely as isolated productions,

but that in the order in which we now possess them they have

been arranged and connected together with very great care, so

as to bring out and enforce certain truths with a clearness

and distinctiveness not to be mistaken. So long as each

Psalm is viewed as a separated and unconnected composition,

it is easy to explain away its meaning, and to put upon its

language very diverse and conflicting interpretations,

according to the author, the occasion, and the age to which

each critic may refer it. But when the Psalms are seen, in

the form in which we now possess them, to have been grouped

together as parts of a connected series, in order to bring

out and give expression to some definite idea or important

truth, we gain a certainty, not otherwise to be attained, of

the meaning to be put upon the whole series, as well as upon

individual expressions in each Psalm, which might otherwise

be ambiguous.

John Forbes, Studies on the Book of Psalms: The Structural

Connection of the Book of Psalms. both in Single Psalms and in

the Psalter as an Organic Whole, ed. James Forrest (Edinburgh:

T. & T. Clark, 1888), 2-3.

structure for the section is visible."³⁹ Regarding Psalms 90-

94, Howard notes that "[s]ignificant links can be seen between

every consecutive psalm in Psalms 90-94, and between many non-

adjacent psalms as well."⁴⁰

Methodology of the Study

The purpose of this study is to analyze each of the psalms

in the Psalms 107-118 corpus in order to observe how each

functions within the context of the other psalms of the corpus.

To accomplish this end, this study focuses its attention

primarily on the lexical and thematic interconnections that

exist within the 66 psalm dyads that comprise the corpus.

Specifically, this study does the following:

1. Identifies for each psalm dyad the key-lexeme links,

the thematic-lexeme links, and the incidental-lexeme links;

2. Uncovers the thematic flow among the various psalms of

the corpus; and

_________________

³⁹H oward, "The Structure of Psalms 93-100," 216-17.

⁴⁰Howard, "A Contextual Reading of Psalms 90-94," 123.

Howard concludes (p. 123), pondering the wider significance of

his findings for the understanding of Book IV of the Psalter:

"It may well be, then, that the structure of Book IV is

dependent upon the series of three groups mentioned above--90-

94, 95-100, and 101-106--each with a relative internal coherence

and significant subgroupings within it, and each also relating

in significant ways to the others."

3. Assesses the sequential role that each psalm plays

relative to the overall structure of the Psalms 107-118 corpus.

General Analyses

The findings from the following 2 methodological

approaches--lexeme frequency analysis and thematic analysis--

provide the core content for the dissertation. They are used to

compare each psalm with every other psalm in the Psalms 107-118

corpus and to determine whether or not valid connections can be

made between any 2 given psalms. Furthermore, they supply data

that offer insight into the extent to which the corpus as a

whole is homogeneous.

Lexeme Frequency Analysis

The function of lexeme frequency analysis is to identify

the presence of significant lexical word-group units.⁴¹ In

this study, lexeme units are deemed to be important if (1) they

contribute to the development of the theme or the motifs of a

_________________

⁴¹For the purposes of the lexeme frequency analysis

performed in this dissertation, the following word forms are

excluded from analysis: conjunctions (attached or detached),

prepositions (attached or detached), particles, negative

adverbs, and personal pronouns. The fact that such linguistic

units are not assessed does not imply that they do not

contribute to the meaning of a given psalm, rather that they

typically do not function either as major determinants of the

theme of a specific psalm or as vital links that interconnect 2

or more psalms. The remaining terms are by definition declared

to be significant, i.e., they are the terms that are to undergo

investigation within this dissertation.

given psalm and are repeated within that psalm at a higher

frequency rate than normally would be expected for a psalm of

its size or (2) they are repeated in adjacent or in non-adjacent

psalms within the corpus in greater numbers than the size of the

corpus (relative to the size of the Psalter) anticipates.

A computer scan of the Psalter reveals that the 150 Psalms

of the Psalter contain 29,783 words.⁴² Based on that same

computer search, the 12 psalms of the Psalms 107-118 corpus

house 2131 words, i.e., the present corpus has 8.0% of the total

number of psalms of the Psalter and approximately 7.0% of its

words.

Certain lexemes occur within the Psalms 107-118 corpus at a

frequency rate higher than might be expected for a corpus of

this size.⁴³ There are 5 lexemes in the 12 psalms under study

_________________

⁴²The word count data in this paragraph only (unless

otherwise indicated) is taken from acCordance: Software for

Biblical Studies, Version 1.1, Oak Tree Software Specialists,

Altamonte Springs, Fla. These figures are to be used for their

relative value because of the different manner in which

acCordance and this dissertation define the term "word."

acCordance is a tagged software program which includes as part

of its understanding of "word" the attached conjunctions,

articles, prepositions, and pronouns. By contrast, this thesis

(see above) does not separate out those attached morphemes in

its determination of what is to be identified as a word. The

assumption being made here, therefore, is that the relative

number of attached morphemes does not generally vary from psalm

to psalm and that over the 150 psalms of the Psalter, any minor

variations would be cancelled out. Thus the percentages of

"words" in this thesis (even though being drawn from a different

measurement system) should closely approximate those percentages

shown here for the acCordance data.

⁴³See Appendix A

that surface 10 times or more in the corpus and total 15% or

more of all the occurrences of those lexemes within the Psalter:

hdy (to thank), tyb (house), hyh (to be), jrb (to bless), and

llh (to praise). This clustering of terms (in their context

within the corpus) suggests that a theme of the corpus may

relate to the expression of gratitude to God either for who He

is or for what He has done.⁴⁴ In addition, there are 11

lexemes in the corpus that encompass a minimum of 25% of all the

occurrences of those lexemes in the book of the Psalms. Several

of these lexemes seem to be linked directly or by their context

in some way to the concept of suffering, either that of the

people of God or of their enemies.⁴⁵ The combination of these

2 groupings of lexemes lends support for a view that one focus

of the Psalms 107-118 corpus is on the praise of God who

_________________

⁴⁴Curiously, of the 3 most frequently used terms in this

corpus that express gratitude to God (i.e., hdy--to thank, jrb-

-to bless, and llh--to praise), none occurs in either Psalms

110 or 114. Those 2 psalms, however, are themselves, in

essence, declarations of God's greatness and power. As such,

those psalms may be classified as encomia themselves, thereby

supporting the overall theme of gratitude to God as found in

this corpus.

⁴⁵Those terms are as follows: lvm (to cut off), hqvcm

(distress), NFW (accuser), fvn (to shake, waver), bfr (hungry),

bbs (to turn about, surround), Nvybx (affliction), and Ffm (few,

to be little). Note that not all of these terms are always used

within a context of suffering, but all of them at one time or

another within this corpus relate in some way to the issue of

suffering.

is needed in the midst of distress or who is in some manner

connected to the affliction of those who do not follow Him.

This dissertation, moreover, categorizes all of the lexemes

that overlap between 2 or more psalms into 3 types: key-lexeme

links, thematic-lexeme links, and incidental-lexeme links. Key-

lexeme links are defined as either rarely used words or words

used in unique ways that may have led an editor or a compiler of

the Psalter to place the psalms (in which the terms occur) in

the positions within the corpus in which the psalms are found.

Thematic-lexeme interconnections are classified as those terms

(other than key-lexeme links) that directly advance the

development of a theme that appears within the psalms of which

those terms are a part. Incidental-lexeme linkages, by default,

are identified as all other significant lexeme family groups

that do not function either as key-lexeme links or as thematic-

lexeme links. The primary focus the lexeme frequency analysis

portion of Chapter 2 presents an assessment of the function of

these 3 groups (mainly of key-lexeme links and thematic-lexeme

links) as they reveal the interrelationships among the psalms of

the corpus.

Thematic Analysis

This dissertation also performs a thematic analysis of each

of the psalms of the Psalms 107-118 corpus. The dissertation

then traces the various themes across the boundaries of a given

psalm in order to discover whether or not those themes function

as linkages among the psalms of the corpus.

Determination of the theme of a psalm depends, among other

considerations, on understanding the poet's use of (1) lexical

units (presence and frequency of word groups as well as

deployment of terms that fall within a given semantic range),

(2) grammatical and structural techniques to convey emphasis

(e.g., refrains, chiasm, inclusio, pattern shifts, doubling of

words, and "redundant" terminology), and (3) content flow.

"Theme," as herein understood, is the essential content or

subject-matter of a psalm.⁴⁶

Structural Analysis

In order to determine the overall composition of the

corpus, this study compares each psalm to every other psalm as

they are related sequentially within the Psalms 107-118 corpus.

This study does so, in part, by assessing the impact that the

above-mentioned lexical, thematic, and structural patterns have

on the corpus as a whole. This study also seeks to discover

transitional techniques that may have been used to ensure a flow

of thought between adjacent psalms.⁴⁷

_________________

⁴⁶Watson, Classical Hebrew Poetry: A Guide to its

Techniques, 81.

⁴⁷H. Van Dyke Parunak, "Transitional Techniques in the

Bible," Journal of Biblical Literature 102 (1983): 525-48.

Plan of the Study

Chapter 2, the heart of this study, compares each psalm to

every other psalm in the corpus at the level of the lexical and

thematic interconnections that exist among those psalms.

Chapter 2, moreover, describes each psalm in its textual context

within the Psalms 107-118 corpus.

Chapter 3 presents the summary, conclusions, and

implications of the study.

CHAPTER 2

THE TEXTS IN CONTEXT

Chapter 2 describes the significant interconnections that

exist between the various psalms of the Psalms 107-118 corpus.

To do so, this chapter compares each psalm with every other

psalm of the corpus, resulting in a total of 66 separate

assessments.¹ The chapter analyzes those inter-psalm

relationships according to the 2 primary research methods

described in Chapter 1 above, i.e., according to lexeme

frequency analysis and thematic analysis.²

_________________

¹In other words, Chapter 2 first analyzes Psalm 107 in

relation to Psalm 108, then it assesses Psalm 107 in comparison

to Psalm 109, after which it compares Psalm 107 with Psalm 110,

and so on through Psalm 118. Next, the chapter compares Psalm

108 in relation to each individual psalm from Psalm 109 through

Psalm 118. The chapter applies a similar procedure to each of

the remaining psalms of the corpus (through Psalm 117) as each

psalm relates to each of the psalms subsequent to it. Since

there are no psalms within the corpus subsequent to Psalm 118,

the chapter does not include a similar assessment for Psalm 118.

The inter-psalm relationships for Psalm 118, however, are

included within the assessments for each of the psalms previous

to it. Furthermore, this chapter presents for each of the 12

psalms of the corpus a summary analysis of the various

interconnections.

²The data from which the inter-psalm lexeme connections

are drawn are recorded in Appendix B.

A given lexeme or theme, however, does not necessarily

elicit a connection between every pair of psalms being compared.

Due to space considerations, therefore, this presentation

focuses only on those lexical or thematic components that

suggest the possibility of the existence of an interconnection

between any 2 given psalms.³

By taking the above-cited approach to the analysis of

inter-psalm relationships, this dissertation seeks to provide a

comprehensive analysis of 2 important literary components which

the authors or editors of the psalms of the Psalter appear to

have taken into consideration as they implemented their craft.

The systematic approach of this dissertation, therefore, is

designed to be thorough in its search for lexical and thematic

connections between psalms that previously may have been

undiscovered.⁴

_________________

³See "Lexeme Frequency Analysis" in Chapter 1 for a

discussion of the lexeme search parameters within this

dissertation.

⁴Few studies have provided a comprehensive assessment of

an extended sequence of psalms beyond that of a dyad. Howard's

dissertation on Psalms 93-100, however, provides a notable

exception to this general rule. David Morris Howard, Jr., "The

Structure of Psalms 93-100" (Ph.D. diss., University of

Michigan, 1986), forthcoming as The Structure of Psalms 93-100,

University of California at San Diego Biblical and Judaic Series

5 (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns).

Psalm 107 in Context

Introduction to Psalm 107

Psalm 106 concludes Book IV of the Psalter on less than a

joyous note, having just surveyed Israel's history of rebellion;

by contrast, Psalm 107, as it introduces Book V, offers hope for

those who turn to God.⁵ Psalm 107, furthermore, presents

God's response to the desperate cry of His people in Ps 106:47--

vnyhlx hvhy vnfywvh ("deliver us, O LORD our God") --for Psalm 107

describes God's compassion toward His people in delivering them

from their distress.

_________________

⁵Hengstenberg understands Psalm 107 to have been composed

after the exile "when the whole of Israel were assembled at

Jerusalem, and sacrifices were offered to the Lord upon the

newly-erected altar" but before the rebuilding of the temple was

begun. The psalm was then appended to Psalms 101-106 "and thus

completed the number seven, the first and last word of which

is the mercy of the Lord." E. W. Hengstenberg, Commentary on,

the Psalms, vol. 3, trans. John Thomson and Patrick Fairbairn,

Clark's Foreign Theological Library, vol. 12 (Edinburgh: T. & T.

Clark, 1848), 286-87. Technically, dsH (lovingkindness),

translated by Hengstenberg as "mercy," is not the last Hebrew

word of Ps 107:43 (hvhy—the LORD--is the last word) and is only

the first Hebrew word of Ps 101:1 after the superscription

(rvmzm dvdl--a psalm of David) is removed from consideration.

Psalm 107 divides into 2 main sections.⁶ First, vv. 1-32

picture God's positive response to His people's plea for

deliverance primarily in 4 different situations (each of which

is concluded with a refrain that issues a challenge to God's

people to give Him thanks for His lovingkindness and for His

great works on their behalf). Second, vv. 33-42 present God's

control over creation and how He exercises that power to bless

those who are downtrodden. This final section concludes,

moreover, with an echo (in reverse order to the challenges found

in the refrains of vv. 8, 15, 21, 31) for all who would be wise

to consider God's great works and His lovingkindness.

Section one (vv. 1-32) begins with 3 verses of general

praise for redemption from exile followed by 4 segments in which

a different special circumstances of rescue are described. In

vv. 4-9, God delivers people from a wilderness journey in which

they had been wandering aimlessly; in vv. 10-16, from a time of

bondage and imprisonment; in vv. 17-22, from the face of death

_________________

⁶Regarding these 2 sections, Anderson labels the first

section (vv. 1-32) "a Thanksgiving" and the second section (vv.

33-42) either "a Praise to Yahweh" or a "Wisdom Hymn". A. A.

Anderson, The Book of Psalms: Vol. II: Psalms 73-150, New

Century Bible Commentary, ed. Ronald E. Clements and Matthew

Black (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1972), 749.

(due to illness?), and in vv. 23-32, from the "natural"

disasters experienced by those who do business on the seas.⁷

Section two (vv. 33-42) divides into 2 subsections. The

first (vv. 33-38) describes God's ability to alter climatic and

geological conditions in order to judge wickedness and to help

those who are in need. The second subsection (vv. 39-42)

focuses on God's ability to turn upside down the power

structures established by humans in order to bring down from

positions of power those who oppress others and to lift up those

who previously had been helpless.

Psalms 107 and 108

Lexical Interconnections

A comparison of the lexemes studied in Psalms 107 and 108

produces the following frequency-of-occurrence data, separated

into key-lexeme links, thematic-lexeme links, and incidental-

lexeme links:⁸

_________________

⁷The storm that impacts the sailors and tradesmen on the

sea in vv. 25-27 is, in fact, a supernatural disaster, brought

about by God Himself.

⁸See Chapter 2 above for a definition of what qualifies

here and passim in this chapter as a significant lexeme, a

"key-lexeme link," a "thematic-lexeme link," and an "incidental-

lexeme link."

Key-Lexeme Links

rrc⁹ (107:2, 6, 13, 19, 28--108:13, 14)--adversary, distress

Thematic-Lexeme Links

hdy¹⁰ (107:1, 8, 15, 21, 22, 31--108:4)--give thanks,

thanksgiving

hvhy¹¹(107:1, 2, 6, 8, 13, 15, 19, 21, 24, 28, 31, 43--108:4)--LORD

dsH (107:1, 8, 15, 21, 31, 43--108:5)--lovingkindness

Myhlx¹² (107:11--108:2, 6, 8, 12[2x], 14)--God

rzf¹³ (107:12--108:13)—help

_________________

⁹The rrc lexical family includes rc (adversary,

distress), hrc (terror, distress), and rcm (distress) here and

passim in this chapter.

¹⁰The hdy lexical family includes hdy (give thanks) and

hdvt (thanksgiving) here and passim in this chapter.

¹¹The hvhy lexical family includes hy (LORD) and hvhy,

(LORD) here and passim in this chapter. Although according to

Brown, Driver, and Briggs, both hy and hvhy are subsets of hvh

(be), for the purposes of this dissertation the 2 divine names

are subsumed under the title "hvhy lexeme family." The lexeme

family of hyh (be), therefore, is treated as a separate unit.

BDB, 217-19.

¹²The Myhlx lexical family includes lx (God), hvlx (God),

and Myhlx (God) here and passim in this chapter.

¹³The rzf, lexical family includes both the noun (hrzf) and

verb (rzf) forms of the term translated "help" here and passim

in this chapter.

fwy¹⁴ (107:13, 19--108:7, 13)--save, deliver¹⁵

Mvr (107:25, 32--108:6)--exalt, lift up

hHn: (107:30--108:11)--lead, guide

Incidental-Lexeme Links

Crx (107:3, 34, 35--108:6)--earth, land

ryf (107:4, 7, 36--108:11)--city

Mdx (107:8, 15, 21, 31--108:13)--man

bl (107:12--108:2)--heart

xcy(107:14, 28--108:12)--go forth

lk (107:18, 27, 42--108:6)--all

rbd (107:20--108:8)--word, speak

hWf¹⁶(107:22, 23, 24, 37--108:14)--work, do, make

Mymw (107:26--108:5, 6)--heavens

Mf (107:32--108:4)--people

Nvk (107:36--108:2)--establish

The 20 lexeme families cited above represent 13% (20 of 153) of

the separate lexemes of Psalm 107 and 30% (20 of 67) of the

lexemes of Psalm 108.¹⁷

_________________

¹⁴The fwy lexical family includes fwy (save, deliver),

hfvwy (salvation), and hfvwt (deliverance) here and passim in

this chapter.

¹⁵The fwy lexeme thematically links not only Psalms 107

and 108 but also Psalms 106 and 109 in a quadruple grouping of

psalms that crosses the boundary between Books IV and V of the

Psalter.

¹⁶The hWf lexical family includes hWf (do, make) and

hWfm (work) here and passim in this chapter.

¹⁷For the percentage data related to the lexical frequency

analysis of psalm dyads, here and passim in this chapter, see

Appendix C which summarizes (both as raw data and as percentage

The key connecting lexeme family identified above--rrc

(adversary, distress)--occurs 7 times within these 2 psalms.

That figure is approximately 9% of the 82 occurrences of the

lexeme family in the Psalter, i.e., a frequency that is nearly 4

times greater than is to be expected for any 2 psalms whose

verse totals equal those of Psalms 107 and 108.¹⁸ Furthermore,

the usage of rrc in Pss 107:2 and 108:13, 14 functions as an

inclusio emphasizing the fact that God gives victory over the

rc, the adversary.

The 8 thematic lexical connections noted above center

around 2 primary themes: the praise of the LORD and the LORD's

deliverance or guidance of His people. These 2 themes play

important roles in both Psalms 107 and 108.¹⁹

_________________

data) the lexeme frequency data for the various psalms of the

corpus.

¹⁸These statistics are especially instructive in light of

the frequency of the lexeme family rrc in the 4 sequential

psalms of 105-108. Those 4 psalms together contain 10 of the 82

occurrences in the Psalter (i.e., 12%). In addition, 50% (11 of

22) of all the occurrences of the rrc lexeme family in Book V

of the Psalter are found in the Psalms 107-118 corpus. The 7

instances found here in Psalms 107-108, therefore, account for

nearly 1/3 (32%) of those Book V occurrences.

¹⁹ Mays identifies these 2 themes in Psalm 107: "Two

patterns unite the psalm. The first is that of the imperative

hymn in verse 1 with its summons to thankful praise supported by

a statement of the basis and content of the praise (God's

goodness, loyal love). . . .

"The second pattern is that of the narrative of deliverance

from the prayer of thanksgiving . . . James Luther Mays,

Psalms, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and

Both psalms point out that thanks (hdy) is to be given to

the LORD (hvhy)²⁰ because of His lovingkindness (dsH). He is,

moreover, to be exalted (Mvr).

Furthermore, if God (Myhlx) is not to be found, either

because His people have rebelled against Him or because He has

rejected them (as a consequence of their sin?), then there is no

true help (rzf) for His people. Yet, if they turn to Him, He

_________________

Preaching, ed. James Luther Mays (Louisville: John Knox, 1994),

345.

Hengstenberg finds parallel themes in Psalm 108: "The

Psalmist . . . expresses . . . confidence in . . . God, and

praises him because of the fulness of his mercy and truth, ver.

2-6; entreats him to impart his salvation [i.e., deliverance],

and founds this prayer upon the firm ground of the word and

promise of God by which Israel is assured of perpetual possession

of his land, and victory over the neighboring nations, ver. 7-10."

Hengstenberg, Commentary on the Psalms, vol. 3, 299.

²⁰Assuming that Psalm 108 is in fact a compilation of Pss

57:8-12 and 60:7-14, then the presence of the lexeme hvhy (LORD)

in Ps 108:4 is instructive. The original rendering of that

verse (Ps 57:10) included yndx (Lord) rather than hvhy (LORD).

In Psalms 107-118, the lexeme yndx (Lord) occurs in only 4

verses (Pss 109:21; 110:1, 5; 114:7) but never once in the

context of being the recipient of thanks. That context within

the corpus under study is reserved all but once for the lexeme

hvhy (LORD--Pss 107:1, 8, 15, 21, 31; 108:4; 109:30; 111:1;

[116:17]; 118:1, 19, 29). The only other verse in the corpus

that refers to deity as being the recipient of thanks is Ps

118:28 where the lexeme Myhlx (God) occurs. The fact that the

lexeme yndx (Lord) in Ps 57:10 is altered to read hvhy (LORD) in

Ps 108:4 suggests the hand of an editor that worked to revise an

earlier psalm to fit into a later context where the preferred

appelation for deity is the lexeme hvhy (LORD). Including its

use in Ps 108:4, the lexeme family hvhy (LORD) occurs 99 times

in the corpus.

delivers (fwy) them from their distress and guides (hHn) them to

safety.

Thematic Interconnections

Psalms 107 and 108 hold numerous thematic concepts in

common. For example, both psalms emphasize (either by means of

direct commands or by indirect suggestions) the need to praise

hvhy (the LORD) or to give Him thanks (Pss 107:1, 8, 15, 21;

108:2, 3,²¹ 4²²). The 2 psalms also highlight the fact that

the LORD is able to deliver from distress or from adversaries

those who call upon Him (Pss 107:2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 13, 14, 16, 19,

20, 30; 108:7, 13, 14).²³

Furthermore, according to Brennan, Ps 108:4-5 "respond to

the invitation expressed so insistently in 107, 1-3, 8-9, 15-16,

21-22, 31-32, but the thanksgiving of 108 is tempered by the

realization that the danger is not yet over, nor is redemption

_________________

²¹Compare Ps 150:3 regarding instruments used in praise of

God.

²²Delitzsch points out that "[t]he j~r;Ox in ver. 4 and the

whole contents of the Psalm [108] is the echo to UdOh of the

preceding Psalm [107]." Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on

The Psalms, trans. Francis Bolton, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, Mich.:

Eerdmans, 1968), 173.

²³In Psalm 107, the nation itself or different groups of

people who are in distress cry out for help (Ps 107:6, 13, 19,

28), whereas in Psalm 108, the speaker in that psalm cries out

for deliverance, sometimes speaking for himself (Ps 108:7) and

sometimes for the nation (Ps 108:13, 14).

yet fully achieved."²⁴ Thus, as Brennan concludes, "it is not

surprising that 108, 13-14 prays for deliverance from

oppression, as 107, 2. 6. 13. 19 had given thanks for it."²⁵

Allen also observes this interconnection between the 2

psalms when, in reference to Psalm 108, he states: "Its position

after Ps 107 reflects not only the shared divine attribute of

dsH 'loyal love' (v. 5), but also its historical and

theological setting: after return to the land, the hope of total

repossession and of vindication of God's sovereignty by means of

Edom's conquest remains as the goal of his people."²⁶

In addition, both Psalms 107 and 108 present the case

against the enemies of God and of His people by alternating

between singular and plural grammatical forms. Psalm 107 begins

its discussion with the singular rc (adversary--v. 2), shifts to

the plural Mybydn (princes--v. 40), and returns to the singular

hlvf (unrighteousness--v. 42).²⁷ Psalm 108 utilizes the

_________________

²⁴Joseph P. Brennan, "Some Hidden Harmonies in the Fifth

Book of Psalms," in Essays in Honor of Joseph P. Brennan, ed.

Robert F. McNamara (Rochester, N.Y.: Saint Bernard's Seminary,

1976), 130.

²⁵Brennan, "Some Hidden Harmonies in the Fifth Book of

Psalms," 130.

²⁶Leslie C. Allen, Psalms 101-150, Word Biblical

Commentary 21 (Milton Keynes, England: Word [UK], 1983), 66.

²⁷The singular forms, rc and hlvf, however, undoubtedly

represent plural concepts, i.e., generic groups.

reverse order: plural, singular, and plural. Ps 108:8-10 cite a

group of nations as the enemies of God, Ps 108:13 an individual

adversary (rc), and Ps 108:14 multiple adversaries (Myrc).

Psalms 107 and 109

Lexical Interconnections

An analysis of the lexemes studied in both Psalms 107 and

109 generates the following results:

Key-Lexeme Links

dsH (107:1, 8, 15, 21, 31, 43--109:12, 16, 21, 26)--

lovingkindness

Thematic-Lexeme Links

hdy (107:1, 8, 15, 21, 22, 31--109:30)--give thanks,

thanksgiving

hvhy (107:1, 2, 6, 8, 13, 15, 19, 21, 24, 28, 31, 43--

109:14, 15, 20, 21, 26, 27, 30)--LORD

bvF (107:1, 9--109:5,21)--good

wpn (107:5, 9[2x], 18, 26--109:20, 31)--soul

lcn (107:6--109:21)--deliver

ynf²⁸ (107:10, 17, 41--109:16, 22)--affliction

lwk (107:12--109:24)--stumble

rzf (107:12--109:26)--help

fwy (107:13, 19--109:26,31)--save, deliver

Nvf (107:17--109:14)--iniquity

hfr (107:26, 34, 39--109:5)--evil, misery

_________________

²⁸The lexeme ynf (affliction) is used (here and passim in

this chapter) in place of the root lexeme hnf, (be afflicted) to

represent the lexical family that includes hnf (be afflicted)

and ynf (affliction) and to distinguish that group of lexemes

from the lexical family that is represented elsewhere in the

corpus (Pss 108:7; 118:5, 21) by the root lexeme hnf (answer).

fvn (107:27--109:10, 25[2x])--stagger

HmW (107:30, 42--109:28)--joyful, rejoice, be glad

llh (107:32--109:30)--praise²⁹

jrb (107:38--109:28)--bless, knee

Nvybx (107:41--109:16, 22, 31)--needy

hp (107:42--109:2[2x], 30)--mouth

Incidental-Lexeme Links

dy (107:2--109:27)--hand

Crx (107:3, 34, 35--109:15)--earth, land

jlh (107:7--109:23)--go, walk

Nb (107:8, 15, 21, 31--109:9, 10)--son, (pl.) children

Myhlx (107:11--109:1, 26)--God

bl (107:12--109:22)--heart

xcy (107:14, 28--109:7)--go forth

lk (107:18, 27, 42--109:11)--all

tvm (107:18--109:16)--death, die

rbd (107:20--109:2, 3, 20)--word, speak

hWf (107:22, 23, 24, 37--109:16, 21, 27)--work, do, make

Mym (107:23, 33, 35[2x]--109:18)--water

br (107:23--109:30)--many

hxr (107:24, 42--109:25)--see

dmf (107:25--109:6, 31)--stand

Mvq (107:29--109:28)--rise

CpH (107:30--109:17)--delight, desire

MyW (107:33, 35, 41--109:5)--set

dxm (107:38--109:30)--greatly

Ffm (107:38,39--109:8)--decrease

These 38 lexemes equal 25% (38 of 153) of the total lexeme

population of Psalm 107. The 38 lexemes, moreover, represent

30% (38 of 126) of the lexical families of Psalm 109.

_________________

²⁹Praise in both psalms is to occur in public--in the presence

of the elders in Ps 107:32 and in the midst of many in Ps 109:30.

The key-lexeme link identified above for Psalms 107 and

109--dsH (lovingkindness)--occurs a total of 10 times in the 2

psalms. That number is approximately 8% of the 130 occurrences

of the term dsH in the Psalter, i.e., nearly 4 times as often

as would normally be expected to be found in any given pair of

psalms containing the same verse total as that found in Psalms

107 and 109. In Psalm 107, God's dsH is presented as a reason

for giving praise and thanksgiving to God. That dsH

(lovingkindness), moreover, is understood in relation to God's

deliverance of those in need. To a lesser extent, dsH in Psalm

109 also occurs in relation to God's act of deliverance.

Furthermore, in both psalms (Pss 107:1; 109:21), dsH is brought

into close proximity with the concept of "good" (bvF).³⁰

The multitude of thematic lexical connections between

Psalms 107 and 109 center around 3 foci.³¹ First, God is to be

thanked or praised (hdy--give thanks, thanksgiving; hvhy--LORD;

_________________

³⁰Although the term dsH (lovingkindness) at times occurs

in the context of bvF (good), the term dsH, in Ps 109:16,

provides a contrast to that which is good when the failure of

the wicked to show dsH to others is deemed to be a grounds for

judgment.

³¹Note that the same lexeme may be used to convey more

than 1 thematic concept.

bvF--good; HmW--joyful, rejoice, be glad; llh--praise, and

hp³²—mouth).

Second, God delivers those who are in distress (who have

placed their trust in Him) and provides for them (hvhy—LORD,

wpn--soul; lcn--deliver; rzf--help; fwy--save, deliver; jrb--

bless, knee; and Nvybx--needy).

Third, those who are out of God's will are seen to exhibit

an ungodly character or are pictured as facing serious problems

(hvhy--LORD; wpn--soul; ynf--affliction; lwk--stumble; Nvf--

iniquity; hfr--evil, misery; fvn stagger; and hp—mouth).

Thematic Interconnections

Both Psalms 107 and 109 address the need for the LORD to

rescue those in distress who cry out to Him for help. Psalm 107

cites 4 examples (vv. 4-5, 10-12, 17-18, 23-27) of those who are

in desperate need of deliverance from extremely difficult

situations (sometimes as a result of their own actions,

sometimes not). Psalm 109, in its entirety, essentially is a

plea for deliverance from an oppressive situation. Similar

_________________

³²The lexeme hp (mouth) links in a dual sense across the

2 psalms. In Ps 107:42, the ungodly person is so overwhelmed at

what God does that he cannot even open his mouth to say

anything. Yet, in Ps 109:2, when wicked people do not see God

at work, when He is seemingly silent (Ps 109:1), they boldly

open their mouths (described as wicked and deceitful) to attack

God's servant (cf. Ps 109:3-4). By contrast, the righteous

person (in this case, the speaker in this psalm), after he has

observed God's actions on his behalf, will use his mouth to

offer thanks and praise to God (Ps 109:30).

terminology and expressions of thought arise in both psalms to

describe the person in need and the desperate situation that

that individual faces: affliction or suffering (Pss 107:17, 41;

109:22); a desperate need (Pss 107:41; 109:16, 22, 31); a sense

of impending death (Pss 107:10, 14, 18; 109:23); a feeling of

reeling, staggering, tottering, or faltering (Pss 107:27;

109:24); and a sense of hungering, thirsting, or fainting (Pss

107:5; 109:24).

The 2 psalms, moreover, proclaim that true deliverance

(salvation) from distress comes from the LORD. The LORD's

willingness to rescue those in need is couched in His

lovingkindness (Pss 107:1-2, 6-8, 13-15, 19-21, 28-31; 109:21,

26). Furthermore, those who are delivered from such a distress

need to offer thanksgiving and praise to the LORD (Pss 107:2, 8,

15, 21, 31; 109:30-31).

Psalm 107 concludes with the wicked being unable to say

anything because God has done such a wonderful work for His

people (v. 42). Psalm 109 may be keying off that reality when

the psalm records a plea for God, once again, to do His great

work on behalf of the one who trusts God, because the wicked are

no longer silent, but are speaking out boldly against that

righteous individual (v. 2).

Psalm 107 also ends with the thought that God provides for

the needy, setting him in a secure place away from affliction

(v. 41). This thought reverberates in the ending of Psalm 109

when the psalm declares that God once more protects the needy,

keeping him safe from the attacks of the enemy (v. 31).

Both Psalms 107 and 109, furthermore, alternate between

singular and plural grammatical forms to present the case

against the enemies of God and of His people. Psalm 107

exhibits the following order: singular rc (adversary--v. 2),

plural Mybydn (princes--v. 40), and singular hlvf

(unrighteousness--v. 42).³³ Psalm 109, however, utilizes the

opposite order--plural (vv. 2-5), followed by singular (vv. 6-

19), followed by plural (vv. 20, 25, 27-29, 31).

Psalms 107 and 110

Lexical Interconnections

Psalms 107 and 110 only rarely exhibit lexical duplication,

as the following reveals:

Key-Lexeme Links

none

Thematic-Lexeme Links

hvhy (107:1, 2, 6, 8, 13, 15, 19, 21, 24, 28, 31, 43--110:1, 2, 4)--

LORD

Incidental-Lexeme Links

Mlvf (107:1--110:4)--forever

Crx (107:3, 34, 35--110:6)--earth, land

_________________

³³The singular forms, rc and hlvf, however, undoubtedly

represent plural concepts, i.e., generic groups.

jrd (107:4, 7[2x], 17, 40--110:7)--way

xlm (107:9--110:6)--fill

bwy (107:10, 34, 36--110:1)--sit, dwell

Hlw (107:20--110:2)--send

Mvr (107:25, 32--110:7)--exalt, lift up

Mf (107:32--110:3)--people

hbr (107:38--110:6)--broad, increase

The 10 lexemes held in common by Psalms 107 and 110 account for

7% (10 of 153) of the total number of lexemes in Psalm 107 and

21% (10 of 47) of the lexical families of Psalm 110.

There are no key-lexeme interconnections between the 2

psalms under consideration.

The primary thematic-lexical linkage between Psalms 107 and

110 is the divine name hvhy (LORD). In both psalms, hvhy is

understood to be the one who is in charge of that which is

taking place. This lexeme, moreover, is the most frequently

occurring lexeme in each of the 2 psalms.

Thematic Interconnections

The primary theme that extends across both Psalms 107 and

110 is that the God is more than capable of securing victory in

the face of any difficulty, whether a distressing situation or a

powerful enemy (Pss 107:6-7, 13-14, 19-20, 28-30, 33-38, 39-41;

110:5-6).

To express this theme, both psalms make extensive use of a

disinterested narrational style of presentation as opposed to a

first-person account of events. Psalm 110 utilizes the

narrational style exclusively. Psalm 107, however, intersperses

personal commentary throughout its narration by means of the

jussive form (Ps 107:2, 8, 15, 21-22, 31-32, 43).

Psalms 107 and 111

Lexical Interconnections

Lexical replication between Psalms 107 and 111 occurs, as

follows:

Key-Lexeme Links

hWf (107:22, 23, 24, 37--111:2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10)--work, do, make

Thematic-Lexeme Links

hdy (107:1, 8, 15, 21, 22, 31--111:1)--give thanks,

thanksgiving

hvhy (107:1, 2, 6, 8, 13, 15, 19, 21, 24, 28, 31, 43--111:1[2x],

2, 4, 10)--LORD

Mlvf (107:1--111:5, 8, 9)--forever

xlp (107:8, 15, 21, 24, 31--111:4)--wonderful work

llh (107:32--111:1)--praise³⁴

Incidental-Lexeme Links

bvF (107:1, 9--111:10)--good

dy (107:2--111:7)--hand

rwy (107:7, 42--111:1,8)--straight, upright

lk (107:18, 27, 42--111:1,2,7,10)--all

Hlw (107:20--111:9)--send

dmf (107:25--111:3, 10)--stand

hmkH (107:27--111:10)--wisdom

_________________

³⁴Praise, according to both psalms, is offered in public,

in the midst of God's people--specifically at the seat of the

elders in Ps 107:32 and in the company of the upright and in the

assembly in Ps 111:1.

CpH (107:30--111:2)--delight, desire

Mf (107:32--111:6, 9)--people

As the above list indicates, there are 15 lexemes of Psalm 107

(10% of the 153 lexemes of the psalm) that are also extant in

Psalm 111. Those 15 terms represent 31% (i.e., 15 of 48) of the

lexeme families of Psalm 111.

A key-lexical link between the 2 psalms is a subset of the

general category hWf (work, do, make), namely, the term hWfm

(work--Pss 107:22, 24; 111:2, 6, 7).³⁵ What makes this seemingly

common³⁶ term a significant link between the psalms in question

is the fact that all 5 usages are identified as being the action

the LORD (e.g., His work, the work of the LORD) as opposed to

those of man.³⁷ Such is not the case for the 2 immediately

antecedent usages of hWfm (work) in the Psalter (Ps 106:35, 39)

and for the immediately subsequent occurrence (Ps 115:4)--all 3

_________________

³⁵The remaining uses of hWf itself, however, are deemed

to be incidental-lexeme links.

³⁶The lexeme hWfm (work), a subset of the lexeme family

of hWf (work, do, make), occurs 234 times in the Hebrew

Scriptures, but only 39 times in the Psalter, 15 of which are

found in Book V. Of those 15 instances, 7 are located in the

Psalms 107-118 corpus, with 5 being present in these 2 psalms

(i.e., approximately 6 times the number of instances to be

expected within the Psalter for 2 psalms the size of Psalms 107

and 111).

³⁷All 5 instances of hWfm in Psalms 107 and 111 are

plural forms. The next occurrence of the term (Ps 115:4), by

contrast, is singular.

of which refer to the activity of man. The hWfm (work) of

the LORD (as it is presented in these 2 psalms), moreover, is

viewed in a positive light by those who experience it.

There are 2 primary themes captured by the thematic-lexical

interconnections between Psalms 107 and 111: (1) the LORD is

great and performs marvelous works on behalf of His people and

(2) the LORD is worthy of honor. The LORD (hvhy) is the prime

mover in both psalms; He is understood to be a doer of wonderful

works (xlp) that remain forever (Mlvf). He is therefore to be

thanked (hdy) and praised (llh).

Thematic Interconnections

Written for the most part from the perspective of a

narrator--as opposed to being a first-person expression of

personal thoughts and feelings--Psalms 107 and 111 present the

wondrous works of the LORD as an important theme.³⁸ The

wonders and works of the LORD in Psalm 107 center around His

control over the elements that allows Him to deliver those who

turn to Him in the midst of their distress (Ps 107:6-9, 13-16,

19-22, 28-31, 33-36, 38-41). Those wonders and works, moreover,

are a cause for joyful thanksgiving by God's people (Ps 107:8,

15, 21, 22, 24, 31). Likewise in Psalm 111, God's works are

_________________

³⁸As noted above, Psalm 107 makes use of the jussive form

in vv. 2, 8, 15, 21-22, 31-32, and 43. Psalm 111, by contrast,

begins with ,a first-person account (v. 1) and then develops and

concludes its contents by means of a narrational style of

presentation (vv. 2-10).

viewed in a positive light by His people--among other things,

they are great, desired, delighted in, splendid, majestic, and

powerful (Ps 111:2, 3, 4, 6, 7).

Both psalms begin with a declaration of thanksgiving to the

LORD (Pss 107:1; 111:1). Both psalms end, moreover, with a

wisdom motif (Pss 107:43; 111:10).

Psalms 107 and 112

Lexical Interconnections

Psalms 107 and 112 exhibit the following key-lexeme,

thematic-lexeme, and incidental-lexeme links:

Key-Lexeme Links

none

Thematic-Lexeme Link

hvhy (107:1, 2, 6, 8, 13, 15, 19, 21, 24, 28, 31, 43--112:1[2x], 7)

--LORD

rrc (107:2, 6, 13, 19, 28--112:8)--adversary, distress

jwH (107:10, 14--112:4)--darkness

hfr (107:26, 34, 39--112:7)--evil, misery

jrb (107:38--112:2)--bless, knee

Nvybx (107:41--112:9)--needy

Incidental-Lexeme Links

bvF (107:1, 9--112:5)--good

Mlvf (107:1--112:6[2x])--forever

Crx (107:3, 34, 35--112:2)--earth, land

rwy (107:7, 42--112:2,4)--straight, upright

bl (107:12--112:7, 8)--heart

rbd (107:20--112:5)--word, speak

hxr (107:24, 42--112:8,10)--see

rmf (107:25--112:3, 9)--stand

Mvr (107:25, 32--112:9)--exalt, lift up

CpH (107:30--112:1)--delight, desire

llh (107:32--112:1)--praise

Nvk (107:36--112:7)--establish

frz (107:37--112:2)--sow, seed

dxm (107:38--112:1)--greatly

This list of 20 lexemes recorded in both Psalms 107 and 112

amounts to 13% (20 of 153) of the lexeme families of Psalm 107

and 36% (20 of 55) of the lexemes of Psalm 112 included within

the present analysis.

Although there are no key-lexeme interconnections between

Psalms 107 and 112, there are 6 thematic-lexeme linkages—hvhy

(LORD), rrc (adversary, distress), jw (darkness), hfr (evil,

misery), jrb (bless, knee), and Nvybx (needy). These thematic-

lexeme links highlight 3 important themes in the 2 psalms: (1)

the LORD is the controller of life, (2) those who are out of

God's will face serious problems, and (3) God blesses those who

are in need.

Thematic Interconnections

Both psalms make extensive use of a narrational style (in

contrast to a first-person account of matters) to present their

respective concerns.³⁹

_________________

³⁹As noted previously, Psalm 107 intersperses the jussive

form (vv. 2, 8, 15, 21-22, 31-32, 43) throughout what otherwise

is a narrative account of events. Psalm 112, by contrast,

begins with an imperative (v. la) and then completes its

In Psalm 107, God establishes the righteous on secure

ground and blesses them greatly (Ps 107:33-42). In Psalm 112,

that security and blessing is presented in some detail (Ps

112:1-9). At the same time, and at the end of both psalms, the

unrighteous find themselves unable to take effective action

against those who have been so honored by the LORD (Pss 107:42;

112:10).⁴⁰

Both psalms, moreover, make use of the picture of darkness

as being that which is descriptive of disaster or distress--a

situation out of which the repentant are brought or out of which

light arises for the upright (Pss 107:10, 14; 112:4). Defeat,

therefore, is not the end for those who serve God.

Both Psalms 107 and 112 alternate between singular and

plural grammatical forms to record their respective cases

against the enemies of God and of His people. The psalms,

however, follow a different sequence. Psalm 107 follows a

singular-plural-singular pattern: rc (adversary--v. 2), Mybydn

(princes--v. 40), hlvf (unrighteousness--v. 42).⁴¹ By

_________________

contents by means of a narrational style of presentation (vv.

lb-10).

⁴⁰Interestingly, the imagery used in both of these verses

regarding the wicked makes reference to the mouth area. In

107:42, the unrighteous shuts his mouth; in 112:10, he gnashes

his teeth.

⁴¹The singular forms, rc and hlvf, however, undoubtedly

represent plural concepts, i.e., generic groups.

contrast, Palm 112 adheres to the opposite pattern: plural

(Myrc--adversaries—v. 8); singular (fwr--wicked--v. 10a-b);

plural (Myfwr--wicked--v. 10c).

Psalms 107 and 113

Lexical Interconnections

Numerous inter-psalm lexeme connections exist between

Psalms 107 and 113, as the following indicates:

Key-Lexeme Links

none

Thematic-Lexeme Links

hvhy (107:1, 2, 6, 8, 13, 15, 19, 21, 24, 28, 31, 43--113:1[3x],

2, 3, 4, 5, 9)--LORD

Mlvf (107:1--113:2)--forever

Myhlx (107:11--113:5)--God

HmW (107:30, 42--113:9)--joyful, rejoice, be glad

llh (107:32--113:1[3x],3,9)--praise

jrb (107:38--113:2)--bless, knee

Nvybx (107:41--113:7)--needy

Incidental-Lexeme Links

Crx (107:3, 34, 35--113:6)--earth, land

Hrzm (107:3--113:3)--east

Nb (107:8, 15, 21, 31--113:9)--son, (pl.) children

bwy (107:10, 34, 36--113:5, 8, 9)--sit, dwell

lk (107:18, 27, 42--113:4)--all

hxr (107:24, 42--113:6)--see

Mvr (107:25, 32--113:4,7)--exalt, lift up

Mymw (107:26--113:4, 6)--heavens

Mvq(107:29--113:7)--rise

Mf (107:32--113:8)--people

bydn (107:40--113:8[2x])--prince

These 18 lexemes equal 12% (18 of 153) of the lexical families

of Psalm 107. These replicated lexemes also comprise just more

than half (18 of 35, i.e., 51%) of the lexemes of Psalm 113.

The lack of key-lexeme interconnections is made up for by

the presence of the 7 thematic-lexeme linkages noted above.

These thematic-lexemes emphasize the ideas that the

characteristics of God (hvhy--LORD; Myhlx--God) are eternal

(Mlvf), that God is to be praised (llh) for what He has done

(i.e., for bringing the joy (HmW) of release and deliverance

into people's lives), and that He is a God who blesses (jrb)

those who are unable to help themselves (i.e., the needy--

Nvybx).

Thematic Interconnections

Both psalms stress the fact that God is a God to be honored

for who He is and for what He has done (Pss 107:1, 8, 15, 21-22,

31-32; 113:1-3, 9). Both psalms, moreover, declare that God

blesses those who are in distress, especially those who turn to

Him for help, (Pss 107:2-3, 6-7, 9, 13-14, 16, 19-20, 28-30, 36-

42; 113:7-9). In particular, God takes care of those in

desperate need,⁴² and He does so in the context of the rich,

i.e., the princes (Pss 107:40-41; 113:7-8).

Psalms 107 and 114

Lexical Interconnections

Although there are no key-lexeme links between Psalms 107

and 114, there are 3 thematic-lexeme links and 7 incidental-

lexeme links, as the following reveals:

Key-Lexeme Links

none

Thematc-Lexeme Links

xcy (107:14, 28--114:1)--go forth

Mym (107:23, 33, 35[2x]--114:8[2x])--water

Mgx (107:35--114:8)--reedy pool

Incidental-Lexeme Links

Crx (107:3, 34, 35--114:7)--earth, land

My (107:3--114:3, 5)--sea

Nb (107:8, 15, 21, 31--114:4, 6)--son, (pl.) children

Myhlx (107:11--114:7)--God

hxr (107:24, 42--114:3)--see

Mf (107:32--114:1)--people

Nxc (107:41--114:4, 6)--flock

_________________

⁴²Allen argues that God's actions here are examples of His

"providential_ intervention in the lives of individuals." Allen,

Psalms 101-150, 101. They may also be examples of God's direct

intervention.

These 10 lexical interconnections which Psalm 107 holds jointly

with Psalm 114 represent 7% (10 of 153) of the lexemes of Psalm

107 and 29% (10 of 34) of the lexemes of Psalm 114.

The first thematic-lexical link of both psalms (xcy--go

forth--Pss 107:14, 28; 114:1) highlights the fact that God

causes His people who are in trouble to go forth out of their

distress. The second and third thematic-lexical links (Mym--

water--Pss 107:23, 33, 35[2x]; 114:8[2x]; Mgx--reedy pool--Pss

107:35; 114:8) focus on God's control over the elements of the

earth. They emphasize the fact that He is able to do with them

as He sees fit.

Thematic Interconnections

Both Psalms 107 and 114 also proclaim thematically the

power God has over creation that allows Him to do whatever He

pleases to accomplish His will. In the 2 psalms, God is seen to

change water in to dry ground and dry ground into water (Pss

107:33-35; 114:3, 8). Psalms 107 and 114, moreover, in their

quests to convey the truth about God's power, utilize

extensively geological motifs⁴³ and, to a lesser degree,

_________________

⁴³The term "geological" is used here in the broad sense to

include not only the physical components of the earth but also

those of the universe and the heavens.

Of the 12 psalms of the Psalms 107-118 corpus, Psalms 107

and 114 make far more use of geological references than do any

of the remaining psalms in the corpus. The geological

references convey, moreover, at times a literal sense and at

times a metaphorical sense.

zoological Motifs.⁴⁴ Of the 43 verses of Psalm 107, 13 (vv. 3-

4, 23-26, 29, 32-35, 37, 40) include at least 1 geological

reference while 2 (vv. 38, 41) present their contents with the

help of a reference to animals. Of the 8 verses of Psalm 114, 6

(vv. 3-8) contain a reference to some geological formation while

2 (vv. 4, 6) make mention of some form of animal life.

Psalms 107 and 115

Lexical Interconnections

Psalms 107 and 115 share numerous lexemes in common, as the

following details:

Key-Lexeme Links

none

Thematic-Lexeme Links

hvhy (107:1, 2, 6, 8, 13, 15, 19, 21, 24, 28, 31, 43--

115:1, 9, 10, 11[2x], 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18[2x])--LORD

dsH (107:1, 8, 15, 21, 31, 43--115:1)--lovingkindness

Mdx (107:8, 15, 21, 31--115:4,16)--man

Myhlx (107:11--115:2, 3)--God

rzf (107:12--115:9, 10, 11)--help

llh (107:32--115:17, 18)--praise

jrb (107:38--115:12[3x],13, 15, 18)--bless, knee

Incidental-Lexeme Links

Mlvf (107:1--115:18)--forever

rmx (107:2, 11, 25--115:2)--say

_________________

⁴⁴Although neither Psalm 107 nor Psalm 114 makes extensive

use of references to animals, they are the only 2 psalms in the

Psalms 107-118 corpus which make any use of a zoological

reference.

dy (107:2--115:4, 7)--hand

Crx (107:3, 34, 35--115:15, 16)--earth, land

jlh (107:7--115:7)--go, walk

Nb (107:8, 15, 21, 31--115:14, 16)--son, (pl.) children

lk (107:18, 27, 42--115:3, 8, 17)--all

tvm (107:18--115:17)--death, die

rbd (107:20--115:5)--word, speak

hWf (107:22, 23, 24, 37--115:3, 4, 8, 15)--work, do, make

dry(107:23, 26--115:17)--go down

hxr (107:24, 42--115:5)--see

Mymw (107:26--115:3, 15, 16[2x])--heavens

CpH (107:30--115:3)--delight, desire

hp(107:42--115:5)--mouth⁴⁵

This group of interconnecting lexemes adds up to 14% (22 of 153)

of the lexemes of Psalm 107 and 42% (i.e, 22 of 52) of the

primary lexical families of Psalm 115.

There are no key-lexeme links that join Psalms 107 and 115

together.

The thematic-lexeme interconnections between the 2 psalms

identify the LORD (hvhy) as being the central thrust of both

psalms. He is, moreover, worthy of praise (llh) because of His

lovingkindness (dsH) and because of the help (rzf) He gives to

the sons of man (Mdx) whom He blesses (jrb).

_________________

⁴⁵Interestingly, in Psalm 107, the unrighteous person

finds his mouth (hp) useless; in Psalm 115 the idol made by the

unrighteous person possesses a useless mouth (hp).

Thematic Interconnections

Both Psalms 107 and 115 point to the fact that God is to

receive honor, an honor that is based in part on God's

lovingkindness (Pss 107:1, 8-9, 15-16, 21-22, 31-31; 115:1, 18).

Both psalms moreover, present the fact that God helps those who

turn to Him (Pss 107:2-3, 6-7, 13-14, 19-20, 28-30; 115:9-11).

In addition, these 2 psalms indicate that God is a God who

blesses His people (Pss 107:36-41; 115:12-15).

Psalms 107 and 116

Lexical interconnections

The lexical interconnections indicated below are those

which exist between Psalms 107 and 116:

Key-Lexeme Links

hvhy(107:1, 2, 6, 8, 13, 15, 19, 21, 24, 28, 31, 43--116:1,

4[2x],5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19[2x])--

LORD

rrc (107:2, 6, 13, 19, 28--116:3[2x])--adversary, distress

fwy (107:13, 19--116:6, 13)--save, deliver

tvm (107:18--116:3, 8, 15)--death, die

Flm (107:20--116:4)--deliver

Hbz⁴⁶(107:22[2x]--116:17[2x])--sacrifice

_________________

⁴⁶Note that the basic clause--to offer a sacrifice of