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THE POETIC STRUCTURE OF PSALM 42-43 Luis Alonso Schoke1 Pontifical Biblical Institute Piazza della Pilotta 25, Rome

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Psalm 42-43 exhibits a clear formal structure, marked by a threefold occurrence of the refrain. This has been noticed by all the commentators, and prior to them by any reader who possessed a sensitivity to poetry or a rudimentary knowledge of rhetoric (Eusebius had realised that here we are dealing with a single psalm). In this respect, the psalm resembles others, such as 46, 57, 67 and 107 (with a double refrain). Considerable progress is possible in the structural analysis of this poem with the use of techniques or attitudes which currently find only a tentative place within the field of biblical criticism. First, the formal repetition of the refrain does not necessarily signify an exact repetition of its meaning, since depending on the context, it is open to variations of tonality or intensity, which are qualities pertaining to poetry. Second, in addition to the formal repetition we have indicated, the poem may contain other significant factors in its composition which cannot be explained through a simple classification of type. (Identification of the "form" of a psalm should serve to advance understanding of an individual poem, and not to dissolve it in general categories.) 1. Image Structure

Apart from the personification of "light and truth" as messengers, two images dominate the poem: water as life, in the first strophe, and water as death, in the second. The first image: The strophe opens with a simile which conjures up a desert land. (Representations in Byzantine apses show a gentle domestic scene, like a garden; this must be erased from the memory in order to grasp the basic dramatic atmosphere of the poem, which has nothing gentle about it.) We may imagine, with various commentators, that the poem originated in a concrete setting: the author finds himself in the mountainous region south of Hermon, and across his field of vision passes a hart in desperate search of water. Into the anxious search of the animal the poet projects his own state of mind, describing himself as anxiously searching for God. Of course, this hypothetical reconstruction is relatively unimportant: the poem cannot be

Alonso Schkel: Psalm 42-43

identified with its origin, nor does the "I" of the poem exactly correspond to the physical "I" of the poet /l/. Poetically, the author projects his experience into the image of a hart, and the use of a simile may soften somewhat the impact which the image creates by its appearance ex abrupto at the beginning of the poem. It is noteworthy that no other psalm opens with a simile, not even the kaph-strophe of Ps. 119: the opening of Ps. 23 is more of a title than a simile (or metaphor) in the strict sense. Had this psalm opened with the description of the hart but without the comparative particle, the effect would have been stronger. Psalm 84, which, unlike 42-43 sings of the joy of being in the temple and recalls a past mood of nostalgia, also draws a comparison from the animal world: "Even the sparrow has found a house, and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young; your altars...". The image does not begin the psalm, and does not employ the comparative particle; yet poetically it sustains a function and an effect similar to that of the hart in Ps. 42. Kraus thinks of an actual observation on the part of the poet: "In casting his eyes round the temple precincts, the singer's gaze falls upon birds1 nests... These birds meeting in the sanctuary symbolise for the singer the joy of refuge and permanent security close to God's presence ...". Gunkel takes the same line: "In these birds, admitted by God himself to his very presence, and kindly protected, the poet perceives something he cannot express directly but - as is obvious from the continuity with what follows - through this symbol of how God graciously welcomes anyone who seeks his protection." Schmidt, however, suggests another origin for the poetic vision, in commenting: "He searches for an image to convey his sense of tranquility ..."; and similarly Delitzsch remarks that the poem gives no hint of whether the image had its origin in a real situation. Poetically, the hart anxiously searching for water and the swallow nesting peacefully are cousins; they both give expression to the "I" of the poem, and thus, to an extent, the "I" of the poet. The image of Ps.42 is of water in the countryside, like Ps.63.1 except that here it is associated with an animal. For the image thus conjures up an anxious, living being, for whom God is desired, longed for, like water. Water is that which is life for the animal in the desert land; the search for God comprises something of the instinct of self-preservation. / 2 / The soul of the poet is devoured by an animal's thirst for God, his water, his life. This, then, is how the psalm opens.

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The second image: Almost at the beginning of the second strophe, and without the comparative particle, we find the second image of water. Scholars disagree in explaining its meaning and origin. The alternatives can be reduced to two lines of approach: (a) a picture of the scenery as symbolising a state of mind (b) a description of a serious illness by a metaphor of the abyss of Sheol. Interpretation ( _ . The poet finds himself (or conveys that a) impression) in mountainous country, alone, listening. The throbbing beat of the waterfalls, and perhaps also the sight of them, overwhelms him, and through them he contemplates his own self. This reconstruction follows the traditional reading, already attested in the LXX, with the geographical data somewhat vague. The image of the thirsty hart occupies the same terrain. According to Schmidt's interpretation of the psalm as the prayer of one unjustly accused and condemned, the psalmist is exiled amongst the heathen (cf. 79.10) as the result of an unjust sentence, and prays to God for his case to be reconsidered (43.1); thus his physical distress is a symptom of his spiritual state. The direct form of comparison, omitting the comparative participle, is extraordinarily powerful: Deep calls to deep with the noise of cataracts: Your torrents and your breakers have engulfed me. One example may be mentioned which, despite various differences, presents one point of similarity: the prayer of Jonah, which combines realistic data with symbolic transpositions. It is noteworthy that tehm does not necessarily carry a mythological or transcendental meaning (Dt. 8.7 combines it with cayan5t; or maybe the sense is much weakened, as in Job 41.24 (EW 32); perhaps also the phrase kol-tehmot (Ps. 135.6; 148.7). This first interpretation is the opinion of scholars such as de Wette, Delitzsch ("in 8a he was portraying his natural surroundings") , Kifkpatrick ("the metaphoric language is derived from the surrounding scenery"). Castellino ("he sees and feels the springs, the mountain torrents and the roaring of their cascades and cataracts"), Weiser, Duhm, Staerk, etc. Interpretation (b). The psalmist, suffering from a serious illness, expresses his sense of the nearness of death with the

Alonso Schkel: Psalm 42-43

image of springs and torrents. The reasons given for this interpretation are: the geographical difficulties of v. 7, which have prompted new interpretations (Dahood); the similarity with intercessions of those gravely ill or of those in mortal danger, e.g. 2 Sam. 22.5 (with an explicit mention of death - miber mwet), Jonah 2.4 (which probably cites our psalm), Ps. 88.8. This interpretation takes v. 11, which is dubious, as referring to an illness and explains the "judgement" of 43.1 in a metaphorical sense. Further, Gunkel considers the sentimental projection of the poet into nature as anachronistic, regarding it as "a sentimental extrapolation of the inner life of the observer into Nature, which is quite impossible for ancient Israel" (a rather categorical assertion, and one which does not account for the different interpretation he gives at Ps. 84.4, quoted above). Both these interpretations apply rather old-fashioned arguments to the text, assessing variously the arguments for and against. I personally find most satisfying the coherent interpretation of H. Schmidt, so far as the literary genre is concerned, and the comment of Kraus very appropriate: "Here the familiar picture of the area around the sources of the Jordan, with thundering mountain torrents, merges with a picture of the chaotic destructive primeval ocean". The two hypotheses agree in seeing the image as that of a watery region, and as having symbolic significance; perhaps the former with more clarity. That is to say, the poet who desperately seeks water, finds it, but it is not life-giving water - it is destructive. God sends water, overwhelming, destructive of life. God, who was to have been the life of the psalmist, has become his death; he has become an elemental force, oceanic, irresistible. The possessive "your" is emphatic; it invites us to conclude that the psalmist suffers his exile because of God. The two contrasting images of water provide us with the substance of the poem: a dramatic tension in the soul between God and God /3/. The two images of God as water have a structural value in the poem, even without appearing in the third strophe, where the tension is resolved in the form of hope. If the "light" of 43.3 retains importance as an image, it will be this image which corresponds to what went before: "your torrents and your breakers / your light and your truth"; the background of the image has completely changed, and the intensity of its realisation is now much less. In Ps. 84, referred to above, the image of the bird which finds a nest corresponds to the marvellous image of the dry valley which

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is turned into an oasis (the text is uncertain). The nomad who finds springs in his wanderings and the bird who finds a nest in the temple are clearly related images, but they lack tension and thus structural value. By contrast they allow us the better to appreciate Ps. 42-43. 2. Dialogue structure

In addition, there is a structural value in the dialogue, which expresses itself in the prominent position of the refrain and which seems to echo the mocking questions of the enemies (42.4, 11). It is a simple matter to classify this dialogue as a psychological process, a monological counterpart to the "appeal-function" of language (following the terminology of K. Biihler and F. Kainz) . It is also possible to classify it with other psalms, biblical and non-biblical, e.g. Ps. 116.7; one can even identify it with a term from a list of genres: "prayer for setting the heart at rest (Herzberuhiqunqsqebet)". Classification can be useful, but it is not enough. The inner dialogue in the psalm is the expression of an inner drama, which in turn corresponds to the polarity of the psalmist's experience of God. At one level of consciousness nostalgia and dismay predominate; at a deeper level confidence and hope emerge and grow. At the upper or immediate level the psalmist feels God painfully absent; at the deeper level he dimly perceives his presence. The terms employed by the various commentators are interesting. Peter Lombard: "Reason comforts the emotional soul (animam sensualem) through hope in God"; Kirkpatrick: "In this refrain the truer self chides the weaker soul, the emotional nature for its despondency and complaint"; H. Schmidt: "His soul: here, like a man's "alter ego" (Doppelgnger) thought to be like him and beside him, and perceptible to him only"; Delitzsch: "Three times sorrow breaks into lament and each time it is quelled by the warning voice of a higher consciousness ... the spiritual man overcomes the natural man". (This list of binary terms employed by the various commentators could serve as an interesting comparative study). The manner of God's presence is awareness of his absence. Absence which is not noticed nor deeply felt is a simple absence which causes no grief. But absence which is felt is a means of being present in the consciousness, bringing anxiety and grief. Paradoxically, the taunts of the enemies sharpen the sensation of

Alonso SchBkel: Psalm 4 2 ^ 3

God's absence and thus, in the form of nostalgia, increase the sense of his presence. This internal dichotomy corresponds, though not exactly, to the polarity of God in the double symbol of water. The internal dichotomy exists as a heartbreaking tension, and the inner dialogue is a lyrical expression of this internal drama. Thus the dialogue has a structural function in the poem, a function which is not merely formal. A relevant factor, though without a clear structural value, is the insistent repetition of the name of God, which occurs as follows: 8 times in the first strophe, 6 in the second (one of which as Yhwh), and 8 times in the third. The phrase "my God" occurs three times in the refrains and more frequently at the beginning and the end of the entire psalm. So there is a total of 22 occurrences of "God", to which we may add the possessive pronouns "your". The titles by which God is called are of the greatest interest: "the living God", "salvation of my face" (which can be translated "my personal saviour"), "God of my life", "my rock", "my protector", "God of my strength". The presence of God in the psalm is pervasive, his relationship with the psalmist personal and intimate. This means to say that God communicates most intensely by creating an awareness of his absence (as in the book of Job, throughout the entire construction of the poem on two levels, and explicitly in ch. 23). If communion with God is the meaning of worship, it is difficult to deny that the psalmist worships "in spirit and in truth". 3. Dynamic structure

Can we discover action and progress in this poem? Or is it a matter of simple rotation around an immovable axis, the refrain? The commentators who see in the refrain a simple formal value are not aware of a process taking place throughout the poem; those who apply a structural analysis (though they may not call it such) see it in a different way. De Wette says that the refrain "mellows the experience of grief as an elegy"; Gunkel speaks of the monotonous repetition as a counterpoint to the turmoil; Kirkpatrick calls the structure "symmetrical and artistic"; Castellino says that "the refrain ... binds the various parts together and in some way carries the spirit through . . . " ; H. Schmidt says, "Beginning in the abyss of doubt ... and with the beginning of each strophe once again carried away into it, he lifts himself each time in his refrain to confidence, to a wonderful tranquillity ..."

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Delitzsch, on the contrary, was able to appreciate the dynamics of the psalm: "Between the depiction of the present and the future there is unmistakeable progress. And for the first time in the third strophe lamentation, resignation and hope come to full expression as trustful petition takes over.* No one has succeeded as well as Weiser in capturing and expressing the movement of the psalm, already suggested in the subtitles he provides to the strophes: "Yearning for God and Recollection." "Desertion by God and Scorn of Enemies". "Petition and Hope". Some of the items in these subtitles are open to question; yet the observations of Weiser and Delitzsch about the past and the future are worth attention. The structural indications are clear. The first and third strophes contain references to the cult: the house of God, jubilation and praise, sacred festival in the first; the sacred mount, dwelling-place, altar and praise in the third strophe. The tenses are inverted: for the first strophe recalls nostalgically a past which is remote and irretrievable (Dahood translates with the future tense); the third strophe longs and hopes for a future which is assured. Reminiscence is succeeded by hope, the God of the past becomes the God of the future, rather like the collective hope of the exile expressed by Second Isaiah (cf. especially 43. 18-19 and 43. 3-11). What of the second strophe? Although not clearly defined, the present dominates here: the sight of the mountains (by contrast with the sacred mount), the taunts of the adversary, the enduring effect of "your torrents". At the exact centre of the strophe, and at approximately the centre of the poem, speaks the voice of hope; in it, the painful continuity of "day and night" (v. 4a) is transformed into an alternating rhythm of grace and of praise, day and night. Many scholars suppress or correct this verse. Rowley defends it on structural grounds: in the centre of the poem, between two double ginahs, the interruption of the prevailing sentiment exposes the dynamics of the psalm; he rejects arguments based on metrical variation /4/. In the same strophe the sense of God's absence contrasts with the reminiscence of him of w . 5 and 7. The psalmist dares to address God and reproach him for his desertion. Between the first and third strophes an emotional transformation has taken place, as occurs in most psalms of petition. What has brought about this transformation? Not a priestly oracle, but an

Alonso Schkel: Psalm 42-43

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inner voice which is at first experienced in the form of thirst, and then in the form of self-encouragement. In this voice God is already present, and emerging within the psalmist's consciousness. Let us say that the "light and truth", which later, in the third stanzay arrive as messengers to bring him word and testify to the success of his cause and lead him right to the temple itself, in some mysterious way are presented as already acting from a distance. In line with the dynamics of the poem, the refrain at the end of the first strophe is a voice which is timid and stifled; the second time it is one of affirmation and reproach, and the third it amounts to a shout of triumph. Without any verbal alteration, the refrain undergoes a change of tone, and this should be evident when the psalm is recited. With its wealth of structure, its dynamics, its lyrical and dramatic intensity, this psalm exceeds mere classification. In the theme of the eclipse of God and in the lucid consciousness which expresses this theme, the psalm is of especial relevance to our time. 1. Cf. George T. Wright, The Poet in the Poem (Berkeley, 1962) (with relevant bibliography); V. Ehrlich, "The Concept of the Poet as a Problem of Poetics", in Poetics (Warsaw & The Hague, 1961), pp. 707-717. Weiser's comment, "for whom faith is the most basic function of existence", replaces a specific search with a general idea of faith. In my book Estudios de poetica hebrea (Barcelona, 1963) pp. 289-92, I explore this polarity of water as an image. H.H. Rowley, "The Structure of Psalm 42/43", Biblica 21 (1940), pp. 45-55. (Originally published as "Estructura Poetica del Salmo 42-43", in Wort, Lied und Gottesspruch. Festschrift fr Joseph Ziegler, Echter Verlag, Wrzburg, 1972. Translated by Philip R. Davies and re-published by permission of Echter Verlag).

2.

3. 4.

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Response Martin Kessler Box 6, Lawyersville, NY 12113 UoSoA. Professor Alonso-Schkels work on Hebrew poetry always deserves careful attention and Psalms 42f. form a splendid subject for study Obviously, the author of the foregoing study gives us his conclusions which are based on a thorough preoccupation with the text. The heads under which he discusses his comments are helpful, though the present writer has some difficulty with the first: Image Structure. Though the simile of a hart longing for water Is introduced ex abrupto . it is dropped with equal abruptness, as the poet*s inner state is described (with the verbs SM1 as a transition to his eagerness to come to YHWH*s temple). Though the author's discussion of "the second Image* of water is very helpful, together with his summary and conclusions of its Interpretation, the following statement Is open to question: "...the poet who desperately seeks water, finds it, but it is not life-giving water - it is destructive. God sends water, overwhelming, destructive of life." The poet does not say that he wants water, however; we have a simile, the referent of which is his thirst for God. Granted, the image of water is significant, but the author has overstated his case. It does not dominate the poem; instead, it is kept strictly subordinate to the relationship of the poet to his God. Perhaps the poet is subtly reminding us that water though symbolizing life (via fertility) -- Is not the poet's goal (as it is of the hart), for water may also symbolize death (via destruction: the flood of Gen 6-8). In other words, the symbolical quality of water is ambivalent: it can signify both life and death. The poet seems to further suggest that, though water may satisfy the hart (physically), for the poet it does not satisfy his spirit; he longs for God and his presence in the temple, and no substitute is acceptable. This point is expressed emphatically at the beginning of the psalm. The study of the "dialogue structure" is helpful, but It might be developed In greater detail and with more specific references to the text. For example, the statement: "The inner dialogue In the psalm is the expression of an inner drama, which in turn corresponds to the polarity of the psalmist's experience of God" is well-taken, but this should have been related e.g. to the thrice-repeated refrain (which

Kessler: Response to Alonso Schokel indeed "does not necessarily signify an exact repetition of its meaning") and to the taunts of the enemy (42.4b, lib). As to the author's third point: There is "action and progress" in the poem, though it is rather complex. Indeed, the refrain does not have "a simple formal value" but must be Interpreted against the strophe which it concludes. The author's scheme: Strophe 1 Strophe 2 Strophe 3 past present future

is generally correct, even if oversimplified. In the first strophe, the root ZKfl indicates that the poem describes past events, the memory of which contributes to his sorrow. Thus, strophe #1 contemplates the past from the perspective of the present. The refrain points to the way out of sorrow. Then, the root ZKR is taken up again, this time with God as object. Though a further description of his misery follows (using imagery of destructive waters), 42.9 (dominated by SWH, impf: God as subject) solemnly declares God's gracious intervention. Though in 42.4 the poet's tears had been his bread yomam walayelah. presently God's fiesed will be manifested by day, and by night his song(?) (the phrase yomam welay^lah has been broken up). What follows (another statement of distress) demonstrates the poet's inner struggle for faith. Por climax, the taunt "'ayyeh 'eloheka?" is quoted from 42.4b. Not until 43.I has the poet recovered sufficient faith to ask for divine Judgement on his enemies (see the roots SP? and RYB). Yet, even in his revived confidence he sounds a lament motif: lammah-qoder 'ethallek belabag 'oyeb, 43.2b. Beyond that, there is a visualization of renewed hope, reminiscent of the first strophe. The third and last occurrence of the refrain sounds the most convincing of all, for the poet has himself traveled the road from discouragement, fired by memories of a Joyful past and by taunts from unbelievers, to a renewed hope in God. To sum up: The dynamics of the psalm is much more complex than a simple configuration "past, present, future." Instead, we find a constant interweaving of the three. Prof. Alonso-Schkel's essay is a brief, sensitive analysis by an expert on Hebrew poetry. For those of us without such expertise, a safe road to travel may be to study several facets of the structure. Because cursory reading tends to miss details, even important ones, it may seem advisable to make an inventory of verbs and nouns. Hie next step would be to determine which nouns and verbs are used in noteworthy ways

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as keywords. Sustained and dramatic examples such as the repeated use of ggQ in Gen 17ff. do not occur very frequently Yet, a careful study of the repetition of nouns and verbs helps to lay bare some building blocks of the literary structure. Por example, the root B V is used in 42.3, where the poet asks when he will enter and see the face of God; in 43.3 he asks that God send his twin messengers liht and truth, that they may lead him and bring him (ygblfunlT to God's temple. Thus, through twofold use of B W both the problem and its resolution are Indicated. The root fMR occurs thrice; twice In the quotation of the taunt of the enemies: 'ayyeh Ifloheka, 42.4, 11, and once when the poet addresses God: 'om^rah *'5 3all, 42.10 (the beginning of the request in the lament) ~ an epithet of praise to God sandwiched between expressions of unbelief by the impious. Another notable case has already been alluded to: 42.4a Tears for bread yomam walayelah CONTRAST |

42.4b p- be'emor 'elay kol-hayyom + question 42.9 42.11 yomam y^fawweh YHWH basdo uballay^lah Siro ulmml ) ) Turning point

b e 'om e ram 'elay kol-hayyom + question.

An evident contrast exists between 42.4a and 42.9; it signals the turning point In the poem. Yet, both statements are Juxtaposed to the quoted taunt, suggesting constant tension between hope and despair. A parallel procedure for the discovery of structure is to go through the text in slow motion, noting how cola, verses, and strophes are woven together. Sometimes the concatenous principle (S. M. Paul. "Amos 1:3-2:3: A Concatenous Literary Pattern," JBL 90 [l971j 397-403) Is apparent, e e.g. enapSi in 42.2b, 3a, etc., and Ie'el hay (42.3a) with p ne ' lohlm (42.3b). Particular attention must be paid to parallelism: thus, ke,ayyal/ken napSl, 42.2. As our author has suggested, the use of imagery is of great importance; the simile in 42.2 (k/ken) is further developed in 42.3a, while 3b reveals the referent: the object is God, not water, as with the hart. Further, 42.4a describes the poet's emotional distress by means of another image: tears for bread, a miserable comparison to water for the hart. In 4b, a cause for his distress is given, while 5 develops this point by describing past Joys.

Kessler: Response to Alonso SchokM

Sometimes parallel structure of bicola can say something Important for the thrust of the poem as a whole: 42.3b 42.5 matay 'abo we'er'eh / pene 'eiohlm 'elleh 'ezkerah we'egpekah / calay nap^l.

In the first quote, the time-projection is: present-future. It asks "when" and thus points to hope, though it remains as yet unborn. On the other hand, the second quote is pastpresent oriented. It affirms the sentiments of "now" and expresses the present despair. Hope in God points to '^lohlm (3b), but present distress centers on the self (nap51

5aT

These comments for the most part are in no way intended to detract from the Illuminating article under discussion; they are instead given as suggestions for further study and discussion, and hints how we may discover the structure of a biblical poem.

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Response Nie. H. Ridderbos Vrije Universiteit De Boelelaan 1105 Amsterdam The Netherlands Old Testament science owes a lot in the field of (stylistic) structure-analysis to Alonso-Schkel. His article on Ps. 42-43 is also stimulating. With pleasure I comply with the request of the editorship to give a reaction to this article. In my opinion the best way to do this, is to put my reaction in a positive form, in other words: to draw a sketch of my own vision of the structure of this psalm, referring only a few times expressis verbis to the reflections of Alonso-Schkel. 1. At first I shall make a few brief remarks / l / as an introduction.

A. 42.7-9 provides us with many problems. I suggest the following translation for v.7, retaining the Masoretic text: My God, my soul bows down in me; therefore, because I remember You, far away from the land of the Jordan, and (I remember) the holy places, far away from the Little Mountain (= Sion). Concerning v.8, great floods are often the symbol of great need in the psalms and elsewhere in the Old Testament, to which can be added, that there are repeatedly links between the great floods and the realm of the dead. Thus it is not at all necessary that the environment of the poet led to his speaking about great floods. Further: it is possible that this poet imagines he was in the realm of the dead, but this is no argument to support the opinion that he must have been ill, see Ps. 18.5 sqq., etc. In Israelite ideas Sion was the point of contact between heaven and earth; it was easy for him to believe that being banished from Sion was the same as being in the realm of the dead. Rowley says in his article cited by Alonso-Schkel (Biblica 21, 1940, p. 47) that Buttenwieser renders the verb in v. 9 by a past tense and he writes that this rendering "is in no way new, for the older interpreters commonly adopted this view". It is difficult for me to understand that later authors, with a single exception / 2 / , do not accept this idea. It does often happen that the Hebrew imperfect refers to the past /3/; in this connection it is especially

Ridderbos: Response to Alonso Schokel

1 7

remarkable that Ps. 42 in v. 5 itself provides examples. Also after reading the views of Rowley and Alonso-Schkel about v. 9, I persist in my opinion that this verse does not conform with -the context when referring to the future (or the present). At variance with Buttenwieser and Rissane (who changes the sequence of the verses) is my opinion that one should maintain the Masoretic text. I suggest the following translation: By day Jahwe disposed his unfailing love and by night His song was with me, a prayer to the God of my life. B. In my opinion the poet has been a servant of the sanctuary, a temple-singer. The heading as well as the contents argue for it. I especially would like to point to the fact that the "praising" in the psalm is very important. In the refrain the poet puts his expectation of going back to the sanctuary into these words: "Once more I shall praise Him". See further 43.4 ( I shall praise You with my " zither"), also 42.5 and "song" in 42.9. In my opinion the poet probably had been carried off or expelled by foreign rulers to a heathen country. II. Predominating in this psalm is the desire for communication with God, as it is practised in the sanctuary; the desire for God and the desire for the sanctuary are deeply allied; see especially 42.3. The psalm consists of three parts, 42. 2-6, 7-12; 43. 1-5; every part ends in the refrain. In my opinion it is, generally speaking, better not to use the word "strophe" in connection with the psalms, but in this psalm the word is usable. According to my counting the first part is composed of 22 stichoi, the second part of 22 stichoi and the third part of 20 stichoi. A sense of balance is to be seen with the poets of the psalms again and again, without any ambition to make use of a scholastic regularity. The way from depth to heights is traversed in every part of the psalm. The "psalms of individual lament" usually begin in the depth, with complaints and prayers, and they end on the heights, expressing the certainty of a hearing or something of that sort /4/. In some psalms the way from the depth to the heights is traversed two or three times; see Ps. 31, 35, 38, 59, 71, 86, 94, 102. In psalm 4243 also this way is traversed three times, in all three parts. In this manner the ups and downs in the life of faith are rendered in a touching way. Faith has to struggle before it can stand on sure ground. Achieving certainty, however, does not mean that the struggle is over for ever. Again the sorrow takes the upper hand and complaints are uttered. Over and over again there has to be a

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struggle before the poet is able to end his psalm with the "Once more I shall praise Him, the 'release of my face1 and my God." There is still more to be said about the phenomenon just mentioned. In 42.6 it says, "Once more I shall praise Him". But reality is so very different. The contrast smarts. So the complaints become more severe: "Deep calls to deep ..." /5/. In 42.12 the poet comes for the second time to the "Once more I shall praise Him". That is what the poet expects from his God, that he is allowed to expect. This God may at last grant that salvation: "Administer justice to me, O God ..." (43.1). What has already been said indicates that every part has its own sound. The first part is the most central: here what entirely dominates is the desire for the sanctuary; the second part is the darkest: here the complaints have the largest place; the third part is the strongest: it contains the prayer proper and it speaks most about the glorious future. In the following reflections also it will be shown that every part of the psalm has its own sound. A remarkable part of Ps. 42-43, as of many psalms, is that it contains the prayer in the strict sense and also the speaking about enemies. The first part contains only a pronouncement, which can be called a sigh, 42. 31D, d ; the second _ part approaches nearer to prayer, 42. 10; but only in the third part do we find the prayer proper, 43. 1-4; see below. In the first part the enemies are described only vaguely, 42. 4c_, 6j in the second part already more concretely, 42. 10; the most concrete description is given in the thir/i part, 43. 1-2. To some extent it can already be seen from the above that in our psalm the climax is very important. One can say that the first and the second part have their climax at the end, the refrain. It can also be said that the structure of the psalm as a whole is climactic (see the remarks about the place of the prayer and of the speaking about the enemies), and further: the third part is clearly the climax of the whole. The third part is also climactically constructed: first a 'negative1 prayer, a prayer for release from the enemies, 43. 1-2 and after that a 'positive' prayer, a prayer for being brought back to the sanctuary, v.3-4; in the latter prayer the poet imagines he sees the answer to the prayer before his very eyes. In v. 3-4 he first speaks about the sending of guidance, then about coming to the dwelling places of God and finally about joy in God and praising of God. As the objects of the journey there are mentioned in succession: the holy mountain of God, the dwellingplaces of God, the altar of God, God Himself. The refrain here has the function of a decrescendo; see below.

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III. We have to examine further the transitions which are made in the psalm. In the first part you can hear the song of desire, v. 2-3, the song of sorrow, v. 4, the song of recollection, v. 5, the song of expectation, v. 6 (see J. Ridderbos, II, 1958). The desire, which is expressed in v. 2-3 (ending in a sigh), is motivated by a complaint, v. 4. In v. 5 the poet tears himself away from the painful present about which he complained in v. 4, and he starts to recall the joyful past (cf. 77.6 sqq., also Lam. 3.20 sqq.). V. 5 is the transition to v. 6, the refrain, in more than one way. When the poet starts to recall the past, his soul bows down all the more in him, because the present seems even darker when it stands out sharply outlined against the shining past. But the memories also give a hold to the poet, they provide a reason to plead in his prayer: how would it ever be possible that the God who once had given him so much joy would permanently give him tears as food? The matters mentioned result in the words of v. 6: "Why do you bow down in me, my soul? etc." The transition from the first part to the second is very remarkable. In v. 6 it says: "Why do you bow down in me, my soul?" There is a reproach in that question: in fact there is no reason for acting like that. Immediately following this the poet says in v.7: "My God, my soul bows down in me". It seems that the poet wants to say: this "Why do you bow down in me, my soul?" sounds good, but meanwhile the need remains as heavy as before. The transitions in this part are similar to those in part one. In v. 7 again we can find the phenomenon of memory increasing sorrow. So in v. 8 there follows another complaint. We may say: as in v. 8 a further elaboration is given of the "far away from the land of the Jordan and from the Little Mountain" of v. 7, so v. 9 (in the interpretation adopted by me, see above) gives a further elaboration of the "I remember You and the Holy places". Here too it is very evident that memory not only increases sorrow, but it also provides a ground to plead, it makes the poet stimulate himself to ask God: why is the present so very different from the past?, v. IO. V. 11 again is a complaint in describing further the "oppressing by the enemy" which is referred to at the end of v. 10. V. 12 contains the refrain. In the first part the refrain is preceded by an utterance about the past, which, as we have seen, prepares for the refrain in two ways. Now the refrain is preceded by an utterance about the present. And that is why it is more difficult here, but also more a matter of necessity for the poet to say: "Why do you bow down in me, my soul?" Also in the third part, 43. 1-5, the way from complaining to expressing the certainty of a hearing is traversed, but here too in its own way. On the ground of all that preceded (the complaints, memories, expressions of the certainty of a hearing) here the poet

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can speak with more freedom. Only a small space has been left for the complaint. For the first time there are prayers in the proper sense of the word; at first a strong 'negative' prayer, a prayer for the release from the enemies, v. 1, which is supported by a profession and a complaint, v. 2; after that a 'positive' prayer, a prayer for being brought back to the sanctuary, v. 3-4; in the elaboration of this prayer the poet imagines he sees the answer before his very eyes. In this way the psalm reaches, in 43.4, its climax. But this cannot be the final chord. The psalm cannot end at such a height: still the sanctuary is far away. In a touching way the poet rounds his psalm off by saving the refrain for the third time. So the refrain has here the function of a decrescendo; cf. Ps. 3.9; 18. 18-20; 20. 6c_, 101D, etc. Once more the refrain has a new sound created by the utterance which preceded: "Though the words remain the same, they are now sung on a new note. They sing with triumphant hope and certainty" (A. Cohen, 1950). The refrain is here preceded by an utterance of the future, of the release; therefore the expression of the certainty of a hearing in the refrain has this time in full the dominating sound. In the second part of the psalm the refrain is preceded by thoughts about the present misery, giving the bowing down of the soul a very heavy accent. In the first part both elements of the refrain are prepared for by the thoughts about the past. IV. A few concluding remarks. In the above, rather lengthy consideration is given to the refrain. I would like to point out here that the utterances of 42. 4c_, d and _ 42. ll, d, of 42. 10, < and of 43. 2, d also have to some extent d _ the function of a refrain. It is remarkable, that 42. 4, d and . 42. lie, < are a connecting element between the first and the second i part of the psalm, and 42. 10, c| and 43. 2c_, c between the second i and the third part. The purpose of my considerations about the refrain is to make a few amplifications to those of Alonso-Schkel, but there is no fundamental difference between his view and mine. In my opinion also it is necessary to have a dynamic view of the refrain. This does not preclude an element of truth in the 'static' view. It is certainly true that very different feelings and a strong restlessness are expressed in this psalm. In my opinion, one can then say, together with Gunkel /6/, that over against that the refrain and the refrain-like expressions just mentioned form a well-considered counterbalance. The refrain belongs to the style of the repetition. Other applications of this style have been mentioned above, see sub I,B about "praising", which can be called a keyword of the psalm, sub III in the reflection on the transition from the first to the second

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part. I point to a few other examples. The poet achieves in 42:2-3 a certain "effect" in using the words "pant" and "my soul" twice. "By day and by night" his tears have become bread t him, 42.4; in former days God's unfailing love. His song was "by day and by night" with him, 42. 9. Other examples of this kind could be mentioned.

1.

A further working-out is to be found in my De Psalmen, II (Kampen), 1973. My ideas about the stylistic structure-analysis of the psalms in general can be found in my Die Psalmen. Stilistische Verfahren und Aufbau. Mit besonderer Bercksichtigung von Ps. 1-41 (Berlin, New York, 1972). For instance .F. Kirkpatrick (1902), E.J. Rissane (I, 1953). See for example Gesenius-Kautzsch, Hebrische Grammatik (28th edn., Leipzig, 1909), paragraph 107, ID. With many authors I think this phenomenon is connected with the cultic origin of Israel's psalmody, but there is little sense in discussing this matter in a contemplation of Ps. 42-43, because in the present case the most that can be spoken of is the after-effect of the cultic ritual. See also below for the transition from the first to the second part. To take away a possible misunderstanding: Gunkel does justice to the dynamic view as well as to the "static" view.

2. 3. 4.

5. 6.

TEACHING AN OLD TESTAMENT INTRODUCTION COURSE In a future issue of the journal we plan to devote some space to a forum in which the experience and suggestions of teachers of the OT responsible for an introductory course on the OT at university level can be shared. Any who would be prepared to contribute a short paper on this topic are invited to contact the editors.

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