Psalm 4: Ambiguity And Resolution -- By: John Goldingay

Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 57:2 (NA 2006)
Article: Psalm 4: Ambiguity And Resolution
Author: John Goldingay


Psalm 4: Ambiguity And Resolution

John Goldingay

Summary

Translations of Psalm 4 differ at a number of points and thus point towards different understandings of it. In isolation, the opening verses do indeed raise a number of textual questions, and contain a number of interpretative ambiguities, which leave the reader in some uncertainty; but the last part of the psalm clarifies matters and makes it possible from the end to make coherent sense of the whole. Understanding the psalm thus turns out to resemble understanding a sentence, which cannot be grasped until we have reached the end of it.

1. Introduction

Ancient and modern versions of this short psalm differ significantly at a number of points and together indicate that we lack a coherent understanding of it. I began this paper with the hunch that most of these interpretative disagreements could not be resolved. As a prayer, the psalm’s openness would then leave it available to be used in a variety of ways (24, I calculated at one stage, or was it 48?), while as a text for meditation it would work by driving readers to decide what they mean by it, and what this tells them.1 In studying it, I came to the conclusion that it illustrates a different point. The uncertainties attaching to individual verses cannot be resolved in isolation, but they find resolution by the end when we are in a position to look at the parts in light of the whole.2

2. Verse 2

For verse 2, there are three understandings:

A When I call, answer me, my true God.3

In my4 constraint you gave me room;5

be gracious to me and listen to my plea.

B When I call, answer me, my true God.

In my constraint give me room;

be gracious to me and listen to my plea.

C When I called, my true God answered me.

In my constraint you gave me room;

be gracious to me and listen to my plea.

The first version follows the traditional understanding of MT. The opening of the psalm then comprises two lines in abb`a` order in which the first and last cola comprise the psalmist’s plea, while the middle cola state the basis for it in the nature of the God whom the...

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