Archive of posts filed under the Psalms – Literary Analysis (by chapter) category.

The literary analyses of the Psalms are written by Dr. Victoria Rosenberg. They come out of discussions between Rabbi Amram Maccabi and Dr. Rosenberg who weekly study a particular Psalm which inspires the analysis then posted on the website. Victoria Hammerling Rosenberg holds a PhD in English literature and has taught at Dalhousie and Mount St. Vincent universities.

Literary analysis of Psalm 33 “For He did speak and it came to be”

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Song 33 celebrates creation –the creative process, that is, worked by speech and eye; together comprising perception divinely inspired but possible to the human imagination. Appropriately, then, the song divides into 7 parts; though, interestingly, those parts involve different verses, depending upon whether the divisions are according to theme (to the qualities unique to divine …

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literary analysis of Psalm 32 – Bliss of Teshuvah (Return / Repentance)

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 Click here to read “Psalm Thirty-two – Translation of the Song” Composed for the purpose of instruction, Psalm 32 is moral teaching sounded in   melody. The first verse declares its intention: the song is a maskil  (מַשְׂכִּיל) –the exact meaning of the Hebrew has long been lost, but it is   apparent that it refers …

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Literary analysis of Psalm 31

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Thematically Song 31 divides into 7 parts –verses 2 to 5; 6 to 9; 10 to 14; 15 to 19; 20 and 21; 22 and 23; 24 and 25. Two seemingly disparate image patterns intersect these divisions; coming together, effortlessly, in the lines of resolve and stalwartness. Verses 2 to 5 are dominated by imagery …

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Literary analysis of Psalm 30 – “You have turned my lament into dancing for me”

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   Click here to read “Psalm Thirty: Translation of the Song” Song 30 presents a puzzle in its opening verse: “a song for the dedication of the Temple” (v. 1). For the Temple was built not by David but by his son, Solomon. It would seem, then, that David composed the song for the Temple that …

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Literary analysis of Psalm 29

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  Click here to read “Psalm Twenty-nine: Translation of the Song”   Song 29 is a symphony of words: verses 1 to 9 compose a crescendo of sound; verses 10 and 11, a diminuendo rather than a resolution. Verse 1 is an exhortation to the “children of the strong” to acknowledge the “glory and strength” of Adonai. Certainly the …

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Literary analysis of Psalm 28 – I will thank Him with my song.

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The dominant imagery of Song 28 is, appropriately enough in a praisesong, that of sound:                                                       To You, Adonai, I call.                 …

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Literary analysis of Psalm 26 – But I walk with sincerity; redeem me and be gracious to me.

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Although it is certainly a praisesong, Song 26 seems intended to be spoken, rather than sung. Probably because it is a self-defense, as if it were being argued in a divine court (“the abode of Your house”, v.8), before the judge, Adonai. No prosecutor; simply the closing arguments of the defendant. That argument is framed …

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Literary analysis of Psalm 25 – “To You, O Lord, I will lift up my soul”

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Song 25 makes an intruder out of its reader or listener. The sense is of overhearing an intensely intimate prayer.* And yet, paradoxically, the frame of the song, that which determines its structure, is formal — each line begins, in Hebrew, with a letter of the alphabet, in their proper order. Perhaps the contradiction between …

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Literary analysis of Psalm 24 – Who shall go up on the mount of ADONAI

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The sound and the sense of Song 24 suggest a pageant. In contrast to the personal tone of Song 23, Song 24’s is formal, dominated by rhetorical questions and answers, as though two voices, or, more probably, two choruses are meant to sing the roles of questioner and responder. The song begins with a declaration …

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Literary analysis of Psalm 23

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  Click here to read “Psalm Twenty-three: Translation of the Song” The metaphor that opens Song 23, of the shepherd and His sheep, evokes a sense of safety: a shepherd does not merely herd his sheep, as his name implies; his duty is to ensure their safety –to keep them from straying and to protect them from …

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