Psalm 57— Logotechnical Analysis

Guidelines
• Please read the General Introduction and the Introduction to Book I and Book II.
• For common features in the numerical analysis charts, please see Key to the charts.

Specific features of Psalm 57

• This is the last psalm in a series of 7 Davidic psalms (Psalms 51-57), coherent in form
and content, comprising altogether 104 (4 x 26) verselines.
• In terms of its 14 verselines, the psalm divides into two parts of 7 verselines each: Canto
I (vs. 2-6) and Canto II (vs. 7-12). It shares this feature with Psalm 56.
• It is significant that the prayer "Let your glory be all over the earth!" (v. 6b), at the
arithmetic centre of the poem, is emphasized by the use of the kabod numbers and,
more particularly, by the double kabod pattern (55 = 32 + 23), expressing God’s glory.
• Like Psalms 55 and 56, this poem has an additional distinct meaningful centre in part of
its text (vs. 2-6). As in the case of Psalm 55, this additional centre is probably highlighted
by the unusual positioning of the selah in the middle of the verse (v. 4b).

Strophic structure - Canto/Stanza boundary: ||

• Van der Lugt: 2, 3-4, 5-6 || 7, 8-9, 10-12 ( 2 cantos with 6 strophes, 14 bicolic verselines
with 28 cola).
• Fokkelman: 2, 3-4 || 5, 6, 7 || 8-9, 10-11, 12 (3 stanzas with 8 strophes, 14 verselines
and 31 cola, taking v. 1a as a separate verseline and vs. 1b-d, 4, 8 and 9 as tricola).
• Labuschagne: same as Van der Lugt, except that I find 29 cola, maintaining MT in v. 4 (a
tricolon!), while he takes v. 4b as part of v. 3. See below Observation 3.
Logotechnical analysis
• Columns a and b show the number of words before and after the atnach.
• Column c: words addressed to God; d: words spoken about God in 3rd person.
• The numbering of the verselines is shown in brown.
Total a b c d
1 ^£At
G k
¸ m
i d«wd
fl ¸l tExH
¸ t
Ga -la' x
fi c
FE ¬nm
¸ l
a 5 5
:hflrAv¸Gmab
– l˚'AH-y≈n¸Kpim ÙxËrAb¸–b 4 4
Heading, v. 1 9 = 5 + 4
2 y«nnF≈ Ax £yihl
» '
È y«nnF≈ Ax 1 3 3 3
yiHp
¸ n¬ h√ys
A Ax ߸b yik
– 4 4 4
^hes¸xe' ßyep√n¸–k-lEc¸b˚ 2 3 3 3
:tÙFwah rOb·v¬y dav 3 3 3
Strophe 1 Total, v. 2 13 = 10 + 3 = 13 + 0
3 ^§Ùy¸lv
e £yih»l'El 'flrŸq' e 3 3 3 3
:yAlv
A rEmgFO lE'Al 3 3 3
4 y«nEvyiHÙyÃw £«yamAKHim xal¸H«y 4 3 3 3
^hAls
e yip'
· H
O •„rx
E 2 2 2
Middle word :ÙGtim·'¬w Ù–d¸sax £yih»l'
È xal¸H«y 4 4 4
of Canto I: 49 = 24 + 1 + 24 Total, v. 4 9 = 5 + 4 = 0 + 9
Strophe 2 Total, v. 3-4 15 = 8 + 7 = 0 + 15

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 5 hAb¸–k¸He' £i'Ab¸l ™Ùt¸–b yiH¸p¬n 5 4 4 4
£fld'
A -y≈nb
–¸ £yiXh
· l
» 3 3 3
^£yiFcixÃw ty«n·x £ehy≈FniH 6 3 3 3
:hfl–dax bÂrex £√nÙH¸l˚ 3 3 3
Total, v. 5 13 = 10 + 3 = 0 + 13
Total, v. 2-5 41 = 28 + 13 = 13 + 28
6 ^£yihl
» '
È £«yma KAHh
a -lav hAm˚r 7 4 4 4
Middle colon: 29=14+1+14:ßÂdÙb¸k– ¶Âr'
A Ah-lAk
– lav 4 4 4
Four middle words: 94 = 45 + 4 + 45 Total, v. 6 8 = 4 + 4 = 8 + 0
Meaningful centre Strophe 3 Total, v. 5-6 21 = 14 + 7 = 8 + 13
Canto I Total, v. 2-6 49 = 32 + 17 = 21 + 28
7 yamAv¸pil ˚nyikEh teHÂr 8 3 3 3
yiHp
¸ n¬ •apk
–A 2 2 2
^hAxyiH y¬nAp¸l ˚rA–k 9 3 3 3
:hAles –hAkÙt¸b ˚l¸p√n 2 2 2
Strophe 4 Total, v. 7 10 = 8 + 2 = 0 + 10
8 ^yi–bil §Ùk√n £yihl
» '
È yi–bil §Ùk√n 10 5 5 5
:hflrm
GE z¬ '
· w¬ hflryiH'
A 2 2 2
Total, v. 8 7 = 5 + 2 = 7 + 0
Total, v. 7-8 17 = 13 + 4 = 7 + 10
9 rÙFnikÃw leb≈Fnah hflr˚v yÊdÙb¸k hflr˚v 11 5 5 5
:raxHKA hflryivA' 2 2 2
Total, v. 9 7 = 7 + 0 = 7 + 0
Strophe 5 Total, v. 8-9 14 = 12 + 2 = 14 + 0
Total, v. 7-9 24 = 20 + 4 = 14 + 10
10* ^y√nd
O '
· £yiGmavAb ßËdÙ' 12 3 3 3
:]£yiGmu'-la–b[ £yiGmu'¸la–b ßËreGm¬z·' 2/3 2/3 2
Total, v. 10 5/6 = 3 + 2/3 = 5/6 + 0
Total, v. 8-10 19/20 = 15 + 4/5= 19/20 + 0
Total, v. 7-10 29/30 = 23 + 6/7= 19/20 + 10
Total, v. 2-10 78/79 = 55 + 23/24= 40/41+ 38
11 ^ß–d¸sax £«yamAH-dav lOd√g-yi–k 13 5 5 5
:ßeGtim·' £y÷qAx¸H-davÃw 3 3 3
Total, v. 11 8 = 5 + 3 = 8 + 0
Total, v. 7-11 37/38 = 28 + 9/10= 27/28+ 10
12 ^£yihl
» '
È £«yamAH-lav hAm˚r 14 4 4 4
:ßÂdÙb¸k
– ¶Âr'
A Ah-lAk
– lav 4 4 4
Total, v. 12 8 = 4 + 4 = 8 + 0
Strophe 6 Total, v. 10-12 21/22 = 12 + 9/10= 21/22 + 0
Canto II Total, v. 7-12 45/46 = 32+ 13/14= 35/36 + 10
Total, v. 6-12 53/54 = 36+ 17/18= 43/44 + 10
Total, v. 2-12 94/95 = 64+ 30/31= 56/57 + 38
With the heading, v. 1-12 103/104 = 69+ 34/35
With 2x hAls e : 105/106 = 69/70+ 36

© 2008 Casper J. Labuschagne ps057— rev 05/08/08 12:57 PM Page 2

* Note: For the enigmatic words £yiGmu'-la–b, ‘non-nations’, of the Leningrad Codex in v. 10b (occurring also in
Psalms 44:15, 108:4 and 149:7), see the note at the end of the chart in my Analysis of Psalm 44.
The points of difference between Ps. 57:8-12 and the counterpart of these verses, Ps. 108:2-6, will be discussed
in the Analysis of Psalm 108.

Observations
1. In terms of the 94 words of the poem (corrected text) the 4 words in v. 6b, constitute
a meaningful arithmetic centre: 94 = 45 + 4 + 45:
ßÂdÙb¸k
– ¶Âr'
A Ah-lAk
– lav, 'Let your glory be all over the earth!'
This is underscored by the fact that v. 6b happens to be the central colon in terms of
the 29 cola: 29 = 14 + 1 + 14.
2. The word ßÂdÙb¸k– , 'your glory', occurring in the arithmetic centre in v. 6b (and in v.
12b), is obviously a key-word that occasioned the use of the two kabod numbers, 23
and 32. They clearly constitute the double kabod pattern in vs. 2-10 before atnach:
vs. 2-6 49 = 32a + 17b
vs. 7-10 29 = 23a + 6b
vs. 2-10 78 = 55a + 23b.
3. The text clearly divides into two parts: vs. 2-6 (Canto I) and vs. 7-12 (Canto II), each
of which is concluded by the refrain (in vs. 6 and 12). Compare Psalm 56!
With regard to the unusual positioning of selah, not at the end, but within v. 4, and
immediately before the atnach, it is worth noting that the selah is situated just before
the middle word of vs. 2-6, xal¸H«y, 'may (God) send', (v. 4b): 49 = 24 + 1 + 24.
This seems to suggest that selah has here the function of directing attention to the
middle word of vs. 2-6 (Canto I), or more probably to the whole sentence in v. 4c:
May God send his steadfast love and faithfulness!
For a similar function of the selah, in Psalm 55:20 – also within the verse! - see
Observation 4 in my Analysis of Psalm 55. The meaning 'weigh this' would be
appropriate for the selah in both psalms.
It does not seem to be a matter of coincidence that not only Psalm 57, but also the
two preceding poems, 55 and 56, have two distinct meaningful arithmetic centres.
This strongly underscores the suggestion that the function of the unusual positioning
of the selahs in Ps. 55:20 and 57:4 is to direct attention to the additional meaningful
centres in both poems.
4. The division of the text into words in 2nd and 3rd person form shows that the 49 (7 x 7)
words of vs. 2-6 (Canto I) divide into 21 (3 x 7) words in 2nd person, and 28 (4 x 7) in
3rd person. Since these 49 words also divide into 28 in vs. 2-4 and 21 in vs. 5-6,
these divisions yield a numerical chiasmus, underscoring the unity of Canto I:
vs. 2-4 28 = 13 + 15
vs. 5-6 21 = 8 + 13
vs. 2-6 49 = 21 + 28
Note also that exactly 56 (8 x 7) words in total are addressed to God (colum c), which
supports the evidence shown above for the designed use of the number of fullness.

© 2008 Casper J. Labuschagne ps057— rev 05/08/08 12:57 PM Page 3

 5. The word £yihl
» '
È , 'God', occurs 6 times, and, together with lE' (v. 3), there are 7
references to God, while y√nd
O ·' (v. 10) and §Ùy¸lv
e (v. 3) occur once. The divine name
numbers and the kabod numbers feature in the following way (note in particular the
use of the double kabod pattern – see Observation 3 in my Analysis of Psalm 55):
vs. 2-6 32 words before atnach and 17 after atnach
vs. 7-10 23 words before atnach
vs. 2-10 55 before atnach (distinct double kabod pattern!)
vs. 7-8 17 words in total
vs. 2-10 78 (3 x 26) words in total, with 23 after atnach
vs. 6-12 17 words after atnach
vs. 2-12 64 (2 x 32) words before atnach
Including the heading in the word-count (without the two selahs) yields:
vs. 1-12 (corrected)* 103 words = 69 (3 x 23) before, and 34 after atnach
vs. 1-12 (Codex L)* 104 (4 x 26) = 69 before, and 35 after atnach.
It is fully justified, in my opinion, to conclude that the heading was composed in order
to achieve a specific overall compositional formula (103 = 69a + 34b).

© 2008
Dr. C.J. Labuschagne Senior Lecturer in Semitic Languages (retired),
Brinkhorst 44 University of Pretoria, South Africa
9751 AT Haren (Gron) and
The Netherlands Professor of Old Testament (retired),
[email protected] University of Groningen, The Netherlands

© 2008 Casper J. Labuschagne ps057— rev 05/08/08 12:57 PM Page 4