Ruth Fidler, «A Touch of Support: Ps 3,6 and the Psalmist’s Experience», Vol. 86 (2005) 192-212
Vv. 5-6 mark a turning point in Psalm 3, both structurally
and thematically, probably reflecting a significant personal experience. Due to
the mention of sleeping and waking (v. 6a) this experience is sometimes
interpreted as a dream in which the psalmist got word of his imminent
deliverance. Recently supported by a Qumran parallel that mentions dreaming
explicitly (11QPsa xxiv 16-17;B. Schroeder,
Biblica 81 [2000] 243-251), this argument nevertheless
seems questionable, given e.g. the tendency of later Judaism to attribute dreams
also to biblical figures that are not characterized in such terms in the Bible.
The main thrust of this article is to examine the psalm in comparison with
theophanic reports elsewhere in the Bible and in ANE literature. This analysis
shows the language of Psalm 3 to be compatible with an incubatory ritual that
culminates in a real experience of presence with a divine gesture of support.
These findings are related to the proximity to God that finds expression in the
psalms.
A Touch of Support: Ps 3,6 and the Psalmist’s Experience 193
elusive nature defies any such attempt? In what follows each of these
attitudes is given due consideration.
1. Ps 3,6 in Context: ‘Ritual’ or ‘Spiritual’?
Psalm 3 opens with the poet’s complaint about his numerous foes (v.
2) and about the many who say that he has no prospect of deliverance by
God (v. 3). The latter are usually taken to be the foes of v. 2, but could
also be the proverbial ‘friends’ with whom one needs no enemies (6). This
twofold complaint sets the keynote for the main theme of deliverance by
God in defiance of the numerous enemies and discouraging friends (vv.
4.7.8). Parallels and echoes between the initial lament (vv. 2-3) and the
confident conclusion (vv. 7-8) bring out this progression from distress
and despair to hope and salvation. Thus the triple use of the root bbr (be
many) in relation to all those who threaten the psalmist (vv. 2-3) is
echoed by the phrase µ[ twbbr, the multitude of people surrounding him
whom he can now face without fear (v. 7). In describing the relation of
the multitude to himself (v. 7) he uses the same prepositional phrase as
in his initial complaint about the enemies: yl[ against me (v. 2) (7). His
appeal for Yahweh’s deliverance (v. 8a) is couched in the same terms as
the negation of such deliverance by the ‘friends’ (v. 3b), namely the root
[vy with µyhla (8). All such parallels and correspondences go to show the
transformation undergone by the speaker: The numerous enemies and
calumniators who rendered him powerless are the very ones he can
suddenly face without fear, confidently awaiting the divine intervention
that will render them powerless. God’s deliverance which was belied him
is precisely that for which he prays.
Now, it stands to reason that the text between the two coun-
terbalanced parts, vv. 2-3 and vv. 7-8, would refer to the way in which
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interpreters would have it. See note 7. In any case, v. 6 is hardly amenable to the
national reading (a collective “I†personifying the nation) proposed by M.
BUTTENWEISER, The Psalms. Chronologically Treated with a New Translation
(New York 1969) 397-398.
(6) For this possibility (treacherous friends) see WEISER, The Psalms, 117.
(7) This may well suggest identity or close relation between the multitude and
the enemies. The great numbers and the quasi-military picture (cp. 2 Chr 20) have
indicated to some interpreters that the speaker is a king (e.g. BRIGGS, ibid.;
WEISER, ibid.), a high priest or a military leader (DUHM, Die Psalmen, 11-13). On
the attribution and rejection of these views see also GUNKEL, Die Psalmen, 13.
(8) Some of these and other echoes and parallels were noted by KSELMAN,
“Psalm 3â€, 577-578; CRAIGIE, Psalms 1–50, 71; Y. AVISHUR, Psalms (ed. N.H.
SARNA) (The World of the Bible; Tel Aviv 1995) I, 33-34 [Hebrew].