Florian Kreuzer, «Der Antagonist: Der Satan in der Hebräischen Bibel – eine bekannte Größe?», Vol. 86 (2005) 536-544
Considering the figure of N+#) in the Hebrew Bible, the attempt to reconstruct a
figure which already existed in the imaginary world of Ancient Israel in biblical
times must fail. Zech 3 and Job 1-2 obstruct the development of a precise image
out of YHWH’s environment. The texts achieve that by their inherent vagueness
of description. For this reason the antagonistic element necessary for the dramatic
plot of both texts does not consist in an already existing, known being. It is
rather named by the abstract term ‘the opponent’, in Hebrew "N+#)".
A Touch of Support: Ps 3,6 and the Psalmist’s Experience 205
through dreams. How do these general observations affect our
understanding of the experience reflected in Ps 3,5-6?
It could still be argued that a reference to sleeping, waking, and
divine support in the midst of a crisis (Ps 3,6) subsequent to a report
of a successful invocation of YHWH (v. 5) is compatible with a
sought theophany or with incubation. It seems however, that the
theophany ensuing from such procedures was not necessarily
expected to occur in a dream. The possibility that an incubation
leading to a real theophany was reflected in a psalm has already been
raised in the case of Ps 17 (47). In its general course this shift from the
suggestion of dream theophany or incubation towards a real encounter
is similar to the one recognizable in some prophetic liminal reports:
What appears like an incipient incubation scene culminates with a
divine message addressed to a wakeful recipient (1 Sam 3,11-14; 1
Kgs 19,15-18). Although originally it was not offered for psalm 3 (48),
such a theory could help explain not only the absence of explicit
dream terms in this psalm (an absence that it shares with other liminal
reports), but also — as shown below — the connection between
ynkmsy ‘y (“YHWH supports meâ€) and the emphatically positioned
reference to the psalmist’s waking in v. 6b (III and IV in the statement
of the problem, above).
As often in the Psalms and unlike the above-mentioned prophetic
narratives, Psalm 3 does not cite a divine message, but the statement of
YHWH’s support (ynkmsy òy) is hardly less expressive. The link between
this element and the psalmist’s waking is expressed by yk in v. 6b.
Although this particle sometimes serves as an emphatic introduction
to an expression of confidence (Ps 38,16) or of God’s protective
intervention (PS 22,10; 31,4), its most natural sense here would be
causal, as indeed recognized by many interpreters (49). Often these
interpreters represent the ‘spiritual’ approach, taking ynkmsy to express
(47) See above, note 38.
(48) Lindblom (“Theophanies in Holy Placesâ€, 104-105) concluded that in
Psalm 3 it would be natural “to think of an incubation-oracle imparted in an
incubation-dreamâ€: The psalmist received a propitious answer during his sleep in
the courtyard of the temple, and recited the psalm in the following morning.
(49) See note 19. For a discussion of yk as an emphatic introductory particle in
the passages mentioned above see A. BARUCQ, L’Expression de la louange divine
et de la prière dans la Bible et en Égypte (Institut français d’archéologie orientale,
bibliothèque d’etude 32) (Cairo 1962) 338-339. I am grateful to my colleague
Prof. Nili Shupak for this reference.