{"id":83253,"date":"2020-11-11T11:03:30","date_gmt":"2020-11-11T09:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=83253"},"modified":"2020-11-11T11:03:30","modified_gmt":"2020-11-11T09:03:30","slug":"theme-and-variations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/theme-and-variations\/","title":{"rendered":"Theme And Variations"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Psalms 42 and 43 display several thematic, literary, and linguistic similarities. The plaintive cry: \u201cWhy so downcast, my soul?\u201d that appears twice in Psalm 42 (vs.6, 12) recurs here (v.5). The rhetorical question of God, \u201cWhy have You forgotten me?\u201d (42:10) is similarly repeated here, albeit with slight variation, as \u201cwhy have You rejected me?\u201d (2). Indeed, the absence of a superscription (title verse) for our psalm has encouraged some scholars to posit that 42 and 43 are actually two parts of the same psalm, a theory that would resolve one of the several discrepancies we have noted (<\/span>see our comments on Psalm 2<\/span><\/a>) regarding the total number of chapters in the book.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other elements of our chapter\u2014not surprisingly\u2014also recall prior psalms. The request of God: \u201cVindicate me\u201c (<\/span>shofteini<\/span><\/em>, v.1), echoes\u00a0 7:9, 26:1, and 35:1 and 24. It is employed here alongside two of its synonymous terms: \u201cChampion my cause\u201d (<\/span>rivah rivi<\/span><\/em>) and \u201crescue me\u201d (<\/span>tefalteini<\/span><\/em>). These three are paired with the three descriptive terms he uses for his antagonists: \u201cfaithless people\u201d (<\/span>lo chasid<\/span><\/em>), \u201ctreacherous\u201d (<\/span>mirmah<\/span><\/em>) and \u201cdishonest\u201d (`<\/span>avlah<\/span><\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Psalm 43 may be viewed as a reinforcement or even an extension of 42. For instance, \u201cWhy have You rejected me\u201d (<\/span>z\u2019nachtani<\/span><\/em>, 2) is a step up from \u201cWhy have You forgotten me\u201d (<\/span>sh\u2019khachtani<\/span><\/em>, 42:10), as the former is deliberate while the latter may be accidental. Similarly, \u201cWhy must I walk (\u2018<\/span>eileikh<\/span><\/em>) in gloom\u201d (ibid.) is expanded by \u201cWhy must I go about (\u2018<\/span>ethaleikh<\/span><\/em>) in gloom\u201d (43:2), the use of the reflexive verb implying that not only is his gloom something forced on him by others, but it now emerges, organically, from within himself.<\/span><\/p>\n

The internal correspondence continues in verse 3. As already noted by Ibn Ezra, \u201cSend forth Your light\u201d responds to \u201cwhy must I walk in gloom,\u201d \u201cYour truth\u201d is the counter to \u201cdishonest,\u201d and \u201cthey will lead me\u201d neutralizes \u201cwhy must I go about.\u201d Verse 4 then provides an extension of 3. As opposed to \u201cYour holy mountain, Your dwelling place\u201d to which the psalmist has to be led (<\/span>yanchuni, yevi\u2019uni<\/span><\/em>) by others, his arrival at \u201cthe altar of God\u201d is entirely voluntary: \u201cI shall come\u201d (<\/span>va-avo\u2019ah<\/span><\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\n

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