Bugs

In the psalm profiles which I handed out at Bibletech08, I had a calculation error related to psalm 119 which I have now repaired in the individual diagrams and in the pdf.

I knew there was a bug in that graph for the past month but I didn't identify the error till today. Psalm 119 should not have scored higher just because it is big. I had divided that psalm into 4 diagrams and the query for the graph added the scores instead of recalculating a single score for the whole psalm.

a/b + c/d + e/f + g/h <> (a+c+e+g)/(b+d+f+h).

Free-for-all

Is translation a free-for-all? In looking for a text-critical approach to Psalm 1 that would tell me why there is such a seemingly unnecessary addition in the Septuagint to verse 4, I came across this article by Albert Pietersma. It is a good article and worth the read just to see how he raises questions. Here are a few he asks related to 'how to translate':

(a) Does one want to have the translation play a primarily institutional role and thus give it a liturgical tone or pitch?
(b) Does one want to address especially the pew and thus seek to make one's translation as understandable as possible to the common worshiper?
(c) Does one want to address chiefly the biblically well-educated constituency and consequently give it a more academic and scholarly register?

O my common soul! Pitch me a scholarly tone? No - there must be another way. I have just returned from Bibletech08 which I greatly enjoyed for the quality of the presentations - particularly I must mention John Hudson. His talk on making the invisible visible began with a chant of Lamentations 1

- close your eyes, he said, and don't worry, it's not a motivational exercise

Then he dealt with some of the technicalities of font rendering, and showed the Bible as a series of numbers. Finally he presented some beautiful miniatures of the Leningrad codex, and ended his talk with a quotation from the creed, praising the God of all things visible and invisible. He was beyond imagination with his impact. He presented a talk on building a font and made it span 3000 years of human experience and beauty!

That's what the impact of a translation of the Psalms should be - not liturgical, or pious, or scholarly - but an invitation to life.

Now - how do we deal with the plurality of the text in which earlier translations may have taken a turn in the direction of piety or simplification or expertise? Did those first translators say of psalm 1:4

- the Hebrew is too short here, the wicked will be blown from the face of the earth by the wind.

Or was the Hebrew longer in those days? I expect the Hebrew was as brief as it often is. Less is often more.

Adoration

I think the answer to yesterday's question is adoration.

The obvious part of Psalm 138-2 is the full focus of the psalmist on the Lord - you, your, you,... 'you' is repeated 7 times in that one verse. This construct is relatively frequent:
1060/16419 phrases or
1169/19548 words (6%) in the psalms end with 'ka' meaning 'your'.
13/56 in this psalm for 25%.

I think we can say this is adoration.

The word GDL - usually translated magnify - is frequently used in the Psalms.

So the Lord magnifies by his full name his word.

Psalm 138 verse 2

Any thoughts on translation of this verse?

אֶשְׁתַּחֲוֶה I worship
אֶל-הֵיכַל קָדְשְׁךָ toward the temple of your holiness
וְאוֹדֶה אֶת-שְׁמֶךָ And I thank your name
עַל-חַסְדְּךָ וְעַל-אֲמִתֶּךָ By your mercy and by your truth
כִּי-הִגְדַּלְתָּ For you increase
עַל-כָּל-שִׁמְךָ אִמְרָתֶךָ By all your name - your word

Is the repetition of עַל significant? What English preposition best translates it in this context?

My diagram is here showing עַל and כִּי to be repeated - but I doubt this is significant recurrence for this psalm.

Now here's a diagram for you

"a visualization of all the nouns in the English language arranged by semantic meaning"
http://people.csail.mit.edu/torralba/tinyimages/

Filling in Ellipses

I was surprised to find - One day in your courts is better than a thousand (Psalm 84) rendered as One day in your courts is better than a thousand in my own room. The words 'in my own room' are not in the MT or the LXX.

The next line of the poem is - I prefer door-keeping in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of ungodliness.

If you were going to fill in the blank in your translation - why not 'in an ungodly place' or the like, so that the parallel that follows rhymes as one might expect? But why fill in the blank at all? Don't do the work that the hearer must do to unpack the poem.

In my own room is in direct contradiction to the positive personal aspect of several psalms.

I'd love to hear a comment on this translation (from the NEB).

At some point it's got to be final

Update: now in 'final' form

I have put a draft of my presentation for Bibletech 2008 in pdf form here.

I would welcome critical feedback (it's only 3.5M or so to download).

Consecutive Psalms

Happy birthday, John. Consecutive psalms being my current interest, here are some things I see in Psalms 90-91.

Psalm 90 is a play on turning (vs 3). You turn (תָּשֵׁב) a human to dust - and you say turn, (שׁוּבוּ) children of humus! Then verse 8-9 - our secret in the light of your face (פָּנֶיךָ) For all our days turn away (פָּנוּ) from your fury, we complete our years as a groan. But here is the real turning - known by Moses and the psalmist and completed such that God no longer needs to sigh or repent: (verse 13) Turn (שׁוּבָה) O LORD, how long and sigh (וְהִנָּחֵם) over your servants. So it will be that the beauty of the Lord our God is upon us - astonishingly, a birthday gift not to be repented of.

Comparing Psalms 90-91, there are some suggestive accidents of sound: (Yeah - it's a bit of a stretch, but each similar 'word' has three matching continguous letters of fire.)

our iniquities (עֲו‍ֹנֹתֵינוּ) - your home (מְעוֹנֶךָ)
from your fury (בְעֶבְרָתֶךָ) - with his feathers (בְּאֶבְרָתוֹ)
trouble (וָאָוֶן) - they will lift you up (יִשָּׂאוּנְךָ)
on us (עָלֵינוּ) - the Most High (עֶלְיוֹן)
establish (כּוֹנְנָה) - will remain (יִתְלוֹנָן)

Four Psalms

[Update - the image is easier to read and it links to everything]
Just for fun, I mapped the relationship of four psalms to every other psalm. What silliness! It's a little hard to read - tilt your head 75 degrees left to get the psalm numbers right. Read it like this: Psalm 1 (blue) has a number of 'words' that are shared in other psalms - the blue is a kind of profile of the words of Psalm 1 as used in each other psalm. Also the green is Psalm 2 words' profile. The yellow a profile for Psalm 3 and the red Psalm 4. The individual profiles are also in the individual psalm diagrams. The Psalm 32 profile (110 words in 11 verses) shows the same relatively strong connections to the first four psalms (102 hits total - but note it is a Cartesian join so some of the 110 words will be hit many times).

Psalm Relationships

Psalm 71 did not finally win the race for the closest relationship to Psalm 51. That will go to Psalm 40 which I am glad to say does have some conceptual relationship also. The scores I am using for the moment score 1 for every match of two words where there are three continguous consonants.

Here are a couple more profiles: Psalm 119 in psalm order (scroll down) and Psalm 119 in score order (curious = image above). I want now to imagine lowest scores for words - identifying psalms with a large number of hapax legomena - you could call this phase lego mania.

Here are the list of the high scores:

Psalm --1 and Psalm -11 have 25 connections over 7 verses, average 3.57

Psalm --2 and Psalm 143 have 32 connections over 12 verses, average 2.67

Psalm --3 and Psalm -42 have 46 connections over 13 verses, average 3.54

Psalm --4 and Psalm -27 have 37 connections over 14 verses, average 2.64

Psalm --5 and Psalm -40 have 55 connections over 18 verses, average 3.06

Psalm --6 and Psalm 143 have 43 connections over 12 verses, average 3.58

Psalm --7 and Psalm -42 have 74 connections over 18 verses, average 4.11

Psalm --8 and Psalm -79 have 34 connections over 13 verses, average 2.62

Psalm --9 and Psalm -10 have 88 connections over 21 verses, average 4.19

Psalm -10 and Psalm -37 have 156 connections over 40 verses, average 3.9

Psalm -11 and Psalm -58 have 29 connections over 12 verses, average 2.42

Psalm -12 and Psalm -17 have 39 connections over 15 verses, average 2.6

Psalm -13 and Psalm -42 have 41 connections over 13 verses, average 3.15

Psalm -14 and Psalm -53 have 72 connections over 7 verses, average 10.29

Psalm -15 and Psalm 101 have 18 connections over 8 verses, average 2.25

Psalm -16 and Psalm -40 have 60 connections over 18 verses, average 3.33

Psalm -17 and Psalm -27 have 60 connections over 15 verses, average 4

Psalm -18 and Psalm -78 have 416 connections over 72 verses, average 5.78

Psalm -19 and Psalm -86 have 48 connections over 17 verses, average 2.82

Psalm -20 and Psalm -99 have 32 connections over 10 verses, average 3.2

Psalm -21 and Psalm -45 have 64 connections over 18 verses, average 3.56

Psalm -22 and Psalm 102 have 169 connections over 32 verses, average 5.28

Psalm -23 and Psalm 143 have 26 connections over 12 verses, average 2.17

Psalm -24 and Psalm -45 have 67 connections over 18 verses, average 3.72

Psalm -25 and Psalm -86 have 125 connections over 22 verses, average 5.68

Psalm -26 and Psalm 143 have 29 connections over 12 verses, average 2.42

Psalm -27 and Psalm -56 have 54 connections over 14 verses, average 3.86

Psalm -28 and Psalm 115 have 67 connections over 18 verses, average 3.72

Psalm -29 and Psalm -47 have 34 connections over 11 verses, average 3.09

Psalm -30 and Psalm -86 have 61 connections over 17 verses, average 3.59

Psalm -31 and Psalm -71 have 156 connections over 25 verses, average 6.24

Psalm -32 and Psalm -40 have 65 connections over 18 verses, average 3.61

Psalm -33 and Psalm 136 have 140 connections over 26 verses, average 5.38

Psalm -34 and Psalm -37 have 133 connections over 40 verses, average 3.33

Psalm -35 and Psalm -71 have 160 connections over 28 verses, average 5.71

Psalm -36 and Psalm 136 have 89 connections over 26 verses, average 3.42

Psalm -37 and Psalm 104 have 167 connections over 40 verses, average 4.18

Psalm -38 and Psalm -40 have 109 connections over 23 verses, average 4.74

Psalm -39 and Psalm -40 have 60 connections over 18 verses, average 3.33

Psalm -40 and Psalm -71 have 168 connections over 24 verses, average 7

Psalm -41 and Psalm -56 have 58 connections over 14 verses, average 4.14

Psalm -42 and Psalm 143 have 91 connections over 13 verses, average 7

Psalm -43 and Psalm -20 have 27 connections over 10 verses, average 2.7

Psalm -44 and Psalm -74 have 139 connections over 27 verses, average 5.15

Psalm -45 and Psalm 136 have 133 connections over 26 verses, average 5.12

Psalm -46 and Psalm -96 have 50 connections over 13 verses, average 3.85

Psalm -47 and Psalm -98 have 47 connections over 10 verses, average 4.7

Psalm -48 and Psalm 136 have 99 connections over 26 verses, average 3.81

Psalm -49 and Psalm 115 have 69 connections over 21 verses, average 3.29

Psalm -50 and Psalm 109 have 104 connections over 31 verses, average 3.35

Psalm -51 and Psalm -40 have 92 connections over 21 verses, average 4.38

Psalm -52 and Psalm 136 have 121 connections over 26 verses, average 4.65

Psalm -54 and Psalm -86 have 50 connections over 17 verses, average 2.94

Psalm -55 and Psalm -74 have 96 connections over 24 verses, average 4

Psalm -56 and Psalm -86 have 71 connections over 17 verses, average 4.18

Psalm -57 and Psalm 143 have 50 connections over 12 verses, average 4.17

Psalm -58 and Psalm 141 have 31 connections over 12 verses, average 2.58

Psalm -59 and Psalm -86 have 91 connections over 18 verses, average 5.06

Psalm -60 and Psalm 108 have 65 connections over 14 verses, average 4.64

Psalm -61 and Psalm 142 have 22 connections over 9 verses, average 2.44

Psalm -62 and Psalm -86 have 43 connections over 17 verses, average 2.53

Psalm -63 and Psalm 143 have 44 connections over 12 verses, average 3.67

Psalm -64 and Psalm 112 have 25 connections over 11 verses, average 2.27

Psalm -65 and Psalm -74 have 60 connections over 23 verses, average 2.61

Psalm -66 and Psalm 115 have 72 connections over 20 verses, average 3.6

Psalm -67 and Psalm -96 have 67 connections over 13 verses, average 5.15

Psalm -68 and Psalm -69 have 222 connections over 37 verses, average 6

Psalm -69 and Psalm 109 have 210 connections over 37 verses, average 5.68

Psalm -70 and Psalm -71 have 46 connections over 24 verses, average 1.92

Psalm -71 and Psalm -86 have 140 connections over 24 verses, average 5.83

Psalm -72 and Psalm 136 have 111 connections over 26 verses, average 4.27

Psalm -73 and Psalm -35 have 116 connections over 28 verses, average 4.14

Psalm -74 and Psalm -86 have 93 connections over 23 verses, average 4.04

Psalm -75 and Psalm 148 have 39 connections over 14 verses, average 2.79

Psalm -76 and Psalm 143 have 36 connections over 13 verses, average 2.77

Psalm -77 and Psalm 136 have 97 connections over 26 verses, average 3.73

Psalm -78 and Psalm 106 have 514 connections over 72 verses, average 7.14

Psalm -79 and Psalm 136 have 85 connections over 26 verses, average 3.27

Psalm -80 and Psalm 104 have 101 connections over 35 verses, average 2.89

Psalm -81 and Psalm 115 have 52 connections over 18 verses, average 2.89

Psalm -82 and Psalm -97 have 31 connections over 12 verses, average 2.58

Psalm -83 and Psalm 115 have 53 connections over 19 verses, average 2.79

Psalm -84 and Psalm 115 have 56 connections over 18 verses, average 3.11

Psalm -85 and Psalm 136 have 95 connections over 26 verses, average 3.65

Psalm -86 and Psalm 143 have 110 connections over 17 verses, average 6.47

Psalm -87 and Psalm 137 have 18 connections over 9 verses, average 2

Psalm -88 and Psalm 143 have 72 connections over 19 verses, average 3.79

Psalm -89 and Psalm 136 have 435 connections over 53 verses, average 8.21

Psalm -90 and Psalm -86 have 83 connections over 17 verses, average 4.88

Psalm -91 and Psalm -86 have 51 connections over 17 verses, average 3

Psalm -92 and Psalm 143 have 49 connections over 16 verses, average 3.06

Psalm -93 and Psalm -98 have 12 connections over 9 verses, average 1.33

Psalm -94 and Psalm 109 have 89 connections over 31 verses, average 2.87

Psalm -95 and Psalm 144 have 38 connections over 15 verses, average 2.53

Psalm -96 and Psalm -97 have 62 connections over 13 verses, average 4.77

Psalm -97 and Psalm 143 have 51 connections over 12 verses, average 4.25

Psalm -98 and Psalm 143 have 36 connections over 12 verses, average 3

Psalm -99 and Psalm 101 have 24 connections over 9 verses, average 2.67

Psalm 100 and Psalm 136 have 63 connections over 26 verses, average 2.42

Psalm 101 and Psalm 141 have 34 connections over 10 verses, average 3.4

Psalm 102 and Psalm 109 have 122 connections over 31 verses, average 3.94

Psalm 103 and Psalm 136 have 191 connections over 26 verses, average 7.35

Psalm 104 and Psalm 105 have 236 connections over 45 verses, average 5.24

Psalm 105 and Psalm 106 have 334 connections over 48 verses, average 6.96

Psalm 106 and Psalm 136 have 224 connections over 48 verses, average 4.67

Psalm 107 and Psalm 106 have 309 connections over 48 verses, average 6.44

Psalm 108 and Psalm 115 have 52 connections over 18 verses, average 2.89

Psalm 109 and Psalm 136 have 138 connections over 31 verses, average 4.45

Psalm 110 and Psalm 136 have 47 connections over 26 verses, average 1.81

Psalm 111 and Psalm 112 have 44 connections over 10 verses, average 4.4

Psalm 112 and Psalm 136 have 65 connections over 26 verses, average 2.5

Psalm 113 and Psalm 148 have 72 connections over 14 verses, average 5.14

Psalm 114 and Psalm 148 have 29 connections over 14 verses, average 2.07

Psalm 115 and Psalm 135 have 156 connections over 21 verses, average 7.43

Psalm 116 and Psalm 143 have 57 connections over 19 verses, average 3

Psalm 117 and Psalm 136 have 54 connections over 26 verses, average 2.08

Psalm 118 and Psalm 136 have 310 connections over 29 verses, average 10.69

Psalm 119-A-H and Psalm 119-Ts-T have 652 connections over 48 verses, average 13.58

Psalm 119-K-* and Psalm 119-Ts-T have 673 connections over 48 verses, average 14.02

Psalm 119-Ts-T and Psalm 106 have 251 connections over 48 verses, average 5.23

Psalm 119-V-Y and Psalm 119-Ts-T have 609 connections over 48 verses, average 12.69

Psalm 120 and Psalm 143 have 22 connections over 12 verses, average 1.83

Psalm 121 and Psalm 130 have 18 connections over 8 verses, average 2.25

Psalm 122 and Psalm 137 have 23 connections over 9 verses, average 2.56

Psalm 123 and Psalm 131 have 8 connections over 4 verses, average 2

Psalm 124 and Psalm 143 have 25 connections over 12 verses, average 2.08

Psalm 125 and Psalm 136 have 59 connections over 26 verses, average 2.27

Psalm 126 and Psalm 137 have 12 connections over 9 verses, average 1.33

Psalm 127 and Psalm 128 have 19 connections over 6 verses, average 3.17

Psalm 128 and Psalm 144 have 32 connections over 15 verses, average 2.13

Psalm 129 and Psalm 137 have 12 connections over 9 verses, average 1.33

Psalm 130 and Psalm 141 have 21 connections over 10 verses, average 2.1

Psalm 131 and Psalm 133 have 7 connections over 3 verses, average 2.33

Psalm 132 and Psalm 143 have 40 connections over 18 verses, average 2.22

Psalm 133 and Psalm 134 have 9 connections over 3 verses, average 3

Psalm 134 and Psalm 135 have 30 connections over 21 verses, average 1.43

Psalm 135 and Psalm 148 have 111 connections over 21 verses, average 5.29

Psalm 136 and Psalm 143 have 106 connections over 26 verses, average 4.08

Psalm 137 and Psalm 144 have 40 connections over 15 verses, average 2.67

Psalm 138 and Psalm 136 have 91 connections over 26 verses, average 3.5

Psalm 139 and Psalm 143 have 50 connections over 24 verses, average 2.08

Psalm 140 and Psalm 141 have 41 connections over 14 verses, average 2.93

Psalm 141 and Psalm 143 have 39 connections over 12 verses, average 3.25

Psalm 142 and Psalm 143 have 43 connections over 12 verses, average 3.58

Psalm 143 and Psalm 146 have 31 connections over 12 verses, average 2.58

Psalm 144 and Psalm 147 have 46 connections over 20 verses, average 2.3

Psalm 145 and Psalm 136 have 163 connections over 26 verses, average 6.27

Psalm 146 and Psalm 148 have 72 connections over 14 verses, average 5.14

Psalm 147 and Psalm 148 have 87 connections over 20 verses, average 4.35

Psalm 148 and Psalm 149 have 51 connections over 14 verses, average 3.64

Psalm 149 and Psalm -14 have 9 connections over 9 verses, average 1

Psalm 150 and Psalm 148 have 157 connections over 14 verses, average 11.21

Are there surprises in the Psalter?

It will continue to be a slow process - not like the instant visual gratification (though intellectual disappointment) you might get in a film. I have re-imaged psalm 1 and psalm 2 slightly. At the bottom of each is a graph of a measure of connectivity with other psalms.

We are experimenting with new data structures. The diagrams make good test data but the measurements of my ad hoc formula are too rough. Psalms 2 and 149 have a stronger relationship than that highlighted in the graph - as I noted in an earlier post. Still, I expect that as I re-examine each psalm, I will find some profiles that stand out and demand more detailed analysis.

If you are new to the blog - be sure and examine the draft portrait of the psalter.