Milestone

I have now read through and drafted 49.9% 50.6% of the verses of the psalter. When I began, I figured it would be a 6 year project. And it still will be, but getting to draft is going faster than I anticipated. The whole experience as blogged is a record of a bootstrap process on learning Hebrew though using modern technology rather than quill pen - some day I will reflect on what I have learned. There were a few really helpful people last fall that did not laugh me off the street - particularly note Peter Kirk and Joel Hoffman and Harold Holmyard on b-hebrew. I took a couple of classes at my local synagogue on prayerbook Hebrew that also helped the hearing process.

The psalms in draft are in various states: a few (e.g. psalm 2, 16, 19) have been discussed on other blogs, so I have studied them further and refined my translation or justified my choices through structural analysis.

A few of the early ones are filled with colour - some of it apparently random! (But there was a reason for each one). Some later ones like 119 are also coloured and variously imaged to try to see through them.

When I began, I thought form and genre criticism was the important thing - I don't think so any more. What is the point of knowing a form when they are all so intense and unique? Does it help carry them around? Even the history is of limited value. The coherence of the psalter is in the covenant dialogue by many poets over a long period. It appears to have a shape - just judging by the use of the divine name - but that too, likely deliberate by collection, may not be of much import.

There are one or two (19, 46) also where I have attempted recently to show the prosodic structure laid out by John Hobbins providing such a depth of form for consideration - but by no means easy to model. This kind of analysis should contribute to some naming - much as we can recognize a sonnet whether of Donne or Shakespeare. It is early days for this but I hope our interactions will bear the maturing fruit of diligence without excessive pain.

I have enjoyed this project and hope to continue to enjoy it. If there is a word of encouragement to another, then I am also encouraged. Do learn the language if you are only thinking about it. As my son-in-law said to me, it will change your life.

Psalm --1 August 2006 (67)
Psalm --2 August 2006 (108)
Psalm --3 September 2006 (70)
Psalm --4 October 2006 (77)
Psalm --5 October 2006 (111)
Psalm --6 November 2006 (84)
Psalm --7 November 2006 (142)
Psalm --8 September 2006 (77)
Psalm --9 November 2006 (165)
Psalm -10 November 2006 (162)
Psalm -11 November 2006 (68)
Psalm -12 November 2006 (79)
Psalm -13 January 2007 (55)
Psalm -14 / -53 January 2007 (93)
Psalm -15 January 2007 (55)
Psalm -16 January 2007 (97)
Psalm -17 February 2007 (124)
Psalm -18 May 2007 (397)
Psalm -19 January 2007 (126) prosodic
Psalm -20 May 2007 (70)
Psalm -21 May 2007 (104)
Psalm -22 April 2007 (253)
Psalm -23 September 2006 (52)
Psalm -24 May 2007 (89)
Psalm -25 May 2007 (159)
Psalm -26 June 2007 (85)
Psalm -27 July 2007 (149)
Psalm -29 June 2007 (91)
Psalm -42 January 2007 (132)
Psalm -43 February 2007 (59)
Psalm -44 June 2007 (197)
Psalm -45 June 2007 (160)
Psalm -46 September 2006 (99) prosodic
Psalm -47 May 2007 (77)
Psalm -48 June 2007 (111)
Psalm -51 December 2006 (153) French
Psalm -52 July 2007 (90)
Psalm -54 July 2007 (62)
Psalm -55 July 2007 (193)
Psalm -67 December 2006 (53)
Psalm -73 December 2006 (193)
Psalm -84 June 2007 (116)
Psalm -85 June 2007 (96)
Psalm -86 August 2007 (...)
Psalm -87 June 2007 (54)
Psalm -89 December 2006 (384)
Psalm -90 May 2007 (140)
Psalm -91 May 2007 (112)
Psalm -92 May 2007 (112)
Psalm 100 December 2006 (44)
Psalm 107 January 2007 (278)
Psalm 115 May 2007 (135)
Psalm 117 March 2007 (17)
Psalm 118 March 2007 (198)
Psalm 119-A-H March 2007 (241)
Psalm 119-K-* July 2007 (305)
Psalm 119-Ts-T July 2007 (292)
Psalm 119-V-Y July 2007 (258)
Psalm 120 June 2007 (51)
Psalm 121 May 2007 (56)
Psalm 122 June 2007 (62)
Psalm 123 May 2007 (41)
Psalm 124 May 2007 (57)
Psalm 125 June 2007 (49)
Psalm 126 June 2007 (50)
Psalm 127 June 2007 (60)
Psalm 128 June 2007 (47)
Psalm 129 August 2007 (54)
Psalm 130 August 2007 (54)
Psalm 131 August 2007 (33)
Psalm 132 August 2007 (131)
Psalm 133 May 2007 (40)
Psalm 134 April 2007 (25)
Psalm 135 August 2007 (167)
Psalm 136 August 2007 (166)
Psalm 137 August 2007 (84)
Psalm 138 September 2006 (75)
Psalm 139 August 2007 (177)
Psalm 145 September 2006 (161)
Psalm 146 May 2007 (85)
Psalm 147 June 2007 (141)
Psalm 148 June 2007 (111)
Psalm 149 July 2007 (63)
Psalm 150 December 2006 (37)