The profile of the rich antagonist and the pious protagonist in Psalm 52

J Henk Potgieter

doi:10.4102/hts.v69i1.1963

Abstract

In this article, a stichometric and poetic analysis of Psalm 52 is offered which forms the basis for a description of the character of the rich but crooked antagonist and the pious protagonist in the psalm. The profile of the pious in the psalm emerges largely as the inverse of the inclination and actions of the arrogant, rich antagonist who is addressed in the greater part of the psalm. The psalm is also read and interpreted against the background of the book of Psalms as a whole to argue that Psalm 52 is actually describing the opposition between the righteous and the wicked as it is typically found in Wisdom psalms.

Highlights

This article is submitted in recognition of the giftedness and the immense contribution that James Alfred Loader made to the fields of Semitic Languages and Old Testament Science
I hope that it may reflect in some way the treasure of knowledge about Wisdom which Jimmie Loader has unlocked for South African students and give a glimpse of the meticulousness he has always displayed in his work
The first half of this verse declares: ‘Oh, taste and see that Yahweh is good!’ As such, it expresses the same idea as Psalm 52:11 (‘I will wait for your name, for it is good’) and Psalm 52:10 (‘I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever’)

Summary

Introduction

This plant metaphor is important since it forms an antithesis to the ‘green olive tree in the house of God’ in verse 10 It is as if the repetition of ‫[ מן‬from] in the parallel antithetic descriptions in 5a and 5b, ‘you love evil and not good, and lying and not speaking what is right’, is echoed in 7b and 7c, ‘he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living.’. Since the electronic version was used, no page numbers are given

B Antithesis

Conclusion