Read Psalm 9 at Bible Gateway.
Chiastic structures.
I could not make a single structure from Psalm 9. But the two structures reflect each other – they are mirrors! In Scripture, when God repeats Himself, He is throwing a spotlight on the message. “This is important, and you don’t want to miss it!” Repetition is one of the teaching tools of Scripture. The central sections:
You sat upon the throne as the righteous Judge. 5 You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever. 6 O enemy, the waste places have come to an end for ever; and the cities which you uprooted, their very memory is perished. 7 But YHVH is enthroned for ever; He has established His throne for judgment. 8 And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will minister judgment to the peoples with equity. Psa 9:5b-8
YHVH has made Himself known, He has executed judgment. Psa 9:16a
Hebrew root words.
To judge. Strong’s H8199 שפט shaphat, a primitive root meaning “to pronounce sentence.” The 3-letter root is shin + pey + tet.
shin ש = two front teeth, thus sharp, press, eat, two, again
pey פ ,ף = the mouth, thus open, blow, scatter, edge
tet ט = the basket, thus surround, contain, hold, mud
The story: Pronouncing a word (shin, as spoken words pass through the teeth) with the mouth (pey); i.e., to make a decree, a proclamation, that holds (tet, as a basket holds whatever it contains) i.e., that passes the scrutiny of time and circumstances as a true word.
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