<\/p>
Psalm 103:1 is a small chiasm that hints at large anthropological conclusions: <\/p>\n
A. Bless Yahweh <\/p>\n
B. O my soul <\/p>\n
B\u2019. All that is within me <\/p>\n
A\u2019. [Bless] His holy name. <\/p>\n
Though the verb \u201cbless\u201d is not repeated in the final clause, it is implied. Yahweh and \u201choly name\u201d are clearly parallel. Yahweh and His Name enclose the soul of the Psalmist. What intrigues me at the moment is the B\/B\u2019 connection. Initially, it is David\u2019s soul that blesses Yahweh; then it is \u201call within.\u201d That shows that the \u201csoul\u201d is parallel to, if not identical with, \u201call within.\u201d This has implications in a couple of directions. <\/p>\n
First, if we can press the parallel, we might be able to say that the soul is what is within. What do you have within you? The Psalmist answers, My soul. \u201cSoul\u201d names the whole of my interior life. But then we can add the observation that in Scripture the soul is not primarily intellectual but appetitive. Souls desire, long for, yearn, hunger, and thirst. If \u201csoul\u201d names everything in me, then (at least perspectivally) my interior life is a life of desire. At my \u201cheart\u201d I am my desires. <\/p>\n
Second, this verse seems to have some import for our understanding of the sacrificial system. In all the animal sacrifices, the portions of the animal that are brought near ( qarab <\/em> ) to Yahweh are the inward parts ( qereb <\/em> ). Here, David blesses Yahweh with his soul, all that is within ( kal-qarebaw <\/em> ), all his inner parts. This verse supports the notion that the fat and inner organs that are offered to Yahweh represent the worshiper offering his innermost soul, his loves and desires, to Yahweh, so that they might be transfigured to smoke. <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Psalm 103:1 is a small chiasm that hints at large anthropological conclusions: A. Bless Yahweh B. O my soul B\u2019. All that is within me A\u2019. [Bless] His holy name. Though the verb \u201cbless\u201d is not repeated in the final clause, it is implied. Yahweh and \u201choly name\u201d are clearly parallel. Yahweh and His Name […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3021,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-ot-psalms"],"yoast_head":"\n