STAGING SITE

Sickness and Enemies in Psalm 6

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Introduction

Is there physical sickness in Psalm 6? The UBS Handbook on Psalms describes Psalm 6 as a "a lament by an individual who is sick and near death."[1] While most commentators would agree with this description, some think that the language of sickness is only figurative. For example, the NLT, which translates v. 4a as "I am sick at heart" could be understood to imply a sickness that is merely figurative. The CEV, by contrast, implies literal sickness when it translates v. 3a as "Have pity on me and heal my feeble body." Even among those who think the language of sickness is literal, there is not agreement on how sickness fits with the enemies mentioned in vv. 8b–11. Do the enemies cause the sickness, or does the sickness bring the enemies? The following maps explore

  1. whether or not Psalm 6 presupposes a situation of sickness,
  2. how this sickness might relate to the psalmist's "enemies" (vv. 8b–11).

Argument map

Sickness in Psalm 6

Sickness literal (preferred)

Most commentators argue that the language of sickness is literal and that the psalmist is experiencing some deadly illness. 


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[Sickness]: Psalm 6 is "a psalm of sickness" (Craigie 1983, 91 :C:; cf. Radak :C:; Mowinckel 1967 :M:; Gunkel & Begrich 1998 :M:; Hossfeld and Zenger 1993 :C:; Waltke 2014 :C:). 
 + <Language of sickness>: The language of healing, physical health (bones and eye), and closeness to death suggests a situation of sickness. "The language of the prayer describes a person who is seriously ill" (Mays 1994, 59 :C:). 
  + <"Heal me" (v. 3)>: "The request that God would heal him indicates that the motivation for the original composition of the psalm was illness" (Longman 2014, 73 :C:). 
   + [v. 3]: "Heal me, YHWH...!" (רְפָאֵנִי יְהוָה).
   + <רפא in the Psalms>: "In the Psalms, רפא is virtually always used with reference to literal, physical healing" (NIDOTTE :D:). 
    + [רפא in the Psalms]: Pss 30:3; 41:5; 60:4; 103:3; 107:20.
    <_ [Figurative use of רפא in Psalms]: Psalm 147:3 describes YHWH as the one who heals the broken-hearted (הָרֹפֵא לִשְׁבוּרֵי לֵב). #dispreferred
      +> <Spiritual healing>
   <_ <Spiritual healing>: The language of healing (רפא) "is not limited to physical healing. It may be used for spiritual healing" (Ross 2016 :C:; cf. Kuckhoff 2011 :M:). #dispreferred
    + [Exod 15:26]: "I am your healer (רֹפְאֶךָ)" (Exod 15:26) #dispreferred
  + <"Bones" (v. 3)>: Bones (עצם) were "often viewed as the seat of one’s physical strength and health" (NIDOTTE :D:). 
   + [v. 3]
   + [Bones as seat of physical health]: Job 20:11; 21:24; Prov 3:8; Isa 58:11; 66:14; Lam 4:7 
   <_ <Bones as seat of emotions>: "Bones" can refer to "the seat of the emotions" (HALOT :L:; TWOT :D:) #dispreferred
    + [Bones as seat of emotions]: Jer 20:9; 23:9; Pss 35:10; 51:10; 102:4; Job 4:14; 20:11; 30:17, 30; Prov 3:8; 16:24 (HALOT :L:) #dispreferred
  + <Death (v. 6)>: The psalmist is "close to death" (Craigie 1983, 93 :C:; cf. Jacobson 2014 :C:). 
   + [Death (v. 6)]: "For there is no commemoration of you in the world of the dead. In Sheol, who can praise you?"
   <_ <Other perilous afflictions possible>: "We can, indeed, gather from these words that the life of David was in the utmost danger, but it may have been some other kind of affliction than bodily sickness under which he labored" (Calvin :C:). #dispreferred
  + <Eye (v. 8a)>: "The wasting and weakness of the eye are indicative of the state of physical decline into which the psalmist had descended" (Craigie 1983, 94 :C:). 
   + [v. 8a]: "My eye has wasted away because of vexation."
   + <Eye as symbol of health>: The eye is "sparkling when the body is healthy and strong, but dim when weak or sick" (SDBH :L:). 
  <_ <Sickness as metaphor>: "Such descriptions (of sickness) are sometimes used as metaphors for other kinds of suffering" (Wilson 2002, 178 :C:; cf. Calvin :C:). #dispreferred
   + <Sickness as deplorable condition of a nation>: In both Isaiah 1:5 and Hosea 5:13, the language of sickness is used to refer to "the deplorable condition" of a nation (SDBH :L:; cf. Isa 53:4; see Ibn Ezra :C: on Ps 6). #dispreferred
    + [Isa 1:5]: "The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint" (Isa 1:5 ESV). #dispreferred
    + [Hos 5:13]: "When Ephraim saw his sickness... then Ephraim went to Assyria... But he is not able to cure you" (Hos 5:13 ESV). #dispreferred
 + <Cult-functional argument>: "Psalms complaining of illness were offered in the cult... So there can hardly be any doubt that psalms like 6; 38; 39 were real psalms of illness" (Mowinckel 1967, 16 :M:). 
  + <Job 33:19–26>: "In Job 33:19ff. we are expressly told that a man overtaken by illness, on performing the cultic acts that belonged to the ritual of cleansing, also 'prays to God' (v. 26)" (Mowinckel 1967, 6 :M:). 
   + [Job 33:19–22, 26]: “Man is also rebuked (וְהוּכַח) with pain on his bed and with continual strife in his bones (עֲצָמָיו), so that his life loathes bread, and his appetite the choicest food. His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen, and his bones that were not seen stick out. His soul draws near the pit, and his life to those who bring death... Then \[he\] prays (יֶעְתַּר) to God, and he accepts him; (Job 33:19–22, 26, ESV).
  + <Thanksgiving psalms for healing>: "Thanksgiving psalms treating of healing from sickness... quote the lament by the sick person prayed 'then'" (Mowinckel 1967, 16 :M:).
   + [Thanksgiving psalms for healing]: Pss 30:9-11; 32:5; Isa 38:10–11.
 + <Analogy with Ps 38>: Psalms 38 is "with certainty" among the psalms of "sickness and healing" (Seybold 1973 :M:; cf. Gunkel & Begrich 1998 :M:), and Psalm 6 is very similar to these psalms. "Psalm 38 echoes and clarifies this psalm" (Waltke 2014, 52 :C:).
  + [Similarities between Ps 38 and Ps 6]: The beginning of Psalm 38 is nearly identical to the beginning of Psalm 6: "YHWH, do not correct me in your fury or discipline me in your wrath" (v. 2). Like Psalm 6, Psalm 38 also talks about distressed "bones" (v. 4b), fading "eyes" (v. 11b), and enemies (vv. 13, 20–21).
  + [Sickness in Ps 38]: Psalm 38 twice says "there is no soundness in my body" (אֵין מְתֹם בִּבְשָׂרִי) (vv. 4a, 8b) and gives other clear indications of physical illness (cf. vv. 4b, 8a, 11).
 + <Hezekiah's prayer (Isa 38)>: Hezekiah alludes to Psalm 6 in his own prayer of sickness (Isa 38:9-20), which suggests that he viewed the psalm as uniquely appropriate to his situation of physical sickness.
  + [Isa 38:9, 18-20]: "A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness... 'For Sheol does not thank you (שְׁאוֹל תּוֹדֶךָּ); death (מָוֶת) does not praise you (cf. Ps 6:6); those who go down to the pit do not hope for your faithfulness. The living, the living, he thanks you, as I do this day; the father makes known to the children your faithfulness. The Lord will save me (לְהוֹשִׁיעֵנִי, cf. Ps 6:5), and we will play my music on stringed instruments (נְגִנוֹתַי, cf. Ps 6:1) all the days of our lives, at the house of the Lord" (Isa 38:9, 18–20, ESV).


Argument Mapn0SicknessPsalm 6 is "a psalm of sickness" (Craigie 1983, 91 🄲; cf. Radak 🄲; Mowinckel 1967 🄼; Gunkel & Begrich 1998 🄼; Hossfeld and Zenger 1993 🄲; Waltke 2014 🄲). n1v. 3"Heal me, YHWH...!" (רְפָאֵנִי יְהוָה).n17"Heal me" (v. 3)"The request that God would heal him indicates that the motivation for the original composition of the psalm was illness" (Longman 2014, 73 🄲). n1->n17n20"Bones" (v. 3)Bones (עצם) were "often viewed as the seat of one’s physical strength and health" (NIDOTTE 🄳). n1->n20n2רפא in the PsalmsPss 30:3; 41:5; 60:4; 103:3; 107:20.n18רפא in the Psalms"In the Psalms, רפא is virtually always used with reference to literal, physical healing" (NIDOTTE 🄳). n2->n18n3Figurative use of רפא in PsalmsPsalm 147:3 describes YHWH as the one who heals the broken-hearted (הָרֹפֵא לִשְׁבוּרֵי לֵב). n3->n18n19Spiritual healingThe language of healing (רפא) "is not limited to physical healing. It may be used for spiritual healing" (Ross 2016 🄲; cf. Kuckhoff 2011 🄼). n3->n19n4Exod 15:26"I am your healer (רֹפְאֶךָ)" (Exod 15:26) n4->n19n5Bones as seat of physical healthJob 20:11; 21:24; Prov 3:8; Isa 58:11; 66:14; Lam 4:7 n5->n20n6Bones as seat of emotionsJer 20:9; 23:9; Pss 35:10; 51:10; 102:4; Job 4:14; 20:11; 30:17, 30; Prov 3:8; 16:24 (HALOT 🄻) n21Bones as seat of emotions"Bones" can refer to "the seat of the emotions" (HALOT 🄻; TWOT 🄳) n6->n21n7Death (v. 6)"For there is no commemoration of you in the world of the dead. In Sheol, who can praise you?"n22Death (v. 6)The psalmist is "close to death" (Craigie 1983, 93 🄲; cf. Jacobson 2014 🄲). n7->n22n8v. 8a"My eye has wasted away because of vexation."n24Eye (v. 8a)"The wasting and weakness of the eye are indicative of the state of physical decline into which the psalmist had descended" (Craigie 1983, 94 🄲). n8->n24n9Isa 1:5"The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint" (Isa 1:5 ESV). n27Sickness as deplorable condition of a nationIn both Isaiah 1:5 and Hosea 5:13, the language of sickness is used to refer to "the deplorable condition" of a nation (SDBH 🄻; cf. Isa 53:4; see Ibn Ezra 🄲 on Ps 6). n9->n27n10Hos 5:13"When Ephraim saw his sickness... then Ephraim went to Assyria... But he is not able to cure you" (Hos 5:13 ESV). n10->n27n11Job 33:19–22, 26“Man is also rebuked (וְהוּכַח) with pain on his bed and with continual strife in his bones (עֲצָמָיו), so that his life loathes bread, and his appetite the choicest food. His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen, and his bones that were not seen stick out. His soul draws near the pit, and his life to those who bring death... Then [he] prays (יֶעְתַּר) to God, and he accepts him; (Job 33:19–22, 26, ESV).n29Job 33:19–26"In Job 33:19ff. we are expressly told that a man overtaken by illness, on performing the cultic acts that belonged to the ritual of cleansing, also 'prays to God' (v. 26)" (Mowinckel 1967, 6 🄼). n11->n29n12Thanksgiving psalms for healingPss 30:9-11; 32:5; Isa 38:10–11.n30Thanksgiving psalms for healing"Thanksgiving psalms treating of healing from sickness... quote the lament by the sick person prayed 'then'" (Mowinckel 1967, 16 🄼).n12->n30n13Similarities between Ps 38 and Ps 6The beginning of Psalm 38 is nearly identical to the beginning of Psalm 6: "YHWH, do not correct me in your fury or discipline me in your wrath" (v. 2). Like Psalm 6, Psalm 38 also talks about distressed "bones" (v. 4b), fading "eyes" (v. 11b), and enemies (vv. 13, 20–21).n31Analogy with Ps 38Psalms 38 is "with certainty" among the psalms of "sickness and healing" (Seybold 1973 🄼; cf. Gunkel & Begrich 1998 🄼), and Psalm 6 is very similar to these psalms. "Psalm 38 echoes and clarifies this psalm" (Waltke 2014, 52 🄲).n13->n31n14Sickness in Ps 38Psalm 38 twice says "there is no soundness in my body" (אֵין מְתֹם בִּבְשָׂרִי) (vv. 4a, 8b) and gives other clear indications of physical illness (cf. vv. 4b, 8a, 11).n14->n31n15Isa 38:9, 18-20"A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness... 'For Sheol does not thank you (שְׁאוֹל תּוֹדֶךָּ); death (מָוֶת) does not praise you (cf. Ps 6:6); those who go down to the pit do not hope for your faithfulness. The living, the living, he thanks you, as I do this day; the father makes known to the children your faithfulness. The Lord will save me (לְהוֹשִׁיעֵנִי, cf. Ps 6:5), and we will play my music on stringed instruments (נְגִנוֹתַי, cf. Ps 6:1) all the days of our lives, at the house of the Lord" (Isa 38:9, 18–20, ESV).n32Hezekiah's prayer (Isa 38)Hezekiah alludes to Psalm 6 in his own prayer of sickness (Isa 38:9-20), which suggests that he viewed the psalm as uniquely appropriate to his situation of physical sickness.n15->n32n16Language of sicknessThe language of healing, physical health (bones and eye), and closeness to death suggests a situation of sickness. "The language of the prayer describes a person who is seriously ill" (Mays 1994, 59 🄲). n16->n0n17->n16n18->n17n19->n17n20->n16n21->n20n22->n16n23Other perilous afflictions possible"We can, indeed, gather from these words that the life of David was in the utmost danger, but it may have been some other kind of affliction than bodily sickness under which he labored" (Calvin 🄲). n23->n22n24->n16n25Eye as symbol of healthThe eye is "sparkling when the body is healthy and strong, but dim when weak or sick" (SDBH 🄻). n25->n24n26Sickness as metaphor"Such descriptions (of sickness) are sometimes used as metaphors for other kinds of suffering" (Wilson 2002, 178 🄲; cf. Calvin 🄲). n26->n16n27->n26n28Cult-functional argument"Psalms complaining of illness were offered in the cult... So there can hardly be any doubt that psalms like 6; 38; 39 were real psalms of illness" (Mowinckel 1967, 16 🄼). n28->n0n29->n28n30->n28n31->n0n32->n0


Sickness figurative

Some interpreters think that the language of sickness is figurative, either for the psalmist's spiritual suffering or for his suffering at the hands of his foes. 


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[Figurative]: The language of sickness in Psalm 6 is figurative (Calvin :C:; Baethgen 1904 :C:; Rogerson & McKay 1977 :C:; cf. Spieckermann 2023 :C:). #dispreferred
 + <Abandonment>: "The language of illness could be metaphorical for a spiritual condition. The psalmist's main concern is that God has withdrawn (v. 5 שובה), abandoning him to grief and dismay, and even to death (vv. 4-8)" (Rogerson & McKay 1977 :C:). #dispreferred
  - <Turn from anger>: The request for YHWH to 'turn' (שובה) is not a request for YHWH to return from absence, but for YHWH to turn from anger and punishment to mercy and healing (see Exegetical Issue: The Meaning of שׁוּבָה in Psalm 6:5).
 + <Foes>: "The shift of focus (to foes) (vv. 8ff) at least opens the possibility that the description of suffering from disease in Psalm 6 is used metaphorically for suffering experienced through the attacks of opponents" (Wilson 2002, 181 :C:). #dispreferred
  <_ <Ps 38>: Psalm 38, which also focuses on foes at the end, clearly has literal sickness in view.
 + <Sickness as a metaphor for suffering>: Sickness is sometimes a metaphor for suffering in general (cf. Jer 15:17) (Baethgen 1904, 14 :C:). #dispreferred
  + [Jer 15:17]: "Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?" (ESV). #dispreferred


Argument Mapn0FigurativeThe language of sickness in Psalm 6 is figurative (Calvin 🄲; Baethgen 1904 🄲; Rogerson & McKay 1977 🄲; cf. Spieckermann 2023 🄲). n1Jer 15:17"Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?" (ESV). n6Sickness as a metaphor for sufferingSickness is sometimes a metaphor for suffering in general (cf. Jer 15:17) (Baethgen 1904, 14 🄲). n1->n6n2Abandonment"The language of illness could be metaphorical for a spiritual condition. The psalmist's main concern is that God has withdrawn (v. 5 שובה), abandoning him to grief and dismay, and even to death (vv. 4-8)" (Rogerson & McKay 1977 🄲). n2->n0n3Turn from angerThe request for YHWH to 'turn' (שובה) is not a request for YHWH to return from absence, but for YHWH to turn from anger and punishment to mercy and healing (see Exegetical Issue: The Meaning of שׁוּבָה in Psalm 6:5).n3->n2n4Foes"The shift of focus (to foes) (vv. 8ff) at least opens the possibility that the description of suffering from disease in Psalm 6 is used metaphorically for suffering experienced through the attacks of opponents" (Wilson 2002, 181 🄲). n4->n0n5Ps 38Psalm 38, which also focuses on foes at the end, clearly has literal sickness in view.n5->n4n6->n0


Sickness & Enemies

If the language of sickness is literal, then what is the relationship between the psalmist's sickness and the psalmist's enemies?[2]

Sickness -> Enemies (preferred)

Some interpreters think that the enemies come as a result of the sickness. 


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[Sickness -> Enemies]: The enemies come as a result of the sickness. "He is suffering from a direct divine visitation, and... the persecution of which he complains (v. 8) is a consequence and aggravation of it" (Kirkpatrick 1901 :C:).
 + <Ps 38>: In Psalm 38, which is very similar to Psalm 6, the enemies come as a result of the sickness (cf. Ps 38:13, 17, 20-21). In this way, "Psalm 38 echoes and clarifies this psalm" (Waltke 2014, 52 :C:).
  + [Ps 38:17b]: "\[who\] exalt themselves over me when my feet slip” (Ps 38:17b, NIV).
 + <Ps 41>: In Psalm 41, which is also a psalm of sickness, the king's "lament centres not on his ailment but on the opportunity it gives to his enemies, those perpetual accompaniments of a king's life. Respectful visitors to the sickbed secretly plot his overthrow" (Eaton 1975, 45).
  + [Ps 41]: "The Lord supports him on his sickbed; you have healed him from his illness. As for me, I said: “O Lord, have mercy on me (חָנֵּנִי)! Heal me (רְפָאָה), for I have sinned against you. My enemies (אוֹיְבַי) ask this cruel question about me, ‘When will he finally die and be forgotten?’ When someone comes to visit, he pretends to be friendly; he thinks of ways to defame me, and when he leaves he slanders me. All who hate me whisper insults about me to one another; they plan ways to harm me. They say, ‘An awful disease overwhelms him, and now that he is bedridden he will never recover’" (Ps 41:3–8, NET).
 + <Late appearance of enemies>: "Given their late appearance in the psalm," it is more likely that the enemies "add to (the suffering)" rather than cause it (Goldingay 2006, 139 :C:).
 + <Sickness and divine rejection>: The psalmist's enemies enter the scene because they interpret his sickness to mean that he has been rejected by YHWH for some sin (cf. Ps 71:9–11; Waltke 2014, 52 :C:).
  + [Ps 71:9–11]: "Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent. For my enemies speak concerning me; those who watch for my life consult together and say, 'God has forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is none to deliver him'" (Ps 71:9–11, ESV).
  + <Sickness in Israel>: "Illness was viewed in Israel as a result of God's judgment for sin" (Achtmeier 1974, 86 :A:; cf. Craigie 2004, 94 :C:). "In the Psalms, sickness is closely linked with sin" (Keel 1997, 62 :M:).
   + [Sickness & sin]: E.g., "The Lord supports him on his sickbed; you have healed him from his illness. As for me, I said: “O Lord, have mercy on me (חָנֵּנִי)! Heal me (רְפָאָה), for I have sinned against you" (Ps 41:4, NET).


Argument Mapn0Sickness -> EnemiesThe enemies come as a result of the sickness. "He is suffering from a direct divine visitation, and... the persecution of which he complains (v. 8) is a consequence and aggravation of it" (Kirkpatrick 1901 🄲).n1Ps 38:17b"[who] exalt themselves over me when my feet slip” (Ps 38:17b, NIV).n5Ps 38In Psalm 38, which is very similar to Psalm 6, the enemies come as a result of the sickness (cf. Ps 38:13, 17, 20-21). In this way, "Psalm 38 echoes and clarifies this psalm" (Waltke 2014, 52 🄲).n1->n5n2Ps 41"The Lord supports him on his sickbed; you have healed him from his illness. As for me, I said: “O Lord, have mercy on me (חָנֵּנִי)! Heal me (רְפָאָה), for I have sinned against you. My enemies (אוֹיְבַי) ask this cruel question about me, ‘When will he finally die and be forgotten?’ When someone comes to visit, he pretends to be friendly; he thinks of ways to defame me, and when he leaves he slanders me. All who hate me whisper insults about me to one another; they plan ways to harm me. They say, ‘An awful disease overwhelms him, and now that he is bedridden he will never recover’" (Ps 41:3–8, NET).n6Ps 41In Psalm 41, which is also a psalm of sickness, the king's "lament centres not on his ailment but on the opportunity it gives to his enemies, those perpetual accompaniments of a king's life. Respectful visitors to the sickbed secretly plot his overthrow" (Eaton 1975, 45).n2->n6n3Ps 71:9–11"Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent. For my enemies speak concerning me; those who watch for my life consult together and say, 'God has forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is none to deliver him'" (Ps 71:9–11, ESV).n8Sickness and divine rejectionThe psalmist's enemies enter the scene because they interpret his sickness to mean that he has been rejected by YHWH for some sin (cf. Ps 71:9–11; Waltke 2014, 52 🄲).n3->n8n4Sickness & sinE.g., "The Lord supports him on his sickbed; you have healed him from his illness. As for me, I said: “O Lord, have mercy on me (חָנֵּנִי)! Heal me (רְפָאָה), for I have sinned against you" (Ps 41:4, NET).n9Sickness in Israel"Illness was viewed in Israel as a result of God's judgment for sin" (Achtmeier 1974, 86 🄰; cf. Craigie 2004, 94 🄲). "In the Psalms, sickness is closely linked with sin" (Keel 1997, 62 🄼).n4->n9n5->n0n6->n0n7Late appearance of enemies"Given their late appearance in the psalm," it is more likely that the enemies "add to (the suffering)" rather than cause it (Goldingay 2006, 139 🄲).n7->n0n8->n0n9->n8


Enemies -> Sickness

Other interpreters think that the enemies, rather than the sickness, are the primary cause of the suffering. Hengstenberg, for example, sees the situation like this: "His distress proceeded at first from external enemies. But upon this arose another of a far heavier kind. He saw in that outward distress a punishment of his past sins, which now returned upon his soul with the weight of an oppressive load. He fell into a severe conflict, which left even his body weak and impoverished."[3] 


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[Enemies -> Sickness]: David's enemies cause his sickness. "There is no doubt that the adversaries are the cause of this woeful condition" (Ross 2011, 269 :C:; cf. Delitzsch 1894 :C:). #dispreferred
 + <"Because of all my adversaries">: In v. 8b, enemies are explicitly indicated as causing the psalmist's decline (בְּכָל־צוֹרְרָי). #dispreferred
  <_ <Bet as non-dominant cause>: The phrase "because of all my adversaries" (בְּכָל־צוֹרְרָי) is a bet prepositional phrase. In contrast to min prepositional phrases, which "express causes of full dominance over a logical target point..." the preposition bet "marks non-dominant causes which do not have full effect" (Staszak 2024, 128). This means that "adversaries" is not the dominant cause of the psalmist's deteriorating condition.
 + <Address to enemies>: "Triumphantly asking the ''awen''-doers, 'mine enemies', to decamp, (and) threatening them with destruction... strongly suggests that a causative relationship was supposed to exist between enemies and illness" (Mowinckel 1967, II, 6-7 :M:). #dispreferred


Argument Mapn0Enemies -> SicknessDavid's enemies cause his sickness. "There is no doubt that the adversaries are the cause of this woeful condition" (Ross 2011, 269 🄲; cf. Delitzsch 1894 🄲). n1"Because of all my adversaries"In v. 8b, enemies are explicitly indicated as causing the psalmist's decline (בְּכָל־צוֹרְרָי). n1->n0n2Bet as non-dominant causeThe phrase "because of all my adversaries" (בְּכָל־צוֹרְרָי) is a bet prepositional phrase. In contrast to min prepositional phrases, which "express causes of full dominance over a logical target point..." the preposition bet "marks non-dominant causes which do not have full effect" (Staszak 2024, 128). This means that "adversaries" is not the dominant cause of the psalmist's deteriorating condition.n2->n1n3Address to enemies"Triumphantly asking the ''awen''-doers, 'mine enemies', to decamp, (and) threatening them with destruction... strongly suggests that a causative relationship was supposed to exist between enemies and illness" (Mowinckel 1967, II, 6-7 🄼). n3->n0


Conclusion (A)

There is good reason to affirm that Psalm 6 is a prayer for healing from physical sickness. Physical sickness is suggested primarily by the language of healing and sickness within the psalm itself (e.g., "heal me," "my bones," "my eye," etc.). There is no clear indication that this language should be interpreted metaphorically, though this is certainly possible. That literal sickness is in view becomes more likely when Psalm 6 is compared with Psalm 38, where sickness is clearly present. This interpretation is also supported by the fact that Hezekiah alludes to Psalm 6 (or, at least uses similar language) in his own prayer "when he was sick" (Isa 38:9-20).

How then does the sickness relate to the enemies? It is clear from the psalm that the enemies cause suffering (v. 8b), but this does not mean that they are the sole (or primary) cause of the suffering. Further comparison between Psalm 6 and Psalm 38 suggests that the psalmist's "enemies" come as a result of the sickness and thus contribute significantly to David's suffering. As Waltke writes, "His enemies interpret [his sickness] as God's curse that validates their rejection of him as 'I AM's' chosen king."[4]

But even if this is the most likely scenario in which the psalm was composed - and other scenarios are certainly possible - "the identification of the psalm as the prayer of an ill person must not limit how the psalm is prayed, used, or interpreted today. The psalm’s rich poetic language allows and even endorses the appropriation of the psalm’s message in many different situations."[5] Even in ancient times, it is likely, given that "the vocabulary of sickness and healing was used metaphorically in the Old Testament for social and theological conditions" (e.g., Isa 1:5; 53:4; Hos 5:13), that "the psalm probably came to be used as a general prayer for the restoration of the community."[6]

Research

Secondary literature

Achtemeier, Elizabeth. 1974. “Overcoming the World: An Exposition of Psalm 6.” Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology 28 (1): 75–88.
Baethgen, Friedrich. 1904. Die Psalmen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht.
Bratcher, Robert G., and William D. Reyburn. 1991. A Handbook on Psalms. UBS Handbook Series. New York: United Bible Societies.
Calvin, John. Commentary on the Book of Psalms. Translated by James Anderson. Grand Rapids: Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
Craigie, Peter C. 1983. Psalms 1–50. WBC 19. Waco, TX: Word.
DeClaisse-Walford, Nancy L., Rolf A. Jacobson, and Beth LaNeel Tanner. 2014. The Book of Psalms. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Delitzsch, Franz. 1894. Biblischer Kommentar über die Psalmen. Biblischer Kommentar über das Alte Testament. Leipzig: Dörffling und Franke.
Goldingay, John. 2006. Psalms: Psalms 1–41. Vol. 1. BCOT. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.
Gunkel, Hermann. 1998. An Introduction to the Psalms: The Genres of the Religious Lyric of Israel. Translated by James D. Nogalski. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press.
Hengstenberg, Ernst Wilhelm. 1863. Commentary on the Psalms. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.
Hossfeld, Frank-Lothar, and Erich Zenger. 1993. Die Psalmen I: Psalm 1–50. Neue Echter Bibel. Würzburg: Echter.
Ibn Ezra. Ibn Ezra on Psalms.
Kuckhoff, Antonius. 2011. Psalm 6 und die Bitten im Psalter: ein paradigmatisches Bitt-und Klagegebet im Horizont des Gesamtpsalters. Bonner biblische Beiträge 160. Göttingen ; Bonn: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht ; Bonn University Press.
Mays, James Luther. 1994. Psalms. Interpretation. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox.
Mowinckel, Sigmund. 1962. The Psalms in Israel’s Worship. Oxford: Blackwell.
Radak. Radak on Psalms.
Rogerson, J. W., and J. W. McKay. 1977. Psalms. Vol. 1. The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Spieckermann, Hermann. 2023. Psalmen. 1: Psalm 1 - 49. Das Alte Testament Deutsch, 14,1. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
Staszak, Martin. 2024. The Preposition Min. Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom alten und neuen Testament 246. Kohlhammer.
Waltke, Bruce K. 2014. The Psalms as Christian Lament: A Historical Commentary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Wilson, Gerald H. 2002. Psalms. Vol. 1. NIVAC. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

References

6:0 Approved

  1. ↑ Bratcher & Reyburn 1991:58
  2. ↑ In addition to the two general possibilities explored below, Zenger (1993, 67) mentions the possibility that the "enemies" are sickness-demons (Krankheitsdämonen) or the personification of the sickness itself. Other interpretations are also possible.
  3. ↑ Henstenberg 1863.
  4. ↑ Waltke 2014, 52.
  5. ↑ Jacobson 2014; cf. Kuckhoff 2011.
  6. ↑ Mays 1994, 59; cf. Ibn Ezra.