--- title: "Psalm 29 as a poetological example of Peshitta Psalms translation — Vasheghanifarahani 2024" description: "The study addresses a gap in Peshitta scholarship. 10 references." authors: ["Amir Vasheghanifarahani"] year: 2024 venue: "HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 80" source: "https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/9389" doi: "10.4102/hts.v80i1.9389" licence: "CC BY (journal licence per DOAJ; HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies)" licence_url: "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" summary_licence: "Elamur Cosmic License" canonical: "https://research.elamur.ai/free/en/papers/vasheghanifarahani-2024-psalm-29-poetological-example-peshitta/" --- [Elamur Research](https://md.research.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://research.elamur.ai/free/en/papers/vasheghanifarahani-2024-psalm-29-poetological-example-peshitta/) [home](https://md.research.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [papers](https://md.research.elamur.ai/free/en/papers/) / [2024](https://md.research.elamur.ai/free/en/papers/2024/page/6/) / Psalm 29 as a poetological example of Peshitta Psalms translation # Psalm 29 as a poetological example of Peshitta Psalms translation **Authors:** Amir Vasheghanifarahani · **Year:** 2024 · **Venue:** HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 80 · **Licence:** [CC BY (journal licence per DOAJ; HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) **Links:** [Publisher's page](https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v80i1.9389) · [PDF](https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/download/9389/26460) · [DOI 10.4102/hts.v80i1.9389](https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v80i1.9389) · [OpenAlex](https://openalex.org/W4391842941) **Citations:** 1 citations (OpenAlex, 2026-10-14) ## Summary The study addresses a gap in Peshitta scholarship. Earlier work on the Syriac Psalter (P-Ps) mostly set it against the Masoretic Text (MT), the Septuagint and the Targum in order to serve textual criticism. It largely ignored how the translator handled the psalms as poetry. The author takes Psalm 29 as a test case and compares the Syriac text (Leiden edition) with the Hebrew (BHS) on four dimensions: strophic structure, word repetition, sound figures (alliteration) and versification. Strophes are identified by combining several markers, including repeated words, word pairs, inclusion, syntactic parallelism and alliteration. Repetition and alliteration are then counted and compared across the two languages. The Syriac version keeps the Hebrew strophic layout and many of its poetic devices, so the translator evidently recognised them. However, it uses repetition and alliteration less often and applies them in its own way. Versification follows the Hebrew except in verses 4 and 9. The study matters because it treats the Peshitta as poetic craftsmanship rather than only as a textual witness, which informs the history of Classical Syriac poetry. ## Key points - Sources: BHS for the MT and the Leiden edition (Peshitta Institute 1980) for the Peshitta. The English rendering is from Taylor, Kiraz & Bali (2020), lightly modified. - Psalm 29 is divided into five strophes: vv. 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–9 and 10–11. - Strophe boundaries are supported by converging cues: - the phrase "the voice of the Lord" opening vv. 3 and 4, which forms an inclusion; - the repetition of Lebanon in 5b and 6b; - word pairs such as Lebanon/Sanir and calves/young bulls; - a fixed verb, then "to the Lord", then direct-object order in strophe I. - Alliteration is deliberately restricted to identical or similar word-initial consonants. For example, the paper counts triple mem and six-fold alaph/ayin alliteration in strophe III. - Compared with the Hebrew, the Syriac has lower alliteration and word-repetition frequency, and its cola arrangement diverges in vv. 4 and 9. ## Interesting ideas - Unit boundaries are not taken from one signal but from several independent cues that agree: lexical repetition, opening/closing echoes, word pairs, parallel syntax and theme. - Syntactic parallelism is described as fixed slot positions repeated across lines, such as verb, then prepositional object, then direct object. This makes "parallel" a checkable structural property rather than an impression. - The sound-figure metric is scoped narrowly and explicitly, counting only word-initial consonants, so the counts stay reproducible and comparable between versions. - A translation is judged by comparing per-unit feature frequencies (repetition, alliteration, cola layout) against the source, not only by meaning fidelity. ## For Mova How these ideas could serve Mova, our small open language model — its files, stages and tests: - **I1** (world): Episode segmentation of fables and tales could combine repeated referents, echoed opening phrases and parallel clause shapes to split the world of the text into scenes with explainable boundary reasons. - **I2** (tree): Matching UD subtree shapes across adjacent clauses could flag parallel structures and guide attachment in gapped lines like "Lebanon and Sanir like young bulls", where the verb is elided. - **I3** (learn): Evaluation metrics for stylistic or structural features should state such restrictive definitions up front, so that comparisons across parsers or data versions measure the same thing. - **I4** (back): The text → graph → text compressor and meta-world translation could report how much repetition and parallelism survive regeneration, as a measurable form-preservation score alongside meaning checks. *Our summary of the paper, in our own words — not its text. The work belongs to its authors; read it at the links above.* Fields: [Linguistics & languages](https://md.research.elamur.ai/free/en/shelves/linguistics/) Topics: [🕎 Hebrew & Aramaic](https://md.research.elamur.ai/free/en/topics/hebrew-aramaic/) · [🐪 Semitic languages](https://md.research.elamur.ai/free/en/topics/semitic-languages/) ## Institutions - [University of Tartu](https://md.research.elamur.ai/free/en/universities/university-of-tartu/) — University, Tartu, Estonia · 8 works · 2,848 citations ## Cite Cite as: Amir Vasheghanifarahani. 2024. Psalm 29 as a poetological example of Peshitta Psalms translation. HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 80. The paper itself, not this page. BibTeX from the library's record of the work. ```bibtex @article{vasheghanifarahani2024psalm, title = {{Psalm 29 as a poetological example of Peshitta Psalms translation}}, author = {Amir Vasheghanifarahani}, journal = {HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 80}, year = {2024}, doi = {10.4102/hts.v80i1.9389}, url = {https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v80i1.9389} } ``` - [← previous Potential of ASR for the study of L2 learner corpora](https://md.research.elamur.ai/free/en/papers/ayari-2024-potential-asr-study-l2-learner/) - [next → pyrealb at the GEM'24 Data-to-text Task: Symbolic English Text Generation from RDF Triples](https://md.research.elamur.ai/free/en/papers/lapalme-2024-pyrealb-gem-24-data-text/) - [↑ back to papers of 2024](https://md.research.elamur.ai/free/en/papers/2024/page/6/) ## References 10 references, 0 of them with a card of ours. ↗ leads to the work, «find» searches for one we have no id for yet. 1. Van der Lugt, P., 2006, Cantos and Strophes in Biblical Hebrew Poetry: With special reference to the first book of the Psalter, Oudtestamentische studiën, vol. 53, Brill, Leiden. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Van+der+Lugt%2C+P%2E%2C+2006%2C+Cantos+and+Strophes+in+Biblical+Hebrew+Poetry%3A+With+special+reference+to+the+first+book+of+the+Psalter%2C+Oudtestamentische+studi%C3%ABn%2C+vol%2E+53%2C+Brill%2C+Leiden%2E) 2. Vasheghanifarahani, A., 2023, The translation technique of Hebrew Psalms poetry in Peshitta, Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, University of Tartu. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Vasheghanifarahani%2C+A%2E%2C+2023%2C+The+translation+technique+of+Hebrew+Psalms+poetry+in+Peshitta%2C+Unpublished+Doctoral+dissertation%2C+University+of+Tartu%2E) 3. Vogel, A., 1951, ‘Studien zum Pešiṭta-Psalter: Besonders im Hinblick auf Sein Verhältnis zu Septuaginta (Fortsetzung)’, Biblica 32(4), 481–502. 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[find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Baethgen%2C+F%2E%2C+1882%2C+%E2%80%98Der+Textkritische+Werth+der+Alten+Uebersetzungen+zu+den+Psalmen%E2%80%99%2C+Jahrb%C3%BCcher+f%C3%BCr+Protestantische+Theologie+8%2C+405%E2%80%93459%2C+593%E2%80%93667%2E) 10. Würthwein, E., 1988, The text of the Old Testament: An introduction to the Biblia Hebraica, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=W%C3%BCrthwein%2C+E%2E%2C+1988%2C+The+text+of+the+Old+Testament%3A+An+introduction+to+the+Biblia+Hebraica%2C+Eerdmans%2C+Grand+Rapids%2C+MI%2E)