102 TH. BOOIJ Finally, v. 4a is taken as an independent clause. It may be read then as a nominal clause with bha jpvm as its subject: Und die Stärke eines Königs ist, daß er Rechtsnorm liebt: […] 10. Or jpvm alone is considered to be the subject, with bha as a relative clause: Und / Aber eines Königs Macht ist (das) Recht, das er liebt: […] 11. In principle, these readings are possible. However, in the former read- ing the supposed type of clause would be “very rare” 12, while in the latter the supposed relative clause, though not impossible 13, would be very terse. The remaining option is to take v. 4a as a verbal clause: Und die Stärke des Königs liebt das Recht […]14. This reading is already found in the Septuagint 15 and is certainly mean- ingful. A concept (quality), personified, can indeed be the subject of actions and states (for bha cf. Prov 8,17), even when it is linked to a person (see Isa 58,8b; Ps 40,13aβ; 43,3). As for the notion “love”, it may stand for “choose”, “aim at”, or “put effort into” (cf. bha in Am 5,15; Ps 109,17). So v. 4a appears to be about a king worthy of the name, a king whose “strength” is exercised in establishing justice. Questions, however, remain. Why in v. 4 does the first stich open with w? Why has the second stich no element clarifying the relation between v. 4a and the rest of the verse? E. KÖNIG, Die Psalmen. Eingeleitet, übersetzt und erklärt (Gütersloh 10 1927) 227. See also, e.g., A. MAILLOT – A. LELIÈVRE, Les Psaumes. Traduc- tion nouvelle et commentaire (Genève 1961-1969) II, 287; SCORALICK, Tris- hagion, 68. F.L. HOSSFELD – E. ZENGER, Psalmen 51-100. Übersetzt und ausgelegt 11 (HTKAT; Freiburg i.B. 2000) 691. P. JOÜON – T. MURAOKA, A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew (Rome 1991) 12 § 157a sub I. See W. GESENIUS – E. KAUTZSCH, Hebräische Grammatik (Leipzig 13 1909) § 155h; JOÜON – MURAOKA, Grammar, § 158c. 28 H. HUPFELD, Die Psalmen. Übersetzt und ausgelegt. Für die 3. Aufl. be- 14 arbeitet von W. NOWACK (Gotha 1888) II, 408. Revised English Bible: “The King in his might loves justice”. There τιµὴ βασιλέως, “a king’s honour”. 15 © Gregorian Biblical Press 2012 - Tutti i diritti riservati