'ÂNÎ WE ’EBYON: "POOR AND NEEDY" OR "HUMBLE DISPOSITION"? AN INVESTIGATION OF PS 109
'Ânî we ’ebyon: "Poor and Needy" or "Humble Disposition"? An Investigation of PS 109

Summary/Abstract: The understanding of the use of עני ואביון in Ps 109,16.22 is very important to the determination of the dramatis personae in vv 6-19 as well as the proper understanding of the Psalm either as cursing prayer or as prayer against cursing. The particular nuance of this phrase and its constituent terms is not easily perceived. A careful study reveals that the phrase is used as a disposition individuals use to appeal for human as well as divine sympathy and favour. In v 16, it is used to accentuate the wickedness of lack of charity; in v 22, it is used to accentuate an appropriate disposition of the one praying. The litigatory character of the Psalm reveals that the two uses serve the rhetorical functions of winning the sympathy and favour of the audience. The context of use in v 16 supports the quotation theory on vv 6-19.

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