Whose Voice Is Heard? Speaker Ambiguity in the Psalms

Several poems in the Hebrew Psalter include voices that may be assigned to more than one speaker. Rather than arguing in favor of one particular speaker and silencing the others, my study approaches this ambiguity of voice as a genuine poetic characteristic. A brief review of ambiguity in the Psalter more broadly and some hermeneutical inspiration from Jeremiah's polyphonic discourse provide the necessary foundations for this endeavor. Three case studies (Psalms 109, 32, and 45) model how to hear ambiguous voices rather than resolving and reducing their harmonies.