Abstract:
In this article, a stichometric and poetic analysis of Psalm 52 is offered which forms the basis
for a description of the character of the rich but crooked antagonist and the pious protagonist in
the psalm. The profile of the pious in the psalm emerges largely as the inverse of the inclination
and actions of the arrogant, rich antagonist who is addressed in the greater part of the psalm. The
psalm is also read and interpreted against the background of the book of Psalms as a whole to
argue that Psalm 52 is actually describing the opposition between the righteous and the wicked
as it is typically found in Wisdom psalms.
