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Bible Commentaries
Everett's Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures Everett's Study Notes
Copyright Statement
These files are copyrighted by the author, Gary Everett. Used by Permission.
No distribution beyond personal use without permission.
These files are copyrighted by the author, Gary Everett. Used by Permission.
No distribution beyond personal use without permission.
Bibliographical Information
Everett, Gary H. "Commentary on Psalms 59". Everett's Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/ghe/psalms-59.html. 2013.
Everett, Gary H. "Commentary on Psalms 59". Everett's Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures. https://www.studylight.org/
Whole Bible (44)Old Testament (1)Individual Books (4)
Verses 1-17
Psalms 59:0
Psalms 59:1 (To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.) Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me.
Psalms 59:1 “Michtam of David” Word Study on “Michtam” - Strong says the Hebrew word “michtam” ( מִכְתָּם ) (H4387) literally means, “an engraving,” and as a technical term, “a poem.” He says this word comes from a Hebrew root word ( כָּתַם ) (H3799), which means “to carve, or engrave.” Therefore, some translations prefer to use a poetic term ( NLT, Rotherham), while others prefer a more literal translation ( DRC, LXX, VgClem).
NLT, “A psalm of David”
Rotherham, “A Precious Psalm of David”
DRC, “The inscription of a title to David himself”
LXX, “ Στηλογραφία τῷ Δαυιδ ”
VgClem, “Tituli inscriptio, ipsi David”
Comments - A similar Hebrew word ( כֶּתֶם ) (3800) means, “something carved out, i.e. ore; hence, gold.” Peter Craigie tells us that some scholars translate the title “A Golden Psalm” from “early rabbinical interpretations.” [82] Therefore, we get a variety of translations that carry the idea of treasure or gold.
[82] Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50, in Word Biblical Commentary: 58 Volumes on CD-Rom, vol. 19, eds. Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker (Dallas: Word Inc., 2002), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), 154.
LITV, YLT, “A Secret Treasure of David”
Luther, “Ein gülden Kleinod David”
There are six so called “Michtam Psalms” (16, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60), which open with the phrase “Michtam of David.” A similar title “the writing of Hezekiah” is used as the title for the psalm of Hezekiah in Isaiah 38:9-20, which uses a similar Hebrew word ( מִכְתָּב ) (H4385), means “a writing, the characters of something written, or a document such as a letter, a copy, an edict, or a poem.”
Psalms 59:1 “when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him” Comments - The story of Psalms 59:0 is found in 1 Samuel 19:11-18.