David.

the entrance of the Levitical camp. It is mentioned in 1 Chron. xii. 6, that the Korahites (DP) assembled to take David's part at Ziklag; it is, however, exceedingly As allies of probable that these were not the Kohathite Korahites, but the family of Korah the sixth in descent from Judah (1 Chron. ii. 43), and that they espoused David's cause because they were of the family of Judah. When David in his old age abdicated in favour of Solomon we read (1 Chron. xxvi. 1—19) of two branches of the Korahite family being told off as keepers of the door of the sanc- As doorkeepers. tuary. We find also that after the exile (1 Chron. ix. 17, Neh. xi. 19) Korahites were keepers of the temple gates. Once, viz. in the time of Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. xx. 19), are the sons of Korah ('n ", a double plur., see note on lxxxix. 6 b) mentioned as singers, but there is no intimation As singers. whatever that they were also Psalmists. Delitzsch, in endeavouring, on the supposition of the Korahite authorship of these Psalms, to account for the fact that they are ascribed to a family and not to individuals of that family, assumes that either the Korahite songs once formed a book of themselves, or else "that it had become a family custom in the circle of the singers among the Korahites to allow the individual to retreat behind the joint responsibility of family The theory of Korahite unity, they vying with one another to expiate the name of their authorship unfortunate ancestor by the best liturgical productions" (!). Both suppositions are without any historical foundation. It Its support from the may be true that the LXX. (which renders 'Dâvîd by T Δαυίδ), by giving for Asaph τῷ ̓Ασάφ, and similarly for lib'nê Kôrach Toîs vioîs Kopé, intended to ascribe Asaphic and Korahite authorship to these sets of Psalms respectively. Still these LXX. titles are as a matter of fact as ambiguous as those of the Hebrew, and moreover, since the LXX. And if substantial, of has in other points proved itself utterly incapable of solving no great imdifficulties involved in the Hebrew titles, we cannot hold portance. ourselves bound by its testimony. This assumed authority of the LXX., together with a support for the theory supposed to be contained in lxxxiv. 10 (which, however, in fact tells against it, see Introd. to that Psalm), is all that can be adduced in evidence of Korahite authorship. Nowhere This theory apparently is it ever hinted that any Korahite ever composed a single untenable.

considered.

LXX. pre

carious.

Korah" regarded as singers.

Further

evidence in favour of this view,

The "sons of Psalm. But the sons of Korah were employed, at all events in the time of Jehoshaphat, as singers, and with this may be coupled the fact that Heman (not Heman the Ezrachite), one of the three Precentors appointed by David (1 Chron. xxv. I— 5), was himself a descendant of Korah, the grandson of Kohath, son of Levi. All Hemanites, therefore, were Korahites, though all (even Levitical) Korahites were not necessarily Hemanites. Heman had fourteen sons, and "all these were under the hands of their father for song in the house of the LORD, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God" (1 Chron. xxv. 5, 6). There might, therefore, have been no less than fourteen families of professional singers, descendants of Heman, who might fitly be called "the sons of Korah." And so it is abundantly evident that the interpretation, which understands the Psalms entitled "To the sons of Korah" to have been given to professional musicians sons of Korah the Levite to be sung, has a historical basis which is altogether lacking to the theory of Korahitic authorship, and this interpretation we have accordingly adopted.

which ap

pears to be

the true one.

Four meanings of the preposition

Loves, song of. See Song.

Machlath. H. bp by, al mach'lath, liii., and with the addition Лys, l'annôth, lxxxviii. Al may bear one of four titles the meanings: (1) Concerning, denoting that what follows indi

al in the

Psalms.

I.

"Concerning"

cates the subject of the Psalm; (2) Upon some musical instrument; (3) After i.q. to the tune of; or (4) in a more general sense it may indicate the manner in which the Ps. is to be sung, thus giving an adverbial sense to the word which follows. The word bearing the greatest similarity to mach'lath, in Bibl. Hebr. is mach'láh (Exod. xv. 26), sickness or calamity. In accordance with this meaning, and taking pain to be sense (1) of al, Targ. of liii. rends. "Concerning the vengeance inflicted,,, to be taken on the wicked who profane the Name of the "sickness," Lord," giving (according to custom, see on Ayyeleth hashshachar) a pregnant meaning to the ambiguous word mach’lath, and connecting it not only with mach'lah, sickness, but also with hâchel, to profane. Rashi, on liii., gives "Concerning the sickness of Israel when the Temple is laid in ruins," and on lxxxviii., "Concerning one sick with love [i. e. pining for his country and the Temple-worship] and afflicted, who is

etc.

LXX.

afflicted [interpr. of l'annôth] with the trials of the captivity.” 2. “Upon”— a pipe, harp, Taking sense (2) of al, the Hebr. Commentators mention or other musical that it is the opinion of some that mach'lath is the name of instrument: an instrument (= châlîl, a pipe) from Rt. châlal, perforavit, a rendering apparently as micsath, "number," from Rt. câsas. Gesenius gives cithara adopted by as the rendering of mach' lath, from the cogn. Æth. root meaning cecinit. The LXX. though unable to explain the word seem to have understood it as the name of an instrument. It renders vπèp μaeλéð, with the addition in lxxxviii. of τоû ȧокρiðĥvaɩ, i. e. l'annôth. We have preferred to regard mach'lath as denoting the instrument on which the music which accompanied the Ps. was to be played, and we think the derivation from Rt. chalal, perforavit, is the most substantial.

a

Of other interpretations it may be noticed that some, in 3. After," or "to the accordance with sense (3) of al, interpret al mach'lath to tune of ” — mean to the tune of some doleful song beginning with the song ginning with word mach'lath, “sickness," or, as Ab. Ez. suggests, mach'lath the word libbi or goophi, "the sickness of my heart," or "of my body." of." In the first case mach'lath is taken as an instance of the rare fem. absol. form in ath, cf. n'gînath (lxi.).

"sickness

"Accord

ing to"-a

musical

Lastly, taking al in sense (4), Delitzsch regards al mach'- 4. lath as equiv. to mesto; others, referring to the Æth. root, as certain equiv. to dolce or cantabile, while Targ. of lxxxviii., taking scheme. the Root in signf. to pray (cf. lxxvii. 10, note 1 b), rends. al mach'lath l'annôth, "after the manner of a prayer to be sung."

66

denotes a

Mascil. H. D, mascil, is the title of thirteen Pss., viz. xxxii., xlii., xliv., xlv., lii.-lv., lxxiv., lxxviii., lxxxviii., lxxxix., cxlii. Once it is used in the text of a Psalm (in xlvii. 7 [8]), apparently in an adverbial sense: Sing ye hymns intelligently" (LXX. σUVETOS, A. V. "with understanding") appears to be the true meaning in this passage. As a title Apparently mascîl is generally interpreted to mean a didactic poem "didactic" (LXX. συνέσεως Οι εἰς σύνεσιν), which title, though applicable to xxxii. and lxxviii., is hardly appropriate to the others, and poem. especially not to cxlii. which is moreover entitled “A prayer.” Hence Gesen, supposes that this special word was afterwards transferred to other kinds of odes. Davidson favours the opinion that this noun was used to designate any kind of

C2

or "in

structive"

extended.

2 Chron.

XXX. 22 can

not be cited by way of illustration.

This mean- poem, as the Arab., Shir (not to be confounded with the ing possibly H., Shir, see under Song) properly stands for intelligentia and afterwards for poesis. This analogy, however, would favour the use of the H. sêcel rather than of mascîl in the signf. "a poem." There is no solid ground for Rashi's assumption (adopted by Clericus and Delitzsch) that there is an "allusion to the Mascîl Psalms in 2 Chron. xxx. 22," or that it is "the Levite musicians who are called hall'viyyîm ham-mascîlîm sêcel tôb la- Y’hôvâh (“ the Levites that taught the good knowledge of the LORD," A.V.), so that the words should mean "the Levites who played skilfully with delicate tact to the LORD." In this passage there is no express mention of music; the words quoted above probably mean merely "the Levites who gave an intelligent attention to their duties before the LORD." It is, however, most likely from this passage that the Targ. rends. mascîl by siclâ tâbâ, "good understanding." Primarily mascîl means one who meditates (Prov. xvi. 20), or gives due consideration (Ps. xli. 1, cvi. 7, 2 Chron. xxx. 22), and hence may come to mean meditation, consideration, just as mashchith, which means first that which destroys, also bears the meaning destruction. On the whole we decide that mascil must refer rather to the style of the composition than to the manner of setting it to music, and that the interpretation "instructive composition" is probably the fundamental meaning of the term: but in what technical signification this was applied to the various compositions so entitled it is impossible to determine.

emblazoned.

Mictam. H. DNUD, mictâm, xvi., lvi.-lx., in six titles in all. LXX. στηλογραφία or εἰς στηλογραφίαν, Targ. sculptura recta. The partic. of the verb which is the root of this word is used in Jer. ii. 22,"thine iniquity is marked (or emblazoned) Means pro- before me." The question then is, Why should these Psalms bably a poem that is to be in particular be worthy of being "emblazoned"? We think that Taylor (in his "Gospel in the Law," p. 136–142) has hit These poems upon the reason. Pss. lvi.-lx. refer to "most noteworthy aeserve such crises" in the life of David, and he addresses his subjects on these occasions through the medium of these five monumental Pss. Ps. xvi., although we cannot refer it with certainty to any particular incident in his life, is no less "monumental" as a confession of that faith in God, with

might well

treatment.

which David encountered all his vicissitudes of fortune. Gesenius connects Mictâm with mictâb, the writing of Hezekiah (Is. xxxviii. 9), declaring the primary meaning of the roots of both words to be incidere; this is prob. correct as far as it goes. But it is at least reasonable to suppose that there Mictam disshould be some distinction between the two words, a view tinguishable which has been taken by Taylor. "There is the same kind of kindred difference," says he, "between Mictâm and Mictâb, as between inscriptio and scriptio, or between σrŋλoypapia and ypapn." Others interpret it as carmen aureum, connecting

from the

term mictab.

it with cethem, "fine gold." The Rabbinical explanation Other interthat it is an abbreviation for an inɔbb, mim-maccâthô pretations. tammâh, “after his wound was healed," is both arbitrary and inappropriate. Neither does the derivation of the word from Arab. catama, celavit, render us the slightest assistance.

the death

Mooth labben. H. 12 by, al-mooth lab-bên in ix. only. Some, taking al in the sense "concerning," suppose Concerning the title to denote the subject of the Psalm. Thus Targ. of the rends. "concerning the death of the man who came forth champion of Nabal, from between the armies,” i. e. Goliath, who is called, 1 Sam. of the son."' xvii. 4, "ish hab-bênayim," i.e. the man of the μeraixμov or space between the two armies, ἔνθα ἦν τὸ μονομάχιον. Some of the Rabb., regarding 1, lab-bên, as a transposition for , Nâbâl, suppose that this is a triumphal song over the death of the churl Nabal. Others interpret this Title" concerning the death of the son," i.e. of Absalom, a very unnatural and improbable supposition when we consider the sorrow which David actually felt upon that occasion. It is To the tune of a song more probable that al refers to the manner in which the thus enPs. is to be put to music, and that mooth lab-bên, "die for titled. the son," or "death is for the son," or changing the pointing, mâveth libbên, "death makes white" (with this last cf. Rashi), are the first words of some song, now lost, to the tune of which this Ps. is to be sung. Others take al-mooth as one Al-mooth word (as it is written in some copies, see Rashi), and supply corruption possibly a al before it. Thus the LXX. and Vulg. rend. Tep Tŵy of alamoth, Kρvþíшv Tоû viοû, "pro occultis filii." It is not impossible that favoured by almooth may be merely a corruption for a'lâmôth, but what is the meaning of the word following, or how it is to be connected with a'lâmôth it is then impossible to decide. It has

a view

LXX.