Psalm 45

The original Hebrew word is shoshannim. It means “lilies,” but not necessarily the flowers. Some scholars say it might refer to lily-shaped trumpets or to some other instruments.

The subtitle wasn’t part of the original psalm. “An enlightening psalm” is a guess. The original Hebrew word is maskil (mass-KEEL). Scholars say they aren’t sure what it means. They say they don’t even know if the word refers to the lyrics or the music. Maskil sounds a bit like another Hebrew word, askilkha, which means “let me enlighten you.” Some scholars associate maskil with a root word, sakal, which generates a lot of words with various meanings such as: thoughtful, instructive, wise, and proper. One theory is that the word relates to both lyrics and music. It could, for example, describe the lyrics as “thoughtful” and the music as a harmony fit for that theme.

Korah was a musical family in the tribe of Levi, one of the 12 tribes that made up the original nation of Israel. Levite families worked as priests and worship leaders and assistants for the Jewish nation.

It’s unknown where Ophir was. But it was famous for producing the finest gold. King Solomon imported gold from Ophir (1 Kings 10:11). A broken piece of pottery found near Tel Aviv and dated to the 700s BC, a couple centuries after kings David and Solomon, confirms that Ophir was a location from which gold was exported. The fragment reads “30 shekels…gold of Ophir for Beth-Horon.”

The Hebrew is tough to translate. That explains why just about every Bible translation takes it in a different direction. Educated guesses one and all, often springing from context clues.

Funny, the writer never mentioned the king’s name, as far as anyone seems able to remember. But then, the song would work for any king. And for the wedding of any man who felt as lucky as a king to get to marry a wife like his.