Psalm 46

It’s uncertain what “Alamoth” means. It could be the tune to which the song is sung or recited. It might be a style of music, such as a soprano solo, which could be appropriate to the upbeat message in the lyrics. It might be the name of the songwriter. Guesses are based mainly on context clues, which are few and not especially helpful.

The subtitle wasn’t part of the original psalm. 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.

The word in the original language of Hebrew is selah. Bible scholars haven’t figured out what it means yet, so all we can do is guess. It could mean “pause for effect,” “instrumental interlude,” or “choir singing ‘Amen.’” We’re offering a guess instead of selah. Though selah might be the better way to go because it’s always correct, it’s also always incomprehensible. “Instruments” has a good chance of being wrong, but at least we convey the idea that the Hebrew word behind it probably has something to do with enhancing the song.

The Hebrew word, samach, means to make something happy or to give people a reason to celebrate.

Literally, “the Most High.”

Literally “LORD of Hosts.” A host can refer to an army, a lot of angels, stars, or all of creation.