Das geheimnisvolle Wort ‘Michtam’

Abstract

The mysterious word “Michtam”: The Hebrew word מִכְתָּם appears six times in the Hebrew Bible and it only occurs in the book of Psalms at the beginning of the chapter (16:1, 56:1, 57:1, 58:1, 59:1, 60:1). This Hebrew word has been understood differently. For instances, PONS Kompaktwörterbuch Althebräisch (2015) leaves it untranslated, while the other sources translate מִכְתָּם as inscription, prayer, or song. Two of the most notable Hebrew lexica, and Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT), state that the meaning of מִכְתָּם is unknown. Modern English Bible translations also differ in their translations of מִכְתָּם. Most English Bible translations transliterate this Hebrew word (like NIV, NASB, KJV, Berean Study Bible, Christian Standard Bible, American Standard Version, JPS Tanakh 1917, and HCSB), while the NLT, ESV, International Standard Version, and New Revised Standard Version leave מִכְתָּם untranslated. This article, therefore, seeks to decipher the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם within its literary context and provides textual criticism. This article limits its discussion to Origen’s Hexapla because the consistent translation of Greek Aquila and Greek Symmachus contributes to unveiling the meaning of מִכְתָּם. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The study employed a combination of biblical studies and linguistics. Thus, this article shows the application of a comparative linguistic approach to interpret the word מִכְתָּם.

Keywords

• psalms
• literary context
• textual criticism
• word study
• origen’s hexapla.