Psalm 45 Study Notes

45:9 Gold from Ophir is synonymous with the finest gold (Jb 28:16; Is 13:12). The exact location of Ophir is uncertain.

45:10-11 To forget and then bow down represents a change in loyalty from the bride’s own people and country to the king whom she was marrying.

45:12 Tyre, a major trading center on the Mediterranean Sea, was known for its extravagance and wealth.

45:13-15 Virgins and companions were essentially maids who accompanied the bride (Est 2:9).

45:16-17 The final wish is for a permanent dynasty for this king that would exalt his name (his reputation and fame) beyond that of his ancestors.

Selah, an expression found in Psalms and Hab 3:3,9,13, remains obscure. Always occurring with “choir director” or mizmor (“psalm”), selah may specify musical or recitation style. It could be a later addition, for the Septuagint translation diapsalma, possibly a new word representing selah and indicating musical pause, appears eighty-one times. Selah might derive from salal (“lift up, exalt”) and call worshipers to lift their eyes to heaven and repeat the psalm, or raise their voices and repeat a refrain. Alternatively, musicians might lift their instruments to perform a musical interlude. An ancient theory suggests that selah, read and pronounced netsah (“forever”), called worshipers to respond with a praise refrain. If from the root sl (“bow, pray”), selah could ask worshipers to bow in prayer. Selah could indicate the sound of the strings if related to a Persian word for song. Selah could abbreviate a phrase signaling a change in voice.