Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Jerry Shepherd" <jerry.shepherd AT taylor-edu.ca>]

Steve,

To comlpicate your question, and yet at the same time, to possibly an answer 
to it, I call your attention to an article by Bruce Waltke in JBL 110 (1991): 
583-96, entitled, "Superscripts, Postscripts, or Both," in which he argues 
very cogently that there has been a wholesale corruption in the transmission 
of the book of Psalms, where some of the data in the superscript actually 
constitutes a postscript for the preceding psalm.  Specifically, his thesis 
is that all the material before the authorship ascription, i.e., the genre 
and performance directions, belongs to the preceding psalm.  So in this 
particular case, all the material up to the phrase, ledawid, more properly 
serves as a postscript for Psalm 29.  Notice that Psalm 29 refers to the 
temple whereas the body of Psalm 30 does not.

In any case, your suggestion that perhaps habayit ledawid might mean "house 
of David", seems unlikely in that the author would almost certainly have used 
a construct chain if that was what he had meant.

Berachot

Jerry

Dr. Jerry E. Shepherd
Associate Professor of Old Testament
Taylor Seminary
11525 - 23 Avenue
Edmonton, AB T6J 4T3
CANADA
Office: (780)431-5250
Home: (780)434-1164
Fax: (780)436-9416
Email: jerry.shepherd AT taylor-edu.ca
Internet: http://www.taylor-edu.ca 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org 
[mailto:b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Steve Miller
Sent: Monday, March 27, 2006 9:30 PM
To: 'b-hebrew'
Cc: Nigel Tomes; 'Guy T Uechi (E-mail)'; vernyoder AT aol.com; 
hungshuochu AT yahoo.com; delmartin AT rogers.com; Ben Shumway; Marc A Bayne
Subject: [b-hebrew] Psalm 30 title: house of David vs. the house (temple)

Is the title of Psalm 30: A psalm, a Song at Dedication of the house of
David, 

Or: A Psalm of David, a Song at the Dedication of the Temple.

מִזְמֹור שִׁיר־חֲנֻכַּת הַבַּיִת לְדָוִֽד׃

 

Some things to consider:

 

1.      In the psalm title, the word house has the definite article, and the
name “David” is prefixed by the preposition lamed. There are many instances
of “house of <name>” in the OT, but there is only one such instance where
house has the definite article. 2 Kings 5:9. This is also the only case I
found of “house of <name>” where <name> is prefixed by lamed. (Not counting
“built house for <name>” where the prefix lamed on <name> relates the verb
“built” to <name>, not “house” to <name>. 2 Sam 5:11)
2 Kings 5:9 וַיָּבֹא נַעֲמָן [בְּסוּסֹו כ] (בְּסוּסָיו ק) וּבְרִכְבֹּו
וַיַּעֲמֹד פֶּֽתַח־הַבַּיִת לֶאֱלִישָֽׁע׃

 

2.      “Of David” is separated from “A Psalm”. In all the psalms the author
is never separated from the various words for psalm: mizmor, shigaion,
tefilah, michtam. However if the word “Song” is used for the psalm without
one of the other psalm words, the author is separated from “song” (Ps. 46,
122, 124, 127, 131, 133)


3.      Which understanding does the content of Psalm 30 support? The temple
was not yet built, but it could refer to dedicating the site of Ornan’s
threshing floor.

 

I will try to tabulate and summarize all answers. Thanks in advance,

-Steve Miller

Detroit

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