Thursday, October 18, 2012

Psalm 8:1

לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל־הַגִּתִּית מִזְמֹור לְדָוִד׃

Rough Word-by-word:
To/for the overseeing one upon the Gittith; [a] Psalm of/for David.

Smooth Translation:
To the leader upon the Gittith; a Psalm of David.

Notes:
For "upon the Gittith" there are some interpretive issues:
Soncino says:
Two explanations are possible, alike based upon Jewish tradition. The Targum connects the term with the city named Gath, suggesting a musical instrument or melody which had a Philistine origin. The Midrash sees a connection with Hebrew gath, 'a winepress,' hence a tune associated with vintage songs. Modern scholars favour the second alternative.

The LXX translates with τῶν ληνῶν (the wine-presses), using the plural.

לַמְנַצֵּחַ preposition and definite article with Piel participle ms from נָצַח (he oversaw) "to/for the overseeing one"

עַל־הַגִּתִּית preposition with definite article and noun fs "upon the Gittith" (Owens parses this as a feminine plural noun while BibleWorks 4 parses it as a feminine singular - see notes above.)

מִזְמֹור noun ms "[a] psalm"

לְדָוִד preposition with proper name "to/for David"

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