What about the Superscript?

What about the Superscript? | PSALM 110 Part 1

INTRO

Greetings, and welcome to — The Wisdom Crucible with Jakob McClain — where you and I engage in the ongoing practice of applying biblical thinking to deepen our understanding of biblical truth.

What does the superscript of Psalm 110 say? That is, the short phrase mentioning David by name near the top of the text. How does your interpretation of it inform your interpretation of the psalm itself?

Through this episode of wisdom forging we will explore those questions and why the answers matter.

This is part 1 of my studies of Psalm 110 in which we’ll explore the Scripture and discussion surrounding it as though practicing to give an answer to anyone who asks — as 1 Peter 3:15 instructs — so that our faith is both understood and easily shared.

That said, let’s dig in together.

BIASED INTERPRETATION

Sometimes people will look to word roots or to all the possible translations of a word or phrase and selectively hold to the meaning that supports their desired interpretation — regardless of contextual clues, or even their own traditional understanding.

The Psalm superscripts are a particularly interesting example of this is.

AUTHORSHIP DEBATE

In some circles — you might encounter a debate on the Davidic authorship of select Psalms, including Psalm 110, due to linguistic or historical grounds.

But within the context of the New Testament, Psalm 110 was already viewed as Davidic and Messianic Scripture, as will be demonstrated during part 2 of this journey by the references in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts.

ENGLISH CHRISTIAN BIBLE TRANSLATIONS

Let’s examine the superscript.

The two main examples of how the superscript is translated into English are “Of David. A psalm.” (NIV), and “A Psalm of David” (Interlinear, ESV, and others)

What about the Complete Jewish Bible? If you aren’t aware, the CJB is a Messianic Jewish English Bible published in 1998 from the perspective of a Jew who believed in Jesus Christ as I do, but wanted to emphasize the Jewish roots of both Testaments, Old and New. In this case also, the superscript reads “A psalm of David”.

THE PREPOSITION PRECEDING “DAVID”

The Hebrew le-David (le·Da·VÍD, luh-dah-VEED) in the superscript can be translated as:

of David – describing authorship

to or for David – possibly indicating dedication

or about David – assigning David as the primary subject

In its context throughout the psalms, the most natural and traditional reading of the Hebrew linguistic construction mizmor le-David (miz·MÓR le·Da·VÍD, meez-MORE luh-dah-VEED) translates most plainly to “psalm of David”

There’s no grammatical or other textual reason to interpret it to mean “about David” rather than “by David”.

Even the Rabbinic Jewish tradition — which is to deny Jesus Christ as the Messiah — teaches that the same phrase indicates Davidic authorship for other psalms — such as 11, 15, 23, 24, 29, and others.

Despite that, when interpreting the Tanakh — their version of the Old Testament — they hold to the belief that David is the subject of Psalm 110; that the “my Lord” in v. 1 is referring to David, rather than David’s Lord — the messiah.

It’s an interpretation from theological presupposition — meaning it’s motivated by a desire to avoid identifying the psalmist’s Lord as the Messiah, which leads to credence for the Christian perspective regarding this psalm as a prophecy of Jesus Christ.

Language is bafflingly complex when you study it in detail. Woe is our tendency to be careless with it.

So — how do we interpret the intended meaning of a word that has more than one potential meaning?

CONTEXT!

PARABLE OF MISUNDERSTANDING

Before I discuss the context in further detail, allow me to draw an illustration for you.

A tourist driving through Spain sees a road sign that says “salida” (Sa-LEE-Duh) He assumes it’s the name of a nearby town and decides that’s going to be his new destination. Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t realize that salida in Spanish simply means “exit”, so instead of exiting the highway, he keeps driving — mile after mile — looking for a town that doesn’t exist.

The sign wasn’t wrong or misleading; it was perfectly clear to anyone who understood the language. The problem was a result of the tourist’s assumption.

And that’s what happens when someone reads “of David” and decides it means “about David”.

The words are right there in front of them. Yet the misunderstanding, or in some cases, the rejection of context, leads them farther and farther from the intended destination: truth — which in this case has always been a revelation of Jesus Christ, our Messiah.

PROOF IN THE TEXT

Grammatical nitpicking aside, let’s read the immediate context for this superscript — That is, all 7 verses of the psalm.

The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.

Looking back at v. 1, David says, “my Lord” — not a term he would likely use to refer to himself or a subordinate, or a descendent.

Even when men of authority are replaced in their roles by their sons, the common theme of respect for elders makes it awkward to refer to a descendant with this kind of reverent, honorific language that the Bible reserves for the persons of the Trinity.

This also follows logically according to its use throughout the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Sitting at the right hand of God as is mentioned in v. 1, is an illustration of divine exaltation that no created being — not even the great King David — could claim.

In v. 4, this Lord in the psalm is also said to be — “after the order of Melchizedek” — which is not a characteristic clearly applied to David elsewhere in the OT.

We’ll explore that fascinating reference to Melchizedek in further detail in part 3 of this mini-series on Psalm 110.

THE CONSEQUENCE OF YOUR INTERPRETATION

For now, consider this:

If you’ve never thought much of the superscripts, you might stumble in your defense of the faith if you try to evangelize to a non-Christian Jew by using Old Testament prophecy to direct them to Jesus when they potentially reframe the whole Scripture by misrepresenting who’s speaking to and of whom.

Do you understand now how your interpretation of the superscript can either pave the way to Jesus — or to willful blindness?

CALL TO ACTION

This is your call to action:

We cannot afford to be ignorant of these things, because it’s our responsibility, as Christians, to direct people to the truth of Scripture.

If we’re going to preach to anyone but the choir, we must be prepared for the arguments — the willful blindness — and the mental gymnastics that some will use to avoid calling the Messiah by name — the Savior and Judge standing right before them: Jesus Christ.

OUTRO

Studying and applying the Word of God always blesses and refreshes me. I hope the way I’ve presented Scripture in this message encourages meaningful dialogue and sharper understanding.

If you’re interested in further studies and discussions centered on the transformative truths of the Holy Bible, you can follow this podcast or search for The Wisdom Crucible on YouTube for video recordings.

Media metrics may drive the algorithms, but the Word of God is what drives me — and that’s what I hope to pass on.

May the Lord bless you and continually refine your heart through His Word.