89:20 I have discovered David, my servant.
With my holy oil I have anointed him as king. 1
92:10 You exalt my horn like that of a wild ox. 2
I am covered 3 with fresh oil.
109:18 He made cursing a way of life, 4
so curses poured into his stomach like water
and seeped into his bones like oil. 5
1 tn The words “as king” are supplied in the translation for clarification, indicating that a royal anointing is in view.
2 sn The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “to exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:24; Lam 2:17).
3 tn The Hebrew verb בָּלַל (balal) usually has the nuance “to mix.” Here it seems to mean “to smear” or “to anoint.” Some emend the form to בַּלֹּתַנִי (ballotaniy; a second person form of the verb with a first person suffix) and read, “you anoint me.”
3 tn Heb “he put on a curse as [if it were] his garment.”
4 tn Heb “and it came like water into his inner being, and like oil into his bones.” This may refer to this individual’s appetite for cursing. For him cursing was as refreshing as drinking water or massaging oneself with oil. Another option is that the destructive effects of a curse are in view. In this case a destructive curse invades his very being, like water or oil. Some who interpret the verse this way prefer to repoint the vav (ו) on “it came” to a conjunctive vav and interpret the prefixed verb as a jussive, “may it come!”