Psalms 45:6-7

Context

45:6 Your throne,¹ O God, is permanent.²

The scepter³ of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.

45:7 You love⁴ justice and hate evil.⁵

For this reason God, your God⁶ has anointed you⁷

with the oil of joy,⁸ elevating you above your companions.⁹

[45:6] ¹sn The king’s throne here symbolizes his rule.

[45:6] ²tn Or “forever and ever.”

[45:6] ³sn The king’s scepter symbolizes his royal authority.

[45:7] ⁴sn To love justice means to actively promote it.

[45:7] ⁵sn To hate evil means to actively oppose it.

[45:7] ⁶tn For other examples of the repetition of Elohim, “God,” see Pss 43:4; 48:8, 14; 50:7; 51:14; 67:7. Because the name Yahweh (“Lord”) is relatively rare in Pss 42-83, where the name Elohim (“God”) predominates, this compounding of Elohim may be an alternative form of the compound name “the Lord my/your/our God.”

[45:7] ⁷sn Anointed you. When read in the light of the preceding context, the anointing is most naturally taken as referring to the king’s coronation. However, the following context (vv. 8-9) focuses on the wedding ceremony, so some prefer to see this anointing as part of the king’s preparations for the wedding celebration. Perhaps the reference to his anointing at his coronation facilitates the transition to the description of the wedding, for the king was also anointed on this occasion.

[45:7] ⁸sn The phrase oil of joy alludes to the fact that the coronation of the king, which was ritually accomplished by anointing his head with olive oil, was a time of great celebration and renewed hope. (If one understands the anointing in conjunction with the wedding ceremony, the “joy” would be that associated with the marriage.) The phrase “oil of joy” also appears in Isa 61:3, where mourners are granted “oil of joy” in conjunction with their deliverance from oppression.

[45:7] ⁹tn Heb “from your companions.” The “companions” are most naturally understood as others in the royal family or, more generally, as the king’s countrymen.