The Psalms

The Hebrew name of The Psalms is Tehilim which translates into English as “praises.” 

These songs were apparently sung to the accompaniment of stringed instruments and the musical instructions such as "selah" probably indicated sucj information as tempo or the tune to be used.

The English language name of the book, Psalms, comes from the Greek name Ψαλμοί (psalmoi), a translation of "mizmor," one of the types of psalms.  “Mizmor” is a Hebrew word meaning a sacred song set to music.  Psalmoi is derived from the infinitive “psallein,” “to play the harp.”

The other types of psalms also bear designations. “Shir” means the flow of speech in a straight line.  “Michtam” means “gold,” something you would keep close to yourself.  “Tehillah” means “a praise.”  “Shigayon” means “a mistake,”  songs of regret for sin.

(I tried repeatedly to place the Hebrew text into this post but the word processor insists on reversing the letter order no matter what I do.  Hebrew is read right to left instead of left to right.  The Greek text does not present this problem.)

The Wealth of King Solomon

“Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold;” 2 Chronicles 9:13

“Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold.” 1 Kings 10:14

1 talent was the mass of water needed to fill an amphora, a standard sized two-handled vase with a long neck designed for pouring.  The Greek name for the vase, amphora, came from αμφι (“on both sides”) and φορεύς (“carrier”).  Talanton is a Greek word meaning “scale” or “balance.”

 1 talent (a measure of weight) = 3000 shekels = 60 minas = 34.3 kg = 75 US pounds.  On 20 September 2011, the price of gold was $1798.60 per ounce.  There are 16 ounces in a US pound, so one pound would be valued at $28,777.60.  75 pounds would be valued at $2,158,320.00.  666 talents, at today’s price for gold, would be approximately $142,449,120.00.   Remember, this was just his gold.  Solomon also received silver, jewels, animals, slaves, and wives.

Solomon’s wealth came from commerce, mining, and tribute (1 Kings 4:21) and from gifts brought by visiting dignitaries (1 Kings 10:25}  The Bible describes Solomon as being tremendously wealthy.  Obviously, he was.

Stuck in the Dark

Yesterday, 12 October 2010, a rescue crew began pulling up 33 copper/gold miners who have spent 69 days trapped in a chamber three miles in from the mine entrance and 2300 feet under the Earth's surface.  The rescuers are using a cylinder-shaped metallic cage equipped with guide wheels and raised and lowered down a shoulder-wide shaft using a metal cable.  Sort of like a very cramped personal elevator.

The entire procedure is very dangerous.  Any errors could cause the death of the miner being pulled up and trap the remaining men, perhaps permanently.  The entire world is watching, the President of Chile is in the crowd at the mine, and each successful extraction elicits yells, cheers, celebrations, arms raised in the victory salute, and, in a few cases, prayers.  The most obvious of the prayers came from Mario Gomez, the spiritual leader of the miners.

As I write this, 19 of the 33 miners have been successfully extracted from the hole.

This incident reminds me of the Christian concept of salvation in which sinners mired in the darkness and confusion of this world are lifted into the Church, the Kingdom of God on Earth, and the angels rejoice as each one is saved.

"Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." Luke 15:10