Psalm 18:1

Footnotes

1. 1 A number of translations (e.g., , , ) assign the words “he said” to the superscription, in which case the entire psalm is in first person. Other translations (e.g., ) include the introductory “he said” at the beginning of v. 1.
2. 2 The verb רָחַם (rakham) elsewhere appears in the Piel (or Pual) verbal stem with the basic meaning, “have compassion.” The verb occurs only here in the basic (Qal) stem. The basic stem of the verbal root also occurs in Aramaic with the meaning “love” (see 2:1068–69; 1467 רָחַם; G. Schmuttermayr, “rhm: eine lexikalische Studie,” 51 [1970]: 515–21). Since this introductory statement does not appear in the parallel version in 2 Sam 22:1–51, it is possible that it is a later addition to the psalm, made when the poem was revised for use in worship.
3. 3 Heb “my strength.” “Strength” is metonymic here, referring to the Lord as the one who bestows strength to the psalmist; thus the translation “my source of strength.”