What Does Psalm 45:9 Mean in the King James?
Kings’ daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The Hebrew calls these “honourable women” precious ones, making honor a matter of recognized worth and a place beside power.
THE MEANING
You see honor taking the form of nearness: the queen stands at the king’s right hand among women described as precious. Gold of Ophir makes value visible, while her place beside the throne gives that value a place in the scene.
THE ROOT
בְּיִקְּרֹתֶיךָ
bəyiqqərōṯeḵā
GROWS FROM
יקר
To be precious, costly, or highly valued.
The word rendered “honourable” grows from יקר (y-q-r), whose meaning holds honor together with preciousness and worth. The verse thus describes these women as precious ones; the queen’s gold makes value visible, while her place beside the king gives it standing.
ALSO GROWS
yāqār: Precious, costly, rare.
יָקָר
This adjective shares the root’s language of worth and opens the sense beneath “honourable.”
yəqār: Worth, honor, splendor.
יְקָר
This noun shows that honor and preciousness belong to the same family of meaning.
yāqar: To be precious, costly, or highly valued.
יָקַר
The verb presents preciousness as a quality something or someone has, not merely a title bestowed from outside.
THE PATTERN
Scripture makes worth visible through preciousness and through the place a person is given.
Bath-sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand.Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,THE THREAD
I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.Isaiah uses the same יקר (y-q-r) root for “more precious” that Psalm 45 uses beneath “honourable”; it also names gold of Ophir. The shared language lets you see the same measure of worth applied to a person and to the royal women beside the king.
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