Psalm 6/Notes/Lexical.v. 7.299802

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  • The verb melt (אַמְסֶה v. 7c) occurs a few other times in the Bible, mostly in the Psalms.[1] It means literally to “melt” or to “dissolve into liquid” (e.g. the melting of ice in Ps 147:18). In Psalm 6, it is used in the hyperbolic image of a flood of tears turning a couch to liquid.[2] Together, the words "melt" and "drench" dramatically depict the psalmist adrift in a watery chaos. His tears drench his bed (v. 7b), and then the bed itself turns into water (v. 7c).
  1. ↑ Josh 14:8; Pss 6:7; 39:12; 147:18.
  2. ↑ This literal meaning is preserved in the highly literal translation of Aquila (τήκω – “melt”). Other ancient translations give a more figurative sense: LXX (βρέχω – “make wet”), Targum (טמשׁ – “immerse”), Jerome (rigabo – “make wet”).