of affliction. Even Hezekiah's song of thanksgiving in Isa 38 has grown out of the two closing strophes of this Psalm under the influence of an intimate acquaintance with the Book of Job. We are therefore warranted in supposing that it is David, who here, having in the midst of the stability of his power come to the verge of the grave, and now being roused from all carnal security, as one who has been rescued, praises the Lord, whom he has made his refuge, and calls upon all the pious to join with him in his song. The Psalm bears the inscription: A Song-Psalm at the Dedication of the House, by David. This has been referred to the dedication of the site of the future Temple, 2 Sam; 1Ch 21:1; but although the place of the future Temple together with the altar then erected on it, can be called בּית יהוה (1Ch 22:1), and might also at any rate be called absolutely הבּית (as הר הבית, the Temple hill); yet we know that David did not himself suffer (2Sa 24:17) from the pestilence, which followed as a punishment upon the numbering of the people which he instituted in his arrogant self-magnification. The Psalm, however, also does not contain anything that should point to a dedication of a sanctuary, whether Mount Moriah, or the tabernacle, 2Sa 6:17. It might more naturally be referred to the re-consecration of the palace, that was defiled by Absolom, after David's return; but the Psalm mentions some imminent peril, the gracious averting of which does not consist in the turning away of bloodthirsty foes, but in recovery from some sickness that might have proved fatal. Thus then it must be the dedication of the citadel on Zion, the building of which was just completed. From 2Sa 5:12 we see that David regarded this building as a pledge of the stability and exaltation of his kingdom; and all that is needed in order to understand the Psalm is, with Aben-Ezra, Flaminius, Crusius, and Vaihinger, to infer from the Psalm itself, that David had been delayed by some severe illness from taking possession of the new building. The situation of Psa 16:1-11 is just like it. The regular official title אשׁר על־הבּית (majordomo) shows, that הבית, used thus absolutely, may denote the palace just as well as the Temple. The lxx which renders it τοῦ ἐγκαινισμοῦ τοῦ οἴκου (τοῦ) Δαυίδ, understands the palace,
