Tehillim 45 | "A Love Song"

This psalm was composed to be recited on the day of the king’s wedding. In its opening section, it extols the king, who embodies all the virtues befitting a king: he is mighty and strong, loves justice and hates evil. The psalm then turns to address the bride, urging her to forget her people and her father’s house as she prepares to wed the illustrious king. The psalm concludes with a hope and a prayer, fitting for such a moment: “Your sons will succeed your fathers” (45:17) — may the offspring of this union carry the royal line forward.

The bride is referred to as the “daughter of Tyre,” and Commentators have differed as to which king, having married the daughter of Tyre, this psalm was written to honor. Two of the more plausible suggestions are: King Shlomo, of whom it is said that he “ascended the Lord's throne” (Divrei Hayamim I 29:23), reflected in the verse “Your divine throne is eternal” (45:7); and King Achav of Israel, who married the wicked Izebel, and to whom the words “Forget your own people and your father’s house” (45:11) would be particularly apt. As in many psalms, it is impossible to determine the precise historical backdrop with certainty. In addition to these two suggestions, many others have been offered: Some commentators understand the term “daughter of Tyre” more generally as a poetic reference to any foreign queen. Others interpret it as referring to a queen from within Israel. It is also possible that the psalm refers to a king whose marriage is not recorded elsewhere in Tanakh, or perhaps it was written as a general composition, meant to honor any royal wedding, without reference to a specific couple. What is clear, however, is the psalm’s purpose is to glorify the king on his wedding day, and to convey to the bride, and to the nation as a whole, the magnitude of the moment and its national significance.