The Hebrew name of the book is
תְּהִלִּים
which is the m. pl. of the female noun and literally means,
"praise songs."
This noun stems from the same verb that has the form
"hal-lu-yah."
מִזְמוֹר
is a m. sg. noun meaning, "melody," and appears in 57 Psalms beginning at Psalm 3.
The English title is derived from the Greek translation ψαλμοί meaning, "instrumental music" and, by extension, "the words accompanying the music."
An extract from the BHFA Volume 5 textbook
Psalm 1:3a
וְהָיָה כְּעֵץ שָׁתוּל עַל־ פַּלְגֵ מָיִם
water on canals of transplanted like a tree and he will be
KJB He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams
NASB He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
ESV He is like a tree planted by streams of water
NLT They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
NIV That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
LXX An he will be as the tree being planted by the outlet of the waters
Vulg And he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters
שָׁתוּל
Qal part. pass. of the verb שָׁתַל meaning, "to transplant." This verb occurs 10 times in the Hebrew Bible, and is always (incorrectly) translated as "plant" in modern English translations.The MT clearly states that the tree was brought from another (less auspicious?) place, and transplanted here.
The Segholate noun פַּלְגֵי literally means, "channel" or "artificial canal." In this metaphor, a stream would emphasize the abundance of water, whereas the image of a man-made irrigating canal or channel would add the concept of a reliant source. In Ps 46:5 we find "a river whose streams," suggesting an irrigation canal that was dug by a farmer (God) and leading from a river to his fields.
The Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) is a desert-dwelling goat species found in mountainous areas of northern and northeast Africa, and the Middle East. Its range is within Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, etc. In Israel, the historically dense ibex population, described in the Hebrew Bible
(Psalm 104:18), was decimated in the wake of the First World War.
The sudden availability of rifles enabled Bedouin to hunt them to near extinction. After the establishment of the state of Israel, when hunting was outlawed and nature reserves were created in which they were protected, the ibex population rebounded. Three populations have been discovered in Israel:
in the Judean Desert, the Negev mountains and Eilat."
"The klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus) is a small antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The vernacular name "klipspringer" is a compound of the Afrikaans words "klip" (rock) and "springer" (leaper). The klipspringer inhabits places characterized by rocky terrain and sparse vegetation.
A klipspringer’s hooves are cylindrical and downward-pointing, giving it a tiptoe walk and provide an amazing sure-footed agility on the rocks."
