Hebrew and the book of Psalms

I am very rusty in Hebrew. It is very hard language for me. Why is the Book of Psalms called Tallahim in Hebrew when the plural of Tallah is Tallahut? Some passages are Ex. 15:11; Ps. 9:14; and Is. 60:6. I have read a few commentaries (WBC, EBTC, NIVAC and Bible speaks today series) but did not see anything arguing the word play above. Am I missing something here or not reading widely enough?

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MJ. Smith

I assumed the singular of Tehillam was tehillah - note that I take my spelling from Steve Reich's Tehillim - required contemporary listening.

Christian Alexander

I have not studied any lexical resources on the topic. What do you think would be a good place to start on deriving this knowledge?

MJ. Smith

Sorry, I don't know any Hebrew - simply linguistics (and in this case minimalist music which has influenced the music of a certain Logos employee).

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Justin Gatlin

The plain answer is: [quote]

In the Hebrew Bible the title of the book is sēp̱er tehillîm, “Book of Praises,” referring to their content rather than form. This title is fitting for the collection of hymns used in Israel’s worship, because most of the psalms contain an element of praise. Claus Westermann, in his study of the individual lament psalms, concludes that he found no psalms that do not progress beyond petition and lament to the praise of God (The Praise of God in the Psalms, p. 74). In the titles tehillâh (“praise”) is found only once (Ps. 145), but it is used some 28 times in the book. Tehillîm may be a technical term for the book, because the normal plural of tehillâh is tehillôṯ.

Allen P. Ross, “Psalms,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 778–779.

There is no real proof of any explanation other than that. But -im is the normal ending for masculine plural nouns in Hebrew and -ot is the normal ending for feminine nouns. In this case, it might be that the title tehillim (which is "incorrectly" declined) dates back to a period before Hebrew grammar was standardized, and the title of the book was retained while the contents of the Bible was updated.

Christian Alexander

I have never opened The Bible Knowledge Commentary. I thought it was a bit unhelpful at first study of recent topics. I really like the plain answer but wanted to dig deeper into this kind of study. I do not have good facility in Hebrew. How would you study this topic further?

Kenneth Neighoff

I do not have good facility in Hebrew. How would you study this topic further?

Study Hebrew.

MJ. Smith

I have never opened The Bible Knowledge Commentary

Even books you consider "crap" can be useful in identifying terms and resources that can be useful in your research. I've spent hours sifting through dross to find the golden source to clarify/expand/destroy my temporary position.

Rosie Perera

I have never opened The Bible Knowledge Commentary. I thought it was a bit unhelpful at first study of recent topics.

How can you tell it is unhelpful if you've never opened it?

Christian Alexander

Good thoughts everyone.