The Meaning of Psalms 84:1 Explained

Psalms 84:1

KJV: {To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.} How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!

YLT: To the Overseer. -- 'On the Gittith By sons of Korah.' -- A Psalm. How beloved Thy tabernacles, Jehovah of Hosts!

Darby: {To the chief Musician. Upon the Gittith. Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm.} How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Jehovah of hosts!

ASV: How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Jehovah of hosts!

KJV Reverse Interlinear

{{To the chief Musician  upon Gittith,  A Psalm  for the sons  of Korah.  }} How amiable  [are] thy tabernacles,  O LORD  of hosts! 

What does Psalms 84:1 Mean?

Study Notes

Gittith
See title note; .

Context Summary

Psalms 84:1-12 - Longing For The House Of God
This is one of the sweetest of the Psalms. David probably composed it during his absence from Jerusalem at the time of Absalom's rebellion, though its final form may have been due to the sons of Korah. It is divided into three parts by the Selahs.
They who dwell in thy house, Psalms 84:1-4. The psalmist envies the winged things that rest in those hallowed precincts, and how much more the priests and Levites who serve there! Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but man can rest only in God.
Those in whose hearts are the ways of Zion, Psalms 84:5-8. We may not be able actually to walk along those ways, but it is good to tread them in living sympathy with the saints, and to unite ourselves to the pilgrim hosts. Those absent from God's house may in their heart join the great congregation. Thus dry and desolate valleys may become filled with water springs, making them green and beautiful. When the heart is right with God, the desert becomes a temple, and tears are exchanged for smiles.
The man who trusts in thee, Psalms 84:9-12. God is better than His sanctuary. He is a Sun in dark hours, and a Shadow in scorching ones. Grace is His unmerited pardon and blessing to sinners; glory the irradiation of His character, into the likeness of which we shall be changed. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 84

1  The prophet, longing for the communion of the sanctuary
4  Shows how blessed they are that dwell therein
8  He prays to be restored unto it

What do the individual words in Psalms 84:1 mean?

To the Chief Musician On an instrument of Gath of the sons of Korah A Psalm how lovely [is] Your tabernacle Yahweh of hosts
לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ עַֽל־ הַגִּתִּ֑ית לִבְנֵי־ קֹ֥רַח מִזְמֽוֹר מַה־ יְּדִיד֥וֹת מִשְׁכְּנוֹתֶ֗יךָ יְהוָ֥ה ! צְבָאֽוֹת

לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ  To  the  Chief  Musician 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine singular
Root: נָצַח  
Sense: to excel, be bright, be preeminent, be perpetual, be overseer, be enduring.
הַגִּתִּ֑ית  an  instrument  of  Gath 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: גִּתִּית  
Sense: a musical instrument? from Gath? and used in three Psalm titles—8, 8, 84; a song title used for the Feast of Booths.
לִבְנֵי־  of  the  sons 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
קֹ֥רַח  of  Korah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֹרַח  
Sense: son of Izhar, grandson of Kohath, great grandson of Levi and leader of the rebellion of the Israelites against Moses and Aaron while in the wilderness; punished and died by an earthquake and flames of fire.
מִזְמֽוֹר  A  Psalm 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִזְמֹור  
Sense: melody, psalm.
מַה־  how 
Parse: Interrogative
Root: לָמָּה 
Sense: what, how, of what kind.
יְּדִיד֥וֹת  lovely 
Parse: Adjective, feminine plural
Root: יָדִיד  
Sense: one beloved, beloved adj.
מִשְׁכְּנוֹתֶ֗יךָ  [is]  Your  tabernacle 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: מִשְׁכָּן  
Sense: dwelling place, tabernacle.
יְהוָ֥ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
! צְבָאֽוֹת  of  hosts 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.