Learning to Lament (Ps. 6)

Psalm 6 particularly teaches us the art of lamentation. It is entitled:

"To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David."

"According to the Sheminith" could be translated, "according to the eighth" (which is probably a musical term – perhaps even identical to our word "octave").

The early Fathers recognized here the principle of the number eight. After all, there are seven days in the week, and so the eighth day is the first day of the new week. Likewise, there are seven notes in the scale, and so the eighth note is the first note of the next octave.

There are two Psalms that use this designation: Psalm 6 and Psalm 12 – both of which are laments. The octave – the eighth note – is particularly appropriate for a lament, because the octave signals a new beginning – and a lament recognizes that something is fundamentally wrong, and so we need a new beginning!