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The mysterious word “Michtam”: The Hebrew word מִכְתָּם appears six times in the Hebrew Bible and it only occurs in the book of Psalms at the beginning of the chapter (16:1, 56:1, 57:1, 58:1, 59:1, 60:1). This Hebrew word has been understood differently. For instances, PONS Kompaktwörterbuch Althebräisch (2015) leaves it untranslated, while the other sources translate מִכְתָּם as inscription, prayer, or song. Two of the most notable Hebrew lexica, and Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT), state that the meaning of מִכְתָּם is unknown. Modern English Bible translations also differ in their translations of מִכְתָּם. Most English Bible translations transliterate this Hebrew word (like NIV, NASB, KJV, Berean Study Bible, Christian Standard Bible, American Standard Version, JPS Tanakh 1917, and HCSB), while the NLT, ESV, International Standard Version, and New Revised Standard Version leave מִכְתָּם untranslated. This article, therefore, seeks to decipher the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם within its literary context and provides textual criticism. This article limits its discussion to Origen’s Hexapla because the consistent translation of Greek Aquila and Greek Symmachus contributes to unveiling the meaning of מִכְתָּם. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The study employed a combination of biblical studies and linguistics. Thus, this article shows the application of a comparative linguistic approach to interpret the word מִכְתָּם.

To share the gospel with unbelievers, Christians attempt to use a crossed method of evangelism. The purpose of this crossed method is to engage with people’s own culture from a Christian standpoint. In Bali, for instance, Christians utilise tapak dara to communicate the cross in Christianity. To Balinese-Hinduists, tapak dara is widely believed to bring salvation, happiness, and energy in the universe. Interestingly, the symbol of tapak dara is similar to the cross in the Christianity. Thus, evangelists and missionaries tend to use tapak dara to connect the salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Although this method of evangelism offers some advantages, the parallelism between tapak dara and the cross reveals more differences than similarities. Therefore, this article argues that the parallelism between tapak dara and the cross should be carefully compared because they share more differences than similarities. Contribution: This research will compare the meaning, the usage, and the function of tapak dara with the cross. The article contributes to mission studies and cultural studies.

There is a difficulty in determining the subject of אמרת in Psalm 16:2. This problem arises from the context. Psalm 16:1 reveals that the speaker of the whole Psalm 16 is David himself: לְדָוִד and the usage of the first person singular of the verb חסה is to denote that David is the speaker. Psalm 16:2, nevertheless, changes the first person singular from verse 1 to the second person feminine singular. In other words, the subject of verse 1 is David himself or a male speaker, whereas the subject of verse 2 shifts to an unknown female speaker. As a result, this shift creates two difficult questions. Firstly, why does David replace the first person singular in Psalm 16:1 to the second person feminine singular in Psalm 16:2? Secondly, who is this second person feminine singular in Psalm 16:2? This research argues for the influence of Phoenician language to Psalm 16:2; therefore, Phoenician language offers solutions to those difficulties. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article is a combination of Biblical Studies and Linguistics. This article attempts to apply a comparative linguistic approach to Psalm 16:2.

The Hebrew word שׂרקים in Zechariah 1:8 is a mysterious word. The disappearance of the Hebrew word שׂרקים in Zechariah 1:8 from the rest of the Book of Zechariah and the unknown meaning of שׂרקים itself are the reasons for this mystery. Zechariah 1:8 does not only abandon two colours: the black horses and the spotted (dappled) horses but also this verse adds שׂרקים or the sorrel ones, which are not recorded in Zechariah 6:2–3 and 6:6–7. The appearance of שׂרקים in Zechariah 1:8, therefore, creates disagreement colours with Zechariah 6:2–3 and 6:6–7. In addition, Gelston states that the Hebrew word שׂרקים is probably unknown to the ancient translators. This unknown meaning causes different translations of שׂרקים in ancient texts. This article, thus, attempts to unveil this mystery with textual criticism as its methodology. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This research emphasises on the importance of textual criticism to unveil the unknown meaning of קים in Zechariah 1:8.