Miktam orMichtam (Hebrew: מִכְתָּם) is a word of unknown meaning found in the headings ofPsalms16 and56–60 in theHebrew Bible.[1] These six Psalms, and many others, are associated withKing David, but this tradition is more likely to be sentimental than historical.[2] They may have formed one of several smaller collections of psalms which preceded the presentpsalter and on which it was based.[2]
Miktam corresponds to theBabyloniannakamu, lid, a metal cover for a vessel, but efforts to derive a meaning for the term in the Psalms have not been convincing. "WhenEben Esra connected the Hebrew miktam with the word kéthem, gold, he was at any rate inspired. Other explanations of miktam which have come down through the LXX translators, theTargums and the Latin versions only show how completely the rubric had been forgotten."[3]
Inmodern Hebrew, the word has come to mean "epigram", and numerous collections of Hebrew epigrams have used that word in their titles.[citation needed]