Body and Clothing in Psalm 45

Abstract

Descriptions of body parts of the king as well as the king’s daughter in Ps 45 aim beyond the respective part of the body at the person as a whole. Unlike the body, the percep-tion of the clothing has received little attention. However, the description of clothing in Psalm 45 can be analyzed analogously to that of the body. The clothing worn by the king and by the king’s daughter serves not so much to cover the body as to display it in a socially appropriate manner. The beauty of both the king and the king’s daughter (which also expresses their social position) only emerges from the combination of body and clothing.