📖 Biblical Definition
"My cup runneth over" is Psalm 23:5’s image of YHWH as Host whose pour for the saint exceeds the cup’s capacity. The Hebrew revayah means saturation, fullness, abundance — the cup is not merely topped up but spills over the rim onto the table. The Shepherd of v. 1-4 is now seen as the Host: "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over." The table is set in plain view of enemies who cannot interfere. The oil is the anointing of welcome. The cup overflows because the Host’s generosity exceeds the guest’s capacity. The Christian life under YHWH is not subsistence; it is abundance.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Psalm 23:5 host's pour exceeds the cup — abundance.
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Psalm 23:5's image of YHWH as host. The Shepherd-image of vv 1-4 shifts to a host-banquet image at v 5: "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over." The Hebrew kosi revayah is "my cup [is] saturation" — abundance pouring past the brim. The host's generosity exceeds the guest's capacity to contain.
📖 Key Scripture
Psalm 23:5 — "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over."
Psalm 16:5 — "The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot."
John 10:10 — "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Prosperity teaching co-opts "cup runneth over" for material wealth; the Psalmic context is provision-in-the-midst-of-enemies.
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Prosperity preachers love the cup-runneth-over image as material-wealth promise. The actual context: a table prepared in the presence of mine enemies. The cup overflows under threat, not in safety. The abundance is provision-while-besieged, not removal-of-besiegers.
Recover the context: the saint's cup overflows where enemies still surround. The host of Psalm 23:5 is the same Shepherd of Psalm 23:1, providing in danger as well as in calm.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew kosi revayah.
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['Hebrew', 'H3563', 'kos', 'cup']
['Hebrew', 'H7310', 'revayah', 'saturation, abundance']
Usage
"My cup runneth over — in the presence of enemies."
"Provision-while-besieged, not removal-of-besiegers."
"Host's generosity exceeds guest's capacity."