"My cup runneth over" is a quotation from the Hebrew Bible (Psalms:23:5) and means "I have more than enough for my needs", though interpretations and usage vary.[1]
This phrase, in Hebrew Hebrew: כּוֹסִי רְוָיָה (kōsî rəwāyāh), is translated in the traditionally used King James Version as my cup runneth over. Newer translations of the phrase include "my cup overflows"[2] and "my cup is completely full".[3] The 23rd psalm, in which this phrase appears, uses the image of God as a shepherd and the believer as a sheep well cared-for. Julian Morgenstern has suggested that the word translated as "cup" could contain a double meaning: both a "cup" in the normal sense of the word, and a shallow trough from which one would give water to a sheep.[4]
Other interpreters have suggested that verses 5 and 6 of Psalm 23 do not carry forward the "shepherd" metaphor begun in verse 1, but that these two verses are set in some other, entirely human, setting.[5] Andrew Arterbury and William Bellinger read these verses as providing a metaphor of God as a host, displaying hospitality to a human being.[5] Thus, alongside other actions in Psalm 23, such as preparing a table, and anointing one's guest with oil, providing a full or even overflowing cup for him to drink from can be read as an illustration of God's generosity to the Psalmist.[5]
The phrase is the title of a popular song written by Harvey Schmidt with lyrics by Tom Jones, featured in the 1966 Broadway musical, I Do! I Do!, which starred Robert Preston and Mary Martin. The most popular recording of the song was made by Ed Ames in 1967, which was a #8 pop (#9 Can.) and #1 AC hit in the United States.[6]