Psalms 60

 

לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל־שׁוּשַׁן עֵדוּת מִכְתָּם לְדָוִד לְלַמֵּד׃   60:1

Psal. 60:1   A lyric poem of David's, a teaching, for the leader al-shushan-eduth,

The term al-shushan-eduth is assumed to be the name of another melody.

בְּהַצּוֹתוֹ אֶת אֲרַם נַהֲרַיִם וְאֶת־אֲרַם צוֹבָה וַיָּשָׁב יוֹאָב וַיַּךְ אֶת־אֱדוֹם בְּגֵיא־מֶלַח שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר אָלֶף׃   60:2

Psal. 60:2   on his struggle with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zovah, and Joab returned and smote twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt:

There is a lack of certainty about the incident referred to here.  It bears some resemblance to the one described in 2Samuel Chapter 8.  However, the story as reported there indicates that David, not Joab, was responsible for smiting Edom.  Further, it’s reported there that 18,000 were smitten, not 12,000.  More than that, v. 60:3 below and others in this psalm seem to be revealing an imminent defeat, not any kind of victory.  I believe another possibility could be the episode reported in 1Chronicles starting with 1Chr. 19:6.

אֱלֹהִים זְנַחְתָּנוּ פְרַצְתָּנוּ אָנַפְתָּ תְּשׁוֹבֵב לָנוּ׃   60:3

Psal. 60:3   O God, You have rejected us,

                                broken us down, are “angry.”

                      May You turn Yourself back to us.

הִרְעַשְׁתָּה אֶרֶץ פְּצַמְתָּהּ רְפָה שְׁבָרֶיהָ כִי־מָטָה׃   60:4

Psal. 60:4   You have made the earth shake,

                                cracked it.

                      Heal its fractures, for it totters.

הִרְאִיתָה עַמְּךָ קָשָׁה הִשְׁקִיתָנוּ יַיִן תַּרְעֵלָה׃   60:5

Psal. 60:5   You have made Your people see difficulty,

                               made us drink a wine of staggering.

נָתַתָּה לִּירֵאֶיךָ נֵּס לְהִתְנוֹסֵס מִפְּנֵי קֹשֶׁט סֶלָה׃   60:6

Psal. 60:6   You give a banner to Your reverers

                                to be flown because of truth.            Selah.

לְמַעַן יֵחָלְצוּן יְדִידֶיךָ הֹושִׁיעָה יְמִינְךָ (וַעֲנֵנוּ) [וַעֲנֵנִי]׃   60:7

Psal. 60:7   That Your beloved ones may be delivered,

                                deliver Your right “hand” and answer us.

I don’t understand why the “error” in the parentheses is considered an error.  Oddly enough, the identical verse appears in Psalm 108 and there the same word (spelled as here) is not flagged as an error.  As it turns out, vss. 7 to 14 here happen to be nearly identical to Psal. 108:7 to 14.

אֱלֹהִים דִּבֶּר בְּקָדְשֹׁו אֶעְלֹזָה אֲחַלְּקָה שְׁכֶם וְעֵמֶק סֻכֹּות אֲמַדֵּד׃   60:8

Psal. 60:8   God spoke in His holy place:  “I shall exult.”

                                “I will divide Shechem and measure off the valley of Succoth.”

Here David is voicing God’s words.  He continues doing so until v. 11.

לִי גִלְעָד וְלִי מְנַשֶּׁה וְאֶפְרַיִם מָעֹוז רֹאשִׁי יְהוּדָה מְחֹקְקִי׃   60:9

Psal. 60:9   “Gilead shall be mine,

                                and Menasseh shall be mine,

                      and Ephraim shall be the protector of my head,

                                Judah, my legislator. “

See Gene. 49:10 for a possible earlier referral to, and explanation of, the phrase Judah, my legislator.

מֹואָב סִיר רַחְצִי עַל־אֱדֹום אַשְׁלִיךְ נַעֲלִי עָלַי פְּלֶשֶׁת הִתְרֹעָעִי׃   60:10

Psal. 60:10   “Moab shall be my washing pan;

                                 I shall cast down my shoe upon Edom.

                       Shout an alarm because of me, Philistia!”

מִי יֹבִלֵנִי עִיר מָצֹור מִי נָחַנִי עַד־אֱדֹום׃   60:11

Psal. 60:11   “Who brings me the enclosed city?

                                 Who leads me as far as Edom?”

הֲלֹא־אַתָּה אֱלֹהִים זְנַחְתָּנוּ וְלֹא־תֵצֵא אֱלֹהִים בְּצִבְאֹותֵינוּ׃   60:12

Psal. 60:12  O God, have You not spurned us?

                                 And will You not go forth with our hosts, O God?

הָבָה־לָּנוּ עֶזְרָת מִצָּר וְשָׁוְא תְּשׁוּעַת אָדָם׃   60:13

Psal. 60:13   Give assistance to us from the enemy,

                                 as the salvation of a human is worthless.

Excuse me for saying, but the thought occurs to me:  If Jesus was a man while he was on earth, this verse tells us something monumental.  His crucifixion was worthless.  But will you say that Jesus was God and not a man.  Then his crucifixion is meaningless.

בֵּאלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה־חָיִל וְהוּא יָבוּס צָרֵינוּ׃   60:14

Psal. 60:14   With God we can be effective,

                                 and He will trample our foes.

 

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