Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 35:16

With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.

16. Like (less probably, among) the profanest of mocking parasites they gnash &c.; a gesture of rage, as though they would devour their victim ( Psa 35:25). The obscure phrase in the first line is generally explained to mean mockers for a cake, buffoons who purchase entertainment for themselves by scurrilous jests (Gr. , , Lat. buccellarii). Another explanation is, like (or, among) the profanest of perverse mockers.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

With hypocritical mockers in feasts – The word rendered hypocritical here – chaneph – properly means people profane, impious, abandoned. It refers to such persons as are commonly found in scenes of revelry. The words rendered mockers at feasts, it is scarcely possible to render literally. The word translated, mockers, – laeg – means properly one who stammers, or who speaks a foreign language; then, a jester, mocker, buffoon. The word rendered feasts – maog – means a cake of bread; and the whole phrase would denote cake-jesters; table-buffoons – those, perhaps, who act the part of jesters at the tables of the rich for the sake of good eating. Gesenius. – The meaning is, that he was exposed to the ribaldry or jesting of that low class of people; that those with whom he had formerly been on friendly terms, and whom he had admitted to his own table, and for whom he had wept in their troubles, now drew around themselves that low and common class of parasites and buffoons for the purpose of ridiculing or deriding him.

They gnashed upon me with their teeth – The act of gnashing with the teeth is expressive of anger or wrath. See the notes at Job 16:9; compare Mat 8:12; Mat 13:42, Mat 13:50; Mat 22:13; Mat 24:51; Mat 25:30; Luk 13:28. The meaning here is that they connected the expressions of auger or wrath with those of derision and scorn. The one is commonly not far from the other.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 16. With hypocritical mockers in feasts] These verses seem to be prophetic of the treatment of Christ. They did tear me, and I knew it not. They blindfolded and buffeted him; they placed him in such circumstances as not to be able to discern who insulted him, except by a supernatural knowledge. With hypocritical mockers in feasts may also relate prophetically to our Lord’s sufferings. Herod clothed him in a purple robe, put a reed in his hand for a sceptre, bowed the knee before him, and set him at naught. Here their hypocritical conduct (pretending one thing while they meant another) was manifest, and possibly; this occurred at one of Herod’s feasts.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Hypocritical, or profane, as this word signifies, Job 8:13; 13:16; 15:34; 17:8, and, as some add, in all other places.

Mockers; whose common practice it is to scoff at and deride others, and me in particular.

In feasts; or, of or for a cake; or, a morsel of bread, as this word signifies, 1Ki 17:12,13; 19:6; by which he further shows what vile and worthless persons these were, that would

transgress for a morsel of bread, as it is said, Pro 28:21. They made themselves buffoons and jesters, and accustomed themselves to mock and deride David, that thereby they might gain admittance to the acquaintance and tables of great men, where they might fill their bellies; which was all that they sought for, or got by it.

They gnashed upon me with their teeth; they used all expressions of rage and hatred against me, among which this was one, Job 16:9; Lam 2:16. This they did to curry favour with my great and potent adversaries.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

16. mockerswho were hired tomake sport at feasts (Pr 28:21).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

With hypocritical mockers in feasts,…. That is, the abjects gathered, themselves together with such; these may design Saul’s courtiers, his parasites and flatterers, and who were hypocrites in religion also, and made it their business at Saul’s table, and in their banquetings and revellings, to mock at David; and who were “hypocritical mockers of” or “for a piece of bread” y, as it may be rendered; the same word is used for a pastry, or cake, and for flatterers; and they used at their feasts to throw a pastry baked with honey to parasites z, for the word signifies a cake, or a piece of bread, 1Ki 17:12; and the sense may be, that they mocked at David as wanting a piece of bread, and that he had brought himself to one; or else those, and they that gathered with them especially, mocked at David for the sake of a meal; or for a piece of bread; see Pr 28:27; and such sort of men were the enemies of Christ, the Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites to God, flatterers of men, who loved feasts, and the uppermost places there, and whose god was their belly; and who were mockers of Christ, derided his doctrine, and scoffed at his person, especially when he hung upon the cross;

they gnashed upon me with their teeth; in indignation and contempt; as Stephen’s enemies did on him, Ac 7:54.

y “subsannatoribus subcineritii panis”, Vatablus; “subsanmantes propter placentam”, Piscator; “scoffers for a cake of bread”, Ainsworth; hence a “parasite”, a “table companion”, or “trencher friend”, is used for a “flatterer”, vid. Suidam in voce

. z Weemse’s Christ. Synag. l. 1. c. 6. s. 8. p. 209. of the Moral Law, l. 2. c. 9. p. 310.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

16. Among perfidious jesters. Others translate it, With hypocrites, but in my opinion David simply relates the combination of his enemies. And the meaning of the expression is to this effect, That among men of a crafty disposition, who had been addicted to deceit, and were consequently lost to all sense of shame, the only and the constant subject of their deliberations was, how they might destroy this afflicted man. David again reverts to the leaders of the people, and to those in power, as the source whence all the mischief took its rise; for this description could not apply to a great part of the common people, who acted rather by thoughtless impulse. He therefore speaks particularly of the rulers, and others of a similar character, and accuses them of cruelty, saying, that they gnash their teeth upon him like furious wild beasts. He first calls them perfidious or wicked, that he may the more easily obtain help and aid of God, as if calling upon him in the extremity of distress; and, secondly, he calls them jesters or mockers, by which he means that they have such effrontery, and are so far lost to all sense of shame, that there is nothing which they will not dare to do. As to the meaning of the word מעוג, maog, which follows, interpreters are not agreed. Properly, it signifies bread baked upon the hearth upon the embers. Some, however, because they could not elicit from it a meaning suitable to the passage, have thought that it should be taken for talkative jesting, or idle speech. Others, presuming to give a still wider range to their fancy, have supposed the meaning of the Psalmist to be, that the scoffing of such persons was as bread to them, because they take pleasure in scoffing and jesting. To me, it appears that we ought to retain the proper signification of the word, while, at the same time, it may be understood in a twofold sense. Some taking מעוג, maog, for a cake or tart, are of opinion that David here censures people of a delicate taste, who seek after fine and dainty fare, many of whom are always to be found in the courts of princes. Others rather suppose that he rebukes persons of a servile and sordid spirit, who, for the most trifling consideration, would employ their tongues in reviling others, just as in all ages there have been found men who, for a bit of bread, as we say, set their tongues to sale. When I carefully consider other passages in which David describes the nature and character of his enemies, I am disposed to think that those who indulged in jesting and scoffing at feasts, and who, in sitting over their cups, consulted about putting David to death, are here referred to. He therefore complains, that even in the midst of their feasting and banqueting, the ungodly, who had shaken off all shame, communed how they might take away his life.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(16) With hypocritical mockers in feasts.This clause is full of difficulty. The LXX. and Vulg. have, they tempted me, they mocked me with a mocking; Symmachus, in hypocrisy, with feigned words; Chaldee, with derisive words of flattery. All these take the word rendered in the Authorised Version, feasts, as a cognate of a word in Isa. 28:11, translated stammering, but which means rather, barbarisms. (Comp. Isa. 33:19.) The word rendered hypocritical more properly means profane or impious. With these meanings we get a very good sense (with evident reference to the malicious attacks of foreigners, or of the anti-national party that affected foreign ways) in the manner of profane barbaric barbarisms, or with profanity and barbarism.

As to the rendering feasts, it comes from treating the word as the same used (1Ki. 17:13) for a cake. Cake-mockers are explained to be parasites who hang about the tables of the rich, getting their dinner in return for their buffooneries. (Comp. the Greek ; Latin, bucellarii.)

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

16. Hypocritical mockers in feasts Impious table jesters: men whose occupation was to make merriment at feasts buffoons.

They gnashed upon me This was the fittest expression of their empty rage, to which they had been excited by the derision of these jesters.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Psa 35:16 With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.

Ver. 16. With hypocritical mockers in feasts ] Cum sannionibus placentae vel cibi, with hypocritical mockers for a cake or dainties. There is an elegance in the original, which showeth it to be proverbial, and cannot be translated R. Solomon telleth us here, that they who delighted in flatteries gave their flatterers cakes baked with honey, to make them the more to flatter them. Solomon telleth of some that will transgress for a piece of bread, Pro 28:21 . So those parasitic prophets, Eze 13:19 . Or, I am made their table talk, as Hos 7:8 , scornfully deriding me at their feasts and in their cups, Mensarii scurrae.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)