Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 60:6
God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
6. in his holiness ] Or, by his holiness, for ‘spoken’ is the equivalent of ‘promised’ or ‘sworn.’ Cp. Psa 89:35; Amo 4:2. God’s ‘holiness’ includes His whole essential nature in its moral aspect, and that nature makes it impossible for Him to break His promise (Num 23:19; Tit 1:2). It is equivalent to ‘Himself’ (Amo 6:8; Heb 6:13; Heb 6:17 f). ‘In his sanctuary’ (cp. Psa 63:2) is a possible but less probable rendering.
I will rejoice ] Better as R.V., I will exult. But who is the speaker? Is it David or God? The latter alternative is certainly preferable. The language is bold, but not bolder than that of Isa 63:1 ff. God is represented as a victorious warrior, conquering the land, and portioning it out to His people. The language recalls the conquest of the land under Joshua (Jos 18:10); but it certainly does not imply that the land was now permanently in the possession of foreigners, and needing to be reconquered. He makes Ephraim the chief defence of His kingdom, and Judah the seat of government, and treats the neighbouring nations as His vassals. It is possible that some actual oracle is quoted, but more probable that the drift of the great promise to David (2Sa 7:9 f) is freely reproduced in a poetical form. Cp. Psa 2:7; Psa 89:19.
Shechem the valley of Succoth ] Shechem, as a central place of importance, represents the territory west of the Jordan; Succoth, ‘in the vale’ (Jos 13:27), somewhere to the south of the Jabbok, between Peniel and the Jordan, represents the territory east of the Jordan. These two places may be named, because of their connexion with the history of Jacob, who halted first at Succoth and then at Shechem, when he returned to Canaan (Gen 33:17-18). God will fulfil His promise to Jacob, apportioning to His people the land in which their great ancestor settled.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
God hath spoken in his holiness – That is, as a holy God; a God who is true; a God whose promises are always fulfilled. The idea is, that the holiness of God was the public pledge or assurance that what he had promised he would certainly perform. God had made promises in regard to the land of Canaan or Palestine, as a country to be put into the possession of Abraham and his posterity. Gen 12:7; Gen 13:15; Gen 17:8; Psa 105:8-11. The original promise of the gift of that land, made to Abraham under the general name of Canaan Gen 12:7, embraced the whole territory from the river (that divided the land from Egypt) to the Euphrates: Unto thy seed, addressed to Abraham, have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates, Gen 15:18. This would embrace the country of Edom, as well as the other countries which are specified in the psalm. The natural and proper boundary of the land on the east, therefore, according to the promise, was the river Euphrates; on the west, Egypt and the Mediterranean sea; on the south, the outer limit of Edom. It was the object of David to carry out what was implied in this promise, and to secure the possession of all that had been thus granted to the Hebrews as the descendants of Abraham. Hence, he had been engaged in carrying his conquests to the east, with a view to make the Euphrates the eastern border or boundary of the land: David smote also Hadarezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates, 2Sa 8:3. Compare 1Ch 18:3. In the prosecution of the same purpose he was anxious also to subdue Edom, that the entire territory thus promised to Abraham might be put in possession of the Hebrews, and that he might transmit the kingdom in the fullness of the original grant to his posterity. It is to this promise made to Abraham that he doubtless refers in the passage before us.
I will rejoice – I, David, will exult or rejoice in the prospect of success. I will find my happiness, or my confidence in what I now undertake, in the promise which God has made. The meaning is, that since God had made this promise, he would certainly triumph.
I will divide Shechem – That is, I will divide up the whole land according to the promise. The language here is taken from that which was employed when the country of Canaan was conquered by Joshua, and when it was divided among the tribes: Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land which I sware unto their fathers to give them, Jos 1:6. Compare Jos 13:6-7; Jos 14:5; Jos 18:10; Jos 19:51; Jos 23:4; Psa 78:55; Act 13:19. David here applies the same language to Shechem, and the valley of Succoth, as portions of the land, meaning that he would accomplish the original purpose in regard to the land by placing it in possession of the people of God. Shechem or Sichem was a city within the limits of the tribe of Ephraim, between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, called by the Romans Neapolis, and now Nablus. It is about two hours, or eight miles, south of Samaria. It seems to be mentioned here as being the spot where the law of Moses was read to the people of Israel, and especially the blessings and curses recorded in Deut. 27; Deut. 28, which Moses commanded to be read to the different tribes on the above-named mountains, Deu 27:11-13. This was actually done, Jos 8:33. Shechem, therefore, as lying between these mountains, and as being the place where the great mass of the people were assembled to hear what was read, became a central place, a representative spot of the whole land, and to say that that was conquered or subdued, was to speak of that which implied a victory over the land. David speaks of having secured this, as significant of the fact that the central point of influence and power had been brought under subjection, and as in fact implying that the land was subdued. The importance of that place, and the allusion to it here, will justify a more extended reference to it, which I copy from The Land and the Book, by Dr. Thomson, vol. ii. p. 203, 204.
Nablus is a queer old place. The streets are narrow, and vaulted over; and in the winter time it is difficult to pass along many of them on account of brooks which rush over the pavement with deafening roar. In this respect, I know no city with which to compare it except Brusa; and, like that city, it has mulberry, orange, pomegranate, and other trees, mingled in with the houses, whose odoriferous flowers lead the air with delicious perfume during the months of April and May. Here the billbul delights to sit and sing, and thousands of other birds unite to swell the chorus. The inhabitants maintain that theirs is the most musical vale in Palestine, and my experience does not enable me to contradict them.
Imagine that the lofty range of mountains running north and south was cleft open to its base by some tremendous convulsion of nature, at right angles to its own line of extension, and the broad fissure thus made is the vale of Nablus, as it appears to one coming up the plain of Mukhna from Jerusalem. Mount Ebal is on the north, Gerizim on the south, and the city between. Near the eastern end, the vale is not more than sixty rods wide; and just there, I suppose, the tribes assembled to hear the blessings and the curses read by the Levites. We have them in extenso in Deut. 27 and Deut. 28; and in Josh. 8 we are informed that it was actually done, and how. Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin, stood on Gerizim; and Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulon, Dan, and Naphtali, on Ebal; while all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side of the ark and on that side before the priests which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord; the whole nation of Israel, with the women and little ones, were there. And Joshua read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursings; there was not a word of all that Moses commanded which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel. This was, beyond question or comparison, the most august assembly the sun has ever shone upon; and I never stand in the narrow plain, with Ebal and Gerizim rising on either hand to the sky, without involuntarily recalling and reproducing the scene. I have shouted to hear the echo, and then fancied how it must have been when the loud-voiced Levites proclaimed from the naked cliffs of Ebal, Cursed be the man that maketh any graven image, an abomination unto Jehovah. And then the tremendous amen! tenfold louder, from the mighty congregation, rising, and swelling, and re-echoing from Ebal to Gerizim, and from Gerizim to Ebal. amen! even so let him be accursed. No, there never was an assembly to compare with this.
And mete out the valley of Succoth – Measure out; that is, measure or survey for the purpose of dividing it, or assigning it to the conquerors, to the people of God, according to the promise. There is the same allusion here, as in the former clause, to the dividing of the land in the time of Joshua. Succoth, in the division of the land by Joshua, fell to the tribe of Gad; Jos 13:27. It was on the east side of the river Jordan, and is now called Sakut. It is first mentioned in Gen 33:17, in the account of the journey which Jacob took on returning from the East to the land of Canaan. At this place he paused in his journey, and made booths for his cattle; and hence, the name Succoth, or booths. Why this place is referred to here by David, as representing his conquests, cannot now be ascertained. It seems most probable that it was because it was a place east of the Jordan, as Shechem was west of the Jordan, and that the two might, therefore, represent the conquest of the whole country. Succoth, too, though not more prominent than many other places, and though in itself of no special importance, was well known as among the places mentioned in history. It is possible, also, though no such fact is mentioned, that there may have been some transaction of special importance there in connection with Davids conquests in the East, which was well understood at the time, and which justified this special reference to it.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 60:6-9
God hath spoken in His Holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
A war-song of Israel
In this war-song we are given the key to the whole story of Jewish development as the interpretation of life–that interpretation which has, through Christ, received its verification as the universal method by which religion becomes a practical force in the world. Leek at it. First, how real, how practical, how concrete it all is. It is not selfish, personal trouble about which he is vehement. He is one with his people, and it is their distress which is his. And then, secondly, these disasters cannot be for him blind accidents. They are not the cruelties of some ruthless fate, or the mere victories of force, accident, fate. Gods will is the sole, paramount interpretation of every incident, and there can be no other. Thou also hast been displeased. That is the only reasonable account of the matter. And then, after that, in that thought lies his hope. If God has done it, and done it for correction, then God can also undo it, and undo it He surely will, He, by His own right hand. Who but He? The people–broken, shattered, bruised, and drunken–they cannot heal themselves. They cannot restore themselves to their old soundness and strength. Their sin has wrecked their power to be as they were. They can but recognize the hand of God that broke and scattered them. God can do the rest. Their renewal, their recovery, must be all His act, and He will be sure to do it, because He has smitten that He may heal. What other motive could He have? And then out of that thought the psalmist passes on to the martial outburst which is so charged with the spirit of Ascensiontide. Israel, if she is to recover, we say, must throw herself altogether on the prevenient help of God, God has spoken in His holiness. That is what precedes. He and no other has taken the great step on which all depends. God has planned for Himself already an organized kingdom, and each spot, and each district, and each centre is selected and named. And this highland chief, this king, this servant of His, has been shown it all. He has been told exactly what is in Gods mind. Now, surely we can feel the very touch of an Ascension flame in the old words. This poise of the soul–this spiritual situation in which the believing soul for ever finds itself wherever it would act in Gods name–this mode and method of all religious faith wherever it be found–these have been caught for us here: these have been fixed. They are wholly and utterly the same to-day for us as they were for that border-chief in his warfare with Edom. Just to rehearse the succession of his thoughts and of his prayers with our mind. First, Ascensiontide summons us to look out, as he did, beyond the circuit of our own private affairs, and to take our place amid the rank of the people of God, and to identify ourselves with His historical kingdom. Look at Christs Church as it fares in the world. That Church is the creation of His royalty. There He has set His name, and with her lies our lot. Her interest, her fortune, her fears, her distress, all are ours. We are committed to her, so that our very faiths are interwoven one with another. If she is in strength we are strong, and if she is burdened we are weak with her weakness. Look out on her. How goes it? Alas, far us as for him, the same spectacle. God has cast us out. God has scattered us abroad. Gods hand is in it. And, if Gods hand is in it, then Gods mind is behind it. God acts for a purpose, and that means for a purpose unrelinquished and invincible, towards which He is ever pressing on; if it cannot be by victory, then by penalty, by discipline. What is that purpose? Ascensiontide is our answer. Then it was that God spoke out in His holiness. He revealed His whole intention. He clothed Himself in His righteousness. What was it to be? Oh, with the psalmist let us exult, for God in His exultation, lifting His Son to His throne on high, pronounced that in Him, the Beloved, He would claim the entire world for Himself. Every nation was to be a province of His kingdom, who was to be King of kings and Lord of lords. I will rejoice, he cried, as he saw it himself. So our King, aware of all the purposes of God, cried aloud to His great apostle in the vision, saying, I am He who was alive and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore. And I hold in My hand the keys of death and hell. I will rejoice, for I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim is the strength of my head, and Judah is my law-giver. So the cry of the ascended Lord rings out over the whole, asseverating its perpetual claim. Mine, for instance, is the intellect in its exquisite skill, in its courage, in its profundity; mine is science in its patience and its truth; mine is art; mine is the whole world of feeling, emotion, passion; mine is marriage in all its inexhaustible magic; mine is the home in the honour of motherhood, the crown of children; mine is the heart with its sorrows and its joys; mine is the will with the force of its unresting efforts; mine is man. To everything in him I allot function and duty and service and liberty and gladness. Ephraim is the strength of my head, and Judah is my lawgiver. Nor can He, the Victor, stop at the borders of His kingdom of grace. Still that kingdom must grow, must expel wrong, injustice, lust, misery, cruelty. These yet hold their own in the high rocks and fastnesses of the hills of Edom–in their castles and cities in the rich coasts of the Philistines. And these must yield; these must break. God has promised it. He has set the name of Jesus over everything that is named, and He must reign until He subdue all things unto Himself. (Canon Scott Holland.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 6. God hath spoken] Judah shall not only be re-established in Jerusalem, but shall possess Samaria, where Shechem is, and the country beyond Jordan, in which is situated the valley of Succoth. Dividing and meting out signify possession.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
God hath spoken: having prayed that God would save and hear him, he now intimates that God had done it already, and had prevented his prayers, and had spoken to him and of him, about the stablishing of his throne.
In his holiness; or, in the sanctuary or holy place, to which David used to resort to ask counsel, and from whence God usually gave out his oracles. Or rather, by his holiness, as this very word is rendered, Psa 89:35, which carries the form of an oath, and implies that God did not simply speak, but swore by his holiness as it is there expressed. I will rejoice; therefore I will turn my prayers into praises and rejoicings for what God had already done, and, as I am assured, will further do, on my behalf.
I will divide; or, distribute; which supposeth possession and dominion. Shechem; a place within Jordan, in Mount Ephraim. See Gen 33:18; Jos 20:7.
Succoth; a place without Jordan. See Gen 33:17; Jos 13:27. He mentions Shechem and Succoth, either synecdochically for all the land of Canaan within and without Jordan, which, having been formerly divided between him and Ishbosheth, was now entirely in his possession; or because these two places had been in Ishbosheths hands, and possibly were extraordinarily devoted to Sauls house, and utterly averse from David; or for some other reason now unknown.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6-10. God hath spoken inor,”by.”
his holiness (Psa 89:35;Amo 4:2), on the pledge of Hisattributes (Psa 22:3; Psa 30:4).Taking courage from God’s promise to give them possession (Exo 23:31;Deu 11:24) (and perhaps renewed tohim by special revelation), with triumphant joy he describes theconquest as already made.
Shechem, and . . . Succothaswidely separated points, and
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
God hath spoken in his holiness,…. Or “in his holy place” q; in heaven, the habitation of his holiness and of his glory; or “in the house of the sanctuary”, as the Targum: in the tabernacle, in the holy place by Urim and Thummim; and in the most holy place by his sacred oracle, from between the mercy seat: or “by his Holy Ones”, as the Arabic version; by his holy prophets, Samuel and Nathan, by whom he spoke to David concerning the kingdom; and by his Holy Spirit dictating this psalm, and the rest unto him; and by his Son, his Holy One, by whom he has spoken in these last times unto his people, to which this psalm has reference: or it may be understood of the perfection of his holiness in which he has spoken, and by which he has swore; not only to David literally, concerning the extent of his dominion, the perpetuity and stability of it; but to David’s son and antitype, the Messiah, concerning his seed, possession, and inheritance,
Ps 89:19;
I will rejoice; at the holiness of the Lord, which is matter of joy to the saints, especially as the is displayed and glorified in salvation by Christ, Ps 97:12; and at what he said in his holiness to David, concerning his temporal kingdom, and the duration of it; because he knew that what he said he would perform; and at what was spoken to him by the Messiah, in council and covenant, concerning his seeing his seed, and prolonging his days; which was the joy set before him, which carried him through his sorrows and sufferings, Heb 12:2; wherefore he believed his kingdom should be enlarged, both among Jews and Gentiles, as follows;
I will divide Shechem; a city in Mount Ephraim, Jos 20:7; and so was in the hands of Ishbosheth the son of Saul; as the valley of Succoth, Gilead, Ephraim, and Manasseh, after mentioned, and all the tribes of Israel, were, but Judah, 2Sa 2:4; but, because of God’s promise, David believed that they would be all in his possession; signified by dividing, as a land is divided for an inheritance when conquered, Jos 13:7; or this is said in allusion to the dividing of spoils in a conquered place; and so the Targum,
“I will divide the prey with the children of Joseph, that dwell in Shechem;”
and as Shechem was the same with Sychar, near to which our Lord met with the Samaritan woman, and converted her, and many others of that place, then might he be said to divide the spoils there, Joh 4:5;
and mete out the valley of Succoth; with a measuring line, so taking possession of it, 2Sa 8:2; Succoth was near to Shechem,
Ge 33:17; and was in the tribe of Gad, and in a valley,
Jos 13:27; there was a Succoth in the plain of Jordan, 1Ki 7:46; it signifies booths, tents, or tabernacles, and may mystically signify the churches of Christ, wherein he dwells and exercises his dominion.
q “in sanctuario suo”, Tigurine version, Vatablus; “in sancto suo”, V. L. Musculus, Cocceius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
A divine utterance, promising him victory, which he has heard, is expanded in this second strophe. By reason of this he knows himself to be in the free and inalienable possession of the land, and in opposition to the neighbouring nations, Moab, Edom, and Philistia, to be the victorious lord to whom they must bow. The grand word of promise in 2Sa 7:9. is certainly sufficient in itself to make this feeling of certainty intelligible, and perhaps Psa 60:8-10 are only a pictorial reproduction of that utterance; but it is also possible that at the time when Edom threatened the abandoned bordering kingdom, David received an oracle from the high priest by means of the Urim and Thummim, which assured him of the undiminished and continued possession of the Holy Land and the sovereignty over the bordering nations. That which God speaks “in His holiness” is a declaration or a promise for the sure fulfilment and inviolability of which He pledges His holiness; it is therefore equal to an oath “by His holiness” (Psa 89:36; Amo 4:2). The oracle does not follow in a direct form, for it is not God who speaks (as Olshausen thinks), to whom the expression is unbecoming, nor is it the people (as De Wette and Hengstenberg), but the king, since what follows refers not only to the districts named, but also to their inhabitants. might have stood before , but without it the mode of expression more nearly resembles the Latin me exultaturum esse (cf. Psa 49:12). Shechem in the centre of the region on this side the Jordan, and the valley of Succoth in the heart of the region on the other side, from the beginning; for there is not only a [Arab.] sakut (the name both of the eminence and of the district) on the west side of the Jordan south of Beisn (Scythopolis), but there must also have been another on the other side of the Jordan (Gen 33:17., Jdg 8:4.) which has not as yet been successfully traced. It lay in the vicinity of Jabbok ( ez – Zerka ), about in the same latitude with Shechem (Sichem), south-east of Scythopolis, where Estori ha-Parchi contends that he had found traces of it not far from the left bank of the Jordan. Jos 13:27 gives some information concerning the (valley) of Succoth. The town and the valley belonged to the tribe of Gad. Gilead, side by side with Manasseh, Psa 60:9, comprehends the districts belonging to the tribes of Gad and Reuben. As far as Psa 60:9, therefore, free dominion in the cis-and trans-Jordanic country is promised to David. The proudest predicates are justly given to Ephraim and Judah, the two chief tribes; the former, the most numerous and powerful, is David’s helmet (the protection of his head), and Judah his staff of command ( , the command-giving = staff of command, as in Gen 49:10; Num 21:18); for Judah, by virtue of the ancient promise, is the royal tribe of the people who are called to the dominion of the world. This designation of Judah as the king’s staff or sceptre and the marshal’s baton shows that it is the king who is speaking, and not the people. To him, the king, who has the promise, are Joab, Edom, and Philistia subject, and will continue so. Joab the boastful serves him as a wash-basin;
(Note: A royal attendant, the tasht – dar , cup-or wash-basin-bearer, carried the wash-basin for the Persian king both when in battle and on a journey (vid., Spiegel, Avesta ii. LXIX). Moab, says the Psalmist, not merely waits upon him with the wash-basin, but himself serves as such to him.)
Edom the crafty and malicious is forcibly taken possession of by him and obliged to submit; and Philistia the warlike is obliged to cry aloud concerning him, the irresistible ruler. is a wash-pot or basin in distinction from a seething-pot, which is also called . The throwing of a shoe over a territory is a sign of taking forcible possession, just as the taking off of the shoe ( ) is a sign of the renunciation of one’s claim or right: the shoe is in both instances the symbol of legal possession.
(Note: The sandal or the shoe, I as an object of Arab. wt’ , of treading down, oppressing, signifies metaphorically, (1) a man that is weak and incapable of defending himself against oppression, since one says, ma kuntu nalan , I am no shoe, i.e., no man that one can tread under his feet; (2) a wife ( quae subjicitur ), since one says, g’alaa nalahu , he has taken off his shoe, i.e., cast off his wife (cf. Lane under Arab. hida’a’ , which even signifies a shoe and a wife). II As an instrument of Arab. wt , tropically of the act of oppressing and of reducing to submission, the Arab. wal serves as a symbol of subjugation to the dominion of another. Rosenmller ( Das alte und neue Morgenland, No. 483) shows that the Abyssinian kings, at least, cast a shoe upon anything as a sign of taking forcible possession. Even supposing this usage is based upon the above passage of the Psalms, it proves, however, that a people thinking and speaking after the Oriental type associated this meaning with the casting of a shoe upon anything. – Fleischer. Cf. Wetzstein’s Excursus at the end of this volume.)
The rendering of the last line, with Hitzig and Hengstenberg: “exult concerning me, O Philistia,” i.e., hail me, though compelled to do so, as king, is forbidden by the , instead of which we must have looked for . The verb certainly has the general signification “to break out into a loud cry,” and like the Hiph. (e.g., Isa 15:4) the Hithpal. can also be used of a loud outcry at violence.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Rejoicing in Hope. | |
6 God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth. 7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver; 8 Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of me. 9 Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom? 10 Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off? and thou, O God, which didst not go out with our armies? 11 Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. 12 Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.
David is here rejoicing in hope and praying in hope; such are the triumphs of the saints, not so much upon the account of what they have in possession as of what they have in prospect (v. 6): “God has spoken in his holiness (that is, he has given me his word of promise, has sworn by his holiness, and he will not lie unto David, Ps. lxxxix. 35), therefore I will rejoice, and please myself with the hopes of the performance of the promise, which was intended for more than a pleasing promise,” Note, God’s word of promise, being a firm foundation of hope, is a full fountain of joy to all believers.
I. David here rejoices; and it is in prospect of two things:–
1. The perfecting of this revolution in his own kingdom. God having spoken in his holiness that David shall be king, he doubts not but the kingdom is all his own, as sure as if it were already in his hand: I will divide Shechem (a pleasant city in Mount Ephraim) and mete out the valley of Succoth, as my own. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine, and both are entirely reduced, v. 7. Ephraim would furnish him with soldiers for his life-guards and his standing forces; Judah would furnish him with able judges for his courts of justice; and thus Ephraim would be the strength of his head and Judah his lawgiver. Thus may an active believer triumph in the promises, and take the comfort of all the good contained in them; for they are all yea and amen in Christ. “God has spoken in his holiness, and then pardon is mine, peace mine, grace mine, Christ mine, heaven mine, God himself mine.” All is yours, for you are Christ’s,1Co 3:22; 1Co 3:23.
2. The conquering of the neighbouring nations, which had been vexatious to Israel, were still dangerous, and opposed the throne of David, v. 8. Moab shall be enslaved, and put to the meanest drudgery. The Moabites became David’s servants, 2 Sam. viii. 2. Edom shall be made a dunghill to throw old shoes upon; at least David shall take possession of it as his own, which was signified by drawing off his shoe over it, Ruth iv. 7. As for the Philistines, let them, if they dare, triumph over him as they had done; he will soon force them to change their note. Rather let those that know their own interest triumph because of him; for it would be the greatest kindness imaginable to them to be brought into subjection to David and communion with Israel. But the war is not yet brought to an end; there is a strong city, Rabbah (perhaps) of the children of Ammon, which yet holds out; Edom is not yet subdued. Now, (1.) David is here enquiring for help to carry on the ark: “Who will bring me into the strong city? What allies, what auxiliaries, can I depend upon, to make me master of the enemies’ country and their strongholds?” Those that have begun a good work cannot but desire to make a thorough work of it, and to bring it to perfection. (2.) He is expecting it from God only: “Wilt not thou, O God? For thou hast spoken in thy holiness; and wilt not thou be as good as thy word?” He takes notice of the frowns of Providence they had been under: Thou hadst, in appearance, cast us off; thou didst not go forth with our armies. When they were defeated and met with disappointments, they owned it was because they wanted (that is, because they had forfeited) the gracious presence of God with them; yet they do not therefore fly off from him, but rather take so much the faster hold of him; and the less he has done for them of late the more they hoped he would do. At the same time that they own God’s justice in what was past they hope in his mercy for what was to come: “Though thou hadst cast us off, yet thou wilt not contend for ever, thou wilt not always chide; though thou hadst cast us off, yet thou hast begun to show mercy; and wilt thou not perfect what thou hast begun?” The Son of David, in his sufferings, seemed to be cast off by his Father when he cried out, Why hast thou forsaken me? and yet even then he obtained a glorious victory over the powers of darkness and their strong city, a victory which will undoubtedly be completed at last; for he has gone forth conquering and to conquer. The Israel of God, his spiritual Israel, are likewise, through him, more than conquerors. Though sometimes they may be tempted to think that God has cast them off, and may be foiled in particular conflicts, yet God will bring them into the strong city at last. Vincimur in prlio, sed non in bello–We are foiled in a battle, but not in the whole war. A lively faith in the promise will assure us, not only that the God of peace shall tread Satan under our feet shortly, but that it is our Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom.
II. He prays in hope. His prayer is, Give us help from trouble, v. 11. Even in the day of their triumph they see themselves in trouble, because still in war, which is troublesome even to the prevailing side. None therefore can delight in war but those that love to fish in troubled waters. The help from trouble they pray for is preservation from those they were at war with. Though now they were conquerors, yet (so uncertain are the issues of war), unless God gave them help in the next engagement, they might be defeated; therefore, Lord, send us help from the sanctuary. Help from trouble is rest from war, which they prayed for, as those that contended for equity, not for victory. Sic qurimus pacem–Thus we seek for peace. The hope with which they support themselves in this prayer has two things in it:– 1. A diffidence of themselves and all their creature-confidences: Vain is the help of man. Then only we are qualified to receive help from God when we are brought to own the insufficiency of all creatures to do that for us which we expect him to do. 2. A confidence in God, and in his power and promise (v. 12): “Through God we shall do valiantly, and so we shall do victoriously; for he it is, and he only, that shall tread down our enemies, and shall have the praise of doing it.” Note, (1.) Our confidence in God must be so far from superseding that it must encourage and quicken our endeavours in the way of our duty. Though it is God that performs all things for us, yet there is something to be done by us. (2.) Hope in God is the best principle of true courage. Those that do their duty under his conduct may afford to do it valiantly; for what need those fear who have God on their side? (3.) It is only through God, and by the influence of his grace, that we do valiantly; it is he that puts strength into us, and inspires us, who of ourselves are weak and timorous, with courage and resolution. (4.) Though we do ever so valiantly, the success must be attributed entirely to him; for he it is that shall tread down our enemies, and not we ourselves. All our victories, as well as our valour, are from him, and therefore at his feet all our crown must be cast.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
6. God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice. Hitherto he has adverted to the proofs which had come under their own observation, and from which they might easily see that God had manifested his favor in a manner new, and for many years unprecedented. He had raised the nation from a state of deep distress to prosperity, and had changed the aspect of affairs so far, that one victory was following another in rapid succession. But now he calls their attention to a point of still greater importance, the divine promise — the fact that God had previously declared all this with his own mouth. However numerous and striking may be the practical demonstrations we receive of the favor of God, we can never recognize them, except in connection with his previously revealed promise. What follows, although spoken by David as of himself individually, may be considered as the language adopted by the people generally, of whom he was the political head. Accordingly, he enjoins them, provided they were not satisfied with the sensible proofs of divine favor, to reflect upon the oracle by which he had been made king in terms the most distinct and remarkable. (389) He says that God had spoken in his holiness, not by his Holy Spirit, as some, with an over-refinement of interpretation, have rendered it, nor by his holy place, the sanctuary; (390) for we read of no response having been given from it to the prophet Samuel. It is best to retain the term holiness, as he adverts to the fact of the truth of the oracle having been confirmed, and the constancy and efficacy of the promise having been placed beyond all doubt by numerous proof, of a practical kind. As no room had been left for question upon the point, he employs this epithet to put honor upon the words which had been spoken by Samuel. He immediately adds, that this word of God was the chief ground upon which he placed his trust. It might be true that he had gained many victories, and that these had tended to encourage his heart; but he intimates, that no testimony which he had received of this kind gave him so much satisfaction as the word. This accords with the general experience of the Lord’s people. Cheered, as they unquestionably are, by every expression of the divine goodness, still faith must ever be considered as holding the highest place — as being that which dissipates their worst sorrows, and quickens them even when dead to a happiness which is not of this world. Nor does David mean that he merely rejoiced himself. He includes, in general, all who feared the Lord in that Kingdom. And now he proceeds to give the sum of the oracle, which it is observable that he does in such a way as to show, in the very narration of it, how firmly he believed in its truth: for he speaks of it as something which admitted of no doubt whatsoever, and boasts that he would do what God had promised. I will divide Shechem, he says, and mete out the valley of Succoth (391) The parts which he names are those that were more late of coming into his possession, and which would appear to have been yet in the hands of Saul’s son, when this psalm was written. A severe struggle being necessary for their acquisition, he asserts that, though late of being subdued, they would certainly be brought under his subjection in due time, as God had condescended to engage this by his word. So with Gilead and Manasseh (392) As Ephraim was the most populous of all the tribes, he appropriately terms it the strength of his head, that is, of his dominions. (393) To procure the greater credit to the oracle, by showing that it derived a sanction from antiquity, he adds, that Judah would be his lawgiver, or chief; which was equivalent to saying, that the posterity of Abraham could never prosper unless, in agreeableness to the prediction of the patriarch Jacob, they were brought under the government of Judah, or of one who was sprung from that tribe. He evidently alludes to what is narrated by Moses, (Gen 49:10,) “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come.” The same word is there used, מחוקק, Mechokek, or legislator. It followed, that no government could stand which was not resident in the tribe of Judah, this being the decree and the good pleasure of God. The words are more appropriate in the mouth of the people than of David; and, as already remarked, he does not speak in his own name, but in that of the Church at large.
(389) “ Cum praeclaris elogiis.” — Lat. Amplified in the French version as follows: — “ l’ornant de titres excellens, et lui faisant des promesses authentiques.”
(390) This is the reading of Mudge, Street, Archbishop Secker, and Morrison. “Should not the word be read, in his sanctuary ? whence the divine oracles were issued forth. David, having received a favorable answer, perhaps by Urim and Thummim, delivers himself in a strain of the fullest confidence of victory over his enemies.” — Dimock.
(391) Shechem lay in Samaria, and, therefore, by it the whole of Samaria may be intended. The valley of Succoth, or booths, received its name from Jacob’s making booths, and feeding his cattle there. (See Gen 33:17.) It lay beyond the Jordan, and it may be employed to designate the whole of that district of country. Though Samaria, and the country beyond the Jordan, were now in the hands of the enemy, yet David anticipates the time when he would gain complete and absolute possession of them, which he expresses by dividing, and meting them out. The allusion is to the dividing and measuring out of land; and it was a part of the power of a king to distribute his kingdom into cities and provinces, and to place judges and magistrates over them.
(392) Gilead and Manasseh were beyond the Jordan. The tribe of Gad, which was in Gilead, was distinguished for its warlike valor.
(393) This tribe was also distinguished for its valor. (Deu 33:17; Psa 78:9; see also Gen 48:19.)
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) In his holiness . . .The LXX. and Vulg. have in his sanctuary which suits the utterance of an oracle.
I will rejoice . . .Rather, I will raise a shout of triumph.
I will divide Shechem . . .Rather, I may divide, &c, implying unquestioned right of ownership. Shechem and Succoth appear to be named as a rude indication of the whole breadth of the country, from west to east. The fact that Dr. Robinson and Vandervelde have identified one Succoth on the right bank of Jordan, does not at all weaken the evidence for the existence of another on the east of that river. See Gen. 33:17; Jdg. 8:5 seq.; Jos. 13:17 (where mek is used for valley, as here).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. God spoken Hitherto David has spoken, figuratively, of a “ banner displayed on account of the truth;” now, he speaks plainly of the divine oracle as the ground of his faith. “God hath spoken;” an allusion to Jacob’s prophecy, Gen 49:10; Samuel’s message, 1Sa 16:13; and to Nathan’s, 2Sa 7:4-17. Delitzsch says, it is possible, also, that at this moment “David received an oracle from the high priest by means of the Urim and Thummim which assured him of the unity of his kingdom and the sovereignty over the bordering nations.”
Shechem Succoth The former an open plain west of Jordan, and the latter a valley east of Jordan in the tribe of Gad, which has not been well identified by modern discovery, but was probably about the latitude of Shechem. These are alluded to as patriarchal stations when Jacob, on his return from “Padan Aram,” was searching a central location for the settlement of the Hebrew family, and are here used poetically for the total promised territory east and west of Jordan. Compare Gen 33:17-18; Jos 13:27; Jdg 8:4-5. The dividing and meting out simply indicate absolute title and sovereignty. Num 26:55-56; 2Sa 8:2
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
If the Reader will consult 2Sa 3:18 , he will find somewhat like a prediction concerning the very event to which David looks forward now with such confidence of success; and, considering the victory as good as already obtained, because God had promised it, he talks of the division of the spoils. And as David honoured God by faith, so God honoured his servant by the accomplishment of his promises. Moab and Edom and Philistia were all brought under David’s victories. But, Reader, while you and I thus behold God’s grace and favour manifested to his servants in temporal deliverances, let us not overlook, but yet have our minds led forth in contemplating, the still higher subjects of praise in spiritual victories by David’s Lord. It is God the Father who hath spoken once in his holiness, and even sworn once by his holiness, as if to pledge this glorious perfection for the sure salvation of his redeemed in and by his dear Son, the David of his people, our Lord Jesus Christ. Hence, therefore, in the full assurance of victory, which Christ hath already attained, and whereby his people are made more than conquerors in him and through him, every true believer may cry out, I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine. Indeed all things are mine. God my Father, with all his promises, is mine; Christ, with all his fulness, is mine; the Holy Ghost, with all his influences, is mine. All are yours, saith the apostle, whether life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours, and ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. 1Co 3:22-23 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 60:6 God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
Ver. 6. God hath spoken in his holiness ] He hath assured me all these following places; therefore I looked upon them long since as already mine, and now I am master of them.
I will rejoice
I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 60:6-8
6God has spoken in His holiness:
I will exult, I will portion out Shechem and measure out the valley of Succoth.
7Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the helmet of My head;
Judah is My scepter.
8Moab is My washbowl;
Over Edom I shall throw My shoe;
Shout loud, O Philistia, because of Me!
Psa 60:6-8 This strophe extols YHWH’s sovereignty (or holiness, BDB 871) over the nations (cf. Deu 32:8). These verses are repeated in Psa 108:6-13, which means it may have been part of liturgy. It may be connected to Exo 15:14-17. YHWH Himself speaks (i.e., God has spoken BDB 180, KB 210, Piel perfect).
1. I will exult BDB 759, KB 831, Qal cohortative
2. I will portion out BDB 323, KB 322, Piel cohortative
3. I will measure out BDB 551, KB 547, Piel imperfect used in a cohortative sense
4-5. is mine
6. is the helmet of My head
7. is My scepter
8. over I shall throw my shoe (i.e., an idiom of contempt)
9. shout loud, because of Me (possibly should be, over Philistia I will shout aloud, like Psa 108:9 c)
Notice the place names are all in the tribal allocations of Joshua.
1. one city Shechem
2. one valley valley of Succoth
3. one area Gilead
4. three tribes Manasseh, Ephraim, Judah (for Judah as scepter see Gen 49:10)
5. three defeated Canaanite nations Moab, Edom, Philistia
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
hath spoken. Verses 6-9 refer to the promise of the possession of the whole of Canaan, confirmed in 2Sa 7:10. David here encourages himself by it.
Shechem . . . Succoth. West and east of Jordan.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 60:6-8
Psa 60:6-8
GOD’S PROMISES RECALLED IN PRAYER
“God hath spoken in his holiness: I will exult;
I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim also is the defense of my head;
Judah is my sceptre.
Moab is my washpot;
Upon Edom will I cast my shoe:
Philistia, shout thou because of me.”
“God hath spoken … I will exult” (Psa 60:6). What this says is that, “I will exult in the promises God has made to Israel.” The difficulty is that no specific promises recorded in the Old Testament say exactly what is here stated. Perhaps the accurate explanation is that given by Rawlinson: “This is a reference to the general aspect of the assurances given in the Pentateuch in regard to Israel’s possession of the land of Canaan and to their victory over hostile neighbors.” God’s assurances to Jacob and to Israel, especially through Moses, speak of their possession of Canaan and victory over all opposition. The argument here, then, is simply this: `If these assurances from the Holy Scriptures are to be depended upon, Israel cannot now be in actual danger of being subjugated by Edom.’
“Shechem … and Succoth” (Psa 60:6). This evidently refers to God’s promise of giving Canaan to Israel. “Shechem” is a principal city west of Jordan, and “the Valley of Succoth” is a prominent sector of Canaan east of the Jordan.
“Gilead … Manasseh … Ephraim” (Psa 60:7). “Gilead” was identified with the land east of the Jordan river, and Ephraim was a powerful tribe dominating the land west of the Jordan. “Manasseh” held lands on both sides of Jordan; and it seems from these proper names in these verses that the psalmist was stressing God’s promise to give Israel all of Canaan.
Moreover the mention of Judah as “God’s sceptre” was for the purpose of recalling the ancient word that “Jacob have I loved; and Esau (Edom) have I hated.” (Judah was a son of Jacob). Such thoughts would indeed have been encouraging to Israel following a military set-back in which Edom had won a battle.
“Moab … Edom … Philistia” (Psa 60:8). No such promises of God thus to deal with these nations can be found in the Old Testament.; and, therefore, we conclude that these words are a paraphrase of what the psalmist believed to be God’s love of Israel and his opposition to these three nations mentioned.
Certainly, Moab, Edom, and Philistia were relegated by God Himself to a status below that of Israel, even though none of the prophets used exactly the same terminology that here describes it. What the psalmist says here is that, “God has willed these nations to be in a subordinate role, servile to God’s people: Moab for bathing their feet, Edom the lackey to whom the sandals are thrown, and Philistia to provide the theme of a victory song!
One of the great lessons of this psalm is that the fact of recalling and repeating the sacred promises of God is a legitimate and effective device in prayer.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 60:6. In his holiness means that the sayings of God are holy in form and thought. The preceding verse was favorable for God’s people and the same thought is continued in this. Divide Shechem means to divide or deal to Shechem, and mete out or deal out to Succoth means to give blessings of God to that place.
Psa 60:7. The places named belonged to God, hence it was fitting that He deal to them the favors previously mentioned. Judah is my lawgiver is a prophecy although the italicized word is in the present tense. The law in the days of David was given and administered through the tribe of Levi. But the time was to come when the law of God would come through Judah (Gen 49:10; Heb 7:11-14). So this is another of the many places where an inspired writer interrupted his story to make a prediction that was apparently unrelated to the general trend of his thought.
Psa 60:8. A washpot is an article for very humble use, and a place where one would cast his shoe would not be very dignified. God considered Moab and Edom in that light. In the last clause of the verse the word Philistia refers to the land of the Philistines. Because in the marginal rendering is “over” and the lexicon agrees with it. The idea is that God was challenging the Philistines to interfere with his dealings with the two peoples, Moab and Edom. Of course the challenge was made in irony.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
God: Psa 89:19, Psa 89:35, Psa 108:7-13, Psa 132:11, 2Sa 3:18, 2Sa 5:2, Jer 23:9, Amo 4:2
rejoice: Psa 56:4, Psa 119:162, 2Sa 7:18-20, Luk 1:45-47
divide: Jos 1:6, 2Sa 2:8, 2Sa 2:9, 2Sa 5:1-3
Shechem: Gen 12:6, Sichem, Jos 20:7, Jos 24:1, Jos 24:32
valley: Jos 13:27
Reciprocal: Gen 33:17 – Succoth Jdg 8:5 – Succoth 1Ki 12:1 – Shechem Psa 56:10 – General Psa 97:12 – give thanks Phi 1:25 – joy
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 60:6. God hath spoken, &c. Having prayed that God would hear and save him, he now intimates that God had done it already, had prevented his prayers, and had spoken to him, and of him, about the establishing of his throne; in his holiness Or, rather, by his holiness, as this very expression, , bekodsho, is rendered, Psa 89:35. Which carries the form of an oath, and implies, that God did not simply speak, but swore by his holiness, as is there expressed. I will rejoice Therefore I will turn my prayers into praises, for what God has already done; and, as I am assured, will further do on my behalf. I will divide Shechem Namely, as a portion or inheritance, as , achallekah, properly signifies. I will exercise dominion over, and distribute it to be possessed as I see good. Shechem was a place within Jordan in mount Ephraim. And mete out the valley of Succoth A place without Jordan. He mentions Shechem and Succoth for all the land of Canaan within and without Jordan, which, having been formerly divided between him and Ish-bosheth, was now entirely in his possession. Some, however, think that the expression is proverbial, and only means, I will divide the spoils of my enemies with as much ease as the sons of Jacob portioned out Shechem, and measured out for their tents the valley of Succoth.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
60:6 God hath spoken in his {g} holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
(g) It is as certain as if it were spoken by an oracle, that I will possess those places which Saul has left to his children.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. A reminder of assured victory 60:6-8
The preceding laments give way to a closing oracle.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
David quoted a prophecy that he had received assuring Israel’s military success. God had said He would give Shechem and the valley of Succoth to Israel. Shechem is the site west of the Jordan where God first promised Canaan to Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 12). It was also where Jacob lived after he returned to Canaan from Paddan-aram and Laban’s oppression (Gen 33:18-20). Succoth was the place east of the Jordan where Jacob settled after God delivered him from Esau, when Jacob returned from Paddan-aram (Gen 33:17). Both places had associations with past victories over Arameans and the fulfillment of God’s promises concerning the land. Used together, these places represent victory on both sides of the Jordan.