Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 78:60
So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent [which] he placed among men;
60. placed ] Lit. caused to dwell. The use of this word here and in Jos 18:1 (A.V. set up) was probably suggested by its frequent use with reference to the dwelling of God among His people. Cp. Jer 7:12.
On the position and history of Shiloh see note on 1Sa 1:3.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh – The tabernacle or tent which had been erected at Shiloh. He forsook that as a place where he was to be worshipped; that is, he caused his tabernacle, or his place of worship, to be erected in another place, to wit, on Mount Zion. See Psa 78:68. The name Shiloh means properly a place of rest, and seems to have been given to this place as such a place, or as a place where the ark might abide after its migrations. Shiloh was a city within the limits of the tribe of Ephraim, on a mountain north of Bethel. Here the ark of God remained for many years after it came into the promised land. Jos 18:1; Jdg 18:31; Jdg 21:12, Jdg 21:19; 1Sa 1:3, 1Sa 1:24; 1Sa 2:14; 1Sa 4:3-4. The ark, after it was taken by the Philistines, was never returned to Shiloh, but was deposited successively at Nob 1Sa 21:1-6, and at Gibeon 1Ki 3:4, until David pitched a tabernacle for it on Mount Zion 1Ch 15:1. The meaning here is, that in consequence of the sins of the people, the place of worship was finally and forever removed from the tribe of Ephraim, within whose limits Shiloh was, to the tribe of Judah, and to Mount Zion.
The tent which he placed among men – It was the place which he selected as his abode on earth.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 60. He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh] The Lord, offended with the people, and principally with the priests, who had profaned his holy worship, gave up his ark into the hands of the Philistines. And so true it is that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, that he never returned to it again. See 1Sa 6:1; 2Sa 6:2-17; 1Kg 8:1; where the several removals of the ark are spoken of, and which explain the remaining part of this Psalm. Because God suffered the Philistines to take the ark, it is said, Ps 78:61: “He delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy’s hand;” and Ps 78:67, that “he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim;” for Shiloh was in the tribe of Ephraim the son of Joseph; and God did not suffer his ark to return thither, but to go to Kirjath-jearim, which was in the tribe of Benjamin; from thence to the house of Obed-edom: and so to Zion in the tribe of Judah, as it follows, Ps 78:68.
The tabernacle which Moses had constructed in the wilderness remained at Shiloh even after the ark was taken by the Philistines and afterwards sent to Kirjath-jearim. From Shiloh it was transported to Nob; afterwards to Gibeon, apparently under the reign of Saul; and it was there at the commencement of Solomon’s reign, for this prince went thither to offer sacrifices, 1Kg 3:4. From the time in which the temple was built, we know not what became of the tabernacle of Moses: it was probably laid up in some of the chambers of the temple. See Calmet.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The tabernacle of Shiloh; which then was placed in Shiloh, from whence, as the Israelites fetched the ark, so God withdrew himself.
Which he placed among men; whereby he insinuates both Gods wonderful condescension and favour to such worthless and wretched creatures, and their stupendous folly and wickedness in despising and sinning away so glorious a privilege.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
60. tent . . . placedliterally,”caused to dwell,” set up (Jos18:1).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh…. The tabernacle which Moses built in the wilderness by the command of the Lord, and according to the pattern showed him; and which, when the Israelites were settled in the land of Canaan, was set up in Shiloh; see Jos 18:1, and here it was in the times of Eli and Samuel, which are here referred to:
the tent which he placed among men; it was as a tent moveable from place to place, and was to continue at longest but for a while, as the whole tabernacle worship and service was to do; here the divine Majesty dwelt, and among men, vile, sinful, wicked, and ungrateful men; which was a wonderful instance of his condescension and goodness, 1Ki 8:27, but when their iniquities grew to such a degree as were intolerable, he forsook it and removed it elsewhere; see Jer 7:12, rather the words may be rendered, “the tent”, or “tabernacle, which he had fixed in Adam”; as they are by Doctor Lightfoot q; that is, in the city Adam, which was in the centre of the parting of the waters of Jordan, and where was the station of the tabernacle and ark of the covenant, when Israel entered into them, and passed through them; which is mentioned as a wonderful circumstance, both with respect to the tabernacle and to the people of Israel.
q See his Works, vol. 2. p. 82.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The rejection of Shiloh and of the people worshipping there, but later on, when the God of Israel is again overwhelmed by compassion, the election of Judah, and of Mount Zion, and of David, the king after His own heart. In the time of the Judges the Tabernacle was set up in Shiloh (Jos 18:1); there, consequently, was the central sanctuary of the whole people, – in the time of Eli and Samuel, as follows from 1Sa 1:1, it had become a fixed temple building. When this building was destroyed is not known; according to Jdg 18:30., cf. Jer 7:12-15, it was probably not until the Assyrian period. The rejection of Shiloh, however, preceded the destruction, and practically took place simultaneously with the removal of the central sanctuary to Zion; and was, moreover, even previously decided by the fact that the Ark of the covenant, when given up again by the Philistines, was not brought back to Shiloh, but set down in Kirjath Jearm (1Sa 7:2). The attributive clause uses as is used in Jos 18:1. The pointing is correct, for the words to not suffice to signify “where He dwelleth among men” (Hitzig); consequently is the causative of the Kal, Lev 16:16; Jos 22:19. In Psa 78:61 the Ark of the covenant is called the might and glory of God ( , Psa 132:8, cf. , 1Sa 4:21.), as being the place of their presence in Israel and the medium of their revelation. Nevertheless, in the battle with the Philistines between Eben-ezer and Aphek, Jahve gave the Ark, which they had fetched out of Shiloh, into the hands of the foe in order to visit on the high-priesthood of the sons of Ithamar the desecration of His ordinances, and there fell in that battle 30,000 footmen, and among them the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests (1 Sam. 4). The fire in Psa 78:63 is the fire of war, as in Num 21:28, and frequently. The incident mentioned in 1Sa 6:19 is reasonably (vid., Keil) left out of consideration. By (lxx erroneously, = = ) are meant the marriage-songs (cf. Talmudic , the nuptial tent, and the marriage-house). “Its widows (of the people, in fact, of the slain) weep not” (word for word as in Job 27:15) is meant of the celebration of the customary ceremony of mourning (Gen 23:2): they survive their husbands (which, with the exception of such a case as that recorded in 1Sa 14:19-22, is presupposed), but without being able to show them the last signs of honour, because the terrors of the war (Jer 15:8) prevent them.
With Psa 78:65 the song takes a new turn. After the punitive judgment has sifted and purified Israel, God receives His people to Himself afresh, but in such a manner that He transfers the precedence of Ephraim to the tribe of Judah. He awakes as it were from a long sleep (Psa 44:24, cf. Psa 73:20); for He seemed to sleep whilst Israel had become a servant to the heathen; He aroused Himself, like a hero exulting by reason of wine, i.e., like a hero whose courage is heightened by the strengthening and exhilarating influence of wine (Hengstenberg). is not the Hithpal. of in the Arabic signification, which is alien to the Hebrew, to conquer, a meaning which we do not need here, and which is also not adapted to the reflexive form (Hitzig, without any precedent, renders thus: who allows himself to be conquered by wine), but Hithpo. of : to shout most heartily, after the analogy of the reflexives , , . The most recent defeat of the enemy which the poet has before his mind is that of the Philistines. The form of expression in Psa 78:66 is moulded after 1Sa 5:6. God smote the Philistines most literally in posteriora (lxx, Vulgate, and Luther). Nevertheless Psa 78:66 embraces all the victories under Samuel, Saul, and David, from 1Sa 5:1-12 and onwards. Now, when they were able to bring the Ark, which had been brought down to the battle against the Philistines, to a settled resting-place again, God no longer chose Shiloh of Ephraim, but Judah and the mountain of Zion, which He had loved (Psa 47:5), of Benjamitish-Judaean (Jos 15:63; Jdg 1:8, Jdg 1:21) – but according to the promise (Deu 33:12) and according to the distribution of the country (vid., on Psa 68:28) Benjamitish – Jerusalem.
(Note: According to B. Menachoth 53 b, Jedidiah (Solomon, 2Sa 12:25) built the Temple in the province of Jedidiah (of Benjamin, Deu 33:12).)
There God built His Temple . Hitzig proposes instead of this to read ; but if , Psa 16:6, signifies amaena , then may signify excelsa (cf. Isa 45:2 , Jer 17:6 ) and be poetically equivalent to : lasting as the heights of heaven, firm as the earth, which He hath founded for ever. Since the eternal duration of heaven and of the earth is quite consistent with a radical change in the manner of its duration, and that not less in the sense of the Old Testament than of the New (vid., e.g., Isa 65:17), so the applies not to the stone building, but rather to the place where Jahve reveals Himself, and to the promise that He will have such a dwelling-place in Israel, and in fact in Judah. Regarded spiritually, i.e., essentially, apart from the accidental mode of appearing, the Temple upon Zion is as eternal as the kingship upon Zion with which the Psalm closes. The election of David gives its impress to the history of salvation even on into eternity. It is genuinely Asaphic that it is so designedly portrayed how the shepherd of the flock of Jesse (Isai) became the shepherd of the flock of Jahve, who was not to pasture old and young in Israel with the same care and tenderness as the ewe-lambs after which he went ( as in Gen 33:13, and , cf. 1Sa 16:11; 1Sa 17:34, like and the like). The poet is also able already to glory that he has fulfilled this vocation with a pure heart and with an intelligent mastery. And with this he closes.
From the decease of David lyric and prophecy are retrospectively and prospectively turned towards David.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
After it is said that Israel, whom God had loved so much, was become an abomination in his sight, it is added, (verse 60,) that they were bereft of the presence of God, which is the only source of true felicity and comfort under calamities of every kind. God, then, is said to have abhorred Israel, when he permitted the ark of the covenant to be carried into another country, as if he intended by this to indicate that he had departed from Judea, and bidden the people farewell. It is indeed very obvious, that God was not fixed to the outward and visible symbol; but as he had given the ark to be a token or sign of the close union which subsisted between him and the Israelites, in suffering it to be carried away, he testified, that he himself had also departed from them. Shiloh having been for a long time the abode of the ark, and the place where it was captured by the Philistines, (1Sa 4:11,) it is termed the habitation or dwelling-place of God. The manner of his residence, in short, is beautifully expressed in the next sentence, where Shiloh is described as his dwelling-place among men. God, it is true, fills both heaven and earth; but as we cannot attain to that infinite height to which he is exalted, in descending among us by the exercise of his power and grace, he approaches as near to us as is needful, and as our limited capacity will bear. It is a very emphatic manner of speaking to represent God as so incensed by the continual wickedness of his people, that he was constrained to forsake this place, the only one which he had chosen for himself upon the earth.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(60) Forsook.The reference is of course to the disastrous defeat by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4). See especially Psa. 78:21 in connection with glory or ornament as applied here to the Ark. For strength in the same connection see Psa. 132:8.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
60. He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh Read the history, 1 Samuel 4. The tabernacle had been in Shiloh for three hundred years, from the time of Joshua. Jos 18:1. It was, after the removal of the ark, taken to Nob, (1Sa 21:1-6😉 thence, after the death of Samuel, to Gibeon, (1Ch 1:3-4😉 whence it was transferred by Solomon to the temple. 1Ki 8:4 ; 2Ch 5:5. The ark was returned by the Philistines to Bethshemesh, thence to Kirjath, in Judah, and thence to Zion by David. 2 Samuel 6. Neither ark nor tabernacle ever returned to Shiloh a blow from which the tribe of Ephraim never recovered.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 78:60. So that he forsook the tabernacle This relates to that part of the history of the Jews which is given 1 Samuel 4.; for, upon their sending for the ark of God from the tabernacle, in which it was deposited at Shiloh, God smote them, and suffered the Philistines to take the ark. And so true it is that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, that he never returned to it again. See 1Sa 6:1.; 2 Samuel 6.; 1Ki 8:1 where the several removals of the ark are spoken of, which explain the remaining part of this psalm. Because God suffered the Philistines to take the ark, it is said, Psa 78:61. That he delivered his strength and glory, i.e. the ark, into the enemies’ hand; and Psa 78:67. That he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, &c. for Shiloh was in the tribe of Ephraim, the son of Joseph; and God did not suffer his ark to return thither, but to go to Kirjath-jearim, which was in the tribe of Benjamin; from thence to the house of Obededom, and so to Sion, in the tribe of Judah, as it follows, Psa 78:68.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 78:60 So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent [which] he placed among men;
Ver. 60. So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh ] Whither it had been brought from Gilgal, and where it had rested a long while, but was forsaken of God when once idolized, 1Sa 4:3-5
The tent which he placed among men.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
tabernacle = habitation. Hebrew. mishkan. App-40(2).
Shiloh. Compare Jdg 18:1, Jdg 18:31; 1Sa 4:3.
men. Hebrew. adam.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jos 18:1, 1Sa 1:3, 1Sa 4:4-11, Jer 7:12-14, Jer 26:6-9
Reciprocal: Exo 26:36 – the tent Jos 19:51 – in Shiloh Jdg 18:30 – until Jdg 20:27 – the ark Jdg 21:12 – virgins 1Sa 4:10 – Israel 1Sa 6:21 – Kirjathjearim 1Ki 2:27 – Shiloh 1Ch 22:1 – This is the house Psa 68:18 – that Psa 75:3 – earth Isa 60:15 – thou Jer 7:14 – as Jer 12:7 – have forsaken Jer 23:33 – I Eze 8:6 – that I Eze 10:18 – the glory Hos 9:15 – I will drive
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 78:60-61. So he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh The tabernacle which then was placed in Shiloh, from whence, as the Israelites fetched the ark, so God withdrew himself. This relates to that part of the Jewish history which is recorded 1 Samuel 4. For upon the Israelites sending for the ark of God, from the tabernacle in which it was deposited in Shiloh, God suffered the Philistines to smite them, and to take the ark. And so true it is, that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, that he never returned to it again. The tent which he placed among men Whereby he insinuates both Gods wonderful condescension and favour to such worthless and wretched creatures; and their stupendous folly and wickedness, in despising and sinning away so glorious a privilege. And delivered his strength Namely, the ark, called Gods strength, (1Ch 16:11,) and the ark of his strength, (Psa 132:8,) because it was the sign and pledge of his strength and power exerted in behalf of his people; and his glory So the ark is called, as being the monument and seat of Gods glorious presence, and an instrument of his glorious works; into the enemys Namely, the Philistines hand, or power.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
78:60 So that he {l} forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent [which] he placed among men;
(l) For their ingratitude he permitted the Philistines to take the Ark which was the sign of his presence, from among them.