Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 120:4
Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
Sharp arrows of the mighty – This is an answer to the question in Psa 120:3. The consequence – the effect – of such a use of the tongue must be like sharp and piercing arrows, or like intensely burning coals. The sharp arrows of the mighty are the arrows of the warrior – as war was conducted mainly by bows and arrows. Those arrows were, of course, sharpened to make them piercing, penetrating, more deadly.
With coals of juniper – On the word here rendered juniper, see the notes at Job 30:4. The idea here is, that coals made from that would be intensely hot, and would cause severer pain than if made from other wood. The word refers to a species of broom or shrub growing in the deserts of Arabia, with yellowish flowers and a bitter root. See Robinsons Biblical Researches, vol. i., p. 299. Burchardt says that he found the Bedouin of Sinai burning the roots into coal, and says that they make the best charcoal, and throw out the most intense heat. The shrub sometimes grows so large as to furnish a shade to those exposed to the heat of the sun in the desert, 1Ki 19:4; Land and the Book (Thomson), vol. ii., pp. 438, 439. The cut given below will give an idea of this plant.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 120:4
Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper
Thy arrows are not pointless, and thou aimest them with some precision; but on my side is the Almighty Warrior. Thou art able to scorch me for a season; but the vengeance of my Deliverer upon thee is a burning fire that never shall be quenched. He shall more than pay thee in thy own coin. Seeking my ruin, thou destroyest thyself. Thou fallest on thy own sword, and into thy own flame. Nay, thou drawest down upon thee the two-edged sword of the mouth of the Almighty (Rev 1:16; Rev 2:16; Rev 19:15; Rev 19:21). Thou provokest to thy eternal perdition the Consuming Fire (Deu 4:24; Deu 9:3; Heb 12:29). They who use the tongue as an arrow shot forth with inflamed combustibles wrapped about it to set fire to the habitations of others, bring upon their own dwellings and themselves sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper (Eph 6:16). By coals of juniper or broom is meant the most vehemently and longest burning fuel, and by sharp arrows of the mighty the vengeful weapons of the conqueror. Both figures denote ways and instruments of punishment, and are here employed to picture the defeat and ruin that will come from Jehovah upon His peoples enemies (Psa 7:13; Psa 45:5; Psa 140:9-11). The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is His Name (Exo 15:3; Isa 42:13). He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in His sight (Psa 72:14). They who stir their tongues against His children shall have Him move His tongue against themselves. Do men live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God? It is equally true that by His voice they die. He has but to speak, and they perish. Tremble at the terror of the Lord, sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper. The language of the wasted and weary, the psalm is also that of the confiding and persevering. Why should the Lords people allow lying lips to divert them from the work which He has given them to do, and for which He will find them means and opportunities according to His pleasure? Let the false tongue call them presumptuous, ambitious, incapable, insane: the city and temple of God will yet be completed. They will think less of the adversaries around them, and more of the Master and Friend among them and over all. Their foes may be Strong and fierce as Mesech, and wild and false as Kedar; but the Mighty One who delivered them before is their present Saviour. In the renewal of their distress, they cry to the Lord as formerly; and He repeats His mercies, giving them peace even when there is no peace. (E. J. Robinson.)
Correspondence between transgression and retribution
The worlds sin is the worlds punishment. A correspondence is frequently observed between the transgression and the retribution. The evil we had prepared for others recoils one day upon ourselves; and the cup we had mingled for others is afterwards applied to our own lips. He who sows serpents teeth need not look for a joyous harvest. This law of correspondence seems to be here indicated. Similar figures are employed to express the offence and the punishment of the wicked (Jer 9:3; Psa 64:3). But let the slanderer be upon his guard. There is another bow besides that in his possession. The arrows are sharp and burning; and when they are sent from the bow by the arm of Omnipotence, nothing can resist their force, and in mortal agony His enemies bite the dust (Psa 7:12-13; Psa 7:16; Psa 64:7). This train of thought is also pursued in the illustration of fire. James (Jam 3:6) compares the tongue of slander to fire. Such is the tongue, and here is the punishment: coals of juniper, remarkable for their long retention of heat. And yet what a feeble illustration of the wrath of God, which burns down to the lowest hell! His lips are full of indignation, and His tongue as a devouring fire. Liars are excluded from heaven by a special enactment of the Sovereign; and all of them shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (N. McMichael, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. Sharp arrows] The Chaldee has, “The strong, sharp arrows are like lightning from above, with coals of juniper kindled in hell beneath.” On the juniper, See Clarke on Job 30:4, where this passage is explained. Fiery arrows, or arrows wrapped about with inflamed combustibles, were formerly used in sieges to set the places on fire. See Clarke on Eph 6:16.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
So this verse contains an answer to the question Psa 120 3, and declares the slanderers recompence; which is the wrath and vengeance of the mighty God, which in Scripture, and particularly in this book, is oft compared to at. rows, as Psa 7:13,14, &c, and here to arrows of the mighty, i.e. shot by the hands of a strong man; and to coals, Psa 140:10, and here to
coals of juniper, which being kindled burn very fiercely, and retain their heat for a long time. And the psalmist may possibly express it in these words, to show, the suitableness of the punishment to the sin; as thy tongue shoots arrows, (for so calumnies are called, Psa 57:4; 64:3) and kindles coals, so thou shalt bring Gods arrows and coals kindled by the fire of his wrath upon thyself. But according to the other translation, which is in the margin, this is a further declaration of the sin of calumny. Though, all things considered, it doth thee no good, yet it doth others much hurt, to whom it is like sharp arrows, &c.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. Sharp arrows of themightydestructive inflictions.
coals of juniperwhichretain heat long. This verse may be read as a description of thewicked, but better as their punishment, in reply to the question ofPs 120:3.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper. Some think these words describe lying lips, and a false tongue; which are like arrows, sharp ones, sent out from a bow drawn with a mighty hand, which come with great force, suddenly and swiftly, and do much mischief; see
Ps 11:2; and to “coals of juniper”, very distressing and tormenting; the tongue being a fire, set on fire of hell, and sets on fire the course of nature; and throws out devouring words, which consume like fire, Jas 3:6. But rather the punishment of an evil tongue from the Lord is intended, whose sore judgments are often compared to arrows, De 32:23; because they come from above, and bring swift and sudden destruction with them; and are very sharp in the hearts of his enemies; are very severe and cutting, and come with power irresistible, being the arrows of the Almighty, Job 6:4; see Jer 50:9; and these may be compared to “coals of juniper”, which are very vehement and strong, and very lasting and durable. Jerom w and Isidore x say they will last a whole year; and the Midrash on the place reports of two men, who had prepared food with them, and at the end of a year returned and found them burning, and warmed their feet at them. These fitly express the lake of fire and brimstone, the portion of liars; whose fire is very strong, and flames devouring, being kindled by the breath of the Lord of hosts, like a stream of brimstone: and the fire of hell is everlasting; its burnings are everlasting burnings; a worm that dieth not, a fire that is not quenched; the smoke of the torments of which ascend for ever and ever,
Isa 30:23. The Targum speaks of these arrows as lightnings from above, and of the coals of juniper as kindled in hell below; and they are interpreted of hell in the Talmud y.
w Ad Fabiolam de 42. Mans. tom. 3. fol. 15. I. x Origin. l. 17. c. 7. Schindler. col. 1776. y T. Bab. Eracin, c. 3. fol. 15. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
4. The arrows of a strong man sharpened, with coals of juniper. Here the Psalmist amplifies in another way the malice of such as distress the simple and innocent by their calumnies, affirming that they throw out their injurious reports just like a man who should draw an arrow, and with it pierce through the body of his neighbor; and that their calumnies were like coals of juniper, (52) which penetrate more effectually, and burn more intensely the substances with which they come in contact than the coals of any other kind of wood. The amount is, that the tongues of these slanderers were inflamed with the burning heat of fire, and, as it were, dipped in deadly poison; and that such persons were the less excusable, from the fact that, without deriving any advantage from it, they were impelled by an unbridled passion to inflict upon others deadly mischief. As the Prophet records nothing here which he did not experience in his own person, it may be inferred that if it behoved him and men of a similar character to be assailed by their enemies with lies, which were to them as arrows to pierce them, or coals to burn them, we need not be surprised at seeing the most eminent servants of God exercised with similar assaults.
(52) The Hebrew word רתם, rothem, here rendered “ juniper, ” occurs also in 1Kg 19:4, and Job 30:4, in both which places it is translated in our English Bible by “juniper-tree.” It would appear that this shrub was remarkable for the intense flame with which it burned, and for the length of time during which its embers retained their heat. Several critics, however, think that the Hebrew rothem means the genista or Spanish broom; and in support of this opinion it is said that the genista is much used as fuel by the Arabs, among whom the Psalmist describes himself as then living; and that, as Geierus asserts, it” sparkles, burns, and crackles more vehemently than any other wood.” (See Parkhurst on רתם.) It is somewhat difficult to decide in this matter. As more than thirty different trees are mentioned in the Bible, and as we are but imperfectly acquainted with the natural history of these remote countries, it is no wonder though we find it impossible to identify all these trees. It may be observed that Calvin in his translation brings out that beautiful gradation of sense, terminating in a point of severity, for which the Hebrew text is remarkable, but which does not appear in our English version. Slanderous words are first compared to “arrows,” secondly, to “arrows discharged from the bow by a strong man,” and in proportion to the strength of a man will be the force with which his weapon strikes; next to “sharp arrows;” and lastly, to “coals of juniper,” or some wood used in those days celebrated for burning fiercely and long, (for the particle עם , im translated with, is sometimes one of similitude, as in Psa 106:6, “We have sinned like as our fathers,”) intimating not only that malignant slanders deeply penetrate, but that they inflame and burn for a long time. Hence the Apostle James (Jas 3:5) compares the tongue of slander to a fire enkindled from hell, and inflaming the course of nature. Some interpreters think that this verse is not to be understood as a description of calumny, but rather as the punishment which God will inflict on the calumniator. They therefore regard it as an answer to the question in the preceding verse, “What shall be given unto thee,” etc.; observing that calumny and falsehood being frequently represented by the images of arrows and fire, the same images suitably express the requital which awaits them at the hand of God — the swift and terrible retributive vengeance of the Almighty, which will overtake all who practice falsehood and slander. See Psa 57:4; Psa 64:3; and Job 20:26. “Sharp arrows of the Mighty One, with coals of juniper,” await them. This opinion is adopted by Street, Mant, Morison, Paxton, Fry, French and Skinner. Calvin’s exposition is embraced by Walford and Phillips. The former, to elicit this meaning the more clearly, uses a supplement:
“
Sharp arrows of a warrior, And burning coals of juniper, thou resemblest. ”
He, however, in a footnote requests the reader “to observe, that this is given as what seems to be the most probable interpretation of the passage, though it cannot be regarded as absolutely certain.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) Sharp.Better, sharpened, whetted, as if for a purpose.
Juniper.Properly, broom. Hebrew, rothem, a plant identical with the Arabian retem and Algerian retama. (See 1Ki. 19:4-5.) Doctor Tristram mentions the employment of this bush for fuel. It is ruthlessly uprooted by the Arabs, wherever it is tolerably abundant, for the manufacture of charcoal, which is considered of the finest quality, and fetches a higher price at Cairo than any other kind. Several travellers have mentioned their meeting with Bedouins employed in conveying retem charcoal to the Egyptian markets (Nat. Hist. of the Bible, p. 360; see also Bible Educator, iv. 194). Burckhardt and Robinson also both noticed this trade.
Wonderful stories are told both by Jerome and the rabbis, how travellers, having cooked their food by fires made of the juniper wood, which they suppose to be the wood here meant, and returning a year after to the same spot, still found the embers alive.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Sharp arrows of the mighty The retributions of God shall pierce the soul as the sharpened arrows of the warrior penetrate the flesh.
Coals of juniper The , ( rothem,) answering to the Arabic retem, improperly translated “juniper,” is the broom tree, a notable shrub in Arabia Petrea. Thus Robinson: “One of the principal shrubs we met with is the retem, a species of broom plant, Genista roetam of Forskal. This is the largest and most conspicuous shrub of these deserts, growing thickly in the water courses and valleys.” So Burckhardt: “We here [in the peninsula of Mount Sinai] found several Bedouins occupied in collecting brushwood, which they burn into charcoal for the Cairo market. They prefer for this the thick roots of the shrub rothem, which grows here in abundance.” “The roots,” says Robinson, “are very bitter, and are regarded by the Arabs as yielding the best charcoal.” See Job 30:4, where, instead of meat, read sustenance, support. They followed charting the rothem as a livelihood referred to as a poor business. This shrub also is used by the Arabs as a shelter by day and night, though a frail one. 1Ki 19:4-5. The intense heat of this charcoal, and the proverbial length of time that it holds fire, render it a fit emblem of severe punishment.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 120:4. Sharp arrows of the mighty Sharp arrows of the mighty [shot] from coals of juniper. Hiller. Hierophut. 255. Hamm. “All the reward thou shalt meet with shall be a swift vengeance from the Almighty.” This is metaphorically represented by sharp arrows, and burning coals of juniper; the wood of which tree is supposed to burn more intensely than any other.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 120:4 Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
Ver. 4. Sharp arrows of the mighty ] Arrows sharp, and shot with force. A false tongue is likened to a sharp razor, Psa 52:4 ; to a sharp sword, Psa 57:5 ; to sharp arrows, Pro 20:18 ; here it hath sharp for sharp: as God loveth to retaliate; and he is the giant, or mighty one here, that shooteth these sharpest shafts, that inflicteth most exquisite punishments on such; as once on Dives, whose tongue smoked for it, quia lingua plus peccaverat, as saith a Father, because he had so offended with the tongue.
With coals of juniper
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
mighty = Mighty [One].
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Sharp: etc. or, It is as the sharp arrows of the mighty man, with coals of juniper. Psa 57:4, Psa 59:7, Pro 11:9, Pro 11:12, Pro 11:18, Pro 16:27, Pro 18:8, Pro 18:21, Jam 3:5-8
arrows: Psa 7:13, Psa 52:5, Psa 140:9, Psa 140:11, Deu 32:23, Deu 32:24, Pro 12:22, Pro 19:5, Pro 19:9, Rev 21:8
Reciprocal: Jdg 9:20 – let fire come out 1Ch 1:29 – Kedar Job 20:26 – a fire Psa 18:13 – coals Psa 59:12 – For the Psa 140:10 – burning coals Pro 10:31 – the froward Pro 25:18 – General Pro 26:21 – General Son 8:6 – the coals Isa 3:11 – given him Isa 5:28 – arrows Rom 12:20 – coals
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
120:4 {d} Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
(d) He shows that there is nothing so sharp to pierce, nor so hot to set on fire, as a slanderous tongue.