Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 22:20
Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.
20. from the sword ] From a violent death.
my darling ] Lit., my only one. The clue to the meaning is given by the use of the word of an only child (Gen 22:2; Jdg 11:34). The word denotes the one precious life which can never be replaced. Cp. Psa 35:17.
the dog ] See on Psa 22:16.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Deliver my soul from the sword – The word soul here means life, and denotes a living person. It is equivalent to deliver me. The sword is used to denote an instrument of death, or anything that pierces like a sword. Compare 2Sa 11:24-25. As applied to the Saviour here, it may mean those extreme mental sufferings that were like the piercing of a sword.
My darling – Margin, my only one. Prof. Alexander, my lonely one. DeWette, my life. The Hebrew word – yachyd – means one alone, only, as of an only child; then one alone, as forsaken, solitary, wretched, Psa 25:16; Psa 68:6; then it means one only, the only one, in the sense of most dear, darling. Here, according to Gesenius (Lexicon), it is used poetically for life, as being something most dear, or as denoting all that we have, and, therefore, most precious. Compare Job 2:4. This is the most probable interpretation here, as it would thus correspond with the expression in the first part of the verse, deliver my soul.
From the power of the dog – Margin, as in Hebrew, from the hand. The enemy is represented, as in Psa 22:16, as a dog (see the notes on that verse); and then that enemy is spoken of as inflicting death by his hand. There is a little incongruity in speaking of a dog as having hands, but the image before the mind is that of the enemy with the character of a dog, and thus there is no impropriety in using in reference to him the language which is commonly applied to a man.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 22:20
Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.
The dog
Dogs in the East are not much thought of, and never properly treated. The varieties with which we are familiar they knew nothing of. The dogs they had were but of one kind,–all hungry, half-starved, savage, cowardly, and more like wolves than dogs. But with us the dog is not only useful and beloved, but often displays the noblest qualities. For instance–
I. Courage. God expects us to have courage (Deu 31:1-30). And the dog sets us a good example in this respect. Take this story of an incident which took place in the town of New Brunswick, New Jersey. A horse attached to a waggon, in one of the streets, became frightened, and started off in a run. The owner of the waggon was thrown from his seat as the horse started, and was left lying on the street. The horse went galloping along, increasing his speed every moment, till he reached the corner of the next street. There a large Newfoundland dog made his appearance. He looked at the horse for a moment, and then sprang out into the street and rushed towards the horses head. The dog made repeated efforts by springing up to grasp the bridle firmly with his teeth. But he failed each time and fell to the ground, narrowly escaping injury from the horses feet. But the brave dog kept on trying, and at last, making an extraordinary spring into the air, he grasped the bridle firmly in his teeth and, pulling down the horses head, put a stop to his running away. As soon as this was done the dog turned round quietly and walked away. But the people standing by, who had witnessed the dogs noble action, when they thought of the injury which might have been done by the runaway horse, felt disposed to praise very highly the conduct of the dog for the greatest act of courage they had ever seen a dumb animal perform. The next lesson we may learn from the dog is–
II. Intelligence. God looks for intelligent understanding of His will in us all. See the opening verse of Pro 2:1-22. And the dog sets us a good example of understanding and then obeying what we are told to do. A gentleman connected with the Newfoundland fishery had a dog of remarkable intelligence and fidelity. On one occasion a boats crew in his employ were seen to be in circumstances of great danger. They were near a line of breakers outside of the harbour over which the waves were dashing and roaring in great fury. The danger of passing those breakers was so great that the men, brave as they were, did not dare to attempt it. A crowd of people stood watching them on the shore with great anxiety, but could do nothing to help them. Much time had passed, and the danger was increasing every moment. Among the people on the shore was the fishery masters great Newfoundland dog. He seemed to understand what the danger was. Presently he ran to the water, jumped in, and swam towards the boat. He soon made his way through the surf, and the men in the boat saw him coming near to them. At first they thought he wanted to get into the boat, but it soon became evident that that was not his purpose. He did not come near the boat, but kept swimming round it. While doing this he looked earnestly at the men, and would whine from time to time. The men wondered what he wanted. At last one of them cried out, Give him a rope; thats what he wants! The rope was thrown; the dog seized the end of it with his mouth, and then turned round and swam towards the shore. The men waiting there took hold of it, and began to pull it, and in a short time the boat with its crew was hauled through the dangerous surf, and the men on board of it were landed safely on the shore. And so the lives of that boats crew were saved by the intelligence of that noble dog.
III. Affecting. Love brought Jesus to die for us. God so loved the world that, etc. And He desires love to be the ruling principle in our lives. Even dogs have shown this in remarkable ways. The captain of the artillery company of South Carolina was killed in a battle in Virginia during the American Civil War. His body was placed in a coffin, which was put into a strong box and carried to the home of his family in Columbia. It arrived there about a week after his death. On his arrival the captains dog that he had reared and petted during his lifetime was at the gate, and, approaching the house, began to smell about him, with a good deal of excitement. When the coffin was taken from the hearse he ran under it and followed it to the house between the pall bearers. Although a week had passed by since his masters death, and his body was closely fastened up in the coffin, yet by the sense of smell alone the dog had found out that it was his masters body which was in that coffin, and this stirred up all his affection for him. When the coffin was put on the table in the parlour the dog lay down under the table, and remained there till the funeral took place on the next day. Then after the funeral the dog took his place on the grave of his old master. They tried to coax him away, but in vain. He would stay there. He refused to eat or drink, but lay moaning there till the third day after the funeral, when he died on his masters grave. How real and genuine that dogs affection for his master was!
IV. Fidelity. This is a most important lesson. Whatever other good elements of character we may have, they will all be of little use to Us without faithfulness. The want of it is like a hole in a purse, which lets all the money run out and be lost. Now, dogs have often been noted for fidelity. A French merchant was riding home on horseback one day. He had a large bag of gold with him, which was tied to the saddle in front of him, and was accompanied by a faithful dog. After a long ride he stopped to rest himself, and eat a lunch which he had with him. He alighted from the horse and sat down alder a shady tree, taking the bag of gold and laying it down by his side. On mounting his horse again he forgot to take his bag of gold with him. The dog saw the mistake his master had made, and tried to take the bag to him; but it was too heavy for him to drag along. Then he ran after his master, and tried by barking to remind him of his mistake. But the merchant did not understand what the dog meant. Then the dog went in front of his master and kept jumping up before the horse and barking loudly. The merchant called to him to be quiet and to stop that jumping. But the dog wouldnt stop. Then his master was alarmed, He began to think that the dog must be going mad. And as the dog went on barking and jumping with increasing violence, the merchant felt sure he was right. He said to himself, He may bite me, or someone else. The only safe thing will be to kill him. Then he took a pistol from his pocket and, pointing it to the dog, fired at him. The poor dog fell weltering in his blood, and his master, unable to bear the sight, put spurs to his horse and went on. I am very unfortunate, he said to himself; I would rather have lost my bag of money than my good dog. Then he felt for his bag, but it was not there. In a moment he saw what it all meant. The dog had seen that he had left his bag of money behind him, and was trying the best he could to get him to go back for it when he shot him! How sorry he felt! Then he turned his horse, and rode back to the place where he had left his money. On reaching the spot he found the dog there. He had crawled back, all bleeding as he was, and had lain down beside his masters money to protect it, This brought the tears into the merchants eyes. He kneeled down by his dog, petted him, and spoke kindly to him. The dog looked lovingly into his face, licked his hand, and then turned over and died. The merchant had the body of the dog carried home and buried in his garden; and over its grave he had a stone slab set up, and with these words engraved on it: In Memory of a Faithful Dog. Such are some of the lessons we may learn from the dog. (Richard Newton, D. D.)
The power of the dog
(Sermon to Children):–The Bible does not generally speak well of dogs. The word dog in the Scriptures often means a wicked person. When he says, Deliver my darling from the power of the dog, it is a prayer that God would deliver His only Son from the hands of wicked men. In Eastern countries dogs are reckoned as unclean animals, and there if you want to give a man a bad name you call him a dog. But there are good dogs and bad dogs, dogs to be trusted and dogs to be avoided. Let us think about the good dogs first. Most of you have read the beautiful story of the hound Gelert. And in Scotts beautiful story of the Talisman there is a story of Roswal, a noble deer hound who kept guard over the English standard. And there are the dogs of St. Bernard, who go out in the snow to rescue lost travellers. And there are the blind mens dogs. All these are good dogs. But there are bad ones. Here are the names of some of them. First, there is a dog called Sulky, a black do. I remember when I was a little boy my mother used to tell me not to let the clack dog get on my shoulder, that is, not to be sulky. When a child is bitten by that black dog his face becomes quite changed. All his beauty goes; and his character is altered too. He becomes stubborn, obstinate, wont work, wont play. His speech is altered too; he is rude, and the very tone of his voice is quite different. Beware of that black dog. Then there is another dog–a red one this–and he is called Passion. Yes, a very fiery red dog, with gleaming, cruel eyes and foaming mouth. If he bites you he sends you mad for a time. The old Romans were quite right when they called anger a snort madness. If you see a child with a very red face, kicking and stamping and screaming, you may be sure that the fierce dog Passion has bitten him. Julius Caesar, when he was provoked, used to say over all the letters of the Roman alphabet before he gave an answer. Beware, then, of that fierce dog Passion. There is another dog of which you must beware. He is called Idly. You never see him doing anything useful–carrying a basket or a bundle, as some dogs will, He lies in the sun sleeping, almost too lazy to get up and eat his food. Dont let him bite you. If he bites a child the boy or girl becomes heavy and slow. Instead of getting up in the morning fresh and bright, with plenty of time to say his prayers and start for school after breakfast, the child bitten by dog Idle gets up late, and so begins the day badly. The only thing he cares for is play, and very often he is too idle even for that. There is another dog called Mischief, which is very dangerous. You must not think that I am speaking of Fun and Merriment,–they are good dogs, which skip and play about, and do good, not harm. But Mischief is sly and secret, he goes about in dark places, and is never safe to meddle with. When a child is bitten by dog Mischief no one can tell what harm he may do. I know a poor man blind for life through a stone thrown by a mischievous boy. There is another dog of which you must beware. His name is Careless. He is not so bad as some dogs,–at times we can scarcely help liking him, and yet he does much harm. When a child is bitten by dog Careless things go badly with him. Perhaps, in school, the child is writing a copy, suddenly he lets a great drop of ink fall on his copybook, and there is a blot. And he is guilty of more things than these. Be on your guard against dog Careless. There are many other dogs of which I could warn you, but! will only speak of two. There is dog Selfish,–one of the worst dogs of all. When we get a bite from him we are never happy ourselves, and we make others unhappy too. Then there is another dog called Greedy, and he is a very near relation to dog Selfish. Children are often bitten by him, and they generally suffer; for greedy people by trying to get too much often lose all. There is a fable which tells us how dog Greedy was one day crossing a bridge over a river, and carrying a piece of meat in his month. As he looked into the river he saw his own shadow. Thinking it was another dog who carried a larger piece of meat than his own, dog Greedy flew at him with an angry bark, and as he opened his mouth the meat fell into the river and was lost. So it is often with greedy people, because they are not contented with what they have they lose it altogether. (H. J. Wilmot Buxton, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 20. Deliver my soul from the sword] Deliver naphshi, my life; save me alive, or raise me again.
My darling] yechidathi, my only one. The only human being that was ever produced since the creation, even by the power of God himself, without the agency of man. ADAM the first was created out of the dust of the earth; that was his mother; God was the framer. ADAM the second was produced in the womb of the virgin; that was his mother. But that which was conceived in her was by the power of the Holy Ghost; hence the man Christ Jesus is the ONLY Son of God; God is his Father, and he is his ONLY ONE.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
From the sword, i.e. from the rage and violence of mine enemies, as the next clause explains it, and as the sword is oft taken in Scripture. See Jer 25:16,27,29; Eze 38:21.
My darling, Heb. my one, or only one, to wit, his soul, as he now said; which he so calls, either because it was very dear to him; or rather, because it was left alone, and destitute of friends and helpers; for so this word is used, Psa 25:16; 35:17.
From the power, Heb. the hand; which is oft put for power, and in that sense is ascribed to a flame, Isa 47:14, and to evil, Hab 2:9.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
20. my soulor self (comparePsa 3:2; Psa 16:10).
my darlingliterally,”my only one,” or, “solitary one,” as desolateand afflicted (Psa 25:16;Psa 35:17).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Deliver my soul from the sword,…. Wicked men, whose tongues were as a sharp sword, reproaching and blaspheming him, and bearing false witness against him; and crying out, “Crucify him, crucify him”,
Lu 23:21; see Ps 17:12; or any instrument of violence, as the iron bar with which the legs of the malefactors crucified with him were broken, which he escaped; and the spear which pierced his side, after he had commended his soul or spirit into the hands of his Father; or a violent death; for though his death had the appearance of one, he was taken in a violent manner, and condemned to be put to death, and was crucified, yet his life was not taken away by men; he laid it down, and gave up his breath himself;
my darling from the power of the dog, or “my only one” i; meaning his life or soul, as before; so called, not because there is but one soul in the body, but because it was dear and valuable to him; and hence we render it “darling”, an only one being usually the darling of its parents; so a man’s life is dear to him, all that he has will he give for it, Job 2:4. Christ’s life was a more precious life than any man’s, and peculiarly his own, in such sense as another man’s, is not his own; and his soul also was an only one, it was not polluted with original sin, as the souls of other men are; it was pure and holy: the word here used is sometimes rendered “desolate” and “solitary”; see
Ps 25:16; and it may have this sense here, and be translated “my lonely” or “solitary one” k; he being forsaken by God, and deserted by his disciples; his soul was in darkness, sorrow, and distress, wherefore he prays it might be delivered “from the power of the dog”; either Satan is so called for his malice and envy, who had put it into the heart of Judas to betray him, and had filled the Pharisees with envy at him, and who through it delivered him to Pilate; or the impure, cruel, and wicked Roman soldiers, and in short all his crucifiers; called in the plural number “dogs”, [See comments on Ps 22:16].
i “unicam meam”, V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Tiguriue version, Cocceius, Junius Tremellius. k “Solitariam meam”, Piscator, Gejerus, Michaelis so Ainsworth.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
20. My darling Hebrew, My only one. The word is an adjective, and signifies alone, only; and, as it corresponds to soul in the previous hemistich, it may be only a poetical variation of the same here, as signifying his dearest and only possession. Psa 35:17. Or, we may read my forsaken one, as being deserted, left alone; and this accords better with the general tone of the psalm. So in Psa 25:16; Psa 68:6, where it is rendered desolate and solitary.
Dog See on Psa 22:16
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Deliver my soul from the sword, My darling from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion’s mouth, yes, from the horns of the wild-oxen You have answered me.’
A victim of the sword of Rome, and the dogs of the Jerusalem Sanhedrin, He cries to be delivered from them both, as though from the mouth of lions, or from the horns of the wild ox. (In Num 24:8-9 it is Israel who are the lion and the wild ox). Once He had endured let God save Him and deliver Him. And He was confident that it would be so, for He could finally declare, ‘You have answered Me’. And thus on the note of final deliverance the Psalm leads on into the aftermath.
The Resurrection.
Following the cross will come the resurrection, and resulting from the resurrection will come His testimony to His ‘brothers’, who will be brought to fear the Lord and glorify Him. The poor and humble will find joy in His Kingly Rule, while the nations worldwide will turn to God and worship Him.
22. 22 ‘I will declare Your name to my brothers. In the midst of the gathering will I praise You.’
He assures His Father that He will make Him fully known (will make ‘His name’, the essence of what He is, known) to ‘His brothers’, to those who gather together in His Name. This verse is cited in Heb 2:12 in a context where He is also described as the wagon boss of their faith. He will go forward together with His brothers, encouraging them to worship God, and He will be ever among them (Mat 18:20). Compare, ‘lo I am with you always’ (Mat 28:20).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Psa 22:20-21. Deliver my soul, &c. Bishop Hare observes, that in these two verses the Psalmist recapitulates the four things that he had before mentioned, and to which he had compared his enemies; the sword, the lion, the dogs, the unicorns, [the oryx or buffalo] substituted instead of bulls; and he intreats the Lord to deliver him from them all. Instead of, my darling from the power of the dog, the Arabic reads, and from the hand or power of the dog, which has seized me. Houbigant and Mudge, for darling read my solitary, or, only one; meaning his soul, or life; which was now left destitute, and exposed to all the outrages of his enemies. See Psa 25:16; Psa 35:17.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 22:20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.
Ver. 20. Deliver my soul from the sword ] i.e. From desperate and deadly danger, from the wicked, which is thy sword, Psa 17:13 .
My darling from the power of the dog
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
soul. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13.
darling = only one. Hebrew. yahid. See note on Deu 6:4. = my one own priceless possession; put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Subject), App-6, for “my life”, answering to “my soul” in the preceding line. Compare psuche. (Joh 12:27).
power. Hebrew hand, or paw. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), App-6, for the power exercised by it.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
soul: Psa 17:13, Zec 13:7
my darling: etc. Heb. my only one from the hand, Psa 35:17
the dog: Psa 22:16
Reciprocal: 2Ki 8:13 – a dog Psa 6:4 – deliver Psa 25:20 – O Psa 116:4 – O Lord Eph 1:6 – in
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE POWER OF THE DOG1
Deliver my darling from the power of the dog.
Psa 22:20
The word dog in the Scriptures often means a wicked person. It has that meaning in the text. David is speaking as a prophet, and he foretells the sufferings of our Saviour. When he says, Deliver my darling from the power of the dog, it is a prayer that God would deliver His only Son from the hands of wicked men.
What ought we specially to think about in Lent? About our Lords Fasting and Temptation. Yes, but there is something more for us to think ofour own sins and temptations, and how to conquer them. That is what I mean when I tell you there are several bad dogs of which we must beware. Let us think of some of their names.
I. The dog called Sulky.No one can be happy with a sulky person, and no one is more unhappy than the sulky one himself.
II. The dog called Passion.Beware, then, of that fierce dog Passion. Remember what Solomon the wise man says about anger. I wonder if you could tell me the text. He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
III. The dog called Idle.You never see this dog doing anything useful. You never find him carrying a basket or a bundle, as some good dogs will. You never see him keeping guard over his masters goods, or minding the sheep, or drawing a sledge, like the clever dogs at the North Pole. Take care not to be bitten by dog Idle.
IV. The dog called Mischief.He is very dangerous. I am not speaking of Fun and Merrimentthey are good dogs, which skip and play about, and do good, not harm. But Mischief is sly and secret, he goes about in dark places, and is never safe to meddle with. When a child is bitten by dog Mischief no one can tell what harm he may do.
V. The dog called Careless.He is not so bad as some dogs; at times we can scarcely help liking him, and yet he does much harm. A child, after he has been bitten by dog Careless, says his prayers without thinking what they mean, and reads the Bible without understanding it. Be on your guard against dog Careless.
Rev. J. H. Wilmot Buxton.
Illustration
The old Greek fable says that once a waggoner was driving a loaded waggon along a muddy lane, and the wheels stuck fast. Then the man prayed the strong Hercules to come and help him. But Hercules told him to put his shoulder to the wheel if he wanted help. Remember that we must help ourselves. We must, as the Spanish proverb puts it,
Pray to God devoutly,
Hammer away stoutly.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
22:20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my {l} darling from the power of the dog.
(l) My life that is solitary, left alone and forsaken by all, Psa 35:17; Psa 25:16