Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 59:6
They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.
6. He compares his enemies to a troop of savage and hungry dogs (Psa 22:16) such as still infest Oriental towns, in the day-time sleeping in the sun or slinking lazily about, but as night comes on collecting together, and traversing the streets in search of food, howling dismally. P.B.V. grin means ‘snarl.’ Cp. Shakespeare, 2 Hen. VI, iii. 1. 18, quoted in Wright’s Bible Word-Book,
“Small curs are not regarded when they grin;
But great men tremble when the lion roars.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
6 9. Be his enemies never so threatening and insolent, he can trust in God.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
They return at evening – Many have rendered this in the imperative, as in Psa 59:14, Let them return at evening, etc. So Luther renders it, and so also DeWette. But the more natural and obvious interpretation is to render it in the indicative, as describing the manner in which his enemies came upon him – like dogs seeking their prey; fierce mastiffs, howling and ready to spring upon him. From the phrase they return at evening, thus explained, it would seem probable that they watched their opportunity, or lay in wait, to secure their object; that having failed at first, they drew off again until evening, perhaps continuing thus for several days unable to accomplish their object.
They make a noise like a dog – So savages, after lurking stealthily all day, raise the war-whoop at night, and come upon their victims. It is possible that an assault of this kind had been attempted; or, more probably, it is a description of the manner in which they would make their assault, and of the spirit with which it would be done.
And go round about the city – The word city is used in a large sense in the Scriptures, and is often applied to places that we should now describe as villages. Any town within the limits of which David was lodged, would answer to this term.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. They return at evening] When the beasts of prey leave their dens, and go prowling about the cities and villages to get offal, and entrap domestic animals, these come about the city to see if they may get an entrance, destroy the work, and those engaged in it.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
They return at evening, after they have been busy all day, either in plotting against me, or in hunting after me. In the evening, when they should compose themselves to rest, they return to their old trade of watching for me which they did at this time all the night long, 1Sa 19:11.
They make a noise like a dog; either when he is hungry and pursuing his prey, and howls for meat; or when he is enraged, and grins and snarls where he cannot or dare not bite. And go round about the city: when they did not find him in his own house, they sought for him in other houses and parts of the city, where they supposed him to lurk.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6, 7. They are as ravening dogsseeking prey, and as such,
belch outthat is,slanders, their impudent barkings.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
They return at evening,…. It was at evening Saul sent messengers to watch David’s house, that they might take him in the morning; but missing him, perhaps after a fruitless search for him all the day, returned at evening to watch his house again; or they might come, and go and return the first evening. So it was night when Judas set out from Bethany, to go to the chief priests at Jerusalem, to covenant with them, and betray his master; and it was in the night he did betray him, after he had eaten the passover at evening with him. Or, “let them return” p, as in Ps 59:14; with shame and confusion, as David’s enemies, when they found nothing but an image in the bed, which they reported to Saul; and as Judas returned to the chief priests with confusion and horror. Or, “they shall return” q; which being prophetically said, had its accomplishment, both in the enemies of David and of Christ; and will be true of all the wicked, who will return from their graves and live again, and give an account of themselves at the evening of the day of the Lord, which is a thousand years; in the morning of which day the dead in Christ will rise, but the rest will not rise until the end of the thousand years;
they make a noise like a dog: which is a very noisy creature, and especially some of them, which are always yelping and barking; though indeed there are some that are naturally dumb, and cannot bark: such there are in the West Indies, as we are told r; and to which the allusion is in Isa 56:10; and which may serve to illustrate the passage there: but those referred to here are of another kind; and this noise of theirs either respects their bark in the night, as some dogs do continually, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi; or to their howling, as the Syriac and Arabic versions. Wicked men are compared to dogs, Mt 7:6
Re 22:15; and particularly the enemies of Christ, Ps 22:16, in allusion either to hunting dogs, who make a noise all the while they are pursuing after the game; or hungry ravenous ones, who make a noise for want of food; and this character agrees not only with the Roman soldiers, who were Gentiles, and whom the Jews used to call by this name, Mt 15:26; but the Jews also, even their principal men, as well as the dregs of the people, who were concerned in the death of Christ; and may be truly said to make a noise like dogs when they cried Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas, crucify him, crucify him; for which they were instant and pressing with loud voices, and their voices prevailed, Lu 23:18;
and go round about the city; as Saul’s messengers, very probably, when they found David had made his escape from his house, searched the city round in quest of him; and there was much going about the city of Jerusalem at the time of our Lord’s apprehension, trial, and condemnation; after he was taken in the garden: they went with him first to Annas’s house, then to Caiaphas’s, then to Pilate’s, and then to Herod’s, and back again to Pilate’s, and from thence out of the city to Golgotha. The allusion is still to dogs, who go through a city barking s at persons, or in quest of what they can get; so informers and accusers may be called city dogs, as some sort of orators are by Demosthenes t.
p “revertantur”, Gejerus, Schmidt. q “Convertentur”, V. L. Pagninus, Montanus; so Sept. Syr. Ar. r P. Martyr. Decad. Ocean decad. 1. l. 3. & de Insulis Occid. Ind. Vid. Iguatii Epist. ad Eph. p. 124. s . Theocrit. Idyll. 2. v. 35. t Apud Salmuth. in Pancirol. Memorub. Rer. par. 2. tit. 2. p. 97.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
6. They will return at evening. He compares his enemies to famished and furious dogs which hunger impels to course with endless circuits in every direction, and under this figure accuses their insatiable fierceness, shown in the ceaseless activity to which they were instigated by the desire of mischief. He says that they return in the evening, to intimate, not that they rested at other times, but were indefatigable in pursuing their evil courses. If they came no speed through the day, yet the night would find them at their work. The barking of dogs aptly expressed as a figure the formidable nature of their assaults.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) A dog.This comparison to the gaunt half-starved wild dogs of an Eastern town has met us before (Psa. 22:16). The verbs should be rendered as futures here and in Psa. 59:15.
Make a noise.Better, howl. (See Note Psa. 55:7.) An English traveller has described the noise made by the dogs of Constantinople: The noise I heard then I shall never forget. The whole city rang with one vast riot. Down below me at Tophane; over about Stamboul; far away at Scutari; the whole 60,000 dogs that are said to overrun Constantinople appeared engaged in the most active extermination of each other without a moments cessation. The yelping, howling, barking, growling, and snarling were all merged into one uniform and continuous even sound (Albert Smith, A Month at Constantinople, quoted from Spurgeons Treasury of David).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. They return at evening The poetical account, which here gives a deeper insight than the narrative in 1Sa 19:11-16, speaks of a succession of nights. They not only patrolled the city, (see Psa 59:3,) but had now closely beset his house.
They make a noise like a dog The half wild, gaunt, starved dogs of the East are scarcely less ferocious, and more disgusting, than wolves. They go in packs, and at night their howling, barking, yelping, and growling are as frightful as they are discordant. See on Psa 22:16
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
David Expresses His Confidence That YHWH Will Protect Him ( Psa 59:6-10 ).
Describing his enemies as like a pack of stray dogs on the prowl (compare also Psa 59:14) David is confident that YHWH will laugh at their folly and will protect him. God will be his fortress in the face of the strength of the enemy.
Psa 59:6
‘They return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And go round about the city.’
At night time all decent citizens remained in their homes and took to their beds. And it was then that packs of howling stray dogs roamed the streets looking for food. Thus he sees Saul’s men, as they try to secrete themselves around the neighbouring houses, as fairly similar, although in their case he is their prospective food. ‘They return at evening’ may suggest that they had been watching his house for a number of nights, dispersing during the day and returning each evening. Or the main reference may be to the fact that stray dogs return each evening, something which he likens to the arrival of these men.
Psa 59:7
‘Behold, they belch out with their mouth,
Swords are in their lips, “For who,” they say, “hears”?’
He describes them as being like belching dogs, hungry to get at him. But in their case their lips are like swords. They express murderous intent against him. They are confident that no one knows what they are about. But they have overlooked YHWH.
Psa 59:8
‘But you, O YHWH, will laugh at them,
You will have all the nations in derision.’
He is confident that YHWH can deal with these foreign mercenaries. That YHWH will laugh at them in their supposed ‘secrecy’, and will have them all in derision. See similarly Psa 2:4. And, still concerned about Israel’s needs in spite of his own danger, he also lifts his prayers beyond himself, desiring that in a similar way YHWH will have in derision all foreigners who have designs on Israel.
Psa 59:9
‘Because of his strength I will give heed to you,
For God is my high tower.’
Recognising that he stand almost alone against Saul, the man who rules Israel, he informs God that he is giving heed to Him. He has nowhere else to turn. All the ‘strength’ is on Saul’s side. He recognises that he now needs some support from somewhere. But he has no doubt about where he can obtain that strength from. For God is his fortress and his high tower (into which the righteous can run and be safe – Pro 18:10).
Psa 59:10
‘My God with his covenant love will meet me,
God will let me see my desire on my enemies.’
His confidence lies in God’s covenant love (chesed), the love which God revealed when He redeemed Israel from Egypt, and the love that He shows to all who are true to the covenant. He knows that God has already demonstrated that love towards him by sending Samuel to anoint him in readiness for the future that He has in store for him (1Sa 16:13). Thus he has no doubt that He will meet him in this present situation. He will see that his enemies are thwarted in their desire to kill him. And he is, indeed, equally sure that God will give him victory over all his enemies, whoever they may be.
‘Let me see my desire on.’ This was a common phrase indicating the granting of success. It is found on the Moabite stone, where Mesha of Moab speaks of Chemosh (the Moabite god) as having ‘let me see my desire on all who hated me’.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Psa 59:6. They return at evening Saul sent once to destroy him, and the messengers went back to inform him that he was ill; but they returned in the evening, to bring him even in his bed. Mudge renders it, They come about every evening. The verb rendered, make a noise, in the next clause, is used to denote the confused hum and noise of an assembled croud. The Psalmist compares the muttered threats of his enemies to the growlings or snarlings of a dog, ready to bite and tear any person; and the comparison is just and natural.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 59:6 They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.
Ver. 6. They return at evening ] sc. To mine house at Gibeah of Saul, hoping to find me then at home again; as if, like the hunted hare, I must needs return to my old form.
They make a noise like a dog
And go round about the city
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 59:6-9
Psa 59:6-9
“They return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And go round about the city.
Behold, they belch out with their mouth;
Swords are in their lips:
For who, say they, doth hear?
But thou, O Jehovah, wilt laugh at them;
Thou wilt have all the nations in derision.
Because of his strength I will give heed unto thee;
For God is my high tower.”
“Like a dog” (Psa 59:6). David here compared his lurking enemies to scavenger dogs, which were the bane of ancient Oriental cities. Then the figure changes, and we see that these “dogs” are men continually speaking evil against David.
“They belch out with their mouth” (Psa 59:7). This refers to the slanderous, obscene, and derogatory tales they were telling against David. Notice too that the final line here in Psa 59:7 is blasphemous, indicating that they did not believe in God at all.
Throughout the psalm thus far, David pleads for God’s deliverance on the following grounds: (1) the wickedness of his enemies (Psa 59:2); the danger of eminent death to himself (Psa 59:3); (3) his own innocence (Psa 59:3-4); and (4) the profane atheism of his enemies (Psa 59:7).
“Because of his strength” (Psa 59:9). Rawlinson pointed out that there is no “because of” in the original language (as witnessed by the italics). Several manuscripts here have “my strength” as in Psa 59:17; and all the ancient versions have ‘my strength.’ The RSV has, “O my strength, I will sing praises to thee; for thou, O God, art my fortress”; and this certainly seems preferable above the ASV.
This verse is a refrain, and the RSV here makes it conform exactly to Psa 59:17 where the refrain recurs.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 59:6. The enemies are compared to dogs or “evening wolves.” The com parison is to show their wild and greedy character.
Psa 59:7. The envious, cutting words that lying foes were uttering against David were compared to swords. When a man raves about his victim, he expects someone to hear him, else his belching would not accomplish anything. The idea is that he thinks the intended victim will not hear it. Only those will hear (he thinks) who might be influenced against the one who is the target for his shafts of spite.
Psa 59:8. There is One who hears all that is said and who will confound the plans designed by the wicked against righteous men.
Psa 59:9. David’s faith in his God caused him to look his afflictions in the face. He believed God had the strength to defend his righteous servants.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Psa 59:14, 1Sa 19:11
Reciprocal: Psa 22:16 – dogs Psa 55:10 – Day
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 59:6-7. They return at evening Saul sent once to destroy him, and the messengers went back to inform him that he was ill; but they returned in the evening to bring him even in his bed. They make a noise like a dog The Hebrew , jehemu, signifies the confused hum and noise of an assembled crowd. The psalmist here compares the muttered threats of his enemies to the growlings or snarlings of a dog, ready to bite and tear any person; and the comparison is just and natural. Dodd. And go round about the city When they did not find him in his own house, they sought for him in other parts of the city. They belch out with their mouths Hebrew, , jabignun, they pour forth, namely, words, even sharp and bitter words, as the next clause explains it, such as threatenings, calumnies, and imprecations, and that abundantly and vehemently, as a fountain doth waters, as the word signifies. Swords are in their lips Their expressions are as keen and mischievous as swords; their threats and reproaches are cruel and deadly. For who, they say, doth hear? David doth not hear us, and God either does not hear, or not regard what we say. They vented their calumnies more freely and dangerously, because privately; so that none could refute them.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
59:6 They return at evening: they make a noise like a {e} dog, and go round about the city.
(e) He compares their cruelty to hungry dogs showing that they are never weary in doing evil.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. David’s triumph over his enemies 59:6-10
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The psalmist compared his enemies to wild dogs that gain courage with the cover of night to threaten arrogantly and attack. Their offensive weapons included their words that were similar to swords in their destructive power (cf. Psa 55:21; Psa 57:4; Psa 64:6).