Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 68:16
Why leap ye, ye high hills? [this is] the hill [which] God desireth to dwell in; yea, the LORD will dwell [in it] forever.
16. Why look ye enviously, ye high-peaked mountains,
At the mountain which God hath desired for his abode?
Yea, Jehovah will dwell in it for ever.
The grander mountains of Bashan, not Hermon only, but the rugged basaltic mountains which rise in precipitous peaks, suggesting ideas of majesty, antiquity, impregnability, are represented as looking enviously upon the insignificant mountain of Zion which God has chosen for His earthly dwelling-place. Sinai had been his temporary abode (Exo 24:16); on Zion He will dwell for ever. Cp. 1Ki 8:12-13. The choice of Zion is a parable of the method of God’s dealings with men. Cp. 1Co 1:26-29.
The A.V. why leap ye comes from the Targ., and assumes that the root rtsd, occurring here only, is synonymous with rqd, used in a similar apostrophe, Psa 114:4; Psa 114:6. But it is certainly to be explained from the meaning of the same root in Arabic.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Why leap ye, ye high hills? – That is, with exultation; with pride; with conscious superiority. Why do you seem to regard yourselves as so superior to Mount Zion, in strength, in beauty, in grandeur? The Hebrew, however – ratsad – rather means, Why do ye watch insidiously? why do ye look askance at? The word occurs only in this place. In Arabic it means to watch closely; to lie in wait for. This is the idea here. The mountains around Palestine – the mountains of the pagan world – the lofty hills – as if conscious of their grandeur, are represented as looking askance, in their pride, at Mount Zion; as eyeing it with silent contempt, as if it were not worthy of notice; as if it were so insignificant that it had no claim to attention. The idea is not that of leaping, as in our English Bible, or of hopping, as in the version of the Episcopal Prayer Book, but that of a look of silent disdain, as if, by their side, Zion, so insignificant, was not worthy of regard. Perhaps, by the high hills here, however, are disguisedly also represented the mighty powers of the pagan world, as if looking with contempt on the people of the land where Zion was the place of worship.
This is the hill which God desireth to dwell in – The hill which he has selected as his abode, and which he has honored above all the mountains of the earth, by his permanent residence there. As such, Zion has an honor above the loftiest hills and ranges of mountains in the earth.
Yea, the Lord will dwell in it for ever – Permanently; he will make it his fixed habitation on earth. Not-withstanding the envy or the contempt of surrounding hills, he will make this his settled abode. He has chosen it; he delights in it; he will not forsake it for the mountains and hills that are in themselves more grand and lofty.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 16. Why leap ye, ye high hills?] “God said, Why leap ye, ye high hills? It is not pleasing to me to give my law upon high and towering hills. Behold, Mount Sinai is low; and the WORD of the Lord has desired to place on it the Divine majesty. Moreover, the Lord dwells for ever in the heaven of heavens.” – Targum.
The psalmist is speaking particularly of the mountains of Judea, and those of Gilead; the former were occupied by the Canaanites, and the others by Og, king of Bashan, and Sihon, king of the Amorites, whom Moses defeated.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Why leap ye? why do you triumph and boast of your height, and look upon poor Zion with scorn and contempt, as an obscure and inconsiderable hill, if compared with you? He speaks to the hills by a usual figure called prosopopaeia. This hill, though despicable in your eyes, is precious and honourable in Gods eyes, and chosen by him for his settled and perpetual residence. For though the ark was removed from this particular place, in which it was now to be placed, to the hill of Moriah, upon which the temple was built, yet it must be remembered that Zion and Moriah stood one near to the other, being both in Jerusalem, and are by some said to have been but two tops of one and the same hill.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Why leap ye, ye high hills?…. Meaning the kingdoms of this world that lift up themselves above, and look with contempt upon the interest, kingdom, and church of Christ; lie in wait for it, leap upon it, insult over it, and endeavour to crush and extirpate it; but all in vain; these high hills and mountains are nothing before Zerubbabel King of saints; his church is built on a rock, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it; the little stone cut out of the mountain without hands will become a great mountain, and fill the whole earth, and break in pieces and consume the kingdoms of it: the word , in, the Arabic language, signifies “to lie in wait”, as Jarchi from R. Moses Hadarsan observes; and to look out, and leap upon the prey; so R. Hai in Ben Melech says, it has the signification of looking, observing, hoping, or waiting, in the Arable language k;
[this is] the hill [which] God desireth to dwell in; as in
Ps 132:13; the Word of the Lord, as the Targum; the essential Word, the Messiah: his desire was towards his church and people, in eternity, in time, and now is; he has chosen and desired them for his habitation, and in the midst of them he delights to be, Re 1:13;
yea, the Lord will dwell [in it] for ever: he dwells in his church now by his gracious presence; he will dwell in the New Jerusalem church state personally for the space of a thousand years; and after that he will dwell with and among his people to all eternity; see Ps 132:14.
k “Ratzad, insidiatus fuit, uti praedae leo”, Golius, col. 991. Castel. col. 3633.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
16. Why leap ye, (32) ye high hills? In this verse there is no obscurity or ambiguity. David having said that there was only one mountain in all the world which God had chosen, calls upon the highest hills to yield it the pre-eminency. As he repeats in the plural number what had been said immediately before of Bashan, this leads me to think that he intended first to oppose that mountain, and then all other high mountains generally, to Zion. (33) Mountains are here to be understood figuratively, and the great truth conveyed is, that the kingdom of Christ, which God had begun to shadow forth in the person of David, far excels all that is reckoned glorious by the world. The reproof which the Psalmist administers, in order to humble the proud boasting of the world, is justified by that contempt which we know that carnal and ungodly persons entertain of Christ’s kingdom, devoted as they are to their own pleasures or wealth, and unable to appreciate spiritual blessings. The lesson will be felt to be the more useful and necessary, if we consider that this vain pride of man rises to an additional height, when the slightest occasion is afforded for its exercise. When we see those indulging it who have no grounds to do so, we need not wonder at the arrogance of such as are possessed of wealth and influence. But the Lord’s people may afford to leave them to their self-complacency, resting satisfied with the privilege of knowing that God has chosen to take up his habitation in the midst of them. They have no reason to repine at their lot so long as they have union with God, the only and the sufficient source of their happiness.
(32) The word here rendered leap ye “occurs only here,” observes Hammond, “and is by guess rendered to leap, or lift up, or exalt one’s self; but may best be interpreted, not leap as an expression of joy, but lift up, or exalt yourselves, as an effect of pride;” and he understands the meaning to be, Why do ye lift up or exalt yourselves, ye high hills, God not having chosen any of the highest hills to build his temple on, but the hill of Zion, of a very moderate size, lower than the hill of Hermon, and at the foot of it, (Psa 133:3.) Some Jewish commentators, founding their opinion on the cognate Arabic word רצר, would render it, to look after This gives the same sense. What look ye for? what expect ye, ye high hills, to be done to you? Ye are not those which God has chosen to beautify with his glorious presence, but mount Zion is the object of his choice. Aquila and Jerome read, “Why contend ye?” Dr Chandler renders it, “Why look askance?” i e. , “with jealous leer malign,” as Milton expresses it. “Why are ye jealous?” Horsley, following Jerome, has, “For what would ye contend?”
(33) “The Psalmist,” says Horsley, “having settled the Israelites between their hills, proceeds to the circumstance of God’s choice of a hill for the site of his temple. He poetically imagines the different hills as all ambitious of the honor, anxiously waiting God’s decision, and ready to enter into a jealous contention; watching each other with an anxious eye. The lofty hill of Bashan first puts in his claim, pleading his stately height —
The hill for God is the hill of Bashan; A hill of lofty brows is the hill of Bashan.
The Psalmist cuts short the contention —
For what would ye contend, ye hills of lofty brows? This is the hill desired of God for himself to dwell in; Yea, Jehovah will dwell in it for ever.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(16) Why leap ye?The verb occurs only here, but is explained by Delitzsch, by comparison with an Arabic root, to express the attitude of a beast crouching down for a spring on its prey; a fine image: the jealous hills lying, like panthers, ready to spring on the passing Israelites. Or does the old feeling of jealousy of the tribes on the other side of Jordan still show itself lurking in this verse? Browning has an image some what similar:
Those two hills on the right
Crouched like two bulls.
Others make the meaning simply to look enviously on. The older versions have caught the sense, Why watch with suspicion? We may translate the verse, Why, mountains of many peaks, glare ye at the mountain which God hath desired for a residence? Yea, Jehovah will dwell there for ever.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
16. Why leap ye, ye high hills The word translated “leap,” which occurs nowhere else, would be better rendered in the sense of looking askance, watching insidiously. Why will ye be jealous, or envious, ye lofty mountains? These mountains on the northern outskirts of Israel might, as inhabited mostly by heathen, be supposed to be envious of the honour ascribed to Zion, (somewhat as the rivers of Damascus to Jordan, 2Ki 5:12,) and, according to the heathen idea of worshipping upon high places and the tops of lofty mountains, might claim the precedence. But God looketh not to such outward and material grandeur, and, in choosing Zion, rebukes it.
This is the hill which God desireth Namely, Zion. It was not necessary to name it, it is identified by the fact “God desireth to dwell in” it.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 68:16 Why leap ye, ye high hills? [this is] the hill [which] God desireth to dwell in; yea, the LORD will dwell [in it] for ever.
Ver. 16. Why leap ye, ye high hills? ] Why do ye pride and please yourselves in your privileges of nature, so far above this of Sion? Quare contenditis, montes gibbosi? so some render it, and tell us, that the original word ratsad is Syriac, and significth to envy, to irritate, to insult, or contend with any one.
This is the hill which God desireth to dwell in
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Why . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6.
leap = look askance at, or envy. Hebrew. razad. Occurs only here. By the Figure of speech Prosopopoeia, the other mountains are spoken of as envying Zion.
This is. Omit these italics, and punctuate thus: “Why will ye envy, O ye high hills, the hill Jehovah desired for His abode”.
desireth. Compare Psa 78:67, Psa 78:68; Psa 132:13; and 1Ki 11:32. Neh 1:9.
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Why: Psa 114:4, Psa 114:6, Isa 2:2
the hill: Psa 132:13, Psa 132:14, Deu 12:5, Deu 12:11, 1Ki 9:3, Heb 12:22, Heb 12:23, Rev 21:2, Rev 21:3
Reciprocal: 1Ch 23:25 – that they may dwell in Jerusalem Psa 24:3 – the hill Psa 24:7 – shall Psa 43:3 – thy holy Psa 87:1 – the holy Psa 121:1 – lift up Isa 2:14 – General Isa 12:6 – great Eze 20:40 – in mine Eze 34:26 – my hill Mic 4:1 – the mountain Hab 3:6 – the everlasting Joh 14:10 – dwelleth Rev 7:15 – dwell
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 68:16. Why leap ye, ye high hills Why exult ye, or triumph, boasting of your height, and looking down upon poor Zion with scorn and contempt, as an obscure and inconsiderable hill, if compared with you? He speaks to the hills by a usual figure, called a prosopopia. This is the hill, &c. This hill, though despicable in your eyes, is precious and honourable in the eyes of God, and chosen by him for the place of his settled and perpetual residence. Dr. Chandler, however, gives a different sense to the word , teratsdun, here rendered, leap ye; and translates the whole verse thus: Why look ye with envy, ye craggy hills? This is the mountain God hath desired to dwell in; yea, the Lord will dwell there for ever. Thus he considers the psalmist as poetically introducing Bashan, and the other little hills, as looking with envy on mount Zion, that she, above all the other mountains, should be favoured with the residence of the eternal God, and become the fixed seat of his ark. He tacitly bids them cease their envy; and by pointing to mount Zion, says, See! there is the hill which God hath chosen, above all others, to inhabit! Yea, the Lord will dwell there for ever. His ark shall never be removed from it to any other dwelling whatsoever. For, though the ark was removed from that particular spot, in which it was now to be placed, to the hill of Moriah, upon which the temple was to be built; yet it must be remembered that Zion and Moriah stood near each other, being both in Jerusalem, and were, probably, but two tops of one and the same hill. Here, excepting the seventy years of the Babylonish captivity, during which time Jerusalem lay desolate, God would dwell till the old dispensation should be at an end; till the glory of the Lord should be revealed in human nature; till God should be manifest in the flesh; and the true tabernacle and temple should succeed the typical. After that, the privileges of Zion were transferred to the Christian Church; she became, and, while the world lasts, will continue to be, the hill in which God delighteth to dwell; she will therefore be justly entitled to the pre-eminence over all that may seem to be great and glorious in the world. Horne.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
68:16 {n} Why leap ye, ye high hills? [this is] the hill [which] God desireth to dwell in; yea, the LORD will dwell [in it] for ever.
(n) Why do you boast of your strength and beauty against this Mountain of God.