Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 83:12
Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.
12. Who have said, Let us take for ourselves in possession
The habitations (or, pastures) of God.
Who refers to the present enemies of Israel, not to the Midianites. God’s habitations or pastures are the land which He has given to His people Israel. Cp. 2Ch 20:11. The LXX reads altar, or according to another reading, sanctuary.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession – The houses of God here mean the habitations of God, or the places where he dwelt among the people. As there was but one ark, one tabernacle, and one temple, or one place of constituted public worship, this must refer to other places where God was worshipped, or where he might be supposed to reside; either to synagogues (see the notes at Psa 74:8), or to the private dwellings of the people regarded as a holy people, or as a people among whom God dwelt. This may, therefore, imply that their dwellings – their private abodes – were also dwelling-places of God, as now the house of a religious family – a place where God is regularly worshipped – may be regarded as an abode of God on the earth. The language here is not to be understood as that of Oreb and Zeeb, of Zebah and Zalmunna, but of the enemies referred to in the psalm, who had entered into the conspiracy to destroy the Hebrew nation. They had said, Let us inherit the houses of God; that is, Let us take to ourselves, and for our possession, the dwellings of the land where God is supposed to reside.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 12. Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.] Nearly the words spoken by the confederates when they came to attack Jehoshaphat. They come (says the king in address to God) to cast us out of thy possession which thou hast given us to inherit. See 2Ch 20:11.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The houses of God; the houses and lands of the Israelites, which their God, as they pretend, gave them in Canaan, to which they have no rightful title; for that we see was formerly objected by the Ammonites, Jdg 11:13, who were a chief party in this war. So they seem to call them houses of God, by way of irony and derision.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. The language of theinvaders.
housesliterally,”residences,” enclosures, as for flocks (Ps65:12).
of Godas theproprietors of the land (2Ch 20:11;Isa 14:25).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Who said,…. Not the kings and princes of Midian just mentioned, but the confederate enemies of Israel, named Ps 83:6, to whom the like things are wished as to the Midianites and others, because they said what follows:
let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession; not only the temple, which was eminently the house of God, but all the habitations of the Israelites in Jerusalem, and other places, where the Lord vouchsafed to dwell; unless this should be ironically spoken by their enemies calling them so, because they pretended, as they reckoned it, to have and to hold them by the gift of God; whereas, of right, they belonged to them, at least some of them: such a claim was made by the Ammonites in the times of Jephthah, Jud 11:13, and to dispossess the Israelites was the intention of the Ammonites and Moabites in the times of Jehoshaphat, 2Ch 20:10.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
12. Who have said, Let us take in possession for ourselves the habitations of God. These heathen enemies are again accused of treason against the King of heaven, in seizing upon his heritage like lawless robbers. They would not, we may be sure, avow in so many words that it was their intention to commit such a crime; but as they despised God, who, as they well knew, was worshipped by the people of Israel, they are here justly charged with the guilt of endeavoring to dispossess Him of his own inheritance. And, without doubt, they profanely poured abuse upon the true God, of whose sacred majesty they entertained the greatest contempt, their minds being besotted with their own inventions. But even granting that they abstained from gross blasphemies, yet whatever harassing proceedings are carried on against the godly redound to the dishonor of God, who has taken them under his protection. The appellation, the habitations or mansions of God, which is applied to Judea, is a form of expression, containing no small degree of comfort. God has united himself to us, with the view of having an everlasting residence amongst us, or rather that he may set as high a value upon his Church, and account it as precious, as a householder does his possessions which are most valuable, and yield him a large revenue.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(12) Houses.Rather, pastures. (See Psa. 79:7.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. Who said The Midianitish kings, (Psa 83:11,) had devised to appropriate the country of the Hebrews to themselves. See Jdg 6:3-6.
Houses of God Or, Habitations of God, are to be understood of all the dwellings and territory of God’s people. It was intended as a direct insult to the religion of the Hebrews, and hence to their God. They fought no battles with Israel to gain possession, but for seven years these shepherd kings moved upon the land in summer, retiring in winter to their Arabian home east of Gilead, where the pasture grounds were more luxuriant in that season. Their numbers intimidated Israel, and none dared to resist, while they contemptuously said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 83:12 Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.
Ver. 12. Let us take to ourselves the houses of God ] Covetous impropriators and oppressors have learned this language. Possidebant Papistae, possident Rapistae, saith one wittily.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
houses = pleasant pastures. Hebrew. ne’oth (plural) Same word as in Psa 23:2; Psa 65:12.
possession = inheritance. Compare 2Ch 20:11.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 83:4, Psa 74:7, Psa 74:8, 2Ch 20:11
Reciprocal: Jdg 7:25 – two princes Eze 7:24 – their holy places shall be defiled Eze 35:12 – they are given Hos 13:3 – as the chaff
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
83:12 Who said, Let us take to ourselves the {k} houses of God in possession.
(k) That is, Judea: for where his Church is, there he dwells among them.