Psalms · Psalm 110

"The word of the Lord to my master" — Our Rabbis interpreted it as referring to Abraham our father, and I shall explain it according to their words (Mid. Ps. 110:1): The word of the Lord to Abraham, whom the world called “my master,” as it is written (Gen. 23:6): “Hearken to us, my master.” "“Wait for My right hand”" — Wait for My salvation and hope for the Lord. [The root] ישיבה means only waiting, as Scripture states (Deut. 1:46): “And you stayed (ותשבו) in Kadesh for many days.” "for My right hand" — For the salvation of My right hand. "until I make your enemies" — Amraphel and his allies.

'A Psalm of David. Hashem says to my lord' [נאם ה' לאדני] — It would be proper to interpret this psalm as referring to Abraham, concerning [the phrase] 'after the manner of Melchizedek' (v. 4); only the mention of Zion is difficult for us, since it was the city of David — though we could resolve this by a somewhat forced approach. But what is correct in my view is that this psalm was composed by one of the singers about David, like the psalm 'May Hashem answer you in the day of trouble' (Psalm 20:2), '[In] Your strength, Hashem, the king shall rejoice' (Psalm 21:2), and also, for Solomon, 'O God, give the king Your judgments' (Psalm 72:1); and this psalm was composed when David's men swore, saying, 'You shall no longer go out with us to battle' (2 Samuel 21:17); and this is the beginning of the singer's words: 'Hashem says to my lord' — meaning David. 'Sit at My right hand' [שב לימיני] — the meaning of 'sit' is: in my house, and serve me. And the meaning of 'at My right hand' — for the right hand performs valor; and so the meaning is: 'you shall not go out with us to battle,' for the right hand of Hashem will fight on your behalf, and He will place your enemies as a footstool for your feet, so that they shall be brought before you for you to trample them.

"A psalm of David" — Our Sages, of blessed memory, interpreted this psalm as referring to Abraham our father, when he went out to fight the four kings, explaining it as: "You are a priest to God Most High" — for it was fitting that the priesthood emerge from there, namely from Malki-Tzedek, and he indeed was a priest to God Most High; but because in his blessing he placed Abraham before God, the Holy One, blessed be He, took the priesthood away from him and gave it to Abraham, as it is said, "You are a priest forever, after the manner of Malki-Tzedek" — concerning the matter that Malki-Tzedek had spoken. But the correct [reading], according to the plain sense (peshat), is to interpret the psalm as being about David — that one of the psalmists said it about him — and the lamed of "le-David" means "concerning him," like the lamed in "say of me: he is my brother." And it says, "Hashem says to my lord" — meaning, God, blessed be He, said to my lord David, "Sit at My right hand" (sit and wait yet some time for Saul the king, who came from the tribe of Benjamin, until his measure is filled) — as it is written, "for then He shall go out before you" — that is: sit in trust at My right hand, for it will help you, and I will not rest, "until I make your enemies" (Saul the king) "your footstool."

"Hashem says to my lord" — Our Rabbis of blessed memory said: when Abraham defeated Amraphel and the kings who were with him, the idol-worshippers asked Eliezer, his servant, how, with so few men, Abraham had defeated such a great multitude. He answered them: Hashem said to my lord Abraham, "Sit in confidence, trusting in the salvation of My right hand, and I will not rest until I make your enemies a trampling-ground for your feet, like this footstool."

"Footstool" — it is the stool of the throne placed beneath the feet of the one sitting, as in "and bow down at His footstool" (above, Psalm 99).

"A Psalm of David" — this was composed concerning the war that he waged against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, in which David himself did not go out to the war but sent Joab and the officers of the army — and this was not as it should have been, as I explained (II Samuel 11). And at that time the matter of Bathsheba happened to him, so that many thought that David would be punished and rejected from the kingship and would no longer succeed. And there it is explained that Joab captured the "City of Waters," which is also called the "royal city," because there was a stream of water in the part of that city that surrounded it and supplied it with water, and it was difficult to conquer; and there the kings of the children of Ammon always dwelt. Then he sent word to David, and David himself went there and conquered the whole city, and he put the people to labor with iron picks and brickmaking. "The word of Hashem to my lord" — the poet [the psalmist] speaks on David's behalf, [explaining] that he did not need to go out from Jerusalem to war, for Hashem said to him, "Sit at My right hand" — he depicts David's throne as Hashem's throne, as it is said, "and Solomon sat on the throne of Hashem as king" — as if Hashem sits on the throne of governance, to guide Israel with special providence, like a king who guides his people, and David sits on the throne of kingship at His right hand. And since the one who sits on the throne needs a footstool for his feet, Hashem said to him that "your enemies I will set" so that they will be "a footstool for your feet" — and so they shall be.

"The staff of" — [This is] an expression of support, as (above 105:16): “every staff of bread.” "The staff of your might the Lord will send from Zion" — When you return from the war and your men are weary and in pursuit, the Lord will send you Malchizedek, king of Salem, to bring out bread and wine (Gen. 14:14). "rule" — in the war. "in the midst of your enemies" — safely.

'The rod' [מטה] — for strength and power go out from Zion, where the glory is, to destroy every enemy that comes against you to Zion; or its meaning is like the verse 'may He remember all your offerings' (Psalm 20:4), in that Zion is where the Ark was.

"The rod" — for at that time David conquered Zion at the beginning of his reign, and it says: the rod and support by which you shall prevail — from Zion God, blessed be He, began to send it to you, for it was a very strong fortress, and God gave it into your hand. From now, "rule" — to rule in the midst of your enemies; you shall not fear them. And it says "in the midst" — meaning, needless to say [you shall rule] in the cities of the Philistines that are near the Land of Israel, but even in the midst of their own land you shall rule. And some explain that it says "from Zion" because the [Divine] Glory dwells in Zion.

"The rod of Your strength" — The support of Your power. "Hashem will send out of Zion" — That is to say, you will not defeat them by your own strength, but by the strength of Hashem, who now dwells in Zion. "Rule" — You shall rule in the midst of your enemies.

"The rod" — meaning a support, like a staff that one leans upon. "Rule" — an expression of dominion, as in "and he shall have dominion from sea to sea" (above, Psalm 72).

"The rod" — meaning, you yourself will not go to war; rather, "Hashem will send out of Zion the rod of your strength," that is, your camps/armies, with which "you shall rule in the midst of your enemies." And he explains who is the "rod of strength": they are "your people," who, he says, will offer freewill-offerings to go up to the army on "the day of your might," "in the beauty of holiness, from the womb of dawn, is Yours the dew of your youth" — meaning, even though you sinned with Bathsheba, nevertheless "the dew of your youth" will stand by you, that is, the good deeds that you did in your youth will be like dew to you, to make your glory flourish. And he notes that this dew comes out "in the beauty of holiness," because he was anointed in his youth with the oil of holy anointment, and this will be like dew to him, as it is said: "like the good oil that runs down upon the beard... like the dew of Hermon that comes down upon the mountains of Zion." Now, the dew comes at the time when dawn breaks, and then the dawn "gives birth" to the dew; and by this he depicted, in a figure of speech, that the dew comes forth "from the womb of dawn," that is, from the womb of the dawn. And the meaning of the metaphor is that the dew of his youth was born at the time when his light began to break forth, as it is said: "and like the light of morning, the sun rises," which is a metaphor for the sprouting of the kingship, likened to the sprouting of the dawn. And then the dew of his youth blossomed in the splendor of holiness, and he was anointed with oil; and this dew will stand by him even now.

"Your people will volunteer on the day of your host" — When you gather an army to pursue them, your people and your friends will volunteer to go out with you, as we find (Gen. 14:14): “and he armed his trained men, those born in his house,” and no more; and Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre volunteered by themselves to go out to his aid. "because of the beauty of holiness when you fell from the womb" — And this will be to you in the merit of the beauty of holiness that was in you from your mother’s womb, for he recognized his Creator at the age of three. "when you fell from the womb" — Heb. משחר, when you fell from the womb, like (Beizah 35b): “We may let fruit down (משילין) through a skylight on a festival,” and some learn משחירין. "for you, your youth is like dew" — For you will be considered your youth, the ways of uprightness with which you conducted yourself in your youth will be for you as pleasantness, like this dew, which is pleasant and comforting.

'Your people' [עמך] — they shall volunteer to fight on your behalf. Rabbi Moshe said: '[from] the breaking forth of the dawn' — and 'the womb' [רחם] is used figuratively, in the manner of 'then your light shall break forth like the dawn' (Isaiah 58:8); and he, the psalmist, praises David, likening the vitality that is in the body to dew. And the meaning is: that his vigor did not depart even through the many wars in which he fought — 'his natural force was not abated' [לא נס לחה] (cf. Deuteronomy 34:7) — and so, from the breaking forth of dawn, the freshness of your youth remains with you. And others said: from the low, dark place, i.e., the womb, is your portion from your youth. And the interpretation of 'dew' [טל] is like 'the lot shall be cast' [יוטל הגורל], relating it to a root meaning 'to cast.' And Rabbi Yeshu'ah said that from the womb of your mother you were destined to be king. But what is correct in my view is that 'freewill offerings' [נדבות] is a shortened way of saying 'like a rain of freewill gifts' [כגשם נדבות] (cf. Psalm 68:10); and the meaning is: if you need to wage war, your people will come to you on that day like a rain of freewill gifts, and you will see them 'in the beauty of holiness'; '[from] the womb, from the dawn' — meaning, from the time the dawn rises it comes like the dew that you were accustomed to seeing in your youth, when you were shepherding the flock.

"Your people" — on the day you mustered strength to fight against them, your people came to you willingly. "In adornments of holiness" — in Jerusalem, which is the splendor of holiness, [the land] called the holy ground; "hadrei" is an expression of splendor and beauty, and "hadrei" is the plural of "hadar," for it is excellent in many respects. "From the womb of the dawn, Yours is the dew of your youth" — the day you came forth from the womb and were born, that dawn was for you, meaning for your benefit; and that "dew of your youth" — the dew that fell when you were born was for you: from the womb you came forth to kingship, and pure dew was yours on that dawn.

"Your people offer themselves willingly" — The people who will come with you to war, behold, they will come with the willingness of their heart, and not in order to receive some reward; and they are the men of Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. "In the day of your warfare" — On the day of the battle that you will fight with strength and courage of heart. "In adornments of holiness" — And this is a reward for the fact that you are adorned in holiness. "From the womb" — From the time you came out of your mother's womb, you have been sought out by Me, to fulfill your request. "Yours is the dew of your youth" — That which you acknowledged of Me from the time of your youth will be to you a repose of soul, like this dew, which is pleasant to all.

"Your warfare" — from the language of "force" and "strength." "Of the dawn" — an expression of "seeking," as in "those who seek prey" (Job 24).

"The Lord swore and will not repent" — Since Abraham was afraid lest he be punished for the troops that he had killed, it was said to him (Gen. 15:1): “Fear not, Abraham, etc.” "and will not repent" — over the good that He spoke about you. "you are a priest forever because of the speech of Malchizedek" — From you will emerge the priesthood and the kingship that your children will inherit from Shem your progenitor, the priesthood and the kingship, which were given to him. דִבְרָתִי מלכי-צדק. The “yud” is superfluous, like (Lam. 1:1): “the city that was once so populous (רבתי).” Because of the speech of Malchizedek, because of the command of Malchizedek. You are a priest, Heb. כהן. The word כהן bears the connotation of priesthood and rulership, as (II Sam. 8:18): “and David’s sons were chief officers.”

'Has sworn,' 'You are a priest' [אתה כהן] — every priest ministers, and so, 'and David's sons were priests' (2 Samuel 8:18); and the meaning is: to serve Hashem. And here the sense is that Israel shall fight, and you shall take the tithe, just as Melchizedek took it from Abraham. And the yod of 'divrati' [דברתי] is superfluous, and its interpretation is 'according to their fashion,' like the word 'rafts' [דוברות] in 'I will float them in rafts by sea' (1 Kings 5:9). Or, the letter kaf is to be understood as elided, such that 'you are a priest forever, after the manner of' [על דברת] is like 'on account of' [על דבר], meaning that you are like Melchizedek — of whom it is written: 'and he was a priest of God Most High' (Genesis 14:18) — in which case the word 'you' would refer to someone else. And Rabbi Moshe said it means because you are a king of righteousness, as in 'and David executed justice and righteousness for all his people' (2 Samuel 8:15). The meaning: it is enough for you to wage war, for Hashem helps your right hand and 'shall strike kings in the day of His wrath' [ומחץ ביום אפו מלכים] (v. 5) by your hand.

"Has sworn" — His word is His oath. "You are a priest" — [meaning] king and ruler, like "and David's sons were priests." And it says "forever," because Saul was not king forever. "After the manner of Malki-Tzedek" — and why did I choose you as king forever? On account of the matter that you are a righteous king (melekh tzedek); and the yod of "divrati" and the yod of "malki" are extra [added letters].

"And will not repent" — To retract from His oath and think another thought. "You are a priest" — The oath was that from you the priesthood would go forth. "After the manner of" — Concerning the matter of Melchizedek, that is to say, like Melchizedek, of whom it is said, "And Melchizedek..." etc., and he was a priest (Genesis 14:18).

"After the manner of" — an expression of "concerning," as in "concerning the sons of men" (Ecclesiastes 3:18); and the yod [in "divrati"] is extra.

"He has sworn" — to the extent that what "Hashem has sworn," to give you the kingship, "He will not repent" of it because of sin. And he explains what the oath was: Hashem swore "that you are a priest forever, according to My word" — you are "Malki-Tzedek"! He calls David by the name Malki-Tzedek, after the first king who was in Jerusalem, as it is said, "and Malki-Tzedek, king of Salem" (for that was indeed the name of the kings of Jerusalem of old), and he was a priest to God Most High. And by way of this figure of speech he says that you will be a priest forever. And having taken up the term "priest," he says "according to My word" [al divrati] — that you will be a priest over My "word" [dibbur], that is, over the Temple and the Holy of Holies [devir]. He also calls him by the name Malki-Tzedek, to say that he is righteous in His eyes and remains in his righteousness, for He has forgiven his sin.

"The Lord" — Who was on your right hand in battle. "has crushed kings on the day of His wrath" — The four kings. He... "will execute justice upon the nations [into] a heap of corpses" — This is the tidings of the ‘covenant between the segments,’ [in] which was stated to him concerning Egypt (Gen. 15:14): “But also that nation whom they will serve do I judge.”

"The Lord" — He is at your right hand when you are victorious in the battles. "Crushes kings in the day of His wrath" — and it is He who crushes, by your hand, the kings of the nations who come to make war against you. "In the day of His wrath" — meaning, on that day His burning anger was upon them, and His favor was with you.

"The Lord at your right hand" — As though He were speaking directly to Abraham, saying: because Hashem was at your right hand, therefore He crushed and struck, on the day His wrath was shown, and with the onslaught of His battle, these kings — and not by strength of arm.

"Crush" — an expression of "striking" and "wounding," as in "I have wounded, and I heal" (Deuteronomy 32:39).

"Hashem" — He now depicts the time when the royal city, which is the city of water, was conquered, and David himself went out from Jerusalem to the war; for then he was not sitting on the throne at Hashem's right hand, but rather going out to war, and "Hashem is at your right hand" to help you in battle. Now Hashem is at your right hand — Hashem who "crushed kings in the day of His wrath" — for He had already conquered the royal city before you and crushed the kings within it. And now:

"a heap of corpses" — Heb. מלא, a heap of corpses. מלא is an expression of gathering, as (Jer. 12:6): “have called a gang (מלא) after you”; (Isa. 31:4), “although a band (מלא) of shepherds gather against him.” Now where did He execute justice, making them a heap of corpses? (Exod. 14:30), “the Egyptians dead on the seashore.” "He crushed the head on a great land" — This resembles the prophecy of Habakkuk (3:12): “You have crushed the head of the house of the wicked.” [This refers to] the head of Pharaoh, who was the head and the prince of a land greater and more esteemed than all the lands, as is said (above 102:20): “a ruler of peoples [sent] and loosed his bonds,” for all the nations were under the rule of Egypt.

'He shall judge' [ידין] — the word 'which' [אשר] is missing, as in the elliptical phrase 'with your heart whole' [עם לבבכם שלם] (cf. 1 Kings 8:61); and thus it reads: 'He shall judge among the nations' — meaning that the place is full of corpses, for he has a great army; he shall execute judgment among the nations. 'Over a wide land' [על ארץ רבה] — land that is not called an island, and it is the land of Israel, Media, and Persia. And Rabbi Moshe said that the meaning is 'Rabbah of the children of Ammon' [רבת בני עמון].

"He will judge" — and He executes judgment and justice among the nations, until the place of battle is full of "geviyot," meaning dead corpses. "He crushes the head over a wide land" — He crushes, over the land, many heads; "rosh" [head] is used as a collective noun, and "rabbah" [great/many] is likewise [a collective], as in "the great council of the holy ones." And some explain "rabbah" as referring to Rabbat Bnei Ammon [the capital of the Ammonites], and this verse was said concerning that war.

"He will judge among the nations" — Hashem executed judgment and justice upon those idol-worshippers, until the place of battle was full of the corpses of the dead. "He crushes the head" — He struck the head of each one to the ground with a mighty blow, so that he would not rise again.

"Dead bodies" — the bodies of people, as in "and a rod for the back of fools" (Proverbs 26:3). "Wide" — [meaning] "great."

"He will judge among the nations, filling it with dead bodies" — Hashem will judge among the nations of the children of Ammon, to shatter the bodies, passing them through iron threshing-sledges. "He crushes the head" — after He had already crushed the head — "over a wide land [Rabbah]" — meaning the royal city, which is the head of the state, and the king, who is the head of the people, had already been crushed. And it speaks by way of figure: once the head has already been crushed, the bodies remain without a head — meaning the people without a king — and He judges the city, which is full of bodies, corpses without heads.

"From the stream on the way he would drink, etc." — From the Nile River, on the way of its course, his land would drink, and it was not in need of rain water. Therefore, he would raise his head and boast (Ezek. 29:3): “My river is my own, and I made myself.” In another manner, this psalm can be explained regarding David: (v. 1) "The word of the Lord about my master" — Concerning my master, Saul, when I was pursued by him. "about my master" — Heb. לאדני, about my master, as (Exod. 14:3): “Then Pharaoh will say concerning the children of (לבני) Israel”; (Gen. 26:7), “The people of the place asked him about his wife (לאשתו).” "“Wait for My right hand”" — Stay and wait for My salvation. (v. 2) "The staff of your might the Lord will send from Zion" — The exceptional good deeds in your hand. Another explanation: You will yet reign in Zion, and there a staff of might will be sent to you, and then you will rule in the midst of your enemies. (v. 3) "Your people will volunteer on the day of your host" — The people of Israel will volunteer to your aid on the day that you form an army, as it is delineated in (I) Chronicles (12:21); that they were joining him from every tribe: “When he went to Ziklag, there deserted to him of Manasseh, etc.”; (ibid. verse 8): “And from the Gadites there separated themselves to David, etc.” "because of the beauty of holiness when you fell from the womb" — Because of the beauty of holiness that was in you from your youth. "your youth is like dew" — A good youth and a good period of maturity that you had will be to you like dew, which is pleasant and sweet, and will produce fruit for you to make you prosper. (v. 4) "The Lord has sworn, etc." — that the kingdom will be yours forever. "You are a priest forever" — And which of the priesthoods? A priesthood that is above the priesthood of Malchizedek, and that is the kingdom, which is above the high priesthood in thirty steps. "above the charge of Malchizedek" — above the priesthood (Some mss. read: above the charge) of Malchizedek, who was a priest to the Most High God. Now if you challenge that he too was a king, [we answer that] the kingdom over the nations was not an esteemed kingdom when compared to Israel. (v. 5) "The Lord" — will always be on your right hand to save you, Who... "crushed kings on the day of His wrath" — Those who fought with Abraham and with Joshua and with Barak. (v. 6) "He will execute justice upon the nations [into] a heap of corpses" — And further, in the days of Hezekiah your son, He will execute justice upon the armies of Sennacherib [making them] a heap of dead corpses, and He will crush Sennacherib, who is the head of Nineveh and Assyria, which is a great land, who... (v. 7) "From the stream on the way" — he was drinking, for he boasted that his armies drank from the waters of the Jordan, as it is said (Isa. 37:25): “I dug and drank water, and I dry up, etc.” "therefore, he raised his head" — He praised himself and boasted of his greatness.

"From the brook" — the meaning is that the enemies were so afraid of him that when they went along the roads, he would drink from their brooks, and they had no power to stop him; therefore he lifted up his head. And some say: that because of the multitude of his armies, he had to travel by a road where there was a brook, because springs would not suffice for him. Or the meaning is that water would be brought to him along the roads from flowing streams without fear, in the manner of "who will give me water to drink" (2 Samuel 23:15). And do not wonder at [the shift from] "he will drink" to "he will also lift up" — for behold, "He struck through" (Psalm 110:5) is grammatically in the past tense, yet here it functions in the manner of speech about a present, ongoing time, and there are many examples like it.

"From the brook" — he felled so many slain that a stream flowed with their blood. And it says "he will drink" — by way of metaphor. "Therefore he will lift up the head" — therefore, when he had defeated all his enemies, he lifted up his head over all of them; "and David made himself a name when he returned from striking down Aram Naharaim, in the Valley of Salt," and so on.

"He will drink of the brook in the way" — He was sated with the blood of those he slew, like one who drinks water to his fill from a flowing brook in the road where people walk, where no one holds back his hand, because its waters are abundant and it is in a place free to all — so likewise, from Heaven their blood was made free to him, and he struck them abundantly. "Therefore" — Because from Heaven their blood was made free to him, therefore he lifted up his head in victory over them, but it was not by the strength of his own hands that he overpowered them.

"From the brook" — He explains: who is "the head"? It is the city of water, which is the head of Rabbah, since the head "drinks from the brook on the way" — meaning that there was the brook from which they drank water. "Therefore he lifts up the head" — therefore this part became the head and raised itself above the body, which is the rest of the state. And when this head, which drinks from the brook, was crushed, only bodies and dead corpses remained.