A Psalm of David. A triumphant hymn of Hashem's majesty as He marches from Sinai to His sanctuary, protector of the fatherless and the widow, before whom kings and enemies are scattered.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
Verse structure: 4 words, 17 letters. The shortest word is "a·song" (שִֽׁיר, 3 letters) and the longest is "for·the·leader" (לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ, 5 letters). 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "of·David" (root דוד, 89x in Psalms); "for·the·leader" (root נצח, 73x in Psalms); "a·song" (root שיר, 68x in Psalms). Full calculation: לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ [for·the·leader] (218) + לְדָוִ֗ד [of·David] (44) + מִזְמ֥וֹר [a·psalm] (293) + שִֽׁיר [a·song] (510) = 1065.
Radak
"For the leader" — This psalm was said concerning the army of Sennacherib, which came against Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah.
Malbim
"For the Leader" — after surveying the details of this psalm, its order and its structure, I consider that it was founded upon the multitude of wars that he had with Moab, the Philistines, Aram-zobah, Aram-Damascus, and Edom, as mentioned in 2 Samuel 8. And as is made clear from this psalm, the war took place across the Jordan, near Mount Bashan, for the border of Moab and Edom is on that side; there the enemies gathered. In that wilderness was the site of the battle line, on the eastern border, near the high mountains there, and at the time of their battle the enemies presumed to climb the mountain, and there they fell. And since Hashem appeared to Israel in those places in ancient days with signs and wonders — whether at the giving of the Torah or in the war with the kings of the Amorites — the poet clothed the psalm in the festive garments of the miracles of old, so that his thought roams between the past and the present, depicting it as though the earlier miracles still dwell in these places and Hashem's kindnesses have not ceased. In this way he divided the psalm into its four quarters, corresponding to the number of the word "Selah." (Section 1) "Let [God] arise" — he depicts how, when God arises to save His people, "His enemies are scattered before Him" — and he drew this expression from the days of the wilderness, as it is written, "And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said: Rise up, Hashem, and let Your enemies be scattered..." etc.
Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; And let those who hate Him flee before Him.
verse value 1200
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 37 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱ֭לֹהִים) = 86, equal to Elohim. Verse gematria: 1200 is divisible by 50, the years to the Jubilee (yovel). The shortest word is "let·Him·arise" (יָק֣וּם, 4 letters) and the longest is "His·enemies" (אוֹיְבָ֑יו, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "let·Him·arise" (יָק֣וּם), "let·them·be·scattered" (יָפ֣וּצוּ), "and·let·them·flee" (וְיָנ֥וּסוּ). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "from·before·Him" (root פנים, 131x in Psalms); "His·enemies" (root איב, 71x in Psalms). First appearance of the root נוס ("and·let·them·flee") in Psalms. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'His·enemies', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: יָק֣וּם [let·Him·arise] (156) + אֱ֭לֹהִים [God] (86) + יָפ֣וּצוּ [let·them·be·scattered] (192) + אוֹיְבָ֑יו [His·enemies] (35) + וְיָנ֥וּסוּ [and·let·them·flee] (138) + מְ֝שַׂנְאָ֗יו [those·who·hate·Him] (407) + מִפָּנָֽיו [from·before·Him] (186) = 1200.
Rashi
"May God rise; His enemies scatter" — Amalek and his ilk.
Ibn Ezra
"Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered" — this psalm is very glorious, and most of the commentators explained it as referring to the giving of the Torah, and their proof is the phrase "Hashem is among them, Sinai, in holiness." But they cannot make the reasons fit together, for after [Israel] had entered the land, [the psalm] returns to the splitting of the sea, at the time our fathers went out of Egypt — and this is not the correct way [to read it]. What is correct, in my view, is that David composed this psalm concerning the war that he had with the uncircumcised [i.e., the Philistines], and most of his camp was drawn from Judah, Benjamin, Zebulun, and Naphtali — their might was seen then in battle, and so he mentioned them; and the proof is that it begins "let Him arise," which is similar to the words of Moses, "Arise, Hashem" — the sense being that when He arises, those who hate Him will flee at once. And the sense of "the rising" is the display of His might.
Radak
"Let [God] arise" — the "arising" is the manifestation of His might, and the sense of "let Him arise" may be understood either as a prayer or as a prophecy. He says that it would indeed happen: God would arise, and then "His enemies would be scattered." And so it was — the angel of Hashem went out and struck them.
Metzudat Zion
"Let them be scattered" (yafutzu) — an expression of scattering.
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; As wax melts before the fire, So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
verse value 2691
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 45 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִֽים) = 86, equal to Elohim. Verse gematria: 2691 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "smoke" (עָשָׁ֗ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·before·fire" (מִפְּנֵי־אֵ֑שׁ, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "as·is·driven·away" (כְּהִנְדֹּ֥ף), "may·You·drive·away" (תִּ֫נְדֹּ֥ף), "as·melts" (כְּהִמֵּ֣ס). The root נדף appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "from·before·fire" (root פנים, 131x in Psalms); "wicked" (root רשע, 87x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·before·fire', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: כְּהִנְדֹּ֥ף [as·is·driven·away] (159) + עָשָׁ֗ן [smoke] (420) + תִּ֫נְדֹּ֥ף [may·You·drive·away] (534) + כְּהִמֵּ֣ס [as·melts] (125) + דּ֭וֹנַג [wax] (63) + מִפְּנֵי־אֵ֑שׁ [from·before·fire] (481) + יֹאבְד֥וּ [let·them·perish] (23) + רְ֝שָׁעִ֗ים [wicked] (620) + מִפְּנֵ֥י [from·before] (180) + אֱלֹהִֽים [God] (86) = 2691.
Rashi
"As smoke is driven away" — as it is driven away. As the smoke is driven away so will You drive [them] away. "from before God" — From before the Ark in the days of Moses. (And it came to pass when the Ark traveled, that Moses said, “Arise, O Lord, and Your enemies will scatter.”Shem Ephraim) And when it rested, he would say, “Return, O Lord, etc.”
Ibn Ezra
"As it is driven away" (kehindof) — this stands for "tindof" written in full, like [the form] "tingoshu" in "and all your laborers you exact." "As it melts" (kehemes) — an infinitive of the geminate [doubled-root] verbs. "Wax" (donag) — that is, she'avah, wax. "Let the wicked perish" — they are the ones fighting against David.
Radak
"As it is driven away" — This is an infinitive from the Nif'al construction, and by rule it should be "kehinnadef," with a kamatz under the nun; but in my opinion it is an infinitive from the Hif'il construction, written as a whole [uncontracted] root — and likewise "tandof" [you shall drive] is written as a whole root. And the meaning of "as it is driven away" is: as the wind drives away smoke, so shall You drive away the enemies. Or: "as wax melts before fire" — so shall the wicked perish before God; and "dong" [wax] is beeswax.
Metzudat David
"As smoke is driven away" — just as smoke is driven from its place by a light wind, so shall You drive away the enemy through a slight cause.
Metzudat Zion
"As is driven away" (kehinof) — an expression of driving/pushing, as in "a driven leaf" (Leviticus 26). "As it melts" (kehames) — from the language of "hamasah" (melting) and "hamagah" (dissolving); "wax" (donag) is the same as sha'avah (wax).
Malbim
"As smoke is driven away" — this is, as it were, an elaboration on the first expression, that he said at the setting-forward of the ark, "Rise up, Hashem, and let Your enemies be scattered," for at the time the ark set out in the wilderness, the pillar of cloud went before them by day and the pillar of fire by night. And he notes that so too now, instead of Your leading Your people by a cloud by day, it is transformed for their enemies into a pillar of smoke that consumes the eyes, and "You drive" their eyes "away, as smoke is driven away"; and corresponding to Your leading Your people by a pillar of fire, behold, "as wax melts before fire, so let the wicked perish before God," for it will be to them like fire — as it is written, "And Hashem will create over the whole habitation of Mount Zion... a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night," and as I explained there. But "the righteous shall be glad, they shall exult before God," for the shining of the Divine Presence — which is smoke and flame to the wicked — will be to the righteous a cloud and brightness and gladness and joy. "And they shall rejoice with gladness" — and the joy that they rejoice in Hashem will arouse open exultation, when they see that Hashem is with them.
But let the righteous be glad, let them exult before God; Indeed, let them rejoice with gladness.
verse value 2073
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 37 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִ֗ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "before" (לִפְנֵ֥י, 4 letters) and the longest is "but·righteous" (וְֽצַדִּיקִ֗ים, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "but·righteous" (וְֽצַדִּיקִ֗ים), "let·them·exult" (יַ֭עַלְצוּ), "and·let·them·rejoice" (וְיָשִׂ֥ישׂוּ). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "before" (root פנים, 131x in Psalms); "let·them·rejoice" (root שמח, 55x in Psalms). Full calculation: וְֽצַדִּיקִ֗ים [but·righteous] (260) + יִשְׂמְח֣וּ [let·them·rejoice] (364) + יַ֭עַלְצוּ [let·them·exult] (206) + לִפְנֵ֥י [before] (170) + אֱלֹהִ֗ים [God] (86) + וְיָשִׂ֥ישׂוּ [and·let·them·rejoice] (632) + בְשִׂמְחָֽה [with·joy] (355) = 2073.
Rashi
"and they will delight with joy" — And this is the joy, and so will they say, “Sing to God, etc.”
Ibn Ezra
"But the righteous" — who are with David, that is, Israel — let them rejoice.
Radak
"But the righteous shall rejoice and exult" — Hezekiah and Israel will rejoice with gladness; the doubling [of the expression] is for the greatness of the joy.
Metzudat Zion
"Let them exult" (ya'altzu) — an expression of joy.
Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol the One who rides upon the skies, whose name is Hashem; And exult you before Him.
verse value 2917
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 46 letters. The shortest word is "His·name" (שְׁ֫מ֥וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·God" (לֵאלֹהִים֮, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 346: His·name, His·name. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "extol" (סֹ֡לּוּ), "in·the·skies" (בָּ֭עֲרָבוֹת), "in·Hashem" (בְּיָ֥הּ). The root שם appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "before·Him" (root פנים, 131x in Psalms); "His·name" (root שם, 119x in Psalms). First appearance of the root יה ("in·Hashem") in Psalms. Full calculation: שִׁ֤ירוּ [sing] (516) + לֵאלֹהִים֮ [to·God] (116) + זַמְּר֢וּ [sing·praises] (253) + שְׁ֫מ֥וֹ [His·name] (346) + סֹ֡לּוּ [extol] (96) + לָרֹכֵ֣ב [to·the·One·who·rides] (252) + בָּ֭עֲרָבוֹת [in·the·skies] (680) + בְּיָ֥הּ [in·Hashem] (17) + שְׁמ֗וֹ [His·name] (346) + וְעִלְז֥וּ [and·exult] (119) + לְפָנָֽיו [before·Him] (176) = 2917.
Rashi
"praise" — Heb. סולו, an expression of praise. Similarly (Job 28:16): “It cannot be praised (תסלה) with the jewelry of Ophir”; (Lam. 4:2), “worth their weight (המסלאים) in fine gold.” "by His name Yah" — By the name י-ה, which is an expression of fear, as we translate it דחילא, fear (below 118:14): “My might and my praise is the fear of the Lord (י-ה).” Likewise (Exod. 17:16): “For a hand is on the throne of the Lord (י-ה),” in the Targum: [And he said, “This is stated with an oath from below the fear of the Shechinah on the throne of His glory, etc.] Similarly (Isa. 26:4): “for in Yah the Lord,” is paraphrased by the Targum: for then You will be redeemed by the word of the fear of the Lord, the Strongest of the world.” The Psalmist says, “Praise Him, fear Him, and rejoice.” This resembles what is said elsewhere (above 2:11): “and rejoice with quaking.”
Ibn Ezra
"Sing" — they [Israel] say to one another, "Sing to God." "Extol" (salu) — like [the word] "salsela" (exalt), in the sense of "praise" (hallelu). "Through the aravot" — a name for the heavens. And Rabbi Moshe said: the heavens are called this because they are vast; he also said that the word "salu" is like [in] "build up, build up the highway." And the sense of "to Him who rides through the aravot," [according to Rabbi Moshe,] is the pilgrim to the House of Hashem, who "rides the plain." But what is correct [in my view] is that it refers to Him who rides through the heavens of heavens of old. And because there are three kinds of motion — one ascending, like fire, corresponding to it the mountain; the second descending, like the earth, corresponding to the lowland; and the plain (arava) is the intermediate one, like the motion of the [celestial] sphere — and the letter bet in "be-Yah" (in Yah) is a servile [prefix] letter. And the sense, in accordance with this word, is "extol Him and exalt Him" — not as many have supposed, that the bet is a root letter, so that they would do the same with all the letters; and so too, "ki ve-Yah Hashem" — the strength of triumph.
Radak
"Sing to God, extol [Him]" — [meaning] "raise Him up," as in "Extol her, and she will exalt you"; and likewise every use of the root ס-ל-ל denotes elevation and exaltation. "To Him who rides upon the Aravot [skies]" — Just as a rider makes an animal move, so God, may He be blessed, causes the [celestial] sphere to revolve; and "Aravot" is the name of the outermost sphere, which encompasses everything and, by its own motion, moves all the [other] spheres. "Hashem is His name" — Extol Him as Hashem, for that is His name, which indicates about Him that He is the Creator of the world and the cause of its existence. "And exult before Him" — in the Temple.
Metzudat David
"Sing to God" — meaning, be confident of the salvation, and from now sing about it. "Extol" — exalt Hashem, who rides upon the heavens, which are called Aravot. "Yah is His name" — meaning, be confident of the salvation, because for now [only the shortened form] Yah is His name, and the Name is not complete until that [future] time; the salvation will indeed come for the sake of His Name, and so from now, exult and rejoice before Him.
Metzudat Zion
"Extol" (solu) — an expression of raising and elevating, as in "cast up, cast up the highway" (Isaiah 62).
Malbim
"Sing to God" — he depicts Hashem as a man of war, riding upon His horse, whose chariot is salvation; and the place of His chariot is in the plain, in the wilderness, for there He rides to fight His enemies. He says that they should "sing to Hashem and pave a way for the One who rides through the plains" of the wilderness, as it is written, "make straight in the desert a highway for our God" (Isaiah 40:3). And He rides "with Yah as His name" — for this name indicates His might; He rides with it to fight against His enemies. And you, Israel, "sing to Hashem and exult before" this mighty One who rides through the plains — for although He appears to His enemies as a man of war, behold, "in His holy habitation" in heaven, He is "the father of orphans and judge of widows," and He comes to demand justice for the father of the orphans and the husbands of the widows who were killed by these nations.
A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, Is God in His holy habitation.
verse value 1780
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 33 letters. Notable word values: "father·of" (אֲבִ֣י) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "father·of" (אֲבִ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "orphans" (יְ֭תוֹמִים, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "and·judge·of" (וְדַיַּ֣ן), "widows" (אַלְמָנ֑וֹת), "in·the·dwelling·of" (בִּמְע֥וֹן). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "His·holiness" (root קדש, 39x in Psalms). First appearance of the root אלמנה ("widows") in Psalms. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'widows', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: אֲבִ֣י [father·of] (13) + יְ֭תוֹמִים [orphans] (506) + וְדַיַּ֣ן [and·judge·of] (70) + אַלְמָנ֑וֹת [widows] (527) + אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים [God] (86) + בִּמְע֥וֹן [in·the·dwelling·of] (168) + קׇדְשֽׁוֹ [His·holiness] (410) = 1780.
Rashi
"O Father of orphans" — And this is the praise that You shall praise before Him: the entire matter until the end of the psalm. "Father of orphans" — Who became a father to Israel, who are orphans, as it is said (Lam. 5:3): “We were orphans without a father.” "and Judge of widows" — Who performed the judgment of Jerusalem, concerning which it says (Lam. 1:1): “was like a widow.”
Ibn Ezra
"A father" — even though He rides through the aravot, like [the verse] "For Hashem is high, yet He regards the lowly" — He is [a father to] the orphan, who has no helper, and does not even have understanding. And so too in the Torah: "For Hashem your God, He is God of gods," followed by: "[He] executes justice for the orphan and the widow." And the sense of "in His holy habitation" is: even though His glory is in a high place, while orphans are at the very bottom, which is the earth.
Radak
"A father of" — Since he had mentioned "Who rides upon the Aravot," who is high above the highest, he now says that although He is high, He supports the weak and the lowly — namely, the orphans and the widows, who have no power to save themselves from those who oppress them — and He is their father, and judges their cause. "God in His holy habitation" — Even though He is in His holy habitation in heaven, He is [also] with the lowly on earth. So too with Israel: the king of Assyria came against them together with great kings, and Israel, by comparison, was few and lowly, and had no strength to stand against them — were it not that God, may He be blessed, helped them.
Metzudat David
"A father of the fatherless," etc., "in His holy habitation" — meaning, even though God dwells in His holy habitation in the heavens above, nevertheless He watches over those below, and He is a father and a judge to Israel, who are called "orphans" and "widows," as it is written, "We have become orphans... our mothers are as widows" (Lamentations 5).
Metzudat Zion
"In [His] habitation" (bimo'on) — an expression of dwelling.
God makes the solitary to dwell in a house; He brings out the prisoners into prosperity; The rebellious dwell but in a parched land.
verse value 3379
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 55 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִ֤ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "but" (אַ֥ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "into·prosperity" (בַּכּוֹשָׁר֑וֹת, 7 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "makes·dwell" (מ֘וֹשִׁ֤יב), "solitary" (יְחִידִ֨ים), "brings·out" (מוֹצִ֣יא). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "makes·dwell" (root ישב, 58x in Psalms); "home" (root בית, 48x in Psalms). First appearance of the root אסיר ("prisoners") in Psalms. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'into·prosperity', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: אֱלֹהִ֤ים [God] (86) + מ֘וֹשִׁ֤יב [makes·dwell] (358) + יְחִידִ֨ים [solitary] (82) + בַּ֗יְתָה [home] (417) + מוֹצִ֣יא [brings·out] (147) + אֲ֭סִירִים [prisoners] (321) + בַּכּוֹשָׁר֑וֹת [into·prosperity] (934) + אַ֥ךְ [but] (21) + ס֝וֹרְרִ֗ים [rebellious] (516) + שָׁכְנ֥וּ [dwell] (376) + צְחִיחָֽה [scorched·land] (121) = 3379.
Rashi
"settles the solitary in a house" — Israel, who were spread out. He gathered together each one from the place where he was lost and settled them in a complete household and a complete nation. "He takes the prisoners out at the most opportune time" — He took Israel out of Egypt in the month that is best suited for travelers, neither hot nor cold. "but the rebellious" — The Egyptians. "dwell in an arid land" — Their land remained arid and thirsty. I found [this].
Ibn Ezra
"God, [who settles the solitary] in a home" — in the manner of: "For Hashem will make you a house," "and He made households for them," "[each] man and his household," "a lamb for the household." And the sense is: that He takes the solitary and makes them many, and settles them. And the word "bakosharot" is connected with "prisoners," as if it said: "bound in fetters." And the sense of "kosharot" is a fetter — as in [the phrase] "her hands she put to the spindle" (kishor). And the sense of "the rebellious" is: those who do violence to orphans. And the word "tzechicha" (parched) is like "tzicha" (thirsty) — as in "[He shall] satisfy your soul in the drought" — [meaning] dryness. And this is the opposite of "He makes the solitary dwell in a home" — formerly in a settled place — whereas "tzechicha" is a place of thirst.
Radak
"God, who makes the solitary dwell in a house" — Israel, who were like solitary individuals, He saved from the enemy, and blessed them, and multiplied them, and settled them "in a house," meaning a household of children, as in "and made them houses." "He brings out the prisoners into KOSHAROT" — those who were bound in chains of iron — He brings them out, the captives who were in the camp of Assyria, from Cush and from Egypt, and also from the children of Judah. "BaKosharot" — meaning the bound ones, similar to the term "kesharot" [bound], for the letters kaf and kuf come from the same place of articulation. "But the rebellious dwell in a parched land" — the prisoners went out to relief and rescue, while the rebellious — that is, the king of Assyria and his troops — dwelt in a place of thirst; meaning, it was as though they died in the distress of thirst, for they died without sword and without spear.
Metzudat David
"Makes the solitary to dwell" — meaning, when you were in Egypt, solitary [individuals] scattered throughout the land, one here and one there — then, at the time the redemption came, the Omnipresent gathered you together in a single hour to Ramesses and settled you in one house, that is, in a single congregation. "He brings out" — those imprisoned in the confinement of exile He brought out at a favorable time, which was good for travelers, neither hot nor cold, for such is the case in the days of Nisan. "But the rebellious" — only the rebellious men of Egypt alone remained dwelling in a land of thirst and drought on account of the plagues with which He struck them, but you were full of every good thing.
Metzudat Zion
"Into prosperity" (bakosharot) — from the language of "kasher" (fitness/success). "Parched" (tzechichah) — an expression of thirst and dryness, as in "a bare rock" (tzachiach sela) (Ezekiel 24).
Malbim
"God" — when the enemy came to the edge of the region across the Jordan, those who dwelt alone in the open settlements and in the unwalled towns abandoned their homes out of fear of the enemy. But now He "makes the solitary dwell" so that they dwell "at home" — that is, in their houses — even though solitary dwellers are scattered among the villages. He also now "brings out the prisoners in kosharot" — that is, those who fell captive into the hand of the enemy and were bound with kosharot, thick wooden posts. "But the rebellious" — meaning, the children of Israel do not dwell in the deserts and parched places to hide from enemies, for they dwell in their houses; only the rebellious now dwell in the parched and arid wilderness — not the people of Israel.
O God, when You went forth before Your people, When You did march through the wilderness; Selah
verse value 1598
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 32 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱֽלֹהִ֗ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "Your·people" (עַמֶּ֑ךָ, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·the·wilderness" (בִישִׁימ֣וֹן, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "when·You·went·forth" (בְּ֭צֵאתְךָ), "when·You·marched" (בְּצַעְדְּךָ֖). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "Your·people" (root עם, 135x in Psalms); "before" (root פנים, 131x in Psalms). First appearance of the root ישימון ("in·the·wilderness") in Psalms. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Your·people', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: אֱֽלֹהִ֗ים [God] (86) + בְּ֭צֵאתְךָ [when·You·went·forth] (513) + לִפְנֵ֣י [before] (170) + עַמֶּ֑ךָ [Your·people] (130) + בְּצַעְדְּךָ֖ [when·You·marched] (186) + בִישִׁימ֣וֹן [in·the·wilderness] (418) + סֶֽלָה [Selah] (95) = 1598.
Rashi
"when You marched" — When You stepped with your step. "forever" — There You showed me that this is Your way forever: for every distress, redemption.
Ibn Ezra
"O God" — all the commentators explained: that at the time of the giving of the Torah, heaven and earth quaked, and likewise, "God comes from Teman." And so too, "Hashem came from Sinai." And so too, "Hashem, when You went forth from Seir." And likewise here, "O God, when You went forth before Your people." But this verse disproves them, for it is not possible to say, concerning the giving of the Torah, "when You marched through the wilderness (yeshimon), Selah" — for "yeshimon" is from the same root as "and the high places shall be laid desolate." And when Israel was at Sinai, they were in a settled place, not in the "howling waste of the wilderness" (yeshimon), which is the great and terrible desert, "a land through which no man has passed" — and that was after they journeyed from Mount Sinai. Furthermore: it is not written in the Torah that the earth quaked, nor the heavens, on the day of the giving of the Torah — only Mount Sinai trembled, alone. And this is the explanation of the verses; it is written in the Torah: "Hashem came from Sinai" — for from Sinai He began to come with the camp of Israel, and His might was not seen except after they went around Mount Seir, as it is written, with Paran nearby them — for so it is written: "and the Horites in their mountain of Seir, as far as El-paran." And this is [the meaning of] "when You marched from the field of Edom," and likewise "God comes from Teman," which is like [the phrase] "teiman omer" (the south speaks). And the sense of "when You went forth before Your people" is: the Ark went first, when they journeyed from Mount Sinai. And the sense of "the earth quaked" is like "and the mountains trembled" — that all the nations feared. Do you not see, in the Song of David, he said: "Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations [of heaven trembled]"? And the sense is that it was almost as though He were overturning the entire world; and since the earth [normally] stands firm, he says "the earth quaked," just as Sinai quaked on the day of the giving of the Torah, because of Hashem. And Rabbi Moshe said: that [the phrase] "this is Sinai" means, "behold, this is a witness," on account of the pillar of glory that rested upon it. And the sense of "the God of Israel" is: that for Israel's sake, God descended upon Mount Sinai.
Radak
"O God, when You went forth" — For when they were victorious over their enemies, it was as though Hashem went out before them to win the battle; also the Ark of the Covenant of Hashem journeyed before them. He mentions the victories in the wars during their journey through the wilderness — over Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan — and the trembling of the earth and the mountains is a figure for the fear of all the kings who trembled before them; that is: just as He went before them then and fought their wars, so may You do now. "When You marched through the wasteland" — in the wilderness, which is a desolate place.
Metzudat David
"When You went forth" — in a pillar of cloud to show the way. "through the wilderness, Selah" — through the desert, which has always been a desolate place with no paved road there.
Metzudat Zion
"When You marched" (betza'adcha) — from the language of "tza'ad" (step) and striding. "Through the wilderness" (bishimon) — from the language of desolation.
Malbim
"God" — this concludes the statement; he explains when it was that His enemies were scattered and He settled the solitary at home. This was "when You went forth before Your people" — with David's army going out to war to fight their battle — "when You marched through the wilderness (yeshimon)" — where the battle took place; as soon as You took a single step there, the enemies were scattered and Israel was triumphant. "Selah" concludes the matter. (Part Two) "Earth" — he begins to explain the details of this war. When Hashem went forth to confront [the enemy's] weapons, "the earth trembled, the heavens also dripped, at the presence of God — that One of Sinai" — meaning, God has been recognized in these regions of the wilderness ever since He descended upon Mount Sinai, when they saw His glory then; and therefore [the earth] trembled now when He revealed Himself a second time. "At the presence of God, the God of Israel" — who is known in this wilderness by virtue of His being the God of Israel, on account of the signs and wonders He performed for them in ancient days. And this is a figurative depiction, as though these places have been places of wonders ever since, suited from ancient times to bear a sign for those who fear Him.
The earth trembled, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God; Even that Sinai trembled at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
verse value 2743
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 50 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹ֫הִ֥ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. Verse gematria: 2743 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "this" (זֶ֥ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "even·the·heavens" (אַף־שָׁמַ֣יִם, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 180: from·before, from·before. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "quaked" (רָעָ֨שָׁה), "even·the·heavens" (אַף־שָׁמַ֣יִם), "dropped" (נָטְפוּ֮). The root אלהים appears 3 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "land" (root ארץ, 157x in Psalms); "from·before" (root פנים, 131x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Sinai', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 4 words. Full calculation: אֶ֤רֶץ [land] (291) + רָעָ֨שָׁה [quaked] (575) + אַף־שָׁמַ֣יִם [even·the·heavens] (471) + נָטְפוּ֮ [dropped] (145) + מִפְּנֵ֢י [from·before] (180) + אֱלֹ֫הִ֥ים [God] (86) + זֶ֥ה [this] (12) + סִינַ֑י [Sinai] (130) + מִפְּנֵ֥י [from·before] (180) + אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים [God] (86) + אֱלֹהֵ֥י [God·of] (46) + יִשְׂרָאֵֽל [Israel] (541) = 2743.
Rashi
"this is Sinai" — That too quaked because of the Lord God of Israel.
Radak
"The earth trembled" — as we have explained, that the peoples of the earth feared and trembled. "The heavens also dropped at the presence of God" — by way of metaphor, that the heavens grew dark over the enemies; a rainy day involves the darkness of clouds, [used here] figuratively for the troubles coming upon the enemies. "This [is] Sinai" — and just as this [mountain], Sinai, trembled at the presence of God, the God of Israel, so did the earth tremble — meaning the peoples — just as this mountain trembled on the day the Torah was given.
Metzudat David
"The earth" — the inhabitants of the earth. "the heavens" — the ministering angels above. "dropped" — [dripped with] sweat from the greatness of their trembling. "that Sinai" — meaning, this is the God who revealed Himself to Israel on Mount Sinai.
Metzudat Zion
"Dropped" (natfu) — from the language of dripping and trickling.
A bounteous rain You did pour down, O God; When Your inheritance was weary, You did confirm it.
verse value 2968
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 36 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִ֑ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "rain·of" (גֶּ֣שֶׁם, 3 letters) and the longest is "You·confirmed·it" (כוֹנַנְתָּֽהּ, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "rain·of" (גֶּ֣שֶׁם), "You·poured·down" (תָּנִ֣יף), "and·was·weary" (וְ֝נִלְאָ֗ה). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "You" (root אתה, 115x in Psalms); "You·confirmed·it" (root כון, 52x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'God', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: גֶּ֣שֶׁם [rain·of] (343) + נְ֭דָבוֹת [freewill·offerings] (462) + תָּנִ֣יף [You·poured·down] (540) + אֱלֹהִ֑ים [God] (86) + נַחֲלָתְךָ֥ [Your·inheritance] (508) + וְ֝נִלְאָ֗ה [and·was·weary] (92) + אַתָּ֥ה [You] (406) + כוֹנַנְתָּֽהּ [You·confirmed·it] (531) = 2968.
Rashi
"Generous rain You poured down" — This too You did for us: if we needed rain, You lifted them and poured upon us constantly rains of generosity and blessing. "Your heritage, which was weary, You established" — When the heritage of Your land was weary and thirsty for rain, You established it [Your heritage]. I found: "Your heritage which was weary" — Which is called your heritage, and which is weary; i.e., sometimes it is so.
Ibn Ezra
"Rain" — behold, the sense of "O God, when You went forth before Your people" was to tell of the beginning of Israel's triumph. And the word "tanif" means "You drenched," like [the word] "nafti" [in] "I have perfumed my bed." "Your inheritance" — that is, the Land of Israel; and the sense is that Hashem waters it continually, in the manner of: "Always, the eyes of Hashem your God are upon it." And the sense of "and it was weary" is: as though it had grown weary — [and] You established it.
Radak
"Rain" — since he had mentioned "the heavens dropped," which alludes to troubles upon the enemies, he now states the opposite of this: "a rain of bounty You shook out, O God" — meaning, upon Israel You shook out a rain of bounty. "Your inheritance" — Israel, who are Your inheritance. "And when it was weary, You confirmed it" — meaning: even though Your inheritance grew weary at the hand of the enemy, who had already seized all the cities of Judah, You would establish it, so that it would not utterly waste away, and You would not give Jerusalem into his hand.
Metzudat David
"A bounteous rain" — when they came to the land, You poured down upon it rains of generosity, meaning not as a reward for deeds but as a free gift. "Your inheritance, when it was weary" — when Your inheritance was weary and thirsty for rain, did not You, Hashem, establish it with abundant rain?
Metzudat Zion
"You caused to flow" (taniph) — an expression of dripping and dissolving, as in "the drippings of the honeycomb" (venofet tzufim) (above, Psalm 19). "And it was weary" (venil'ah) — the vav is superfluous, and it is an expression of weariness, as in "and I am weary of holding it in" (venil'eiti khalkel) (Jeremiah 20). "You did confirm" (konantah) — from the language of establishing/preparing.
Malbim
"Rain" — at the time David's camp encamped in the wilderness, they grew faint from thirst; so rain came down for them and was to them like cold water to a weary soul. Likewise, they had nothing to eat, and much livestock from the enemies who grazed in these wildernesses came their way, and they ate the spoil of their enemies. And concerning this he sings: behold, "You, God, poured down a bounteous rain" (he depicts that in a settled place the obligation rests upon Him to bring down rain to provide food for His creatures, but not so in the wilderness — there He is not obligated to bring down rain, so it was a free gift and an act of kindness). "Your inheritance" — this rain You poured down "upon Your inheritance," and by this, "when it was weary, You confirmed it" — You sustained what was weary and exhausted from heat and thirst. (11) "Your creatures dwelt in it" — the beasts and animals that dwelt in this wilderness, that is, the animals that grazed in the wilderness — behold, "in Your goodness You prepared them" to be spoil and sustenance "for the poor," for Israel, who were afflicted, without food or sustenance (and this image also resembles what happened in ancient days, when He gave them water and quail).
Your flock settled in it; You did prepare in Your goodness for the poor, O God.
verse value 1928
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 29 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִֽים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "Your·flock" (חַיָּתְךָ֥, 4 letters) and the longest is "You·prepared·in·Your·goodness" (תָּ֤כִֽין־בְּטוֹבָתְךָ֖, 10 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "Your·flock" (חַיָּתְךָ֥), "dwelt·in·it" (יָשְׁבוּ־בָ֑הּ), "You·prepared·in·Your·goodness" (תָּ֤כִֽין־בְּטוֹבָתְךָ֖). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "dwelt·in·it" (root ישב, 58x in Psalms); "You·prepared·in·Your·goodness" (root כון, 52x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'dwelt·in·it', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 3 words. Full calculation: חַיָּתְךָ֥ [Your·flock] (438) + יָשְׁבוּ־בָ֑הּ [dwelt·in·it] (325) + תָּ֤כִֽין־בְּטוֹבָתְךָ֖ [You·prepared·in·Your·goodness] (919) + לֶֽעָנִ֣י [for·the·poor] (160) + אֱלֹהִֽים [God] (86) = 1928.
Rashi
"Your congregation dwelt therein" — Heb. (חיתך). Your congregation has dwelt therein, as (II Sam. 23:11): “and the Philistines gathered together their camp (sic) into a troop (לחיה).” Another explanation: The congregation of Israel is known as the animal and the beast of the Holy One, blessed be He. "You prepare with your goodness" — When they left Egypt, You led them around in the desert for forty years because the Canaanites rose and cut down the trees. During the interim, when they tarried in the desert, they rose and rectified it all.
Ibn Ezra
"Your creatures" (chayatcha) — Your assembly, like "chayat Pelishtim" (the company of the Philistines) — and here he relates that Israel entered their land. And the sense of "You will prepare" is addressed to Hashem: that which was for Israel in their time of affliction, You will prepare for them — that You will deal well with them.
Radak
"Your flock dwelt in it" — [meaning] Your congregation. "In it" — in Jerusalem. "You did prepare in Your goodness" — for Israel, who were broken and are poor, since all ten tribes had gone into exile, and of Judah and Benjamin many had been taken captive.
Metzudat David
"Your flock" — Your congregation dwelt in that land. "in Your goodness" — through Your attribute of goodness You prepared the rain to grow the produce, to satisfy the soul of the poor.
Metzudat Zion
"Your flock" (chayatcha) — Your congregation; and likewise "the garrison of the Philistines" (chayat pelishtim) (II Samuel 23).
The Lord gives the word; The women who proclaim the tidings are a great host.
verse value 2014
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 22 letters. The shortest word is "great" (רָֽב, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·women·who·proclaim" (הַֽ֝מְבַשְּׂר֗וֹת, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "gives·word" (יִתֶּן־אֹ֑מֶר), "the·women·who·proclaim" (הַֽ֝מְבַשְּׂר֗וֹת), "host" (צָבָ֥א). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "gives·word" (root נתן, 95x in Psalms); "great" (root רב, 67x in Psalms); "Lord" (root אדון, 64x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'gives·word', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 3 words. Full calculation: אֲדֹנָ֥י [Lord] (65) + יִתֶּן־אֹ֑מֶר [gives·word] (701) + הַֽ֝מְבַשְּׂר֗וֹת [the·women·who·proclaim] (953) + צָבָ֥א [host] (93) + רָֽב [great] (202) = 2014.
Rashi
"The Lord will give out a word; they will announce it to a great multitude" — Heb. אמר, [like] מאמר, statement. He will yet roar with [His] voice to allow the hosts of the great nations to hear it. Now what is the word?
Ibn Ezra
"Hashem gives the word" — [the verb] "gives" is connected with "those who proclaim the tidings." And the sense is: Hashem fulfills the words of the women who proclaim the tidings in their songs. "A great host" — from Israel, for their desire and all their request was that Israel be made triumphant; and this is what is said: "Kings of hosts, they flee, they flee, before you." And the sense is: that the kings of the hosts of the nations will flee before you, and their steps will scatter.
Radak
"The Lord gives the word" — a great host, [made up] of the women who proclaim the tidings and speak them.
Metzudat David
"The Lord gives" — meaning, just as He acted with us in the past, so He will fulfill the word of the prophets who proclaim the tidings, [addressed] to the great and numerous host of Israel.
Metzudat Zion
"The women who proclaim tidings" (hamevasserot) — from the language of "besorah" (tidings). "A great host" (tzava rav) — a great army.
Malbim
"Hashem gives the word" — Hashem gave a word and a proclamation, and from this proclamation there arose "a great host of those who proclaim the tidings" — with good news for Israel.
Kings of armies flee, they flee; And she who tarries at home divides the spoil.
verse value 2519
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 33 letters. The shortest word is "spoil" (שָׁלָֽל, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·she·who·tarries·at·home" (וּנְוַת־בַּ֝֗יִת, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 74: flee, they·flee. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "and·she·who·tarries·at·home" (וּנְוַת־בַּ֝֗יִת), "divides" (תְּחַלֵּ֥ק). The root נדד appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "kings·of" (root מלך, 70x in Psalms); "armies" (root צבא, 23x in Psalms). First appearance of the root שלל ("spoil") in Psalms. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·flee', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: מַלְכֵ֣י [kings·of] (100) + צְ֭בָאוֹת [armies] (499) + יִדֹּד֣וּן [flee] (74) + יִדֹּד֑וּן [they·flee] (74) + וּנְוַת־בַּ֝֗יִת [and·she·who·tarries·at·home] (874) + תְּחַלֵּ֥ק [divides] (538) + שָׁלָֽל [spoil] (360) = 2519.
Rashi
"The kings of the hosts of nations will wander, yea they will wander." — They will wander and be cast out of the land of Israel, and the congregation of Israel, who is the dweller of the house, will divide their spoils, as it is said (Isa. 23:18): “And her commerce and her hire shall be holy, etc.”
Ibn Ezra
"She who abides at home" — the congregation that remained in Jerusalem and did not go out to war divides the spoil — how much more so does she who went out [to battle].
Radak
"Kings of armies" — who encamped against Jerusalem. "They flee, they flee" — meaning, they flee before Israel. "And she who dwells at home" — this is the congregation of Israel, and their dwelling-place will divide the spoil of the enemies. Hashem will grant [it], and will fulfill their words. And he mentions the women because they do not go out to war, and they comfort the men with good and comforting words.
Metzudat David
"armies" — and this is the tidings, that the idol-worshippers will be driven wandering from the Land of Israel. "and she who tarries at home" — the congregation that has always dwelt in the houses of that land will divide the spoil for itself.
Metzudat Zion
"They flee" (yidodun) — from the language of wandering/fleeing. "And she who tarries" (venavat) — from the language of "naveh" (abode) and dwelling. "Spoil" (shalal) — an expression of plunder.
Malbim
"Kings [of armies flee]" — Hashem gave a word and a proclamation, that "the kings of the hosts" of the nations who gathered for war "flee, they flee" — from this, one by one; "and she who dwells at home," that is, Israel, "divides their spoil." He depicts Israel as the mistress of the house, for she is the owner of this land, and the enemies are strangers who came to drive her out of her house; He commanded that they flee from a land that is not theirs.
When you lie among the sheepfolds, The wings of the dove are covered with silver, And her pinions with the shimmer of gold. .
verse value 3793
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 50 letters. The shortest word is "between" (בֵּ֤ין, 3 letters) and the longest is "when·you·lie·down" (אִֽם־תִּשְׁכְּבוּן֮, 8 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "when·you·lie·down" (אִֽם־תִּשְׁכְּבוּן֮), "sheepfolds" (שְׁפַ֫תָּ֥יִם), "wings·of" (כַּנְפֵ֣י). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "between" (root בין, 29x in Psalms); "sheepfolds" (root שפה, 28x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·silver', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 3 words. Full calculation: אִֽם־תִּשְׁכְּבוּן֮ [when·you·lie·down] (819) + בֵּ֤ין [between] (62) + שְׁפַ֫תָּ֥יִם [sheepfolds] (830) + כַּנְפֵ֣י [wings·of] (160) + י֭וֹנָה [dove] (71) + נֶחְפָּ֣ה [are·covered] (143) + בַכֶּ֑סֶף [with·silver] (162) + וְ֝אֶבְרוֹתֶ֗יהָ [and·her·pinions] (630) + בִּירַקְרַ֥ק [with·greenish·hue·of] (612) + חָרֽוּץ [gold] (304) = 3793.
Rashi
"If you lie between the borders, etc." — All this is the word. He says to them, “If you had lain between your borders and had enjoyed pleasures, this My dove, My congregation, whose feathers are covered with silver.” Now what is the silver, and what is the gold? "(15) When the Almighty spreads out, etc." — When the Holy One, blessed be He, explained His Torah, with which the kings are “snowed and whitened” in a land of the Shadow of Death and darkness then its feathers (dove’s feathers) were covered with the desire and yearning for the Torah and [its] Commandments. "the feathers of a dove" — Plumes in French. "and its pinions" — Its wings, with which it flies. "with brilliant gold" — Heb. בירקרק חרוץ. Dunash the son of Labrat interpreted חרוּץ as gold. Therefore, the Psalmist juxtaposed it to silver, and ירקרק חרוץ is the gold brought from the land of Havilah and from the land of Cush; very good gold, neither yellow nor red. Therefore, it is called ירקרק, as (Lev. 13:42): “reddish white (לבן אדמדם),” which is neither white nor red. Therefore, it is doubled: אדמדם, ירקרק.
Ibn Ezra
"Though," "among the sheepfolds" — [these words are] like "the rims of the pot," which have a blackish appearance. And the meaning is: you need not fear the enemy, for even if you were dwelling among the sheepfolds, you would be white, like a dove covered with silver. "And her pinions" — like "Oh, that I had wings like a dove." "With shimmering gold" (בירקרק) — the hue of gold, and similarly, "and all faces have turned pale." And the meaning is: quickly it shakes off the blackness, and the whiteness appears.
Radak
"If" — this too is [part of] the words of the women, or [it is] the words of the poet addressed to Israel — and this [latter] is the correct [view]. "Among the SHEFATAYIM" — the hearthstones are called by this name because pots are set (shofatim) upon them. He says: even if you lie in a place as low, and black and gloomy as this one, until now, because of the distress of the enemy — you will yet become white, and like the wings of a dove that appears as though covered with silver — so will you become beautiful. He also alludes in this verse to the silver and the gold that were taken from the camp of Assyria. And the word "bekhesef" has a segol under the atnach. "Her pinions with the shimmer of gold" — the finest gold is of a greenish hue. He states the adjective in place of the noun it modifies, whereas by rule it should be the reverse.
Metzudat David
"When you lie" — meaning, even if from your troubles you become dark and ugly, like one lying among the [soot-blackened] resting place of the cooking-pots. "the wings of the dove" — nevertheless you will be beautiful, like the wings of the dove, which appear covered with silver and fine gold inclining slightly toward a greenish hue; meaning, in the end the matter will lead to a complete redemption and abundant good.
Metzudat Zion
"Sheepfolds" (shefatayim) — it is the place of arranging and setting the pots, as in "set on the pot" (shefot hasir) (Ezekiel 24). "Is covered" (nechpah) — covered. "And her pinions" (ve'evroteha) — her wings, as in "wings like a dove" (ever kayonah) (above, Psalm 55). "With a greenish hue" (birkarak) — a green color. "Gold" (charutz) — a type of gold, as in "than fine gold is its produce" (umecharutz tevu'atah) (Proverbs 3).
Malbim
(14-15) "If" — all this is from the word that Hashem gave; Hashem proclaimed, saying: you, kings of the hosts, "if you lie down among the border-lines (shefatayim)" — which is the eastern border of the land, across the Jordan — know that "the wings of the dove, which are covered with silver" — with this dove and her wings, "which Shaddai will spread over her" — [He will spread] over "the kings" who lay between the borders of her land, "then it will snow on the mountain of Bashan." He depicted Israel as a dove opposite the predatory beasts and birds that came to plunder her nest; and just as the dove, despite her weakness, fights with her wings against the strangers who come to plunder the nest, so this dove went out to fight against every bird of prey and every predatory bird that came upon her dwelling. And he depicted this dove — that she herself is "covered with silver, and her pinions overlaid with shimmering gold" — which is an image of beauty as well as of strength, as if she were covered in metal so that they could not wound her. And he says that Hashem will spread out, with this dove and her wings, the kings who came against her — and this is the image of the spreading-out of the camp of Israel over the camp of the enemy. And he depicts that at the time her wings were spread, "it snowed in Tzalmon, on the mountain of God, the mountain of Bashan" — and this image is taken from the fact that Mount Bashan, high and lofty, is covered with snow all the days of summer, as is the way of high, rounded mountains; and on these snowy mountains, when a storm arises and the snow blows there with force, it falls upon the camps of people standing upon it and casts them down into pits from which they cannot rise. Accordingly, he depicted that when they went up to the top of the mountain and fought from there against Israel, a snowstorm assailed them until it became there a place of Tzalmon and Tzalmavet (shadow of death), and it snowed and covered their camps, and they perished from among the assembly. And it is possible that this actually happened, or that this was taken figuratively to depict the distress and darkness that came upon them on that mountain — for a snowstorm is a fearsome thing to the people of these lands, where snow is not commonly found; and the metaphor conveys that the wings of the dove covered the camp with snow and the darkness of death, through Hashem, who spread out with her wings over the kings and covered them in the shadow of death.
When the Almighty scatters kings in it, It snows in Zalmon.
verse value 1994
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 24 letters. The shortest word is "in·it" (בָּ֗הּ, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·Zalmon" (בְּצַלְמֽוֹן, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "when·scatters" (בְּפָ֘רֵ֤שׂ), "it·snows" (תַּשְׁלֵ֥ג), "in·Zalmon" (בְּצַלְמֽוֹן). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "kings" (root מלך, 70x in Psalms). Full calculation: בְּפָ֘רֵ֤שׂ [when·scatters] (582) + שַׁדַּ֓י [Almighty] (314) + מְלָ֘כִ֤ים [kings] (140) + בָּ֗הּ [in·it] (7) + תַּשְׁלֵ֥ג [it·snows] (733) + בְּצַלְמֽוֹן [in·Zalmon] (218) = 1994.
Rashi
"When... spreads out" — Heb. בפרש, an expression of (Deut. 22:17): “and they will spread out (ופרשו) the garment”; they clarify the matter as a new garment. "kings" — These are the Torah scholars, as it is said (Prov. 8:15): “Kings reign with me.”
Ibn Ezra
"When ... scatters" (בפרש) — the sense of "Shaddai" is like "For the leader," as the Nagid explained. "And kings" — these are the kings of the land, and it refers back to "Your creatures dwell therein." "It snows" (ותשלג) — the whiteness will be seen, like the snow that is continually found on Zalmon, which is a well-known mountain located across the Jordan, to the east. "Why" — he is recounting the praise of the Land of Israel.
Radak
"When He scatters" [bifros] — the meaning is "spreading out," to say that God struck them, and behold, they are all dead corpses lying on the ground — kings and princes. And the meaning of "in it" [bah] is "in Jerusalem." "It snows in Zalmon" [tashleg b'tzalmon] — then, when Shaddai scatters the kings, the community that was in darkness will turn white as snow. "Tashleg" is an intransitive verb, though it is possible that it is a transitive verb, with the tav referring to God. "In Zalmon" means "in darkness," like "tzalmavet" (shadow of death).
Metzudat David
"When ... scatters" — then, when the Almighty scatters, to drive out the idolaters from the Land of Israel. "in it" — in that land, you, the congregation dwelling in exile, will become white as snow.
Metzudat Zion
"When [the Almighty] scatters" (befares) — from the language of "hafrashah" (separation) and dispersal. "It snows" (tashleg) — from the language of "sheleg" (snow). "In Zalmon" (betzalmon) — from the language of "tzalmavet" (shadow of death), meaning darkness.
A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; A mountain of peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
verse value 1765
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 25 letters. The shortest word is "mountain·of" (הַ֥ר, 2 letters) and the longest is "mountain·of·God" (הַר־אֱ֭לֹהִים, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 557: mountain·of·Bashan, mountain·of·Bashan. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "mountain·of·God" (הַר־אֱ֭לֹהִים), "mountain·of" (הַ֥ר). The root הר appears 4 times in this verse. 2 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "mountain·of·God" (root הר, 43x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'mountain·of·Bashan', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 3 words. Full calculation: הַר־אֱ֭לֹהִים [mountain·of·God] (291) + הַר־בָּשָׁ֑ן [mountain·of·Bashan] (557) + הַ֥ר [mountain·of] (205) + גַּ֝בְנֻנִּ֗ים [peaks] (155) + הַר־בָּשָֽׁן [mountain·of·Bashan] (557) = 1765.
Rashi
"The mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan" — And where did He spread it out? On Mt. Sinai, which is the mountain of God and is near Bashan on the eastern side of the Jordan. "the mountain of peaks" — The special mountain among the mountains. "peaks" — Heb. גבננים, an expression of mountains, because of their height, as (Ezek. 16:24): “and you built for yourself a platform (גב).” Any high thing is called גַב.
Ibn Ezra
"A mountain of peaks" (הר גבנונים) — from the pattern of either "humpbacked" (גבן) or "thin" (דק) — perhaps this is so.
Radak
"A mountain of God" — this is Mount Sinai. Even though it is in the wilderness, a place of desolation and drought, and it is a low mountain, it is the praised, glorious mountain, because the Glory rested upon it. "A mountain of Bashan" — because Bashan is a place that is fat and rich, a place of pasture.
Metzudat David
"A mountain of God," etc. — Mount Sinai, upon which God descended, is for you [like] the mountain of Bashan; meaning, just as the mountain of Bashan is fertile and rich, a place of pasture, so Mount Sinai is for you, for the merit of the Torah that you received there is what shepherds you and protects you. "A mountain of peaks," etc. — the mountain of the House of Hashem, which is among the smallest of mountains, is for you [like] the mountain of Bashan, for the merit of the Temple stands for you and shepherds you like the mountain of Bashan, which is a place of pasture.
Metzudat Zion
"Mountain of Bashan" (har Bashan) — it is a place of richness and fatness, as it is said, "Hear this ... you cows of Bashan" (Amos 4:1). "Peaks" (gavnunim) — from the language of "gav" (ridge) and height, and the added nuns come to diminish, as in "Amminon your brother" (II Samuel 13).
Why look you askance, you mountains of peaks, At the mountain which God has desired for His abode? Indeed, Hashem will dwell in it for ever.
verse value 2986
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 49 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִ֣ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "why" (לָ֤מָּה, 3 letters) and the longest is "you·look·askance" (תְּֽרַצְּדוּן֮, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "you·look·askance" (תְּֽרַצְּדוּן֮), "the·mountain" (הָהָ֗ר), "has·desired" (חָמַ֣ד). The root הר appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "indeed·Hashem" (root יהוה, 688x in Psalms); "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "for·ever" (root נצח, 73x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'for·Him·to·dwell', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 3 words. Full calculation: לָ֤מָּה [why] (75) + תְּֽרַצְּדוּן֮ [you·look·askance] (750) + הָרִ֢ים [mountains] (255) + גַּבְנֻ֫נִּ֥ים [peaks] (155) + הָהָ֗ר [the·mountain] (210) + חָמַ֣ד [has·desired] (52) + אֱלֹהִ֣ים [God] (86) + לְשִׁבְתּ֑וֹ [for·Him·to·dwell] (738) + אַף־יְ֝הֹוָ֗ה [indeed·Hashem] (107) + יִשְׁכֹּ֥ן [will·dwell] (380) + לָנֶֽצַח [for·ever] (178) = 2986.
Rashi
"Why do you lurk, you lofty mountains" — All this refers back to “The Lord will give out a word.” He says further to them, “Why do you lurk (תרצדון), you lofty mountains?” Why do you lurk, you lofty mountains, to destroy the mountain that God desired for His dwelling, to cause His Shechinah to rest upon it? That is the Temple Mount. Even He will dwell there forever. Its sanctity is a perpetual sanctity. After it was chosen for His dwelling, the Shechinah did not rest elsewhere. I saw in the works of Rabbi Moshe Hadarshan that רצד is “ambush” in Arabic. But Menachem (p. 166) explained תרצדוּן like תרקדוּן, you prance. That expression, too, fits the context.
Ibn Ezra
"Why do you look askance" (למה תרצדון) — [meaning] would you [mountains] be brought low, O mountains of peaks? And this matter connects back to "though you lie among the sheepfolds." And the meaning is: Mount Bashan will not be brought low, for you are the mountain that the angels desired to dwell in — indeed, the Shechinah will dwell there.
Radak
"Mountains of peaks" [harim gavnunim] — "the high mountains." A high mountain is called this because, in its height, it has a hump in its middle, and this reveals its height; and the high mountains are likewise praised for their height. He speaks of a singular together with a plural — he says "mountain" [singular] and "peaks" [plural] — meaning: every mountain that has height is praised, each one according to what it is. And he further says "a mountain of Bashan" on account of its great praise, that it is fat and rich — yet none of them are as praised as the Temple Mount. Therefore he says, "Why do you look askance" [lamah tiratzdun] — some explain "tiratzdun" as like "tirkedun" (you dance about), meaning: why do you praise yourselves? You are considered as nothing compared to the mountain which God desired for His dwelling, that is, the Temple Mount, on which stands the Temple, where the Glory is seen continually — for behold, the enemy's hand ruled over the entire land, but concerning Jerusalem it says, "no arrow shall be shot there," etc. And he says, "Indeed Hashem will dwell there forever" — because on Mount Sinai He will not dwell forever.
Metzudat David
"Why do you look askance" — you [mountains], who are likened before the Omnipresent to small mountains, why do you leap [in envy] regarding His palace? Is it not the mountain that Hashem desired to dwell in, and He will indeed dwell there forever, and it will not remain in your possession?
Metzudat Zion
"Why look you askance" (tirtzedun) — like "you dance" (tirkedun).
Malbim
'Why' — So then, you kings of armies, 'why do you leap enviously' and run 'upon these many-peaked mountains' to wage war from there against Israel? Is it not that 'the mountain' which 'God has desired for His dwelling' — that He chose it to be within the holiness of the Land, and that it be His, to cause His Presence to dwell there — so then 'Hashem, too, will dwell there forever,' and you will not be able to drive Him out from there. (And also, in this imagery, there arose in his thought the mighty deeds that Hashem performed in ancient times on these mountains, in the war with Sihon and Og, when Israel's hand was raised high in triumph.)
(18-19) 'The chariot' — he turns to speak of the chariot of God. After having depicted Hashem as riding through this plain, he now depicts His ascent to the height of Mount Bashan to drive the enemies out from there, as if He had gone up there with horse and chariot of war. And its meaning is: You, 'the chariot of God, ascended to the height, led captivity captive' — that is, this chariot ascended to the height of Mount Bashan, drove out the enemy, and took its captives. And in mentioning the chariot, he notes its character, its essence, and the greatness of its host, saying, 'myriads upon myriads, thousands of shin'an' — this chariot goes up with a host of many myriads of mighty and powerful captains, 'whom Hashem' ('ascended') 'among them at Sinai, in holiness' — for He had already gone up with this chariot and its warriors upon another mountain, namely Mount Sinai, and there He did not go up for war, but only in holiness. (The poet weaves together in his song His ascent to Mount Bashan with His ascent to Mount Sinai, which is likewise in this wilderness.)
(19) 'You ascended' — You, the chariot of God, 'ascended' now 'to the height,' that is, to the height of Mount Bashan, 'and led captivity captive' from the camp of the enemy. 'To take' — its meaning is: 'you led captivity captive' ('among men') 'to take gifts among men' — meaning that which, in ancient times, when You ascended to the height of that mountain, namely Mount Sinai, You took then as gifts — for then they became a people to You of their own will, and became Yours, as it were, by way of a gift; now You have taken them captive by way of war — for then You took mankind for Yourself by way of gift, and now by way of captivity. 'And even' ('You took captive') 'the rebellious' — You took captive the idolaters, in order 'that Hashem, God, might dwell' — so that You would be able to dwell on the mountain, for they wanted to drive You out from there so that You would not dwell there; therefore You took them captive so that You would remain dwelling there — meaning, so that Israel, with whom Hashem dwells, would dwell there.
The chariots of God are myriads, even thousands upon thousands; The Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in holiness.
verse value 2125
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 35 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִ֗ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "in·them" (בָֿ֝֗ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "God" (אֱלֹהִ֗ים, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "ten·thousand" (רִבֹּתַ֣יִם), "thousands·of" (אַלְפֵ֣י), "repetition" (שִׁנְאָ֑ן). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "Lord" (root אדון, 64x in Psalms); "in·holiness" (root קדש, 39x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'repetition', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 4 words. Full calculation: רֶ֤כֶב [chariots·of] (222) + אֱלֹהִ֗ים [God] (86) + רִבֹּתַ֣יִם [ten·thousand] (652) + אַלְפֵ֣י [thousands·of] (121) + שִׁנְאָ֑ן [repetition] (401) + אֲדֹנָ֥י [Lord] (65) + בָֿ֝֗ם [in·them] (42) + סִינַ֥י [Sinai] (130) + בַּקֹּֽדֶשׁ [in·holiness] (406) = 2125.
Rashi
"God’s chariot, etc." — This too refers back to the “The Lord will give forth a word,” to mention the love of His people. Even when God’s chariot of “twice ten thousand times thousands of” brilliant “sharpened” angels appeared, and the Lord was among them at Sinai with His holiness, there too …
Ibn Ezra
"The chariots" — this connects with "[the mountain] God desired for His dwelling." The sense of "twenty thousand" (רבותים) — like the multitudes surrounding Elisha, many myriads. "Thousands" (אלפי) — two, in number, like "a thousand thousand"; and the alef of "שנאן" stands in place of the yod of the construct-possessive form. And some say that this alludes to the number of the Levites in the wilderness, but this is not the sense of the psalm. The sense of "Hashem is among them" — the Shechinah is among them, at Sinai, in holiness; and the kaf is missing, like "a wild ass's colt is born a man." And behold, the meaning is that the holiness of the Land of Israel derives from Mount Sinai.
Radak
"The chariots" — the chariots of God descended, two myriads [twenty thousand], to the aid of Israel. "Thousands of shinan" — thousands of the angels who are called "shinanim." "Hashem is among them" [Adonai bam] — Hashem came with them, just as He came at Sinai, in holiness. And the letter bet in "bam" is without a dagesh (rafeh), contrary to the rule that a begadkefat letter (bet-gimel-dalet-kaf-peh-tav), when immediately following one of the letters alef-heh-vav-yod, takes a dagesh.
Metzudat David
"The chariots of God" — this refers back to what was said above, to say: also on account of this, be confident that in the end the matter will be a complete redemption, for see their [Israel's] beloved status before the Omnipresent; for behold, the chariots of His angels are many myriads of officers, and Hashem dwells among them, even at the time of His coming in His holiness to Mount Sinai to give the Torah, for the angels too descended with Him, and at all times they are close to the Divine Presence.
Metzudat Zion
"Thousands" (alfei) — princes and great ones, as in "the chiefs of Judah" (alufei Yehudah) (Zechariah 12). "Shin'an" — thus the angels on high are called.
You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, Indeed, among the rebellious also, that Hashem God might dwell there.
verse value 4435
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 49 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִֽים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "Hashem" (יָ֬הּ, 2 letters) and the longest is "rebellious·ones" (ס֝וֹרְרִ֗ים, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "You·have·ascended" (עָ֘לִ֤יתָ), "captivity" (שֶּׁ֗בִי), "gifts" (מַ֭תָּנוֹת). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "among·men" (root אדם, 67x in Psalms); "captivity" (root ישב, 58x in Psalms). First appearance of the root שבה ("You·have·taken·captive") in Psalms. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'among·men', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 5 words. Full calculation: עָ֘לִ֤יתָ [You·have·ascended] (510) + לַמָּר֨וֹם [to·the·height] (316) + שָׁ֘בִ֤יתָ [You·have·taken·captive] (712) + שֶּׁ֗בִי [captivity] (312) + לָקַ֣חְתָּ [You·have·taken] (538) + מַ֭תָּנוֹת [gifts] (896) + בָּאָדָ֑ם [among·men] (47) + וְאַ֥ף [and·even] (87) + ס֝וֹרְרִ֗ים [rebellious·ones] (516) + לִשְׁכֹּ֤ן [to·dwell] (400) + יָ֬הּ [Hashem] (15) + אֱלֹהִֽים [God] (86) = 4435.
Rashi
you, the leader of His people, Moses the son of Amram "ascended" — on high and took captives. "and also rebellious ones for Yah God to dwell" — Also you brought about that the Holy One, blessed be He, rested in the Tabernacle of the Torah, and you took gifts from the celestial beings to give them to the sons of men, also among a people who were rebellious and were rebelling against Him and provoking Him.
Ibn Ezra
"You have ascended" — the words of a person to David, and he said this through the holy spirit, or as a prayer. The sense of "on high" (למרום) — the high fortresses. "You have received gifts among mankind" — the slaves who are sold, even the rebellious ones; and the rebellious will make a covenant with you, that they will convert and dwell with the place of the Shechinah.
Radak
"You have ascended on high" — until now, when the land of Israel was captured, it was as though You had ascended on high and led captivity captive — for when You removed Your protection from them, the enemy came, the enemy prevailed. "You have received gifts among men" — the gifts that You gave among men, to make Your Divine Presence dwell among them and to protect them from all harm — and You took away those gifts, until even the rebellious ones — that is, the king of Assyria and those with him — thought to dwell in the holy place, in the place of God, which is Jerusalem, the dwelling place of God.
Metzudat David
"You have ascended on high" — and nevertheless, you, Israel, ascended on high, meaning your hand was raised to prevail over them [the angels] in order to receive the Torah, and you took it captive from the hand of the angels, and you took it as a gift, so that it would be found among human beings and not among the angels above. "Even the rebellious" — even though they greatly turned away from following Hashem, nevertheless He was appeased toward them and commanded them concerning the Tabernacle, that He might dwell among them.
Blessed be the Lord, day by day He bears our burden, Even the God who is our salvation. Selah
verse value 1644
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 34 letters. Notable word values: "the·God" (הָ֘אֵ֤ל) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "day" (י֤וֹם, 3 letters) and the longest is "He·bears·for·us" (יַעֲמׇס־לָ֗נוּ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 56: day, day. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "He·bears·for·us" (יַעֲמׇס־לָ֗נוּ), "our·salvation" (יְֽשׁוּעָתֵ֬נוּ). The root יום appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "day" (root יום, 121x in Psalms); "the·God" (root אל, 112x in Psalms); "blessed" (root ברך, 76x in Psalms). Full calculation: בָּ֤ר֣וּךְ [blessed] (228) + אֲדֹנָי֮ [Lord] (65) + י֤וֹם [day] (56) + י֥֫וֹם [day] (56) + יַעֲמׇס־לָ֗נוּ [He·bears·for·us] (266) + הָ֘אֵ֤ל [the·God] (36) + יְֽשׁוּעָתֵ֬נוּ [our·salvation] (842) + סֶֽלָה [Selah] (95) = 1644.
Rashi
"Blessed is the Lord, etc." — This is part of the song mentioned above: “Sing to God.” "lavishes upon us" — He will give us a great salvation, [greater] than any burden, as much as we can carry. (I found: "every day...lavishes upon us" — He always behaves in this manner to us, that for every distress there is a salvation.)
Ibn Ezra
"Blessed is Hashem" — he gives thanks to Hashem, who strengthened his hand. "He bears for us" (יעמס לנו) — His blessings. And some say that the object [of the verb] is "our salvation," and "the God" then connects with "for deliverances" — "to us, the God, He alone, is for deliverances" — and He has results and causes with which to bring death upon our enemies.
Radak
"Blessed be Hashem" — may God, who is our salvation, having saved us from a great and mighty force, bear His blessings for us. "He bears" [ya'amos] — its meaning is "he carries," and "His blessings" or "His good things" is elided, and the ellipsis is to be understood according to the context. Or its meaning is "He bears for us our salvation," which is mentioned afterward — and its meaning is: God bears for us our salvation, and day by day He is blessed.
Metzudat David
"Blessed be the Lord" — it is fitting for us to say, blessed be Hashem, who each day loads [gifts] upon us; meaning, His blessings or His good things; and the verse is terse regarding a matter that is self-understood. "the God" — He is the God who is our salvation forever.
Metzudat Zion
"He bears" (ya'amos) — an expression of loading a burden, as in "a burdensome stone" (even ma'amasah) (ibid.).
Malbim
'Blessed is Hashem, day by day' — and for this He is blessed, for what He does every day, both for what He did in ancient times and for what He does in the latter days. For 'the God bears our salvation for us' — He carries and bears our salvation on our behalf; for the salvations that He wrought in ancient times remain with Him, and He carries them until the last generation, to perform them again in every single day and in every generation. 'Selah' marks the conclusion of the matter.
God is to us a God of deliverances; And to Hashem the Lord belong the issues of death.
verse value 2505
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 34 letters. Notable word values: "the·God" (הָ֤אֵ֣ל) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "a·God" (אֵ֤ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "of·saving·acts" (לְֽמ֫וֹשָׁע֥וֹת, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "of·saving·acts" (לְֽמ֫וֹשָׁע֥וֹת), "and·to·Hashem" (וְלֵיהֹוִ֥ה), "to·the·death" (לַ֝מָּ֗וֶת). The root אל appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·to·Hashem" (root יהוה, 688x in Psalms); "the·God" (root אל, 112x in Psalms); "Lord" (root אדון, 64x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Lord', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 2 words. Full calculation: הָ֤אֵ֣ל [the·God] (36) + לָנוּ֮ [to·us] (86) + אֵ֤ל [a·God] (31) + לְֽמ֫וֹשָׁע֥וֹת [of·saving·acts] (852) + וְלֵיהֹוִ֥ה [and·to·Hashem] (62) + אֲדֹנָ֑י [Lord] (65) + לַ֝מָּ֗וֶת [to·the·death] (476) + תֹּצָאֽוֹת [issues] (897) = 2505.
Rashi
"God is to us the God of salvations" — God is our Savior, but He has many paths, i.e., kinds of death. תוצאות means, ways to death. However, He does not lay them upon us, but with them He wounds the head of His enemies.
Radak
"God is to us" — He is to us for salvations, and for our enemies He has "issuings" (totza'ot) to put them to death; this is "to death belong the issuings" — meaning: He has "outcomes" of judgments to bring forth sentences of death in many matters, to kill His enemies and destroy them.
Metzudat David
"a God of deliverances" — He is for us a God to save, and not to bring evil; for even though in His hand are many kinds of means for the soul to depart from the body, to bring death, nevertheless He will not bring them upon us.
Malbim
'The God' — (part 3) 'God — He is to us the God,' and the might, 'the God of deliverances' — the strength of the salvations is found in Him. But this is only for us; whereas for our adversaries, 'to Hashem, God, belong the goings-forth of death' — the outer limits and boundaries where death dwells belong to Hashem. He depicts it as if death has its own designated territories, namely outside the Land, and does not rule in the Land of Israel; and there are its outer limits and its border, which it has no permission to cross, for from its outer limits and its borders onward belong to Hashem — the angel of death does not come there. And who then will kill there the enemies who reached Mount Bashan, where the angel of death has no dominion? He says: 'Rather, God will crush the head of His enemies' — there death will not crush them, but God Himself will crush their heads. And also 'He will crush the hairy crown' — the crown of Esau, the hairy man, meaning the crown of the children of Edom, 'who walks about in his guilt' and his sins. And the intent is that they did not die in Bashan by death in the natural way, but by Hashem, in a miraculous manner, not by natural death.
Surely God will smite through the head of His enemies, The hairy scalp of the one who goes about in his guiltiness.
verse value 2417
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 37 letters. The shortest word is "head·of" (רֹ֤אשׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "surely·God" (אַךְ־אֱלֹהִ֗ים, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "will·smite·through" (יִמְחַץ֮), "scalp·of" (קׇדְקֹ֥ד), "who·walks·about" (מִ֝תְהַלֵּ֗ךְ). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "His·enemies" (root איב, 71x in Psalms); "who·walks·about" (root הלך, 68x in Psalms); "head·of" (root ראש, 33x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'hair', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 2 words. Full calculation: אַךְ־אֱלֹהִ֗ים [surely·God] (107) + יִמְחַץ֮ [will·smite·through] (148) + רֹ֤אשׁ [head·of] (501) + אֹ֫יְבָ֥יו [His·enemies] (29) + קׇדְקֹ֥ד [scalp·of] (208) + שֵׂעָ֑ר [hair] (570) + מִ֝תְהַלֵּ֗ךְ [who·walks·about] (495) + בַּאֲשָׁמָֽיו [in·his·guilt] (359) = 2417.
Rashi
"the hairy pate" — The pate of Esau, who is a “hairy man,” and who always goes with his guilt.
Radak
"Surely" — in a single night, in one moment, He struck one hundred and eighty thousand. "God" — He alone is the one who will do this, that He will smite the head of His enemies without sword and without spear, in a single night. "The hairy scalp" [kodkod se'ar] — because at the crown of the head the hair of the head parts, half to the right and half to the left; and since the "kodkod" (crown) is the edge of the head, "kodkod" is used as a term for the decrees that come down upon a person, whether evil or good. "Who goes about in his guilt" — He will smite the crown of the one who goes about in his guilt and his wickedness and does not repent of it.
Metzudat David
"Surely," etc. — surely, with those kinds of deaths, He will smite the head of His enemies, and not our heads. "The hairy scalp" — the crown of the head is called this, because there the hair of the head parts, this way and that; and it refers back to "He will smite," meaning: with those [kinds of death] He will smite the crown of whoever walks about clinging to his guilt and does not turn back from it.
Metzudat Zion
"He will smite through" (yimchatz) — an expression of crushing and wounding, as in "You struck through the head" (machatzta rosh) (Habakkuk 3).
The Lord said: 'I will bring back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea;
verse value 1980
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 27 letters. Verse gematria: 1980 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "sea" (יָֽם, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·the·depths·of" (מִֽמְּצֻל֥וֹת, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 313: I·will·bring·back, I·will·bring·back. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "from·Bashan" (מִבָּשָׁ֣ן), "from·the·depths·of" (מִֽמְּצֻל֥וֹת). The root שוב appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "said" (root אמר, 111x in Psalms); "I·will·bring·back" (root שוב, 72x in Psalms); "Lord" (root אדון, 64x in Psalms). First appearance of the root בשן ("from·Bashan") in Psalms. First appearance of the root מצולה ("from·the·depths·of") in Psalms. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·will·bring·back', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: אָמַ֣ר [said] (241) + אֲ֭דֹנָי [Lord] (65) + מִבָּשָׁ֣ן [from·Bashan] (392) + אָשִׁ֑יב [I·will·bring·back] (313) + אָ֝שִׁ֗יב [I·will·bring·back] (313) + מִֽמְּצֻל֥וֹת [from·the·depths·of] (606) + יָֽם [sea] (50) = 1980.
Rashi
"The Lord said, “I shall restore from Bashan”" — For so He promised to restore us from the mighty ones of Bashan and from the islands of the sea.
Ibn Ezra
"Said" — I have seen many interpretations, and not one of them fits with what precedes and follows it. And in my opinion, its meaning is that the enemy who comes to Bashan, to the Land of Israel, will return to his home just as one who drowns returns [never again] in the depths of the sea. And the sense of "said" is "so Hashem decreed," as I have explained in several places.
Radak
"I will bring back" — the enemies from the land of Israel, just as I brought back Egypt from the depths of the sea — meaning that they did not return to Egypt but drowned in the sea — so too the camp of the king of Assyria. "And He mentions Bashan" — which is in the land of Gilead, because that is where the king of Assyria's conquest began against Israel.
Metzudat David
"Hashem said" — He has already promised us to bring us back to the Land of Israel.
Metzudat Zion
"From the depths of the sea" (mimtzulot yam) — from the depth of the sea.
Malbim
'Hashem said' — Hashem said to death: Here you shall not do the crushing; rather, 'I will bring back from Bashan' — that I will bring back the survivors of the enemy from Bashan, so that they will flee from there to outside the Land. And also 'I will bring back' the enemy 'from the depths of the sea' — that is, the Sea of Salt (the Dead Sea), which was also on that eastern border, and there too they fought, as it is written, 'And Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the Valley of Salt' (Psalms 60:2) — for the Valley of Salt had originally been a sea there, and in its place the Valley of Salt was formed, as is known. And I will bring them back from the Land to the border of their own land, where the angel of death has dominion.
That your foot may wade through blood, That the tongue of your dogs may have its portion from your enemies.'
verse value 1699
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 34 letters. The shortest word is "in·blood" (בְּ֫דָ֥ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·enemies" (מֵאֹיְבִ֥ים, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "you·may·smite·through" (תִּ֥מְחַ֥ץ), "your·dogs" (כְּלָבֶ֑יךָ), "from·enemies" (מֵאֹיְבִ֥ים). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·enemies" (root איב, 71x in Psalms); "its·portion" (root מן, 59x in Psalms); "tongue·of" (root לשון, 33x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·dogs', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 2 words. Full calculation: לְמַ֤עַן [so·that] (190) + תִּ֥מְחַ֥ץ [you·may·smite·through] (538) + רַגְלְךָ֗ [your·foot] (253) + בְּ֫דָ֥ם [in·blood] (46) + לְשׁ֥וֹן [tongue·of] (386) + כְּלָבֶ֑יךָ [your·dogs] (82) + מֵאֹיְבִ֥ים [from·enemies] (103) + מִנֵּֽהוּ [its·portion] (101) = 1699.
Rashi
"In order that your foot may wade through blood" — When He crushes the head of the enemy, our feet will wade through their blood. תִּמְחַץ is an expression of splitting into the blood, as (Jud. 5: 26): “she split (ומחצה) and penetrated his temple,” like בָּקְעָה, she split. This is Mishnaic Hebrew: “and the pilgrims were wading (בוקעים) up to their knees in blood.” Another explanation: תִּמְחַץ The name of a vessel with which they draw wine from the pit is called מַחַץ, in Tractate Avodah Zarah (72b). "from the enemies" — From the blood of the enemies. "will have its portion" — Heb. מנהו, its sustenance will be, as we say (Suc. 39b): “How do we know that מן is an expression of food?” For it is written (Dan. 1: 10): “who appointed (מנה) your food, etc.”
Ibn Ezra
"That your foot may wade" (למען תמחץ רגלך) — "your foot" is addressed to David directly, for [it was said] "you have ascended on high." The taf of "תמחץ רגלך" is feminine, like "my foot has stood on level ground," and the word would then be among the intransitive verbs; or the taf of "תמחץ" is addressed to David directly, and this is by way of a parable. And Rabbi Judah said that "תמחץ" is an inversion [of letters], like "stained garments" (חמוץ בגדים). "The tongue of your dogs" — an allusion to the enemies who used to speak against David. "From the enemies" — from the blood of the enemies. "Its portion" (מנהו) — like "from it and onward," and it appears in an altered form because it is at the end of the verse. And some say: "from the enemies" means "from among the general body." "And its portion" (ומנהו) — like "a hint (שמץ) of a portion (מנהו)," alluding to a portion. And others said that "מנהו" is like "commanded it" (צוהו), and it is not usual for the three dots [i.e., a qamatz] to appear under a form that should take a great qamatz, for it is instead a small patach.
Radak
"That you may crush" [temachetz] — it means "you shall redden" (te'adem), like a transposition of "tachmotz," from "chamutz begadim" (stained garments), which means "red." "In the blood of the tongue" — "That your foot may be reddened, and the tongue of your dogs that lap up the blood of the enemies may be reddened" — meaning that the corpses will be eaten by the dogs, and the tongue of the dogs will become red from the blood, and the foot of the one walking upon them will also become red. "The sole of your foot" and "the paw of your dogs" refer to Israel. And the word "in blood" [bedam] is grammatically attached to the word "from the enemies" (me'oyvim), which is distant from it, not to "the tongue of your dogs," which is near it — and there are many similar cases, therefore "bedam" takes a kamatz, and because of the mem of "me'oyvim" it does not follow the rule of the construct state to take a patach. And the word "minehu" (from him) is an added clarification, since it already said "me'oyvim" (from the enemies); yet it further says "minehu," which is singular in a general sense. Or its meaning may be "minehu" — from the king of Assyria — and this is the correct view, for even though he did not die in the camp of Assyria, when he returned to his land in disgrace, his own sons struck him down with the sword.
Metzudat David
"That your foot may wade through" — so that your feet will appear as if they were smitten, because you will tread in the blood of your slain enemies and soil your feet with their blood. "Its portion" — the preparation of food; rather, in the sense of: 'your dogs' — they will be nourished from the blood of your enemies, for their blood will be lapped up by its tongue.
Metzudat Zion
"Manehu" — an expression of providing food, as in "it is manna" (man hu) (Exodus 17).
Malbim
'That your foot may wade through blood' — for these who flee back from the Land, you will slay with your sword, and your foot will be dipped in their blood. And also your dogs will crush — 'the tongue of your dogs shall have its portion from the enemies' — he depicts death as a chief of the executioners, who has dogs that go with him to eat the slain; and the dogs will crush with their tongues, taking 'from the enemies,' who are 'his portion' — that is, they are from them and from their multitude, for the enemies are partners and akin to the dogs of death, since after death slays them, his dogs will eat their flesh. And the rhetorical figure is that in the Land of Israel they fell by Hashem's hand, by way of a miracle, and when they went out from the border of the Land of Israel, they pursued after them and put them to death by the sword, and cast their flesh to the dogs.
They see Your goings, O God, Even the goings of my God, my King, in holiness.
verse value 1812
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 33 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִ֑ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "they·see" (רָא֣וּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "Your·goings" (הֲלִיכוֹתֶ֣יךָ, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "Your·goings" (הֲלִיכוֹתֶ֣יךָ), "goings·of" (הֲלִ֘יכ֤וֹת). The root הליכה appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "my·God" (root אל, 112x in Psalms); "they·see" (root ראה, 100x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'God', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: רָא֣וּ [they·see] (207) + הֲלִיכוֹתֶ֣יךָ [Your·goings] (501) + אֱלֹהִ֑ים [God] (86) + הֲלִ֘יכ֤וֹת [goings·of] (471) + אֵלִ֖י [my·God] (41) + מַלְכִּ֣י [my·King] (100) + בַקֹּֽדֶשׁ [in·holiness] (406) = 1812.
Rashi
"They saw Your ways, O God" — That is to say, it is fitting that You save these people, for when they saw Your ways in Your sanctity in the sea, singers came first to sing before You the Song of the Sea, and after them came the minstrels—these are the angels.
Ibn Ezra
"They have seen" — Israel [saw] these ways and goings that Hashem went with Israel, time after time. The sense of "in holiness" (בקדש) — the heavens, like "the stars from their courses."
Radak
"They have seen" — Israel saw the defeat of the enemies, and by this they saw Your goings and recognized that Your goings meant that You went before them and struck their enemies. And those goings were the "goings of my God, my King, in holiness" — meaning He is King in the heavens, which is the place of holiness, and He sent His angels to the aid of Israel.
Metzudat David
"They see" — that is to say, they are worthy of this, for they saw Your goings into the midst of the sea, in the pillar of cloud, in holiness — He who dwells in the holy heavens.
Malbim
'They saw' — after he has recounted the matter of the war, he now recounts how Hashem, the Master of Hosts, returned with His people to the Land of Israel after the victory, and how they sang to Him in assemblies. And just as he earlier likened his poetic imagery to the imagery of the master of the prophets, 'And it came to pass, when the ark set forward...' (Numbers 10:35), so now he likens His return to what is said there, 'and when it rested, he would say: Return, O Hashem, unto the ten thousands of the thousands of Israel' (Numbers 10:36) — for when Hashem returned from the war, myriads upon thousands of Israel went out to meet Him with timbrels and dances, at the time 'they saw Your goings, O God, in holiness' — that You returned from across the Jordan to the Holy Land, and they saw Your goings, going in holiness. Then 'the singers went before' — before Your goings the singers went, like a king returning from victory, with singers going before him; 'after them the players on instruments' — and the singers went after the players who played, 'in the midst of' maidens 'beating timbrels' — the players went first, and after them, before the goings of the king, went the singers, to sing of his might and his victory.
The singers go before, the minstrels follow after, In the midst of damsels playing upon timbrels.
verse value 3008
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 31 letters. The shortest word is "after" (אַחַ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "playing·timbrels" (תּוֹפֵפֽוֹת, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "minstrels" (נֹגְנִ֑ים), "playing·timbrels" (תּוֹפֵפֽוֹת). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "singers" (root שיר, 68x in Psalms); "go·before" (root קדם, 23x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'minstrels', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: קִדְּמ֣וּ [go·before] (150) + שָׁ֭רִים [singers] (550) + אַחַ֣ר [after] (209) + נֹגְנִ֑ים [minstrels] (153) + בְּת֥וֹךְ [in·the·midst·of] (428) + עֲ֝לָמ֗וֹת [young·women] (546) + תּוֹפֵפֽוֹת [playing·timbrels] (972) = 3008.
Rashi
"in the midst of maidens playing timbrels" — With Miriam and her maidens, who took the timbrel in her hand, and they said with their praise...
Ibn Ezra
"Went before," "the timbrel-players" (תופפות) — [this is either] a descriptive noun, or [feminine] participles from a doubled verb-root, and the first letter takes a qamatz because it is at the end of the verse — meaning only that they are beating timbrels upon their hearts, [being modest maidens] hidden from view.
Radak
"They went before" [kidmu] — the singers who were in Israel, singing with the mouth, and after them the players of instruments, and among them the young women beating timbrels; or, alternatively, the singers and the players of instruments went amid young women beating timbrels. And the meaning of "tofafot" is "striking upon the timbrel that is in their hand," for it is the way of women to play the timbrel. "After the players of instruments" [achar noganim] — like "ve'achar" (and after). "Playing timbrels" [tofafot] — a descriptive form, on the pattern of "shomemot" (desolate women).
Metzudat David
"The singers go before" — when they were drawn after Him and walked on dry land, and the Egyptians were drowned, then the singers went first, singing the song aloud, and after them the musicians played on instruments to sweeten the sound. "In the midst of damsels" — these are Miriam and her companions; among themselves they were beating timbrels to give thanks for the miracle.
Metzudat Zion
"Singers" (sharim) — those who sing. "Damsels" (alamot) — young women. "Playing timbrels" (tofafot) — from the language of "tof" (timbrel), which is a musical instrument.
'Bless you God in full assemblies, Even the Lord, you who are from the fountain of Israel.'
verse value 1889
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 30 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִ֑ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "bless" (בָּרְכ֣וּ, 4 letters) and the longest is "in·assemblies" (בְּֽ֭מַקְהֵלוֹת, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "in·assemblies" (בְּֽ֭מַקְהֵלוֹת), "from·the·fountain·of" (מִמְּק֥וֹר). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "bless" (root ברך, 76x in Psalms); "Lord" (root אדון, 64x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'God', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: בְּֽ֭מַקְהֵלוֹת [in·assemblies] (583) + בָּרְכ֣וּ [bless] (228) + אֱלֹהִ֑ים [God] (86) + אֲ֝דֹנָ֗י [Lord] (65) + מִמְּק֥וֹר [from·the·fountain·of] (386) + יִשְׂרָאֵֽל [Israel] (541) = 1889.
Rashi
"In congregations bless God, the Lord, from the womb of Israel" — Even the fetuses in their mothers’ wombs recited the Song.
Ibn Ezra
"In full assemblies," "from the fountain of Israel" — [meaning] those who go forth from the source of Israel, like "and those who have issued from the waters of Judah."
Radak
"In full assemblies, bless God" — to make known His wonders to all. "From the fountain of Israel" — bless Hashem, all those who came forth from the fountain of Israel.
Metzudat David
"In full assemblies" — in a great assembly, bless Hashem. "From the fountain of Israel" — those who bless were those who come from the fountain of Israel, that is to say, from the seed of Israel; he calls the seed by the name of the waters of a fountain, and similarly: "and from the waters of Judah came forth" (Isaiah 48:1).
Malbim
'In assemblies' — and with them went many assemblies who 'bless God and Hashem, from the fountain of Israel,' meaning in the Land of Israel. He likens the camps that went out to war outside the Land to being likewise assemblies, like water that flows out from a fountain; and those who went out to meet them from the Land of Israel he depicts as the fountain itself, full of many waters and countless assemblies.
There is Benjamin, the youngest, ruling them, The princes of Judah their council, The princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
verse value 4014
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 43 letters. Verse gematria: 4014 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "there" (שָׁ֤ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "Benjamin" (בִּנְיָמִ֨ן, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 510: princes·of, princes·of, princes·of. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "Benjamin" (בִּנְיָמִ֨ן), "ruling·them" (רֹדֵ֗ם), "their·council" (רִגְמָתָ֑ם). The root שרי appears 3 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "there" (root שם, 119x in Psalms). First appearance of the root שרי ("princes·of") in Psalms. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'their·council', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: שָׁ֤ם [there] (340) + בִּנְיָמִ֨ן [Benjamin] (152) + צָעִ֡יר [little] (370) + רֹדֵ֗ם [ruling·them] (244) + שָׂרֵ֣י [princes·of] (510) + יְ֭הוּדָה [Judah] (30) + רִגְמָתָ֑ם [their·council] (683) + שָׂרֵ֥י [princes·of] (510) + זְ֝בֻל֗וּן [Zebulun] (95) + שָׂרֵ֥י [princes·of] (510) + נַפְתָּלִֽי [Naphtali] (570) = 4014.
Rashi
"There Benjamin" — the youngest became the ruler over them. "rules over them" — Heb. רֹדֵם, like רֹדָם, with a “kamatz.” From there, he merited to become king because he descended first into the sea, and so did Samuel say to Saul (I Sam. 15:17): “Even if you are small in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel?” which Jonathan paraphrases: The tribe of Benjamin crossed the sea at the head of all the other tribes. "the princes of Judah pelt them with stones" — They envy them and throw stones at them, and so do the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naftali. So, he says to him, “Your God has commanded your strength.” Another explanation: רִגְמָתָם is the equivalent of רִקְמָתָם, their embroidery, their embroidered garments, an expression of purple (ארגמן). In this way Menachem associated it (p. 161).
Ibn Ezra
"There is Benjamin, the youngest" (שם בנימן צעיר) — in number, because the time was close to the incident of the concubine at Gibeah, or because he was the youngest of all the sons. The sense of "ruling them" (רדם) — the ruler that they have; and the mem is a [suffix] marker, as in "in assemblies" (במקהלות), and it comes with a small qamatz instead of a great one, like "who brought them up out of the sea." "Their council" (ורגמתם) — like "princes"; and so too "Regem-melech" [is used similarly]; and I have already mentioned this verse at the beginning of the psalm.
Radak
"There is Benjamin" — and Judah were there in the days of Hezekiah, since the rest of the tribes were exiled in the days of Hoshea son of Elah, in the sixth year of Hezekiah. And as for what it says, "the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali" — this is because a few of them remained, scattered throughout the land of Israel, a few here and a few there. "Their assembly" [rigmatam] — their gathering, meaning that in Jerusalem they were all gathered together. "Benjamin, the youngest, ruling them" — for he was the youngest of the tribes. "Ruling them" [rodem] — Benjamin ruled over the enemies, and even though they were a great force, nevertheless God struck them, and Israel plundered the spoil. And the word "rodem" has a kamatz katan (short kamatz) in place of a kamatz gadol (long kamatz). "There" [sham] — meaning: in the place of blessing and praise will be all the princes and great ones of these tribes, and they will all bless Hashem in the assemblies of the people.
Metzudat David
"There" — because of the descent into the sea, which they went down there, Benjamin, the youngest of the tribes, merited that Saul the king should come forth from him, to be a ruler and governor over Israel, for they went down first into the sea, and because of this they merited the kingship — so our Rabbis, of blessed memory, taught. "They stoned them" [רגמתם] — they were stoning them with stones, for they were jealous of them. "The princes of Zebulun," etc. — and they too stoned them with stones; and this refers back to what was said above, to say that they are worthy of the miracle, for they are not ingrates, and they give thanks for the miracle.
Metzudat Zion
"Youngest" (tza'ir) — small/young. "Ruling them" (rodem) — an expression of dominion, as in "rule in the midst of your enemies" (redeh bekerev oyecha) (below, Psalm 110). "Rigmatam" ("their council") — an expression of throwing stones.
Malbim
"There" — (these are the words of the song that they spoke) — they depict the peoples who brought captives as though they had brought wild beasts of the wilderness, bulls together with mighty ones, and they submitted before them, to the point that a young lad, "the youngest," who is "Benjamin, rules them" with his staff; and "the princes of Judah" did not need a staff, for they subdued it through "their stoning" — by throwing a handful of stones at them, just as one throws stones at cattle to turn them onto the path — and so too "the princes of Zebulun and Naphtali."
Your God has commanded your strength; Be strong, O God, You who have wrought for us
verse value 1117
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 29 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִ֑ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "who" (ז֝֗וּ, 2 letters) and the longest is "your·God" (אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 86: God, for·us. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "be·strong" (עוּזָּ֥ה). The root אלהים appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "your·God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "your·strength" (root עז, 40x in Psalms); "You·have·wrought" (root פעל, 38x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'God', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: צִוָּ֥ה [has·commanded] (101) + אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ [your·God] (66) + עֻ֫זֶּ֥ךָ [your·strength] (97) + עוּזָּ֥ה [be·strong] (88) + אֱלֹהִ֑ים [God] (86) + ז֝֗וּ [who] (13) + פָּעַ֥לְתָּ [You·have·wrought] (580) + לָּֽנוּ [for·us] (86) = 1117.
Rashi
"show this strength, O God, etc." — Now the Psalmist returns to his prayer that he prayed, “Let God rise, and let His enemies scatter.” Show Your strength, O God, and strengthen Yourself, for You have wrought all these for us.
Ibn Ezra
"Has commanded," "your strength" (עזך) — [addressed] to David directly; and this "עזה" is like "strength" — "You, O God, have wrought for us" — and behold, the pattern of "עזה" is like "חקה" [a statute].
Radak
"Your God has commanded your strength" — [Spoken] concerning Israel in general, or concerning Hezekiah. He is saying: this miracle that you had over the enemy, your God commanded it; therefore all of you should give thanks. "You who have wrought for us" — this strength, You wrought it for us; and 'be strong' (עוּזָּה) is written with a vav, with a dagesh.
Metzudat David
"Your God has commanded" — your God has already commanded the might and the strength that will come to you. "Show Yourself strong, O God, this" — that is to say, this strength that comes from God, which He performed at the sea — this very thing You have already wrought for us in that redemption, for all the matters of the redemption are held in readiness and prepared.
Malbim
"Has commanded" — thus "your God" has commanded, thus "your strength" has commanded: He commanded that they be subdued before the people of Hashem. "Show Yourself strong, O God" — You are the strength of God! (He depicts strength as an abstract entity.) "This You have wrought," You, "for us" — for it was not by our own power that we performed this feat; that is to say, "this You have wrought for us from Your Temple," which is "over Jerusalem," for in the Temple the strength of Hashem dwells. Therefore "kings shall bring You tribute" — the tribute that kings bring belongs to You. This alludes to what is written (II Samuel 8:10), that Toi, king of Hamath, sent David vessels of silver and vessels of gold because David had struck down Hadadezer, and David dedicated them to Hashem.
Out of Your temple at Jerusalem, Where kings shall bring presents to You.
verse value 1375
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "to·You" (לְךָ֤, 2 letters) and the longest is "at·Jerusalem" (עַל־יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "from·Your·temple" (מֵ֭הֵיכָלֶךָ), "at·Jerusalem" (עַל־יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם), "shall·bring" (יוֹבִ֖ילוּ). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "kings" (root מלך, 70x in Psalms); "to·You" (root לך, 35x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'at·Jerusalem', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 4 words. Full calculation: מֵ֭הֵיכָלֶךָ [from·Your·temple] (125) + עַל־יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם [at·Jerusalem] (686) + לְךָ֤ [to·You] (50) + יוֹבִ֖ילוּ [shall·bring] (64) + מְלָכִ֣ים [kings] (140) + שָֽׁי [gift] (310) = 1375.
Rashi
"From Your Temple, which is over Jerusalem, etc." — And since the kings will see the glory of Your temple, which is over Jerusalem, they will bring You a gift and a tribute.
Ibn Ezra
"Out of Your temple" (מהיכלך) — the meaning is that the kaf of "מהיכלך" is addressed to David directly: even to the far-off places, the gifts that are brought will come to you.
Radak
"Out of Your temple" — According to its plain sense, like 'God is awesome out of Your sanctuaries' — that is, from Your temple, where the Glory dwells, there went forth over Jerusalem the strength by which it was saved from the enemy, [strength] with which the other cities of Judah were not saved. Therefore kings shall bring tribute, recognizing that the strength that came to Israel came from the glory of Hashem who dwells among them; therefore kings shall bring You a gift.
Metzudat David
"Out of Your temple" — because of the glory of Your temple, which is over Jerusalem, it will be the cause that kings will bring You tribute.
Metzudat Zion
"They shall bring" (yovilu) — they shall bring. "Presents" (shai) — a gift, as in "a gift shall be brought to Hashem" (yuval shai laHashem) (Isaiah 18:7).
Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds, The multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the peoples, Every one submitting himself with pieces of silver; He has scattered the peoples who delight in war!
verse value 4371
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 56 letters. The shortest word is "rebuke" (גְּעַ֨ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "with·pieces·of·silver" (בְּרַצֵּי־כָ֑סֶף, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 160: peoples, peoples. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "rebuke" (גְּעַ֨ר), "reeds" (קָנֶ֡ה), "with·the·calves·of" (בְּעֶגְלֵ֬י). The root עם appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "peoples" (root עם, 135x in Psalms); "wild·beast·of" (root חי, 43x in Psalms); "battles" (root קרב, 37x in Psalms). First appearance of the root קנה ("reeds") in Psalms. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·pieces·of·silver', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 4 words. Full calculation: גְּעַ֨ר [rebuke] (273) + חַיַּ֪ת [wild·beast·of] (418) + קָנֶ֡ה [reeds] (155) + עֲדַ֤ת [multitude·of] (474) + אַבִּירִ֨ים [mighty·ones] (263) + בְּעֶגְלֵ֬י [with·the·calves·of] (115) + עַמִּ֗ים [peoples] (160) + מִתְרַפֵּ֥ס [submitting·himself] (780) + בְּרַצֵּי־כָ֑סֶף [with·pieces·of·silver] (462) + בִּזַּ֥ר [He·has·scattered] (209) + עַ֝מִּ֗ים [peoples] (160) + קְרָב֥וֹת [battles] (708) + יֶחְפָּֽצוּ [they·delight·in] (194) = 4371.
Rashi
"Rebuke the people of the forest" — This is Ishmael [Esau], who is compared to the “boar from the forest,” which dwells among the reeds (below 80:14). "the congregation of mighty bulls, among peoples like calves" — A people that has become fat and thick like mighty bulls among the other nations, which are merely like calves as compared to them. "submitting himself for pieces of silver" — They do not submit themselves to any person unless he persuades them with money. "he scatters peoples" — They scattered the tribes, as it is said: (Deut. 33:3): “Also He loves the peoples,” and they always desire battles. They want to fight with us.
Ibn Ezra
"Rebuke" (גער) — like "behold, I rebuke for you" — a form that has no bet [prefix]. "The beast" (חית) — [as in] "the congregation, Your creatures dwell in it." "Reed" (קנה) — the beast whose spears are long, [named] like "the reed"; and likewise this is the name for spears in the language of Kedar. "Among the calves of the peoples" — like "the congregation of the mighty ones," like "the mighty ones of Bashan," "the cows of Bashan" — and the sense is doubled. "Rebuke" (גער) — [rebuke] them, until each one of them grovels before you. "With pieces of silver" (ברצי כסף) — to give tribute; he says that all the men who wished to fight against you have scattered. "Scattered" (בזר) — like "and he scatters wealth to them." "And wars" (וקרבות) — like "who trains my hands for war."
Radak
"Rebuke" — This is an expression of destruction, and it is an infinitive on the pattern of 'shakhav ha-melekh' (the king lay down), and its meaning is: 'the beast of the reeds is rebuked.' Or, 'rebuke' may be an imperative used in place of the tav-prefixed future form (the 'eitan' letters — the standard prefixes of the imperfect), meaning: kings will bring You tribute when You rebuke the beast of the reeds. "The multitude of the bulls" — who came with the calves of the peoples; and [Hashem] destroyed them until the survivors among them came prostrating themselves before You with pieces of silver; and the meaning of 'ritzei' is 'pieces of silver.' "He has scattered the peoples who delight in war" — when He scattered those peoples who used to desire war. "He has scattered (bizar)" — like 'pizar' (he scattered); and the letters bet and pe are articulated from the same place. "Chayat" — [used] like 'the multitude' (adat). "Reed (kaneh)" — this is the spear; that is, the multitude of spearmen who fight with spears. "With the calves of the peoples" — these are the kings and officers. "Submitting himself (mitrapes)" — like 'prostrating himself.' He likened them to calves, as in 'Many bulls have surrounded me.'
Metzudat David
"The beast of the reeds" — this is the nation of Ishmael, which resembles a beast that dwells among the reeds that are in the forest; and they are the mighty herd. "Submitting himself" [מתרפס] — made trampled, that is to say, subdued and brought low for the sake of being appeased with silver, for without silver there is no way to appease him, to subdue the insolence of his heart. "He has scattered the peoples" — in the insolence of his heart he scatters peoples, and at all times they desire war.
Metzudat Zion
"Rebuke" (ge'ar) — an expression of a shout of reproof. "Bulls" (abirim) — strong ones. "Submitting himself" (mitrapes) — an expression of trampling, as in "it trampled with its feet" (beraglayha rafsah) (Daniel 7). "With pieces of" (beratzei) — from the language of "ritzui" (favor/appeasement). "He has scattered" (bazar) — like "pazar" (he scattered), for the letters bet and peh interchange; and likewise "and he will scatter their wealth to them" (verechush lahem yivzor) (ibid., 11). "Wars" (kravot) — wars, as in "in the day of battle" (beyom krav) (below, Psalm 78).
Malbim
"Rebuke" — that he sent "to You" a gift, so that "You would rebuke the wild beast of the reeds and the assembly of the mighty among the calves of the peoples" — that Toi sent a tribute because his enemies, who had been like the wild beast of the reeds that preys and like the assembly of the mighty that gore with their horns, were conquered. "Submitting himself" — that is, Toi submits and humbles himself before You "with pieces of silver," which he "scattered" — plundered — "from the peoples" who "delight in war." He brought You a tribute of silver that he had gathered from the spoil of his enemies, so that You would rebuke the wild beast of the reeds — this refers to David's having struck down the army of Hadadezer.
Nobles shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.
verse value 2527
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 36 letters. The shortest word is "from" (מִנִּ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "nobles" (חַ֭שְׁמַנִּים, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "shall·come" (יֶאֱתָ֣יוּ), "nobles" (חַ֭שְׁמַנִּים), "Ethiopia" (כּ֥וּשׁ). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "shall·come" (root אתה, 115x in Psalms); "his·hands" (root יד, 78x in Psalms). First appearance of the root מצרי ("Egypt") in Psalms. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Egypt', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: יֶאֱתָ֣יוּ [shall·come] (427) + חַ֭שְׁמַנִּים [nobles] (448) + מִנִּ֣י [from] (100) + מִצְרָ֑יִם [Egypt] (380) + כּ֥וּשׁ [Ethiopia] (326) + תָּרִ֥יץ [shall·hasten] (700) + יָ֝דָ֗יו [his·hands] (30) + לֵאלֹהִֽים [to·God] (116) = 2527.
Rashi
"Gifts will be brought" — (Then, when You destroy Esau and the King Messiah arises, they will bring you gifts from Egypt and from Cush.Parshandatha) Then, when You scatter the enemy, and the King Messiah arises in the future, they will bring you gifts from Egypt and from Cush. Menachem interpreted חשמנים as the name of a province, the dwellers of Hashmonah (p. 96), but the commentators interpret it as an expression of a gift.
Ibn Ezra
"Nobles shall come" (יאתיו חשמנים) — officials, like "Hashmonai"; and "Cush shall hasten" [to stretch out] her hands, with gold.
Radak
"Nobles (chashmanim)" — these are the officials and the great ones, similar to how Mattathias was called 'the Hasmonean' (Chashmonai). When Sennacherib came from his war against Kush and Egypt, he came with all that captive host to Jerusalem and encamped against the city; and those who were saved from the plague converted to the religion of Israel. And so it says, 'behold, the nobles shall come from Egypt' and they shall bring tribute to the Temple; and likewise, 'the congregation of Kush shall hasten its hands with a tribute-offering to God.' And it says 'shall hasten' regarding the hands, even though it is the feet that run, because it is the hands that bring the tribute-offering.
Metzudat David
"Nobles shall come" — then the great ones of Egypt will come with a gift to Hashem, in thanksgiving. "Shall hasten to stretch out her hands" — the feet will hasten the hands, to bring with them a gift to Hashem (for when the feet run, the hands also run, along with the whole body).
Metzudat Zion
"They shall come" (ye'etayu) — they shall come, as in "morning comes" (ata voker) (Isaiah 21). "Nobles" (chashmanim) — its meaning is great and important ones, and likewise "the Hasmonean and his sons." "Out of" (mini) — like "min" (from). "Hasten" (tarutz) — from the language of running and pursuing.
Malbim
(32-33) "Shall come" — and so, moreover, "nobles" and princes "shall come out of Egypt"; and also "Cush," which is very far away, "shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God"; and likewise "all the kingdoms of the earth" shall come and "sing to Hashem and make music to Him," as was said at the beginning of the matter, "sing to God, make music to His name," so that all shall recognize the power of Hashem and His might. "Selah" concludes the matter. (Part 4) "To Him who rides" — because he concluded with what he had begun, "sing to God, make music to His name," and there he had said, "extol Him who rides through the plains," which refers to His riding through the wilderness to save them by way of war, which is the way of nature. Now he says (sing) "to Him who rides through the highest heavens of old," who is He who conducts a supreme, miraculous governance, higher and more exalted than our heavens, which conduct the ordered, natural governance — for they, the highest heavens, influence the heavens and precede them in rank. Behold, "He gives forth with His voice a mighty voice," which is higher than the natural voice.
To the One who rides upon the heavens of heavens, which are of old; Lo, He utters His voice, a mighty voice.
verse value 1970
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "behold" (הֵ֥ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "heavens·of·old" (שְׁמֵי־קֶ֑דֶם, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "in·the·heavens·of" (בִּשְׁמֵ֣י), "heavens·of·old" (שְׁמֵי־קֶ֑דֶם). The root קול appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·the·heavens·of" (root שם, 119x in Psalms); "He·gives" (root נתן, 95x in Psalms); "with·His·voice" (root קול, 55x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'heavens·of·old', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 5 words. Full calculation: לָ֭רֹכֵב [to·the·One·who·rides] (252) + בִּשְׁמֵ֣י [in·the·heavens·of] (352) + שְׁמֵי־קֶ֑דֶם [heavens·of·old] (494) + הֵ֥ן [behold] (55) + יִתֵּ֥ן [He·gives] (460) + בְּ֝קוֹל֗וֹ [with·His·voice] (144) + ק֣וֹל [voice·of] (136) + עֹֽז [might] (77) = 1970.
Rashi
"behold He gives forth" — Heb. יתן, behold He gives.
Ibn Ezra
"To the One who rides" (לרוכב) — connected with the bet [prefix], in the manner of an animal upon which I ride; and the meaning is the heavens of heavens. The sense of "of old" (קדם) — it has a hidden meaning concerning the people of the generation; and the object [of the verb] is: He gives forth a mighty voice.
Radak
"To the One who rides upon the heavens of heavens, which are of old" — like 'the heaven of heavens'; this is the uppermost sphere that encompasses everything, called 'Aravot.' And it says 'of old' because the heavens and their host have stood [unchanged] from of old, from the day they were created — unlike the beings of the earth. "Lo, He utters His voice, a mighty voice" — He shall utter against the enemies with His voice, which is a mighty voice.
Metzudat David
"To the One who rides upon the heavens of heavens" — the heavens that are above the heavens, which He created in ancient days. "Lo, He gives" — behold, He is the One who gives forth a mighty voice to frighten all the people of the world.
Ascribe you strength to God; His majesty is over Israel, And His strength is in the skies.
verse value 2255
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 33 letters. The shortest word is "strength" (עֹ֗ז, 2 letters) and the longest is "over·Israel" (עַֽל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "give" (תְּנ֥וּ), "His·majesty" (גַּאֲוָת֑וֹ), "in·the·skies" (בַּשְּׁחָקִֽים). The root עז appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "give" (root נתן, 95x in Psalms); "over·Israel" (root ישראל, 61x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'His·majesty', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 2 words. Full calculation: תְּנ֥וּ [give] (456) + עֹ֗ז [strength] (77) + לֵאלֹ֫הִ֥ים [to·God] (116) + עַֽל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל [over·Israel] (641) + גַּאֲוָת֑וֹ [His·majesty] (416) + וְ֝עֻזּ֗וֹ [and·His·strength] (89) + בַּשְּׁחָקִֽים [in·the·skies] (460) = 2255.
Ibn Ezra
"Ascribe" — he explains what the voice is that Hashem uttered: "Ascribe strength," to give thanks in speech. "Over Israel" — for they are His treasure from among all the earth; over them His majesty will be seen. "And His strength is in the skies" — for from there the strength will come to Israel.
Radak
"Ascribe strength" — in words, give Him the strength [that is His due], for it was His strength that wrought vengeance for you against the enemies, and not your own power. "His majesty is over Israel, and His strength is in the skies" — the vav is a vav of comparison; that is, just as His strength is seen in the skies, as it is said, 'The heavens declare the glory of God,' so too His majesty is seen over Israel, for He fought on their behalf against the enemies with majesty and strength.
Metzudat David
"Ascribe strength" — say that all strength belongs to Hashem alone; and for the sake of Israel He showed His majesty, and His power is seen in the skies, in the movement of the stars and constellations, which do not deviate from their function.
Metzudat Zion
"Ascribe you" (tenu) — say, as in "they ascribed to David tens of thousands" (natnu leDavid revavot) (I Samuel 18:8); and it is possible that it is from the language of "there they shall recount the righteous acts of Hashem" (sham yitnu tzidkot Hashem) (Judges 5:11), which is an expression of recounting.
Malbim
"Ascribe" — indeed, this miraculous governance Hashem conducts only for the sake of Israel, when they are worthy of it according to their deeds (unlike the natural governance, which is constant and ever fixed). Therefore it says, "ascribe strength to God" — that you should prepare yourselves through good deeds, for through this you give Him the strength for this exalted governance. For "His majesty and His strength are over Israel, in the skies" — the governance of Hashem with respect to wonders and miracles is called in the holy writings by the name "the majesty of Hashem," by which He exalts Himself above nature and raises Himself over it; and this governance is fixed in "the skies," which are above the heavens and the constellations, the natural order. Behold, "His majesty and His strength, which are in the skies," to conduct the miraculous governance, is "over Israel" — for this He conducts only for their sake and according to their deeds, if they merit it. Therefore, "ascribe strength to God" — through good deeds.
Awful is God out of your holy places; The God of Israel, He gives strength and power to the people; Blessed be God.
verse value 3484
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 50 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִ֗ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. Verse gematria: 3484 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "God·of" (אֵ֤ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·your·sanctuaries" (מִֽמִּקְדָּ֫שֶׁ֥יךָ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 86: God, God. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "from·your·sanctuaries" (מִֽמִּקְדָּ֫שֶׁ֥יךָ), "and·power" (וְתַעֲצֻמ֥וֹת). The root אלהים appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 347x in Psalms); "to·the·people" (root עם, 135x in Psalms); "God·of" (root אל, 112x in Psalms). Full calculation: נ֤וֹרָ֥א [awesome] (257) + אֱלֹהִ֗ים [God] (86) + מִֽמִּקְדָּ֫שֶׁ֥יךָ [from·your·sanctuaries] (514) + אֵ֤ל [God·of] (31) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל [Israel] (541) + ה֤וּא [He] (12) + נֹתֵ֨ן [gives] (500) + עֹ֖ז [strength] (77) + וְתַעֲצֻמ֥וֹת [and·power] (1012) + לָעָ֗ם [to·the·people] (140) + בָּר֥וּךְ [blessed] (228) + אֱלֹהִֽים [God] (86) = 3484.
Rashi
"You are feared, O God, from Your Sanctuary" — Because You destroyed it, You are feared. If He did not show favoritism to His [own] Sanctuary, surely [He will] not [show favoritism] to the wicked of the heathens. The Midrash Aggadah explains: Do not read: מִמִּקְדָּשֶׁיךָ, “from Your Sanctuaries,” but מִמְּקֻדְּשֶׁיךָ, “from Your hallowed ones.” When the Holy One, blessed be He, executes justice upon the righteous, He is feared, elevated, and praised. Similarly, it is said (Lev. 10:3): “Through those near to me I will be sanctified.” [Also] (Exod. 29:43), “and it will be sanctified with My honor” [i.e., with My honored ones]. With the death of Aaron’s two sons (Zev. 115b). Our Rabbis, however, expounded on the entire psalm until (verse 20): “Blessed is the Lord; every day” as referring to the giving of the Torah; (verse 10) “generous rain” refers to the giving of the Torah, and (verse 11) “Your congregation dwelt therein,” means that they became engrossed in Torah (Mid. Ps. 68 with variations). But as for me I feel uncertain in explaining the expression ישבוּ as meaning that they became engrossed in Torah. Also, my heart is uneasy at explaining (verse 17) “the mountain that God desired for His dwelling” as referring to Mt. Sinai, because He did not desire it for His dwelling and [did] not [want] to dwell there forever, whereas here it is written: “Even the Lord will dwell there forever.” Likewise (verse 13): “Kings (מלכי) of hosts,” he explained as “angels (מלאכי) of hosts,” which is not the language of Scripture.
Ibn Ezra
"Awesome" (נורא) — the fear of God will be in the land, from the place of the Temple, in the manner of "Blessed is Hashem out of Zion." And correctly: the Temple on earth is directed opposite the Temple in heaven, as in "this is the gate of heaven" — and this is a hidden secret. And since he mentioned "ascribe strength to God" in speech, that they should acknowledge that He is the possessor of strength, he says that the strength is truly [expressed] in deed; also, the powers — Hashem gives them to Israel, and they give thanks to Hashem — therefore, "Blessed is God."
Radak
"God, out of Your holy places" — Awe shall come upon mankind from the Sanctuary, for the Glory dwells there, and from there the wonders performed for Israel went forth, and You are held in awe on their account. And it is written 'mi-mikdashekha' with a yod, in the plural, because the Sanctuary below corresponds directly to the Sanctuary above, which is the Throne of Glory, and it is for this reason that that place was chosen. Or, the plural 'Your sanctuaries' is because the Temple consisted of three chambers: the Ulam (porch), the Heichal (sanctuary), and the Devir (inner sanctuary). "To the people (la-am)" — with a kamatz under the lamed, indicating definiteness; that is, 'the known people,' namely Israel, who is His people. "Blessed be God" — and for this it is fitting that we thank Him, and say, 'Blessed be God.'
Metzudat David
"Out of Your holy places" — from the glory that dwells in the Temple, awe will come upon mankind, for from there all the wonders go forth. "The God of Israel" — He is the strength of Israel, and He has forever given might and strength to the people known and chosen by Him; and for this, God is blessed.
Metzudat Zion
"And power" (vata'atzumot) — from the language of "otzmah" (might) and strength.
Malbim
"Awesome is God out of Your holy places" — you, Israel, know that "out of Your holy places" — out of your Temple and out of that by which you sanctify yourselves before Him — "God is awesome"; that is, through it He conducts an awesome governance, an awesome, miraculous governance above nature, through which all shall fear Him. And since He is "the God of Israel" and watches over them with individual providence, "He gives strength and might to the people" — this strength is given to Israel, for this governance proceeds for their sake and according to their choice and their deeds, and into their hand this strength is given to rule over heaven and earth and to tread upon nature. "Blessed is God" for His wonders and His goodness.
Radak
Malbim