PSALMS 83

READING CYCLE THREE(see “Guide
to Good Bible Reading“)

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR’S INTENT AT
PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are
responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in
the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in
interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations
above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original
author’s intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one
and only one subject.

1. First paragraph

2. Second paragraph

3. Etc.

 

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

A. YHWH is intimately linked to His covenant
people. The planning and scheming of the surrounding ANE nations to attack
Israel, is a plan to attack Him (cf. Ps. 83:5 and note Ps. 83:12).

 

B. Several nations and people groups are
mentioned.

1. Edom

2. Ishmaelites

3. Moab

4. Hagrites

5. Gebal

6. Ammon

7. Amalek

8. Philistia

9. Tyre (i.e., Phoenicia)

10. Assyria

11. Midian (Numbers 11-14 refer to events in
Israel’s past where YHWH helped them)

12. Sisera and Jabin

13. Oreb and Zech

14. Zebah and Zalmunna

 

C. This Psalm of prayer (5
imperatives) for the destruction of Israel’s enemies is characterized by
a large number of imperfects used in a
jussive sense.

1. Ps. 83:1 ‒ two stated but three implied

2. Ps. 83:15-18 ‒ six (possibly eight with Ps.
83:15)

 

D. This Psalm uses several names for Deity.

1. God, Ps. 83:1a, 12b ‒ Elohim (BDB 43)

2. God, Ps. 83:1b ‒ El (BDB 42)

3. God, Ps. 83:13a ‒ Eloah (BDB 43)

4. Lord,
Ps. 83:16b, 18a ‒ YHWH (BDB 217)

5. Most High, Ps. 83:18b ‒ Elyon (BDB 751)

See SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY

 

E. This Psalm has a strong

1. evangelistic thrust (i.e., Ps. 83:16b, 18)

2. universal focus (Ps. 83:18b)

 

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 83:1-8
 ¹O God, do not
remain quiet;
 Do not be silent and, O God,
do not be still.
 ²For behold, Your
enemies make an uproar,
 And those who hate You have
exalted themselves.
 ³They make shrewd
plans against Your people,
 And conspire together against
Your treasured ones.
 ⁴They have said,
“Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation,
 That the name of Israel be
remembered no more.”
 ⁵For they have
conspired together with one mind;
 Against You they make a
covenant:
 ⁶The tents of Edom
and the Ishmaelites,
 Moab and the Hagrites;
 ⁷Gebal and Ammon and
Amalek,
 Philistia with the inhabitants
of Tyre;
 ⁸Assyria also has
joined with them;
 They have become a help to the
children of Lot.
 Selah.

83:1-8 This strophe describes the
inappropriate activities of the surrounding nations. The psalmist requests that
God act on Israel’s behalf.

1. do not remain quiet ‒ BDB 198, no verb but parallel to #2, #3

2. do not be silent ‒ BDB 361, KB 357, Qal imperfect used in a
jussive sense, cf. Ps. 28:1; 35:22; 50:3; 109:1

3. do not be still (i.e., inactive) ‒ BDB 1052, KB
1641, Qal imperfect used in a
jussive sense

The fact that the surrounding nations planned and acted out their aggression
(Ps. 83:2-8) caused the covenant people to wonder at YHWH’s apparent inactivity.

Notice the activity of the surrounding nations.

1. make un uproar ‒ BDB 242, KB 250, Qal imperfect, cf. Ps. 46:6 and very similar to
Ps. 2:1-2

2. exalted themselves (lit. raised their heads) ‒
BDB 669, KB 724, Qal
perfect, cf. Jdgs. 8:28; Zech.
1:21

3. made shrewd plans ‒ BDB 791, KB 886, Hiphil imperfect, only here in Hiphil in the
OT

4. conspire together ‒ BDB 419, KB 421,
Hithpael imperfect, used in the sense of “determine” in
2 Chr. 30:23

a. come ‒ BDB 229, KB 246, Qal imperative

b. wipe them out ‒ BDB 470, KB 469, Hiphil imperfect used in a
cohortative sense, cf. Ps. 74:8

c. that the name of Israel be remembered no more ‒
BDB 269, KB 269, Niphal
imperfect, which is an idiom for
total destruction and death

The conclusion to this list is stated in Ps. 83:5. An attack on Israel is an
attack on YHWH, cf. Ps. 83:2; Ps. 2:2; 74:18,23.

83:3 “Your people. . .Your treasured ones”
The second expression (BDB 860, KB 1049, Qal
passive participle) has two possible connotations in BDB.

1. treasured (JPSOA), cf. Exod. 19:5; Deut. 7:6;
14:2; 26:18

2. hidden with God, cf. Ps. 27:5; 31:21

The NKJV has “sheltered ones” (#2), while NJB has “those you cherish” (#1).

83:4b “the name of Israel” This is a
way of referring to the nation (cf. Ps. 83:4a).

For the meaning of the name “Israel” see
SPECIAL TOPIC: ISRAEL (the Name).

83:5 “covenant” See
SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT.

83:6 “tents of. . .” This is an
idiomatic anachronism of when Israel lived in “tents,” but at this period most
of them lived in cities and villages with more permanent housing.

The other possibility is that it is idiomatic for a nation (cf.
Ps. 120:5).

AB (p. 274) mentions a scroll fragment found at Masada that has
“the gods of Edom. . .” This fits well with the imagery of “arm” in Ps. 83:8. It
would also link up well with the national angels of Psalm 82. AB lists Yigael
Yardin, Israel Exploration Journal,
15 (1965), 104, as the place to see the phrase.

▣ “Edom” See
SPECIAL TOPIC: EDOM AND ISRAEL

▣ “Ishmaelites” This refers to the
descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s first child by Hagar (cf. Gen. 25:12-16). They
became the Arab tribes.

▣ “Moab” This is one of the two
nations descended from Lot and his daughters (cf. Gen. 19:30-38).

▣ “Hagrites” This is a tribe from
Ishmael mentioned in 1 Chr. 5:10,18-22. The name may come from “Hagar,”
Ishmael’s Egyptian mother. They lived to the east of Canaan and some parts of
the tribe, more to the southeast.

83:7 “Gebal” This name (BDB 148, KB
174) can have two possible references.

1. from the word for “mountain,” may refer to an
area in the trans-Jordan area near Petra, thereby connected to Arab tribe

2. from the name of an old Phoenician coastal city
and, therefore, would parallel Tyre (Ps. 83:7b), later known as Byblos

 

▣ “Ammon” See notes on Moab, Ps. 83:6.

▣ “Amalek” A descendant of Esau, who
became chief in Edom (cf. Gen. 36:15-16). They were especially problematic to
Israel during the wilderness wandering period (cf. Exod. 17:8-16; Num. 24:20;
Deut. 25:12-19. Saul was commanded to destroy them (cf. 1 Samuel 15).

▣ “Philistia” The Philistines were
apparently Greeks from the Aegean Islands. They were the only group of people in
this part of the world who were uncircumcized. They were apparently a mercenary
force who tried to attack Egypt in the twelfth century b.c. but were defeated. They then settled on
the southern coast of Palestine. They had five major cities which are delineated
in Jos.13:3: Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. They were a major military
problem throughout the period of the judges and even throughout the reign of
Saul and David. The name “Palestine” comes from the word “Philistine.”

▣ “Tyre” This is the famous seaport of
the Phoenician Empire north of Israel. The older capital was “Sidon” (and
possibly older than that, Gebal).

83:8 “Assyria” This was a major empire of
the Tigris/Euphrates. It became powerful in about the middle 900’s
b.c. to 609 b.c., when the
capital of Nineveh fell (Nahum). See
SPECIAL TOPIC: SURVEY
OF THE POWERS OF MESOPOTAMIA (Assyria, Babylon, Persia).

The mentioning of Assyria and not Babylon is a hint of the date
this Psalm was written.

▣ The Assyrians had become a help
(lit. “arm”) for the trans-Jordan nations that descended from Lot and his two
daughters (cf. Gen. 19:30-38).

1. Moab

2. Ammon

 

▣ “Selah” See notes at Psalm 3:2.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 83:9-12
 ⁹Deal with them as
with Midian,
 As with Sisera and
Jabin at the torrent of Kishon,
 ¹⁰Who were destroyed
at En-dor,
 Who became as dung for the
ground.
 ¹¹Make their nobles
like Oreb and Zeeb
 And all their princes like
Zebah and Zalmunna,
 ¹²Who said, “Let us
possess for ourselves
 The pastures of God.”

83:9-12 This strophe reminds the
current Israelites of YHWH’s presence and help in the past when invaders plotted
to take Israel’s land.

1. as with Midian ‒ Jdgs. 7:22

2. Sisera and Jabin ‒ Jdgs. 4:22-23

3. Oreb and Zeeb ‒ Jdgs. 7:25

4. Zebah and Zalmunna ‒ Jdgs. 8:21

 

83:10 “as dung for the ground” This
refers to the huge number of dead bodies after a battle. The prospect of being
improperly buried or eaten by animals would terrify ANE people (cf. 2 Kgs. 9:37;
Ps. 79:2-3; Jer. 8:2; 22:19; 36:30). This was a curse formula!

▣ “En-dor” This location is mentioned
in Saul’s day but not in the book of Judges. The NEB changes it to En-harod,
which is mentioned in Jdgs. 7:1 and fits with the historical allusions of Ps.
83:9-11 (i.e., Judges 4-8). The UBS Text Project (p. 341) gives En-dor an “A”
rating and rejects the emendation. Though not mentioned by name, it is still in
the general area (cf. Jos. 17:11).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 83:13-18
 ¹³O my God, make
them like the whirling dust,
 Like chaff before the wind.
 ¹⁴Like fire that
burns the forest
 And like a flame that sets the
mountains on fire,
 ¹⁵So pursue them
with Your tempest
 And terrify them with Your
storm.
 ¹⁶Fill their faces
with dishonor,
 That they may seek Your name,
O Lord.
 ¹⁷Let them be
ashamed and dismayed forever,
 And let them be humiliated and
perish,
 ¹⁸That they may know
that You alone, whose name is the
Lord,
 Are the Most High over all the
earth.

83:13-18 This strophe is a prayer for
YHWH to act in judgment on Israel’s behalf.

1. make them ‒ BDB 1011, KB 1483, Qal imperative

a. like whirling dust, cf. Isa. 17:13; 29:5;
41:15-16

b. like chaff before the wind, cf. Isa. 17:13

c. like fire that burns the forest

d. like a flame that sets the mountains on fire

2. pursue them ‒ BDB 922, KB 1191, Qal imperfect used in a
jussive sense

3. terrify them ‒ BDB 96, KB 111, Piel imperfect used in a
jussive sense

4. fill their faces with dishonor ‒ BDB 569, KB
583, Piel imperative

5. let them be ashamed ‒ BDB 101, KB 116, Qal imperfect used in a
jussive sense

6. let them be dismayed ‒ BDB 96, KB 111,
Niphal imperfect used in a
jussive sense

7. let them be humiliated ‒ BDB 344, KB 340,
Qal imperfect used in a
jussive sense

8. let them perish ‒ BDB 1, KB 2, Qal imperfect used in a
jussive sense

There are two more which show the intended purpose of judgment, which is to
help the nations come to worship YHWH (see
SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH’S ETERNAL
REDEMPTIVE PLAN).

1. that they may seek Your name, O YHWH ‒ BDB134,
KB 152, Piel imperfect used in a
jussive sense (Ps. 83:16)

2. that they may know that You alone are the Most
High over all the earth ‒ BDB 393, KB 390, Qal
imperfect used in a jussive sense (Ps. 83:18)

 

83:17 Notice the parallelism between
“forever” and “perish.” These reflect on Ps. 83:4, where the nations wanted
Israel to cease to exist!

83:18 “over all the earth” This
universal element is common in the Psalms of Asaph! It is the obvious necessary
conclusion to monotheism (see SPECIAL TOPIC: MONOTHEISM).

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide
commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of
the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible and the
Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a
commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think
through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be
thought provoking, not definitive.

1. Does this Psalm reflect a historical invasion
by a coalition of nations or historical imagery?

2. How does Ps. 83:1 reflect the fear and
confusion of Israel?

3. How are Ps. 83:4-5 related to YHWH’s larger
redemptive plan? Is there a Satanic attempt to thwart God’s redemptive activity?

 

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