Verse 1
Title. Michtam. App-65.
when, &c. See 2 Samuel 8:13-14.
Aram-naharaim, &c. = Mesopotamia or Syria. See 1 Chronicles 18:5, and note below on "twelve thousand".
twelve thousand. In 2 Samuel 8:13, and 1 Chronicles 18:12, it is David"s and Abishai"s exploit, which was 18,000. Here, it is Joab"s exploit, and his share was 12,000, but he took six months longer in finishing up his task (1 Kings 11:15, 1 Kings 11:16). David"s 22,000 in 1 Chronicles 18:5 were in a Syrian campaign. See notes on 2 Samuel 8:12, 2 Samuel 8:13.
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4.
Verse 2
broken = made fissures. Occurs only here.
Verse 3
shewed = suffered . . . to see. astonishment: or confusion, or trembling.
Verse 4
the truth: or [Thy] faithfulness. Hebrew. koshet. Occurs only here in Psalms. Compare Proverbs 22:21 = certainty, or exact, precise truth. (No Art.)
Selah. Connecting the gift, with the great and important object of it. (App-66.)
Verse 5
hear = answer.
me. Hebrew text reads "us"; but some codices, with four early printed editions, Aramaean, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "me".
Verse 6
hath spoken. Verses 6-9 refer to the promise of the possession of the whole of Canaan, confirmed in 2 Samuel 7:10. David here encourages himself by it.
Shechem . . . Succoth. West and east of Jordan.
Verse 7
Gilead . . . Manasseh. Eastern side.
Ephraim . . . Judah. Western side.
lawgiver. Compare Genesis 49:10. Numbers 21:18. Deuteronomy 33:21.
Verse 8
Moab . . . Edom. Spoken of as the chattels of a conqueror (2 Samuel 8:12-14).
washpot = footbath: i.e. an ignominious vessel.
cast out my shoe. Idiom for taking possession.
Philistia. Syriac reads "over Philistia".
Verse 9
the strong city. Probably Sela or Petra, corresponding with Edom (compare 2 Kings 14:7). David claims the promise of Numbers 24:18.
Verse 10
O God. Some codices omit "O God".
Verse 11
help from trouble = succor out of trouble.
help of man = salvation or deliverance of man. Compare "save", Psalms 60:5.
Verse 12
To the chief Musician. See App-64.
upon = relating to.