Psalms 60:7

Psa 60:7 Gilead [is] mine, and Manasseh [is] mine; Ephraim also [is] the strength of mine head; Judah [is] my lawgiver;

Ver. 7. Gilead is mine and Manasseh] These countries on the other side of Jordan the Syrians haply had gotten, and now David had recovered them.

Ephraim also is the strength of my head] Because a populous and potent tribe. Junius thinks David here alludeth to that of Moses in his blessing of this tribe, Deu 33:17; as in the next words to that of Jacob, Gen 49:10.

Judah is my lawgiver] There, viz. at Jerusalem, sitteth the Synedrion, Num 11:16, and there is my sovereign court of justice, Psa 122:5, and of that tribe, Christ, the great lawgiver of his Church, shall spring.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 60:7. Gilead is mine — All the land beyond Jordan, which was possessed by Reuben and Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh. And Manasseh is mine — The other half of that tribe within Jordan. Ephraim is the strength, &c. — A chief part of my strength, either to offend mine enemies, or to defend myself. For this tribe was very numerous, and valiant, and rich. Judah is my lawgiver — The chief seat of my throne and kingdom, and of the inferior throne of judgment, Psa 122:5. The tribe to which the royal sceptre and lawgiver were appropriated by divine appointment, Gen 49:10. Thus he exultingly surveys his strength, Gilead and Manasseh comprehending the whole country beyond Jordan, as did Ephraim and Judah that on this side of it.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9. (Psa 60:7). To me (belongs) Gilead and to me Manasseh, and Ephraim the strength of my head, Judah my lawgiver. The idea still is that the whole of Canaan rightfully belongs to Israel. The form of expression is analogous to that in the preceding verse, but with a beautiful variation. As the two great divisions of the country, east and west of Jordan, are there represented by detached points, Shechem and Succoth, so here by the names of extensive districts, Judah and Ephraim, the two largest territories on the west, Bashan and Gilead on the east, the latter called by its own name, the former by that of the tribe which occupied the greater part of it. See Deu 3:12-13. The last clause does due honour to the military strength of Ephraim (Gen 48:19, Deu 33:17), but asserts the civil supremacy of Judah (Gen 49:10). The phrase translated strength of my head might seem to mean my chief strength; but that would require the terms to be inverted, head of my strength. Compare Gen 49:3. It rather means the protection of my head, as strength of my life in Psa 27:1 means that which protects my life, the head being mentioned as the vital part peculiarly exposed. Compare Psa 68:21; Psa 110:6. Some suppose the figure to be that of a helmet, which is too specific. In the last clause there is obvious allusion to the prophecy in Gen 49:10. Lawgiver has its proper sense of ruler, sovereign. That of rod or sceptre, which some give it, rests upon a doubtful explanation of Num 21:18.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For it was strong and well peopled.

David meaneth, that in this tribe his kingdom shall be established, Gen. 49:10.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Gilead . . . and Manasseh--as large districts, east and west of Jordan, represent the whole land.

divide . . . and mete out--means to have entire control over.

Ephraim--denotes the military (Deu 33:17); and--

Judah--(the lawgiver, Gen 49:10), the civil power. Foreign nations are then presented as subdued.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 7. Gilead is mine] This country was also beyond Jordan, and Manasseh and Ephraim are put for the tribes that formed the kingdom of Israel. All these, after the return from the captivity, formed but one people, the Jews and Israelites being united.

The strength of mine head] It shall be the principal support of the new-found kingdom, when all distinctions shall be buried.

Judah is my lawgiver] This tribe was chief of all those who returned from the captivity; and Zerubbabel, who was their leader, was chief of that tribe, and of the family of David. As this part of the Psalm appears to relate to the return of the captives from Babylon, and their repossession of their own land, the psalmist may refer, not only to the promises of their restoration, but also to the principal person under whose superintendence they returned.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(7) Gilead and Manasseh on the east of Jordan, and Ephraim and Judah on the west, are employed to denote the whole dominion.

Strength of mine head . . .—i.e., the helmet, or possibly with reminiscence of the patriarchal blessing on Joseph, Deu_33:17.

Lawgiver.—In Hebrew a participle of verb meaning to cut or engrave, and is applied as here to the lawmaker (comp. Deu_33:21), or to the staff or sceptre which was the emblem of law, Gen_49:10, Num_21:18. The LXX. and Vulg. have “my king.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. Gilead and Manasseh, that is the land of Bashan in which half the tribe of Manasseh settled, stand for the territory east of the Jordan and the tribes settled there: Ephraim and Judah stand for the tribes west of the Jordan. God claims all as His own: all therefore can claim God’s protection.

Ephraim &c.] Render with R.V.,

Ephraim also is the defence of mine head;

Judah is my sceptre.

Ephraim, as the most powerful tribe and the chief defence of the nation, is compared to the warrior’s helmet: Judah, as the tribe to which belonged the Davidic sovereignty, is compared to the royal sceptre, or, as the same word is rendered in R.V. of Gen_49:10, to which the present passage alludes, ‘the ruler’s staff.’

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gilead is mine,.... This is particularly mentioned, because over this Abner made Ishbosheth king, Sa2 2:9; and is the place to which the Jews shall be brought in the latter day, when converted, Zac 10:10; It was a country that abounded with pastures fit for feeding cattle, Num 32:1, and may point out those green pastures where Christ makes his flocks to lie down and rest;

and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head: these two were also under Saul's son when David first came to the throne, but afterwards became his, as was promised him, and he believed, Sa2 2:9. And the concord and harmony of the people of God among themselves, and under David their Prince, the King Messiah, are signified and Ephraim being one in the hand of the by the ceasing of the envy of the one, and of the vexation of the other, Eze 37:19; Ephraim was more numerous and populous than Manasseh, and abounded with mighty men, which are the strength of a prince, and therefore called here the strength of his head;

Judah is my lawgiver; manifestly referring to Gen 49:10; which furnished out persons fit to be counsellors in enacting laws, and proper to be employed in the execution of them. The great Lawgiver is Christ himself, who came of this tribe, Isa 33:22; All this is expressive of dominion over the whole land of Judea, Ephraim, and Manasseh, with the places mentioned with them; the house of Joseph being, as Aben Ezra observes, in the north part of it, and Judah in the south. Next mention is made of the subjection of the Gentiles, and dominion over them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine - That is, My dominion or authority is extended over these regions - Gilead, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Judah. The idea here is substantially the same as in the former verse, that his dominion extended over the country on both sides of the Jordan; or that in the direction of east and west it embraced all that had been promised - “from the great sea to the river Euphrates.” In verse 6, this idea is expressed by selecting two spots or towns as representatives of the whole country - Shechem on the west, and Succoth on the east; in this verse, the same idea is expressed by a reference to the two regions so situated - Gilead and Manasseh on the east, and Ephraim and Judah on the west. Gilead was on the east of the river Jordan, properly embracing the mountainous region south of the river Jabbok, Gen. 31:21-48; Son 4:1. The word has sometimes, however, a wider signification, including the whole mountainous tract between the rivers Arnon and Bashan, and thus including the region occupied by the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh, Num 32:26, Num 32:29, Num 32:39. Hence, in this place, it is put for the region occupied by the tribes of Reuben and Gad. “Manasseh” refers to the district or region occupied by the half tribe of Manasseh, on the east of the Jordan. These two portions - Gilead and Manasseh - or, Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh - would, therefore, embrace the whole of the land of promise, north and south, on the east of the Jordan. The limits of these regions to the east were properly the banks of the Euphrates; that is, the original promise would embrace this. David had gone to carry the boundaries of his country to those assigned limits 2Sa 8:3, and he now says that he had completed that undertaking.

Ephraim also - Ephraim and Judah were the principal tribes on the west of the Jordan, and they would well represent that part of Canaan. The idea is, that the whole of the promised land, east and west, was now under his control. There needed only the territory of Edom, on the south, to complete the conquest, and place the whole of the promised land under his dominion, Psa 60:8-9.

Is the strength of my head - This means that Ephraim constituted his chief strength, or was that on which he mainly relied. It was that which protected him, as the helmet does the head; that on which his very life in battle depended. This honor is given to the tribe of Ephraim because it was one of the largest tribes, and because it was situated in the very center of the land.

Judah is my lawgiver - This means that the tribe of Judah, by its position, its numbers, and the prominence given to it in the prophecies Gen 49:8-12, actually gave law to the nation. Its influence was felt in all the institutions of the land. The controlling influence went out from that tribe in the time of David; and its authority in this respect was recognized, perhaps partly in anticipation of what it had been said would be its importance in future times: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come.” Gen 49:10.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Gilead; all their land beyond Jordan, which was possessed by Reuben and Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh, Num 32:29,39,40; Deu 3:10, &c.; Jos 13:25, &c.

Manasseh; the other half of that tribe within Jordan.

Mine head; either,

1. Mine horns, wherewith I shall push mine enemies, according to Moses’s prophecy of that tribe, Deu 33:17. Or,

2. The keeper of mine head, as Achish spake 1Sa 28:2. A chief part of my strength, either to offend mine enemies, or to defend myself. For this tribe was very numerous, and valiant, and rich. See Gen 48:19; Deu 33:17; Psa 78:9.

Judah is my lawgiver; the chief seat of my throne and kingdom, and of the inferior thrones of judgment, Psa 112:5; the tribe to which the royal sceptre and lawgiver are appropriated by God’s appointment, Gen 49:10.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 7. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine. He claims the whole land on account of the promise. Two other great divisions of the country he mentions, evidently delighting to survey the goodly land which the Lord had given him. All things are ours, whether things present or things to come; no mean portion belongs to the believer, and let him not think meanly of it. No enemy shall withhold from true faith what God has given her, for grace makes her mighty to wrest it from the foe. Life is mine, death is mine, for Christ is mine.

Ephraim also is the strength of mine head. All the military power of the valiant tribe was at the command of David, and he praises God for it. God will bow to the accomplishment of his purposes all the valour of men; the church may cry, "the prowess of armies is mine, " God will overrule all their achievements for the progress of his cause.

Judah is my lawgiver. There the civil power was concentrated: the king being of that tribe sent forth his laws out of her midst. We know no lawgiver, but the King who came out of Judah. To all the claims of Rome, Or Oxford, or the councils of men, we pay no attention; we are free from all other ecclesiastical rule, but that of Christ: but we yield joyful obedience to him: Judah is my lawgiver. Amid distractions it is a great thing to have good and sound legislation, it was a balm for Israel's wounds, it is our joy in the Church of Christ.

Ver. 7. Gilead is mine and Manasseh is mine. That is to say, I will possess myself of them and rule over them; not as a conqueror over slaves, but as a lord over subjects, as a father over children, owning and acknowledging them as mine. They are my inheritance, and shall be my people, my subjects. John Brinsley.

Ver. 7. Ephraim also is the strength of mine head. The strong and warlike tribe of Ephraim being to the state what the helmet is to the warriors in battle; or, perhaps the allusion is to De 33:17: "His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the nations." J. J. Stewart Perowne.

Ver. 7. Judah is (or shall be) my lawgiver, i.e., all his subjects should be brought under one Head, one governor, who should give them laws, according to which they should be ordered or governed, which power and authority belonged to the tribe of Judah, according to that prophecy of Jacob (Ge 49:10), to which the psalmist here alludes. No way, no means to bring the people unto unity, to bring them into one body, but by bringing them under on head, one law giver, by whose laws they may be regulated and governed. Now in the church, and in matters of religion, this one Head is Christ, even that Lion of the tribe of Judah, as he is called (Re 5:5). He is the Law giver of his church, and let him so be. This will be found one, aye, and the only means to breed an holy and religious unity, and bring home straying, wandering sheep. John Brinsley.

Ver. 7. No government could stand which was not resident in Judah. John Calvin.

Ver. 7. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine. How, and in what respect this world is the Christian's.

Ver. 7. Judah is my lawgiver. The believer owning no law but that which comes from Christ.

Psalms 60:8*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine—As Shechem and Succoth, Psa_60:6, geographically represented the total territory of Israel, so Gilead and Manasseh (east) are only a more literal and minute repetition of the same idea, politically considered, of the territory east of Jordan, while Ephraim and Judah represented the west.

Ephraim… is the strength of mine head—My helmet, the defensive armour for the head, denoting how vital a part of the nation’s defence Ephraim was. Moses compared Ephraim and Manasseh to the strength of the neck and horns of the buffalo. Deu_33:17.

Judah is my lawgiver—A direct allusion to the blessing of Jacob, Gen_49:10. Thus far David describes the continued unity and integrity of his kingdom, which his recent disasters had threatened, but which faith in the oracle of God had now reassured Ephraim and Manasseh were the jealous and disappointed tribes. See note on Psalms 78. Saul’s son had already sought to dismember the kingdom by their means. 2Sa_2:8-11; 2Sa_3:2. The moment David’s career of victory was checked he feared the loss of his foreign conquests, followed by the revival of the old internal feuds. Faith has already triumphed over the latter, and he now proceeds to express his exultation over the bordering nations.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine. Gilead was an old name for the territory beyond the Jordan, (Gen_37:25) especially the more northern portion of it. Manasseh had a portion of this territory assigned to him. (Num 32:39-42Jo Num_17:1) But Manasseh had also a large inheritance on the western side of Jordan. (Jos_17:7-11) It is not quite clear whether both the divisions of Manasseh, or the eastern one only, is here intended. Ephraim also is the strength of mine head. Ephraim was the most important of the tribes next to Judah, and held the central position in the western region, forming the main strength of the northern kingdom after the separation under Jeroboam. (see 1Ki_12:25; and comp. Isa_7:2, Isa_7:5, Isa_7:9, 17 9:21 Hos_4:17 Hos_5:7-14 Hos_6:4-10, etc.) Judah is my lawgiver; (comp. Gen_49:10 Num_21:17) i.e. "my ruling tribe the tribe to which I have committed the government of my people". (see 1Sa_16:1 2Sa_2:4 2Sa_5:1-3 Psa_78:68)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gilead - All the land beyond Jordan, which was possessed by Reuben and Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh. Manasseh - The other half of that tribe within Jordan. The strength - A chief part of my strength, either to offend mine enemies, or to defend myself. For this tribe was very numerous, and valiant and rich. Law-giver - The chief seat of my throne and kingdom, and of the inferior throne of judgment, chap. 1xxii, 5.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

should be rescued Should be saved from harm.

save Your right hand which You brought back so that their enemies should overpower them.

and answer me For, if You answer me, they will be rescued, because I fight against them [the enemies] for them [Israel].

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.