Psalms 80:10

Psa 80:10 The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof [were like] the goodly cedars.

Ver. 10. The hills were covered, &c.] The Israelites grew amain in wealth, power, and multitude of men; witness their huge armies and valiant acts, though the country was not above 200 miles long, and 50 miles broad.

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 80:10-11. The hills were covered with the shadow of it — Its branches extended themselves over all the hills and mountains of Canaan; that is, the people multiplied so much, and became so numerous, that they filled not only the fruitful valleys, but even the barren mountains. And the boughs whereof were like the goodly cedars — Very different from those of ordinary vines, whose boughs are weak and small, and creep upon the walls, on other trees, or on the ground. Israel not only had abundance of men, but those mighty men of valour. She sent out her boughs unto the sea — That is, to the Mediterranean sea; and her branches unto the river — The river Euphrates, alluding to the extent of the Israelitish dominions in the time of David and Solomon.

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

11. (Psa 80:10) Covered were the mountains (with) its shadow, and with its branches the cedars of God. This is an amplification and poetical exaggera tion of the last words of Psa 80:9. So completely did it fill the land that its shadow was cast upon the highest hill-tops, and its tendrils overran the loftiest trees. Cedars of God, i.e. in their kind the noblest products of his power, the attribute suggested by (lxe) the divine name here used. See above, on Psa 36:6. Some interpreters suppose the southern range of mountains west of Jordan, sometimes called Mount Judah or the Highlands of Judah, to be here specifically meant and contrasted with the cedars of Lebanon, the northern frontier of the Land of Promise, just as Lebanon and Kadesh are contrasted in Psa 29:5-8. That Lebanon, though not expressly mentioned, is referred to, appears probable from the analogy of Psa 29:5; Psa 92:13; Psa 104:16. The literal fact conveyed by all these figures is the one prophetically stated in Gen 28:14, Deu 11:24, Jos 1:4.

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

80:10-11 Solomon’s kingdom had extended west to the Mediterranean Sea and east to the Euphrates River (see 72:8-9; 89:25; 1 Kgs 4:21).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Hebrew, cedars of God.

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

Verse 10. The hills were covered] 6. The vine, carefully cultivated in a suitable soil, may be spread to any extent. In the land of Judea it formed shades under which the people not only sheltered and refreshed themselves in times of sultry heats; but it is said they even ate, drank, and dwelt under the shelter of their vines. See 1Kg 4:25; Mic 4:4; 1Mac 14:12. God so blessed the Jews, particularly in the days of David and Solomon, that all the neighbouring nations were subdued-the Syrians, Idumeans, Philistines, Moabites, and Ammonites.

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

(10) Goodly cedars.—Literally, cedars of God. The branches of the vine are to grow to resemble the luxuriance of the most magnificent of all forest trees.

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

10. The hills] The mountains.

the goodly cedars] Cedars of God (El), those “which he hath planted,” the indigenous cedars of Lebanon, noblest of forest trees. Cp. “mountains of God” (Psa_36:6). The alternative rendering of R.V. marg., And the cedars of God with the boughs thereof, gives the same sense as the LXX. The vine grew so that it overshadowed the mountainous country to the South, and the cedars of Lebanon on the North, an allusion to the ideal boundaries of the Promised Land, as described in Deu_11:24 (where ‘the wilderness’ = ‘the mountains’ here). That the next verse clearly refers to the Eastern and Western boundaries is an argument in favour of this interpretation.

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.

She sent out her boughs unto the sea,.... The Mediterranean, or midland sea, which was the border of the land of Canaan to the west:

and her branches unto the river; the river Euphrates, which was its border to the east; see Deu 11:24. This, in the spiritual sense of it, will have its accomplishment in the church of Christ, when he shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth, Psa 72:8. The Targum is,

"she sent out her disciples to the great sea, and to the river Euphrates her babes;''

or sucklings.

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

The hills were covered with the shadow of it - That is, It made a shade, by its luxuriant foliage, on the hills in every part of the land; it seemed to cover all the hills.

And the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars - Margin, as in Hebrew, cedars of God; that is, lofty, majestic cedars. See the notes at Psa 65:9. The reference here is to the cedars of Lebanon, among the most majestic objects known to the Hebrews.

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

They grew so numerous, that they filled not only the fruitful valleys, but even the barren mountains.

Goodly cedars; far differing from ordinary vines, whose boughs are weak and small, and creep upon the walls or ground.

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

Ver. 10. "The hills were covered with the shadow of it." Israel dwelt up the mountains' summits, cultivating every foot of soil. The nation multiplied and became so great that other lands felt its influence, or were shadowed by it.

"And the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars." The nation itself was so great that even its tribes were powerful and worthy to take rank among the mighty. A more correct rendering describes the cedars as covered with the vine, and we know that in many lands vines climb the trees, and cover them. What a vine must that be which ascends the cedars of God, and even overtops them! It is a noble picture of the prosperity of the Israelitish people in their best days. In Solomon's time the little land of Israel occupied a high place among the nations. There have been times when the church of God also has been eminently conspicuous, and her power has been felt far and near.

Ver. 10. "The hills, "etc. That the sides of hills are the most commodious places for vineyards, is sufficiently known; as also that the vine hath props on which it climbs, and rests itself, and that these are lower or higher, according to the nature of the several soils or climates. In fertile soils, as now a days in Lombardy, the vines run up the trees and cover them. And so here with respect to the luxuriant growth of this fruitful vine, it may not unfitly be said, in the poetical style, to run up to and reach the tops of the tall "cedars, "as Joseph is said to be "a fruitful bough, whose branches run over the wall, "Ge 49:22. Thomas Fenton.

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

The hills were covered with the shadow of it. The "hills" intended are probably those of the south the hill country of Judah since the clauses which follow designate the boundaries towards the north, west, and east. (So Hengstenberg, Kay, Professor Cheyne, and others) And the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars; rather, and the goodly cedar trees were covered with their branches. The cedars of Lebanon are intended. They marked the boundary line on the north. The psalmist calls them "cedars of God," by a strong, but not unprecedented, (Psa_36:6) hyperbole.

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

The hills - They filled not only the fruitful valleys, but even the barren mountains.

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

You cleared before it those dwelling there.

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.