How do we deal with war and enemies? This is a theme in my new book on the Psalms, Seeing the Psalter. Here is a sample chapter extracted from the database, one of 50 chapters that note this theme of enemies.
Psalm 83 - A psalm of Asaph, no, not silence.
שִׁיר
מִזְמוֹר לְאָסָף | 1 | A song A psalm of Asaph |
אֱלֹהִים אַל דֳּמִי לָךְ
אַל תֶּחֱרַשׁ וְאַל תִּשְׁקֹט אֵל | 2 | O God not mute for you do not be silent do not be quiet O God |
כִּי הִנֵּה אוֹיְבֶיךָ יֶהֱמָיוּן
וּמְשַׂנְאֶיךָ נָשְׂאוּ רֹאשׁ | 3 | for behold your enemies snarl and those hating you lift up a head |
עַל עַמְּךָ יַעֲרִימוּ סוֹד
וְיִתְיָעֲצוּ עַל צְפוּנֶיךָ | 4 | over your people they craft secret counsel and they conspire against your treasure |
אָמְרוּ לְכוּ וְנַכְחִידֵם מִגּוֹי
וְלֹא יִזָּכֵר שֵׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל עוֹד | 5 | they have said, come now and let us conceal them as a nation and the name of Israel will not be remembered ever |
כִּי נוֹעֲצוּ לֵב יַחְדָּו
עָלֶיךָ בְּרִית יִכְרֹתוּ | 6 | for they conspire as one heart over you they cut a covenant |
אָהֳלֵי אֱדוֹם וְיִשְׁמְעֵאלִים
מוֹאָב וְהַגְרִים | 7 | the tents of Edom and Ishmaelites Moab and Hagarites |
גְּבָל וְעַמּוֹן וַעֲמָלֵק
פְּלֶשֶׁת עִם יֹשְׁבֵי צוֹר | 8 | Gebal and Amon and Amalek Philistines with those sitting in Tyre |
גַּם אַשּׁוּר נִלְוָה עִמָּם
הָיוּ זְרוֹעַ לִבְנֵי לוֹט סֶלָה | 9 | Even Ashur is allied with them they have become the arm of the children of Lot Selah |
עֲשֵׂה לָהֶם כְּמִדְיָן
כְּסִיסְרָא כְיָבִין בְּנַחַל קִישׁוֹן | 10 | Do to them as Midian as Sisera to Jabin in the torrent of Kishon |
נִשְׁמְדוּ בְעֵין דֹּאר
הָיוּ דֹּמֶן לָאֲדָמָה | 11 | they were exterminated at Endor they became compost for the ground |
שִׁיתֵמוֹ נְדִיבֵימוֹ כְּעֹרֵב
וְכִזְאֵב וּכְזֶבַח וּכְצַלְמֻנָּע כָּל נְסִיכֵימוֹ | 12 | set their princes like Oreb and like Zeeb and like Zebah and like Tsalmuna all their libations |
אֲשֶׁר אָמְרוּ
נִירְשָׁה לָּנוּ אֵת נְאוֹת אֱלֹהִים | 13 | who said let us dispossess for ourselves even the loveliness of God |
אֱלֹהַי שִׁיתֵמוֹ כַגַּלְגַּל
כְּקַשׁ לִפְנֵי רוּחַ | 14 | My God set them as a whirl as stubble in the face of the wind |
כְּאֵשׁ תִּבְעַר יָעַר
וּכְלֶהָבָה תְּלַהֵט הָרִים | 15 | as fire kindling wood and as a flame blazing the hills |
כֵּן תִּרְדְּפֵם בְּסַעֲרֶךָ
וּבְסוּפָתְךָ תְבַהֲלֵם | 16 | so persecute them in your tempest and with your storm-wind vex them |
מַלֵּא פְנֵיהֶם קָלוֹן
וִיבַקְשׁוּ שִׁמְךָ יְהוָה | 17 | fill their faces with disgrace so they will seek your name יהוה |
יֵבֹשׁוּ
וְיִבָּהֲלוּ עֲדֵי עַד וְיַחְפְּרוּ וְיֹאבֵדוּ | 18 | They will be ashamed and they will be vexed for ever and ever and they will be disappointed and will perish |
וְיֵדְעוּ
כִּי אַתָּה שִׁמְךָ יְהוָה לְבַדֶּךָ עֶלְיוֹן עַל כָּל הָאָרֶץ | 19 | and they will know that you your name יהוה you only are Most High over all the earth |
Hebrew words: 130. Percentage of Hebrew words that recur in this psalm: 29%. Average recurring words per verse: 2.
Selected recurring words
| Word and gloss * first usage | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 2 | Vs | Root |
כי for
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| 3 | כי | |||||||||||
עמך your people
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| 4 | עם | |||||||||||
* ויתיעצו and they conspire
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| 4 | יעץ | |||||||||||
אמרו they have said
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| 5 | אמר | |||||||||||
שׁם the name of
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| 5 | שׁם | |||||||||||
כי for
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| 6 | כי | |||||||||||
* נועצו they conspire
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| 6 | יעץ | |||||||||||
עם with
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| 8 | עם | |||||||||||
עמם with them
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| 9 | עם | |||||||||||
היו they have become
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| 9 | היה | |||||||||||
היו they became
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| 11 | היה | |||||||||||
שׁיתמו set
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| 12 | שׁית | |||||||||||
כל all
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| 12 | כל | |||||||||||
אמרו said
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| 13 | אמר | |||||||||||
שׁיתמו set them
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| 14 | שׁית | |||||||||||
לפני in the face of
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| 14 | פנה | |||||||||||
תבהלם vex them
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| 16 | בהל | |||||||||||
פניהם their faces with
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| 17 | פנה | |||||||||||
שׁמך your name
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| 17 | שׁם | |||||||||||
יהוה יהוה
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| 17 | יהוה | |||||||||||
ויבהלו and they will be vexed
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| 18 | בהל | |||||||||||
עדי for ever
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| 18 | עד | |||||||||||
עד and ever
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| 18 | עד | |||||||||||
כי that
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| 19 | כי | |||||||||||
שׁמך your name
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| 19 | שׁם | |||||||||||
יהוה יהוה
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| 19 | יהוה | |||||||||||
כל all
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| 19 | כל |
The poem splits into 2 sections: verses 1 to 11, verses 12 to 19. These two halves are linked by what the enemies 'said'.
This poem pushes back the history rehearsed in Psalm 78 to the children of Lot. These are the Moabites as noted in Ruth. The impact of these generations on the history of the world has not yet been completed. Not only are they enemies but they were among the progenitors of the Messiah! Perhaps our impact is more than we imagine.
That the enemy should perish and then know God is an indication that the poet prays beyond simple vengeance. Do we ever pray for our enemies recognizing that shame, disgrace, and repentance are good? There seems to me always to be a knife edge of self-sufficiency in this possibility. I think this must be part of the prayer for enemies, but it is not the whole prayer. When we can restore life, perhaps then we can wish its destruction. Pending such an improbable situation, we can pray for the consecration of our enemies in the sufficiency such as is displayed in the death of Jesus. For such a purification will be to their good and ours.
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