Psalms 68:13

Though ye have lain among the pots,.... Kimchi takes these words to be the words of the women, or of the psalmist addressing the Israelites going out to war; that though they should lie in a low,

The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it. -God's doings for His people from the time of their entrance into Canaan until the setting up of the sanctuary in Zion. Verse 11.

Though ye, ye Israelites, to whom he now turneth his speech, have lien among the pots; like scullions, that commonly lie down in the kitchen among the pots or hearthstones, whereby they are very much discoloured and deformed; which is fitly opposed to the following beauty. Though you have been filled with affliction and contempt. Shall ye be; or, ye have been; which may seem more suitable to the context, both foregoing and following, wherein he doth not speak prophetically of things to come, but historically of things past. So the sense of the verse is, Though you have formerly been exposed to great servitude, and reproach, and misery, to wit, in Egypt, yet since that time God hath changed your condition greatly for the better. As the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold; beautiful and glorious, like the feathers of a dove, which according to the variety of its postures, and of the light shining upon it, look like silver or gold.

Psalms 68:13 Though ye have lien among the pots, [yet shall ye be as] the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.Ver. 13. Though ye have lien among the pots] Inter Chytropodas. Quasi obruti toti et oppleti fuligine et tenebris, black and sooty, as the black guard of an army, or as scullions in a kitchen, who lie sometimes all night, like beasts, in a chimney corner; or as your forefathers in Egypt, when their shoulders were not yet removed from the burden, nor their hands from the pots, Psalms 81:6. The meaning is, though ye have been in a low and loathsome condition, yet now ye shall shine and flourish. Verba sunt mulierum, saith Kimchi, these are the words of those women, annunciatrices preachers, in Psalms 68:11. Beza maketh them to be the psalmist’ s words to those women that divided the spoil, Psalms 68:12. Vixistis adhuc puellae, &c., ye have hitherto dwelt at home, and washed pots, &c., but now, being enriched by the spoils, ye may come abroad fair and trim, like white doves with gilt feathers. Yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove] Ye shall fly swiftly from the storm of cruel persecution, saith the Syriac interpreter; yea, you shall shine, and make a glorious show, sicut niveae columbae per medium acrem inter volitandum aureum quendam splendorem eiaculantur. See Isaiah 54:11-13 : the Church’ s bricks made in her bondage shall be turned into sapphires.

(11-14) These verses refer to the conquest of Canaan, the long history of which is, however, here crowded into one supreme and crowning moment: a word from God, and all was done.

Verse 13. Though ye have lien among the pots] The prophet is supposed here to address the tribes of Reuben and Gad, who remained in their inheritances, occupied with agricultural, maritime, and domestic affairs, when the other tribes were obliged to go against Jabin, and the other Canaanitish kings. Ye have been thus occupied, while your brethren sustained a desperate campaign; but while you are inglorious, they obtained the most splendid victory, and dwell under those rich tents which they have taken from the enemy; coverings of the most beautiful colours, adorned with gold and silver. The words בירקרק חרוץ birakrak charuts, native gold, so exceedingly and splendidly yellow as to approach to greenness - from ירק yarak, to be green; and the doubling of the last syllable denotes an excess in the denomination - excessively green - blistering green. The Targum gives us a curious paraphrase of this and the following verse: "If ye, O ye kings, slept among your halls, the congregation of Israel, which is like a dove covered with the clouds of glory, divided the prey of the Egyptians, purified silver, and coffers full of the finest gold. And when it stretched out its hands in prayer over the sea, the Almighty cast down kingdoms; and for its sake cooled hell like snow, and snatched it from the shadow of death." Perhaps the Romanists got some idea of purgatory here. For the sake of the righteous, the flames of hell are extinguished!

13. An extremely difficult verse. It has been suggested that the second and third lines, like the first, are derived from some ancient poem now lost, and that to readers who could recognise the allusion they would be intelligible, though to us they are obscure. The A.V., which appears to contrast the squalid misery of Israel in Egypt with the brilliant prosperity of their new home in Canaan, must be abandoned, and two considerations must govern the interpretation of the verse. (1) The first line clearly alludes to Judges 5:16 (cp. Genesis 49:14, R.V.), where Deborah upbraids Reuben for cowardice and irresolution, and for preferring the ignoble ease of pastoral life to the glorious dangers of the war of independence: “Why satest thou among the sheepfolds, To hear the pipings for the flocks?” Lie is here substituted for sit to emphasise the idea of slothful inactivity. (2) The second and third lines describe under the image of a dove basking in the sunshine an idyllic condition of peace and prosperity. The idea that the dove represents the enemy fleeing in all his gorgeous, splendour, depicted thus as an inducement to Israel to pursue and win rich spoil, may safely be set aside. The point of comparison is the beauty of the dove’s plumage, not the swiftness of its flight. Three explanations deserve to be taken account of. (1) Will ye lie among the sheepfolds, (As) the wings of a dove covered with silver. And her pinions with yellow gold? (R.V.). The whole verse, like Judges 5:16, will then be a reproof of the recreant Israelites who preferred the ignoble ease of their pastoral life to the hardships and dangers of the battlefield. But such a reproof is hardly in place here, nor does this explanation give its full natural meaning to the simile. (2) More probableis the rendering of R.V. marg.: When ye lie among the sheepfolds, (It is as) the wings of a dove … gold. which regards the verse as a description of the peace and prosperity which await Israel after the victories described in Psalms 68:12. “Everything will gleam and glitter with silver and gold. Israel is God’s turtle-dove (Psalms 74:19), and accordingly the new prosperity is compared to the play of colour on the wings of a dove basking in the sunshine.” (Delitzsch). This interpretation however fails to take account of the allusion in line I to Judges 5:16. (3) It seems preferable to render thus: Though ye may lie among the sheepfolds, The dove’s wings are covered with silver, And her pinions with yellow gold. Though some Israelites may fail in their duty and prefer slothful ease to fighting the battles of Jehovah, yet Israel once more enjoys the blessings of peace and prosperity. In spite of man’s backwardness God gives blessing. This explanation takes account of the allusion to Judges, and gives its proper meaning to the simile. It agrees better with the general purport of the Ps., which dwells upon God’s victories on behalf of His people.

Though ye have lien among the pots - There are few passages in the Bible more difficult of interpretation than this verse and the following.

13. Among the pots—Literally, and more properly, Between the sheepfolds, or cattle-pens. The word is in the dual, and refers to the double or divided enclosure in which the cattle or sheep were placed at night for safety.