For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; 2 a psalm of Asaph.
80:1 O shepherd of Israel, pay attention,
you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep!
You who sit enthroned above the winged angels, 3 reveal your splendor! 4
For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; 6 a prayer 7 of David written to instruct others. 8 It was written when he fought against Aram Naharaim and Aram-Zobah. That was when Joab turned back and struck down 9 12,000 Edomites 10 in the Valley of Salt. 11
60:1 O God, you have rejected us. 12
You suddenly turned on us in your anger. 13
Please restore us! 14
1 sn Psalm 80. The psalmist laments Israel’s demise and asks the Lord to show favor toward his people, as he did in earlier times.
2 tn The Hebrew expression shushan-eduth means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title. See the superscription to Ps 60.
3 sn Winged angels (Heb “cherubs”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.
4 tn Heb “shine forth.”
sn Reveal your splendor. The psalmist may allude to Deut 33:2, where God “shines forth” from Sinai and comes to superintend Moses’ blessing of the tribes.
5 sn Psalm 60. The psalmist grieves over Israel’s humiliation, but in response to God’s assuring word, he asks for divine help in battle and expresses his confidence in victory.
6 tn The Hebrew expression means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title.
7 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56-59, is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”
8 tn Heb “to teach.”
9 tn In Josh 8:21 and Judg 20:48 the two verbs “turn back” and “strike down” are also juxtaposed. There they refer to a military counter-attack.
10 tn Heb “12,000 of Edom.” Perhaps one should read אֲרַם (’aram, “Aram”) here rather than אֱדוֹם (’edom, “Edom”).
11 sn The heading apparently refers to the military campaign recorded in 2 Sam 10 and 1 Chr 19.
12 sn You have rejected us. See Pss 43:2; 44:9, 23.
13 tn Heb “you broke out upon us, you were angry.”
14 tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.