Discovery BoxPsalms 83:5-9 
Context83:5 Yes, 1 they devise a unified strategy; 2
they form an alliance 3 against you.
83:6 It includes 4 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites, 5
83:7 Gebal, 6 Ammon, and Amalek,
Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre. 7
83:8 Even Assyria has allied with them,
lending its strength to the descendants of Lot. 8 (Selah)
83:9 Do to them as you did to Midian 9 –
as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River! 10
1 tn Or “for.”
2 tn Heb “they consult [with] a heart together.”
3 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
4 tn The words “it includes” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
5 sn The Hagrites are also mentioned in 1 Chr 5:10, 19-20.
6 sn Some identify Gebal with the Phoenician coastal city of Byblos (see Ezek 27:9, where the name is spelled differently), though others locate this site south of the Dead Sea (see BDB 148 s.v. גְּבַל; HALOT 174 s.v. גְּבַל).
7 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
8 tn Heb “they are an arm for the sons of Lot.” The “arm” is here a symbol of military might.
sn The descendants of Lot were the Moabites and Ammonites.
9 tn Heb “do to them like Midian.”
10 sn The psalmist alludes here to Gideon’s victory over the Midianites (see Judg 7-8) and to Barak’s victory over Jabin’s army, which was led by his general Sisera (Judg 4-5).
