A prayer regarding the wars against Israel in the days of Jehoshaphat (Jehoshaphat), when the nations opposed Israel. The Psalmist shows that the ultimate desire of these attackers was not only to destroy Israel, but also to destroy the name of G-d from the face of the earth. Psalm 83 has unique resonance for today’s anti-Semitism.
- Text Psalm 83
- Hebrew text of Psalm 83 – תהילים פג
- Listen to Psalm 83
- Explanation of Psalm 83 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin
- Commentary by Rashi on Psalm 83
- Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
- Psalm 1 to 92
Text Psalm 83
A psalm, a song of Asaph. O G-d, be not silent, be not silent, and be not silent, O G-d. For behold, your enemies move, and those who hate you lift up their heads. Against Your people they devise cunningly, And they take counsel against Your protectors.
….So You will pursue them with Your storm, and with Your whirlwind You will terrify them. Fill their faces with shame and they will seek Your face, O Lord. Let them be ashamed and terrified forever; let them be put to shame and perish. Let them know that You – Your name alone is the Lord, the Most High over all the earth.
Hebrew text of Psalm 83 – תהילים פג
- A) A hymn to Osaf:
{B} O God, do not be like You, do not be deaf and do not be silent, God: {C} For behold, Your enemies are fierce and Your haters have raised their heads: {D} On Your people Heap up a secret and let them take counsel on your north:
{e} say, Go, and we will take them from the Gentiles and not Let the name of Israel be remembered again: {and} because they have set their heart together upon you, the covenant of their knowledge: {7} the tents of Edom, and the Ishmaelites, Moab, and the inhabitants: {8} Gebal, and Ammon, and the Amalekites Seth with the inhabitants of Tire:
{9} Assyria also accompanied with them were the descendants of Lot Selah: {1} He did to them as the law of Sisera, as a camp in the Kishon brook: {1} They were destroyed in the eye of Dar; 8. And all of you agreed:
{13} Who said, We have inherited the good pleasure of God: As a wheel is as chaff before the wind: {1} As a fire shall burn a forest, and as a flame shall set the mountains on fire :
Shall they seek your name, Jehovah: {18} They will dry up and be afraid forever and they will dig and perish: {19} And they will know that You have made your name Jehovah alone supreme over all the earth:
Listen to Psalm 83
Listen to Psalm 83 in Hebrew.
Explanation of Psalm 83 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin
A sure way to get the world’s attention is to make noise. This is what loud Jew haters do and they create a sense of sharpness. The silent haters are piggybacking on the loud haters. They oppose Jews through deception and mirage. It is striking that the haters have nothing in common, but they unite when it comes to hating Jews. Jew-haters can be found across the political spectrum: from the far left to the far right. Hatred of Jews expresses itself in countless facets. But there is one common denominator and that is rebellion against G-d. They want to claim for themselves the pleasant dwelling places of G-d. They think that by uprooting the children of G-d they can incorporate the spiritual domain of HaShem. But G-d will not stand by and watch His enemies inflict pain on the Jewish people and Him. HaShem will humble the enemies. Jews are to serve G‑d, share in His tears and rejoice in salvation.
Commentary by Rashi on Psalm 83
Per verse the commentary of Rashi, the Jewish Bible commentator who lived from 1040-1105. Rashi is considered the teacher of teachers. All traditional Jews regard Rashi as an authority on the Jewish Bible and Talmud. Hence it is important to record his commentary on the Psalms. Rashi uses new Hebrew supplemented with Old French words. His language is sometimes somewhat oracularly short. For further explanation it is wise to consult an orthodox Jewish rabbi.
Verse 2
O G-d, be not silent, be not silent, and be not silent, O G-d.
do not be silent : Do not be silent about our faults, with which our enemies harm us.
Verse 6
For they have given counsel with one accord; against you they form a pact.
against you they make a pact : This pact is against You only, to cause Your name to be forgotten, for You are called the G-d of Israel, and because Israel will not be remembered, even Your great name will not be remembered . I found this.
Verse 9
Assyria also joined them; they were the arm of the children of Lot forever.
Also Assyria : Even Assyria, which until that day took heed of other foolish counsels, and would not join in with evildoers, as it is written (Genesis 10:11), ,Out of that land went forth Assyria,, that he followed the counsel of the generation of dispersion left [who built the tower], joined them here and helped them from evil. (In other comments I found this 🙂
Also Assyria joined them, etc. : This also, who at first loved good deeds, for he parted from Nimrod’s counsel, as it is said, ,From that land went forth Assyria,, he also returned to wickedness. That is why he took part in destroying Your temple. Genesis Rabbah 37:4.
they were the arm : All these gave strength and help to Moab and Ammon, our neighbors, to meet us.
Verse 10
Do to them as [to] Midian; as [to] Sisera, as [to] Jabin in the brook Kishon.
Do to them as [to] Midian : by Gideon.
as [against] Sisera : by Barak.
Verse 11
They were destroyed in En-dor; they were [like] dung on the ground.
They were destroyed in En-Dor : I do not know which of the wars took place in En-Dor, Gideon’s or Barak’s.
dung : Hebrew דמן, scattered dung, as translated by Jonathan.
Verse 13
Who said, “Let us inherit for ourselves the mansions of God.”
He said : These countries mentioned above: Edom, Ishmael and all their allies.
“Let us inherit for ourselves the mansions of G-d.” : The dwelling of the house of G-d.
Verse 14
My God, make them like thistles, like stubble before the wind.
My God, make them like thistles, like stubble , which the wind drives away. What is גלגל? They are the ends of the thorns of the field, which in French are called chardons, thistles. When winter comes, they are plucked out and fall apart, and little by little they fly [away]. The part that is plucked out resembles the wheels of a chariot and the wind carries them.
Verse 16
You will pursue them with your storm, and you will terrify them with your whirlwind.
and with Your whirlwind : Tourbillon in French, whirlwind.
Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
Psalm 83 was prophetically composed by Asaph as a prayer for the Jewish nation in the days of King Jehoshaphat. Countless armies then came together to conquer the land of Israel. The Jewish nation prayed fervently to G-d, asking Him to come to their aid as He had done repeatedly in the past. G-d caused the enemy’s armies to turn against each other and they wiped each other out before they even reached Israel.
In current times, when there are attacks on Israeli settlements, this psalm is part of the daily recitation of psalms for protection.
Gentile readers of the Psalms may wonder why the focus is always on the Jews as victims and not on other people who suffer. Rabbi Tzvi Freeman has written a piece about writing Jewish victims in general and not just in the Psalms. He writes – in short – the following about it:
World history shows that when non-Jewish peoples have conflicts with each other, Jews are often also attacked (first). Usually, Jews make up only a few percent of the population and have nothing to do with the conflict. According to Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, Jew-haters attack Jews because they see in Jews the divine spark of G-d. Jews are the representatives of G-d on earth. G‑d is what makes people guilty and ashamed. People don’t like guilt and shame. Jew haters rebel against G-d and vent their anger on Jews. Perhaps when Jews stop being the conscience of the world, they will be accepted by non-Jews. But then Jews are no longer Jews.
In response to Freeman’s piece, Chabad Rabbi Kazen of Ask the Rabbi suggests that the book of Psalms itself was written by the Jewish prophets for the Jewish nation. What comes to mind is the phrase ,History is written by the winners., Jews will not cry for those who wanted to destroy them.
Psalm 1 to 92
Would you like to read more Psalms with a Jewish interpretation? Go to: Psalms 1 through 92.