Psalm 76 contains the prophecy about the enormous army of Sennacherib, king of Assyria. He threatened to conquer Judea and asked for its surrender – while blaspheming G-d. King Hezekiah prayed for deliverance and that night all the Assyrian soldiers – one hundred and eighty-five thousand – were killed by an angel of G-d. Defeated and ashamed, Sennacherib returned to his capital Nineveh where he was killed by his own sons.
- Text Psalm 76
- Hebrew text of Psalm 76 – תהילים עו
- Listen to Psalm 76
- Explanation of Psalm 76 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin
- Commentary by Rashi on Psalm 76
- Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
- Psalm 1 to 92
Text Psalm 76
For the conductor on Neginoth, a psalm of Asaph, a song. G‑d is known in Judah; in Israel his name is great. His tabernacle was in Salem and his dwelling place in Zion. There He broke the arrows of the bow, the shield and the sword, and the war forever. You are destructive; mightier than the mountains of prey.
….When G‑d rises for judgment, to save forever all the lowly of the earth. For the wickedness of man will thank You; it will prevent the remnant from wrath. Believe and pay to the Lord your God; all around Him will bring a gift to Him Who is to be feared. He will cut off the spirit of princes; He will be feared by the kings of the earth.
Hebrew text of Psalm 76 – תהילים עו
- To triumph in playing a psalm to add a song. In Judah, God is known in Israel, his name is great. 3 And his market and his residence in Zion will be complete. D There is a broken bow-bow shield and a sword and a battle basket. The Light, you are mighty than the mountains of prey. And I will rob the knights of the heart of Nemu, lest they find all the men of the army with their hands. 7 From your yoke, God, Jacob fell asleep and rode a horse. H. You are terrible, you are and who will stand before you from the mouth of your mouth. 9 From heaven you heard the judgment of a fearful and quiet land. y In standing up in the judgment of God to save all the meek of the land of Sela. Yea, because a man’s mother-in-law is your mother-in-law, the rest of your mother-in-law will be girded. 12 Vow and give thanks to the Lord your God, all who are around him will lead you to the Lord. 13 A terrible spirit of governors will arise for the kings of the land.
Listen to Psalm 76
Listen to Psalm 76 in Hebrew.
Explanation of Psalm 76 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin
The current Jewish generation is more aware of its past history than other Jewish generations. There is an abundance of information about the state of the world in modern times. Every Jew has seen survivors of the Holocaust. Jews are connected to each other and eternity.
King David speaks of the future trials in this Psalm and how the Jewish people will ultimately triumph. Jews will testify as one people to the Glory of HaShem. Even though Jews still live dispersed around the world, they share the same knowledge about G-d through the Torah.
When the Jews still lived together as one people in Israel and were committed to service in the Holy Temple without internal strife, HaShem showed His protection. No one could conquer the united Jewish people. Only when mutual jealousy fragmented the Jewish people were Jews defeated. Yet G-d remained faithful to the Jews and dealt blows to the enemies of the Jewish people. Thus, G-d defeated Sennacherib’s enormous army by overpowering the soldiers with sleep and killing them through the angel of death. Nothing is impossible for HaShem.
Jews must always remember that the world has an Owner. This Owner is HaShem. No one can stand before G-d, even though many enemies of the Jewish people think they have control over things. However, they forget the powerful reality of G-d. HaShem puts an end to the plans of the enemies when He wants. G-d does not allow His people to be mocked. The Jews are delivered up to His sanctuary. Only in this way can true peace be achieved, according to the Torah.
Ultimately, the mockers of the Torah will begin to praise the Torah. The hostility will disappear in the face of G-d’s unity. The children of Israel need not fear. They are part of the greatest power that exists, the power of G-d’s will.
Commentary by Rashi on Psalm 76
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 4
There He broke the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the war forever.
There He broke the arrows of the bow of Sennacherib and his hosts.
arrows of the bow : Hebrew רשפי. רִשְׁפֵי is not an expression of sparks of fire, because sparks of fire are not suitable for a bow. Moreover, this word does not have a ,dagesh,, but רִשְׁפֵּי does have a ,dagesh,. Rather, רִשְׁפֵי is an expression of (Deuteronomy 32:24): “fought by demons (רשף),” which is translated as עוֹף, flying creatures, as (Job 5:7): “but flying creatures fly (רשף) up. , Likewise (under 78:48): ,and their cattle to the flying creatures (לרשפים). to the birds. In the same way בְּנֵי רֶשֶׁף are flying creatures, demons, that fly up. This too is an expression of arrows that fly, as said (under 91:5): ,of an arrow that flies by day., There he broke the arrows (רִשְׁפֵי) of the bow, the arrows that the bow makes to fly and this whole psalm speaks of the downfall of Sennacherib, for we find no enemy that falls in Jerusalem, but he.
Verse 5
You are destructive; mightier than the mountains of prey.
You are destructive; mightier : Hebrew נאור, an expression of (Lamentations 2:7): “He destroyed his sanctuary”; (below 89:40): ,You have abolished the covenant of Your servant., You destroy your enemies and those who rise against you and wipe them out of the world. Because of His deeds He is called נאור, destructive, just like חנוּן, merciful ; רחום, merciful; קנוא jealous, because He grants, because He pities, because He acts with zeal.
mightier than the mountains of prey : Stronger than the ravening giants, who are as tall as mountains, but against You their might is not known.
Verse 6
The bold became angry; they slumbered in their sleep and none of the men of the army found their hands.
became angry : Hebrew אשתוללו, as השתוללוּ. Such as (II Chronicles 20:35): “And afterward Jehoshaphat king of Judah was joined to (חבתחבר) Ahaziah king of Israel,” as התחבר. [The word] אשתוללוּ is derived from (Job 12:17): “He leads away counselors with madness (שולל).” It is an expression of error and tranquility, as fools err, and the ,tav, falls in the middle of the word in the reflexive, as in every word beginning with ‘shin’.
slumbered in their sleep : They Hebrew נמו. They fell into a deep sleep, an expression of תנוּמה slumber.
and found none : their hands and their strength when You came to punish them.
Verse 7
At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, the chariot and horse were astonished.
the chariot and horse were astonished : Hebrew ורכב וסוס. The ,vav, of ורכב is redundant, as (Genesis 36:24): ,These are the sons of Ziv’on: Ayyah (ואיה) and Anah., The ,vav, of ואיה is redundant.
Verse 8
You are great, and who can stand for You when You are angry?
when you are angry : From the moment you got angry.
Verse 9
From heaven you announce judgment; the earth feared and became calm.
From heaven You sound the judgment : When Isaiah prophesied about Sennacherib’s retaliation and it was fulfilled in him, Eretz Israel, who feared him and his hosts, became calm.
Verse 10
When G-d rises for judgment, to save all the lowly of the earth forever.
When G-d rises for judgment : to judge his enemies, to save Hezekiah and his company.
Verse 11
For the wickedness of man will thank You; it will prevent the remnant from wrath.
For the wickedness of man shall thank Thee : The anger of the wicked results in the creatures thanking the Holy One, blessed be He. When they show their anger and the Holy One, blessed be He, punishes them, everyone praises Him when they see that their anger is futile. What we find there (Daniel 3:28) about Nebuchadnezzar when he cast Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah into the fiery furnace, what is said there? “Blessed be the G-d of Shadrach, etc.” And thereby
it shall prevent the remnant of wrath : Hebrew תחגר. It will occur and stop; the remaining wicked men are prevented and restrained from showing their pride and their wrath. תחגר is an expression of restraint in the language of the Mishnah (Chul. 18a): ,The epithet in a knife must be deep enough to catch the nail (תחגר) to disqualify it from slaughter]., I heard in the name of Rabbi Eleazar de Gaon, the son of Rabbi Isaac, who brought this verse in testimony of that Mishnah (sic). It is also possible to interpret this according to the usual meaning of an expression of beam, and can be explained as follows: it is fitting for You to gird yourself with wrath and clothe yourself with zeal, for strength and prowess are Yours ; the expression of ,residue, is that, since the wrath of man is of no consequence, the execution of all wrath is reserved to You.
Verse 12
Believe and pay to the Lord your God; all around Him will bring a gift to Him Who is to be feared.
Believe and Pay : Your Vows.
all around Him : who heard about this salvation, and they did, as it is said (Isaiah 19:18): ,there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Canaan and cursing the Lord of hosts.,
will bring a gift to Him Who is to be feared : Why? Because in the time of His desire
Verse 13
He will cut off the spirit of princes; He will be feared by the kings of the earth.
He will cut off the spirit of haughtiness from the princes and reduce their arrogance. יבצֹר means “He will diminish,” as (Genesis 11:6): “will it not be withheld from them (יבצר)?”
Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
As mentioned, Psalm 76 prophesies about the mighty King Sennacherib, an enemy of the Jewish people, who lived in Assyria about 2,500 years ago. The pious Jewish king Hezekiah was then in power in Judea. He ruled Judah in peace and happiness for 13 years, when G-d decided to put Hezekiah to his greatest test.
King Hezekiah, like other kings and princes in the neighboring countries of Assyria, feared King Sennacherib. So Hezekiah paid money to Sennacherib. But he was not satisfied with that. He decided to attack Judea with a very large army. When he arrived at Jerusalem, Sennacherib was surprised and disappointed that the city was poor and small. He wondered contemptuously why he had brought his entire army. He could have done the job with just a few legions. Sennacherib’s soldiers immediately wanted to fight, but the king suggested that they first rest for a night near the walls of the city. Rab-Shakeh, the general of Sennacherib’s army, challenged the inhabitants of Jerusalem by claiming that their G-d could not save them. He wanted the defenders of Jerusalem to rise up against King Hezekiah and surrender the city. Hezekiah panicked, tore his clothes and went to the Temple to pray. He instructed his people to observe a day of prayer because victory could only be achieved by the hand of G-d. All the ministers remained loyal to Hezekiah, except Shebna. He wanted to make peace with the enemy. But that turned out wrong. He was captured by Sennacherib and tied behind a horse. The horse ran at great speed and Shebna was carried away until he died.
On the night of Passover, the inhabitants of Jerusalem prayed to G-d. After the prayers, the prophet Isaiah passed by and said that G‑ d had heard the prayers. The angel of death killed the sleeping soldiers of Sennacherib’s army. When Sennacherib woke up in the morning, all he saw were corpses. He then went back to Assyria where he was killed by his own sons.
Psalm 1 to 92
Would you like to read more Psalms with a Jewish interpretation? Go to: Psalms 1 through 92.