10:1 Then Samuel took a small container of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s 3 head. Samuel 4 kissed him and said, “The Lord has chosen you 5 to lead his people Israel! You will rule over the Lord’s people and you will deliver them from the power of the enemies who surround them. This will be your sign that the Lord has chosen 6 you as leader over his inheritance. 7 10:2 When you leave me today, you will find two men near Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah on Benjamin’s border. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you have gone looking for have been found. Your father is no longer concerned about the donkeys but has become anxious about you two! 8 He is asking, “What should I do about my son?”’
10:25 Then Samuel talked to the people about how the kingship would work. 9 He wrote it all down on a scroll and set it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away to their homes.
68:29 as you come out of your temple in Jerusalem! 12
Kings bring tribute to you.
68:30 Sound your battle cry 13 against the wild beast of the reeds, 14
and the nations that assemble like a herd of calves led by bulls! 15
They humble themselves 16 and offer gold and silver as tribute. 17
God 18 scatters 19 the nations that like to do battle.
72:8 May he rule 20 from sea to sea, 21
and from the Euphrates River 22 to the ends of the earth!
72:9 Before him the coastlands 23 will bow down,
and his enemies will lick the dust. 24
72:10 The kings of Tarshish 25 and the coastlands will offer gifts;
the kings of Sheba 26 and Seba 27 will bring tribute.
16:1 Send rams as tribute to the ruler of the land, 28
from Sela in the desert 29
to the hill of Daughter Zion.
1 tn Heb “sons of worthlessness” (see 2:12).
2 tc In place of the MT (“and it was like one being silent”) the LXX has “after about a month,” taking the expression with the first part of the following chapter rather than with 10:27. Some Hebrew support for this reading appears in the corrected hand of a Qumran
3 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “Is it not that the
6 tn That is, “anointed.”
7 tc The MT reads simply “Is it not that the
8 sn In the Hebrew text the pronoun you is plural, suggesting that Saul’s father was concerned about his son and the servant who accompanied him.
9 tn Heb “the regulation of the kingship.” This probably refers to the regulations pertaining to kingship given to Moses (see Deut 17:14-20).
10 sn In the Hebrew text the pronoun you is plural, suggesting that Saul’s father was concerned about his son and the servant who accompanied him.
11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Heb “Be strong, O God, [you] who have acted for us, from your temple in Jerusalem.”
13 tn The Hebrew verb גָּעַר (ga’ar) is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts such as Ps 68 this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Ps 106:9 and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 18:15; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.
14 sn The wild beast of the reeds probably refers to a hippopotamus, which in turn symbolizes the nation of Egypt.
15 tn Heb “an assembly of bulls, with calves of the nations.”
16 tn Heb “humbling himself.” The verb form is a Hitpael participle from the root רָפַס (rafas, “to trample”). The Hitpael of this verb appears only here and in Prov 6:3, where it seems to mean, “humble oneself,” a nuance that fits nicely in this context. The apparent subject is “wild beast” or “assembly,” though both of these nouns are grammatically feminine, while the participle is a masculine form. Perhaps one should emend the participial form to a masculine plural (מִתְרַפִּם, mitrapim) and understand “bulls” or “calves” as the subject.
17 tc Heb “with pieces [?] of silver.” The meaning of the Hebrew term רַצֵּי (ratsey) is unclear. It is probably best to emend the text to בֶּצֶר וְכָסֶף (betser vÿkhasef, “[with] gold and silver”).
18 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19 tn The verb בָּזַר (bazar) is an alternative form of פָּזַר (pazar, “scatter”).
20 tn The prefixed verbal form is a (shortened) jussive form, indicating this is a prayer of blessing.
21 sn From sea to sea. This may mean from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Dead Sea in the east. See Amos 8:12. The language of this and the following line also appears in Zech 9:10.
22 tn Heb “the river,” a reference to the Euphrates.
23 tn Or “islands.” The term here refers metonymically to those people who dwell in these regions.
24 sn As they bow down before him, it will appear that his enemies are licking the dust.
25 sn Tarshish was a distant western port, the precise location of which is uncertain.
26 sn Sheba was located in Arabia.
27 sn Seba was located in Africa.
28 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “Send [a plural imperatival form is used] a ram [to] the ruler of the land.” The term כַּר (kar, “ram”) should be emended to the plural כָּרִים (karim). The singular form in the text is probably the result of haplography; note that the next word begins with a mem (מ).
29 tn The Hebrew text has “toward [across?] the desert.”