Numbers 21:18

21:18 The well which the princes ¹  dug,

which the leaders of the people opened

with their scepters and their staffs.”

And from the wilderness they traveled to Mattanah;

Psalms 60:7

60:7 Gilead belongs to me,

as does Manasseh! ² 

Ephraim is my helmet, ³ 

Judah my royal scepter. ⁴ 

Psalms 108:8

108:8 Gilead belongs to me,

as does Manasseh! ⁵ 

Ephraim is my helmet, ⁶ 

Judah my royal scepter. ⁷ 

Isaiah 33:22

33:22 For the Lord, our ruler,

the Lord, our commander,

the Lord, our king –

he will deliver us.

[21:18]  ¹ sn The brief song is supposed to be an old workers’ song, and so the mention of leaders and princes is unusual. Some think they are given credit because they directed where the workers were to dig. The scepter and staff might have served some symbolic or divining custom.

[60:7]  ² sn Gilead was located east of the Jordan. Half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan in the region of Bashan.

[60:7]  ³ tn Heb “the protection of my head.”

[60:7]  ⁴ sn Judah, like Ephraim, was the other major tribe west of the Jordan. The Davidic king, symbolized here by the royal scepter, came from this tribe.

[108:8]  ⁵ tn Gilead was located east of the Jordan River. Half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan in the region of Bashan.

[108:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “the protection of my head.”

[108:8]  ⁷ sn Judah, like Ephraim, was the other major tribe west of the Jordan River. The Davidic king, symbolized here by the royal scepter, came from this tribe.