Table of Contents
Psalm 110
Psalm 110
1 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
2 The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
4 The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
5 The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
6 He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.
7 He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.
Notes
[1] Yahweh said to Adonai – this psalm states that God spoke to a human being. This is how do we know who is speaking and who is being spoken to. We can confirm this by stating we know that King David did not write this psalm; in every Psalm which David wrote it is stated that he wrote it. Note that this text is omitted from the KJV and only included as a title heading in most translations but it is a vital part of the original Hebrew of the text itself. For example, Psalm 23 begins with “miz-mō-wr lə-ḏā-wiḏ;” (A Psalm of David) as do other well-known Psalms written by David, such as Psalm 138 or Psalm 62. In contrast, Psalm 62 states “liḇ-nê- qō-raḥ;” (a Psalm of the sons of Korah) and Psalm 110 (this psalm) actually begins with “lə-ḏā-wiḏ, miz-mō-wr” – a psalm about David! So the writer of the Psalm is writing about his master David, and it simply says, God said to David, “sit at my right hand, until I make thine enemies a footstool at thy feet.”.
Cross Reference
Concordance
Commentary
A terribly misunderstood passage. Yahweh said to Adonai – this psalm states that God spoke to a human being. This is how do we know who is speaking and who is being spoken to. We can confirm this by stating we know that King David did not write this psalm; in every Psalm which David wrote it is stated that he wrote it. Note that this text is omitted from the KJV and only included as a title heading in most translations but it is a vital part of the original Hebrew of the text itself. For example, Psalm 23 begins with “miz-mō-wr lə-ḏā-wiḏ;” (A Psalm of David) as do other well-known Psalms written by David, such as Psalm 138 or Psalm 62. In contrast, Psalm 62 states “liḇ-nê- qō-raḥ;” (a Psalm of the sons of Korah) and Psalm 110 (this psalm) actually begins with “lə-ḏā-wiḏ, miz-mō-wr” – a psalm about David! So the writer of the Psalm is writing about his master David, and it simply says, God said to David, “sit at my right hand, until I make thine enemies a footstool at thy feet.”.
Rashi
Verse 1
<html><b>The word of the Lord to my master</b> Our Rabbis interpreted it as referring to Abraham our father, and I shall explain it according to their words (Mid. Ps. 110:1): The word of the Lord to Abraham, whom the world called “my master,” as it is written (Gen. 23:6): “Hearken to us, my master.” <b>“Wait for My right hand”</b> Wait for My salvation and hope for the Lord. [The root] ישיבה means only waiting, as Scripture states (Deut. 1:46): “And you stayed (ותשבו) in Kadesh for many days.” <b>for My right hand</b> For the salvation of My right hand. <b>until I make your enemies</b> Amraphel and his allies.</html>
Verse 2
<html><b>The staff of</b> [This is] an expression of support, as (above 105:16): “every staff of bread.” <b>The staff of your might the Lord will send from Zion</b> When you return from the war and your men are weary and in pursuit, the Lord will send you Malchizedek, king of Salem, to bring out bread and wine (Gen. 14:14). <b>rule</b> in the war. <b>in the midst of your enemies</b> safely.</html>
Verse 3
<html><b>Your people will volunteer on the day of your host</b> When you gather an army to pursue them, your people and your friends will volunteer to go out with you, as we find (Gen. 14:14): “and he armed his trained men, those born in his house,” and no more; and Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre volunteered by themselves to go out to his aid. <b>because of the beauty of holiness when you fell from the womb</b> And this will be to you in the merit of the beauty of holiness that was in you from your mother’s womb, for he recognized his Creator at the age of three. <b>when you fell from the womb</b> Heb. משחר, when you fell from the womb, like (Beizah 35b): “We may let fruit down (משילין) through a skylight on a festival,” and some learn משחירין. <b>for you, your youth is like dew</b> For you will be considered your youth, the ways of uprightness with which you conducted yourself in your youth will be for you as pleasantness, like this dew, which is pleasant and comforting.</html>
Verse 4
<html><b>The Lord swore and will not repent</b> Since Abraham was afraid lest he be punished for the troops that he had killed, it was said to him (Gen. 15:1): “Fear not, Abraham, etc.” <b>and will not repent</b> over the good that He spoke about you. <b>you are a priest forever because of the speech of Malchizedek</b> From you will emerge the priesthood and the kingship that your children will inherit from Shem your progenitor, the priesthood and the kingship, which were given to him. דִבְרָתִי מלכי-צדק. The “yud” is superfluous, like (Lam. 1:1): “the city that was once so populous (רבתי).” Because of the speech of Malchizedek, because of the command of Malchizedek. You are a priest, Heb. כהן. The word כהן bears the connotation of priesthood and rulership, as (II Sam. 8:18): “and David’s sons were chief officers.”</html>
Verse 5
<html><b>The Lord</b> Who was on your right hand in battle. <b>has crushed kings on the day of His wrath</b> The four kings. He… <b>will execute justice upon the nations [into] a heap of corpses</b> This is the tidings of the ‘covenant between the segments,’ [in] which was stated to him concerning Egypt (Gen. 15:14): “But also that nation whom they will serve do I judge.”</html>
Verse 6
<html><b>a heap of corpses</b> Heb. מלא, a heap of corpses. מלא is an expression of gathering, as (Jer. 12:6): “have called a gang (מלא) after you”; (Isa. 31:4), “although a band (מלא) of shepherds gather against him.” Now where did He execute justice, making them a heap of corpses? (Exod. 14:30), “the Egyptians dead on the seashore.” <b>He crushed the head on a great land</b> This resembles the prophecy of Habakkuk (3:12): “You have crushed the head of the house of the wicked.” [This refers to] the head of Pharaoh, who was the head and the prince of a land greater and more esteemed than all the lands, as is said (above 102:20): “a ruler of peoples [sent] and loosed his bonds,” for all the nations were under the rule of Egypt.</html>
Verse 7
<html><b>From the stream on the way he would drink, etc.</b> From the Nile River, on the way of its course, his land would drink, and it was not in need of rain water. Therefore, he would raise his head and boast (Ezek. 29:3): “My river is my own, and I made myself.” In another manner, this psalm can be explained regarding David: [1] <b>The word of the Lord about my master</b> Concerning my master, Saul, when I was pursued by him. <b>about my master</b> Heb. לאדני, about my master, as (Exod. 14:3): “Then Pharaoh will say concerning the children of (לבני) Israel”; (Gen. 26:7), “The people of the place asked him about his wife (לאשתו).” <b>“Wait for My right hand”</b> Stay and wait for My salvation. [2] <b>The staff of your might the Lord will send from Zion</b> The exceptional good deeds in your hand. Another explanation: You will yet reign in Zion, and there a staff of might will be sent to you, and then you will rule in the midst of your enemies. [3] <b>Your people will volunteer on the day of your host</b> The people of Israel will volunteer to your aid on the day that you form an army, as it is delineated in (I) Chronicles (12:21); that they were joining him from every tribe: “When he went to Ziklag, there deserted to him of Manasseh, etc.”; (ibid. verse 8): “And from the Gadites there separated themselves to David, etc.” <b>because of the beauty of holiness when you fell from the womb</b> Because of the beauty of holiness that was in you from your youth. <b>your youth is like dew</b> A good youth and a good period of maturity that you had will be to you like dew, which is pleasant and sweet, and will produce fruit for you to make you prosper. [4] <b>The Lord has sworn, etc.</b> that the kingdom will be yours forever. <b>You are a priest forever</b> And which of the priesthoods? A priesthood that is above the priesthood of Malchizedek, and that is the kingdom, which is above the high priesthood in thirty steps. <b>above the charge of Malchizedek</b> above the priesthood (Some mss. read: above the charge) of Malchizedek, who was a priest to the Most High God. Now if you challenge that he too was a king, [we answer that] the kingdom over the nations was not an esteemed kingdom when compared to Israel. [5] <b>The Lord</b> will always be on your right hand to save you, Who… <b>crushed kings on the day of His wrath</b> Those who fought with Abraham and with Joshua and with Barak. [6] <b>He will execute justice upon the nations [into] a heap of corpses</b> And further, in the days of Hezekiah your son, He will execute justice upon the armies of Sennacherib [making them] a heap of dead corpses, and He will crush Sennacherib, who is the head of Nineveh and Assyria, which is a great land, who… [7] <b>From the stream on the way</b> he was drinking, for he boasted that his armies drank from the waters of the Jordan, as it is said (Isa. 37:25): “I dug and drank water, and I dry up, etc.” <b>therefore, he raised his head</b> He praised himself and boasted of his greatness.</html>