Psalm 83:6

The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(6-8) In the enumeration of the confederate powers, the psalmist seems to follow a geographical order. He first glances southwards and eastwards, then turns to the west, and, finally, to the north.

(6) The tabernacles—i.e., the tents of the nomad tribes.

Hagarenes.—A tribe mentioned in 1Chronicles 5:10; 1Chronicles 5:19 (Hagarites), where see Note.

Benson Commentary

Psalm 83:6-8. The tabernacles of Edom — Called the children of Seir, 2 Chronicles 20. He says the tabernacles of Edom, from the custom of these Arabians to live in tents all the year long; encamping sometimes in one place and sometimes in another, as they found convenience for themselves and their cattle, a custom retained by their descendants even to this day. And the Ishmaelites — Some of the posterity of Ishmael, called by their father’s name, as others of them are supposed by many to be called Hagarenes, from their grandmother Hagar. Gebal — The Giblites, or Gebalites, dwelling near Zidon, of whom see Ezekiel 27:9. “Gebal was once a place of renown: the country of the Giblites is mentioned as left by Joshua to be conquered after his death, Joshua 13:5. And the people of this place were of service to Hiram, king of Tyre, in preparing materials for Solomon’s temple, 1 Kings 5:18. At present this city has lost all its ancient grandeur, which appears to have been considerable by the remaining ruins of it. But it still retains its name, with very little alteration, which is Gibyle. It is situated upon the Mediterranean sea, between Tripoli and Sidon.” Assur also is joined with them — In their counsels, and possibly also with some of their forces, though not so openly and powerfully as afterward. They have holpen the children of Lot — Moab and Ammon, who were the principal parties in that war, (2 Chronicles 20.,) called here the children of Lot, to intimate their great degeneracy from the example of their pious progenitors.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

83:1-8 Sometimes God seems not to be concerned at the unjust treatment of his people. But then we may call upon him, as the psalmist here. All wicked people are God's enemies, especially wicked persecutors. The Lord's people are his hidden one; the world knows them not. He takes them under his special protection. Do the enemies of the church act with one consent to destroy it, and shall not the friends of the church be united? Wicked men wish that there might be no religion among mankind. They would gladly see all its restraints shaken off, and all that preach, profess, or practise it, cut off. This they would bring to pass if it were in their power. The enemies of God's church have always been many: this magnifies the power of the Lord in preserving to himself a church in the world.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The tabernacles of Edom - The tents of Edom; meaning here, the dwellers in those tents, that is, the Edomites. The word tabernacles or tents does not necessarily imply that the nation then led a wandering life, for the word came to signify in process of time a dwelling-place, or a habitation. The Edomites were not, in fact, a roving and wandering people, but a people of fixed boundaries. In early periods, however, like most ancient people, they doubtless dwelt in tents. Edom, or Idumea, was south of Palestine. See the notes at Isaiah 11:14.

And the Ishmaelites - The descendants of Ishmael. They dwelt in Arabia Deserta.

Of Moab - On the situation of Moab, see the notes at Isaiah 15:1-9. It was on the southeast of Palestine.

And the Hagarenes - The Hagarenes were properly Arabs, so called from Hagar, the handmaid of Abraham, the mother of Ishmael. Genesis 16:1; Genesis 25:12. As connected with the Ishmaelites they would naturally join in this alliance.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

6-8. tabernacles—for people (Ps 78:67).

they—all these united with the children of Lot, or Ammonites and Moabites (compare 2Ch 20:1).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The tabernacles, put for the people dwelling in them, as Job 12:6 Proverbs 14:11 Habakkuk 3:7.

Edom; called the children of Seir, 2 Chronicles 20. The Ishmaelites; some of the posterity of Ishmael, called by their father’s name, as others of them are supposed by divers to be called

Hagarenes, from their grandmother Hagar. See 1 Chronicles 5:10,20.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

The tabernacles of Edom, &c. Or the Idumeans, as the Targum; the posterity of Esau, who, with the rest that joined with them, hereafter mentioned, and made the confederate army, brought their tents with them, pitched them, and encamped in them against Israel:

and the Ishmaelites; or Arabians, as the Targum, who descended from Ishmael, the son of Abraham:

of Moab, and the Hagarenes; the Moabites, who sprung from Lot by one of his daughters, in an incestuous way; and the Hagarenes are the same with the Hagarites, 1 Chronicles 5:10 who dwelt to the east of the land of Israel, so called from Hagar, the handmaid of Abraham, but not by him, but by another husband, after sent away from him, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi think, or by him, supposing Hagar to be the same with Keturah, as some do: the Targum calls them Hungarians; the Syriac version renders it Gadareans, or Gadarenes; of which see Mark 5:1.

Geneva Study Bible

The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

6. The tabernacles &c.] The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, i.e. the nomadic Edomites and Ishmaelites who dwell in tents. Cp. Habakkuk 3:7. of Moab] Omit of.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 6. - The tabernacles of Edom. Edom was always among the bitterest of Israel's enemies, and naturally took a part in almost every combination that was made against them. Though sometimes subjugated (2 Samuel 8:14; 1 Kings 11:15, 16), it continued hostile during the whole period of Israelite and Jewish history. Hence the constant denunciations of the prophets (Isaiah 11:14; Jeremiah 27:3; Jeremiah 49:7-22; Ezekiel 25:12-14; Joel 3:19; Amos 9:12; Obadiah 1:6-18; Malachi 1:4). And the Ishmaelites. The Ishmaelites were the chief inhabitants of Northern Arabia (Genesis 25:13-18). They do not often appear among Israel's enemies. Of Moab. Moab, on the contrary, is a persistent adversary (see Numbers 22:6; Judges 3:12-30; 1 Samuel 14:47; 2 Samuel 8:2; 2 Kings 1:1; 2 Kings 3:4-27; 26:2; 2 Chronicles 20:1-10). And the Hagarenes. The "Hagarenes," or "Hagarites," are only mentioned here and in 1 Chronicles 5:10, 19-22. They were probably a branch of the Ishmaelites, named after Hagar, Ishmael's mother (Genesis 25:12). Their name occurs among those of Aramman tribes in the Assyrian inscriptions. Psalm 83:6

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Instead of לב אחד, 1 Chronicles 12:38, it is deliberant corde unâ, inasmuch as יחדּו on the one hand gives intensity to the reciprocal signification of the verb, and on the other lends the adjectival notion to לב. Of the confederate peoples the chronicler (2 Chronicles 20) mentions the Moabites, the Ammonites, the inhabitants of Mount Ser, and the Me(unim, instead of which Josephus, Antiq. ix. 1. 2, says: a great body of Arabians. This crowd of peoples comes from the other side of the Dead Sea, מאדם (as it is to be read in Psalm 83:2 in the chronicler instead of מארם, cf. on Psalm 60:2); the territory of Edom, which is mentioned first by the poet, was therefore the rendezvous. The tents of Edom and of the Ishmaelites are (cf. Arab. ahl, people) the people themselves who live in tents. Moreover, too, the poet ranges the hostile nations according to their geographical position. The seven first named from Edom to Amalek, which still existed at the time of the psalmist (for the final destruction of the Amalekites by the Simeonites, 1 Chronicles 4:42., falls at an indeterminate period prior to the Exile), are those out of the regions east and south-east of the Dead Sea. According to Genesis 25:18, the Ishmaelites had spread from Higz through the peninsula of Sinai beyond the eastern and southern deserts as far up as the countries under the dominion of Assyria. The Hagarenes dwelt in tents from the Persian Gulf as far as the east of Gilead (1 Chronicles 5:10) towards the Euphrates. גּבל, Arab. jbâl, is the name of the people inhabiting the mountains situated in the south of the Dead Sea, that is to say, the northern Seritish mountains. Both Gebl and also, as it appears, the Amalek intended here according to Genesis 36:12 (cf. Josephus, Antiq. ii. 1. 2: Ἀμαληκῖτις, a part of Idumaea), belong to the wide circuit of Edom. Then follow the Philistines and Phoenicians, the two nations of the coast of the Mediterranean, which also appear in Amos 1:1-15 (cf. Joel 3) as making common cause with the Edomites against Israel. Finally Asshur, the nation of the distant north-east, here not as yet appearing as a principal power, but strengthening (vid., concerning זרוע, an arm equals assistance, succour, Gesenius, Thesaurus, p. 433b) the sons of Lot, i.e., the Moabites and Ammonites, with whom the enterprise started, and forming a powerful reserve for them. The music bursts forth angrily at the close of this enumeration, and imprecations discharge themselves in the following strophe.