Psalm 129:3 The plowers plowed on my back: they made long their furrows. The expression, "They made long their furrows," can only be understood through the peculiar conditions of Eastern ploughing. The word "furrow" (maanah) signifies a strip of arable land which the ploughman takes in hand at one time, at both ends of which, consequently, the ploughing team always comes to a stand, turns round, and begins a new furrow. Since the ordinary ox of Palestine is smaller and weaker than ours, and easily becomes tired under the yoke, which presses heavily on its neck and confines its neck, they are obliged to give it time to recover its strength by frequent resting. This always takes place at the termination of a furrow, when the peasant raises the unwieldy plough out of the earth, and turns it over, clearing off the moist earth with the small shovel at the lower end of the goad, and hammering the loosened edges and rings tight again, during which time the team is able to recover itself by resting. They do not, therefore, make the furrows of great length. The figure of this verse is explained by the over-exhaustion of the oxen, if the furrows through which they had to drag the plough were made overlong. The suggestion of the ' Speaker's Commentary ' is less natural. It takes the verse as a figure of scourging. (Improving on this, Dr. Wordsworth finds anticipation of the scourging of Christ.) "The lashes inflicted upon the back of the writhing slave by a cruel master are compared to the long furrows pierced in the passive earth by the share of the plougher." The figure must be explained in the light of the memories cherished by the psalmist, as representing the nation just returned from captivity. And the nation is symbolized by the land in which the nation dwelt. I. ISRAEL'S SORROWS HAD BEEN LIKE THE WORK OF A PLOUGH IN THE LAND. Attention is indeed fixed only on the tearing open and turning over of the land; but we need not miss seeing that this stern dealing was the necessary preliminary to seed sowing and fruitage. (Compare "No trial for the present seemeth to be joyous," etc.) Better be torn land than harvestless land. II. THE AGENTS OF ISRAEL'S SORROWS HAD OVERDONE THEIR WORK. They had gone beyond their commission, had increased the length of the furrow. So we often think of our sorrows when we try to estimate their moral value. But that is what we can never do wisely. They never do go beyond God-arranged limits. - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.WEB: The plowers plowed on my back. They made their furrows long. |
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