Psalm 48 Study Notes

Ps 48 title On sons of Korah, see note at Ps 42 title.

48:1-3 Zaphon, a place name, can also be translated as “north.” According to Ugaritic myths, Zaphon was the place where the gods assembled. There might be a play on the word to say that Jerusalem is the place where the true God actually lives. However, there is also the reality that Israel was the kingdom in the north compared to some nations around them, such as Cush, Egypt, Edom, and Moab.

48:4-5 These verses recall the conquest of Canaan when the Lord caused the people in the land to be terrified of the Israelites (Jos 2:9).

48:6 The image of a woman in labor is often used to represent fear (Is 13:8; 21:3; Jr 4:31). Perhaps it referred to the fear of death during the process of giving birth, something common in that time.

48:7 The destruction of the ships of Tarshish may refer to an actual event (1Kg 22:48), or this verse could use Tarshish as a representative of the enemies of God (Ps 72:10).

48:8 “Every victory is a foretaste of the final victory which will secure the holy city forever under the Lord’s reign” (Allen P. Ross).

48:9-11 On name, see note at 20:1. The right hand often represented power and was especially significant in military contexts (see note at 16:8).

48:12-14 To encircle the city sounds like some sort of inspection, but in the context of a psalm and worship, it probably refers to a thanksgiving procession around the city (Neh 12:27-30).