Psalm 79 Study Notes

Ps 79 title On Asaph, see note at Ps 50 title.

79:1 The nations invaded Jerusalem in 586 BC and desecrated the temple. The terms desecrate or defile in the context of religious ceremony means “to make ceremonially unclean.” Verses 1-3 indicate the extensive nature of the devastation since the enemies destroyed Israel’s place of worship and harmed the Lord’s people.

79:2 Normal burial practices in Israel included wrapping the deceased carefully to preserve them and burying the bodies in family plots (cp. Dt 28:26). Consequently, leaving the bodies exposed to the elements where they were consumed by animals signifies humiliation and insult.

79:3 The life is in the blood (Gn 9:4-6), so blood was sacred for ritual but unfit for consumption. The violation of God’s people consisted of illegal bloodshed and the outpouring (Hb shaphak) of blood for consumption by animals.

79:4 Jerusalem’s inhabitants had become an object of reproach (lit “a taunt”), mockery, and ridicule (lit “a curse” or “shame,” see note at v. 12).

79:5 How long reflects the frustration of the psalmist, who connected the absence or abandonment of God with his failure to respond immediately to the plight of Jerusalem’s citizens (see note at 13:1-2). By focusing on the duration of the Lord’s anger, the psalmist presumed an end to judgment and eventual restoration.

79:6 The psalmist asked God to redirect his anger to the nations. Since Babylon poured out the blood of God’s people, he should pour out his anger on the enemy. The ironic request in this verse is one of a number of wordplays in this psalm that appeal to God to invoke a reversal of vengeance (see notes at 7:14-16; 79:12). Kingdoms that don’t call on your name is a common idiom distinguishing between the Lord’s people and those who opposed him.

79:7 As the birds and beasts consumed the corpses as food (Hb ma’akal, v. 2) and the nations made ruins of Jerusalem (v. 1), so the enemy has devoured (Hb ’akal) Jerusalem and devastated Judah’s territory.

79:8 The cultic term translated hold is idiomatic and literally means “to remember.” When the Lord ceased to remember sin, the transgression no longer existed.

79:9 The psalmist’s appeal to the glory of God’s name evokes all the Lord’s previous saving activity on behalf of his people. Moses served as a mediator following the golden calf incident (Ex 32) and prayed for forgiveness for the people so Yahweh’s name and reputation among the nations would be glorified. The divine name, characterized by mercy and compassion coupled with holiness and judgment, provides the basis to atone (“wipe off, cleanse, cover”; see note at 65:3) Judah’s iniquities (78:36-39).

79:10 The rhetorical question asked by the nations, Where is their God? echoes the response of Israel’s enemies to her destruction (42:3; Jl 2:17; Mc 7:10). Calamity and oppression often represent the absence of God’s protection. Vengeance refers to divine retribution, a privilege belonging to God alone. Be known among the nations could be translated “be poured out upon the nations,” preserving the wordplay on the Hebrew root shophek, “pour out” in vv. 3,6.

79:11 In a wordplay, the groans of the prisoners evoke God’s “avenging of blood” (see v. 10). Those condemned to die literally reads “sons of death.”

79:12 Pay back sevenfold emphasizes the enduring nature of the vengeance God will inflict upon the nations (Gn 4:15,24; Lv 26:18,21,24). Just as Jacob became a taunt to her neighbors (see note at Ps 79:4), so the psalmist asked the Lord to return the reproach (lit “taunts”) that they had hurled (lit “taunted”) at the Lord.