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Psalms

About this book
Psalm 60

1 For the music director, according to the shushan-eduth style; a prayer of David written to instruct others. It was written when he fought against Aram Naharaim and Aram Zobah. That was when Joab turned back and struck down 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.⁠ O God, you have rejected us. You suddenly turned on us in your anger. Please restore us! 2 You made the earth quake; you split it open. Repair its breaches, for it is ready to fall. 3 You have made your people experience hard times; you have made us drink intoxicating wine. 4 You have given your loyal followers a rallying flag, so that they might seek safety from the bow. (Selah) 5 Deliver by your power and answer me, so that the ones you love may be safe. 6 God has spoken in his sanctuary: “I will triumph. I will parcel out Shechem; the Valley of Sukkoth I will measure off. 7 Gilead belongs to me, as does Manasseh. Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my royal scepter.⁠ 8 Moab is my washbasin. I will make Edom serve me. I will shout in triumph over Philistia.” 9 Who will lead me into the fortified city? Who will bring me to Edom? 10 Have you not rejected us, O God? O God, you do not go into battle with our armies. 11 Give us help against the enemy, for any help men might offer is futile. 12 By God’s power we will conquer; he will trample down our enemies.

Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 49:10 and Psalm 60:7

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Genesis describes Judah’s scepter and ruler’s staff, imagery based on ancient Near Eastern symbols of kingship. Psalm 60 echoes this language by portraying Judah as the divine scepter through which divine authority is expressed.

Passages

Genesis 49:10

Hebrew Bible
8 Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies, your father’s sons will bow down before you. 9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah, from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches and lies down like a lion; like a lioness—who will rouse him? 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; the nations will obey him. 11 Binding his foal to the vine, and his colt to the choicest vine, he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes will be red from wine, and his teeth white from milk.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Psalm 60:7

Hebrew Bible
5 Deliver by your power and answer me, so that the ones you love may be safe. 6 God has spoken in his sanctuary: “I will triumph. I will parcel out Shechem; the Valley of Sukkoth I will measure off. 7 Gilead belongs to me, as does Manasseh. Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my royal scepter. 8 Moab is my washbasin. I will make Edom serve me. I will shout in triumph over Philistia.” 9 Who will lead me into the fortified city? Who will bring me to Edom?
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... In Ancient Near Eastern iconography, the ruler’s staff (often with a scepter) is a feature of royalty (e.g., ANEP, nos. 379, 383, 414 [Egyptian]; compare Psalm 45:6; 110:2; Jeremiah 48:17). Against this background Jacob’s blessing of Judah refers to the ruler’s staff and scepter: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet” (Genesis 49:10; compare ANEP, no. 463, for the position between the feet; for the view that “from between his feet” refers to descendants). The hegemony here promised to Judah was realized in David’s kingship, which was to represent Yahweh’s rule, making Judah the divine scepter through which God reigned (Psalm 60:7; 108:8; compare 2 Samuel 7) ..."
T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2003), 693.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Genesis 49:10 and Psalm 60:7

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