The Identity of the "Adversaries" in Ps 78:66

Introduction

The Masoretic Text of Psalm 78:66 reads as follows:

וַיַּךְ־צָרָ֥יו אָח֑וֹר חֶרְפַּ֥ת ע֝וֹלָ֗ם נָ֣תַן לָֽמוֹ׃

"And he struck back his adversaries. He gave them eternal shame."

The identity of his adversaries in the first line and them in the second refer to the same group, though the identity of this group is not immediately clear. The denotation could be

1. the Israelites rejected at Shiloh,
2. the Philistines humiliated by the presence of the ark of YHWH (as recounted in 1 Samuel 5-6:12), or
3. all the enemies of God's people up to and including the period of David's kingship.

These three possibilities are discussed in the following argument maps.

Argument Maps

The Israelites at Shiloh

His adversaries in Ps 78:66 refers to the Israelites at Shiloh.

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[Israelites]: '''His adversaries''' in Ps 78:66 refers to the Israelites at Shiloh and the "eternal shame" in Ps 78:66b refers to the loss of the ark of the covenant, as recounted in v. 61 (Radak :C:).#dispreferred
 + <Preceding discourse>: The preceding discourse (vv. 59-64) concerns the defeat of the Israelites at Shiloh and v. 66 begins with a wayyiqtol, the prototypical verb form of discourse continuity (Isaksson 2024, 37-38 :M:).#dispreferred
  <_ <v. 65>: The mention of YHWH "awakening" in v. 65 falls between v. 64 and v. 66, and is often used for God initiating vengeance for his people (see, e.g., Isa 51:9-11; Zech 2:16-17; Ps 7:7; 44:23-24), not against them.
 + <Following discourse>: The following verse (v. 67) concerns the rejection of the Israelites, introduced by a wayyiqtol, the prototypical verb form of discourse continuity (Isaksson 2024, 37-38 :M:).#dispreferred
  <_ <Wayyiqtol in Ps 78>: There are other less-than-prototypical functions of the wayyiqtol in Psalm 78, so discourse discontinuity or contrast would not be unexpected in its function here.
   + [Wayyiqtol in Ps 78]: See, for example, the wayyiqtol in v. 5 (וַיָּקֶם); v. 36 (וַיְפַתּוּהוּ) and v. 68 (וַיִּבְחַר), rendered in our CBC as "how he established," "but they tried to deceive him," and "but he chose," respectively.
  <_ <Discourse structure>: The final discourse unit of the psalm begins in either v. 65 or 67, both of which begin with a wayyiqtol verb.
 + <Participant relations>: In the Psalms of Asaph, particularly Pss 78-80, the primary opposition and enmity is found between God and the ancestors of the psalmist's community (Ray 2023, 141 :M:).#dispreferred

The Philistines

His adversaries in Ps 78:66 refers to the Philistines who were victorious at Aphek (1 Sam 4) and subsequently terrorized by the Ark of the Lord (1 Samuel 5-6:12).

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[Philistines]: '''His adversaries''' in Ps 78:66 refers to the Philistines (Rashi :C:; Ibn Ezra :C:; Rasag 1965, 189 :C:; Tate 1998, 283 :C:; Ray 2023, 165 :M:).#dispreferred
 + <The adverb אָחוֹר>: Reading the adverb אָחוֹר as the locative "in the hinder parts" (KJV; cf. Gall.; TgPs), as recounted in 1 Samuel 5-6:12, makes sense of the "eternal shame" in Ps 78:66b as their humiliation by the Ark of the Lord.#dispreferred
  <_ <The collocation with נכה>: The verb נכה with אָחוֹר only occurs here in the Bible, though נכה is most often accompanied by an adverbial of movement, such that אָחוֹר would be read as "backwards" here.
   + [The collocation with נכה]: See, e.g., "strike down" with directional movement (e.g., עַד in Josh 10:10, 41; 1 Sam 7:11; מִן plus allative he in 1 Sam 14:31; בְּ plus "wall" in the textually contested אַכֶּ֥ה בְדָוִ֖ד וּבַקִּ֑יר in 1 Sam 18:11 and 19:10; similarly וּבָאָ֙רֶץ֙ in 1 Sam 26:8; allative he with אַכֶּ֙כָּה֙ אַ֔רְצָה in 2 Sam 2:22; 18:11; 2 Kgs 13:18).
   - <Locative adverb>: The verb נכה is also accompanied by locative adverbs.#dispreferred
    + [Locative adverb]: See, e.g., the אֵל locatives in 2 Sam 4:6, בֵּין in 1 Kgs 22:34, עַל in Jon 4:8; Mic 4:14; but most significantly, the bare nominals חֹמֶשׁ "stomach" and לְחִי "cheek" in 2 Sam 3:27 and Ps 3:8 (וַיַּכֵּ֤הוּ שָׁם֙ הַחֹ֔מֶשׁ and כִּֽי־הִכִּ֣יתָ אֶת־כָּל־אֹיְבַ֣י לֶ֑חִי, respectively).#dispreferred
 + <v. 65>: The mention of YHWH "awakening" in v. 65 is often used for God initiating vengeance against his people's enemies (see, e.g., Isa 51:9-11; Zech 2:16-17; Ps 7:7; 44:23-24; Ḥakham 1979, 59-60 :C:).#dispreferred
 + <Wayyiqtol וַיַךְ>: The wayyiqtol וַיַךְ, as in the present verse, is also used to refer to YHWH's actions against the Philistines in 1 Samuel 5:6, 9.#dispreferred
 + <Use of צַר in Ps 78>: The other denotations of צַר in the psalm (vv. 42, 61) both unambiguously refer to foreign peoples. The latter case (only five verses before our present verse) refers to the Philistines among whom the Ark of the Lord was taken.#dispreferred
  + [Ps 78:61]: וַיִּתֵּ֣ן לַשְּׁבִ֣י עֻזּ֑וֹ וְֽתִפְאַרְתּ֥וֹ בְיַד־צָֽר "He gave his strength into captivity and he gave his glory into the possession of an adversary."#dispreferred
  <_ <Suffix>: The instances of צַר in vv. 42, 61 lack a pronominal suffix, which is present in צָרָיו "his adversaries" here.
 + <Symmachus>: Symmachus provides the suffix "their adversaries" (τοὺς ἐναντίους αὐτῶν) unambiguously referring to the Israelites.#dispreferred
  <_ <Greek traditions>: The pronominal suffixes in the LXX and the Revisers are often artificial and interpretive throughout the psalm.
   + [Greek tradition]: See, e.g., the 3pl for 3sg in the LXX and Symmachus of v. 28 and the LXX of vv. 63-64.
 + <Targum Psalms>: Targum Psalms makes clear the connection to the events of 1 Sam 5-6:12.#dispreferred
  + [Targum Psalms]: ומחא מעיקוי בטחוריא באחוריהון "And he smote his foes with hemorrhoids in their rear" (Stec 2004, 155).#dispreferred

Israel's Enemies in general (preferred)

His adversaries in Ps 78:66 refers to the enemies of Israel in general, during the periods of Samuel, Saul and David.

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[Enemies]: '''His adversaries''' in Ps 78:66 refers to Israel's enemies in general (Hupfeld 1860, 375 :C:; Delitzsch 1871, 375 :C:; Kirkpatrick 1904, 478 :C:; Campbell 1979a :A:; Ḥakham 1979, 60 :C:; Bratcher & Reyburn 1991, 702 :M:; Goldingay 2006, 511 :C:; Brueggemann & Bellinger 2014, 342 :C:; Jacobson 2017, 138 :M:).
 + <v. 65>: The mention of YHWH "awakening" in v. 65 is often used for God initiating vengeance against his people's enemies (see, e.g., Isa 51:9-11; Zech 2:16-17; Ps 7:7; 44:23-24; Ḥakham 1979, 59-60 :C:).
 + <Discourse position>: The passage in question is placed between vv. 60-64 and vv. 67-72, which recount the loss of the Ark from Shiloh (1 Sam 4) and the election of David, so naturally encapsulate everything in between.
 + <Discourse continuity>: There is immediate continuity with the verses that follow, such that the reference cannot be limited to the events of 1 Sam 5-6 (Campbell 1979a, 61 :A:; Jacobson 2017, 138 :M:).
  <_ <Previous continuity>: There is also continuity indicated by the wayyiqtol form in v. 65, such that the content of vv. 65-66 follow from the Shiloh passage.#dispreferred
   <_ <Discontinuity>: Despite the use of the wayyiqtol in v. 65, the discontinuity here is more evident than in v. 67 in light of the fourfold topic shift throughout vv. 63-64 (see macrosyntax) and the poetic structure of the eight-verse introduction and eight-verse conclusion (Campbell 1979a :A:).
 + <Wayyiqtol וַיַךְ>: Just as YHWH "struck" (וַיַךְ) Egypt in v. 51, so now he strikes (וַיַךְ) other hostile nations (Goldingay 2006, 511 :C:).
 + <v. 65>: The mention of YHWH "awakening" in v. 65 is often used for God initiating vengeance against his people's enemies (see, e.g., Isa 51:9-11; Zech 2:16-17; Ps 7:7; 44:23-24).
 + <The curse of Canaan>: Verses 65-66 refer to the carrying out of the curse of Canaan.
  + <Textual allusion>: Verse 65 begins and ends with the words וַיִּקַ֖ץ ... מִיָּֽיִן, which contains an allusion to the only other verse in the Bible containing these two words, Gen 9:24 (וַיִּ֥יקֶץ נֹ֖חַ מִיֵּינ֑וֹ "When Noah awoke from his wine," NIV), in addition to the mention of "Ham" in v. 51 (cf. Pss 105:23, 27; 106:22), the guilty party who brought on the curse of his son, Canaan.
  - <Philistines>: The defeats included in the passage would include the Philistines, who were not a Canaanite people.#dispreferred
   <_ <Canaanite residents>: As Israel's prototypical arch-enemy, they were long-time residents of Canaan from the time of the Exodus onwards, so could be considered within this group, along with the Ammonites and Amalekites (descendants of Edom).
 + <Ark narrative>: This reading provides an all-inclusive reference of YHWH's victories over his people's enemies up to the beginning of David's reign neatly places the Ark narrative (1 Sam 4-6; 2 Sam 6—see Campbell 1979b) as an literary inclusio to the events detonated. 

Conclusion (B)

Although vv. 65-66 follow the judgment of Shiloh, it is unlikely that the denotation of his adversaries in v. 66 refer to the rebellious Israelites of Shiloh. Rather the two most plausible referents are the Philistines, specifically in the context of the Shiloh and the loss of the Ark (1 Sam 4-6), or the enemies of Israel in general throughout the periods of Samuel, Saul, and David.

While the latter position seems to be the most popular among commentators, sound reasoning for its support is rarely offered. Nevertheless, sensitivity to macrosyntactic and poetic signals reveals a larger discontinuity between the discourse topics of the rejection of Shiloh (vv. 59-64) and the passage in question (vv. 65-66) than that of the present passage and the election of David (vv. 67-72). Discourse discontinuities at both vv. 65 and 67 are quite plausible, but the chain of topic shifts throughout vv. 63-64 and the pattern broken thereafter, as well as the pattern of an eight-verse introduction and eight-verse conclusion to the psalm, seem to make a stronger case for v. 65 as the final discourse discontinuity.

While the Philistines are most immediately in view from the previous discourse, the structurally forward-pointing nature of vv. 65-66 seems to imply the wider scope of the enemies in question—including the Philistines. Thus, the contents of vv. 65-66 carry the poem historically from the beginning of the period of Samuel at Shiloh (1 Sam 4 and following) to the election of David (1 Sam 16, but more fully in 2 Sam 5).

Research

Translations

Ancient

• Symmachus: καὶ ἐπάταξε τοὺς ἐναντίους αὐτῶν ὀπίσω.
• Targum: ומחא מעיקוי בטחוריא באחוריהון
  • ""And he smote his foes with hemorrhoids in their rear."

Secondary Literature

Bratcher, Robert G. & Reyburn, William, D. 1991. A Translator’s Handbook on the Book of Psalms, UBS Handbook Series. New York, NY: United Bible Societies.

Brueggemann, W. & Bellinger, W. H. 2014. Psalms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Campbell, A. F. 1979a. "Psalm 78: A Contribution to the Theology of Tenth Century Israel," in The Catholic Bible Quarterly 41, no. 1: 51-79.

Campbell, A. F. 1979b. "Yahweh and the Ark: A Case Study in Narrative," in Journal of Biblical Literature 98, no. 1: 31-43.

Delitzsch, Franz. 1871. Biblical Commentary on the Psalms: Vol. 2. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.

Goldingay, John. 2006. Psalms 42-89. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.

Ḥakham, Amos. 1979. ספר תהלים: ספרים ג–ה (in Hebrew; The Book of Psalms: Books 3-5). Jerusalem: Mossad Harav Kook.

Hitzig, Ferdinand. 1863. Die Psalmen: Übersetzt und Ausgelegt. Leipzig und Heidelberg: C. F. Winterische Verlagshandlung.

Hupfeld, Hermann. 1860. Die Psalmen: Übersetzt und Ausgelegt. Gotha: Friedrich Andreas Perthes.

Ibn Ezra, Abraham. Ibn Ezra on Psalms.

Isaksson, B. 2024. The Verb in Classical Hebrew: The Linguistic Reality behind the Consecutive Tenses. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers & University of Cambridge.

Jacobson, K. M. 2017. Memories of Asaph: Mnemohistory and the Psalms of Asaph. Minneapolis, MN: 1517 Media.

Kirkpatrick, A. F. 1904. The Book of Psalms: Psalms XLII-LXXXIX. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Radak. Radak on Psalms.

Rasag = Kafaḥ, Y. 1965. The Psalms with Translation and Commentary of Saadia Gaon (in Hebrew: תהלים עם תרגום פוירוש הגאון). Jerusalem: The American Academy for Jewish Research (האקדימיה האמריקאנית למדעי היהדות).

Rashi. Rashi on Psalms.

Ray, D. C. 2023. Conflict and Enmity in the Asaph Psalms. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.

Stec, David M. 2004. The Targum of Psalms: Translated, with a Critical Introduction, Apparatus, and Notes. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.

Tate, Marvin E. 1990. Psalms 51-100. Dallas, TX: Word Books.

References

78:66