Psalm 79 Study Notes

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.