Psalms 22:12

12 Many bulls encompass me; 1strong bulls of 2Bashan surround me;

Psalms 22:12 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 22:12

Many bulls have compassed me
By whom are meant the chief priests, elders, Scribes, and Pharisees, among the Jews, and Herod and Pontius Pilate among the Gentiles, comparable to bulls for their fierceness, rage, and fury against Christ, ( Psalms 2:1 Psalms 2:2 ) ; and for their pushing at him with their horns of power and authority, and for their trampling him under their feet, his person and offices; these compassed him about at his apprehension, arraignment, trial, and condemnation; and there were many of them to one child, Jesus:

strong [bulls] of Bashan have beset me round;
Bashan was a very fruitful country, in which cattle of various sorts, and bulls among the rest, were fed and fattened; see ( Deuteronomy 32:14 ) ( Ezekiel 39:18 ) ; bulls are noted for their strength in other writers F1. Hence great men, who abounded in riches and power, and used them to the oppression of the poor, are compared to the kine of Bashan, ( Amos 4:1 ) ; and a very fit name this was for the kings and princes of the earth; for Caiaphas, Annas, and the chief priests, that lived upon the fat of the land, who beset Christ around, and employed all their power and policy to take him and bring him to death; nor is it unusual with Heathen writers F2 to compare great personages to bulls.


FOOTNOTES:

F1 "Fortes tauri", Virgil. Georgic. l. 1. v. 65. Ovid. Metamorph. l. 9. Fab. 1.
F2 Homer. Iliad. 2. v. 48. Horat. Satyr. l. 1. Satyr. 3. v. 110.

Psalms 22:12 In-Context

10 On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God.
11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.
12 Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;

Cross References 2

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