Psalms 80:10

10 [The] mountains were covered with its shade, and [the] mighty cedars [with] its boughs.

Psalms 80:10 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 80:10

The hills were covered with the shadow of it
Alluding to the land of Canaan, which was a mountainous and hilly country, at least some part of it; hence we read of the hill country of Judea, ( Luke 1:39 ) and to the nature of vines, which delight to grow on hills and mountains F16: in a figurative sense this may denote the subjection of kings and kingdoms, comparable to hills, to the Israelites in the times of David and Solomon, ( 2 Samuel 8:1 ) ( 1 Kings 4:21 1 Kings 4:24 ) and the exaltation of the church of Christ, in the latter day, over the hills and mountains, ( Isaiah 2:2 ) . The Targum is,

``the mountains of Jerusalem were covered with the shadow of the house of the sanctuary, and of the houses of the schools:''

and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars;
to these the righteous are compared, ( Psalms 92:13 ) , the Targum is,

``the doctors, the mighty preachers, who are like to the strong cedars:''

the words may be rendered, "the boughs thereof cover the goodly cedars", or "cedars of God" F17; that is, overrun and overtop the goodly cedars; alluding to vines running and growing upon high and goodly trees; and so may denote, as before, the power of Israel over the princes and potentates of the earth, comparable to cedars, the most excellent; as things most excellent have often the name of God added to them; see ( Psalms 104:16 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F16 "Bacchus amat colles----" Virgil Georgic. l. 2. v. 113.
F17 (la yzra hypne) "rami ejus cedros Dei", Tigurine version; so Sept. "et ramia ejus cedri Dei", Musculus, Cocceius; "palmitibus ejus cedri altissimae operiebantur", Piscator, De Dieu; "ramis ejus opertae sunt cedri Dei", Michaelis.

Psalms 80:10 In-Context

8 You uprooted a vine from Egypt; you drove out [the] nations and planted it.
9 You prepared [a place] before it, and {it took deep root} and filled [the] land.
10 [The] mountains were covered with its shade, and [the] mighty cedars [with] its boughs.
11 It spread its branches to [the] sea and its shoots to [the] river.
12 Why have you broken down its walls, so that all [who] pass on [the] road pluck [fruit from] it?
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.