Psalms 72:10

10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts.

Psalms 72:10 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 72:10

The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents,
&c.] Tarshish either signifies the sea, as it is sometimes rendered in the Targum; and then the sense is, the kings of the sea, that is, of the islands of the sea, as it follows, shall be subject to the kingdom of Christ; and, as a token of it, bring presents to him, as the Moabites and Syrians did to David, and as several nations and kings did to Solomon, ( 2 Samuel 8:2 ) ( 1 Kings 4:21 ) ; or it designs a large country inhabited by the Celtae F2, and so is distinct from the islands; and then the sense is, that kings, both of the continent, and of the islands of the sea, shall do homage to the Messiah;

and the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts;
the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, render it, "the kings of the Arabians and Saba"; and so Apollinarius, the Arabians, and Sabeans, these being places in Arabia Felix and Petraea F3: this will be fulfilled when the kings of the earth shall bring their honour and glory into the New Jerusalem, ( Revelation 21:24 ) . This, and the preceding verse, are interpreted of the Messiah by the ancient Jews F4; who say F5, that all the gifts that Jacob their father gave to Esau, the nations of the world shall return them to the King Messiah in time to come, according to the sense of these words; where it is not written "they shall bring"; but (whyvy) F6, "they shall return [presents]".


FOOTNOTES:

F2 Hiller. Onomast. p. 944.
F3 Hiller. ibid. p. 165, 920.
F4 Zohar in Gen. fol. 71. 1.
F5 Bereshit Rabba, s. 78. fol. 69. 1. Bemidbar Rabba, s. 13. fol. 210.
F6 "Redire facient, vel reddant", Muis.

Psalms 72:10 In-Context

8 May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 May his foes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust.
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts.
11 May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service.
12 For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.