Psalms 68:7-8
7O God, when you lead your people into battle, ▼▼tn Heb “when you go out before your people.” The Hebrew idiom “go out before” is used here in a militaristic sense of leading troops into battle (see Judg 4:14; 9:39; 2 Sam 5:24).
when you march through the wastelands, ▼
▼sn When you march through the wastelands. Some interpreters think that v. 7 alludes to Israel’s exodus from Egypt and its subsequent travels in the wilderness. Another option is that v. 7, like v. 8, echoes Judg 5:4, which describes how the God of Sinai marched across the plains of Edom to do battle with Sisera and his Canaanite army.
(Selah)8the earth shakes.
Yes, the heavens pour down rain
before God, the God of Sinai, ▼
▼tn Heb “this one of Sinai.” The phrase is a divine title, perhaps indicating that the Lord rules from Sinai.
before God, the God of Israel. ▼
▼sn The language of vv. 7-8 is reminiscent of Judg 5:4-5, which tells how the God of Sinai came in the storm and annihilated the Canaanite forces led by Sisera. The presence of allusion does not mean, however, that this is a purely historical reference. The psalmist is describing God’s typical appearance as a warrior in terms of his prior self-revelation as ancient events are reactualized in the psalmist’s experience. (For a similar literary technique, see Hab 3.)
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