Psalm 60 is the last miktam in the series of five here as well as the last in the sequence of seven prayers for help against enemies at the center of Book II of the Psalter. The superscription notes that it is "for teaching."

The setting of the psalm is not entirely clear. The superscription says that David "fought against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah." This would seem to be the war described in 1 Chronicles 19, where Syrian and Mesopotamian forces assisted the Ammonites against Israel (see especially verse 6), which in the end became a long Israelite siege against the Ammonite capital of Rabbah. The parallel account of this episode is in 2 Samuel 10, though the Mesopotamian forces are not mentioned there. It was with these chapters that we earlier read Psalm 60 (see the Beyond Today Bible Commentary on 2 Samuel 10; 1 Chronicles 19; Psalm 60; Psalm 108; Psalm 83).

However, the superscription's further note about Joab killing 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt (likely the desert south of the Dead Sea) seems more closely related to events in 1 Chronicles 18 and 2 Samuel 8, concerning an earlier conflict with Syria that ended with David killing 18,000 Syrians in the Valley of Salt (2 Samuel 8:13) and Joab's brother Abishai killing 18,000 Edomites there (1 Chronicles 18:12)--Joab being over the army (verse 15).

In fact, these earlier chapters concern Israel's campaigns against and subjugation of the Philistines, the Moabites, the Syrians and the Edomites. With that in mind, consider that the enemy nations mentioned in Psalm 60 are Moab, Edom and Philistia (verses 8-9). There is no mention of Syria, Ammon or Mesopotamia--though Ammon could be indirectly indicated in stating that Gilead (the area the Israelites took from Ammon) belongs to God (verse 7). Nevertheless, considering that formerly subjugated Syria rebelled against David in the later conflict, it could well be that these other nations also rebelled at this time, given the powerful assistance of the forces of Mesopotamia (and that this could also be the setting for the international coalition of Psalm 83). Psalm 60:10 indicates that Israel initially suffered a period of defeat--the occasion for the psalm--which is new information, as such defeat is not recorded in the accounts of either of the two conflicts mentioned above.

Many question the scriptural validity of the superscriptions of the psalms, often deeming them later midrashic additions. Yet we need not ignore the superscriptions to explain apparent discrepancies. A number of possibilities exist for the current one. Perhaps Psalm 60 concerns the earlier conflict mentioned above and, though unrecorded in the account of that conflict, Mesopotamian forces were then involved as well. The differences in numbers killed in the Valley of Salt is reconcilable given that different numbers are attributed to different commanders--David, Abishai and Joab. Alternatively, Psalm 60 could exclusively concern the later conflict, meaning that Moab, Edom and Philistia revolted and that Joab conducted a new campaign against the Edomites in the Valley of Salt. A further possibility is that the superscription is referring to the later conflict occurring after Joab's return from the earlier conflict. In the overall picture, these could be viewed as two phases in the same war.

Perhaps most likely, given that neither Ammon, Syria nor Mesopotamia are mentioned in the text of Psalm 60 itself--and that Mesopotamia and Syria are solely mentioned in the superscription--is that the psalm was initially composed during the earlier conflict but then used as a rallying or marching song during the later conflict (perhaps at a point when things did not seem to be going so well). It seems highly unlikely that a forger would have read this psalm about fighting against Moab, Edom and Philistia and then written Mesopotamia and Syria into a fake title. A forger would rather have attempted to undo any confusion. Once again, what appears to be a contradiction is instead a mark of genuineness.

As mentioned, things did not seem to be going well for David's army for a time. Perhaps in the case of the later conflict it was because the nations where David had garrisoned forces were nevertheless able to stage an international rebellion. David complains to God: "You have rejected us...and burst forth upon us.... You have shown your people desperate times; you have given us wine that makes us stagger" (verses 1-3, NIV). The Israelites were reeling, wondering how this could be happening.

But David encourages his troops, confident in victory through God. The Expositor's Bible Commentary states in its note on verse 4: "The Lord has raised a 'banner' (nes; cf. Isaiah 5:26; Isaiah 13:2; Jeremiah 4:6 [and Exodus 17:15]) designating a place where the godly may find refuge under the protection of the Divine Warrior. The godly, those who 'fear' (cf. [Psalm] 34:7, 9) him, will find protection from the attacks of the enemy."

The section of Psalm 60 that follows the selah ending verse 4 (i.e., verses 5-12), is later reused as the latter half of Psalm 108 (verses 6-13)--the first part of Psalm 108 coming from Psalm 57:7-11.

In Psalm 60:6, the phrase "in His holiness" can also be translated "in His holy place"--probably designating Israel as the land of His sanctuary. Dividing Shechem and measuring out the Valley of Succoth represent God apportioning and parceling out the inheritance of the Promised Land to His people. "Shechem and the Valley of Succoth represent regions west and east of the Jordan River in the central parts of the land. Gilead and Manasseh are also regions east and west of the Jordan; Ephraim and Judah are regions in the north and south. The Lord was asserting His sovereignty over the entire land of Israel" (Nelson Study Bible, note on verses 6-8).

Moab being God's "washpot" (verse 8) or "washbasin" (NIV) refers to that used for washing the feet, which became rather dirty in a time of wearing sandals. The meaning? "Moab was doomed to the most abject and degrading servitude" (Barbara Bowen, Strange Scriptures That Perplex the Western Mind: Clarified in the Light of Customs and Conditions in Bible Lands, 1944, p. 25).

God next says He will cast His shoe over Edom (same verse). It could be that Edom is likened in this metaphor to the threshold of a house where shoes, considered dirty and defiling, were removed and left (Bowen, Strange Scriptures, pp. 67-68). Recall God demanding the removal of shoes in His presence (Exodus 3:5; Joshua 5:15). Yet it might refer "to the conventional symbolic act by which one claimed possession of land (cf. Ruth 4:7)" (Zondervan NIV Study Bible,note on Psalm 60:8).

The final line of verse 8 is literally "Over me, Philistia, shout in triumph" (Green's Literal Translation). Perhaps the meaning is "Over me, Philistia, [is a] shout in triumph"--meaning by God's people. Yet the Jewish Tanakh renders the verse, "Acclaim me, O Philistia!"

David further proclaims that God, who for a time seemed to have abandoned Israel, would now lead them to victory (verses 9-10). And as we face enemies today, especially those spiritual forces that seek to destroy us, let us remember, as David said in the concluding verses, that only God can help us win the battle and grant us ultimate victory.