Psalm 80
First, a few clarifications. We should have no problem following the vine metaphor that the psalmist uses in verses 8 to 16 – Israel being transplanted from Egypt to the Promised Land and taking control of that entire area during David’s and Solomon’s reigns. So within that metaphor, the sea refers to the Mediterranean and the River, most likely to the Euphrates (v. 11).
Second, the three tribes mentioned – Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh (v. 2) – are all Northern Kingdom tribes. In fact, they are the Northern Kingdom tribes that are most near to Jerusalem. Where the psalmist is praying for deliverance for them (stir up Your might and come to save us…, v. 2a), it may be that they are under attack by the Assyrians, who later would defeat them and carry them away into exile.
Verse 18a stuck out for me: Then we shall not turn back from You… I noticed this verse because the RSV translates it, …we will never turn back… “Never”, like “always” is seldom a good term for us to use in our conversations with the Lord. Unfortunately, we know that both the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom tribes regularly turned their backs on the Lord. And we are no different. We may strive for “never” or “always”, but chances are, we will never get there. Only God is “never” and “always”; He is eternally so! GLORY!
Just one minor correction in Fred’s second paragraph: the tribe of Benjamin stuck with Judah in the Southern Kingdom. Fred’s point about the geography and proximity to Jerusalem is still valid, but I thought we should be clear about that to avoid confusion.
On another note, I had to laugh near the end of the second paragraph. In cautioning us to avoid the use of “always” and “never”, Fred says, “…we will never get there.” LOL!
I’m not sure I agree with you, John. I don’t have Biblical or historical evidence to back up my position, but I do have two bits of information. We have long heard of the “ten lost tribes of Israel”. Judah was clearly not one of the lost tribes and Simeon had his property within Judah’s boundaries. So both Judah and Simeon are two “found” tribes. That leaves Benjamin within the ten. I’m sure many Benjamites were able to mix within Judah and were not “lost”, but not likely the entire tribe. But I presume you have stronger evidence than what I offer.
I admit that the Biblical account says little about Benjamin’s being included in the Southern Kingdom (aka the Kingdom of Judah), but it is there. See I Kings 12:21-24 and II Ch. 11:1-4. Here is a bit of it: When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. So, right there at the very beginning of the divided kingdom, it was Judah and Benjamin arrayed against the rest of Israel.
As for Simeon, you raise a very interesting point about their cities being scattered within Judah. So it does seem odd to think that they somehow ended up in the Northern Kingdom. Nevertheless, consensus opinion among commentaries is that Simeon is one of the 10 lost tribes. I guess their discontent with the House of David outweighed their ties to the land, and they moved north (but I have no real idea about that). You might check the following:
In any case, I certainly did not mean to stir up any controversy — just offering a little clarification.
That’s a really good source you found, John, especially the phrase “to fight against the house of Israel”. But Simeon remains unresolved.