Psalms 68:22 - Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Bible Comments

The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan - On the situation of Bashan, see the notes at Psalms 68:15. There may be an allusion here to the victory achieved over Og, king of Bashan, in the time of Moses, Numbers 21:33-35. The idea may be that as, at that time, a victory was achieved over a formidable enemy, so in times of similar peril, God would deliver his people, and save them from danger. Or, as Bashan was the remote frontier of the holy land, the meaning may be, that God would bring his people from the remotest borders where they should be scattered. Another meaning is suggested by Professor Alexander, namely, that as the subject referred to in the subsequent verses is the “enemy” of God, the meaning may be that God would bring back his enemies for punishment, even from the remotest borders, when they were endeavoring to escape, and even when they supposed they were safe. The first of these opinions is probably the true one. God would rescue his people, as he had done from the attacks of the mighty king of Bashan; he would deliver them, as he had brought their fathers from the depths of the sea.

I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea - The words “my people” are not in the Hebrew, but they seem to be not improperly supplied by the translators. If so, the allusion is to the interposition of God in conducting his people through the Red Sea Exodus 14:22; and the idea is, that God would at all times interpose in their behalf, and deliver them from similar dangers.

Psalms 68:22

22 The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea: