There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
-Blessings shall abound on earth in consequence of His reign: all nations shall bless Him, and His name shall endure forever.
Verse 16. There shall be an handful of grain in the earth upon the top of the mountains - i:e., Though there were but an handful, such shall be the fertility then, it shall yield a most abundant produce х picat (H6451): akin to the Chaldee pac (H6446), part of a hand (Daniel 5:5; Daniel 5:24). But Hengstenberg, etc., after Rabbi Solomon, translates it 'abundance,' from the Chaldee pªcaah, to spread; so diffusion: cf. Jeremiah 50:11, puwsh (H6335), to grow fat]. The typical historical basis of Psalms 72:16 is given in 1 Kings 4:1-34.
Verse 16. The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon - waving with its cedar trees. The mountains, by their prominence, catch the eye first in the landscape; waving with grain, they resemble Lebanon, which waves with trees.
And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth (Job 5:25) - i:e., there shall be an abundant population, a sign of joyous prosperity (Isaiah 49:20; Zechariah 10:8). Not only in the country shall there be abundant produce, but in the cities there shall be an abundant population (Proverbs 14:28).
Verse 17. His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun. See margin, Hebrew, yiniyn, 'shall produce prosperity' [niyn] - i:e., shall renovate itself by new deeds, which are as it were its progeny reproducing itself. 'Shall propagate,' gaining, generation after generation, a fresh accession of offspring. The English version follows ( yinown (H5125)) the Qeri' (Hebrew margin), 'shall be continued,' or 'propagated.' It is a mere substitution for the bold image of the text (Pusey). The "name" of Messiah is the manifestation of Him in deeds (Isaiah 9:5-6; Psalms 102:12).
And men shall be blessed in him - `and men shall bless themselves by Him', (the Hithpael: yitbaarªkuw (H1288), Hengstenberg) - i:e., 'shall wish themselves as blessed as He is' (Isaiah 65:16; Genesis 48:20; Genesis 22:18; Genesis 26:4).
All nations shall call him blessed - a different Hebrew word ( 'aashar (H833)) from the previous 'blessed;' translate 'happy.'