Psalms 108:9
in Psalms 108Moab is My washbasin; upon Edom I toss My sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Moab is my washpot; Upon Edom will I cast my shoe; Over Philistia will I shout.
KJV
Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over Philistia will I triumph.
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This verse in Psalms 108
Commentary
10 notes on this verse"Moab is the pot of my hope." A great mystery is recognized in few words. I beg you, pay careful attention: since it profits both me who speak, and you who hear. "Moab" is interpreted "from the father." "AB" means "father," "MO" means "from." Who is this one "from the father"? He who lost his father, who abandoned his father, who did not return to his own father, and is not worthy to be called Manasseh. Who is this Moab?
This site's exposition
God has spoken from His sanctuary
on Psalms 108:7-9
The answer is an oracle, Psalm 60:6 to 8. God parcels out Shechem, west of the Jordan, and the Valley of Succoth to the east, so the claim covers the whole land; Gilead and Manasseh are His, Ephraim His helmet and Judah His scepter. Moab is a washbasin, the sandal is tossed on Edom, and the shout goes up over Philistia.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Into Idumea I will stretch out my shoe." "Idumea" is interpreted "earthly and bloody." The merciful God wills to possess not only heavenly things, but also earthly ones. "The foreigners have been made friends to me." He speaks of us, who have believed from among the Gentiles.
The Medieval Church1 voice
For who does not know that sandals are made from dead animals? But the Lord coming incarnate appeared as if shod, because in his divinity he assumed the dead flesh of our corruption. Hence also through the Prophet he says: "Over Edom I will extend my sandal." For by Edom the Gentile world is signified, and by the sandal the assumed mortality is designated. Therefore the Lord asserts that he extends his sandal over Edom, because when he became known to the Gentiles through flesh, divinity came to us as if shod.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Thus the exalted Redeemer is set down at God's right hand, in a full assurance that all his enemies shall in due time be made his footstool, though all things are not yet put under him, Heb. ii. We must take encouragement from the beginnings of mercy to pray and hope for the perfecting of it (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Over Philistia will I triumph,.... In Psa 60:8, it is, "Philistia, triumph thou because of me"; See Gill on Psa 60:8.
It intimates likewise that it is not only allowable, but sometimes convenient, to gather some verses out of one psalm and some out of another, and to put them together, to be sung to the glory of God. In singing this psalm we must give glory to God and take comfort to ourselves.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Moab is my washpot. This nation had shown no friendly spirit to the Israelites, but had continually viewed them as a detested rival, therefore they were to be subdued and made subject to David's throne. He claims by faith the victory, and regards his powerful enemy with contempt. Nor was he disappointed, for "the Moabites became David's servants and brought him gifts" (2Sa 8:2). As men wash their feet after a long journey, and so are revived, so vanquished difficulties serve to refresh us: we use Moab for a washpot. Over Edom will I cast out my shoe.
Moab is my washpot. This nation had shown no friendly spirit to the Israelites, but had continually viewed them as a detested rival, therefore they were to be subdued and made subject to David's throne. He claims by faith the victory, and regards his powerful enemy with contempt. Nor was he disappointed, for "the Moabites became David's servants and brought him gifts" (2Sa 8:2). As men wash their feet after a long journey, and so are revived, so vanquished difficulties serve to refresh us: we use Moab for a washpot. Over Edom will I cast out my shoe. It shall be as the floor upon which the bather throws his sandals, it shall lie beneath his foot, subject to his will and altogether his own. Edom was proud, but David throws his slipper at it; its capital was high, but he casts his sandal over it; it was strong, but he hurls his shoe at it as the gage of battle. He had not entered yet into its rock built fortresses, but since the Lord was with him he felt sure that he would do so. Under the leadership of the Almighty, he felt so secure of conquering even fierce Edom itself that he looks upon it as a mere slave, over which he could exult with impunity. We ought never to fear those who are defending the wrong side, for since God is not with them their wisdom is folly, their strength is weakness, and their glory is their shame. We think too much of God's foes and talk of them with too much respect. Who is this pope of Rome? His Holiness? Call him not so, but call him His Blasphemy! His Profanity! His Impudence! What are he and his cardinals, and his legates, but the image and incarnation of Antichrist, to be in due time cast with the beast and the false prophet into the lake of fire? Over Philistia will I triumph. David had done so in his youth, and he is all the more sure of doing it again.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Moab ... - This is fallen from Psa 60:8. The only change is in the close of the verse. Instead of “Plilistia, triumph thou because of me” Psa 60:8, it is here, “Over Philistia will I triumph.” Why the change was made is unknown.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Moab is my washbasin i.e., my slaves and my servants, like a utensil that people use.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מוֹאָ֤ב׀ | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| סִ֬יר | sir | [is] [the] pot of | H5518 → | 34 times |
| רַחְצִ֗י | rachtzi | washing my | H7366 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֱ֭דוֹם | ʾedom | Edom | H123 → | 99 times |
| אַשְׁלִ֣יךְ | ʾashlikh | I throw | H7993 → | 125 times |
| נַעֲלִ֑י | naali | sandal my | H5275 → | |
| עֲלֵֽי־ | ʾalei- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְ֝לֶ֗שֶׁת | feleshet | Philistia | H6429 → | 8 times |
| אֶתְרוֹעָֽע׃ | ʾetroa' | I shout in triumph | H7321 → | 44 times |
מוֹאָ֤ב׀Moab
moavH4124 →181 times
סִ֬יר[is] [the] pot of
sirH5518 →34 times
רַחְצִ֗יwashing my
rachtziH7366 →
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
אֱ֭דוֹםEdom
ʾedomH123 →99 times
אַשְׁלִ֣יךְI throw
ʾashlikhH7993 →125 times
נַעֲלִ֑יsandal my
naaliH5275 →
עֲלֵֽי־over
ʾalei-H5921 →5755 times
פְ֝לֶ֗שֶׁתPhilistia
feleshetH6429 →8 times
אֶתְרוֹעָֽע׃I shout in triumph
ʾetroa'H7321 →44 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 13:14So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 5:5
Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Acts 20:35
In everything, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus Himself: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
- Romans 12:16
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but enjoy the company of the lowly. Do not be conceited.
- Galatians 5:13
For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.
- Luke 22:26–27
But you shall not be like them. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves.
- 1 Peter 5:5
Through
John 13:8“Never shall You wash my feet!” Peter told Him. Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.”
it leads to
- Acts 22:16
And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’
- Ezekiel 36:25
I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
- Titus 3:5
He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
- Acts 22:16
About Psalms
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceCoastal plain, southwest CanaanPhilistiaThe coastal plain of the five Philistine cities, Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath, judged in Zephaniah 2 and Amos 1.
- PlaceTransjordanEdomThe highland nation descended from Esau that refused Israel passage on the King's Highway, and whose pride the prophets answered.
- PlaceTransjordanMoabThe high country east of the Dead Sea, home of Lot's descendants, where Balak hired Balaam, where Ruth was born, and where Moses l…
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 7; Jerome, Homily 34, on Psalm 107; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.