Psalms 132:5
in Psalms 132until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Until I find out a place for Jehovah, A tabernacle for the Mighty One of Jacob.
KJV
Until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.
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This verse in Psalms 132
Commentary
12 notes on this verseUntil I find a place for the Lord,.... To build a house on for the Lord; which it seems was unknown till the times of David; for though mention had been made of a place the Lord would choose to cause his name to dwell in, yet the particular place was not pointed out, Deu 12:
This site's exposition
I will not enter my house
on Psalms 132:3-5
The vow puts off house, bed, sleep and slumber until a place is found for the LORD. David's words at 2 Samuel 7:2 give the occasion, the ark still in a tent while he lives in a house of cedar. John Gill read it as hyperbole for a restless mind.
This site's exposition
until I find a place
Dwelling translates mishkenot, a plural of mishkan, the word Exodus 25:9 uses for the tabernacle. Verse 7 takes up the same word in His dwelling place. The vow is answered when the LORD has chosen Zion for His home at verse 13.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
What then doth he mean, "How he sware," etc.? Let us see what vow is this. We can offer God nothing more pleasing than to swear. Now to swear is to promise firmly. Consider this vow, that is, with what ardour he vowed what he vowed, with what love, with what longing; nevertheless, he prayeth the Lord to fulfil it in these words, "O Lord, remember David, and all his meekness." In this temper he vowed his vow, and there should be a house of God: "I will not come within the tabernacle of mine house, nor climb up into my bed" (ver. 3). "I will not suffer mine eyes to sleep, nor mine eyelids to slumber" (ver. 4). This seemeth not enough; he adds, "Neither the temples of my head to take any rest, until I find out a place for the Lord; an habitation for the God of Jacob" (ver. 5). Where did he seek a place for the Lord? If he was meek, he sought it in himself. For how is one a place for the Lord? Hear the Prophet: "Upon whom shall My Spirit rest? Even upon him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My words." Dost thou wish to be a place for the Lord? Be thou poor in spirit, and contrite, and trembling at the word of God, and thou wilt thyself be made what thou seekest. For if what thou seekest be not realized in thyself, what doth it profit thee in another. ...
The more I meditate on the mind of the saints, the more I am reminded of something that is high and hard and beyond the powers of human nature. Call to mind what the same psalmist [David] has said: "If I shall go up into …
If I shall give sleep to my eyes, and slumber to my eyelids, And rest to my temples, until I find a place for the Lord, a tabernacle for the God of Jacob. Many think this is said of the Church: but to me it seems to be said not so much of the Church as of holy Mary.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Girded with such things to serve as invincible armor, let us take our stand against the evil one, being wakeful and well prepared, as though it was day. Let us pierce him with the mighty arrows of the Spirit's words and cut off all his …
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
This vow is not elsewhere recorded. It expresses, in strong language, David's intense desire to see the establishment of God's worship as well as of His kingdom. remember David--literally, "remember for David," that is, all his troubles and anxieties on the matter.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
Until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. He resolved to find a place where Jehovah would allow his worship to be celebrated, a house where God would fix the symbol of his presence, and commune with his people. At that time, in all David's land, there was no proper place for that ark whereon the Lord had placed the mercy seat, where prayer could be offered, and where the manifested glory shone forth.
Until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. He resolved to find a place where Jehovah would allow his worship to be celebrated, a house where God would fix the symbol of his presence, and commune with his people. At that time, in all David's land, there was no proper place for that ark whereon the Lord had placed the mercy seat, where prayer could be offered, and where the manifested glory shone forth. All things had fallen into decay, and the outward forms of public worship were too much disregarded; hence the King resolves to be first and foremost in establishing a better order of things. Yet one cannot help remembering that the holy resolve of David gave to a place and a house much more importance than the Lord himself ever attached to such matters. This is indicated in Nathan's message from the Lord to the king—"Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in? Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar?" Stephen in his inspired speech puts the matter plainly: "Solomon built him an house. Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands." It is a striking fact that true religion never flourished more in Israel than before the temple was built, and that from the day of the erection of that magnificent house the spirit of godliness declined.
The mighty God of Jacob - עביר יעקב abir yaacob, the Mighty One of Jacob. We have this epithet of God for the first time, Gen 49:24. Hence, perhaps, the abirim of the heathen, the stout ones, the strong beings.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Until I find out a place for the Lord - A place for the ark of God; a place where it may constantly and safely remain. The symbol of the divine presence rested on the mercy-seat, the cover of the ark, and hence, this was represented as the seat or the house of God. An habitation for the mighty God of Jacob - Hebrew, “For the mighty One of Jacob.” The reference is to a permanent dwelling-place for the ark. It had been moved from place to place. There was no house appropriated to it, or reared expressly for it, and David resolved to provide such a house - at first, a tent or tabernacle on Mount Zion - and then, a more spacious and magnificent structure, the temple. The latter he was not permitted to build, though the purpose was in his heart.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| אֶמְצָ֣א | ʾemtza' | I will find | H4672 → | 455 times |
| מָ֭קוֹם | makom | a place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| לַיהוָ֑ה | layahweh | for Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מִ֝שְׁכָּנ֗וֹת | mishkanot | dwelling place<s> | H4908 → | 139 times |
| לַאֲבִ֥יר | laavir | for [the] mighty one of | H46 → | |
| יַעֲקֹֽב׃ | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
אֶמְצָ֣אI will find
ʾemtza'H4672 →455 times
מָ֭קוֹםa place
makomH4725 →401 times
לַיהוָ֑הfor Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
מִ֝שְׁכָּנ֗וֹתdwelling place<s>
mishkanotH4908 →139 times
לַאֲבִ֥ירfor [the] mighty one of
laavirH46 →
יַעֲקֹֽב׃Jacob
yaakoH3290 →350 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
Ephesians 2:22And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:4–5
As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,
- 1 Corinthians 3:16
Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
- 1 John 4:16
And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
- John 17:21–23
that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
- John 14:17–23
the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you.
- 1 Peter 2:4–5
Through
2 Chronicles 2:6But who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain Him? Who then am I, that I should build a house for Him, except as…
it leads to
- Isaiah 66:1
This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?
- 1 Kings 8:27
But will God indeed dwell upon the earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.
- 2 Chronicles 6:18
But will God indeed dwell with man upon the earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.
- Isaiah 66:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 132; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Homily 44, on Psalm 131; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Nicetas of Remesiana, VIGILS OF THE SAINTS 5 and Sahdona the Syrian, BOOK OF PERFECTION 72.