Psalm 80

Psalm 80 is one of the psalms of Asaph in Book III of the Psalms (Psalms 73–89). The preceding Psalm 79 laments the trampling of Jerusalem and closes with the confession "we thy people and sheep of thy pasture." Psalm 80 opens by calling on the "Shepherd of Israel" and carries that lament forward.

Structure

• Verses 1–3: The psalmist appeals to God, who leads Joseph like a flock and dwells between the cherubim, to stir up His strength before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh and to come and save His people. The refrain appears for the first time in verse 3.
• Verses 4–7: The psalmist laments that God is angry even with the prayers of His people, that they are fed with "the bread of tears," and that their neighbors and enemies mock them. The refrain is repeated in verse 7.
• Verses 8–11: The psalmist recalls how God brought a vine out of Egypt, drove out the nations, and planted it, and how the vine spread to the mountains, the sea, and the river.
• Verses 12–16: The psalmist reports that the vine's hedges have been broken down, so that all who pass by pluck its fruit and the boar and the wild beasts devour it, and that it has been burned and cut down. He pleads with God to return and care for this vine.
• Verses 17–19: The psalmist asks that God's hand be upon "the son of man" at His right hand and vows that if God revives His people, they will call upon His name. The psalm concludes with the refrain in verse 19.

Key Verses

• Psalm 80:3: "Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved." This is the psalm's refrain. The divine address grows progressively longer with each repetition: "O God of hosts" in verse 7 and "O LORD God of hosts" in verse 19.
• Psalm 80:8: "Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt." This verse summarizes the Exodus and the settlement in Canaan through the image of a vine.
• Psalm 80:17: "the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man" — a verse whose referent is disputed among interpreters.

People and Places

• Joseph: Used here as a name representing the tribes descended from Joseph, that is, the northern tribes.
• Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh: The tribes that encamped together on the west side of the tabernacle in the wilderness. All three were also descended from Rachel.
• Cherubim: Angelic beings above the ark of the covenant. The phrase "thou that dwellest between the cherubims" refers to the presence of God.
• Egypt: The land from which the vine, that is, Israel, was brought.

Interpretive Considerations

• Because the names of the northern tribes are prominent, some interpreters connect this psalm with the period of the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel. The Septuagint superscription is reported to add the phrase "concerning the Assyrian." The text itself, however, says nothing about when the psalm was composed.
• Interpretations of "the son of man" in verse 17 differ. Some understand it as the people of Israel, others as a king of the Davidic line, and Christian interpreters have also read it as a messianic prophecy.
• The theme of Israel as a vine connects with the Song of the Vineyard in Isaiah 5:1–7. In the New Testament, the vine imagery is read alongside John 15:1–8, where Jesus calls Himself the true vine, and the shepherd imagery is read alongside Jesus' words about the Good Shepherd.