Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on Psalms 78:66
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts, etc.] Not the Israelites, as Kimchi interprets it, but the Philistines, who in another battle were put to flight, and turned their backs, and so were smitten in their hinder parts; or rather this has reference to the Philistines being smitten with haemorrhoids, or piles in their posteriors, while the ark was retained a captive by them, (<090506>1 Samuel 5:6,12), and so the Targum paraphrases it, “and he smote them that troubled them with haemorrhoids in their posteriors;” the Greek version, as quoted by Suidas f1145, is, “he smote his enemies on the back parts of the seat”; signifying, he says, a disease, modestly expressed: he put them to a perpetual reproach; either by causing their idol Dagon to fall before his ark, and be broken upon the threshold of the house of the idol; in memory of which the priests ever after, nor any that came in thither, trod upon the threshold, (<090503>1 Samuel 5:3-5), or rather through their sending golden images of their haemorrhoids, and golden mice along with the ark, which were reserved to their perpetual reproach: other instances of the Lord’s regard to Israel follow, in providing a proper place for the ark, and appointing a suitable governor over the people.
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