The princes of the people are gathered together,.... Not against Christ, as at his first coming, but to him, and to his church and people; even the great men of the earth, the kings and princes of it, as they will in the latter day; see Isaiah 49:23; or this may mean the saints in general, who are all of them the princes of people, and are set among princes, yea, are kings priests unto God; some render it, "the willing" or "voluntary ones of his people" (g); the same word is here used as in Psalm 110:3; where it is rendered "willing", and designs such who are made willing to be saved by Christ, submit to his righteousness, and be subject to his word and ordinances;

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(Heb.: 47:10) In the mirror of the present event, the poet reads the great fact of the conversion of all peoples to Jahve which closes the history of the world. The nobles of the peoples (נדיבי with the twofold meaning of generosi), the "shields (i.e., the lords who are the defenders of their people) of the earth" (Hosea 4:18), enter into the society of the people of the God of Abraham; πέρας αἱ πρὸς τὸν πατριάρχην Ἀβραὰμ ἔλαβον ὑποσχέσεις, as Theodoret observes. The promise concerning the blessing of the tribes of the nations in the seed of the patriarch is being fulfilled; for the nobles draw the peoples who are protected by them after themselves. It is unnecessary to read עם instead of עם with Ewald, and following the lxx and Syriac; and it is also inadmissible, since one does not say נאסף עם, but ל or אל. Even Eusebius has rightly praised Symmachus and Theodotion, because they have translated the ambiguous ἀμ by λαὸς (τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἀβραάμ), viz., as being a nominative of the effect or result, as it is also understood by the Targum, Jerome, Luther, and most of the Jewish expositors, and among modern expositors by Crusius, Hupfeld, and Hitzig: They gather and band themselves together as a people or into a people of the God of Abraham, they submit themselves with Israel to the one God who is proved to be so glorious.

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The princes of the people are gathered together - The marginal reading is, "The voluntary of the people are gathered unto the people of the God of Abraham." The word rendered "princes" - נדיב nâdı̂yb - means properly, voluntary, ready, prompt; then, generous, liberal; then, those of noble birth, princes, nobles. It is evidently used here in this latter sense. The word "people" here may mean either the people of Israel, or the people of other lands; but in this place it seems evidently to denote the latter. The words "are gathered together" may refer either to a voluntary or an involuntary assembling; meaning either that they came in chains as prisoners of war, subdued by the arms of the people of God, and thus rendering an involuntary tribute to their power and their religion; or that they came in a voluntary manner, and submitted themselves, acknowledging the God of Israel to be the true God. It seems to me that the connection requires that we should understand this in the former sense, as referring to the subjugation of the enemies of of the people of God, and to their being led along as captives, assembled thus from distant parts of the world as proof that the God of Israel reigned.

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The princes of the people are gathered together - נדיבי עמים nedibey ammim. The voluntary people - the princely, noble, or free-willed people; those who gladly receive the word of life; those who, like the Bereans, were of a noble or liberal disposition; and, when they heard the Gospel, searched the Scriptures to see whether these things were so. It is a similar word which is used Psalm 100:3; and I believe both texts speak of the same people - the Gentiles who gladly come unto his light, and present themselves a free-will offering to the Lord.

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The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he {f} is greatly exalted.

(f) He praises God's highness, for that he joins the great princes of the world (whom he calls shields) to the fellowship of his Church.

47:9 The princes - The Gentiles, who were divided in their principles, and interests, and religions, are now united and gathered together to Christ, laying their scepters at his feet, and jointly owning his worship and service. And altho' he mentions their conversion only, yet the conversion of their people might reasonably be supposed. Of the God - He doth not say the people of Abraham, lest this should be appropriated to the Israelites; but the people of the God of Abraham who worship the God of Abraham, whether they be Jews or Gentiles. The Shields - The princes or rulers, who are called shields, Hosea 4:18, because by their office they are the common prosecutors of all their people. These are the Lord's, at his disposal, or subject to his dominion, both as to their hearts and kingdoms. Exalted - By this means God shall be greatly glorified.

princes...: or, voluntary of the people are gathered unto the people of the God of Abraham

9. princes-who represent peoples. For-

even-supply, "as," or, "to"-that is, they all become united under covenant with Abraham's God.

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Psalm 47:9 Parallel Commentaries
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