Psalms 120:5
Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The psalmist isn't just saying he's surrounded by tough neighbors; he's using Mesech and Kedar as poetic stand-ins for his own people who have become as savage and hostile as these distant, barbarous tribes. This emphasizes that the true pain is not just being an outsider, but being a stranger among those who should be his own, who hate peace and actively pursue conflict.
The psalmist feels overwhelmed by his hostile surroundings, lamenting that he must live amongst people as rough and uncivilized as the distant tribes of Meshech and Kedar. He's not literally living in these foreign lands, but using them as metaphors for his own countrymen who are full of strife and hate peace. This deep personal distress sets the stage for his cry to God, highlighting his desire for peace amidst conflict.
Ever felt surrounded by people who seem friendly on the outside but are secretly working against you? This verse dives into that painful reality.
The Psalmist uses the names "Meshech" and "Kedar" not to pinpoint an actual geographical location, but as powerful metaphors.
Symbols of Hostility
These names paint a picture of people who are fundamentally opposed to peace and godliness. The pain comes from the fact that these "barbarians" are not distant strangers, but people the Psalmist is forced to live among, likely even fellow Israelites who have turned hostile. It’s the sting of betrayal and the deep discomfort of being surrounded by those who "hate peace" (Psalm 120:6) while you long for it.
Sometimes, the most alienating places aren't far-off lands, but the communities we're part of. This verse explores that profound sense of displacement.
The Psalmist isn't necessarily exiled to distant lands in the way of the later Babylonian captivity. Instead, "Meshech" and "Kedar" become symbols for a spiritual and social wilderness he experiences.
Living Among the "Ungodly"
Understand the original words
gur · Hebrew Verb
To reside temporarily in a foreign land or a place where one does not hold citizenship. It carries the theological theme that God's people are pilgrims or strangers on the earth.
'oy · Hebrew Interjection
A pronouncement of grief, judgment, or impending disaster. It indicates the gravity of the speaker's spiritual or physical condition.
The Psalmist uses the names 'Mesech' and 'Kedar' metaphorically to represent the harsh, 'barbarian' environments he was forced into during his time as a fugitive. These were not literal locations, but stand-ins for the hostility and alienation he felt amongst his own people, or in foreign lands.
c. 10th-9th century BC
Emergence of early Israelite kingdom
The period of the united monarchy of Israel under Saul, David, and Solomon, followed by its division. This era saw frequent conflicts with surrounding peoples like the Philistines.
c. 9th century BC
Assyrian expansion into the region
The Neo-Assyrian Empire began its eastward expansion, frequently clashing with smaller kingdoms and nomadic groups in the Levant and Anatolia. Tribes like Mesech (Moschi) in Anatolia and Kedar (Arabs) in the desert fringes were often subjects or rivals of the empire.
c. 8th century BC— this verse
David's early life and persecution
David, facing the jealousy and persecution of King Saul, spent years as a fugitive. He sojourned in various wilderness areas, often among hostile or untrustworthy individuals and peoples, seeking refuge and survival.
c. 6th century BC
Babylonian Exile
This passage introduces Kedar as a descendant of Ishmael, highlighting his lineage among the nomadic Arab tribes, which contextualizes why the Psalmist uses Kedar as a symbol of a wild and uncongenial people.
Ezekiel 38:2Ezekiel places Meshech (and Gog) in a prominent, albeit antagonistic, role in end-times prophecy, linking them to peoples of the north and underscoring their association with fierce and potentially hostile nations.
Jeremiah 49:28-29This prophecy directly addresses Kedar, describing them as proud and nomadic desert dwellers, reinforcing the imagery of their tents as a symbol of a rough and unsettled existence that the Psalmist finds so burdensome.
1 Samuel 25:1This historical account places David in the region of Paran, adjacent to the territory of the descendants of Kedar, providing a possible real-world context for the Psalmist's experience of dwelling among such peoples.
2 Peter 2:7Peter uses the example of Lot's distress over the lawless people of Sodom to illustrate the deep anguish of righteous individuals living among the wicked, providing a thematic parallel to the Psalmist's lament.
poolePsalms 120:5: "Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!"
Mesech and Kedar are two sorts of people, oft mentioned in Scripture, and reckoned amongst the heathen and barbarous nations. But their nurses are not here to be understood properly, (for we do not read that either David or the Israelites in the Babylonish captivity dwelt in their lands,) but only metaphorically, as the ungodly Israelites are called Sodom and Gomorrah, Isaiah 1:10 , and Amorites and Hittith…
clarkePsalms 120:5: "Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!"
That I sojourn in Mesech - The Chaldee has it, "Wo is me that I am a stranger with the Asiatics, (אוסאי useey), and that I dwell in the tents of the Arabs." Calmet, who understands the Psalm as speaking of the state of the captives in Babylon and its provinces, says, "Meshec was apparently the father of the Mosquians, who dwelt in the mountains that separate Iberia from Armenia, and both from Colchis. Thes…
The psalmist isn't just saying he's surrounded by tough neighbors; he's using Mesech and Kedar as poetic stand-ins for his own people who have become as savage and hostile as these distant, barbarous tribes. This emphasizes that the true pain is not just being an outsider, but being a stranger among those who should be his own, who hate peace and actively pursue conflict.
The psalmist feels overwhelmed by his hostile surroundings, lamenting that he must live amongst people as rough and uncivilized as the distant tribes of Meshech and Kedar. He's not literally living in these foreign lands, but using them as metaphors for his own countrymen who are full of strife and hate peace. This deep personal distress sets the stage for his cry to God, highlighting his desire for peace amidst conflict.
The psalmist feels overwhelmed by his hostile surroundings, lamenting that he must live amongst people as rough and uncivilized as the distant tribes of Meshech and Kedar. He's not literally living in these foreign lands, but using them as metaphors for his own countrymen who are full of strife and hate peace. This deep personal distress sets the stage for his cry to God, highlighting his desire for peace amidst conflict.
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This is more than just a dislike of certain people; it's a profound grief over being yoked with those whose values and actions are antithetical to the Psalmist's (and God's) heart.
Many Jews were exiled to Babylon and surrounding regions, including areas associated with Mesech and Kedar. This prolonged period of displacement and foreign rule deeply impacted Jewish identity and literature.
"Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!" — The psalmist isn't just saying he's surrounded by tough neighbors; he's using Mesech and Kedar as poetic stand-ins for his own people who have become as savage and hostile as these distant, barbarous…
