Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar! Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!
English Standard Version (ESV)
The verse isn't just about being in a faraway, rough place; it's about the character of the people there. "Meshech" and "Kedar" represent groups known for their barbarity, and the Psalmist uses them as vivid metaphors for the ungodly people he's forced to live among, even if they are his own countrymen.
Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar! Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Psalmist is feeling incredibly weary and out of place, lamenting his current circumstances as if he were living among wild, hostile peoples like the distant tribes of Meshech and Kedar. This isn't necessarily a literal geographic location but a metaphor for the deeply unpeaceful and savage environment he finds himself in, likely within his own society or nation. He longs for peace, but instead, he's surrounded by those who seem to thrive on conflict and opposition.
Ever felt like you're surrounded by people who just don't get you, or worse, actively oppose you? The Psalmist does too, but he uses some ancient place names to describe his situation.
In Psalms 120:5, the Psalmist cries out, "Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!"
Beyond Geography
Meshech and Kedar weren't just random places on a map. They represented distant, often wild, and uncivilized peoples known for their hostility. Think of them as the ancient equivalent of describing a terrible neighborhood or a difficult group of people as being like 'the roughest part of town' or 'a pack of wolves'.
Spiritual Neighbors
Commentators suggest that the Psalmist isn't necessarily talking about physically living among these specific tribes. Instead, he's using their names metaphorically. He's describing his own people, or at least the people he's surrounded by, as embodying the characteristics of these hostile groups. They might be his own countrymen, but their hearts are far from peaceful or godly, making his 'dwelling' among them a source of deep pain and distress. It's like calling a terrible person a 'Judas' – it conveys a deep sense of betrayal and wickedness.
Imagine trying to build bridges while everyone else is busy digging trenches. That's the frustrating reality the Psalmist faces.
The Psalmist's cry in Psalm 120:5 isn't just about the he's around, but about the of his relationships with them.
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Hostile Hearts
He identifies Meshech and Kedar with those who 'hate peace' (v. 6). This is the core of his distress. He desires peace, he seeks it, but his neighbors are actively opposed to it. They embody a spirit of conflict and animosity. This isn't just a mild disagreement; it's a deep-seated aversion to harmony and reconciliation.
The Painful Contrast
This sets up a profound tension: the godly individual longs for peace, while the ungodly community thrives on conflict. This makes his 'sojourning' and 'dwelling' unbearable. He is an outsider not just geographically, but spiritually and relationally. His pursuit of peace is met with a love for war, making his situation a true 'woe.'
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.
shalom · Hebrew Noun
A multifaceted Hebrew concept representing not just the absence of conflict, but completeness, wholeness, prosperity, and relational harmony with God and others. It describes the state of well-being intended by God for His creation.
sane · Hebrew Verb
A strong verb denoting intense hostility, animosity, or aversion toward someone or something. In a biblical context, it often signifies a deep-seated rejection of God's ways or those who represent His truth.
milchamah · Hebrew Noun
A general term for an armed conflict or battle between individuals, groups, or nations. Biblically, it is frequently contrasted with peace and often represents the turmoil caused by human sin and rebellion against God's order.
The Psalmist uses the names of distant, wild peoples – Meshech from the north and Kedar from the Arabian desert – not necessarily to indicate he lived among them geographically, but to express the profound distress and alienation he felt while living amongst his own people who harbored hostility and lacked peace.
c. 10th-9th centuries BC
Assyrian expansion into the Near East
The Neo-Assyrian Empire's growing power and expansion began to put pressure on smaller kingdoms and nomadic groups, including those in the regions associated with Meshech and Kedar.
c. 10th century BC
Early Israelite Kingdom and its neighbors
During the united and then divided monarchy of Israel, the nation had complex relationships with various peoples, including nomadic tribes like the descendants of Kedar in the Arabian desert.
c. 10th century BC— this verse
David's reign and fugitive years
The Psalmist (traditionally David) experienced periods of intense persecution, possibly seeking refuge or facing opposition from various groups that felt as alien and hostile as distant barbarian tribes.
c. 8th century BC
Prophetic warnings to Israel and Judah
Prophets like Isaiah and Ezekiel frequently condemned Israel and Judah by comparing their corruption to the barbarity of foreign nations, including Meshech and Kedar, highlighting a spiritual alienation.
c. 6th century BC
Babylonian Exile
During the exile, many Jews were dispersed into various parts of the Babylonian empire, some of which were near or associated with the regions of Meshech and Kedar, forcing them into uncongenial and hostile surroundings.
This passage, speaking of future enemies against Israel, also names 'Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish, with their young lions,' echoing the theme of disparate, potentially hostile groups associated with distant lands, similar to Meshech and Kedar.
Genesis 10:2Meshech is listed here as a descendant of Noah through Japheth, indicating his lineage and the peoples who would descend from him, providing geographical and historical context for the 'Meshech' mentioned in the Psalm.
Genesis 25:13Kedar is identified as a son of Ishmael, linking him to the Arab tribes and nomadic peoples, which helps explain the 'tents of Kedar' and their association with desert dwellers.
Psalm 120:6The verses immediately following directly explain the Psalmist's lament, describing dwelling with those who 'hate peace' and are 'given to hatred,' thus clarifying why Meshech and Kedar are used as metaphors for hostile environments.
Jeremiah 49:28-30This prophecy against Kedar, describing their nomadic lifestyle and vulnerability, provides further context on the 'tents of Kedar' and their typical inhabitants as fierce but also subject to attack.
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 verse isn't just about being in a faraway, rough place; it's about the character of the people there. "Meshech" and "Kedar" represent groups known for their barbarity, and the Psalmist uses them as vivid metaphors for the ungodly people he's forced to live among, even if they are his own countrymen.
The Psalmist is feeling incredibly weary and out of place, lamenting his current circumstances as if he were living among wild, hostile peoples like the distant tribes of Meshech and Kedar. This isn't necessarily a literal geographic location but a metaphor for the deeply unpeaceful and savage environment he finds himself in, likely within his own society or nation. He longs for peace, but instead, he's surrounded by those who seem to thrive on conflict and opposition.
The Psalmist is feeling incredibly weary and out of place, lamenting his current circumstances as if he were living among wild, hostile peoples like the distant tribes of Meshech and Kedar. This isn't necessarily a literal geographic location but a metaphor for the deeply unpeaceful and savage environment he finds himself in, likely within his own society or nation. He longs for peace, but instead, he's surrounded by those who seem to thrive on conflict and opposition.
"Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar! Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!" — The verse isn't just about being in a faraway, rough place; it's about the character of the people there. "Meshech" and "Kedar" represent groups known for their barbarity, and the Psalmist uses the…
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Last reviewed October 2026