Psalms 68:18 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Psalms 68:18
Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.
to ascend · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
high
לַמָּר֨וֹםla.ma.Rom
H4791
altitude · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
captivity
שֶּׁ֗בִיShe.vi
H7628
exiled · noun, common masculine singular absolute
captive
שָׁ֘בִ֤יתָsha.Vi.ta
H7617
to transport into captivity · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
received
לָקַ֣חְתָּla.Kach.ta
H3947
to take (in the widest variety of applications) · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
gifts
מַ֭תָּנוֹתMa.ta.not
H4979
a present · noun, common feminine plural absolute
men
בָּאָדָ֑םba.'a.Dam
H120
ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
rebellious
ס֝וֹרְרִ֗יםso.Rim
H5637
to turn away · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
LORD
יָ֬הּyah
H3050
Jah · proper noun, a man's name
God
אֱלֹהִֽים'E.lo.Him
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
dwell
לִשְׁכֹּ֤ןlish.Kon
H7931
to reside or permanently stay (literally or figurativel… · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Ephesians 4:8-10 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and w…
Revelation 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be hi…
1 Peter 3:22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
Psalms 110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Colossians 1:18-19 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preemine…
Titus 3:3-7 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful,…
Judges 5:12 Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 68:15-21
David, having given God praise for what he had done for Israel in general, as the God of Israel (Psa 68:8), here comes to give him praise as Zion's God in a special manner; compare Psa 9:11. Sing praises to the Lord who dwelleth in Zion, for which reason Zion is called the hill of God.
I. He compares it with the hill of Bashan and other high and fruitful hills, and prefers it before them, Psa 68:15, Psa 68:16. It is true, Zion was but little and low in comparison with them, and was not covered over with flocks and herds as they were, yet, upon this account, it has the pre-eminence above them all, that it is the hill of God, the hill which he desires to dwell in, and where he chooses to manif…
From the scene of conquest He ascends to His throne, leading--
captivity captive--or, "many captives captive" (Jdg 5:12).
received gifts for men--accepting their homage, even when forced, as that of rebels.
that the Lord God might dwell--or literally, "to dwell, O Lord God" (compare Psa 68:16) --that is, to make this hill, His people or Church, His dwelling. This Psalm typifies the conquests of the Church under her divine leader, Christ. He, indeed, "who was with the Church in the wilderness" (Act 7:38) is the Lord, described in this ideal ascension. Hence Paul (Eph 4:8) applies this language to describe His real ascension, when, having conquered sin, death, and hell, the Lord of glory…
Thou hast ascended on high,.... Which is to be understood, not of Moses ascending up to the firmament, as the Targum and Jarchi interpret it, of which we nowhere read; nor of David's going up to the high fortresses, as Aben Ezra; nor of God's ascent from Mount Sinai; but of Christ's ascension to heaven, as the apostle cites and explains it in Ephesians 4:8; which ascension respects him as man, was not figurative, as in Genesis 17:22; but real and local, from earth to heaven, and was certain and visible; he was seen to go up by angels and men; and, because of the certainty of it, it is here expressed in the past tense, though it was then future;
thou hast led captivity captive; meaning eithe…
The Church Fathers
And the unbelieving, too, He sometimes draws by means of sickness and outward circumstances; yea, many also by means of visions have come to make their abode with Jesus.
Concerning this again he says, "Ascending on high, He led captivity captive, He gave gifts to men." For ascending on high, He led captivity captive, because He absorbed our corruption by the power of His incorruption. And He gave gifts to men, because, sending the Spirit from above, to one He granted the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge, to another the grace of powers, to another the grace of healings, to another kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of speeches. Therefore He gave gifts to men.
You have ascended on high, you have taken captivity captive. You have ascended into the heavens: you have taken us captive, we who were held captive by the devil. You have received gifts among men. He said it well, "you have received." From the Father he received: he receives as man, he gives as God; and what he received, he received for men, that he might give. For he himself is full, and lacks nothing. For indeed those who do not believe that the Lord dwells. And these too you have saved, who did not believe that it is possible for God to dwell in a man, that is, for the Savior to take flesh. The Lord God blessed. These who before did not believe that it is possible for God to dwell in a man, they themselves, believing, say: The Lord God be blessed.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Heaven — (1.) Definitions. The phrase “heaven and earth” is used to indicate the whole universe (Gen. 1:1; Jer. 23:24; Acts 17:24). According to the Jewish notion there were three heavens, (a) The firmament,…
Prophecy — Or prediction, was one of the functions of the prophet. It has been defined as a “miracle of knowledge, a declaration or description or representation of something future, beyond the power of human…
Ascension Of Christ, The · Prophecies respecting — Prophecies respecting
Blessing · SPIRITUAL, FROM GOD — SPIRITUAL, FROM GOD
Captivity · .“ — .“
Christ, The Head Of The Church · Imparts gifts — Imparts gifts
Gift Of The Holy Spirit, The · Given: Upon the exaltation — Given: Upon the exaltation
Gifts From God · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO BOTH TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO BOTH TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL
Gifts Of God, The · Spiritual: Are through Christ — Spiritual: Are through Christ
Love Of Christ, The · Sending the Spirit. — — Sending the Spirit. —
Prophecies Respecting Christ · His ascension — His ascension
Rebellion Against God · They who are guilty of: Restored through Christ alone
Psalm 68:18-24
18. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: [35] thou hast received gifts among men; [36] even the rebellious, that the Lord Jehovah [37] might dwell amongst his people. 19 Blessed be the Lord daily: this Lord will load us with deliverances. Selah. 20. He that is our God is the God of salvations; and to the Lord Jehovah [38] belong the issues from death. 21. Surely God shall wound the head of his enemies, the crown of the hair of him who walketh on in his wickedness. 22. The Lord said, I will bring back from Bashan; I will bring again from the depths of the sea: 23. That thy foot may be stained with blood, the tongue of thy dogs even in that of thine enem…
This victory of Israel over the kings of the Gentiles gives the poet the joyful assurance that Zion is the inaccessible dwelling-place of Elohim, the God of the heavenly hosts. The mention of Zalmon leads him to mention other mountains. He uses the mountains of Bashan as an emblem of the hostile powers east of Jordan. These stand over against the people of God, as the mighty mountains of Bashan rising in steep, only slightly flattened peaks, to little hill-like Zion. In the land on this side Jordan the limestone and chalk formation with intermingled strata of sandstone predominates; the mountains of Bashan, however, are throughout volcanic, consisting of slag, lava, and more particularly bas…
When you ascended to the heights: The Most High established his reign victoriously in Zion. • a crowd of captives . . . gifts: This is an image of a victorious ruler leading the victory march after battle. Paul applied this image to Jesus Christ (Eph 4:8-13).
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 68:18
Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.
Thou hast ascended on high. The ark was conducted to the summit of Zion; God himself took possession of the high places of the earth, being extolled and very high. The antitype of the ark, the Lord Jesus, has ascended into the heavens with signal marks of triumph. To do battle with our enemies, the Lord descended and left his throne; but now the fight is finished, he returns to his glory; high above all things is he now exalted. Thou hast led captivity captive. A multitude of the sons of men are the willing captives of Messiah…
— They who are guilty of: Restored through Christ alone
Regeneration · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Salvation · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
