Verse 7
7. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine As Shechem and Succoth, Psalms 60:6, geographically represented the total territory of Israel, so Gilead and Manasseh (east) are only a more literal and minute repetition of the same idea, politically considered, of the territory east of Jordan, while Ephraim and Judah represented the west.
Ephraim… is the strength of mine head My helmet, the defensive armour for the head, denoting how vital a part of the nation’s defence Ephraim was. Moses compared Ephraim and Manasseh to the strength of the neck and horns of the buffalo. Deuteronomy 33:17.
Judah is my lawgiver A direct allusion to the blessing of Jacob, Genesis 49:10. Thus far David describes the continued unity and integrity of his kingdom, which his recent disasters had threatened, but which faith in the oracle of God had now reassured Ephraim and Manasseh were the jealous and disappointed tribes. See note on Psalms 78:0. Saul’s son had already sought to dismember the kingdom by their means. 2 Samuel 2:8-11; 2 Samuel 3:2. The moment David’s career of victory was checked he feared the loss of his foreign conquests, followed by the revival of the old internal feuds. Faith has already triumphed over the latter, and he now proceeds to express his exultation over the bordering nations.
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