Bible Strands
Psalms 60:7
Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim is My helmet, Judah is My scepter.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks from His sanctuary in a psalm of national distress, declaring territorial and tribal ownership over Israel's regions.
The words — The Hebrew מָעוֹז (ma'oz) literally means "fortress" or "protection," translated here as "helmet," while מְחֹקְקִי (mechoqqi) means "my commander's staff" or "ruler's scepter."
The thread — The allocation of Gilead and Manasseh corresponds to Joshua 13:31, and the Judah scepter imagery parallels Genesis 49:10, while the pattern of divine tribal ownership extends to Psalm 60:8 with Moab and Edom.
Why it lands — The verse explicitly assigns geographic and political symbols to God, requiring the reader to acknowledge that Israel's leadership and land distribution operate under divine sovereignty.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;
Cross-references
- Genesis 49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.
- Deuteronomy 33:17 His majesty is like a firstborn bull, and his horns are like those of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, even to the ends of the earth. Such are the myriads of Ephraim, and such are the thousands of Manasseh.”
- Joshua 13:31 half of Gilead; and Ashtaroth and Edrei, the royal cities of Og in Bashan. All this was for the clans of the descendants of Machir son of Manasseh, that is, half of the descendants of Machir.
- Joshua 17:1 Now this was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh as Joseph’s firstborn son, namely for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh and father of the Gileadites, who had received Gilead and Bashan because Machir was a man of war.
- 1 Chronicles 12:19 Some from Manasseh defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. (They did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers consulted and sent David away, saying, “It will cost us our heads if he defects to his master Saul.”)
- 1 Chronicles 12:37 And from east of the Jordan, from Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh there: 120,000 armed with every kind of weapon of war.
- Joshua 17:5 Thus ten shares fell to Manasseh, in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan beyond the Jordan,
- 1 Samuel 28:2 David replied, “Then you will come to know what your servant can do.” “Very well,” said Achish. “I will make you my bodyguard for life.”