Bible Strands
Psalms 83:6
the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God, cataloging a coalition of neighboring nations that have united to plot against Him. This list forms the middle portion of a prayer detailing the specific historical enemies threatening Israel.
The words — The text highlights אָהֳלֵ֣י ('o.ho.Lei), meaning "tents," and אֱ֭דוֹם ('E.dom), meaning "Edom," emphasizing the nomadic lifestyle and ancestral lineage of these groups. These terms ground the political alliance in specific tribal and geographical realities rather than abstract entities.
The thread — This specific grouping of hostile nations reappears in historical accounts of Israel's conflicts, such as the wars against the Hagrites in 1 Chronicles 5:10 and the Moabite and Ammonite coalition in 2 Chronicles 20:1. The psalmist's list directly parallels the geopolitical threats recorded in 2 Chronicles 20:10.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that opposition to God's purposes is often organized, multi-ethnic, and persistent. It calls the reader to acknowledge the specific, named realities of conflict rather than reducing warfare to abstract spiritual categories.
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
The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
Cross-references
- 1 Chronicles 5:10 During the days of Saul they waged war against the Hagrites, who were defeated at their hands, and they occupied the dwellings of the Hagrites throughout the region east of Gilead.
- 2 Chronicles 20:1 After this, the Moabites and Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat.
- 2 Chronicles 20:10 And now, here are the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt. So Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them.
- Psalms 137:7 Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!”
- Genesis 25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham.
- 1 Chronicles 5:19 They waged war against the Hagrites, as well as Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab.