Bible Strands
Psalms 83:7
of Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, of Philistia with the people of Tyre.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist describes a coalition of hostile nations conspiring against Israel during a time of perceived divine silence and national vulnerability.
The words — צֹר (Tzor) denotes the coastal city-state of Tyre, while יֹשְׁבֵי (yoshevei) literally means "inhabitants" or "dwellers," identifying Tyre's population as active participants in the alliance.
The thread — Gebal appears in Joshua 13:5 as part of Lebanon's territorial boundary and in Ezekiel 27:9 as a source of shipwrights; Tyre is repeatedly characterized in Ezekiel 27 as a wealthy maritime merchant power.
Why it lands — The text identifies specific geopolitical neighbors who historically opposed Israel, demanding the reader recognize the tangible, earthly scope of the threat rather than treating the conflict as merely spiritual.
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
Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;
Cross-references
- Joshua 13:5 the land of the Gebalites; and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath.
- Ezekiel 27:3 Tell Tyre, who dwells at the gateway to the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coasts, that this is what the Lord GOD says: You have said, O Tyre, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’
- Ezekiel 27:9 The elders of Gebal were aboard as shipwrights, repairing your leaks. All the ships of the sea and their sailors came alongside to barter for your merchandise.
- 1 Samuel 4:1 Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now the Israelites went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek.
- 1 Samuel 15:2 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I witnessed what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they opposed them on their way up from Egypt.
- Amos 1:9 This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Tyre, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they delivered up a whole congregation of exiles to Edom and broke a covenant of brotherhood.