The Meaning of Psalms 132:6 Explained

Psalms 132:6

KJV: Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood.

YLT: 'Lo, we have heard it in Ephratah, We have found it in the fields of the forest.

Darby: Behold, we heard of it at Ephratah, we found it in the fields of the wood.

ASV: Lo, we heard of it in Ephrathah: We found it in the field of the wood.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Lo, we heard  of it at Ephratah:  we found  it in the fields  of the wood. 

What does Psalms 132:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalm 132:1-18 - The Lord's Blessing Upon Zion
This psalm evidently dates from the dedication of Solomon's temple. In the glory of completion God never forgets the toils and anxieties of the builders. When the topstone flashes in the sunlight, the trench-diggers, and foundation-makers come in for their need of praise. The singer recapitulates two memorable scenes in the history of the Ark: Ephratah is probably Shiloh, in the tribe of Ephraim, where the Tabernacle was situated in Eli's time; while the field of the wood is Kirjath-jearim, whence David brought the sacred emblem to Jerusalem, 1 Chronicles 13:5.
The prayer of Psalms 132:8-10 is similar to that of Solomon, 2 Chronicles 6:41. For us the ark of God's strength is our Lord's nature, in which God and man meet. We are called to be priests, to lift our hands in intercession and to fill the earth with praise. Then in Psalms 132:11-18 God seems to take the clauses of that prayer, one by one and to answer, them. His resting-place is in His people. The staves were drawn out from the Ark when it was deposited in the Temple. In Christ there is finality; He is Omega, the Last. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 132

1  David in his prayer commends unto God the reverent care he had for the ark
8  His prayer at the removing of the ark
11  With a repetition of God's promises

What do the individual words in Psalms 132:6 mean?

Behold we heard of it in Ephrathah we found it in the fields of the woods
הִנֵּֽה־ שְׁמַֽעֲנ֥וּהָ בְאֶפְרָ֑תָה מְ֝צָאנ֗וּהָ בִּשְׂדֵי־ יָֽעַר

הִנֵּֽה־  Behold 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
שְׁמַֽעֲנ֥וּהָ  we  heard  of  it 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common plural, third person feminine singular
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
בְאֶפְרָ֑תָה  in  Ephrathah 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶפְרָת 
Sense: a place near Bethel where Rachel died and was buried.
מְ֝צָאנ֗וּהָ  we  found  it 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common plural, third person feminine singular
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.
בִּשְׂדֵי־  in  the  fields 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: שָׂדֶה 
Sense: field, land.
יָֽעַר  of  the  woods 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יַעַר 
Sense: forest, wood, thicket, wooded height.