The Meaning of Psalms 60:8 Explained

Psalms 60:8

KJV: Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of me.

YLT: Moab is my pot for washing, over Edom I cast my shoe, Shout, concerning me, O Philistia.

Darby: Moab is my wash-pot; upon Edom will I cast my sandal; Philistia, shout aloud because of me.

ASV: Moab is my washpot; Upon Edom will I cast my shoe: Philistia, shout thou because of me.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Moab  [is] my washpot;  over Edom  will I cast out  my shoe:  Philistia,  triumph  thou because of me. 

What does Psalms 60:8 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Moab would serve God as a washbasin; namely, it would be reduced to the status of a servant. God"s people would experience purification there as they fought this neighbor. God would throw His shoe toward Edom as a man threw his shoe toward his servant when he came home. Evidently this was commonly done in the ancient Near East. The Edomites, like the Moabites, were God"s servants, not His sons in the same sense that the Israelites were. The NIV"s translation, "Over Philistia I shout in triumph," pictures God announcing David"s victory over the Arameans to this enemy.

Context Summary

Psalm 60:1-12 - Prayer For Help Against Foes
This was a national psalm to be taught the people. See title; also Deuteronomy 31:19. A strong coalition had been formed against David at that time. See 2 Samuel 10:6; 2 Samuel 10:8; 2 Samuel 10:17; 2 Samuel 10:19; 1 Chronicles 18:12-15. Israel was threatened with disaster. It was as if an earthquake had rent the soil. But the king-psalmist argued that God had given His people a mission in the world, which could not be forfeited. First, Israel carried a banner for the truth, Psalms 60:4. In addition, God had "spoken in His holiness" and had promised that the seed of Abraham should possess Canaan. Standing on a hill-summit, the psalmist sees the Land of Promise outspread before him. Shechem and Succoth, Psalms 60:6, one west, the other east, of the Jordan, indicate the breadth of the land. All had been given over to Israel by covenant, and therefore the surrounding peoples must become subject.
As yet the strong city of Petra, rock-girded, Psalms 60:9, had laughed David to scorn; but he had confidence that God would lead him within its mighty walls, to tread down his adversaries, Numbers 24:18. Man could not, but God could. The question is never, Can God? but always, Can we trust and follow Him? [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 60

1  David, complaining to God of former judgment
4  now upon better hope, prays for deliverance
6  Comforting himself in God's promises, he craves that help whereon he trusts

What do the individual words in Psalms 60:8 mean?

Moab [is] my wash pot My washpot Over Edom I will cast My shoe because of Me Philistia shout in triumph
מוֹאָ֤ב ׀ סִ֬יר רַחְצִ֗י עַל־ אֱ֭דוֹם אַשְׁלִ֣יךְ נַעֲלִ֑י עָ֝לַ֗י פְּלֶ֣שֶׁת הִתְרֹעָֽעִֽי

מוֹאָ֤ב ׀  Moab  [is] 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מֹואָב 
Sense: a son of Lot by his eldest daughter.
סִ֬יר  my  wash  pot 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: סִיר 
Sense: pot.
רַחְצִ֗י  My  washpot 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: רַחַץ  
Sense: washing.
עַל־  Over 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
אֱ֭דוֹם  Edom 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֱדֹום 
Sense: Edom.
אַשְׁלִ֣יךְ  I  will  cast 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: שָׁלַךְ  
Sense: to throw, cast, hurl, fling.
נַעֲלִ֑י  My  shoe 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: נַעַל  
Sense: sandal, shoe.
עָ֝לַ֗י  because  of  Me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
פְּלֶ֣שֶׁת  Philistia 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: פְּלֶשֶׁת  
Sense: the general territory on the west coast of Canaan or the entire country of Palestine.
הִתְרֹעָֽעִֽי  shout  in  triumph 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Imperative, feminine singular
Root: רוּעַ  
Sense: to shout, raise a sound, cry out, give a blast.