Psalm 57:4 - how to interpret?

I've used this fascinating verse in threads from anything on vampires to Rebecca Brown. I must say, from a Biblical perspective it divides between "anbimals' like lions, and beastly "men'. Was there maybe some ancient Biblical tribe that filed their teeth pointy? Is it a reference to cannibalism (which occurs elsewhere in the OT)? The lamentation goes:
"My soul is amongst lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire. even sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows."
Quite chilling, I find.

Interesting post.

I personally enjoy reading the book of Psalms, ive read it over 10 times.

I think what David is referring to are just people who are out to get him, as he is asking the Lord for help.

Perhaps a play on metaphors and other literary devices.

After all, psalms was originally intended to be sung.

How about this one. This man is credited with killing two men that had the appearence of lions, or half lion half man, a giant over ten feet tall, and a lion. What caught my eye was the "lionlike" men.


From 1 Chronicles, chapter 11 KJV Bible

1Ch 11:22 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many acts; he slew two lionlike men of Moab: also he went down and slew a lion in a pit in a snowy day.
1Ch 11:23 And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high; and in the Egyptian's hand was a spear like a weaver's beam; and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear.

There may be a translation problem. What the New American Bible has for that line (which they number as 57: 5) is

I must lie down in the midst of lions hungry for human prey. Their teeth are spears and arrows; their tongue, a sharpened sword.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (numbered as 57: 4)

I am in the midst of lions;
I lie down with those who devour men.
Their teeth are spears and arrows;
their tongues are sharp swords.

Some Bibles have it as the KJV does, others that the lions eat humans.

I checked the two French versions at biblegateway dot com, to see if it was just an English-language-loyalty-to-KJV thing. But Louis Segond has it like KJV, while Semeur numbers it 57: 5 and it goes (my translation of theirs)

I am surrounded by lions, lying down among enemies, who spit fire. Their teeth, etc.

Times like this make me wish I had gone to Hebrew school.

reply to post by halfoldman


This refers to when David was in a cave called adullam. He was joined by men who were disenchanted, in debt and had a grudge against tptb. He was being pursued by Saul also at every turn. Misery loves company.

This was one of the lowest parts of his life. Imagine being pursued by an army, being stuck with a bunch of paranoid conspiracy theorists and whingers, and being forced to hide out in a cave! I'm sure you would view your pursuers as people who had sharp teeth and wanted to trample your bones and eat you alive!

The wording is therefore a litary device to describe those intense feelings of unjustly being public enemy number 1, being pursued by those who want to kill you, surrounded by the misery of being on the run for you life.


I did go to Hebrew school.

reply to post by Selahobed


If what you say is so, true, it must be terrifying. But I'm a bit sceptical about attributing certain beastly features to men if there wasn't a better, visible posibility. I've googled the verse, and other interpretations are even more chilling.

reply to post by halfoldman


David was a poet, a dramatist, a warrior, deeply religious, and was fully aware that destiny was on his shoulders.

His sense of destiny, coupled with the fact that he was being hunted by a whole countries army, being in the company of misery, in a cave, after witnessing their brutality, would have inspired such use of language. It's not pretty, but itcsets the scene pretty dramatically of a man who was in the direst situation, yet came through and achieved his destiny.

On a side note, although brutal, the israelites of those times kept the law of Moses, and to suggest that his pursuers-who kept that law- were cannabalistic, smacks of hidden agenda. That kind of behaviour would have been an abomination to even David's pursuers, and would have been punished by death.

Certainly cannibalism is something that was prevalent. In fact the evil that was done by followers of Baal was and is even to this very day unspeakable. There was and is evil down to this day however I do agree that more than likely in this case the words are metaphors. The scriptures hold some amazing topics for discussion. nice post...

reply to post by Selahobed


No that's not my point: I'm saying that if you cite metaphors as illuminating this passage, then what were they? Metaphors are cultural and should then also be found elsewhere, not only in that personal moment of terror. Good on David, and he only 7-9 wives (not sure at present), and the "soul of Jonathan was knit with the sould of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul". How romantic!
I think the verse under discussion probably only finds some expansion in the New Testament (see posts above) and demonic infestation.

Originally posted by Fromabove
How about this one. This man is credited with killing two men that had the appearence of lions, or half lion half man, a giant over ten feet tall, and a lion. What caught my eye was the "lionlike" men.

It is said in Genesis that the Fallen Angels that came to Earth, "sinned against the beasts of the land, the fowl of the air and the fish of the sea". Some believe that this means that the fallen angels took to DNA manipultaion of these creatures creating cross species beings. This could be what some of these creatures are.