Psalms 72:1 Concerning Solomon He prayed this prayer on behalf of his son Solomon, for he foresaw with the holy spirit that he [Solomon] was destined to request of the Holy One, blessed be He, “a heart to understand, to hear judgment.”
Your judgments the wisdom of Your laws, which You commanded in the Torah.
and Your righteousness to judge justly.
to a king, etc., to a king’s son Both refer to Solomon. Another explanation: Give Your judgments to a king The chastisements should end with me, and the charity You should bestow upon my son; viz. that there be peace in his days.
Psalms 72:3 May the mountains bear peace for the people in his days.
peace for the people. Now what is the peace that the mountains bear? When they produce fruit, people will not be jealous, and “each man will call his neighbor [to come] under [his] vine and under [his] fig tree.”
and the hillsthrough righteousness And the hills will bear peace for them through the righteousness that they will perform.
Psalms 72:5 May they fear You in the presence of the sun All Israel will learn from him to fear You all the days of the sun and moon, generations upon generations.
and before the moon As long as the moon exists for generations, when they are before it [i.e., during its existence]. There are many such expressions in the language of the Mishnah. Before the Temple and not before the Temple [i.e., when the Temple existed and when it no longer exists].
Psalms 72:6 May it descend as rain upon cut vegetation May his word descend into the midst of Your people and into their heart as the rain that falls on the cut vegetation, which requires rain after being cut. As the matter is stated (Amos 7:1): “and behold the latter growth after the king’s mowings.”
that drip upon the earth Heb. זרזיף, an expression of drops. In Aramaic, in Tractate Yoma (87a): “Drops (זרזיפי) of water hit him.”
Psalms 72:7 May the righteous flourish in his days Israel.
and much peace will flourish in his days, and this peace will last forever. Now all this prayer was fulfilled except this thing, because Solomon sinned. Therefore his kingdom did not endure, for the kingship was given to David on this condition (I Kings 2: 4): “If your children take heed to their way,” but Israel sinned in his days. As it is said (ibid. 4: 20): “Judah and Israel [were] many, as the sand, etc.” And Israel flourished in his days, as it is said... And there was much peace, as it is said (ibid. 5:5): “And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, etc., all the days of Solomon.”
Psalms 72:8 And may he reign from sea to sea All of the land of Israel is from the Sea of Reeds to the Sea of the Philistines [the Mediterranean].
and from the river to the ends of the land (I Kings 5:4): “For he had dominion over all [the inhabitants of] this side of the river, etc.”
Psalms 72:9 nobles Heb. ציים, companies of nobles, as (Num. 24:24): “and nobles (וצים) from the Kittites,” which the Targum renders: And companies will come around from the Romans.
Psalms 72:10 May the kings of Tarshish and the isles return tribute (I Kings 10:23): “For the king had at sea, ships of Tarshish with Aliram’s ships; once every three years the ships of Tarshish would come, etc.”
the kings of Sheba The queen of Sheba.
a gift Heb. אֶשְׁכָּר, a gift.
Psalms 72:11 may all nations serve him (I Kings 10:24f.): “And all the [inhabitants of] the earth sought Solomon’s presence etc. And each one would bring his gift.”
Psalms 72:14 From blows and from robbery Heb. מתוך ומחמס, from blows and from robbery. I found [the following]: מִתּוֹךְ is an expression of “his innermost midst (תּוֹךְ),” men of plots, who plot iniquity, as (Prov. 29:13): “a man of deep thoughts (תככים).”
he will redeem their soul through the justice and righteousness that he will perform for them.
Psalms 72:15 And may he live Solomon.
and He will give him The Holy One, blessed be He.
of the gold of Sheba And so it was (I Kings 3:13): “both riches and honor, so that there shall not be any among the kings like you.”
and may He pray for him constantly, etc. The prayer and the blessing are identical. When the Holy One, blessed be He, says to a man, “You shall be blessed,” it is an expression of prayer.
Psalms 72:16 May there be an abundance of grain Heb. פסת, an expression of spreading (פסיון), increase and abundance. Our Sages, however, explained this as an expression of loaves of white bread during the messianic era (Keth. 111b, Shab. 30b), and the entire psalm as referring to the messianic era. Another explanation: פִּסַת is an expression of good will, like פִּיוּס, placating; the people are appeased and accepted by the Holy One, blessed be He, when He gives plenty in the world.
may its fruit rustle like Lebanon May the wheat kernels be as thick as the kidneys of a large ox, as happened in the days of Shimon ben Shatach.
and they will blossom forth Israel.
from the city From the midst of Jerusalem like the grass of the earth.
Psalms 72:17 May his name [May] Solomon’s name be remembered forever for his riches and his wisdom.
before the sun, his name will be magnified All the days of the sun, his name will be magnified.
will be magnified Heb. ינון, an expression of kingdom and dominion, as (Prov. 29:21): “he will ultimately be a ruler (מנון) ; (Gen. 21:23), “and to my son (ולניני),” who rules over my property after me; (below 74:8), “They said in their heart, their rulers (נינם) together”; their kings together.
will bless themselves with him A person will say to his son, “May you be wise and rich like Solomon.”
Psalms 72:18 Blessed is the Lord, etc., Who performs wonders alone When the fire descended from the heavens through Solomon, his son.
Psalms 72:20 The prayers of David...are completed Heb. כלו. Our sages expounded on כָּלוּ to mean כָּל אֵלוּ, all these are the prayers of David son of Jesse, to include the entire Book on David’s nameeven what the sons of Korah and the ten elders said because he was known as (II Sam. 23:1) “the sweet singer of Israel.” כָּלוּ may also be interpreted as “were completed.” The construction of כָּלוּ is like (Job 24: 24): “They are taken away (רֹמוּ) in a second”; (Jer. 2:12), “O heavens, be astonished (שֹׁמוּ).” If this is so, this psalm was not written in its place, and there is no chronological order in the Book. The [subject] matter indicates that he said this in his old age, when he enthroned Solomon.</html