Gilead was a country east of the Jordan, in the south, which had been occupied by the tribes of Reuben and Gad. The tribe of Manasseh had occupied land in the north (Bashan), also on the east of the Jordan (as well as some land on the west side). So these two represent the area east of the Jordan that was part of Israel. The tribe of Ephraim occupied land on the west side of the Jordan, in the north, and quite often Ephraim was used to refer to the northern kingdom of Israel. Judah was both the southern tribe and the name of the southern kingdom. God says Ephraim is his helmet, that is, part of the armor he wears when fighting the enemy; Judah is his scepter, that is, the means by which he governs the nations he has conquered. In some languages helmet may be rendered by a descriptive phrase; for example, “a protection for my head.” Scepter is sometimes translated as “chief’s stick” or “king’s ruling stick.” If such descriptive terms or equivalent objects are not found, it may be possible to use a simile; for example, “Ephraim is like my head and Judah is like my authority.”

The country of Moab was east of the Dead Sea, and it may be that there is an allusion to that fact by God’s speaking of Moab as his washbasin. The country of Edom was south of Judah. The statements in regard to Ephraim, Judah and Moab are not clear, except to say that God lays claim to them and they serve his purposes.

There is no agreement on what is meant by the Hebrew “on Edom I throw my sandal.” (1) Some take it to refer to a custom that is alluded to in Deuteronomy 25.9-10 and Ruth 4.7 of taking off a sandal as a sign of ownership, but there is no firm agreement on this. (2) Dahood takes it to refer to the custom of a victorious king placing his foot on the defeated enemy’s neck, as a sign of victory. (3) Others take it that Edom is assigned the menial task of a slave of carrying his master’s sandal (see Briggs). Should a translation choose alternative number 1 (which the majority of commentators and translations favor), there should be a cultural footnote if the figure is kept in the text; it means nothing to the reader to read “I throw my shoe at Edom” (similarly Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New English Bible). Or else the figure and its meaning may be given in the text, as Good News Translation has done. Or the figure may be abandoned altogether and the meaning be expressed by “I am master (or, owner) of the land of Edom.”

There is some difficulty with the Masoretic text of verse 8c: “upon (or, over) me Philistia will shout in triumph.” The Hebrew text in 108.9 is “I will shout in triumph over Philistia,” and this is preferred here by many (note that 108.9 is almost the same as verse 8). Weiser translates the Masoretic text here, “Acclaim me with shouts of joy, Philistia!” which is possible (New Jerusalem Bible “Acclaim me, O Philistia!”). Good News Translation translates the Masoretic text as a rhetorical question, expecting a negative answer; New Jerusalem Bible translates as irony, “Now try shouting ‘Victory’ over me, Philistia!” (also Bible de Jérusalem). The ancient versions read the text differently; most modern exegetes take the verb to be “to shout in triumph” (see 41.11 and comments). Bible en français courant has “Against Philistia I raise a shout of war,” saying that it follows the versions, one Hebrew manuscript, and Psalm 108.9. Shout in triumph in some languages must be shifted to a causal clause; for example, “I shout because I have triumphed over the land called Philistia” or “because I have defeated the people of the land called Philistia, I shout.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .