Rashi on TanakhPsalms 76

There He broke the arrows of the bow of Sennacherib and his hosts.

the arrows of the bow Heb. רשפי. רִשְׁפֵי is not an expression of sparks of fire, because sparks of fire are not appropriate to a bow. Moreover, this word has no “dagesh,” yet רִשְׁפֵּי does have a “dagesh.” Rather, רִשְׁפֵי is an expression of (Deut. 32:24): “fought by demons (רשף),” which is translated as עוֹף, flying creatures, as (Job 5:7): “but flying creatures fly (רשף) upward.” Similarly (below 78:48): “and their cattle to the flying creatures (לרשפים). to the birds. Similarly, בְּנֵי רֶשֶׁף are flying creatures, demons, who fly upward. This one too is an expression of arrows, which fly, as the matter that is stated (below 91:5): “from an arrow that flies by day.” There He broke the arrows (רִשְׁפֵי) of the bow, the arrows that the bow lets fly, and this entire psalm speaks of the downfall of Sennacherib, for we find no enemy falling in Jerusalem but he.

You are destructive; mightier Heb. נאור, an expression of (Lam. 2:7): “He destroyed His Sanctuary”; (below 89:40), “You abolished the covenant of Your servant.” You destroy Your enemies and those who rise up against You and sweep them from the world. Because of His deeds, He is called נאור, destructive, like חנוּן, gracious; רחום, merciful; קנוא jealous, because He grants, because He pities, because He acts with zeal.

mightier than the mountains of prey Stronger than the predatory giants, who are as tall as mountains, but against You, their might is not known.

became mad Heb. אשתוללו, like השתוללוּ. As (II Chron. 20:35): “And afterwards, Jehoshaphat the king of Judah joined (אתחבר) Ahaziah the king of Israel,” like התחבר. [The word] אשתוללוּ is derived from (Job 12:17): “He leads counselors away with madness (שולל).” It is an expression of error and tranquility, as madmen err, and the “tav” falls into the middle of the word in the reflexive, as in every word beginning with “shin.”

slumbered in their sleep They Heb. נמו. They fell into a deep sleep, an expression of תנוּמה slumber.

and none...found their hands and their strength when You came to punish them.

chariot and horse were stunned Heb. ורכב וסוס. The “vav” of ורכב is superfluous, as (Gen. 36: 24): “These are the sons of Ziv’on: Ayyah (ואיה) and Anah.” The “vav” of ואיה is superfluous.

once You are angry From the time You became angry.

From heaven, You let judgment be heard When Isaiah prophesied concerning the retribution of Sennacherib and it was fulfilled in him, then Eretz Israel, which feared him and his hosts, became calm.

When God rises for judgment to execute judgment upon His enemies, to save Hezekiah and his company.

For man’s anger will thank you The anger of the wicked results in the creatures thanking the Holy One, blessed be He. When they show their anger and the Holy One, blessed be He, punishes them, everyone praises Him when they see that their anger is of no avail. As we find (Dan. 3:28) concerning Nebuchadnezzar, when he cast Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah into the fiery furnace, what is said there? “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, etc.” And thereby...it will prevent the residue of wrath Heb. תחגר. It will prevent and stop; the remaining wicked men are prevented and restrained from showing their pride and their wrath. תחגר is an expression of restraint in the language of the Mishnah (Chul. 18a): “The nick in a knife must be deep enough to catch (תחגר) the nail to disqualify it from slaughtering].” I heard in the name of Rabbi Eleazar the Gaon, the son of Rabbi Isaac, who brought this verse as testimony to that Mishnah (sic). It is also possible to interpret this according to its usual meaning of an expression of girding, and can be explained as follows: It is fitting for You to gird Yourself with wrath and to enwrap Yourself with zeal, for strength and ability are Yours; the expression of “residue” is that since man’s wrath is of no account, the girding of all wrath is reserved for You.

Vow and pay your vows.

all those around Him who hear of this salvation, and so they did, as it is stated (Isa. 19:18): “there will be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Canaan and swearing to the Lord of Hosts.”

will bring a gift to Him Who is to be feared Why? Because at the time of His desire...

He will cut down the spirit the spirit of haughtiness of the princes and lessen their arrogance. יבצֹר means “He will lessen,” as (Gen. 11:6): “will it not be withheld (יבצר) from them?”