תהלים, פרק קל״ו, פסוק י״ז

Expressing gratitude to God for military victories, especially those occurring just before and during the entry into the land of Canaan, is central to recognizing His guiding hand. Praise is directed toward Him for subduing the powerful rulers who blocked the path of the Israelites. These leaders were known for their immense strength, often compared to the towering height of cedars and the unyielding toughness of oaks [אבן עזרא, מאירי].

There are different perspectives on exactly who these rulers were. One approach views the defeated enemies as a broad reference to the thirty-one kings of Canaan, noting that they were actually more formidable and difficult to overcome than Pharaoh and his army [רש״י, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Another perspective focuses specifically on Sihon and Og. Their defeat served as a crucial breaking point that initiated the collapse of the other regional kings. When neighboring leaders saw that such massive powers had fallen, they quickly realized they had no hope of standing against the Israelites [אלשיך].

The true magnitude of God's kindness in these events stems from the circumstances of the conflict. These kings governed many powerful nations and flatly refused to allow the Israelites peaceful passage through their territories. Instead, they took the initiative to wage war. In response, God delivered these massive armies into the hands of the Israelites, destroying them so completely that no survivors remained [רד״ק].

When recounting these victories, the act of striking the kings is mentioned alongside the act of killing them. The primary approach among commentators is that this repetition is a poetic technique, expressing the same concept with different words to amplify the praise and emphasize God's kindness multiple times [רד״ק, אבן עזרא]. Alternatively, this phrasing can be understood as a gradual process of warfare. According to this view, God first struck and weakened these mighty kings, and only afterward brought about their final defeat and death [מאירי].