Psalm 22:11-13 meaning

Like this passage describes, Jesus the Messiah was abandoned by His friends during His hour of danger and He was surrounded by many powerful enemies who murdered Him on the cross.

The Immediate Meaning of David’s Psalm 22:11-13

In the midst of being rejected/“cast” out by the people and discarded/“cast” to God, the psalmist makes a desperate plea to the LORD. 

Be not far from me, for trouble is near;
For there is none to help (v 11).

The psalmist prays that God will not treat him as the people have treated him. He is begging God to not cast him out and throw him away like they did to him. Like a small child who is afraid, the psalmist is imploring God to stay close beside him. 

The reason David, the psalmist, is asking God, to be not far from me is because trouble is near. 

The Hebrew word for trouble is צָרָה (H6869). It is pronounced: “tsaw-raw.” “Tsaw-raw” means “trouble,” “distress,” “affliction,” “adversity,” “anguish,” and/or “tribulation.” It describes a difficulty or dangerous situation that is emotionally intense and painful.

When David the psalmist says that “tsaw-raw” (trouble) is near, he seems to be both describing the distress and anguish he is already experiencing, through the humiliation from his enemies and the abandonment from his people (Psalm 22:6-10)—AND—the greater afflictions and tribulations he anticipates will soon follow. 

The psalmist confesses to God, that there is none (besides the LORD) to help him through this horrible adversity. This signifies that all his friends and allies have abandoned him also or they have been separated from him. David is alone with his enemies.

Many bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me (v 12).

David describes his enemies who have surrounded him as many bulls. 

Bulls are symbolic of furious power and deadly rage. Bulls are large, powerful, and ill-tempered beasts. Bulls have sharp horns that could gore a man. They can charge anything in their path and knock it down with their massive body and rock-hard heads. Their heavy hooves can trample their victims to death. Facing one bull can be terrifying. To be surrounded by many bulls is an extremely perilous predicament. 

The psalmist adds that he is encircled, meaning that there is no apparent way for him to escape. One false move could instigate a fatal attack from any one of these beasts and from any direction. David is using this image to describes his deadly predicament. He is surrounded by powerful enemies intent on destroying him. 

The psalmist says that he is not just surrounded by any type of bull, but that he is encircled by strong bulls of Bashan. 

Bashan was a region in northeast Israel famous for its prosperous crops and thriving livestock (Deuteronomy 32:14). It was located east of the sea of Galilee. [MAP] After the conquest, Bashan became the territory given to the half-tribe of Manasseh (Joshua 21:27). 

Bashan is first mentioned in scripture in reference to the conquest of the Promised Land (Numbers 21:33-35). At this time, Bashan was ruled by King Og, who was the last of the race of giants called the “Rephaim” (Deuteronomy 3:14). It was for this reason that Bashan was commonly used to describe something that was especially mighty and/or large—something stronger or bigger than normal (Deuteronomy 3:13). 

Apparently, this is what the psalmist seems to mean when he speaks of strong bulls of Bashan. He is expressing that he is not merely surrounded by any herd of bulls, he is surrounded by extra-powerful bulls that are huge and particularly fierce. He surrounded by strong bulls of Bashan.

If Psalm 22 refers to David’s exile among the Philistines (1 Samuel 21:10-15), Bashan could be a reference to the Philistines. Both races were known to have produced giants: Bashan—King Og; Philistines—Goliath, whom David killed in war (1 Samuel 17). 

Interestingly, in addition to signifying something extra strong or powerful, Bashan is also used in reference to something or someone who boasts in their own strength in blasphemous opposition to God. King Og is one example of this (Deuteronomy 29:7). The prophet Isaiah personifies even the oaks of Bashan as being lofty and lifted up (Isaiah 2:12-13). It is not a stretch to read this idea of boastful opposition to God and His people from within the psalmist’s image. In other words, these fierce bulls of Bashan are against David, the LORD’s anointed king, in part because they oppose the LORD in their own strength.

Again, David is calling upon the LORD to be not far from him because he is alone and is surrounded by powerful enemies. 

It is unclear which enemies David is referring to during this passage. The many bulls who have surrounded him could be: 

• Philistine, Amalekite, Ammonite, Moabite, Edomite, Jebusite, or some other foreign army that with hostility encircled his camp; 

• Hostile Israelites who are loyal to King Saul seeking to kill David who surrounded him in the wilderness;

• Hostile Israelites who are loyal to his son, Absalom, during the rebellion that surrounded David.

David was surrounded by many strong and powerful enemies when he was in captive exile among the Philistines (1 Samuel 21:10-15). Such a situation would have been horribly isolating, with none to help, especially since “he disguised his sanity before them and acted insanely in their hands” (1 Samuel 21:13). All David had during this season was the LORD, which explains why he prayed to God to be not far from me. 

It is also possible that David is not referring to any one specific enemy or moment in his life to describe his anguish and his praise for God for his deliverance, but rather he may be amalgamizing different perilous moments throughout his life in Psalm 22. 

David says the strong bulls of Bashan open wide their mouth at me, as a ravening and roaring lion (v 13).

This is a chilling image. Not only is he encircled by extremely strong bulls, but these bulls seem primed to charge at him. Bulls often open their mouths and pant before charging. What David is likely expressing through this image is that he is about to be attacked or suffer harm from his powerful enemies while he is vulnerable and encircled.

David takes this a step further when he describes that the mouths of the bulls are open so wide at him, that they are as a ravening and a roaring lion. David is either switching metaphors from strong bulls to roaring lions or he is describing bulls with the attributes of ferocious lions that are on the prowl ready to attack and devour anything that crosses their path. Whichever of these images the psalmist has in mind to express the extreme danger his enemies pose against him, it is terrifying. 

Be not far from me, for trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
Many bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
They open wide their mouth at me,
As a ravening and a roaring lion.

Psalm 22:11-13 as a Messianic Prophecy

The poetic lines of Psalm 22:11-13 are prophetic of Jesus the Messiah. 

Be not far from me, for trouble is near;
For there is none to help (v 11).

Hours before He was arrested, abused, and crucified, Jesus may have petitioned His Father to: Be not far from me, for trouble is near as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. As Jesus entered Gethsemane, His soul was “grieved to the point of death” and Jesus asked Peter, James, and John to “remain here and keep watch with Me” (Matthew 26:38). But they fell asleep (Matthew 26:40, 43), and they would later run away once Jesus surrendered to the authorities (Matthew 26:56), leaving Jesus alone amidst His enemies with none to help Him.

Moreover, throughout His three religious trials, there were none who spoke up to help Him in His defense. This was an illegal miscarriage of justice according to Jewish law; in cases involving capital crimes, the trial should begin with a statement on behalf of the defendant. 

For a more detailed explanation of this violation and other illegalities surrounding Jesus’s religious trials, see The Bible Says article: “Jesus’s Trial, Part 5. The Laws of Practice that were Violated.” 

Many bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me (v 12). 

When Jesus the Messiah was arrested, a large and armed crowd consisting of many enemies came to capture Him (Matthew 26:47). This large crowd consisted of:

• Those who came from the chief priests (Sadducees) (Matthew 26:47)
• Those who came from the elders of the people (Pharisees) (Matthew 26:47)
• Those who were from the scribes (Mark 14:43)
• The Temple guard (Luke 22:52)
• A Roman Cohort, which typically consisted of 100 troops (John 18:3)

It was such a large contingent, that Jesus chided them for bringing so many: 

“Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against a robber? While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but this hour and the power of darkness are yours.”
(Luke 22:52b-53)

Another way the enemies of Jesus were like the strong bulls of Bashan was that they defiantly opposed God. The giant, King Og of Bashan, defiantly opposed God and His people as they approached the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 29:7). The oaks of Bashan were personified by the prophet Isaiah as lofty and lifted up in opposition to God (Isaiah 2:12-13). So too, were the enemies of Jesus—who is God in human form—defiantly opposed to God and the Messiah.

From the time of Jesus’s arrest, throughout His religious and civil trials, and His crucifixion at Golgotha, Jesus was indeed surrounded and encircled by many strong and powerful enemies, as Psalm 22:12 poetically and prophetically describes:

They open wide their mouth at me,
As a ravening and a roaring lion (v 13).

After Jesus was arrested, His enemies sought to devour Him with their murderous accusations and slanders. 

They opened wide their mouth at Him through many false witnesses (Matthew 26:60), speaking manufactured charges (Matthew 26:65-66, Luke 22:2), and shouting mocking insults (Matthew 26:67-68, 27:27-30, 27:39-44).  

They opened wide their mouth as a ravening and roaring lion to enthusiastically call for His death,

“Pilate said to them, ‘Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?’ They all said, ‘Crucify Him!’ And he said, ‘Why, what evil has He done?’ But they kept shouting all the more, saying, ‘Crucify Him!’”
(Matthew 27:22-23)

“But they were insistent, with loud voices asking that He be crucified. And their voices began to prevail.”
(Luke 22:23)

They opened wide their mouth as a ravening and roaring lion to chillingly call for His blood to be upon them and their children,

“And all the people said, ‘His blood shall be on us and on our children!’”
(Matthew 27:25)

Such words by the many enemies of Jesus who surrounded and encircled Him during His trials and crucifixion are poignantly described in Psalm 22:13.