Psalms 22:12

My Notes

What Does Psalms 22:12 Mean?

David is writing — but the voice transcends David. Psalm 22 is the psalm Jesus quoted from the cross ("My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"), and by verse 12, the suffering has taken a specific, physical, encircling form.

"Many bulls have compassed me" — bulls in the ancient world were the most powerful domesticated animals. They represented brute force, aggressive strength, the kind of threat that can't be reasoned with or outrun. And they've compassed — surrounded, encircled, hemmed in. The psalmist isn't facing one threat from one direction. He's surrounded.

"Strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round" — Bashan was the region east of the Jordan known for its lush pastures and its cattle. Bulls of Bashan were the largest, most well-fed, most powerful animals in the land — the elite of the herd. These aren't scrappy, half-starved threats. They're the strongest enemies available. And they've beset him — pressed in, closed the circle, left no way out.

Read as David's experience, this describes the powerful enemies who surrounded him at various points in his life. Read as messianic prophecy — which Jesus' quotation of the psalm invites — the bulls become the religious leaders, the Roman soldiers, the mob at the cross. The circle of powerful hostility around the suffering Servant.

The imagery is claustrophobic. Surrounded. Enclosed. No gap in the ring. The bulls don't just threaten from a distance. They press in. The next verse describes them with mouths open like a roaring lion — the threat is not just physical but vocal, aggressive, consuming. This is what it feels like when the strongest forces in the world align against you and there is nowhere to turn.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What 'bulls of Bashan' are surrounding you right now — what powerful, pressing threats feel like they're closing in from every direction?
• 2.How does the psalmist's honest description of the threat give you permission to be specific with God about your own situation?
• 3.Knowing that Psalm 22 ends in worship rather than defeat, how does that change the way you read the suffering in the middle?
• 4.How does seeing this verse through the lens of Christ's crucifixion — the religious leaders, the soldiers, the mob — deepen its meaning for you?

Devotional

You know the feeling of being surrounded. Not by literal bulls, but by problems, pressures, enemies — forces that are bigger than you, stronger than you, and closing in from every direction. The job crisis and the health scare and the relational fracture all happening at once. The financial pressure from one side and the emotional collapse from the other. Bulls of Bashan, all of them — well-fed, powerful, and showing no signs of backing off.

The psalmist doesn't pretend the bulls aren't there. He describes them in vivid, honest detail. Many. Strong. Compassed. Beset round. There's no minimizing the threat. There's no "it's not that bad." The circle is real and it's tight. Honest prayer starts with honest description. You don't have to sanitize your situation before bringing it to God.

But Psalm 22 doesn't end at the bulls. It ends at verse 31 with a declaration that God's righteousness will be proclaimed to generations yet unborn. The circle of bulls gives way to a circle of worshippers. The suffering that felt like the end of the story turns out to be the middle. The encirclement is temporary. The deliverance is permanent.

If the bulls are closing in on you right now, know two things. First, you're allowed to describe exactly how bad it is. God can handle the details. Second, the bulls don't get the last verse. The psalm that begins in abandonment ends in worship. The enemies that surround you today are not the final frame of your story. Keep reading.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture