Psalm 58 (57):7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

They would speak ill of Him regarding the tribute: He did not declare, “It is lawful to pay tribute,” nor did He say, “It is unlawful to pay tribute.” His intention was to completely shatter their teeth, which they employed to bite, but He would achieve this using their own words. If He had stated, “Tribute should be paid to Caesar,” they would have accused Him of maligning the Jewish people by imposing tribute upon them. Their sin led them to pay tribute, adhering to the humility foretold in the Law. They said, “We have the slanderer of our people, if he commands us to pay tribute; and if he says, ‘Do not pay,’ then we have him because we should not be subjects of Caesar.” They devised such a snare to entrap the Lord. But to whom did they come? To Him who was capable of utterly shattering their teeth in their mouths. “Show Me the coin,” He says. “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Do you contemplate paying tribute? Are you ready to dispense justice? Are you seeking a council of justice? If you speak truthfully, then judge justly, you sons of men. Yet now, because you speak in this way while judging otherwise, you are hypocrites: why are you testing Me? I will utterly shatter your teeth in your mouth: show Me the coin.” They displayed it to Him. He did not declare, “This belongs to Caesar,” but asked, “Whose image and inscription does it bear?” Their teeth in their mouths were entirely shattered. When they revealed it was Caesar’s, the Lord will again shatter their teeth in their mouths. Now that you have provided the answer, your teeth are shattered in your mouths. “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.” Caesar seeks his image; deliver it to him; God seeks His image; present it. Do not let Caesar lose his coin from you: nor let God lose His coin within you. And they could not produce a response. For they were sent to malign Him and returned, saying that no one could answer Him. Why? Because their teeth were completely broken in their mouths. Similar situations arise: by what authority do You perform these deeds? I will also pose you a question; answer Me. He queried them about John, “From which origin was John’s baptism, from heaven or from men?” Regardless of their answer, it could have turned against them.

It displeased the Lord towards the Pharisee who invited Him to dine, because a sinful woman approached His feet, and he murmured against Him, saying, “If this man were a prophet, He would know who and what manner of woman this is that touches Him.” You are not a prophet! How could you conclude He did not know who approached Him? Because He did not adhere to the purification rituals of the Jews— which were outwardly observed yet lacked true significance— he doubted the Lord. To avoid lengthy discourse, He intended even to completely break his teeth. For He said to him, “A certain moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty; neither had the means to repay, and he forgave them both. Which of them will love him more?” For one prompts the other to respond, and one response leads to the complete shattering of his teeth. The jaws of the lions were broken by the Lord—not just the serpents. What of the serpents? They deceitfully wish to spew their venom, to scatter it, and to hiss. The nations roared like lions in their open fury. For what purpose did the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? They were waiting upon the Lord. Is it lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, or not? These were the serpents and aspies, their teeth wholly shattered in their mouths. Afterward, they cried out, “Crucify, crucify.” Now, there is no serpent's tongue, only the roar of a lion. Yet, the jaws of the lions were also broken by the Lord. No need was required for what He did not specify, namely, their mouths. For the men who arose with troublesome inquiries were to be defeated by their own answers; could those who openly raged be refuted by questioning? Nevertheless, even their jaws were thoroughly broken: He was crucified, He rose again, ascended into heaven, was glorified as Christ, honored by all nations, and revered by all kings. Let the Jews rage now if they can. In relation to the heretics, we are given this as a warning and a precedent, as we observe the deafened serpents filled with indignation, unwilling to heed the remedy offered by the wise, while in their own mouths, the Lord utterly crushed their teeth.

Alternatively, one might consider the incisors, which are utilized to cut food, hence referred to as τομεις (cleavers), while the molars are known as kutneh teeth, which are termed erasing teeth for their role in grinding food into smaller portions. In this way, both the incisors and molars symbolize the varied destruction wrought by David’s enemies upon those they capture. Beloved, take note that the divine David occasionally speaks in the future, stating that God will crush, and at other times in the past, declaring the Lord has crushed. This characteristic is common among the prophets, who sometimes articulate their messages in future tense and at other times in the past. Others, including Athanasius, assert that the Lord has broken both the incisors and molars not solely of Saul but also of those among the Jews who maligned the resurrection of Christ.

He addresses them, stating that just as thorns produce sharp needles, so do you conjure evil thoughts in your cruel hearts, intending to harm the righteous; however, the thorns will not have time to bud—before they can even begin to grow, they will be consumed by the fire of God’s wrath. In a previous verse, the prophet asserted this differently: fire has fallen upon them, and they have not seen the sun.