What does it mean to cast a shoe?

Question

What is the cultural context of casting a shoe?

Psalm 60:8: Moab is My washpot;
Over Edom I will cast My shoe;
Philistia, shout in triumph because of Me.”

One can make no further progress without one's shoe. It says 'Here I am and here I stay. I am not moving.' Up-voted +1. — Nigel J, Sep 24, 2021 at 19:14
It's a pretty offensive gesture in middle eastern culture. Some might remember this collision between the western culture continent and Baltic culture continent — James Shewey, Sep 24, 2021 at 20:54

user35953user35953 · Accepted Answer · 2021-09-24 16:21:20Z

New King James Version Psalm 60:

8 Moab is My washpot; Over Edom I will cast My shoe; Philistia, shout in triumph because of Me.”

Can anyone shed light on the cultural context of casting a shoe?

Ellicott might be helpful:

Of the "shoe," as a figure of what is vilest and most common, Dr. J. G. Wetzstein quotes many Arabic proverbs. A covering for the feet would naturally draw to it such associations.

Arabs associated shoes with foul objects.

But the custom which Israel brought from Egypt (Exodus 3:3), of dropping the sandals outside the door of a temple, and even of an ordinary house, must have served still more to fasten on that article of dress, ideas of vileness and profanation.

Egyptians associated shoes with religious uncleanness.

Even today, when you visit a Japanese home, you take off your street shoes at the entrance and exchange them for indoor slippers.

The psalm was written by David. What was David trying to convey?

The same line is repeated in (NIV) Psalm 108:

9 Moab is my washbasin, on Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

It is a symbol of conquest. David conquered Edom in 2 Samuel 8:

14 He placed garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.

Figuratively, the Edomites became David's servants and were responsible for cleaning his dirty sandal.

Robert · Accepted Answer · 2021-09-24 21:58:24Z

There is some debate as to what is meant. Here is the Word Biblical Commentary[1] translation and notes:

       Moab is my washpot;
       I will throw my shoe over Edom—
       Philistia, shout because of me!”

Moab is my washpot

The metaphor is one of humiliation and servitude. Washpots were often dirty, used for bathing, and even for toilet purposes. The haplography supposed by Gunkel and Kraus to yield מי מואב, “waters of Moab,” or ים מואב, “sea of Moab” (referring to the Dead Sea), is unnecessary. LXX, “Moab the bowl of any hope,” appears to be the result of understanding רחץ in its Aramaic sense of “to trust” (so J. Barr, Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament [Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968], 55).

I will throw my shoe over Edom

The translation depends on the meaning of this expression. The casting of the sandal or shoe may indicate the symbolic action of taking possession of Edom (cf. Deut 11:24; Ruth 4:7 is often cited, but is not really relevant). On the other hand, the metaphor may be one of domination; either in the sense of “the slave to whom the warrior flings his sandals to carry or to clean” (Kirkpatrick; in which case, it might be better to translate “at Edom”), or in the sense of a conqueror who puts his foot on a vanquished foe as a sign of victory (see Dahood, though his reading of the verb as “plant” is unacceptable). Buttenwieser’s interesting comments (75–76) need supplementing by C. M. Carmichael, “Ceremonial Crux,” JBL 96 (1977) 321–36. The Arabic custom cited of referring to a wedding day as “the day of putting on the shoe” goes back to a euphemism for sexual intercourse. However, an allusion to sexual activity does not seem probable here.

Philistia, shout because of me

The text in Ps 108:10 is much easier, עֲלֵי־פְלֶשֶׁת אֶתְרוֹעָע, “over Philistia I will shout (in victory).” LXX, “the Philistines have been subjected to me,” apparently reads hithpael of רעע, II (cf. Isa 24:19; Prov 18:24). The verb is usually derived from רוּעַ, “to raise a shout.” In its other usage in Pss 108:10 and 65:14, the hithpael indicates “shout of joy, triumph.” However, in its hiphil form the shout may be that of alarm or distress, which may be the meaning of the hithpael here. Dahood adopts the reading of התרעע as hithpael infinitive construct with 1st person singular suffix, with עלי as in 108:10: “over Philistia will be my cry of conquest” (note Delitzsch, 226). Kirkpatrick, 342: “Mighty Philistia must raise the shout of homage to its conqueror.” NJV: “acclaim me, O Philistia!”

The point here is that God is not only more powerful than Israel's neighbors, but that these neighbors are God's servants. If battles are lost or won, it is because God has decided the outcome. Thus the prayer ends with a plea for victory stemming only from God and not from human strength:

Psalm 60.11-12

Give us help against the adversary, for the help of humankind is futile. Through God we will do valiantly, and it is he who will tread down our enemies. [LEB]

[1] Tate, M. E. (1998). Psalms 51–100 (Vol. 20, p. 100). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.