Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 22:12

"Many bulls have compassed me; Strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round." — Psalms 22:12 (ASV)

Bulls of Bashan. — For “Bashan” see Numbers 21:33; for its pastures and cattle, compare to Deuteronomy 32:14, and for the figures, Amos 4:1. Instead of “fat bulls,” the Septuagint and Vulgate paraphrase “strong ones of Bashan.” The point of the comparison lies in the wantonness and insolence of pampered pride, displayed by the minions of fortune.