Psalms 120:4

4. Sharp arrows of the mighty The retributions of God shall pierce the soul as the sharpened arrows of the warrior penetrate the flesh.

Coals of juniper The רתם , ( rothem,) answering to the Arabic retem, improperly translated “juniper,” is the broom tree, a notable shrub in Arabia Petrea. Thus Robinson: “One of the principal shrubs we met with is the retem, a species of broom plant, Genista roetam of Forskal. This is the largest and most conspicuous shrub of these deserts, growing thickly in the water courses and valleys.” So Burckhardt: “We here [in the peninsula of Mount Sinai] found several Bedouins occupied in collecting brushwood, which they burn into charcoal for the Cairo market. They prefer for this the thick roots of the shrub rothem, which grows here in abundance.” “The roots,” says Robinson, “are very bitter, and are regarded by the Arabs as yielding the best charcoal.” See Job 30:4, where, instead of meat, read sustenance, support. They followed charting the rothem as a livelihood referred to as a poor business. This shrub also is used by the Arabs as a shelter by day and night, though a frail one. 1 Kings 19:4-5. The intense heat of this charcoal, and the proverbial length of time that it holds fire, render it a fit emblem of severe punishment.