Augustine of Hippo
Patristic
A.D. 354–430
“"Who smote great kings" [Psalm 136:17], "and slew famous kings" [Psalm 136:18]. From us too He smites and slays the deadly powers of the devil.”
The interpretation timeline
Ps 135:17
How this passage has been read — the sources, oldest to newest.
From the early Church Fathers to now.
1 Patristic · 1 Jewish
Ps 135:17 · Douay-Rheims
“Who smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
Patristic
before A.D. 750
430
A.D.
675 years pass — nothing from this stretch is hosted yet
Scholastic
c. 1100 – 1500
1105
A.D.
Rashi
Jewish
1040–1105
“great kings Here he alluded to the thirty-one kings, and he compared for them Pharaoh and his host and the plagues of Egypt to mighty kings, harsher than they. Sihon was equal to all of them, [and Og was equal to all of them (Machzor Vitry)], each one individually, and so did he explain above (135: 11): “Sihon the king of the Amorites and Og the king of Bashan and all the kingdoms of Canaan.” So it is in the Aggadah.”
Modern · 1953 →
The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.