Psalm 91:3. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler.
Several different words are used in the Hebrew to denote various snares which were employed in fowling. The word path, which is used in the text, denoted a spring, or trap-net, “in two parts, which, when set, were spread out upon the ground, and slightly fastened with a stick, (trap-stick;) so that as soon as a bird or beast touched the stick, the parts flew up and enclosed the bird in the net, or caught the foot of the animal (Job 18:9)” (Robinson's Gesenius). The word mokesh is also used to denote a snare of the same sort; though it is also sometimes used to signify a circle of nets for capturing beasts. See note on 2 Samuel 22:6 (#289).
Snares which were spread on the ground and caught the bird by the feet, or, loosing a spring, encircled it with a net, are often referred to by biblical writers as illustrative of the dangers which beset men. See Job 18:8-10, where several varieties seem to be named. The same is true of Psalm 140:5. See also Psalm 124:7; 141:9; 142:3; Proverbs 7:23; 22:5; Hosea 9:8; Amos 3:5.
For another mode of catching birds, see note on Hosea 7:12 (#598).