darkness. This was the ninth plague (Exodus 10:21 ). All are not mentioned, not being needed. This is put first for the purpose implied in the next line. they rebelled not: i.e. Israel did not rebel against the command for circumcision. According to Exodus 12:48 , no uncircumcised person could eat the Passover. This is implied in Joshua 5:2 by the expression, the "second time". read more
Psalms 105:28. And they rebelled not against his word— Yet they were not obedient to his word. So the LXX and Syriac read; and thus it is rendered in the Liturgy of the Church of England. But Houbigant, thinking the present reading genuine, renders it, and his words were not changed; i.e. "what he had commanded to be done, was done." Mudge too is for the present reading. "The LXX (says he) read the passage without the negative, understanding it of the Egyptians." As it now stands, it must be... read more
28-36. The ninth plague is made prominent as peculiarly wonderful. they rebelled not—Moses and Aaron promptly obeyed God ( :-); (compare Exodus 7:1-11; Psalms 78:44-51, with which this summary substantially agrees). Or, rather, the "darkness" here is figurative (Jeremiah 13:16), the literal plague of darkness (Exodus 10:22; Exodus 10:23) being only alluded to as the symbol of God's wrath which overhung Egypt as a dark cloud during all the plagues. Hence, it is placed first, out of the... read more
Psalms 105This psalm praises God for His faithful dealings with Israel. It reviews Israel’s history from Abraham to the wilderness wanderings (cf. 1 Chronicles 16:9-36), and the Abrahamic Covenant is its centerpiece. read more
2. The record of God’s faithfulness to Israel 105:7-41 read more
Psalms 105:12-15 describe God’s care of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (cf. Genesis 12-36). Psalms 105:16-23 summarize God’s preservation of the chosen family through Joseph’s protection (Genesis 37-50). Psalms 105:24 refers to God’s increase of the Israelites during their Egyptian sojourn (Exodus 1). Psalms 105:25-36 review how the Lord prepared His people to depart from Egypt with emphasis on the plagues He sent (Exodus 2-12; cf. Psalms 78:44-51). Psalms 105:37-38 describe the Exodus itself... read more
This Ps. and the following one form a closely connected pair, and may be looked on as by the same author. From the closing vv. of Psalms 106 it appears that they were written after the first return from exile had taken place, but while many Israelites were still scattered among the heathen. Both Pss. are partly wrought into the composite poem in 1 Chronicles 16. Psalms 105 is a song of thanksgiving, recalling with gratitude God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Psalms 105:8-12), His... read more
(28) Darkness.—The enumeration of the plagues omits the fifth and sixth, and begins with the ninth, and appends a clause which, from the first, has troubled translators. Of whom is it said, “They rebelled not against his words”? Of the Egyptians it is not true; and to refer the words to Moses and Aaron, in contrast with their resistance to the Divine command at Massah and Meribah, is feeble. The LXX. and the Syriac solved the difficulty by rejecting the negative. (Comp. the Prayer Book... read more
The Trial of Joseph Psalms 105:19 The career of Joseph is of the kind to which we give the name of romance. That word is a vague one, and it would cost us some pains to define; but we all think we know a romance when we hear it, and the tale of Joseph is one. A boy of genius, hated by his brothers because he was a genius and knew it, led through startling vicissitudes of fortune, from a father's partial love to the estate of slave, from the black arch of a dungeon to the splendour round a... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Psalms 105:1-45
Psalms 105:0 God’s faithfulness to his covenantGod’s covenant people Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, are reminded to worship their God continually and to tell others of the great things he has done (1-6). In particular they are to remember God’s faithfulness to the covenant he made with Abraham. This covenant was his work alone. He chose Abraham from all the people of the world, and promised to make through him a nation and to give the land of Canaan to that nation for a... read more