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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 78:9-39

In these verses, I. The psalmist observes the late rebukes of Providence that the people of Israel had been under, which they had brought upon themselves by their dealing treacherously with God, Ps. 78:9-11. The children of Ephraim, in which tribe Shiloh was, though they were well armed and shot with bows, yet turned back in the day of battle. This seems to refer to that shameful defeat which the Philistines gave them in Eli's time, when they took the ark prisoner, 1 Sam. 4:10, 11. Of this the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 78:12

Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers ,.... The Targum is, "before Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes of their fathers, he did marvellous things;' but these were dead before this time; the Jews have a fancy, that these were brought to the sea, and placed upon it; and the Lord showed them what he would do for their children, and how he would redeem them; but this is to be understood of the plagues which were brought upon the Egyptians, and which are called wonders,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 78:12

The field of Zoan - " In campo Taneos ," Vugate. Tanis was the capital of Pharaoh, where Moses wrought so many miracles. It was situated in the Delta, on one of the most easterly branches of the Nile. It was afterwards called Thanis; and from it the district was called the Thanitic Canton. See Calmet. Dr. Shaw thinks Zoan was intended to signify Egypt in general. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 78:12

Verse 12 12.He wrought marvellously in the sight of their fathers. The Psalmist is still to be regarded as condemning the posterity of the Israelites for their guilt; but he very properly, at the same time, begins to speak of the first ancestors of the nation, intimating, that the whole race of them, even from their first original, were of a perverse and rebellious disposition. But having remarked that the children of Ephraim had fallen into apostasy, because they had forgotten the wonderful... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:1-72

The psalm is, as the title also declares, one of "instruction." It seeks to keep the people faithful to David and his house, and to check their tendency to place themselves under the leadership of the tribe of Ephraim, by recalling the whole course of God's dealings with Israel in the past, from the time of the sojourn in Egypt to the establishment of David's kingdom. It also seeks to keep them faithful to God, by showing how all their past calamities and sufferings had arisen out of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:1-72

Whole psalm: Warnings against unbelief. I. ITS PURPOSE . 1 . To warn Ephraim; not to taunt and exult over him, but to warn. This psalm seems to belong to the period of the disruption. Ephraim, with the other northern tribes, had broken away from Judah and from the worship of God, and this psalm seems designed, by its recital of their old sins and the consequences thereof, to warn them against like sin in the future (cf. 2 Chronicles 13:1-22 .). 2 . To warn Judah. If... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:9-72

The historical portion of the psalm now follows. It commences with some general remarks on the transgressions of Ephraim, i.e. of Israel while under the guidance of Ephraim—from Joshua to Samuel (verses 9-11). It then proceeds to details, and sketches the Israelite history. from the deliverance out of Egypt to the establishment of David's kingdom (verses 12-72). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:12

Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. The miracles of Egypt are, perhaps, the most striking series in Jewish history. A more particular account of them is given below ( Psalms 78:44-53 ). They were wrought "in the field of Zoan," i.e. in the rich flat tract east and south of the city of Zoan, the Greek Tanis, now San . This fact could not have been gathered from Exodus, but must have come to the writer from the tradition of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 78:12-31

God's marvellous doings. The marvel of God's doings is always this—He is ever rescuing, delivering, restoring, redeeming, saving, or, as we may say, putting things straight. The type of all God's doings was, to the Jew, the rescue of the race from Egyptian bondage. The Divine attributes are not best seen in punishments or scenes of terror; throughout the history of the world they have been most fully revealed in God's savings, deliverings, and redeemings. Moses composed a song when the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 78:12

Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers - Things suited to excite wonder and astonishment. Such were all the miracles that he performed, in effecting the deliverance of his people.In the land of Egypt - In delivering them from Pharaoh.In the field of Zoan - The Septuagint renders this ἐν πεδίῳ Τάνεως en pediō Taneōs” in the plain of Tanis.” So the Latin Vulgate. Zoan or Tanis was an ancient city of Lower Egypt, situated on the eastern side of the Tanitie arm of the Nile.... read more

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