Psalms 78:51 - Exposition

And smote all the firstborn in Egypt (see Exodus 12:29 ). The chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham; or, "the beginning (literally, firstfruits ) of their strength" (comp. Genesis 49:3 ). "The tabernacles of Ham" is a periphrasis for "Egypt"—the Egyptians, according to the author of Genesis ( Genesis 10:6 ), being descendants of Ham (comp. Psalms 105:23 , Psalms 105:27 ; Psalms 6:1-10 :22). There are no sufficient grounds for connecting the name of Ham either with the Egyptian Kem, Kemi—the native name for the country—or with Khem, one of the principal Egyptian goes. The literation is, no doubt, close in the latter case; but etymologists lay it down that close approximations are especially deceptive.