Text -- Psalms 105:1-25 (NET)

Psalm 105

105:1 Give thanks to the Lord! Call on his name! Make known his accomplishments among the nations! 105:2 Sing to him! Make music to him! Tell about all his miraculous deeds! 105:3 Boast about his holy name! Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! 105:4 Seek the Lord and the strength he gives! Seek his presence continually! 105:5 Recall the miraculous deeds he performed, his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed, 105:6 O children of Abraham, God’s servant, you descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen ones! 105:7 He is the Lord our God; he carries out judgment throughout the earth. 105:8 He always remembers his covenantal decree, the promise he made to a thousand generations– 105:9 the promise he made to Abraham, the promise he made by oath to Isaac! 105:10 He gave it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as a lasting promise, 105:11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance.” 105:12 When they were few in number, just a very few, and resident aliens within it, 105:13 they wandered from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another. 105:14 He let no one oppress them; he disciplined kings for their sake, 105:15 saying, “Don’t touch my chosen ones! Don’t harm my prophets!” 105:16 He called down a famine upon the earth; he cut off all the food supply. 105:17 He sent a man ahead of them– Joseph was sold as a servant. 105:18 The shackles hurt his feet; his neck was placed in an iron collar, 105:19 until the time when his prediction came true. The Lord’s word proved him right. 105:20 The king authorized his release; the ruler of nations set him free. 105:21 He put him in charge of his palace, and made him manager of all his property, 105:22 giving him authority to imprison his officials and to teach his advisers. 105:23 Israel moved to Egypt; Jacob lived for a time in the land of Ham. 105:24 The Lord made his people very fruitful, and made them more numerous than their enemies. 105:25 He caused them to hate his people, and to mistreat his servants.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Psa 105:1

¹ sn Psalm 105. The psalmist summons Israel to praise God because he delivered his people from Egypt in fulfillment of his covenantal promises to Abraham. A parallel version of vv. 1-15 appears in 1 Chr 16:8-22.

NET Notes: Psa 105:5

¹ tn Heb “and the judgments of his mouth.”

NET Notes: Psa 105:6

¹ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

² tc Some mss have “Israel,” which appears in the parallel version of this psalm in 1 Chr 16:13.

³ tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “sons.”

⁵ tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: Psa 105:7

¹ tn Heb “in all the earth [are] his judgments.”

NET Notes: Psa 105:8

¹ tn Heb “[the] word he commanded.” The text refers here to God’s unconditional covenantal promise to Abraham and the patriarchs, as vv. 10-12 make clear.

NET Notes: Psa 105:9

¹ tn Heb “which.”

NET Notes: Psa 105:10

¹ tn Or “eternal covenant.”

NET Notes: Psa 105:13

¹ tn Heb “and from a kingdom to another nation.”

NET Notes: Psa 105:15

¹ tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

² tn Heb “anointed.”

NET Notes: Psa 105:16

¹ tn Heb “and every staff of food he broke.” The psalmist refers to the famine that occurred in Joseph’s time (see v. 17 and Gen 41:53-57).

NET Notes: Psa 105:17

¹ tn After the reference to the famine in v. 16, v. 17 flashes back to events that preceded the famine (see Gen 37).

NET Notes: Psa 105:18

¹ tn Heb “they afflicted his feet with shackles.”

² tn Heb “his neck came [into] iron.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with the suffix could mean simply “he” or “his life.” But the nuance “neck” makes good sense here (note the reference to his “feet” in the preceding line). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 38.

NET Notes: Psa 105:19

¹ tn Heb “word,” probably referring to Joseph’s prediction about the fate of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker (see Gen 41:9-14).

² tn This line may refer to Joseph’s prediction of the famine in response to Pharaoh’s dream. Joseph emphasized to Pharaoh that the interpretation of the dream came from God (see Gen 41:16, 25, 28, 32, 39).

³ tn Heb “refined him.”

NET Notes: Psa 105:20

¹ tn Heb “[the] king sent and set him free.”

NET Notes: Psa 105:21

¹ tn Heb “he made him master of his house.”

NET Notes: Psa 105:22

¹ tn Heb “to bind his officials by his will.”

² tn Heb “and his elders he taught wisdom.”

NET Notes: Psa 105:23

¹ tn Heb “entered.”

² tn Heb “lived as a resident alien.”

NET Notes: Psa 105:24

¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “him,” referring to “his people.”

³ tn Heb “his,” referring to “his people.”

NET Notes: Psa 105:25

¹ tn Heb “their heart.”

² tn Or “to deal deceptively.” The Hitpael of נָכַל (nakhal) occurs only here and in Gen 37:18, where it is used of Joseph’s brothers “plotting” to kill him.