Text -- Psalms 78:1-20 (NET)

Psalm 78

78:1 A well-written song by Asaph. Pay attention, my people, to my instruction! Listen to the words I speak! 78:2 I will sing a song that imparts wisdom; I will make insightful observations about the past. 78:3 What we have heard and learned– that which our ancestors have told us– 78:4 we will not hide from their descendants. We will tell the next generation about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts, about his strength and the amazing things he has done. 78:5 He established a rule in Jacob; he set up a law in Israel. He commanded our ancestors to make his deeds known to their descendants, 78:6 so that the next generation, children yet to be born, might know about them. They will grow up and tell their descendants about them. 78:7 Then they will place their confidence in God. They will not forget the works of God, and they will obey his commands. 78:8 Then they will not be like their ancestors, who were a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that was not committed and faithful to God. 78:9 The Ephraimites were armed with bows, but they retreated in the day of battle. 78:10 They did not keep their covenant with God, and they refused to obey his law. 78:11 They forgot what he had done, the amazing things he had shown them. 78:12 He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors, in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan. 78:13 He divided the sea and led them across it; he made the water stand in a heap. 78:14 He led them with a cloud by day, and with the light of a fire all night long. 78:15 He broke open rocks in the wilderness, and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea. 78:16 He caused streams to flow from the rock, and made the water flow like rivers. 78:17 Yet they continued to sin against him, and rebelled against the sovereign One in the desert. 78:18 They willfully challenged God by asking for food to satisfy their appetite. 78:19 They insulted God, saying, “Is God really able to give us food in the wilderness? 78:20 Yes, he struck a rock and water flowed out, streams gushed forth. But can he also give us food? Will he provide meat for his people?”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Psa 78:1

¹ sn Psalm 78. The author of this lengthy didactic psalm rehearses Israel’s history. He praises God for his power, goodness and patience, but also reminds his audience that sin angers God and prompts his judgment. In the conclusion to the psalm the author elevates Jerusalem as God’s chosen city and David as his chosen king.

² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 74.

³ tn Heb “Turn your ear to the words of my mouth.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:2

¹ tn Heb “I will open with a wise saying my mouth, I will utter insightful sayings from long ago.” Elsewhere the Hebrew word pair חִידָה+מָשָׁל (mashal + khidah) refers to a taunt song (Hab 2:6), a parable (Ezek 17:2), proverbial sayings (Prov 1:6), and an insightful song that reflects on the mortality of humankind and the ultimate inability of riches to prevent death (Ps 49:4).

NET Notes: Psa 78:3

¹ tn Or “known.”

² tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 5, 8, 12, 57).

NET Notes: Psa 78:4

¹ tn The pronominal suffix refers back to the “fathers” (“our ancestors,” v. 3).

² tn Heb “to a following generation telling the praises of the Lord.” “Praises” stand by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt worship. Cf. Ps 9:14.

NET Notes: Psa 78:5

¹ tn The Hebrew noun עֵדוּת (’edut) refers here to God’s command that the older generation teach their children about God’s mighty deeds in the nation’s history (see Exod 10:2; Deut 4:9; 6:20-25).

² tn Heb “which he commanded our fathers to make them known to their sons.” The plural suffix “them” probably refers back to the Lord’s mighty deeds (see vv. 3-4).

NET Notes: Psa 78:6

¹ tn Heb “in order that they might know, a following generation, sons [who] will be born, they will arise and will tell to their sons.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:7

¹ tn Heb “keep.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:8

¹ tn Heb “a generation that did not make firm its heart and whose spirit was not faithful with God.” The expression “make firm the heart” means “to be committed, devoted” (see 1 Sam 7:3).

NET Notes: Psa 78:9

¹ tn Heb “the sons of Ephraim.” Ephraim probably stands here by synecdoche (part for whole) for the northern kingdom of Israel.

² tn Heb “ones armed, shooters of bow.” It is possible that the term נוֹשְׁקֵי (noshÿqey, “ones armed [with]”) is an interpretive gloss for the rare רוֹמֵי (romey, “shooters of”; on the latter see BDB 941 s.v. I רָמָה). The phrase נוֹשְׁקֵי קֶשֶׁת (noshÿqey qeshet, “ones armed with a bow”) appears in 1 Chr 12:2; 2 Chr 17:17.

³ sn They retreated. This could refer to the northern tribes’ failure to conquer completely their allotted territory (see Judg 1), or it could refer generally to the typical consequence (military defeat) of their sin (see vv. 10-11).

NET Notes: Psa 78:10

¹ tn Heb “the covenant of God.”

² tn Heb “walk in.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:11

¹ tn Heb “his deeds.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:12

¹ sn The region of Zoan was located in the Egyptian delta, where the enslaved Israelites lived (see Num 13:22; Isa 19:11, 13; 30:4; Ezek 30:14).

NET Notes: Psa 78:15

¹ tn Heb “and caused them to drink, like the depths, abundantly.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:17

¹ tn Heb “rebelling [against] the Most High.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:18

¹ tn Heb “and they tested God in their heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the center of their volition.

NET Notes: Psa 78:19

¹ tn Heb “they spoke against God, they said.”

² tn Heb “to arrange a table [for food].”

NET Notes: Psa 78:20

¹ tn Heb “look.”