Text -- Psalms 78:1-57 (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?” 78:21 When the Lord heard this, he was furious. A fire broke out against Jacob, and his anger flared up against Israel, 78:22 because they did not have faith in God, and did not trust his ability to deliver them. 78:23 He gave a command to the clouds above, and opened the doors in the sky. 78:24 He rained down manna for them to eat; he gave them the grain of heaven. 78:25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones. He sent them more than enough to eat. 78:26 He brought the east wind through the sky, and by his strength led forth the south wind. 78:27 He rained down meat on them like dust, birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores. 78:28 He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp, all around their homes. 78:29 They ate until they were stuffed; he gave them what they desired. 78:30 They were not yet filled up, their food was still in their mouths, 78:31 when the anger of God flared up against them. He killed some of the strongest of them; he brought the young men of Israel to their knees. 78:32 Despite all this, they continued to sin, and did not trust him to do amazing things. 78:33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied and filled with terror. 78:34 When he struck them down, they sought his favor; they turned back and longed for God. 78:35 They remembered that God was their protector, and that the sovereign God was their deliverer. 78:36 But they deceived him with their words, and lied to him. 78:37 They were not really committed to him, and they were unfaithful to his covenant. 78:38 Yet he is compassionate. He forgives sin and does not destroy. He often holds back his anger, and does not stir up his fury. 78:39 He remembered that they were made of flesh, and were like a wind that blows past and does not return. 78:40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and insulted him in the desert! 78:41 They again challenged God, and offended the Holy One of Israel. 78:42 They did not remember what he had done, how he delivered them from the enemy, 78:43 when he performed his awesome deeds in Egypt, and his acts of judgment in the region of Zoan. 78:44 He turned their rivers into blood, and they could not drink from their streams. 78:45 He sent swarms of biting insects against them, as well as frogs that overran their land. 78:46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper, the fruit of their labor to the locust. 78:47 He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain. 78:48 He rained hail down on their cattle, and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock. 78:49 His raging anger lashed out against them, He sent fury, rage, and trouble as messengers who bring disaster. 78:50 He sent his anger in full force; he did not spare them from death; he handed their lives over to destruction. 78:51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their reproductive power in the tents of Ham. 78:52 Yet he brought out his people like sheep; he led them through the wilderness like a flock. 78:53 He guided them safely along, while the sea covered their enemies. 78:54 He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountainous land which his right hand acquired. 78:55 He drove the nations out from before them; he assigned them their tribal allotments and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down. 78:56 Yet they challenged and defied the sovereign God, and did not obey his commands. 78:57 They were unfaithful and acted as treacherously as their ancestors; they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow.

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.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:21

¹ tn Heb “therefore.”

² tn Heb “and also anger went up.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:22

¹ tn Heb “and they did not trust his deliverance.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:24

¹ sn Manna was apparently shaped like a seed (Exod 16:31), perhaps explaining why it is here compared to grain.

NET Notes: Psa 78:25

¹ sn Because of the reference to “heaven” in the preceding verse, it is likely that mighty ones refers here to the angels of heaven. The LXX translates “angels” here, as do a number of modern translations (NEB, NIV, NRSV).

² tn Heb “provision he sent to them to satisfaction.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:27

¹ tn Heb “and like the sand of the seas winged birds.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:29

¹ tn Heb “and they ate and were very satisfied.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:30

¹ tn Heb “they were not separated from their desire.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:32

¹ tn Heb “and did not believe in his amazing deeds.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:33

¹ tn Heb “and he ended in vanity their days.”

² tn Heb “and their years in terror.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:34

¹ tn Or “killed them,” that is, killed large numbers of them.

² tn Heb “they sought him.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:35

¹ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

² tn Heb “and [that] God Most High [was] their redeemer.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:36

¹ tn Heb “with their mouth.”

² tn Heb “and with their tongue they lied to him.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:37

¹ tn Heb “and their heart was not firm with him.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:38

¹ tn One could translate v. 38 in the past tense (“he was compassionate…forgave sin and did not destroy…held back his anger, and did not stir up his fury”), but the imperfect verbal forms are probably best understood as generalizing. Verse 38 steps back briefly from the narrational summary of Israel’s history and lays the theological basis for v. 39, which focuses on God’s mercy toward sinful Israel.

NET Notes: Psa 78:39

¹ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive signals a return to the narrative.

² tn Heb “and he remembered that they [were] flesh, a wind [that] goes and does not return.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:40

¹ tn Or “caused him pain.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:41

¹ tn Heb “and they returned and tested God.” The Hebrew verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return”) is used here in an adverbial sense to indicate that an earlier action was repeated.

² tn Or “wounded, hurt.” The verb occurs only here in the OT.

³ sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. This expression is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah.

NET Notes: Psa 78:42

¹ tn Heb “his hand,” symbolizing his saving activity and strength, as the next line makes clear.

² tn Heb “[the] day [in] which he ransomed them from [the] enemy.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:43

¹ tn Or “signs” (see Ps 65:8).

² tn Or “portents, omens” (see Ps 71:7). The Egyptian plagues are referred to here (see vv. 44-51).

NET Notes: Psa 78:45

¹ tn Heb “and he sent an insect swarm against them and it devoured them.”

² tn Heb “and a swarm of frogs and it destroyed them.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:48

¹ tn Heb “and he turned over to the hail their cattle.”

² tn Heb “and their livestock to the flames.” “Flames” here refer to the lightning bolts that accompanied the storm.

NET Notes: Psa 78:49

¹ tn Heb “he sent against them the rage of his anger.” The phrase “rage of his anger” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

² tn Heb “fury and indignation and trouble, a sending of messengers of disaster.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:50

¹ tn Heb “he leveled a path for his anger.” There were no obstacles to impede its progress; it moved swiftly and destructively.

² tn Or perhaps “[the] plague.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:51

¹ tn Heb “the beginning of strength.” If retained, the plural form אוֹנִים (’onim, “strength”) probably indicates degree (“great strength”), but many ancient witnesses read “their strength,” which presupposes an emendation to אֹנָם (’onam; singular form of the noun with third masculine plural pronominal suffix).

NET Notes: Psa 78:54

¹ tn Heb “this mountain.” The whole land of Canaan seems to be referred to here. In Exod 15:17 the promised land is called the “mountain of your [i.e., God’s] inheritance.”

² tn The “right hand” here symbolizes God’s military strength (see v. 55).

NET Notes: Psa 78:55

¹ tn Heb “he caused to fall [to] them with a measuring line an inheritance.”

² tn Heb “and caused the tribes of Israel to settle down in their tents.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:56

¹ tn Or “tested and rebelled against.”

² tn Heb “God, the Most High.”

³ tn Or “keep.”

⁴ tn Heb “his testimonies” (see Ps 25:10).

NET Notes: Psa 78:57

¹ tn Heb “they turned back.”

² tn Or “acted treacherously like.”

³ tn Heb “they turned aside like a deceitful bow.”