Discovery BoxPsalms 78:1-43
ContextA well-written song 2 by Asaph.
78:1 Pay attention, my people, to my instruction!
Listen to the words I speak! 3
78:2 I will sing a song that imparts wisdom;
I will make insightful observations about the past. 4
78:3 What we have heard and learned 5 –
that which our ancestors 6 have told us –
78:4 we will not hide from their 7 descendants.
We will tell the next generation
about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts, 8
about his strength and the amazing things he has done.
78:5 He established a rule 9 in Jacob;
he set up a law in Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
to make his deeds known to their descendants, 10
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. 11
78:7 Then they will place their confidence in God.
They will not forget the works of God,
and they will obey 12 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. 13
78:9 The Ephraimites 14 were armed with bows, 15
but they retreated in the day of battle. 16
78:10 They did not keep their covenant with God, 17
and they refused to obey 18 his law.
78:11 They forgot what he had done, 19
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. 20
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. 21
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 22 in the desert.
78:18 They willfully challenged God 23
by asking for food to satisfy their appetite.
78:19 They insulted God, saying, 24
“Is God really able to give us food 25 in the wilderness?
78:20 Yes, 26 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 27 the Lord heard this, he was furious.
A fire broke out against Jacob,
and his anger flared up 28 against Israel,
78:22 because they did not have faith in God,
and did not trust his ability to deliver them. 29
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. 30
78:25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones. 31
He sent them more than enough to eat. 32
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. 33
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; 34
he gave them what they desired.
78:30 They were not yet filled up, 35
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. 36
78:33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied 37
and filled with terror. 38
78:34 When he struck them down, 39 they sought his favor; 40
they turned back and longed for God.
78:35 They remembered that God was their protector, 41
and that the sovereign God was their deliverer. 42
78:36 But they deceived him with their words, 43
and lied to him. 44
78:37 They were not really committed to him, 45
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. 46
78:39 He remembered 47 that they were made of flesh,
and were like a wind that blows past and does not return. 48
78:40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness,
and insulted him 49 in the desert!
78:41 They again challenged God, 50
and offended 51 the Holy One of Israel. 52
78:42 They did not remember what he had done, 53
how he delivered them from the enemy, 54
78:43 when he performed his awesome deeds 55 in Egypt,
and his acts of judgment 56 in the region of Zoan.
[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.
[78:1] 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.
[78:1] 3 tn Heb “Turn your ear to the words of my mouth.”
[78:2] 4 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).
[78:3] 6 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 5, 8, 12, 57).
[78:4] 7 tn The pronominal suffix refers back to the “fathers” (“our ancestors,” v. 3).
[78:4] 8 tn Heb “to a following generation telling the praises of the
[78:5] 9 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).
[78:5] 10 tn Heb “which he commanded our fathers to make them known to their sons.” The plural suffix “them” probably refers back to the
[78:6] 11 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.”
[78:8] 13 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).
[78:9] 14 tn Heb “the sons of Ephraim.” Ephraim probably stands here by synecdoche (part for whole) for the northern kingdom of Israel.
[78:9] 15 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.
[78:9] 16 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).
[78:10] 17 tn Heb “the covenant of God.”
[78:11] 19 tn Heb “his deeds.”
[78:12] 20 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).
[78:15] 21 tn Heb “and caused them to drink, like the depths, abundantly.”
[78:17] 22 tn Heb “rebelling [against] the Most High.”
[78:18] 23 tn Heb “and they tested God in their heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the center of their volition.
[78:19] 24 tn Heb “they spoke against God, they said.”
[78:19] 25 tn Heb “to arrange a table [for food].”
[78:21] 27 tn Heb “therefore.”
[78:21] 28 tn Heb “and also anger went up.”
[78:22] 29 tn Heb “and they did not trust his deliverance.”
[78:24] 30 sn Manna was apparently shaped like a seed (Exod 16:31), perhaps explaining why it is here compared to grain.
[78:25] 31 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).
[78:25] 32 tn Heb “provision he sent to them to satisfaction.”
[78:27] 33 tn Heb “and like the sand of the seas winged birds.”
[78:29] 34 tn Heb “and they ate and were very satisfied.”
[78:30] 35 tn Heb “they were not separated from their desire.”
[78:32] 36 tn Heb “and did not believe in his amazing deeds.”
[78:33] 37 tn Heb “and he ended in vanity their days.”
[78:33] 38 tn Heb “and their years in terror.”
[78:34] 39 tn Or “killed them,” that is, killed large numbers of them.
[78:34] 40 tn Heb “they sought him.”
[78:35] 41 tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”
[78:35] 42 tn Heb “and [that] God Most High [was] their redeemer.”
[78:36] 43 tn Heb “with their mouth.”
[78:36] 44 tn Heb “and with their tongue they lied to him.”
[78:37] 45 tn Heb “and their heart was not firm with him.”
[78:38] 46 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.
[78:39] 47 tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive signals a return to the narrative.
[78:39] 48 tn Heb “and he remembered that they [were] flesh, a wind [that] goes and does not return.”
[78:40] 49 tn Or “caused him pain.”
[78:41] 50 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.
[78:41] 51 tn Or “wounded, hurt.” The verb occurs only here in the OT.
[78:41] 52 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
[78:42] 53 tn Heb “his hand,” symbolizing his saving activity and strength, as the next line makes clear.
[78:42] 54 tn Heb “[the] day [in] which he ransomed them from [the] enemy.”
[78:43] 55 tn Or “signs” (see Ps 65:8).
[78:43] 56 tn Or “portents, omens” (see Ps 71:7). The Egyptian plagues are referred to here (see vv. 44-51).
