We continue Psalm 105, in which the singer praises YHWH for choosing Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and guiding them through history. We ended the first half at the plagues of Exodus.
Psalm 105:28-36, The plagues
He sent darkness and made the land dark-
for had they not rebelled against his words?
He turned their waters into blood,
causing their fish to die.
Their land teemed with frogs,
which went up into the bedrooms of their rulers.
He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
and gnats throughout their country.
He turned their rain into hail,
with lightning throughout their land;
he struck down their vines and fig trees
and shattered the trees of their country.
He spoke, and the locusts came,
grasshoppers without number;
they ate up every green thing in their land,
ate up the produce of their soil.
Then he struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of all their manhood.
Eight of the ten plagues (from Exodus 7-11) are recounted. The order of the plagues is interesting -- the ninth plague, the last one in which Moses stood before Pharoah comes first and the final plague, the death of the firstborn male ends the list. It is these two events that were most dramatic and led to Pharoah's reluctant release of Israel. The other plagues, listed between these, are the first (blood), second (frogs), fourth (flies), third (gnats), seventh (hail) and eighth (locusts.) Left out are the plague on livestock and the skin disease (boils) in Exodus 9:1-12.
Psalm 105:37-38, Leaving Egypt
He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold,
and from among their tribes no one faltered.
Egypt was glad when they left,
because dread of Israel had fallen on them.
Because of the plagues of darkness and the death of the newborn son, the Egyptians were glad to be rid of the Israelites and gave them silver and gold as they left.
Psalm 105:39-41, The Exodus
He spread out a cloud as a covering,
and a fire to give light at night.
They asked, and he brought them quail
and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
like a river it flowed in the desert.
The psalmist briefly recalls the exodus from Egypt, guided by cloud and fire, with manna and quail provided.
Psalm 105:42-43, Canaan
For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham.
He brought out his people with rejoicing,
his chosen ones with shouts of joy;
The rejoicing and shouts of joy are reflected in Exodus 15, The Song of the Sea (suggests Alter.)
Psalm 105:44-45, Canaan
he gave them the lands of the nations,
and they fell heir to what others had toiled for--
that they might keep his precepts
and observe his laws.
Praise the LORD.
After the exodus, Israel took over the promised land, the special land provided for them by YHWH. There they are to remember their covenant duties and keep the Laws of YHWH. (On that, see the next psalm!)
And so the psalm ends in a Hallelujah!
Kidner says that parts of Psalms 96, 105 and 106, were sung by Asaph and others, at the orders of King David, when the ark first entered Jerusalem (see 1 Chronicles 16:7-36.)
No comments:
Post a Comment