Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 78:12
Marvelous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, [in] the field of Zoan.
12. In the sight of their fathers he did wonders. Cp. Psa 77:14.
in the field of Zoan ] Zoan, known to the Greeks as Tanis, was situated on the E. bank of the Tanitic branch of the Nile. It was famous as the capital of the Hyksos dynasty, and was refounded by Ramses II, the Pharaoh of the oppression. It is described by Mr Petrie, who excavated it in 1883 4, as “a city which was only inferior to the other capitals Thebes and Memphis in the splendour of its sculptures.” The phrase “field of Zoan” for the district in which it was situated has been found in an Egyptian inscription.
After this brief allusion to the plagues, of which he intends to speak in detail afterwards (43ff.), the Psalmist passes on at once to the Exodus and the journey through the wilderness.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers – Things suited to excite wonder and astonishment. Such were all the miracles that he performed, in effecting the deliverance of his people.
In the land of Egypt – In delivering them from Pharaoh.
In the field of Zoan – The Septuagint renders this en pedio Taneos in the plain of Tanis. So the Latin Vulgate. Zoan or Tanis was an ancient city of Lower Egypt, situated on the eastern side of the Tanitie arm of the Nile. The name given to it in the Egyptian language signified low region. See the notes at Isa 19:11. The Hebrews seem to have been located in this region, and it was in this part of Egypt – that is, in the country lying round about Zoan – that the wonders of God were principally manifested in behalf of his people.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 12. The field of Zoan.] “In campo Taneos,” Vulgate. Tanis was the capital of Pharaoh, where Moses wrought so many miracles. It was situated in the Delta, on one of the most easterly branches of the Nile. It was afterwards called Thanis; and from it the district was called the Thanitic Canton. See Calmet. Dr. Shaw thinks Zoan was intended to signify Egypt in general.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In the field, i.e. in the territory or jurisdiction, not excluding the city itself. In the like sense we read of the field of Edom, and of Moab, Gen 32:3; 36:35; Num 21:20.
Zoan; an ancient, and eminent, and the royal city of Egypt. See Num 13:22; Isa 19:11; 30:4.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12-14. A record of God’sdealings and the sins of the people is now made. The writer gives thehistory from the exode to the retreat from Kadesh; then contraststheir sins with their reasons for confidence, shown by a detail ofGod’s dealings in Egypt, and presents a summary of the subsequenthistory to David’s time.
Zoanfor Egypt, as itsancient capital (Num 13:22;Isa 19:11).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers,…. The Targum is,
“before Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes of their fathers, he did marvellous things;”
but these were dead before this time; the Jews have a fancy, that these were brought to the sea, and placed upon it; and the Lord showed them what he would do for their children, and how he would redeem them; but this is to be understood of the plagues which were brought upon the Egyptians, and which are called wonders, Ex 11:10, and were so to the Egyptians themselves; and these were done by the hands of Moses and Aaron, and in their sight:
in the land of Egypt; where the Israelites were in bondage, and while they were there, and on their account were these things done:
in the field of Zoan; that is, in the territory of Zoan, which was an ancient city of Egypt, Nu 13:22, the metropolis of the land where Pharaoh kept his court; hence we read of the princes of Zoan,
Isa 19:11, it is the same with Tanis, and so it is called here in the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, and also in the Targum; it is said to have been two miles from Heliopolis, and one from Memphis; and at this day these three cities are become one, which is fifteen miles in compass, and goes by the name of Alcair. In this great city, the metropolis of the nation, before Pharaoh and all his court, were the above wonders done.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
It is now related how wonderfully God led the fathers of these Ephraimites, who behaved themselves so badly as the leading tribe of Israel, in the desert; how they again and again ever indulged sinful murmuring, and still He continued to give proofs of His power and of His loving-kindness. The (according to Num 13:22) very ancient Zoan ( Tanis ), ancient Egyptian Zane , Coptic G’ane , on the east bank of the Tanitic arm of the Nile, so called therefrom – according to the researches to which the Turin Papyrus No. 112 has led, identical with Avaris (vid., on Isa 19:11)
(Note: The identity of Avaris and Tanis is in the meanwhile again become doubtful. Tanis was the Hyksos city, but Pelusium = Avaris the Hyksos fortress; vid., Petermann’s Mittheilungen, 1866, S. 296-298.)
– was the seat of the Hyksos dynasties that ruled in the eastern Delta, where after their overthrow Rameses II, the Pharaoh of the bondage, in order to propitiate the enraged mass of the Semitic population of Lower Egypt, embraced the worship of Baal instituted by King Apophis. The colossal sitting figure of Rameses II in the pillared court of the Royal Museum in Berlin, says Brugsch ( Aus dem Orient ii. 45), is the figure which Rameses himself dedicated to the temple of Baal in Tanis and set up before its entrance. This mighty colossus is a contemporary of Moses, who certainly once looked upon this monument, when, as Ps 78 says, he “wrought wonders in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.” The psalmist, moreover, keeps very close to the Tra in his reproduction of the history of the Exodus, and in fact so close that he must have had it before him in the entirety of its several parts, the Deuteronomic, Elohimistic, and Jehovistic. Concerning the rule by which it is appointed a’sa phele , vid., on Psa 52:5. The primary passage to Psa 78:13 (cf. Psa 78:16) is Exo 15:8. is a pile, i.e., a piled up heap or mass, as in Psa 33:7. And Psa 78:14 is the abbreviation of Exo 13:21. In Psa 78:15. the writer condenses into one the two instances of the giving of water from the rock, in the first year of the Exodus (Ex. 17) and in the fortieth year (Num. 20). The Piel and the plural correspond to this compression. is not an adjective (after the analogy of ), but an adverb as in Psa 62:3; for the giving to drink needs a qualificative, but does not need any enhancement. has instead of e as in Psa 105:43.
The fact that the subject is continued in Psa 78:17 with without mention having been made of any sinning on the part of the generation of the desert, is explicable from the consideration that the remembrance of that murmuring is closely connected with the giving of water from the rock to which the names Massah u – Merbah and Merbath – Kadesh (cf. Num 20:13 with Num 27:14; Deu 32:51) point back: they went on ( ) winning against Him, in spite of the miracles they experienced. is syncopated from as in Isa 3:8. The poet in Psa 78:18 condenses the account of the manifestations of discontent which preceded the giving of the quails and manna (Ex. 16), and the second giving of quails (Num. 11), as he has done the two cases of the giving of water from the rock in Psa 78:15. They tempted God by unbelievingly and defiantly demanding ( , postulando , Ew. 280, d) instead of trustfully hoping and praying. points to the evil fountain of the heart, and describes their longing as a sensual eagerness, a lusting after it. Instead of allowing the miracles hitherto wrought to work faith in them, they made the miracles themselves the starting-point of fresh doubts. The poet here clothes what we read in Exo 16:3; Num 11:4., Psa 21:5, in a poetic dress. In the unbelief reaches it climax, it sounds like self-irony. On the co-ordinating construction “therefore Jahve heard it and was wroth,” cf. Isa 5:4; Isa 12:1; Isa 50:2; Rom 6:17. The allusion is to the wrath-burning at Taberah (Tab’eera), Num 11:1-3, which preceded the giving of the quails in the second year of the Exodus. For it is obvious that Psa 78:21 and Num 11:1 coincide, here being suggested by the eht yb d of that passage, and being the opposite of in Psa 78:2. A conflagration broke out at that time in the camp, at the same time, however, with the breaking out of God’s anger. The nexus between the anger and the fire is here an outward one, whereas in Num 11:1 it is an internal one. The ground upon which the wrathful decree is based, which is only hinted at there, is here more minutely given in Psa 78:22: they believed not in Elohim (vid., Num 14:11), i.e., did not rest with believing confidence in Him, and trusted not in His salvation, viz., that which they had experienced in the redemption out of Egypt (Exo 14:13; Exo 15:2), and which was thereby guaranteed for time to come. Now, however, when Taberah is here followed first by the giving of the manna, Psa 78:23-25, then by the giving of the quails, Psa 78:26-29, the course of the events is deranged, since the giving of the manna had preceded that burning, and it was only the giving of the quails that followed it. This putting together of the two givings out of order was rendered necessary by the preceding condensation (in Psa 78:18-20) of the clamorous desire for a more abundant supply of food before each of these events. Notwithstanding Israel’s unbelief, He still remained faithful: He caused manna to rain down out of the opened gates of heaven (cf. “the windows of heaven,” Gen 7:11; 2Ki 7:2; Mal 3:10), that is to say, in richest abundance. The manna is called corn (as in Psa 105:40, after Exo 16:4, it is called bread) of heaven, because it descended in the form of grains of corn, and supplied the place of bread-corn during the forty years. the lxx correctly renders ( = , Psa 103:20). The manna is called “bread of angels” (Wisd. 16:20) as being bread from heaven (Psa 78:24, Psa 105:40), the dwelling-place of angels, as being mann es – sema , heaven’s gift, its Arabic name, – a name which also belongs to the vegetable manna which flows out of the Tamarix mannifera in consequence of the puncture of the Coccus manniparus , and is even at the present day invaluable to the inhabitants of the desert of Sinai. is the antithesis to ; for if it signified “every one,” would have been said (Hitzig). as in Exo 12:39; as in Exo 16:3, cf. Psa 78:8.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
12. He wrought marvellously in the sight of their fathers. The Psalmist is still to be regarded as condemning the posterity of the Israelites for their guilt; but he very properly, at the same time, begins to speak of the first ancestors of the nation, intimating, that the whole race of them, even from their first original, were of a perverse and rebellious disposition. But having remarked that the children of Ephraim had fallen into apostasy, because they had forgotten the wonderful works of God, he continues to prosecute the same subject. Meanwhile, as I have said, he makes a very happy transition to speak of the fathers, whom it was his object to include in the same condemnation. In the first place, he adverts to the miracles which were wrought in the midst of the land of Egypt, previous to the departure of the people from it. To recall these the more vividly to the mind, he names a place which was highly celebrated — the field of Zoan. He next comes to speak of the passage through the sea, where he repeats what was brought under our notice in the previous psalm, that the order of nature was reversed when the waters stopped in their course, and were even raised up into solid heaps like mountains. In the third place, he declares, that after the people had passed through the Red Sea, God still continued to be their guide in their journey; and that this might not be a mere temporary deliverance, he graciously continued to stretch forth his hand to bestow upon them new testimonies of his goodness. It being a difficult and wearisome thing for them to pursue their journey through dry and sandy regions, it was no ordinary blessing to be protected from the heat of the sun by the intervention of a cloud. This, however, was to them a pledge of more distinguished grace. God hereby testified, that this people were under his protection, until they should reach the heavenly inheritance. Accordingly, Paul teaches in 1Co 10:2, that there was a kind of baptism administered to the people in that cloud, as also in their passing through the sea; the fruit of which is not limited to this frail and transitory life, but extends even to everlasting salvation.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THE GUIDANCE OF GOD
Psa 78:14; Psa 78:72
I MAKE no claim of a balanced ministry. It has been the custom of years when the Sunday service is finished, to face the eternal question, What is the next need of my people; and in most instances, I have been thinking of progress in the individual life and in the collective body of church believers.
I fear, therefore, I have been more of a leader of the flock than a shepherd to the same. The great Shepherd Psalm opens after this manner, The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to He down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul.
For the most part, I have spent my time in trying to keep my flock from lying down, thus saving them from being lulled to sleep by too great a quiet. In other words, I have emphasized the strenuous endeavor.
This text presents another side of religion entirely, the side of rest and trust, the cultivation of a quiet spirit, the upbuilding of confidence; and certainly, that is a side not to be overlooked. Life itself seems now to be divided into three sections per day, eight hours for work, eight hours for play, and eight hours for sleep. This is the program that men have deliberately adopted, the program everywhere preached as the Gospel of component parts. There may be those who would take issue with the first and say eight hours was too little, or too much, for work. There are many of us who believe that eight hours is too much for play; but few indeed would deny that eight hours, in daily rest, is natures demand. If the body demands so much quiet and utilizes that quiet for rebuilding and recuperation, may we not imagine that the souls interest demands a kindred treatment? If it be true, as the Scriptures teach, that God giveth to His beloved in sleep, may we not also conclude that His method of bodily refreshing is His method of soul refreshment? Pacivity, therefore, is a spiritual necessity; and it is a great thing to know that God regards that fact, and in His grace makes provision for it.
Rest and trust, these are also Christian graces. We are told to Trust, and not be afraid; and these texts, taken from this seventy-eighth Psalm, present the true ground of peace; the basis of restful confidence.
The Psalmist would remind Israel of the time when the sea stretched across their path. The enemy, pushing hard from the rear, left only the prospect of destruction. But the Lord made the waters to stand up as an heap and Israel to go over dry shod; and in connection with the event In the daytime also He led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.
GODS GUIDANCE, THEN, IS CONSTANT
In the daytime He leads with a cloud. There are people who verily imagine that they need no leader in daytime. Daylight makes the path of life plain; daylight frightens voracious beasts back into the forest or sends them under ground; and daylight is supposed to be destitute of danger. There are many of us that imagine, as the little child did when about to retire at night, saying, Dear Lord, look after me till sun-up; during the daytime I will take care of myself. Her speech was frank and sincere and it voiced the egotistical opinion of her elders. When all is well, when no storm gathers, when no opposing army is at hand, when no blackness of darkness is roundabout, we imagine we can look after our own affairs. We can guide ourselves by common sense, we can determine the path to take by reason; we can provide against exigencies by consulting experience, therefore, whether we confess it to ourselves or not, we practically say that we can get on without God. What folly! As dear Joseph Parker said, Daytime men go most astray. In the daytime they make the biggest fools of themselves, outwitting their own sagacity, and following things that have no reality.
Upon a little reflection we find these words true to fact. Our biggest mistakes are made in the moments when we are least alarmed and feel the least need of carefulness, much less, guidance. Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fair and they are both exercised in daytime. The poet had cause for his words:
Saviour lead me, lest I stray,Gently lead me all the way;I am safe when by Thy side,I would in Thy love abide.
In the darkness God guides. And all the night with a light of fire. Has it not occurred to us that the guidance at night is more positive than in the daytime? A fire is more brilliant than a cloud. There is sound reason for such leadership. When darkness is oh we need the greater light. The moon and the stars are not adequate for that; the sun is now set. God does not leave us to natures uncertain shining; He provides a light beyond the brightness of the moon and above the brilliance of all the stars, the light of fire. It is possible, then, to be guided in the hours of danger by even a better path than we follow in bright day. Our very fear of the danger fixes our eyes upon the light, and following that point, we may make straighter tracks, take a straighter course than we would do in bright day.
Who is there, then, looking back over a long life, will not say frankly, my greatest mistakes were made in my apparently best hours; my most careless steps were taken when the sun was at the meridian? In the night I walked with caution and came into less danger; and consequently, less often fell before calamity. The most of us have had bright days that we could banish from our personal history and lose nothing. Not so with the dark nights through which we have come. Who would forget them! Who could forget the pressure of the Fathers hand, the whisper of His love, the consciousness of His grace and constant care, the sense of His long-suffering presence.
In Gods guidance there is definite direction. Some men say, Oh, if I only knew the path of duty! As for myself I have little trouble on that score. I find I only lose Gods definite direction when I have refused to follow it. If any man will do His will, he shall know. There are a good many people in the world who complain that lifes pathway lies always in the wilderness, or over the trackless desert, and man is a wanderer and lost because no path has been cleared in the forest; no well-beaten track appears in the sand. But these are the people who have tried lifes pilgrimage aloneasking no favors of God. The man who starts from New York to San Francisco without guide or map will find the road crooked and long, and will lose it many times, if he ever makes the distance at all. The man who puts his trust in the Nickel Plate and Santa Fe engineers, takes his seat in a sleeping car and rests, will be in San Francisco in four days over a definite road, never having left the track by the space of an inch. If you would find out Gods way, look in Gods guidebook, the Bible, and follow that, and the direction will never be indefinite or in doubt. He is a wise man who with the Psalmist prays, Oh, Lord, * * for Thy Names sake lead me, and guide me. He is a very foolish man, who in the morning kneels beside his bed and asks God to lead him that day, and then goes off in the path of his own pleasure or preference.
If thou but suffer God to guide thee,And hope in Him through all thy ways,Hell give thee strength whatever betide thee,And bear thee through the evil days,Who trusts in Gods unchanging loveBuilds on the rock that cannot move.
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
(12) Field of Zoan.See Num. 13:22. It is the classical Tanis, merely a corruption of Tsoan, i.e., low country (LXX. and Vulgate). Tanis is situated on the east bank of what was formerly called the Tanitic branch of the Nile. Between it and Pelusium, about thirty miles to the east, stretched a rich plain known as the marshes, or the pastures, or the field of Zoan.
The psalm now turns to the adventures in the wilderness, postponing the marvels in Egypt till Psa. 78:43.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. As in Psa 78:10-11, the psalmist had charged the defection of Ephraim to their forgetting God’s works and wonders of old, so now (Psa 78:12) he takes up the nation’s history to show that, from first to last, God alone had been their deliverer and protector.
Zoan The Greek Tanis, situated on the Tanitic branch of the Nile, about forty miles from the eastern frontier of the kingdom, on the beautiful low lands, as its name signifies. For its antiquity see Num 13:22. At the time of the Exodus it was the capital of Lower Egypt, and here Moses communed with Pharaoh. It figures largely in the prophets, but is now a heap of ruins. The field of Zoan denotes the Nome, or province of the city, or its suburban lands. Anciently a rich plain extended eastward from the city as far as Pelusium, nearly thirty miles.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Narrative of God’s Deeds
v. 12. Marvelous things did He in the sight of their fathers, v. 13. He divided the sea and caused them to pass through, v. 14. In the daytime also He led them with a cloud and all the night with a light of fire, v. 15. He clave the rocks in the wilderness, v. 16. He brought streams also out of the rock, v. 17. And they sinned yet more against Him by provoking the Most High in the wilderness, v. 18. And they tempted God in their heart, v. 19. Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?
v. 20. Behold, He smote the rock that the waters gushed out and the streams overflowed, v. 21. Therefore the Lord heard this and was wroth, v. 22. because they believed not in God, v. 23. though He had commanded the clouds from above and opened the doors of heaven,
v. 24. and had rained down manna upon them to eat and had given them of the corn of heaven, v. 25. Man did eat angels’ food, v. 26. He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven, and by His power He brought in the south wind, v. 27. He rained flesh also upon them as dust, v. 28. and He let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations.
v. 29. So they did eat and were well filled, v. 30. They were not estranged from their lust, v. 31. the wrath of God came upon them and slew the fattest of them, v. 32. For all this they sinned still, v. 33. Therefore their days did He consume in vanity, v. 34. When He slew them, then they sought Him, v. 35. And they remembered, v. 36. Nevertheless, they did flatter Him with their mouth, v. 37. For their heart was not right with Him, v. 38. But He, being full of compassion, v. 39. For He remembered that they were but flesh, v. 40. How oft did they provoke Him in the wilderness, v. 41. Yea, they turned back and tempted God, v. 42. They remembered not His hand, v. 43. how He had wrought His signs in Egypt and His wonders in the field of Zoan, v. 12. v. 44. and had turned their rivers into blood, v. 45. He sent divers sorts of flies among them, v. 46. He gave also their increase unto the caterpillar, v. 47. He destroyed their vines, v. 48. He gave up their cattle also to the hail, v. 49. He cast upon them the fierceness of His anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them, v. 50. He made a way to His anger, v. 51. and smote all the first-born in Egypt, v. 52. but made His own people to go forth like sheep, v. 53. And He led them on safely, so that they feared not, v. 54. And He brought them to the border of His Sanctuary, v. 55. He cast out the heathen also before them, v. 56. Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, v. 57. but turned back, v. 58. For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, v. 59. When God heard this, He was wroth, v. 60. so that He forsook the Tabernacle of Shiloh, v. 61. and delivered His strength, v. 62. He gave His people over also unto the sword, v. 63. The fire, v. 64. Their priests fell by the sword, v. 65. Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, v. 66. And He smote His enemies in the hinder parts, v. 67. Moreover, He refused the Tabernacle of Joseph, v. 68. but chose the tribe of Judah, v. 69. And He built his Sanctuary like high palaces, v. 70. He chose David also His servant, v. 71. from following the ewes great with young He brought him to feed Jacob, His people, and Israel, His inheritance, v. 72. So he fed them,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Psa 78:12. Field of Zoan Field, or territory of Tanis. Mudge. The land of Zoan, in Dr. Shaw’s opinion, was only another appellation for the land of
Egypt, or the land of Ham, by taking, as usual in poetical composition, a part for the whole, or one of the most remarkable places of Egypt, such as Zoan might be in the time of the writer of this psalm, for the whole country. See Travels, p. 304.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 78:12 Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, [in] the field of Zoan.
Ver. 12. Marvellous things did he, &c. ] Whereof they were eye-witnesses, and therefore could not plead ignorance or excuse. The Hebrew hath it, a marvel, or a miracle, collective.
In the field of Zoan
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Zoan. See note on Exo 1:10.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 78:12-31
Psa 78:12-31
THE CATALOG OF GOD’S GRACIOUS DEALINGS WITH ISRAEL; FROM THE TIMES OF THE EXODUS
“Marvelous things did he in the sight of their fathers,
In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
He clave the sea, and caused them to pass through;
And he made the waters to stand as a heap.
In the day-time also he led them with a cloud,
And all the night with a light of fire.
He clave rocks in the wilderness,
And gave them drink abundantly as out of the depths.
He brought streams also out of the rock,
And caused waters to run down like rivers.
Yet went they on still to sin against him,
To rebel against the Most High in the desert.
And they tempted God in their heart
By asking food according to their desire.
Yea, they spake against God;
They said, Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
Behold, he smote the rock, so that waters gushed out,
And streams overflowed;
Can he give bread also?
Will he provide flesh for his people?
Therefore Jehovah heard, and was wroth;
And a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also went up against Israel;
Because they believed not in God,
And trusted not in his salvation.
Yet he commanded the skies above,
And opened the doors of heaven;
And he rained down manna upon them to eat,
And gave them food from heaven.
Man did eat the bread of the mighty:
He sent them food to the full.
He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens;
And by his power he guided the south wind.
He rained flesh also upon them as the dust,
And winged birds as sand of the seas:
And he let it fall in the midst of their camp,
Round about their habitations.
So they did eat, and were well filled;
And he gave them their own desire.
They were not estranged from that which they desired,
Their food was yet in their mouths,
When the anger of God went up against them,
And slew of the fattest of them,
And smote down the young men of Israel.”
“Marvelous things … in the field of Zoan” (Psa 78:12). “Zoan was the capital of Egypt in the times of the exodus.” “It is the same as the ancient `Tanis,’ in the northeast of the Nile Delta; and it was either identical with Rameses II’s capital or not many miles from it.
“He clave the sea … caused them to pass through” (Psa 78:13). This is discussed fully in our commentary on exodus, which gives the full details of Israel’s crossing the Red Sea.
“The day-time cloud … light of fire at night” (Psa 78:14). Again reference is made to Exodus where all of these events are thoroughly investigated.
“He clave rocks in the wilderness” (Psa 78:15). “Here the psalmist condenses into one the two instances of God’s giving water from the rock, one in the first year of the Exodus, and another in the fortieth year. A full discussion of these events is in our Pentateuchal Series, under Exodus 17, and Numbers 22.
“Tempted God … asking food” (Psa 78:18). The Anchor Bible translates this verse: “They tempted God in their heart by asking food for their gullet.
For a detailed study of all the marvelous events mentioned in this long paragraph through Psa 78:31, see our Commentaries on Exodus and Numbers under these references: Num 11:1-3; Exo 16:1-36; and Num 11:1-35. Every Bible student has wondered at the marvel of Israel’s stubborn unbelief during the very period when they were daily viewing such wonders as those recorded in the Bible.
“Slew of the fattest of them” (Psa 78:31). “By this, we are to understand that God slew the strongest and the healthiest.”
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 78:12. The marvelous things in Egypt were the 10 plagues miraculously brought upon the Egyptians. loan was a city in Egypt near which many acts of Moses took place.
Psa 78:13. Stand as an heap refers to the walls of ice in the Sea. (Exo 15:8.)
Psa 78:14. This verse is a direct reference to that unusual cloud that God used between the Egyptians and Israelites described in Exo 13:21.
Psa 78:15-16. This miraculous supply of water is recorded in Exodus 17.
Psa 78:17-18. Meat as used here means food in general. There was nothing wrong in the mere desire for food; the sin was in the manner of the request and the false accusations they made at the time. (See Exo 16:2-3.)
Psa 78:19. They questioned the Lord’s ability to set a table in the wilderness. It seems they had forgotten the mighty works performed for them in the land of their bondage. By such behaviour they showed theirs lack of faith.
Psa 78:20. The children of Israel seemed bent on complaining in spite of many evidences of God’s goodness. They admitted the provision for drink ing water, then specified a charge that the Lord could not produce bread and meat.
Psa 78:21. The fire mentioned here refers to the anger of the Lord at the rebellious cries of his people right while enjoying the many divine blessings.
Psa 78:22. Believed not is an outstanding charge against the Israelites in connection with their complaints. Paul took that view of the case in Heb 3:19.
Psa 78:23-24. The unbelief of the Israelites persisted in spite of the evident goodness of the Lord. Clouds and doors are figurative references to food and drink.
Psa 78:25. Angel is from ABBIR and Strong defines it, “mighty (spoken of God).” Young defines it, “mighty.” In the A.V. it has been translated by bull 4 times, chiefest 1, mighty 3, mighty one 1, strong 2, strong one 1, valiant 2. Thus the word has reference to the persons supposed to need it and not directly to its composition To use a popular expression it could be said to have been a “breakfast of champions.”
Psa 78:26. We would not question God’s power to bring about a result without using any apparent means but he frequently employs some agency for his purposes. In the case at hand he saw fit to use a strong wind, some thing which ordinarily would have no effect in producing a living creature
Psa 78:27. He rained is a flgurative way of saying he sent an abundance, The feathered fowls meant the quails recorded in Exo 16:13.
Psa 78:28. This account may be seen in Num 11:31-32.
Psa 78:29-31. This feature of the case is recorded in Num 11:33.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Marvellous: Psa 78:42-50, Psa 105:27-38, Psa 135:9, Exo 7:1 – Exo 12:51, Deu 4:34, Deu 6:22, Neh 9:10
Zoan: Zoan, the ancient capital of the Pharaohs, where Moses wrought so many miracles, is rendered by the Chaldee, Tanium, LXX , Vulgate, Tanis, and Coptic, Tane, from the Coptic, ten, plain, flat, level; being situated in the low ground of the Delta, on one of the eastern branches of the Nile, bearing its own name, near a large lake, now called the lake of Menzala, 44 miles west of Pelusium, and 169 miles east of Alexandria, according to the Antonine Itinerary, and three miles from the Mediterranean, according to the Geograph. Nubiens. Clim. 3, par. 3. There are ruins still remaining to mark the site of Zoan, or Tanis, called San by the Arabs; comprising broken obelisks, capitals of the Corinthian order, a granite monument, etc. Psa 78:43, Gen 32:3, Num 13:22, Isa 19:11, Isa 19:13, Eze 30:14
Reciprocal: Exo 34:10 – I will do marvels Deu 11:3 – General Deu 26:8 – the Lord 1Sa 12:6 – It is the Lord Psa 17:7 – Show Psa 106:21 – forgat Psa 111:6 – showed Mic 7:15 – General Act 7:36 – after Act 13:17 – and with Rev 15:3 – Great
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 78:12-15. Marvellous things did he in the field That is, in the territory or jurisdiction, not excluding the city itself; of Zoan An ancient and eminent city of Egypt. In the day-time he led them with a cloud Which afforded them much comfort, both as a shadow from the scorching heat of the climate and season, and as a companion and director in their journey. He clave the rocks He uses the plural number, because it was twice done, once in Rephidim, Exo 17:6, and again in Kadesh, Num 20:1; Num 20:11. And gave them drink as out of the great depths
In great abundance.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
78:12 Marvellous things did he in the sight of their {i} fathers, in the land of Egypt, [in] the field of Zoan.
(i) He proves that not only the posterity but also their forefathers were wicked and rebellious to God.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
3. The record of God’s goodness and Israel’s unfaithfulness 78:12-72
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
In his historical review, Asaph began with the plagues in Egypt (Psa 78:12). He drew broad strokes on his verbal canvas, tracing God’s faithfulness to the generation that left Egypt in the Exodus (Psa 78:12-16). Each verse in this section recalls stories in the books of Exodus and Numbers.
In spite of God’s provisions the Israelites rebelled against Him. They put God to the test by demanding that He provide for them on their terms, rather than simply trusting and obeying Him (Psa 78:17-20).