EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries
Psalms 105:1-45
Gordon Churchyard
Israel in Egypt
Psalms 105
Jesus lived in Egypt until Herod died. So, what the *Lord said to the *prophet really happened. He said, "I have brought my son out of Egypt". (Matthew 2:15)
Psalms 105:1-6
v1 Say "thank-you!" to the *LORD.
Tell (everybody) his name.
Tell people in every country what he has done.
v2 Sing songs to him, make music for him.
Speak about all the great things that he has done.
v3 Be *proud of his *holy name.
Everybody that goes to the *LORD (in his house), be very happy!
v4 Visit the *LORD, who is so powerful.
Always go to him (in his house).
v5 Remember the great things that he has done.
(Remember) his *miracles and what he said (to Pharaoh).
v6 Abraham your *father was (the *LORD’s) servant.
(The *LORD) chose Jacob and you are (Jacob’s) *sons.
The Story of Psalms 105
Some Bible students think this was once a shorter psalm. Perhaps it started at verse 5. Then people made it longer. They put Isaiah 12:4 as a new beginning to the psalm. Then they put verses 3 and 4 to tell people to go to the house of the *LORD. This house was the temple in Jerusalem. They believed that the *LORD lived in it, when he was not in heaven (his home). Then the psalm started at verse 5, telling the people to remember their story. It started with Abraham, and ended (in this psalm) when they came to their own country.What Psalms 105:1-6 means
LORD is a special name for God. His people use it. They are the people who love and obey him. They are his servants, as Abraham was, verse 6. He was their father, or forefather. This means that he lived long before them. But they were part of his family, even hundreds of years later! The *Hebrew words for "Abraham your father" mean "seed of Abraham". This gives us a picture. The seed that Abraham planted became the country of Israel! Jacob was Abraham’s grandson. The *LORD chose Jacob, but did not choose his brother Esau. The 12 sons of Jacob, and their children, and grandchildren, and so on, became the people we call Israel. Israel was another name for Jacob. The Bible often calls them "sons of Jacob", but they lived long after Jacob did. Today we call them Jews, because Judah (say it "Jewdar") was the last name for their country in the Bible. The word "Lord" in the verse at the start is a different word but it means the same. It means God."Proud" in verse 3 has a good meaning and a bad meaning. The bad meaning is this. Proud people think that they are more important than they really are. The good meaning is this. We are proud (or happy) when something good has happened. When our football team (group) wins a game, we are proud of them! The psalm tells us to be proud of God’s *holy name. His name means everything about God. This includes the fact that he is holy. This means that he has never done anything bad. He is so good that we all feel a bit afraid of him.
In verse 5, "his miracles" are the things that he did. They were things that only God the *LORD could do. Men could not do them. Jesus did many miracles, as when he made the storm quiet and when he gave life to the dead man Lazarus. Jesus could do this because he is God. But the miracles in Psalms 105 are the things that God did in Egypt and later. They include the things that he did to Pharaoh. Pharaoh was the king of Egypt. We call these things the ten "plagues" or "bad things". Psalms 78 includes 6 of the plagues, but Psalms 105 has 8 of them. They are in verses 29-36.
Psalms 105:6–11
v7 He, the *LORD, is our God.
What he says is to everyone (that lives) on the earth.
v8 He will always remember his *covenant.
He will never, never forget his promises.
v9 (He will remember) the *covenant that he made with Abraham
and the special promises that he made to Isaac.
v10 He made it sure to Jacob with a *law
and to (the people of) Israel with a *covenant
that will never have an end.
v11 He said, "I will give to you (Jacob) the land of Canaan.
It will belong to you, (people of Israel).
What Psalms 105:7-11 means
"What he said" in verse 5 and "what he says" in verse 7 is the same word in *Hebrew. The person that wrote the psalm (the psalmist) wrote it in Hebrew, the language of the *Jews. Bible students translate it with the word "judgments". These are words that God says. People must obey them.The covenant in verses 8, 9 and 10 is what God and his people agreed. God agreed to protect them if they agreed to love and obey him. "Protect them" means "stop people hurting them". This covenant was so special that God made it a law, or rule, (verse 10). You will find the promises to:
• Abraham in Genesis 12:7 and Genesis 17:8;
• his son Isaac in Genesis 26:3-4;
• Isaac’s son Jacob in Genesis 28:13-14.
Israel is another name for Jacob but, in verse 10, it means all the *Jewish people that agreed with God. Sometimes Isaac and Jacob are names for all the people, but here they are the people themselves.
The land of Canaan was where the *Jews came to live. It belonged to them until 70 A.D. A.D. means "years after Jesus came to the earth". The war in Israel now is because of this promise. Some Bible students think that the promise is still true. Other students think that the Promised Land (of Canaan) means *heaven, where they will go when they die. You must decide for yourself what to believe. When you have decided, do not argue with other Christians about it! We will know who is right when we go to *heaven ourselves!
Psalms 105:12-22
v12 Once, there was only a small number of them (the people of Israel).
(There were) only a few of them and they were *nomads (in Canaan).
v13 They moved from country to country, from one *kingdom to another.
v14 (The *LORD) did not let anyone hurt them.
He was angry with kings and gave help to (his people).
v15 He said, "Do not hurt my special servants.
Do not *harm my *prophets".
v16 (The *LORD) sent a *famine to the land (of Canaan).
He destroyed all the food that they were storing.
v17 But he sent a man (into Egypt) before them.
(He was) Joseph, (that his brothers) sold as a slave.
v18 (In Egypt) they put his feet into *fetters and his neck into *irons.
v19 (They did this) until what he *prophesied really happened.
Until the word of the *LORD showed that he (Joseph) was right.
v20 The king sent (someone) to let him out (of prison).
The ruler of the peoples made him free.
v21 He (the king) made him (Joseph) master of his house.
He made him ruler of all that he had.
v22 He gave him power over his *princes
and authority over the leaders of the country.
What Psalms 105:12-22 means
This part of the psalm tells bits of the story of the people of Israel from Abraham to Joseph. At the start, there were only a few of them, (verse 12). They were nomads in Canaan. Nomads move from place to place. They do not have a place of their own. There were many countries in Canaan, some of them kingdoms. This means that kings ruled over them. But they did not only move round Canaan. They also went to Egypt. One king that God was angry with was one of the Pharaohs of Egypt. Another was Abimelech, king of Gerar in South Canaan. The stories are in Genesis 12:17 and Genesis 20:1-8.The "special servants" in verse 15 is "my messiahs" in *Hebrew. Here it means the leaders of the people, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. "Harm" is another word for "hurt". These leaders were also prophets. Prophets told people what God would do. A man put Joseph in prison until what he said would happen (prophesied) really did happen, (verse 19). What the *LORD said is in Genesis 37:5-10, and 41:1-36. "Fetters" are what they fixed people’s feet in so they could not walk in the prison, (verse 18). They did the same with their necks in irons, or collars (circles) of iron. A famine, verse 16, is when there is no food to eat. The story of the famine is in Genesis 41:53-57.
Then the king of Egypt (the Pharaoh) understood that Joseph was right. Joseph had prophesied (said there would be) a long *famine. So, the king took Joseph out of prison, (verse 20). He made him an important man. "His house" in verse 21 means "his government". "All that he had" is the country of Egypt and the other countries that Pharaoh ruled. "Princes" are the sons of kings, but here they mean "important people in the government". Some Bible students translate "power" and "authority" with words meaning "to teach the best thing to do".
Psalms 105:23-25
v23 Then (all) Israel came into Egypt
and Jacob lived in the land of Ham.
v24 (The *LORD) gave many children to his people.
He made them more powerful than their enemies.
v25 He made the Egyptians *hate his people (Israel).
They thought of bad things to do against (the *LORD’s) servants.
What Psalms 105:23-25 means
"Then", in verse 23, means after Joseph became leader of the government. The story is in Genesis 46:1-27. In this verse, Jacob now means "all the people of Israel". (Not the man Jacob as in verse 10.) They lived for 430 years in the land of Ham. This is another name for Egypt. This part of the story is in Exodus 1:7-2; Exodus 1:7 tells us "the people of Israel had many children, their numbers grew and they became very powerful". Verse 24 repeats some of this. The enemies were the Egyptians. They were not enemies at the start, but they became enemies. This was because the Egyptians were not kind to the Israelites. They were very cruel to them after Joseph died. Verse 25 tells us that the *LORD made the Egyptians hate (or not like) the Israelites. This was because God wanted his people Israel to go home. He wanted the Egyptians to send Israel away. But the Egyptians did bad things to Israel instead!Psalms 105:26-36
v26 (The *LORD) sent his servant Moses (to Egypt).
(Also), he chose Aaron.
v27 (Moses and Aaron) told everybody the things that (the *LORD) would do.
(He would do) *miracles in the land of Ham.
v28 He sent *darkness so that it was dark (everywhere in the day-time).
But (the Egyptians) did not obey him.
v29 He changed their rivers into blood and killed their fish.
v30 Then *frogs filled their land;
they even went into the bedrooms of their rulers!
v31 (The *LORD) spoke and there came millions of flies.
Insects called lice were everywhere in their country.
v32 He changed their rain into *hail
and there was *lightning over all their land.
v33 He attacked their *vines and *fig trees
and he destroyed the trees (everywhere) in their country.
v34 (The *LORD) spoke and there came *locusts.
There were too many *locusts to count!
v35 They ate all the plants in their country,
they ate all their *crops.
v36 Then (the *LORD) killed all the oldest (sons) in the land (of Egypt).
(He killed) all the *firstborn sons.
What Psalms 105:26-36 means
The *LORD sent Moses and his brother Aaron to Pharaoh. They told Pharaoh what God would do if Pharaoh did not obey God. He would do miracles (things that only God could do). These were the plagues, or the bad things that happened in Egypt. They did not happen to God’s people. They only happened to the Egyptians. Here is a list of the ten plagues.| *Plague | Name | Where to Find in Exodus and Psalms |
| 1 | water to blood | |
| 2 | *frogs | |
| 3 | *lice (insects) | |
| 4 | Flies | |
| 5 | cows died | |
| 6 | *boils | |
| 7 | *hail and storm | |
| 8 | *locusts | |
| 9 | darkness | |
| 10 | death of first sons | Exodus 11 and 12; Psalms 105:36; Psalms 78:51 |
Psalms 78 includes 6 of the *plagues; Psalms 105 has 8 of them. Neither includes the death of their animals, or the boils. Boils are big red places on your skin that hurt you. Both *psalmists use some of the *plagues to show that God is very powerful. The frogs in verse 30 are small animals that can live on land or in water. *Hail and lightning in verse 32 come in storms. Hail is small bits of ice that fall as rain falls; lightning lights up the sky. The vines and fig trees in verse 33 gave them food and drink. The vines gave grapes that make a drink called wine. It has alcohol in it. People still eat figs. Locusts, (verses 33-34), are large insects. They eat all the green parts of plants. These plants were the crops that the Egyptians used to make food.
The last *plague was the worst. The *LORD killed all the oldest male children in Egypt, including animals. The terrible (very, very bad) story is in Exodus 11 and 12. But it made Pharaoh let Israel go back to their own country. Sometimes God lets bad things happen to make people do what is right.
Psalms 105:37-41
v37 So (the *LORD) led Israel out (from Egypt).
They took (valuable things made of) *silver and gold.
And nobody among the Israelites had any trouble.
v38 The Egyptians were happy when they went,
because they were afraid of the Israelites.
v39 (The *LORD) made a cloud to cover them
and a fire to give them light at night.
v40 They asked, and he sent (birds called) quails.
Also, he fed them with bread from the skies.
v41 He opened the rock, and water poured out (from it).
It moved as a river through the dry places.
What Psalms 105:37-41 means
The Egyptian people were so happy when the Israelites went that they gave them gifts! These gifts were valuable things made from silver and gold. Silver is a valuable metal as gold is. We call these valuable things "jewellery". The Egyptians were afraid of the Israelites because of what the *LORD had done.Verses 39 - 41 tell us what God did after his people left Egypt. He led them through a desert (very dry place) called Sinai. He kept them safe with a cloud (in the day) and a fire at night, (verse 39). The story is in Exodus 13:21-22. He gave them food to eat, (verse 40). He gave them water to drink, (verse 41). He gave them bread. They called it manna. "Manna" is a *Hebrew word that means "what is this?" God gave it to them, but they did now know what it was! It fell from the sky every morning, so they called it "bread from *heaven". Heaven is either the sky, or the place where God lives. The story is in Exodus 16. The story of water from the rock is in Exodus 17.
Psalms 105:42-45
v42 (This happened) because (the *LORD) remembered his *holy promise.
He gave it to his servant Abraham.
v43 So, he led the people that he had chosen out (from Egypt).
They were so happy that they sang and they shouted!
v44 (The *LORD) gave them the land of the people (that lived in Canaan.)
They enjoyed the results of their work.
v45 So his people could obey his rules and do what he told them (to do).
*Hallelujah!
What Psalms 105:42-45 means
These verses end the psalm. They tell us what happened:• verse 42: the *LORD did what he promised in verses 7-11;
• verse 43: the *LORD took his people from Egypt, (verses 26-38);
• verse 44: the *LORD led them to the land of Canaan, (verses 39-41).
So now, God's people can obey his rules. Pharaoh cannot stop them! Hallelujah! This is a special word that Christians in every country still use. It means, "Praise the *LORD", or "tell the *LORD that he is very great!"
Something to do
1. Study Psalms 78 in this set of psalms.2. If you have a Bible, read the story of the *plagues and the exodus (going-out) in the Book of Exodus 1:17.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the Psalms of David.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; Adonai in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
Adonai ~ Lord or master (or better, my Lord or my master) in Hebrew.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the Psalms of David.
covenant ~ what God and his people agreed.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
like ~ as.
prophet ~ someone that says what God thinks and will do.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; Adonai in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
Adonai ~ Lord or master (or better, my Lord or my master) in Hebrew.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the Psalms of David.
covenant ~ what God and his people agreed.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
like ~ as.
proud ~ when someone thinks that he is better than other people.
holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy, the land where he lives with his people is also holy because he is there.
miracles ~ great things that only God can do.
father ~ often means grandfather, and so on.
son ~ often means grandson, and so on.
covenant ~ what God and his people agreed.
laws ~ the rules in a country. God’s law(s) (Psalm 94,105) are in the Bible.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything to do with a Jew.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
heaven ~ the home of God.
nomad ~ people with no home, that move from place to place.
kingdom ~ the country that has a king.
harm ~ hurt much.
famine ~ a time when there is nothing to eat.
fetters ~ something that stops your feet moving.
irons ~ in Psalm 105:18, something to keep your neck in prison.
prophesy ~ tell people what God thinks and will do.
princes ~ sons of kings.
hate ~ the opposite of love.
darkness ~ when there is no light.
frogs ~ small animals that live in water and on land.
hail ~ ice in rain.
lightning ~ narrow lines of light in the sky during a storm.
vines ~ plants that grow grapes (to make wine).
grape ~ a fruit that men make a drink from.
wine ~ a drink with alcohol in it. People make it from grapes.
fig ~ a fruit that many people eat.
locust ~ an insect that eats all the green parts of plants.
crops ~ plants used for food.
plague ~ something very bad, often an illness.
lice ~ small insects that can carry illnesses to people.
boil ~ a big red place on your skin that hurts.
plague ~ something very bad, often an illness.
psalmist ~ the person that wrote a psalm (or psalms).
hail ~ ice in rain.
silver ~ a metal of great value, like gold.
like ~ as.
hallelujah ~ praise the LORD.
praise ~ words that say how great someone is; or, to say how great somebody is.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; Adonai in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
Adonai ~ Lord or master (or better, my Lord or my master) in Hebrew.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the Psalms of David.
covenant ~ what God and his people agreed.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
Jew ~ someone who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
like ~ as.