Psalms 78:1-72

This long historical Ps. may be compared with Psalms 105, 106, and with Deuteronomy 32. It traces the course of God's relations with His people from the exodus down to the time of David, and dwells on the repeated manifestations of Israel's rebelliousness, on the chastisements by which they were visited, and on the patient mercy of God which continued to bless them in spite of all their sins. The Ps. does not follow a strict chronological order, but records first Israel's ingratitude for God's provision of food and drink in the wilderness (Psalms 78:12), and afterwards the plagues of Egypt (Psalms 78:43), the journey to Canaan (Psalms 78:52), the defections of Israel in the days of the Judges (Psalms 78:56), the calamities of the Philistine wars (Psalms 78:56), and the establishment of David's kingdom (Psalms 78:65). While the conduct of the whole nation is in view throughout the Ps. the tribe of Ephraim is singled out for special condemnation at the first (Psalms 78:9), and emphasis is afterwards laid on its rejection in favour of Judah, and on the rejection of Shiloh in favour of Jerusalem as the national sanctuary (Psalms 78:67). The date of the Ps. is subsequent to the building of the Temple (Psalms 78:69), but apparently before its destruction by the Babylonians. The phrase 'the Holy One of Israel' (Psalms 78:41) is characteristic of Isaiah's prophecies (Isaiah 6:13; Isaiah 10:17; Isaiah 29:23), and suggests that the Ps. was written in or after his time. The historical allusions are confined to the primitive narrative of the Pentateuch (JE), which was earlier than the exile. The references to Ephraim indicate a time after the disruption of the kingdom (1 Kings 12; 2 Chronicles 10; 2 Chronicles 10), but the object of the Ps. was probably not to rebuke Ephraim, but rather to warn the whole nation by recalling the lessons of the past.