Psalmen 105:12

The poet now celebrates the divine preservation which had sway over the small beginnings of Israel, when it made the patriarchs proof against harm on their wanderings. "Men of number" are such as can be easily counted, vid., the confessions in Gen 34:30; Deu 26:5; ויּתהלּכוּ places the claim upon the hospitality at one time of this people and at another time of that people in the connection with it of cause and effect. כּמעט, as a small number, only such a small number, signifies, as being virtually an adjective: inconsiderable, insignificant, worthless (Pro 10:20). בּהּ refers to Canaan. In Psa 105:13 the way in which the words גּוי and עם alternate is instructive: the former signifies the nation, bound together by a common origin, language, country, and descent; the latter the people, bound together by unity of government. (Note: For this reason a king says עמּי, not גּויי; and גּוי only occurs twice with a suffix, which refers to Jahve (Psa 106:5; Zep 2:9); for this reason גּוי, frequently side by side with עם, is the nobler word, e.g., in Deu 32:21; Jer 2:11; for this reason עם is frequently added to גּוי as a dignitative predicate, Exo 33:13; Deu 4:6; and for this reason גּוים and עם ה are used antithetically.) The apodosis does not begin until Psa 105:14. It is different in connection with בּהיותכם in the text of the chronicler, and in this passage in the Psalter of the Syriac version, according to which Psa 105:12 ought to be jointed to the preceding group. The variation ומממלכה instead of מממלכה is of no consequence; but לאישׁ (to any one whomsoever) instead of אדם, in connection with הניח, restores the current mode of expression (Ecc 5:11; Sa2 16:11; Hos 4:17) instead of one which is without support elsewhere, but which follows the model of נתן, נטשׁ, Gen 31:28…

Some of the psalms of praise are very short, others very long, to teach us that, in our devotions, we should be more observant how our hearts work than how the time passes and neither overstretch ourselves by coveting to be long nor over-stint ourselves by coveting to be short, but either the one or the other as we find in our hearts to pray. This is a long psalm; the general scope is the same with most of the psalms, to set forth the glory of God, but the subject-matter is particular. Every time we come to the throne of grace we may, if we please, furnish ourselves out of the word of God (out of the history of the New Testament, as this out of the history of the Old) with new songs, with fresh thoughts - so copious, so various, so inexhaustible is the subject. In the foregoing psalm we are taught to praise God for his wondrous works of common providence with reference to the world in general. In this we are directed to praise him for his special favours to his church. We find the first eleven verses of this psalm in the beginning of that psalm which David delivered to Asaph to be used (as it should seem) in the daily service of the sanctuary when the ark was fixed in the place he had prepared for it, by which it appears both who penned it and when and upon what occasion it was penned, Ch1 16:7, etc. David by it designed to instruct his people in the obligations they lay under to adhere faithfully to their holy religion. Here is the preface (Psa 105:1-7) and the history itself in several articles. I. God's covenant with the patriarchs (Psa 105:8-11). II. His care of them while they were strangers (Psa 105:12-15). III. His raising up Joseph to be the shepherd and stone of Israel (Psa 105:16-22). IV. The increase of Israel in Egypt and their deliverance out of Egypt (v. 2…

105:12-15 The Lord protected Israel’s patriarchs.