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Psalms

About this book
Psalm 105

1 Give thanks to the Lord. Call on his name. Make known his accomplishments among the nations. 2 Sing to him. Make music to him. Tell about all his miraculous deeds. 3 Boast about his holy name. Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. 4 Seek the Lord and the strength he gives. Seek his presence continually. 5 Recall the miraculous deeds he performed, his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed, 6 O children of Abraham, God’s servant, you descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen ones. 7 He is the Lord our God; he carries out judgment throughout the earth. 8 He always remembers his covenantal decree, the promise he made to a thousand generations— 9 the promise he made to Abraham, the promise he made by oath to Isaac. 10 He gave it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as a lasting promise, 11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance.”⁠ 12 When they were few in number, just a very few, and resident foreigners within it, 13 they wandered from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another. 14 He let no one oppress them; he disciplined kings for their sake, 15 saying, “Don’t touch my chosen ones. Don’t harm my prophets.”⁠ 16 He called down a famine upon the earth; he cut off all the food supply. 17 He sent a man ahead of them—Joseph was sold as a servant.⁠ 18 The shackles hurt his feet; his neck was placed in an iron collar, 19 until the time when his prediction came true. The Lord’s word proved him right. 20 The king authorized his release; the ruler of nations set him free. 21 He put him in charge of his palace, and made him manager of all his property, 22 giving him authority to imprison his officials and to teach his advisers. 23 Israel moved to Egypt; Jacob lived for a time in the land of Ham. 24 The Lord made his people very fruitful and made them more numerous than their enemies. 25 He caused the Egyptians to hate his people and to mistreat his servants. 26 He sent his servant Moses, and Aaron, whom he had chosen. 27 They executed his miraculous signs among them and his amazing deeds in the land of Ham. 28 He made it dark; Moses and Aaron did not disobey his orders. 29 He turned the Egyptians’ water into blood and killed their fish. 30 Their land was overrun by frogs, which even got into the rooms of their kings.⁠ 31 He ordered flies to come; gnats invaded their whole territory. 32 He sent hail along with the rain; there was lightning in their land. 33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees and broke the trees throughout their territory. 34 He ordered locusts to come, innumerable grasshoppers. 35 They ate all the vegetation in their land and devoured the crops of their fields. 36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of their reproductive power. 37 He brought his people out enriched with silver and gold; none of his tribes stumbled. 38 Egypt was happy when they left, for they were afraid of them. 39 He spread out a cloud for a cover, and provided a fire to light up the night. 40 They asked for food, and he sent quail; he satisfied them with food from the sky.⁠ 41 He opened up a rock and water flowed out; a river ran through dry regions. 42 Yes, he remembered the sacred promise he made to Abraham his servant.⁠ 43 When he led his people out, they rejoiced; his chosen ones shouted with joy. 44 He handed the territory of nations over to them, and they took possession of what other peoples had produced, 45 so that they might keep his commands and obey his laws. Praise the Lord.

Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 20:7 and Psalm 105:15

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Genesis describes Abraham as a prophet whose status prevents a foreign ruler from seizing his wife, a moment that Psalm 105 reshapes into a broader claim that the patriarchs and matriarchs were prophets and anointed ones declared untouchable.

Passages

Genesis 20:7

Hebrew Bible
5 Did Abraham not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience and with innocent hands!” 6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. That is why I have kept you from sinning against me and why I did not allow you to touch her. 7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed he is a prophet and he will pray for you; thus you will live. But if you don’t give her back, know that you will surely die along with all who belong to you.” 8 Early in the morning Abimelech summoned all his servants. When he told them about all these things, they were terrified. 9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done!”
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Psalm 105:15

Hebrew Bible
13 they wandered from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another. 14 He let no one oppress them; he disciplined kings for their sake, 15 saying, “Don’t touch my chosen ones. Don’t harm my prophets.” 16 He called down a famine upon the earth; he cut off all the food supply. 17 He sent a man ahead of them—Joseph was sold as a servant.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... Just as Psalm 105 forms a transition to the actualization of the Sinai theophany, so Psalm 78 leads up to the actualization of Nathan's prophecy, as represented in Psalm 132 and - in a time of crisis - Psalm 89 ... Of the promises made to the patriarchs, only the promise of the land appears in the psalms (Psalm 105:11). While they did not yet possess the land, they did experience the working of God: for despite the fact that they were a small, defenseless group, they were not molested by any of the peoples among whom they passed on their restless journeyings. God had declared them 'untouchable' (compare 2 Samuel 1:14), the prophets (compare Genesis 20:7) and anointed ones (Psalm 105:15). This is an allusion to the accounts of the dangers suffered by the female forebears (Genesis 12:9-20; 20:1-18; 26:1-13). The nomads believed that their women were regarded as fair game by the settled peoples (compare also Genesis 34). For that reason, the famous nomadic group of Beni Hasan travels with its women placed protectively in the middle. In Psalm 105:12-15, the protection afforded the patriarchs in this danger is stylized in a degree equal to the untouchability of men of God ..."
Othmar Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1997), 225–226.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Genesis 20:7 and Psalm 105:15

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