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Psalms

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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 45:5 and Psalms 105:17

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

In Genesis 45 Joseph insists it was God, not his brothers, who sent him ahead to Egypt to save lives. Psalm 105 echoes that interpretation, compressing the entire narrative into one line about God sending Joseph ahead and leaving the brothers out.

Passages

Genesis 45:5

Hebrew Bible
4 Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me,” so they came near. Then he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 Now, do not be upset and do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to preserve life! 6 For these past two years there has been famine in the land and for five more years there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Psalms 105:17

Hebrew Bible
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.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

... There are three other verses in Psalm 105 that begin with the verb šlḥ. The first begins the psalmist's account of Joseph's life: 'He sent ahead of them a man, Joseph, sold into slavery' (verse 17). Verse 17 echoes the words spoken by Joseph to his brothers in Genesis: 'It was to save life that God sent me ahead of you' (Genesis 45:5); 'God has sent me ahead of you to ensure your survival on earth' (45:7); 'So, it was not you who sent me here, but God' (45:8). Joseph's release from prison in Psalm 105 is also described using the verb šlḥ: '[God] sent [the king] to have him [Joseph] freed; the ruler of nations released him' (Psalm 105:20). In this way, Pharaoh himself is part of the divine plan that propels Joseph forward ...
Yair Zakovitch, Birkat Shalom: Studies in the Bible, Ancient Near Eastern Literature, and Postbiblical Judaism Presented to Shalom M. Paul on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2008), 196.

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 45:5 and Psalms 105:17

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