Psalms 105:16

16. And he called] So 2Ki_8:1; Amo_5:8; Amo_7:4; Amo_9:6; Hag_1:11. Observe the emphasis upon direct Divine agency in Psa_105:16,

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 105:16 Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.

Ver. 16. Moreover he called for a famine] How easy is it with God soon to starve us all by denying us a harvest or two! If he do but call for a famine it is done.

He brake the whole staff of bread] Either by withdrawing bread, that staff of man’s life, or his blessing from it; for man liveth not by bread alone (or at all), but by every word, &c., Mat 4:4, without which bread can no more nourish us than a clod of clay, In pane conclusus est quasi baculus, qui nos sustineat. See Hag 1:6. {See Trapp on "Hag 1:6"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 105:16-18. He called for a famine — That is, he brought a famine upon the land. He brake the whole staff of bread — Bread, which is the staff or support of men’s lives. He sent a man before them — Who was to nourish them in the famine: sent him, by the direction of his secret providence, many years before the famine began. Such are the foresight and timely care of Divine Providence. Whose feet they hurt with fetters — Being unjustly charged with a most heinous crime. He was laid in iron — Hebrew, נפשׁו ברזל באה, the iron entered his soul, which seems to be added emphatically, to aggravate the misery of his imprisonment, and to show how grievous it was to his very soul. Undoubtedly the false accusation, which was the cause of his imprisonment, the injury which was done him, and the foul and public scandal which lay upon him, must have pained him extremely.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. (Psa 105:16) And he called (for) a famine on the land; every staff of bread he brake. The Psalmist now passes from the Patriarchal to the Egyptian period of the history, by stating the occasion of Israel's migration into Egypt. The meaning of the first clause seems to be, that he summoned famine, as his instrument or servant, to come down upon the land, as sent from above, that is to say, from himself. The meaning of the last clause is, that the people were deprived of every customary means and source of subsistence. The figure of a staff or stay is a Mosaic one. See Lev 26:26, and compare Isa 3:1. It is near akin to the description of food as staying or sustaining the heart. See above, on Psa 104:15. The historical reference in the verse before us is to Gen 41:54.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

105:16-22 These verses tell the story of Joseph (see Gen 37–41).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Either by sending scarcity, or by taking away the strength and nourishment thereof.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

16. And he called a famine upon the land Here the inspired writer recounts a most illustrious proof of divine providence towards the chosen people, at the time when the covenant might seem to be void and disannulled. The inheritance of the land of Canaan (as has been stated above) was added, as an earnest or pledge for confirmation. The descent of Jacob into Egypt, which deprived his house of the sight of the land, could not make the covenant to perish. In this the constancy of God shone forth the brighter; yea, by this trial he manifested more plainly how provident a father he was in preserving the seed of Abraham. But it is better to consider each particular in the verse. In the first place, it is taught, that the famine which drove Jacob into Egypt did not happen by chance. Although only one particular famine is here treated of, it is to be held as a general principle, that there is no other cause of any scarcity of sustenance except this, that God, in withdrawing his hand, takes away the means of support. The curse of God is expressed more emphatically, when it is said, that the famine was called; as if it were ready at his command, as a minister of his wrath. By this we are instructed, that famine, pestilence, and other scourges of God, do not visit men by chance, but are directed by his hand whither it pleases him, and are obedient to his will. The manner in which the famine was called is next stated, namely, when he brake the staff of bread The metaphor of staff is very appropriate; for God has put into bread the power and property of strengthening man, by a secret virtue which fits it to sustain us. So long as it pleases him to nourish us by such means, a staff as it were lies hidden within it. This staff is broken in two ways; either, first, when he takes away the supply of grain necessary for our nourishment, the sense in which it seems to be used in Ezekiel

“Moreover, he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment;” Ezekiel 4:16

or, secondly, when he breathes in anger upon the bread itself, so that those who would satisfy themselves by devouring it, instead of having their hunger thereby removed, remain famished still. And certainly to the barrenness of the earth this second is commonly added, namely, that he takes away the sustaining power which is in bread; for, as it is declared in Deuteronomy 8:3, bread does not give life of itself, but borrows its secret virtue from the mouth of God.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(16) Called for a famine.—Comp. 2Ki_8:1; and in Ezekiel 14 we see how famine, with war and pestilence and noisome beasts, were regarded as Divine emissaries to be summoned and sent on His missions.

Staff of bread.—Lev_26:26. (See, too, Note on Psa_104:15.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Moreover, he called for a famine upon the land,.... On the land of Egypt; or rather on the land of Canaan, where Jacob and his sons sojourned; and which reached to all lands, Gen 41:56 and calling for it, it came, being a servant at the command of the Lord; see Kg2 8:1.

He brake the whole staff of bread; so called, because it is the support of man's life, the principal of his sustenance: as a staff is a support to a feeble person, and which, when broke, ceases to be so. The staff of bread is broken, when either the virtue and efficacy of it for nourishment is taken away or denied; or when there is a scarcity of bread corn; which latter seems to be intended here; see Isa 3:1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Moreover, he called for a famine upon the land - It was not by chance; not by the mere operation of physical laws, but it was because God “ordered” it. The famine here referred to, as the connection shows, was that which occurred in the time of Jacob, and which was the occasion of the migration into Egypt. There was also a famine in the time of Abraham Gen 12:10; but the design of the psalmist here is to refer to that period of the Jewish history which pertained to their residence in Egypt, and to the dealings of God with the nation when there, as furnishing an occasion for gratitude. Gen. 41; 42.

He brake the whole staff of bread - That which supports life, as a staff does a feeble man. See the notes at Isa 3:1.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

He called for, i.e. he effectually procured, as this word is used, 2Ki 8:1; Isa 47:1,5; 56:7; Rom 4:17.

The whole staff of bread, i.e. bread, which is the staff or support of our animal lives. See Lev 26:26; Psa 104:15; Eze 4:16.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 16. Moreover he called for a famine upon the land. He had only to call for it as a man calls for his servant, and it came at once. How grateful ought we to be that he does not often call in that terrible servant of his, so meagre and gaunt, and grim, so pitiless to the women and the children, so bitter to the strong men, who utterly fail before it.

He brake the whole staff of bread. Man's feeble life cannot stand without its staffif bread fail him he fails. As a cripple with a broken staff falls to the ground, so does man when broad no longer sustains him. To God it is as easy to make a famine as to break a stall He could make that famine universal, too, so that all countries should be in like case: then would the race of man fall indeed, and its staff would be broken for ever. There is this sweet comfort in the matter, that the Lord has wise ends to serve even by famine: he meant his people to go down into Egypt, and the scarcity of food was his method of leading them there, for "they heard that there was corn in Egypt."

Ver. 16. He called for a famine. As a master calls for a servant ready to do his bidding. On the contrary, God says (Eze 36:29), "I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you." Compare the centurion's words as to sickness being Christ's servant, ready to come or go at his call, Mt 8:8, 9. A.R. Fausset.

Ver. 16.

1. All things come at the call of God. He called for plenty, and it came, for famine, and it came; for captivity, and it came; for deliverance, and it came.

2. The most unlikely means of accomplishing an end with man is often the direct way with God. He fulfilled the promise of Canaan to Abraham by banishing him from it; of plenty, by sending a famine; of freedom, by bringing into captivity. G.R.

Psalms 105:17*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16. Famine—Recorded Gen_41:54-57.

Staff of bread—That is, support of bread, their reliance for sustentation. This famine extended over Arabia, Palestine, Syria, and the surrounding nations.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Moreover he called for a famine upon the land. To "call for a famine" is the same thing as to create a famine. What God "calls for" immediately exists. (see Gen_1:3) "The land" intended is the land of Canaan. He brake the whole staff of bread. (comp. Lev_26:26 Isa_54:1) Bread is called a "staff," as the great support of life. (For the severity of the famine in Canaan, see Gen_41:1 Gen_42:5 Gen_43:1)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Staff of bread - Bread, which is the staff or support of our lives.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

"To call up a famine" is also a prose expression in Kg2 8:1. To break the staff of bread (i.e., the staff which bread is to man) is a very old metaphor, Lev 26:26. That the selling of Joseph was, providentially regarded, a "sending before," he himself says in Gen 45:5. Psa 102:24 throws light upon the meaning of ענּה ב. The Kerמ רגלו is just as much without any occasion to justify it as עינו in Ecc 4:8 (for עיניו). The statement that iron came upon his soul is intended to say that he had to endure in iron fetters sufferings that threatened his life. Most expositors take בּרזל as equivalent to בּבּרזל, but Hitzig rightly takes נפשׁו as an object, following the Targum; for ברזל as a name of an iron fetter

(Note: Also in ancient Arabic firzil (after the Aramaic פרזלא) directly signifies an iron fetter (and the large smith's shears for cutting the iron), whence the verb. denom. Arab. farzala, c. acc. pers., to put any one into iron chains. Iron is called בּרזל from בּרז, to pierce, like the Arabic ḥdı̂d, as being the material of which pointed tools are made.)

can change its gender, as do, e.g., צפון as a name of the north wind, and כבוד as a name of the soul. The imprisonment (so harsh at the commencement) lasted over ten years, until at last Joseph's word cam to pass, viz., the word concerning this exaltation which had been revealed to him in dreams (Gen 42:9). According to Psa 107:20, דברו appears to be the word of Jahve, but then one would expect from Psa 105:19 a more parallel turn of expression. What is meant is Joseph's open-hearted word concerning his visions, and אמרת ה is the revelation of God conveying His promises, which came to him in the same form, which had to try, to prove, and to purify him (צרף as in Psa 17:3, and frequently), inasmuch as he was not to be raised to honour without having in a state of deep abasement proved a faithfulness that wavered not, and a confidence that knew no despair. The divine "word" is conceived of as a living effectual power, as in Psa 119:50. The representation of the exaltation begins, according to Gen 41:14, with שׁלח־מלך

(Note: Here שׁלח is united by Makkeph with the following word, to which it hurries on, whereas in Psa 105:28 it has its own accent, a circumstance to which the Masora has directed attention in the apophthegm: שׁלוחי דמלכא זריזין שׁלוחי דחשׁוכא מתינין (the emissaries of the king are in haste, those of darkness are tardy); vid., Baer, Thorath Emeth, p. 22.)

and follows Gen 41:39-41, Gen 41:44, very closely as to the rest, according to which בּנפשׁו is a collateral definition to לאסּר (with an orthophonic Dag.) in the sense of בּרצונו: by his soul, i.e., by virtue of his will (vid., Psychology, S. 202; tr. p. 239). In consequence of this exaltation of Joseph, Jacob-Israel came then into Egypt, and sojourned there as in a protecting house of shelter (concerning גּוּר, vid., supra, p. 414). Egypt is called (Psa 105:23, Psa 105:27) the land of Chaam, as in Psa 78:51; according to Plutarch, in the vernacular the black land, from the dark ashy grey colouring which the deposited mud of the Nile gives to the ground. There Israel became a powerful, numerous people (Exo 1:7; Deu 26:5), greater than their oppressors.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

He called for

"He sent." This means that caused a famine to happen in the land. (See: Idiom)

the whole supply of bread

Here "bread" refers to food in general. AT: "the whole supply of food" (See: Synecdoche)

He sent a man ahead of them; Joseph

It may be helpful to state that he sent him ahead of them to Egypt. AT: "He sent a man ahead of them to Egypt; he sent Joseph who" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

Joseph was sold as a servant

This can be stated in active form. AT: "Joseph's brothers sold him as a slave" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

call

famine

cut off

send

Joseph (OT)

servant

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

He called a famine in order to exile them to Egypt (I found).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.