Psalms 135:8

Psa 135:8 Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast.

Ver. 8. Who smote the firstborn of Egypt] And thereby roused up that sturdy rebel Pharaoh, who began now to open his eyes, as they say the blind mole doth when the pangs of death are upon him; and to stretch out himself, as the crooked serpent doth when deadly wounded.

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 135:8. Who smote the firstborn of Egypt — From the general works of nature he comes to God’s special works of providence toward his people. “Egypt was the theatre of the grand contest between the God of Israel and the gods of the heathen. The superiority of the former over the latter was shown in every possible way, by the miracles of Moses, which demonstrated all the powers of nature, to be under the dominion of Jehovah, and to act at his command, so that, instead of being able to protect, they were made to torment and destroy their deluded votaries.”

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

8. (Psa 135:8) Who smote the first-born of Egypt, from man even to beast. From the proofs of God’s supremacy in nature, he now proceeds to those in history, and especially the history of his dealings with his people and their enemies. This is precisely the relation between Psalm 104 and Psalm 105. The first example chosen here is the last and greatest of the plagues of Egypt. From man to beast, including both; in other words, both man and beast.

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

135:8-12 The Lord was sovereign over the Exodus and the conquest of the Promised Land.

135:8-11 In the tenth and culminating plague against Egypt, God destroyed the firstborn of each family. • The miraculous signs and wonders are the ten plagues (see Exod 7–11; Deut 4:34; Neh 9:10).

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

Verse 8. Who smote the first-born of Egypt] See the parallel passages.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. He smote the first-born of Egypt He now reverts to those more special benefits, by which God had laid his Church and chosen people under obligation to his service. As it was the Lord’s believing people only whom he addressed, the chief point singled out as the subject of praise is God’s having adopted them, small as they were in numbers, from the mass of the human family. Again, there was the fact of his having set himself in opposition, for their sakes, to great kingdoms and mighty nations. The wonderful works done by God in Egypt and in Canaan were all just so many proofs of that fatherly love which he entertained for them as his chosen people. It is not strictly according to historic order to begin with mentioning the destruction of the first-born of Egypt; but this is instanced as a memorable illustration of the great regard God had for the safety of his people, which was such that he would not spare even so mighty and wealthy a nation. The scope of the passage is to show that God, in delivering his people, had abundantly testified his power and his mercy.

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.

(8) Egypt.—This abrupt change from the miracles of nature to the marvels of history is apparently copied from the next psalm, where see Note, Psa_135:10.

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

8–12. Jehovah’s sovereignty exhibited in the deliverance of His people from Egypt and their establishment in the land of Canaan.

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.

Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast. Which was the last of the plagues inflicted on the Egyptians; and is particularly mentioned, because, by means of it, they were made willing to let the children of Israel go out of their land: and so this includes the deliverance of the Israelites, God's firstborn, when he slew the firstborn of Egypt; and who were typical of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven; and the deliverance of them, through the blood of the passover, was an emblem of the deliverance of those by the blood of Christ; see Exo 12:22.

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Psalms 135:9

psa 135:9

psa 135:9

psa 135:9Who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt,.... Or, "signs and wonders". Meaning the other extraordinary plagues sent among the Egyptians, before that of slaying their firstborn; and which have some likeness to the vials of God's wrath, which will be poured out on the city called spiritually Sodom and Egypt, Rev 11:8;

upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants: his courtiers: some of them are particularly observed to affect him and his court; as the plagues of the frogs, and slaying the firstborn: and he and his princes must be more or less affected with them all, as well as the common people; who were an emblem either of Satan and his principalities, as Jerom interprets it; or rather of antichrist and his followers; to whom the tokens of God's wrath and displeasure will be sent in a wonderful way and manner.

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

Who smote the firstborn of Egypt - As the last and the greatest of the plagues brought upon the Egyptians; the chief and crowning judgment under which they were made willing that the children of Israel should go, and which was in fact the judgment which secured their freedom. This is selected here evidently for this reason, instead of recounting all the plagues which were brought upon the Egyptians.

Both of man and beast - Exo 11:5. Margin, as in Hebrew, From man unto beast. That is, including both; smiting both.

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

From the general works of nature, he comes to God’s special works of providence towards his people.

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

Ver. 8. Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast. Herein the Lord is to be praised; for this deadly smiting was an act of justice against Egypt, and of love to Israel. But what a blow it was! All the firstborn slain in a moment! How it must have horrified the nation, and cowed the boldest enemies of Israel! Beasts because of their relationship to man as domestic animals are in many ways made to suffer with him. The firstborn of beasts must die as well as the firstborn of their owners, for the blow was meant to astound and overwhelm, and it accomplished its purpose. The firstborn of God had been sorely smitten, and they were set free by the Lord's meting out to their oppressors the like treatment.

Ver. 8. Who smote the firstborn of Egypt. The first born only were smitten; these were singled out in every family with unerring precision, the houses of the Israelites, wherever the blood of the lamb was sprinkled on the door posts, being passed over. The death of all those thousands, both of man and beast, took place at the same instant"at midnight."

Is God unrighteous, then, that taketh vengeance? No; this is an act of retribution. The Egyptians had slain the children of the Israelites, casting their infants into the river. Now the affliction is turned upon themselves; the delight of their eyes is taken from them; all their firstborn are dead, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat upon his throne, unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon. Thomas S. Millington, in "Signs and Wonders in the Land of Ham",

1873.

Ver. 8. And beast. The Egyptians worshipped many animals, and when the firstborn of the sacred animals died the circumstance greatly increased the impressiveness of the plague as an assault upon the gods of Egypt. C. H. S. Suggested by Otto Von Gerlach.

Ver. 8-12. Worthy is Jahve to be praised, for he is the Redeemer out of Egypt. Worthy is he to be praised, for he is the Conqueror of the Land of Promise. Franz Delitzsch.

Psalms 135:9*

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

8, 9. These verses present an illustration of the greatness and majesty of God (see Psa_135:5) in the redemption of his people from Egypt. See notes on Psa_78:43-53; Psa_105:26-38.

Smote the firstborn—Only the last of the ten plagues, as being the most terrible, is specified.

Both of man and beast—Hebrew, from man to beast—all grades of living creatures.

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

Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast. (comp. Exo_12:29) The most stupendous of the plagues of Egypt is given the first place in the account of God"s wonderful dealings with men, and especially with his people. It gave them the deliverance out of Egypt, which made them a people. (Exo_12:31-33)

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

Worthy is He to be praised, for He is the Redeemer out of Egypt. בּתוככי as in Psa 116:19, cf. Psa 105:27.

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.)

signs and wonders

These two words mean basically the same thing and refer to the miraculous troubles that God had caused in Egypt. (See: Doublet)

into your midst, Egypt

The psalmist speaks as if the people of Egypt were listening to him. AT: "among you people of Egypt" or "among the people of Egypt" (See: Apostrophe)

against Pharaoh

"to punish Pharaoh"

translationWords

firstborn

Egypt

send

miracle

Pharaoh

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.