Psalms 99:7
in Psalms 99He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept His decrees and the statutes He gave them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He spake unto them in the pillar of cloud: They kept his testimonies, And the statute that he gave them.
KJV
He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 99
Commentary
12 notes on this verseHe spake unto them in the cloudy pillar. We have had mention of the ark and the shekinah, and now of the fiery cloudy pillar, which was another visible token of the presence of God in the midst of Israel. Responses came to Moses and Aaron out of that glorious overshadowing cloud, and though Samuel saw it not, yet to him also came the mystic voice which was wont to thunder forth from that divine canopy. Men have had converse with God, let men therefore speak to God in return.
This site's exposition
Moses and Aaron were among His priests
on Psalms 99:6-9
Moses is listed among the priests though the priesthood belonged to Aaron, and at Leviticus 8:15 and 19 Moses puts the blood on the altar. God spoke to these men from the pillar of cloud, which came down in Exodus 33:9. He forgave them and still answered their misdeeds.
This site's exposition
He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud
The pillar of cloud was where God met Moses and Aaron, as at Numbers 12:5. Samuel heard His voice at 1 Samuel 3, and the verse joins all three under one answer. They kept the decrees He gave them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Moses and Aaron among His priests, and Samuel among such as call upon His Name: these called upon the Lord, and He heard them" (ver. 6). "He spake unto them out of the cloudy pillar" (ver. 7). ...Of Moses it is not there stated that he was a priest. But if he was not this, what was he? Could he be anything greater than a priest? This Psalm declareth that he also was himself a priest: "Moses and Aaron among His priests." They therefore were the Lord's priests. Samuel is read of later in the Book of Kings: this Samuel is in David's times; for he anointed the holy David. Samuel from his infancy grew up in the temple. ...He mentioneth these: and by these desireth us to understand all the saints. Yet why hath he here named those? Because we said that we ought here to understand Christ. Attend, holy brethren. He said above, "O magnify the Lord our God: and fall down before His footstool, for He is holy:" praising some one, that is, our Lord Jesus Christ; whose footstool is to be worshipped, because He assumed flesh, in which He was to appear before the human race; and wishing to show unto us that the ancient fathers also had preached of Him, because our Lord Jesus Christ is Himself the True Priest, he mentioned these, because God spake unto them out of the cloudy pillar. What meaneth, "out of the cloudy pillar"? He was speaking figuratively. For if He spoke in some cloud, those obscure words predicted some one unknown, yet to be manifest. This unknown one is no longer unknown; for He is known by us, our Lord Jesus Christ. ...He who first spoke out of the cloudy pillar, hath in Person spoken unto us in His footstool; that is, on earth, when He had assumed the flesh, for which reason we worship His footstool, for He is holy. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
3 Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy. 4 The king's strength also loveth judgment; thou dost establish equity, thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob. 5 Exalt ye the L ORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:96%@v3-5
He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar,....
Israel are now reminded of this, for the confirming of their faith, that though they had not every day such sensible tokens of God's presence as the cloudy pillar was, yet to those that were their first founders, and to him that was their great reformer, God was pleased thus to manifest himself.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The experience of these servants of God is cited for encouragement. among . . . priests, among . . . upon the Lord [and] He spake . . . pillar--may be referred to all three (compare Ex 18:19;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
cloudy pillar--the medium of divine intercourse (Ex 33:9; Obedience was united with worship. God answered them as intercessors for the people, who, though forgiven, were yet chastened (Ex 32:10, 34).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar. We have had mention of the ark and the shekinah, and now of the fiery cloudy pillar, which was another visible token of the presence of God in the midst of Israel. Responses came to Moses and Aaron out of that glorious overshadowing cloud, and though Samuel saw it not, yet to him also came the mystic voice which was wont to thunder forth from that divine canopy. Men have had converse with God, let men therefore speak to God in return. He has told us things to come, let us in return confess the sins which are past; he has revealed his mind to us, let us then pour out our hearts before him. They kept his testimonies. When others turned aside they were faithful; in their hearts they laid up his word, and in their lives they obeyed it. When he spake to them they observed his will, and therefore when they spake to him he yielded to their desires. This keeping of the divine testimonies is a virtue all too rare in these our days; men run after their own views and opinions, and make light of the truth of God; hence it is that they fail in prayer, and scoffers have even dared to say that prayer avails not at all. May the good Lord bring back his people to reverence his word, and then will he also have respect unto the voice of their cry. And the ordinance that he gave them. His practical precept they observed as well as his doctrinal instruction. Ordinances are not to be trifled with, or testimonies will also be despised; and the converse is also true, a light estimate of inspired dogma is sure to end in neglect of moral virtues. To Moses, Aaron, and Samuel special and personal charges were committed, and they were all true to their trust, for they stood in awe of the Lord, their God, and worshipped him with their whole souls.
He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar - That is, he directed all their operations, marchings, and encampments by this cloudy pillar. See Exo 33:9. They kept his testimonies - Do ye the same, and God will be your portion as he was theirs.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar - He spake to the men of other times; to those who called upon his name. It cannot be meant literally that he spake to “Samuel” from the “cloudy pillar” - the pillar which guided the Israelites in the wilderness, unless that term be understood in the general sense as denoting the “Shechinah” - the visible symbol of the divine presence - the cloud that rested on the ark. The idea is, that God his people in ancient times from the cloud - the symbol of his presence; that he communed with them; that he heard their prayers; that he gave them his commandments; that he interposed in their behalf, and that it was not a vain thing that they worshipped him. All this was as true of Samuel - it is as true now of those who call upon God - as it was of Moses and Aaron. They kept his testimonies ... - They obeyed his laws, and he thus heard and answered them.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּעַמּ֣וּד | beamud | in a pillar of | H5982 → | |
| עָ֭נָן | ʾanon | cloud | H6051 → | 87 times |
| יְדַבֵּ֣ר | yedaber | he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֑ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שָׁמְר֥וּ | shameru | they kept | H8104 → | 468 times |
| עֵ֝דֹתָ֗יו | ʾedotav | testimonies his | H5713 → | 26 times |
| וְחֹ֣ק | vechok | and a decree | H2706 → | 127 times |
| נָֽתַן־ | natan- | he gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָֽמוֹ׃ | lamo | to them |
בְּעַמּ֣וּדin a pillar of
beamudH5982 →
עָ֭נָןcloud
ʾanonH6051 →87 times
יְדַבֵּ֣רhe spoke
yedaberH1696 →1141 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֑םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
שָׁמְר֥וּthey kept
shameruH8104 →468 times
עֵ֝דֹתָ֗יוtestimonies his
ʾedotavH5713 →26 times
וְחֹ֣קand a decree
vechokH2706 →127 times
נָֽתַן־he gave
natan-H5414 →2011 times
לָֽמוֹ׃to them
lamo
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 4:5See, I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the LORD my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land that you are about to enter and possess.
it leads to
- Matthew 28:20
and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
- 1 Thessalonians 4:1–2
Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, just as you have received from us. This is how you already live,…
- Deuteronomy 4:1
Hear now, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live and may enter and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of…
- Hebrews 3:5
Now Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be spoken later.
- Proverbs 22:19–20
So that your trust may be in the LORD, I instruct you today—yes, you.
- Matthew 28:20
Through
Exodus 19:9The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will always put their trust in…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 4:36
He let you hear His voice from heaven to discipline you, and on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the fire.
- Exodus 24:15–16
When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it,
- Deuteronomy 4:36
Through
Numbers 12:5and the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud, stood at the entrance to the Tent, and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them had stepped forward,
it leads to
- Numbers 11:25
Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit…
- Numbers 11:25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 99; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.