Psalms 105:20
in Psalms 105The king sent and released him; the ruler of peoples set him free.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The king sent and loosed him; Even the ruler of peoples, and let him go free.
KJV
The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 105
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe king sent and loosed him. He was thrust into the roundhouse by an officer, but he was released by the monarch himself. Even the ruler of the people, and let him go free. The tide had turned, so that Egypt's haughty potentate gave him a call from the prison to the palace. He had interpreted the dreams of captives, himself a captive; he must now interpret for a ruler and become a ruler himself. When God means to enlarge his prisoners, kings become his turnkeys.
This site's exposition
He called down famine on the land
on Psalms 105:16-22
God calls down the famine and sends a man ahead. Joseph wears shackles and an iron collar, then rules the king's household and teaches his elders wisdom. At verse 19 the word of the LORD refines him, the verb being the metal worker's word for burning dross out of ore.
This site's exposition
The king sent and released him
Genesis 41:14 tells it: Pharaoh sent for Joseph, who was brought quickly from the dungeon, shaved and given fresh clothes. The ruler of peoples is the same king. The title marks the reach of the power that had held Joseph in irons.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
"The king sent and loosed him, the prince of the peoples, and let him go free" [Psalm 105:20]. The "king" is the same as "the prince of the peoples:" he "loosed" him from his bonds "and let him go free" from his prison.
"The king sent and loosed him, the prince of the peoples, and let him go free" [Psalm 105:20]. The "king" is the same as "the prince of the peoples:" he "loosed" him from his bonds "and let him go free" from his prison.
The king sent, and loosed him. According to the letter, Pharaoh sent, and loosed him. In another sense: if anyone is tempted by lust, unless the Lord appears and looses him, he cannot escape sin.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The king sent and loosed him,.... That is, Pharaoh king of Egypt sent messengers to the prison, and ordered Joseph to be loosed, as soon as ever he heard the account which the chief butler gave of him, and of his skill in interpreting dreams. Even the ruler of the people; or "peoples": the subjects of Pharaoh's kingdom being very numerous.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The king sent and loosed him - Released him from prison. Gen 41:14. The object was that he might interpret the dreams of Pharaoh. The ruler of the people, and let him go free - Hebrew, “peoples,” in the plural - referring either to the fact that there were “many” people in the land, or that Pharaoh ruled over tributary nations as well as over the Egyptians.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שָׁ֣לַח | shalach | he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| מֶ֭לֶךְ | melekh | a king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וַיַּתִּירֵ֑הוּ | vayatirehu | and he set free him | H5425 → | |
| מֹשֵׁ֥ל | moshel | a ruler of | H4910 → | 81 times |
| עַ֝מִּ֗ים | ʾamim | peoples | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וַֽיְפַתְּחֵֽהוּ׃ | vayfatechehu | and he set free him | H6605 → | 144 times |
שָׁ֣לַחhe sent
shalachH7971 →845 times
מֶ֭לֶךְa king
melekhH4428 →2525 times
וַיַּתִּירֵ֑הוּand he set free him
vayatirehuH5425 →
מֹשֵׁ֥לa ruler of
moshelH4910 →81 times
עַ֝מִּ֗יםpeoples
ʾamimH5971 →1873 times
וַֽיְפַתְּחֵֽהוּ׃and he set free him
vayfatechehuH6605 →144 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Genesis 41:14So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, who was quickly brought out of the dungeon. After he had shaved and changed his clothes, he went in before Pharaoh.
it leads to
- Daniel 2:25
Arioch hastily brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who will tell the king the interpretation.”
- Psalms 113:7–8
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the dump
- Psalms 105:19–22
until his prediction came true and the word of the LORD proved him right.
- Jeremiah 52:32–33
And he spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and set his throne above the thrones of the other kings who were with him in Babylon.
- 1 Samuel 2:7–8
The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts.
- Daniel 2:25
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 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 105; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Jerome, Homily 31, on Psalm 104; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.