Psalms 105:36
in Psalms 105Then He struck all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their vigor.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He smote also all the first-born in their land, The chief of all their strength.
KJV
He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 105
Commentary
8 notes on this verseHe smote also all the firstborn in their land,.... Both of men and beasts; the firstborn of the king on the throne, and of the maidservant behind the mill, and of the captive in the dungeon; this was the last plague, and which prevailed upon the Egyptians to let Israel go, Exo 11:5. The chief of all their strength; or the first of their strength; the same in different words as before, their firstborn; see Gen 49:3.
This site's exposition
gave them hail for rain
on Psalms 105:32-36
Hail and lightning break the vines and fig trees, and locusts finish whatever is left green. Two of the ten plagues never appear, the livestock sickness at Exodus 9:3 and the boils at Exodus 9:9. The firstborn are called the first of Egypt's own manly strength.
This site's exposition
the firstfruits of all their vigor
The firstborn died at midnight at Exodus 12:29, from the firstborn of Pharaoh on his throne to the firstborn of the captive. Firstfruits of their vigor is the phrase Jacob uses of Reuben at Genesis 49:3. Psalm 78:51 repeats it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"He smote every first-born in their land: even the first-fruits of all their strength" [Psalm 105:36]. This is the last plague, excepting the death in the Red Sea. "The first-fruits of all their strength," I imagine to be an expression derived from the first-born of cattle. These plagues are ten in number, but they are not all mentioned, nor in the same order in which they are there read to have happened. For praise-giving is free from the law which binds one who is relating or composing a history. And since the Holy Spirit is the Author and Dictator, through the Prophet, of this praise; by the very same authority with which He guided him who wrote that history, he does both mention something to have taken place which is not there read, and passes over what is there read.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
They would not release God's first-born, and therefore God seized theirs by way of reprisal, and thereby forced them to dismiss his too, when it was too late to retrieve their own; for when God judges he will overcome, and those will certainly sit down losers at last that contend with him.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Or, rather, the "darkness" here is figurative (Jer 13:16), the literal plague of darkness (Ex 10:22, 23) being only alluded to as the symbol of God's wrath which overhung Egypt as a dark cloud during all the plagues. Hence, it is placed first, out of the historical order. Thus, "They rebelled not (that is, no longer) against His word," refers to the Egyptians.
Are smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength. Now came the master blow. The Lord spoke before, but now he smites; before he only smote vines, but now he strikes men themselves. The glory of the household dies in a single night, the prime and pick of the nation are cut off, the flower of the troops, the heirs of the rich, and the hopes of the poor all die at midnight. Now the target was struck in the centre, there was no confronting this plague.
Are smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength. Now came the master blow. The Lord spoke before, but now he smites; before he only smote vines, but now he strikes men themselves. The glory of the household dies in a single night, the prime and pick of the nation are cut off, the flower of the troops, the heirs of the rich, and the hopes of the poor all die at midnight. Now the target was struck in the centre, there was no confronting this plague. Pharaoh feels it as much as the woman slave at the mill: he had smitten Israel, the Lord's firstborn, and the Lord repaid him to his face. What a cry went up throughout the land of Egypt when every house wailed its firstborn at the dead of night! O Jehovah, thou didst triumph in that hour, and with an outstretched arm didst thou deliver thy people.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֣ךְ | vaiyakh | and he struck down | H5221 → | 499 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּכ֣וֹר | bekhor | firstborn | H1060 → | 122 times |
| בְּאַרְצָ֑ם | beartzam | in land their | H776 → | 2504 times |
| רֵ֝אשִׁ֗ית | reshit | [the] beginning | H7225 → | 51 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | of all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אוֹנָֽם׃ | ʾonam | manly vigor their | H202 → |
וַיַּ֣ךְand he struck down
vaiyakhH5221 →499 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
בְּכ֣וֹרfirstborn
bekhorH1060 →122 times
בְּאַרְצָ֑םin land their
beartzamH776 →2504 times
רֵ֝אשִׁ֗ית[the] beginning
reshitH7225 →51 times
לְכָל־of all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
אוֹנָֽם׃manly vigor their
ʾonamH202 →
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
Genesis 49:3Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.
it leads to
- Psalms 78:51
He struck all the firstborn of Egypt, the virility in the tents of Ham.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 21:17
Instead, he must acknowledge the firstborn, the son of his unloved wife, by giving him a double portion of all that he has. For that son is the firstfruits of his father’s strength; the…
- Genesis 29:32
And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.”
- Psalms 78:51
Through
Psalms 135:8He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, of both man and beast.
it leads to
- Exodus 12:12
On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 12:12
Through
Hebrews 11:28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch Israel’s own firstborn.
it leads to
- Exodus 12:21–30
Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and told them, “Go at once and select for yourselves a lamb for each family, and slaughter the Passover lamb.
- Hebrews 9:19
For when Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and…
- 1 Peter 1:2
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
- Exodus 12:21–30
Through
Psalms 136:10He struck down the firstborn of Egypt His loving devotion endures forever.
it leads to
- Exodus 12:29
Now at midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon,…
- Exodus 12:29
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 105; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.