Psalms 106:21
in Psalms 106They forgot God their Savior, who did great things in Egypt,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They forgat God their Saviour, Who had done great things in Egypt,
KJV
They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;
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This verse in Psalms 106
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThey forgat God their saviour. Remembering the calf involved forgetting God. He had commanded them to make no image, and in daring to disobey they forgot his commands. Moreover, it is clear that they must altogether have forgotten the nature and character of Jehovah, or they could never have likened him to a grass eating animal. Some men hope to keep their sins and their God too—the fact being that he who sins is already so far departed from the Lord that he has actually forgotten him. Which had done great things in Egypt.
This site's exposition
At Horeb they made a calf
on Psalms 106:19-23
At Horeb they made a calf and bowed to it. Verse 20 gives the exchange, their own Glory for an ox, and verses 21 and 22 say they forgot the God who saved them. Moses His chosen one stood in the breach and turned the wrath away.
This site's exposition
They forgot God their Savior
They forgot God in verse 13 and again here, and verse 7 says they did not remember His kindness. Deuteronomy 6:12 had warned Israel to remember the LORD who brought them out of Egypt. Savior shares a root with saved in verses 8 and 10.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"They forgat God who saved them" [Psalm 106:21]. How did He save them? "Who did so great things in Egypt: Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and fearful things in the Red Sea" [Psalm 106:22]. The things that are wondrous, are also fearful; for there is no wonder without a certain fear: although these might be called fearful, because they beat down their adversaries, and showed them what they ought to fear.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
They forgat God their Saviour,....
They forgot what was done but a few days before, which we may suppose they could not but talk of, even then, when, because they did not make a good use of it, they are said to forget it: it was what God did for them in Egypt, in the land of Ham, and by the Red Sea, things which we at this distance cannot, or should not, be unmindful of.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The idolatry was more sinful in view of their recent experience of God's power in Egypt and His wonders at Sinai (Ex 32:1-6). Though intending to worship Jehovah under the symbol of the calf, yet as this was incompatible with His nature (De 4:15-17), they in reality gave up Him, and so were given up by Him.
They forgat God their saviour. Remembering the calf involved forgetting God. He had commanded them to make no image, and in daring to disobey they forgot his commands. Moreover, it is clear that they must altogether have forgotten the nature and character of Jehovah, or they could never have likened him to a grass eating animal. Some men hope to keep their sins and their God too—the fact being that he who sins is already so far departed from the Lord that he has actually forgotten him. Which had done great things in Egypt. God in Egypt had overcome all the idols, and yet they so far forgot him as to liken him to them. Could an ox work miracles? Could a golden calf cast plagues upon Israel's enemies? They were brutish to set up such a wretched mockery of deity, after having seen what the true God could really achieve. "Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea". They saw several ranges of miracles, the Lord did not stint them as to the evidences of his eternal power and godhead, and yet they could not rest content with worshipping him in his own appointed way, but must needs have a Directory of their own invention, an elaborate ritual after the old Egyptian fashion, and a manifest object of worship to assist them in adoring Jehovah. This was enough to provoke the Lord, and it did so; how much he is angered every day in our own land no tongue can tell.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
They forgat God their Saviour ... - The God who had saved, or delivered them, out of Egypt. The sentiment here is the same as in Psa 78:11-12. See the notes at that place.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שָׁ֭כְחוּ | shakhchu | they forgot | H7911 → | 102 times |
| אֵ֣ל | ʾel | God | H410 → | 241 times |
| מוֹשִׁיעָ֑ם | moshiam | deliverer their | H3467 → | 206 times |
| עֹשֶׂ֖ה | ʾoseh | [who] did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| גְדֹל֣וֹת | gedolot | great [things] | H1419 → | 526 times |
| בְּמִצְרָֽיִם׃ | bemitzrayim | in Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
שָׁ֭כְחוּthey forgot
shakhchuH7911 →102 times
אֵ֣לGod
ʾelH410 →241 times
מוֹשִׁיעָ֑םdeliverer their
moshiamH3467 →206 times
עֹשֶׂ֖ה[who] did
ʾosehH6213 →2628 times
גְדֹל֣וֹתgreat [things]
gedolotH1419 →526 times
בְּמִצְרָֽיִם׃in Egypt
bemitzrayimH4714 →641 times
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
Psalms 106:13Yet they soon forgot His works and failed to wait for His counsel.
it leads to
- Psalms 78:11
They forgot what He had done, the wonders He had shown them.
- Exodus 15:24
So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
- Exodus 16:2
And there in the desert they all grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
- Isaiah 48:17–18
Thus says the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you for your benefit, who directs you in the way you should go.
- Psalms 107:11
because they rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.
- Psalms 78:11
Through
Jeremiah 2:32Does a maiden forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding sash? Yet My people have forgotten Me for days without number.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 13:25
This is your lot, the portion I have measured to you,” declares the LORD, “because you have forgotten Me and trusted in falsehood.
- Jeremiah 3:21
A voice is heard on the barren heights, the children of Israel weeping and begging for mercy, because they have perverted their ways and forgotten the LORD their God.
- Jeremiah 2:11
Has a nation ever changed its gods, though they are no gods at all? Yet My people have exchanged their Glory for useless idols.
- Jeremiah 13:25
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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 106; 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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.