Psalms 78:69
in Psalms 78He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth He has established forever.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he built his sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which he hath established for ever.
KJV
And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established for ever.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 78
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And he built his sanctuary - His holy place; that is, his tabernacle. The temple was not then built; and, when reared, it was not on Mount Zion, but on Mount Moriah. The name Zion, however, was often given to the whole city. Like high palaces - The word palaces is not in the original. The Hebrew means simply high places, like hills or mountains. The meaning is, that his sanctuary was exalted, as if it were placed on a high hill.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"And He rejected," he saith, "the tabernacle of Joseph, and the tribe of Ephraim He chose not" (ver. 68). "And He chose the tribe of Judah" (ver. 69). He hath not said, He rejected the tabernacle of Reuben, who was the first-born son of Jacob; nor them that follow, and precede Judah in order of birth; so that they being rejected and not chosen, the tribe of Judah was chosen. For it might have been said that they were deservedly rejected; because even in the blessing of Jacob wherewith he blessed his sons, he mentioneth their sins, and deeply abhorreth them; though among them the tribe of Levi merited to be the priestly tribe, whence also Moses was. Nor hath he said, He rejected the tabernacle of Benjamin, or the tribe of Benjamin He chose not, out of which a king already had begun to be; for thence there had been chosen Saul; whence because of the very proximity of the time, when he had been rejected and refused, and David chosen, this might conveniently have been said; but yet was not said: but he hath named those especially who seemed to excel for more surpassing merits. For Joseph fed in Egypt his father and his brethren, and having been impiously sold, because of his piety, chastity, wisdom, he was most justly exalted; and Ephraim by the blessing of his grandfather Jacob was preferred before his elder brother: and yet God "rejected the tabernacle of Joseph, and the tribe of Ephraim He chose not." In which place by these names of renowned merit, what else do we understand but that whole people with old cupidity requiring of the Lord earthly rewards, rejected and refused, but the tribe of Judah chosen not for the sake of the merits of that same Judah? […]
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Sanctuary - The temple of Solomon. Palaces - Magnificent and gloriously. Established - Not now to be moved from place to place, as the tabernacle was, but as a fixed place for the ark's perpetual residence.
And he built his sanctuary like high palaces,....
As the general scope of this psalm may be of use to us in the singing of it, to put us upon recollecting what God has done for us and for his church formerly, and what we have done against him, so the particulars also may be of use to us, for warning against those sins of unbelief and ingratitude which Israel of old was notoriously guilty of, and the record of which was preserved for our learning.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And he built his sanctuary like high palaces. The tabernacle was placed on high, literally and spiritually it was a mountain of beauty. True religion was exalted in the land. For sanctity it was a temple, for majesty it was a palace. Like the earth which he hath established for ever. Stability was well as stateliness were seen in the temple, and so also in the church of God. The prophets saw both in vision.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He built his sanctuary like high palaces - כמו רמים kemo ramim, which several of the Versions understand of the monoceros or rhinoceros. The temple of God at Jerusalem was the only one in the land, and stood as prominent on Mount Zion as the horn of the unicorn or rhinoceros does upon his snout. And there he established his ark, to go no more out as long as the temple should last. Before this time it was frequently in a migratory state, not only in the wilderness, but afterwards in the promised land. See the notes on Psa 78:60 (note).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּ֣בֶן | vaiyiven | and he built | H1129 → | 376 times |
| כְּמוֹ־ | kemov- | like | H3644 → | 143 times |
| רָ֭מִים | ramim | [the] high [things] | H7311 → | 190 times |
| מִקְדָּשׁ֑וֹ | mikdasho | sanctuary his | H4720 → | 75 times |
| כְּ֝אֶ֗רֶץ | keeretz | like [the] earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| יְסָדָ֥הּ | yesadah | [which] he founded it | H3245 → | 43 times |
| לְעוֹלָֽם׃ | leolam | for ever | H5769 → | 438 times |
וַיִּ֣בֶןand he built
vaiyivenH1129 →376 times
כְּמוֹ־like
kemov-H3644 →143 times
רָ֭מִים[the] high [things]
ramimH7311 →190 times
מִקְדָּשׁ֑וֹsanctuary his
mikdashoH4720 →75 times
כְּ֝אֶ֗רֶץlike [the] earth
keeretzH776 →2504 times
יְסָדָ֥הּ[which] he founded it
yesadahH3245 →43 times
לְעוֹלָֽם׃for ever
leolamH5769 →438 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
Isaiah 51:6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like…
it leads to
- Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
- Psalms 102:25–26
In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
- Isaiah 34:4
All the stars of heaven will be dissolved. The skies will be rolled up like a scroll, and all their stars will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like foliage from the fig…
- Hebrews 1:10–12
And: “In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
- Revelation 6:12–14
And when I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red,
- Matthew 24:35
Through
1 Samuel 2:8He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth…
it leads to
- Psalms 113:7–8
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the dump
- Daniel 2:48
Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.
- James 2:5
Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
- Psalms 113:7–8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 78; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.