Psalms 105:39

He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
spread	פָּרַ֣שׂ pa.Ras	H6566	to break apart · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
cloud	עָנָ֣ן 'a.Nan	H6051	a cloud (as covering the sky) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
covering	לְמָסָ֑ךְ le.ma.Sakh	H4539	a cover · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
fire	וְ֝אֵ֗שׁ ve.'Esh	H784	fire (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + noun, common both genders singular absolute
light	לְהָאִ֥יר le.ha.'Ir	H215	to be (causative · preposition + verb, hiphil infinitive construct
night	לָֽיְלָה La.ye.lah	H3915	properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Nehemiah 9:12 Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they s…
Psalms 78:14 In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.
Isaiah 4:5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a fl…
Exodus 13:21-22 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to…
Exodus 14:24 And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, a…
Nehemiah 9:19 Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them…
Numbers 9:15-22 And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was…
1 Corinthians 10:1-2 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 105:25–end

After the history of the patriarchs follows here the history of the people of Israel, when they grew into a nation. I. Their affliction in Egypt (Psa 105:25): He turned the heart of the Egyptians, who had protected them, to hate them and deal subtilely with them. God's goodness to his people exasperated the Egyptians against them; and, though their old antipathy to the Hebrews (which we read of Gen 43:32; Gen 46:34) was laid asleep for a while, yet now it revived with more violence than ever: formerly they hated them because they despised them, now because they feared them. They dealt subtilely with them, set all their politics on work to find out ways and means to weaken them, and waste the…

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John Gill on Psalms 105:39

He spread a cloud for a covering,.... That is, the Lord spread one over their heads as an "umbrella", to protect them from the heat of the sun; this refers to the pillar of cloud, Exodus 13:20, though that seems to have been in an erect posture, and to go before the children of Israel to direct them in their journey, and not a covering to them. Kimchi says it was a covering to them when they rested, but not when they journeyed: but when they rested it only covered the tabernacle, not the people, for anything we read of it, Numbers 9:21, it looks as if there were more clouds than one, and indeed the Jews speak of many, and particularly make mention (e) of one that was over the heads of the Is…

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John Calvin on Psalms 105:39-43

Psalm 105:39-43 39. He spread out a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light during the night. 40. He asked, [234] and he brought quails, and filled them with the bread of heaven. 41. He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river. 42. For he remembered his holy promise, which he had spoken to Abraham his servant. 43. And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness. 39. He spread out a cloud for a covering The Psalmist enumerates certain miracles by which God continued his grace towards his people in the wilderness. This order is worthy of notice; for it was no small confirmation which was added to that incomparable work of…

The Church Fathers

He now proceeds to the divine blessings which were conferred upon them as they wandered in the desert. "He spread out a cloud to be their covering: and fire to give them light in the night season" [Psalm 105:39]. This is as clear as it is well known.
— Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 105

"And when Moses had gone up, a cloud covered the mountain." Just as the mountain on which Moses received the law designates the height of the perfection that was written down in that law, so does the cloud that covered the mountain suggest the grace of divine protection, which is enjoyed more and more the higher one ascends in order to search out the wonders of God's law, as the eyes of one's heart are opened. For surely the cloud covered not only the mountain on which Moses went up, but also the people who were traveling through the wilderness. They were by no means able to ascend to the higher regions, but the cloud sent from heaven overshadowed them nevertheless. Hence it is written that "he spread out a cloud for their protection," since the Lord surely protects with heavenly benediction "all those who fear him, both small and great."
— Bede, On the Tabernacle 1:1

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Cloud · PILLAR OF — PILLAR OF
Cloud Of Glory · Was designed to: Show light to Israel — Was designed to: Show light to Israel
Desert, Journey Of Israel Through The · Under God’s protection — Under God’s protection
Fire · Characterised as: Enlightening — Characterised as: Enlightening

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Psalms 105:39

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 105:25–end

John Gill on Psalms 105:39

John Calvin on Psalms 105:39-43

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 105:39

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 105:25–end

John Gill on Psalms 105:39

John Calvin on Psalms 105:39-43

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 105:39–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 105:39

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 105:39