Psalms 78:5

For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
established	וַיָּ֤קֶם vai.Ya.kem	H6965	to rise (in various applications · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
testimony	עֵד֨וּת 'e.Dut	H5715	testimony · noun, common feminine singular absolute
Jacob	בְּֽיַעֲקֹ֗ב be.ya.'a.Ko	H3290	Jaakob · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
appointed	שָׂ֤ם sam	H7760	to put (used in a great variety of applications · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
law	וְתוֹרָה֮ ve.to.Rah	H8451	a precept or statute · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular absolute
Israel	בְּיִשְׂרָ֫אֵ֥ל be.yis.Ra.'El	H3478	Jisrael · preposition + proper noun, a place name
commanded	צִ֭וָּה Tzi.vah	H6680	(intensively) to constitute · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
fathers	אֲבוֹתֵ֑ינוּ 'a.vo.Tei.nu	H1	father · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix
known	לְ֝הוֹדִיעָ֗ם le.ho.di.'Am	H3045	to know (properly · preposition + verb, hiphil infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
children	לִבְנֵיהֶֽם liv.nei.Hem	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural

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

Ephesians 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Genesis 18:19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and ju…
Deuteronomy 4:45 These are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, after they came forth out of…
Deuteronomy 6:7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by th…
Psalms 81:5 This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.
Deuteronomy 11:19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest…
Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Isaiah 38:19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 78:1-8

These verses, which contain the preface to this history, show that the psalm answers the title; it is indeed Maschil - a psalm to give instruction; if we receive not the instruction it gives, it is our own fault. Here, I. The psalmist demands attention to what he wrote (Psa 78:1): Give ear, O my people! to my law. Some make these the psalmist's words. David, as a king, or Asaph, in his name, as his secretary of state, or scribe to the sweet singer of Israel, here calls upon the people, as his people committed to his charge, to give ear to his law. He calls his instructions his law or edict; such was their commanding force in themselves. Every good truth, received in the light and love of it,…

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John Gill on Psalms 78:5

For he established a testimony in Jacob,.... So the law is called, being a testification of the divine will, Exodus 25:16 and the Scriptures, the writings of the Old Testament, which testify of Christ, his person, office, sufferings, and death, Isaiah 8:20 and particularly the Gospel, which is the testimony of God, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of his apostles, 2 Timothy 1:8 which bears witness to the love and grace of God in the salvation of men by Christ; to the dignity of Christ's person, to the fulness of his grace, to each of the offices and relations he bears and stands in to his people; to the virtue of his obedience, sufferings, and death; to redemption, righteousness, peace and pard…

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John Calvin on Psalms 78:1-6

Psalm 78:1-6 1. Hearken, O my people! to my law: [307] incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old time: 3. What we have heard and known, and our fathers have related to us. 4. We will not conceal from their children in the generation to come, recounting the praises of Jehovah, and his power, and the wonderful works which he has done. 5. He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel: for he commanded our fathers to make them known to their children: 6. That the generation to come might know them, and that the children to be born should arise and declare them to their children. 1. Give ear, O my…

The Church Fathers

"How great things," he says, "He has commanded our fathers, to make the same known to their sons?" [Psalm 78:5]. These words do point out two peoples as it were, the one belonging to the Old Testament, the other to the New: for in that he says, he has implied that they received the commandments, "to make them known to their sons," but that they did not know or do them: but they received them themselves, to the end "that another generation might know," what the former knew not.
— Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 78

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

Commandments · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Faith · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Hope · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Law Of God, The · Given: To the Israelites — Given: To the Israelites
Law Of Moses, The · Given: To the Jews — Given: To the Jews
Missionaries, All Christians Should Be As · In the family — In the family
Rebellion Against God · Religious instruction designed to prevent — Religious instruction designed to prevent
School · In the home — In the home

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 78:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 78:1-8

John Gill on Psalms 78:5

John Calvin on Psalms 78:1-6

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 78:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 78:1-8

John Gill on Psalms 78:5

John Calvin on Psalms 78:1-6

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 78:1-11

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 78:5-6

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 78:5