Psalms 78:12

12 In front of their ancestors he did a wonder, in the land of Egypt, [in] the region of Zoan.

Psalms 78:12 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 78:12

Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers
The Targum is,

``before Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes of their fathers, he did marvellous things;''

but these were dead before this time; the Jews have a fancy, that these were brought to the sea, and placed upon it; and the Lord showed them what he would do for their children, and how he would redeem them; but this is to be understood of the plagues which were brought upon the Egyptians, and which are called wonders, ( Exodus 11:10 ) , and were so to the Egyptians themselves; and these were done by the hands of Moses and Aaron, and in their sight:

in the land of Egypt;
where the Israelites were in bondage, and while they were there, and on their account were these things done:

in the field of Zoan;
that is, in the territory of Zoan, which was an ancient city of Egypt, ( Numbers 13:22 ) , the metropolis of the land where Pharaoh kept his court; hence we read of the princes of Zoan, ( Isaiah 19:11 Isaiah 19:13 ) , it is the same with Tanis, and so it is called here in the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, and also in the Targum; it is said to have been two miles from Heliopolis, and one from Memphis; and at this day these three cities are become one, which is fifteen miles in compass, and goes by the name of Alcair. In this great city, the metropolis of the nation, before Pharaoh and all his court, were the above wonders done.

Psalms 78:12 In-Context

10 They did not keep the covenant of God and refused to go in his law.
11 They also forgot his deeds, and his wonders that he had shown them.
12 In front of their ancestors he did a wonder, in the land of Egypt, [in] the region of Zoan.
13 He split the sea and caused them to go over, and he caused waters to stand like a heap.
14 And he led them with the cloud by day, and all night with a fiery light.

Footnotes 1

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.