Psalms 105:18

18 They made low his feet in fetters, iron passed by his soul; (They put his feet in fetters, and an iron collar around his neck;)

Psalms 105:18 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 105:18

Whose feet they hurt with fetters
For it seems Joseph was not only cast into prison, upon the calumny of his mistress; but had fetters put upon him, and his feet were made fast with them; and these were so close and heavy, as to pinch and gall and hurt him; which, though not mentioned in his history, was undoubtedly true; see ( Genesis 39:20 ) .

He was laid in iron:
or "the iron" (or, as the Targum, "the iron chain") "went into his Soul" F6; his body; it ate into him, and gave him great pain: or rather, as it is in the king's Bible, "his soul went into the iron chain"; there being, as Aben Ezra observes, an ellipsis of the particle (b) , and which is supplied by Symmachus, and so in the Targum; that is, his body was enclosed in iron bands, so Buxtorf F7. In all this he was a type of Christ, whose soul was made exceeding sorrowful unto death: he was seized by the Jews, led bound to the high priest, fastened to the cursed tree, pierced with nails, and more so with the sins of his people he bore; and was laid in the prison of the grave; from whence and from judgment he was brought, ( Isaiah 53:8 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F6 So Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus.
F7 Lexic. "in voce" (lzrb) .

Psalms 105:18 In-Context

16 And God called hunger on earth (And God called for hunger, or a famine, on the earth); and he wasted all the steadfastness of bread.
17 He sent a man before them; Joseph was sold into a servant (Joseph was sold as a slave).
18 They made low his feet in fetters, iron passed by his soul; (They put his feet in fetters, and an iron collar around his neck;)
19 till the word of him came. The speech of the Lord enflamed him; (until the word of the Lord came as predicted. The word of the Lord proved him right;)
20 the king sent and unbound him; the prince of peoples sent and delivered him. (then the king sent and unbound him; yea, the ruler of the nations sent word, and set him free.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.