Psalms 106:7 · Bible study
Psalms 106:7 Commentary: Forgetting Wonders, Rebelling at the Sea
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
A study on the roots of unbelief: how failure to understand and remember God's wonders leads to rebellion, and how grace prevails.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Israel's rebellion at the Red Sea sprang from failing to understand God's wonders and forgetting His abundant covenant mercies.
- Key words: הִשְׂכִּילוּ (consider wisely), חֲסָדֶיךָ (covenant loyalties), יַמְר֖וּ (rebelled).
- Main debate: Whether the two failures (understand/remember) represent distinct sins or one root cause; also the possible textual emendation to 'rebelled against the Most High.'
- Theological theme: Human forgetfulness meets divine faithfulness; the persistence of unbelief alongside the sovereignty of grace.
- Best use: A penitential reflection for times of national or personal lament, leading to hope in God's undeserved salvation.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Our fathers in Egypt did not grasp Your wonders or remember Your abundant kindness; but they rebelled by the sea, there at the Red Sea.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Our fathers didn’t understand your wonders in Egypt. They didn’t remember the multitude of your loving kindnesses, but were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea.
KJV King James Version 1769
Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; They remembered not the multitude of thy lovingkindnesses, But were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Our fathers in Egypt, Have not considered wisely Thy wonders, They have not remembered The abundance of Thy kind acts, And provoke by the sea, at the sea of Suph.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Our fathers in Egypt considered not thy wondrous works; they remembered not the multitude of thy loving-kindnesses; but they rebelled at the sea, at the Red Sea.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And he led them into the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Nuestros padres en Egipto no entendieron tus maravillas; no se acordaron de la muchedumbre de tus misericordias; sino que se rebelaron junto á la mar, en el mar Bermejo.
Nossos pais no Egito não deram atenção a tuas maravilhas, nem se lembraram da abundância de tuas bondades; mas ao invés disso se rebelaram junto ao mar, perto do mar Vermelho.
Nos pères en Égypte ne furent pas attentifs à tes miracles,
Unsre Väter in Ägypten wollten deine Wunder nicht verstehen; sie gedachten nicht an deine große Güte und waren ungehorsam am Meer, am Schilfmeer.
Onze vaders in Egypte hebben niet gelet op Uw wonderen; zij zijn der menigte Uwer goedertierenheid niet gedachtig geweest; maar zij waren wederspannig aan de zee, bij de Schelfzee.
I nostri padri non prestarono attenzione alle tue maraviglie in Egitto; non si ricordarono della moltitudine delle tue benignità, ma si ribellarono presso al mare, al Mar rosso.
Ojcowie nasi w Egipcie nie zrozumieli cudów twoich, ani pamiętali na wielkość miłosierdzia twego; ale odpornymi byli przy morzu Czerwonem.
и повел их прямым путем, чтобы они шли к населенному городу.
我們的祖宗 在埃及 不 明白 你的奇事，不 記念 你豐盛的 慈愛，反倒在 紅 海 行了悖逆。
Our fathers did not give thought to your wonders in Egypt; they did not keep in memory the great number of your mercies, but gave you cause for wrath at the sea, even at the Red Sea.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 106:7
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that this verse traces Israel's rebellion at the Red Sea to two failures. First, the fathers 'did not understand' God's wonders in Egypt. Barnes notes that they failed to perceive the design of divine dealings; Gill adds that they did not wisely consider the plagues as proofs of God's power. The Hebrew verb הִשְׂכִּילוּ (hiskilu) implies deliberate consideration, not just intellectual grasp. Second, they 'did not remember the multitude of your lovingkindnesses.' Calvin sees this as the core of sin: ingratitude that forgets abundant mercy. The word חֲסָדֶיךָ (chasadekha) speaks of covenant loyalty, not mere kindness. Forgetting such loyalty, the people rebelled. Cambridge Bible notes that lack of insight characterized Israel from the first. Keil and Delitzsch observe that the miraculous judgments had no effect on their state of mind. The verse functions as a corporate confession, with the psalmist including himself in 'we have sinned' (v.6), showing the pattern of unbelief persists. Yet the next verse ('Nevertheless he saved them') highlights that God's grace overrides even such rebellion.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The verse plainly states that Israel's rebellion at the sea was caused by their failure to understand and remember God's wonders and mercies, and the surrounding context (v.8) shows that God saved them despite this sin.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Cause of rebellion | All traditions agree that rebellion stemmed from failure to understand and remember God's works. | Some emphasize intellectual failure (lack of wisdom), others emphasize volitional failure (hardness of heart); both acknowledge culpability. |
| Nature of the wonders | The wonders refer to the plagues and signs performed in Egypt. | Whether the wonders included the crossing of the sea itself or only the plagues; the phrase 'in Egypt' suggests the plagues, but some extend the reference to the entire exodus. |
| Corporate identity | The psalmist speaks of 'our fathers' and identifies with them in confession (v.6). | Whether this implies inherited guilt or merely a historical pattern; Protestant and Catholic traditions differ on original sin, but both affirm the ongoing reality of sin. |
| Role of grace | God saved them despite rebellion (v.8), showing His mercy. | Whether this encourages presumption or genuine hope; some warn against abusing grace, others emphasize confidence in God's covenant faithfulness. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The event behind this verse is recorded in Exodus 14:10-12. Fresh from the plagues that broke Egypt, the Israelites stood trapped between Pharaoh's army and the sea. They turned on Moses with bitter sarcasm, 'Were there no graves in Egypt?' The rebellion named here is that very moment of panic and accusation.
The phrase 'in Egypt' modifies the wonders: the plagues and signs that preceded the exodus. Gill stresses that these miracles were 'seen with their eyes,' yet the people lacked hearts to perceive their true meaning, that God alone is worthy of trust. The sea itself is called 'Yam Suph,' likely meaning 'Reed Sea' (Keil and Delitzsch note the Egyptian derivation from 'sippe,' seaweed). Its precise location is debated, but it functioned as the boundary between slavery and freedom.
Some rabbinic traditions, cited by Clarke, see a double fault: the people murmured when they saw the sea, and then hesitated to enter when the waters parted. The repetition of 'at the sea, even at the Red Sea' may mark these two moments. The psalmist compresses history to make a point: failure to understand and remember leads to rebellion against the very God who redeems. This pattern, grace received, grace forgotten, is the burden of Psalm 106, a post-exilic confession that links Israel's ancient sin to the present generation's need for mercy.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note one plausible textual emendation: the Cambridge Bible suggests that the last line may originally have read 'and rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea,' following the parallel in Psalm 78:17, 56. Keil and Delitzsch note the alternation of prepositions (על and ב) and argue the Masoretic text is sound. No other significant variants are discussed in the consulted commentaries. The verse's meaning is unaffected by the suggested emendation.
Reception History
Throughout church history, this verse has been read as a warning against the forgetfulness that leads to unbelief. Early Christian writers included it in psalms of confession. The Reformers (Calvin, followed by Geneva Bible notes) interpreted it as a model of penitential acknowledgment that even God's chosen people resist His grace. Puritan and Methodist commentators (Matthew Henry, Adam Clarke) used it to show the heinousness of ingratitude in light of many mercies. In modern homiletics, the verse is often paired with 'nevertheless he saved them' to highlight radical grace that perseveres beyond human failure. The verse also appears in Lenten liturgies and in studies of the exodus narrative as a caution against a hardened heart.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Failure to understand. The wonders were public, visible, undeniable, but the heart did not grasp their meaning. Spiritual perception takes more than eyewitness testimony.
- Failure to remember. The 'multitude of your mercies' should have built a reservoir of trust. Forgetting them made each new crisis a surprise.
- The resulting rebellion. At the sea, the very place of God's scheduled deliverance, they turned on Him. Unbelief always chooses a visible enemy over an invisible promise.
Five-point outline
- The setting: In Egypt, still under Pharaoh's shadow, but free.
- The wonders: Plagues that carved a nation out of an empire.
- The mercies: Covenant faithfulness shown again and again.
- The rebellion: Murmuring at Moses, doubting God's purpose.
- The grace: 'Nevertheless he saved them' (v.8). God's name, not Israel's worth, drove the rescue.
Illustration hooks
- A person rescued from debt by a friend's generosity, then complaining about the friend's next piece of advice.
- A church that prayed through a financial crisis, then bickered over the budget six months later.
- The human habit of treating past deliverances as old news while treating present problems as final verdicts.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why do I so quickly forget God's past faithfulness when a new trial comes?
- How can I train my memory to hold onto the 'multitude of mercies' instead of the single problem?
- Does my lack of understanding mean I am not truly saved? (No, this verse is a confession that believers make, not a denial of their faith.)
Leading a Discussion
This verse is a corporate confession. It invites us to see our own story in Israel's history, not to condemn, but to awaken trust. As you discuss, let honesty and hope sit together.
Discussion questions
- What specific wonders does the verse say the fathers failed to 'understand'? How does that differ from simply seeing them?
- The word 'remember' in the Bible often means more than recall, it means to act on what you know. Why does forgetting lead to rebellion?
- Where do you see a pattern of God's abundance in your own life? Where do you tend to overlook it?
- Israel rebelled 'at the sea', the very place of deliverance. Why do we sometimes resist God most at the moment of His greatest help?
- Psalm 106 pairs painful confession (v.7) with the refrain 'Nevertheless he saved them' (v.8). How does that sequence shape your view of repentance?
- How does reading this as a corporate confession (not just individual) change the way you apply it?
- What is one step you can take this week to 'remember' God's mercies more deliberately?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 14:11 | They said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you treated us this way, to bring us out of Egypt? |
| Exodus 14:12 | Isn’t this the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” |
| Deuteronomy 15:15 | You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you. Therefore I command you this thing today. |
| Deuteronomy 29:4 | But Yahweh has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear, to this day. |
| Deuteronomy 32:28 | For they are a nation void of counsel. There is no understanding in them. |
| Deuteronomy 32:29 | Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end! |
| Psalms 5:7 | But as for me, in the abundance of your loving kindness I will come into your house. I will bow toward your holy temple in reverence of you. |
| Psalms 51:1 | For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke highlights a rabbinic tradition that the Israelites sinned twice at the Red Sea: first by murmuring when they saw the sea ahead and Pharaoh behind, then by hesitating to enter the divided waters for fear of mud. He also notes that the Hebrew repetition may mean they provoked God both at the sea and in it.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes emphasizes that Israel's sin at the Red Sea was especially serious because they had received so many mercies from God. Forgetting even one favor would have been wrong, but forgetting the multitude of divine acts made their rebellion far worse. He applies this same principle to people today who ignore the countless daily blessings God provides.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin observes that Psalm 106 is not primarily a reproof or complaint against Israel, but a confession of sins aimed at obtaining pardon. The psalm begins with praise to encourage hope, then acknowledges that God's people repeatedly abused his kindness, making them unworthy of continued blessing—so the writer asks forgiveness.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator diagnoses Israel's failure as a fundamental lack of insight, not mere forgetfulness. The marvels God performed in Egypt should have taught them His character and will, but they never understood. This failure to grasp God's nature led directly to their stubborn rebellion at the Red Sea.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Bible notes observe that the Israelites' rebellion at the Red Sea did not come from nowhere. It was the direct result of failing to understand God's wonders in Egypt and forgetting the multitude of His mercies, so their hearts were hard when crisis came.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill points out that the Israelites saw God's miracles in Egypt with their own eyes but never truly grasped their meaning or purpose. Because they failed to understand God's power and identity through those signs, and forgot His many mercies, they quickly fell into complaining, distrust, and outright rebellion, even at the Red Sea.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB highlights that Israel rebelled against God at the exact moment and location of their deliverance from Egypt. Their unbelief showed they had forgotten His miracles. God saved them anyway, purely out of mercy and for His own glory, not because they deserved it.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch see the psalmist's confession of sin as the deliberate path to forgiveness and relief from punishment. They stress that Israel, like its forefathers, deserved abandonment, yet God saved them solely by unmerited mercy. The miracle at the sea briefly stirred faith, but ingratitude quickly followed.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry emphasizes that the penitents confess not only their own wickedness but also their solidarity with their fathers' sins, recognizing they have added to the inherited guilt. This humble acknowledgment justifies God in sending distress, yet the memory of His mercies past encourages hope that He will not utterly abandon them.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley observes that the Israelites stood at the sea with the memory of God's wonders still fresh and newly done. Their recent experience of miraculous deliverance from Egypt should have been vivid in their minds, making their fear and unbelief all the more striking.Wesley highlights that the Israelites faced the sea immediately after experiencing God's great wonders, when those miracles were still fresh and newly remembered. The timing underscores how quickly they lost sight of God's power despite having just witnessed it.