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Psalm 78:12
He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
10They didn’t keep God’s covenant, and refused to walk in his law.
11They forgot his doings, his wondrous deeds that he had shown them.
12He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
13He split the sea, and caused them to pass through. He made the waters stand as a heap.
14In the daytime he also led them with a cloud, and all night with a light of fire.
Notice
Zoan gives the memory a named place: God’s marvelous deeds happened where their fathers could see them, yet the surrounding lines record that people forgot.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What difference does naming Egypt and Zoan make to how you read this account of God’s deeds?
Write on thisWhat do you notice about the contrast between their fathers seeing God’s deeds and the people forgetting them?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Exodus 34:10He said, “Behold, I make a covenant: before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been worked in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the …Exodus promises marvels that the people will see; the psalm recalls marvelous things done in the sight of their fathers.
Numbers 13:22They went up by the South, and came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan …Both name Zoan in Egypt; Numbers uses its founding to date Hebron, while the psalm locates God’s marvelous deeds there.
Psalm 17:7Show your marvelous loving kindness, you who save those who take refuge by your right hand from their enemies.Both describe God’s action as marvelous: Psalm 17 asks for loving kindness, while Psalm 78 recalls deeds witnessed in Egypt.
Ezekiel 30:14I will make Pathros desolate, and will set a fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments on No.Both name Zoan as a place of God’s action; the psalm recalls marvels, while Ezekiel announces fire and judgment.
Isaiah 19:11The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish. The counsel of the wisest counselors of Pharaoh has become stupid. How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the …Both name Zoan in Egypt; Isaiah addresses its foolish princes, while the psalm remembers God’s marvelous deeds there.
Revelation 15:3They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God, the Almighty! Righteous and …Both describe God’s works as marvelous; Revelation includes that praise in the song of Moses and the Lamb.
Deuteronomy 6:22and the LORD showed great and awesome signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his house, before our eyes;Both recall wonders God performed in Egypt before witnesses, with Deuteronomy naming Pharaoh and his house.
Isaiah 19:13The princes of Zoan have become fools. The princes of Memphis are deceived. They have caused Egypt to go astray, those who are the cornerstone of her tribes.Zoan and Egypt appear in both passages, though Isaiah describes failed leadership and the psalm recalls God’s marvelous deeds.
Psalm 135:9He sent signs and wonders into the middle of you, Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his servants.Both recall God’s wonders in Egypt; Psalm 135 names Pharaoh and his servants as those upon whom the wonders came.
Exodus 7:1–12:51The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I have made you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.The link is Egypt’s setting: Exodus describes God’s commission concerning Pharaoh, while the psalm recalls marvels in Egypt.
Deuteronomy 4:34Or has God tried to go and take a nation for himself from among another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand, by an outstretched …Both recall God’s deeds in Egypt before human eyes; Deuteronomy describes those wonders as part of taking a nation for himself.
Psalm 105:27–38They performed miracles among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.Both recount marvelous deeds in a named land, with Psalm 105 describing miracles and wonders in the land of Ham.
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Encouragement
Your faith has a history beyond your own experience. Here, the psalm recalls what God did in a named place, before people who saw his works.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).