What historical events might Psalm 105:33 be referencing? Entry Overview Psalm 105 is a historical psalm that rehearses Yahweh’s mighty acts from the patriarchal era through the Exodus. Verse 33 sits inside the sequence of the ten plagues, describing the devastation of Egypt’s vegetation. The most immediate historical anchor is the seventh plague—hail mingled with fire—recorded in Exodus 9:22-26. The verse may also anticipate the eighth plague—locusts—in Exodus 10:3-15, but its primary target is the hailstorm that splintered Egypt’s trees. Text “He struck their vines and fig trees and shattered the trees of their country.” (Psalm 105:33) Immediate Literary Context 32 “He gave them hail for rain, with lightning throughout their land.” 33 “He struck their vines and fig trees and shattered the trees of their country.” 34 “He spoke, and the locusts came—young locusts without number.” The flow is clear: hail (v. 32) → destruction of vines and figs (v. 33) → locusts (v. 34). Verse 33 therefore records the botanical ruin resulting from the hail. Sequence of Plagues in Psalm 105 1. Waters to blood (v. 29) 2. Frogs (v. 30) 3. Gnats (v. 31) 4. Flies (v. 31) 5. Hail (v. 32-33) 6. Locusts (v. 34-35) 7. Firstborn (v. 36) The psalm telescopes plagues three and four into one verse, then expands on the hail plague in verses 32-33 before moving to the locusts. The placement confirms that verse 33 is an extension of plague seven. Historical Setting: Egypt, Late Bronze Age (ca. 1446 BC) Using the internal chronology of 1 Kings 6:1 and Judges 11:26, the Exodus falls around 1446 BC. Botanical and climatic studies (e.g., Harvey Weiss & Raymond S. Bradley, 2001, “What Drives Societal Collapse?”) note that severe hail is extremely rare in the Nile Delta; a storm capable of obliterating fruit trees would have been unmistakably supernatural. The Seventh Plague: Hail and Fire Exodus 9:23-25 : “The LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth… the hail struck down everything in the fields… it shattered every tree.” Psalm 105:33 echoes this wording. Egypt’s polytheism deified sky, agriculture, and weather (Nut, Shu, Osiris). Yahweh’s storm demonstrated supremacy over these gods. Botanical Specifics: Vines and Fig Trees in Ancient Egypt Wall paintings in the tombs of Userhat (TT56) and Nebamun (British Museum EA 37977) depict vineyards and fig orchards in the New Kingdom period. Papyri (e.g., Papyrus Harris I) list figs and grapes among temple revenues. Thus the verse targets economically significant crops, heightening the judgment. Comparison with Psalm 78:47 “He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore-figs with sleet.” Psalm 78:47 parallels Psalm 105:33, reinforcing that the hail plague snapped fruit trees. Possible Allusion to the Eighth Plague Because verses 34-35 immediately describe locusts devouring “every green thing,” some commentators read verse 33 as inclusive of the cumulative devastation across both plagues. Nevertheless, the grammatical connection to “hail” (v. 32) makes the hailstorm its primary referent. Chronological Considerations - Creation: 4004 BC (Ussher) - Flood: 2348 BC - Abraham’s call: 1921 BC - Exodus: 1446 BC Psalm 105:33 therefore points to an event roughly 858 years after the Flood and 475 years after Abraham’s migration to Canaan. Archaeological and Textual Corroboration • Ipuwer Papyrus 2:12-13 (“trees are destroyed, no fruit nor herbs are found”) mirrors plague language, albeit from a later, likely second-hand perspective. • Ahmose Tempest Stele (Cairo Jeremiah 55027) records “rain, thunder, darkened skies” in a period known for political upheaval; some scholars link the stele’s storm to the Exodus hailstorm. While extra-biblical documents are fragmentary, their overlap with the plagues’ motifs strengthens historical plausibility. Miraculous Nature and Intelligent Design The precise timing—“tomorrow about this time” (Exodus 9:18)—and selective targeting (“only in the land of Goshen… there was no hail,” Exodus 9:26) defy naturalistic weather models. Such specificity points to an intelligent Agent wielding creation to accomplish redemptive purposes. Theological Significance 1. Judgment: Yahweh dismantles Egypt’s agrarian economy. 2. Covenant Faithfulness: He secures Israel’s release in fulfillment of Genesis 15:13-14. 3. Typology: The shattered trees prefigure the curse borne by Christ on the tree (Galatians 3:13). Applications • For believers: Assurance that God intervenes in history and keeps His promises. • For skeptics: The convergence of biblical text, archaeology, and internal coherence invites serious historical consideration rather than dismissal as myth. Key Cross-References Exodus 9:22-26; Exodus 10:12-15; Psalm 78:47-48; Isaiah 28:2; Revelation 16:21. Conclusion Psalm 105:33 primarily recalls the historic seventh plague—hail that pulverized Egypt’s vines, fig trees, and forests during the Exodus (ca. 1446 BC). The verse encapsulates divine judgment on Egypt’s gods, economic lifelines, and ecological stability, miraculously executed to liberate Israel and foreshadow ultimate redemption in Christ. |
    |