Bible Strands
Psalms 105:17
He sent a man before them—Joseph, sold as a slave.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses Israel while recounting God’s historical intervention during the famine that preceded the patriarchs’ descent into Egypt.
The words — The verse hinges on שָׁלַ֣ח (sha.Lach), meaning “he sent,” and נִמְכַּ֥ר (nim.Kar), meaning “he was sold,” which frame Joseph’s arrival as both a divine dispatch and a human transaction.
The thread — This event is cross-referenced in Acts 7:9, Genesis 37:36, and Genesis 45:4, which document the brothers’ sale of Joseph and his subsequent presence in Egypt.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to recognize that human betrayal and divine action occur in sequence, positioning Joseph’s enslavement as the mechanical precursor to the famine’s resolution.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:
Cross-references
- Acts 7:9 Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
- Genesis 37:36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
- Genesis 45:4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near me.” And they did so. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt!
- Genesis 50:20 As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.
- Genesis 37:27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And they agreed.
- Genesis 39:1 Meanwhile, Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, where an Egyptian named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
- Genesis 45:7 God sent me before you to preserve you as a remnant on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.