Psalms 136:11

Study note

Setting — The passage operates as a liturgical refrain within a corporate recounting of the Exodus, positioned directly after the judgment on Egypt’s firstborn and immediately before the description of the mighty hand that executed the deliverance.

The words — וַיּוֹצֵא (va-yotze) literally means "and he brought out," while חַסְדּוֹ (chesed-o) translates to "his covenant loyalty," pairing the historical action with its theological classification.

The thread — The departure motif recurs in Exodus 12:51, which records Yahweh bringing Israel out of Egypt by divisions, Exodus 13:3, which commands remembrance of the exit from the house of slavery, and Exodus 13:17, which notes the altered route taken after Pharaoh released the people.

Why it lands — The text demands that the reader treat the exodus not as an isolated event but as a verified instance of Yahweh’s enduring covenant loyalty, requiring explicit acknowledgment of that pattern each time the narrative is recited.

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.