Psalm 105:17-19
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The verse highlights not just Joseph's suffering ("sold as a slave"), but God's intentional, proactive sending of him. This emphasizes that even Joseph's betrayal and enslavement were part of God's sovereign plan to preserve His people.
he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron; until what he had said came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This psalm recounts God’s faithfulness through Israel's history, focusing on how Joseph's betrayal by his brothers was orchestrated by God to preserve their family during a famine. The text emphasizes that God sent Joseph ahead into Egypt, even though he was sold into slavery, demonstrating divine providence working through human wickedness. This event directly precedes the famine that would drive Jacob's family down to Egypt, setting the stage for their eventual enslavement and subsequent deliverance.
How can God use evil actions for good? The story of Joseph is a powerful testament that He can, and He does.
This verse highlights a profound truth about God's sovereignty: He works through human choices, even sinful ones, to accomplish His purposes.
God's Hand at Work
While Joseph's brothers acted out of jealousy and malice, selling him into slavery (Genesis 37:28), the Psalmist doesn't see this as a mere accident or a random tragedy. Instead, he declares, "He had sent a man before them... Joseph." This means that before the famine struck and before Jacob's family desperately needed food, God had already set in motion a plan that would lead Joseph to Egypt.
Overruling Evil
This isn't to say God caused the brothers' sin. Their actions were wicked, stemming from their own hearts. However, God, in His wisdom, overruled their wicked intentions. He took their act of selling Joseph and used it as the means to place Joseph in a position where he could later save his family and countless others from starvation. This demonstrates that God's plans are not thwarted by human sin; rather, He can weave even the darkest threads into the tapestry of His redemptive purposes.
Joseph's journey from a favored son to a slave was marked by deep suffering. But was this suffering random, or part of God's design?
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The verse presents Joseph's selling into slavery not just as an event, but as a crucial part of God's preparatory work. His suffering was not in vain; it was a necessary step in God's unfolding plan.
Preparation Through Suffering
Before Joseph could become the one to save his family, he had to endure hardship. He was sold, betrayed, and unjustly imprisoned. These experiences forged his character, teaching him patience, resilience, and a deeper reliance on God. The commentators note that his feet were afflicted in stocks and iron entered his soul (as referenced in Psalm 105:18, which follows this verse). This imagery conveys the depth of his suffering.
God's Strategic Placement
This period of suffering was God's way of strategically placing Joseph in Egypt. Had he not been sold as a slave, he would not have ended up in Potiphar's house, nor would he have eventually been called to interpret Pharaoh's dreams. Each step, even the most painful, was part of God's careful orchestration to bring about His larger purpose of preserving life.
This underscores that God's plans often involve trials and difficulties. Our struggles aren't necessarily signs of His absence, but can be the very pathways He uses to shape us for His service.
Understand the original words
'ish · Hebrew Noun
In the biblical context, an individual is often chosen by God to fulfill a specific role in His redemptive history, functioning as a bridge between God's promise and its fulfillment.
'ebed · Hebrew Noun
A condition of being owned by another, used in Scripture to describe social bondage, but also metaphorically to describe the state of being owned by God (servitude) or by sin.
kebhel · Hebrew Noun
Instruments of binding, representing physical confinement, restriction, and the state of being restrained from one's own will or calling.
YHWH · Hebrew Proper Noun
The personal name of the self-existent God of the covenant, the One who is faithful to His promises and enters into a relationship with His people.
'imrah · Hebrew Noun
The spoken or revealed will of God; it is active, powerful, and always accomplishes the purpose for which it is sent.
tsaraph · Hebrew Verb
The process of refining, proving, or demonstrating the quality or validity of a person's faith, character, or obedience, often through hardship or delay.
This verse highlights how God's sovereign plan can work through deeply flawed human actions. Joseph's betrayal and sale into slavery, driven by his brothers' sin, was orchestrated by God to preserve life during a famine and ultimately to establish Israel as a nation.
c. 1750 BC— this verse
Joseph Sold into Slavery
Joseph's jealous brothers sell him to Ishmaelite traders, who then sell him in Egypt. This event marks the beginning of Joseph's trials and his eventual rise to power.
c. 1750-1730 BC
Joseph's Time in Egypt
Joseph endures slavery and imprisonment in Egypt, yet through his faithfulness and God's providence, he eventually interprets dreams for the Pharaoh and becomes second-in-command.
c. 1730 BC
Famine Strikes Canaan
A severe famine grips the land of Canaan, forcing Jacob and his sons to travel to Egypt to buy food, as Joseph had wisely prepared.
c. 1730 BC
Jacob's Family Migrates to Egypt
Jacob and his entire household, numbering around 70 people, move to Egypt under Joseph's guidance, settling in the land of Goshen.
c. 1730-1530 BC
Israel's Sojourn in Egypt
The descendants of Jacob live and multiply in Egypt for about 200 years, initially favored due to Joseph's status but eventually enslaved.
This passage directly quotes Joseph telling his brothers, 'God did send me before you to preserve life,' echoing the Psalmist's affirmation of divine providence in Joseph's life.
Genesis 50:20Joseph's brothers later feared his retribution, but Joseph reassured them by stating, 'You intended evil against me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives,' highlighting the theme of God turning evil into good through Joseph's suffering.
Acts 7:9-10Stephen recounts Joseph's story and explicitly states that God was with him, rescuing him from his afflictions and granting him favor and wisdom in Egypt, reinforcing the idea that Joseph's hardships were part of God's plan.
Romans 8:28This verse proclaims that 'in all things God works for the good of those who love him,' which beautifully parallels the overarching message of Psalm 105:17, that even the wicked act of selling Joseph was orchestrated by God for a greater good.
pulpitPsalms 105:17: "He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:"
Verse 17. - He sent a man before them, even Joseph. This is the real sense, though it is not fully expressed in the Hebrew. On the providential sending of Joseph into Egypt, see his own words, "God did send me before you, to preserve life" (Genesis 45:5). Who was sold for a servant (comp. Genesis 33:28, 36; Genesis 39:1).
ellicottPsalms 105:17: "He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:"
(17) Repeats Joseph’s own explanation, twice given, of the ways of Providence in his life ( Genesis 45:5 ; Genesis 1:20 ).
The verse highlights not just Joseph's suffering ("sold as a slave"), but God's intentional, proactive sending of him. This emphasizes that even Joseph's betrayal and enslavement were part of God's sovereign plan to preserve His people.
This psalm recounts God’s faithfulness through Israel's history, focusing on how Joseph's betrayal by his brothers was orchestrated by God to preserve their family during a famine. The text emphasizes that God sent Joseph ahead into Egypt, even though he was sold into slavery, demonstrating divine providence working through human wickedness. This event directly precedes the famine that would drive Jacob's family down to Egypt, setting the stage for their eventual enslavement and subsequent deliverance.
This psalm recounts God’s faithfulness through Israel's history, focusing on how Joseph's betrayal by his brothers was orchestrated by God to preserve their family during a famine. The text emphasizes that God sent Joseph ahead into Egypt, even though he was sold into slavery, demonstrating divine providence working through human wickedness. This event directly precedes the famine that would drive Jacob's family down to Egypt, setting the stage for their eventual enslavement and subsequent deliverance.
"he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron; until what he had said came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him." — The verse highlights not just Joseph's suffering ("sold as a slave"), but God's intentional, proactive sending of him. This emphasizes that even Joseph's betrayal and enslavement were part of God's s…
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Last reviewed October 2026
