God's mighty acts in Israel's history

Psalm 135 is a public call to praise that supports worship with reasons drawn from what God has done and how God has acted in the world. Verses 8–12 sit in the middle of a larger rehearsal of God’s deeds, moving from creation and control of nature (earlier in the psalm) to historical interventions for Israel. These lines work like a compact storyline: Egypt is judged, hostile powers are overcome, and Israel receives a settled inheritance. The passage is not trying to tell the whole story in detail; it selects memorable highlights to fuel gratitude and confidence.

The events summarized point back to Israel’s foundational narratives: the exodus from Egypt, the confrontation with Pharaoh’s regime, and the later military conflicts east of the Jordan and in Canaan. “Firstborn,” “signs and wonders,” and “Pharaoh” evoke the plagues and Israel’s departure from Egypt; naming Sihon of the Amorites and Og of Bashan recalls key victories that opened the way toward settlement. The psalm likely functioned in communal worship long after these events, using well-known names and places as shared reference points for Israel’s identity and memory.

Shared ground

These verses treat Israel’s “big story” as evidence of God’s active rule in history. The text explicitly claims that God struck Egypt’s firstborn (people and animals), sent “signs and wonders” into Egypt against Pharaoh and his officials, defeated many nations, killed notable kings (Sihon and Og), and struck the kingdoms of Canaan. The sequence ends with a stated purpose: God then gave the land as a “heritage” to Israel, described as “his people.”

The passage also frames these events as coordinated: judgment on an oppressor (Egypt), overcoming hostile powers on the way to settlement, and provision of an inheritance. It is a selective summary, not a detailed retelling.

Where interpretation differs

How to read “all the kingdoms of Canaan.” Some read “all” as a broad, totalizing claim about comprehensive victory; others take it as a conventional way of speaking (“across the Canaanite realm”) without requiring that every city-state is in view.

What “heritage” emphasizes. Some understand “heritage” mainly as enduring possession and identity (“this land is Israel’s lasting inheritance”); others stress the gift aspect (“God granted what Israel did not secure by itself”), without making the permanence question the main point.

Whether “sent signs and wonders” implies multiple events or a summary. The line can be heard as pointing to a series of plagues, or as one compressed reference to God’s whole campaign against Pharaoh’s regime.

Why the disagreement exists

The disagreements arise from how poetic summaries work: they use broad language (“all,” “many,” “signs and wonders”) and familiar story markers (Pharaoh, Sihon, Og) without specifying scope, timeline, or degree. Readers differ on whether such phrases should be read with strict precision or as rhetorical shorthand.

What this passage clearly contributes

1. God’s power is portrayed as public and political: the target is not only individuals but Pharaoh “and all his servants” (the ruling apparatus).

2. God’s acts include both judgment (striking, killing) and provision (giving land). The land is not presented as merely seized; it is presented as given “for a heritage.”

3. Israel’s identity (“Israel, his people”) is tied to remembered acts in concrete places with named rulers, grounding worship in history rather than only in abstract ideas. See also Exodus 12:29–36 for the firstborn plague and Numbers 21:21–35 for Sihon and Og.