The Meaning of Psalms 78:23 Explained

Psalms 78:23

KJV: Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven,

YLT: And He commandeth clouds from above, Yea, doors of the heavens He hath opened.

Darby: Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the doors of the heavens,

ASV: Yet he commanded the skies above, And opened the doors of heaven;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Though he had commanded  the clouds  from above,  and opened  the doors  of heaven, 

What does Psalms 78:23 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 78:13-24 - "a Table In The Wilderness"
Throughout this wonderful recital there is a perpetual contrast between God's unswerving goodness and the incessant backsliding of His people; and as we read it, we learn that sin is not simply the violation of the divine law, but a source of pain and trouble to our Heavenly Father's heart. For us He cleaves the seas, leads us in the daytime, builds His watch-fires around us at night, and brings streams of blessing from the rocks. But we tempt Him by our incessant unbelief. We say, He certainly did thus and thus, but can He, will He, do this or that? "Can God furnish?" "Can God give bread?"
When shall we dare to believe in our Lord's assurances; first, that "with God all things are possible;" and second, that "all things are possible to him that believeth"? But we must live habitually in fellowship with God before we are able to exercise this faith. As we nourish our souls by feeding on the promises, and studying what He has done in the lives of others, out faith removes all the boundaries with which it had limited the Holy One, and cries, "Thou canst and thou wilt!" [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 78

1  An exhortation both to learn and to preach, the law of God
9  The story of God's wrath against the incredulous and disobedient
67  The Israelites being rejected, God chose Judah, Zion, and David

What do the individual words in Psalms 78:23 mean?

And yet He had commanded the clouds above and the doors of heaven opened
וַיְצַ֣ו שְׁחָקִ֣ים מִמָּ֑עַל וְדַלְתֵ֖י שָׁמַ֣יִם פָּתָֽח

וַיְצַ֣ו  And  yet  He  had  commanded 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: צָוָה  
Sense: to command, charge, give orders, lay charge, give charge to, order.
שְׁחָקִ֣ים  the  clouds 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: שַׁחַק  
Sense: dust, cloud.
מִמָּ֑עַל  above 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: מַעַל 
Sense: higher part, upper part adv.
וְדַלְתֵ֖י  and  the  doors 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, fdc
Root: דַּל 
Sense: door, gate.
שָׁמַ֣יִם  of  heaven 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
פָּתָֽח  opened 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: פָּתַח 
Sense: to open.