The Meaning of Psalms 135:12 Explained

Psalms 135:12

KJV: And gave their land for an heritage, an heritage unto Israel his people.

YLT: And He gave their land an inheritance, An inheritance to Israel His people,

Darby: And gave their land for an inheritance, an inheritance unto Israel his people.

ASV: And gave their land for a heritage, A heritage unto Israel his people.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And gave  their land  [for] an heritage,  an heritage  unto Israel  his people. 

What does Psalms 135:12 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalm 135:1-12 - God's Wonderful Power
This psalm begins and ends with Hallelujah. It contains choice extracts from various psalms, which have been culled as the flowers of a garden are gathered for one bouquet. The arguments for praise are threefold: God's glory in nature, Psalms 135:5-7; His dealings with Israel, Psalms 135:8-14; the contrast of His glorious nature with idols, Psalms 135:15-21.
Notice the arguments adduced to stimulate our praise: that God is good; that praise-giving is pleasant; that He has chosen His people to be His peculiar treasure; that He is as great as He is good; that He will take our part against our foes, etc. The moral of it all is that if we would praise God aright and with zest, we must carefully gather our materials and meditate on all His dealings with us. These are fuel for the flame. But how many more reasons than the psalmist had are there for us to praise Him, who have been adopted into His family and made joint-heirs with Christ! [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 135

1  An exhortation to praise God for his mercy
5  For his power
8  For his judgments
15  The vanity of idols
19  An exhortation to bless God

What do the individual words in Psalms 135:12 mean?

and gave their land [as] a heritage a heritage to Israel His people
וְנָתַ֣ן אַרְצָ֣ם נַחֲלָ֑ה נַ֝חֲלָ֗ה לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל עַמּֽוֹ

וְנָתַ֣ן  and  gave 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
אַרְצָ֣ם  their  land  [as] 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
נַחֲלָ֑ה  a  heritage 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: נַחֲלָה  
Sense: possession, property, inheritance, heritage.
נַ֝חֲלָ֗ה  a  heritage 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: נַחֲלָה  
Sense: possession, property, inheritance, heritage.
לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל  to  Israel 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
עַמּֽוֹ  His  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.