John Calvin Commentary Psalms 105:18

"His feet they hurt with fetters: He was laid in [chains of] iron," — Psalms 105:18 (ASV)

They afflicted his feet in the fetters. It is not without reason that the Psalmist traces the winding course of Jacob’s early history, which could so confuse people's minds as to prevent them from directing their attention to the counsel of God. What seemed less likely than to believe that God, by such a directly opposite and circuitous path, meant to accomplish what He had planned?

But God's providence, by surmounting so many obstacles, is revealed more clearly than if He had handled the whole matter by a short and easy road. If Joseph, as soon as he arrived in Egypt, had been presented to the king and made its governor, the way to what followed would have been easy.

But when he was taken to prison and lay there separated from human society, living as one half-dead; and when his introduction to the king occurred much later and beyond all expectation, such a sudden change makes the miracle much more evident.

This winding course, then, which the prophet recounts, serves significantly to illustrate the current subject. Joseph was many times dead before he was sold. Therefore, it follows that God just as often showed His care for His Church by delivering him who could be called her father.

When, after being brought into Egypt, Joseph was passed from one person to another until he descended into another grave, is it not all the more clear from this that God, while He seems to be asleep in heaven, is continually keeping the strictest watch over His servants? Is it not also clear that He is advancing His purpose more effectively through these various twists and turns than if He had proceeded directly, indeed, than if He had moved with great speed?

For this reason, the prophet affirms that his feet were afflicted in the fetters; a fact that, although not stated in Moses' narrative, he speaks of as well known. Undoubtedly, many things were passed down by tradition to the Jews that are not mentioned in the Scriptures. It is also quite probable that, instead of being initially placed under mild restraint, as happened later, Joseph was severely confined.

Whether we read, his soul entered into the iron, or the iron entered into his soul, the meaning—which is exactly the same in either case—amounts to this: the holy man was so tormented by fetters that it seemed as if his life had been handed over to the sword. From this it follows that the preservation of his life seemed as hopeless as restoring life to a dead body.