Psalms 106:26

26 Therefore, he solemnly swore that he would kill them in the wilderness,

Psalms 106:26 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 106:26

Therefore he lifted up his hand against them
A gesture used in swearing, ( Genesis 14:22 Genesis 14:23 ) ( Revelation 10:5 Revelation 10:6 ) . So the Targum understands it here,

``and he lifted up his hand with an oath, because of them:''

and so it is interpreted by Aben Ezra, Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech; and agrees with ( Numbers 14:28-30 ) . The same gesture was used by the Heathens in swearing, as by Latinus ^F19. Or he lifted up his hand, in a way of judgment, to strike the blow; and which, when it lights on man with the indignation of his anger, falls heavy; see ( Isaiah 26:11 ) ( 30:30 ) . To overthrow them in the wilderness; as he did all the murmuring generation that came out of Egypt, all but Caleb and Joshua; all from twenty years and upwards, their carcasses fell in the wilderness; there they were wasted, consumed, and died, ( Numbers 14:32 Numbers 14:33 Numbers 14:35 ) ( 1 Corinthians 10:5 ) ( Hebrews 3:17 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 "----Tenditque ad sidera dextram--Terram, mare, sidera juro", Virg. Aeneid. 12.

Psalms 106:26 In-Context

24 The people refused to enter the pleasant land, for they wouldn’t believe his promise to care for them.

25 Instead, they grumbled in their tents and refused to obey the LORD .

26 Therefore, he solemnly swore that he would kill them in the wilderness,

27 that he would scatter their descendants among the nations, exiling them to distant lands.

28 Then our ancestors joined in the worship of Baal at Peor; they even ate sacrifices offered to the dead!