Psalms 78:21

21 And so the Lord was angry when he heard them; he attacked his people with fire, and his anger against them grew,

Psalms 78:21 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 78:21

Therefore the Lord heard this
What they said in their hearts, and what they expressed with their mouths, all their murmurings against him, their distrust of his power and providence, and disbelief of his promises; see ( Numbers 11:1 ) , and was wroth; exceeding wroth; he was highly displeased; there was an overflow of his indignation, as the word ^F1 signifies; it was running upon him, upon the thick bosses of his buckler, to arraign his perfections, call in question any of his attributes, and disbelieve his word; this must greatly exasperate him, and provoke the eyes of his glory:

so a fire was kindled against Jacob;
the posterity of Jacob; or in Jacob ^F2, in the camp of Israel; which was literally true, because of the murmurings of the people against the Lord fire came down from heaven, and burnt among them, and consumed the uttermost parts of the camp; wherefore the name of the place was called Taberah, which signifies a burning, ( Numbers 11:1-3 ) , or it may be taken figuratively for the wrath of God, which is oftentimes compared to fire; see ( Nahum 1:6 ) hence it follows,

and anger also came up against Israel;
the people of Israel, the same with Jacob before; the allusion is to men when angry, in whose breasts anger burns, and from thence it rises up, and shows itself in their countenance, in their eyes, and by the words of their mouth.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 (rbety) "transiit in hithpael de transitu vel exundatione bilis solet usurpari", Gejerus.
F2 (bqeyb) "in Jahacob", Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus.

Psalms 78:21 In-Context

19 They spoke against God and said, "Can God supply food in the desert?

20 It is true that he struck the rock, and water flowed out in a torrent; but can he also provide us with bread and give his people meat?"

21 And so the Lord was angry when he heard them; he attacked his people with fire, and his anger against them grew,

22 because they had no faith in him and did not believe that he would save them.

23 But he spoke to the sky above and commanded its doors to open;