Psalms 106:26

26 And he raised his hand on them; to cast down them in desert. (And he raised up his hand against them; to throw them down 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 And they had the desirable land for nought, (for) they believed not to his word, (And they considered the desirable land as worth nothing, for they did not believe his promise,)

25 and they grutched in their tabernacles (and they grumbled in their tents); (and) they heard not the voice of the Lord.

26 And he raised his hand on them; to cast down them in desert. (And he raised up his hand against them; to throw them down in the wilderness.)

27 And to cast away their seed in nations; and to lose them in countries. (And to scatter their descendants among the nations; and so to let them die in foreign, or strange, lands.)

28 And they made sacrifice to Baalpeor; and they ate the sacrifices of dead beasts. (And then they sacrificed to Baalpeor; and they ate the sacrifices offered to dead, or lifeless, gods.)