Bible Strands
Psalms 106:30
But Phinehas stood and intervened, and the plague was restrained.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the congregation of Israel while recounting the historical moment a plague broke out after the people provoked the Lord with their deeds. This occurs precisely when divine judgment was actively destroying the community.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַ/יְפַלֵּ֑ל (va/y.fa.Lel) translates literally as "he mediated" or "he intervened," describing Phinehas's physical action. The verb וַ֝/תֵּעָצַ֗ר (va./te.'a.Tzar) means "it was restrained," indicating the immediate cessation of the plague.
The thread — This event mirrors the narrative in Numbers 25:6-14 where Phinehas halts a plague among the Israelites, and the psalmist immediately connects his action to enduring righteousness in verse 31. The parallel in Joshua 7:12 further illustrates how corporate rebellion triggers divine restraint that requires decisive action.
Why it lands — The text records that standing against rebellion can halt ongoing judgment, requiring the reader to observe the direct link between decisive intervention and the cessation of consequences. It demands acknowledgment that the action itself, not subsequent praise, is what the narrative credits as righteousness.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed.
Cross-references
- Numbers 25:6 Just then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and the whole congregation of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
- Numbers 25:14 The name of the Israelite who was slain with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family.
- Joshua 7:12 This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they themselves have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you whatever is devoted to destruction.
- Deuteronomy 13:9 Instead, you must surely kill him. Your hand must be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.
- 1 Kings 18:40 Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
- Jonah 1:12 “Pick me up,” he answered, “and cast me into the sea, so it may quiet down for you. For I know that I am to blame for this violent storm that has come upon you.”
- Deuteronomy 13:15 you must surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword. Devote to destruction all its people and livestock.