Text: Psalm 78:58
OT Text Referred to: Deuteronomy 5:9
Subject: idolatry consequences
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): None
Significance: Deuteronomy 5:9 warns against idolatry because God is "a jealous God" (אֵל קַנָּא, 'El qanna'), and Psalm 78:58 records the violation that triggered His jealousy: "They provoked Him with their high places and aroused His jealousy with their idols." The psalm uses the cognate verb קנא (qn', "provoke to jealousy") from the Decalogue's warning, showing that the threatened consequence became historical reality. Israel's high-place worship and idol-making were precisely the behaviors the second commandment prohibited, and the resulting divine anger confirmed Moses's warning that jealous wrath would follow covenant unfaithfulness.