Text: Psalm 78:58
OT Text Referred to: Exodus 20:4
Subject: false image in poetic retrospective
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): None
Anchor Text: Exod 20 — The Decalogue
Significance: Exodus 20:4 forbids making graven images (פֶּסֶל, pesel), and Psalm 78:58 records Israel's covenant violation: "They moved Him to jealousy with their graven images" (פְּסִילֵיהֶם, pesileihem). The shared vocabulary of פ-ס-ל (p-s-l) directly connects the second commandment's prohibition to its historical violation. The psalm further notes that these images "provoked Him to anger" (הִכְעִיסוּהוּ, hikh'isuhu) and aroused His jealousy (קִנְאָה, qin'ah)—the very attribute Exodus 20:5 ascribes to God as the reason for the prohibition. Israel's history thus validated exactly what the second commandment warned: a jealous God who will not share worship with carved images.