Discovery BoxPsalms 106:30-33 
Context106:30 Phinehas took a stand and intervened, 1
and the plague subsided.
106:31 This brought him a reward,
an eternal gift. 2
106:32 They made him angry by the waters of Meribah,
and Moses suffered 3 because of them,
106:33 for they aroused 4 his temper, 5
and he spoke rashly. 6
1 sn The intervention of Phinehas is recounted in Num 25:7-8.
2 tn Heb “and it was reckoned to him for righteousness, to a generation and a generation forever.” The verb חָשַׁב (khashav, “to reckon”) is collocated with צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) only in Ps 106:31 and Gen 15:6, where God rewards Abram’s faith with a land grant.
sn Brought him a reward. See Num 25:12-13.
3 tn Heb “there was harm to Moses.”
4 tn The Hebrew text vocalizes the form as הִמְרוּ (himru), a Hiphil from מָרָה (marah, “to behave rebelliously”), but the verb fits better with the object (“his spirit”) if it is revocalized as הֵמֵרוּ (hemeru), a Hiphil from מָרַר (marar, “to be bitter”). The Israelites “embittered” Moses’ “spirit” in the sense that they aroused his temper with their complaints.
5 tn Heb “his spirit.”
6 tn The Hebrew text adds “with his lips,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
sn Verses 32-33 allude to the events of Num 20:1-13.
