The Meaning of Psalms 106:40 Explained

Psalms 106:40

KJV: Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.

YLT: And the anger of Jehovah Is kindled against His people, And He doth abominate His inheritance.

Darby: Then was the anger of Jehovah kindled against his people, and he abhorred his inheritance;

ASV: Therefore was the wrath of Jehovah kindled against his people, And he abhorred his inheritance.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore was the wrath  of the LORD  kindled  against his people,  insomuch that he abhorred  his own inheritance. 

What does Psalms 106:40 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 106:34-48 - Regarded When They Cried
Israel's conquest of Canaan did not fulfill the divine mandate. The inhabitants, whose sins had become a menace to mankind, were allowed to exist side by side with the Hebrew immigrants; and, as is often the case, the conquerors were conquered, and the invaders were contaminated by the morals of the invaded. Intermarriage poured a large admixture of alien blood into Israel, and the excesses of idolatry, even to the hideous practice of human sacrifices, became intensified by the ties of kinship and neighborhood.
The whole history of Israel is summed up as alternating cycles of sin and punishment, repentance and deliverance; and we are left wondering, first at the inveterate evil of the human heart, which learns nothing from experience, and next at the inexhaustible long-suffering of God, which, while justice strikes, yet finds some way of alleviating the smart of the stroke, Psalms 106:46. The love of God persists all through humanism and outreaches it.
The prayer of Psalms 106:47 shows that this psalm was written in exile. The psalmist hopes and believes that one result of his people's restoration will be thankfulness and the expression upon grateful lips of never-ending praise. So ends the fourth book of the Psalter.
For Review Questions, see the e-Sword Book Comments. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 106

1  The psalmist exhorts to praise God
4  He prays for pardon of sin, as God pardoned the fathers
7  The story of the people's rebellion, and God's mercy
47  He concludes with prayer and praise

What do the individual words in Psalms 106:40 mean?

Therefore was kindled the wrath of Yahweh against His people so that He abhorred - His own inheritance
וַיִּֽחַר־ אַ֣ף יְהוָ֣ה בְּעַמּ֑וֹ וַ֝יְתָעֵ֗ב אֶת־ נַחֲלָתֽוֹ

וַיִּֽחַר־  Therefore  was  kindled 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָרָה  
Sense: to be hot, furious, burn, become angry, be kindled.
אַ֣ף  the  wrath 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אַף 
Sense: nostril, nose, face.
יְהוָ֣ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
בְּעַמּ֑וֹ  against  His  people 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
וַ֝יְתָעֵ֗ב  so  that  He  abhorred 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: תָּעַב  
Sense: to abhor, be abominable, do abominably.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
נַחֲלָתֽוֹ  His  own  inheritance 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: נַחֲלָה  
Sense: possession, property, inheritance, heritage.