Bible Commentary

Psalms 106:37

Psalms 106:37

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible · John Gill (1697–1771) · Public Domain

Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils. Who have their name here given them from a word that signifies to waste and destroy, they being the destroyers of mankind. So the Targum renders it by ayqyzm, which signifies spirits noxious and hurtful; but R.

Elias Levita, in his Tishbi, p. 233, says it is a mistake to derive it from the root which signifies to waste and destroy; for then he says the "daleth" should have a "dagesh"; but does not tell us from whence it is derived.

De Dieu, on Mt 9:32, derives it from the Arabic word dav, "to rule", for these demons were heroes, princes who ruled over others, and so were reckoned among the gods. As Satan, the head of them, was a murderer from the beginning, the cause of the ruin of our first parents, and of all their posterity; and may be truly called, as the king of the locusts is, "Apollyon" or "Abaddon", these the Israelites sacrificed unto, as the Gentiles did, Le 17:7 and not lambs and rams, sheep, goats, and bullocks, but their sons and daughters; which they not only caused to pass through the fire to Moloch, which was a lustration of them by the flame, or causing them to pass between two fires; but they sacrificed them to be devoured, and actually burned them; see .

From whence we may see of what a hardening nature sin is, and how by degrees persons may be brought to commit things the most shocking to nature, and which they some time before shuddered at.

The Daily Devotional

One devotional. Every morning.

The full reading, the passage behind it, and where to go deeper — in your inbox before the day starts. No ads, ever.

We'll send one email to confirm it's really you. Unsubscribe in one tap, any time.

Continue tomorrow

Turn Bible study into a daily habit

Read today's devotional, save your progress, and receive a gentle daily reminder.

Recommended reading

More for Psalms 106:37

Continue with other commentaries and DiscipleDeck content connected to this verse, chapter, or topic.

Other commentaries

Psalms 106 — OverviewPsalms 106 · Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BibleWe must give glory to God by making confession, not only of his goodness but our own badness, which serve as foils to each other. Our badness makes his goodness appear the more illustrious, as his goodness…Psalms 106 — OverviewPsalms 106 · Treasury of Scripture KnowledgePsalms 106:1, The psalmist exhorts to praise God; Psalms 106:4, He prays for pardon of sin, as God pardoned the fathers; Psalms 106:7, The story of the people’s rebellion, and God’s mercy; Psalms 106:47, He concludes…Psalms 106 — OverviewPsalms 106 · John Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThis psalm is without the name of its author, as the Syriac interpreter observes. Aben Ezra, on Ps 106:47, says, that one of the wise men of Egypt (perhaps Maimonides) was of opinion that it was written in the time of…Psalms 106:1-48Psalms 106:1-48 · The Pulpit CommentaryEXPOSITION This is the first of the strictly "Hallelujah psalms"—i.e. of the psalms beginning with the phrase "hallelujah"—which are Psalms 106:1-48, Psalms 111:1-10, Psalms 112:1-10, Psalms 113:1-9, Psalms 135:1-21,…Psalms 106:1-48Psalms 106:1-48 · The Pulpit CommentaryThe nevertheless of God's mercy. This is actually expressed in Psalms 106:44, but it is the theme of the whole psalm. Note concerning it— I. IT IMPLIES PREVIOUS AND TERRIBLE PROVOCATION. And, indeed, there had been…Psalms 106:6-39Psalms 106:6-39 · The Pulpit CommentarySin in many forms. It is not only the psalmist who says, "I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord" (Psalms 32:5). It becomes us all to say, "We have sinned … we have committed iniquity" (Psalms 106:6). Sin takes…