Psalms 106:23 · Bible study
Psalms 106:23 Commentary: Standing in the Breach
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Commentary on Psalm 106:23: Moses stood in the breach and turned away God’s wrath. Analysis of intercession, the chosen mediator, and the typology of Christ.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God’s declared judgment against Israel was averted because Moses, His chosen mediator, interposed between God and the people, turning away wrath.
- Key words: “stood” (עָמַד Qal perfect, decisive action), “breach” (פֶּרֶץ, a gap in a wall), “turn away” (שׁוּב, to cause to return), “chosen” (בָּחִיר, elect appointee).
- Main debate: Whether this describes God genuinely changing His mind or is an anthropomorphic way of speaking about the causal connection between sin and judgment being broken by intercession.
- Theological theme: The power of intercessory prayer and the need for a mediator; typology of Christ as the ultimate one who stands in the breach.
- Best use: To encourage intercessory prayer, to highlight God’s responsiveness to prayer, and to point to Jesus as the final mediator who turns away God’s wrath from sinners.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
So He said He would destroy them— had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach to divert His wrath from destroying them.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had Moses, his chosen, not stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, so that he wouldn’t destroy them.
KJV King James Version 1769
Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Therefore he said that he would destroy them, Had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, To turn away his wrath, lest he should destroythem.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And He saith to destroy them, Unless Moses, His chosen one, Had stood in the breach before Him, To turn back His wrath from destroying.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses, his chosen, stood before him in the breach, to turn away his fury, lest he should destroy [them].
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
They that go down to the sea in ships, doing business in the great waters:
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y trató de destruirlos, á no haberse puesto Moisés su escogido al portillo delante de él, á fin de apartar su ira, para que no los destruyese.
Por isso ele disse que teria os destruído, se Moisés, seu escolhido, não tivesse se posto na fenda diante dele, para desviar sua ira, para não os destruir.
Et il parla de les exterminer;
Und er sprach, er wolle sie vertilgen, wo nicht Mose, sein Auserwählter, in den Riß getreten wäre vor ihm, seinen Grimm abzuwenden, auf daß er sie nicht gar verderbte.
Dies Hij zeide, dat Hij hen verdelgen zou, ten ware Mozes, Zijn uitverkorene, in de scheure voor Zijn aangezicht gestaan had, om Zijn grimmigheid af te keren, dat Hij hen niet verdierf.
Ond’egli parlò di sterminarli; ma Mosè, suo eletto, stette sulla breccia dinanzi a lui per stornar l’ira sua onde non li distruggesse.
Przetoż rzekł, że ich chciał wytracić, gdyby się był Mojżesz, wybrany jego, nie stawił w onem rozerwaniu przed nim, a nie odwrócił popędliwości jego, aby ich nie tracił.
Отправляющиеся на кораблях в море, производящие дела на больших водах,
所以，他說 要滅絕他們；若非 有他所揀選 的摩西 站 在當中（原文是破口），使他的忿怒 轉消，恐怕他就滅絕他們。
And he was purposing to put an end to them if Moses, his special servant, had not gone up before him, between him and his people, turning back his wrath, to keep them from destruction.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 106:23
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse recalls the golden calf incident (Exodus 32) where God’s righteous anger against Israel’s idolatry was turned aside by Moses’ intercession. The Hebrew verb עָמַד (’āmaḏ, ‘stood’) appears in the Qal perfect, describing a decisive, completed act of taking a position. The noun פֶּרֶץ (péreṣ, ‘breach’) is a military image: a warrior plugging a gap in a city wall to repel an enemy (Cambridge Bible). Moses, called God’s chosen (בָּחִיר, bāḥîr), placed himself between God and the people. Barnes notes that God “threatened to destroy them, and he would have done it, if Moses had not interposed.” Gill emphasizes that this shows “the power and efficacy of prayer.” Calvin and others see Moses as a type of Christ, the ultimate Mediator who stands in the breach for sinners. All agree: intercession can turn away judgment when offered by one chosen for that role.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: Moses interceded for Israel, and as a result, God did not destroy them as He had threatened—intercession is both effective and central to God’s relationship with His people.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The reality of God’s threatened destruction | All traditions affirm that God expressed a real intention to destroy Israel for the golden calf sin, and that this was a just response to their idolatry. | Some see this as a conditional threat that always allowed for intercession; others see it as a genuine decision that was turned aside by Moses’ prayer. |
| The role of Moses as intercessor | Moses is recognized as God’s chosen servant whose intercession was effective and honored by God. | Interpreters differ on whether Moses’ prayer changed God’s eternal decree or whether it was the divinely appointed means by which God’s unchanging purpose moved from judgment to mercy. |
| The efficacy of prayer | The verse is cited across traditions as evidence that prayer can avert judgment and bring about blessing. | The mechanism by which prayer ‘turns away’ wrath is debated: some emphasize God’s sovereign freedom to respond to prayer, while others stress that prayer aligns the petitioner with God’s will. |
| Moses as a type of Christ | Most commentators see a typological connection between Moses’ intercession and Christ’s mediation, though the degree of emphasis varies. | Catholic and Orthodox traditions often develop the typology in liturgical and sacramental terms; Reformed and evangelical traditions tend to emphasize substitutionary atonement. |
| The meaning of ‘chosen’ (בָּחִיר) | The term indicates that Moses was appointed by God for the specific tasks of leadership and intercession. | Adam Clarke explicitly denies that this carries implications for unconditional election, while some Reformation commentators connect it to God’s sovereign choice. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The verse sits within Psalm 106, a historical recital of Israel’s repeated rebellions from Egypt onward. The immediate context is the golden calf episode (Exodus 32). After the people made and worshipped a calf at Horeb (vv. 19, 20), God told Moses, “Now therefore leave me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of you a great nation” (Exodus 32:10). Moses interceded for forty days and nights (Deuteronomy 9:18, 25), pleading for God to relent.
The language of “breach” draws on ancient Near Eastern siege warfare. A breach in a city wall allowed invaders to enter. The people’s sin had made a breach through which God’s judgment could pour. Wesley explains: “God had made a wall about them; but they had made a breach in it by their sins.” Moses “stood before him in the breach,” acting as a defender who blocks the gap at personal risk, just as a soldier would. The conditional word לוּלֵי (lûlê, “unless” or “had not”) signals that destruction was averted only because of Moses’ intervention. The poet closely echoes Deuteronomy 9:25, where the same two Hebrew verbs for “destroy” appear. The portrait is vivid: God’s righteous wrath, the people’s desperate need, and one man’s faithful intercession.
Moses is called God’s chosen one (בָּחִיר), a term used for elect servants (Psalm 105:6, 26). This emphasizes that his standing before God was not presumptuous but appointed. The intercession was not a human manipulation of a reluctant deity; it was the means God had ordained to display His mercy. The psalmist wants readers to see both the severity of sin and the wonder of a mediator.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts. The few minor differences in modern translations (e.g., ‘turn away’ vs. ‘divert’) arise from the semantic range of the Hebrew verbs שׁוּב (to turn back) and שָׁחַת (to destroy) rather than from a variant reading.
Reception History
From the early church, this verse was read as a type of Christ’s mediation. Fathers such as Justin Martyr and Cyprian drew on the image of Moses standing in the breach to argue for the power of intercession and the necessity of a mediator. During the Middle Ages, monastic communities used the verse to support the practice of intercessory prayer for the living and the dead. Reformation leaders like Calvin and Luther highlighted the sovereignty of God and the grace that works through chosen instruments. In modern evangelicalism, the verse is frequently applied to encourage believers to ‘stand in the gap’ for their families, churches, and nations, and to point to Christ as the one who fully absorbed God’s wrath on behalf of sinners. Across traditions, the verse has been sung in hymns of refuge and recognized as a model of bold intercessory prayer.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The reality of God’s wrath. God said He would destroy the people. His anger was real and just. Sin is not a small thing; it creates a breach that invites judgment.
- The role of the intercessor. Moses, God’s chosen, stood in the breach. He did not excuse the sin but placed himself between God and the people. Intercession is costly and puts the mediator at risk.
- The power of intercessory prayer. The judgment was turned away. Prayer changes things because God chooses to work through intercessors. This points forward to Christ, the great Mediator who perfectly stands in the breach for all humanity.
Five-point outline
- The breach: how our sins make a gap that invites judgment (Isaiah 30:13).
- The wrath: God’s holy opposition to evil is not passive.
- The intercessor: Moses as chosen servant, a type of Christ.
- The prayer: specific, bold, and persistent (Exodus 32:11, 13, 31, 32).
- The result: wrath turned away, mercy extended.
Illustration hooks
- A soldier who throws himself on a grenade to save his squad, standing in the breach at great cost.
- A lawyer who steps into a courtroom at the last moment with evidence that spares a guilty client from the maximum sentence.
- A firefighter who holds a collapsed doorway open so trapped people can escape, knowing the ceiling could fall at any second.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does my prayer actually change God’s mind, or is that just a human way of speaking?
- How can I “stand in the breach” for my family or community today?
- If God already knows what He will do, why should I pray at all?
Leading a Discussion
This verse shows us a dramatic moment in Israel’s history. God’s just anger was ready to consume the people, but one man’s intercession turned it aside. As we study this, consider how God invites us into a partnership of prayer that truly matters.
Discussion questions
- Read Exodus 32:7, 14. What did Moses say in his prayer, and how does it reveal his heart for the people?
- The word “breach” (פֶּרֶץ) pictures a broken wall. In what ways had Israel’s sin created a breach? (Look at verses 19, 22 for the sin.)
- Why does the psalmist call Moses “his chosen” (בָּחִיר)? How does that title affect your understanding of his role as intercessor?
- Barnes says that God “would have destroyed them if Moses had not interposed.” How do you reconcile this with God’s sovereignty revealed elsewhere in Scripture?
- Moses offered to be blotted out of God’s book for the people (Exodus 32:32). How does this foreshadow Christ’s sacrifice?
- What does this verse teach about the importance of intercessory prayer for people who seem far from God?
- How can our small group “stand in the breach” for someone we know who is facing consequences of sin or crises?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 32:10 | Now therefore leave me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of you a great nation.” |
| Exodus 32:14 | So Yahweh turned away from the evil which he said he would do to his people. |
| Exodus 32:32 | Yet now, if you will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out of your book which you have written.” |
| Numbers 16:5 | He said to Korah and to all his company, “In the morning, Yahweh will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to him. Even him whom he shall choose, he will cause to come near to him. |
| Deuteronomy 9:13 | Furthermore Yahweh spoke to me, saying, “I have seen these people, and behold, they are a stiff-necked people. |
| Deuteronomy 9:14 | Leave me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under the sky; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.” |
| Deuteronomy 9:19 | For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which Yahweh was angry against you to destroy you. But Yahweh listened to me that time also. |
| Deuteronomy 9:25 | So I fell down before Yahweh the forty days and forty nights that I fell down, because Yahweh had said he would destroy you. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke insists that the term "chosen" or "elect" in this verse refers only to Moses's appointment for the specific task God gave him. He argues that no Old Testament use of this word supports the doctrine of unconditional election and reprobation.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes compares Moses' intercession to everyday acts like feeding a child or rescuing someone from a fire. All such interventions, whether by prayer or labor, turn aside deserved harm. He sees every blessing that reaches sinners as flowing from the one great Intercessor, Christ, who stood in the breach.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin observes that Psalm 106 is not primarily a reproof or complaint against Israel, but a confession of sins aimed at obtaining pardon. The psalm begins with praise to encourage hope, then acknowledges that God's people repeatedly abused his kindness, making them unworthy of continued blessing—so the writer asks forgiveness.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator highlights the military metaphor behind "stood before him in the breach." Like a warrior who risks his own life to defend a gap in the city wall, Moses confronted God with bold intercession to turn away His wrath and prevent Israel's destruction.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note stresses that God
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill focuses on the image of a breach: Israel's sin had broken the hedge that protected them, letting God's wrath pour in like a flood. Moses stood in that gap through fervent prayer, turning away destruction. For Gill, this makes Moses a clear type of Christ, who alone fully repairs the breach sin creates and appeases divine wrath.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB emphasizes that God's declared purpose to destroy Israel was genuine, yet it already included the provision of a mediator, foreshadowing Christ. Moses is pictured as a warrior throwing himself into the breach of a besieged wall, turning away the wrath that would otherwise have consumed the people.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch traces Israel's wilderness sins back to one root: they abandoned faith in God's promise, forgot His confirming works, and refused to wait for His plan to unfold. The commentator interprets the judgment at Kibroth-hattaavah as a wasting disease sent because the people greedily gorged on meat rather than trusting God's timing.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley uses the image of a wall to show that Israel's sin created a breach in God's protective barrier around them. Through that opening God, now their just enemy, could have entered to destroy them, but Moses' powerful intercession blocked the attack.