Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 124:3

"Then they had swallowed us up alive, When their wrath was kindled against us;" — Psalms 124:3 (ASV)

Then. —Critics disagree regarding both the form and meaning of the word—whether it is an archaism or an Aramaism, expressing time or logical sequence.

Swallowed ... quick (alive).—No doubt this is an allusion to the fall of Korah (Numbers 16:32–33), where the same verb and adjective occur together. (See also Psalm 55:15.)