Chthonic Mysteries

My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;  Psalm 139:15  NASB

In the depths of the earth– Did you think the Psalmist was writing about personal, human birth?  Perhaps you even read it as God’s inspired statement about your birth.  The Psalmist certainly is writing about some kind of birth, and the fact that whatever is going on in the dark and secret places before birth is well-known to God.  But ask yourself, “Was I made in the depths of the earth?”  Not likely.  Unless, of course, you are a Greek Titan.  So if human beings are not “skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth,” then what is this really saying?

Perhaps we need a few definitions:

Primordial: existing at or from the beginning of time, (especially of a state or quality) basic and fundamental.

Mythological: concerning a traditional story, especially one about the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.

What happens in the depths of the earth?  Life!  Life comes from somewhere, and in Hebrew thought, life is intimately connected to ʾădāmâ (ground, see Genesis 2:7).  Men are a product of the dust of the ground and the Spirit.  They have been so since the beginning.  If ever there were a verse endorsing the theological idea of the Federal Headship of Adam, this might be the one, for it appears that the Psalmist sees human beings collectively expressed in the first Man, the dirt-man.  I doubt the Psalmist is a Calvinist, and he probably would be shocked at the further elaboration of Federal Headship, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all to discover that he thinks of God’s understanding of humanity as wrapped up in the first human being.

This reading is supported by consideration of the other words in this verse.  First, there’s ʿōṣem, translated as “frame” but really “might” or “strength.” It’s not the body that the Psalmist has in mind.  It’s the agency that human beings represent.  We might translate this as, “My actions were not held back from You.”  Oh, yes, that’s the verb kāḥad, translated as “hidden,” but really about keeping something back or refusing to make something known. If the poem is about chthonic mysteries, returning us to that supernatural event before Adam was placed in the Garden, perhaps the poet is reminding us that even though our earliest ancestor attempted to hold something back from YHVH, it was already known. That is supported by the implications of kāḥad, “In distinction from the other Hebrew words rendered ‘hide’ or ‘conceal’ (ḥābāʾ, ṭāman, sātar, and ʿālam, which see), kāḥad has to do with refusing to declare something.”^[1]  Doesn’t this describe Adam’s response to YHVH’s confrontation in Genesis 3? Primordial and mythological, once more.

You will recall that we discovered the Psalmist used qānâ (in verse 13) rather than the usual words for human creation, that is, ʿāśâ or yāṣar.  When he described his personal development (“in my mother’s womb”), he avoided theses usual verbs, employing instead a verb that reminded us of the words of the woman in Genesis 4:1.  But now, when he writes about the ultimate mystery of human being, he goes back to the verb of Genesis 2, ʿāśâ.  There are, however, other considerations connected to this verb.

The verb ʿāśâ has the basic connotation of “do” or “make.” It is used in numerous crystallized expressions, always with the same basic idea.

Aside from the numerous occurrences of the meaning “do” or “make” in a general sense, ʿāsâis often used with the sense of ethical obligation. ^[2]

 What is formed in the secret parts is not simply the first body.  It is also the first commandment, the first obligation—and subsequently, the first thing to hide.  If the Psalmist deliberately switches from qānâ to ʿāśâ, he must want the reader to connect the dots.  This verse isn’t about contemporary human conception or development.  It’s about God’s formation of the original, and the mystery of why He made any of us.

“Skillfully wrought” is NASB’s way of interpreting rûqqam’ti.  The word is actually about weaving variegated cloth.  The idea implies embroidering colored thread into a piece of cloth.  We are well aware of the metaphor, but it’s worth remembering that God’s hand is often woven into the fabric of human beings in ways that are not obvious to the actor or actress.  If the poet wants us to recall this metaphor, we could easily associate the word with the lives of all the Genesis’ personalities.

Finally, we return to our opening inquiry.  What about “in the depths of the earth”?  Perhaps there is more than chthonic allusions.  Perhaps one of the constitutive elements of every human being is his or her ancestry.  Perhaps we are now connected to the other meaning of taḥtî, translated “depths.”  “ . . .in most of the cases of the usage with ʾereṣ (six times in Ezk, twice elsewhere) the reference is to the place of those who have died.”^[3]  Human life arises from the mystery of the dust and Spirit and from the grave, the abode of everyone who came before us and the destiny of all who live today.  In those depths, life seems to be nothing more than a mystery that only God knows.

Topical Index: taḥtî, depths,qānâ, ʿāśâ, to form, ʿōṣem, frame, might, kāḥad, conceal, Psalm 139:15

^[1]Oswalt, J. N. (1999). 972 כָחַד. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament(R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (436). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[2]Mccomiskey, T. E. (1999). 1708 עָשָׂה. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament(R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (701). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[3]Youngblood, R. F. (1999). 2504 תַּחַת. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament(R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (968). Chicago: Moody Press.