Public Persona

Then I will not be ashamed when I look at all Your commandments.  Psalm 119:6  NASB

Not be ashamed – It’s worth reiterating the difference between our contemporary, psychological idea of “shame” and the ancient Hebrew idea.  As we’ve discovered before:

The primary meaning of this root is “to fall into disgrace, normally through failure, either of self or of an object of trust.” Along with its derivatives, it occurs 155 times, all but 25 times in the prophets or the Psalms. No less than 38 occurrences are found in Jeremiah and 20 in Isaiah. The word is often paralleled with kālam “to be humiliated,” and less frequently with ḥātat “to be shattered, dismayed.” As these parallels suggest, the force of bôš is somewhat in contrast to the primary meaning of the English “to be ashamed,” in that the English stresses the inner attitude, the state of mind, while the Hebrew means “to come to shame” and stresses the sense of public disgrace, a physical state.^[1]

Interior feelings matter, of course, but shame in the Semitic world is public.  It’s dishonor in the community.  Robert Alter’s choice reflects this public attitude.  “Then I would not be shamed” is far better Hebrew than the word “ashamed,” simply because we recognize that shame is public but ashamed (in our world) is private.  To be shamed is not about my inner feelings.  It’s about how I’m perceived by others, especially if they really know me through and through.  And that, of course, is the real issue.  Transparency before God and before my community is the true test of shame.  The term bôš is used in five different ways, but the one that matters in this context is as follows:

The third usage and the one that is most common carries the above thought further expressing the disgrace which is the result of defeat at the hands of an enemy, either in battle or in some other manner. In particular, the awful shame of being paraded as captives is thought of (Mic 1:11; cf. also Jer 2:26). Involved here are all the nuances of confusion, disillusionment, humiliation, and brokenness which the word connotes.^[2]

Notice that the poet does not say, “I will not be ashamed when I keep all Your commandments.”  If I keep the commandments, there is nothing to be ashamed of.  That’s quite different than “look at all Your commandments.”  The verb is nābaṭ, “to look, to regard.”  What the poet wants is honor, not just when he actually does what God desires, but also when he is simply aware of God’s demands before he acts.  He’s concerned about his anticipated status in the community.  He wants a reputation that recognizes his willingness to follow God’s directives even if he hasn’t yet fulfilled the mitzvot.  He’s already expressed his unflagging desire to “keep Your statutes.”  It’s the cry of his heart.  Now he wants the outside world to recognize and acknowledge this motivation—and if it does, then he’s even more encouraged to continued obedience.  In the end, shame and honor are somehow dependent on others, a very different view than our idea of psychological independence.

Topical Index: shame, honor, bôš, public, motivation, Psalm 119:6

^[1] Oswalt, J. N. (1999). 222 בּוֹשׁ. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 97). Moody Press.

^[2] Ibid.