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I shall run the way of Your commandments, for You will enlarge my heart.  Psalm 119:32  NASB

Enlarge – The Hebrew verb rāḥab has two completely different sematic contexts.  The first is used with open spaces like broad plains.  The second, as we find here, is about the physical body.  “ . .  its most frequent occurrence is in psychologically revealing phrases involving parts of the body or bodily attributes. These phrases are completely colloquial and defy literal translation.”^[1]  Note White’s comment about translation difficulties.  Since the second semantic range is idiomatic, the meaning depends entirely on the culture of the original audience.  Just like idioms we have in English that make no sense at all in Italian (e.g., “kick the bucket”), so ancient Israel had idioms that we can only guess at the meaning—and most likely be entirely incorrect.  That’s what we face in this verse.  So, the translators do their best to guess at the meaning.  Maybe they got it, maybe they didn’t.  There is really no way to know for sure, so we’ll have to deal with what we have—and what we have is still pretty important.  We can think of this in another English expression, i.e., to be big-hearted.

What does that mean?  Typically we use the expression “big hearted” to describe someone who shows compassion for others.  And not just the usual level.  The idiom suggests an openness, a wide acceptance, and an empathetic involvement.  And not necessarily a conditional relationship.  Big-hearted doesn’t mean quid pro quo.  The best Hebrew terms connected to this idiom are probably found in Exodus 34:6.  The first two adjectives God uses to describe Himself are raḥûm and ḥannûn.  If there were ever two definitions of rāḥab, these would be the terms used.  The first (raḥûm) shows us that real compassion (as it is translated) draws the tightest of human bonds, that of a mother with her unborn child.  The second shows us that graciousness (ḥannûn) is without conditions.  It is simply the response to another’s need without any reciprocal expectation.  And with God, these two come first.  If this idiom has any connection with the Torah, perhaps it is here, embedded in the very nature of God Himself.  Perhaps the psalmist is suggesting that if we make haste to pursue all of God’s ways, the byproduct will be rāḥab.  Note that rāḥab is not something we pursue.  God makes it happen when we pursue Him.

Since this is idiomatic, we may be allowed to speculate a bit about its meaning in the ancient culture of Israel.  That leads me to notice the connection to another rāḥab, a big-hearted women of Jericho.  The consonants are exactly the same (רָחָב Râchâb).  Do we find the characteristics of רָחַב (rāḥab) in the person of רָחָב Râchâb?  Perhaps we do.  If we needed a human representative of the idiom, perhaps we find it in the woman who didn’t belong but nevertheless risked her life to help those who came to destroy her city.  Maybe we have to examine her actions in the light of her name.

Topical Index: רָחָב Râchâb, rāḥab, raḥûm, ḥannûn, Exodus 34:6, Psalm 119:32

^[1] White, W. (1999). 2143 רָחַב. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 840). Moody Press.