Hey

Teach me, the way of Your statutes, Lord, and I shall comply with it to the end. Psalm 119:33  NASB

To the end – The next acrostic begins each verse with hey (ה).  The entire section looks like this:

הוֹרֵ֣נִי יְ֖הֹוָה דֶּ֥רֶךְ חֻקֶּ֗יךָ וְאֶצְּרֶ֥נָּה עֵֽקֶב

הֲבִינֵנִי וְאֶצְּרָ֥ה תֽ֜וֹרָתֶ֗ךָ וְאֶשְׁמְרֶ֥נָּה בְכָל־לֵֽב

הַדְרִיכֵנִי בִּנְתִ֣יב מִצְו‍ֹתֶ֑יךָ כִּ֖י ב֥וֹ חָפָֽצְתִּי

הַט־ לִ֖בִּי אֶל־עֵֽדְו‍ֹתֶ֗יךָ וְאַ֣ל אֶל־בָּֽצַע

הַֽעֲבֵ֣ר עֵינַי מֵֽרְא֣וֹת שָׁ֑וְא בִּדְרָכֶ֥ךָ חַיֵּֽנִי

הָקֵ֣ם לְ֖עַבְדְּךָ אִמְרָתֶ֑ךָ אֲ֜שֶׁ֗ר לְיִרְאָתֶֽךָ

הַֽעֲבֵ֣ר חֶרְפָּתִי אֲשֶׁ֣ר יָגֹ֑רְתִּי כִּ֖י מִשְׁפָּטֶ֣יךָ טוֹבִֽים

הִנֵּה תָּאַ֣בְתִּי לְפִקֻּדֶ֑יךָ בְּצִדְקָֽתְךָ֥ חַיֵּֽנִי

Let’s start with the first line, and the last word.  You might not recognize the opening verb (hōrē’nî).  It’s a derivative of yārâ.  Included under this umbrella is the familiar tôrâ, so clearly the psalmist is asking for Torah instruction.  Not surprisingly, “statutes” is the plural of ḥōq.  But what might be a bit surprising is the last word, ʿēqeb,  You see, ʿēqebisn’t really a temporal noun.  The translation “to the end” really doesn’t fit.  For that we would expect something like ʿôlām, usually translated as “forever” (cf. Isaiah 40:8).  ʿēqeb is a derivation of ʿāqab which means “heel.”  Metaphorically, this word implies something at the rear, or last, just like a footprint of a heel is the last thing one sees of a passerby.  So, we might translate this as “consequence,” i.e., what comes after.  Maybe in that sense “to the end” is acceptable.  Perhaps the poet is really saying, “I shall comply with whatever comes afterward.”  “I’ll stick with Your Torah to the end.”  If God teaches me His rules, then I will apply them to whatever circumstances I may encounter later.  That seems reasonable, doesn’t it?

But poetry is often a way to draw attention to subtle, perhaps disguised, connections, and that might be what’s really happening here, for ʿēqeb is but one derivative of ʿāqab.  Another is yaʿăqōb.  Do you know who that is?  The one who gripped the heel—Jacob, Ya’akov.  Now something else emerges.  If we highlight the first word and the last word (as below) we see that teaching results in compliant following.  What I learn now changes what comes later.  yārâ produces observant ʿēqeb.

הוֹרֵ֣נִי יְ֖הֹוָה דֶּ֥רֶךְ חֻקֶּ֗יךָ וְאֶצְּרֶ֥נָּה עֵֽקֶב

It seems that Ya’akov is the perfect living example of applying this rule.  What he learned along the way resulted in a new man emerging from the old Ya’akov.  That new man was Yisrael.  What followed after his journey of self-determination was perseverance—with God and Man.  If we examine the life of Jacob, we may find all the elements that the poet hints at in that story.  Jacob’s training in God’s ways as he grew up led to that fateful dream in the desert, and that led eventually to crossing the Jabbok and a new experience with God.  It wouldn’t surprise me in the least to know that the psalmist had this in mind when he chose the unusual word ʿēqeb.  What do you think?

Topical Index: ʿēqeb, ʿāqab, yaʿăqōb, Jacob, consequence, heel, follows, Psalm 119:33