Heth
The Lord is my portion; I have promised to keep Your words. Psalm 119:57 NASB
חֶלְקִ֖י יְהֹוָ֑ה אָמַ֗רְתִּי לִשְׁמֹ֥ר דְּבָרֶֽיךָ
חִלִּ֣יתִי פָנֶ֣יךָ בְכָל־לֵ֑ב חָ֜נֵּ֗נִי כְּאִמְרָתֶֽךָ
חִשַּׁ֥בְתִּי דְרָכָ֑י וָֽאָשִׁ֥יבָה רַ֜גְלַ֗י אֶל־עֵֽדֹתֶֽיךָ
חַשְׁתִּי וְלֹ֣א הִתְמַהְמָ֑הְתִּי לִ֜שְׁמֹ֗ר מִצְוֹתֶֽיךָ
חֶבְלֵ֣י רְשָׁעִ֣ים עִוְּדֻ֑נִי תּ֜וֹרָֽתְךָ֗ לֹ֣א שָׁכָֽחְתִּי
חֲצ֥וֹת לַ֗יְלָה אָ֖קוּם לְהוֹד֣וֹת לָ֑ךְ עַ֜֗ל מִשְׁפְּטֵ֥י צִדְקֶֽךָ
חָבֵ֣ר אָ֖נִי לְכָל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר יְרֵא֑וּךָ וּ֜לְשֹֽׁמְרֵ֗י פִּקּוּדֶֽיךָ
חַסְדְּךָ֣ יְ֖הֹוָה מָֽלְאָ֣ה הָאָ֑֗רֶץ חֻקֶּ֥יךָ לַמְּדֵֽנִי
My portion – חֶלְקִ֖י – ḥĕlqî – “my portion.” You’ll notice that each of these next eight verses begins with the letter חִ. Sometimes this is only the definite article, but in the first verse, this letter is part of the consonants that form the word for “portion.” The root verb is most often associated with land.
The verb is commonly used of parcelling out shares (RSV “allotments”) of land (Num 26:53), whether by lot (Num 26:53), inheritance (Prov 17:2), or other forms of division (Prov 29:24). It can be used of any division, whether of food at a feast (II Sam 6:18), clothing (Ps 22:18), or the spoils of war (Prov 16:19). Thus people may be divided into unspecified groups (Gen 14:15; though this might be derived from an equivalent to Arabic ḥlq“encircle”), two factions (I Kgs 16:21), or specific divisions as in the case of the priests and Levites for temple service (see maḥălōqet).[1]
Given its association with inherited land, it’s important to note the exception to the rule. Consider Wiseman’s comment:
But Aaron and the Levites, dedicated to God’s service, had no such share of land. For them “the Lord is your share and your inheritance” (Deut 10:9; Num 18:20). Cf, the statement in the messianic Psalm 16:5, “The Lord is the portion of my inheritance, you maintain my lot” (gôrāl). This special relationship resulted in arrangements for the maintenance of the temple personnel from the offerings and not from any land which they worked themselves. This relationship with God and people was defined in a spiritual concept “the Lord is my share” (Ps 73:26), “the Lord is the portion of his people” (Deut 7:9), just as he is their refuge (Ps 142:5 [H 6]) and so their sufficiency.[2]
Is the author telling us that he belongs to the tribe of Levi? If that’s the case, then the author could not be David. Or is the poet saying that, like the Levites, his true identity (see verse 56) is tied only to God Himself? Inherited land is not his defining criterion.
What is the result of this identification? A promise? The verb is ʾāmar. “To promise” is only one of its many meanings which include “to say, speak, think, intend, command, promise.” The translators have chosen “promise” as their option, but we could just as legitimately translate the verse as, “The LORD is my portion, I said, to observe Your words” (Robert Alter), by changing the punctuation (there is none in the original). Alter’s version is similar to Chabad: “‘The Lord is my portion,’ I said, to keep Your words,” treating the first clause as a statement followed by a consequence. Or perhaps, “The Lord is my portion; I intend to keep Your words.” Sefaria renders the verse as: “The LORD is my portion; I have resolved to keep Your words.” Note the commentary by Steinsaltz: “I have declared my decision that the Lord is my portion, and therefore it is my desire to follow Your words.”[3]
Lastly, we need to recognize the connection with the prior verse. Sefaria translated verse 56 as:
“This has been my lot, for I have observed Your precepts.” But we discovered the previous verse is far more powerful. “This is me, created by Your supervision.” “This is mine” refers to “my portion,” all of which is tied to God’s creation of me. The last verse of zayin transports us to the first verse of heth. Poetic continuity. But not the end of the story, as we shall see.
Topical Index: ḥĕlqî, my portion, ʾāmar, speak, say, intend, Sefaria, Steinsaltz, Psalm 119:57
[1] Wiseman, D. J. (1999). 669 חָלַק. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament(electronic ed., pp. 292–293). Moody Press.
[2] Wiseman, D. J. (1999). 669 חָלַק. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament(electronic ed., p. 293). Moody Press.
[3] https://www.sefaria.org/Psalms.119.57?lang=bi&with=Steinsaltz&lang2=en
❤️ Thank you, Skip! Once again, you’ve provided insightful and helpful illumination of the text for our need of spiritual understanding.
While man as creature was created to participate/share in the goodness of God’s creation, even to the extent of serving as a proper steward of the household of God, such service could not be consistent with the glory of God if it were rendered under compulsion apart from man’s choosing to do so in relationship with God, enlightened by a true understanding and willing response of submission, and rendered as the reciprocal demonstration of the purity of love. God’s glory has no portion outwith such corresponding reciprocation.
“The fall of man,” as it serves to describe the first Adam’s unfaithfulness in preferring self-interest over reciprocation in the purity of love, also serves as means to refine the self-will of man. The purity of Divine love and the Glory of God pre-empt and insist upon an equivalent response of the human creature— the purity of reciprocal love demonstrated by a willing submission to the expressed will of God. Indeed, “This is me, created by Your supervision“ …created for Your glory and honor and praise and thanksgiving.