Zayin – Struggle

Remember the word to Your servant, in which You have made me hope. Psalm 119:49  NASB

Remember – the Zayin section:

זְכָר־דָּבָ֥ר לְעַבְדֶּ֑ךָ עַ֜֗ל אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִֽחַלְתָּֽנִי

זֹ֣את נֶחָֽמָתִ֣י בְעָנְיִ֑י כִּ֖י אִמְרָֽתְךָ֣ חִיָּֽתְנִי

זֵדִים הֱלִיצֻ֣נִי עַד־מְאֹ֑ד מִ֜תּוֹרָֽתְךָ֗ לֹ֣א נָטִֽיתִי

זָ֘כַ֚רְתִּי מִשְׁפָּטֶ֖יךָ מֵֽעוֹלָ֥ם | יְהֹוָ֗ה וָֽאֶתְנֶחָֽם

זַלְעָפָ֣ה אֲחָזַתְנִי מֵֽרְשָׁעִ֑ים עֹֽ֜זְבֵ֗י תּֽוֹרָתֶֽךָ

זְמִרוֹת הָֽיוּ־לִ֥י חֻקֶּ֗יךָ בְּבֵ֣ית מְגוּרָֽי

זָ֘כַ֚רְתִּי בַלַּ֣יְלָה שִׁמְךָ֣ יְהֹוָ֑ה וָֽ֜אֶשְׁמְרָ֗ה תּֽוֹרָתֶֽךָ

זֹ֥את הָֽיְתָה־לִּ֑י כִּ֖י פִקֻּדֶ֣יךָ נָצָֽרְתִּי

Great poems hide secrets.  Finding those secrets is the adventure of reading in depth.  We’ve come to the next section, and the opening verse takes us back in Israelite history to two critical events: one at the beginning of it all, and one at the crucial juncture that formed the Jewish people.  Consider the mystical meaning of this consonant:

Zayin (ז): Sword, struggle, and spiritual warfare

Zayin represents the role of struggle in refining the soul and achieving spiritual growth. The biblical story of Jacob wrestling with an angel (Genesis 32:24-32) illustrates the transformative power of struggle, as Jacob emerges from the encounter with a new name (Israel) and a deeper understanding of his spiritual journey.[1]

Of course, Jacob’s struggle at the Jabbok introduced the word Yisrael into Hebrew vocabulary.  This wrestling match was the beginning of the people.  But zākar, the root of our first verb, was birthed much, much earlier, and in a way is even more disguised: all the way back to Genesis 1:27: “male and female He created them.”  The word for “male” is the same word for “to remember,” that is, zākar.  Doesn’t this imply that the ontological role of the male is to remember?  What must be remembered?  That existence is a function of the Creator.  That God made Man in His own image.  That we owe an infinite debt simply because we are.  That God’s goodness is extended to us through His Torah.  And we are required to remember it.

There are three groups of meanings:1) for completely inward mental acts such as “remembering” or “paying attention to,” 2) for such inward mental acts accompanied by appropriate external acts, and 3) for forms of audible speaking with such meanings as “recite” or “invoke.” Cognate evidence indicates that the third group of meanings is closest to the verb’s root meaning. This range of meanings shows the same blending or overlapping between mental states and external acts seen also in other Hebrew terms (e.g. Hebrew šāmaʿ “to hear”).^[2]

Remember this!  “Zayin represents the role of struggle in refining the soul and achieving spiritual growth.”

An important secret buried in the vocabulary, but not the only one, as we will see.

Topical Index: zākar, remember, male, zayin, struggle, Israel, Psalm 119:49

[1] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mystical-symbolism-hebrew-alphabet-deeper-exploration-kevin-kull-#:~:text=Zayin%20(ז)%3A%20Sword%2C%20struggle,soul%20and%20achieving%20spiritual%20growth.

^[2] Harris, R. L., Archer, G. L., Jr., & Waltke, B. K., eds. (1999). In Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 241). Moody Press.