Invisible Grace

I am exhausted from my calling out.  My throat is hoarse.  My eyes fail from hoping for my God.  Psalm 69:4 [Hebrew Bible]  Robert Alter

Eyes fail – In Hebrew the expression is כָּל֥וּ עֵינָ֑י (kalu enay).  From our perspective, it seems a bit odd.  We don’t hope with our eyes.  For us, hope is an internal mental state, or as Plato suggested, the aspiration of wish-fulfillment.  But this is not what David wants, nor what he expects from YHVH.  For David, hope is visceral, tangible, public.  If God acts on his behalf, he will see it.  It’s not a warm fuzzy feeling.  It’s public affirmation.  All of this is really incorporated in the word for “eye” (ʿayin).

More than the eye itself is implied by this word. Occasionally it represents the whole process of seeing and by extension, of understanding and obedience (Jer 5:21). However, in the ot it is the ear which is generally used in this figurative way. The eye is used to express knowledge, character, attitude, inclination, opinion, passion, and response. The eye is a good barometer of the inner thoughts of man.^[1]

Once we recognize the broader implications of David’s word choice, we have to ask, “What is this tangible hope he desires?”  Once again, there is more to this than meets the eye :).  The word is yāḥal.  It means both “hope” and “wait.”  Unfortunately, we are subject to the rendering in the LXX.

yāḥal occurs eighteen times in the Piel, fifteen times in the Hiphil and three in the Niphal with the idea of “tarrying” and “confident expectation, trust.” The LXX translates it nineteen times with elpizō and epelpizō “to hope.” ^[2]

But the TDNT notes that the classical Greek idea of hope communicates Plato’s formulation.

Plato says that human existence is determined not merely by acceptance of the present and recollection of the past, but also by expectation of the future, either good or bad. Hopes are subjective projections of the future. Good elpídes are hope in our sense, though later elpís is often used for this. Hope for the Greeks is a comfort in distress, but it is also deceptive and uncertain except in the case of the wise who base it on scientific investigation.^[3]

You will notice that the Greek idea is not only “take two aspirin and you’ll feel better in the morning” comfort, it is also delusional since it amounts to only the projection of wishes.  Without divine assurance, hope is nothing more than an addictive escape into mental comfort.  Life for the Greeks has no guarantees.

This is not David’s view.  “This yāḥal ‘hope’ is not a pacifying wish of the imagination which drowns out troubles, nor is it uncertain (as in the Greek concept), but rather yāḥal ‘hope’ is the solid ground of expectation for the righteous. As such it is directed towards God.”^[4]  It is the confident expectation that God is good and His goodness will prevail.  “yāḥal, ‘hope’ is a close synonym to bāṭaḥ ‘trust’ and qāwâ ‘wait for, hope for,’ as in Mic 7:7.”^[5]  In David’s world, God shows up.  And because God shows up, David is confident that he can wait for that to occur.  He will see it happen, just as the children of Israel saw God’s handiwork in Egypt.  This is not warm inner feelings.  This is out in the open public vindication.  It’s a far cry from Plato—and perhaps from us.

The reason David can say that his eyes are weary from hoping is because his hope is tactile.  And since the eyes are an extension of understanding and obedience, David expects God to reply.  I wonder if we share the same perspective.

Topical Index: hope, eye, yāḥal, ʿayin, Plato, Psalm 69:4

^[1] Schultz, C. (1999). 1612 עִין. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 662). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[2] Gilchrist, P. R. (1999). 859 יָחַל. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 373). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[3] Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume (p. 229). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans.

^[4] Gilchrist, P. R. (1999). 859 יָחַל. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 373). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[5] Ibid.