Too Familiar (2)

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.  Psalm 23:1 NASB 1995

Not want – How do you read this text?  Do you think that David is expressing God’s sufficiency so much so that all his desires are satisfied?  There’s nothing that he wants?  Or is David singing about God’s provision so that he doesn’t lackanything really necessary?  Our translation leaves the question open, but Hebrew closes the door.  The verb is ḥāsēr, here an imperfect first person.  It basically means, “lack, have a need, be lacking.”^[1]

ḥāsēr is most frequently used to express the sufficiency of God’s grace to meet the needs of his people. They never lack. In the wilderness, when the people followed God’s command they never lacked manna (depending on God’s daily supply; Ex 16:18).^[2]

Notice the translation in the LXX: “The Lord shepherds me, and I shall lack nothing.”  Fabry has an important comment in the TDOT:

For forty years, Yahweh’s blessing (brk) showed itself in his being with (‘im) and knowing (yāda’) his people, so that they lacked nothing . . . where ḥāsēr is understood primarily as lack of food and drink.  The negation of all lack . . . is a characteristic of the promised land.  This knowledge, based on events of the exodus and occupation, is concentrated in the confession of Ps. 23:1: “Yahweh is my shepherd, I shall not want.”  In this hymn of confidence—probably cultic—the psalmist takes the image of the shepherd ( . . . rōʿeh) from an ancient tradition that may go back to the religion of the patriarchs, where it is linked with the elements of promise and assistance . . . Thus the epithet itself conveys the motif of trust and confidence.  The rare metaphor of Yahweh as the good shepherd (cf. Ps. 28:9; 80:2[1]) is elaborated extensively in the consolation oracles of the exilic prophets (Isa. 40:10f; Jer.23:3; Ezk. 34:11f; Mic. 4:6-8).  The image of the shepherd’s occupation (e.g., Ezk. 34:1-4) fills the phrase lō’ ‘eḥsar, “I shall not want,” with a richness of meaning, the more so because the metaphor is enhanced by being Applied to Yahweh.  The statement lō’ ‘eḥsar means a security based on God’s promise, that enjoys his guidance, protection, care, deliverance, and presence.[3]

Consider that these lyrics use the strong “not,” the unconditional negative.  “I shall not lack” is an attestation to the eternal, unwavering promise and character of YHVH.  There are no conditions under which His commitment to His people will cease.  Guaranteed.  Israel’s history with God vouchsafes this commitment and allows the psalmist to declare God’s sufficiency in the most succinct terms.  Perhaps Job reaches the same conclusion.  Good and evil may be intertwined in this world, but that chaos does not affect God’s commitment.  Hallelujah!

Topical Index: lō’ ‘eḥsar, not lack, want, ḥāsēr, sufficiency, promise, Psalm 23:1

^[1] Scott, J. B. (1999). 705 חָסֵר. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 309). Moody Press.

^[2] Ibid.

[3] H. J. Fabry, TDOT, Vol. V, p. 88.