Lord, why do You reject my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? Psalm 88:14 NASB Reject – The Hebrew zānaḥ has two root meanings. The first is as it is translated here: to reject, spurn, cast off. But the second adds a bit to our emotional understanding of this word. zānaḥ II means, “to…
But I, Lord, have cried out to You for help, and in the morning my prayer comes before You. Psalm 88:13 Help – English spells it out: “have cried out for help.” But all of that is really a single Hebrew verb— šāwaʿ. “The intensity of the action conveyed by šāwaʿ is aptly illustrated by the fact that…
Will Your wonders be made known in the darkness? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? Psalm 88:12 NASB The darkness – “Little doubt surrounds the meaning of this denominative verb coming from the noun ḥōšek (darkness). It occurs eighteen times, seventeen times in poetical books. Exodus 10:15 is the only occurrence of ḥāšak in…
Will You do wonders for the dead? Will the shades arise and acclaim you? Selah. Psalm 88:11 (Robert Alter translation) Wonders – When is it too late? When does the power of the Lord cease to be effective? When you’re dead! Death ends it. As the Korahites sang, we can cry out to the Lord…
Will You perform wonders for the dead? Or will the departed spirits rise and praise You? Selah Psalm 88:10 NASB Rise and praise – The Purpose Driven Life. Remember that? Rick Warren captured the spiritual need for meaning in a book that swept Christianity. We all have a purpose—but it’s not about us. It’s not about your good, your…
My eye grows dim from misery; I have called upon You every day, Lord; I have spread out my hands to You. Psalm 88:9 NASB Called upon – Internal contradiction! Yes, Hebrew has a few words that mean exactly the opposite depending on the circumstances. When an author takes advantage of this, his choice can mean either one—or both. Perhaps…
You have removed my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an object of loathing to them; I am shut up and cannot go out. Psalm 88:8 NASB An object of loathing – How do you effectively destroy what makes us human without killing the body? Isolation! There’s a very good reason why prisons employ isolation…
Your wrath has rested upon me, and You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah Psalm 88:7 NASB Wrath – God is good, right? Good all the time, right? Then why do we resonate with the thought in this verse? Why do we sometimes feel as if we’re under God’s thumb? “Your wrath” is from the Hebrew…
A few days ago I mentioned that the Introduction of Robert Alter’s translation of the Hebrew Bible was crucial reading in order to understand the complexities between Hebrew and English, and to know why current English Bibles are more or less misdirected. Of course, you would have to buy the 3 volume set to read…
You have put me in the lowest pit, in dark places, in the depths. Psalm 88:6 NASB Put – The Hebrew verb šît comes with some very odd translation history. Occurring eighty-five times in the Bible, it covers the range from commitment (“to set the heart on”) to enemy opposition (“set against me”). It is also used for…
