If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. Psalm 139:8 NASB Behold– We’ve looked at this verse several times.[1]Our previous investigations concentrated on the use of She’ol and its distinction from the contemporary idea of Hell. But this time we’ll look at the tone of the verse,…
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? Psalm 139:7 NASB Flee– “Basically bāraḥ means to go or pass through, and to flee or hurry. It occurs mostly in narratives, referring to flight from an enemy.”[1] But how can this be true in this psalm? Is God the enemy? Do we…
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. Psalm 139:6 NASB Too wonderful– What does “too wonderful” mean to a poet in the tenth century BCE? Well, not just any poet, but a poet who is saturated with a culture and a nation that believes YHVH to be the one true God. Perhaps…
You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5 NASB Behind and before– What does it feel like to have God’s hand heavy upon you? Does it feel comfortable? Gracious? Or do you feel as if you can’t move? Pressed? Coerced? Curbed? In this verse, the emphasis comes first, and in this…
You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5 NASB Enclosed– There’s not much wiggle room here. ṣûr, the Hebrew verb used in this expression, is related to words meaning, ‘besiege, bind, tie down’ and ‘encircle.’ The psalmist’s choice seems to make it abundantly clear that God Himself puts restrictive fences around our…
Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all. Psalm 139:4 NASB Even before– We are fond of claiming that God created out of nothing. The theological term is creation ex nihilo. Although the first verse of Genesis is often read as a proof text for this doctrine[1], theologians also employ…
You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Psalm 139:3 NASB Intimately acquainted with– Actually, the text doesn’t really say this. The last word in the sentence, hiskanet-tah, comes from the verb sākan. The translator has added “intimately” in order to capture the tone of this psalm. The verb…
