Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:9-10 NASB Seas – The ancient fear of chaos. The…
So their children whom He raised up in their place, Joshua circumcised; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them along the way. Joshua 5:7 NASB They had not circumcised them – Who did (or didn’t) do what to whom? Careful. It’s a bit more complicated than it looks. In this story, Joshua…
For I am ready to fall, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I admit my guilt; I am full of anxiety because of my sin. Psalm 38:17-18 NASB Anxiety – At last we come to the real problem. “I’m afraid.” The Hebrew word is dĕʾāgâ. “The root dāʾag signifies anxiety, with a shading toward the meaning of fear…
For I am ready to fall, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I admit my guilt; I am full of anxiety because of my sin. Psalm 38:17-18 NASB Sin – Before we can understand the psalmist’s anxiety, we need to know what he means by the Hebrew term ḥaṭṭāʾt, translated “sin.” As we’ve mentioned, sin is a religious…
For I am ready to fall, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I admit my guilt; I am full of anxiety because of my sin. Psalm 38:17-18 NASB Admit my guilt – The Hebrew verb nāgad means “to make known.” TWOT elaborates, “to place a matter high, conspicuous before a person.”[1] In the social context of Israel, this…
For I am ready to fall, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I admit my guilt; I am full of anxiety because of my sin. Psalm 38:17-18 NASB Continually before – Pay attention! The Hebrew words translated “continually before” are negdi tāmîd. The root of negdi is neged. Why is this important? Because in the very next sentence,…
For I am ready to fall, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I admit my guilt; I am full of anxiety because of my sin. Psalm 38:17-18 NASB Sorrow – What is “continually before” the psalmist? If we thought he is experiencing “deep distress caused by loss, disappointment, or misfortune,” we would convert this ancient Hebrew into modern…
For I am ready to fall, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I admit my guilt; I am full of anxiety because of my sin. Psalm 38:17-18 NASB Ready to fall – These two verses are so full of deeper meanings that it’s impossible to feel the full impact in a one-page analysis. Let’s explore these Hebrew words,…
Now the rabble who were among them had greedy cravings; and the sons of Israel also wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? Numbers 11:4 NASB Had greedy cravings – It’s unfortunate that English translations convert this Hebrew phrase into modern psychology. “Greedy cravings” removes the deeper impact of the Hebrew doubled word. …
Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter, the one that remains faithful. Isaiah 26:2 NASB Remains faithful – What is the character of a people (a nation) that remains faithful? Isaiah’s word choice here (employing the verb šāmar and the derived adjective from ʾāman) tells us that this people, this gôy (nation), is a people…
