Take disgrace and contempt away from me, for I comply with Your testimonies. Psalm 119:22 NASB Disgrace and contempt – How do you read this? Is the poet asking God to remove something that is happening to him, or is he asking God to removing something that he too often does? What is his situation? Are…
You rebuke the arrogant, the cursed, who wander from Your commandment. Psalm 119:21 NASB Arrogant – We have a contemporary proverb, based on an ancient one (Proverbs 16:18-19). It goes something like this: pride comes before a fall. If we wanted to say it in Hebrew, we’d most likely use the word zēd. Here it is plural encompassing…
My soul is crushed with longing for Your ordinances at all times. Psalm 119:20 NASB Crushed – Put in the place of emphasis, gāraš is first in the sentence. Of course, that also continues the acrostic, but here we have a word used only once (maybe twice) in the Tanakh. It’s a good thing a derivative…
I am a stranger on the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me. Psalm 119:19 NASB I am – Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. Genesis 27:19a NASB Some time ago (September 28, 2018) I wrote about the shift in the idea of “individual.” …
I am a stranger on the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me. Psalm 119:19 NASB I am – The word ʾānōkî might remind you of previous investigations of the longer form of “I” in Hebrew. We looked into this word when we noticed in it Genesis 28:15. “Behold, I am with you,” said God…
I am a stranger on the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me. Psalm 119:19 NASB Stranger – The first thing to notice is the syntax. גֵּ֣ר אָנֹכִ֣י בָאָ֑רֶץ Literally: “stranger I am on earth.” The personal identity word comes first, in the place of emphasis. gēr ʾānōkî “The root means to live among people…
Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your Law. Psalm 119:18 NASB Open – Are you blindfolded and don’t even know it? Are you sitting in the cave starring at the wall, seeing shadows of things passing behind you and thinking that those shadows are real? Well, here’s the solution. גָּלָה (gālâ)…
Deal generously with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word. Psalm 119:17 NASB Deal generously – Here’s the next section in Hebrew. Notice that each line begins with Gimel. גְּמֹ֖ל עַל־עַבְדְּךָ֥ אֶֽחְיֶ֗ה וְאֶשְׁמְרָ֥ה דְבָרֶֽךָ גַּל־עֵינַ֥י וְאַבִּ֑יטָה נִ֜פְלָא֗וֹת מִתּֽוֹרָתֶֽךָ גֵּ֣ר אָנֹכִ֣י בָאָ֑רֶץ אַל־תַּסְתֵּ֥ר מִ֜מֶּ֗נִּי מִצְוֹתֶֽיךָ גָּֽרְסָ֣ה נַפְשִׁ֣י לְתַֽאֲבָ֑ה אֶל־מִשְׁפָּטֶ֥יךָ בְכָל־עֵֽת גָּעַרְתָּ זֵדִ֣ים אֲרוּרִ֑ים הַ֜שֹּׁגִ֗ים מִמִּצְוֹתֶֽיךָ…
And the Lord will be King over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one. Zechariah 14:9 NASB On that day: Start here: “But when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst, they will sanctify My name; indeed, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of…
I shall delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. Psalm 119:16 NASB Not forget – Victor Hamilton’s remark in TWOT is crucial. We have the tendency to think of “forget” as a mental lapse, but he makes it quite clear that this is not the biblical usage. šākaḥ is an action verb. Forgetting is…
