Do not abandon me, Lord; My God, do not be far from me! Hurry to help me, Lord, my salvation! Psalm 38:21-22 NASB Salvation – What does tĕšûʿâ mean? It’s commonly translated “salvation,” but the ancient Hebrew idea isn’t loaded with theological content in the way we use the English word today. In our world, salvation tows in…
Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the shame of Egypt from you.” So the name of that place is called [a]Gilgal to this day. Joshua 5:9 NASB Shame – Recently we investigated the two Hebrew words, ḥerpâ (reproach) and gālal (to roll away). We discovered that the request to circumcise the male population a…
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,…
