I understand more than those who are old, because I have complied with Your precepts. Psalm 119:100 NASB More than – The grammatical error spreads. Consider the strikingly different translation of Chabad: “From the wise elders I gain understanding, for I kept Your precepts.” The NASB rearranges the syntax and translates מִזְּקֵנִ֥ים as “more than the aged”…
Teach me good [y]discernment and knowledge, for I believe in Your commandments. Psalm 119:66 NASB Discernment – Do you like broccoli rabe? How about onion ice cream? Maybe something a bit more palatable like lambrusco? Everyone’s tastes differ. A lot of the time what we like is acquired through family recipes, traditions, cultural exposure, and just…
Give me understanding, so that I may comply with Your Law and keep it with all my heart. Psalm 119:34 NASB Understanding – Do you find this request a bit odd? The general pattern of God’s instructions in Torah do not require explanation. In fact, the methodology of Torah learning is not about figuring out why God asks what…
Make me understand the way of Your precepts, and I will meditate on Your wonders. Psalm 119:27 NASB Make me – Not many of us would willingly ask God to do what the psalmist asks. He uses the Hebrew bîn which means“understand, consider, perceive, prudent, regard.”[1] That seems pretty tame. The verb and its derivatives are…
The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s stall. Israel did not know, my people did not pay heed. Isaiah 1:3 Robert Alter Did not pay heed – Robert Alter’s translation captures the urgency of God’s warning. Most translations render bîn with the usual “understand” or “perceive,” but that isn’t strong enough. It’s…
You favor man with perception and teach mankind understanding. Grant us knowledge, understanding and intellect from You. Blessed are You, Adonoy, Grantor of perception. Amidah (Ashkenazi version) Wisdom, intellect and knowledge – The Sephardic version of the Amidah reads as follows: You favor man with knowledge and teach mankind understanding. Grant us wisdom, intellect and…
Mankind in its splendor, yet without understanding, is like the animals that perish. Psalm 49:20 NASB Without understanding – In a Gallup poll in 2017, 86% of Americans said that they believe God exists. Apparently His existence has almost nothing to do with how they behave. Church attendance continues to drop. Atheism is on the rise for the first…
You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. Psalm 139:2 NASB Understand– If God “knows” everything about me, then why do we also read, “You understand”? Isn’t knowing and understanding pretty much the same thing? As it turns out, in Hebrew these two ideas are different, and the difference is precisely…
So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” 1 Kings 3:9 NASB Who is able – Answer the question. Solomon asked it. You answer it. Who is able to judge? The answer, of course, is the one…
“I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? Job 31:1 ESV Gaze – Maybe this verse is just for men. Maybe. In its simplest rendition, it declares Job’s promise not to determine to know. It isn’t that Job says he will never look at an appealing woman….
