One or Two

BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

I sought Your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your word.  Psalm 119:58  NASB Sought – The Hebrew verb here is ḥālâ.  Fairly straightforward.  Except – except that ḥālâ has two different semantic domains.  ḥālâ I means “to become sick, weak, diseased,” while ḥālâ II means “to beseech, entreat, pray.”  How can we tell the…

Whatever It Takes

BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

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…