I said to the LORD, “My Master You are, my good is only through You.” Psalm 16:2 Robert Alter (Hebrew numbering) Is only through You – “The textual difficulties of this whole segment of the poem being here, because the Hebrew bal-‘aleikha is unclear.”[1] Here are a few other attempts to translate this: I said…
But for me, the nearness of God is good to me; I have made the Lord YHWH my refuge that I may declare Your works. Psalm 73:28 (my translation) God/ Lord/ YHWH – In the movie, Man on Fire, Denzel Washington plays a has-been black-ops expert who struggles with suicide over his past actions. He…
they desire to draw near to God Isaiah 58:2 Draw Near – Yesterday we learned that qirbah is used only twice in Scripture. This is the second occurrence: qirvat Elohiym. Asaph desired only that God should be near. Now Isaiah tells the people that their pleas for God’s presence are in vain. Why? Because they…
As for me, the nearness of God is good to me; I have made my refuge in the Lord YHWH, to declare Your works. Psalm 73:28 God/ Lord/ YHWH – Before we look at the deeper implications of this verse from Asaph, we must notice that he includes three designations for the Holy One of…
But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; Psalm 73:28 Good – Do you remember the boxed candy called “Good and Plenty”? Black and white tiny morsels of licorice packed the pink and white container. I’m sure Asaph never heard of licorice but the word he chooses to describe “good” could easily…
But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; Psalm 73:28 Nearness – Asaph wrote this psalm. He was a choir leader and musician in David’s court (see 1 Chronicles 6:39). In 1841, Sarah Adams put the thought to the music we know. “Nearer my God to Thee” recalls Asaph’s great Hebrew hymn….
