Today’s Word
That Pride Thing
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…
Once and Twice
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…
Identity Theft (3)
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.” …
Identity Theft (2)
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…
Identity Theft (1)
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…
Taking Off the Blindfold
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)…
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