Today’s Word
Do Unto Others
Take disgrace and contempt away from me, for I comply with Your testimonies. Psalm 119:22 NASB Disgrace and contempt – How do you read this? Is the poet asking God to remove something that is happening to him, or is he asking God to removing something that he too often does? What is his situation? Are…
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…
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