Psalm 119:97-104

Psalm 119:97-104
Ordinary C47

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97 Oh, how I loveA your law!B
    It is my meditationC allD dayE long.

Notes on verse 97

A “love” = aheb. This is to love, beloved, friend. It is to have affection for sexually or otherwise.
B “law” = torah. From yarah (to throw, shoot, be stunned; to flow as water so figuratively to instruct or teach). This is law, instruction, teaching, or statute. It can also refer to the first five books of the Bible – the Torah.
C “meditation” = sichah. 3x in OT – 1x in Job & 2x in Psalm 119. Perhaps from siach (to muse, meditate, complain, sing, sigh, speak, or utter). This is a complaint, reflection, or prayer.
D “all” = kol. From kalal (to complete). This is all or every.,
E “day” = yom. Root may mean being hot. This is the day in a literal or figurative sense. It can also mean birth, age, daylight, continually or other references to time.

98 Your commandmentF makes me wiserG than my enemies,H
    for it is alwaysI with me.

Notes on verse 98

F “commandment” = mitsvah. From tsavah (to charge, command, order, enjoin). This is a commandment, law, ordinance obligation, or tradition. It is something commanded whether by God or by a human authority. This term is sometimes used collectively to refer to the Law.
G “makes…wiser” = chakam. This is to be wise or teach wisdom. It is wisdom in thought, word, or action.
H “enemies” = oyeb. From ayab (to hate or be hostile to). This is a foe or enemy as one that you are hostile to.
I “always” = olam. This is a long scope of time whether in the past (antiquity, ancient time) or in the future (eternal, everlasting).

99 I have more understandingJ than all my teachers,K
    for your decreesL are my meditation.

Notes on verse 99

J “have…understanding” = sakal. This is to consider or be prudent and so it can mean to instruct or be an expert. It can also mean dealing prudently, which implies success and prospering. This verb presumes intelligence of the subject. In one form of the verb, it can mean laying cross-wise.
K “teachers” = lamad. Properly, this refers to goading (using a pointed stick to guide or prod one’s flock). By implication, it means teaching or instructing.
L “decrees” = eduth. From ed (witness, testimony, recorder); from ud (to admonish, repeat, duplicate, testify, restore, record, relieve). This is testimony, ordinance, decree, warning, or witness.

100 I understandM more than the aged,N
    for I keepO your precepts.P

Notes on verse 100

M “understand” = bin. This is to discern, consider, attend to. It refers to distinguishing things in one’s mind or, more generally, to understand.
N “aged” = zaqen. From the same as zaqan (beard or chin – the beard represents old age). This is old, aged, or elder.
O “keep” = natsar. This is to watch, guard, protect. It can be positive – preserve or obey. It can be negative as conceal.
P “precepts” = piqqud. From paqad (to attend to or visit – can be used for a friendly or violent encounter; to oversee, care for, avenge, or charge). This is something that is appointed or decreed by God. It can refer to the Law as a whole or a commandment individually.

101 I hold backQ my feetR from everyS evilT way,U

Notes on verse 101a

Q “hold back” = kala. 18x in OT. This is to stop in the sense of holding back or restraining. It could be keep, refuse, forbid, or to prohibit by word.
R “feet” = regel. This is foot, endurance, or journey. It is a foot as the means of walking and so it implies a step or a greater journey. It can be used euphemistically for private parts.
S “every” = kol. Same as “all” in v97. See note D above.
T “evil” = ra’. From ra’a’ (to be evil, bad, afflict; properly, to spoil – to destroy by breaking into pieces; figuratively, to cause something to be worthless; this is bad in a physical, social, or moral sense; that which displeases, to do harm or mischief, to punish or vex). This is bad, disagreeable, that which causes pain, misery, something having little or no value, something that is ethically bad, wicked, injury, calamity. This refers to anything that is not what it ought to be – a natural disaster, a disfigurement, an injury, a sin.
U “way” = orach. From arach (to go, travel, wander). This is a road that is widely used, highway, caravan, traveler, troop.

    in order to keepV your word.W

102 I do not turn awayX from your ordinances,Y
    for you have taughtZ me.

Notes on verses 101b-102

V “keep” = shamar. This is to keep, watch, or preserve. It means to guard something or to protect it as a thorny hedge protects something.
W “word” = dabar. From dabar (to speak, declare, discuss). This is speech, a word, a matter, an affair, charge, command, message, promise, purpose, report, request. It is a word, which implies things that are spoken of in a wide sense.
X “turn away” = sur. This is to turn aside in a literal or figurative sense – to depart, decline, rebel, remove, or withdraw.
Y “ordinances” = mishpat. From shaphat (to judge, defend, pronounce judgment, condemn, govern). This is a verdict or formal sentence whether from humans or from God. It includes the act of judging as well as the place that judging takes place, the suit itself, and the penalty. Abstractly, this is justice, which includes the rights of the participants.
Z “taught” = yarah. Related to “law” in v97. See note B above.

103 How sweet areAA your wordsBB to my taste,CC
    sweeter than honeyDD to my mouth!EE

Notes on verse 103

AA “sweet are” = malats. 1x in OT. This is to be smooth, sweet, or pleasant.
BB “words” = imrah. From emer (speech, thing, utterance, promise, argument, command); from amar (to speak, say, answer, command, promise, report). This is any kind of utterance, a word or commandment.
CC “taste” = chek. 18x in OT. Perhaps from chanak (to narrow; to dedicate, initiate, train, or discipline). This is gums, mouth, roof of the mouth, palate, speech, gums, taste.
DD “honey” = debash. Root may mean being gummy. This is honey or honeycomb because it is so sticky. It can also refer to syrup.
EE “mouth” = peh. This is mouth in a literal or figurative sense. So, more literally, it can be beak or jaws. More figuratively, it refers to speech, commands, or promises.

104 Through your precepts I get understanding;
    thereforeFF I hateGG every falseHH way.

Notes on verse 104

FF “therefore” = ken. Perhaps from kun (properly, in a perpendicular position; literally, to establish, fix, fasten, prepare; figuratively, it is certainty, to be firm, faithfulness, render sure or prosperous). This is to set upright. Generally used figuratively to mean thus, so, afterwards, rightly so.
GG “hate” = sane. This is to hate, an enemy. It is a personal hatred and not an abstract one.
HH “false” = sheqer. This is deception, lie, or disappointment. It can also be something that is vain or wrongfully.


Image credit: “The Longing” by Emma Schlangenhausen, 1903.

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