2 Thessalonians 3
Isaiah 29-30
Psalm 119:1-32
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Thoughts and Commentary on Today's Reading
Today, we begin our journey into Psalm 119 - which is the longest chapter in the Bible. Psalm 119 is the chapter which showcases the Hebrew alphabet, giving the spiritual meaning and message of each Hebrew letter. For every letter of the Hebrew alphabet, there are 8 verses in this chapter, which reveal the spiritual message and meaning of each letter. For centuries, Hebrew children were taught the alphabet through Psalm 119. (Note, Hebrew is read from left to right, so the aleph is the first letter of the alphabet.)
Notably, the letters of the Hebrew alphabet (there are 22 letters) all have tremendous, spiritual meaning. Hebrew words gain their overall meanings by adding together all the meanings of each letter found in the word. Each letter also has numeric value, similar to how Roman numerals do double service as letters.
Over the next couple of days, we will be reading through Psalm 119. While we are reading this amazing chapter, I will focus my blogs upon the spiritual revelations found in the Hebrew letters - showcased in Psalm 119. Today's reading takes us through the first four letters of the Hebrew alphabet (Psalm 119:1-8 = alef (also spelled aleph); Psalm 119:9-16 = beyt; Psalm 119:17-24 = gimel; Psalm 119:25-32 = dalet.)
Introduction: the Story of Psalm 119
This
long Psalm deserves a long introduction. The author is unnamed; older
commentators almost universally say it is a Psalm of David, composed throughout
his entire life. More modern commentators often say that it is from the days of Nehemiah or Ezra. We lean towards agreement with the
older commentators, believing it to have been written by David. No matter who
wrote it, we notice that it was likely written over some period of time and
later compiled, because there is not a definite flow of thought from the
beginning of the Psalm to the end.
The sections and verses are not like a chain, where one link is connected to
the other, but like a string of pearls were each pearl has equal, but
independent value.
The
Psalm is arranged in an acrostic pattern. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew
alphabet, and this Psalm contains 22 units of 8 verses each. Each of the 22
sections is given to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and each line in that
section begins with that letter. The closest parallel to this pattern in
Scripture is found in Lamentations 3, which is also divided into 22 sections,
and there are a few other passages in the Hebrew Scriptures which use an
acrostic pattern.
Since
this is a Psalm glorifying Yahweh and His Law and Word, it refers to Scripture and
Torah over and over again. Scripture
is mentioned in at least 171 of 176 verses.
Throughout this course of Bible
study, we will study each of the 22 sections, one-by-one – along with their
corresponding Hebrew aleph bet letter. In the end, we believe a wealth of
Wisdom and Truth will be gained, along with a rudimentary understanding of the
spiritual depth of the Hebrew language.
The Name of the Creator God is used in interesting ways in
Psalm 119. In all cases except one, the Personal Name of the Creator God
(Yahweh) is used, appearing 24 times. Multiples of twelve are frequently used
in the Bible. In the remaining case, the Hebrew word Elohiym is used, which
means Creator God.
Psalm 119 is telling us that to know the Creator God
you must know His Law, Ordinances, Word, Commandments, Statutes, Precepts,
Decrees, Testimonies, Ways, and Faithfulness.
The Mighty Aleph Tav:
The Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew
alphabet. The Tav is the last letter.
The Messiah Yahshua said that He is
the Aleph and the Tav, the First (rishon) and the Last (acharon),
and the Beginning (rosh) and the Ending (sof): I am the Aleph
and the Tav, (Alpha and Omega in
Greek) the beginning and the end, the first and the last (Rev.
22:13).
When Yahshua said
this, He was making a direct reference to Isaiah 41:4, 44:6, and 48:12, where Yahweh Himself says that He is the First
and the Last -- and explicitly declared that there is no other “god” beside
Him.
Yahshua was stating that He was the One to
whom the references in Isaiah pertain. He is the “direct object” of which the
Scriptures speak (see about the role of the direct object marker).
Yahshua also said He was the Truth of God
Himself:
"I
Am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no man comes to the Father apart from Me"
(John 14:6).
Notice that
the word for "truth" (emet in Hebrew)
contains the first letter, the middle letter, and the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which the
Jewish sages say means that the truth contains everything from Aleph to Tav, as shown below:
The Hebrew
word emet has a more concrete meaning than the English word for
"truth" (the English word derives from the Greek/Western view of
truth as a form of correspondence between language and reality, but invariably
languished over epistemological questions that led, ultimately, to skepticism).
In the Hebraic mindset, the person who acts in emet is one who can be trusted
(Gen. 24:49; 42:16; 47:26; Josh. 2:14). Actions, speech, reports, or judgment
are emet because they are reliable (Dt. 13:14; 22:20; 1 Kg. 10:6;
22:16; Pr. 12:19; Zech. 8:16). If a seed is a seed of emet, its quality
is trustworthy (Jer. 2:21).
In the Tanakh, emet is often coupled with chesed, covenant faithfulness, which designates Yahweh’s loyalty in fulfilling His Promises and His Covenant. For example, God's emet and chesed were majestically revealed in giving the Covenant at Sinai (Ex. 34:6).
In the Tanakh, emet is often coupled with chesed, covenant faithfulness, which designates Yahweh’s loyalty in fulfilling His Promises and His Covenant. For example, God's emet and chesed were majestically revealed in giving the Covenant at Sinai (Ex. 34:6).
"Yahweh, Yahweh God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in
goodness and truth" (Exodus
34:6).
Indeed,
Pilate's question, "What is truth?" is a category mistake, since
truth is not about "what" but about "Who."
That is, truth
is not something objective and static, a thing to be known and studied from a
distance. No. Truth is essentially personal. It is personal disclosure of the
character of the subject. Understood in this way, Truth is a way of living, a
mode of existence, a relational truth.
Alright... Now that we have established a framework, and a good start on the first eight verses of Psalm 119, I am going to provide links to my online Bible studies on Psalm 119. Each link is for a different Hebrew letter. As I mentioned, our reading today covers the first four letters. So the links to my studies for the first four letters are found below. Join me as we go back to Hebrew Kindergarten (learning the alphabet) and find truths which are deep enough to keep the scholars busy!
There are blank worksheets of these studies found on our website also. If you would like to print a blank copy so that you can do the studies in Psalm 119 in even more depth, go to http://www.lightedway.org/html/psalm119.html
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