So Much to Know


Psalm 119:89-96 – Lamedh


89Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. 
90Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
91By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants.
92If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
93I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life.
94I am yours; save me, for I have sought your precepts.
95The wicked lie in wait to destroy me, but I consider your testimonies.
96I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad.

The words of this stanza of Psalm 119 are fairly repetitive of other stanzas of this lengthy poem/prayer. The understanding that the Word of God is central to our faith comes across loud and clear once again. But I was moved to spend some time researching the meaning of the Hebrew letter used in this stanza and that opened a gold mine of information that is both intriguing and inspiring.

Unlike most of our English alphabet, each Hebrew character has a meaning. For us, the letter ‘B’ is just a B. It doesn’t bear any particular meaning on its own. The Hebrew letter used to begin each phrase of this stanza is Lamedh (or Lame). It is the center of the Hebrew alphabet and the tallest of the letters. The original meaning of Lamedh probably was “to prick, sting, incite, goad” as a shepherd might prod cattle, hence the staff like appearance at the top of the letter.

The following information, while interesting, is not something upon which to hang your faith. It may inspire a little bit of awe (as it does for me) and help us understand that we truly will never be able to mine God’s Word in its entirety. But I’m not sure how much credence is given to these ideas – and so I put that disclaimer right at the top.

Gematria is the practice of assigning a number to each letter in the alphabet. So, in English, A would be 1, B would be 2 and so forth. In Hebrew, this bears significantly more importance than it does in English. As you add up the number represented in a word, you may come to some deeper understanding of the passage. The letter Lamedh represents the number 30. But the strokes that go into making up the letter equal the number 26, which is the number for Yahweh.

The word ‘Israel’ begins with the smallest letter (Yod) and ends with the largest letter (Lamedh), suggesting Israel’s dependence upon the Lord. In fact, in Exodus 19:5 the scribes write a deliberately oversized Lamedh and a deliberately undersized Yod right next to one another. This verse reads, “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine.” The ancient sages teach that Israel is a treasured people, when they keep the covenant of the Lord by acknowledging His greatness and Israel’s smallness. God is the great Lamedh, Teacher, King of Kings; whereas Israel is the small Yod, the small hand extended upward to heaven in praise and worship.
©2003-2017. John J. Parsons. Hebrew4Christians Ministries.

You never know where a little research will lead. Regardless, may the name of Jesus Christ be praised on your lips today!

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