Word Studies

Those old Hebrew words are translated as quiet waters in Psalm 23:2    “ He leads me beside quiet waters” Menuhah is a Hebrew word that was used often in scriptures to describe quiet and peacefulness, places where trust was present within.  For example, Naomi prayed for her widowed daughter-in-laws to find menuhah in the house another husband.  Another example, the promised land of Canaan was the intended place of menuhah for the people of Israel to find rest.  “…the LORD has given rest to His people Israel according to all that He promised….” (1 Kings 8:5 NASB).  But the appointed people of God did not live according to God’s standard.  They were corrupt and disobedient, and therefore forfeited that blessed rest. The rest of God cannot cohabitate with uncleanliness. “Up! Begone! This is no longer your land and home, for you have filled it with sin and ruined it completely.“ (Micah 2:10 NLT) Rest isn’t just enjoying a nap, it encompasses protection from enemies, or threatening environm

מעגּל is a Hebrew word.  When written in our alphabet, it is magal .   It is often translated as path in scriptures.  “ He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.” (Psalm 23:3 NASB) I get pictures in my head as I read.  Don’t you?  Words communicate so much! But sometimes we get a wrong picture, or simply narrow our perception and unintentionally limit what words fully mean.   Before this morning, for a path, I had a picture of a pretty landscape, with trees, wildflowers, and grass just barely worn down where it had been walked on.  And certainly that is a path.  But when doing a little word study on the Hebrew word, I discovered more. The Hebrew word also can mean track, or entrenchment. I got new images in my head of a path.   When David wrote the words we call Psalm 23, he used those words fully understanding the broadness of its possible meaning.  If you know much about the struggles of David’s life, you remember that it wasn’t always a walk in the park.