angela hormberg

Category: Reading Through the Psalms

  • Psalm 119: Kaf or Khaf or Caph

    Psalm 119: Kaf or Khaf or Caph

    Part 11:Kaf or Khaf or Caph verses 81-88

    The eleventh part is Kaf or Khaf or Caph, which is the eleventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

    The following information is from the website BJE:Your Jewish Journey

    “Having a numerical value of twenty, the letter KAF is the first of the double-figured letters in the Hebrew alphabet.

    The letter KAF symbolises the keter (crown) of accomplishment that God places upon one who has achieved all the tasks that are collectively set out by the previous letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

    As the initial letter of the word crown, KAF alludes to the three crowns in Judaism: priesthood, kingship and Torah.

    The word KAF means ‘the palm of the hand’, implying productivity and potentiality. It also means ‘coerce’, implying the power of man to suppress nature with his physical labour.

    There are two forms of the letter KAF, one being bent and the other long. The bent version can appear anywhere in a word besides at the end. The long KAF is used to end a word.

    The kippah (skullcap headcovering worn by Jewish men) is derived from the root word of KAF.

    KAF means cloud, symbolic of the physical power of nature” (“Kaf”).

    The website Hebrew4Christians provides further information regarding the letter “Kaf”. Following are a few excerpts regarding the meaning of Kaf:

    “The word Kaf means “palm” of a hand and also what might be contained within the palm of the hand. The word “spoon” in Hebrew is the word Kaf, which is a natural extension of the palm as a container. The gematria for the letter Kaf is 20, the same value for the word Yod (hand), and twice the value of the the letter Yod. Kaf comes from a root word (shoresh) Kafah meaning to bed or bow down, suggesting the concave shape of the body or the shape of a crown on a king’s head” (“Kaf/Khaf”).

    Additionally, Hebrew4Christians dives into the “mystery of Kaf”.

    “In Jewish Mysticism, the two letters of the word “kaf” are the initial letters of the two Hebrew words: koach (“potential”) and poel (“actual”), suggesting that Kaf enables the latent power of the spiritual (the potential) to be made actual in the physical…

    The literal meaning of Kaf is “palm” which is considered the location where potential of the Yod (hand) is actualized (interestingly, the gematria for the word Yod is the same for the letter Kaf). For this reason we bless children with palms facing them and we envision God as having His palms over us, for this image suggests the calling forth of the latent power of the spirit within for manifestation in the physical world” (“Kaf/Khaf”).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 119.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    “Kaf”. BJE: Your Jewish Journey. NSW Board of Jewish Education, https://bje.org.au/knowledge-centre/jewish-languages/hebrew-alphabet/kaf/ , Accessed 24 June 2025.

    “Kaf/Khaf”. Hebrew4Christians. John J. Parsons. https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/Aleph-Bet/Kaf/kaf.html, Accessed 24 June 2025.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 119:73-80

    Psalm 119:73-80

    Part 10: Yod or Yud or Jod

    Commonplace –

    “ Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments” (Psalm 119:73).

    As mentioned in the last post, Yod is considered the beginning of all letters, therefore it is not surprising that David begins this part discussing his own personal creation or birth. As Matthew Henry notes, “Every man is as truly the work of God’s hands as the first man was, Ps 139:15, 16” (573).

    David goes further and addresses his spiritual rebirth. He asks God as Creator of all things to give him understanding. “[David] addresses himself to God as the God of grace, and begs he will be the author of his new and better being. God made us to serve and enjoy him; but by sin we have made ourselves unable for his service and indisposed for the enjoyment of him; and we must have a new and divine nature, otherwise we had the human nature in vain” (Henry 573). David’s cry for understanding can only happen if he turns from his sinful self and becomes a new creation. We see in the first part of this verse David acknowledging God as the creator of his physical being. Then, in the second part, David asks God to bestow upon him a spirit of understanding, to create in him a new spirit, so he may learn God’s commandments.

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 119.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 119: Yud or Jod

    Psalm 119: Yud or Jod

    Part 10: Yud or Jod verses 73-80

    The tenth part is Yud or Jod, which is the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

    The following information is from the website BJE:Your Jewish Journey

    “The letter YUD signifies the number ten. It is the only letter that is suspended in midair and singular in form.

    In its singularity, YUD signifies the Oneness of God, who is indivisible.

    YUD, being the smallest of all the letters in the Hebrew alphabet, signifies the importance of humility.

    The number ten denotes the ten Divine forces (sefirot) that form the Tree of Life. It is believed that these forces are the essence of all created matter.

    Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, is heavily associated with the letter YUD. It falls on the tenth day of the month of Tishrei. It marks the end of the Ten Days of Awe, further emphasising the significance of the YUD, so small and yet so powerful.

    YUD is the first letter of yom (day). In reference to the Creation story, this signifies the power of a single unit to turn one day into a whole week, demonstrating that greatness is achieved through humility.

    The name of God and Israel both begin with the letter YUD. It is said that the people of Israel, the Chosen people, were the smallest and most humble of nations” (“Yud”).

    On the Hebrew4Christians website is the following information regarding this fascinating letter.

    “Suspended in mid air, Yod is the smallest of the Hebrew letters, the “atom” of the consonants, and the form from which all of the other letters begin and end…

    In the Jewish mystical tradition, Yod represents a mere dot, a divine point of energy. Since Yod is used to form all of the other letters, and since God uses the letters as the building blocks of creation, Yod indicates God’s omnipresence.

    In fact, the word [Yod] itself depicts something of the geometry of creation. It begins with the Yod itself, as a dot, and then moves downward from the Divine towards the created order to form Vav (the “hook” of creation). Finally, it moves outward in the horizontal realm as Dalet (the “doorway” of creation).

    Since Yeshua upholds the world by the Word of His power (Hebrews 1:3), and Yod is part of every Hebrew letter (and, therefore, every word), Yod is considered the starting point of the presence of God in all things – the “spark” of the spirit in everything” (“Yud”).

    Works Cited

    “Yod”. Hebrew4Christians. John J. Parsons, https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/Aleph-Bet/Yod/yod.html , Accessed 21 June 2025.

    “Yud”. BJE: Your Jewish Journey. NSW Board of Jewish Education, https://bje.org.au/knowledge-centre/jewish-languages/hebrew-alphabet/bet/ , Accessed 27 May 2025.

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 119.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 119:65-72

    Psalm 119:65-72

    Tet or Teth

    Commonplace –

    “Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments.

    Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now I have kept thy word” (Psalm 119:66-67).

    These two verses represent the idea of Tet or Teth, which is the potential of man, either for good or evil. Here David indicates that he had gone astray, but, then, he turned back to God.

    Matthew Henry notes the following regarding these verses:

    “Sin is going astray; and we are most apt to wander from God when we are easy and think ourselves at home in the world. Prosperity is the unhappy occasion of much iniquity; it makes people conceited of themselves, indulgent of the flesh, forgetful of God, in love with the world and deaf to the reproofs of the word” (Henry 572).

    Thankfully, God does not leave us in this unhappy state.

    “God often makes use of afflictions as a means to reduce those to himself who have wandered from him. Sanctified afflictions humble us for sin and show us the vanity of the world; they soften the heart, and open the ear to discipline. The prodigal’s distress brought him to himself first and then to himself” (Henry 572).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 119.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 119: Tet or Teth

    Psalm 119: Tet or Teth

    Part 9: Tet or Teth verses 65-72

    The ninth part is Tet or Teth, which is the ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

    The following information is from the website BJE:Your Jewish Journey.

    “The letter TET, as the number nine numerically, represents general goodness.

    The Hebrew word ‘tov’ (good) begins with the letter TET. The first time TET appears in the Torah is in Genesis 1:4, in the word tov.

    The numerical value of the letter TET signifies truth and eternity. This is due to its unique feature that all multiples of the number nine are equal to nine in their reduced value. According to Gematria (Jewish numerology) the word for truth (’emet’), equals nine when reduced, as do many other words pertaining to these Divine qualities.

    TET is the central consonant in the word ‘mateh’ (staff), signifying the twelve tribes of Israel who were referred to as staffs.

    The word for pure (tahir) as well as impure (tamah), both commence with the letter TET. This suggests that only God, symbolising Divine goodness, has the power to produce pure from impure. In this way the TET unites both pure and impure to create one entity” (“Tet”, BJE).

    The website Hebrew4Christians notes that “Tet represents the two possibilities of man” (“Tet”, Parsons).

    Works Cited

    “Tet”. BJE: Your Jewish Journey. NSW Board of Jewish Education, https://bje.org.au/knowledge-centre/jewish-languages/hebrew-alphabet/tet/ , Accessed 17 June 2025.

    “Tet”. Hebrew4Christians. John Parsons, https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/Aleph-Bet/Tet/tet.html, Accessed 17 June 2025.

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 119.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 119:57-64

    Psalm 119:57-64

    Cheth or Chet

    Commonplace –

    “I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts” (Psalm 119:63).

    Cheth, the eighth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is about the relationship between God and His people. This relationship is seen from the beginning of Part 8: Cheth, when David says, “Thou art my portion” (Psalm 119:57). David’s declaration clearly asserts his desire for a relationship with God. Further, David declares his relationship with all the followers of God in verse 63, when he states, ” I am a companion of all them that fear thee”.

    Matthew Henry speaks to this relationship among God’s people.

    “David had often expressed the great love he had to God; here he expresses the great love he had to the people of God; and observe,

    1. Why he loved them; not so much because they were his best friends, most firm to his interest and most forward to serve him, but because they were such as feared God and kept His precepts, and so did Him honour and helped to support His kingdom among men. Our love to the saints is then sincere when we love them for the sake of what we see of God in them and the service they do to Him.
    2. How [David] showed his love to them; He was a companion of them. He had not only a spiritual communion with them in the same faitha and hope, but he joined with them in holy ordinances in the courts of the Lord, where rich and poor, prince and peasant, meet together” (Henry 572).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 119.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 119: Cheth or Chet

    Psalm 119: Cheth or Chet

    Part 8: Cheth or Chet verses 57-64

    The eighth part is Cheth or Chet, which is the eighth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

    The following information is from the website BJE:Your Jewish Journey.

    “The word CHET means ‘sin’ as well as ‘life’. The significance of the CHET is affirmed in the expression chayeh chaim (Life of Life), meaning God. This refers to the highest of the three levels of loving God, where the Divine Presence is fully revealed” (“Chet”).

    There was also a reference to the written form of the letter “Chet” as the combination of the two preceding letters of the Hebrew alphabet: Vav and Zain. “VAV, the plainest in appearance of all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, signifies the basic common link between all Jewish people: a love of and will to serve God” (“Vav”, BJE). The appearance of “Vav” is like that of a hook, which is said to represent a connection between God and man. Zain is considered a “crowned Vav” (“Zayin”), which, like a woman being a crown to her husband, so, Zayin represents the crown of Vav, or the connection between the people and God. The connection of Zayin and Vav represents the relationship between God and his people, the church.

    Works Cited

    “Chet”. BJE: Your Jewish Journey. NSW Board of Jewish Education, https://bje.org.au/knowledge-centre/jewish-languages/hebrew-alphabet/chet/ , Accessed 10 June 2025.

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 119.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    “Vav”. https://bje.org.au/knowledge-centre/jewish-languages/hebrew-alphabet/vav/, Accessed 31 May 2025.

    “Zayin”. Hebrew for Christians. John J. Parsons, https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/Aleph-Bet/Zayin/zayin.html , Accessed 10 June 2025.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 119:49-56

    Psalm 119:49-56

    Zain or Zayin

    Commonplace –

    “I remembered thy judgments of old, O Lord; and have comforted myself” (Psalm 119:52).

    Zain is the seventh letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Tishrei is the seventh month in the Jewish calendar. The Feast of Tabernacles, which is a time of remembering, wherein the people build temporary tents to live in as a reminder of the days when the Israelites lived in the desert, is celebrated for seven days during the month of Tishrei. “Tishrei means ‘to look’, highlighting that this is a time of self-assessment” (“Zayin”). Throughout this part of Psalm 119, David remembers. He begins by asking God to remember the words He gave David, which caused David to have hope and comfort, when he was afflicted. David also writes about remembering God’s judgments, statutes and name.

    What was the benefit of David remembering and reminding himself of God’s Word, judgments, statutes and name? “This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me” (Psalm 119:50). Matthew Henry expands on this point.

    “Here is David’s experience of benefit by the word. 1. As a means of his sanctification:Thy word has quickened me. It made me alive when I was dead in sin; it has many a time made me lively when I was dead in duty; it has quickened me to that which is good when I was backward and averse to it, and it has quickened in me that which is good when I was cold and indifferent. 2. Therefore as a means of his consolation when he was in affliction and needed something to support him: “Because thy word has quickened me at other times, it has comforted me then.” The word of God has much in it that speaks comfort in affliction; but those only may apply it to themselves who have experienced in some measure the quickening power of the word. If through grace it makes us holy, there is enough in it to make us easy, in all conditions under all events” (Henry 569).

    Similarly, like David, we can remember the times when God convicted us and sanctified us through his word. These memories can then comfort us, when we are presently enduring a hardship, knowing that God has been faithful in the past and will continue to be faithful now and in the future.

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 119.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    “Zayin”. https://bje.org.au/knowledge-centre/jewish-languages/hebrew-alphabet/zayin/ , Accessed 2 June 2025.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 119: Zayin or Zain

    Psalm 119: Zayin or Zain

    Part 7:Zayin or Zain verses 49-56

    The 7th part is Zayin or Zain, which is the seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

    The following information is from the website BJE:Your Jewish Journey.

    “The letter ZAYIN has a numerical value of seven, alluding to the seven days in which the world was created.

    As the number seven, ZAYIN signifies the seven days of the week, especially the seventh, which is Shabbat.

    ZAYIN symbolises the seventh day of creation.

    The number seven signifies the seven weeks of the Counting of the Omer. The counting of grain starts on the second day of Pesach, lasting for seven weeks, to mark the period in which the harvest fruits and offerings were brought to the Temple.

    Tishrei, as the seventh month of the Jewish calendar, is one of the most significant months of the year, in that the holiest of holy days fall within it. Rosh Hashanah (New Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), Sukkot (Tabernacles) and Simchat Torah (Rejoicing of the Torah) all occur within Tishrei. Tishrei means ‘to look’, highlighting that this is a time of self-assessment” (“Zayin”).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 119.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    “Zayin”. https://bje.org.au/knowledge-centre/jewish-languages/hebrew-alphabet/zayin/ , Accessed 2 June 2025.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 119:41-48

    Psalm 119:41-48

    Vav or Vau

    Commonplace –

    “And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.

    My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes” (Psalm 119:47-48).

    The picture David paints here is one of worship: delight, hands lifted up. One can almost picture his face with eyes closed lifted upward toward heaven with a gentle smile on his lips, simply basking in the complete satisfaction of God. That’s a beautiful place to be: satisfied, content. It’s reminiscent of another scene of complete contentment, when on the sixth day God “saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). It seems perfect that these two verses would be found under the sixth part, Vav: “As the number six, the VAV denotes physical completion. The world was created in six days, as explained in Genesis: The first word of Genesis, Bereishit, (‘in the beginning’), can be broken up to form ‘He created six’ (Barah Shit)” (“Vav”). Complete satisfaction.

    Matthew Henry points out the significance of David mentioning his hands raised and his thoughts meditating on God’s commandments.

    “By this it will appear that we truly love God’s commandments, if we apply both our minds and our hands to them” (Henry 569).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 119.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    “Vav”. https://bje.org.au/knowledge-centre/jewish-languages/hebrew-alphabet/vav/, Accessed 31 May 2025.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg