angela hormberg

Tag: Lamed

  • Psalm 119: 89-96

    Psalm 119: 89-96

    Lamed

    Commonplace –

    “Unless thy law had been my delights, I should have perished in mine affliction.

    I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me” (Psalm 119:92-93).

    Building on what we learned about Lamed in the last post, this section stays true to its title. In verses 92-93, we find David praising God for His word, which saved David from his “affliction” and which “quickened” him. Clearly, God’s word went straight to David’s heart. Lamed is about understanding with the heart. It’s also about action. David is fulfilling the true spirit of Lamed as a psalmist, using what he learns to teach others, while praising God all the while. David’s learning spurred him to action: writing and teaching others.

    In his writing on these verses, Matthew Henry notes, “

    “It was so now in [David’s] affliction; [God’s law] afforded him abundant matter of comfort, and from these fountains of life he drew living waters, when the cisterns of the creature were broken or dried up. His converse with God’s law, and his meditations on it, were his delightful entertainment in solitude and sorrow. A Bible is a pleasant companion at any time if we please” (Henry 577).

    Further, Henry states,

    “Ministers can prophesy upon the dry bones, they cannot put life into them; but, ordinarily, the grace of God works by the word and makes use of it as a means of quickening, and this is a good reason why we should never forget it, but should highly value what God has put such honour upon, and dearly love what we have found and hope still to find such benefit by. See here what is best help for bad memories, namely, good affections. If we are quickened by the word, we shall never forget it; nay, that word that does really quicken us to and in our duty is not forgotten; though the expressions be lost, if the impressions remain, it is well” (Henry 577).

    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: Lamed

    Psalm 119: Lamed

    Part 12:Lamed verses 89-96

    The twelfth part is Lamed, which is the twelfth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

    The following information is from the website BJE:Your Jewish Journey or Hebrew4Christians

    “The letter LAMED is equivalent to 30 in numerical terms. It is known as the majestic letter, symbolic of the King of Kings, towering higher than all the others in the Hebrew alphabet.

    The number 30, as represented by the LAMED, signifies the number of days in a full month according to the Jewish calendar.

    LAMED refers to the word ‘lamad’, signifying both teaching and learning in the biblical sense.

    LAMED is an acronym of lev mevin daat (a heart that understands wisdom)” (“Lamed”, BJE).

    This reference to teaching and learning is echoed in the information given for Lamed on the Hebrew4Christians website.

    “…the goal of learning and teaching (lamed) is heart knowledge. Moreover, since it is the only letter allowed to ascend above the other letters in the sacred writings, Lamed represents the prominence of learning and understanding to the Jewish heart” (“Lamed”, Hebrew4Christians).

    Finally, on the Hebrew4Christians, we learn that Lamed, which resembles a staff or goad, is not calling us to learning as an end in itself.

    “Learning in the Jewish tradition is not an end in itself, but should spur us on to action” (“Lamed”, Hebrew4Christians).

    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.

    “Lamed”. BJE: Your Jewish Journey. NSW Board of Jewish Education, https://bje.org.au/knowledge-centre/jewish-languages/hebrew-alphabet/lamed/, Accessed 25 June 2025.

    “Lamed”. Hebrew4Christians. John J. Parsons, https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/Aleph-Bet/Lamed/lamed.html, Accessed 25, June 2025.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg