angela hormberg

Tag: Qof

  • Psalm 119:145-152

    Psalm 119:145-152

    Qof, Koph, Kuf, or Koof

    Commonplace –

    “I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O Lord: I will keep thy statutes.

    The mood of these eight verses is a somber one; the word cried is used three times throughout. David cries out: “I cried with my whole heart”, “I cried unto thee”, I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried”.

    “Observe here… [t]hat [David] was inward with God in pryaer; he prayed with his heart, and prayer is acceptable no further than the heart goes along with it. Lip-labour, if that be all, is lost labour.

    He was importunate with God in prayer; he cried, as one in earnest, with fervour of affection and a holy vehemence and vigour of desire” (Henry 586).

    As Matthew Henry points out, David’s prayers emanated from his heart. He directs everything within him toward petitioning God.

    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: Qof, Koph, Kuf, or Koof

    Psalm 119: Qof, Koph, Kuf, or Koof

    Part 19:Qof, Koph, Kuf, or Koof verses 145-152

    The 19th part is Qof or Koph or Kuf or Koof, which is the 19th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

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

    “The letter KOOF ק equals the number one hundred in the Hebrew alphabet, signifying the completion of living matter. It is said that at the age of one hundred a person returns to the dust from which they came.

    KOOF signifies kedushah (holiness). This particularly refers to the Holiness of God, which completely distinguishes the Divine from all else.

    The word korban (sacrifice) begins with the letter KOOF. This signifies the offerings made at the time of the Temple. The word comes from the root word karev (to come close), inferring that sacrifices were not only made to appease God, but to aspire towards a higher spiritual state.

    KOOF also stands for Kabbalat Shabbat (receiving of Shabbat).

    In Gematria (the numerological system of the Hebrew alphabet), the word KOOF equals 186, which is equivalent to the word makom (place), signifying Omnipresence.

    KOOF also means ‘monkey’, implying a false imitation of man. It is said that if a Jew strays too far from the service of God during his lifetime on earth, or becomes too vain, he will end his life as a monkey. The monkey symbolizes emptiness, the epitome of vanity. This is exemplified in the Torah by the building of the Tower of Babel. As punishment for their disobedience in building the Tower, God turned the people into apes and demons.

    As the nineteenth letter of the alphabet, KOOF refers to the nineteen-year cycle of the moon in relation to the sun, referring to the lunar calculation of the Hebrew calendar.

    Of all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, KOOF is symbolically the lowest. Therefore, of the common letters of the alphabet, KOOF signifies the emulation of holiness on earth” (“Kuf”).

    Works Cited

    “Kuf”. 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