For the Leader; a Psalm of David. Wonder at Hashem's complete knowledge of the heart, His presence in every place, and His shaping of the person in the womb, closing with a prayer for a pure heart.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
For the Leader. A Psalm of David. O Hashem, You have searched me, and known me. .
verse value 1829
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 28 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֥ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "of·David" (לְדָוִ֣ד, 4 letters) and the longest is "You·have·searched·me" (חֲ֝קַרְתַּ֗נִי, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "You·have·searched·me" (חֲ֝קַרְתַּ֗נִי), "and·You·knew" (וַתֵּדָֽע). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 688x in Psalms); "and·You·knew" (root ידע, 95x in Psalms); "of·David" (root דוד, 89x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'a·psalm', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: לַ֭מְנַצֵּחַ [for·the·leader] (218) + לְדָוִ֣ד [of·David] (44) + מִזְמ֑וֹר [a·psalm] (293) + יְהֹוָ֥ה [Hashem] (26) + חֲ֝קַרְתַּ֗נִי [You·have·searched·me] (768) + וַתֵּדָֽע [and·You·knew] (480) = 1829.
Ibn Ezra
'For the leader, of David, a psalm: Hashem, You have searched me' — This psalm is very glorious in the ways of Hashem, and there is no psalm like it in these five books [of Psalms]; and according to a person's understanding of the ways of Hashem and the ways of the soul, one will grasp its meanings. Now I will explain it briefly, with the help of Hashem: To begin, 'You have searched me' — in the manner of 'He who searches the heart and tests the kidneys' (Jeremiah 17:10), and it means You have the power to know all my secrets.
Radak
'Hashem, You have searched me, and known me' — You have searched my heart and known it, as it is said, 'I, Hashem, search the heart, I try the reins' (Jeremiah 17:10).
Metzudat David
"You have searched me" — You have searched the thoughts of my heart and known them.
Malbim
"For the Leader" — in this psalm he speaks glorious things concerning knowledge and providence. "Hashem, You have searched me, and known me" — meaning, You know man by two kinds of knowledge which, according to human comprehension, are contradictory to one another; yet both are found together in You. 1) On account of foreknowledge, that He knows all that is future with a prior, absolute, and clear knowledge, not dependent on time, place, or the aspects of possibility — this is what is meant by "and known me," meaning that You have known this beforehand. 2) That nevertheless man is free in his actions, so that on account of this freedom, "You have searched me" now, to know what I have chosen in my choice — even though You know this beforehand. Thus in Your knowledge the foreknowledge is found together with its leaving intact, after it, the nature of possibility — and this is a wondrous matter, hidden from human understanding.
You know my downsitting and my uprising, You understand my thought afar off.
verse value 2885
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "You" (אַתָּ֣ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·my·rising" (וְקוּמִ֑י, 5 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "and·my·rising" (וְקוּמִ֑י), "You·understand" (בַּ֥נְתָּה), "to·my·thought" (לְ֝רֵעִ֗י). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "You" (root אתה, 115x in Psalms); "You·know" (root ידע, 95x in Psalms); "my·sitting" (root ישב, 58x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·my·rising', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: אַתָּ֣ה [You] (406) + יָ֭דַעְתָּ [You·know] (484) + שִׁבְתִּ֣י [my·sitting] (712) + וְקוּמִ֑י [and·my·rising] (162) + בַּ֥נְתָּה [You·understand] (457) + לְ֝רֵעִ֗י [to·my·thought] (310) + מֵרָחֽוֹק [from·afar] (354) = 2885.
Rashi
"You understand how to attach me from afar" — You understand from afar [how] to attract me to Your friendship and to Your love. "to attach me" — Heb. לרעי, to attach me to You.
Ibn Ezra
'You' — You know my sitting down and my rising up. And the sense is: a person's movements are opposite [to one another], and all is according to a person's need, thought, and will; therefore the word 'le-re'i' [my thought] is like 'my thinking,' and similarly: 'and in the thought of his heart' — in Aramaic: 'ra'yonakh al mishkevakh seliku' [your thoughts came up upon your bed] (Daniel 2:29); and the word comes with a lamed, like 'harugei le-Avner' [those slain, of Avner] (II Samuel 3:30). The meaning of 'me-rachok' [from afar] is: from a distant time, as in 'Hashem appeared to me from afar' (Jeremiah 31:3). And behold, the sense is: before my thought [arises], in the manner of 'Before I formed you in the belly I knew you' (Jeremiah 1:5). And the reason for adding 'atah' [You] is that You alone know the number of all my movements, not man himself.
Radak
'You know my downsitting and my uprising' — Of man's movements, he mentions sitting and rising, for it is by man's own will that he sits and rises: when he is sitting and wishes to rise, he considers in his heart the reason for which he wishes to rise; and if he is standing and wishes to sit, he considers in his heart the reason for which he wishes to sit. Now, man's will and his thought — God knows them and understands them from afar, meaning, before he even thinks them. 'My thought' [לרעי] — my thinking, from the same root as 'in the thought of his heart' (Ecclesiastes 2:22).
Metzudat David
"My downsitting and my uprising" — The thought behind my downsitting and my uprising. "You understand" — You discern the thought of my heart from a distant time — that is to say, from the moment I was created.
Metzudat Zion
"You understand" — from the language of "binah" (understanding). "My thought" — an expression of thinking, as in "and in the musing of his heart" (Ecclesiastes 2).
Malbim
"You know" — behold, the actions of man are divided into four categories. 1) Voluntary actions that he performs without the choice of the intellect, such as sitting and rising, and this is meant by "You know my sitting down and my rising up." 2) Deliberate actions that he performs by the choice of the intellect — this is meant by "You understand" my thought — and my thoughts — "from afar," for before I had thought the thought, You already understood it. 3) Natural actions, such as eating and cohabitation — this is meant by …
You measure my going about and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways.
verse value 1954
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 26 letters. The shortest word is "my·going·about" (אׇרְחִ֣י, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·all·of·my·ways" (וְֽכׇל־דְּרָכַ֥י, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "my·going·about" (אׇרְחִ֣י), "and·my·lying·down" (וְרִבְעִ֣י), "You·measure" (זֵרִ֑יתָ). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·all·of·my·ways" (root דרך, 70x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'You·measure', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: אׇרְחִ֣י [my·going·about] (219) + וְרִבְעִ֣י [and·my·lying·down] (288) + זֵרִ֑יתָ [You·measure] (617) + וְֽכׇל־דְּרָכַ֥י [and·all·of·my·ways] (290) + הִסְכַּֽנְתָּה [You·are·acquainted·with] (540) = 1954.
Rashi
"My going about and my lying down You encompassed" — My way, my lying down, and my dwelling You have encompassed with a wall, for I can do nothing without Your knowledge. "You encompassed" — heb. זרית, an expression of (Exod. 25:24): “a gold crown (זר).” Menachem associated it in this manner (p. 82). Our Sages, however, interpreted it (Nid. 31a, Mid. Ps. 139:3) as referring to the droplet of [semen, transmitted in] sexual intercourse, from whose choicest part the fetus is formed, and the meaning of זֵרִיתָ (זורה) is an expression of winnowing the grain to purify it of the refuse it contains. "You are accustomed" — Heb. הִסכנתה, you are accustomed.
Ibn Ezra
'My going about [orchi]' — He mentioned sitting and rising, and He mentioned walking, which is 'orchi.' And behold, 'riv'i' will be like 'be-shochbi' [when I lie down], for these four are the ones mentioned in the recitation of the Shema. And Rabbi Moshe HaKohen said that 'riv'i' is, in the Aramaic translation, [equivalent to] 'rivtzi' [my lying down], and the explanation of 'zerita' is from 'zer zahav' [a golden crown/rim], and it is from the heavy doubled conjugation [Piel], and the sense is as if You placed a golden crown at the place of my lying down and all around my going about. And the word 'hiskanta' [You are acquainted] is a transitive verb from the root of 'hasken,' 'hiskanti' [I have grown accustomed], and the meaning is like 'hirgalta' [You have trained]. And the word 'derakhai' [my ways] refers to the natural functions: the eye to see, the ear to hear, the palate to taste, the tongue to speak, the nose to smell, and the whole body to feel — for the function of each organ is a specific known thing that no other organ can perform, and the sages of natural science will understand this; and behold, this is in the manner of [the verse]: 'He who forms the eye, does He not see?' (Psalm 94:9).
Radak
'My path' [ארחי] — that is, my walking about in them. 'And my lying down' [ורבעי] — that is, my reclining at night, when one lies down on his bed; the Targum renders it ורבעת. Now he has mentioned four movements of man: sitting, rising, walking, and lying down, for man is forever moving from one of these to another. 'You measure' [זרית] — You have surrounded, from the same root as 'a molding of gold round about' (Exodus 25:11) — meaning: all my movements and my thoughts — I know that You surround my body and surround my thought. 'And are acquainted with all my ways' [הסכנת] — You have become accustomed, similar to the form hasken hiskanti [from the root ס-כ-ן, 'to be accustomed to/familiar with'] — he means: You know all of a man's ways, as one who is accustomed to a thing knows it.
Metzudat David
"My going about and my lying down" — My ways and my resting places You have encircled, and You have set for them a limit and a boundary that will not be transgressed. "And are acquainted" — That is to say, You know them as a person accustomed to a thing knows everything about it.
Metzudat Zion
"My going about" — my path/way. "And my lying down" — an expression of crouching, which is lying down to rest, as in "and she [the donkey] crouched beneath Balaam" (Numbers 23), which the Targum renders "u-ravat"; and related to it is "you shall not let your cattle mate with a diverse kind" (Leviticus 19:19). "You measure" — an expression of encircling, and it is from the language of "zer zahav" (a golden rim) (Exodus 25). "Are acquainted" — an expression of habituation, as in "have I ever been accustomed [to do so]?" (Numbers 23).
Malbim
"You measure my going about and my lying down" — that You encircle them as a wreath round about, and You know them all. 3) Habitual actions that a person performs out of habit, and this is meant by "and are acquainted with all my ways" — You have taught and accustomed me in them.
For there is not a word in my tongue, But, lo, O Hashem, You know it altogether.
verse value 1184
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 27 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְ֝הֹוָ֗ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֤י, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·my·tongue" (בִּלְשׁוֹנִ֑י, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 55: behold, all·of·it. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "word" (מִ֭לָּה). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 688x in Psalms); "for" (root כי, 216x in Psalms); "You·know" (root ידע, 95x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·my·tongue', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: כִּ֤י [for] (30) + אֵ֣ין [there·is·not] (61) + מִ֭לָּה [word] (75) + בִּלְשׁוֹנִ֑י [in·my·tongue] (398) + הֵ֥ן [behold] (55) + יְ֝הֹוָ֗ה [Hashem] (26) + יָדַ֥עְתָּ [You·know] (484) + כֻלָּֽהּ [all·of·it] (55) = 1184.
Ibn Ezra
'For' — before the word is complete on my tongue, You already knew it entirely, even before I had completed it.
Radak
'For there is not a word' — the word is not yet upon my tongue, and I have not yet begun to speak, and You 'know it altogether' — meaning, the entire word that I intend to say. Or its interpretation is: I think to bring the matter out of my heart, and You know my thought; and the word that I find in my mouth — I have nothing on my tongue [yet] to bring it out according to my thought — yet You know what I will utter with my mouth, even though I myself do not know it, even though I had already thought it. As Solomon said, 'The preparations of the heart are man's, but the answer of the tongue is from Hashem' (Proverbs 16:1). And this latter interpretation is the correct one in my view.
Metzudat David
"For there is not a word" — While the word is still not on my tongue, and I have not yet begun to speak, behold, You, Hashem, know the whole word before I have spoken it.
Metzudat Zion
"A word" — an expression of speech.
Malbim
"For" — he adds that even in the matter of speech that I speak, while yet "there is not a word on my tongue, behold, O Hashem, You know it altogether" — You already know all that I am about to speak.
You have hemmed me in behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.
verse value 2456
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 24 letters. The shortest word is "upon·me" (עָלַ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "You·hemmed·me·in" (צַרְתָּ֑נִי, 5 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "and·before" (וָקֶ֣דֶם), "You·hemmed·me·in" (צַרְתָּ֑נִי), "and·You·placed" (וַתָּ֖שֶׁת). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "upon·me" (root על, 120x in Psalms); "and·You·placed" (root שית, 32x in Psalms); "You·hemmed·me·in" (root צור, 28x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'You·hemmed·me·in', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: אָח֣וֹר [behind] (215) + וָקֶ֣דֶם [and·before] (150) + צַרְתָּ֑נִי [You·hemmed·me·in] (750) + וַתָּ֖שֶׁת [and·You·placed] (1106) + עָלַ֣י [upon·me] (110) + כַּפֶּֽכָה [Your·hand] (125) = 2456.
Rashi
"From the rear and the front" — My face and my back. "Your pressure" — your coercion and your ruling, destroit in Old French.
Ibn Ezra
'Behind,' 'You have hemmed me in [tzartani]' — from the root of 'and you shall besiege it [ve-tzarta]' (Deuteronomy 20:12); and do not be puzzled that it does not say 'tzarta alai' [You besieged me], for behold, similarly [we find]: 'do not besiege them [al tetzurem] and do not provoke them' (Deuteronomy 2:19). The word 've-kedem' [and before] means 'in front.' 'Achor' [behind] is the opposite direction of a person's movement. And behold, the sense is: You have hemmed me in from behind and from in front, and You have laid Your palm upon me, and there is no siege and distress like this one.
Radak
'You have hemmed me in behind and before' [אחור וקדם צרתני] — My father [Rabbi Joseph Kimchi], of blessed memory, explained this with reference to the formation of the fetus in its mother's womb, and explained 'צרתני' [You have hemmed me in] in the sense of 'form' (tzurah). 'And laid Your hand upon me' [ותשת עלי כפכה] — as is done with cheese, in the manner of 'and curdled me like cheese' (Job 10:10); meaning, You set upon me a measure of length, for He set a measure for the fetus.
Metzudat David
"Behind and before" — You have besieged me all around, from behind and from before, so that I cannot flee, and You have laid Your palm upon me to strike me — that is to say, I am always in Your hand and I have no escape. And he likened the matter to soldiers who besiege a city all around, not allowing anyone to go out, and strike them as they wish.
Metzudat Zion
"You have hemmed me in" — from the language of "matzor" (siege) and encircling. "And laid" — an expression of placing.
Malbim
"Behind" — and not only do You have knowledge of the details of my actions, but You also have dominion over every movement of my limbs and my activity, to the point that I am surrounded by You from behind, from before, and from above. And he depicts the power of Hashem as a heavy encampment surrounding the small city that is man, who is besieged on every side so that he cannot flee from before it, neither forward nor backward; and also Your palms are laid upon me from above, so that I cannot rise up above, out from under Your dominion.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; Too high, I cannot attain to it.
verse value 1349
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 30 letters. The shortest word is "to·it" (לָֽהּ, 2 letters) and the longest is "not·I·am·able" (לֹא־א֥וּכַֽל, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "wonderful" (פְּלִ֣יאָֽה), "is·high" (נִ֝שְׂגְּבָ֗ה), "not·I·am·able" (לֹא־א֥וּכַֽל). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·me" (root מן, 59x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words.
Rashi
"Knowledge is hidden from me, etc." — A place to escape from You is covered up and hidden from me. (I found this.)
Ibn Ezra
'Wonderful [pli'ah]' is an adjective, and the thing it describes is 'knowledge'; and this knowledge is thought/understanding itself.
Radak
'Such knowledge is too wonderful for me' — this knowledge is wondrous, beyond me. 'Too high, I cannot' — attain to it. And this 'knowledge' is the formation of the human body out of four natures, each the opposite of the other and each contrary to the other — namely, heat, cold, moisture, and dryness. And the blessed God, in His wisdom, forms them within the body that is created, and blends them, so that the body may be sustained by them.
Metzudat David
"Such knowledge is too wonderful for me" — Hidden from me is the knowledge of how to escape from You. "Too high" — The matter of the strategy of escape is exceedingly strong and difficult; I cannot know it.
Metzudat Zion
"Too wonderful" — [meaning] hidden, as in "seeing it is hidden/wondrous" (Judges 13). "Too high" — [meaning] powerful/exalted. "I cannot [attain]" — from the language of ability.
Malbim
"Wonderful" — for there are two kinds of "wonder." 1) A wonder that a person is capable of comprehending, and it is wondrous only to a particular individual — this is meant by "such knowledge is too wonderful for me." 2) An absolute wonder, which is impossible to comprehend at all, and which no person can attain — this is meant by "too high, I cannot attain to it," for it is a matter that is exalted beyond human understanding.
Where shall I go from Your spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence?
verse value 854
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 24 letters. The shortest word is "where?" (אָ֭נָֽה, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·Your·spirit" (מֵרוּחֶ֑ךָ, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "from·Your·spirit" (מֵרוּחֶ֑ךָ), "and·where?" (וְ֝אָ֗נָה), "shall·I·flee" (אֶבְרָֽח). The root אן appears 2 times in this verse. 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·Your·presence" (root פנים, 131x in Psalms); "shall·I·go" (root הלך, 68x in Psalms); "from·Your·spirit" (root רוח, 31x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·Your·spirit', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: אָ֭נָֽה [where?] (56) + אֵלֵ֣ךְ [shall·I·go] (51) + מֵרוּחֶ֑ךָ [from·Your·spirit] (274) + וְ֝אָ֗נָה [and·where?] (62) + מִפָּנֶ֥יךָ [from·Your·presence] (200) + אֶבְרָֽח [shall·I·flee] (211) = 854.
Ibn Ezra
'Where' — a person has no power to go anywhere unless the spirit of Hashem leads him; therefore, 'where shall I go from Your spirit' — and the meaning is like 'from Your presence.'
Radak
'Where' — he says: Where shall I go from Your spirit — if I should think to go and hide from Your spirit, or to flee from Your presence? This is the same idea repeated in different words: were I to say I would do this, I could not, for You are present in every place, and no place can contain You.
Metzudat David
"Where" — Where is the place to which I could go to hide from the wind of Your anger, and where could I flee from You? This is a manner of rhetorical exaggeration and hyperbole.
Metzudat Zion
"Where" — [meaning] to where. "From Your spirit" — [this term] is also used for anger, as in "be not hasty in your spirit [to be angry]" (Ecclesiastes 7).
Malbim
"Where" — 1) How can I go from the fortress in which I am, and where shall I find a path and a way by which "I might go from Your spirit" and get out of the siege? 2) Even if I were able to escape the siege, "where shall I flee from Your presence" — to what place could I flee where I would not be under Your dominion? "If I ascend up into heaven" — behold, "You are there," for there is the dwelling-place of Your glory; and "make my bed in Sheol" — behold, You are there also; even though Your dwelling is not there, surely Your kingship rules over all.
If I ascend up into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in the nether-world, behold, You are there.
verse value 1932
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "there" (שָׁ֣ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·I·spread·out" (וְאַצִּ֖יעָה, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "if·I·ascend" (אִם־אֶסַּ֣ק), "and·I·spread·out" (וְאַצִּ֖יעָה), "behold·You" (הִנֶּֽךָּ). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "there" (root שם, 119x in Psalms); "You" (root אתה, 115x in Psalms); "heaven" (root שמים, 71x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'You', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: אִם־אֶסַּ֣ק [if·I·ascend] (202) + שָׁ֭מַיִם [heaven] (390) + שָׁ֣ם [there] (340) + אָ֑תָּה [You] (406) + וְאַצִּ֖יעָה [and·I·spread·out] (182) + שְּׁא֣וֹל [Sheol] (337) + הִנֶּֽךָּ [behold·You] (75) = 1932.
Rashi
"and if I make my bed" — Heb. ואציעה, an expression of a spread (מצע) and a bed.
Ibn Ezra
'If' — I thought in my heart, perhaps I could ascend to the heavens; there You are. The word 'esak' [I ascend] is like the Aramaic translation [targum], and similarly: 'a fire was kindled [nishkah] in Jacob' (Psalm 78:21) — meaning 'has gone up,' even though it is written with a shin. 'And if I make my bed [va-atzi'ah]' — if I set my couch or my bed. 'Sheol' — which is the depths of the earth, the opposite of the heavens. And behold, 'atzi'ah' [I make my bed] is a transitive verb.
Radak
'If I ascend' [אם אסק] — 'if I go up,' as [the Targum] renders it. Meaning: if I should imagine that a person could ascend to heaven, and there I would ascend and not find You — 'there' you are. 'And make my bed in the netherworld' [ואציעה שאול] — and if I should say that I would descend to Sheol, which is the depths of the earth — 'behold, You are' there. And [the word] 'ואציעה' [I spread out my bed] is used because Sheol is man's resting place at his death. Now he has mentioned the circumference and the center — the highest point and the lowest — so that, either way, I cannot go anywhere without encountering You.
Metzudat David
"If I ascend" — If I go up to the heavens, are You not there? And if I make my bed in Sheol beneath the earth, are You not there also?
Metzudat Zion
"I will ascend" [אסק] — "I will go up," like "and Daniel was brought up [וְהֻסַּק] from the den" (Daniel 7). "And if I make my bed" [ואציעה] — from the language of "mat/couch" (מצע) and "bed" (משכב). "Behold You" [הנך] — "behold, You."
If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
verse value 2017
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 23 letters. The shortest word is "sea" (יָֽם, 2 letters) and the longest is "wings·of·dawn" (כַנְפֵי־שָׁ֑חַר, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "wings·of·dawn" (כַנְפֵי־שָׁ֑חַר), "I·dwell" (אֶ֝שְׁכְּנָ֗ה), "in·the·end·of" (בְּאַחֲרִ֥ית). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "I·take" (root נשא, 52x in Psalms); "sea" (root ים, 31x in Psalms); "I·dwell" (root שכן, 29x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'wings·of·dawn', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 3 words. Full calculation: אֶשָּׂ֥א [I·take] (302) + כַנְפֵי־שָׁ֑חַר [wings·of·dawn] (668) + אֶ֝שְׁכְּנָ֗ה [I·dwell] (376) + בְּאַחֲרִ֥ית [in·the·end·of] (621) + יָֽם [sea] (50) = 2017.
Rashi
"[If] I take up the wings of dawn" — If I take up for myself the wings of dawn, which shine at once from one end of the world to the other, so will I fly swiftly until I dwell at the end of the sea.
Ibn Ezra
'If I take [essa]' — know that the western direction is called 'sea,' because the Great Sea lies to the west of the Land of Israel; but 'the uttermost parts of the sea' — the meaning is: the actual sea, for He has already mentioned the heavens and the earth — the solid land, and Sheol — and now He mentions the sea. The meaning of 'the wings of dawn' is: as if he had wings that fly swiftly, which would lift him and carry him — for the moment dawn rises, it spreads from the edge of the east to the far west, the light that appears in the clouds before the sun shines; this too is a glorious sense.
Radak
'If I take the wings of the morning' — I said: I will take the wings of the morning and fly with them from east to west, if I could reach it [the sea] — behold, I could not go without Him, for in every place
Metzudat David
"If I take the wings of the morning" — If I said, I will take wings to fly swiftly on them to the uttermost end of the sea, like this morning-glow that shines forth in a single instant to the end of the world.
Malbim
"If I take" — and more than this: even if I had wings like the dawn, and I lifted a wing to fly together with it from east to west in a single day, so that "I take," with the light of dawn, "the wings of the morning," and do not "dwell" until I arrive together with it "in the uttermost parts of the sea," on the western side, where I would dwell — even this would not help, for...
Even there would Your hand lead me, And Your right hand would hold me.
verse value 1547
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 24 letters. Verse gematria: 1547 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "Your·hand" (יָדְךָ֣, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·would·hold·me" (וְֽתֹאחֲזֵ֥נִי, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "also·there" (גַּם־שָׁ֭ם), "and·would·hold·me" (וְֽתֹאחֲזֵ֥נִי). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Your·hand" (root יד, 78x in Psalms); "Your·right·hand" (root ימין, 43x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'would·lead·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: גַּם־שָׁ֭ם [also·there] (383) + יָדְךָ֣ [Your·hand] (34) + תַנְחֵ֑נִי [would·lead·me] (518) + וְֽתֹאחֲזֵ֥נִי [and·would·hold·me] (482) + יְמִינֶֽךָ [Your·right·hand] (130) = 1547.
Ibn Ezra
'Even there' — I would not be able to go to the uttermost parts of the sea unless Your hand led me. And behold, 'Your hand shall lead me and Your right hand shall hold me' — and behold, I would be like one fleeing from Your hand into Your hand.
Radak
'Your hand' — and Your right hand takes hold of me.
Metzudat David
"Even there" — even at the far end of the sea Your hand would lead me and Your right hand would take hold of me, to bring me according to Your will; so if I were to flee, it would be from Your hand into Your hand.
Metzudat Zion
"Would lead me" [תנחני] — an expression of guidance/leading.
Malbim
"Even there Your hand shall lead me" — for even this flight is by Your power, and it is as though You lead me on this path with Your left hand, "and Your right hand shall hold me" — to restrain me at any time that You wish.
And if I say: ‘Surely the darkness shall envelop me, And the light about me shall be night';
verse value 1476
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 28 letters. Verse gematria: 1476 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "light" (א֣וֹר, 3 letters) and the longest is "shall·envelop·me" (יְשׁוּפֵ֑נִי, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "surely·darkness" (אַךְ־חֹ֣שֶׁךְ), "shall·envelop·me" (יְשׁוּפֵ֑נִי), "about·me" (בַּעֲדֵֽנִי). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·I·said" (root אמר, 111x in Psalms); "light" (root אור, 30x in Psalms); "and·night" (root ליל, 27x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'shall·envelop·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: וָ֭אֹמַר [and·I·said] (247) + אַךְ־חֹ֣שֶׁךְ [surely·darkness] (349) + יְשׁוּפֵ֑נִי [shall·envelop·me] (456) + וְ֝לַ֗יְלָה [and·night] (81) + א֣וֹר [light] (207) + בַּעֲדֵֽנִי [about·me] (136) = 1476.
Rashi
"I said, “Darkness will darken me”" — If I said, “I will be hidden in the darkness, and the darkness will envelop me so that You will not see me.” יְשׁוּפֵנִי is an expression of נֶשֶׁף, evening. "“and the night will be dark about me”" — Heb. אור, lit. light. And the night will darken before me. This אוֹר is an expression of darkness, like (Job 37:11): “he spreads his clouds of darkness (אור)”; similarly (below 148:3), “all stars of the night (אור)”; similarly (Exod. 14:20), “and it darkened (ויאר) the night.”
Ibn Ezra
'And if I say [va-omar]' — is like 'I said within myself.' And the word 'yeshufeni' [shall envelop me] is from the root-pattern of 'neshef' [twilight], although they are two [different] roots, similar to: 'for they were circumcised' (Joshua 5:5) and 'u-nemaltem' [and you shall be circumcised] (Genesis 17:11) — and there are other examples like it. And behold, 'yeshufeni' is like 'yastireni' [shall hide me]. And the meaning is: perhaps the darkness will hide me so that You will not see what I am doing or thinking. And the word 'yeshufeni' also carries over into what follows, as in [the construction] 'the prophecy, Oded the prophet' (II Chronicles 15:8) [i.e., 'the prophecy of Oded the prophet']; and behold, 'and the night' becomes [yashuv] 'light is about me' — and this 'light' is to be understood literally. And Rabbi Moshe said: '[Meaning,] all night there shall be light about me.' But what is correct in my eyes is what I have already mentioned, and the proof is —
Radak
'And if I say: Surely the darkness shall envelop me' [ישופני] — 'ישופני' is from the same root as 'נשף' [twilight/dusk]. He says: if I should say and think that the darkness will darken me and hide me, so that You would not see me, my deeds, and my thoughts — 'and the light about me shall be night' — meaning, the night, which is darkness, shall be light around me, and You will see me at night just as in the day.
Metzudat David
"And I say" — And if I say, surely the darkness of night will darken over me, and in it I will hide myself — "and the night" — but the night will light up around me, and You will see me at night just as in the day.
Metzudat Zion
"Shall envelop me" [ישופני] — an expression of darkness, like "upon the mountains of twilight" [נשף] (Jeremiah 13:16). "About me" [בעדני] — "opposite me/before me."
Malbim
"And if I say" — and even if I thought to say that the darkness would press upon and darken me so that You would not see me, "and the night" "shall envelop the light about me" — that a place of darkness would darken even by day, and how much more so by night, so that then You would not see me and there I could hide — but even this would not help, for...
Even the darkness is not too dark for You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness is even as the light.
verse value 1823
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 39 letters. The shortest word is "from·You" (מִ֫מֶּ֥ךָּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "does·not·darken" (לֹא־יַחְשִׁ֢יךְ, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "even·darkness" (גַּם־חֹשֶׁךְ֮), "does·not·darken" (לֹא־יַחְשִׁ֢יךְ), "as·the·darkness" (כַּ֝חֲשֵׁיכָ֗ה). The root חשך appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as·the·day" (root יום, 121x in Psalms); "from·You" (root מן, 59x in Psalms); "shines" (root אור, 30x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'shines', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 2 words. Full calculation: גַּם־חֹשֶׁךְ֮ [even·darkness] (371) + לֹא־יַחְשִׁ֢יךְ [does·not·darken] (379) + מִ֫מֶּ֥ךָּ [from·You] (100) + וְ֭לַיְלָה [and·night] (81) + כַּיּ֣וֹם [as·the·day] (76) + יָאִ֑יר [shines] (221) + כַּ֝חֲשֵׁיכָ֗ה [as·the·darkness] (363) + כָּאוֹרָֽה [as·the·light] (232) = 1823.
Rashi
"Even" — there I have no asylum, for no darkness will obscure [anything] from You. "as darkness, so is the light" — Both are the same to You.
Ibn Ezra
'Even' — the object of 'yachshikh' [it darkens] is elided; [the sense is:] nothing shall be dark [hidden] from You. The phrase 'ke-chasheikhah ka-orah' [as the darkness, so the light] is an elliptical expression, like 'as the servant, so his master,' 'as my people, so your people' — meaning: my people is as your people, and your people is as my people; there is no difference between them.
Radak
'Even the darkness' — he repeats the matter, stating it a third and fourth time, to make known that it is indeed so, for there is no darkness or shadow of death that can hide anything from before Him. 'is not too dark' — its meaning is: nothing is darkened from You, so that You would fail to see it, for everything is alike before You. 'But the night' — shines for You like the day; 'the darkness is even as the light' — two opposites compared to one another, like 'for you are like Pharaoh' (Genesis 44:18) — meaning, this is like that, and that is like this.
Metzudat David
"Even the darkness" — for even the darkness does not hide anything from You, and to You the night shines like the day. "As the darkness, so the light" — they are equal before You, one just like the other, and there is no difference between them.
Malbim
"Even the darkness is not too dark for You" — for You do not see with a physical eye, such that You would need light to show You the sensible object; rather, with You, "the night shines as the day" — neither a time of darkness restrains You, nor a place where the light does not break through, for with You "darkness is as light."
For You have made my reins; You have knit me together in my mother's womb.
verse value 2120
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 26 letters. The shortest word is "my·mother" (אִמִּֽי, 3 letters) and the longest is "for·You" (כִּֽי־אַ֭תָּה, 5 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "You·knit·me·together" (תְּ֝סֻכֵּ֗נִי), "in·the·belly·of" (בְּבֶ֣טֶן). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "for·You" (root אתה, 115x in Psalms); "my·reins" (root כלה, 24x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'my·reins', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: כִּֽי־אַ֭תָּה [for·You] (436) + קָנִ֣יתָ [You·have·made] (560) + כִלְיֹתָ֑י [my·reins] (470) + תְּ֝סֻכֵּ֗נִי [You·knit·me·together] (540) + בְּבֶ֣טֶן [in·the·belly·of] (63) + אִמִּֽי [my·mother] (51) = 2120.
Rashi
"For You created my reins" — which think all my thoughts. "You covered me" — Heb. תסכני, [equivalent to] תסוֹככני.
Ibn Ezra
'For' — now he brings proof for his words. The meaning of 'kilyotai' [my kidneys] is: they are the hidden places, and they are the innards, for they are in the inner belly. Some say that the kidneys are created first, for they are like the two pivots of a wheel. Others say that because they have power over sexual desire, they are therefore called 'kelayot' [kidneys], from the root of 'nikhsefah' [longs] and also 'kaltah nafshi' [my soul yearns] (Psalm 84:3). 'Tesukeni' [You have knit me] — although it is spelled with a samekh, it is like 'and You knitted me together [tesokh'kheni] with bones and sinews' (Job 10:11). And behold, the sense is: You acquired me and knitted me together in my mother's womb, which is hidden, and there is no light there.
Radak
"For You" — How could my thoughts be hidden from You, seeing that You have made my kidneys? This means: the kidneys are the beginning of thought, for the kidneys counsel and the heart concludes; and if You made them, how could what they counsel be hidden from You? Furthermore, "You knit me together in my mother's womb" — a place of darkness, where there is no light; and if You formed me, and bones and sinews knit me together, how could You not know all that is hidden? Some say that he mentions "my kidneys" because they are the beginning of the formation of the human body, for they are like the two pivots of a wheel. And the sense of "made" (kanita) is like the sense of "Maker of heaven and earth."
Metzudat David
"You have possessed my kidneys" — are not my kidneys Your possession, for You created them, even though they are in the most hidden place in the body? How then could anything be hidden from You? "You have screened me" — while I was still in my mother's womb, in a place of darkness, You covered me over with flesh and skin. How then could any darkness be dark to You?
Metzudat Zion
"You have made" [קנית] — there is a form of "acquiring" (קנין) that involves no sale, like "possessor/maker of heaven" [קונה שמים] (Genesis 14:19). "My reins" [כליותי] — these are what counsel a person. "You have knit me together" [תסכני] — from the language of "weaving/covering" (סכך) and "covering" (כסוי).
Malbim
"For You have acquired my kidneys" — [meaning] that You see me in that You know me, in that You have acquired my kidneys, to the point that You also know my thoughts; for this is through a knowledge that does not depend on sensory perception, since, indeed, You "knit me together in my mother's womb."
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works; and that my soul knows right well.
verse value 3030
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 43 letters. The shortest word is "upon" (עַ֤ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "fearfully" (נוֹרָא֗וֹת, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "I·am·marvelous" (נִ֫פְלֵ֥יתִי), "wonderful" (נִפְלָאִ֥ים). The root פלא appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root כי, 216x in Psalms); "and·my·soul" (root נפש, 143x in Psalms); "upon" (root על, 120x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Your·works', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 3 words. Full calculation: אוֹדְךָ֗ [I·thank·You] (31) + עַ֤ל [upon] (100) + כִּ֥י [that] (30) + נוֹרָא֗וֹת [fearfully] (663) + נִ֫פְלֵ֥יתִי [I·am·marvelous] (580) + נִפְלָאִ֥ים [wonderful] (211) + מַעֲשֶׂ֑יךָ [Your·works] (440) + וְ֝נַפְשִׁ֗י [and·my·soul] (446) + יֹדַ֥עַת [knows] (484) + מְאֹֽד [very·well] (45) = 3030.
Ibn Ezra
'I will thank You,' 'awesome [nora'ot]' — an adjective describing deeds, like: 'and he spoke to them harshly [kashot]' (Genesis 42:7). The meaning of 'and my soul knows very well' — in the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi: [understood on the pattern of] 'mishkavo, menuchato, kavod' [his bed, his rest, is glory] — [meaning:] 'Your works are wonderful beyond me,' even though 'my soul knows very well.' But in my opinion it is connected [to what follows], and thus it means: 'and my soul knows very well,' and it [my soul] is a witness that Your works are wonderful. And Rabbi Moshe said that 'very' [me'od] is attached to 'wonderful are Your works,' as in 'forsake me not utterly [ad me'od]' (Psalm 119:8); this too is correct.
Radak
"I will give thanks to You" — There are awesome workings, awesome things, in my formation, and I give thanks to You for them, for I am wondrously made — that is to say, Your works concerning me are wondrous. "And that my soul knows right well" — "My soul knows," meaning my soul, which is more intelligent than the rest of living creatures; and it shall know Your wondrous works and give thanks to You for them. The awesome things of creation are revealed to the wise, for every single limb is created with wisdom, and the constitution in which it is created serves a purpose and a benefit, and every person ought to reflect upon them; and through this he will come to recognize the wonders of the Creator and give thanks to Him for them. And were we to set out in this composition to describe the constitution of the limbs and their benefit, and the blending of the faculties and their benefit, the account would grow long; but whoever desires this will find it in the books of the wise.
Metzudat David
"Because I am fearfully wondrous" — because I was made wondrous through awesome deeds; that is to say, the wonder of my formation came about through awesome and great deeds. "Wondrous are Your works" — Your works are hidden, and I do not know them; even though my soul is intelligent and knows intellectual matters very well, nevertheless it does not know the wonders of Your works.
Metzudat Zion
"I am fearfully made" [נפליתי] — from the language of "wonder" (פלא) and something concealed.
Malbim
"I will give thanks to You" — after he explained the individual providence that hovers over man regarding all the details of his deeds, he now comes to explain how man, by virtue of the wondrousness of his workmanship, is singled out for this providence above all of Hashem's creatures in His world, for wondrous marvels are to be found in his formation. And we have already explained elsewhere that since the two extremities of creation — the spiritual and the physical, heaven and earth — are separate from one another in all their aspects: one is spiritual and the other physical, one is simple and the other composite, one exists in an individual and the other in a species, one dwells in the heights of the world and the other in the depths below — it would be easy to err and think that these two kinds of craftsmanship were made by two different makers. It was, [therefore, a product] of the wisdom of the perfect Maker, blessed and exalted be He, to make one single act in which both of these kinds of workmanship would be found — namely, man, who belongs to the denizens of the lower world by virtue of his matter and body, and to the spiritual sons of God by virtue of his soul. And by this we know that one [Being] created all the differing creations; and by this Hashem set His seal upon the whole of creation, so that it be known that they are all the work of His hands. Now, the wisdom of the Creator in the creation of man is discernible in two ways, as is stated in the Ikkarim: for there is a craftsman who makes wondrous images engraved in silver and gold — metals which are by their nature suited to receive such fine work — and in this the wisdom of the craftsman is not recognized; rather, the value of that vessel comes from the material from which it is made, silver or gold. But there is a skilled smith who makes and engraves these fine, wondrous images in iron or in flint stone, materials which are not by nature suited for such fine work to be done in them, and then the value given to that vessel comes from the wisdom of the craftsman. So too with the fine, wondrous images that Hashem engraved in the soul of man: it is, by the nature of its spirituality, suited to have the images of wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and all spiritual matters engraved upon it, and in this the wisdom of the craftsman is not recognized; rather, the soul in and of itself is very precious. But that which Hashem engraved — these spiritual images — in matter, in man who is made of flesh and bones, who was also prepared to have the seal of intellect, wisdom, and comprehension engraved upon him — even though there is no [inherent] value in the material of the act, for it is a lump of dust and earth, there is value in it in that the wisdom of the craftsman is recognized in it. And so it says: "Wonderful are Your works" — that regarding the body, the deed itself is wondrous; even though there is no value in the material from which the body is made, it has value by virtue of "Your works," in that the wisdom of the Craftsman is made visible through it. "And my soul knows (is wondrous) very well" — however, my knowing soul, even though the wisdom of the Craftsman is not seen in it, is itself very wondrous, for it is a precious spiritual substance, most hidden in and of itself, in such a way that in the creation of the body the greatness of the Craftsman is recognized, while in the forming of the soul the greatness of the deed itself is recognized.
My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
verse value 4643
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 40 letters. The shortest word is "from·You" (מִ֫מֶּ֥ךָּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "when·I·was·made" (אֲשֶׁר־עֻשֵּׂ֥יתִי, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "was·not·hidden" (לֹֽא־נִכְחַ֥ד), "when·I·was·made" (אֲשֶׁר־עֻשֵּׂ֥יתִי), "I·was·woven" (רֻ֝קַּ֗מְתִּי). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "land" (root ארץ, 157x in Psalms); "when·I·was·made" (root עשה, 109x in Psalms); "from·You" (root מן, 59x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·secret', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: לֹֽא־נִכְחַ֥ד [was·not·hidden] (113) + עׇצְמִ֗י [my·frame] (210) + מִ֫מֶּ֥ךָּ [from·You] (100) + אֲשֶׁר־עֻשֵּׂ֥יתִי [when·I·was·made] (1291) + בַסֵּ֑תֶר [in·secret] (662) + רֻ֝קַּ֗מְתִּי [I·was·woven] (750) + בְּֽתַחְתִּיּ֥וֹת [in·the·lowest·parts·of] (1226) + אָֽרֶץ [land] (291) = 4643.
Rashi
"I was made in secret" — In sexual intercourse. "in the lowest parts of the earth" — In the lowest compartment in my mother’s womb.
Ibn Ezra
"Not," "my frame" — this refers to the capacity for growth that is not yet visible and has not emerged into actual deed — the strength of an old man is already present, latent, in a small child, and speech is latent in a newborn. And although it is hidden from the sight of the eye, it is not hidden from You even from the sight of the eyes of the heart — from the same pattern as the phrase 'lo nikhad me'adonai' (nothing is hidden from my Lord). "I was made [ussetii]" — from the root of ma'aseh (a deed), not from the root of 've-asotem resha'im' ("and you shall tread down the wicked," Malachi 3:21); and likewise, 'sham asu dadei betuleihen' ("there they handled the breasts of their virginity," Ezekiel 23:3) uses this same root. And the meaning of "I was curiously wrought [rukkamti]" — it is the form that emerges into actual being. Rabbi Moshe said that David speaks with reference to the first father, [Adam], who was created from the earth, and therefore says, "I was wrought in the depths of the earth." But in my opinion he speaks of himself, and he likened the secrets of the womb to the secrets of the depths of the earth. And behold, it is written concerning the Chayot (the celestial creatures, cf. Ezekiel 1:15): "and behold, a lowly wheel" — that is, a lowly wheel corresponding to the wheels above it.
Radak
"My frame was not hidden" — "was not hidden" is used in the sense of "we will not hide it from my lord." "My frame" — the ayin is vocalized with a chataf-kamatz, but some interpret it like "atzmi" with a patach under the ayin, meaning "my body." According to this he says: my body was not hidden from You, as I was made in secret in my mother's womb, and as I was embroidered in the depths of the earth — that is, the womb, which is a low and dark place, like "the depths of the earth." And the meaning of "I was made" is related to "the breasts of their virginity were pressed," a term denoting pounding and squeezing; and he used this expression regarding the process of formation, likening it to a piece of milk and its curdling — just as one curdles it and works it with the hands, for the first drop is poured out and drawn together, and afterward it becomes solid, like cheese from milk. And he said "I was woven," likening the making of the body — with sinews, bones, flesh, and skin — to the work of embroidery, which takes many forms.
Metzudat David
"My frame was not hidden from You" — the substance of my body and its structure were not concealed from You, while I was made in secret in the chamber of the womb and knit together in the depths of the earth — that is, in the lowly place, the lowest chamber that is in my mother's inward parts.
Metzudat Zion
"Was not hidden" [לא נכחד] — "was not concealed," like "it was not hidden from my lord" [לא נכחד מאדוני] (ibid., Genesis 47:18). "My frame" [עצמי] — an expression for the essence and character of a thing, like "bring forth your mighty arguments" [הגישו עצמותיכם] (Isaiah 41:21). "I was made" [עשיתי] — from the language of "making"; "I was embroidered" [רקמתי]. He compared the forming of the fetus in flesh and sinews to the work of embroidery, which is done with many faces/facets and intertwining, complex paths.
Malbim
"My frame was not hidden from You" — indeed, my frame cannot be denied from You; it is impossible to deny that a single Creator made both kinds of workmanship. Even though they differ from one another, no one can deny and claim that they were made by two different makers, for "[that] which I was made in secret, [and] intricately woven in the depths of the earth" — these workings that were done in me in secret, that is, in the portion of the spiritual soul that was emanated from a hidden supernal source, are the very same workings by which I was intricately woven in the portion of the body, which was woven in the depths of the earth. For the body is a garment for the soul and is measured according to its measure, so that all the matters of the soul that are traced within its inner faculties are also traced upon the body, as though one were a mold for the other, one an image for the other — all the more so according to what the sages of divine matters (ha-Elohiyim) have said, that within the soul there are 248 spiritual limbs and 365 spiritual sinews, meaning faculties that correspond to the limbs and sinews of the body and its powers that clothe it, for the garment is made and fashioned according to the measure of the one who wears it. And this is a sign that it is You who made them all together.
Your eyes did see my unformed substance, And in Your book they were all written— Even the days that were fashioned, When as yet there was none of them.
verse value 1989
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 47 letters. Notable word values: "one" (אֶחָ֣ד) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). Verse gematria: 1989 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "saw" (רָ֘א֤וּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·in·Your·book" (וְעַֽל־סִפְרְךָ֮, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "my·embryo" (גׇּלְמִ֤י), "and·in·Your·book" (וְעַֽל־סִפְרְךָ֮), "were·written" (יִכָּ֫תֵ֥בוּ). The root לא appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·to·him" (root לא, 174x in Psalms); "days" (root יום, 121x in Psalms); "saw" (root ראה, 100x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'were·fashioned', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 4 words.
Rashi
"Your eyes saw my unformed body" — From the time that You created the world, Your eyes saw all the forms of the coming generations. "My unformed body" — Heb. גלמי. My splendor and the pattern of my form, before I was born and before I came into the world, Your eyes saw. "and on Your book they were all written" — And all the creatures of the world, like me, like them, even all of them, before they were created, were together revealed before You. "days have been formed and one of them" — All man’s deeds and the end of the days are revealed before You as if they were already formed, although not one of them was in existence, and not one was yet in the world. These are the wonders of God’s works and the way of His might, that future events are revealed to Him before they come. And so, Scripture says (Jer. 1:5): “When I had not yet formed you in the womb, etc.” "and on Your book, they were all written" — The book of the generations of man, which You showed to Adam. "written" — lit. all of them will be written, like נכתבוּ. "days were formed without one of them" — Ultimately, many days were destined to be created, but not one of them was yet created. According to the masoretic text, in which לא is written, this is its explanation. And according to the readingfor it is read לו this is its explanation: days have been formed—He showed the days that were destined to be created, and for His share, He chose one of them, viz. the Sabbath day. Another explanation: This is the Day of Atonement, for forgiveness.
Ibn Ezra
"My unformed substance [golmi]" — it is the first body, which was like a small drop, and it is from the root of 'va-yiglom' (he wrapped up, 2 Kings 2:8); and similarly, with the letters interchanged, [the word] 'golem' [refers to] that which has no heart, only a body alone. And the meaning of "and in Your book" — all of them, referring to his limbs, as though his form were written in a book, and it emerges without addition and without deficiency. "The days that were fashioned [yamim yutzaru]" — like, in sense, 'harim yuladu' ("the mountains were brought forth," Psalm 90:2), from the root of formation (yetzirah). And the meaning of "when as yet there was none of them [ve-lo echad bahem]" — in the manner of alef [i.e., 'echad' used in the sense of 'none'] — for in Your book all my limbs and their arrangement were written down on those very days when they were formed, and not one of them was yet distinct and separate; for it lies within the power of natural development for the form of the eye, the ear, and the heart to be already present in the first drop, even though there is no distinct limb there yet.
Radak
"My unformed substance" — this is the congealed drop, before the limbs are discernible within it, just as wood is called a "golem" (a shapeless mass) before it is made into a vessel. And he says, "Your eyes saw" — that You placed within them the power for the limbs to take shape within it. "And in Your book they were all written" — meaning: in the future they are known [to You], like a thing written in a book. And the meaning of "all of them": all the limbs, before they take shape, are known to You. Over the course of many days the forming of the limbs takes place, for they are not all created at once. "When as yet there was none of them" — the days in which the limbs would be formed are, before God, blessed be He, as one, for they are all known to Him in a single instant. The word is written "ve-lo" (with an aleph, "and not"), meaning "and not one of them" — that is, that none of them was known before it came into existence.
Metzudat David
"My unformed substance" — while I was still one unformed mass without distinct limbs, and my form was not yet complete, even then Your eyes saw it. "They were all written" — all the events, every one of them, are known to You as though they were written before You in a book. "The days that were fashioned" — even though they would occur on days that were to be formed at a later time. "When as yet there was none of them" — for before Him it is all one in all these matters, for there is no difference before Him whether a thing has already been done or whether it will be at a later time; it is all one.
Metzudat Zion
"My unformed substance" [גלמי] — an expression for something whose making has not been completed; and in the words of our sages, "unfinished wooden vessels" [גולמי כלי עץ] (Yevamot, chapter HaCholetz, 25).
Malbim
"My unformed substance" — he adds, saying that man, insofar as he is composed of body and soul, is the small world (microcosm), for all the powers of the works of creation found in the great world have all gathered together and come to be present in man, to the point that he is the image and form of the great world, as Rambam wrote (Guide for the Perplexed, Part I, Chapter 73). And by this the psalmist exalts this grand image, as though man were the statue (andarta) and image of the entire world. For just as one who builds a palace has before him a drawing of the palace — its rooms and its halls — sketched upon a parchment, by which he looks and builds the palace, so did Hashem look upon the unformed substance of man, which is the form of the whole great world, and made the great world according to it. And he says, in his poetic figure, that before the great Builder, blessed be He, there was one book in which He had written everything He created in the six days of creation, and it was open at that time, and the unformed substance of man was before Him; and Hashem looked upon both of them — at the unformed substance of man, in which the form of the whole world and its details were engraved, and at the book in which everything He did in the six days of the work [of creation] was written — and He saw that the two resembled one another, that everything written in the book of creation was all written and engraved in the unformed substance of man. And so it says that on one side, "Your eyes saw my unformed substance" — You saw, in my unformed substance, [the form] in which You had drawn the form of the world; and on the other side, "Your eyes saw... in Your book they were all written... the days that were fashioned" — [You saw] in the book in which all the details that were made "in the days that were fashioned" were written, that is, in the six days of creation. And then You saw that "to it, there was one among them" — that is, that it, [namely] the unformed substance, has a oneness and correspondence among them, that is, with "the days that were fashioned," in that it comprises within itself everything that was created in the days of creation, and all the powers of the work of creation.
How weighty also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
verse value 1545
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "God" (אֵ֑ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "how·weighty·are" (מַה־יָּקְר֣וּ, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "how·weighty·are" (מַה־יָּקְר֣וּ), "Your·thoughts" (רֵעֶ֣יךָ), "their·sum" (רָאשֵׁיהֶֽם). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אל, 112x in Psalms); "and·to·me" (root לי, 68x in Psalms); "their·sum" (root ראש, 33x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'God', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְלִ֗י [and·to·me] (46) + מַה־יָּקְר֣וּ [how·weighty·are] (361) + רֵעֶ֣יךָ [Your·thoughts] (300) + אֵ֑ל [God] (31) + מֶ֥ה [how] (45) + עָ֝צְמ֗וּ [are·vast] (206) + רָאשֵׁיהֶֽם [their·sum] (556) = 1545.
Rashi
"And to me, how dear are Your friends" — The congregation of Israel says, “How esteemed in my eyes are the righteous in every generation!” "How great is their sum!" — The calculation of their counting, an expression of (Exod. 30:12): “When you take the sum (ראש) of the children of Israel.”
Ibn Ezra
"And to me," "Your thoughts [re'ekha]" — corresponding to "You understand my thought [banta le-re'i]" (v. 2); and the meaning is that You know all my thoughts, but I do not know Your thoughts, for they are too high for me and too precious to be known — the sense being that it is a thing beyond reach, like 've-yekar pidyon nafsham' ("and the redemption of their soul is costly," Psalm 49:9). And in general, even if the thought is one, the actions that flow from it will be many; therefore it says, 'mah atzemu rasheihem' ("how vast is their sum"), meaning: the chief points of Your thoughts.
Radak
"How weighty also are Your thoughts to me, O God" — the meaning of "weighty" (yikru) is that I am unable to attain them, as in "and the word of Hashem was precious in those days." And the meaning of "reikha" is "Your thoughts" — that is, Your intentions in creation. "How great is the sum of them" — the meaning of "atzmu" is that they are many in number, as he says afterward, "I would count them" — for the term "etzem" is found both in the sense of strength and in the sense of multitude, as in, "God's commandments have become more numerous to me than the sand of the seas." And the meaning of "their sum" (rasheihem) is their totals, as in "when you take the sum of the children of Israel" — that is, the general categories of Your intentions in forming them are many, how much more so the particulars.
Metzudat David
"How weighty also are they to me" — and how very precious to me are Your thoughts, and how very numerous and vast are their main points and their sum total.
Metzudat Zion
"How weighty" [יקרו] — from the language of "precious" (יקר) and "important" (חשוב). "Your thoughts" [רעיך] — from the language of "thought" (רעיון) and "musing" (מחשבה). "How great" [עצמו] — an expression of abundance, like "her widows are increased to Me" [עצמו לי אלמנותיו] (Jeremiah 15:8).
Malbim
(17-18) "How weighty are they to me" — now, regarding this premise, that Hashem knows all the details of man's actions and all his deeds, even though they are contingent and changeable since man possesses free will — against this the philosophers raised powerful objections: that if so, this would necessitate for Him a multiplicity of items of knowledge, and knowledge that changes, which contradicts the principle of [divine] unity. For since His knowledge is His very essence, how can we say that He knows many changing things? For then there would be change in His knowledge, which is His essence. And furthermore, [if so,] knowledge would apply to something without limit, since the changing particulars are without limit — and similar questions to these, as [Rambam] brought all of this in the Guide for the Perplexed, Part III. And the answer is that all the multiplicity of items of knowledge and their changes, [as they exist] with us, revert, with Him, to unity, for He knows them all by virtue of their root in their hidden source, since He, blessed be He, is the root of all that comes into being from beginning to end; and from the knowledge of His own essence He knows everything in one simple act of knowledge. And this a person cannot attain so long as he remains bound to matter. And so it says, "And as for me, how..." — and the phrases are parallel: "And as for me, how weighty are Your thoughts, O God! If I would count them, they are more than the sand; how vast is the sum of them! I wake, and I am still with You." [The psalmist] says: Your thoughts and considerations are weighty and heavy indeed to me, for according to my own comprehension it is a difficult and weighty matter to understand this — how can all these items of knowledge be contained within Your thoughts? Behold, if I were to count them, they are more numerous than the sand! And how can knowledge apply to a thing without limit? And how can items of knowledge that multiply and change be reconciled with the principle of the One who does not multiply and does not change? However, "how vast is the sum of them" — when I return to the head, source, and root of these many ideas, behold, their root is exceedingly vast, for their head reaches to the heavens, in a search without end, since from there is the root of everything that comes into being, from beginning to end. And insofar as I myself, and all my actions and thoughts, are found, in essence, at the head of all deeds — there they are all in complete unity, and there is no multiplicity or change among them. And even though, according to my present comprehension — that I, as an intellect bound to matter, am separate from You, and I regard myself as an independent substance standing alone — it seems to me that my contingent and changing actions are multiplying and changing; yet after reflection, "I awoke" from the slumber of folly, and I return to the head from which all deeds were hewn, and I saw that "I am still with You" — attached to my source and root, where all contingent and changing actions revert to one comprehensive matter, one from every side.
If I would count them, they are more in number than the sand; Were I to come to the end of them, I would still be with You.
verse value 1574
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 28 letters. The shortest word is "with·You" (עִמָּֽךְ, 3 letters) and the longest is "I·finish" (הֱ֝קִיצֹ֗תִי, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "I·count·them" (אֶ֭סְפְּרֵם), "than·sand" (מֵח֣וֹל), "they·are·many" (יִרְבּ֑וּן). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "with·You" (root עם, 135x in Psalms); "I·count·them" (root ספר, 38x in Psalms); "and·still·I" (root עוד, 24x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·are·many', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: אֶ֭סְפְּרֵם [I·count·them] (381) + מֵח֣וֹל [than·sand] (84) + יִרְבּ֑וּן [they·are·many] (268) + הֱ֝קִיצֹ֗תִי [I·finish] (615) + וְעוֹדִ֥י [and·still·I] (96) + עִמָּֽךְ [with·You] (130) = 1574.
Rashi
"I shall count them...than sand" — If I came to count the good of their deeds, they would be more numerous than sand. "I have come to the end, and I am still with You" — Behold I have now come to the end of the generations that You allotted from then until today, and this generation is still with You and in fear of You, and I have not turned away from following You.
Ibn Ezra
"If I would count them [esapprem]" — how could I count them, seeing they are more numerous than the sand, if I were awake at all times? For half of a person's life is spent asleep. "And I would still be with You [ve-odi immakh]" — that I would be with You always and never die — I could not count them. And behold, [the psalmist then says] "I awoke [hekitzoti]," with no mention there of sleep, like 'esbe'ah be-hakitz temunatekha' ("I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Your likeness," Psalm 17:15). And another interpretation: "I, in righteousness, shall behold Your face" (Psalm 17:15), "in visions of God at night" — therefore, "I shall be satisfied when I awake" from the vision of the visions of God; and "visions of God" can be understood in two ways. And "Your thoughts [re'ekha]" would then mean: when I think in my heart in order to know Your thoughts, behold it is like a vision of God — the body lies at rest, and when the soul of man cleaves to the supernal soul, then it sees wondrous visions; therefore, "I awoke, and I am still with You" — for this is not like the way of ordinary dreams.
Radak
"If I would count them" — when I set out to count them, I am unable, for they are more numerous than the sand. "When I awake, I am still with You" — because of the abundance of my thoughts about them, I dream of them when I sleep, and when I awake I find myself with You — that is, immersed in thoughts of Your wonders.
Metzudat David
"Were I to count them" — how could I count them, when they are more numerous than the sand of the sea? And even if I were awake all my days without sleep, and even were I, while still in this world, to be with You in the heavens and not be distracted by human cares — even so it would be impossible to count them.
If You but would slay the wicked, O God— Depart from me therefore, you men of blood;
verse value 2025
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 29 letters. Verse gematria: 2025 = 45². The shortest word is "wicked" (רָשָׁ֑ע, 3 letters) and the longest is "if·You·would·slay" (אִם־תִּקְטֹ֖ל, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "if·You·would·slay" (אִם־תִּקְטֹ֖ל), "and·men·of" (וְאַנְשֵׁ֥י). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "wicked" (root רשע, 87x in Psalms); "from·me" (root מן, 59x in Psalms); "and·men·of" (root איש, 39x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'wicked', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: אִם־תִּקְטֹ֖ל [if·You·would·slay] (580) + אֱל֥וֹהַּ [God] (42) + רָשָׁ֑ע [wicked] (570) + וְאַנְשֵׁ֥י [and·men·of] (367) + דָ֝מִ֗ים [blood] (94) + ס֣וּרוּ [depart] (272) + מֶֽנִּי [from·me] (100) = 2025.
Rashi
"If only You would slay the wicked" — If only You would slay the wicked.
Ibn Ezra
"If [im]" — the apodosis of this "if" comes later, in "halo mesan'eikha" ("do I not hate those who hate You," v. 21). The meaning: if You would slay the wicked and the men of blood, who deserve death, then I would always say to them, "Depart from me."
Radak
"If You but would slay" — this connects to what he said, "when I awake, I am still with You," meaning that I am always occupied in my thoughts with Your wonders and Your works; but at times the words of the wicked disturb me. And if You would kill those who disturb me — the wicked and the men of blood, to whom he says, "depart from me" — for I cannot prevail against them; then, if You would slay them, all my thoughts and all my concern would be with You.
Metzudat David
"If You would slay" — that is to say, since indeed everything is revealed to You, and despite this the wicked act wickedly, it is therefore fitting that You slay the wicked man and the men of bloodshed, whom I have despised, saying to them: depart from me, for I do not wish to sit with them.
Metzudat Zion
"If You would but slay" [אם תקטול] — "that You would kill."
Malbim
"If" — that is to say, all these questions that have troubled me regarding the knowledge of Hashem, it will not be difficult for me to answer them. As Rambam wrote in the Guide (Moreh Nevukhim), the philosophers arrived at these questions through the disorder apparent in [divine] governance — that there is a righteous man who suffers and a wicked man who prospers — and through this they began to deny [divine] providence, since it is impossible to attribute injustice to Hashem; and through this they came to all the speculative questions that they raised in order to establish and strengthen their opinions. Therefore he petitioned: if only "You would slay the wicked, O God," so that a wicked man who prospers would not be found; and likewise, if only the "men of blood would depart from me," and they would no longer lie in wait for the life of a righteous man, so that a righteous man who suffers would not be found.
Who utter Your name with wicked thought, They take it for falsehood, even Your enemies— .
verse value 1893
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 25 letters. The shortest word is "who" (אֲשֶׁ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "utter·You" (יֹ֭מְרוּךָ, 5 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "utter·You" (יֹ֭מְרוּךָ), "for·mischief" (לִמְזִמָּ֑ה), "taken" (נָשׂ֖וּא). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "utter·You" (root אמר, 111x in Psalms); "who" (root אשר, 101x in Psalms); "taken" (root נשא, 52x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'for·mischief', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: אֲשֶׁ֣ר [who] (501) + יֹ֭מְרוּךָ [utter·You] (276) + לִמְזִמָּ֑ה [for·mischief] (122) + נָשׂ֖וּא [taken] (357) + לַשָּׁ֣וְא [for·the·falsehood] (337) + עָרֶֽיךָ [Your·enemies] (300) = 1893.
Rashi
"Who mention You with wicked thought" — They mention Your name regarding all the thoughts of their evil and call their deities with Your name. "took it up" — Heb. נשוא, like נשאו, they took up. "Your enemies...in vain" — Your enemies took up Your name in vain.
Ibn Ezra
"Who [asher]" — "the Name" is the one referred to — then they speak of You according to their scheming. And the word 'nasu' is a verb in the past tense, with the alef added, as in 'ha-halkhu itto' ("who went with him"); for it means: they take up, as in 've-nasu et kelimatam' ("and they shall bear their shame"). And the word "areikha" — is like 'oyevekha' ("Your enemies"), with the word "You" or "Your name" elided. But Rabbi Moshe said that 'nasu' is a passive participle, and 'areikha' is a term meaning "Your name," as in 'ki na'otz ni'atzta et oyevei Hashem' ("for you have utterly scorned the enemies of Hashem," 2 Samuel 12:14) — if so, 'nasu' would instead be a past-tense verb.
Radak
"Who utter Your name with wicked thought" — [the word] "yimrukha" is missing the aleph of the first root-letter, as in "and to Amasa you shall say," [which likewise lacks the aleph]. And the meaning of "for wicked device" is "with evil thought" — that is, they speak of You according to their thoughts, which are evil. And the meaning of "mezimah" is like "for it is depravity," a term denoting abomination. "Your enemies take it for falsehood" — these who are "Your enemies" — those who hate You — utter Your name with their mouths in vain, falsely; and the word "nasu" is like "yinasu" (they lift up, they utter).
Metzudat David
"Who exalt You for a scheme" — They exalt You in order to carry out the scheme; that is to say, they say: 'Behold, Hashem is exalted, and it is not fitting to His honor to attend to the lowly world' — and the whole intent of their thinking is to carry out the scheme. "Your enemies are lifted up for falsehood" — You are lifted up and exalted in the mouth of Your enemies in order to commit falsehood, and they do not exalt You for the sake of Your honor. And the matter is stated twice in what is said, in the manner of poetic style.
Metzudat Zion
"They utter You" [יומרוך] — an expression of exaltation, as also "you have avouched Hashem" [את ה' האמרת] (Deuteronomy 26:17), the yud coming in place of the alef, as also "and you shall boast yourselves in their glory" [ובכבודם תתימרו] (Isaiah 61:6). "For wicked device" [למזמה] — an expression for an abominable thing and an evil deed, as also "it is depravity" [זמה היא] (Leviticus 20:14). "Take up/utter" [נשוא] — an expression of "lifting up" (הרמה). "Your enemies" [עריך] — "those who hate You," like "and he was your enemy" [ויהי ערך] (I Samuel 21).
Malbim
"Who" — for is it not for this very reason — that the wicked prosper and the righteous are pursued by men of blood — that "Your adversaries invoke You for a scheme, and You are invoked for falsehood"? Through this Your haters, "even Your adversaries," will speak and extol You, saying that it is impossible for You to know the affairs of the world and to watch over them, since this would contradict Your simple, unchanging unity; or that it is not befitting Your honor to attend to lowly things — and so they exalt You, in order to carry out their scheme, saying, "there is no judgment and no judge"; or that in their view You are set above [involvement] through false and empty arguments that they raise against [the idea of divine] knowledge and providence. And the cause of all this is what they observe — that You do not punish the wicked.
Do I not hate them, O Hashem, who hate You? And do I not strive with those who rise up against You?
verse value 1990
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 33 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֥ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֥ה, 4 letters) and the longest is "do·not·those·who·hate·You" (הֲלֽוֹא־מְשַׂנְאֶ֖יךָ, 10 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "do·not·those·who·hate·You" (הֲלֽוֹא־מְשַׂנְאֶ֖יךָ), "I·hate" (אֶשְׂנָ֑א), "and·with·those·who·rise·up·against·You" (וּ֝בִתְקוֹמְמֶ֗יךָ). The root שנא appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 688x in Psalms); "and·with·those·who·rise·up·against·You" (root קום, 52x in Psalms); "do·not·those·who·hate·You" (root שנא, 42x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·hate', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: הֲלֽוֹא־מְשַׂנְאֶ֖יךָ [do·not·those·who·hate·You] (463) + יְהֹוָ֥ה [Hashem] (26) + אֶשְׂנָ֑א [I·hate] (352) + וּ֝בִתְקוֹמְמֶ֗יךָ [and·with·those·who·rise·up·against·You] (624) + אֶתְקוֹטָֽט [I·strive] (525) = 1990.
Ibn Ezra
"Do I not [halo]" — I hate them with all my might. "And against those who rise up against You [u-vitkomemekha]" — is a descriptive noun form (to'ar). "And do I strive [ve-etkotat]" — like 'akut be-dor' ("I loathed that generation," Psalm 95:10), and the sense is doubled, [i.e., intensified].
Radak
"Those who rise up against You" — its meaning is "those who hate You," as in "and those who rise up against You are at Your right hand." "Do I not strive" — a term of "quarrel," as used in the words of the Sages, of blessed memory.
Metzudat David
"Those who hate You" — those who make Your commandments hated in the eyes of people through such wicked words. "And those who rise up against You" — against these wicked men who rise up against You to deny divine providence. "Do I not strive" — I engage with them in dispute and strife.
Malbim
"Do I not hate those who hate You, Hashem, and with those who rise up against You" — who are the ones who rise up to deny Your divinity and act so as to provoke [You] — "do I strive." And this is the sign of a lover: that he hates the haters of his beloved as though they were his own enemies.
I hate them with utmost hatred; I count them my enemies.
verse value 2177
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "to·me" (לִֽי, 2 letters) and the longest is "as·enemies" (לְ֝אוֹיְבִ֗ים, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "utmost·of" (תַּכְלִ֣ית), "I·hate·them" (שְׂנֵאתִ֑ים), "as·enemies" (לְ֝אוֹיְבִ֗ים). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "they·became" (root היה, 97x in Psalms); "as·enemies" (root איב, 71x in Psalms); "to·me" (root לי, 68x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·hate·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: תַּכְלִ֣ית [utmost·of] (860) + שִׂנְאָ֣ה [hatred] (356) + שְׂנֵאתִ֑ים [I·hate·them] (801) + לְ֝אוֹיְבִ֗ים [as·enemies] (99) + הָ֣יוּ [they·became] (21) + לִֽי [to·me] (40) = 2177.
Ibn Ezra
"Utmost [takhlit]": "I hate them [sena'tim]" — they have become hated by me. And the meaning of "as enemies [le-oyevim]" — as though they had done evil to me.
Radak
"With utmost hatred" — a great hatred, such that I could not hate them more; and the matter is doubled for emphasis.
Metzudat David
"With utmost hatred" — that is to say, the outer limit of hatred, beyond which there is none greater. "As enemies" — they are regarded by me as though they were my enemies and sought my harm, even though they have not done me any wrong at all.
Malbim
"Utmost" — I hate them with utmost [hatred], to the point that they too "have become enemies to me." For an enemy is [a step] beyond a hater — one who actively seeks [the other's] harm — so too, they seek to do me harm.
Search me, O God, and know my heart, Try me, and know my thoughts;
verse value 1383
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "God" (אֵ֭ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "search·me" (חׇקְרֵ֣נִי, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 80: and·know, and·know. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "search·me" (חׇקְרֵ֣נִי). The root ידע appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אל, 112x in Psalms); "and·know" (root ידע, 95x in Psalms); "my·heart" (root לבב, 32x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'my·heart', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: חׇקְרֵ֣נִי [search·me] (368) + אֵ֭ל [God] (31) + וְדַ֣ע [and·know] (80) + לְבָבִ֑י [my·heart] (44) + בְּ֝חָנֵ֗נִי [examine·me] (120) + וְדַ֣ע [and·know] (80) + שַׂרְעַפָּֽי [my·disquieting·thoughts] (660) = 1383.
Ibn Ezra
"Search me [chakreni]" — because he had just mentioned the wicked, who speak sayings in the Name according to their own scheming and not according to the truth, David says: my whole request is that You search my spirit continually.
Radak
"Search me" — Since he had mentioned that the thinking of the wicked is evil with regard to faith in God, blessed be He, he now says: "Search me, God" — You who know my heart, You will see that my heart is upright in faith in You; and the matter is doubled for emphasis. "My thoughts" (sar'apai) — meaning "and my thoughts," like "se'ipim" — both terms are used in the sense of "thought," just as they are also used of a tree: "sar'apotav," "se'apotav" (its branches) — for thoughts are to the heart as branches are to a tree.
Metzudat David
"And know" — until You know the thoughts of my heart. "Try me, etc." — the matter is repeated in what is said.
Metzudat Zion
"Search me" [בחנני] — an expression of examination; it is like a smith who assays silver to examine whether it is good. "My thoughts" [שרעפי] — an expression of thought, like "in the multitude of my thoughts within me" [ברב שרעפי בקרבי] (above, Psalm 94).
Malbim
"Search me, O God, and know my heart" — regarding [my] deeds, whose root is in the heart, which is what desires and is stirred to action; "try me, and know my thoughts" — regarding [my] beliefs and opinions.
And see if there be any way in me that is grievous, And lead me in the way everlasting.
verse value 1147
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "in·me" (בִּ֑י, 2 letters) and the longest is "if·a·way·of·pain" (אִם־דֶּֽרֶךְ־עֹ֥צֶב, 8 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "if·a·way·of·pain" (אִם־דֶּֽרֶךְ־עֹ֥צֶב). The root דרך appears 2 times in this verse. 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "everlasting" (root עולם, 144x in Psalms); "and·see" (root ראה, 100x in Psalms); "if·a·way·of·pain" (root דרך, 70x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּרְאֵ֗ה [and·see] (212) + אִם־דֶּֽרֶךְ־עֹ֥צֶב [if·a·way·of·pain] (427) + בִּ֑י [in·me] (12) + וּ֝נְחֵ֗נִי [and·lead·me] (124) + בְּדֶ֣רֶךְ [in·the·way·of] (226) + עוֹלָֽם [everlasting] (146) = 1147.
Rashi
"whether there is any vexatious way about me" — Whether there is a way of vexation and deterioration in me.
Ibn Ezra
"And see [u-re'eh]" — if there is in my heart, for even a single moment, a thought about Your words that is improper, such that it would not be good in Your eyes — kill me at once. The word "otzev" (grievous) — is like 'meri' (rebellion), as in 'maru ve-itzvu et ruach kodsho' ("they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit," Isaiah 63:10), intending the sense of grief. And the meaning is that the Name is described, by way of figure, as grieved over the matter. And know that the vav of "u-necheni" ("and lead me") is like the vav of 'ba-yom ha-shelishi... va-yisa Avraham et einav' ("on the third day... Abraham lifted up his eyes," Genesis 22:4), and like 'va-asher lo sam libo el devar Hashem, va-ya'azov et avadav' ("and he who did not regard the word of Hashem left his servants," Exodus 9:21) — and this is like a softened peh in the Arabic language, and a person is unable to pronounce it in the language of Edom [i.e., Latin/the Romance tongues]. "In the everlasting way [be-derekh olam]" — it refers to "the house of his eternity" (beit olamo, Ecclesiastes 12:5), and like 've-orach lo ashuv ehelokh' ("and I go the path from which I shall not return," Job 16:22) — "the everlasting path," guard me in it, as I have explained in its place.
Radak
"A grievous way" — a way of rebellion, as in "but they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit." "And lead me" — if You see in me any way of rebellion, kill me at once; this is what is meant by "the everlasting way," as in "Behold, I am going the way of all the earth," for a person goes "to his eternal home."
Metzudat David
"If there be a grievous way in me" — if my thoughts tread on a path that angers and grieves the Omnipresent. "And lead me" — that is to say, if that is so, lead me in the way that all people of the world walk, for death is better for me than that I should sin again.
Metzudat Zion
"And lead me" [ונחני] — "guide me." "In the everlasting way" [בדרך עולם] — death is called by this term, like "behold, I go the way of all the earth" [הנה אנכי הולך בדרך כל הארץ] (I Kings 2), and like "for man goes to his eternal home" [כי הולך האדם אל בית עולמו] (Ecclesiastes 11).
Malbim
"And see if there be any grievous way in me" — if there is in me a way of rebellion and grief (or a way of idolatry and idols) — then "lead me in the way everlasting." For it is better that I die innocent than that I die guilty; therefore, if You see that I am prone to walk in an evil way, take me from the world.
Ibn Ezra
Radak
Metzudat David
Malbim