Psalm 119:1-16

Carefully Examining the Text

Psalm 119

This “is the longest psalm in the collection and the longest chapter in the Hebrew Bible, 176 verses or lines of poetry” Alter, 419. Its size has oft times discouraged serious study. Weiser in the Old Testament Library series views it as wearisome in its repetition of motifs and says it opens the door for legalism, but he offers no commentary on the text- Weiser, 739-741.

“It is recited at the Feast of the Pentecost, the spring festival observed fifty days after Passover, which celebrates the giving of the Torah to Moses at Sinai during the wilderness wanderings” NICOT, 870.

“The psalm is composed of twenty-two stanzas of eight verses. Each of the eight verses of a stanza start with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet, as the poet works his way from the beginning (aleph) to the end (taw). The acrostic form gives a sense of completion and totality, and to be sure, by the end of the psalm, one feels that the poet has indeed fully covered his subject” Longman, 403. The Torah “applies to everything at every moment, and apart from it, there is nothing worthy be called life” McCann, 1166.

“He refers to God’s law with eight different Hebrew words" Longman, 403. Here are the transliteration of the Hebrew words and the translation of these terms in the New American Standard Bible.
1. tora- law
2. eda-statue
3. piqqud-precept
4. hoq-decree,
5. miswa- command
6. mispat-judgment
7. dabar-word
8. imra-word, promise
"Perhaps these eight words explain why there are eight lines in each stanza, although only five of the stanzas employ all eight words. No stanza uses fewer than six of them” Longman, 403.
The writer of the Psalm is diligently seeking God with all His heart (119:2, 10).
Because he loves God, he loves every word out of His mouth. He loves God's words, delights in His statues (119:14, 16, 47). He covets God's words more than great riches (119:14, 72, 127).
He seeks to keep, obey God's words (119:1, 2). He wants to keep God's precepts diligently, fully (119:4).

This careful obedience to God leads to praising and thanking God (119:7). It leads to him bursting forth in praise (119:12).

Jesus is the Word made flesh- John 1:1, 14.
Even Jesus used the word of God to resist sin- Ps. 119:11; Matt. 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13.