Read Psalm 20 at Bible Gateway.
May YHVH answer you in the day of trouble;
May the name of the God of Jacob defend you; Psa 20:1
TO ANSWER Strong’s H6030 ענה anah, a primitive root meaning, “to sing, to answer, to reply.” The 3-letter root is ayin + nun + hey.
ayin ע = the eye, thus watch, know, shade
nun נ, ן = the seed, thus continue, heir, son
hey ה = man w/ raised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
The story: To eye (ayin) continually (nun) while revealing (hey) what is known. When someone is answering with a true report, they look you straightforwardly in the eye, but if they are trying to hide something, as a falsehood, they tend to hide their eyes. This word is most often used of solemn declarations, as when YHVH makes a decree, a judge hands down a sentence, or a witness testifies in court.
TO DEFEND is Strong’s H7682, שגב shagab, a primitive root meaning, “to be inaccessibly high.” The 3-letter root is shin + gimel + bet. However, according to the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon, the shin was transposed from an original sin.
sin ס = thorn, thus grab, hate, protect
gimel ג = foot, thus foot, walk, gather
bet ב = house, thus house, household, family, in, within
The story: To be protected (sin) as upon the archway (gimel, from the arch of the foot) of the house (bet), that is, to be set upon the highest elevation of the house, a metaphor for inaccessibility.
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May He grant you according to your heart’s desire,
And fulfill all your purpose.
We will rejoice in your salvation,
And in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
May YHVH fulfill all your petitions. Psa 20:4-5
TO GRANT Strong’s H5414 נתן nathan, a primitive root meaning, “to give, put, or set.” The 3-letter root is nun + tav + nun.
nun נ ן = the seed, thus continue, heir, son
tav ת = crossed sticks, thus mark, sign, signal, monument
nun נ ן = the seed, thus continue, heir, son
God chose to use two seeds surrounding the mark, to mean, “to give.” The first time the seed appears in Scripture, God has, on the third day of creation, given the seed to the earth, hidden in the ground, so that it will grow and produce fruit, which contains seed within itself also.
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day. Gen 1:11-13
Giving is like planting a seed, and there is the meaning of the Hebrew. Giving (nun, the seed) is marked by (tav) , that is, like, planting a seed (nun). What you give will grow and produce fruit; and not just any fruit, but fruit of the same kind as the seed. When the fruit is produced, we take the seed within it, and plant it, that is, give it, again.
TO FULFILL Strong’s H4390 מלא male, a primitive root meaning, “to fill, to be full.” The 3-letter root is mem + lamed + aleph.
mem מ, ם = the water, thus chaos, mighty, blood
lamed ל = the shepherd’s staff, thus teach, yoke, to, bind
aleph א = the ox head, thus strength, power, leader
The story is of chaos (mem) brought into order (lamed) by leadership (aleph). So cognate words from this root include speaking a word, as individual words are brought into order to convey a message by strength of mind or will; branch, as they individually branch out in order from the tree through the agency of a strong root; firstfruits, as individual fruits are combined to convey the strongest of the harvest, and Lord, as one who is full of authority. So the sense of filling the earth is of bringing the earth’s chaos into order by increasing or becoming stronger, in it.
PURPOSE Strong’s H6098 עצה etsah, an abstract concept meaning, “counsel, purpose;” from Strong’s H3289 יעץ ya’ats a primitive root meaning, “to advise.” The 3-letter root is yud + ayin + tsadey.
yud י = the closed hand, thus work, throw, worship
ayin ע = the eye, thus watch, know, shade
tsadey צ ץ = trail, thus a man concealed, journey, chase, hunt
The ayin + tsadey partial denotes a tree, as that which shades (ayin) a trail (tsadey); thus it also can mean firmness, sureness, as a tree stands firmly in its place. The story: To grasp (yud, as a hand closes upon something it grasps) surely and firmly (ayin + tsadey). Sound counsel which advises the sure way forward.
PETITION Strong’s H4862 משאלה mish’alah, an abstract concept meaning, “petition, request;” from Strong’s H7592 שאל sha’al, a primitive root meaning, “to ask.” The 3-letter root is shin + aleph + lamed.
shin ש = two front teeth, thus sharp, press, eat, two, again
aleph א = the ox head, thus strength, power, leader
lamed ל = the shepherd’s staff, thus teach, yoke, to, bind
The story: To press upon (shin) him who has the ability (aleph) and the authority (lamed) to answer favorably.
I was thinking of YHVH who fulfills both our purpose and our petition. Did you see that our heart’s desire lines up with our ordained purpose? So we have a purpose for our life, instilled in us by YHVH, which He fulfills. And related to our purpose, is our petitions, or things we ask of Him who has both the ability and the authority to respond favorably, which He also fulfills.
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They are brought down and fallen;
But we have risen and stand upright. Psa 20:8
TO BRING DOWN Strong’s H3766 כרע kara, a primitive root meaning, “to bend down, to kneel down.” The 3-letter root is kaph + resh + ayin.
kaph כ ך = the open palm, thus bend, open, allow, tame
resh ר = the head of man, thus head, first, top, beginning, man
ayin ע = the eye, thus watch, know, shade
The story: The bent (kaph, at the knee implied) man (resh) with his eye (ayin) looking down.
TO FALL Strong’s H5307 נפל naphal, a primitive root meaning, “to fall, to cause to fall, to fall upon.” The 3-letter root is nun + pey + lamed.
nun ן, נ = the seed, thus continue, heir, son
pey ף, פ = the mouth, thus open, blow, scatter, edge
lamed ל = the shepherd’s staff, thus teach, yoke, to, bind
The story: The son (nun) of the judge, i.e. the mouth (pey) speaking with authority (lamed), or the mouth which pronounces judgment.
The definition appears to refer to its use as a root of Nephilim,
1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God (bene-ha’elohiym) saw that the daughters of men were fair; and they took wives for themselves, whoever they chose. 3 And YHVH said: My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh; therefore his days shall be one hundred and twenty years. 4 The giants (nephilim) were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God (bene-ha’elohiym) came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; the same were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown. Gen 6:1-4
where sons of rulers or sons of judges (bene-ha’elohiym) begot children by the daughters of men – which they had attacked or fallen upon, taking them by force – who became the mighty men of renown, the nephilim.
TO ARISE Strong’s H6965 קום quwm, a primitive root meaning, “to arise.” The 3-letter root is quph + vav + mem.
quph ק = sun on the horizon, thus condense, circle, time
vav ו = the tent peg, thus add, secure, hook
mem מ ,ם = the water, thus chaos, mighty, blood
The related words will help us find the story. The verb is “to arise,” and the concrete noun is a standing grain stalk. Other nouns from this root are a stand, a height, or a decree as a standing word. A stalk or a plant arises and stands up when it gathers (quph, as light leaves the earth and sky to be gathered to the sun when it is on the horizon) to itself (vav, in the context of adding) water (mem) drawn up from the root.
TO STAND UPRIGHT Strong’s H5749 עוד uwd, a primitive root meaning, “to repeat, to bear witness.” The 3-letter root is ayin + vav + dalet.
ayin ע = the eye, thus watch, know, shade
vav ו = the tent peg, thus add, secure, hook
dalet ד = the door, thus enter, move, hang
All judgments and binding contractual business in the patriarchal era was conducted either at the door of the tribal authority, who was the patriarch of the tribe, where he sat in the shade to decide family matters:
Then YHVH appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground. Gen 18:1-2
Or at the gate of the city, where the elders congregated:
Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.” Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying, … Gen 23:7-10
The story: What one has seen or witnessed (ayin) verified or sworn (vav, with the idea of securing the veracity of the claim by oath) at the patriarch’s door (dalet, or at the city gate, which is the door to the city).
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