Read Psalm 42 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraph:
42:1-11 {p} In the face of trials and reproach, the Psalmist remembers why he has hope in God’s salvation.
Psa 42:1-11 Chiastic Structure:
The C pair in the Chiastic structure has an interesting backstory.
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? {n} Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the abundant salvation of His presence. Psa 42:5
Salvation, in the Hebrew grammar, is the plural of the abstract concept, literally, “salvations.” It’s an intensive plural, a noun that has been magnified or multiplied, as doubling something mathematically, multiplies it. Therefore we translate it as abundant salvation, to convey the emphatic sense that the Hebrew grammar intends.
Now the matching pair:
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? {n} Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the abundant salvation of my face, and my God. Psa 42:11
The abundant salvation of His presence in verse 5, and the abundant salvation of my face in verse 11, literally mirrors each other in Hebrew: the salvations of His face, the salvations of my face.
Face is Strong’s H6440, paniym, a concrete noun meaning, “face;” from Strong’s H6437 פנה panah, a primitive verb meaning, “to turn oneself,” that is, to turn the face toward. The ancient pictographs are pey + nun + hey.
pey פ, ף = mouth, thus open, blow, scatter, edge
nun נ, ן = seed, thus continue, heir, son
hey ה = man with upraised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
The story being told by the Hebrew Root Word is to open (pey) the seed (nun), meaning the root is going down; so bowed down (pey + nun) in worship (hey). Dr. Benner in the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon writes of the meaning:
The face, also the presence of one through the sense of being in the face of.
Thus a man turning his face to YHVH is to seek Him or to worship Him; and YHVH turning His face to man is to cause His presence to descend to him and receive his worship.
In verse 5, it’s as if the psalmist says, “My hope rests in the overflowing deliverance that comes when God turns His face toward me.” When He turns His face, His attention, and His presence toward me in order to enact deliverance (vs. 5) then that has a tangible effect on my face. My hope in the coming answer changes my downcast aspect to one of joy instead (vs. 11).
If there are questions, this is a good resource:
Psalm 42, Taking comfort – Christine Miller
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