Main Words The Holy Spirit Used In Psalm 119

Peter Macinta
https://sapphirestreams.com/life/Ps119mw.html

The following is a list of main words used by the Holy Spirit which W. Graham Scroggie had noted in his book, The Psalms1. To the best of my knowledge, brother Scroggie did this work well before personal computers were available. So I imagine he carefully went through Strong's Exhaustive Concordance for this list of main words of Psalm 119 noting the number of times a particular word occurred in the psalm as well as what verses it occurred in.

To this list I have added the Strong's Numbers, along with any additional helpful information from James Strong2 and from Wilson's Old Testament Word Studies3 which will be useful in our lessons. William Wilson often provides abundant information due to the nature of his work which involves the entire Old Testament, so I will endeavor to present information that is specific for our studies in Psalm 119.

As in other languages, some words may have different shades of meaning. Keep in mind that a meaning of a word is often determined by its context.

Commandment–mitsvah (mits-vaw') #04687 Occurs 22 times.
Verses: 6, 10, 19, 21, 32, 35, 47, 48, 60, 66, 73, 86, 96, 98, 115, 127, 131, 143, 151, 166, 172, 176
Scroggie: A definite command imposed by authority.
Strong: 1a) commandment (of man); 1b) the commandment (of God); 1c) commandment (of code of wisdom)
Wilson: Commandment
Judgments–mishpat (mish-pawt') #04941 Occurs 23 times.
Verses: 7, 13, 20, 30, 39, 43, 52, 62, 75, 84, 91 (AV – ordinances), 102, 106, 108, 120, 121, 132, 137, 149, 156, 160, 164, 175
Scroggie: As Thou usest to do in verse 132 is according to Thine ordinance (mishpat). Judicial decision or sentence.
Strong: 1) judgment, justice, ordinance; 1a) judgment; 1a1) act of deciding a case; 1a2) place, court, seat of judgment; 1a3) process, procedure, litigation (before judges); 1a4) case, cause (presented for judgment); 1a5) sentence, decision (of judgment); 1a6) execution (of judgment) 1a7) time (of judgment); 1b) justice, right, rectitude (attributes of God or man); 1c) ordinance 1d) decision (in law); 1e) right, privilege, due (legal); 1f) proper, fitting, measure, fitness, custom, manner, plan
Wilson: judgment, penalty
Law–towrah (to-raw') #08451 Occurs 25 times, always in the singular.
Verses: 1, 18, 29, 34, 44, 51, 53, 55, 61, 70, 72, 77, 85, 92, 97, 109, 113, 126, 136, 142, 150, 153, 163, 165, 174
Scroggie: A law, instruction, teaching, revelation of the will of God for the life of man.
Strong: Applicable for Psalm 119 are 1) law, direction, instruction; 1a4) body of legal directives; 1b2) of special law, codes of law; 1d) the Deuteronomic or Mosaic Law
Wilson: instruction, precept
Precepts–piqquwdim (pik-kood-eem') or piqquwd (pik-kood') #06490 Occurs only in the Psalter 24 times, 21 of which are in Psalm 119.
Verses: 4, 15, 27, 40, 45, 56, 62, 69, 78, 87, 93, 94, 100, 104, 110, 128, 134, 141, 159, 168, 173
Scroggie: It means mandates, injunctions.
Strong: 1) precept, statute
Wilson: What are committed to one to be observed; statutes, commandments
Saying–'imrah (im-raw') or 'emrah (em-raw') #0565 Note: Translated in the AV in Psalm 119 exclusively as word or words, which should not be confused with the entry below for word, which is dabar. Occurs 19 times.
Verses: 11, 38, 41, 50, 58, 67, 76, 82, 103 (plural), 116, 123, 133, 140, 148, 154, 158, 162, 170, 172
Scroggie: An utterance and the purport of it; something communicated orally.
Strong: 1) utterance, speech, word; 1a) word of God, the Torah
Wilson: sayings
Statutes–choqim (khoke-eem) #02706 Occurs 22 times.
Verses: 5, 8, 12, 16, 23, 26, 33, 48, 54, 64, 68, 71, 80, 83, 112, 117, 118, 124, 135, 145, 155, 171
Scroggie: This word comes from a root which means to hew, to cut in, engrave, inscribe; and so it comes to mean what is ordained, decreed, prescribed, enacted.
Strong: 1) statute, ordinance, limit, something prescribed, due; 1a) prescribed task; 1b) prescribed portion; 1c) action prescribed (for oneself), resolve; 1d) prescribed due; 1e) prescribed limit, boundary; 1f) enactment, decree, ordinance; 1f1) specific decree; 1f2) law in general; 1g) enactments, statutes; 1g1) conditions; 1g2) enactments; 1g3) decrees; 1g4) civil enactments prescribed by God
Wilson: something decreed, prescribed; a statute, ordinance, law
Testimonies–eduth (ay-dooth) #05713 and edah (ay-dah) #5713, occurring 9 times and 14 times respectively.
Verses with eduth: 14, 31, 36, 88 (singular), 99, 111, 129, 144, 157
Verses with edah: 2, 22, 24, 46, 59, 79, 95, 119, 125, 138, 146, 152, 167, 168
Scroggie: It means reiteration, attestation, witness.
Strong for eduth: 1) testimony
Strong for edah: 1) testimony, witness; 1a) always plural and always of laws as divine testimonies
Wilson for eduth: precept of God
Wilson for edah: witness
Way–derek (deh'-rek) #01870 This word can mean something other than the Law of God. In this psalm it refers to the law of God 13 times.
Verses: 1, 3, 5, 14, 26, 27, 29, 30, 32, 33, 37, 59, 168
Scroggie: It signifies a road as trodden, a mode of life, a course of action marked out by God's law.
Strong: 1) way, road, distance, journey, manner; 1a) road, way, path; 1b) journey; 1c) direction ; 1d) manner, habit, way; 1e) of course of life (fig.); 1f) of moral character (fig.)
Wilson: . . . course, manner, in which one walks, lives, which one follows; specially a way of living, acting in one's walk, conduct, life; to walk in the way of any one, to imitate his conduct. Also to walk in the way of the Lord, spoken of men, a way or conduct which Jehovah approves, and in which men ought to walk; spoken of God, His mode of acting, agency.
Word–Dabar (daw-baw') #01697 Occurs 24 times.
Verses: 9, 16, 17, 25, 28, 42 (twice; Heb. I will answer one reproaching me a word), 43, 49, 57 (plur.), 65, 74, 81, 89, 101, 105, 107, 114, 130 (plur.), 139 (plur.), 147, 160, 161, 169
Scroggie: From dabar, to arrange in a row; to set forth in speech. This is not the same as Saying (above). It signifies the articulation of God's will to men. The Ten Commandments were the Ten Words, the Decalogue.
Strong: 1) speech, word, speaking, thing 1a) speech 1b) saying, utterance 1c) word, words
Wilson: a word, verbum, [and the Greek logos.] This term we know is applied to the Son of God in the New Testament, and has also been so understood by some of the ancient Jews.

Brother Scroggie also presents information on three more main words, viz., righteousness (i), faithfulness (ii), and truth (iii):
(i) Right. Righteousness. Yashar: ver. 128. Tzedek. Occurs 12 times. Rendered righteousness (123, 142 (2nd), 144, 172; righteous (7, 62, 106, 138, 160, 164; justice (121); right 75).
Tz' dakah. Occurs 2 times (40, 142).
These words mean, what is right, just, equitable, virtuous.
(ii) Faithfulness, faithful. Emunah. Occurs 5 times (75, 86, 90, 138; translated truth in ver. 30). The meaning is fidelity, security, firmness, stability, trustworthiness.
(iii) Truth. True. Emeth. Occurs 4 times (43, 142, 151, 160). This word has the force of stability, certainty, trustworthiness.

This page is a supplement to the focused commentary on Psalm 119, Vectors Of Victory (currently a work in progress).

Notes:

1Scroggie, W. Graham: The Psalms (Fleming H. Revell Company, Old Tappan, NJ)

2From an electronic version of Strong's Exhaustive Concordance by James Strong incorporated in the Online Bible program.

3Wilson, William: Wilson's Old Testament Word Studies (MacDonald Publishing Company, McLean, VA)

This page is a supplement to the online focused commentary Vectors Of Victory From Psalm 119.

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