HEBREW WORD STUDY – FAT AS GREASE

HEBREW WORD STUDY – FAT AS GREASE – CHALAV  חלב 

Psalms 119:70: “Their heart is as fat as grease, but I delight in thy law.”

“A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

I was listening to a talk show where a former CIA agent and Navy Seal who had served in the White House under both a Republican and Democratic administration were being interviewed.  When asked what they found most distasteful about the people they served under in the White House, the elite of the elite, they both responded that they could not believe the arrogance among these elite people and how childish they were in their backstabbing and attempts to be more important than the other. 

Webster defines arrogance as an offensive display of superiority or self-importance and overbearing pride.  David was a king, right up there on top of the political ladder.  He knew all about the arrogance and pride that was displayed in seats of power.  In fact in the verse prior to Psalms 119:70 he says: Psalms 119:69: “The arrogant have forged a lie against me; With all my heart I will observe Your precepts.” David says in verse 70 that they have a heart as fat as grease. This is an idiomatic expression for arrogance. 

This phrase fat as grease is a literal rendering of the word chalav.  David is making a poetic play of the word kalav which is the Hebrew word for dog.  A dog in David’s time was not a domesticated animal and were scavengers and filthy creatures. If they were domesticated they were trained to hunt down slaves or be attack dogs.  Thus these arrogant people have hearts like dirty filthy scavengers or attack dogs seeking only to please themselves and do harm to others.  

This word chalav and its idiomatic intent has a curious origin.  The phrase fat as grease or chalav has its origins in the fat protecting your intestines.  The thought in ancient times is that the fatter you were the more protection you had for your inward parts including your heart.  However, obesity was recognized as the result of laziness and self-indulgence.  Most men in those days served in the army and as warfare involved much hand to hand combat, someone who was obese had little value in the army. Someone who was obese was much slower and had little endurance and was not fit for combat to protect his home or nation.   They were jokingly declared to have no need for a shield in combat because their fat would protect their heart.   This is likely the description David gave to someone who was arrogant.  An arrogant person has a heart surrounded by worthless fat that makes him worthless to protect anyone, even himself.

David apparently in all the splendor, honor and praise as a king seems to have escaped this entrapment of arrogance.  He gives his reason in verse 70, he delights in the law.  Come on, who really delights in the law?  However, when David talks about the law he is talking about Torah which we translate into English as law.  That is a sad rendering because generally, we have such a negative attitude toward the law.  Actually Jewish understanding of Torah carries many possible renderings, most of which have a positive spin, like instruction, guidance and an expression of love. 

To David, each law was a delightful and joyous opportunity to express to God: “I love you. I will Torah is a guide and an instruction manual on how to show God that you love Him and to follow each law is an opportunity to say: “God I love you so much, and keeping your law is one way I can show you, my love.