HEBREW WORD STUDY – MATURE – ZAQAN – זקן   Zayin Qop Final Nun

Psalms 37:25: “I have been young and am now old, but I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging for bread.”

Can I share with you a hidden mystery from the Word, one that is a valuable weapon for these last days when the enemy tries to strike us down?   We usually translate Psalms 37:25 as “I was young and now I am old…”  It is translated that way because it would be awkward or not make much sense if translated literally which is “I have been young and I have been old.”  I mean if he has already been young and already old what comes after old?  Yet the word old zaken for old is in a Qal perfect form. Those in my Tuesday evening Hebrew 101 class will know what that means.  For those who don’t, we will be starting a new class on June 18 so be sure to sign up and you will see the mystery hidden in that Qal Perfect form. 

I digress.  The word young is na’ar means to be immature like a youth. Na’ar is not your normal word for youth and is rarely used for youth.  Zaken is not your normal word for old and is rarely used for old.  Not to say it is a mistranslation, only we could consider other meanings of these words especially since the word for old is in a perfect form.  You see a perfect form is a completed action. He apparently has completed the cycle of being old.  However, the only completion of old I know of is the grave.  

Na’ar could mean a roar or to be driven out.  I really see a play on words here which we discuss in our 12^th and last Hebrew class. David is referring to his time as a youth when he driven into exile by King Saul who wanted to take his life.  God did not forsake him at that time.  As I said zaken is not usually rendered as old it is really the word for maturity. Being in a mature state spiritually would work better.  You can be mature and not an old man.  To reach a state of maturity does not mean you have arrived but that you have left the carelessness of your youth behind and you are now taking on adult type responsibilities. That is zaken.  As believers when we are first saved we often go wild.  We used to say a person has a six month probation period. As you mature you settle into making much wiser spiritual decisions.  

Back in the seventies and early eighties during the Jesus movement many celebrities were getting saved and preachers were throwing them into the Christian spotlight before they had a chance to mature. You had stars like Jane Fonda and Joan Collins profess to be Christians.  Of course, we all know their testimonies today. They had no real foundation that comes with years of experience in walking with God.  They soon realized they were being used rather than disciplined. I hear pastors say: “I wish you older Christians show the same enthusiasm that these young Christians do.”  History is littered with the dry sunbaked bones of na’ar Christians who set out on a mission to God only to fall flat because of lack of experience. Yet, God did not forsake those who picked themselves up and went back to school or submitted to being disciplined by a mature –zaken believer. 

Let’s look at zaken The word is spelled Zayin which represents an involvement with God, Qop which is sanctification by the last letter nun – faith. Zaken’s hidden meaning is one who is sanctified by the Holy Spirit.  The Zayin = 7 which is the number for God, Qop = 100 representing fullness and the Nun = 50 which is the number for faith. Zayin is the fullness of faith in God.  

David is saying here that God did not forsake him as a brash immature youth any more than when he is an older mature believer.  But he also says the righteous tzedik will not be forsaken.  A righteous person follows the law of God and if they follow the law of God, He will always be close to them in holiness so they are never forsaken. Their children or relatives will not be left begging for bread.  You see the Law of God provided for the poor.  During David’s reign as king, there were no beggars on the streets for the righteous followed God’s law and provided for the unfortunate so they did not have to beg.