HEBREW WORD STUDY – EVEN WITH GLORY – ‘APH KEBODI אפ כבודי Aleph Pei Kap Beth Vav Daleth Yod
Psalms 108:1: “O God, my heart is fixed, I will sing and give praise even with my glory.”
What does that mean to praise, even with my glory. What is David talking about when he says “his glory.” Have you ever had one of those times when you carry a burden that is just so overwhelming that you can’t “even pray”? You try to pray, but it is just such an effort, you feel so “weighted” down. Note the word I used, “weighted down.” You seek a a diversion, watching a football game, going to a movie, a party or even indulging in addictions like alcohol or drugs just to get your mind off that kavod. You see that is the Hebrew word for glory. We think of glory as something awesome and wonderful but also means a weightiness or heaviness.
This is the way David felt when he started to write this Psalm. You read this Psalm and it appears like one of his lighter moments. He seems so joyful, so happy. Yet, this first verse gives his true emotions away.
He calls out to God saying that his heart is fixed. The word for fixed is kon which has the idea of being established or directed. Today we would say his heart was focused. His heart was not focus on God but on his burden. He knows, however, that all he has to do is just change his focus off his kavod and then sing and give praise.
The word for praise that is used here is zamar. It is a song of praise, but it is a very focused praised. The word also is used for cutting or pruning. This is a very direct praise, no fluff, no disjointed or meaningless words, but a very specific praise. The word is also in a piel form with a paragogic Hei. This makes this a very direct and focused praise. A praise coming from the very depths of his being, his soul. It is a very intense praise. David is putting every fiber of his whole being into this praise that cuts through or prunes aways all that kavod.
Then he says: “Even with my glory.” Let’s take a closer look at this word for glory which is kavod and means heaviness. It can also mean burdensome or grievous. For better understanding since we have such a positive view of the word glory perhaps we could substitute the word glory for burden or grievous. David will give praise even with his burden.
David is overwhelmed with some very heavy burden. His heart is so fixed on this issue that he can not praise or worship God. So, he says he will sing a song of praise. Not just any praise. He could praise God for His power, for His majesty, etc. David has done this many times, but right now that is not the praise that he can offer. So, the praise he offers is “even” with his burden. The word even is aph which is often translated as indeed or furthermore. “I will praise you indeed with my burden.” Aph is a demonstrative particle, an exclamation .
Would you like Chaim Bentorah as your personal Hebrew teacher?
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David is not ignoring his burden, or pretending it does not exist. He is simply bringing God into the picture. He is entering into an intense praise with his burden right out there, out in front. He and God are going to share this burden. As you read the rest of the Psalm you find David talking about the awesome power of God, his control over everything and in that light, the weight of his burden get’s lighter and lighter.
Look at Isaiah 38:18 “For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.” What does Isaiah mean that the grave cannot praise thee? I read in Jewish literature something very profound. In the next world, which we Christians call heaven, there will be no suffering, no pain, no burdens, no heaviness. If that is the case, we will never be able to sing a praise of, zamar to God when we are in heaven. For a zamar praise, a praise in the midst of a kavod a burden, will no longer be necessary. Thus, in heaven we will never again know the joy of God delivering us from our burdens. This life here on earth is our only chance to experience that special blessing of being delivered from trials. It is a special joy that not even the angels experience and we will likely spend eternity visiting these angels and sharing our earthly experiences.
Why do you think James starts his letter off with James 1:2 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,” Why should we consider it a joy to face trials? One, we get to see the power of God in lives as the delivers us and secondly we will have an exciting testimony to share when we get to heaven, in fact we will share it for eternity .Sometimes the burdens of this life can weight you down so much, you just want to crawl under yon rock from whence you came and shut everything out. You can try that but the burden will still be there. You could also choose, like David, to worship and praise God in the midst of that burden. You can let Him share that burden with you and as you do, it will get lighter and lighter. Some day in eternity as others are sharing their testimonies with angels you are going to wish you had used the blessing of trials more wisely so you could also have a testimony to share.
Every day you live God is giving you an opportunity to experience a testimony in midst of a trial that you will share for eternity. That trial is really a blessing or a curse, it’s your choice.
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I thought that David was glorified when he killed Goliath and fought for King Saul and had great success . Now I’m using the meaning of glory as admiration and respect . That too can become a burden. I thought that David was saying that he (David) would always give honor and glory to God no matter what . Many of the kings turned to idol worship ; David worshiped only the God of Abraham.
The word kavod is chanted in the second part of the Shema in Synagogues on Shabbat. Baruch Shem Kavod Malchuto L’olam Va-ed. Blessed is God’s Glorious Majesty Forever and Ever. Also the last letter of the word Shema ,the ayin and the last letter of echad are enlarged to make the word eid ((witness) They bear witness to the Oneness of God
Could glory be his tongue? Ps. 57:8 says “Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.” Then David goes on to say in 57:9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations. It appears that for David to wake up his glory and sing praises he is telling his voice, or tongue to wake up so that he can do it.
Comparing today’s verse in Ps 108 with Ps 16:9, “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.” where his glory rejoices, with Acts 2:26 Where Peter quotes “Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: again he is comparing the glory to his tongue or voice as translated in acts.
This does not mean that we should not glory or praise God for our burdens and tribulations as Paul declares in Romans 5:3 “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;” I think patience in Romans here is equivalent to the hope David proclaims comes from praise in Ps. 16 and Peter translates in Psalms 2:26 when they were filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues.
UhOh now I’m preachin’! This leads me to Romans 5: 1-6 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts [THE LOVE OF GOD IS SHED ABROAD IN OUR HEARTS] by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”
So to sum up: Our glory (remember the song from 2 Cor. 3:18? From glory to glory he’s changing me) is our tongue in praise (including speaking in tongues) in the midst of our “weights and burdens” or “tribulations. And we do this because of hope. Our hope is in God’s goodness towards us and we know we will overcome it with his tender mercies and grace because Jesus died for us. When we have no strength (Rom 5:6) because of the burdens our praise brings us into the rest promised in Ps. 16:9 Cp. Heb. 4.
All of this causes us to grow in faith and trust in God and His promises and also we grow in self-confidence in our ability to trust God and rest knowing He will provide.
Could glory also be his tongue? Ps. 57:8 says “Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.” Then David goes on to say in 57:9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations. It appears that for David to wake up his glory and sing praises he is telling his voice, or tongue to wake up so that he can do it.
Comparing today’s verse in Ps 108 with Ps 16:9, “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.” where his glory rejoices, with Acts 2:26 Where Peter quotes “Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: again he is comparing the glory to his tongue or voice as translated in acts.
This does not mean that we should not glory or praise God for our burdens and tribulations as Paul declares in Romans 5:3 “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;” I think patience in Romans here is equivalent to the hope David proclaims comes from praise in Ps. 16 and Peter translates in Psalms 2:26 when they were filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues.
UhOh now I’m preachin’! This leads me to Romans 5: 1-6 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts [THE LOVE OF GOD IS SHED ABROAD IN OUR HEARTS] by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”
So to sum up: Our glory (remember the song from 2 Cor. 3:18? From glory to glory he’s changing me) is our tongue in praise (including speaking in tongues) in the midst of our “weights and burdens” or “tribulations. And we do this because of hope. Our hope is in God’s goodness towards us and we know we will overcome it with his tender mercies and grace because Jesus died for us. When we have no strength (Rom 5:6) because of the burdens our praise brings us into the rest promised in Ps. 16:9 Cp. Heb. 4.
All of this causes us to grow in faith and trust in God and His promises and also we grow in self-confidence in our ability to trust God and rest knowing He will provide.