Hebrew Word Study – From the Depths – Ma’amaq  מעמק Mem Ayin Mem Qop

Just What Is A Fervent Prayer?

Ps 130:1:  “Song of degrees. “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.”

A song of degrees in Hebrew is hama’aloth shir which literally means Song of Ascents.  It has also been rendered as Gradual Psalms, Songs of steps or Pilgrim songs.  There were fifteen steps from the main court in the temple to the doors leading to the entrance into the temple.  The priest would line up and walk up these steps together and as they touched each step they would recite one of the fifteen Psalms which were known as the Songs of steps or the Songs of the Ascent.

We can likely assume that the emotional mood of Psalm 130 was one that was upbeat and an expression of faith and anticipation of what God was going to accomplish. Thus, they sing out of the depths.  Commentators vary in their opinion as to what it this depth is. Practically all our modern translations render the word ma’amaq which comes from the root word ‘amaq as depth, leaving it up to the reader to decide just what these depths are. Some commentators say it is the depths of the sea, obviously metaphoric as a call for help like you are drowning in your problems. Some say it is a cry from the depths of sin, Others say it is from the depths of calamity. 

The word ‘amaq means a trench, deep, and unintelligible.  In the Akkadian it has the idea of unsearchable or the very bottom of something. In the Persian the word has the idea of being earnest.  The word is spelled Ayin, Mem Qop.  The Ayin has a meaning of seeing beneath the surface, the Mem has the idea of mercy and the Qop represents humility.  The built-in commentary suggests the word means to look beneath the surface to find the mercy of God when you humble yourself before Him.  So maybe these pilgrims as asking for mercy.

I put this out to some Christian friends in a text giving the background of this word and the general consensus was that when these pilgrims say they cry to God from the depths, they are not referring to calamity or the depths of a sea of problems, but that they are crying out from the very depths of their soul and being.  

A couple of weeks ago I attended a prayer meeting.  Everyone gathered around holding hands and each took their turn praying.  Most were your typical I like God, help us get closer to you and such like prayer.  Some were pretty prayers with beautiful words, some were attempts to sound heartfelt, but you just could not get over the feeling of business as usual.  Then one person shared from the depths of his heart a problem he was facing.  Everyone was touched and they began to pray.  I sense a difference in the prayers at that point.  The prayers were heartfelt, sincere, prayers from the ‘amaq or depths of their soul. 

The Bible tells us in James 5:16: “Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”  You know once that individual confessed his fault, his heart to those around us we were drawn to the plight of our brother, and our prayers suddenly became real, heartfelt or fervent.  The word in Greek for faults is harmatia. This is the same word used in the Septuagint for the Hebrew word chatah which both means to miss the mark.  The word is identical to the Aramaic word meaning the same thing.  We traditionally render this as sin but it is not only sin, it is missing the mark, which means a fault and/or failure.  It is not just confessing our sins to one another, it is also admitting our failures.  That is what happened in this prayer meeting, the man, who happened to be the pastor admitted to the prayer group as a failure. You know we are a success-driven culture and it is very hard to admit to a failure.  Yet people are quite forgiving when you fail because we all fail.  When the pastor admitted his failure the rest of the prayer group who loved this pastor only felt compassion for him and his sorrow.  This drove the group to move from the superficial, look at how spiritual I am prayers, to really digging down deep into their souls, their hearts to express ‘amag a prayer from the depths of their soul. Such prayers became fervent prayers that availed much.  

Perhaps it is time to step out of our cultural box where we must always appear successful and victorious and share with other brothers and sisters the ‘amaq depths of our hearts, our agony, remorse, and sorrow when we do hamatia or chatah miss the mark and ask for prayer.  If we share with a righteous person we may have a fervent prayer on our behalf.  The word fervent in Aramaic is chayla which means to spin in a circle with great force.  The word was applied to children who would worship God by spinning in a circle. David chayl before the Ark of the Covenant and was rebuked by his wife for acting in a way that was not becoming to a king. David didn’t care what people thought, he was worshipping God and if he made a fool of himself doing it, so be it.  

The fervent prayer of a righteous person is one who prays from his ‘amaq and if he makes a fool of himself when praying and acting in the faith of a child, so be it.  But James says that is an effective prayer. 

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