Hebrew Word Study – The Hollow of His Hand – Yapap Yod Pei Pei

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Psalm 139:5: “Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.”

I suppose you could translate this verse in a number of ways. What I find interesting in this verse is the word for beset which is tsartani from the root word tsur.  In its Semitic origin, it is a military word for besieging a city. When a city was besieged the enemy would surround it making it impossible for anyone to enter or leave. This is word tsur, however, it is rendered in many other different ways.  Some say God hemmed him in, other say God enclosed him, hedged him circled him or even squeezed him. All, however, carry with them the idea of cutting him off from the outside world. 

The word used for behind is ‘achor which has the idea of behind but it is also used to indicate the past, and the word for before is qedem which means to go forward.  That word ends with a closed mem indicating something that is hidden or unknown, as is the future. This expression  ‘achor vaqedem expresses both past and future.  Thus, in my past and future, God is tsur, surrounding us. As to why the KJV renders this as beset is beyond me. Beset sounds so negative. I mean if God is surrounding us both past and future, hey that is not such a bad thing.

The word tsur is used as a verb here and is in a Qal perfect form.  It is best expressed as “you have entrenched me or fortified me,” or more accurately,  “In my past and in my future you have already fortified or entrenched me.” 

As David looked to the future, it looked pretty terrifying. There was unrest in the nation. Indeed, one generation later there would be a civil war in the land.  There was the threat of the Assyrians and there was the threat to his very throne as happened when his own son revolted and sent David running from his kingdom with a price on his head.  Day after day David faced the mounting pressures of being a king and the terrors that were looking at him. Sounds like someone you know?  Maybe it is you.  

Here is what David did, when he woke up in the morning facing the dread of what lay ahead, he was reminded that God had fortified him, entrenched him or as one translation renders the word for tsur as hedged him.  That hedge was around him in the past and it was around him in the present and will continue to be around him in the future.  

I am convinced that this hedge among other things is the love of God.  The enemy can’t stand love.  He hates to be around love.  He tries to destroy love.  He wants abortion to take place because babies are his biggest threat. A baby is the purest object of love you will find, a baby helps to bring love into a home and the enemy certainly does not want love in the home. He will attempt to destroy love in the home, in the church, and wherever he can destroy it.  For you see the greater the love the stronger the presence of God.  The enemy cannot touch you or your family if you are surrounded by the Love of God.  There are only two ways the enemy can attack you and this is if, like Job, God gives his permission, but it is limited to only what God will allow.  Hence you will never have to suffer more than you can bear.

Consider I Corinthians 10:13: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” You will come out stronger and closer in your relationship with God.   The other way the enemy can get to you is if you punch a hole in that hedge of love through impurities.  Lying, deceit, lust, sexual perversion and any sin will tear down that hedge of love and open a door to the enemy. All bets are off if the enemy can get to you that way and that is his preferred way because he is under no restrictions, which is why he works very hard to get you to sin. 

Look at the rest of this verse,  David says: “You laid your hand upon me.”  Come on, really?  He laid His hand upon me? Big deal. Well, it is a big deal to have God lay His hand on you, but nothing like what the Hebrew expresses.  The word laid is tasheth which, oddly, is in an imperfect or future tense and means to place or set.  “You will set me in your yapap. Yapap is the word used for hand.  However, this is not the standard word yad for hand, but it is built upon that word.  This word is more specific.  It means the palm of the hand.  The verse literally says: You have set me in the palm of your hand.  Now that I like. As the old timers like to say, We are sheltered in the hollow of  His hand.  Oh, but wait, there is more, the ancients believed, one’s heart was in the palm of the hand.  Thus, David was saying that he will not fear or live in dread of the future, for he is sheltered in the heart of God. When we are surrounded by the love of God, hedged in by the love of God we are sheltered in the palm of His hand and no evil can touch us unless God permits, which He may do like in Job’s case, but if he does we are assured that that bitter pill will become sweet. 

People today are terrified of the future.  People are actually terrorized that Putin will use his nuclear option. Or else they feel our president is a loose cannon and will touch the nuke button or maybe cause the economy to collapse. They fear the threat of terrorism, a dirty bomb, or some terrorist releasing a biological weapon to kill off the population with an incurable disease.  People, even Christians, live in the fear of the future.  

Well, God gave us the example of David for a reason.  He is our role model in these times of fear.  David looked up to God and said:  “My past, present, and future is entrenched in you.  If a disaster hits, I will be sheltered in the hollow of your hand, or I will be resting in your heart if it comes.”  So long as you are surrounded by the love of God no evil will touch you that is not permitted by God. 

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