Hebrew word study – walk – halak  הלך  Hei Lamed Kap 

Psalms 23:4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

The Psalmist says that he may “walk” through the valley of the shadow of death.  It sounds like he will take a leisurely stroll through this valley of death. Stop along the way, have a picnic maybe.  If I were to journey through the valley of death, I wonder if I would be walking. Maybe I would tread very carefully or, move cautiously through this valley. Maybe not. Let’s look into this.

But first, let’s back up to the word before that “yea.”  That is not the yea we think of like yippee and all that nor is it a yes response.  It is the word gam in Hebrew.  It is used to express the English word indeed. Not the Mr. Spock “indeed” like what he just heard is doubtful. This is the indeed of certainty, as in truly or certainly.  The word through is ki which has multiple meanings  and is most often rendered as because.  You could say gam ki means even though but you could also say it means truly because.  It depends on the context.  “Even though I walk” would suggest you may or may not walk through this valley of the shadow of death.  However, we all are going to walk that valley.  It is not even though I walk the through the valley it is when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. The word walk is in an imperfect form which is often rendered into the English as a future tense.  Hence, I would render this as: “Truly because I will walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” This would suggest the obvious, that he will one day pass through that valley of the shadow of death but it also suggest that there is a reason why we will fear no evil and that fits the context which leads into the next verse. 

Now let’s check into the walking business. Is walk the best word to use here?  It just doesn’t fit the poetry.  Death is a fearful thing, right? If you are walking through a valley of death you are moving cautiously fearfully you are certainly not just walking along whistling a happy song.  Or are you? Could you?  I think the Psalmist is saying we can. 

The word for walk here is halak which is translated 146 different ways in the NASB.  It’s common denominator for all its usages is simply to be going somewhere. Halak is a journey with a destination. It is nonetheless a simple walk to a destination. Not a race, not a cautious walk but simply a normal journey to a destination.  This whole Psalms speaks of a life journey.  From the beginning the Lord is pictured as a shepherd who keeps us from want. So, this life’s journey is not to gain our basic needs. On this journey we need to pause, stop for an occasional rest where God supplies green pastures and refreshing waters to restore our soul which gets beaten and battered during this journey. 

This journey is to follow a righteous path which is leading somewhere, but it doesn’t tell us where.  Now we learn that this journey will take us through a valley of shadows of death.  By this time I would be crying out: “God where are we going, what is the purpose of this journey?

I remember I worked with a guy who was a very intelligent man, good-looking with a beautiful wife and a couple of little adorable children. Together he and his wife were enjoying an income in the mid-six figures which included some very wise investments.  This guy was living the American dream, I would dare say 90% of the world population would envy him and change places with him without a moment’s hesitation. 

One day we had to work together on an investigation which took us out of town so we spent a few hours traveling together. During this time, he opened up about his life. He described an idyllic middle to upper-middle-class lifestyle, he described the new home he and his wife were purchasing. I asked him about his church and he said he attended a Lutheran church and then he started to get really serious.  Apparently, his pastor was beginning a new series of sermons on the purpose-filled life using a very popular book at that time by a well-known pastor.  He then went on that he was really in the dumps.  Even though his life, marriage, and family were doing very well, he felt lost as if he had no purpose in his life. A wife who loved him, two children who loved and depended upon him was not enough.  Financial security was not enough.  He was really hoping that this series of sermons would help him find some purpose in his life. 

I asked him if he shares this longing with his pastor and he said he did but his pastor only suggested some social action programs he could get involved with.  He then admitted that his father had recently passed away and was only 61 years old (ah to be 61 again).  Even though he himself was only 39 he began to recognize his mortality and admitted that he was really frightened. Cancer ran in his family and there were members of his family who passed away in their thirties and forties from cancer.  Seeing the end of the road with no purpose in life, he was facing that valley with much fear.  He was not walking – halak through this valley.  There was no purpose, no destination in his journey and he was fearing some evil.

The Psalmist was not fearful of this valley. Because he faced this valley with a life purpose.  That purpose we find in the last verse: “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”  So, the Psalmist was walking through life with a purpose.  If he went through some dark valleys, he just kept walking, kept whistling his tune.  Indeed, the journey through life for him was just a stroll with the One he loved with all his heart, soul, and might and the destination of that journey, the purpose of that journey was to rest in His arms for eternity.  So let the storm clouds rage, the dark night take the stage, I will continue this journey to my golden age for the one who walks with me will upstage it all.

Hi there! Thank you for reading this Daily Word Study. Can I ask a favor? Share this Daily Word Study with your friends on Facebook and Twitter by clicking one of the icons below.

Thanks & Blessings, it means a lot to me!