Hebrew Word Study – Abandon – Ne’ezav  – נֶעֱזָ֑ב  Nun Ayin Zayin Beth 

Psalms 37:25: “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”  

This is a very popular verse used today to encourage Christians that they and their children will never go hungry, God will always provide. I do not question the truth of this assertion, I believe with all my heart that God will provide and He will never forsake us.  However, I must point out that to say that this is what this verse is saying is taking it out of its context.

You see this is a curious statement to be made by David. Contrary to the phony movies we see, there were no beggars in Israel during David’s time, so naturally he would never have seen the seed of the righteous begging for bread.  Mosaic law put a strict prohibition on usury and made ample provision for the relief of the poor. All debts were canceled during the Sabbatical year and Mosaic law gave no prescription with regard to beggars for if Mosaic law were followed as God intended, there would be no beggars. According to Mosaic law, parents would adequately provide for their children and help set them up for their life’s profession so they would not be in want.  That is why in many Jewish homes every father wants to give his son the business (the family business that is).  Even in our country begging is at a relative minimum because our society follows, in remote ways, many teachings of Mosaic law, from our charitable organizations, food pantries, and welfare system (a parallel to the system provided by the temple) to our bankruptcy laws (albeit loosely based upon the sabbatical year debt cancellation compared to a seven-year stigma or penalty on your credit report). 

Now begging was known to take place in surrounding pagan nations and David was well aware of this and this is most likely what he was making a reference to. David’s kingdom was a righteous kingdom or one that sought to follow God’s laws and as a result, you would not find beggars from the home of a righteous man (righteous meaning they followed the Mosaic laws) as you would find in the pagan nations. 

Ok, I know I am dealing with a sacred cow here.  I have had people wave their fingers in my face quoting this verse many times.  However, unless you are referring to the fact that God will not reduce me to the point of having to go door to door begging for my next meal, I might tend to agree with our modern application of this verse.   However, to infer that David is reminding us that God will keep us at our present standard of living or even elevate it would be a terrible misuse of this verse and a deflection away from the more important message in this passage.

The first question I have in looking at this verse is what does it means to be forsaken.   Our modern translations are pretty evenly divided over the word forsaken or abandoned.  Both pretty much mean the same thing and do not tell me all that much.  At what point would I be abandoned?  I have felt a number of times during my life that God had abandoned or forsaken me.  That feeling usually comes when I don’t get a specific answer to prayer.  In the context of this verse, David is talking about a person whose steps are ordered by God, one who may fall but will be uplifted, and one who basically does good.  Probably in a more specific context, David is speaking on a national level rather than an individual level and the begging for bread is in contrast to the unrighteous who are left begging for bread (Psalms 109:10).

The word forsaken is ne’ezav. This could mean forsaken or to give up.  It is in a Niphal form so therefore our translators have rendered this word as forsaken or abandoned.    But, lo, this is the 21st century, the century with modern technology and the Dead Sea scrolls.  Buried away in some obscure Jewish Hebrew Journals coming out of Israel are discussions on some of the new understandings of the Niphal. There is a growing agreement that the Niphal does have a reflexive nature and therefore we could or should render this passage as: I have never seen the righteous give up. David is not addressing the issue of whether or not God will abandon us, which goes without question, which is an issue that needs no discussion. A righteous person knows they will not be abandoned by God. The issue that David is addressing is that a truly righteous person will not abandon God. 

And if this righteous person does not abandon God, God will ensure that his offspring will never have to beg for bread. However, that being said I had some friends say: “Oh, but I have always clung to this verse as a promise that if I am faithful to God my children will one day be saved or serve God.”  It may have sounded cruel but I had to say that this is not the context for this verse – or is it?  I took another look at this word bread lechem and found it carried the idea of sharing and hospitality. Lechem also has both a physical and spiritual understanding.  A secondary meaning, which, from a Semitic standpoint is not only reasonable but expected, is that your children and descendants will never beg for hospitality in a spiritual sense.  As a righteous person through Jesus Christ you belong to God you are part of His family, His home. His home is your home and of course, your children are welcome to visit anytime.  They do not have to beg for hospitality, there is a welcome mat at the door of the home you share with Jesus. Because of your righteousness, your children will have an advantage those of unrighteous parents do not. They have the advantage of entering your home with God and firsthand meeting Jesus. Jesus is right there greeting your children with all his charm and wonder and it will be much easier to win them over than someone who does not have the advantage of Christian parents.

So I believe my Christian friends are right to believe their children will find God if they are true to God themselves.  It will still be their children’s decision but come on who can resist the charms of our Savior when you introduce Him to your children? 

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