Bereansearching Bible Studies

Introduction

In Psalm 119:18, we find this verse that reads “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” It can be interpreted as a petition to God, by a believer, asking for God to grant that believer the ability to spiritually see the magnificent, marvelous, and indeed “wondrous” things that God has otherwise concealed within His Word (His Law), which is the Bible. This can be shown to be the correct interpretation when we conduct a careful word study of the original Hebrew word, which is translated by the king James translators in English as “wondrous things.” (For more on the issue of “spiritually seeing”, please review the study on the “Hearing Ear and the Seeing Eye“)

Lexicons and Concordances show us the original language texts and where else in the Bible the same words are found for cross-reference.

Because this post is a focused, single word, study, we must look to the Original Hebrew text to gain a more precise understanding of the original meaning beyond what may have been translated into English. With available cross-referencing tools, we can discover how the word appears in the original text and compare with how that same Hebrew word is applied everywhere else in the Old Testament text to gain a clearer understanding of what God is really telling us. The tools that are now available online to do this include “Lexicons”, which explain the meanings of the words found in the Bible in their original language as can best be translated into English, and “Concordances”, which provide cross-references where else in the Bible a particular word or phrase as we find it translated into English can be found everywhere else in the Bible.

Psalm 119:18 reads as follows in the original Hebrew text, with the English translation below (the top line under the English translation is the original Hebrew text, with the root word is provided below that):

So the primitive root word for “wondrous things” is פָּלָא (pālā’)^H6381 and we find that it has the following meaning; properly, perhaps to separate, i.e. distinguish (literally or figuratively); by implication, to be (causatively, make) great, difficult, wonderful:—accomplish, (arise…too, be too) hard, hidden, things too high, (be, do, do a, shew) marvelous(-ly, -els, things, work), miracles, perform, separate, make singular, (be, great, make) wonderful(-ers, -ly, things, works), wondrous (things, works, -ly).:

The King James translators interpreted פָּלָא (pālā’)^H6381, which is found a total of 71 times in the Old Testament, in the following manner:(wondrous, marvellous…) work (18x), wonders (9x), marvellous (8x), wonderful (8x), …things (6x), hard (5x), wondrous (3x), wondrously (2x), marvellously (2x), performing (2x), miscellaneous (8x).

Moreover, in the particular context of Psalm 119:18, we find that it is interpreted as follows:

1. (Niphal)
   1. to be beyond one’s power, be difficult to do
   2. to be difficult to understand
   3. to be wonderful, be extraordinary
      1. marvellous (participle)

The following is excerpted from the Blue Letter Bible online study tool with outline and lexicon which also tells us that this particular usage is verb denominative Niph. etc., be surpassing, extraordinary; — 
Niph. Perfect 3rd person feminine singular נִפְלָאת Psalm 118:23; נִפְלְאַ֫תָה  Samuel 1:26; 3rd person plural נִפְלְאוּ Proverbs 30:18; Imperfect יִפָּלֵאDeuteronomy 17:8 + 6 times; Participle masculine plural נִפְלָאִיםPsalm 139:14; feminine singular נִפְלֵאת Deuteronomy 30:11; plural נִפְלָאוֺת Joshua 3:5 +; suffix נִפְלְאֹתַי Exodus 3:20, etc.; — 

1. “be beyond one’s power, difficult” to do, לעשׂות 2 Samuel 13:2; בְּעֵינֵי פ׳ Zechariah 8:6 (twice in verse); with מן person too difficult for Deuteronomy 30:11, for י׳ Genesis 18:14 (J) Jeremiah 32:17, 27.

2. be “difficult” to understand; with מן person “too difficult for” Psalm 131:1; Proverbs 30:18; Job 42:3, to decide Deuteronomy 17:8.

3. a. “be extraordinary, wonderful“, 2 Samuel 1:26; Psalm 119:18; of God’s acts, בְּעֵנֵינוּ נ׳ Psalm 118:23, compare Psalm 139:14. b. Participle as substantive “marvellous things” Job 37:14 (the acts of God).

4. נִפְלָאוֺת = “wonderful acts” וof in judgment and redemption, Exodus 3:20 (J) Judges 6:13; Jeremiah 21:2; 1 Chronicles 16:9, 24; Psalm 9:2; Psalm 26:7 + 15 times Psalms (see for example Psalm 107 below); also עשׂה נ׳ Exodus 34:10; Joshua 3:5 (J) Job 5:9 = Job 9:10, + 9 times Chronicles, Psalms; הראה נ׳ Micah 7:15; Psalm 78:11.

Reviewing key verses with the same original Hebrew text as Psalm 119:18 for clearer understanding

1. Being “extraordinary, wonderful”: 2 Samuel 1:26;  of God’s acts, בְּעֵנֵינוּ נ׳, 
   “I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful ^H6381, passing the love of women.”
2. Psalm 118:23, “This is the LORD’S doing; it [is] marvellous^H6381 in our eyes.“
3. Psalm 139:14, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous^H6381 [are] thy works; and [that] my soul knoweth right well.“
4. Substantively descriptive “marvellous things” Job 37:14 (acts of God, “Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous^H6381 works of God.”
5. As an Adverb “wondrously/marvellously“: Job 37:5; “God thundereth marvellously^H6381 with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.“

And then we find the word wonderful (פָּלָא (pālā’))^H6381 used as an adjective four times in Psalm 107:

Psalm 107:8, “Oh that [men] would praise the LORD [for] his goodness, and [for] his wonderful works ^H6381 to the children of men!”

Psalm 107:15, “Oh that [men] would praise the LORD [for] his goodness, and [for] his wonderful works ^H6381 to the children of men!”

Psalm 107:21, “Oh that [men] would praise the LORD [for] his goodness, and [for] his wonderful works ^H6381 to the children of men!”

Psalm 107:31, “Oh that [men] would praise the LORD [for] his goodness, and [for] his wonderful works ^H6381 to the children of men!”

Conclusion

From the above study, we can see how it is possible to cross-reference the places where the same wording in the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament for the term “wondrous things“, which we read in Psalm 119:18, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” From that study we can also see that this can indeed be interpreted as a petition to God by a believer asking for God to grant that believer the ability to spiritually see the magnificent, marvelous, and indeed “wondrous” things that God has otherwise concealed within His Word (His Law), which is the Bible. God’s magnificence is infinite and unlimited, while we are finite, and, by nature, all spiritually blind. Therefore, without the believer’s petitioning for God’s direct intervention through God’s Holy Spirit, it is impossible for anyone to begin to understand what God has concealed within His Word, the Bible. Remember what Jesus prayed to God The Father, as we read in Luke 10:21, “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.”(also Matthew 11:25)

For more on this please see for example: “God’s Word is a Mystery“, The Hebrew Word “Dabar” and “Searching the Bible for Hid Treasures“.

Jesus Is The Key to Understanding the Bible

Finally, it must also be made absolutely clear to the reader that the entirety of the Bible is all about the Person and Work of the LORD Jesus Christ, and that Salvation for sins is only through Him. Jesus Is The “Wondrous Thing“, Whom God has “concealed” within His Law, and Jesus Is The Person Who the believers wish to behold with opened spiritual eyes. For more on this last point please see: Jesus Christ is the Key to Biblical Understanding. Jesus expounded upon this and confirmed this Himself along the Road to Emmaus.

And please let us not forget that this is all entirely consistent with what God tells us in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” And even this verse was not translated as well as it could have been, as the original Hebrew word for “mighty things” is בָּצַר (bāṣar)^H1219, which could also be translated as “hidden things“, given that it has also been translated as “restrained”, “walled up”, and “withholden”. Note the similarity with what we find in Isaiah 48:6, “Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare [it]? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things (נָצַר (nāṣar))^H5341, and thou didst not know them.” The original Hebrew word that is translated here as “hidden things” could also be translated as “guarded”, “protected”, “preserved”, or “kept close”, or “kept secret”, which indeed is a synonym for “hidden things” or “concealed things”.

NOTE: The word translated once in the King James Version of the Bible as “wonderful” in Jeremiah 5:30 is not the same as the positive פָּלָא (pālā’)^H6381, rather it is in the original Hebrew שַׁמָּה (šammâ)^H8047 which is negative, and more correctly translated as “astonishment” or “desolation”…”A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love [to have it] so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?“

Postscript

Over time, this teacher continues to learn new things…for example, in Psalm 119:73, “JOD. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.” The word translated into English as “learn” is from the original Hebrew word, לָמַד (lāmaḏ)^H3925, which the KJV translates in the following manner: teach (56x), learn (22x), instruct (3x), diligently (1x), expert (1x), skilful (1x), teachers (1x), unaccustomed (with H3808) (1x). Therefore, this petition by the Psalmist could just as well be saying: “…give me understanding, that I may teach thy commandments.” It is this teacher’s prayer that, indeed, may God be pleased to grant me understanding, such that I may “teach” His commandments (teach His eternal life giving Word).  

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This entry was posted on November 24, 2024 at 9:58 pm and is filed under Bible Studies. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: Bible, faith, God, Jesus, pala, psalms, wondrous, word-study

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