Read Psalm 22 at Bible Gateway.
For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from him; but when he cried to Him, He heard. Psa 22:24
TO DESPISE Strong’s H959 בזה bazah, a primitive root meaning, “to despise.” The 3-letter root is bet + zayin + hey.
bet ב = house, thus house, household, family, in, within
zayin ז = mattock, thus tool, food, cut, nourish
hey ה = man w/ raised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
The cognate words will help us find the story. One is “spoil,” as that which an enemy takes after defeating a foe. So, when a house (bet) is attacked (zayin, in the sense of the weapon the enemy uses) and overcome, the enemy takes away as spoil whatever is revealed (hey) to be of value. In the verb’s negative spin, when something becomes spoiled, it loses its value and is despised.
TO ABHOR Strong’s H8262 שקץ shaqats, a primitive root meaning, “to detest, abhor.” The 3-letter root is shin + quph + tsadey.
shin ש = two front teeth, thus sharp, press, eat, two, again
quph ק = on the horizon, thus condense, circle, time
tsadey צ ץ = trail, thus a man concealed, journey, chase, hunt
The story: To take in (shin, as the teeth are used to take in food) that which is an eternal (quph) snare (tsadey, as snares or traps are a common tool used by hunters) makes abominable. The sense I am seeing more accurately of tsadey, is of arrows being shot. Those arrows, meant to harm, are willfully taken in rather than deflected.
Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. Eph 6:16
AFFLICTION Strong’s H6039 ענות enuwth, an abstract concept meaning, “affliction;” from Strong’s H6031 ענה anah, a primitive root meaning, “to afflict.”
Strong’s H6031 ענה anah, a primitive root meaning “to bestow labor upon, to plow, to depress, to oppress.” The 3-letter root is ayin + nun + hey:
ayin ע = the eye, thus watch, know, shade
nun נ = the seed, thus continue, heir, son
hey ה = the man with upraised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
The story the ancient pictographs are telling, is of watching (ayin) continually (nun) because one is invested (hey) in the outcome. To bestow labor upon: when you are invested in the outcome, you carefully watch over the progress of the work. To plow: man’s earliest labor with which he was invested, was growing food (Gen 3:17-19). So the corollary meaning of to plow is from the labor of implanting the ground with seed. To depress, oppress, is a corollary of to plow, because in order to plant the seed, a depression must be made in the ground with the plow share. The plowshare forces a depression in the surface of the ground, just as an oppressor forces his will on the ones he oppresses.
AFFLICTED Strong’s H6041 עני aniy, an adjective meaning, “afflicted,” from Strong’s H6031 ענה anah, a primitive root meaning, “to afflict,” the same as above.
TO HIDE Strong’s H5641 סתר sathar, a primitive root meaning, “to hide or conceal.” The 3-letter root is sin + tav + resh.
sin ס = the thorn, thus grab, hate, protect
tav ת = crossed sticks, thus mark, sign, signal, monument
resh ר = the head of man, thus head, first, top, beginning, man
The story being told is of a hedge of thorns (sin) which surrounds the marked (tav) man (resh). The meaning comes from its first occurrence in Scripture:
And Cain said to YHVH: “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, You have driven me out this day from the face of the land; and from Your face I shall be hid (sathar); and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth; and it will come to pass, that whoever finds me will slay me.” And YHVH said to him: “Therefore whoever slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And YHVH set a sign for Cain, lest any finding him should strike him. Gen 4:13-15
Now instead of being visible to those who would slay him, he was hidden, camouflaged, behind a hedge of protection.
FACE Strong’s H6440, פנים paniym, a concrete noun meaning, “face;” from Strong’s H6437 פנה panah, a primitive root meaning, “to turn oneself,” that is, to turn the face toward. The 3-letter root is pey + nun + hey.
pey פ, ף = the mouth, thus open, blow, scatter, edge
nun נ, ן = the seed, thus continue, heir, son
hey ה = man with upraised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
The story is to open (pey) the seed (nun), meaning the root is going down; so the face bowed down (pey + nun) in worship (hey). Dr. Benner in the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon writes of the meaning:
The face, also the presence of one through the sense of being in the face of.
Thus a man turning his face to YHVH is to seek Him or to worship Him; and YHVH turning His face to man is to cause His presence to descend to him and receive his worship.
TO CRY Strong’s H7768 שוע shava; a primitive root; according to Strong’s, properly meaning, “to be free;” but used only causatively and reflexively, meaning “to cry aloud” (for help, i.e. freedom from some trouble).
shin ש = two front teeth, thus sharp, press, eat, two, again
vav ו = the tent peg, thus add, secure, hook
ayin ע = the eye, thus watch, know, shade
The cognate words will help us find the story. One is “to watch over;” another is “shepherd.” When that which destroys (shin, in the sense of the teeth which rends its food) comes, the sheep remain secure (vav) when they cry out, for the shepherd keeps watch (ayin) over them to destroy the destroyer.
TO HEAR Strong’s H8085 שמע shama, a primitive root, “to hear, to listen and attend, to hear and answer, to obey or give heed.” The 3-letter root is shin + mem + ayin.
shin ש = two front teeth, thus sharp, press, eat, two, again
mem מ = the water, thus chaos, mighty, blood
ayin ע = the eye, thus watch, know, shade
Breath passes through the front teeth (shin) expelling water (mem) as vapor from the body. When we listen, we breathe intently as we focus on what is being said so that we can comprehend it (ayin). In the Hebraic worldview, shama, to listen, is an active and not a passive verb. If we hear what is said but do not act on or respond to what is said, then we have not heard at all. Thus shama includes an implication of obedience as Deu 6:4 indicates.
Those the world despises as spoiled and of no value, He does not despise, but values. Those the world abhors as abominable, He cherishes. He does not hide from the afflicted, but when the afflicted cry out to Him, He hears them. He doesn’t just hear their cry and note it, then go on; but hearing their cry must include also responding to their cry. He responds as the good Shepherd, destroying their destroyer.
For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 1 Cor 1:26-29
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