HEBREW
WORD
SHADOWLAND
STUDY
–
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.”
Most all your English translations will have David saying
shadow of death. Indeed it really looks like it should be
rendered that way as the word is tsalemaveth. Many Hebrew
teachers will say that this is really a compound word tsal
(shadow) and maveth (death). My problem with this is that I
question whether this is really a compound word. I checked
with Keil and Delitzsch who are among the most respected
Christian commentators when it comes to dealing with the
Hebrew language. Their commentary does admit that this may not
a compound word and that it really comes from the root word
tsalam which comes from a Persian root and means to be
obscure, dark, shade, shadow, illusion, image or likeness.
They also suggest it is an allusion to the word hadramot which
means court of death and Bezaeel which means in God’s shadow.
Bezaeel was mentioned in the Bible as one who was appointed by
God to the work of the tabernacle.
There are a couple translations which will translate this as
simply shadow tsalam and not shadow of death (tsalal –
shadow). The difference between these two words for shadow is
that the root word is tsalal which is a shadow used to cover
or protect. If the root word is tsalam it is then a shadow of
obscurity or distortion.
For my part I will side with Keil and Delitzch and say the
root word is tsalam which means a shadow as a distorted image.
In Aramaic this word is used for an idol. This again suggests
the idea of distortion. The word is also rooted is the Syriac
which means to delineate again the idea of minimizing.
If Keil and Delitzch are right, which I believe they are, then
what David might be saying: “Yea though I walk through the
valley of God’s shadow, I will fear no evil for thou art with
me. Think of what that means. I cannot see God, I only see His
shadow. His shadow is obscure. The stars, the moon, the sun,
and all of nature, are a shadow of God. C.S. Lewis interpreted
the passage this way and called this world and physical
existence a shadow land. We are all living in the shadow of
God.
Yet, how can we be certain.
Perhaps evolution is
correct and our existence just happened by accident. Maybe I
am just mistaking these shadows for God. It boils down to
faith. It is by faith that I look at all creation and say:
“Yes, it is a shadow of God and these shadows show me that He
is near and He is with me. I need not fear any evil for the
creator of all these shadows stands on the other side of these
shadows and it is He that is the object the true reality. I
cannot see God but I see His shadow and I know He is there.
It is going up to forty degrees today, sunny with a mild wind.
The past few days the temperature was in the single digits.
When I step outside today I will feel that warm breeze, the
warmth of the sun in this relatively mild temperature. Yet, it
is all but a shadow, I am surrounded by this shadow and I know
it is God’s shadow that is hugging me, breathing on me. In
philosophy there are discussions of shadows. Does a shadow
have color, if there is a spinning ball, does the shadow spin.
In other words, how much does a shadow show of its object. It
shows more than we realize. So when I step out today, the sun,
the temperature, and the gentle breeze will really be a hug
from God. Touching a flower, holding a kitten to my cheek
would be a shadow of His kiss. These are all but a shadow, but
one day I will turn around and see the object of these shadows
face to face and know his hug and his kiss as a reality. You
see the word moth which we render as death, had a secondary
understanding of entering into a full understanding of God.
C.S. Lewis saw death as nothing more than leaving the shadows
behind and embracing the reality behind the shadows. As Paul
said: For me to live is Christ, to die is to gain. Philippians
1:21. To live is to live with the Shadow of my Savior, to die
means I live with the object, the real thing.
His rod comforts me. The word rod in Hebrew is shavat. The
shavat often refers to measuring stick, what we would call a
ruler. God measures us up and because of the finished work of
Jesus, we are not found wanting. As I approach these latter
years of my life I truly do find that His rod is indeed a
comfort for I know He is measuring me in light of the finished
work of Jesus and that when I pass from this world I have the
assurance I will be with him. The word staff comes from the
Hebrew root word sha’an which in a verbal form means to
support and to rest upon, hence the noun is a staff or leaning
post. I may be looking upon the shadows of God in this world,
but it is the object of the shadow that I lean upon. If I
lean upon a shadow I will find it empty and I will just fall
flat on my face. It is the object of this shadow, God Himself
that I lean upon. The rod and the staff not only expressed the
caring protection of a shepherd, it was also a picture of an
errant child who runs to his father in time of trouble or need
and his held by him. All his naughty acts are forgiven and his
father covers him with His protection.
It is believed that David may have written this Psalms when
was running from Saul who wanted to kill him. As David looked
into the face of death he saw he would only be leaving behind
the shadows of the God he loved to embrace the Object of the
shadows.
He knew the rod had measured him and found him
acceptable to God and that he could lean or embrace the God he
loved and this was a comfort for him. But soft, look closely
at this word comfort. It is nacham in the Hebrew which is in a
Piel form. David loved to use the Piel in his poetry. Nacham
is where the word Nahum comes from and means the compassionate
one and in a verbal form means comfort except David put this
into his beloved Piel stem which makes it active and has the
idea of being filled with compassion, in this context, filled
with God’s compassion. Our comfort comes from knowing that our
God is filled with compassion for us, no matter what we have
done. This world, His creation that surrounds us are all a
shadow of Him and His love.