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Psalm 131 Bible study: Like a weaned child
Psalm 131 says the heart and the eyes are not high, with two Hebrew verbs for high, and its concern myself (131:1) is the verb for walking. Then it is the soul, not the speaker, that is "like a weaned child" (131:2), stilled and quieted. And it ends by turning to all Israel: "Israel, hope in the LORD" (131:3).
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“Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“In Psalm 131, the psalmist likens his soul to a weaned child.”
Is that in Psalm 131, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
A heart, eyes, and a verb for walking
The psalm is titled "A Song of Ascents. By David" (131:1) (tap Ascents); Psalm 120's notes look at the title. Then it speaks to the LORD and says what is not so: "LORD, my heart isn’t arrogant, nor my eyes lofty; nor do I concern myself with great matters, or things too wonderful for me" (131:1) (tap heart, eyes). Here is what almost everyone misses: arrogant and lofty are two different Hebrew verbs, and Brown-Driver-Briggs begins both entries the same way, "be high, exalted" (tap arrogant, lofty). The heart is not high, and the eyes are not high. And the WEB's do I concern myself is hillakhti, a form of the everyday verb Brown-Driver-Briggs gives as "go, come, walk" (tap concern). The verse names a heart, eyes, and a verb for walking.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Psalm 131
That was a taste
The rest of Psalm 131 is waiting in Favor
- Like a weaned child is my soul
- Then, Israel
- "Too wonderful for me"
- A high heart and high eyes, elsewhere
- 7 questions as you read
- 13 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
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The Hebrew word behind it
גָּמַלgamalsay ga-MAL
Brown-Driver-Briggs gives three senses: "deal fully or adequately with, deal out to", "wean" and "ripen"; for a child, "wean a child (complete his nursing)". Strong's: "to treat a person (well or ill), i.e. benefit or requite; by implication (of toil), to ripen, i.e. (specifically) to wean". "like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me" (131:2): both times a weaned child is one Hebrew word, gamul, a weaned one. The Hebrew Bible has that form of the verb in only two other verses, both in Isaiah: "the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den" (Isaiah 11:8), and "Those who are weaned from the milk" (Isaiah 28:9). Other psalms have the verb in its first sense, and the WEB words it other ways: "because he has been good to me" (Psalm 13:6), and "Return to your rest, my soul, for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you" (Psalm 116:7).
For your group
Psalm 131 Bible study questions
- 1"Nor do I concern myself with great matters, or things too wonderful for me" (131:1). Is there anything you find yourself reaching for that feels too great or too wonderful for you, and what does it do to the quiet of your soul?
- 2"Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul" (131:2). What helps you quiet your soul before God, and what gets in the way?
- 3The psalm moves from "my soul" (131:2) to "Israel, hope in the LORD" (131:3). Who could you encourage to hope in the LORD this week, and how?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Psalm 131 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home