Psalm 139 explained

Psalm 139 opens, "LORD, you have searched me, and you know me" (139:1), and ends asking for the same two verbs: "Search me, God, and know my heart" (139:23). Its woven (139:15) is the verb Exodus uses for the embroiderer, and its word for thoughts comes only twice in the Hebrew Bible: my thoughts (139:2) and your thoughts (139:17).

The psalm opens with what the LORD has done: "LORD, you have searched me, and you know me" (139:1) (tap searched). It closes by asking for it: "Search me, God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts" (139:23). In Hebrew the two verbs of 139:1, chaqar, search, and yada, know, come back in 139:23. Know runs through the psalm (tap know): "You know my sitting down and my rising up" (139:2), and "there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, LORD, you know it altogether" (139:4). Once it is the psalmist's own: "My soul knows that very well" (139:14). The Hebrew has the verb six times in the psalm. What 139:1 says the LORD has done, 139:23 asks him to do.

The psalm begins, "LORD, you have searched me, and you know me" (139:1), and near its end asks, "Search me, God, and know my heart" (139:23). In Hebrew search and know are the same two verbs both times.

Psalm 139:1 · Psalm 139:23

חָקַרchaqarsay kha-KAR

Brown-Driver-Briggs: "search", and "search through, explore". Strong's: "properly, to penetrate; hence, to examine intimately". The psalm opens and closes with it: "LORD, you have searched me, and you know me" (139:1), and "Search me, God, and know my heart" (139:23). Both times know follows it. "You search out my path" (139:3) has another verb, which Brown-Driver-Briggs gives as "scatter, fan, winnow". The Psalms have chaqar three times in Hebrew; the third is "won’t God search this out? For he knows the secrets of the heart" (Psalm 44:21), where knows is yada again.

"LORD, you have searched me, and you know me" (139:1). Is being fully known by God more of a comfort or more of a discomfort to you right now, and why?