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Psalm 42 Bible study: As the deer pants
Psalm 42's pants is a word the Hebrew Bible has only here and in Joel 1:20, where the animals pant at water brooks that have dried up. And its refrain, "Hope in God!" (42:5), comes three times across Psalms 42 and 43: in Hebrew 42:11 and 43:5 are the same, letter for letter, though the WEB words their endings differently.
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“Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him for the saving help of his presence.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“In Psalm 42:10 it is the psalmist's adversaries who ask, "Where is your God?"”
Is that in Psalm 42, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
The second part begins, with the sons of Korah
Psalm 41 closed with "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting and to everlasting! Amen and amen" (Psalm 41:13), and here the second of the five parts the introduction divides the book into begins. The title reads, "For the Chief Musician. A contemplation by the sons of Korah" (42:1). It is the first title in the book to name the sons of Korah, and eleven titles do: Psalms 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 84, 85, 87 and 88. Contemplation is maskil, the word of Psalm 32's title, "A contemplative psalm" (Psalm 32:1). The title says no more than that, and these notes don't either: not which of the sons of Korah, and not when. The psalm after this one, Psalm 43, has no title at all (Psalm 43:1).
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Psalm 42
That was a taste
The rest of Psalm 42 is waiting in Favor
- A thirst for the living God
- One refrain, three times
- Day and night
- "All your waves and your billows", in Jonah
- Thirst and longing, in Psalms 63 and 84
- The same longing, in Psalm 43
- 6 questions as you read
- 12 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Psalm 42 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
עָרַגaragsay a-RAG
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "long for". Strong's: "to long for". "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants after you, God" (42:1): one verb for the deer and for the soul. The Hebrew Bible has it three times: twice in this verse, and once in Joel: "Yes, the animals of the field pant to you, for the water brooks have dried up" (Joel 1:20). Joel has the psalm's water brooks too, afiqei mayim, and there the brooks are dry.
For your group
Psalm 42 Bible study questions
- 1"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants after you, God" (42:1). When have you felt a thirst like that for God, and what was it like?
- 2The psalmist speaks to their own soul: "Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God!" (42:5). What do you tell yourself when you are low, and how does it compare with what the psalm says?
- 3"These things I remember" (42:4): the psalmist remembers going with the crowd to God's house. What do you remember of God's goodness that helps you when he seems far away?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Psalm 42 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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The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
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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