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Psalm 84 Bible study: How lovely are your dwellings
Psalm 84 is the only psalm that says Blessed (ashrei) three times: of those who dwell in God's house, of those on the way to Zion, and last of "the man who trusts in you" (84:12). And the sparrow's home (84:3) is bayit, the Hebrew word of God's house (84:4, 84:10), in a psalm that longs for the LORD's courts (84:2).
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“For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.”
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“Psalm 84 says the swallow has a nest near the LORD's altars.”
Is that in Psalm 84, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Lovely dwellings, and a soul that longs
The title reads, "For the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. A Psalm by the sons of Korah" (84:1). Then the psalm's first words: "How lovely are your dwellings, LORD of Armies!" (84:1) (tap lovely). In Hebrew lovely is yedid, which Brown-Driver-Briggs gives as "beloved", and among its senses "lovely"; it is the word of Psalm 45's title, "A wedding song" (Psalm 45:1). Then the psalmist says how much: "My soul longs, and even faints for the courts of the LORD" (84:2) (tap longs, courts). Look at that verb: it comes only six times in the Hebrew Bible, and two of them are in one sentence Laban spoke to Jacob (Genesis 31:26): "because you greatly longed for your father’s house" (Genesis 31:30). There the longing is Jacob's, for his father's house; here it is the psalmist's, for "the courts of the LORD" (84:2). And it is for God himself: "My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God" (84:2). In Hebrew the living God is El chai, the words of Psalm 42:2 (see the go-deeper).
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Psalm 84
- Who wrote Psalm 84, and what is "an instrument of Gath"?
- What is "the valley of Weeping" (84:6), and where was it?
- Who is "your anointed" in "look at the face of your anointed" (84:9)?
- "He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly" (84:11). Does that mean God gives every good thing I ask for?
That was a taste
The rest of Psalm 84 is waiting in Favor
- A home for the sparrow
- Blessed, three times
- A day, a doorkeeper, a sun and a shield
- Psalm 42, beside Psalm 84
- "Appears before God", and the Law's three times a year
- Bird and nest, in the Law and in Proverbs
- 6 questions as you read
- 14 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 84 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
יְדִידyedidsay ye-DEED
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "beloved", and among its senses "lovely". Strong's: "loved". "How lovely are your dwellings, LORD of Armies!" (84:1). After the title, the psalm opens with it: mah yedidot, how lovely. The Psalms have the word five times in Hebrew. In the title of Psalm 45 it is "A wedding song" (Psalm 45:1); elsewhere the WEB has beloved, "So that your beloved may be delivered" (Psalm 60:5), and loved ones, "for he gives sleep to his loved ones" (Psalm 127:2).
For your group
Psalm 84 Bible study questions
- 1"My soul longs, and even faints for the courts of the LORD" (84:2). What have you longed for like that? Have you ever longed for God that way?
- 2"Passing through the valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs" (84:6). Think of a hard season you've passed through. Did anything good come up in it, for you or for someone else?
- 3"I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness" (84:10). What would you give up, or take a lower place for, to be near God?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Psalm 84 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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Can I read Psalm 84 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Psalm 84 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?
Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.
Which Bible does Favor use?
The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
Is Favor tied to a church?
No. Favor is non-denominational. Where Christians read a passage differently, it shows the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
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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