Psalm 22

CLICK HERE to Print Notes

To the choirmaster: on [the] Ayelet Hashachar. A Psalm of David.

 אילת השחר = “Deer of the Dawn”

1-10     

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? ²O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer, and by night, and there is no relief for me.

דמיה (dumiah) = דום (dum) “inner quiet” + דמה (damah) “outward silence”

³ Yet You are holy, inhabiting the praises of Israel. ⁴ In You our fathers trusted; they trusted, and You delivered them. ⁵ To You they cried and escaped; in You they trusted and were not put to shame. ⁶ But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

תולעת (tola’at)

⁷ All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads. ⁸ “He trusts in Adonai; let Him deliver him. Let Him rescue him, for He delights in him!” ⁹ Yet You are He who took me from the womb; You made me trust You at my mother’s breasts. ¹⁰ On You was I cast from the womb, and from my mother’s womb You have been my God.

11-18   

Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. ¹² Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan crown me. ¹³ They open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. ¹⁴ I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; ¹⁵ my strength [spittle?] is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; You lay me in the dust of death. ¹⁶ For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.

כארי ידי ורגלי (ca’ari yadai v’rag’lai)

Bulls (12)

          Lion (13)

            Dog (16)

                  ‘Pierce” (16)

                  Sword (20)

            Dog (20)

      Lion (21)

Oxen (21)

¹⁷ I can count all my bones – they stare and gloat over me. ¹⁸ They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

19-31   

But You, O Adonai, do not be far off! O You my help, come quickly to my aid! ²⁰ Rescue my soul from the sword, my essence from the hand of the dog!

יחידתי (yachidati) = “my only one”

²¹ Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have answered me from the horns of the wild oxen! ²² I will tell of Your name to my brothers. In the midst of the kahal  I will praise You. ²³ You who fear Adonai, praise Him! All you seed of Jacob, glorify Him, and stand in awe of Him, all you seed of Israel! ²⁴ For He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and He has not hidden His face from him, but has heard, when he cried to Him. ²⁵ From You comes my praise in the great kahal. My vows I will perform before those who fear Him. ²⁶ The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him shall praise Adonai! May your hearts live forever! ²⁷ All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Adonai, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You. ²⁸ For kingship belongs to Adonai, and He rules over the nations. ²⁹ All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship. Before Him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. ³⁰ A seed of those shall serve Him, it shall be told of the Lord to the [latter] generation. ³¹ They shall come and proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn, that which He has done.

---

REFERENCES:

Acts 2:29-30  “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that He would set one of his descendants on his throne…”

Attribution

 Psalm 63:1  O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek (שחר, shachar) You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh faints for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Leviticus 13:31  And if the priest examines the itching disease and it appears no deeper than the skin and there is no black (שחר, shachor) hair in it, then the priest shall shut up the person with the itching disease for seven days. (+ v.37)

Verse 1

Matthew 27:46  And about the ninth hour Yeshua cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” (+ Mk.15:31)

Verse 8

Matthew 27:39-43  And those who passed by derided Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked Him, saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God; let God deliver Him now, if He desires Him. For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” (+ Lk. 23:35-37)

Verse 15

John 19:28  After this, Yeshua, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”

Verses 16 & 18

Matthew 27:35  And when they had crucified Him, they divided His garments among them by casting lots. (+ Mk. 15:24 / Lk. 23:34 / Jn. 19:23-24)

Zechariah 12:10  “And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born.”

Verse 20

Genesis 22:2  He said, “Take your son, your only (יחיד, yachid) son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as an offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (+ v.12, 16)

Genesis 22:12  He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only (יחיד, yachid) son, from Me.”

Genesis 22:16  And said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares Adonai, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only (יחיד, yachid) son…”

Verse 22

Matthew 28:10  Then Yeshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

Hebrews 2:10-12  For it was fitting that He, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why He is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, “I will tell of Your name to My brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.”

Verse 25-26

Proverbs 7:14  “I was due to offer peace offerings. Today I have paid my vows.” (+ 1Sam.1:24-28 / Lev.7)

Recommended YouTube Videos:

 Dr. Seth Postell on Psalm 22

Psalm 22 – “Pierced” or “Like a Lion”