Psalms 23:4: “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
Most all your English translations will have David saying shadow of death. Indeed it really looks like it should be rendered that way as the word is tsalemaveth. Many Hebrew teachers will say that this is really a compound word tsal (shadow) and maveth (death). My problem with this is that I question whether this is really a compound word. I checked with Keil and Delitzsch who are among the most respected Christian commentators when it comes to dealing with the Hebrew language. Their commentary does admit that this may not a compound word and that it really comes from the root word tsalam which comes from a Persian root and means to be obscure, dark, shade, shadow, illusion, image or likeness. They also suggest it is an allusion to the word hadramot which means court of death and Bezaeel which means in God’s shadow. Bezaeel was mentioned in the Bible as one who was appointed by God to the work of the tabernacle.
There are a couple translations which will translate this as simply shadow tsalam and not shadow of death (tsalal – shadow). The difference between these two words for shadow is that the root word is tsalal which is a shadow used to cover or protect. If the root word is tsalam it is then a shadow of obscurity or distortion.
For my part I will side with Keil and Delitzch and say the root word is tsalam which means a shadow as a distorted image. In Aramaic this word is used for an idol. This again suggests the idea of distortion. The word is also rooted is the Syriac which means to delineate again the idea of minimizing.
If Keil and Delitzch are right, which I believe they are, then what David might be saying: “Yea though I walk through the valley of God’s shadow, I will fear no evil for thou art with me. Think of what that means. I cannot see God, I only see His shadow. His shadow is obscure. The stars, the moon, the sun, and all of nature, are a shadow of God. C.S. Lewis interpreted the passage this way and called this world and physical existence a shadow land. We are all living in the shadow of God. Yet, how can we be certain. Perhaps evolution is correct and our existence just happened by accident. Maybe I am just mistaking these shadows for God. It boils down to faith. It is by faith that I look at all creation and say: “Yes, it is a shadow of God and these shadows show me that He is near and He is with me. I need not fear any evil for the creator of all these shadows stands on the other side of these shadows and it is He that is the object the true reality. I cannot see God but I see His shadow and I know He is there.
It is going up to forty degrees today, sunny with a mild wind. The past few days the temperature was in the single digits. When I step outside today I will feel that warm breeze, the warmth of the sun in this relatively mild temperature. Yet, it is all but a shadow, I am surrounded by this shadow and I know it is God’s shadow that is hugging me, breathing on me. In philosophy there are discussions of shadows. Does a shadow have color, if there is a spinning ball, does the shadow spin. In other words, how much does a shadow show of its object. It shows more than we realize. So when I step out today, the sun, the temperature, and the gentle breeze will really be a hug from God. Touching a flower, holding a kitten to my cheek would be a shadow of His kiss. These are all but a shadow, but one day I will turn around and see the object of these shadows face to face and know his hug and his kiss as a reality. You see the word moth which we render as death, had a secondary understanding of entering into a full understanding of God. C.S. Lewis saw death as nothing more than leaving the shadows behind and embracing the reality behind the shadows. As Paul said: For me to live is Christ, to die is to gain. Philippians 1:21. To live is to live with the Shadow of my Savior, to die means I live with the object, the real thing.
His rod comforts me. The word rod in Hebrew is shavat. The shavat often refers to measuring stick, what we would call a ruler. God measures us up and because of the finished work of Jesus, we are not found wanting. As I approach these latter years of my life I truly do find that His rod is indeed a comfort for I know He is measuring me in light of the finished work of Jesus and that when I pass from this world I have the assurance I will be with him. The word staff comes from the Hebrew root word sha’an which in a verbal form means to support and to rest upon, hence the noun is a staff or leaning post. I may be looking upon the shadows of God in this world, but it is the object of the shadow that I lean upon. If I lean upon a shadow I will find it empty and I will just fall flat on my face. It is the object of this shadow, God Himself that I lean upon. The rod and the staff not only expressed the caring protection of a shepherd, it was also a picture of an errant child who runs to his father in time of trouble or need and his held by him. All his naughty acts are forgiven and his father covers him with His protection.
It is believed that David may have written this Psalms when was running from Saul who wanted to kill him. As David looked into the face of death he saw he would only be leaving behind the shadows of the God he loved to embrace the Object of the shadows. He knew the rod had measured him and found him acceptable to God and that he could lean or embrace the God he loved and this was a comfort for him. But soft, look closely at this word comfort. It is nacham in the Hebrew which is in a Piel form. David loved to use the Piel in his poetry. Nacham is where the word Nahum comes from and means the compassionate one and in a verbal form means comfort except David put this into his beloved Piel stem which makes it active and has the idea of being filled with compassion, in this context, filled with God’s compassion. Our comfort comes from knowing that our God is filled with compassion for us, no matter what we have done. This world, His creation that surrounds us are all a shadow of Him and His love.
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