HEBREW WORD STUDY –  GIVE – YABAH – יבה   Yod Beth Hei

Psalms 29:1: “Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength.”

Who are these mighty ones who are to give strength to the Lord?  There is much debate and some modern translations like the NIV will just paraphrase (give their opinion) and say they are heavenly beings, others say they are men of rank or warriors.  Maybe, but I say it is all that and more.  Mighty ones in Hebrew is beni ‘elim.  “Elim is from the root word elah which is the word for God, gods, mighty warriors, might men, heroes, angels, heavenly beings and anyone who shows any strength or power.  The word beni means sons, but that does not have to mean the child of a parent.  There are few adjectives in Hebrew and beni is really a word expressing in it’s Semitic root a relationship from which one draws power, life, strength, etc.  Thus these mighty ones could be followers of God who receive their strength from God. Strength is the word ‘oz which could mean physical strength, mental strength, emotional strength or anything that gives you the endurance and  power to accomplish a task.

There are really two givings in this verse.  Both are bahu which comes from the root word yabah which is not you standard Hebrew word for give which is nathan.  This is a word used when you put a burden on a porters back.  There were men in those days whose occupation was that of a porter. His role was to deliver goods to someone across town. He would bend over and the client would load his goods on the porters back. The more he put on the porters back the more the porter would get paid and so he carried such a huge load that he could never put his load down until he arrived at a destination.  If he really got tired he would try to persuade someone to get on their hands and knees and he would rest on that persons back for a few moments. That person would bear his burden. Then he would help the porter  readjust his burden.  But he had to hurry for time was money. The sooner to his destination the more money. Sure someone could hire a person with a cart and donkey but that was more expensive, overhead, the feeding and caring of the donkey and maintenance on the cart. This is the picture of Galatians 6:2: “Bear ye one another’s burden.”  It is not a permanent bearing, just long enough to help the person get through the worst.  

This word give – yabah has the idea of laying your burden on God long enough to get you through the hard time.   You will still carry the burden but you have someone with a strong back ready and willing to give you a rest until you reach your destination.  So it does make sense that David is referring to the mighty ones.  The ones who are strong and powerful. David was a powerful man as a king, yet he continually went to the Lord to find rest and to restore his strength when he just could not go any further. 

Giving God strength is a Hebraic idiom for using the strength God gives you to accomplish a task and mission and once we accomplish that task we are to give Him all the glory. So who are the Mighty ones?  You and I.  We are the ones who have been given a task.  It is often a burdensome task, but God is right there with us to lend his strong back so we can rest and refresh and then carry one the work He has assigned to us.  

So yabah O Mighty ones carry on with the work God has given you.  It can be burdensome, it can be tiring and exhausting but whenever you get too tired, God has a strong back to rest upon.