ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species · noun, common masculine singular absolute
knowledge
וַתֵּדָעֵ֑הוּva.te.da.'E.hu
H3045
to know (properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
son
בֶּןben-
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
man
אֱ֝נ֗וֹשׁ'e.No.osh
H582
a man in general (singly or collectively) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
account
וַֽתְּחַשְּׁבֵֽהוּVa.te.cha.she.Ve.hu
H2803
properly · conjunction + verb, piel sequential imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 8:4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Job 7:17 What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?
Hebrews 2:6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Job 15:14 What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
Psalms 146:3-4 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 144:1-8
Here, I. David acknowledges his dependence upon God and his obligations to him, Psa 144:1, Psa 144:2. A prayer for further mercy is fitly begun with a thanksgiving for former mercy; and when we are waiting upon God to bless us we should stir up ourselves to bless him. He gives to God the glory of two things: -
1. What he was to him: Blessed be the Lord my rock (Psa 144:1), my goodness, my fortress, Psa 144:2. He has in the covenant engaged himself to be so, and encouraged us, accordingly, to depend upon him; all the saints, who by faith have made him theirs, have found him not only to answer but to out do their expectations. David speaks of it here as the matter of his trust, and that which…
Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him?.... Man, that is at most and best but a creature, made of the dust of the earth, is but dust and ashes; yea, a sinful creature, that drinks up iniquity like water: and yet the Lord not only knows him, as he is the omniscient God, but takes notice of him in a way of providence, and in a way of grace. His chosen people are no other nor better than others, of the same original, and of the same character; and yet he owns and acknowledges them as his peculiar people, and makes himself known unto them: and so it is rendered by the Septuagint version, "that thou shouldest be known unto him?" or, "appear to him?" as the Arabic; reveal thyself to…
Psalm 144:1-4
1. Blessed be Jehovah, my strength, who teaches my hands for battle, my fingers for war. 2. My goodness, and my munition, my citadel, and my deliverer, my shield, and in him I have hoped, who subdues my people under me. 3. O Jehovah! what is man that thou acknowledgest him? the son of man that thou thinkest of him? 4. Man is like to vanity: his deeds are as a shadow passing away.
1. Blessed be Jehovah, my strength [257] It is very evident that David, since he celebrates the favor of God in such high terms, had not only obtained the kingdom, but gained signal victories. When he calls God his strength, he acknowledges that any courage he had was given him from above, not only b…
The Church Fathers
"Lord, what is man, that Thou hast become known unto him?" All is included in "that Thou hast become known unto him." "Or the son of man, that Thou valuest him?" Thou valuest him, that is, Thou makest him of such importance, Thou countest him of such price, Thou knowest under what Thou placest him, over what Thou placest him. For valuing is considering the price of a thing. How greatly did He value man, who for him shed the blood of His only-begotten Son! For God valueth not man in the same way as one man valueth another; he, when he findeth a slave for sale, giveth a higher price for a horse than for a man. Consider how greatly He valued thee, that thou mayest be able to say, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" And how greatly did He value thee, "who spared not His own Son"? "How shall He not also with Him freely give us all things?" He who giveth this food to the combatant, what keepeth He in store for the conqueror?...
Lord, what is man, that you have made yourself known to him? or the son of man, that you take account of him? This very thing is said also in the eighth psalm. 'What is man, that you are mindful of him? or the son of man, that you visit him?' Lord, what is man, that you have made yourself known to him? He speaks of the frailty of the body and of the human condition: and what does he say? If you look at the flesh, what is man? If at the spirit, man is a great thing. Let us not despise the flesh, but let us despise the works of the flesh. Let us not despise the flesh, which reigns with Christ in heaven. 'Flesh and blood shall not possess the kingdom of God': not flesh and blood, but the works of the flesh. Flesh and blood shall not possess the kingdom of God. And how do they reign in Christ? and how do we sit with Christ in the heavenly places? Lord, what is man, that you have made yourself known to him? or the son of man, that you take account of him? He gives thanks to God, and this is what he says. As regards the human condition, man is nothing. 'Vanity of vanities, all is vanity, said the preacher.' If all is vanity, then heaven too, then the angels too. If heaven and the angels are vanity, how much vanity is man? And if the angels are vanity, if heaven is vanity, why then did God work vanity? Vanity in comparison with God: but in itself not vanity. Lord, what is man, that you have made yourself known to him? That you have made yourself known to him. Great is the happiness of man, to know his Creator. In this we differ from beasts and from wild animals, that we understand our Creator, and they do not understand. But even the very posture of the body seeks out its Maker. For the animals look toward the earth, and there is the belly where also is the eye. But our eyes are lifted up toward heaven: so that even if the mind should be blinded, still with unwilling eyes we may see heaven.
Dictionary and topics
Son of man — (1.) Denotes mankind generally, with special reference to their weakness and frailty (Job 25:6; Ps. 8:4; 144:3; 146:3; Isa. 51:12, etc.). (2.) It is a title frequently given to the prophet Ezekiel,…
Condescension Of God · SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Humility · EXEMPLIFIED — EXEMPLIFIED
Life · BREVITY AND UNCERTAINTY OF — BREVITY AND UNCERTAINTY OF
Man · INSIGNIFI — INSIGNIFI
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
It is evident that Psa 144:3 is a variation of Psa 8:5 with the use of other verbs. ידע in the sense of loving intimacy; חשּׁב, properly to count, compute, here rationem habere. Instead of כּי followed by the future there are consecutive futures here, and בּן־אדם is aramaizingly (בּר אנשׁ) metamorphosed into בּן־אנושׁ. Psa 144:4 is just such another imitation, like a miniature of Psa 39:6., Psa 39:11, cf. Psa 62:10. The figure of the shadow is the same as in Psa 102:12, cf. Psa 109:23. The connection of the third stanza with the second is still more disrupt than that of the second with the first.
Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 144:3-4
what are human beings? The same question in 8:4-6 elicits the answer that humans are mere mortals but are also glorious rulers. The psalmist depicts humans as having a transitory, empty existence (see 90:3, 7-10; 102:11; 109:23; 146:4).
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 144:3
Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him!
Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him? What a contrast between Jehovah and man! The Psalmist turns from the glorious all sufficiency of God to the insignificance and nothingness of man. He sees Jehovah to be everything, and then cries, "Lord, what is man!" What is man in the presence of the Infinite God? What can he be compared to? He is too little to be described at all; only God, who knows the most minute object, can tell what man is. Certainly he is not fit to be the rock of our confidence: he is at once too feeble and too fickle to be relied upon. The Psalmist's wonde…
