Psalms 90:12

90:12 So teach us to consider our mortality, ¹ 

so that we might live wisely. ² 

Psalms 119:84

119:84 How long must your servant endure this? ³ 

When will you judge those who pursue me?

Job 14:13

The Possibility of Another Life

14:13 “O that ⁴  you would hide me in Sheol, ⁵ 

and conceal me till your anger has passed! ⁶ 

O that you would set me a time ⁷ 

and then remember me! ⁸ 

[90:12]  ¹ tn Heb “to number our days,” that is, to be aware of how few they really are.

[90:12]  ² tn Heb “and we will bring a heart of wisdom.” After the imperative of the preceding line, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates purpose/result. The Hebrew term “heart” here refers to the center of one’s thoughts, volition, and moral character.

[119:84]  ³ tn Heb “How long are the days of your servant?”

[14:13]  ⁴ tn The optative mood is introduced here again with מִי יִתֵּן (mi yitten), literally, “who will give?”

[14:13]  ⁵ sn Sheol in the Bible refers to the place where the dead go. But it can have different categories of meaning: death in general, the grave, or the realm of the departed spirits [hell]. A. Heidel shows that in the Bible when hell is in view the righteous are not there – it is the realm of the departed spirits of the wicked. When the righteous go to Sheol, the meaning is usually the grave or death. See chapter 3 in A. Heidel, The Gilgamesh Epic and the Old Testament Parallels.

[14:13]  ⁶ tn The construction used here is the preposition followed by the infinitive construct followed by the subjective genitive, forming an adverbial clause of time.

[14:13]  ⁷ tn This is the same word used in v. 5 for “limit.”

[14:13]  ⁸ tn The verb זָכַר (zakhar) means more than simply “to remember.” In many cases, including this one, it means “to act on what is remembered,” i.e., deliver or rescue (see Gen 8:1, “and God remembered Noah”). In this sense, a prayer “remember me” is a prayer for God to act upon his covenant promises.