Delight
Delight
de-lt (verb, , haphec, , racah, , shaa; , sunedomai): To delight is most frequently expressed by haphec, which means originally to bend (compare Job 40:17, He moveth his tail), hence, to incline to, take pleasure in. It is used of God’s pleasure in His people (Num 14:8; 2Sa 22:20; Psa 18:19, etc.), and in righteousness, etc. (Isa 66:4; Jer 9:24; Mic 7:18, etc.), also of man’s delight in God and His will (Psa 40:8; Psa 73:25; the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American), There is none upon earth that I desire besides thee), and in other objects (Gen 34:19; 1Sa 18:22; Est 2:14; Isa 66:3); shaa, to stroke, caress, be fond of, occurs in Psa 94:19, Thy comforts delight my soul; Psa 119:16, Psa 119:47, Psa 119:70, I will delight myself in thy statutes. Similarly, Paul says (Rom 7:22), I delight (sunedomai) in (margin, the Revised Version (British and American) Greek with) the law of God after the inward man. This is the only occurrence of the word in the New Testament.
To delight one’s self (in the Lord) is represented chiefly by anagh (Job 22:26; Job 27:10; Psa 37:4, Psa 37:11; Isa 58:14).
Delight (noun), chiefly hephec (1Sa 15:22; Psa 1:2; Psa 16:3), racon (Pro 11:1, Pro 11:20; 12, 22; Pro 15:8), shaashum (Psa 119:24, Psa 119:77, Psa 119:92, Psa 119:143, Psa 119:174; Pro 8:30, Pro 8:31). the Revised Version (British and American) has delight for desire (Neh 1:11; Psa 22:8; Psa 51:16), for observe, different reading (Pro 23:26), no delight in for smell in (Amo 5:21), delightest in me for favorest me (Psa 41:11), his delight shall be in (m Hebrew ‘scent’) for of quick understanding (Isa 11:3).
The element of joy, of delight in God and His law and will, in the Hebrew religion is noteworthy as being something which we are apt to fall beneath even in the clearer light of Christianity.