Psalms 23:4

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,.... Which designs not a state of spiritual darkness and ignorance, as sitting in the shadow of death sometimes does, since the psalmist

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. The valley of the shadow of death.

Through the valley of the shadow of death; through a dark and dismal valley, full of terrors and dangers, as this phrase signifies, 107:10,14 Jeremiah 2:6. I will fear no evil; I will not give way to my fears, but confidently rely upon God. Thy rod and thy staff; two words noting the same thing, and both designing God’ s pastoral care over him, expressed by the sign and instrument of it. They comfort me; the consideration thereof supports me under all my fears and distresses.

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.Ver. 4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death] In the most dark and dangerous places, where there is Luctus ubique, pavor, et plurima mortis imago, those dark places full of cruelty, Psalms 74:20, where wolves wait for me. Though I walk (not step) through (not cross) the valley (not a dark entry only) of the shadow of death (the darkest side of it, death in its most hideous and horrid representations), I will not fear; for I fear God, and have him by the hand; I must needs be tutus sub umbraleonis, safe by his side, and under his safeguard. If God be for us, who can be against us? For thou art with me] Hence my security. See a promise answerable to it, John 10:28. Christ is not to lose any of his sheep, John 17:12. Having therefore this ark of God’ s covenant in our eyes, let us cheerfully pass the waters of Jordan, to take possession of the promised land. Cur timeat hominem homo, in sinu Dei positus? saith a Father. Thy rod and thy staff] He pursueth the former allegory; shepherds, in driving their flocks, have a rod or wand in their hands, wherewith they now and then strike them; and a staff or sheep hook on their necks, wherewith they catch and rule them. Of Christ’ s rods and staves, see Zechariah 11:7, &c.; foolish shepherds have only foreipes et mulctram, Zechariah 11:15. R. Solomon by rod here understandeth afflictions, by staff support under them, a good use and a good issue. They comfort me] God’ s rod, like Aaron’ s, blossometh; and, like Jonathan’ s, it hath honey at the end of it.

(4) The valley of the shadow of death . . .—This striking expression, to which the genius of Bunyan has given such reality, was probably on Hebrew lips nothing more than a forcible synonym for a dark, gloomy place. Indeed, the probability is that instead of tsal-mâveth (shadow of death), should be read, tsalmûth (shadow, darkness), the general signification being all that is required in any one of the fifteen places where it occurs. It is true it is used of the “grave” or “underworld” (Job 10:21-22). But it is also used of the “darkness of a dungeon” (Psalms 107:10), of “the pathless desert” (Jeremiah 2:6); or, possibly, since it is there parallel with drought, of “the blinding darkness of a sandstorm,” and metaphorically of “affliction” (Isaiah 9:2), and of the “dull heavy look” that grief wears (Job 16:16). By valley we must understand a deep ravine. Palestine abounds in wild and gloomy valleys, and shepherd life experiences the actual peril of them. Addison’s paraphrase catches the true feeling of the original— “Though in the path of death I tread, With gloomy horrors overhead.” Thy rod and thy staff.—Used both for guiding and defending the flock.

Verse 4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death] The reference is still to the shepherd. Though I, as one of the flock, should walk through the most dismal valley, in the dead of the night, exposed to pitfalls, precipices, devouring beasts, c., I should fear no evil under the guidance and protection of such a Shepherd. He knows all the passes, dangerous defiles, hidden pits, and abrupt precipices in the way and he will guide me around, about, and through them. See the phrase shadow of death explained on Matthew 4:16. "Thof I ward well and imang tha, that nouther has knowyng of God, ne luf or in myddis of this lyf, that es schadow of ded; for it es blak for myrkenes of syn; and it ledes til dede and il men, imang qwam gude men wones: - I sal nout drede il, pryve nor apert; for thu ert with me in my hert, qwar I fele thu so, that eftir the schadow of dede, I be with the in thi vera lyf." - Old Psalter. For thou art with me] He who has his God for a companion need fear no danger; for he can neither mistake his way, nor be injured. Thy rod and thy staff] שבטך shibtecha, thy sceptre, rod, ensign of a tribe, staff of office; for so שבט shebet signifies in Scripture. And thy staff, ומשענתך umishantecha, thy prop or support. The former may signify the shepherd's crook; the latter, some sort of rest or support, similar to our camp stool, which the shepherds might carry with them as an occasional seat, when the earth was too wet to be sat on with safety. With the rod or crook the shepherd could defend his sheep, and with it lay hold of their horns or legs to pull them out of thickets, boys, pits, or waters. We are not to suppose that by the rod correction is meant: there is no idea of this kind either in the text, or in the original word; nor has it this meaning in any part of Scripture. Besides, correction and chastisement do not comfort; they are not, at least for the present, joyous, but grievous; nor can any person look forward to them with comfort. They abuse the text who paraphrase rod correction, c. The other term שען shaan signifies support, something to rest on, as a staff, crutch, stave, or the like. The Chaldee translates thus: "Even though I should walk in captivity, in the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear evil. Seeing thy WORD (מימרך meymerach, thy personal Word) is my Assistant or Support thy right word and thy law console me." Here we find that the WORD, מימר meymar, is distinguished from any thing spoken, and even from the law itself.

4. The figure of the shepherd is still continued. “The sheep districts [in Palestine] consist of wide open wolds or downs, reft here and there by deep ravines, in whose sides lurks many a wild beast, the enemy of the flocks” (Tristram, Nat. Hist. p. 138). Even in such a dismal glen, where unknown perils are thickest, where deathly gloom and horror are on every side, he knows no fear. Cp. Jeremiah’s description of Jehovah’s care for Israel in the wilderness (Psalms 2:6). Bunyan’s development of the idea in the Pilgrim’s Progress is familiar to everyone. the shadow of death] The word tsalmâveth is thus rendered in the Ancient Versions, and the present vocalisation assumes that this is its meaning. But compounds are rare in Hebrew except in proper names, and there are good grounds for supposing that the word is derived from a different root and should be read tsalmûth and explained simply deep gloom (cp. R.V. marg.). It is not improbable that the pronunciation of the word was altered at an early date in accordance with a popular etymology (like our causeway, originally causey, from Fr. chaussée). for thou art with me] God’s presence is His people’s strength and comfort. Cp. Genesis 28:15; Joshua 1:5 ff.; &c. &c. Thy rod and thy staff] The shepherd’s crook is poetically described by two names, as the rod or club with which he defends his sheep from attack (Micah 7:14; 2 Samuel 23:21; Psalms 2:9); and the staff on which he leans. The shepherd walks before his flock, ready to protect them from assault; they follow gladly and fearlessly wherever he leads.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death - The meaning of this in the connection in which it occurs is this: “God will lead and guide me in the path of righteousness, even though

4. Shadow of death—Being so near to death that its shadow falls over him. “For he is not far from the substance who has come up with the shadow.”—Bythner.