TERMS IN PSALM 119 USED FOR THE WORD OF  GOD

     In Psalm 138, it is stated:  "I will worship toward Thy holy temple, and praise Thy name for Thy lovingkindness and for Thy truth; for Thou hast magnified Thy word above all Thy name." (Bold type is this writer's)  

     If  God has magnified His word above His very name, then the Word of  God must be important.  In the light of  this fact, this writer has made a study of  Psalm 119 as to the various terms used there for the Word of  God.  Psalm 119 is an alphabet Psalm which means that each verse is each set of  eight verses begin with the same Hebrew letter.  Since there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, this results in 176 verses.

     The number of  terms, both singular and plural, used in Psalm 119 total in the King James Version is 175 plus one plural pronoun (referring to testimonies) in verse 111 for a total of 176 terms, or one term per verse.  In the New King James Version there are only 175 terms. This is because it renders the word judgment in verse 149 as justice.  There is no explanation for this in the margin.  Also to be noted is that the NKJV renders the word judgments as ordinances in verse 43.  Again, no explanation is given. This writer has not made any comparisons in the other so-called versions.

     The various terms used in Psalm 119 are listed below in alphabetical order together with number of  and the percentage of  occurances in the KJV with variations in the NKJV noted in parentheses.

          Commandment(s)--22 times or 12.50% (12.57%)
          Judgment(s)--19 times or 10.80% (17 times or 9.71%--two less because one rendered justice and one as
               ordinances)
          Law--25 times or 14.20% (14.29%)
          Ordinances--once or 0.57% (twice or 1.14%; because renderring  judgments as ordinances)
          Precepts--21 times or 11.93% (12.00%)
          Statues--22 times or 12.50% (12.57%)
          Testimonies--23 times or 13.07%--24 times if  pronoun is included or 13.64% (13.14% or 13.71%)
          They--once or 0.57% (.057%)
          Word--42 times or 23.86% (24.00%)

The Total--176 terms or 100.00% (99.99% because of rounding off)

There are many references to God's Word in the Psalms.  That study may be added subsequently.