2.16.2013 LORD BRING ME INTO A BROAD PLACE!

the other day into my spirit floated the word 'broad'
i sensed it was a seed blown by Your breath into my mind.
i searched for 'broad' and this is what i found...

primarily i found the verses that had, in a hidden manner,
breathed the beauty and mystery of this word into me to start.

the first is found in II samuel 22,
the body of words that, as verse 1 recounts,
'david spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of saul'
v20 He also brought me forth into a broad place;
He rescued me, because He delighted in me.

the second is found in psalm 18.19,
this psalm, as titled, is one and the same with II samuel 22
(haven't checked it but if not verbatim, in the same spirit,
and in light of the same occasion.

the other, job 36.16 says,
then indeed, He enticed you from the mouth of distress,
instead of it, a broad place with no constraint;
and that which was set on your table was full of fatness.

job uses the root word, the other two use a word that comes from the root word,
which is used of the land of palestine as promised by God to His people
it's most frequent occurrence, however is in
psychologically revealing phrases
involving parts of the body or bodily attributes.
this usage is completely colloquial
(ordinary or familiar conversation as opposed to formal speech)
and defies literal translation.

rAhab (the hebrew root word) appears

1. with mouth
I samuel 2.1
-then hannah prayed  and said,
'my heart exults in the Lord;
my horn is exalted in the Lord,
my mouth SPEAKS BOLDLY
(margin-is enlarged)
against my enemies,
because i rejoice in Thy salvation.
psalm 35.21
-and they OPENED their mouth WIDE against me;
they said, 'aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!
psalm 81.10
-I, the Lord, am your God,
who brought you up from the land of egypt;
OPEN your mouth WIDE and i will fill it.
isaiah 57.4
-against whom do you jest?
against whom do you OPEN WIDE your mouth
and stick out your tongue?
are you not children of rebellion
offspring of deceit.

2.with heart
psalm 119.32
-i shall run the way of Thy commandments,
for Thou wilt ENLARGE my heart.
isaiah 60.5
-then you will see and be radiant,
and your heart WILL THRILL AND REJOICE
(MARGIN- tremble and be enlarged)
psalm 25.17
-the troubles of my heart are ENLARGED;
bring me out of my distresses.

3. with steps
psalm 18.36
-Thou dost ENLARGE my steps under me.
and my feet have not slipped.

of special interest is psalm 4.1 where there is an extremely obscure usage
-answer me when i call, O God of my righteousness!
Thou has RELIEVED ME IN my distress.
be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

proverbs uses the verb only once to apply to the increase of $
in the view of the worldly wise man.
-18.16 a man's gift MAKES ROOM  for him,
and brings him before great men.

the word has no single english equivalent..
may be best translated in all of its colloquial usages as
'MADE GREATER EFFECT OF mouth, heart, etc.
this is a clumsy translation but gives  some semblance
of the original semitic
(afro-asiatic language group, of which hebrew is one)
flavour in all passages where used.