1. Instruction (torah) is the headline word in 119:1 and the most frequently occurring law word. That it appears only in the singular “suggests that it is a global term for the totality of God’s revelation” (Wenham).

2. Testimony (eduth) appears in the plural. In Exodus 31:18 “the two tablets of the testimony” refers to the covenant Decalogue. The word may have the sense of standing as a “witness” against the people of God (Deut 31:26) and also the sense of bearing witness to the faithfulness of the covenant God.

3. Precept (piqqud) always occurs in the form “your precepts.” This noun derives from the verb “to show concern for, test, visit,” and it conveys the idea of God’s words as deriving from a God who “cares about detail” as he watches over his people (Kidner).

4. Statute (khoq) always appears in the form “your statutes.” This perhaps emphasises the binding force of what God has said.

5. Commandment (mitsvah) usually occurs in the plural. This term simply points to the authority of God to say what ought to be done.

6. Judgment (mishpat) is the most difficult word to translate with consistency. It means the decision of a judge. This decision may be expressed in a law, but it may equally seen in the “judgment” given for or against someone in court. The word “rule” covers the former but not the latter, especially when the ruling is in the plaintiff’s favour, for the divine Judge, as in Luke 18:7, will act to vindicate his elect.

7. Word (dabar) is the most general of the expressions. Usually in Psalm 119 it appears in the form “your word,” where the singular sums up the totality of God’s covenant revelation.

8. Promise (imrah) means “something that is spoken” and is often more or less indistinguishable from dabar. The context often indicates that what is spoken by God has the character of a promise.

What unites these words is covenant. The covenant name (“the LORD”) appears twenty-two times, an average of once for each stanza.