As I was reading Psalm 11 this morning I noticed something unusual in verse 4 – “The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.” Notice anything unusual? For me it was the, “his eyelids” phrase. I get that the LORD’s eyes see, but I was puzzled about his eyelids that test the children of man. So I looked up the Hebrew word and sure enough eyelids is the best translation, but I still didn’t understand what the Psalmist was intending to communicate. So I turned to Keil & Delitzsch, here’s what they had to say:
“The mention of the eyelids is intentional. When we observe a thing closely or ponder over it, we draw the eyelids together, in order that our vision may be more concentrated and direct, and become, as it were, one ray piercing through the object.”
Keil & Delitzsch
This is a great example of what I love about the Hebrew language. The picture one simple Hebrew word can paint is brilliant!