Lexical Summary temes: Lizard Original Word: תֶּמֶס Strong's Exhaustive Concordance melt From macah; liquefaction, i.e. Disappearance -- melt. see HEBREW macah NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom masas Definition a melting (away) NASB Translation melts away (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs תֶּ֫מֶס noun masculine melting (away); — כְּמוֺ שַׁבְּלוּל יַהֲלֹךְ ׳ת Psalm 58:9 like a snail that goeth into melting (leaving slimy track). מַסַּע, I. מַסָּע see I. נסע. II. מַסָּע see II. נסע. מִסְעָד see סעד. מִסְמֵּד see ספד. מִסְמּוֺא see ספא. מִסְמַּ֫חַת, מִסְמָּחוֺת see ספח. I, II. מִסְמָּר, מִסְמֶּ֫רֶת see ספר Topical Lexicon Overview Strong’s Hebrew 8557 designates a vivid word picture of substance liquefying or dissolving. Its single biblical appearance occurs in an imprecatory psalm, where the righteous psalmist petitions God to cause the wicked to waste away like a dissolving slug. The term therefore serves as a poetic vehicle for portraying the sure and humiliating demise of evil when confronted by divine justice. Biblical Occurrence Psalm 58:8: “May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along, like a woman’s stillborn child, who never sees the sun.” Linguistic and Imagery Background Ancient observers noted how certain snails or slugs leave behind a trail of mucus and can appear to shrink while moving under the heat of the Near-Eastern sun. The psalm draws on this everyday phenomenon to make evil’s fate unmistakable: it will not merely be checked or slowed; it will liquefy into nothingness. By choosing an image rooted in nature, the Spirit anchors a theological truth to a universally observable reality, making the lesson accessible to every generation. Theological Significance 1. Inevitable Judgment. Psalm 58 frames the world’s injustices—notably corrupt leadership (verses 1–2)—as temporary aberrations under the sovereign gaze of God. The dissolving slug is a pledge that wrong will not endure. Historical Context Imprecatory psalms arose in eras of national and personal crisis, often under foreign oppression or internal injustice. Ancient Israel lacked modern courts to prosecute high-handed rulers; therefore the faithful cried out to the “Judge of all the earth” (Genesis 18:25). Psalm 58 fits this tradition, using temes to reassure worshipers gathered in the temple that heaven’s adjudication was already in motion. Practical Application for Ministry • Pastoral Consolation. Believers suffering under unjust systems can pray Psalm 58 without shame, recognizing that yearning for righteous judgment is a biblical instinct, provided it is surrendered to God’s timing and means. Intertextual Echoes and Fulfillment Though temes appears only once, its theme reverberates throughout Scripture. The New Testament counterpart is the epistles’ assurance that evil will “disappear” at Christ’s return (2 Thessalonians 2:8), revealing a canonical unity from psalmic metaphor to eschatological reality. Christological and Eschatological Implications The cross displays both mercy and judgment: wickedness is condemned and dissolved in the death of Christ for those who repent; it will be publicly dissolved in the lake of fire for those who persist. Revelation 20:11–15 portrays a final, irretrievable melting away of evil that answers Psalm 58:8 in full cosmic scale. Devotional Reflections • Hope: However entrenched evil appears, God’s verdict guarantees its dissolution. Thus, the lone Hebrew term temes carries an outsized theological weight, reinforcing Scripture’s consistent testimony that unrighteousness, no matter how formidable, will ultimately liquefy under the blazing holiness of God. Forms and Transliterations תֶּ֣מֶס תמס te·mes temesLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Psalm 58:8 HEB: כְּמ֣וֹ שַׁ֭בְּלוּל תֶּ֣מֶס יַהֲלֹ֑ךְ נֵ֥פֶל NAS: [Let them be] as a snail which melts away as it goes KJV: As a snail [which] melteth, let [every one of them] pass away: INT: as A snail melts goes along the miscarriages |
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