We are in chapter thirty-seven of Exodus with our word for today. כַּף hollow or flat of the hand, palm, whole hand, sole, bowl. It is used 194 times in the Old Testament. Most of the time our word is used in the sense of the extremity of the arm from the wrist to the fingers, sometimes including the forearm. Here are some examples. Genesis 40:11 Pharaoh's cup was בְּיָדִ֑י [a different word for hand used more often] in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's כַּ֥ף hand. Judges 14:8-9 he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. He scraped it out into כַּפָּ֗יו his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion. 1 Kings 8:22-23 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out כַּפָּ֖יו his hands toward heaven, and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath. Our word is also used in the sense of a pan or a cooking utensil that consists of a wide metal vessel. It is used 25 times in this sense. Like we saw yesterday with the word for plate 14 times it is used to describe the dedication offering that each of the twelve tribes gave. Numbers 7:84, 86 This was the dedication offering for the altar on the day when it was anointed, from the chiefs of Israel: twelve silver plates, twelve silver basins, twelve golden כַּפּ֥וֹת dishes … the twelve golden כַּפּ֨וֹת dishes, full of incense, weighing 10 shekels apiece according to the shekel of the sanctuary, all the gold of הַכַּ֖ף the dishes being 120 shekels. The rest of the uses are in reference to utensils used in tabernacle worship. Here is an example. 2 Kings 25:13-15 And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon. And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and הַכַּפּ֗וֹת the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service. This is exactly how our word is used in our chapter today. Exodus 37:16 And he made the vessels of pure gold that were to be on the table, its plates and כַּפֹּתָיו֙ dishes for incense, and its bowls and flagons with which to pour drink offerings. It is interesting that our word used as part of the tabernacle worship that helped people connect to God is also used by God to show his affection to his people. I’ll close with these encouraging words. Isaiah 49:13-16 Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted. But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the כַּפַּ֖יִם palms of my hands.
