
In Numbers 19:1 hyssop is used for cleansing someone who has touched a dead body.īasically the hyssop branch is a means by which the blood of the sacrifice was transferred to the sinner.

In Leviticus 14:4-7 the hyssop and the blood are used in the ceremonial cleansing of the leper. In Exodus 12:22 the hyssop is used at the first Passover to spread the blood around the door frames. Now what the heck is this “hyssop” all about Psalm 51:7? To really appreciate what David is saying, you have to understand the significance of the hyssop branch in Old Testament. The NIV translates Psalm 51:7 as, “Cleanse me with the hyssop, and I will be clean wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” “Purge” is a verb, meaning it is an action that David is requesting God to actually do to him. One definition of the word “purge” is: to rid someone of an unwanted feeling, memory, or condition, typically giving a sense of a physiological and emotional release. In Psalm 51:7, David is expressing his confidence in God’s power to restore him. What Does the Hyssop Represent in the Bible? The Hyssop Was a Means of Transferring the Blood of the Sacrifice to the Sinner So it raises a question worth asking, “What does the hyssop represent in the Bible?” However, when we come to Psalm 51:7, David mentions a plant called “hyssop.” It seems like an odd request to ask God to use a hyssop plant to wipe away David’s sin. Within this prayer, David expresses his supreme confidence in the the faithfulness of God to forgive. Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of repentance after he sins with Bathsheba. The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.Key Bible Verse: Psalm 51:7,“Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”.19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you then bulls will be offered on your altar. 18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper build up the walls of Jerusalem. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Bible Gateway Psalm 51 :: NIV Psalm 51 1 Psalm 51 For the director of music.
