Psalm 16/Notes/Lexical.v. 7.239204

• The word advise (יעץ) describes an "action by which humans or deities give information to others to help them exercise their minds to determine how they are going to achieve a particular purpose" (SDBH). A prototypical example of human "advising" (יעץ) is found in the story of Absalom's rebellion, which was supported by the "advice" (עצה) of Ahitophel: "Now in those days the counsel (עצה) that Ahithophel gave (יעץ) was as if one consulted the oracle of God, so all the counsel (עצה) of Ahithophel was esteemed both by David and by Absalom" (2 Sam 16:23, NRSVue). An example of divine advising is found in 2 Samuel 23, e.g., v. 2, "Therefore David inquired of the Lord, 'Shall I go and attack these Philistines?' And the Lord said to David, 'Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah'" (1 Sam 23:2, ESV). Although the verb "advise" (יעץ) is not used in this passage, it would be an accurate way of describing this event (cf. 2 Sam 16:23), and it helpfully illustrates the kind of situation that Psalm 16:7 is describing.