Delight

Delight - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

DELIGHT, n.

1. A high degree of pleasure, or satisfaction of mind; joy.

His delight is in the law of the Lord. Psa 1.

2. That which gives great pleasure; that which affords delight.

Titus was the delight of human kind.

I was daily his delight. Prov 8.

Delight is a more permanent pleasure than joy, and not dependent on sudden excitement.

DELIGHT, v.t.

1. To affect with great pleasure; to please highly; to give or afford high satisfaction or joy; as, a beautiful landscape delights the eye; harmony delights the ear; the good conduct of children, and especially their piety, delights their parents.

I will delight myself in thy statutes. Psa 119.

2. To receive great pleasure in.

I delight to do thy will. Psa 40:8.

DELIGHT, v.i. To have or take great pleasure; to be greatly pleased or rejoiced; followed by in.

I delight in the law of God after the inward man. Rom 7.

de-lit' (verb, chaphets, ratsah, sha`a`; sunedomai): "To delight" is most frequently expressed by chaphets, which means originally "to bend" (compare Job 40:17, "He moveth his tail"), hence, "to incline to," "take pleasure in." It is used of God's pleasure in His people (Nu 14:8; 2Sa 22:20; Ps 18:19, etc.), and in righteousness, etc. (Isa 66:4; Jer 9:24; Mic 7:18, etc.), also of man's delight in God and His will (Ps 40:8; 73:25; the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American), "There is none upon earth that I desire besides thee"), and in other objects (Ge 34:19; 1Sa 18:22; Es 2:14; Isa 66:3); sha`a`, "to stroke," "caress," "be fond of," occurs in Ps 94:19, "Thy comforts delight my soul"; Ps 119:16,47,70, "I will delight myself in thy statutes." Similarly, Paul says (Ro 7:22), "I delight (sunedomai) in (margin, the Revised Version (British and American) "Greek with") the law of God after the inward man." This is the only occurrence of the word in the New Testament.

"To delight one's self" (in the Lord) is represented chiefly by `anagh (Job 22:26; 27:10; Ps 37:4,11; Isa 58:14).

Delight (noun), chiefly chephets (1Sa 15:22; Ps 1:2; 16:3), ratson (Pr 11:1,20; 12,22; 15:8), sha`ashu`im (Ps 119:24,77,92,143,174; Pr 8:30,31). the Revised Version (British and American) has "delight" for "desire" (Ne 1:11; Ps 22:8; 51:16), for "observe," different reading (Pr 23:26), "no delight in" for "smell in" (Am 5:21), "delightest in me" for "favorest me" (Ps 41:11), "his delight shall be in" (m "Hebrew `scent' ") for "of quick understanding" (Isa 11:3).

The element of joy, of delight in God and His law and will, in the Hebrew religion is noteworthy as being something which we are apt to fall beneath even in the clearer light of Christianity.

W. L. Walker

Definition

The term “delight” means great pleasure or great joy.

• To “delight in” something means to “to take pleasure in” or “take joy in” or “be happy about” it. If a person “delights in” something, it means that he enjoys it very much.
• When something is very agreeable or pleasing it is called “delightful.”
• The expression “my delight is in the law of Yahweh” could be translated as “the law of Yahweh gives me great joy” or “I love to obey the laws of Yahweh” or “I am happy when I obey Yahweh’s commands.”
• The phrases “take no delight in” and “have no delight in” could be translated as “not at all pleased by” or “not happy about.”
• The phrase “delight himself in” means “he enjoys doing” something or “he is very happy about” something or someone.
• The term “delights” refers to things that a person enjoys. This could be translated as “pleasures” or “things that give joy.”
• An expression such as “I delight to do your will” could also be translated as “I enjoy doing your will” or “I am very happy when I obey you.”

Bible References

• Proverbs 8:30
• Psalm 1:2
• Psalms 119:69-70
• Song of Songs 1:3

Word Data

• Strong’s: H1523, H2530, H2531, H2532, H2654, H2655, H2656, H2836, H4574, H5276, H5727, H5730, H6026, H6027, H7306, H7381, H7521, H7522, H8057, H8173, H8191, H8588, H8597