The Great Alphabet of Psalm 119 — Psalm 119
אַשְׁרֵי תְמִימֵי־דָרֶךְ
What to look for
Eight consecutive verses beginning with alef, then eight with bet, and on through all twenty-two letters — 176 verses marching through the alphabet.
What it is
The Bible's largest acrostic: twenty-two stanzas of eight verses, every verse in each stanza opening with its stanza's letter.
Why it matters
The longest chapter in Scripture is a love poem to God's word, built on the alphabet itself — as if to say the Torah fills language from alef to tav, and eight times over.
How it has been understood
Teachers note that nearly every verse names the word of God some way — law, testimony, precept, promise. The acrostic form makes the theology visible: the entire alphabet, the raw material of all speech, is conscripted into praising the Word. Nothing sayable is outside it.