Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.

PSALMS 84:6KJV
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Psalms 84:6 (KJV)

What does Psalms 84:6 mean?

Psalms 84:6 describes people passing through a difficult or dry place called the "valley of Baca" and turning it into a place of refreshment, where even the rain fills up pools of water. The verse paints a picture of travelers transforming hardship into blessing as they journey.

The psalm is written by the sons of Korah, expressing longing to be near God’s presence at the temple in Jerusalem. The "valley of Baca" is often understood as a symbol for a place of weeping or hardship, but the verse shows that those who trust in God can find sources of renewal even in hard times. The imagery suggests that faith can turn dry, challenging places into wells of life and blessing.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 84:6

  • בָּכָא (Baca, H1056, H1057): This word is often linked to weeping or a type of tree that grows in dry places, so "valley of Baca" likely means a valley of sorrow or dryness. The name sets the scene as a difficult place, not a literal location.
  • בְּאֵר (be'er, H4599): This word means "well," a source of water. In the verse, travelers "make it a well," suggesting they find or create refreshment where none seemed possible.
  • גֶּשֶׁם (geshem, H4175): This is the word for "rain." The verse says the rain "filleth the pools," adding to the picture of unexpected abundance and relief in a dry place.
  • מַעְיָן (ma'yan, H1293): This word means "pools" or "blessings," and here it refers to the places where water collects, showing that hardship can become a place of blessing.

Why Psalms 84:6 matters

  • Psalms 84:6 clarifies that the "valley of Baca" is not just a physical place but a symbol for times of difficulty or sorrow, helping readers see the verse as encouragement for any hardship.
  • The verse emphasizes the active role of the faithful: they do not just endure hardship but transform it, finding or creating wells of refreshment along the way.
  • This verse connects to the larger theme of Psalms 84, where the journey to God's presence is pictured as both challenging and rewarding, with God providing unexpected help and blessing even in the hardest parts of the journey.

Where else these words appear

“rain” Hebrew H4175 · used in 2 verses

  • Joel 2:23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.

“Baca” Hebrew H1057 · used in 5 verses

  • 2 Samuel 5:23 And when David enquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.
  • 2 Samuel 5:24 And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.
  • 1 Chronicles 14:14 Therefore David enquired again of God; and God said unto him, Go not up after them; turn away from them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.

“filleth” Hebrew H5844 · used in 15 verses

  • Leviticus 13:45 And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
  • Psalms 104:2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
  • Isaiah 59:17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.

“well” Hebrew H4599 · used in 23 verses

  • Genesis 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
  • 2 Kings 3:25 And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.
  • Proverbs 8:24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.