Psalms 139:15

my substance R.V. my frame, lit. my bonesor skeleton.

in secret i.e. in the womb (Psalms 139:13).

curiously wrought i.e. fashioned with skill and care. (Curious= Lat. curiosus, -wrought with care." Cp. Exodus 28:8, "the curious girdle of the ephod," R.V. "the cunningly woven band.") The word which means literally wovenor embroideredwith threads of different colours, is applied by a natural metaphor to the complex and intricate formation of the body.

in the lowest parts of the earth In the womb, as dark and mysterious as the nether world. The formation of the body is meant, and there is no reference to the doctrine of the pre-existence of souls, which is found in Wis 8:20; cp. Verg. Aen. vi. 713 ff., 884. See Schultz, O.T. Theology, Vol. ii. p. 251, E.T.