David, according to the superscription.
The Voice of the Lord in Glory and Peace
The Lord's glorious voice rules creation, summons worship, enthrones Him forever, and gives His people strength and peace.
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The Lord's glorious voice rules creation, summons worship, enthrones Him forever, and gives His people strength and peace.
Psalm 29 argues that the Lord alone deserves worship from heaven and earth because His glorious voice rules the whole created order and His eternal kingship turns terrifying power into covenant blessing for His people. The psalm moves from ascribed glory, to displayed glory, to confessed glory, to gifted peace.
Israel's worshiping community, receiving the psalm as a summons to heavenly and earthly praise before the Lord's revealed glory.
The exact historical occasion is not named. The psalm uses storm imagery and temple worship language to proclaim the Lord's supremacy over creation, chaotic waters, wilderness regions, and all heavenly powers.
The Lord's glorious voice rules creation, summons worship, enthrones Him forever, and gives His people strength and peace.
David, according to the superscription.
Israel's worshiping community, receiving the psalm as a summons to heavenly and earthly praise before the Lord's revealed glory.
The exact historical occasion is not named. The psalm uses storm imagery and temple worship language to proclaim the Lord's supremacy over creation, chaotic waters, wilderness regions, and all heavenly powers.
- Ancient Near Eastern peoples often associated storm, fertility, sea, and kingship imagery with rival deities. Psalm 29 redirects every image of power, thunder, fertility, and enthronement to the Lord alone.
The psalm reflects heavenly-council language, sanctuary worship, the holiness of divine presence, storm-theophany, royal enthronement, and the covenant identity of the Lord's people. Lebanon, Sirion, and Kadesh widen the poetic geography beyond one local shrine, showing the Lord's voice as sovereign over the whole land and beyond Israel's immediate worship space.
Psalm 29 belongs to Book I of the Psalter and stands in the monarchy-and-Davidic horizon while bearing witness to the Lord's universal kingship, holy glory, and covenant blessing.
Ascribe glory -> worship in holy splendor -> hear the Lord's voice over the waters -> behold creation shaken -> join the temple cry of glory -> rest under the enthroned King who gives strength and peace
Theological exposition and fulfillment
Psalm 29 forms awe-filled, peace-receiving worshipers who know that the Lord's voice is stronger than the world's storms and His throne is higher than every flood.
Summons to heavenly worship
The voice of the Lord in storm-theophany
The temple answer
The enthroned King blesses His people
- 1-2: The opening summons demands worship that recognizes the Lord's glory, strength, name, and holiness.
- 3-8: The Lord's voice thunders over the waters, breaks the cedars, shakes mountains, flashes fire, and convulses the wilderness.
- 9: The temple response, 'Glory,' gathers the whole storm vision into confession and praise.
- 10-11: The Lord is enthroned over the flood and forever as King, and He blesses His people with strength and peace.
Pastoral Entry
יהוה is the four-consonant personal name of Israel’s God, commonly called the Tetragrammaton and conventionally rendered Lord in small capitals by many English translations. The Masoretic pointing displayed in some lexical forms reflects a reading tradition and should not be treated as secure evidence for the name’s original pronunciation. Scholarly reconstructions commonly use “YHWH” or “Yahweh,” while Jewish and Christian reading traditions often say “Adonai” or “the Lord.”
Exodus 3:13-15 places the name within God’s commission of Moses and connects it literarily with אֶהְיֶה, “I am/I will be.” The passage reveals the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the one sending Moses and promising to be with him. It supports reflection on divine freedom, faithfulness, and presence, but the precise etymology of יהוה and the full metaphysical force of “I am who I am” remain debated. The verses should not be made to prove every later doctrine of divine self-existence or immutability by grammar alone.
The name occurs earlier in Genesis and becomes central to Israel’s covenant speech, worship, law, narrative, and prophecy. Exodus 6:2-8 emphasizes that יהוה will act faithfully to his covenant promises by delivering Israel. The name identifies the particular God whose character and deeds Scripture narrates; titles and other divine designations are not therefore merely generic descriptions with no personal or covenantal force.
A longstanding Jewish reading practice avoids pronouncing the written name and substitutes Adonai or another reverential expression. The chronology and development of that practice should be stated cautiously. English Lord reflects that received convention and helps readers recognize where the Tetragrammaton stands in the Hebrew text.
For teaching, יהוה anchors biblical claims about God in his self-revelation, covenant faithfulness, holiness, mercy, and acts in history. New Testament uses of κύριος in quotations of יהוה texts are theologically significant for understanding Jesus, but each quotation must be examined rather than assuming every occurrence of “Lord” has the same referent.
Sense the covenant name of Israel's God
Definition The personal covenant name of the one true God.
References Psalm 29:1-11
Lexicon the covenant name of Israel's God
Why it matters The divine name dominates the psalm, making clear that storm, glory, kingship, strength, and peace belong to the Lord Himself.
Form in passage Qal · Sequential imperfect · 2nd Person · Masculine · Plural What is this?
Sense give, ascribe, render what is due
Definition An imperative calling worshipers to render proper acknowledgment.
References Psalm 29:1-2
Lexicon give, ascribe, render what is due
Why it matters The psalm begins by commanding worshipers to give the Lord the glory that already belongs to Him.
Form in passage Masculine · Plural · Absolute What is this?
Sense heavenly beings or mighty ones summoned to worship
Definition A phrase addressing heavenly beings or mighty ones before the LORD.
References Psalm 29:1
Lexicon heavenly beings or mighty ones summoned to worship
Why it matters Even the highest created powers are commanded to worship, not compete with, the Lord.
Pastoral Entry
כָּבוֹד (kavod) is a Hebrew noun for glory, honor, dignity, abundance, or splendor. It is related to a root associated with heaviness or weight, but etymology does not make physical weight the active meaning in every occurrence. The local Hebrew artifact currently indexes about 200 H3519 uses involving both human honor and the glory of the Lord.
Exodus 16:10 first explicitly describes the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud before the congregation. Exodus 24:16 says that the glory settled on Sinai, and Exodus 40:34-35 says that the cloud covered the tent and the glory filled the tabernacle so that Moses could not enter. These texts join glory, cloud, place, and divine self-disclosure without requiring a theory that glory is a measurable substance.
In Exodus 33:18 Moses asks to see God's glory. The response promises that God's goodness will pass before him and that the divine name will be proclaimed, while Moses is protected from seeing God's face. The following chapter proclaims God's covenant character. The sequence connects glory with divine goodness and name, though the narrative should not be reduced to a simple definition that glory equals character.
At Solomon's temple dedication, the cloud fills the house and the priests cannot stand to minister because the glory of the Lord fills it (1 Kgs 8:10-11). This repeats tabernacle imagery while preserving the distinct human subjects: Moses cannot enter the tent in Exodus 40, and the priests cannot stand in the temple in 1 Kings 8.
First Samuel 4 records the name Ichabod and the declaration that glory has departed from Israel after the ark's capture. That judgment reflects the speaker's interpretation in a catastrophic moment; the following ark narrative also shows that the Lord is not powerless or confined to Israel's sanctuary.
Ezekiel 8-11 portrays the glory moving from the temple and city amid idolatry and judgment, while Ezekiel 43 portrays the glory returning to the visionary temple. The stages are explicit; claims that God departs reluctantly or that the movement is the Bible's supreme act of divine grief go beyond what the vision says.
John 1:14 says that the Word became flesh, dwelt among us, and that the witnesses saw his glory. The tabernacle resonance and Greek doxa vocabulary create a strong canonical connection to Israel's glory texts. John's Gospel also speaks of Jesus' signs, cross, resurrection, and return in glory language, so the connection should be traced through John's own argument rather than by saying H3519 physically filled a human body.
For the preacher, כָּבוֹד (kavod) connects honor, divine self-disclosure, sanctuary, judgment, restoration, and Christological glory. Each passage must establish whether human dignity, royal splendor, creation's witness, or the glory of the Lord is in view.
Sense weight, honor, splendor, glory
Definition The weighty honor and splendor belonging to God.
References Psalm 29:1-3, 9
Lexicon weight, honor, splendor, glory
Why it matters Glory frames the whole psalm: it is ascribed to the Lord, revealed by the God of glory, and confessed in His temple.
Pastoral Entry
עֹז (ʿōz) is a Hebrew noun for strength, might, power, or firm security. In Exodus 15:2 Israel sings that the Lord is “my strength and song” after deliverance through the sea, and verse 13 says God guides the redeemed people by his strength. Psalm 28:7 calls the Lord the psalmist's strength and shield, Psalm 46:1 calls God refuge and strength, and Jeremiah 16:19 addresses the Lord as strength, stronghold, and refuge. These uses locate security in God's active presence rather than in a human feeling of invulnerability.
Strength can also be human, received, or broken. Judges 5:21 summons the self to march in strength, and Second Samuel 6:14 says David dances before the Lord with all his strength. Leviticus 26:19 warns that God will break the pride of Israel's strength under covenant judgment. Psalm 68:35 says God gives strength and power to his people, while Psalm 84:5 blesses those whose strength is in God. Human capacity is not inherently suspect, but Scripture treats it as accountable, limited, and dependent rather than self-grounding.
Worship texts ascribe strength to God. Psalm 29:1 calls heavenly beings to ascribe glory and strength to the Lord, Psalm 62:11 says power belongs to God, and Psalm 96:6 places strength and beauty in his sanctuary. Psalm 8:2 says God establishes strength from the mouths of infants and nursing children; the Greek translation renders this as praise, a wording later quoted in Matthew 21:16. That canonical relationship is important, but it does not make praise the default lexical gloss of H5797 in every Hebrew passage.
Sense strength, might, power
Definition Power or strength, especially as belonging to or given by the LORD.
References Psalm 29:1, 11
Lexicon strength, might, power
Why it matters The psalm begins by ascribing strength to the Lord and ends with the Lord giving strength to His people.
Pastoral Entry
שֵׁם (šēm) is the ordinary Hebrew noun for a name or designation. It names people, children, ancestors, places, cities, objects, peoples, kings, and deities throughout the Hebrew Bible. In context, a name can also carry reputation, renown, memorial, remembered identity, authority, or the public standing associated with the one named. These extensions are real, but the word does not mean full identity, character, presence, or access in every occurrence.
Divine-name texts carry particular covenant weight. God discloses a name to Moses, places the divine name on Israel in blessing, chooses a place for the name, forbids misuse, acts for the sake of the name, and promises that the name will be known and honored. Calling on the Lord's name is covenantal invocation, not a technique in which pronunciation compels divine action. English titles, Hebrew forms, translation conventions, and uncertain historical pronunciation must not become tests of salvation or spiritual access.
Human naming can welcome, remember, rename, stigmatize, erase, or seek honor. Babel seeks a name against dispersion; Abram receives a new name within covenant promise; Absalom erects a monument to preserve his name; Isaiah promises faithful outsiders a lasting name. These texts require attention to agency and power. Scripture does not authorize mocking names, exposing private identities, forced renaming, reputational attack, or using a divine-name claim to control another person.
Sense name, reputation, revealed identity
Definition A person's name as the expression of identity and reputation.
References Psalm 29:2
Lexicon name, reputation, revealed identity
Why it matters The glory due the Lord's name means worship responds to who He has revealed Himself to be.
Pastoral Entry
קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh) names holiness, sacredness, or something designated as holy. It can refer to holy ground, sanctuary space, offerings, garments, days, and the inscription 'Holy to the Lord.' The noun's range is learned from these uses, not from a claim that its root always means separation. Exodus 3 calls the ground holy because the Lord meets Moses there. Priestly texts mark people, places, and objects for service in God's presence.
Psalms speak of worship in holy splendor, and Isaiah 35 names a Way of Holiness within a promise of restoration. Zechariah 14 extends 'Holy to the Lord' beyond priestly equipment to ordinary objects, picturing a future in which all life belongs to God. Related adjective and verb forms also speak of God's own holiness and His people's calling, but they should not be collapsed into this noun.
Qodesh joins worship, consecration, moral obedience, mercy, and reverent access without making ritual status a tool for shame, exclusion, or control.
Sense holiness, sacredness, consecrated splendor
Definition That which is set apart as belonging to God.
References Psalm 29:2
Lexicon holiness, sacredness, consecrated splendor
Why it matters The Lord's glory is not raw power alone; worship must be shaped by His holy splendor.
Pastoral Entry
שָׁחָה (šāḥāh) is a Hebrew verb for bowing down or prostrating oneself. Depending on the object and setting, it can describe worship of the Lord, forbidden bowing to other gods or images, respectful homage before another person, petition before a ruler, or obeisance demanded by political authority. The bodily action is important, but the verb alone does not establish the participant's inward faith, consent, or the moral legitimacy of the act.
Genesis uses H7812 when Abraham bows before visitors and the people of the land, Jacob's family bows in fulfillment of Joseph's dreams, and Abraham describes the Moriah journey as going to worship. Exodus uses it when Israel responds to God's deliverance and when the commandments prohibit bowing to idols. Psalms invite worship before the Lord, while Esther shows a royal command to bow before Haman and records Mordecai's refusal. Context distinguishes ordinary respect, covenant worship, idolatry, and coerced allegiance.
Genesis 22:5 says, 'we will worship and return.' The plural wording belongs to Abraham's speech, but H7812 itself means bow or worship and does not lexically prove a detailed resurrection expectation. Likewise Isaiah 45:23 uses H3766 for the bending of every knee, not H7812. Philippians 2 develops that canonical theme in Greek; it should not be cited as a direct occurrence or simple lexical equivalent of H7812.
Form in passage Nitpael · Sequential imperfect · 2nd Person · Masculine · Plural What is this?
Sense bow down, prostrate oneself, worship
Definition A posture and act of reverent submission in worship.
References Psalm 29:2
Lexicon bow down, prostrate oneself, worship
Why it matters The psalm requires worship as embodied reverence before the Lord's holy glory.
Cross-language bridge 1 link · View in lexicon
Pastoral Entry
קוֹל (qol) means voice, sound, or noise. It can name human speech, weeping, shouting, proclamation, singing, thunder, animal sound, battle noise, or a report. Genesis 45:2 describes Joseph's loud weeping, Exodus 32:17-18 requires Moses to distinguish battle noise from singing, and Psalm 19:3 uses voice language while reflecting on speech without audible words. The noun identifies what is heard or expressed; it does not tell the hearer whether a message is true.
The phrase voice of the Lord appears in covenant and theophany settings. Deuteronomy 4:12 emphasizes that Israel heard the sound of words but saw no form, Psalm 29 portrays the Lord's voice over the waters, and prophets receive and announce divine speech. In many hear-my-voice constructions, hearing includes responsive obedience. Yet H6963 by itself does not authenticate a private impression, natural sound, institutional order, or claimed prophecy as God's voice. Content, source, canonical agreement, and tested fruit remain necessary.
Voices and cries also carry moral weight. Abel's blood cries from the ground in Genesis 4:10, God hears the boy in Genesis 21:17 and Israel's affliction in Deuteronomy 26:7, Rachel's lament is heard in Jeremiah 31:15, and Leviticus 5:1 addresses a witness who hears a public call and withholds testimony. These texts support attention to suffering and truthful witness without making volume the measure of truth. Silence can come from fear, coercion, disability, or exclusion and must not be treated as consent.
Sense voice, sound, thunderous utterance
Definition Sound or voice, here repeatedly used for the LORD's powerful self-expression.
References Psalm 29:3-9
Lexicon voice, sound, thunderous utterance
Why it matters The repeated 'voice of the Lord' is the psalm's central structural and theological motif.
Cross-language bridge 2 links · View in lexicon
Pastoral Entry
מַיִם (mayim) is the ordinary Hebrew noun for water or waters. Its grammatical form is plural, while context determines whether English uses a singular mass noun or a plural expression. Scripture uses the same word for creation's waters, drinking water, wells, rivers, floodwaters, and water supplied in the wilderness.
Because water is necessary for life, biblical writers also use it in images of provision, cleansing, danger, judgment, and renewed creation. Isaiah 55:1 invites the thirsty to the waters as part of a free summons to receive God's covenant provision. Isaiah 44:3 places poured water beside the promise that God will pour out his Spirit, making the comparison explicit without making every occurrence of mayim a reference to the Spirit.
The canonical pattern is broad rather than mechanically symbolic. The sea can become the setting of deliverance in Exodus 14, water from the rock sustains Israel in Numbers 20, quiet waters picture the shepherd's care in Psalm 23, and Ezekiel 47 describes life spreading wherever the temple river goes. These passages should be read in their own settings before their themes are brought together.
Sense waters, deep, flood-like expanse
Definition Waters as part of creation and as imagery of overwhelming power or chaos.
References Psalm 29:3
Lexicon waters, deep, flood-like expanse
Why it matters The Lord's voice over the waters shows His sovereignty over what humans cannot master.
Form in passage Masculine · Singular · Construct What is this?
Sense God characterized by glory
Definition A divine title emphasizing the LORD's majestic splendor.
References Psalm 29:3
Lexicon God characterized by glory
Why it matters The title interprets the thunder as revelation of the glorious God, not impersonal natural force.
Form in passage Hiphil · Perfect · 3rd Person · Masculine · Singular What is this?
Sense thunder, roar
Definition To thunder or make a thunderous sound.
References Psalm 29:3
Lexicon thunder, roar
Why it matters Thunder functions as poetic witness to the Lord's majestic self-manifestation.
Sense power, strength, capacity
Definition Strength or power in action.
References Psalm 29:4
Lexicon power, strength, capacity
Why it matters The Lord's voice is not merely heard; it acts with divine power.
Sense majesty, splendor, honor
Definition Splendor or majesty befitting royalty and divine glory.
References Psalm 29:4
Lexicon majesty, splendor, honor
Why it matters The Lord's voice is not only strong but majestic, combining power with royal beauty.
Form in passage Qal · Participle active What is this?
Sense break, shatter
Definition To break or crush with force.
References Psalm 29:5
Lexicon break, shatter
Why it matters The cedars symbolize strength and grandeur, yet the Lord's voice breaks them.
Form in passage Masculine · Plural · Construct What is this?
Sense cedars, especially tall and strong trees
Definition Majestic trees associated with Lebanon and strength.
References Psalm 29:5
Lexicon cedars, especially tall and strong trees
Why it matters The breaking of the cedars dramatizes the Lord's superiority over creation's most impressive symbols.
Sense Lebanon, northern mountain region known for cedars
Definition A region associated with mountains and cedar forests.
References Psalm 29:5-6
Lexicon Lebanon, northern mountain region known for cedars
Why it matters Lebanon represents natural grandeur brought under the Lord's voice.
Sense Sirion, a name associated with Mount Hermon
Definition A northern mountain name linked with Hermon.
References Psalm 29:6
Lexicon Sirion, a name associated with Mount Hermon
Why it matters Sirion broadens the storm's reach and places towering geography beneath the Lord's command.
Form in passage Feminine · Plural · Construct What is this?
Sense flames or flashes of fire
Definition Fiery flashes, likely lightning imagery in the storm-theophany.
References Psalm 29:7
Lexicon flames or flashes of fire
Why it matters Fire intensifies the holiness and terror of the Lord's manifested voice.
Sense wilderness, desert, uncultivated region
Definition A desert or wilderness space.
References Psalm 29:8
Lexicon wilderness, desert, uncultivated region
Why it matters The Lord's voice shakes even the empty and desolate places, showing His dominion beyond settled worship spaces.
Cross-language bridge 1 link · View in lexicon
Sense Kadesh, wilderness location
Definition A named wilderness region in Israel's geographic memory.
References Psalm 29:8
Lexicon Kadesh, wilderness location
Why it matters Naming Kadesh gives geographic specificity to the Lord's wilderness-shaking voice.
Pastoral Entry
הֵיכַל (hekhal) is the Hebrew word for the great house — the palace of a king or the temple of God. It covers both the earthly palace of human rulers and the temple of YHWH in Jerusalem, and by extension the heavenly dwelling of YHWH himself. Appearing 80 times in the indexed biblical text, hekhal is the spatial vocabulary of divine presence: the place where YHWH dwells, where he is worshipped, where his glory is encountered, and where his decrees go forth. The hekhal of YHWH is not merely a religious building but the earthly footprint of heaven's throne room.
Psalm 29:9 gives hekhal its most doxological context: the sevenfold qol YHWH — the voice of YHWH that breaks cedars, shakes the wilderness, makes the deer give birth — ends in a simple declaration: 'in his hekhal all cry, Glory (kavod)!' The cosmic storm-qol of YHWH produces the congregational response. The hekhal is the place where the power of the divine qol is registered and answered with worship. The hekhal is not sealed from the storm outside; it is the place where the storm's power is translated into praise.
Isaiah 6:1 is the OT's most famous hekhal encounter: 'In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the hem of his robe filled the hekhal.' The hekhal here is simultaneously the Jerusalem temple and the heavenly throne room — Isaiah's vision collapses the earthly and heavenly into a single encounter. The seraphim cry Holy, holy, holy (v. 3), the thresholds shake (v. 4), and the hekhal fills with smoke. The hekhal is the meeting point of heaven and earth, and the encounter within it transforms the one who enters: Isaiah is undone, cleansed, and commissioned.
Psalm 11:4 gives hekhal its theological anchor point: 'YHWH is in his holy hekhal; YHWH's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.' The heavenly hekhal is the source of YHWH's sovereign gaze — his eyes see from his hekhal. The earthly hekhal is the address at which YHWH can be found (1 Sam 1:9, Hannah before the hekhal) because it participates in and points to the heavenly one. The hekhal is not where God is confined; it is where he has chosen to be accessible.
First Samuel 3:3 gives hekhal one of its most tender narrative uses: 'the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the hekhal of YHWH where the ark of God was.' The boy Samuel sleeping in the hekhal — the lamp still burning, the ark present — is the setting for the divine call that inaugurates prophetic ministry. The hekhal is the place of calling, of divine initiation, of the voice that comes in the night to those who are sleeping in God's presence.
For the preacher, הֵיכַל (hekhal) asks: where does God make himself accessible, and how do we enter that presence?
Sense temple, palace, sanctuary
Definition A palace or temple space, especially the place of divine worship.
References Psalm 29:9
Lexicon temple, palace, sanctuary
Why it matters The temple response turns the storm-theophany into communal confession: all cry 'Glory.'
Sense flood, deluge
Definition A flood or deluge, strongly associated with overwhelming waters.
References Psalm 29:10
Lexicon flood, deluge
Why it matters The Lord sits enthroned over the flood, making even the most devastating waters subject to His reign.
Pastoral Entry
יָשַׁב (yashav) is a common Hebrew verb for sitting, remaining, dwelling, or inhabiting. The local Hebrew index currently counts about 1,092 H3427 uses across ordinary residence, life in a land, civic sitting, royal enthronement, and selected descriptions of the Lord's dwelling. Its theological weight comes from particular passages, not from turning every occurrence into a devotional metaphor.
Psalm 27:4 voices the psalmist's one request: to dwell in the house of the Lord all his days, behold the Lord's beauty, and inquire in his temple. In that immediate setting yashav expresses sustained access to worship and divine presence. It can invite reflection on spiritual desire without implying that ordinary work or public obedience is inferior.
Psalm 2:4 depicts the One seated in heaven laughing at rebellious rulers. The verb contributes to a royal scene of unthreatened divine authority. The claim belongs to the psalm's contrast between earthly conspiracy and the Lord's rule rather than to a general promise that believers will never feel threatened.
Psalm 9:11 summons praise to the Lord who dwells in Zion and calls his deeds to be proclaimed among the peoples. This is an H3427 divine-dwelling use. Exodus 25:8 instead uses the related H7931 verb shakan, so tabernacle language can serve as a canonical neighbor but not as an H3427 occurrence.
Psalm 132:13-14 presents Zion as the Lord's chosen resting place and says, 'here I will dwell.' The text joins divine choice, place, and Davidic worship. It should not be generalized into a claim that God is confined to Jerusalem or that every later dwelling text uses this lexeme.
Psalm 91:1 describes the person who dwells in the shelter of the Most High and abides in the Almighty's shadow. The poetry commends trusting refuge while the psalm's imagery must not be converted into an unconditional guarantee against suffering.
For the preacher, יָשַׁב (yashav) can open themes of residence, authority, worship, shelter, and covenant place when the chosen passage supports them. The application should preserve concrete spatial and civic senses as well as selected relational ones.
Form in passage Qal · Perfect · 3rd Person · Masculine · Singular What is this?
Sense sit, dwell, be enthroned
Definition To sit or dwell, here used in royal-enthronement sense.
References Psalm 29:10
Lexicon sit, dwell, be enthroned
Why it matters The Lord is not fighting for control over the flood; He is seated as sovereign over it.
Pastoral Entry
מֶלֶךְ (melek) is the ordinary Hebrew noun for a king or ruler. It names Israelite kings, foreign kings, the promised Davidic king, and the Lord as King, so readers must identify the referent before drawing theological conclusions. Deuteronomy 17 anticipates a king and places him under God's instruction. First Samuel 8 does not declare every human kingship inherently evil; it exposes Israel's demand for a king like the nations and warns how royal power can take people, labor, land, and wealth.
The Psalms proclaim the Lord as King over all the earth and also sing of His anointed ruler. The histories then measure Israel's kings by covenant faithfulness, justice, and dependence on God. Zechariah 9 presents a righteous, humble king whose arrival the Gospels associate with Jesus. The word melek therefore helps teachers distinguish God's unrivaled rule, delegated human authority, failed kingship, and messianic hope without treating any present political leader or nation as the direct fulfillment of Israel's royal promises.
Sense king, ruler
Definition A ruler with royal authority.
References Psalm 29:10
Lexicon king, ruler
Why it matters The psalm explicitly names the Lord's reign: He is King forever.
Cross-language bridge 1 link · View in lexicon
Pastoral Entry
עַם (ʿam) is a high-frequency Hebrew noun for a people, kinspeople, community, nation, congregation, or body of troops. Genesis 11:6 describes Babel's builders as one people with one language, and Genesis 17:14 speaks of a person cut off from kinspeople. The word treats persons collectively but does not define a people by biology alone. Shared ancestry, land, rule, worship, covenant, history, or circumstance can shape the group in a given passage.
Exodus turns people-language into a contested identity. Pharaoh calls Israel a numerous and powerful people in Exodus 1:9 as he prepares oppression. God calls them “my people” in Exodus 3:7, and Exodus 6:7 promises, “I will take you as my people, and I will be your God.” At Sinai, Israel is chosen from among all peoples for covenant vocation. This belonging is gracious and demanding: the golden-calf narrative can immediately describe the people as corrupted, and Torah commands truth, justice, holiness, and care within the community. Election is not proof of ethnic superiority or exemption from judgment.
Poetry and prophecy keep Israel's identity in relation to the peoples. Psalm 67 calls all peoples to praise God, while Psalm 100 names the worshipers God's people and sheep. Hosea 1:9 announces “not my people” as covenant judgment, and Hosea 2:23 promises renewed “my people” language. Isaiah 40:1 speaks comfort to “my people,” and Isaiah 51:16 renews the covenant declaration. Later Jewish and Christian readers receive these texts in complex discussions of Israel and the nations; H5971 alone does not authorize replacement theology, racial nationalism, or the erasure of Israel's historical covenant identity.
Sense people, nation, covenant community
Definition A people or community; here the LORD's own people.
References Psalm 29:11
Lexicon people, nation, covenant community
Why it matters The universal hymn lands on the covenant people who receive the Lord's strength and peace.
Cross-language bridge 1 link · View in lexicon
Pastoral Entry
בָּרַךְ is the verb that moves broadly through the Old Testament when God speaks favor over creation, names a people for himself, or stoops to make something flourish. It carries the sense of endowing with life-giving power and divine favor — not as a vague spiritual feeling but as a concrete declaration that binds heaven and earth together. When God blesses, something is set on a trajectory of fruitfulness, abundance, and alignment with his purposes. When a human being blesses God, the direction reverses but the weight is equal: to bless God is to kneel before him in adoration, acknowledging that goodness descends from him.
The BDB root-gloss 'to kneel' is worth holding. Behind the word lies a posture of submission and reverence. Whether the movement is God bowing down toward creation in generative mercy, a patriarchal father pronouncing favor over sons, a priest raising his hands over an assembled people, or a psalmist summoning his soul to recall every benefit — the word carries weight. Blessing is not flattery. It is not a mere wish. It is a speech-act that invites the named person or thing into the sphere of God's favor and protection.
Pastorally, בָּרַךְ resists reduction. It covers the cosmic scope of creation being sent into fruitfulness (Gen 1:22), the covenant specificity of Abraham being chosen and made a channel of blessing to all nations (Gen 12:2), the priestly formality of the Aaronic blessing pronounced over assembled Israel (Num 6:24), the liturgical movement of the Psalms where the soul blesses God by rehearsing his acts, and the prophetic hope that the offspring of God's servant people will be known among the nations as those whom the Lord has blessed (Isa 61:9). The word binds creation, covenant, priesthood, worship, and eschatology into a single thread.
Form in passage Piel · Imperfect · 3rd Person · Masculine · Singular What is this?
Sense bless, bestow favor
Definition To bless or grant favor and benefit.
References Psalm 29:11
Lexicon bless, bestow favor
Why it matters The final action of the enthroned Lord toward His people is blessing.
Pastoral Entry
שָׁלוֹם (shālôm) is a Hebrew noun for peace, well-being, welfare, safety, friendly relations, completeness, or a condition of things being well. It can occur in greetings and farewells, questions about a person's welfare, diplomatic proposals, covenants, relief from conflict, household safety, public order, and promises of restored well-being. No single English gloss captures every use, and the word does not mean that nothing is missing or broken in every passage.
The priestly blessing asks the Lord to give peace. Prophets connect peace with righteousness, justice, truthful speech, secure dwelling, restored relationship, and God's rule. They also expose false declarations of peace when wounds remain untreated and condemn leaders who announce peace for self-interest. Jeremiah 29 calls exiles to seek the city's welfare while they remain displaced; this is active communal responsibility, not approval of Babylon's injustice or a ban on lament and resistance.
Isaiah 9 names the promised ruler Prince of Peace, Micah 5 identifies the coming ruler with peace, and Isaiah 53 connects well-being with the servant's suffering. Christian readers may trace these themes to Jesus and to New Testament eirēnē language, but each passage and lexeme retains its own context. Shalom must not be used to force unsafe reconciliation, conceal abuse, suppress truth, or promise immediate health and prosperity.
Sense peace, wholeness, welfare, covenant well-being
Definition Peace and wholeness under God's blessing.
References Psalm 29:11
Lexicon peace, wholeness, welfare, covenant well-being
Why it matters The psalm's last word shows that divine glory and power culminate for God's people in peace.
Cross-language bridge 1 link · View in lexicon
Lexicon data: MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML (CC0) · Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (CC BY 4.0) · Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon (CC BY 4.0) · STEPBible Data (CC BY 4.0) · Full details
| v.1 | H3051יָהַבQal · Imperative · ImperativeH3051יָהַבQal · Imperative · Imperative |
| v.10 | H3427יָשַׁבQal · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.11 | H5414נָתַןQal · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH1288בָּרַךְPiel · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.2 | H3051יָהַבQal · Imperative · ImperativeH7812שָׁחָהHishtaphel · Imperative · Imperative |
| v.3 | H7481רָעַםHiphil · Perfect · Indicative |
| v.5 | H7665שָׁבַרQal · Participle |
| v.7 | H2672חָצַבQal · Participle |
| v.8 | H2342חוּלHiphil · Imperfect · Indicative/jussiveH2342חוּלHiphil · Imperfect · Indicative/jussive |
| v.9 | H2342חוּלPolel · ImperfectiveH559אָמַרQal · Participle |
Aspect in Hebrew is grammatical form, not tense. Perfect = completed action; Imperfect = incomplete/ongoing. Stem modifies action type (Qal=simple, Niphal=passive, Piel=intensive).
Morphology: OSHB WLC (Open Scriptures, CC BY 4.0) · STEPBible TEHMC (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0)
Theological Argument
Psalm 29 argues that the Lord alone deserves worship from heaven and earth because His glorious voice rules the whole created order and His eternal kingship turns terrifying power into covenant blessing for His people. The psalm moves from ascribed glory, to displayed glory, to confessed glory, to gifted peace.
summons to worship -> revelation through divine voice -> creation overwhelmed -> temple glory -> eternal enthronement -> covenant peace
- 1.All heavenly powers must ascribe glory and strength to the LORD.
- 2.The LORD's voice is sovereign over the waters and the storm.
- 3.The strongest places and objects in creation are vulnerable before the LORD's voice.
- 4.The fitting human and heavenly response to the LORD's revealed power is worship.
- 5.The LORD reigns over chaos and blesses His people with strength and peace.
Theological Focus
- The Glory of the Lord
- The Voice of the Lord
- Creation Under Divine Kingship
- Holy Worship
- Eternal Kingship
- Strength and Peace for God's People
- Divine Glory
- Divine Sovereignty Over Creation
- The Power of Divine Speech
- Holiness and Worship
- Kingship of God
- Peace as Divine Blessing
- Covenant Peoplehood
Covenant Significance
Psalm 29 proclaims the Lord's universal sovereignty in a way that lands covenantally on His people. The God who reigns over the waters and forever as King does not leave His people terrified beneath His power; He gives them strength and peace.
- The Lord's name governs worship - The glory due His name grounds the covenant people's worship and rejects all rival claims to divine honor.
- The Creator-King rules beyond Israel's borders - Lebanon, Sirion, Kadesh, waters, forests, and flood demonstrate that the Lord's reign is not local or tribal.
- The covenant people receive the blessing of peace - The final word of the psalm is the Lord's gift of strength and peace to His people.
Canonical Connections
Psalm 29's voice over the waters echoes the Creator's authority over waters and ordered creation.
The Lord enthroned over the flood resonates with the flood narrative and the assurance that waters do not overthrow God's rule or covenant purpose.
Thunder, holiness, and divine self-manifestation at Sinai provide a canonical backdrop for the awe-filled voice of the Lord.
Sirion identifies the northern mountain region, helping locate Psalm 29's poetic geography within Israel's known world.
Both psalms confess God's supremacy over chaotic waters and end with confidence grounded in the Lord's rule.
Psalm 93 parallels Psalm 29 by declaring the Lord's reign over mighty waters and His holiness.
Job 37 similarly uses thunder and storm to magnify God's majesty and human smallness before divine power.
The temple cry of glory in Psalm 29 anticipates the broader canonical pattern of heavenly-temple worship before the holy King.
Christ's authority over wind and sea reveals in narrative form the divine authority Psalm 29 ascribes to the Lord over waters and storm.
The Lord's blessing of peace to His people finds fuller canonical clarity in Christ's gift of peace to His disciples.
The summons to heavenly worship and the cry of glory anticipate the climactic heavenly worship of the enthroned Lord.
Canon-Wide Connections
Cross-reference data: OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Psalm 29 does not announce the gospel in explicit New Testament form, but it prepares gospel clarity by revealing the Lord as the glorious King whose power is not against His people but for them. The God whose voice shakes creation gives strength and peace, and in Christ that peace is secured through the cross and resurrection.
- God's glory precedes human need - The gospel begins with God as glorious, holy, and worthy, not with human preference.
- God's power is sovereign over chaos - The Lord who saves is not fragile · He rules over waters, storm, wilderness, and flood.
- Peace is a gift from the enthroned King - The psalm's final blessing points toward the full peace God gives His people in Christ.
- Do not make the psalm merely therapeutic · peace comes from the enthroned Lord, not from ignoring His holiness.
- Do not preach divine power apart from divine grace · the final verse shows blessing for His people.
- Do not bypass the cross when moving to gospel fulfillment · Christ's peace is blood-bought and resurrection-secured.
Primary Emphasis
Psalm 29 contributes to Christology by bearing witness to the Lord's glorious voice, universal kingship, authority over creation, and gift of peace. In canonical fullness, Christ shares the divine authority by which storms are stilled, the Father's glory is revealed, and peace is given to His people. The connection should be made canonically, not by erasing the psalm's own Old Testament horizon.
Chapter Contribution
Psalm 29 argues that the Lord alone deserves worship from heaven and earth because His glorious voice rules the whole created order and His eternal kingship turns terrifying power into covenant blessing for His people. The psalm moves from ascribed glory, to displayed glory, to confessed glory, to gifted peace.
Trace how divine glory, revealed majesty, and Christ-centered exaltation move across Scripture.
Study temple presence, worship, corruption, judgment, and renewal across Scripture.
Study kingdom reign, divine rule, and gospel kingdom proclamation across Scripture.
Trace the Spirit's presence, empowerment, renewal, and mission-bearing work across Scripture.
Natural phenomena, specifically storms and thunder, are direct manifestations of God’s power and are subject to His voice.
God is the center of an angelic court that exists to perpetually acknowledge and declare His glory and strength.
Peace is a covenantal blessing derived directly from God’s character and His authority over the forces of disorder.
There is no geographic or structural boundary—from the highest peaks to the lowest deserts—that is exempt from God's power.
God's Word is an effective and irresistible force that accomplishes His will in the physical order.
God’s rule is absolute and unaffected by the chaos of the world; He remains the Judge and Monarch over all circumstances.
The Lord is intrinsically worthy of glory and strength; worship ascribes what is already true of Him.
The waters, cedars, mountains, fire, wilderness, forests, and flood are subject to the Lord's voice and throne.
The psalm centers the Lord's voice as powerful, majestic, and effectual over creation.
Worship belongs to the Lord in the splendor of holiness and culminates in the cry of glory.
The Lord is enthroned over the flood and reigns forever as King.
Peace is the Lord's gift to His people under His reign, joined with strength rather than detached from it.
The universal Lord is also the covenant Lord who gives strength and peace to His people.
Theological exposition and fulfillment
- Psalm 29 forms awe-filled, peace-receiving worshipers who know that the Lord's voice is stronger than the world's storms and His throne is higher than every flood.
Psalm 29 forms awe-filled, peace-receiving worshipers who know that the Lord's voice is stronger than the world's storms and His throne is higher than every flood.
- Begin prayer with ascription
- Rehearse the throne over the flood
- Turn observation into worship
- Receive peace as blessing
- Speak strength to the people of God
- Psalm 29 warns against creaturely rivalry, shallow worship, sentimental views of God, and fear that treats chaos as stronger than the enthroned Lord.
- Do not give creation the glory due the Creator
- Do not confuse spectacle with worship
- Do not treat peace as natural security
- Do not make God small enough to manage
- Psalm 29 is simply a poem about a thunderstorm. - The storm imagery serves a theological and doxological purpose: to reveal the Lord's glory, voice, kingship, and blessing.
- The psalm teaches fear only, not comfort. - The psalm is deeply awe-filled, but it ends with strength and peace for the Lord's people.
- The heavenly beings are equal powers who share divine glory. - They are commanded to ascribe glory to the Lord · they are worshipers, not rivals.
- The voice of the Lord is merely a metaphor for natural law. - The psalm presents personal divine speech and rule · creation responds to the Lord Himself.
- Peace in verse 11 means a life without disruption. - Peace is the Lord's covenant blessing under His kingship, not a promise that His people will never face storms.
- Christological application can skip the psalm's Old Testament setting. - The psalm should first be heard as Israel's worship of the Lord, then traced canonically to Christ's revealed lordship and peace.
- What created power, pressure, storm, or system has begun to feel more weighty to me than the Lord's voice?
- Do my prayers and worship ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name, or do they mainly ask Him to serve my comfort?
- When I encounter overwhelming circumstances, do I interpret them through chaos or through the throne of the Lord?
- Where do I need to move from fascination with power to actual confession of glory?
- How does the Lord's promise to give strength and peace reshape my fear, leadership, counseling, parenting, or ministry?
- Am I seeking peace apart from submission to the King, or receiving peace from the One enthroned forever?
- Use Psalm 29 to call the congregation into worship that is God-centered before it is need-centered, placing glory, holiness, and divine kingship at the front of the service.
- Help fearful believers see that the psalm does not deny storms · it places every storm beneath the Lord's throne and ends with His gift of peace.
- Preach the Lord's authority in a way that preserves awe and comfort together: His voice shakes creation, and His hands strengthen His people.
- Train believers to resist casual, thin, entertainment-shaped worship by recovering the holiness and splendor of the Lord.
- Use the flood enthronement language to shepherd those who feel overwhelmed, reminding them that chaos is not king.
- Anchor congregational peace not in personality management but in shared submission to the Lord who blesses His people with peace.
- Teach creation as a theater of God's glory, while avoiding both nature worship and detached scientific reductionism.
C.F. Keil & F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–91) — public domain
The Biblical World
Chapter At A Glance
Ascribe glory -> worship in holy splendor -> hear the Lord's voice over the waters -> behold creation shaken -> join the temple cry of glory -> rest under the enthroned King who gives strength and peace
Psalm 29 proclaims the Lord's universal sovereignty in a way that lands covenantally on His people. The God who reigns over the waters and forever as King does not leave His people terrified beneath His power; He gives them strength and peace.
Psalm 29 does not announce the gospel in explicit New Testament form, but it prepares gospel clarity by revealing the Lord as the glorious King whose power is not against His people but for them. The God whose voice shakes creation gives strength and peace, and in Christ that peace is secured through the cross and resurrection.
Focus Points
- The Glory of the Lord
- The Voice of the Lord
- Creation Under Divine Kingship
- Holy Worship
- Eternal Kingship
- Strength and Peace for God's People
- Divine Glory
- Divine Sovereignty Over Creation
- The Power of Divine Speech
- Holiness and Worship
- Kingship of God
- Peace as Divine Blessing
- Covenant Peoplehood
Biblical Theology
- Word and Revelation Trace the word and revelation thread from God's speaking and self-disclosure to the climactic revelation fulfilled in Christ and proclaimed through Scripture. Trace thread →
- Divine Presence Trace the divine presence thread from covenant nearness and holy manifestation to God's abiding presence with His people through Christ. Trace thread →
- Kingdom Trace the kingdom thread from God's royal rule and promised dominion to the unshakable reign received and secured in Christ. Trace thread →
- People of God Trace the people of God thread from covenant calling and gathered identity to the redeemed community united in Christ and gathered for God's name. Trace thread →
- Messianic Hope Trace the messianic hope thread from covenant promise and prophetic expectation to the clearer identification of Jesus as the promised ruler, priest, and deliverer. Trace thread →
- Christ-Centered Preaching Christ-centered preaching is the faithful proclamation of Scripture in a way that is governed by the person and work of Jesus Christ and ordered by the gospel. It does not force Jesus artificially into every passage, but reads every text within the redemptive purpose of God that culminates in Christ. This kind of preaching refuses both moralistic reduction and personality-driven performance. It seeks to herald God's Word with exegetical integrity, gospel clarity, and pastoral urgency so that hearers encounter the living Christ in the truth of Scripture.
- Gospel and Assurance The gospel and assurance belong together because the same Christ who saves sinners also gives them a solid basis for confidence before God through His finished work, present intercession, and unfailing promises. Assurance is not self-confidence, presumption, or denial of spiritual struggle, but a gospel-grounded confidence that rests in Jesus Christ and is strengthened by the Spirit, the Word, and the evidences of grace. The believer's peace does not arise from personal perfection, but from union with the crucified and risen Lord. Where the gospel is central, assurance is neither ignored nor artificially manufactured, but nurtured through truth, repentance, faith, and persevering dependence upon Christ.
- Gospel and Perseverance The gospel of Jesus Christ not only saves sinners but secures and sustains them to the end. Through union with Christ and the preserving work of God, those who truly belong to Christ continue in faith, repentance, and obedience. Perseverance therefore reveals the enduring power of the cross and resurrection in the life of the believer. The same grace that begins salvation also carries believers forward until the final day of redemption.
Passages
Chapter opening: Psalms 29:1-4
Psa 29:3-9 Now follows the description of the revelation of God’s power, which is the ground of the summons, and is to be the subject-matter of their praise. The All-glorious One makes Himself heard in the language (Rev 10:3.) of the thunder, and reveals Himself in the storm. There are fifteen lines, which naturally arrange themselves into three five-line strophes.
The chief matter with the poet, however, is the sevenfold קול ה. Although קול is sometimes used almost as an ejaculatory “Hark! ” (Gen 4:10; Isa 52:8), this must not, with Ewald (§286, f ), be applied to the קול ה of the Psalm before us, the theme of which is the voice of God, who announced Himself from heaven - a voice which moves the world. The dull sounding קול serves not merely to denote the thunder of the storm, but even the thunder of the earthquake, the roar of the tempest, and in general, every low, dull, rumbling sound, by which God makes Himself audible to the world, and more especially from the wrathful side of His doxa.
The waters in Psa 29:3 are not the lower waters. Then the question arises what are they? Were the waters of the Mediterranean intended, they would be more definitely denoted in such a vivid description. It is, however, far more appropriate to the commencement of this description to understand them to mean the mass of water gathered together in the thick, black storm-clouds (vid.
, Psa 18:12; Jer 10:13). The rumbling of Jahve is, as the poet himself explains in Psa 29:3 , the thunder produced on high by the אל הכּבוד (cf. מלך הכבוד, Psa 24:7.) , which rolls over the sea of waters floating above the earth in the sky. Psa 29:4 and Psa 29:4 , just like Psa 29:3 and Psa 29:3 , are independent substantival clauses. The rumbling of Jahve is, issues forth, or passes by; ב with the abstract article as in Psa 77:14; Pro 24:5 (cf.
Pro 8:8; Luk 4:32, ἐν ἰσχύΐ Rev 18:2), is the ב of the distinctive attribute. In Psa 29:3 the first peals of thunder are heard; in Psa 29:4 the storm is coming nearer, and the peals become stronger, and now it bursts forth with its full violence: Psa 29:5 describes this in a general form, and Psa 29:5 expresses by the fut. consec . , as it were inferentially, that which is at present taking place: amidst the rolling of the thunder the descending lightning flashes rive the cedars of Lebanon (as is well-known, the lightning takes the outermost points).
The suffix in Psa 29:6 does not refer proleptically to the mountains mentioned afterwards, but naturally to the cedars (Hengst. , Hupf. , Hitz.) , which bend down before the storm and quickly rise up again. The skipping of Lebanon and Sirion, however, is not to be referred to the fact, that their wooded summits bend down and rise again, but, according to Psa 114:4, to their being shaken by the crash of the thunder-a feature in the picture which certainly does not rest upon what is actually true in nature, but figuratively describes the apparent quaking of the earth during a heavy thunderstorm.
שריון, according to Deu 3:9, is the Sidonian name of Hermon, and therefore side by side with Lebanon it represents Anti-Lebanon. The word, according to the Masora, has ש sinistrum , and consequently is isriyown, wherefore Hitzig correctly derives it from Arab. srâ , fut . i. , to gleam, sparkle, cf. the passage from an Arab poet at Psa 133:3. The lightning makes these mountains bound (Luther, lecken , i.
e. , according to his explanation: to spring, skip) like young antelopes. ראם, like βούβαλος, βούβαλις, is a generic name of the antelope, and of the buffalo that roams in herds through the forests beyond the Jordan even at the present day; for there are antelopes that resemble the buffalo and also (except in the formation of the head and the cloven hoofs) those that resemble the horse, the lxx renders: ὡς υἱὸς μονοκερώτων.
Does this mean the unicorn Germ. one-horn depicted on Persian and African monuments? Is this unicorn distinct from the one horned antelope? Neither an unicorn nor an one horned antelope have been seen to the present day by any traveller. Both animals, and consequently also their relation to one another, are up to the present time still undefinable from a scientific point of view.
Each peal of thunder is immediately followed by a flash of lightning; Jahve’s thunder cleaveth flames of fire, i. e. , forms (as it were λατομεῖ) the fire-matter of the storm-clouds into cloven flames of fire, into lightnings that pass swiftly along; in connection with which it must be remembered that קול ה denotes not merely the thunder as a phenomenon, but at the same time it denotes the omnipotence of God expressing itself therein.
The brevity and threefold division of Psa 29:7 depicts the incessant, zigzag, quivering movement of the lightning ( tela trisulca, ignes trisulci , in Ovid). From the northern mountains the storm sweeps on towards the south of Palestine into the Arabian desert, viz. , as we are told in Psa 29:8 (cf. Psa 29:5, according to the schema of “parallelism by reservation”), the wilderness region of Kadesh (Kadesh Barnea) , which, however we may define its position, must certainly have lain near the steep western slope of the mountains of Edom toward the Arabah.
Jahve’s thunder, viz. , the thunderstorm, puts this desert in a state of whirl, inasmuch as it drives the sand (חול) before it in whirlwinds; and among the mountains it, viz. , the strong lightning and thundering, makes the hinds to writhe, inasmuch as from fright they bring forth prematurely. both the Hiph . יהיל and the Pil . יחולל are used with a causative meaning (root חו, חי, to move in a circle, to encircle).
The poet continues with ויּחשׂף, since he makes one effect of the storm to develope from another, merging as it were out of its chrysalis state. יערות is a poetical plural form; and חשׂף describes the effect of the storm which “shells” the woods, inasmuch as it beats down the branches of the trees, both the tops and the foliage. While Jahve thus reveals Himself from heaven upon the earth in all His irresistible power, בּהיכלו, in His heavenly palace (Psa 11:4; Psa 18:7), כּלּו (note how בהיכלו resolves this כלו out of itself), i.
e. , each of the beings therein, says: כבוד. That which the poet, in Psa 29:1, has called upon them to do, now takes place. Jahve receives back His glory, which is immanent in the universe, in the thousand-voiced echo of adoration.
Psa 29:3-9 Now follows the description of the revelation of God’s power, which is the ground of the summons, and is to be the subject-matter of their praise. The All-glorious One makes Himself heard in the language (Rev 10:3.) of the thunder, and reveals Himself in the storm. There are fifteen lines, which naturally arrange themselves into three five-line strophes.
The chief matter with the poet, however, is the sevenfold קול ה. Although קול is sometimes used almost as an ejaculatory “Hark! ” (Gen 4:10; Isa 52:8), this must not, with Ewald (§286, f ), be applied to the קול ה of the Psalm before us, the theme of which is the voice of God, who announced Himself from heaven - a voice which moves the world. The dull sounding קול serves not merely to denote the thunder of the storm, but even the thunder of the earthquake, the roar of the tempest, and in general, every low, dull, rumbling sound, by which God makes Himself audible to the world, and more especially from the wrathful side of His doxa.
The waters in Psa 29:3 are not the lower waters. Then the question arises what are they? Were the waters of the Mediterranean intended, they would be more definitely denoted in such a vivid description. It is, however, far more appropriate to the commencement of this description to understand them to mean the mass of water gathered together in the thick, black storm-clouds (vid.
, Psa 18:12; Jer 10:13). The rumbling of Jahve is, as the poet himself explains in Psa 29:3 , the thunder produced on high by the אל הכּבוד (cf. מלך הכבוד, Psa 24:7.) , which rolls over the sea of waters floating above the earth in the sky. Psa 29:4 and Psa 29:4 , just like Psa 29:3 and Psa 29:3 , are independent substantival clauses. The rumbling of Jahve is, issues forth, or passes by; ב with the abstract article as in Psa 77:14; Pro 24:5 (cf.
Pro 8:8; Luk 4:32, ἐν ἰσχύΐ Rev 18:2), is the ב of the distinctive attribute. In Psa 29:3 the first peals of thunder are heard; in Psa 29:4 the storm is coming nearer, and the peals become stronger, and now it bursts forth with its full violence: Psa 29:5 describes this in a general form, and Psa 29:5 expresses by the fut. consec . , as it were inferentially, that which is at present taking place: amidst the rolling of the thunder the descending lightning flashes rive the cedars of Lebanon (as is well-known, the lightning takes the outermost points).
The suffix in Psa 29:6 does not refer proleptically to the mountains mentioned afterwards, but naturally to the cedars (Hengst. , Hupf. , Hitz.) , which bend down before the storm and quickly rise up again. The skipping of Lebanon and Sirion, however, is not to be referred to the fact, that their wooded summits bend down and rise again, but, according to Psa 114:4, to their being shaken by the crash of the thunder-a feature in the picture which certainly does not rest upon what is actually true in nature, but figuratively describes the apparent quaking of the earth during a heavy thunderstorm.
שריון, according to Deu 3:9, is the Sidonian name of Hermon, and therefore side by side with Lebanon it represents Anti-Lebanon. The word, according to the Masora, has ש sinistrum , and consequently is isriyown, wherefore Hitzig correctly derives it from Arab. srâ , fut . i. , to gleam, sparkle, cf. the passage from an Arab poet at Psa 133:3. The lightning makes these mountains bound (Luther, lecken , i.
e. , according to his explanation: to spring, skip) like young antelopes. ראם, like βούβαλος, βούβαλις, is a generic name of the antelope, and of the buffalo that roams in herds through the forests beyond the Jordan even at the present day; for there are antelopes that resemble the buffalo and also (except in the formation of the head and the cloven hoofs) those that resemble the horse, the lxx renders: ὡς υἱὸς μονοκερώτων.
Does this mean the unicorn Germ. one-horn depicted on Persian and African monuments? Is this unicorn distinct from the one horned antelope? Neither an unicorn nor an one horned antelope have been seen to the present day by any traveller. Both animals, and consequently also their relation to one another, are up to the present time still undefinable from a scientific point of view.
Each peal of thunder is immediately followed by a flash of lightning; Jahve’s thunder cleaveth flames of fire, i. e. , forms (as it were λατομεῖ) the fire-matter of the storm-clouds into cloven flames of fire, into lightnings that pass swiftly along; in connection with which it must be remembered that קול ה denotes not merely the thunder as a phenomenon, but at the same time it denotes the omnipotence of God expressing itself therein.
The brevity and threefold division of Psa 29:7 depicts the incessant, zigzag, quivering movement of the lightning ( tela trisulca, ignes trisulci , in Ovid). From the northern mountains the storm sweeps on towards the south of Palestine into the Arabian desert, viz. , as we are told in Psa 29:8 (cf. Psa 29:5, according to the schema of “parallelism by reservation”), the wilderness region of Kadesh (Kadesh Barnea) , which, however we may define its position, must certainly have lain near the steep western slope of the mountains of Edom toward the Arabah.
Jahve’s thunder, viz. , the thunderstorm, puts this desert in a state of whirl, inasmuch as it drives the sand (חול) before it in whirlwinds; and among the mountains it, viz. , the strong lightning and thundering, makes the hinds to writhe, inasmuch as from fright they bring forth prematurely. both the Hiph . יהיל and the Pil . יחולל are used with a causative meaning (root חו, חי, to move in a circle, to encircle).
The poet continues with ויּחשׂף, since he makes one effect of the storm to develope from another, merging as it were out of its chrysalis state. יערות is a poetical plural form; and חשׂף describes the effect of the storm which “shells” the woods, inasmuch as it beats down the branches of the trees, both the tops and the foliage. While Jahve thus reveals Himself from heaven upon the earth in all His irresistible power, בּהיכלו, in His heavenly palace (Psa 11:4; Psa 18:7), כּלּו (note how בהיכלו resolves this כלו out of itself), i.
e. , each of the beings therein, says: כבוד. That which the poet, in Psa 29:1, has called upon them to do, now takes place. Jahve receives back His glory, which is immanent in the universe, in the thousand-voiced echo of adoration.
Psa 29:3-9 Now follows the description of the revelation of God’s power, which is the ground of the summons, and is to be the subject-matter of their praise. The All-glorious One makes Himself heard in the language (Rev 10:3.) of the thunder, and reveals Himself in the storm. There are fifteen lines, which naturally arrange themselves into three five-line strophes.
The chief matter with the poet, however, is the sevenfold קול ה. Although קול is sometimes used almost as an ejaculatory “Hark! ” (Gen 4:10; Isa 52:8), this must not, with Ewald (§286, f ), be applied to the קול ה of the Psalm before us, the theme of which is the voice of God, who announced Himself from heaven - a voice which moves the world. The dull sounding קול serves not merely to denote the thunder of the storm, but even the thunder of the earthquake, the roar of the tempest, and in general, every low, dull, rumbling sound, by which God makes Himself audible to the world, and more especially from the wrathful side of His doxa.
The waters in Psa 29:3 are not the lower waters. Then the question arises what are they? Were the waters of the Mediterranean intended, they would be more definitely denoted in such a vivid description. It is, however, far more appropriate to the commencement of this description to understand them to mean the mass of water gathered together in the thick, black storm-clouds (vid.
, Psa 18:12; Jer 10:13). The rumbling of Jahve is, as the poet himself explains in Psa 29:3 , the thunder produced on high by the אל הכּבוד (cf. מלך הכבוד, Psa 24:7.) , which rolls over the sea of waters floating above the earth in the sky. Psa 29:4 and Psa 29:4 , just like Psa 29:3 and Psa 29:3 , are independent substantival clauses. The rumbling of Jahve is, issues forth, or passes by; ב with the abstract article as in Psa 77:14; Pro 24:5 (cf.
Pro 8:8; Luk 4:32, ἐν ἰσχύΐ Rev 18:2), is the ב of the distinctive attribute. In Psa 29:3 the first peals of thunder are heard; in Psa 29:4 the storm is coming nearer, and the peals become stronger, and now it bursts forth with its full violence: Psa 29:5 describes this in a general form, and Psa 29:5 expresses by the fut. consec . , as it were inferentially, that which is at present taking place: amidst the rolling of the thunder the descending lightning flashes rive the cedars of Lebanon (as is well-known, the lightning takes the outermost points).
The suffix in Psa 29:6 does not refer proleptically to the mountains mentioned afterwards, but naturally to the cedars (Hengst. , Hupf. , Hitz.) , which bend down before the storm and quickly rise up again. The skipping of Lebanon and Sirion, however, is not to be referred to the fact, that their wooded summits bend down and rise again, but, according to Psa 114:4, to their being shaken by the crash of the thunder-a feature in the picture which certainly does not rest upon what is actually true in nature, but figuratively describes the apparent quaking of the earth during a heavy thunderstorm.
שריון, according to Deu 3:9, is the Sidonian name of Hermon, and therefore side by side with Lebanon it represents Anti-Lebanon. The word, according to the Masora, has ש sinistrum , and consequently is isriyown, wherefore Hitzig correctly derives it from Arab. srâ , fut . i. , to gleam, sparkle, cf. the passage from an Arab poet at Psa 133:3. The lightning makes these mountains bound (Luther, lecken , i.
e. , according to his explanation: to spring, skip) like young antelopes. ראם, like βούβαλος, βούβαλις, is a generic name of the antelope, and of the buffalo that roams in herds through the forests beyond the Jordan even at the present day; for there are antelopes that resemble the buffalo and also (except in the formation of the head and the cloven hoofs) those that resemble the horse, the lxx renders: ὡς υἱὸς μονοκερώτων.
Does this mean the unicorn Germ. one-horn depicted on Persian and African monuments? Is this unicorn distinct from the one horned antelope? Neither an unicorn nor an one horned antelope have been seen to the present day by any traveller. Both animals, and consequently also their relation to one another, are up to the present time still undefinable from a scientific point of view.
Each peal of thunder is immediately followed by a flash of lightning; Jahve’s thunder cleaveth flames of fire, i. e. , forms (as it were λατομεῖ) the fire-matter of the storm-clouds into cloven flames of fire, into lightnings that pass swiftly along; in connection with which it must be remembered that קול ה denotes not merely the thunder as a phenomenon, but at the same time it denotes the omnipotence of God expressing itself therein.
The brevity and threefold division of Psa 29:7 depicts the incessant, zigzag, quivering movement of the lightning ( tela trisulca, ignes trisulci , in Ovid). From the northern mountains the storm sweeps on towards the south of Palestine into the Arabian desert, viz. , as we are told in Psa 29:8 (cf. Psa 29:5, according to the schema of “parallelism by reservation”), the wilderness region of Kadesh (Kadesh Barnea) , which, however we may define its position, must certainly have lain near the steep western slope of the mountains of Edom toward the Arabah.
Jahve’s thunder, viz. , the thunderstorm, puts this desert in a state of whirl, inasmuch as it drives the sand (חול) before it in whirlwinds; and among the mountains it, viz. , the strong lightning and thundering, makes the hinds to writhe, inasmuch as from fright they bring forth prematurely. both the Hiph . יהיל and the Pil . יחולל are used with a causative meaning (root חו, חי, to move in a circle, to encircle).
The poet continues with ויּחשׂף, since he makes one effect of the storm to develope from another, merging as it were out of its chrysalis state. יערות is a poetical plural form; and חשׂף describes the effect of the storm which “shells” the woods, inasmuch as it beats down the branches of the trees, both the tops and the foliage. While Jahve thus reveals Himself from heaven upon the earth in all His irresistible power, בּהיכלו, in His heavenly palace (Psa 11:4; Psa 18:7), כּלּו (note how בהיכלו resolves this כלו out of itself), i.
e. , each of the beings therein, says: כבוד. That which the poet, in Psa 29:1, has called upon them to do, now takes place. Jahve receives back His glory, which is immanent in the universe, in the thousand-voiced echo of adoration.
Psa 29:3-9 Now follows the description of the revelation of God’s power, which is the ground of the summons, and is to be the subject-matter of their praise. The All-glorious One makes Himself heard in the language (Rev 10:3.) of the thunder, and reveals Himself in the storm. There are fifteen lines, which naturally arrange themselves into three five-line strophes.
The chief matter with the poet, however, is the sevenfold קול ה. Although קול is sometimes used almost as an ejaculatory “Hark! ” (Gen 4:10; Isa 52:8), this must not, with Ewald (§286, f ), be applied to the קול ה of the Psalm before us, the theme of which is the voice of God, who announced Himself from heaven - a voice which moves the world. The dull sounding קול serves not merely to denote the thunder of the storm, but even the thunder of the earthquake, the roar of the tempest, and in general, every low, dull, rumbling sound, by which God makes Himself audible to the world, and more especially from the wrathful side of His doxa.
The waters in Psa 29:3 are not the lower waters. Then the question arises what are they? Were the waters of the Mediterranean intended, they would be more definitely denoted in such a vivid description. It is, however, far more appropriate to the commencement of this description to understand them to mean the mass of water gathered together in the thick, black storm-clouds (vid.
, Psa 18:12; Jer 10:13). The rumbling of Jahve is, as the poet himself explains in Psa 29:3 , the thunder produced on high by the אל הכּבוד (cf. מלך הכבוד, Psa 24:7.) , which rolls over the sea of waters floating above the earth in the sky. Psa 29:4 and Psa 29:4 , just like Psa 29:3 and Psa 29:3 , are independent substantival clauses. The rumbling of Jahve is, issues forth, or passes by; ב with the abstract article as in Psa 77:14; Pro 24:5 (cf.
Pro 8:8; Luk 4:32, ἐν ἰσχύΐ Rev 18:2), is the ב of the distinctive attribute. In Psa 29:3 the first peals of thunder are heard; in Psa 29:4 the storm is coming nearer, and the peals become stronger, and now it bursts forth with its full violence: Psa 29:5 describes this in a general form, and Psa 29:5 expresses by the fut. consec . , as it were inferentially, that which is at present taking place: amidst the rolling of the thunder the descending lightning flashes rive the cedars of Lebanon (as is well-known, the lightning takes the outermost points).
The suffix in Psa 29:6 does not refer proleptically to the mountains mentioned afterwards, but naturally to the cedars (Hengst. , Hupf. , Hitz.) , which bend down before the storm and quickly rise up again. The skipping of Lebanon and Sirion, however, is not to be referred to the fact, that their wooded summits bend down and rise again, but, according to Psa 114:4, to their being shaken by the crash of the thunder-a feature in the picture which certainly does not rest upon what is actually true in nature, but figuratively describes the apparent quaking of the earth during a heavy thunderstorm.
שריון, according to Deu 3:9, is the Sidonian name of Hermon, and therefore side by side with Lebanon it represents Anti-Lebanon. The word, according to the Masora, has ש sinistrum , and consequently is isriyown, wherefore Hitzig correctly derives it from Arab. srâ , fut . i. , to gleam, sparkle, cf. the passage from an Arab poet at Psa 133:3. The lightning makes these mountains bound (Luther, lecken , i.
e. , according to his explanation: to spring, skip) like young antelopes. ראם, like βούβαλος, βούβαλις, is a generic name of the antelope, and of the buffalo that roams in herds through the forests beyond the Jordan even at the present day; for there are antelopes that resemble the buffalo and also (except in the formation of the head and the cloven hoofs) those that resemble the horse, the lxx renders: ὡς υἱὸς μονοκερώτων.
Does this mean the unicorn Germ. one-horn depicted on Persian and African monuments? Is this unicorn distinct from the one horned antelope? Neither an unicorn nor an one horned antelope have been seen to the present day by any traveller. Both animals, and consequently also their relation to one another, are up to the present time still undefinable from a scientific point of view.
Each peal of thunder is immediately followed by a flash of lightning; Jahve’s thunder cleaveth flames of fire, i. e. , forms (as it were λατομεῖ) the fire-matter of the storm-clouds into cloven flames of fire, into lightnings that pass swiftly along; in connection with which it must be remembered that קול ה denotes not merely the thunder as a phenomenon, but at the same time it denotes the omnipotence of God expressing itself therein.
The brevity and threefold division of Psa 29:7 depicts the incessant, zigzag, quivering movement of the lightning ( tela trisulca, ignes trisulci , in Ovid). From the northern mountains the storm sweeps on towards the south of Palestine into the Arabian desert, viz. , as we are told in Psa 29:8 (cf. Psa 29:5, according to the schema of “parallelism by reservation”), the wilderness region of Kadesh (Kadesh Barnea) , which, however we may define its position, must certainly have lain near the steep western slope of the mountains of Edom toward the Arabah.
Jahve’s thunder, viz. , the thunderstorm, puts this desert in a state of whirl, inasmuch as it drives the sand (חול) before it in whirlwinds; and among the mountains it, viz. , the strong lightning and thundering, makes the hinds to writhe, inasmuch as from fright they bring forth prematurely. both the Hiph . יהיל and the Pil . יחולל are used with a causative meaning (root חו, חי, to move in a circle, to encircle).
The poet continues with ויּחשׂף, since he makes one effect of the storm to develope from another, merging as it were out of its chrysalis state. יערות is a poetical plural form; and חשׂף describes the effect of the storm which “shells” the woods, inasmuch as it beats down the branches of the trees, both the tops and the foliage. While Jahve thus reveals Himself from heaven upon the earth in all His irresistible power, בּהיכלו, in His heavenly palace (Psa 11:4; Psa 18:7), כּלּו (note how בהיכלו resolves this כלו out of itself), i.
e. , each of the beings therein, says: כבוד. That which the poet, in Psa 29:1, has called upon them to do, now takes place. Jahve receives back His glory, which is immanent in the universe, in the thousand-voiced echo of adoration.
Psa 29:10-11 Luther renders it: “The Lord sitteth to prepare a Flood,” thus putting meaning into the unintelligible rendering of the Vulgate and lxx; and in fact a meaning that accords with the language - for ישׁב ל is most certainly intended to be understood after the analogy of ישׁב למשׁפט, Psa 122:5, cf. Psa 9:8 - just as much as with the context; for the poet has not thus far expressly referred to the torrents of rain, in which the storm empties itself.
Engelhardt also ( Lutherische Zeitschrift , 1861, 216f.) , Kurtz ( Bibel und Astronomie , S. 568, Aufl. 4), Riehm ( Liter. - Blatt of the Allgem. Kirchen-Zeit. , 1864, S. 110), and others understand by מבול the quasi-flood of the torrent of rain accompanying the lightning and thunder. But the word is not למבול, but למּבול, and המּבּוּל (Syr. momûl ) occurs exclusively in Gen 6-11 as the name of the great Flood.
Every tempest, however, calls to mind this judgment and its merciful issue, for it comes before us in sacred history as the first appearance of rain with lightning and thunder, and of the bow in the clouds speaking its message of peace ( Genesis , S. 276). The retrospective reference to this event is also still further confirmed by the aorist ויּשׁב which follows the perfect ישׁב (Hofmann, Schriftbeweis i.
208). Jahve - says the poet - sat (upon His throne) at the Flood (to execute it), and sits (enthroned) in consequence thereof, or since that time, as this present revelation of Him in the tempest shows, as King for ever, inasmuch as He rules down here upon earth from His throne in the heavens (Psa 115:16) in wrath and in mercy, judging and dispensing blessing.
Here upon earth He has a people, whom from above He endows with a share of His own might and blesses with peace, while the tempests of His wrath burst over their foes. How expressive is בּשּׁלום as the closing word of this particular Psalm! It spans the Psalm like a rain-bow. The opening of the Psalm shows us the heavens opened and the throne of God in the midst of the angelic songs of praise, and the close of the Psalm shows us, on earth, His people victorious and blessed with peace (בּ as in Gen 24:1 in the midst of Jahve’s voice of anger, which shakes all things.
Gloria in excelsis is its beginning, and pax in terris its conclusion.
Psa 29:10-11 Luther renders it: “The Lord sitteth to prepare a Flood,” thus putting meaning into the unintelligible rendering of the Vulgate and lxx; and in fact a meaning that accords with the language - for ישׁב ל is most certainly intended to be understood after the analogy of ישׁב למשׁפט, Psa 122:5, cf. Psa 9:8 - just as much as with the context; for the poet has not thus far expressly referred to the torrents of rain, in which the storm empties itself.
Engelhardt also ( Lutherische Zeitschrift , 1861, 216f.) , Kurtz ( Bibel und Astronomie , S. 568, Aufl. 4), Riehm ( Liter. - Blatt of the Allgem. Kirchen-Zeit. , 1864, S. 110), and others understand by מבול the quasi-flood of the torrent of rain accompanying the lightning and thunder. But the word is not למבול, but למּבול, and המּבּוּל (Syr. momûl ) occurs exclusively in Gen 6-11 as the name of the great Flood.
Every tempest, however, calls to mind this judgment and its merciful issue, for it comes before us in sacred history as the first appearance of rain with lightning and thunder, and of the bow in the clouds speaking its message of peace ( Genesis , S. 276). The retrospective reference to this event is also still further confirmed by the aorist ויּשׁב which follows the perfect ישׁב (Hofmann, Schriftbeweis i.
208). Jahve - says the poet - sat (upon His throne) at the Flood (to execute it), and sits (enthroned) in consequence thereof, or since that time, as this present revelation of Him in the tempest shows, as King for ever, inasmuch as He rules down here upon earth from His throne in the heavens (Psa 115:16) in wrath and in mercy, judging and dispensing blessing.
Here upon earth He has a people, whom from above He endows with a share of His own might and blesses with peace, while the tempests of His wrath burst over their foes. How expressive is בּשּׁלום as the closing word of this particular Psalm! It spans the Psalm like a rain-bow. The opening of the Psalm shows us the heavens opened and the throne of God in the midst of the angelic songs of praise, and the close of the Psalm shows us, on earth, His people victorious and blessed with peace (בּ as in Gen 24:1 in the midst of Jahve’s voice of anger, which shakes all things.
Gloria in excelsis is its beginning, and pax in terris its conclusion.
The summons to praise God which is addressed to the angels above in Psa 29:1-11, is directed in Psa 30:1-12 to the pious here below. There is nothing against the adoption of the לדוד. Hitzig again in this instance finds all kinds of indications of Jeremiah’s hand; but the parallels in Jeremiah are echoes of the Psalms, and דלּיתני in Psa 30:2 does not need to be explained of a lowering into a tank or dungeon, it is a metaphorical expression for raising up out of the depths of affliction.
Even Hezekiah’s song of thanksgiving in Isa 38 has grown out of the two closing strophes of this Psalm under the influence of an intimate acquaintance with the Book of Job. We are therefore warranted in supposing that it is David, who here, having in the midst of the stability of his power come to the verge of the grave, and now being roused from all carnal security, as one who has been rescued, praises the Lord, whom he has made his refuge, and calls upon all the pious to join with him in his song.
The Psalm bears the inscription: A Song-Psalm at the Dedication of the House, by David . This has been referred to the dedication of the site of the future Temple, 2 Sam; 1Ch 21:1; but although the place of the future Temple together with the altar then erected on it, can be called בּית יהוה (1Ch 22:1), and might also at any rate be called absolutely הבּית (as הר הבית, the Temple hill); yet we know that David did not himself suffer (2Sa 24:17) from the pestilence, which followed as a punishment upon the numbering of the people which he instituted in his arrogant self-magnification.
The Psalm, however, also does not contain anything that should point to a dedication of a sanctuary, whether Mount Moriah, or the tabernacle, 2Sa 6:17. It might more naturally be referred to the re-consecration of the palace, that was defiled by Absolom, after David’s return; but the Psalm mentions some imminent peril, the gracious averting of which does not consist in the turning away of bloodthirsty foes, but in recovery from some sickness that might have proved fatal.
Thus then it must be the dedication of the citadel on Zion, the building of which was just completed. From 2Sa 5:12 we see that David regarded this building as a pledge of the stability and exaltation of his kingdom; and all that is needed in order to understand the Psalm is, with Aben-Ezra, Flaminius, Crusius, and Vaihinger, to infer from the Psalm itself, that David had been delayed by some severe illness from taking possession of the new building.
The situation of Psa 16:1-11 is just like it. The regular official title אשׁר על־הבּית (majordomo) shows, that הבית, used thus absolutely, may denote the palace just as well as the Temple. The lxx which renders it τοῦ ἐγκαινισμοῦ τοῦ οἴκου (τοῦ) Δαυίδ, understands the palace, not the Temple. In the Jewish ritual, Psa 30:1-12 is certainly, as is even stated in the Tractate Sofrim xviii.
§2, the Psalm for the feast of Chanucca , or Dedication, which refers to 1 Macc. 4:52ff.
Psa 30:1-3 (Hebrew_Bible_30:2-4) The Psalm begins like a hymn. The Piel דּלּה (from דּלה, Arab. dlâ , to hold anything long, loose and pendulous, whether upwards or downwards, conj. V Arab. tdllâ = , to dangle) signifies to lift or draw up, like a bucket (דּלי, Greek ἀντλίον, Latin tollo , tolleno in Festus). The poet himself says what that depth is into which he had sunk and out of which God had drawn him up without his enemies rejoicing over him (לי as in Psa 25:2), i.
e. , without allowing them the wished for joy at his destruction: he was brought down almost into Hades in consequence of some fatal sickness. חיּה (never: to call into being out of nothing) always means to restore to life that which has apparently or really succumbed to death, or to preserve anything living in life. With this is easily and satisfactorily joined the Kerî מיּרדי בור (without Makkeph in the correct text), ita ut non descenderem ; the infinitive of ירד in this instance following the analogy of the strong verb is ירד, like יבשׁ, ישׁון, and with suffix jordi (like josdi , Job 38:4) or jaaredi , for here it is to be read thus, and not jordi (vid.
, on Psa 16:1; Psa 86:2). The Chethîb מיורדי might also be the infinitive, written with Cholem plenum , as an infinitive Gen 32:20, and an imperative Num 23:8, is each pointed with Cholem instead of Kamtez chatuph ; but it is probably intended to be read as a participle, מיּורדי: Thou hast revived me from those who sink away into the grave (Psa 28:1), or out of the state of such (cf.
Psa 22:22 ) - a perfectly admissible and pregnant construction.
Psa 30:1-3 (Hebrew_Bible_30:2-4) The Psalm begins like a hymn. The Piel דּלּה (from דּלה, Arab. dlâ , to hold anything long, loose and pendulous, whether upwards or downwards, conj. V Arab. tdllâ = , to dangle) signifies to lift or draw up, like a bucket (דּלי, Greek ἀντλίον, Latin tollo , tolleno in Festus). The poet himself says what that depth is into which he had sunk and out of which God had drawn him up without his enemies rejoicing over him (לי as in Psa 25:2), i.
e. , without allowing them the wished for joy at his destruction: he was brought down almost into Hades in consequence of some fatal sickness. חיּה (never: to call into being out of nothing) always means to restore to life that which has apparently or really succumbed to death, or to preserve anything living in life. With this is easily and satisfactorily joined the Kerî מיּרדי בור (without Makkeph in the correct text), ita ut non descenderem ; the infinitive of ירד in this instance following the analogy of the strong verb is ירד, like יבשׁ, ישׁון, and with suffix jordi (like josdi , Job 38:4) or jaaredi , for here it is to be read thus, and not jordi (vid.
, on Psa 16:1; Psa 86:2). The Chethîb מיורדי might also be the infinitive, written with Cholem plenum , as an infinitive Gen 32:20, and an imperative Num 23:8, is each pointed with Cholem instead of Kamtez chatuph ; but it is probably intended to be read as a participle, מיּורדי: Thou hast revived me from those who sink away into the grave (Psa 28:1), or out of the state of such (cf.
Psa 22:22 ) - a perfectly admissible and pregnant construction.
Psa 30:4-5 (Hebrew_Bible_30:5-6) Psa 30:4 call upon all the pious to praise this God, who after a short season of anger is at once and henceforth gracious. Instead of שׁם of Jahve, we find the expression זכר in this instance, as in Psa 97:12 after Exo 3:15. Jahve, by revealing Himself, renders Himself capable of being both named and remembered, and that in the most illustrious manner.
The history of redemption is, as it were, an unfolding of the Name of Jahve and at the same time a setting up of a monument, an establishment of a memorial, and in fact the erection of a זכר קדשׁ; because all God’s self-attestations, whether in love or in wrath, flow from the sea of light of His holiness. When He manifests Himself to His won love prevails; and wrath is, in relation to them, only a vanishing moment: a moment passes in His anger, a (whole) life in His favour , i.
e. , the former endures only for a moment, the latter the whole life of a man. “Alles Ding währt seine Zeit, Gottes Lieb' in Ewigkeit. ” All things last their season, God’s love to all eternity. The preposition בּ does not here, as in the beautiful parallel Isa 54:7. , cf. Psa 60:10, denote the time and mode of that which takes place, but the state in which one spends the time.
Psa 30:6 portrays the rapidity with which love takes back wrath (cf. Isa 17:14): in the evening weeping takes up its abode with us for the night, but in the morning another guest, viz. , רנּה, appears, like a rescuing angel, before whom בּכי disappears. The predicate ילין etaci does not belong to Psa 30:6 as well (Hupfeld, Hitzig). The substantival clause: and in the morning joy = joy is present, depicts the unexpectedness and surprise of the help of Him who sends בכי and רנה.