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Psalm 104 uses language from the Egyptian text the Great Hymn to the Aten, such as its description of nightfall, how people sleep, and animals hunt. The Psalm follows its celebration of the daily renewal of life at sunrise and how the light renews life.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE

Great Hymn to the Aten

Ancient Near East, Egyptian
When you set on the western horizon, the land is in darkness like death. People sleep in chambers with heads wrapped, and one eye does not see another. If all their goods under their heads were stolen, they would not know it. Every lion comes from its den, and all creeping snakes bite; darkness is a shroud, and the land is silent, for their maker rests on his horizon. The earth brightens when you rise on the horizon, when you shine as the Aten by day. You drive away darkness and send out your rays; the Two Lands are in festival, awake and standing on their feet, for you have raised them up. They wash their bodies and put on their clothes, lifting their arms in praise at your appearance; throughout the land, everyone does their work. All herds rest content in their pastures; trees and plants grow green. Birds fly from their nests, their wings stretched out in praise of your spirit. All flocks leap on their feet; all things that fly and land live when you rise for them. Ships sail upstream and downstream alike, for every road lies open at your appearance. Fish in the river leap before your face, and your rays reach deep into the great green sea.
Date: 1353–1336 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)

Psalm 104:20

Hebrew Bible
20 You make it dark and night comes, during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around. 21 The lions roar for prey, seeking their food from God. 22 When the sun rises, they withdraw and sleep in their dens. 23 People then go out to do their work, and they labor until evening. 24 How many living things you have made, O Lord! You have exhibited great skill in making all of them; the earth is full of the living things you have made. 25 Over here is the deep, wide sea, which teems with innumerable swimming creatures, living things both small and large. 26 The ships travel there, and over here swims Leviathan35 you made to play in it. 27 All your creatures wait for you to provide them with food on a regular basis. 28 You give food to them and they receive it; you open your hand and they are filled with food. 29 When you ignore them, they panic. When you take away their life’s breath, they die and return to dust. 30 When you send your life-giving breath, they are created, and you replenish the surface of the ground.
Date: 600–201 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References

#3703
"... The 'Great Hymn to Aten' was found in the tomb of Ay, an Egyptian official from the 14th century BC, in Amarna. This literary monument was created during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten, known primarily for his religious reform. The "Great Hymn" is one of the most striking examples of a work whose motifs are traced in the Psalms. The original text used in this article is given according to the edition of N. Davies [Davies, 1908, XXV], and the translation - according to M.A. Korostovtsev [Vigasin, 1997, 51-55]. Parallels with Psalm 104 are observed in verses 20-30 of this psalm. Intersecting fragments are found from the first lines of the hymn to Aten: "You are Ra, you reach the limits created by you... You set in the western slope of the sky - and the earth is in darkness, like being caught by death. People sleep in their houses, and their heads are covered, and one eye does not see the other, and their possessions are stolen, hidden under their pillows, but they do not know. The lion comes out of its den. Snakes sting people in the dark when night comes and the earth plunges into silence, for the Creator of everything has descended beyond the edge of heaven". These lines conceptually resemble verses 19-21: "He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to set. You stretch out the darkness, and it becomes night, when all the forest animals prowl about; the lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God". Fragments 4-5 have similarities with verses 22-23, in excerpts 7-8 the same praise of the numerous creations can be seen as in verse 24, and fragments 5-7 can be compared with verses 25-30 ..."

* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.

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