Psalms

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Psalm 114

1 When Israel left Egypt, when the family of Jacob left a foreign nation behind, 2 Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his kingdom. 3 The sea looked and fled; the Jordan River turned back.⁠ 4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. 5 Why do you flee, O sea? Why do you turn back, O Jordan River? 6 Why do you skip like rams, O mountains, like lambs, O hills? 7 Tremble, O earth, before the Lord—before the God of Jacob,⁠ 8 who turned a rock into a pool of water, a hard rock into springs of water.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.4 VII:32 and Psalm 114:7

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

Summary

Psalm 114 shares the land trembling at Baal's voice in the Baal Cycle, using an earthquake image to show that God's rescue of Israel involves power over nature.

Passages

KTU 1.4 VII:32

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

He opens a window in the house A vent in the midst of the palace. Baal opens a gap in the clouds Baal releases his sacred voice. Baal pronounces the matter of his lips His sacred voice, the earth quakes The high places of the Earth tremble. […] Baal's enemies retreat to the woods The haters of Haddu to the mountain sides. And Mightiest Baal declares: O Foes of Haddu, why do you tremble? Why tremble, O Arms-bearers of the Warrior? Baal surveys the East; Indeed, his hand trembles With a cedar in his right hand. So Baal is seated in his house: Will either king or commoner Establish a dominion land? So I will send an emissary to Divine Mot A messenger to El's Beloved, the Hero That he may summon Mot with his voice Instruct the Beloved with his insides.

1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Psalm 114:7

Hebrew Bible

1 When Israel left Egypt, when the family of Jacob left a foreign nation behind, 2 Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his kingdom. 3 The sea looked and fled; the Jordan River turned back. 4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. 5 Why do you flee, O sea? Why do you turn back, O Jordan River? 6 Why do you skip like rams, O mountains, like lambs, O hills? 7 Tremble, O earth, before the Lord—before the God of Jacob, 8 who turned a rock into a pool of water, a hard rock into springs of water.

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

“... By extension, deities’ sanctuaries and their dwellings on mountains partake of holiness. So Baal’s mountain, Mount Sapan, is called “holy” (KTU 1.3 III 30; 1.16 I 7) as well as “divine” (KTU 1.3 III 29). So, too, Yahweh’s dwelling-place is called the “holy mountain” (har qodesh; Psalm 48:2) and “the holy dwelling-place of the Most High” (qedosh mishkene ‘elyon; Psalm 46:5). Divine holiness, as experienced and expressed in cult, is associated with shaking, whether of places of theophany (KTU 1.4 VII; Psalm 114) or people who experience it (KTU 1.4 VII; Isaiah 6:4). ...”

Mark S. Smith, The Priestly Vision of Genesis 1 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2010), PDF 326.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Psalms150 psalms

Compare KTU 1.4 VII:32 and Psalm 114:7

Summary

Passages

KTU 1.4 VII:32

Psalm 114:7

References

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