Go to Related Reading
About this book

Psalms

About this book
Psalm 136

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his loyal love endures.⁠ 2 Give thanks to the God of gods,⁠ for his loyal love endures. 3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his loyal love endures. 4 To the one who performs magnificent, amazing deeds all by himself, for his loyal love endures. 5 To the one who used wisdom to make the heavens, for his loyal love endures.⁠ 6 To the one who spread out the earth over the water,⁠ for his loyal love endures. 7 To the one who made the great lights, for his loyal love endures,⁠ 8 the sun to rule by day, for his loyal love endures, 9 the moon and stars to rule by night, for his loyal love endures. 10 To the one who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, for his loyal love endures, 11 and led Israel out from their midst, for his loyal love endures, 12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his loyal love endures. 13 To the one who divided the Red Sea in two, for his loyal love endures, 14 and led Israel through its midst, for his loyal love endures, 15 and tossed Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea, for his loyal love endures. 16 To the one who led his people through the wilderness, for his loyal love endures. 17 To the one who struck down great kings, for his loyal love endures, 18 and killed powerful kings, for his loyal love endures, 19 Sihon, king of the Amorites, for his loyal love endures, 20 Og, king of Bashan, for his loyal love endures, 21 and gave their land as an inheritance, for his loyal love endures, 22 as an inheritance to Israel his servant, for his loyal love endures. 23 To the one who remembered us when we were down, for his loyal love endures, 24 and snatched us away from our enemies, for his loyal love endures. 25 To the one who gives food to all living things, for his loyal love endures. 26 Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his loyal love endures!

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 136:5 and Proverbs 3:19

Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

Proverbs 3 and Psalm 136 describe creation as the result of God’s wisdom, drawing on ancient Near Eastern traditions where building the world required both skill and understanding. Proverbs presents wisdom as the tool through which creation was shaped.

Passages

Psalm 136:5

Hebrew Bible
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his loyal love endures. 4 To the one who performs magnificent, amazing deeds all by himself, for his loyal love endures. 5 To the one who used wisdom to make the heavens, for his loyal love endures. 6 To the one who spread out the earth over the water, for his loyal love endures. 7 To the one who made the great lights, for his loyal love endures,
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Proverbs 3:19

Hebrew Bible
17 Her ways are very pleasant, and all her paths are peaceful. 18 She is like a tree of life to those who grasp onto her, and everyone who takes hold of her will be blessed. 19 By wisdom the Lord laid the foundation of the earth; he established the heavens by understanding. 20 By his knowledge the primordial sea was broken open, so that the clouds drip down dew. 21 My child, do not let them escape from your sight; safeguard sound wisdom and discretion.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Proverbs

References

"... Thus, in Proverbs, divine creation and provision are the implicit model for the wisdom by which ordinary builders make and “fill” houses. Lady Wisdom herself, whose role in creation is explored below, is represented by the broken word pair, חכמה … תבונה, “wisdom … skill,” not just by “wisdom” - a crucial but sometimes neglected point (Proverbs 8:1; compare 2:2; 3:13; and 9:1). (In Ezekiel 28:4–5 the word pair refers to mercantile prowess. By itself, the term bears connotations of practical competence in areas as diverse as speech; Psalm 49:4; and Proverbs 17:27, warfare; Proverbs 21:30, metallurgy; Hosea 13:2, powers of psychological penetration; Proverbs 20:5, and political governance; Proverbs 28:16, compare Psalm 78:72, which reflects a prior literal usage referring to the skilled hands of a shepherd. Psalm 136:5 describes creation by 'wisdom' alone; compare Psalm 147:5) The word pair reminds one of the double wisdom name of the Ugaritic builder-craftsman god, Kothar-wa-Hasis, who was famous for building Baal’s palace ... house building is a fundamental metaphoric domain used by ancient Near Eastern societies to express their respective views of human wisdom as rooted in divine wisdom manifest in the ordering and provisioning of the cosmos ..."
Raymond C. Van Leeuwen, “Cosmos, Temple, House: Building and Wisdom in Ancient Mesopotamia and Israel,” in From the Foundations to the Crenellations: Essays on Temple Building in the Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible, ed. Richard S. Ellis et al. (Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2010), 399–421.

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

Your feedback

Psalm 136:5 and Proverbs 3:19

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library