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Psalms

About this book
Psalm 148

1 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the sky. Praise him in the heavens.⁠ 2 Praise him, all his angels. Praise him, all his heavenly assembly. 3 Praise him, O sun and moon. Praise him, all you shiny stars.⁠ 4 Praise him, O highest heaven and you waters above the sky.⁠ 5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he gave the command and they came into existence. 6 He established them so they would endure; he issued a decree that will not be revoked.⁠ 7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea creatures and all you ocean depths, 8 O fire and hail, snow and clouds, O stormy wind that carries out his orders,⁠ 9 you mountains and all you hills, you fruit trees and all you cedars, 10 you animals and all you cattle, you creeping things and birds, 11 you kings of the earth and all you nations, you princes and all you leaders on the earth, 12 you young men and young women, you elderly, along with you children. 13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty extends over the earth and sky. 14 He has made his people victorious and given all his loyal followers reason to praise—the Israelites, the people who are close to him. Praise the Lord!

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.10 I:4 and Psalm 148:3

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Psalm 148 calls on stars to praise God, placing the heavenly powers treated as gods at Ugarit among those who owe their existence and honor to their creator.

Passages

KTU 1.10 I:4

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
[…] the Maiden Anat […] […] that the sons of El do not know […] the assembly of the stars […] the circle of the heavens [Mighty] Baal […] Rider on the Clouds […] […] sits on the ground […] […] […] […] he gives [the Maiden] Anat [the In-law of] the Peoples […] [sits] on the ground […] flesh
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Psalm 148:3

Hebrew Bible
1 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the sky. Praise him in the heavens. 2 Praise him, all his angels. Praise him, all his heavenly assembly. 3 Praise him, O sun and moon. Praise him, all you shiny stars. 4 Praise him, O highest heaven and you waters above the sky. 5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he gave the command and they came into existence. 6 He established them so they would endure; he issued a decree that will not be revoked. 7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea creatures and all you ocean depths, 8 O fire and hail, snow and clouds, O stormy wind that carries out his orders, 9 you mountains and all you hills, you fruit trees and all you cedars, 10 you animals and all you cattle, you creeping things and birds,
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

“... Ugaritic regularly refers to heavenly beings as pḫr kkbm (the “congregation of the stars”), language corresponding with ... (“morning stars”; in parallelism with the “sons of God” in Job 38:7) and ... (the “stars of God”; Isa. 14:13). Aside from the context of these references, each of which clearly points to personal beings, not astronomical phenomena, it is significant that in the entire ancient near eastern literary record, El is never identified with a heavenly body. Thus “the stars of El” points to created beings with divine status. The Hebrew Bible also uses ... (“holy ones”) and ... (“hosts”) for inhabitants of heaven, a term not utilized at Ugarit for the heavenly host. The “hosts” of Yahweh constitutes an umbrella term which includes the variety of categories of nonhuman beings who serve God. ... 75 KTU 1.10:I.4. ... 78 See Psalm 103:19-21; 148:1-5. However, several passages unambiguously include divine beings among the heavenly host. See also Isaiah 24:21 (“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth”) with other passages that describe divine beings that dwell in the “heights,” such as Isaiah 14:12–15. ...”
Michael S. Hesier, “Deuteronomy 32:8 and the Sons of God,” BSac 158 (2001): PDF 15.

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

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KTU 1.10 I:4 and Psalm 148:3

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