Psalms

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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 Enuma Elish IV and Psalm 148:4

Ancient Near East, Babylonian · Hebrew Bible

Summary

Psalm 148 refers to waters above the heavens, a cosmological detail that parallels Enuma Elish, where Marduk stretches Tiamat’s body to form the heavens and appoints a guard to contain the water on the other side of the solid firmament.

Passages

Enuma Elish IV

Ancient Near East, Babylonian · The Seven Tablets of Creation

And had attained the purpose of Nudimmud, Over the captive gods he strengthened his custody, And to Tiamat, whom he had conquered, he returned. And the lord stood upon Tiamat’s hindquarters, And with his merciless club he smashed her skull. He cut through the channels of her blood, And he made the North wind bear it away into secret places. His fathers saw, and they rejoiced and were glad; Presents and gifts they brought to him. Then the lord rested, gazing upon her dead body, In order to divide the lump by a clever scheme. He split her up like a flat fish into two halves; One half of her he set up and stretched out as the heavens. He stretched the skin and appointed a watch And ordered them not to let her waters come forth. He passed through the heavens, he surveyed the regions (of it), And opposite the Deep he set the dwelling of Nudimmud. And the lord measured the structure of the Deep, And he founded Esharra, a mansion like it. The mansion Esharra which he created as heaven, He caused Anu, Enlil, and Ea in their districts to inhabit.

1800–1750 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Enuma Elish

Psalm 148:4

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.

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... Explicit statements that the heavens are made of water are found in Babylonian texts. Examples include Enuma Elish IV 137-46, where Marduk builds the heavens out of part of the watery corpse of Tiamat, and Inamgišuranki, where the Akkadian name for heaven, samê, is explained as ša me 'of water'. In Enuma Elish IV 139-40, Marduk stretches out a skin and assigns guards to keep the waters of heaven from draining downward onto lower regions of the universe. These traditions may be compared with Genesis 1, where the primeval waters are divided in two, with the upper waters positioned above the firmament (Tr), and Psalms 104:3 and 148:4, which speak of waters above the heavens ..."

Wayne Horowitzh, Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1998), p 262.

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 Enuma Elish IV and Psalm 148:4

Summary

Passages

Enuma Elish IV

Psalm 148:4

References

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