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Psalms

About this book
Psalm 29

1 A psalm of David. Acknowledge the Lord, you heavenly beings, acknowledge the Lord’s majesty and power.⁠ 2 Acknowledge the majesty of the Lord’s reputation. Worship the Lord in holy attire. 3 The Lord’s shout is heard over the water; the majestic God thunders, the Lord appears over the surging water. 4 The Lord’s shout is powerful; the Lord’s shout is majestic. 5 The Lord’s shout breaks the cedars; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes them skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young ox. 7 The Lord’s shout strikes with flaming fire. 8 The Lord’s shout shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.⁠ 9 The Lord’s shout bends the large trees and strips the leaves from the forests. Everyone in his temple says, “Majestic!” 10 The Lord sits enthroned over the engulfing waters;⁠ the Lord sits enthroned as the eternal king. 11 The Lord gives his people strength; the Lord grants his people security.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 29:1 and Psalm 96:7

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Psalm 96 echoes Psalm 29 but reshapes it to address people instead of gods, transforming an older Israelite tradition of a divine council praising God into one where all nations worship God. The change shows a move away from polytheism or henotheism.

Passages

Psalm 29:1

Hebrew Bible
1 A psalm of David. Acknowledge the Lord, you heavenly beings, acknowledge the Lord’s majesty and power. 2 Acknowledge the majesty of the Lord’s reputation. Worship the Lord in holy attire. 3 The Lord’s shout is heard over the water; the majestic God thunders, the Lord appears over the surging water.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Psalm 96:7

Hebrew Bible
5 For all the gods of the nations are worthless, but the Lord made the sky. 6 Majestic splendor emanates from him; his sanctuary is firmly established and beautiful. 7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations, ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength. 8 Ascribe to the Lord the splendor he deserves. Bring an offering and enter his courts. 9 Worship the Lord in holy attire. Tremble before him, all the earth.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... Tov regards the change of bene elohım, “divine beings,” in Psalm 29:1 to mispehot ammım, “families of the people,” in Psalm 96:7 as another example of such an “anti-polytheistic alteration.” For the literary dependence of Psalm 96 on Psalm 29, see H. L. Ginsberg, “A Strand in the Cord of Hebrew Psalmody” ... Psalm 29 reflects an early expression of Israelite polytheism ..."
Mark S. Smith, The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel's Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), 223–224.

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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Psalm 29:1 and Psalm 96:7

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