Psalms

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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 Genesis 6:17 and Psalm 29:10

Hebrew Bible

Summary

Genesis describes the flood as primordial, chaotic water released over the earth, and Psalm 29 pictures God ruling those same waters. Both reflect an ancient Near Eastern tradition where the upper seas were held above the firmament over the earth.

Passages

Genesis 6:17

Hebrew Bible

15 This is how you should make it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 16 Make a roof for the ark and finish it, leaving 18 inches from the top. Put a door in the side of the ark, and make lower, middle, and upper decks. 17 I am about to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy from under the sky all the living creatures that have the breath of life in them. Everything that is on the earth will die, 18 but I will confirm my covenant with you. You will enter the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You must bring into the ark two of every kind of living creature from all flesh, male and female, to keep them alive with you.

750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Psalm 29:10

Hebrew Bible

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.

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... In the recent years, scholars have advanced this locative interpretation in connection with the Ugaritic Baal myths. For example, according to P.C. Craigie, the phrase lammabbûl 'over the flood' symbolizes the subjugation of chaotic forces. 'The Canaanite tradition may be seen in the depiction of the enthronement of Baal over the conquered 'flood' (Ugaritic mdb, see RS. 24.245, 1-2), and there has already been allusion to this incident in Psalm 29:3. F.M. Cross even translates both Hebrew mabbûl in Psalm 29:10 and Ugaritic mdb in KTU 1.101 [= RS 24.245]:1-2 as 'the Flood dragon'. In support of the locative interpretation, he notes the fact that 'The idiom yšb / ytb l-, 'to sit enthroned', is typical of Canaanite diction where normally Hebrew prefers ysb cl' Thus, these scholars see the motif of a warrior god's being enthroned over the conquered 'flood'. However, the Ugaritic term mdb 'flood, ocean' is never used for describing an enemy of Baal like Yamm/Nahar who was conquered by Baal. Even in KTU 1.101 it appears in a metaphor (i.e. 'like a flood') for a mighty power, as in KTU 1.23:34-35 where El's (sexual) power (literally 'hand') is mentioned. There is thus no evidence for the theory that mdb refers to a conquered enemy in Ugaritic mythology. In the same manner, Hebrew mabbûl simply means 'a flood', since it always refers to the 'Deluge' elsewhere (It appears twelve times in Genesis 6-11; Once in Psalm 29). Like the Ugaritic mdb, it is never used for describing an enemy of Yahweh; it signifies simply a mighty power by which Yahweh brought about the total destruction to this world. In other words, as far as the Biblical evidence goes, Yahweh never fought against the 'Deluge' (mabbûl); in the Flood story it was his instrument to destroy the mankind. Therefore, it is not likely that the 'Deluge' (mabbûl) in Psalm 29:10 is the conquered enemy on which Yahweh sat enthroned ..."

David T. Tsumura, “'The Deluge' (Mabbul) in Psalm 29:10,” UF 20 (1988).

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 Genesis 6:17 and Psalm 29:10

Summary

Passages

Genesis 6:17

Psalm 29:10

References

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