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Psalms

About this book
Psalm 77

1 For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph. I will cry out to God and call for help. I will cry out to God and he will pay attention to me. 2 In my time of trouble I sought the Lord. I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night. I refused to be comforted. 3 I said, “I will remember God while I groan; I will think about him while my strength leaves me.” (Selah) 4 You held my eyelids open; I was troubled and could not speak. 5 I thought about the days of old, about ancient times. 6 I said, “During the night I will remember the song I once sang; I will think very carefully.” I tried to make sense of what was happening. 7 I asked, “Will the Lord reject me forever? Will he never again show me his favor? 8 Has his loyal love disappeared forever? Has his promise failed forever?⁠ 9 Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has his anger stifled his compassion?” (Selah) 10 Then I said, “I am sickened by the thought that the right hand of the Most High has changed.⁠ 11 I will remember the works of the Lord. Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago. 12 I will think about all you have done; I will reflect upon your deeds.” 13 O God, your deeds are extraordinary. What god can compare to our great God? 14 You are the God who does amazing things; you have revealed your strength among the nations. 15 You delivered your people by your arm21—the⁠ children of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah) 16 The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you and trembled. Yes, the depths of the sea shook with fear.⁠ 17 The clouds poured down rain; the skies thundered. Yes, your arrows flashed about. 18 Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind; the lightning bolts lit up the world. The earth trembled and shook. 19 You walked through the sea; you passed through the surging waters, but left no footprints. 20 You led your people like a flock of sheep, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Texts in conversation

Compare Habakkuk 3:11 and Psalm 77:17

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Psalm 77 and Habakkuk use storm god imagery, where God battles wild waters with thunder and lightning. Psalm 77 links this language to the exodus and rescue of Israel, while Habakkuk uses it to picture judgment falling on a hostile nation.

Passages

Habakkuk 3:11

Hebrew Bible
9 Your bow is ready for action; you commission your arrows. Selah. You cause flash floods on the earth’s surface. 10 When the mountains see you, they shake. The torrential downpour sweeps through. The great deep shouts out; it lifts its hands high. 11 The sun and moon stand still in their courses; the flash of your arrows drives them away, the bright light of your lightning-quick spear. 12 You furiously stomp on the earth; you angrily trample down the nations. 13 You march out to deliver your people, to deliver your special servant. You strike the leader of the wicked nation, laying him open from the lower body to the neck. Selah. 14 You pierce the heads of his warriors with a spear. They storm forward to scatter us; they shout with joy as if they were plundering the poor with no opposition. 15 But you trample on the sea with your horses, on the surging, raging waters.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Habakkuk

Psalm 77:17

Hebrew Bible
15 You delivered your people by your arm21—the children of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah) 16 The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you and trembled. Yes, the depths of the sea shook with fear. 17 The clouds poured down rain; the skies thundered. Yes, your arrows flashed about. 18 Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind; the lightning bolts lit up the world. The earth trembled and shook. 19 You walked through the sea; you passed through the surging waters, but left no footprints.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... Regarding the spatial framework, 'Anatu, Môtu, and Ba'lu each seize humans, thus acting within human space, but conflict between divine beings occurs either in the realm of Môtu or an unspecified, but presumably, divine spatial context. In comparison, biblical examples that refigure Yahweh’s conflict with the sea within the chronological framework of the exodus story, or within a contemporary historical context, exhibit interchange between divine and human spheres similar to that the in Ba'lu Cycle. However, among surviving texts, the biblical materials are distinct (and possibly innovative) in pinning divine combat to a specific moment, in the exodus story or contemporary context. Of course, not every biblical example has this feature; those discussed above place Yahweh’s divine combat in primordial time, which is in line with the chronological framework of Marduk’s battles. Let us now consider passages that exhibit the conflict motif intertwined with the exodus motif: Psalm 77:14–21; Psalm 106:7–12; and Psalm 114 ... Habakkuk 3, like Jeremiah 51:34–37, employs the conflict motif to portray an enemy, possibly Babylon, as destined for defeat. The passage describes Yahweh in battle and interweaves divine warrior imagery with a description of Yahweh defending his anointed against an enemy polity. Habakkuk 3:8–10 indicates through rhetorical questions that Yahweh was enraged against the sea/rivers. The passage describes Yahweh’s weapons, and like several passages discussed above (Psalm 93:1–5; 29:3, 10; 65:8; and Nahum 1:3–5) references the deep’s voice or Yahweh’s superior voice ..."
Debra Scoggins Ballentine, The Conflict Myth and the Biblical Tradition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), 93, 105.

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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