Psalm 74:12

Hebrew Bible

10 How long, O God, will the adversary hurl insults? Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever? 11 Why do you remain inactive? Intervene and destroy him. 12 But God has been my king from ancient times, performing acts of deliverance on the earth. 13 You destroyed the sea by your strength; you shattered the heads of the sea monster in the water. 14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you fed him to the people who live along the coast.

Habakkuk 1:12

Hebrew Bible

10 They mock kings and laugh at rulers. They laugh at every fortified city; they build siege ramps and capture them. 11 They sweep by like the wind and pass on. But the one who considers himself a god will be held guilty.” 12 Lord, you have been active from ancient times; my sovereign God, you are immortal. Lord, you have made them your instrument of judgment. Protector, you have appointed them as your instrument of punishment. 13 You are too just to tolerate evil; you are unable to condone wrongdoing. So why do you put up with such treacherous people? Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour those more righteous than they are? 14 You made people like fish in the sea, like animals in the sea that have no ruler.

 Notes and References

"... even though the name Israel bears witness to El as the founding deity, when Yahweh became Israel’s national god the foundation story was updated. In addition, it is only natural to find his royal presence retrojected into the remote past, even when there was no nation at that time over which one could rule. Thus prophet and psalmist alike assert that Yahweh is the “king from of old” (Psalm 74:12) who battled cosmic forces “in days of old, generations long ago” (Isaiah 51:9; compare Isaiah 45:21; Habakkuk 1:12; Proverbs 8:22). Not only was his throne established “from antiquity,” but so was his very origin (Psalm 93:2). Yahweh is El Olam (Genesis 21:33) but in royal dress ..."

Lewis, Theodore J. The Origin and Character of God: Ancient Israelite Religion through the Lens of Divinity (p. 210) Oxford University Press, 2020

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