Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 29:3
The voice of the LORD [is] upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD [is] upon many waters.
3. The voice of the Lord ] So thunder is called in Exo 9:23 ff.; Psa 18:13; &c. Cp. Rev 10:3 f.
upon the waters ] Hardly the sea, as though the storm were represented as coming in from the Mediterranean; but rather the waters collected in the dense masses of storm-cloud upon which Jehovah rides (Psa 18:9 ff.; Psa 104:3; Jer 10:13).
the God of glory ] Cp. “the King of glory” (Psa 24:7 ff.).
the Lord is upon many waters ] The idea of the first line is repeated and emphasised. Not Jehovah’s voice alone, but Jehovah Himself is there, and the waters are many (or, great). The R.V. Even the Lord upon many waters is hardly an improvement. The P.B.V. of Psa 29:3-4 is a free paraphrase of the supposed sense.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
3 9. The exhibition of Jehovah’s power which is the ground of the opening call to praise. His voice is heard in the pealing of the thunder above the storm-clouds ( Psa 29:3-4); the storm bursts, it shatters the cedars and shakes the mountains in the far north ( Psa 29:5-6); the lightnings flash ( Psa 29:7); the deserts to the far south with their affrighted denizens tremble ( Psa 29:8-9); and over all resounds the chorus, Glory ( Psa 29:9 b). The seven times repeated voice of the Lord is like successive peals of thunder.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The voice of the Lord – The voice of Yahweh. There can be no doubt that the expression here, which is seven times repeated in the psalm, the voice of Jehovah, refers to thunder; and no one can fail to see the appropriateness of the expression. In heavy thunder it seems as if God spake. It comes from above. It fills us with awe. We know, indeed, that thunder as well as the other phenomena in the world, is produced by what are called natural causes; that there is no miracle in thunder; and that really God does not speak anymore in the thunder than he does in the sighing of the breeze or in the gurgling of the rivulet; but:
(a) He seems more impressively to speak to people in the thunder; and
(b) He may not improperly be regarded as speaking alike in the thunder, in the sighing of the breeze, and in the gurgling stream.
In each and all of these ways God is addressing men; in each and all there are lessons of great value conveyed, as if by His own voice, respecting His own existence and character. Those which are addressed to us particularly in thunder, pertain to His power, His majesty, His greatness; to our own weakness, feebleness, dependence; to the ease with which He could take us away, and to the importance of being prepared to stand before such a God. Is upon the waters. The word is is supplied here by our translators in italics. The whole passage might be read as an exclamation: The voice of Jehovah upon the waters! It is the utterance of one who is overpowered by a sudden clap of thunder. The mind is awed. God seems to speak; His voice is heard rolling over the waters. The psalm was most likely composed in view of the sea or a lake – not improbably in view of the Mediterranean, when a storm was passing over it. A thunderstorm is sublime anywhere, in mountain scenery or upon the plains, upon the land or upon the ocean; but there are circumstances which give it special grandeur at sea, when the thunder seems to roll along with nothing to check or break it, and when the sublimity is increased by the solitude which reigns everywhere on the ocean.
The God of glory – The glorious God. See the notes at Psa 24:7-10.
The Lord is upon many waters – Yahweh Himself seems to be on the ocean. His voice is heard there, and He Himself appears to be there. The margin here is, great waters. This would seem to imply that the psalm was composed in view of waters more extended than a lake or a river, and sustains the idea above expressed, that it was in view of the great waters which must have been so familiar to the mind of the sacred writer – the waters of the Mediterranean.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 29:3-4
The voice of the Lord is upon the waters.
The voice of Jehovah upon the waters
The very pathway of the Lords people is said to be through the waters; and they are a people that do business in deep waters. How Israel, how Peter, found the truth of our text. But when passing through deep waters we are more inclined–and it is a crying evil–to listen to the roar of the waves than to the voice of my precious Christ.
I. afflictions are compared to waters, billows, . . . deep waters. And these may come upon the Church at large through hatred of the truth by Papists, Arminians and Socinians and others. And upon private persons, through temporal trials and persecutions. But these are other waters, blessed ones, such as told of in Eze 47:1-23.
II. the Lords voice on these waters. It is an overruling and comforting voice, in waters of affliction: of conviction, comfort and direction, in the waters of the sanctuary.
III. the attention demanded to such a voice. Listen for it more than to any other whether persecutor or preacher. Supernatural joy comes from listening to the Lords voice. Have you all heard it? If not, may it awaken you now. (Joseph Irons.)
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.—
The majestic voice
All Gods works praise Him, but there are some which praise Him more than others. There are some of His doings upon which there seems to be graven in larger letters than usual the name of God. Such as the lofty mountains, the thunders and lightnings. The old and universal belief was, that the thunder was the voice of God. But there are spiritual voices of God, and of these we would speak. Samuel on his bed heard it. Saul at his conversion. And God often speaks to man by the Holy Spirit. And the voice of God is ever full of majesty. It is so–
I. essentially; it must be so. Think whose voice it is. How Gods voice is full of majesty because–
1. It is true.
2. Commanding.
3. Very powerful. Let there be light, and there was light.
4. And because Gods voice is His Word, and His Word was His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
II. always. Gods voice, like mans, has various tones, but it is always full of majesty.
1. Let the tone be what it may, whether harsh as in threatening, or sweet as when consoling, or august as when commanding. Speak to the children of Israel, that they go forward. And at the Resurrection of the dead, and at the Judgment Day.
2. And in all the different degrees of its loudness. Some calls of God are loud, others gentle but all majestic.
3. And in all its mediums. The meanness of a speaker for God does not hinder this.
III. in its effects.
1. It is a breaking voice. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars. The proudest and most stubborn sinner is broken before Him.
2. Moving. He maketh them (the mountains) also to skip like a calf. No mountain of error, falsity, or sin can stand unmoved when He speaks.
3. Dividing. Divideth the flames of fire. Where Gods Word is faithfully preached it is ever a dividing power.
4. Shaking shaketh the wilderness. Gods Word does this in mens hearts.
5. Bringing forth–maketh the hinds to calve. So Gods Word makes the soul bring forth holy desire and joy, and whatever a man has in him it has to come forth.
6. Discovering–discovereth the forests. Hypocrites hide, but God discovers them. Oh, listen to His voice bidding you believe and be saved. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Voice of the Lord
This sacred poem from which our text is taken, is one of the most elevated and sublime to which the poetry of inspiration itself has given birth. But the words are capable of other than their primary application.
I. consider the modes in which God speaks to man.
1. Through Nature–see this psalm,
2. Through the dispensations and in the government of Providence.
3. Through His revealed truth, and–
4. Chief of all, through His Son.
II. the attributes by which these communications are prominently distinguished–Power and Majesty. Consider–
1. The glory of His nature from whom they proceed.
2. The contents of the communications themselves. They speak of the Divine perfections and chiefly of Gods method of redeeming sinful man.
3. The issues in which attention to, or neglect of, these communications is to terminate. They are identified with the destinies of mans deathless soul.
III. THE tribute which these communications made by God to man imperatively require.
1. Faith.
2. Gratitude.
3. Prayer for ourselves and for our fellow-men. How, then, shall you who are despising these communications of God answer it in the great day of Judgment? Oh, come to Jesus now. (James Parsons.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 3. The voice of the Lord] THUNDER, so called, Ex 9:23, Ex 9:28-29; Job 37:4; Ps 18:13; Isa 30:30. On this subject see the note on Job 37:4, where there is a particular description of the nature and generation of thunder; and of the lightning, clap, rain, and other phenomena which accompany it.
Upon many waters.] The clouds, which Moses calls the waters which are above the firmament.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The voice of the Lord, i.e. thunder, as is manifest from the next clause, and the following effects; which is oft called the Lords voice, as Exo 9:23,28,29; Job 37:4,5; Psa 18:14; 46:6. Upon the waters; either,
1. Upon the seas; where its noise spreads far and wide, and is very terrible. But the following verses speak of the effects of it upon the earth only. Or rather,
2. Above in the clouds, which are called waters, Gen 1:7; Psa 18:11, because they are of a watery substance. And this circumstance is considerable here, to magnify the Divine power, which displayeth itself in those high places, which are far above the reach of all earthly potentates, and from whence he can easily and unavoidably smite all that dwell upon the earth, and will not submit to him. Upon many waters, i.e. upon the clouds, in which there are vast treasures of water, and upon which God is said to sit or ride, Psa 18:10,11; 104:3.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. The voice of the Lordaudibleexhibition of His power in the tempest, of which thunder is aspecimen, but not the uniform or sole example.
the watersthe cloudsor vapors (Psa 18:11; Jer 10:13).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The voice of the Lord [is] upon the waters,…. What follows concerning thunder, the voice of the Lord, gives so many reasons why he should have glory given him and be worshipped; the Heathens y paid their devotion to thunder and lightning: but this should be done to the author of them; which may be literally understood of thunder, and is the voice of the Lord; see Ps 18:13; and which is commonly attended with large showers of rain, Jer 10:13; and is very terrible upon the waters, and has its effect there, Ps 104:7; and this is the rather mentioned, because that there is a God above, who is higher than the mighty, who are called upon to give glory to him, and because that thunder has been terrible to kings and great men of the earth; or this may be figuratively interpreted of the voice of Christ in the Gospel, which reaches to many nations and people, compared to waters,
Re 17:15. The disciples had a commission to preach it to all nations, and the sound of their words went into all the world, Ro 10:18;
the God of glory thundereth; this shows that thunder may be meant by the voice of the Lord, who is glorious in himself, and in all his works; and may be applied to the Gospel of Christ, who is the Lord of glory, and whose ministers, at least some of them, are sons of thunder; see 1Co 2:8;
the Lord [is] upon many waters; that is, his voice is, as before, which is thunder; and that this belongs to God, the Heathens were so sensible of, that they called their chief deity Jupiter Tonans z.
y Pausan. Arcad. sive l. 8. p. 503. z Horat. Epod. l. 5. Ode 2. v. 29. Martial. l. 2. Ep. 95.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Now follows the description of the revelation of God’s power, which is the ground of the summons, and is to be the subject-matter of their praise. The All-glorious One makes Himself heard in the language ( Rev 10:3.) of the thunder, and reveals Himself in the storm. There are fifteen lines, which naturally arrange themselves into three five-line strophes. The chief matter with the poet, however, is the sevenfold . Although is sometimes used almost as an ejaculatory “Hark!” (Gen 4:10; Isa 52:8), this must not, with Ewald (286, f), be applied to the of the Psalm before us, the theme of which is the voice of God, who announced Himself from heaven – a voice which moves the world. The dull sounding serves not merely to denote the thunder of the storm, but even the thunder of the earthquake, the roar of the tempest, and in general, every low, dull, rumbling sound, by which God makes Himself audible to the world, and more especially from the wrathful side of His doxa. The waters in Psa 29:3 are not the lower waters. Then the question arises what are they? Were the waters of the Mediterranean intended, they would be more definitely denoted in such a vivid description. It is, however, far more appropriate to the commencement of this description to understand them to mean the mass of water gathered together in the thick, black storm-clouds (vid., Psa 18:12; Jer 10:13). The rumbling
(Note: The simple rendering of by “voice” has been retained in the text of the Psalm, as in the Authorised Version. The word, however, which Dr. Delitzsch uses is Gedrhn, the best English equivalent of which is a “rumbling.” – Tr.)
of Jahve is, as the poet himself explains in Psa 29:3, the thunder produced on high by the (cf. , Psa 24:7.), which rolls over the sea of waters floating above the earth in the sky. Psa 29:4 and Psa 29:4, just like Psa 29:3 and Psa 29:3, are independent substantival clauses. The rumbling of Jahve is, issues forth, or passes by; with the abstract article as in Psa 77:14; Pro 24:5 (cf. Pro 8:8; Luk 4:32, Rev 18:2), is the of the distinctive attribute. In Psa 29:3 the first peals of thunder are heard; in Psa 29:4 the storm is coming nearer, and the peals become stronger, and now it bursts forth with its full violence: Psa 29:5 describes this in a general form, and Psa 29:5 expresses by the fut. consec., as it were inferentially, that which is at present taking place: amidst the rolling of the thunder the descending lightning flashes rive the cedars of Lebanon (as is well-known, the lightning takes the outermost points). The suffix in Psa 29:6 does not refer proleptically to the mountains mentioned afterwards, but naturally to the cedars (Hengst., Hupf., Hitz.), which bend down before the storm and quickly rise up again. The skipping of Lebanon and Sirion, however, is not to be referred to the fact, that their wooded summits bend down and rise again, but, according to Psa 114:4, to their being shaken by the crash of the thunder-a feature in the picture which certainly does not rest upon what is actually true in nature, but figuratively describes the apparent quaking of the earth during a heavy thunderstorm. , according to Deu 3:9, is the Sidonian name of Hermon, and therefore side by side with Lebanon it represents Anti-Lebanon. The word, according to the Masora, has sinistrum, and consequently is isriyown , wherefore Hitzig correctly derives it from Arab. sra , fut. i., to gleam, sparkle, cf. the passage from an Arab poet at Psa 133:3. The lightning makes these mountains bound (Luther, lecken, i.e., according to his explanation: to spring, skip) like young antelopes . ,
(Note: On Arab. r’m vid., Seetzen’s Reisen iii. 339 and also iv. 496.)
like , , is a generic name of the antelope, and of the buffalo that roams in herds through the forests beyond the Jordan even at the present day; for there are antelopes that resemble the buffalo and also (except in the formation of the head and the cloven hoofs) those that resemble the horse, the lxx renders: . Does this mean the unicorn Germ. one-horn depicted on Persian and African monuments? Is this unicorn distinct from the one horned antelope? Neither an unicorn nor an one horned antelope have been seen to the present day by any traveller. Both animals, and consequently also their relation to one another, are up to the present time still undefinable from a scientific point of view.
(Note: By Ludolf in opposition to Bochart understands the rhinoceros; but this animal, belonging to the swine tribe, is certainly not meant, or even merely associated with it. Moreover, the rhinoceros Germ. nose-horn is called in Egypt charnin (from Arab. chrn = qrn ), but the unicorn, charnit . “In the year 1862 the French archaeologist, M. Waddington, was with me in Damascus when an antiquary brought me an ancient vessel on which a number of animals were engraved, their names being written on their bellies. Among the well known animals there was also an unicorn, exactly like a zebra or a horse, but with a long horn standing out upon its forehead; on its body was the word Arab. chrnt . M. Waddington wished to have the vessel and I gave it up to him; and he took it with him to Paris. We talked a good deal about this unicorn, and felt obliged to come to the conclusion that the form of the fabulous animal might have become known to the Arabs at the time of the crusades, when the English coat of arms came to Syria.” – Wetzstein.)
Each peal of thunder is immediately followed by a flash of lightning; Jahve’s thunder cleaveth flames of fire, i.e., forms (as it were ) the fire-matter of the storm-clouds into cloven flames of fire, into lightnings that pass swiftly along; in connection with which it must be remembered that denotes not merely the thunder as a phenomenon, but at the same time it denotes the omnipotence of God expressing itself therein. The brevity and threefold division of Psa 29:7 depicts the incessant, zigzag, quivering movement of the lightning ( tela trisulca, ignes trisulci , in Ovid). From the northern mountains the storm sweeps on towards the south of Palestine into the Arabian desert, viz., as we are told in Psa 29:8 (cf. Psa 29:5, according to the schema of “parallelism by reservation”), the wilderness region of Kadesh (Kadesh Barnea), which, however we may define its position, must certainly have lain near the steep western slope of the mountains of Edom toward the Arabah. Jahve’s thunder, viz., the thunderstorm, puts this desert in a state of whirl, inasmuch as it drives the sand ( ) before it in whirlwinds; and among the mountains it, viz., the strong lightning and thundering, makes the hinds to writhe, inasmuch as from fright they bring forth prematurely. both the Hiph. and the Pil. are used with a causative meaning (root , , to move in a circle, to encircle). The poet continues with , since he makes one effect of the storm to develope from another, merging as it were out of its chrysalis state. is a poetical plural form; and describes the effect of the storm which “shells” the woods, inasmuch as it beats down the branches of the trees, both the tops and the foliage. While Jahve thus reveals Himself from heaven upon the earth in all His irresistible power, , in His heavenly palace (Psa 11:4; Psa 18:7), (note how resolves this out of itself), i.e., each of the beings therein, says: . That which the poet, in Psa 29:1, has called upon them to do, now takes place. Jahve receives back His glory, which is immanent in the universe, in the thousand-voiced echo of adoration.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
3. The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters. David now rehearses the wonders of nature which I have previously referred to; and well indeed does he celebrate the power of God as well as his goodness, in his works. As there is nothing in the ordinary course of nature, throughout the whole frame of heaven and earth, which does not invite us to the contemplation of God, he might have brought forward, as in Psa 19:1, the sun and the stars, and the whole host of heaven, and the earth with its riches; but he selects only those works of God which prove not only that the world was at first created by him, and is governed by his power, but which also awaken the torpid, and drag them, as it were, in spite of themselves, humbly to adore him; as even Horace was compelled, though he was not only a heathen poet, but an Epicurean, and a vile contemner of Deity, to say of himself in one of his Odes, — (Lib. I. Ode 34.)
“
A fugitive from heaven and prayer, I mocked at all religious fear, Deep scienced in the mazy lore Of mad philosophy; but now Hoist sail, and back my voyage plough To that blest harbour which I left before.
“
For, lo! that awful heavenly Sire, Who frequent cleaves the clouds with fire, Parent of day, immortal Jove; Late through the floating fields of air, The face of heaven serene and fair, His thund’ring steeds, and winged chariot drove,” etc. (609)
Experience, too, tells us that those who are most daring in their contempt of God are most afraid of thunderings, storms, and such like violent commotions. With great propriety, therefore, does the prophet invite our attention to these instances which strike the rude and insensible with some sense of the existence of a God, (610) and rouse them to action, however sluggish and regardless they are. He says not that the sun rises from day to day, and sheds abroad his life-giving beams, nor that the rain gently descends to fertilise the earth with its moisture; but he brings forward thunders, violent tempests, and such things as smite the hearts of men with dread by their violence. God, it is true, speaks in all his creatures, but here the prophet mentions those sounds which rouse us from our drowsiness, or rather our lethargy, by the loudness of their noise. We have said, that this language is chiefly directed to those who with stubborn recklessness, cast from them, as far as they can, all thought of God. The very figures which he uses sufficiently declare, that David’s design was to subdue by fear the obstinacy which yields not willingly otherwise. Thrice he repeats that God’s voice is heard in great and violent tempests, and in the subsequent verse he adds, that it is full of power and majesty.
(609) Dr Francis’ Translation of Horace.
(610) “ Qui contraignent les barbares et gens esbestez sentir qu’il y a un Dieu.” — Fr. “Which constrain the rude and insensible to feel that there is a God.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(3) The voice.The invocation to the angels over, the storm bursts, and seven successive peals of thunder mark its course of fury and destruction. It is first heard rolling over the waters from the west (comp. 1Ki. 18:44), unless the waters and many waters, as in Psa. 18:11-12, refer to the gathered masses of rain-cloud, when we might compare
Then broke the thunder
Like a whole sea overhead.
BROWNING: Pippa Passes.
The Hebrew kl (voice), used also of any loud sound (2Sa. 15:10, of the trumpet; Eze. 1:24, of water), is sometimes used (Gen. 4:10; Isa. 52:8) to call attention, like our Hark ! So Ewald here. Others refer it to the thunder, as in Psa. 77:18; but it seems better to take it for the combined noise of the storm, thunder, wind, and rain, as in Shakespeare
The gods who keep this pudder oer our heads.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. The voice of the Lord This poetic name for thunder (Job 37:4; Job 40:9) has a sevenfold repetition, and is probably the type and basis of the apocalyptic “seven thunders,” (Rev 10:3-4,) as the allegoric imagery of that book is almost wholly borrowed from the Old Testament.
Upon the waters Either the “great waters” that is, the sea, as in third line of the verse or dark water clouds, as Psa 18:11. Thunder upon the ocean has a peculiarly deep and solemn sound, which is probably referred to here.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
A Vivid Description Of The Mighty And Unforgettable Storm ( Psa 29:3-9 ).
The Psalmist now vividly describes the power and awesomeness of the storm, and ends up with visualising true believers sheltering in the Temple and crying, “Glory!” They thus join with Heaven itself (Psa 29:1-2) in ascribing glory to ‘the Lord’.
Psa 29:3
‘The voice of YHWH,
Is upon the waters,
The God of glory thunders,
YHWH is upon many waters.
Attention now turns to the storm itself. ‘The voice of YHWH’ occurs seven times in the Psalm indicating its importance to his meaning, ad stressing the completeness of the divine activity. Here is the voice of the Creator at work upon His creation. We can compare the seven references to ‘and God said’ in Gen 1:3-25 prior to the creation of man (or alternately one for each day and two on the sixth day). And there too the voice of God had spoken on the waters (Gen 1:9), and now here it is happening again. But this time the voice is a voice of thunder and it is reverberating on many waters, and is a reminder of the Flood (Psa 29:10). This vivid picture may be indicating that He sits over the storm clouds which are just waiting to pour out their floods as He thunders upon them (Psa 18:11-12; Jer 10:13), or it may indicate that they have already poured out much of their contents, so that it already almost appears as though the whole land is again about to be flooded (compare Psa 29:10, where mabbul is used, a word which is a reminder of The Flood and only used of that, being found eleven times in Genesis 7-11, and otherwise only here). Either way He is in control and will not allow another such disaster to happen (Gen 9:11). However, the point is that He could if He wanted to, all the power is there to be able to do it again, but that instead it is rather His intention to exercise His tremendous power on behalf of His people (Psa 29:11). And what is being described here is the voice of the God of glory mentioned in Psa 29:1 performing His own will.
It is instructive to consider what His voice will do, for all is at His command. It is powerful and full of majesty (Psa 29:4). It breaks the cedars in pieces, and makes them skip like young cattle (Psa 29:5-6). It hews out and separates the lightning (Psa 29:7). It ‘shakes’ the wilderness (Psa 29:8). It causes the pregnant hinds to calve (Psa 29:9 a) It strips the forest of its leaves (Psa 29:9 b). And the resulting cry comes back from the Temple of, “Glory”, as it brings home to His people the majesty of YHWH.
It is valuable in this regard to see the whole canvas, before considering the detail.
Psa 29:3-9
‘The voice of YHWH,
Is upon the waters,
The God of glory thunders,
YHWH is upon many waters.
The voice of YHWH is powerful,
The voice of YHWH is full of majesty.
The voice of YHWH breaks the cedars,
Yes, YHWH breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes them also to skip like a calf,
Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild-ox.
The voice of YHWH hews out the flames of fire.
The voice of YHWH shakes the wilderness,
YHWH shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of YHWH makes the hinds to calve,
And strips the forests bare,
And in his temple everything says, “Glory.”
Having thus read it and appreciated its beauty and its forcefulness we will now consider it verse by verse.
Psa 29:4
‘ The voice of YHWH is powerful,
The voice of YHWH is full of majesty.
As a poet he sees the storm as revealing the power and majesty of the voice of YHWH. He sees all this as happening because YHWH is speaking, and His voice is powerful and full of majesty.
Psa 29:5
The voice of YHWH breaks the cedars,
Yes, YHWH breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
In those ancient days nothing seemed more firm and solid than the cedars of Lebanon. They stood there firm and strong, appearing to withstand the tide of history, and were seen as ‘high and lifted up’ (Isa 2:13). But before this mighty storm they are broken as though they are but matchsticks. YHWH speaks and the cedars come crashing down, and their mighty roots are torn up, while others are simply torn apart leaving their stems sticking up into the air. 29:6
He makes them also to skip like a calf,
Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild-ox.
Even the stolid mountains of Lebanon and Hermon are made to skip like a calf and dance about like a young wild-ox as a result of His activity. Sirion is the ancient name for Mount Hermon (compare Deu 3:9). Unless there was an earthquake, we must see here the effect of the storm on what was growing on them. All the trees and vegetation were swaying in, and torn by, the wind, making the mountains look alive, and this went on until the vegetation could stand the pressure no longer and collapsed before the storm. It is a picture of huge desolation.
Psa 29:7
The voice of YHWH hews out the flames of fire.
And all around were streaks of lightning flashing from Heaven as though they were being hewn out by YHWH. The Psalmist stands in awe as he sees the continual forked lightning splitting the sky, and setting on fire the trees and vegetation, as the thunder continually rolls. He sees it as the very voice of YHWH from Heaven.
Psa 29:8
The voice of YHWH shakes the wilderness,
YHWH shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
And at the other end of the country, in the semi-desert of the Negev, the bushes and trees are shaken, and torn up by their roots, as a mighty hurricane sweeps the land. It is as though the whole area is being taken up and shaken. And it occurs at the command of YHWH. He speaks and it is done. In it is a hint of the reversal of creation, a reminder of what could happen if the Creator withheld His hand.
Psa 29:9
The voice of YHWH makes the hinds to calve,
And strips the forests bare,
And in his temple everything says, “Glory.”
Meanwhile wildlife also is affected. Such is the effect of this powerful storm that the pregnant hinds come to birth before their time. Nature is being shaken through and through. They are but a vivid example of a more general catastrophe. We are left to imagine the wild beasts cowering in their lairs.
And the great forests of Canaan are being stripped of their leaves as the howling wind tears through them, until the whole of the forests have been laid bare. And all this again at the sevenfold voice of YHWH.
‘In His temple everything says, “Glory!”. This may have reference to the heavenly Temple where the angelic hosts are gathered watching in awe this mighty storm, the like of which has not been seen before within the lifetime of those who witnessed it on earth. Or it may signify that the people had gathered in the security of the Temple and were now, along with the angelic hosts, crying ‘glory’ to the Lord. Alternately the idea might be that the symbolism of all the furniture in the Temple is crying glory to the Lord, for which compare Heb 8:5; Heb 9:1 to Heb 10:14.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Psa 29:3. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters The voice of the Lord was over the waters, (the God of glory thundered) of the Lord, over great waters. This, with the deluge mentioned Psa 29:10., shews that there were violent rains.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
These are all so many various descriptions of the astonishing power of God. By the voice of God in the kingdom of nature, no doubt, is meant the operations of God in nature. The thunder and the lightning, the waves of the sea, and the winds and tempests, – these indicate his astonishing power, and demonstrate his sovereignty. God may be said to speak by such operation’s. See Psa 107:25 , etc. But I rather conceive that the expressions here are to be taken in a figurative way, and to be considered as God’s speaking in the works of his providence and his grace. For here, in a more eminent and illustrious manner, may the Lord be said to speak, when the voice of Jesus is heard, according to his own declaration, in the graves of sin and death. Joh 5:25 . And, agreeably to this figure of speech, the voice of the Lord is upon the waters of the sanctuary, causing them to give life, and to call into spiritual life sinners which were before dead in trespasses and in sins. It was by this voice of Jehovah, light sprung forth at the original creation of nature. It is the same almighty, quickening, life-giving power, when God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shineth in the heart, whereby he giveth the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ; 2Co 4:6 . It is by the same power, that the cedars are broken, the stout heart of sinners is broken, and made willing in the day of his power. And as even flames of fire, at the voice of God are divided, so the heart of a sinner is divided and separated, in that day when Jesus speaks to the conscience, from all its idols; for the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two – edged sword. Heb 4:12 . And as the wilderness is made to shake at tempests, so the wilderness state of a sinner’s mind is shaken, and soon made to blossom as a rose. Isa 35:1 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 29:3 The voice of the LORD [is] upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD [is] upon many waters.
Ver. 3. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters ] Thunder is here called, and fitly, the voice of the Lord (being brought, as one instance of those many other glorious works of his in nature), because it comes from him alone. Natural causes there are assigned of it; but we must not stick in them, as Epicurus and his hogs would have us. (The ancient Romans said Deus tonat, Deus fulgurat, for which now tonat, fulgurat. ) The best philosophy in this behalf is to hear God Almighty by his thunder speaking unto us from heaven, as if he were present; and to see him in his lightnings, as if he cast his eyes upon us, to behold what we had been doing. This voice of the Lord is fitly instanced as an evidence of the Divine power and majesty; because it is so dreadful, even to the greatest atheists; as it was to Caius Caligula, that potent emperor, ready to run into a mouse hole in a time of thunder (Sueton.).
The God of glory thundereth
The Lord is upon many waters
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 29:3-9
3The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
The God of glory thunders,
The Lord is over many waters.
4The voice of the Lord is powerful,
The voice of the Lord is majestic.
5The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
Yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Sirion like a young wild ox.
7The voice of the Lord hews out flames of fire.
8The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9The voice of the Lord makes the deer to calve
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everything says, Glory!
Psa 29:3-9 This strophe is dominated by the voice of the Lord. There seem to be two ways to view it.
1. YHWH the creator, cf. Psa 29:3; Psa 29:10 (cf. Genesis 1; Psalms 93)
2. YHWH the true storm God and giver of rain (cf. Psa 29:3-9, i.e., in opposition to Ba’al’s claims)
Notice the way YHWH’s voice is characterized (Psa 29:4-9).
1. powerful (BDB 470)
2. majestic (same root in Psa 29:2 b, BDB 214)
3. breaks the cedars (verb, BDB 990, KB 1402 repeated in Psa 29:5)
4. makes Lebanon and Sirion (i.e., Mt. Hermon, cf. Deu 3:9) jump
5. lightning (cf. Psa 18:12; Psa 18:14) flames trees
6. makes the wilderness shake (verb, BDB 296, KB 297, repeated in Psa 29:8)
7. makes deer calve
8. strips forests bare (BDB 362 I)
It is important to remember that the spoken word was a very important and pervasive theological concept to the ancient Hebrews.
1. creation by the spoken word Genesis 1
2. power of the spoken word of God Isa 14:24; Isa 25:1; Isa 45:23; Isa 46:10; Isa 55:11; Isa 59:21; Mat 24:35
3. the Messiah is called the Word in Joh 1:1-5; Joh 1:14; Rev 19:13
4. the imagery of the returning Messiah with a two-edged sword for a tongue Rev 1:16; Rev 2:12
Psa 29:6 Lebanon. . .Sirion These are geographical references north of the Promised Land of Canaan. The term Sirion for Mt. Hermon is rare (cf. Deu 3:9). Because of this and the obvious context or storm imagery, many modern scholars have seen this Psalm as a reworking of an original hymn to Ba’al (Canaanite storm god). The Ras Shamra texts are opening much of the veiled imagery of the OT in light of Canaanite mythology. Hebrew authors often took the descriptions of pagan deities and changed them to descriptions and titles of YHWH. They knew He was the one and only true God (see SPECIAL TOPIC: MONOTHEISM ).
For a good brief discussion of ancient cosmology see IVP Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, pp. 169-174.
Psa 29:9 a The same verb (BDB 296, KB 297) translated shake in Psa 29:8 (twice) is now used of calving (cf. Job 39:1) and of Sarah giving birth in Isa 51:2.
If one tries to keep a synonymous parallelism between Psa 29:9 b and Psa 29:5 b, then he must change hinds (MT, UBS Text Project gives it a B rating) to oaks (cf. TEV, NJB, same consonants, just a change of vowels). This is done to try to continue the possible chiastic pattern.
The NET Bible (p. 885 #21) suggests an emendation of forests to female mountain goats in order to maintain the synonymous parallelism between Psa 29:9 a and 6. JPSOA has a footnote, brings ewes to early birth as an option (BDB 362 II).
Psa 29:9 c The summary of all this action (i.e., the physical results of a strong thunderstorm) is that in His temple everything says, Glory! See Special Topic: glory
YHWH the creator is providing agricultural abundance by rain in its season. The Creator is also the Sustainer! (See a good article on Providence in IVP Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, pp. 681-683.)
The NJB makes Psa 29:9 c the beginning of Psa 29:10-11.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
voice = thunder. Figure of speech Epibole or Anaphora. App-6. Seven times: verses: Psa 29:3, Psa 29:4, Psa 29:4, Psa 3:5, Psa 3:7, Psa 3:8, Psa 3:9.
GOD. Hebrew El. App-4. = the mighty Creator, the glorious God.
many = mighty.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 29:3-4
Psa 29:3-4
DESCRIPTION OF THE THUNDERSTORM
“The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters:
The glory of God thundereth.
Even Jehovah upon many waters.
The voice of Jehovah is powerful;
The voice of Jehovah is full of majesty.”
“The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters” (Psa 29:3). In the land of Palestine, where David lived, such a statement clearly means that “It is thundering out in the Mediterranean Sea as a great thunderstorm approaches the land.” Another acceptable interpretation is that of Rawlinson who wrote that the “waters” mentioned here, “Are the waters stored in the clouds that float on high in the air. Some writers have proposed that the “waters” are the “waters above the firmament, mentioned in Gen 1:7. This is true, of course, only if those “waters above the firmament” are truly interpreted as being “those billions of tons of water stored in the clouds.” (See a full discussion of this interpretation in our Commentary on Genesis, pp. 31,32.)
Delitzsch thought that, “The best understanding of, `The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters,’ is to take it as meaning the mass of water gathered together in the thick, black stormclouds, then moving on to the land.
“The voice of Jehovah” (Psa 29:3-4(twice), 5,7, 8,9). This remarkable phrase appears no less than seven times in the passage before us. That voice is here metaphorically presented as the thunder, bringing to mind instantly the reference in Revelation to the effect that, “The seven thunders uttered their voices” (Rev 10:3).
The voice of the seven thunders here is plainly stated:
“The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters (Psa 29:3).
The voice of Jehovah is powerful (Psa 29:4).
The voice of Jehovah is full of majesty (Psa 29:4).
The voice of Jehovah breaketh the cedars (Psa 29:5).
The voice of Jehovah cleaveth the flames of fire (Psa 29:7).
The voice of Jehovah shaketh the wilderness (Psa 29:8).
The voice of Jehovah maketh the hinds to calve (Psa 29:9).”
“Upon the waters” (Psa 29:3). It is not merely the thunder which the psalmist hears, “Jehovah himself is upon the waters,” as stated in the second line of this verse. It is indeed a true discernment of ultimate reality to find Almighty God Himself in the marvelous Creation which He made. God is in every blooming flower, in every sunrise or sunset; he is in the wings of the smallest humming bird, and in the incredible masses of the mighty snow-covered mountains; he is in the skies and seas, the grass and the trees, the songs of wild geese, and the swarms of the bees. As Elizabeth Barrett Browning put it:
“Every bush is aflame with God;
But only he who sees takes off his shoes.”
David here saw the power and the glory of God in a thunderstorm. I remember taking my mother to see the Gulf of Mexico; and she said, “How can anyone see that and not believe in God?” Oh God, give us eyes to see!
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 29:3. We should not think of the voice of the Lord in an audible sense as used in this and several verses following. It is true that every sound, whether the “still small voice” of the meekest living creature, or the mightiest peal of thunder and the roar of the ocean’s stormy billows, all come from the God of all creation. But David is describing God’s voice in the sense of his intelligent supervision over all the various domain itemized in the passage. Let us read this and the several verses following and think of the majesty of the Word of God. The mighty ocean, covering over half of the earth’s surface and thousands of feet in depth, indicates the force of God’s word when he said, “Let the waters under heaven be gathered together unto one place (Gen 1:9).
Psa 29:4. Full of majesty means it is full of magnificence and glory. Because of this the psalmist declares the voice of God is powerful.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
The voice: Psa 18:13-15, Psa 77:16-19, Mat 8:26, Mat 8:27, Rev 17:14, Rev 17:15
God: Psa 24:7-10, Act 7:2
thundereth: Exo 9:28, Exo 9:33, Exo 19:16, 1Sa 7:10, Job 37:2-5, Joh 12:29, Rev 4:5, Rev 8:5, Rev 11:19, Rev 16:18, Rev 19:6
many waters: or, great waters, Psa 93:3, Psa 93:4, Psa 104:3
Reciprocal: Exo 9:23 – the Lord sent 2Sa 22:14 – thundered Job 26:14 – the thunder Job 28:26 – a way Job 36:29 – the noise Job 37:4 – a voice Job 38:25 – General Psa 29:10 – sitteth Psa 68:33 – his voice Psa 77:18 – voice Isa 17:12 – mighty Isa 30:30 – his glorious voice Isa 33:21 – the glorious Jer 10:13 – uttereth Jer 51:16 – he uttereth Eze 1:24 – as the voice Eze 10:5 – the voice Eph 1:17 – the Father
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 29:3. The voice of the Lord That is, thunder, frequently so called; is upon the waters Upon the seas, where its noise spreads far and wide, and is very terrible; or rather above the clouds, which are sometimes called waters, as Gen 1:7; Psa 18:11, because they are of a watery substance, and frequently much water is contained in them. And this circumstance is noticed here as being of considerable importance to magnify the divine power, which displays itself in these superior regions, which are far above the reach of all earthly potentates, and from whence he can easily and unavoidably smite all that dwell upon the earth, and will not submit to him. The Lord is upon many waters Upon the clouds, in which there are sometimes vast treasures of water, and upon which God is said to sit and ride, Psa 18:10-11; Psa 104:3.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
29:3 The {b} voice of the LORD [is] upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD [is] upon many waters.
(b) The thunder claps that are heard out of the clouds should make the wicked tremble for fear of God’s anger.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. Reasons to praise Yahweh 29:3-9
This section pictures a thunderstorm.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
David evidently saw the storm first over a large body of water, perhaps the Mediterranean Sea. He spoke of the thunder as God’s voice. This is an apt comparison, since thunder is a noise that comes from "heaven," i.e., the sky. However, he may also have used this figure to imply Yahweh’s control over His creation. God brought the creation into existence with a word (Gen 1:3; Gen 1:6; Gen 1:9; Gen 1:14; Gen 1:20; Gen 1:24).