John Wheeler1 <\/b><\/p>\n
בוד א*כָּ* לַיְהוָֹהֹ* בוּ*הָ* לים*י *ליהָֹוה בְּנֵ* בוּ*ור הָ*רָ*מִזְמֹוֹר לְ<\/p>\n
2 ווּ ְַליהוָֹה בְּהַדְרַת־*ְַתּחֲ*מוֹ הִשְׁ*בוֹר שְׁ*ליהוָֹה בְּ* בוּ*וָעִֹז׃ הָ<\/p>\n
3 עִים יְהוָהֹ עַל־ *בוד הִרְ*ל־הַכָּ*יִם אְֵ*הַמָּ*קוֹל יְהוָֹהֹ עַל־* ְֹקרֶשׁ׃ <\/p>\n
קוֹל ה ש* חוָֹה ְָבּהְָָדר׃*קוֹל יְ* בֹּחַ*ה בַּ*מיִם רַבֳּים׃ קְוֹל־יְהוָֹ*<\/p>\n
רֵם 6*קִי *י חַלְּבָנְוֹן׃ וַיַרְ*יְרוָֹה אָת־אַרְזַ* ר*ים וַיְשַׁ*ר אֲרָן*יהוָֹה שֹׁ*<\/p>\n
7 וָֹה חֹצֵֹב*ה*מִים׃ קְוֹל־יְ*מוֹ בֶן־רְ*וְשִׂרְיֹון כְּ* נזן*בָ*נֶל לְ*כִּמוֹ־<\/p>\n
8 כּר*יְדוָֹֹה מִדְ* חיל*יָ* בָּר*חיל מִדְ*יהוָֹה יָ* קוֹל* שׁ׃* בוֹת*ה*ל*<\/p>\n
9 לוֹ*יכָ*רות וּבְ*עָ*שׂף יְ*ח*ת וַי*לל אַיָלו*יְחו *קול יְהוָה* דשׁ׃*קָ<\/p>\n
10 מלֶךְ* יְרָֹוה* ישָׁב*שָׁב וַ*בּוּל יָ*יהוָה לַמַּ* מר בָּבְוֹד׃*אֹ* כֻּלֹּו<\/p>\n
11 מּז בַשָׁלִוֹם׃*רֵךְ אָת־עַ*יְבָ *ה*תֵּן יְהוָ*מּוֹ יִ*עֹז לְעַ* יהוָֹֹה* לְעוְָֹלם׃<\/p>\n
The late Peter C. Craigie wrote an article entitled \u201cThe Tablets from Ugarit and Their Importance for Biblical Studies\u201d in Biblical Archaeology Review<\/i> [BAR<\/i>] (1983).1 In this article, he claimed that Psalm 29 derived from Canaanite religious sources. Dr. Craigie gave Psalm 29 as his \u201cfinal example of the potential of the Ugaritic texts for illuminating the Bible.\u201d He noted:<\/p>\n
The psalmist praises God in powerful language, evocative of a thunderstorm; thunder, described as God\u2019s voice, is referred to seven times. In 1935, H.L. Ginsberg proposed that Psalm 29 was originally a Phoenician hymn<\/i> which had found its way into the Psalter. In support of his hypothesis, he noted several aspects of the psalm which suggested to him that it has been composed initially in honor of the storm god, Baal; he drew upon the Ugaritic texts to substantiate his hypothesis. Theodor Gaster took the hypothesis further in a study published in the Jewish Quarterly<\/i> Review<\/i> in 1947. Drawing again on the evidence of the Ugaritic texts, he proposed that the psalm was originally Canaanite; it had been modified for inclusion in Israel\u2019s hymnbook simply by the replacement of the name Baal with the personal name of Israel\u2019s God [YHWH]. Today, although debate continues on the details of the hypothesis, almost all scholars agree that Psalm 29\u2019s background is Baal worship<\/i>, as portrayed in the tablets from Ugarit. The psalm in its present form has a powerful effect; the power of nature and of the storm are not exclusively the domain of Baal; all power, including that of the storm and thunder, is the prerogative of Israel\u2019s God. Yet the Ugaritic background of the Psalm reveals its sources<\/i>. (Craigie 1983:62, emphasis added.)<\/p>\n
These statements provoked a lively debate among the readers of BAR<\/i>. A number of letters to its \u201cQueries and Comments\u201d column expressed dismay at these conclusions, calling them disturbing and even blasphemous. Many argued that the Hebrew psalmist could not have used a pagan hymn for inspiration. One reader, arguing that cultural<\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 5:1 (Winter 1992) p. 24<\/p>\n
items (including literature) were freely exchanged and adapted by neighboring peoples, asked:<\/p>\n
Could not the author of Psalm 29 be correcting a false notion that Baal was the god of storms by asserting, in the very same way, that the storm-god was not Baal but the very God of creation that Israel praised? Or perhaps, since no one really knows the origin of this artfully created psalm, could it not have been a treasure of a common milieu that several neighboring peoples adopted? (Vasholz 1984).<\/p>\n
Another View<\/b><\/p>\n
Is there evidence that Psalm 29 was adapted from a Canaanite hymn? And can we know who was the original Israelite author of the psalm text we have today? Most scholars would answer \u201cYes!\u201d and \u201cNo!\u201d to these questions, thus denying the accuracy of Psalm 29\u2019s title (and the divine inspiration of its text). My answer to these assertions is two-fold: (1) a critique of Gaster\u2019s comparison of the psalm to various pagan texts, and (2) the original melody of the psalm still preserved in the Masoretic Hebrew text.<\/p>\n
You may recall the work of Suzanne Haik-Vantoura, author of The Music of the Bible Revealed<\/i>, from my earlier articles in this journal (Wheeler 1989a; 1989b). Mme. Haik-Vantoura\u2019s decipherment of the musical \u201caccents\u201d or te\u2019amim<\/i> of the Masoretic text restores for us a melodic tradition said to have been passed down from the priests of the Second Temple (themselves heirs of the prosody and psalmody transmitted since Moses\u2019 time).<\/p>\n
To review what I stated in my earlier articles, the Hebrew Bible actually uses two forms of musical notation: the psalmodic system (in Psalms, Proverbs and the body of Job) and the prosodic system (in the prologue and epilogue of Job and in all the other books). Internal evidence shows that words and melody, in every passage of the Hebrew Bible, form two halves of one whole; they had to have been created and transmitted together. A major change in the structure of one would cause a major distortion in the perceived sense of the other. Thus Psalm 29, in our printed Hebrew Bibles based on the religiously authoritative manuscripts, is essentially and rigorously the same, verbally and musically, as it was when it was first created. (This point will be important later.)<\/p>\n
Psalm 29 and Canaanite Hymns<\/b><\/p>\n
What then is the basis for saying that Psalm 29 was adapted from a Canaanite hymn? Can we compare it with an existing hymn from Ugarita from which it would have been derived? No, we cannot! This hypothesis is based in part on a comparison of several different texts from Ugarit (and other locales) with Psalm 29, but even more on a preconceived theory of religious parallelism<\/i>.<\/p>\n
For the purposes of this article, I will focus my comments on Theodor Gaster\u2019s hypothesis. In his original article, Gaster discussed a pattern of \u201ccult-myth\u201d found in several Middle Eastern religions. In the Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elish<\/i>, recited at the New Year (Akitu<\/i>) festival, the god Marduk conquered the monster Tiamat, was acclaimed king of the divine hosts, was installed in a specially constructed palace, and received the adoration of his subjects. (In the earlier Sumerian version of the epic, Ninurta vanquished the monster Kur.) In the Hittite festival of<\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 5:1 (Winter 1992) p. 25<\/p>\n
PSALM 29<\/i><\/b>b<\/b> <\/b><\/p>\n
1. A Psalm of David Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.<\/p>\n
2. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.<\/p>\n
3. The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over mighty waters.<\/p>\n
4. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.<\/p>\n
5. The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; yes the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.<\/p>\n
6. And He makes them skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirlon like a young wild ox.<\/p>\n
7. The voice of the LORD calls forth flames of fire.<\/p>\n
8. The voice of the LORD shakes the desert; the LORD shakes the desert of Kadesh.<\/p>\n
9. The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve,c and strips the forests bare; and in His temple everyone cities: \u201cGlory!\u201d<\/p>\n
10. The LORD sat (enthroned) over the Flood; yes, the LORD sits (enthroned) as King forever.<\/p>\n
11. Let the LORD give strength to His people; let the LORD … bless His people with peacel<\/p>\n
Puruli<\/i>, held each spring, a myth was read in which Zashapunas, the god of storm and weather, triumphed over the dragon Illuyankas. At the climax of the festival, a parade to the city of Nerik was held, where the victorious god was enthroned at its temple.<\/p>\n
The same pattern, Gaster notes, is found in the Canaanite Poem to Baal<\/i> excavated at Ugarit. In this poem, Baal, after defeating the monster Yammu, was acclaimed king of the gods, installed in a specially constructed palace, and received adoration from his divine subjects. Thus Gaster concluded:<\/p>\n
In all of the cases cited the pattern is the same: the god of the weather defeats a rebellious dragon or monster, thereby acquires dominion and is installed in a new palace. Moreover, in Enuma Elish<\/i> and again in the Poem of Baal<\/i> the occasion is marked by the recitation of a paean rehearsing his glory and prowess. (Gaster 1947.)<\/p>\n
The reader familiar with the Bible will not miss the obvious parallels between this pagan theme and God\u2019s war with Lucifer, or Satan, who is also called Rahab (Ps 89:10; Is 51:9; Jb 9:13; 26:12 [RSV]), Leviathan (Ps 74:14; Is 27:1; and possibly Jb 41:1) and \u201cthe dragon, that ancient serpent\u201d (Rv 12:9; 20:2). Is Psalm 29 then<\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 5:1 (Winter 1992) p. 26<\/p>\n
a Canaanite hymn lifted out of a mythic context? Gaster thinks so. He wrote:<\/p>\n
It is now suggested that Psalm 29 … is really the typical \u201chymn of laudation\u201d detached from its mythic context, Yahwized and preserved as an independent liturgical composition. There is a complete correspondence in details between the Hebrew psalm and the texts to which we have referred. Several passages of the former which are, at present, difficult to interpret are at once clarified and illuminated by comparison with the latter. (Gaster 1947. Emphasis by Gaster.)<\/p>\n
Similarity of Language<\/b><\/p>\n
Let us now follow Psalm 29 in the light of Gaster\u2019s hypothesis. In verse 1, the \u201cmighty ones\u201d (Hebrew bene elim<\/i>) are parallel to the \u201cgods\u201d adoring Marduk in Enuma Elish<\/i>, or the 70 sons of the goddess Asherat (who are also called the bne ilm<\/i>) in the Poem of Baal. In the psalm, these \u201cmighty ones\u201d are told to \u201cascribe to the Lord the glory due His name\u201d (v. 2), even as in Enuma Elish<\/i> the gods recited Marduk\u2019s honorific names and titles, saying, \u201cwe will acclaim his name in our assembly.\u201d Thus, the description of YHWH\u2019s<\/i> prowess as \u201cthe God of Glory\u201d Who convulses nature by His storms (v 3) is seen by Gaster as the \u201cglory due his name\u201d which the \u201cmighty ones\u201d recite.<\/p>\n
The bene elim<\/i> are then told to \u201cworship\u201d (in Hebrew, \u201cprostrate yourselves\u201d) in \u201cthe beauty [splendor] of holiness\u201d (v.2). This description is taken to mean \u201cin the court of His sanctuary,\u201d altering the Hebrew text by comparison with the Greek Septuagint and Aramaic Peshitta versions. Here again, the parallel is drawn with the pagan myths, in which the gods adoring Marduk or Baal are invited into their palace or temple.<\/p>\n
In the following verses (vv. 3\u20139b) \u201cthe voice of YHWH<\/i>\u201d and its effects are described. According to Gaster\u2019s logic, this must be the actual honorification given YHWH<\/i> by the bene elim<\/i> and not \u201cmerely a series of laudatory observations by the poet.\u201d In particular, YHWH\u2019s<\/i> voice is said to shatter the cedars of Lebanon. The language used (says Gaster) is strikingly similar to that given in three texts praising Baal (Hadad<\/i>), including a hymn in the Poem to Baal which describes the \u201cvoice of Baal\u201d as thunder and his \u201chand\u201d as lightning. (See next page.) Notice that \u201ccedars quiver at the touch of [Baal\u2019s] right hand,\u201d which Gaster takes as a parallel to Psalm 29:5.<\/p>\n
The \u201cobscure\u201d Hebrew expression kulo<\/i> in Psalm 29:9c (which I translate as \u201ceveryone\u201d), is translated by Gaster as \u201call of it;\u201d that is, the entire assembly within YHWH\u2019s<\/i> temple. He then adds a possible restoration of the antecedent to \u201cit,\u201d which he thinks dropped out (basing his text upon the language used in the Enuma Elish<\/i>): \u201cThe congregation of the holy ones praise Him, And in His palace all of it recites the Glory.\u201d \u2014 the \u201cGlory\u201d being, of course, the foregoing \u201claudation\u201d describing the \u201cvoice of YHWH<\/i>.\u201d (Gaster 1947)<\/p>\n
Gaster notes that the \u201cabruptness\u201d of Psalm 29:10 (in its transition to YHWH<\/i> as King) and its reference to \u201cthe flood\u201d have long puzzled commentators. Many of them have asked: does the word \u201cflood\u201d (Hebrew mabul<\/i>) refer to Noah\u2019s Deluge (as it does everywhere else in the Hebrew Bible) or any flood caused by YHWH<\/i>? Gaster implies that this \u201cflood\u201d must refer to the primeval waters which YHWH<\/i> conquered and upon which His palace was built, just as in Enuma Elish<\/i>, Marduk\u2019s palace \u201cwas upreared upon the nether sea.\u201d Moreover, \u201cYHWH<\/i> sits (enthroned) as King forever\u201d must be taken (according to Gaster) as parallel to the acclamations in the myths: \u201cMarduk is King\u201d (by his divine adorators) or \u201cBaal is King\u201d (by the defeated monster Yammu).<\/p>\n
Used As a Folk Ritual?<\/b><\/p>\n
Finally, Gaster notes that most commentators<\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 5:1 (Winter 1992) p. 27<\/p>\n
think Psalm 29:11 was added to the other verses when it was adapted for public use. Gaster points to a parallel in Enuma Elish<\/i> where the minor gods hailed their new king Marduk with the words: \u201cVerily, Marduk is the strength of his land and of his people.\u201d Thus this verse would be part of the \u201coriginal mythological hymn\u201d from which Psalm 29 was adapted. In conclusion, Gaster suggests that:<\/p>\n
Psalm 29 is a form of the ritual laudation of the victorious god which formed part of the seasonal pantomime of the New Year Festival. It must be emphasized, however, this in no way implies that the seasonal pantomime actually obtained in official Israelite cultus. … All we are suggesting is that certain hymnodic patterns, derived from these earlier usages, survived in literary convention. This is, of course, a very different thing, and the difference is salient. (Gaster 1947)<\/p>\n
Yet Gaster does not think that this \u201csurvival\u201d is merely a matter of literary form. \u201cEvidence is increasing daily,\u201d he writes, \u201cthat many of the Psalms were conscious and deliberate Yahwizations of current \u2018pagan\u2019 compositions,\u201d and he cites supposed Canaanite grammatical forms in Psalms 29:6, 42:5 and other Biblical books as evidence for this. Citing the \u201cfolk-religion\u201d beliefs of Israel at large which he insists must have existed apart from the temple cult, he says:<\/p>\n
It is not unreasonable to suppose that the zealous propagandists of the latter frequently may have tried to \u201cfetch the public\u201d by adopting and adapting the songs and airs current in the former. Similarly, the same principle has induced General Booth<\/p>\n
Hymn From The Poem Of Baal\u201d (Ugarit)<\/b><\/p>\n
When Baal opens a rift in the clouds,<\/p>\n
When Baal gives forth his holy voice,<\/p>\n
When Baal keeps discharging the utterances of his lips,<\/p>\n
His holy voice convulses the earth.<\/p>\n
(…) the mountains quake,<\/p>\n
A-tremble are the (…)<\/p>\n
East and west the high places of the earth reel;<\/p>\n
The enemies of Baal take to the woods,<\/p>\n
The foes of Hadad to the sides of the mountains!<\/p>\n
The enemies of Baal, how they quake!<\/p>\n
How they quake who(…) our (…)!<\/p>\n
The eyes of Baal mark down, then his hand strikes,<\/p>\n
Yea, cedars quiver at the touch of his right hand!<\/p>\n
(Transl: T. Gaster)<\/p>\n
Tell Amarna Letter 149:14\u201315 (Abimilki of Tyre)<\/b><\/p>\n
Who giveth forth his voice in heaven like Hadad,<\/p>\n
And all the mountains quake at his voice.<\/p>\n
(Cited by T. Gaster)<\/p>\n
Hymn To Hadad 21:22 (From Kings\u2019s \u201cMagic and Sorcery\u201d)<\/b><\/p>\n
(Hadad) giveth forth thunders (…)<\/p>\n
The mountains are shaken.<\/p>\n
(Cited by T. Gaster)<\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 5:1 (Winter 1992) p. 28<\/p>\n
of the Salvation Army to set his hymns to popular melodies on the grounds that \u201cthe Devil shouldn\u2019t have the best tunes.\u201d (Gaster 1947)<\/p>\n
Gaster\u2019s \u201csuggestion\u201d in 1947 became in some quarters (and in the popular press) something close to dogma. Thus we can read on National Geographic\u2019s<\/i> map \u201cLands of the Bible Today\u201d (December 1957), \u201cThe best of Canaanite literature was borrowed by the Hebrews, and some found its way into the Old Testament.\u201d<\/p>\n
Based on Preconceived Opinion<\/b><\/p>\n
Let the reader remember, there are no Ugaritic texts extant from which Psalm 29 or any other Bible text can be traced. Only similarities of language, vocabulary, and poetic or literary forms have been discovered between Ugaritic and Hebrew literature. These parallels have been very useful for Biblical and Hebrew studies; in fact, they provide one of the chief evidences that the bulk of the Psalms were not written after the Babylonian exile<\/i>. Their language fits that used by Israel\u2019s neighbors in the very time our Hebrew Bible says the Psalms were written.<\/p>\n
Gaster\u2019s theory, in the end, is not founded on comparisons of language or literary form, but on his interpretation of the content of Psalm 29 in the light of the mythos of Israel\u2019s neighbors. All his other evidences (which sometimes require the emendation of the Masoretic text) are but attempts to support his hypothesis. Moreover, they are derived, not from a single Canaanite text or group of texts, but from texts of different cultures, each giving its own variation on the same pagan theme.<\/p>\n
But did Psalm 29 borrow from all these variants?<\/p>\n
Psalm 29 In Its Biblical Context<\/b><\/p>\n
The basic danger in comparing the Hebrew Bible (or, for that matter, the New Testament) with religious texts from other cultures is that the Bible uses similar language to describe different things. The Bible has the right to be interpreted by its own context, just as any other literary work (and all the more if it is to be treated as the Word of God). When one examines Psalm 29 carefully in the light of the rest of Scripture, the subtle errors that arise from using an extra-Biblical framework to interpret the Bible can be seen.<\/p>\n
According to the Bible\u2019s own definitions, the bene elim<\/i> in Psalm 29:1 (and Psalm 89:6) are not subordinate \u201cgods\u201d on the same plane as YHWH<\/i>, but angels, created beings who are His servants. The power of \u201cthe voice of the Lord\u201d (YHWH<\/i>) is not sent against His foes (as is Baal\u2019s voice in the Poem of Baal), but it is exalted for its own sake; not as a laudation by the bene elim<\/i> of God\u2019s honorific names, but as the reason why He should be praised by them (\u201cin His temple everyone cries: \u2018Glory!\u2019\u201d \u2014 v. 9).<\/p>\n
The flood (Heb. mabul<\/i>) upon which YHWH<\/i> \u201csat (enthroned)\u201d refers, not to the primeval waters YHWH<\/i> supposedly conquered, but to Noah\u2019s Deluge, YHWH\u2019s<\/i> authoritative judgment (partly through a massive intervention in normal weather patterns!) on sinning humanity. YHWH\u2019s<\/i> kingship is not granted after the defeat of the \u201cdragon;\u201d it is \u201cfrom everlasting\u201d (Ps 93:2). YHWH\u2019s<\/i> granting of strength to His People, and His blessing on them with peace, proceeds not from His supposedly newly-won kingship, but from the strength He had from all eternity, as manifested in nature. This is (as we will see) the \u201cBible\u2019s own interpretation\u201d of Psalm 29, as given by the psalm\u2019s own melody.<\/p>\n
A Case for Davidic Authorship<\/b><\/p>\n
Whatever the literary language the Israelites would have adapted from their neighbors (who spoke languages related to Hebrew), the Hebrew Bible is clear: Psalm 29 was written by King David<\/i>. The melody he used was not adapted from<\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 5:1 (Winter 1992) p. 29<\/p>\n
an Israelite folk melody, or from that of a Canaanite hymn, but was composed by David himself, using the \u201cMosaic\u201d musical system represented by the \u201cte\u2019amim\u201d<\/i> of the Masoretic text. [The supposedly Canaanite grammatical features found in Psalm 29 (and elsewhere) are denied by the Biblical melodies and the punctuation and syntax they dictate.]<\/p>\n
Lest there be any doubt as to the authorship of the psalm, or the context in which its verbal content should be set, the melody confirms both in surprising ways. First, the words of Psalm 29:1\u20132 are very similar to those found in Psalm 96:7\u20139. Moreover, the \u201cpsalmodic\u201d melody of Psalm 29:1\u20132 is almost identical in form (but not in musical scale or \u201cmode\u201d) to that of Psalm 96:7\u20138. Psalm 96, though anonymous, is also a \u201cpsalm of David;\u201d it uses almost the same words (with a different melody in a different melodic system) as does part of David\u2019s \u201cSong of the Ark\u201d (1 Chr 16:23\u201333). Furthermore, Psalms 29 and 96 share with the Song of the Ark the lyricism, grandeur and ease in use of ornamentations unique to the Psalms of David. Finally, the words and melodies in each of the songs had to be written at the same time (the one mirroring the \u201csense\u201d of the other exactly).<\/p>\n
Relationship of Melody and Text<\/b><\/p>\n
Haik-Vantoura, from the relationship of the poetic structure of the melody to that of the words, has reconstructed the choral forms to which Psalm 29 was set. What follows is how the melody, placed in its proper choral setting, gives a sensible, even \u201cself-justifying\u201d interpretation to the words it supports. (The melodic evidences will be best understood by the musician upon hearing the recording of the psalm; the interpretative results, however, can be stated in nonmusical terms.)<\/p>\n
The title, \u201cA Psalm of David,\u201d sung by a soloist, actually begins the first verse of the psalm in Hebrew. The melody to which the title is sung is a simple announcement, ending on the second degree of the scale. This allows the opening verse of the psalm to depart from the second degree rather than the first (from where it would normally depart \u2014 cf. v. 2), which lends an air of<\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 5:1 (Winter 1992) p. 30<\/p>\n
energy and mystery to the first verse.<\/p>\n
Verse 1 continues with a musical theme stated by a small chorus, which is repeated (in a slightly different form) in verse 2 by a large chorus. The \u201cecho\u201d effect of the similar words and melodies, the \u201csoft\u201d and \u201cloud\u201d dynamics given by the choruses, and above all the \u201crolling\u201d curves of the melodies themselves, suggest the onset of a thunderstorm, its clouds rumbling with thunder and crackling with lightning. This<\/i> is the \u201chonorific\u201d given to the Creator for His power, as manifested in the storm; everything that follows (to v. 9b: \u201cand strips the forests bare\u201d) is an exaltation of that power for its own sake.<\/p>\n
Then come seven repetitions of a phrase beginning with qol \u2018Adonay (YHWH)<\/i>, \u201cthe voice of the LORD\u201d (see page 29). Each phrase is as distinct (as it were) as seven separate flashes of lightning. Verse 3 introduces a melodic theme which will become (in slightly different form) the climax of the musical \u201cexposition\u201d in verse 9b. Small and large choruses alternate to bring out the character of each verse as amplified by the melody. Each mention of \u201cthe voice of the LORD\u201d is given its own melodic \u201cvariation\u201d on this theme.<\/p>\n
In verse 7, David shows his skill in a musical \u201cword-painting;\u201d that is, the melody\u2019s contours suggest the sinuous curves of the \u201cflames of fire\u201d which are called forth (in Hebrew, \u201csplit\u201d) by \u201cthe voice of the LORD.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finally, the climax of the exposition is reached (using the full chorus) in verse 9a-b; only then do we read: \u201cand in His temple everyone cries \u2018Glory\u2019!\u201d The word \u201cglory\u201d is not (as Gaster thinks) a description of the so-called \u201chonorific\u201d praise preceding it; rather, it is an exclamation in its own right after the exposition of God\u2019s power. It is, indeed, said by the bene elim<\/i> \u2014 but the exclamation is their response to the manifestation of His power.<\/p>\n
Then, the density and slower tempo of the melody in verse 10 (sung by the full chorus) suggests a sudden downpour of rain, evoking the LORD\u2019s power in sending the Deluge. The might of His \u201crain\u201d (reign!) continues in verse 11 (\u201clet the LORD give strength to his people; let the LORD …\u201d), then fades into the quietude of the sun (and the covenant sign of the rainbow?) breaking through the clouds (\u201cbless His people with peace!\u201d). Rain and storm can not only destroy; they can bless a people dependent on rainfall for their very survival (as Israel was). Who else but David, in all of Israelite history, was ever credited with such creative skill, such depth of vision as is evident in this magnificent psalm?<\/p>\n
Case Closed<\/b><\/p>\n
Every Biblical evidence shows that Psalm 29 is an authentically Israelite creation, couched in Israelite Hebrew (which used expressions common to other<\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 5:1 (Winter 1992) p. 31<\/p>\n
peoples of the time to express Israelite concepts). Moreover, the psalm has a poetic power which the hymn from the Poem to Baal is hard pressed to match; the Poem to Baal is more \u201cshowy,\u201d but Psalm 29 is more skillful and profound. We know of at least one pagan adaptation of a Hebrew Psalm (an Egyptian adaptation of Psalm 20 dating to ca 125 BC), which does not remotely compare in literary quality to the original (Shanks 1985). Can we honestly say, then, that Psalm 29\u2019s inspired poetry could have been \u201ca treasure of a common milieu,\u201d a hymn to Baal with the divine names changed to protect the guilty?<\/p>\n
The music of this Psalm makes Gaster\u2019s hypothesis even more untenable. It is constructed according to a specifically Hebrew melodic system, one wedded to the syntax and meaning of the words it supports. For comparison, one nearly complete hymn text with melody from Ugarit (a hymn to the local moon goddess) is based on Babylonian musical theory. Babylonian scale structures are very similar to those behind the Hebrew chant; the means of expression in the Ugaritic melody are technically just as complex. Yet, if the most musically expressive decipherment of the Ugaritic melody given to date (Shanks 1980) is compared with the melody of any Hebrew psalm, the overwhelming expressive superiority of Israelite sacred music is evident. The gap seems just as wide between Israelite and Canaanite sacred music as it is between the ethical and spiritual concepts their musical and poetic forms express.<\/p>\n
Let us underline it even more: of the Hebrew psalmists, David alone is called \u201ca man after God\u2019s own heart.\u201d His music, even more than his words, portray him as a man of deep, yet mature and tender emotions, a man of unique sensitivity, modesty and intimacy with the God of Israel. Psalm 29, one of the most beautiful Psalms of David, bears the fingerprints of this unique individual\u2019s poetic hand. No pagan poet-composer before or after him can match the artistic and spiritual qualities which make his psalms the \u201cprayers of all mankind\u201d that they have become through the Hebrew-Christian Bible.<\/p>\n
Bibliography<\/b><\/p>\n
Craigie, Peter C. 1983. The Tablets From Ugarit and Their Importance for Biblical Studies. Biblical Archaeology Review<\/i> 9\/5:62\u201369.<\/p>\n
Gaster, Theodor H. 1947. Psalm 29. Jewish Quarterly Review<\/i> 37:55\u201365.<\/p>\n
Shanks, Hershel<\/p>\n
1980. World\u2019s Oldest Musical Notation Deciphered on Cuneiform Tablet. Biblical Archaeology Review<\/i> 6\/5:14\u201325.<\/p>\n
1985. Bible\u2019s Psalm 20 Adapted for Pagan Use. Biblical Archaeology Review<\/i> 11\/1:20\u201323.<\/p>\n
Vasholz, Robert I. 1984. Queries and Comments. Biblical Archaeology Review<\/i> 10\/1:76.<\/p>\n
Wheeler, John<\/p>\n
1989a Music of the Temple. Archaeology and Biblical Research<\/i> 2:12\u201320.<\/p>\n
1989b The Origin of the Music of the Temple. Archaeology and Biblical Research<\/i> 2:113\u201322.<\/p>\n
Psalm 29 is recorded on Vol. 2 [cassette] of La musique de la Bible r\u00e9v\u00e9l\u00e9e<\/i> [artistic direction: Suzanne Haik-Vantoura]. It is available in musical score form [basic or concert version], along with other productions by Haik-Vantoura and others, from: King David\u2019s Harp, 750 La Playa, Box 542, San Francisco CA 94121\u20133200, (415) 750\u20130280.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
John Wheeler1 בוד א*כָּ* לַיְהוָֹהֹ* בוּ*הָ* לים*י *ליהָֹוה בְּנֵ* בוּ*ור הָ*רָ*מִזְמֹוֹר לְ 2 ווּ ְַליהוָֹה בְּהַדְרַת־*ְַתּחֲ*מוֹ הִשְׁ*בוֹר שְׁ*ליהוָֹה בְּ* בוּ*וָעִֹז׃ הָ 3 עִים יְהוָהֹ עַל־ *בוד הִרְ*ל־הַכָּ*יִם אְֵ*הַמָּ*קוֹל יְהוָֹהֹ עַל־* ְֹקרֶשׁ׃ קוֹל ה ש* חוָֹה ְָבּהְָָדר׃*קוֹל יְ* בֹּחַ*ה בַּ*מיִם רַבֳּים׃ קְוֹל־יְהוָֹ* רֵם 6*קִי *י חַלְּבָנְוֹן׃ וַיַרְ*יְרוָֹה אָת־אַרְזַ* ר*ים וַיְשַׁ*ר אֲרָן*יהוָֹה שֹׁ* 7 וָֹה חֹצֵֹב*ה*מִים׃ קְוֹל־יְ*מוֹ … Continue reading “WHO
\nWROTE PSALM 29: DAVID OR A CANAANITE?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15114\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}