Psalm 29 Semantics

Psalm Overview

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• Semantics
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	Prepositional phrase	Construct chain	Construct chain within a prepositional phrase	Phrase-level waw	Article and כֹּל
Diagram Shading
Definition	- A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition plus its object. The phrase usually modifies the clause or another constituent in the clause.	- A construct chain, also called a 'genitive phrase', is a grammatical encoding of the relationship 'A of B,' in which A is a phonologically modified noun (in the construct state), and B is a phonologically unmodified noun (the absolute state).	- Some construct chains occur within prepositional phrases	- A waw conjunction can join units of all sizes. Phrase level waw join units at the word or phrase level (i.e., below the level of the clause).	- Definite articles tell you something about the identifiability or inclusiveness about the word it is attached to - כֹּל is a quantifier that tells you about the scope of a word it is attached to

v. 1

• Divine beings. "Members of the class of heavenly beings" >> "heavenly beings" (NIV, NLT, ESV, NET, GNT). These are the beings that make up the "divine/angelic assembly." The same phrase (בְּנֵי אֵלִים) occurs also in Ps. 89:7. Cf. בני אלהים (Gen. 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7).
• Ascribe to YHWH. To "ascribe x to YHWH" is to "acknowledge YHWH's x" (cf. NET: "Acknowledge the Lord's majesty and power"). Cf. Deut. 32:3; Ps. 96:7-8 = 1 Chron. 16:28-29.

v. 2

• The glory that his name deserves. "The glory due his name" (NIV, ESV; cf. NGÜ) (cf. Ps. 86:12 [וַאֲכַבְּדָ֖ה שִׁמְךָ֣]), i.e., acknowledge the honour that his reputation deserves (Olshausen 1853:142).
• Dressed in holy attire. The noun הדרה occurs only five times, always in construct: הַדְרַת־קֹדֶשׁ (Pss. 29:2; 96:9 = 1 Chron. 16:29; 2 Chron. 20:21); הַדְרַת־מֶלֶךְ (Prov. 14:28). The meaning of the phrase in Ps. 29 is not clear.
  • Option 1. A number of translations have "splendor/majesty of [his] holiness" (NIV, NLT, ESV, NEB, NJB; cf. HFA, ELB, EÜ, ZÜR; NRSV ["holy splendor"]. Hossfeld argues for this view by pointing out that (1) vv. 1-2 are focused on YHWH's attributes, and (2) v. 4b uses the related word הדר with reference to YHWH's majesty. Kidner argues that the use of the phrase in 2 Chron. 20:21 supports reading Ps. 29:2b as "worship the Lord for the splendour of (his) holiness." However, if the reference in v. 2 were to YHWH's splendor or to YHWH's holiness, then we might have expected a pronominal suffix (בהדרת קדשו), as indeed some translations feel the need to supply (e.g., NIV, NLT; so both Hossfeld and Kidner in parentheses; cf. LXX, Syriac).
  • Option 2 (preferred). Others claim that הַדְרַת־קֹדֶשׁ refers to "holy attire/array/adornment" so that, as Briggs, writes, "the angels are conceived after the manner of ministering priests in the earthly temple as clothed in sacred vestments." The verb הדר can mean "to adorn" (Isa. 63:1 [הָדוּר בִּלְבוּשׁוֹ]), the related noun הדר can also mean "adornment," and, according to DCH, every instance of הַדְרַת is best explained as "adornment."
  • Option 3. Following the suggestion by F. M. Cross (1950:21) based on an Ugaritic parallel, some translations have "when he appears in his holiness" (e.g., GNB; cf. Dahood), but the evidence for this is weak.

v. 3

• Against the waters... against many waters. Horizontal spatial relationship > Control. YHWH's being "above" or "over" the waters implies superiority, control, and perhaps even hostility: In 1 Sam. 7:10, the preposition על with the verb הרעים means "to thunder against". Thus, "v. 3 refers to the thunderous word of God against (not upon) the rebellious waters." The phrase "the waters" (v. 3a) does not refer then to the heavenly ocean (Gen. 1:7; Ps. 148:4) or to the Mediterranean Sea or to the waters gathered together in storm clouds (cf. Pss. 18:2; 104:3)., but to the chaotic waters of the Flood (מבול v. 10). According to Herbert May, the phrase "many waters" (v. 3c) has cosmic connotations; it is often used "to indicate the cosmic insurgent elements which may be manifest as the enemies of Yahweh, as the enemies of Israel, or as the enemy afflicting the faithful individual. And whether in the past, present, or future, the struggle is essentially one, the battle of God against the waters which threaten his rule. And after the conflict he sits enthroned above the waters."
• The glorious God. The God (entity) characterized by glory (characteristic). "The God of glory" >> "the glorious God" (CEV, GNT; cf. NET, HFA, GNB).

v. 4

• In power... in majesty. "The sound of YHWH (thundering) in power/majesty." The article is sometimes used "with nouns denoting abstract ideas, esp. the names of moral qualities" (BDB 206h). This is especially common "where the art. depends on the punctuation, after preps., esp. ב" (BDB 206h). E.g., Prov. 25:5 (בצדק); Isa. 28:15 (בשקר); etc. Cf. בשלום in Ps. 29:11.

v. 5

• like a wild ox. "A member of the class of wild oxen" >> "a wild ox" (NIV, NLT, ESV, CEV, NEB), specifically, bos primigenius. According to David Mitchell, "the aurochs is now extinct. The last European aurochs died as late as 1627, in Poland. But its brothers in the Levant died out more than 2,000 years before, due to human competition for pasture-lands. Yet, to those who knew it, when it moved freely throughout North Africa, Europe, and West Asia, the aurochs was a truly fearsome beast. Their skeletons have been found standing two metres tall at the shoulder, with the tips of the great black horns rising three metres from the ground. Julius Caesar wrote of the arochsen of the Black Forest: 'They are only a little smaller than elephants, and have the appearance, colour, and shape of a bull. Their strength is very great, and also their speed. They spare neither man nor beast that they see. They cannot be brought to endure the sight of men, nor be tamed, even when taken young. The size, shape, and appearance of their horns differ much from the horns of our oxen' (Gallic War, VI.28)"

v. 7

• Hewing. See The Grammar and Meaning of Ps. 29:7. The verb חצב refers to an "action by which humans strike an object repeatedly with an axe, chisel, or other sharp implement, ► in order to alter its shape and so create a new object out of it." The action involves (1) an agent, (2) a patient, and (3) an instrument. In the qal stem, the agent is either God or, more often, humans. The patient (that which formed through the act of striking) may be dressed stones (1 Chron. 22:2; cf. 2 Kings 12:13), bronze (Deut. 8:9), a well (Jer. 2:13; Deut. 6:11; 2 Chron. 26:10), a grave (Isa. 22:16), a wine press (Isa. 5:2), or the pillars of a house (Prov. 9:1). The instrument is most often implicit, though sometimes it is indicated with the beth preposition ("axe" or "pick-axe" in Isa. 10:15). In Hos. 6:5, the (metaphorical) instrument is "the prophets" (Hos. 6:5), and no object is grammatically specified, though Israel is the implied patient. Many have suggested the meaning "divide" for this instance of the verb, "i.e. the thunder of his voice sends forked lightnings." Yet the verb never has this meaning elsewhere. Others have proposed a separate entry for חצב ("to rake"), and others have argued for emending the text. The following observations argue in favor of interpreting חצב as "hew." (1) This is the usual meaning of the verb חצב (qal) in biblical Hebrew. (2) The occurrence of the verb in Ps. 29:7 comes right after the mention of mountains in the previous verse (Lebanon and Sirion). This is significant, since חצב is associated with mountains as the location where the action often takes place (e.g., Deut. 8:9: וּמֵהֲרָרֶ֖יהָ תַּחְצֹ֥ב נְחֹֽשֶׁת; cf. the phrase חצב בהר in 1 Kings 5:29; 2 Chron. 2:1, 17). (3) The occurrence of the verb in Ps. 29:7 comes shortly after the mention of the "cedars of Lebanon" (v. 5). This is significant because both "hewing" and "the cedars of Lebanon" belong to the same contextual domain of "construction" (e.g., 1 Kgs. 5).
• With lightning bolts. In Ps. 29:7, the verb חצב is followed by the phrase לַהֲב֥וֹת אֵֽשׁ, which most interpret as a reference to lightning. It is not clear whether this phrase constitutes the patient or the instrument of the action. The fact that "the accusative never denotes the instrument" may suggest that לַהֲבוֹת אֵשׁ functions as the grammatical object of the verb. However, this is semantically difficult: what does it mean for YHWH to "hew" lightning bolts? If חצב is interpreted according to its usual sense, then לַהֲבוֹת אֵשׁ is probably the instrument rather than the patient, since it is easier to conceive (especially in the context of this psalm) of "lightning bolts" as sharp and potentially deadly instruments for hewing (cf. Isa. 10:15 [a pick-axe]; Hos. 6:5 [as a deadly weapon]) than as the products of hewing. Psalm 18:14-15 depicts YHWH's lightning bolts as arrows, and the god Baal is depicted in Ugaritic texts and images as wielding lightning as a weapon. The noun להבה ("flame") can even refer to the head of a spear (1 Sam. 17:7). To be sure, the beth preposition might have been expected in this case (cf. Isa. 10:15; Hos. 6:5). However, adverbial accusatives are common in Hebrew and in the Psalms, and Dahood suggests that the absence of a beth "may have been prompted by the fact that ḥōṣēb ends in b." The image in Ps. 29:7, therefore, is that of YHWH's thunderous voice blasting craters in the mountain rock with lightning bolts. Whereas human miners use man-made tools for hewing in the mountains, YHWH hews with "flames of fire."

v. 8

• The Wilderness of Kadesh. According to the MT vocalization (Qadesh; cf. LXX: Καδης) קדש is a proper noun, and מדבר קדש is probably the name of a place. The two main options for identifying this place are (1) Kadesh Barnea in the south, on the northern part of the Sinai peninsual (SDBH, DCH); (2) a place somewhere north of Israel, "in the environs of Lebanon and Anti-Libanus, perhaps near Kadesh on the Orontes" (Dahood; Kraus; Hossfeld 1993:184). Several considerations favor the second of these options.
  • Kadesh Barnea is never referred in the Bible as מדבר קדש.
  • The phrase מדבר קדש occurs in an Ugaritic Text in connection to some other place (see Gordon 52.65; for translation see Hallow and Younger I:282): "Take up (your belongings), prepare (yourselves a place) in the holy stepped-land (mdbr qds); There you must dwell as alients among the stones and trees......"<ref"The interpretation of the phrase mdbr qds is no easier here than in Ps 29:8, where the second element is revocalized as the geographical name Qadesh. Is this a generic statement about the divine characteristics of the mdbr or a reference to a specific mdbr in the vicinity of one of the several towns of which the names are derived from the root qds?" (footnote in Hallow and Younger I:282)</ref>
  • The other regions named in this Psalm (Lebanon and Sirion in vv. 5-6) are located in the north.
  • After mentioning מִדְבַּר קָדֵשׁ (v. 8), the next verse (v. 9) mentions "forests" (יערות) and the deer which live in them (אילות). This would not be appropriate if the reference were to the bleak desert of Kadesh in the south.
  • Some have noted that "the location of this place in the desert is a powerful objection" to this view (Barbiero 2016:385). However, Dahood responds to this objection by noting that "midbār does not connote 'desert' in our sense, but rather 'land without permanent settlements'" (Dahood). E.g., Prov. 21:19; Jer. 9:1; Ugaritic text above. So Wilson: "Rather than a 'desert' of sand, the area might better be called an unoccupied 'wilderness' or steppe" (Wilson 2003:505).

v. 9

• Fallow deer. See The Text and Meaning of Ps. 29:9. Translations diverge in their understanding of v. 9a. The MT (ק֤וֹל יְהוָ֨ה׀ יְחוֹלֵ֣ל אַיָּלוֹת֮) reads "YHWH's voice makes deer give birth" (so ESV, CEV, JPS85, NEB/REB; LUT, NGUP, ELB, EU, ZUR; TOB). This reading is supported by nearly all of the ancient versions (LXX, θ', α', ε', Jerome, Syriac, Targum) with the exception of Symmachus (πληθυνοντος παιδια) who probably read the same consonantal text (אילות) but with a different vocalisation אֵילוֹת (possibly a plural of אלה, meaning "oak tree") (see CTAT 165f). Many modern translations choose to follow this reading instead of the MT reading: "YHWH's voice twists the oaks" (NIV, NLT, NRSV, GNT, NET, NJB; HFA; DHH). The NET Bible offers the following argument for emending the text in favor of this reading. (1) The MT should be emended, because it does not make sense. "The Polel of חוּל/חִיל (khul/khil) means 'give birth,' not 'cause to give birth,' and the statement 'the Lord’s shout gives birth to deer' is absurd" (NET). (2) The most likely emendation is אֵילוֹת ("oaks"), in light of (a) the parallel line, which mentions "forests", and (b) v. 5, which mentions "cedars." Yet this proposed emendation is problematic, since the plural of אלה is אלים, not אֵילוֹת (Isa. 1:29; 57:5). Furthermore, there are good reasons for not seeking an emendation to the MT in the first place. The strongest reason is that the expression "deer giving birth" is found also in Job 39:1 (חֹלֵ֖ל אַיָּל֣וֹת). As Dahood writes, "MT yeḥōlēl ʾayyālōt too closely resembles Job 39:1, ḥōlel ʾayyālōt, “the writhing of the hinds,” to be abandoned" (Dahood 2008:179; cf. Craigie 2004:243; CTAT). It is true that in Job 39:1, as elsewhere, the polel of חוּל/חִיל means "to give birth" and not "to cause to give birth" (cf. Deut. 32:18; Ps. 90:2; Prov. 25:23; Isa. 51:2). It is possible, however, that the verb has both meanings (HALOT, cf. BDB, DCH).

v. 10

• Over the Flood.
  • The word מבול ("Flood") occurs 13 times in the Bible: once in Ps. 29 and 12 times in Genesis 6-10 where it refers to the Noahic Flood. Therefore, the word is probably "a technical term reserved for the watery catastrophe which God brought on the earth during the days of Noah" (TWOT; cf. BDB; Targum of Ps. 29; Ibn Ezra; Perowne 1870:265; Baethgen 1904:83; Briggs 1906:256; et. al.). This also explains why mabbul is definite in Ps. 29:10 (article of unique reference: "the Flood") (so Hupfeld 1868:178). Others think that mabbul in Ps. 29:10 refers not to the Noahic flood, but to the "water above the firmament" (DCH; cf. HALOT ["celestial sea"]; Hossfeld 1993:185; Gunkel 1926:126) or to the waters mentioned in v. 3 (e.g., NET), but these views do not adequately account for the predominate usage of this unique word in biblical Hebrew to refer to the Noahic Flood.
  • With the verb ישב, the preposition ל can indicate the place where someone sits (e.g., Ps. 9:5 [לְכִסֵּא]; Ps. 110:1 [לִימִינִי]). Here it refers to YHWH's being enthroned "over the Flood" (NIV, NLT, ESV, NET, LUT, HFA, NGÜ, EÜ, ZÜR; Hupfeld 1868:178; Hossfeld 1993:185; Craigie 2004:243), which means that he is the "king of the flood" (CEV), the one who "rules over the deep waters" (GNT). YHWH's mastery over the flood described in this verse parallels the description in v. 3 ("YHWH thunders against the waters"). A number of other passages describe YHWH's mastery over the waters (e.g., Pss. 77:17; 89:10; 104:6-7).

v. 11

Full Diagram

Collapsible diagram