Seventh-day Adventist Bible CommentaryPsalms 29

Mighty. Heb. bene ’elim, the translation of which is uncertain. The LXX reads, “sons of God,” by which possibly the angels are meant (see on Job 1:6). The parallelism of Ps. 89:6 (the only other occurrence of the phrase in the psalms) seems to lend support to this idea. Glory. The psalmist acknowledges God as the God of glory and might. The word “glory” is used as a climax in v. 9 (see Ps. 68:34).

The beauty of holiness. Literally, “in holy adornment.” This phrase appears again in Ps. 96:9. Beyond the attiring of the body is the adorning of the soul. No external comeliness can compare with the beauty of holy character (see 1 Peter 3:3, 4). In this prelude, if angels are intended by the phrase “mighty” (see on Ps. 29:1), the psalmist lifts us from the earth to heaven by calling on the angels to praise Him whose power is manifested in the thunderstorm about to be described.

The voice of the Lord. In the verbal symphony of vs. 3–9 the psalmist describes what is obviously his own recollection of a thunderstorm sweeping in from the Mediterranean Sea, breaking in fury on Lebanon, and then dying away in the east, leaving the desert warm and peaceful. To him, thunder is “the voice of the Lord” (see Ps. 18:13). The phrase is used seven times in vs. 3–9. God of glory. Compare the expression “King of glory” (Ps. 24:7–10). The word “glory” is repeated three times in Ps. 29:1–3. Many waters. Or, “great waters.”

Powerful. Literally, “with power.” The psalmist sees certain of God’s attributes displayed in the storm. Full of majesty. Literally, “in majesty.” The thunder is beginning to roll over the land.

Breaketh the cedars. The storm swoops down upon the Lebanon Mountains, famous for their cedars, and the heavy wind breaks the mighty trees. The lightning, too, may have added to the destruction by shattering many a stately cedar.

Them. In the Hebrew this pronoun appears as a suffix to the verb in the form –em. The form is actually an archaic grammatical (enclitic) form not understood by the Jewish scholars who added the pronunciation to the vowelless text from the 7th century A.D. and on. Ugaritic (see p. 618) has shown that the ending –em should remain untranslated, so that the passage should be rendered: “He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox” (RSV). The mountains of Lebanon and Sirion themselves are meant, which appear to skip under the impact of the storm. Skip like a calf. See Ps. 68:16; 114:4. Sirion. The Sidonian name for Mt. Hermon, the highest mountain in the Anti- Lebanon range, towering 9,232 feet above sea level (see on Deut. 3:9). Unicorn. Rather, “wild ox” (see on Ps. 22:21).

Divideth. Literally, “cut,” “hew out.” The verse describes the vivid, zigzag, serpentlike flashes of the lightning.

Wilderness of Kadesh. Before the discovery of the Ugaritic texts it was thought that the storm was pictured as passing over all Palestine, from Lebanon in the north to Kadesh on the southern border, about 45 mi. (70.4 km.) southwest of Beersheba (see Num. 20:16). Kadesh was identified with Kadesh-barnea, the place from which the Hebrews sent the spies into Canaan (Num. 13:17–20) and from which the people were

made to retreat into the wilderness because of their murmuring (Num. 14). However, a study of the Ugaritic texts (see p. 618) has shown that the term “wilderness of Kadesh” was a name for the Syrian Desert (see on v. 3).

Hinds to calve. Obviously because of fear induced by the thunderstorm. Certain Arabian poets, also Plutarch and Pliny, have recorded this phenomenon. The RSV translation “oaks” instead of “hinds” supplies a better parallelism. But it is questionable whether the Heb. ’ayyaloth (“hinds” KJV) can properly be considered the plural of ’ayil, “oak.” The normal plural of ’ayil is ’elim (see Isa. 1:29). Discovereth. Heb. chaśaph, “to strip,” “to lay bare.” His temple. Probably here not the tabernacle, but the world of nature. Every one. Or, “everything.” All things—the thunder, the lightning, the crashing of the trees, the shaking of the wilderness, the leaves being stripped from the trees—declare the power and glory of God. “Earth, with her thousand voices, praises God” (Coleridge). Compare Ps. 19:2. It is a good thing for us to stand in awe in the presence of the violent phenomena of nature, and then to lift our hearts in praise to the God of majesty and power. The universal chorus of praise reminds us of the continuous adoration of the seraphim in Isaiah’s vision (see Isa. 6:2, 3). With the climactic description of this verse, the storm subsides, and the psalmist turns to quiet meditation and to a declaration of God’s sovereignty and His wonderful gift of peace.

Flood. Some see a reference here to the Noachian Deluge, but it seems more natural to continue the description of the thunderstorm and see in the flood a picture of the heavy rain accompanying the storm, and its results. King for ever. As God was in the storm now passed, so He will preside as absolute sovereign forever. There is a finality to the declaration that brings calm and confidence to the soul after the commotion and consternation of the storm.

Strength. The God whose power is seen so strikingly in the storm is abundantly able to uphold His people (see Isa. 40:29–31). Peace. The most gracious gift that Heaven can bestow upon mortals (see Ps. 85:8, 10; John 14:27; Phil. 4:7; 1 Thess. 5:23). There is no sweeter word in any language. Churchill said, “Outside, the storms of war may blow and the lands may be lashed with the fury of its gales, but in our own hearts … there is peace.” Thus the symphony of Ps. 29, which has swelled to an ear-shattering crescendo, ends in the softest pianissimo (Soncino, on the Psalms). “Peace be unto you” (John 20:21, 26), says the Prince of Peace.