Exodus 15:21

15:21 Miriam sang in response ¹  to them, “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.” ² 

Nehemiah 12:24

12:24 And the leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua son of Kadmiel, and their colleagues, who stood opposite them to offer praise and thanks, one contingent corresponding to the other, as specified by ³  David the man of God.

Nehemiah 12:40

12:40 Then the two choirs that gave thanks took their stations ⁴  in the temple of God. I did also, along with half the officials with me,

Psalms 24:7-10

24:7 Look up, ⁵  you gates!

Rise up, ⁶  you eternal doors!

Then the majestic king ⁷  will enter! ⁸ 

24:8 Who is this majestic king? ⁹ 

The Lord who is strong and mighty!

The Lord who is mighty in battle!

24:9 Look up, you gates!

Rise up, you eternal doors!

Then the majestic king will enter!

24:10 Who is this majestic king?

The Lord who commands armies! ¹⁰ 

He is the majestic king! (Selah)

Isaiah 6:3

6:3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy ¹¹  is the Lord who commands armies! ¹²  His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!”

¹ tn The verb עָנָה (’ana) normally means “to answer,” but it can be used more technically to describe antiphonal singing in Hebrew and in Ugaritic.

² sn This song of the sea is, then, a great song of praise for Yahweh’s deliverance of Israel at the Sea, and his preparation to lead them to the promised land, much to the (anticipated) dread of the nations. The principle here, and elsewhere in Scripture, is that the people of God naturally respond to God in praise for his great acts of deliverance. Few will match the powerful acts that were exhibited in Egypt, but these nonetheless set the tone. The song is certainly typological of the song of the saints in heaven who praise God for delivering them from the bondage of this world by judging the world. The focus of the praise, though, still is on the person (attributes) and works of God.

³ tn Heb “in [accord with] the commandment of.”

⁴ tn Heb “stood.”

⁵ tn Heb “lift up your heads.” The gates of the Lord’s dwelling place are here personified. The idiom “lift up the head” often means “be confident, bold” (see Judg 8:28; Job 10:15; Ps 83:2; Zech 1:21).

⁶ tn Heb “lift yourselves up.”

⁷ tn Or “king of glory.”

⁸ tn Following the imperatives of the preceding lines, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.

⁹ sn Who is this majestic king? Perhaps the personified gates/doors ask this question, in response to the command given in v. 7.

¹⁰ tn Traditionally, “the Lord of hosts,” a title which here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle.

¹¹ tn Some have seen a reference to the Trinity in the seraphs’ threefold declaration, “holy, holy, holy.” This proposal has no linguistic or contextual basis and should be dismissed as allegorical. Hebrew sometimes uses repetition for emphasis. (See IBHS 233-34 §12.5a; and GKC 431-32 §133.k.) By repeating the word “holy,” the seraphs emphasize the degree of the Lord’s holiness. For another example of threefold repetition for emphasis, see Ezek 21:27 (Heb. v. 32). (Perhaps Jer 22:29 provides another example.)

¹² tn Perhaps in this context, the title has a less militaristic connotation and pictures the Lord as the ruler of the heavenly assembly. See the note at 1:9.