Psalms 65:6-7

65:6 You created the mountains by your power, ¹ 

and demonstrated your strength. ² 

65:7 You calm the raging seas ³ 

and their roaring waves,

as well as the commotion made by the nations. ⁴ 

Psalms 93:3-4

93:3 The waves ⁵  roar, O Lord,

the waves roar,

the waves roar and crash. ⁶ 

93:4 Above the sound of the surging water, ⁷ 

and the mighty waves of the sea,

the Lord sits enthroned in majesty. ⁸ 

Proverbs 8:29

8:29 when he gave the sea his decree

that the waters should not pass over his command, ⁹ 

when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

Mark 4:39-41

4:39 So ¹⁰  he got up and rebuked ¹¹  the wind, and said to the sea, ¹²  “Be quiet! Calm down!” Then ¹³  the wind stopped, and it was dead calm. 4:40 And he said to them, “Why are you cowardly? Do you still not have faith?” 4:41 They were overwhelmed by fear and said to one another, “Who then is this? ¹⁴  Even the wind and sea obey him!” ¹⁵ 

¹ tn Heb “[the] one who establishes [the] mountains by his power.”

² tn Heb “one [who] is girded with strength”; or “one [who] girds himself with strength.”

³ tn Heb “the roar of the seas.”

⁴ sn The raging seas…the commotion made by the nations. The raging seas symbolize the turbulent nations of the earth (see Ps 46:2-3, 6; Isa 17:12).

⁵ tn The Hebrew noun translated “waves” often refers to rivers or streams, but here it appears to refer to the surging waves of the sea (see v. 4, Ps 24:2).

⁶ tn Heb “the waves lift up, O Lord, the waves lift up their voice, the waves lift up their crashing.”

⁷ tn Heb “mighty waters.”

⁸ tn Heb “mighty on high [is] the Lord.”

⁹ tn Heb “his mouth.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

¹¹ tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).

¹² sn Who has authority over the seas and winds is discussed in the OT: Ps 104:3; 135:7; 107:23-30. When Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea he was making a statement about who he was.

¹³ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹⁴ sn Jesus’ authority over creation raised a question for the disciples about who he was exactly (Who then is this?). This verse shows that the disciples followed Jesus even though they did not know all about him yet.

¹⁵ sn This section in Mark (4:35-5:43) contains four miracles: (1) the calming of the storm; (2) the exorcism of the demon-possessed man; (3) the giving of life to Jairus’ daughter; (4) the healing of the woman hemorrhaging for twelve years. All these miracles demonstrate Jesus’ right to proclaim the kingdom message and his sovereign authority over forces, directly or indirectly, hostile to the kingdom. The last three may have been brought together to show that Jesus had power over all defilement, since contact with graves, blood, or a corpse was regarded under Jewish law as causing a state of ritual uncleanness.