Psalms 18:13-15

18:13 The Lord thundered ¹  in ²  the sky;

the sovereign One ³  shouted. ⁴ 

18:14 He shot his ⁵  arrows and scattered them, ⁶ 

many lightning bolts ⁷  and routed them. ⁸ 

18:15 The depths ⁹  of the sea ¹⁰  were exposed;

the inner regions ¹¹  of the world were uncovered

by ¹²  your battle cry, ¹³  Lord,

by the powerful breath from your nose. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 44:3

44:3 For they did not conquer ¹⁵  the land by their swords,

and they did not prevail by their strength, ¹⁶ 

but rather by your power, ¹⁷  strength ¹⁸  and good favor, ¹⁹ 

for you were partial to ²⁰  them.

Psalms 144:1

Psalm 144 ²¹ 

By David.

144:1 The Lord, my protector, ²²  deserves praise ²³  –

the one who trains my hands for battle, ²⁴ 

and my fingers for war,

Psalms 144:10

144:10 the one who delivers ²⁵  kings,

and rescued David his servant from a deadly ²⁶  sword.

[18:13]  ¹ sn Thunder is a common motif in OT theophanies and in ancient Near Eastern portrayals of the storm god and warring kings. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 179-83.

[18:13]  ² tn 2 Sam 22:14 has “from.”

[18:13]  ³ tn Heb “the Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Ps 47:2.

[18:13]  ⁴ tc The text of Ps 18:13 adds at this point, “hail and coals of fire.” These words are probably accidentally added from v. 12b; they do not appear in 2 Sam 22:14.

[18:14]  ⁵ tn 2 Sam 22:15 omits the pronominal suffix (“his”).

[18:14]  ⁶ tn The pronominal suffixes on the verbs “scattered” and “routed” (see the next line) refer to the psalmist’s enemies. Some argue that the suffixes refer to the arrows, in which case one might translate “shot them far and wide” and “made them move noisily,” respectively. They argue that the enemies have not been mentioned since v. 4 and are not again mentioned until v. 17. However, usage of the verbs פוּץ (puts, “scatter”) and הָמַם (hamam, “rout”) elsewhere in Holy War accounts suggests the suffixes refer to enemies. Enemies are frequently pictured in such texts as scattered and/or routed (see Exod 14:24; 23:27; Num 10:35; Josh 10:10; Judg 4:15; 1 Sam 7:10; 11:11; Ps 68:1).

[18:14]  ⁷ sn Lightning is a common motif in in OT theophanies and in ancient Near Eastern portrayals of the storm god and warring kings. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 190-92.

[18:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “lightning bolts, many.” 2 Sam 22:15 has simply “lightning” (בָּרָק, baraq). The identity of the word רָב (rav) in Ps 18:14 is problematic. (1) It may be a form of a rare verb רָבַב (ravav, “to shoot”), perhaps attested in Gen 49:23 as well. In this case one might translate, “he shot lightning bolts and routed them.” Other options include (2) understanding רָב (rav) as an adverbial use of the adjective, “lightning bolts in abundance,” or (3) emending the form to רַבּוּ (rabbu), from רָבַב (ravav, “be many”) or to רָבוּ (ravu), from רָבָה (ravah, “be many”) – both a haplography of the vav (ו); note the initial vav on the immediately following form – and translating “lightning bolts were in abundance.”

[18:15]  ⁹ tn Or “channels.”

[18:15]  ¹⁰ tc Ps 18:15 reads “water” (cf. Ps 42:1); “sea” is the reading of 2 Sam 22:16.

[18:15]  ¹¹ tn Or “foundations.”

[18:15]  ¹² tn Heb “from.” The preposition has a causal sense here.

[18:15]  ¹³ tn The noun is derived from the verb גָּעַר (ga’ar), which is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Pss 68:30; 106:9; and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 9:5; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.

[18:15]  ¹⁴ tn 2 Sam 22:16 reads “by the battle cry of the Lord, by the blast of the breath of his nose.” The phrase “blast of the breath” (Heb “breath of breath”) employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

[44:3]  ¹⁵ tn Or “take possession of.”

[44:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and their arm did not save them.” The “arm” here symbolizes military strength.

[44:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “your right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Pss 17:7; 20:6; 21:8).

[44:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “your arm.”

[44:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “light of your face.” The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[44:3]  ²⁰ tn Or “favorable toward.”

[144:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 144. The psalmist expresses his confidence in God, asks for a mighty display of divine intervention in an upcoming battle, and anticipates God’s rich blessings on the nation in the aftermath of military victory.

[144:1]  ²² tn Heb “my rocky summit.” The Lord is compared to a rocky summit where one can find protection from enemies. See Ps 18:2.

[144:1]  ²³ tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord, my rocky summit.”

[144:1]  ²⁴ sn The one who trains my hands for battle. The psalmist attributes his skill with weapons to divine enablement (see Ps 18:34). Egyptian reliefs picture gods teaching the king how to shoot a bow. See O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 265.

[144:10]  ²⁵ tn Heb “grants deliverance to.”

[144:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “harmful.”