Discovery BoxPsalms 104:1-5
Context104:1 Praise the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are magnificent. 2
You are robed in splendor and majesty.
104:2 He covers himself with light as if it were a garment.
He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain,
104:3 and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds. 3
He makes the clouds his chariot,
and travels along on the wings of the wind. 4
104:4 He makes the winds his messengers,
and the flaming fire his attendant. 5
104:5 He established the earth on its foundations;
it will never be upended.
[104:1] 1 sn Psalm 104. The psalmist praises God as the ruler of the world who sustains all life.
[104:1] 2 tn Heb “very great.”
[104:3] 3 tn Heb “one who lays the beams on water [in] his upper rooms.” The “water” mentioned here corresponds to the “waters above” mentioned in Gen 1:7. For a discussion of the picture envisioned by the psalmist, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 44-45.
[104:3] 4 sn Verse 3 may depict the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option is that the wind is personified as a cherub. See Ps 18:10 and the discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.
[104:4] 5 tc Heb “and his attendants a flaming fire.” The lack of agreement between the singular “fire” and plural “attendants” has prompted various emendations. Some read “fire and flame.” The present translation assumes an emendation to “his attendant” (יו in the Hebrew text being virtually dittographic).
