Psalms 18:7

18:7 The earth heaved and shook; ¹ 

the roots of the mountains ²  trembled; ³ 

they heaved because he was angry.

Psalms 46:2

46:2 For this reason we do not fear ⁴  when the earth shakes, ⁵ 

and the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea, ⁶ 

Psalms 90:2

90:2 Even before the mountains came into existence, ⁷ 

or you brought the world into being, ⁸ 

you were the eternal God. ⁹ 

Psalms 97:5

97:5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,

before the Lord of the whole earth.

Psalms 104:8

104:8 as the mountains rose up,

and the valleys went down –

to the place you appointed for them. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 125:2

125:2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, ¹¹ 

so the Lord surrounds his people,

now and forevermore.

Psalms 147:8

147:8 He covers ¹²  the sky with clouds,

provides the earth with rain,

and causes grass to grow on the hillsides. ¹³ 

[18:7]  ¹ sn The earth heaved and shook. The imagery pictures an earthquake in which the earth’s surface rises and falls. The earthquake motif is common in OT theophanies of God as warrior and in ancient Near Eastern literary descriptions of warring gods and kings. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 160-62.

[18:7]  ² tn 2 Sam 22:8 has “heavens” which forms a merism with “earth” in the preceding line. The “foundations of the heavens” would be the mountains. However, the reading “foundations of the mountains” has a parallel in Deut 32:22.

[18:7]  ³ tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not an imperfect. Note the three prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive in the verse.

[46:2]  ⁴ tn The imperfect is taken in a generalizing sense (cf. NEB) because the situation described in vv. 2-3 is understood as symbolizing typical world conditions. In this case the imperfect draws attention to the typical nature of the response. The covenant community characteristically responds with confidence, not fear. Another option is to take the situation described as purely hypothetical. In this case one might translate, “We will not fear, even though the earth should shake” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[46:2]  ⁵ tn The Hiphil infinitival form is normally taken to mean “when [the earth] is altered,” being derived from מוּר (mur, “to change”). In this case the Hiphil would be intransitive, as in Ps 15:4. HALOT 560 s.v. II מור emends the form to a Niphal and derives it from a homonymic root מוּר attested in Arabic with the meaning “shake.”

[46:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “heart of the seas.” The plural may be used for emphasis, pointing to the deepest sea. Note that the next verse uses a singular pronoun (“its waters,” “its swelling”) in referring back to the plural noun.

[90:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “were born.”

[90:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “and you gave birth to the earth and world.” The Polel verbal form in the Hebrew text pictures God giving birth to the world. The LXX and some other ancient textual witnesses assume a polal (passive) verbal form here. In this case the earth becomes the subject of the verb and the verb is understood as third feminine singular rather than second masculine singular.

[90:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “and from everlasting to everlasting you [are] God.” Instead of אֵל (’el, “God”) the LXX reads אַל (’al, “not”) and joins the negative particle to the following verse, making the verb תָּשֵׁב (tashev) a jussive. In this case v. 3a reads as a prayer, “do not turn man back to a low place.” However, taking תָּשֵׁב as a jussive is problematic in light of the following following wayyiqtol form וַתֹּאמֶר (vato’mer, “and you said/say”).

[104:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from your shout they fled, from the sound of your thunder they hurried off.”

[125:2]  ¹³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[147:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the one who covers.”

[147:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “hills.”