Psalms 24:2

24:2 For he set its foundation upon the seas,

and established ¹  it upon the ocean currents. ² 

Psalms 104:2-3

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 

Genesis 1:9

1:9 God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place ⁵  and let dry ground appear.” ⁶  It was so.

Job 26:7

26:7 He spreads out the northern skies ⁷  over empty space; ⁸ 

he suspends the earth on nothing. ⁹ 

Job 37:18

37:18 will you, with him, spread out ¹⁰  the clouds,

solid as a mirror of molten metal?

Isaiah 40:22

40:22 He is the one who sits on the earth’s horizon; ¹¹ 

its inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him. ¹² 

He is the one who stretches out the sky like a thin curtain, ¹³ 

and spreads it out ¹⁴  like a pitched tent. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 44:24

The Lord Empowers Cyrus

44:24 This is what the Lord, your protector, ¹⁶  says,

the one who formed you in the womb:

“I am the Lord, who made everything,

who alone stretched out the sky,

who fashioned the earth all by myself, ¹⁷ 

Jeremiah 10:12

10:12 The Lord is the one who ¹⁸  by his power made the earth.

He is the one who by his wisdom established the world.

And by his understanding he spread out the skies.

Zechariah 12:1-2

The Repentance of Judah

12:1 The revelation of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: The Lord – he who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth, who forms the human spirit within a person ¹⁹  – says, 12:2 “I am about to make Jerusalem ²⁰  a cup that brings dizziness ²¹  to all the surrounding nations; indeed, Judah will also be included when Jerusalem is besieged.

Zechariah 3:5-7

3:5 Then I spoke up, “Let a clean turban be put on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood nearby. 3:6 Then the angel of the Lord exhorted Joshua solemnly: 3:7 “The Lord who rules over all says, ‘If you live ²²  and work according to my requirements, you will be able to preside over my temple ²³  and attend to my courtyards, and I will allow you to come and go among these others who are standing by you.

[24:2]  ¹ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite, referring to the creation of the world.

[24:2]  ² sn He…established it upon the ocean currents. The description reflects ancient Israelite prescientific cosmology, which is based on outward appearances. The language also suggests that God’s creative work involved the subjugation of chaos, symbolized by the sea.

[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.

[1:9]  ⁵ sn Let the water…be gathered to one place. In the beginning the water covered the whole earth; now the water was to be restricted to an area to form the ocean. The picture is one of the dry land as an island with the sea surrounding it. Again the sovereignty of God is revealed. Whereas the pagans saw the sea as a force to be reckoned with, God controls the boundaries of the sea. And in the judgment at the flood he will blur the boundaries so that chaos returns.

[1:9]  ⁶ tn When the waters are collected to one place, dry land emerges above the surface of the receding water.

[26:7]  ⁷ sn The Hebrew word is צָפוֹן (tsafon). Some see here a reference to Mount Zaphon of the Ugaritic texts, the mountain that Baal made his home. The Hebrew writers often equate and contrast Mount Zion with this proud mountain of the north. Of course, the word just means north, and so in addition to any connotations for pagan mythology, it may just represent the northern skies – the stars. Since the parallel line speaks of the earth, that is probably all that was intended in this particular context.

[26:7]  ⁸ sn There is an allusion to the creation account, for this word is תֹּהוּ (tohu), translated “without form” in Gen 1:2.

[26:7]  ⁹ sn Buttenwieser suggests that Job had outgrown the idea of the earth on pillars, and was beginning to see it was suspended in space. But in v. 11 he will still refer to the pillars.

[37:18]  ¹⁰ tn The verb means “to beat out; to flatten,” and the analogy in the next line will use molten metal. From this verb is derived the word for the “firmament” in Gen 1:6-8, that canopy-like pressure area separating water above and water below.

[40:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the circle of the earth” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[40:22]  ¹² tn The words “before him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[40:22]  ¹³ tn The otherwise unattested noun דֹּק (doq), translated here “thin curtain,” is apparently derived from the verbal root דקק (“crush”) from which is derived the adjective דַּק (daq, “thin”; see HALOT 229 s.v. דקק). The nuance “curtain” is implied from the parallelism (see “tent” in the next line).

[40:22]  ¹⁴ tn The meaning of the otherwise unattested verb מָתַח (matakh, “spread out”) is determined from the parallelism (note the corresponding verb “stretch out” in the previous line) and supported by later Hebrew and Aramaic cognates. See HALOT 654 s.v. *מתה.

[40:22]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “like a tent [in which] to live”; NAB, NASB “like a tent to dwell (live NIV, NRSV) in.”

[44:24]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[44:24]  ¹⁷ tn The consonantal text (Kethib) has “Who [was] with me?” The marginal reading (Qere) is “from with me,” i.e., “by myself.” See BDB 87 s.v. II אֵת 4.c.

[10:12]  ¹⁸ tn The words “The Lord is” are not in the text. They are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation here because of the possible confusion of who the subject is due to the parenthetical address to the people of Israel in v. 11. The first two verbs are participles and should not merely be translated as the narrative past. They are predicate nominatives of an implied copula intending to contrast the Lord as the one who made the earth with the idols which did not.

[12:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “who forms the spirit of man within him” (so NIV).

[12:2]  ²⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[12:2]  ²¹ sn The image of a cup that brings dizziness is that of drunkenness. The Lord will force the nations to drink of his judgment and in doing so they will become so intoxicated by his wrath that they will stumble and become irrational.

[3:7]  ²² tn Heb “walk,” a frequent biblical metaphor for lifestyle or conduct; TEV “If you [+ truly CEV] obey.” To “walk” in the ways of the Lord is to live life as he intends (cf. Deut 8:6; 10:12-22; 28:9).

[3:7]  ²³ sn The statement you will be able to preside over my temple (Heb “house,” a reference to the Jerusalem temple) is a hint of the increasingly important role the high priest played in the postexilic Jewish community, especially in the absence of a monarchy. It also suggests the messianic character of the eschatological priesthood in which the priest would have royal prerogatives.