Psalms 29:10

29:10 The Lord sits enthroned over the engulfing waters, ¹ 

the Lord sits enthroned ²  as the eternal king.

Psalms 65:7

65:7 You calm the raging seas ³ 

and their roaring waves,

as well as the commotion made by the nations. ⁴ 

Psalms 66:5-6

66:5 Come and witness ⁵  God’s exploits! ⁶ 

His acts on behalf of people are awesome! ⁷ 

66:6 He turned the sea into dry land; ⁸ 

they passed through the river on foot. ⁹ 

Let us rejoice in him there! ¹⁰ 

Psalms 93:3-4

93:3 The waves ¹¹  roar, O Lord,

the waves roar,

the waves roar and crash. ¹² 

93:4 Above the sound of the surging water, ¹³ 

and the mighty waves of the sea,

the Lord sits enthroned in majesty. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 107:25-29

107:25 He gave the order for a windstorm, ¹⁵ 

and it stirred up the waves of the sea. ¹⁶ 

107:26 They ¹⁷  reached up to the sky,

then dropped into the depths.

The sailors’ strength ¹⁸  left them ¹⁹  because the danger was so great. ²⁰ 

107:27 They swayed ²¹  and staggered like a drunk,

and all their skill proved ineffective. ²² 

107:28 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;

he delivered them from their troubles.

107:29 He calmed the storm, ²³ 

and the waves ²⁴  grew silent.

Job 38:8-11

38:8 “Who shut up ²⁵  the sea with doors

when it burst forth, ²⁶  coming out of the womb,

38:9 when I made ²⁷  the storm clouds its garment,

and thick darkness its swaddling band, ²⁸ 

38:10 when I prescribed ²⁹  its limits,

and set ³⁰  in place its bolts and doors,

38:11 when I said, ‘To here you may come ³¹ 

and no farther, ³² 

here your proud waves will be confined’? ³³ 

Nahum 1:4

1:4 He shouts a battle cry ³⁴  against the sea ³⁵  and makes it dry up; ³⁶ 

he makes all the rivers ³⁷  run dry.

Bashan and Carmel wither; ³⁸ 

the blossom of Lebanon withers.

Matthew 8:24-27

8:24 And a great storm developed on the sea so that the waves began to swamp the boat. But he was asleep. 8:25 So they came ³⁹  and woke him up saying, “Lord, save us! We are about to die!” 8:26 But ⁴⁰  he said to them, “Why are you cowardly, you people of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked ⁴¹  the winds and the sea, ⁴²  and it was dead calm. 8:27 And the men ⁴³  were amazed and said, ⁴⁴  “What sort of person is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him!” ⁴⁵ 

Matthew 14:32

14:32 When they went up into the boat, the wind ceased.

Mark 4:39

4:39 So ⁴⁶  he got up and rebuked ⁴⁷  the wind, and said to the sea, ⁴⁸  “Be quiet! Calm down!” Then ⁴⁹  the wind stopped, and it was dead calm.

Mark 4:41

4:41 They were overwhelmed by fear and said to one another, “Who then is this? ⁵⁰  Even the wind and sea obey him!” ⁵¹ 

[29:10]  ¹ tn The noun מַּבּוּל (mabbul, “flood”) appears only here and in Gen 6-11, where it refers to the Noahic flood. Some see a reference to that event here. The presence of the article (perhaps indicating uniqueness) and the switch to the perfect verbal form (which could be taken as describing a past situation) might support this. However, the immediate context indicates that the referent of מַּבּוּל is the “surging waters” mentioned in v. 3. The article indicates waters that are definite in the mind of the speaker and the perfect is probably descriptive in function, like “thunders” in v. 3. However, even though the historical flood is not the primary referent here, there may be a literary allusion involved. The psalmist views the threatening chaotic sea as a contemporary manifestation of the destructive waters of old.

[29:10]  ² tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the descriptive function of the preceding perfect.

[65:7]  ³ tn Heb “the roar of the seas.”

[65:7]  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).

[66:5]  ⁵ tn Or “see.”

[66:5]  ⁶ tn Or “acts” (see Ps 46:8).

[66:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “awesome [is] an act toward the sons of man.” It is unclear how the prepositional phrase relates to what precedes. If collocated with “act,” it may mean “on behalf of” or “toward.” If taken with “awesome” (see 1 Chr 16:25; Pss 89:7; 96:4; Zeph 2:11), one might translate “his awesome acts are beyond human comprehension” or “his awesome acts are superior to anything men can do.”

[66:6]  ⁸ sn He turned the sea into dry land. The psalmist alludes to Israel’s crossing the Red Sea (Exod 14:21).

[66:6]  ⁹ tn Because of the reference to “the river,” some understand this as an allusion to Israel’s crossing the Jordan River. However, the Hebrew term נָהָר (nahad) does not always refer to a “river” in the technical sense; it can be used of sea currents (see Jonah 2:4). So this line may also refer to the Red Sea crossing (cf. NEB).

[66:6]  ¹⁰ tn The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here, as often in poetic texts, to point “to a spot in which a scene is localized vividly in the imagination” (BDB 1027 s.v.).

[93:3]  ¹¹ 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).

[93:3]  ¹² tn Heb “the waves lift up, O Lord, the waves lift up their voice, the waves lift up their crashing.”

[93:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “mighty waters.”

[93:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “mighty on high [is] the Lord.”

[107:25]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he spoke and caused to stand a stormy wind.”

[107:25]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and it stirred up its [i.e., the sea’s, see v. 23] waves.”

[107:26]  ¹⁷ tn That is, the waves (see v. 25).

[107:26]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “their being”; traditionally “their soul” (referring to that of the sailors). This is sometimes translated “courage” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[107:26]  ¹⁹ tn Or “melted.”

[107:26]  ²⁰ tn Heb “from danger.”

[107:27]  ²¹ tn Only here does the Hebrew verb חָגַג (khagag; normally meaning “to celebrate”) carry the nuance “to sway.”

[107:27]  ²² tn The Hitpael of בָלַע (vala’) occurs only here in the OT. Traditionally the form is derived from the verbal root בלע (“to swallow”), but HALOT 135 s.v. III בלע understands a homonym here with the meaning “to be confused.”

[107:29]  ²³ tn Heb “he raised [the] storm to calm.”

[107:29]  ²⁴ tn Heb “their waves.” The antecedent of the third masculine plural pronominal suffix is not readily apparent, unless it refers back to “waters” in v. 23.

[38:8]  ²⁵ tn The MT has “and he shut up.” The Vulgate has “Who?” and so many commentaries and editions adopt this reading, if not from the Vulgate, then from the sense of the sequence in the text itself.

[38:8]  ²⁶ tn The line uses two expressions, first the temporal clause with גִּיחַ (giakh, “when it burst forth”) and then the finite verb יֵצֵא (yetse’, “go out”) to mark the concomitance of the two actions.

[38:9]  ²⁷ tn The temporal clause here uses the infinitive from שִׂים (sim, “to place; to put; to make”). It underscores the sovereign placing of things.

[38:9]  ²⁸ tn This noun is found only here. The verb is in Ezek 16:4, and a related noun is in Ezek 30:21.

[38:10]  ²⁹ tc The MT has “and I broke,” which cannot mean “set, prescribed” or the like. The LXX and the Vulgate have such a meaning, suggesting a verb עֲשִׁית (’ashiyt, “plan, prescribe”). A. Guillaume finds an Arabic word with a meaning “measured it by span by my decree.” Would God give himself a decree? R. Gordis simply argues that the basic meaning “break” develops the connotation of “decide, determine” (2 Sam 5:24; Job 14:3; Dan 11:36).

[38:10]  ³⁰ tn Dhorme suggested reversing the two verbs, making this the first, and then “shatter” for the second colon.

[38:11]  ³¹ tn The imperfect verb receives the permission nuance here.

[38:11]  ³² tn The text has תֹסִיף (tosif, “and you may not add”), which is often used idiomatically (as in verbal hendiadys constructions).

[38:11]  ³³ tn The MT literally says, “here he will put on the pride of your waves.” The verb has no expressed subject and so is made a passive voice. But there has to be some object for the verb “put,” such as “limit” or “boundary”; the translations “confined; halted; stopped” all serve to paraphrase such an idea. The LXX has “broken” at this point, suggesting the verse might have been confused – but “breaking the pride” of the waves would mean controlling them. Some commentators have followed this, exchanging the verb in v. 11 with this one.

[1:4]  ³⁴ tn The term גָּעַר (ga’ar) often denotes “reprimand” and “rebuke” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). When it is used in the context of a military attack, it denotes an angry battle cry shouted by a mighty warrior to strike fear into his enemies to drive them away (e.g., 2 Sam 23:16; Isa 30:17; Pss 18:15; 76:6; 80:17; 104:7). For example, the parallel Ugaritic term is used when Baal utters a battle cry against Yamm before they fight to the death. For further study see, A. A. MacIntosh, “A Consideration of Hebrew g`r,” VT 14 (1969): 474; P. J. van Zijl, “A Consideration of the root ga’ar (“rebuke”),” OTWSA 12 (1969): 56-63; A. Caquot, TDOT 3:49-53.

[1:4]  ³⁵ sn The “sea” is personified as an antagonistic enemy, representing the wicked forces of chaos (Pss 66:6; 72:8; 80:12; 89:26; 93:3-4; Isa 50:2; Mic 7:12; Hab 3:8; Zech 9:10).

[1:4]  ³⁶ tn This somewhat unusual use of the preterite (וַיַּבְּשֵׁהוּ, vayyabbÿshehu) follows a participle which depicts characteristic (present-time) action or imminent future action; the preterite depicts the subsequent present or future-time action (see IBHS 561-62 §33.3.5).

[1:4]  ³⁷ sn The Assyrians waged war every spring after the Tigris and Euphrates rivers dried up, allowing them to cross. As the Mighty Warrior par excellence, the Lord is able to part the rivers to attack Assyria.

[1:4]  ³⁸ tn The term אֻמְלַל (’umlal, “withers”) occurs twice in this verse in MT. The repetition of אֻמְלַל is also supported by the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QpNah). The BHS editors suggest emending the first occurrence of אֻמְלַל (“withers”) to דָּלְלוּ (dollu, “languishes”) to recover the letter ד (dalet) in the partial acrostic. Several versions do, in fact, employ two different verbs in the line (LXX, Syr, Targum, and Vg). However, the first verb at the beginning of the line in all of the versions reflects a reading of אֻמְלַל. Although several elements of an acrostic are present in Nahum 1, the acrostic is incomplete (only א [alef] to כ [kaf] in vv. 2-8) and broken (several elements are missing within vv. 2-8). There is no textual evidence for a complete, unbroken acrostic throughout the book of Nahum in any ancient Hebrew mss or other textual versions; it is most prudent simply to leave the MT as it stands.

[8:25]  ³⁹ tn The participle προσελθόντες (proselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[8:26]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:26]  ⁴¹ tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).

[8:26]  ⁴² 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 winds and the sea he was making a statement about who he was.

[8:27]  ⁴³ tn It is difficult to know whether ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) should be translated as “men” or “people” (in a generic sense) here. At issue is whether (1) only the Twelve were with Jesus in the boat, as opposed to other disciples (cf. v. 23), and (2) whether any of those other disciples would have been women. The issue is complicated further by the parallel in Mark (4:35-41), where the author writes (4:36) that other boats accompanied them on this journey.

[8:27]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “the men were amazed, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) has been translated as a finite verb to make the sequence of events clear in English.

[8:27]  ⁴⁵ sn Jesus’ authority over creation raised a question for the disciples about his identity (What sort of person is this?). This verse shows that the disciples followed Jesus even though they did not know all about him yet.

[4:39]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[4:39]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).

[4:39]  ⁴⁸ 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.

[4:39]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[4:41]  ⁵⁰ 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.

[4:41]  ⁵¹ 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.