Psalms 29:3-5

29:3 The Lord’s shout is heard over the water; ¹ 

the majestic God thunders, ² 

the Lord appears over the surging water. ³ 

29:4 The Lord’s shout is powerful, ⁴ 

the Lord’s shout is majestic. ⁵ 

29:5 The Lord’s shout breaks ⁶  the cedars,

the Lord shatters ⁷  the cedars of Lebanon. ⁸ 

[29:3]  ¹ tn Heb “the voice of the Lord [is] over the water.” As the next line makes clear, the “voice of the Lord” is here the thunder that accompanies a violent storm. The psalm depicts the Lord in the role of a warrior-king, so the thunder is his battle cry, as it were.

[29:3]  ² tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form is probably descriptive. In dramatic fashion the psalmist portrays the Lord coming in the storm to do battle with his enemies and to vindicate his people.

[29:3]  ³ tn Traditionally “many waters.” The geographical references in the psalm (Lebanon, Sirion, Kadesh) suggest this is a reference to the Mediterranean Sea (see Ezek 26:19; 27:26). The psalmist describes a powerful storm moving in from the sea and sweeping over the mountainous areas north of Israel. The “surging waters” may symbolize the hostile enemies of God who seek to destroy his people (see Pss 18:17; 32:6; 77:20; 93:4; 144:7; Isa 17:13; Jer 51:55; Ezek 26:19; Hab 3:15). In this case the Lord is depicted as elevated above and sovereign over the raging waters.

[29:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “the voice of the Lord [is] accompanied by strength.”

[29:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “the voice of the Lord [is] accompanied by majesty.”

[29:5]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew participial form draws attention to the durative nature of the action being described.

[29:5]  ⁷ tn The prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive here and in v. 6a carry on the descriptive function of the preceding participle (see GKC 329 §111.u). The verb שָׁבַר (shavar) appears in the Qal in the first line of the verse, and in the Piel in the second line. The verb, which means “break” in the Qal, appears thirty-six times in the Piel, always with multiple objects (the object is either a collective singular or grammatically plural or dual form). The Piel may highlight the repetition of the pluralative action, or it may suggest an intensification of action, indicating repeated action comprising a whole, perhaps with the nuance “break again and again, break in pieces.” Another option is to understand the form as resultative: “make broken” (see IBHS 404-7 §24.3).

[29:5]  ⁸ sn The cedars of the Lebanon forest were well-known in ancient Israel for their immense size. Here they may symbolize the arrogant enemies of God (see Isa 2:12-13).