Psalms 29:1-7

1 The psalm of David. Ye sons of God, bring to the Lord; bring ye to the Lord, the sons of rams. Bring ye to the Lord glory and honour; (The song of David. Ye sons of God, acknowledge to the Lord; acknowledge to the Lord, ye mighty sons. Acknowledge ye the glory and the strength of the Lord;)
2 bring ye to the Lord glory to his name; praise ye the Lord in his holy large place. (acknowledge to the Lord the glory due his name; bow ye down before the Lord in his holy Temple/bow ye down before the Lord in the beauty of his holiness.)
3 The voice of the Lord on waters, God of majesty thundered; the Lord on many waters. (The voice of the Lord is heard upon the waters, the God of glory thundered/the majestic God thundered; the Lord is heard upon the many waters.)
4 The voice of the Lord in virtue; the voice of the Lord in great doing. (The voice of the Lord is strong; the majestic voice of the Lord.)
5 The voice of the Lord breaking cedars; and the Lord shall break the cedars of Lebanon. (The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.)
6 And he shall all-break them to dust, as a calf of the Lebanon; and the darling was as the son of an unicorn. (And he maketh Lebanon to jump like a calf; and Sirion to leap like a young wild ox.)
7 The voice of the Lord parting the flame(s) of fire; (The voice of the Lord sendeth out flashes of lightning;)

Psalms 29:1-7 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 29

\\<>\\. In the Vulgate Latin version is added, "at the finishing of the tabernacle"; suggesting that this psalm was composed at that time, and on that occasion; not at the finishing of the tabernacle by Moses, but at the finishing of the tent or tabernacle which David made for the ark in Zion, 2Sa 6:17. The title in the Arabic version is, ``a prophecy concerning the incarnation, ark, and tabernacle.'' In the Septuagint version, from whence the Vulgate seems to have taken the clause, it is, at the "exodion", "exit", or "going out of the tabernacle"; that is, of the feast of tabernacles; and which was the eighth day of the feast, and was called true, which word the Septuagint renders exodion, the word here used, Le 23:36, Nu 29:35; though it was on the first of the common days of this feast that this psalm was sung, as Maimonides {w} says. Some think it was composed when the psalmist was in a thunder storm, or had lately been in one, which he in a very beautiful manner describes. Kimchi thinks it refers to the times of the Messiah; and it may indeed be very well interpreted of the Gospel, and is very suitable to Gospel times. {w} Hilchot Tamidin, c. 10. s. 11.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.