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PSALM 114
STROPHE DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS
| NASB | NKJV | NRSV | TEV | NJB |
| God's Deliverance of Israel from Egypt No MT Intro |
The Power of God in His Deliverance of Israel | Hymn in Praise of God's Great Work in Creating the Nation | A Passion Song | Passover Hymn |
| 114:1-2 | 114:1-2 | 114:1-2 | 114:1-2 | 114:1a |
| 114:1b-2 | ||||
| 114:3-6 | 114:3-6 | 114:3-4 | 114:3-4 | 114:3-4 |
| 114:5-6 | 114:5-6 | 114:5-6 | ||
| 114:7-8 | 114:7-8 | 114:7-8 | 114:7-8 | 114:7-8 |
READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.
WORD AND PHRASE STUDY
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 114:1-2
1When Israel went
forth from Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a
people of strange language,
2Judah became His
sanctuary,
Israel, His dominion.
114:1-2 This Psalm is about the exodus from Egypt (cf. Exodus 1-12). The exodus is a direct fulfillment of YHWH's revelation and promise to Abraham in Gen. 15:12-21. The exodus was the beginning of the People of God as a nation (cf. Exodus 19-20).
Notice the different designations for the people of God.
114:1 "Israel" See SPECIAL TOPIC: ISRAEL (the name).
▣ "from a people of strange language" This phrase occurs only here in the OT. The AB (p. 134) takes the same consonants and revocalizes them to fit the imagery of Isa. 25:3, where it denotes a "cruel people" (BDB 470, i.e., the Israelites' taskmasters, cf. Exod. 3:7). The same root is used with an emphatic lamedh (i.e., Hebrew letter L) in Lam. 4:3.
The historical reality of Israel's having to deal with foreign domination is recurrent (cf. Isa. 28:22; 33:19; Jer. 5:15). The question of interpretation is how and why God's people were dominated by pagans (cf. Habakkuk). As God took the Canaanite tribes out of the land because of their sin, so too, the Israelites because of their sin (i.e., the exiles by Assyria and Babylon).
114:2 Because both Judah and Israel are mentioned, one wonders when this Psalm was written.
| ▣ | |
| NASB, NKJV, NRSV, REB, NJB, Peshitta | "His sanctuary" |
| TEV | "the Lord's holy people" |
| LXX | "his holy precinct" |
| JPSOA | "His holy one" |
This refers to
▣ "His dominion" This term (BDB 606) has two connotations.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 114:3-6
3The sea looked and
fled;
The Jordan turned back.
4The mountains
skipped like rams,
The hills, like lambs.
5What ails you, O
sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
6O mountains, that
you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?
114:3-6 This is figurative language (cf. Ps. 18:7-15; 29:3-9; 68:7-8; 77:16-19). The two books that have helped me most in the area of OT hyperbole and imagery are
It is significant that "water" is mentioned in several senses. Water is the only thing not specifically said to be created in Genesis 1. Water in ANE mythology was divine (i.e., salt water, fresh water). There was conflict between water and the gods. The Bible often uses this imagery to describe YHWH (cf. Job 41:1; Ps. 74:12-17; Isa. 27:1). YHWH controls Leviathan in Job 3:8; Ps. 104:26. But also notice the "sea" is personified in Ps. 114:3,5 (along with other aspects of nature).
However, in Ps. 114:8 the life-giving aspect of water is stated. YHWH, not Ba'al, is the source of fertility (i.e., rain).
In a sense the imagery of separating water and dry land is an ANE allusion to initial creation. The goal of physical creation was the creation of a people to fellowship with God (cf. Gen. 1:26-27; 3:8).
SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN
114:3 "The sea looked and fled" This could refer to
114:4,6 The topological features of Canaan rejoice at the coming of YHWH and His people (cf. Ps. 96:9). This is expressed in the Qal IMPERATIVE, "tremble" (BDB 296, KB 297), which denotes both
114:4 "The mountains" This could refer to Mt. Sinai, but probably to the "mountains" (i.e., hills) of Canaan.
114:6 Notice this verse repeats the VERB of Ps. 114:4.
Psalm 114:5-6 asks the question as to "why" nature acted so strangely. It was because of the presence of the Creator. What happened at the inception of the people of God is meant to continue!
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 114:7-8
7Tremble, O earth,
before the Lord,
Before the God of Jacob,
8Who turned the rock
into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of
water.
114:7 The earth physically convulses at the approach of the Creator.
Notice He is called "Lord" (Adon) here, not "Lord" (YHWH), as in Ps. 114:7a and Eloah in 114:7b.
SPECIAL TOPIC: LORD (Adon and Kurios)
SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, C., D.
114:8 The verse alludes to two specific occasions during the wilderness wandering period where YHWH supernaturally provided life-giving water (cf. Ps. 78:15; 105:41).
It is used to describe the eschatological period in Isa. 48:21 (i.e., a second exodus).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are
responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You,
the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
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