Yahweh. What we appear to have in the biblical record of the belief system of ancient Israel is henotheism, in which many gods are thought to exist, although only one (i.e., Yahweh) has claim on one’s absolute loyalty.181 Yahweh is the “most high God,” sovereign over all other heavenly beings, and is to be “exalted above all gods” (1 Chr 16:25; Pss 95:3; 96:4; 97:9; Dan 11:36–37). The first commandment speaks of having “no other gods before me” (Exod 20:3); that is, Yahweh holds first place among whatever gods are thought to exist.182 Of course, these passages and others like them can be interpreted metaphorically so that their rhetorical purpose is to magnify the glory of Yahweh at the expense of pagan deities.183 Either way, Yahweh is king of the cosmos. Psalm 29:1–2, therefore, is the template for interpreting the psalm as a polemic against foreign gods. The scene portrays the divine council that meets in the heavenly throne room of Yahweh where he summons divine beings to acknowledge (lit. “ascribe to”) his glory and strength.184 While angels may be present at this council of “heavenly beings,” the psalm’s polemic points to the council as the deposed gods of the Canaanite pantheon.185
The polemic is strengthened in verse 2 where the heavenly beings are invited to worship the LORD by ascribing to him the “glory” due his name. The heavenly throne room scene evokes the image of a palace where the king’s court has been hailed to hear an authoritative word from him. The heavenly beings are called to appear before the throne in order to pay homage to the Lord and to worship him. By acknowledging his glory, they confess the majesty of Yahweh above all gods. Here, as in verse 1, “glory” is the organizing motif of this heavenly worship assembly. The initial summons features the term “glory” (vv. 1–2), and it also occurs at the beginning and end of the proclamation of the voice of the LORD (vv. 3, 9).186 Mays defines the term in the context as a summary for the divine attributes of the LORD as king and as a description of the manifestation of God’s divine royalty in the world.187 Additionally, God’s glory is specifically expressed through the storm in the context of Ps 29. While not an exhaustive portrayal of God’s glory, the rhetorical effect is to invite the onlookers to see his glory on display in the storm. The heavenly court that testifies to the glory of God does so “in the splendor of holiness” (lit. “splendid holy attire,” v. 2), which is either a reference to Yahweh’s royal robes that signify his rank as king, or to the court apparel given to those who appear before a king in his throne room.188 We need not decide between these two views as they both make the same point: Yahweh’s kingly majesty calls forth worship, and the pagan deities themselves ascribe to him glory and strength and humbly bow in worship when they are summoned before his presence.
The body of the psalm describes various effects of God’s all-powerful strength—the voice of the LORD (vv. 3–9). The phrase “voice of the LORD” moves the psalm along a progression, like a storm, from beginning to end. This voice of the LORD not only resounds in the context of the storm in Ps 29, it also answers the call for God to not remain silent in Ps 28:1.189 This is another instance of “microstructuring” within the Psalter where some psalms have been intentionally placed adjacent to one another due to connecting, similar, or overlapping content. Verses 3–8 describe the track of the storm as it develops over the Mediterranean Sea and heads eastward toward Palestine, hitting land at Lebanon in the north and extending far to the south to the wilderness of Kadesh. There is certainly more to this “track” than mere geography. Given the polemical nature of the psalm, the “waters” and “many waters” of verse 3 reflect the ANE mythological mindset that views water as a chaotic force that endangers creation. Waters need to be tamed, and only the gods can do so. In the context of Ps 29, Yahweh rules over the chaotic waters so that they do his bidding. What seems an untamable and destructive force is in full submission to the voice of the LORD. This harkens back to the creation narrative where darkness was over the face of the deep and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters (Gen 1:2). The ancients saw the waters as barriers to God’s creative agenda, but he was the great victor who subdued the abyss and transformed it from a life-threatening force to a life-giving servant. Walter Brueggemann and William Bellinger reiterate how “waters represent the powers of chaos and disorder that oppose YHWH’s creation.”190 Similarly, Mays notes the larger mythological worldview where the divine victor who was victorious over the counterforces of chaos resulting in the creation of the world and manifests the reign of the deity.191 Psalm 29:4, then, reiterates God’s victory over the forces of chaos and propels the psalm forward as the storm makes landfall in verses 5–9, which describe various effects of the storm—metaphorically the voice of the LORD—as it passes over land.
The mighty wind gusts and thunderous voice of God pierce the forested region of Lebanon (v. 5), which was known in the ANE for its cedar trees. They were the largest trees in the region, and associated ANE accounts claim that the great monster Huwawa guarded them.192 The polemic of the verse is clear: Yahweh’s theophany decimates the great forest, and no foreign god can withstand his torrent. What is more, the entire mountainous regions of Lebanon and Sirion (or Mount Hermon) jump in fright at the piercing sound of the voice of the LORD (v. 6). The imagery conveys booming thunder and blinding flashes of lightening so fearsome that what seem to be immoveable and unshakeable mountains jump like a young wild ox (“unicorn” KJV), which is renown for its strength and aggression (cf. Num 23:22; 24:8; Deut 33:17; Job 39:9–12). Again, the track of the storm is massive; it comes ashore in the northern regions of Lebanon and extends to the southern regions to the desert of Kadesh (v. 8), and everything in between.193 The final effect of the voice of the LORD is that it “twists the oaks and makes the forest bare” (v. 9 NIV). Verse 9 is notoriously difficult to translate due to textual discrepancies in the manuscript tradition; an equally plausible translation of the first colon reads: “makes the deer give birth” (ESV). The idea is that the thunder associated with God’s voice is so terrifying, it causes animals to give birth prematurely.194 The first option (i.e., “twists the oaks”) best fits the context and parallelism of the verse.195 It gives the impression that the storm continues on its track and nothing can withstand its power. The theophany signifies that the power of the LORD is unobstructed, truly terrifying, and yet it brings the refreshing rains.
I noted previously the “glory” theme of the psalm, and verse 9c brings this theme to a climax as the power of the thunderstorm inspires worshipers in the temple to cry “Glory!” Here at the peak of the storm worshipers fulfill the opening call to “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name” (v. 2).196 It is unclear if this is the heavenly temple (or throne room) of God, or the earthly temple in Jerusalem. Perhaps the ambiguity is intentional and fuses heavenly and earthly worshipers together in one grand chorus shouting the praises of Yahweh. Put differently, heavenly worship is echoed in the worship of the LORD in the temple in Jerusalem.197
Many psalms draw to a close with a statement summarizing the main theme of the psalm, and Ps 29:10 is a good example of this literary device. What the psalmist implies at the beginning of the psalm, he expresses more fully near the end: the LORD reigns! The throne room scene of verses 1–2, where the gods bow before the royal presence of Yahweh, comes to full expression in verse 10. The storm begins to dissipate with a summary statement of the kingship of God who “sits enthroned over the flood” (v. 10). The thunderstorm of verses 3–9 is but a mere manifestation (however magnificent) of the cosmic reign of Yahweh. One can say that verses 3–9 illustrate the reign of God, while verse 10 definitively declares it. In other words, let there be no doubt about who tames the abyss—Yahweh, not Baal. The reference to the “flood” (mabbul) probably carries a two-fold sense referring to the Mediterranean Sea where the storm developed, and also to the chaotic waters of the flood in Gen 6—9. In fact, the latter is the only other place in the OT where the same term appears, and it does so twelve times.198 Psalm 29:10 declares God’s reign over the very powers that threaten to destroy creation. This essentially parallels the thought in verse 3, where the voice of the LORD was over the waters, yet it is not merely a restatement of that thought, but an amplification of it. It is the grand declaration of the reign of Yahweh in the psalm, and it is because of verse 10 that Ps 29 is often categorized as an enthronement psalm.
Again, the parallelism of verse 10 is not synonymous in the sense that colon B (“the LORD sits enthroned as king forever”) merely restates colon A (“the LORD sits enthroned over the flood”).
