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”). Instead the B colon heightens the A colon: “The LORD reigns over the flood; and what is more, the LORD reigns forever.” Put differently, the first colon is spatial and the second is temporal, although both are universal.199 To be sure, one is not greater than the other, but they are different from each other. Nevertheless, in the ANE worldview, the most turbulent, violent, untamable force known to humanity rests in submission beneath the feet of God. Wilson captures well the psalmist’s awareness of Yahweh’s reign in verse 10: “This exercise of divine authority and control over the chaotic forces threatening to undo creation and human existence established once and for all that Yahweh is the cohesive power that holds the universe together.”200
With this declaration of God’s universal reign, the psalm ends as quickly as the storm began, and the result is precisely what one expects once the storm passes—peace. Reardon observes that most of the psalm is loud and active, but decidedly peaceful at the end.201 Calmness occurs once the whipping winds, torrential rains, blinding lightening and booming thunder of a violent storm has ended. Psalm 29 ends with this sense of peace, but it is more than simply the absence of the thunderstorm. The Hebrew concept of peace (shalom) is wholeness, harmony, and completeness.202 In the context of Ps 29, Yahweh is the provider and sustainer of his people; he gives the refreshing rains for their crops, herds, and livelihood. As I noted earlier, the LXX superscript to this psalm associates it with the final day of the Feast of Tabernacles, which was in part an agricultural feast that celebrated Yahweh as the one who quenched the dry and thirsty land. The final verse of the psalm, then, commemorates the provisions of God who sends the rains and meets the needs of his people.
The last line of the psalm may be a prayer (“May the LORD bless his people with peace”), or it may be a declaration: (“The LORD blesses his people with peace”).203 Either way, this verse is the psalm’s pinnacle polemic against Baal worship: Yahweh, not Baal, provides for Israel, and the strength of Yahweh, not Baal, is manifested in the storm and imparts strength to Israel. The larger ANE cosmic themes of the psalm reach down to a practical level in verse 11 where God’s glory and strength bring peace upon Israel. Mays notes that the very power that creates the universe “offers the people of God the coherence and constancy of shalom.”204 Similarly, Dietrich Bonhoeffer affirms the psalm’s practical import: “Psalm 29 lets us wonder at the frightful