Psalm 29: Hashem's Voice/2
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Psalm 29: Hashem's Voice
Exegetical Approaches
Fierceness of God in Nature
The psalm highlights God's fierce and awesome power as evidenced by His controlling of natural phenomena.
Historical event?
Revelation at Sinai
The psalm reflects the fearsome atmosphere of the events surrounding the Revelation at Sinai.
Parallel descriptions – Though at first glance one might question whether the depictions in the psalm relate at all to the Revelation at Sinai, elsewhere, too, the event is described with similar imagery:
- Shemot 19:16-19 speaks of lightning and thunder, fire, loud blasts, and a trembling mountain matching the fiery flames, thundering voice of Hashem, and "skipping" mountains of this chapter.
- Shofetim 5:4-5 speaks of storming clouds and dripping rain, matching the flooding waters mentioned here.
- Tehillim 114 describes mountains "skipping like rams" and the "land writhing" in the presence of Hashem, similar to the images in verses 6 and 8 here.
Hashem's voice – The emphasis on Hashem's voice throughout the psalm might reflect the importance of sound (rather than visuals) during revelation. Throughout Devarim 4, Hashem emphasizes how at Sinai, the people heard Hashem's voice but did not see His image.1 It was His voice which inspired fear in the people. Thus, here, too in describing the event, the focus is on God's voice and how it evokes fear and reverence.
"Upon the waters" – According to Rashi the presence of God in the waters refers not to His bringing of a storm but to the supernatural crossing of the Sea of Reeds.
Hewing fire – Rashi suggests that this describes the hewing of the Tablets with Divine fire. Alternatively, this could refer to the smoking mountain and fiery flames that surrounded it.
Fear
Midbar Kadesh
Mention of Flood
Parallel descriptions
Victory Over Enemies
The images of the psalm are metaphors for the defeat of Israel's enemies, or perhaps a literal description of the demise of the nation's adversaries via some natural disaster.
Historical Overview: Punishment and Restoration
The psalm metaphorically describes a historical pattern of deterioration from an ideal state, necessitating punishment and a revised ideal, itself doomed to failure. Only in Messianic times will the original ideal state be restored.
Sources:Sforno
