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Psalm 104
Biblical psalm From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Psalm 104 is the 104th psalm of the Book of Psalms,[1] beginning in Hebrew "ברכי נפשי" (barachi nafshi: "bless my soul"); in English in the King James Version: "Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 103. In Latin, it is known as "Benedic anima mea Domino".[2]
Psalm 104 is used as a regular part of Jewish, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has often been set to music, including works by John Dowland, Heinrich Schütz, Philip Glass and William Lovelady.
The inaugural occurrence of the term "Hallelujah" within the Old Testament can be identified in Psalm 104, with subsequent instances found in Psalms 105 and 106. Notably, O. Palmer Robertson perceives these Psalms as a cohesive triad, serving as the concluding compositions of Book 4.[3] Hallelujah will also appear in Psalm 113, Psalm 117, Psalm 135 Psalm and Psalms 146 through 150.[4]
The psalm bears a notable resemblance to Akhenaten's Great Hymn to the Aten, written some 400 years earlier in Egypt.[5]
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Structure
vanGemeren notes a chiastic structure in Psalm 104,[6] and Grogan notes that the structure follows the creation narrative in Genesis 1:[7]
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Content
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One of the longer psalms, Psalm 104 is traditionally divided into 35 verses.[8]
The titles below are those of vanGemeren.[6]
Verses 1–4: In Praise of God's Royal Splendor
This echoes the first two days of creation in Genesis 1, and describes God as king moving through his royal dwelling. It begins by describing the glory of God ("Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment" v. 2). This could also be rendered "you... who wraps... who stretches...".
- Verse 2 shows the ease with which God acts. He spreads out the heavens as one would spread out a tent.
Verses 5–9: The Material Formation of the Earth
This covers day 3 of creation in Genesis 1, and with the next section, describes the functioning and ordering of the world, and makes it clear that even "the deep" is created by God, and not something existing "prior to" God, as in Babylonian creation mythology.[9]
- Verse 5 asserts that God has "laid the foundations [מכון] of the Earth".
- Verse 7: "Rebuke" does not imply judgment, but absolute control of the elements.
- Verse 9 not only refers to Genesis 1:9-10, but also the covenant with Noah in Genesis 8:21-22 and 9:8-17.
Verses 10–18: The Glory of Animal Creation
A minor chiasm is evident:[6]
A i. Water in the mountains (v.10)
- ii. Wild animals (v.11)
- iii. Birds (v.12)
- B i. Water in the mountains (v.13)
- ii. Domesticated animals, plants, man (vv.14–15)
A′ i. Water in the mountains (v.16)
- iii. Birds (v.16)
- ii. Mountain animals (vv.17–18)
- Verse 10 (water flowing down) replaces water flowing over (verse 8). A home is made for the creatures.
Verses 19–23: The Regularity of the Created World
This and the following section cover days 4 and 5 of the Genesis 1 creation story. See the section on the Aten hymn below for similarities to the Egyptian hymn.
Verses 24–26: The Glory of Animal Creation
Verses 27–30: The Spiritual Sustenance of the Earth
- Verses 27–30 emphasise how all creatures still depend on the ongoing attention and provision of the creator, and perish should he avert his attention.
- Verse 30 reads "Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth." (KJV)
Verses 31–35: In Praise of God's Royal Splendor
- The concluding verses end where the Psalm began, reiterating the power and glory of YHWH, and the composer expresses his adoration, and, in the final verse, his wish that the sinners (חטא) and wicked (רשע) be "consumed out of the earth".
In the Masoretic text, the phrase Hallelujah is placed at the end of the final verse, and is seen as the introduction of the next Psalm. This is lacking in the Septuagint and the Vulgate, but it is rendered by the KJV as "Praise ye the LORD".
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Similarity to the Great Hymn to the Aten
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Psalm 104 bears similarities to the Egyptian Great Hymn to the Aten (14th century BC), which is frequently cited as a parallel text.[11][12][13][14][15] in particular:
Grogan,[16] Craigie,[17] and Zimmerli[18] note that as with parallels to other Ancient Near Eastern creation narratives in Genesis 1, the difference between the Biblical and other Ancient Near Eastern accounts is that in the Biblical narratives, the sun and other parts of creation are not gods, but creations themselves. The psalm is polemical and therefore "implicitly antipagan" (Grogan). Rather than copying from the Aten hymn, Psalm 104 is understood to be commenting or criticizing. This is further reinforced by the structure, in which the focal point of the chiasm is the orderliness of nature in which the celestial bodies are time keepers rather than deities.[6]
Biblical scholar Mark S. Smith has commented that "Despite enduring support for the comparison of the two texts, enthusiasm for even indirect influence has been tempered in recent decades. In some quarters, the argument for any form of influence is simply rejected outright. Still some Egyptologists, such as Jan Assmann and Donald Redford, argue for Egyptian influence on both the Amarna correspondence (especially in EA 147) and on Psalm 104".[19] vanGemeren concludes that "though this matter has received extensive treatment (See Allen pp.28–30[20]) any discussion on the literary association is complicated by the insufficient evidence of the cosmological framework of the surrounding nations and, hence, by the tentativeness of any theory explaining the relations and possible polemical use of these materials".[6]
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Uses
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New Testament
In the New Testament, verse 4 is quoted in Hebrews 1:7.[21]
Judaism
- Many Observant Jews recite Psalm 104 during morning services on the New Moon (Rosh Chodesh), though customs vary.[22]
- It is recited in many communities following the Shabbat Mincha between Sukkot and Shabbat Hagadol.[23]
- Some recite verses 1–2 upon donning the tallit during morning services.[24]
- Verse 24 is part of Hameir La'aretz in the Blessings before the Shema during Shacharit[25] and is found in Pirkei Avot Chapter 6, no. 10.[26]
- Verse 31 is the first verse of Yehi Kivod in Pesukei Dezimra,[27] is part of Baruch Hashem L'Olam during Maariv,[28] and is recited when opening the Hakafot on Simchat Torah.[29]
Eastern Orthodox Church
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Psalm 103 (Psalm 104 in the Masoretic Text) is read daily at the beginning of Vespers, marking the start of a new liturgical day. It is part of the fourteenth Kathisma division of the Psalter, read at Matins on Thursday mornings, as well as on Tuesdays and Fridays during Lent, at the Third Hour and Matins, respectively.[30]
At Vespers, Psalm 103/104 is traditionally appointed to be read by the senior reader (that is, the bishop if he is present, the elder or abbot of a monastery, or the senior reader at the kliros). On festal days when the All-Night Vigil is served, this Psalm is sung by a choir, traditionally with various refrains between verses.
In the context of Vespers, this Psalm is understood to be a hymn of creation, in all the fulness wherein God has created it – it speaks of animals, plants, waters, skies, etc. In the scope of the liturgical act, it is often taken to be Adam's song, sung outside the closed gates of Eden from which he has been expelled (cf. Genesis 3). While the reader chants the psalm, the priest stands outside the closed Royal Doors wearing only his epitrachilion, making this symbolism more evident.
Catholic Church
This psalm is used during the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night (the Vigil being the inauguration of the fifty-day Easter season, the end of Holy Week – and by extension Lent – and the ending of the three-day Easter Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter). In the Liturgy of the Word, the first reading is the Creation story of the Book of Genesis, and Psalm 104, which deals with the same material, is the responsorial psalm. It is used again during Pentecost, at the end of the Easter season, as the responsorial psalm for the Vigil and the Sunday Mass.[31][32]
Book of Common Prayer
In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the twentieth day of the month,[33] as well as at Evensong on Whitsunday.[34]
Literal interpretations
Verse 9 was interpreted by theologian Jaime Pérez de Valencia (1408-1490) as a corroboration of classical geographer Claudius Ptolemy's hypothesis that the planet's oceans were entirely surrendered by land.[35]
Popular culture
German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder remarked, "It is worth studying the Hebrew language for ten years in order to read Psalm 104 in the original".[36]
Musician Bob Marley believed that cannabis use was prevalent in the Bible, reading passages such as the 14th verse of Psalm 104 as showing approval of its usage.[37]
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Musical settings
In The Whole Booke of Psalmes, published by Thomas Est in 1592, Psalm 104 is set by John Dowland in English, "My soul praise the Lord". Heinrich Schütz composed a four-part setting to a metric German text, "Herr, dich lob die Seele mein", SVW 202, for the 1628 Becker Psalter. In his 1726 cantata Es wartet alles auf dich, BWV 187, Bach set verses 27 and 28 in the first movement.
The hymn "O Worship the King" by Sir Robert Grant, first published in 1833, is based on the psalm.[38]
Psalm 104, verse 4, was arranged for mixed chorus by Miriam Shatal in 1960.[39]
Psalm 104, in Hebrew, is set as part of Akhnaten, an opera by Philip Glass.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, commissioned a setting of Psalm 104 by William Lovelady to mark his 75th birthday. An abridged version of the cantata for four-part choir and organ was performed for his funeral service on 17 April 2021 in St George's Chapel, Windsor.
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Text
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The following table shows the Hebrew text[40][41] of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the Koine Greek text in the Septuagint[42] and the English translation from the King James Version. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text come from different textual traditions.[note 1] In the Septuagint, this psalm is numbered Psalm 103.
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Notes
- A 1917 translation directly from Hebrew to English by the Jewish Publication Society can be found here or here, and an 1844 translation directly from the Septuagint by L. C. L. Brenton can be found here. Both translations are in the public domain.
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