Psalm 29 is the 29th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 28. In Latin, it is known as "Adferte Domino filii Dei". The psalm is attributed to David. It is a hymn, describing the advent of Yahweh in a storm. The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Nonconformist Protestant liturgies.

Origin

Psalm 29 is an example of an Enthronement Psalm wherein the supreme deity is described in Theophanic terminology as taking his place of rulership. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scholars like Charles and Emilie Briggs argued that it "seems to belong to the Persian period subsequent to Nehemiah", that is, between 445 and 333 BCE. However, more recent scholarship has undermined this conclusion; archaic language and content have been identified in the Psalm, akin to other early strata such as the Song of the Sea, befitting an early pre-exilic context. Cross opines that generations of scholars have firmly identified literary dependence on Canaanite mythology, particularly the Ba'al Cycle, and concludes on this basis that its present form is "no later than the 10th century BC." Similarly, Freedman cites "considerable scholarly sentiment" supporting a pre-monarchic provenance, and suggests that Psalm 29 may be dated as early the 12th century BCE, making it among the oldest portions of literature in the Hebrew Bible.

Text

Hebrew

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).

King James Version

Verse 2

The same words as verse 2b, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, arise in. These words form the title of a hymn by Irish clergyman John Samuel Bewley Monsell. Alexander Kirkpatrick comments that "Suggestive as this rendering is, it can hardly be right; and the true sense is that given in [the] Revised Version margin, in holy array."

Theme

Psalm 29 is "a hymn, describing the advent of Yahweh in a storm. (1) The angels worship Yahweh in the heavenly temple (v.1-2); (2) the thunder of Yahweh's voice is a great power (a) on the waters (v.3-4); (b) upon Lebanon and its cedars (v.5-6); (c) upon the wilderness and its forests (v.8-9); (3) Yahweh, enthroned over the Flood, reigns forever and bestows blessings on his people (v.10-11)."

Uses

Judaism

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 fifth day of the month.

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz wrote a setting of a metric paraphrase of Psalm 28 in German, "Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Gott, mein Hort", SWV 125, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628.