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The Two Structures of Psalm 29

Gianni Barbiero
Pontificio Istituto Biblico, Roma
barbiero@biblico.it

Abstract

Against various proposals to remove vv. 3b, 7, 9c and 11 from Psalm 29 as late additions,
the author affirms the substantial integrity of the MT. According to him, the psalm is
composed of five strophes, each consisting of two rhythmic verses (1-2, 3-4, 5-7, 8-9,
10-11). They form two complementary structures, one with a central pivot (introduc-
tion, 1-2; body, 3-9; conclusion, 10-12), and the other a linear one (praise of God in the
cosmos, 1-4; praise of God in the land of Israel, 5-9; resumption of the cosmic praise, 10;
resumption of the praise of Israel, 11). It is in the interaction of these two structures that
the unity of the psalm is grasped.

Keywords

psalm 29 – structure

Psalm 29 is one of the most evocative psalms and one of the most studied in
the Psalter. And rightly so: it is rich in majestic images, possesses an exciting
rhythm, and is full of anaphoras and alliterations; scholars of the history of
the Ancient Near East have competed to gather from it echoes of Ugaritic and
Mesopotamian mythology.1 And yet, even ten years ago, E. Zenger was still

* This paper is a revised version of the lecture delivered at the PIB—Rome, during the presen-
tation of the book: S. M. Attard/M. Pavan (eds.), “Canterò in eterno le misericordie del Signore”
(Sal 89,2). Studi in onore del prof. Gianni Barbiero in occasione del suo settantesimo com-
pleanno (AnBib.Studia 3; Roma 2015) on 27.02.2015. My thanks are due to N. Lohfink and
P. van der Lugt for the reading of the manuscript, and to M. Tait, for the English translation.
1  Starting with Ginsberg, pp. 472-476, studies along these lines have multiplied. Cf., for exam-
ple, Cunchillos; Dahood, pp. 174-180; Loretz, pp. 76-248; Kloos.

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able to write: “Psalm 29 belongs to those psalms the understanding of which is

still very debated today despite a number of studies almost impossible to take
into account.”2
Above all, there are four passages which do not seem to fit well into the
usual schemes of Hebrew poetry: on the one hand, vv. 3b, 7 and 9c are outside
any form of parallelism. On the other, the conclusion, v. 11, with its empha-
sis on the people of YHWH, seems totally out of place in a psalm that speaks
in cosmological terms of the theophany of God in the atmospheric elements.
Gunkel introduces it thus: “It is a brief patriotic appendix, which an Israelite
heart could not renounce but which, here, outside the strophes as it is, was
probably added later.”3
In recent years, structural studies have mushroomed. They have sought to
make sense of the canonical text, but the results have gone in such different
directions that a consensus appears remote. My proposal is intended as a con-
tribution in this direction.

The Text4

1. Give to YHWH, sons of God,

 give to YHWH glory and power.
2. Give to YHWH the glory of his name,
 bow down before YHWH in sacred vestments.

3. Voice of YHWH on the waters

 —the God of glory has thundered—,5
 YHWH on the great waters.

2  Zenger, p. 569.
3  Gunkel, p. 124 (my translation from the original German). Cf., also, Hossfeld/Zenger, p. 181:
“From the literary critical point of view, the second stich of v. 3 and v. 11 (. . .) fall out”. Along
the same lines, Hossfeld, pp. 163-164; Müller, pp. 104-107.
4  We follow the MT in its entirety. We are only omitting the title (v. 1a MT) because it is unim-
portant for the purposes of the present study.
5  Notice the tenses of the verbs. In vv. 3b (‫ )הרהים‬and 10a (‫ )ישׁב‬we have the only perfects in the
psalm. We are translating them in the ingressive form, in the same sense as in the expression
‫ יהוה מלך‬of the royal psalms of YHWH (cf. Pss 93:1; 97:1; 99:1), with reference to the moment of
creation. Against Michel, pp. 39-40, with Groß, we maintain the perfective sense for the four
wayyiqtol (vv. 5b, 6a, 9b, 10b), understanding it, in the first three cases, as a “stylistic use in the
service of a dramatic actualisation” (p. 98), in the fourth, according to the normal use of the
waw conversive. We do not follow Spieckermann, who proposes correcting the MT, revocalis-
ing the wayyiqtol into weyiqtol (p. 168, note 6).

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4. Voice of YHWH in strength,

 voice of YHWH in majesty.

5. The voice of YHWH splits the cedars—

 YHWH has split the cedars of Lebanon,
6. and made them leap like a calf,6
 Lebanon and Sirion like a son of buffalo—,
7.  the voice of YHWH bursts out flames of fire.

8. The voice of YHWH puts the desert into travail,7

 into travail YHWH puts the desert of Kades.
9. The voice of YHWH causes the deer to bring forth young
 —he has hastened the birth of the chamois—,8
 and in his temple each says: “Glory!”.

10. YHWH has sat down over the flood,

 YHWH has sat down as king for ever.
11. YHWH gives power to his people,
 YHWH blesses his people with peace.

6  Against the majority of scholars, who understand the final mem of the verb ‫ וירקידם‬as
enclitic (cf., for example, Dahood, p. 178), we follow the MT, considering it as a pronominal
suffix and so connecting it to “cedars”.
7  The verb ‫ חיל‬is typical for the pains of childbirth. Metaphorically, it could refer to the shak-
ing of the earth under the effect of the thunder. However, it appears to me to be excessive to
think of an earthquake, as does Jeremias (p. 33). In my opinion, from the fact that, in v. 9a,
the verb refers to birth, it is consistent to understand it in the same sense in v. 8 also. For the
“childbearing” of the desert, cf. Ps 65:13. The expression “put the desert into travail” occurs
in a “prayer with raised hand” addressed to the Akkadian god of the storm, Adad, cf. Müller,
p. 118: “The midday heat drinks, it causes rain to pour in torrents. At its grumbling, men are
afraid, the valleys are open, the steppes are in travail” (italics, GB).
8  Verse 9a “causes the deer to bring forth young” fits ill with v. 9b of the MT “lays bare the for-
ests” inasmuch as a depiction of the animal kingdom is juxtaposed with one of the vegetable
kingdom. Consequently, BHS suggests either changing the MT’s ‫;אַיָּ לוֹת‬, “deer”, into ‫ ֵאילות‬,
“oaks”; or else changing ‫יערות‬, understood as “forests”, a supposed plural of ‫( יער‬which usu-
ally has the masculine form: ‫)יערים‬, into ‫יעלות‬, “mountain goats”. Resorting to parallels with
other Semitic languages, HALAT and DCH propose a substantive ‫ יערה‬II with the meaning of
“little goat, chamois”, with which they associate a verb ‫ חשׂף‬II, “to hasten childbirth”. There
would be no need, therefore, to change the MT. It seems to me that the context strongly
suggests this reading. Along these lines cf. already Chajes, p. 209; Driver, pp. 255-256; Kraus,
p. 377; Podechard, p. 135; Jacquet, p. 642; also Müller, pp. 112-113; Fokkelman, p. 48, note 75.

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Structure No. 1

Against Gunkel’s proposal to exclude v. 11, there immediately springs to notice

the striking inclusion between v. 1b and v. 11a through the lexeme ‫עז‬, “power”.
The two passages are complementary: in v. 1, the “sons of God” give (‫)הבו‬
“power” to YHWH; in v. 11, it is YHWH who gives (‫“ )יתן‬power” to his people.
Verses 3b, 7 and 9c appear well integrated into their context. From the rhyth-
mic point of view, they form three tristich verses which mark the passage from
one poetic unit to another.9 Verses 3 and 9 delimit the central part of the psalm
in which the expression ‫ קול יהוה‬appears seven times. In particular, vv. 3b and
9c are linked by the important lexeme ‫כבוד‬, “glory”. Here too, we can observe
the same complementarity: in v. 3b, the “glory” is an attribute of God (“the God
of glory has thundered”), while, in v. 9c, it is the inhabitants of the temple who
are to give him “glory”.
From these observations, it is possible to glimpse a first basic structure
for the psalm.10 In our opinion, we have five strophes, each composed of two
rhythmic verses: 1-2, 3-4, 5-7, 8-9 and 10-11.11 The central part is formed by stro-
phes II-IV (vv. 3-9). These strophes are characterised by the expression ‫קול יהוה‬,
always at the beginning, in anaphoric position, as well as by the union of a
distich (vv. 4, 5, 8) and a tristich (vv. 3, 6-7, 9). Strophes I and V, on the other
hand, are composed of two distich verses, and there is no mention in them of
the “voice of YHWH”.
The arrangement of the central part is debated. Verse 7 offers particular dif-
ficulty. Since it is a monostich, some authors consider it to be the centre of the
two strophes in vv. 5-6 and 8-9.12 Others, would like to add it to vv. 8-9, forming

9  On the function of the tristich in Hebrew poetry cf. van der Lugt, 2006, pp. 522-532; Watson,
pp. 177-185. In the reconstruction of a putative original text, various authors eliminate the
tristichs, invoking the absence of parallelism: cf. the reconstruction of Mittmann, p. 191;
Vogt, pp. 22-23; Spieckermann, pp. 166-167. At the opposite pole stands Pardee, according
to whom the text of Ps 29 is composed almost entirely of tristichs (cf. pp. 154-155).
10  The three-part structure—introduction (1-2), body of the psalm (3-9) and conclusion
(10-11)—is generally recognised in recent exegesis. Cf., among others, Ridderbos, p. 217;
Freedman, pp. 70-87, 72; Pardee, pp. 158-159; Fokkelman, pp. 45-49; Diehl et al., p. 467;
Jeremias, pp. 32-34; van der Lugt, 2006, p. 294; Weber, p. 147; Zenger, p. 577. A small varia-
tion is proposed by Girard, p. 502; Ravasi, p. 532, and Auffret (1-2|3-9b|9c-11). For a survey
of the various structures, cf. van der Lugt, 2006, pp. 297-298.
11  So too Ewald, Delitzsch, Fullerton, Kraft and Fokkelman (cf. van der Lugt, 2006,
pp. 297-298).
12  Along these lines, cf., for example, Jeremias, p. 33; Zenger, p. 572; Girard, p. 507. For
Richelle, v. 7 is the pivot of a concentric structure: A. 1-2; B. 3; C. 4; D. 5; E. 6; F. 7; E’. 8; D’.
9ab; C’. 9c; B’. 10; A’. 11 (p. 117).

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TABLE 1

‫קול יהוה שׁבר ארזים‬5

‫וישׁבר יהוה את־ארזי הלבנון‬
‫וירקידם כמו־עגל‬6
‫לבנון ושׂרין כמו בן־ראמים‬
‫קול־יהוה חצב להבות אשׁ‬7

with them the fourth strophe.13 It is our view, however, that it should be joined
to vv. 5-6, with which it forms a central pivotal structure (cf. tab. 1). We should
note the inclusion between v. 5a and 7 (‫)קול יהוה‬14 as well as the correspon-
dence between v. 5b and 6b (‫)לבנון‬. At the centre stands v. 6a.15
The initial strophe (vv. 1-2) corresponds to the final one (vv. 10-11) through
the presence in each stich of the Tetragrammaton, ‫יהוה‬. This appears 4 times,
therefore, in vv. 1-2, and 4 in vv. 10-11. In Hebrew gematria, four is the number
of universality (the 4 points of the compass: north, south, east and west).16 The
triple anaphora ‫ הבו ליהוה‬in vv. 1a, 1b and 2a is matched by the triple mention
of the Tetragrammaton at the beginning of stichs 10a, 11a and 11b. Twice, the
parallel is not perfect (the anaphora is absent in 2b and 10b), as is typical of the
Hebrew poetic parallelism.17

13  Cf. Diehl et al., p. 467, who propose the following division: 3-5|6|7-9 (similarly, Weber, pp.
146-147). A different arrangement, although joining v. 7 to vv. 8-9, is offered by van der
Lugt, 2006, 294, and Labuschagne (3-4|5-6|7-9).
14  The rare verb ‫חצב‬, “dig up”, is probably alluding to the lightning (“flames of fire”), and is
connected, on the one hand, with the “splitting” of the cedars (in parallel with v. 5a, cf.
tab. 1), on the other, with the high mountains of 6b, from which the “voice of YHWH”, strik-
ing the rocky peaks, makes the lightning shoot out.
15  Alongside this structure, we can distinguish another according to which v. 5a corre-
sponds to v. 5b; v. 6a to v. 6b (the correspondences are shown), while v. 7 falls outside the
parallelism.

‫וישׁבר יהוה את־ארזי הלבנון‬ ‫קול יהוה שׁבר ארזים‬5

‫קול־יהוה חצב להבות אשׁ‬7 ‫לבנון ושׂרין כמו בן־ראמים‬ ‫וירקידם כמו־עגל‬6

By analogy with what we shall see on the level of the composition as a whole, the two
structures are mutually complementary, without excluding each other.
16  The function of numbers in Ps 29 is pointed out by Girard, pp. 510-511; Weber, p. 147;
Ridderbos, p. 221.
17  Cf. Watson, pp. 150-156 (“Staircase parallelism”).

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TABLE 2 

strophe vv. lett. words stichs ‫יהוה‬ ‫קול יהוה‬

A. Call to praise I 1 30 8 2 2x ‫עז כבוד‬

2 34 8 2 2x ‫כבוד‬
B. Motivation II 3 38 11 3 2x 1x ‫כבוד‬
(body of the hymn) 4 21 6 2 2x 2x
III 5 36 9 2 2x 1x
 6-7 50 13 3 1x 1x
IV 8 30 8 2 2x 1x
9 44 10 3 1x 1x ‫כבוד‬
A’. Conclusion V 10 28 7 2 2x
11 31 9 2 2x ‫עז‬

In the central part, alongside the seven “voices of YHWH”, the Tetragrammaton
appears on three separate occasions, 10 times in all. Here too we have numbers
that are deeply symbolic. “Seven” recalls the days of creation so that the “voice”
refers to the creative word of Genesis 1, while “ten” recalls the command-
ments, the “ten words” of the Law. In the whole psalm, then, the tetragram-
maton appears 18 times, and Jewish tradition has not forgotten to associate the
psalm with the shemoné esré, the 18 benedictions which form the daily prayer
of every pious Jew.18 It is true that, in the Ugaritic literature, the “voice of Baal”
is the thunder, but to translate ‫ קול יהוה‬with “thunder”, as does for instance the
Italian CEI translation, or, as E. Vogt suggested, with “listen!,”19 does not render
fully the pregnant nature of the Hebrew expression.
From the point of view of literary genre, Psalm 29 is a hymn, and the three
parts which we have now delineated correspond well to the usual parts of this
genre: a) call to praise (vv. 1-2); b) motivation (vv. 3-9); c) conclusion (vv. 10-11)
(cf. tab. 2). Against a widespread opinion,20 A. Wagner and his colleagues have
shown convincingly that, syntactically, vv. 3-9 have the same function as a

18  This structure is confirmed from the balance of the different parts: in vv. 1-2 we count 64
letters, 16 words, 4 stichs, 4x ‫ ;יהוה‬in vv. 3-9: 219 letters; 57 words, 15 stichs, 10 x ‫ ;יהוה‬in
vv. 10-11: 59 letters, 16 words, 4 stichs, 4x ‫( יהוה‬cf. Fokkelman, p. 45; van der Lugt, p. 296;
Labuschagne, p. 3).
19  Vogt, pp. 17-18, note 1 (“Horch!”).
20  Cf., for example, Müller, pp. 109-115.

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subordinate clause introduced by ‫כי‬. Ps 29, therefore, was never a hymn to Baal
but corresponds perfectly with the canons of Hebrew cultic poetry.21

Structure No. 2

Alongside the structure which we have sketched to this point, another can
be detected which is not set as an alternative but as complementary to the
first, and is positively in tension with it. A first clue is the number of the
Tetragrammatons which, in the first strophe, is the same as in the second
(2 + 2 = 4x), while the two following strophes have a lesser number (2 + 1 = 3x),
something that suggests an association of the second strophe with the first,
and, respectively, the third with the fourth.22

Vv. 1-4: Strophes I-II

In fact, the first two strophes are linked by numerous lexical references.23 First
of all, the substantive ‫ כבוד‬appears in vv. 1b, 2a (enjambement) and 3b.24 Of the
other two lexemes typical of the vocabulary of glory, ‫הדר‬, “splendour”, appears
in 2b and 4b, both times at the end of the verse, while ‫עז‬, “power” (v. 1b), is
repeated in the synonym ‫ כח‬in v. 4a. The triple anaphora ‫( הבו ליהוה‬vv. 1a, 1b,
2c) is matched by the triple anaphora ‫( קול יהוה‬vv. 3a, 4a, 4b). Finally, the divine
name ‫( אלים‬v. 1a) is repeated in the singular ‫ אל‬of v. 3b.
From the point of view of content, vv. 1-2 lead to the heavenly liturgy, to which
the terms: “bow down” (‫ חוה‬hithpael) and “in sacred vestments” (‫)בהדרת־קדשׁ‬25
allude. The summons to praise and adoration is addressed, in fact, to the “sons
of God” (‫)בני אלים‬, inferior divinities of the Canaanite pantheon, demoted in

21  Against Ginsberg and those who, like him, postulate a Canaanite origin for Ps 29 (cf. n. 2).
Among others, A. Wagner observes that Baal was never associated with the desert while
the “voice of YHWH” resounds in it powerfully (cf. vv. 8-9).
22  The pattern of 4 + 4 + 2 verses is very common in the Psalter. Cf. van der Lugt, 2014, pp.
603-604. However v.d.L. does not include Ps 29 in this group of Psalms.
23  The correspondence between vv. 1-2 and 3-4, as between 5-9ab and 9c-11, has already been
noted also by Girard, cf. p. 509. Our proposal develops this intuition. However, we see the
elements of correspondence differently and, above all, mark out the last unit differently:
for us it comprises v. 9c exclusively, while, for Girard, it comprises vv. 9c-11.
24  Then again only in v. 9c, forming an inclusion for the central part.
25  On the liturgical significance of the expression ‫בהדרת־קדשׁ‬, cf. 2 Chr 20:21 and Ps 110:3.
In these two passages, the subject is “holy war”, and therefore we have liturgical clothes
in military context, as though to suggest that the “sons of God” of Ps 29, in their liturgical
praise, are participating in the battle of the Creator against the forces of chaos (cf. Ps 8:3).

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our text to “angels”, servants of YHWH, along the lines of the “seraphim” of
Isaiah 6. The scene is performed ideally in the heavenly temple which, how-
ever, is none other than the earthly one, but, just as we are led to understand
by Isaiah 6, the God who dwells in the temple of Jerusalem is the same God
who dwells in heaven. According to the oriental conception, there is continu-
ity between the heavenly and the earthly temples.26
The motivation for praise is expressed in vv. 3-4, and has a cosmic char-
acter corresponding to the tenor of vv. 1-2. The “waters”, and the “great
waters” (‫ )מים רבים‬of v. 3 are not, in fact, as Dahood would like, those of the
Mediterranean Sea.27 The concept of ‫ מים רבים‬is cosmological: they are the
waters of the great subterranean abyss, evoked, for example, in the theophany
of Ps 18 (cf. v. 17). The verb in the perfect ‫הרעים‬, “(the God of glory) has thun-
dered”, refers to the victory of the Creator God over the forces of the watery
chaos (Yam in Ugarit, Tiamat in Mesopotamia) at the beginning of time. From
then on, each occasion the thunder resounds, this victory is recorded and actu-
alised. This concept will be repeated at the psalm’s conclusion, in v. 10: “YHWH
has sat down (on his royal throne) over the flood”.
According to the oriental conception, the temple was on the vertical axis of
the abyss, the site of the Creator’s primitive victory over the forces of chaos,28
and the temple liturgy, recognising YHWH’s role as king of the universe, reac-
tualised this victory.

Vv. 5-9: Strophes III-IV

As Jeremias observed, vv. 5-9 have a strongly unitary structure.29 My proposal
takes up his observations in part, adding some new elements to them. In my
opinion, vv. 5-6a correspond to v. 9, in as much as what is mentioned here is the
effect of the “voice of YHWH” on the vegetation (vv. 5-6a, A), and, respectively,
on the living beings, animals and man (v. 9, A’), while vv. 6b-7 (B) correspond to
v. 8 (B’), in that the subject here is the geography of the land of Israel: Lebanon
and Sirion, on the one hand, that is, the northern and mountainous part of the
country; the desert of Kadesh-Barnea, on the other hand,30 that is, the south-
ern and flat part of Israel (cf. tab. 3).

26  Cf. Keel, pp. 151-155.

27  Dahood, p. 176 (“The Mediterranean is probably meant”). But the expression ‫מים רבים‬
never has this meaning; cf. May.
28  Cf. Hartenstein, pp. 59-62.
29  Jeremias, p. 33. The structure is repeated by Hossfeld/Zenger, p. 181; Zenger, p. 580.
30  Against the identification of Kadesh in Syria, proposed by various advocates of the
Ugaritic hypothesis (cf. Dahood, p. 178), the location of this place in the desert is a
powerful objection.

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TABLE 3 

A. vv. 5-6a vegetation (cedars)

B. vv. 6b-7 Lebanon, Sirion (mountains, north)
B’. v. 8 desert of Kadesh (plain, south)
A’. v. 9 living beings (deer, goats, man)

TABLE 4 

A 1-2 Praise in the heavenly temple ‫( כבוד‬vv. 1b, 2a)

B 3-4 Victory of YHWH over the waters of chaos ‫( כבוד‬v. 3b)

B’ 5-9b Theophany of YHWH in the land of Israel

A’ 9c Praise in the temple of Jerusalem ‫( כבוד‬v. 9c)

According to Zenger, “vv. 5-9 do not refer to a storm, which erupted in northern
Syria, between the Lebanon and anti-Lebanon, but the clues sketch (. . .) a hori-
zontal image of the world with the temple of Jerusalem standing at its centre.”31
We observe only that, in our view, the author does not intend to sketch an
image of the world but of the land of Israel: the geographical information has
a more limited horizon. In any case, it is true that the temple stands at the
centre of this geography. In fact, the temple is mentioned in v. 9c, which must,
therefore, be held to be the recapitulation of the description of vv. 5-9, as the
reply which the “voice of YHWH” arouses in his land.
Just as the first two strophes are linked together, in that the worship in the
heavenly, cosmic temple (vv. 1-2) is motivated by YHWH’s victory over the ele-
ments of the watery chaos (vv. 3-4), so strophes III and IV are connected with
each other by the fact that, in the earthly temple of Jerusalem, there is a cele-
bration of the theophany (v. 9c), which is materialised in the storm which runs
over the land of Israel (vv. 5-9b). The link between vv. 1-2 and v. 9c is provided
by the term ‫( כבוד‬vv. 1b, 2a, 9c). What the author is inviting the sons of God to
do in vv. 1-2, the sons of Israel perform in v. 9c (cf. tab. 4).

31  Zenger, p. 580 (my translation, GB).

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Returning to the content of vv. 5-9, we observe that, in the third strophe, vv.
5-7, the effect of the storm is destructive, as is typical of a hurricane. Alonso
Schökel would say that the author is describing the “tremendous” aspect of the
Holy in which God shows his power (‫עז‬, vv. 1.11).32 It is interesting to note that
the destructive aspect of the storm touches the “cedars of Lebanon”, which are
the symbol of human pride, and the highest mountains, Lebanon and Hermon,
these, too, symbols of pride, and, moreover, connected with sanctuaries of Baal.
Here, there is a touch of humour in the sense that the voice of YHWH makes
these mighty mountains jump—they were in antiquity symbol of eternity—,
reshaping them as bucking buffalo calves. In this connection, we quote Is 2,12-
14: “For YHWH of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against
everything that exalts itself, to beat it down, against all the cedars of Lebanon
high and lifted up, against all the oaks of Basan, against all the high mountains,
against all the raised up hills” (cf., further, Ezek 31:3; Amos 2:9; Zech 11:1-2).
In vv. 8-9b, the result of YHWH’s voice is antithetical. One might say that
here the author is experiencing the “fascinating” aspect, connected with fer-
tility and life, prerogatives which, in the Canaanite religion, were precisely
those of the storm god, Baal. In fact, the storm is at one and the same time
destruction and source of life because it brings the rain. Perhaps it is not for-
tuitous that the positive aspect of the hurricane is linked to the desert, land of
dryness and symbol of death (“The voice of YHWH puts the desert into travail
‫יחיל‬, v. 8a), as if to say that God abases the proud and exalts the humble. The
desert is the habitat of deer and wild goats, which the divine thunder renders
fertile (v. 9ab).33 The theme of fertility unites v. 8 with 9ab (‫חיל‬, vv. 8a, 8b, 9a;
‫חשׂף‬, v. 9b).

Vv. 10-11: Conclusion

If our analysis of vv. 3-9 is correct, then it gives us a better understanding of
the conclusion, vv. 10-11 (cf. tab. 5). Verse 10 refers to vv. 1-4, that is, it takes up
again the praise rendered by the “sons of God” to the divine king for his vic-
tory over the elements of chaos in the past (‫הרעים‬, v. 3b; ‫ישׁב‬, v. 10a). The link

32  Alonso Schökel/Carniti, pp. 525-526.

33  In this context, the two synonymous verbs ‫( יחלל‬9a) and ‫( יחשׂף‬9b) cannot have a nega-
tive sense, as if the thunder arouses in these animals such a fear as to make them mis-
carry (against Gunkel, p. 126; Tigay, pp. 403-405). The opposite is true: the voice of YHWH
assures the animals’ fertility. What the Canaanite religion attributed to Baal refers here
to YHWH. Feuer tentatively suggests: “The birth canal of the hind is too narrow for its
offspring to pass through, but thunder frightens the hind and arouses strong contractions
which open the birth canal and propel its baby outwards” (Feuer, p. 353).

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TABLE 5

vv. 1-4 ‫( בני אלים‬1a)

→ v. 10 ‫מבול‬
‫( מים‬3a), ‫( מים רבים‬3c)
vv. 5-9 Land of Israel (5-9b)
→ v. 11 ‫עמו‬
‫( היכלו‬9c)

between v. 10 and vv. 1-4 is given by the theme of watery chaos: ‫מים רבים‬, v. 3c,
cf. ‫מבול‬, v. 10a.
In its turn, v. 11 refers to vv. 5-9, that is, to the praise rendered by the people
of Israel in the temple of Jerusalem (‫בהיכלו‬, v. 9c) in the present. This praise
is matched by the gift of power and blessing from God to his people (‫עמו‬,
v. 11, twice). The canvas of vv. 1-4 + 10 is universal, cosmic, and refers to the past,
whereas that of vv. 5-9 + 11 is particular, Israelite, and refers to the present.
Let us pause for a moment on v. 11, which Gunkel holds to be a secondary
addition. In our opinion, not only does the substantive ‫ עז‬act as an inclusion
with v. 1, but also the double ‫ עמו‬finds a correspondence in v. 9c ‫בהיכלו‬. On both
occasions, the pronominal suffix refers to YHWH: “his people” corresponds to
“his temple”. The subject, therefore, is not the “sons of God”, but the sons of
Israel; not the heavenly temple, but that of Jerusalem, halfway house between
Lebanon and the desert of Kadesh.34
Perhaps, however, one can go further and link v. 11a (“YHWH gives power
to his people”) with the “tremendous” aspect of the “voice of YHWH” (note the
substantive ‫עז‬, typical of the “divine warrior”, cf. Ps 24,8), and so with the theme
of vv. 5-7. Verse 11b, on the other hand (“YHWH blesses his people with peace”),
would be evoking the “fascinating” aspect of the theophany, with the gift of life
and fertility. The verb ‫ ברך‬is clearly bound up with fertility, cf. Gen 1:28, and the
biblical ‫ שׁלום‬goes beyond an absence of war, it is the fullness of life. Verse 11b
would thus be resuming the content of the third strophe, vv. 8-9. And, clearly,

34  Against the majority of scholars, who maintain that v. 9c refers to the heavenly temple.
We quote von Rad for all: “This verse 9b (= 9c according to our division, GB) is the key to
the whole psalm; it leads us above the earthly tumult into the heavenly sanctuary where
the choir of heavenly beings recognises and also celebrates this happening on earth as a
manifestation of the glory of Yahweh” (von Rad, p. 371, translation GB). Along the same
lines, Kraus, p. 383: “‫ היכל‬ist der himmlische Palast (11,4; Mi 1,2; Hab 2,20). Er ist das Urbild
und überweltiche Gegenbild zum Tempel”. If v. 9c refers to the heavenly temple, it would
belong logically to the following verses, as some scholars presume (cf. above, note 10).

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TABLE 6 

vv. 5-7 terrible God → v. 11a ‫עז‬

↓ ↓
vv. 8-9 God of life → v. 11b ‫שׁלום‬

the first aspect, the terrible aspect of God, would be being aimed at the second,
the gift of life and peace (cf. tab. 6). Significantly, the psalm ends with the word
‫שׁלום‬.
Far from being “a brief patriotic appendix, which an Israelite heart could
not renounce”, v. 11 thus reveals itself as the necessary and coherent conclusion
of the entire psalm,35 a psalm which, in the manner of Ps 19, with which it is
linked from a structural point of view,36 sets the praise of Israel against the
background of the cosmos. In reciting the psalms, Israel unites herself to the
majestic praise of the cosmos for its Creator, gives to God glory and power, and
receives from him power and peace.

The Two Structures of Ps 29

Thus our study has led us to identify two structures. The first is the traditional
one, concentric, corresponding to the literary genre of the hymn, with an
introduction (vv. 1-2), a body (vv. 3-9) and a conclusion (vv. 10-11), in which the
theme of the introduction is reprised. This type of structure is static, tends to
close the thought, to make it turn in on itself.
The other structure, in tension with the first, is dynamic. It starts off from
heaven, from the cosmic praise of God the creator, the conqueror of the forces
of chaos at the beginning of time (vv.1-4). It then passes to the land of Israel
where the victory of God the creator is manifested in the present in the storm
(vv. 5-9). Just as the cosmic reply takes place in the heavenly sanctuary (vv. 1-2),
so the earthly reply takes place in his sanctuary in Jerusalem (v. 9c).

35  Cf. the observation of van der Lugt: “Should we read the poem in a linear way in order to
grasp its focal idea and take the blessing of Israel (v. 11) as the culminating point?” (van der
Lugt, 2006, p. 300).
36  Ps 19 is the center of the group of Psalms 15-24, as is Ps 29 of the group 25-34 (cf. Barbiero,
pp. 189-324, and 325-541, here further bibliography).

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The Two Structures of Psalm 29 | doi 10.1163/15685330-12341238 13

Within vv. 5-9, we have found the same tension between two structures:
on the one hand, in fact, v. 9 (A’) takes up vv. 5-6a (A), through the reference
to the vegetation and to the living beings, and v. 8 (B’) takes up vv. 6b-7 (B)
through the reference to the geography of Israel. On the other hand, however,
one passes from the “tremendous” aspect of vv. 5-7 to the “fascinating” aspect
of vv. 8-9, and progresses from the vegetable world (vv. 5-6a) to the animal
(vv. 9ab), in order to finish up with man (v. 9c), just as, where the geography
of Israel is concerned, one passes from the mountainous and luxuriant north
(v. 6b) to the arid and flat south (v. 8).
The two movements join together in vv. 10-11. On the one hand, these take
up again the initial praise, returning to the theme of vv. 1-2 and so carrying
the psalm to its conclusion. On the other hand, they recapitulate the linear
development of the psalm, resuming, in v. 10, the theme of vv. 1-4, and focus-
ing on the theme of the kingship of YHWH. In v. 11, instead, there is a reprise of
the theophany in the land of Israel described in vv. 5-9, and this is focused on
the gift of peace which is positive. The cosmic kingship of YHWH (v. 10) is seen
as the sure basis for the peace of Israel (v. 11).37 Along these lines, Delitzsch
already noted the complementarity between the beginning and the end of the
psalm: “Gloria in excelsis ist der Anfang und pax in terris das Ende.”38

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