Discovery BoxPsalms 29:10 
Context29:10 The Lord sits enthroned over the engulfing waters, 1
the Lord sits enthroned 2 as the eternal king.
Psalms 77:19
Context77:19 You walked through the sea; 3
you passed through the surging waters, 4
but left no footprints. 5
Psalms 104:6-7
Context104:6 The watery deep covered it 6 like a garment;
the waters reached 7 above the mountains. 8
104:7 Your shout made the waters retreat;
at the sound of your thunderous voice they hurried off –
Psalms 106:32
Context106:32 They made him angry by the waters of Meribah,
and Moses suffered 9 because of them,
Psalms 107:23
Context107:23 10 Some traveled on 11 the sea in ships,
and carried cargo over the vast waters. 12
Psalms 148:4
Context148:4 Praise him, O highest heaven,
and you waters above the sky! 13
1 tn The noun מַּבּוּל (mabbul, “flood”) appears only here and in Gen 6-11, where it refers to the Noahic flood. Some see a reference to that event here. The presence of the article (perhaps indicating uniqueness) and the switch to the perfect verbal form (which could be taken as describing a past situation) might support this. However, the immediate context indicates that the referent of מַּבּוּל is the “surging waters” mentioned in v. 3. The article indicates waters that are definite in the mind of the speaker and the perfect is probably descriptive in function, like “thunders” in v. 3. However, even though the historical flood is not the primary referent here, there may be a literary allusion involved. The psalmist views the threatening chaotic sea as a contemporary manifestation of the destructive waters of old.
2 tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the descriptive function of the preceding perfect.
3 tn Heb “in the sea [was] your way.”
4 tn Heb “and your paths [were] in the mighty waters.”
5 tn Heb “and your footprints were not known.”
6 tc Heb “you covered it.” The masculine suffix is problematic if the grammatically feminine noun “earth” is the antecedent. For this reason some emend the form to a feminine verb with feminine suffix, כִּסַּתָּה (kisattah, “[the watery deep] covered it [i.e., the earth]”), a reading assumed by the present translation.
7 tn Heb “stood.”
8 sn Verse 6 refers to the condition described in Gen 1:2 (note the use of the Hebrew term תְּהוֹם [tÿhom, “watery deep”] in both texts).
9 tn Heb “there was harm to Moses.”
10 sn Verses 23-30, which depict the Lord rescuing sailors from a storm at sea, do not seem to describe the exiles’ situation, unless the word picture is metaphorical. Perhaps the psalmist here broadens his scope and offers an example of God’s kindness to the needy beyond the covenant community.
11 tn Heb “those going down [into].”
12 tn Heb “doers of work on the mighty waters.”
13 sn The “water” mentioned here corresponds to the “waters above” mentioned in Gen 1:7. See also Ps 104:3. For a discussion of the picture envisioned by the psalmist, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 47.
