PSALMS 93

READING CYCLE THREE(see “Guide
to Good Bible Reading“)

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR’S INTENT AT
PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are
responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in
the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in
interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations
above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original
author’s intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one
and only one subject.

1. First paragraph

2. Second paragraph

3. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 93:1-2
 ¹The
Lord
reigns, He is clothed with majesty;
 The
Lord has clothed and girded Himself with strength;
 Indeed, the world is firmly
established, it will not be moved.
 ²Your throne is
established from of old;
 You are from everlasting.

93:1-2 This strophe describes YHWH as
the reigning King of creation (cf. Ps. 47:2; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1). The first four
verbs of Ps. 93:1 are
perfects.

1. reigns – BDB 573, KB 590, Qal perfect, cf. Ps. 96:10

2. clothed – BDB 527, KB 519, Qal perfect (twice)

3. girded Himself – BDB 25, KB 25, Hithpael perfect, note He girded Himself, which denotes
the sovereignty of YHWH

It seems surprising that the next two
verbs of Ps. 93:1, which speak of His world being firmly established (cf.
93:2, a Niphal; Ps. 96:10) and that it will not be moved, are both
imperfects, which denote an ongoing action (cf. 1 Chr. 16:30). In this
context the perfects may denote
past time and the imperfects current/future time, but limited to
this age.

93:1 Notice that these
perfect verbs speak of YHWH’s kingly dress. His dress is a metaphorical
way of asserting His character and power.

1. clothed with majesty (BDB 145)

2. clothed with strength (BDB 738)

Psalm 104:1 asserts He is clothed with “splendor” (BDB 217) and “majesty”
(BDB 214). Psalm 6:5-6 asserts He is girded with “might” (BDB 150).

93:2 The eternal reign of the eternal
YHWH (cf. Ps. 93:5c; 45:6; 90:2) is secure (cf. Ps. 10:16; 29:10; 46:10; 52:7)!
Circumstances may seem to be supreme but they are only temporary. Our God reigns
(cf. Dan. 2:44; 7:14,27; Luke 1:33; Rev. 11:15,17; 19:6)!

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 93:3-5
 ³The floods have
lifted up, O Lord,
 The floods have lifted up
their voice,
 The floods lift up their
pounding waves.
 ⁴More than the
sounds of many waters,
 Than the mighty
breakers of the sea,
 The
Lord on high is mighty.
 ⁵Your testimonies
are fully confirmed;
 Holiness befits Your house,
 O
Lord, forevermore.

93:3-4 The NASB divides this Psalm
into two strophes, 93:1-2 and 93:3-5, but all the other English translations I
use to compare strophe divisions (NKJV, NRSV, TEV, NJB), have Ps. 93:5 as a
separate concluding statement.

Psalm 93:3-4 speaks of YHWH’s creation and control of watery
chaos (cf. Ps. 74:12-17; 89:9-10; Isa. 51:9). As Ps. 93:1 had a contrast between
perfects and imperfects denoting past and current/future
acts of this age (cf. Zech. 14:9), so too, Ps. 93:3. There is no
verb in 93:4, but it also reflects YHWH as the eternal, victorious King
of the universe!

93:3 The
verb (BDB 669, KB 724) is used three times, once in each line of poetry.
This verse may reflect a poetic line used of Ba’al found in the Ras
Shamra texts (i.e., Ugaritic). The Hebrew language often took the religious
imagery of their neighbors/captors and applied it to YHWH, the only true God!

93:4 “mightier” The adjective (BDB 12) is used to describe the
raging of the waves (i.e., enemies of God at creation and through time, such as
Egypt, Babylon) but YHWH is higher, greater, more powerful than all the enemies
(initial, temporal, and eschatological)!

93:5 “testimonies” This term (BDB 730
III) reflects YHWH’s revelation. See SPECIAL TOPIC: TERMS FOR GOD’S REVELATION.
YHWH

1. has established Himself as King forever

2. is victorious over watery chaos

3. has fully revealed Himself (see
Special Topic:
Characteristics of Israel’s God) and His purposes (see
Special Topic: YHWH’s
Eternal Redemptive Plan)

▣ “Holiness befits Your house” For
“holiness” see SPECIAL TOPIC: GLORY (DOXA). The AB, vol. 17, by Mitchell Dahood (also
see NIDOTTE, vol. 3, #2, p. 2) takes “holy” as a title for the angels of the
heavenly council (cf. Ps. 29:1), thus making the line read

“In your temple the holy ones will laud you” (pp. 339, 343).

▣ The
verb
“befits” can be analyzed in two ways.

1. a verb
– BDB 610, KB 659,
Pilel perfect (OT
Parsing Guide by Beall, Banks and Smith, p. 449)

2. an
adverb – BDB 610 (Analytical Key to the OT, by Owens, p. 425)

“House” refers to the Tabernacle of the wilderness and later
the temple in Jerusalem.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide
commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of
the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the
Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a
commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think
through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be
thought provoking, not definitive.

1. Does this Psalm refer to initial creation or
the exodus?

2. How is the Psalm related to the ANE themes of

a. watery chaos

b. God as Divine Warrior

3. To what does “testimonies” refer?

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