Psa 114 | NETfull | STEP | When Israel left Egypt, when the family of Jacob left a foreign nation behind,

Psalms 114

1 When Israel left Egypt,
when the family of Jacob left a foreign nation behind, ^{▼▼ Heb “the house of Jacob from a nation speaking a foreign language.” The Hebrew verb לָעַז (la’at, “to speak a foreign language”) occurs only here in the OT.}
2 Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his kingdom.
3 The sea looked and fled; ^{▼▼ The psalmist recalls the crossing of the Red Sea (Exod 14:21).}
the Jordan River ^{▼▼ Heb “the Jordan” (also in v. 5). The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.} turned back. ^{▼▼ The psalmist recalls the crossing of the Jordan River (Josh 3:13, 16).}
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs. ^{▼▼ The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. This may recall the theophany at Sinai when the mountain shook before God’s presence (Exod 19:18).}
5 Why do you flee, O sea?
Why do you turn back, O Jordan River?
6 Why do you skip like rams, O mountains,
like lambs, O hills?
7 Tremble, O earth, before the Lord –
before the God of Jacob,
8 who turned a rock into a pool of water,
a hard rock into springs of water! ^{▼▼ In v. 8 the psalmist recalls the event(s) recorded in Exod 17:6 and/or Num 20:11 (see also Deut 8:15 and Ps 78:15–16, 20).}

Psalm 115

^{▼▼ Psalm 115. The psalmist affirms that Israel’s God is superior to pagan idols and urges Israel to place their confidence in him.}