Keluaran 15:5

15:5 The depths have covered them, ¹ 

they went down to the bottom ²  like a stone.

Nehemia 9:11

9:11 You split the sea before them, and they crossed through ³  the sea on dry ground! But you threw their pursuers ⁴  into the depths, like a stone into surging ⁵  waters.

Mazmur 29:3

29:3 The Lord’s shout is heard over the water; ⁶ 

the majestic God thunders, ⁷ 

the Lord appears over the surging water. ⁸ 

[15:5]  ¹ tn The verb form is יְכַסְיֻמוּ (yÿkhasyumu) is the Piel preterite. Normally a vav (ו) consecutive is used with the preterite, but in some ancient poems the form without the vav appears, as is the case frequently in this poem. That such an archaic form is used should come as no surprise, because the word also uses the yod (י) of the root (GKC 214 §75.dd), and the archaic suffix form (GKC 258 §91.l). These all indicate the antiquity of the poem.

[15:5]  ² tn The parasynonyms here are תְּהֹמֹת (tÿhomot, “deep, ocean depths, deep waters”) and מְצוֹלֹת (mÿtsolot, “the depths”); S. R. Driver says properly the “gurgling places” (Exodus, 134).

[9:11]  ³ tn Heb “in the midst of.”

[9:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “those who pursued them.”

[9:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “mighty.”

[29:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “the voice of the Lord [is] over the water.” As the next line makes clear, the “voice of the Lord” is here the thunder that accompanies a violent storm. The psalm depicts the Lord in the role of a warrior-king, so the thunder is his battle cry, as it were.

[29:3]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form is probably descriptive. In dramatic fashion the psalmist portrays the Lord coming in the storm to do battle with his enemies and to vindicate his people.

[29:3]  ⁸ tn Traditionally “many waters.” The geographical references in the psalm (Lebanon, Sirion, Kadesh) suggest this is a reference to the Mediterranean Sea (see Ezek 26:19; 27:26). The psalmist describes a powerful storm moving in from the sea and sweeping over the mountainous areas north of Israel. The “surging waters” may symbolize the hostile enemies of God who seek to destroy his people (see Pss 18:17; 32:6; 77:20; 93:4; 144:7; Isa 17:13; Jer 51:55; Ezek 26:19; Hab 3:15). In this case the Lord is depicted as elevated above and sovereign over the raging waters.