Mazmur 24:2

24:2 For he set its foundation upon the seas,

and established ¹  it upon the ocean currents. ² 

Mazmur 104:26

104:26 The ships travel there,

and over here swims the whale ³  you made to play in it.

[24:2]  ¹ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite, referring to the creation of the world.

[24:2]  ² sn He…established it upon the ocean currents. The description reflects ancient Israelite prescientific cosmology, which is based on outward appearances. The language also suggests that God’s creative work involved the subjugation of chaos, symbolized by the sea.

[104:26]  ³ tn Heb “[and] this Leviathan, [which] you formed to play in it.” Elsewhere Leviathan is a multiheaded sea monster that symbolizes forces hostile to God (see Ps 74:14; Isa 27:1), but here it appears to be an actual marine creature created by God, probably some type of whale.