Mazmur 74:16-17

74:16 You established the cycle of day and night; ¹ 

you put the moon ²  and sun in place. ³ 

74:17 You set up all the boundaries ⁴  of the earth;

you created the cycle of summer and winter. ⁵ 

Mazmur 136:7-9

136:7 to the one who made the great lights,

for his loyal love endures,

136:8 the sun to rule by day,

for his loyal love endures,

136:9 the moon and stars to rule by night,

for his loyal love endures,

Mazmur 148:3-5

148:3 Praise him, O sun and moon!

Praise him, all you shiny stars! ⁶ 

148:4 Praise him, O highest heaven,

and you waters above the sky! ⁷ 

148:5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for he gave the command and they came into existence.

[74:16]  ¹ tn Heb “To you [is] day, also to you [is] night.”

[74:16]  ² tn Heb “[the] light.” Following the reference to “day and night” and in combination with “sun,” it is likely that the Hebrew term מָאוֹר (ma’or, “light”) refers here to the moon.

[74:16]  ³ tn Heb “you established [the] light and [the] sun.”

[74:17]  ⁴ tn This would appear to refer to geographical boundaries, such as mountains, rivers, and seacoasts. However, since the day-night cycle has just been mentioned (v. 16) and the next line speaks of the seasons, it is possible that “boundaries” here refers to the divisions of the seasons. See C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms (ICC), 2:156.

[74:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “summer and winter, you, you formed them.”

[148:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “stars of light.”

[148:4]  ⁷ 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.