Mazmur 95:4

95:4 The depths of the earth are in his hand, ¹ 

and the mountain peaks belong to him.

Mazmur 104:3

104:3 and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds. ² 

He makes the clouds his chariot,

and travels along on the wings of the wind. ³ 

Mazmur 139:15

139:15 my bones were not hidden from you,

when ⁴  I was made in secret

and sewed together in the depths of the earth. ⁵ 

[95:4]  ¹ tn The phrase “in his hand” means within the sphere of his authority.

[104:3]  ² tn Heb “one who lays the beams on water [in] his upper rooms.” The “water” mentioned here corresponds to the “waters above” mentioned in Gen 1:7. For a discussion of the picture envisioned by the psalmist, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 44-45.

[104:3]  ³ sn Verse 3 may depict the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option is that the wind is personified as a cherub. See Ps 18:10 and the discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.

[139:15]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew term אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) should probably be emended to כֲּאַשֶׁר (ka’asher, “when”). The kaf (כ) may have been lost by haplography (note the kaf at the end of the preceding form).

[139:15]  ⁵ sn The phrase depths of the earth may be metaphorical (euphemistic) or it may reflect a prescientific belief about the origins of the embryo deep beneath the earth’s surface (see H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 96-97). Job 1:21 also closely associates the mother’s womb with the earth.