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Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament

Psalms 114

Psalm 114: when Israel went out of Egypt, the sea fled and the mountains skipped

General context

The psalm recalls when Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language; Judah was his sanctuary and Israel his dominion. The sea saw it and fled, Jordan was driven back, the mountains skipped like rams and the little hills like lambs. The psalm then asks the sea what ailed it that it fled, Jordan why it was driven back, and the mountains and hills why they skipped. It tells the earth to tremble at the presence of the Lord, the God of Jacob, who turned the rock into a standing water and the flint into a fountain of waters.

Cited passages: Psalms 114:1, Psalms 114:2, Psalms 114:3, Psalms 114:4, Psalms 114:5, Psalms 114:6, Psalms 114:7, Psalms 114:8

Psalms 114 (KJV)

1When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language;

2Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion.

3The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.

4The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs.

5What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?

6Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs?

7Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob;

8Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.

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Historical context

This source prints no superscription; the psalm is eight verses and begins with When Israel went out of Egypt. Egypt, Judah, Israel, Jacob and Jordan are the names given; the sea is not named, and the people of strange language are those of Egypt. The events are named only by their effects: the sea fled, Jordan was driven back, the rock became water; the psalm does not narrate a crossing, a leader or a date, and Moses does not appear. His in verse 2, Judah was his sanctuary, has no named antecedent until verse 7 names the Lord and the God of Jacob. The one imperative is tremble, thou earth. There is no Selah.

Cited passages: Psalms 114:1, Psalms 114:2, Psalms 114:3, Psalms 114:8, Psalms 114:7, Psalms 114:5

Literary context

The psalm tells its story twice, first as report and then as question. Verses 3 and 4 say the sea fled, Jordan turned back, the mountains and hills skipped; verses 5 and 6 repeat each of those four in the same order as questions put to the sea, the river, the mountains and the hills. The answer is not given to them but as a command to the earth, tremble, and the reason is a presence, named twice. Animals carry the image of the land in motion, rams and lambs, so the largest things behave like the smallest. The name of the Lord is withheld until verse 7, so the first six verses describe effects without naming the cause. The last verse turns the theme of water around: the sea and river withdrew, but rock and flint become water.

Cited passages: Psalms 114:3, Psalms 114:5, Psalms 114:6, Psalms 114:7, Psalms 114:4, Psalms 114:8

Key moments

  1. Israel out of Egypt (Psalms 114:1). The house of Jacob leaves a people of strange language.
  2. The sea fled (Psalms 114:3). The sea flees and Jordan is driven back.
  3. Mountains like rams (Psalms 114:4). Mountains and hills skip like rams and lambs.
  4. What ailed thee? (Psalms 114:5). The sea and Jordan are asked why they fled and turned back.
  5. Tremble, thou earth (Psalms 114:7). The earth is told to tremble at the presence of the God of Jacob.
  6. Rock into water (Psalms 114:8). The God of Jacob turns rock and flint into water.

For reflection

The psalm asks the sea and the mountains what ailed them and then answers the earth instead. What does it change to have creation, rather than Israel, be the one questioned about the going out of Egypt?

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