The Arm of the LORD as Creator (Psalm 89:11-13)

One of the highest concentrations of the usage of arm in the entire Old Testament appears in Psalm 89 (vv. 10,13,21). Additionally, King David, who “is specifically named and talked about . . . few times in the text of the psalms (18:50; 78:70; 89:3,20,35,49; 132:1,10-11f.,17; 144:10 {see 122:5}),”[1] is mentioned four times in the pericope at hand. In other words, 33 percent of the Davidic allusions in the Book of Psalms are present in Psalm 89. Since “David” often is a designation for the Messiah,[2] one should not be surprised that Psalm 89 is messianic in nature

Verse 10 depicts God as crushing Rahab by means of His “mighty arm.” Hans-Joachim Kraus understood this battle as the foundation on which the psalmist set verses 11-13: “By overcoming all the primeval powers of chaos [i.e., Rahab, God] became lord of heaven and earth.”[3] Adherents of the position claim that “[l]a conséquence de la domination de [Dieu] sur la Mer [Rahab], c’est la souveraineté de [Dieu] sur ‘la terre et le ciel.’”[4] This interpretation, however, is faulty for at least three reasons. 

First, verse 11 does not state that God obtained the deed to the 

universe by meansof defeating Rahab. Rather, a thematic break 

occurs between verses 10 and 11. Furthermore, God’s preeminence is the subject of verses 5-10, whereas His status as Creator–the reason for His supremacy–is the subject of verses 11-13.

Since God, second, originated not only the heavens but every aspect of the world is part of the domain which He originated. If Rahab’s defeat prompted the institution of the universe, it becomes ludicrous to suggest that God became the Creator after defeating Rahab, for already He had founded the waters. This explanation of the text fails the test of logic.

Third, although rahab does appear as a synonym of yam (sea) in the Old Testament, the LORD defeated Rahab after the creation of the universe (cf. Job 26:12). The version of the passage lauded by Kraus and other scholars of the same persuasion is nothing more than a reading of Psalm 89:11-13 through the lens of the Enuma Elish and other mythological accounts which depict the triumph of order over Chaos. The present text, however, explains that God is triumphant over Rahab because as the Architect of all matter by means of His Arm, God created Rahab as well.

An honest reading of verses 11-13 does not confirm that God earned His designation as Creator by defeating a Chaos monster. Rather, the LORD’s “ownership of heaven and earth is based on his act of creation.”[5] Further evidence for this claim appears in verse 12, which declares that God created the north and south. This pairing is associated with the Creator because it is a way to speak of “the earth’s extremities”[6] (i.e., the entire world).

Additionally, “Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at [God’s] name” (v. 12). The purpose for the inclusion of these mountains in this creation passage apparently stems from their religious affiliations. Whereas Hermon gained the reputation as the center of a Baal cult,[7] “Tabor was a byword for aberrant worship” (Hos. 5:1).[8] Even the so-called strongholds of the gods, therefore, praised the LORD as Creator, “and no other god.”[9]

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[1] James Luther Mays, “The David of the Psalms,” Interpretation 40, no. 2 (Apr. 1986): 153.

[2] E.g., Isa. 9:7; Jer. 23:5-6; 30:9; 33:15; Ezek. 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Hos. 3:5.

[3] Hans-Joachim Kraus, Psalms 60-150, trans. Hilton C. Oswald (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1989), 206.

[4] Bernard Dumortier, “Un Rituel d’Intronisation: Le Psaum 89:2-38,” Vetus Testamentum 22, no. 2 (Apr. 1972): 182. Dumortier’s understanding of rahab as a synonym of yam influenced his interpretation of Psalm 89.

[5] Craig G. Broyles, The Conflict of Faith and Experience in the Psalms: Form-Critical and Theological Studies, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series, vol. 52, ed. David J. A. Clines and Philip R. Davies (Sheffield: JSOT, 1989), 171-72. Broyles rightly asserted that God’s role as the Creator  of all matter confirms His “right to universal kingship.”

[6] J. H. Eaton, Psalms, in Torch Bible Commentaries, ed. John Marsh and Alan Richardson (London: SCM, 1972), 220.

[7] A[rnold] A[lbert] Anderson, The Book of Psalms, vol. 2, in The New Century Bible (Greenwood, SC: Attic, 1992), 637.

[8] Michael D. Goulder, The Psalms of the Sons of Korah, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series, vol. 20, ed. David J. A. Clines, Philip R. Davies, and David M. Gunn (Sheffield: University of Sheffield, 1982), 213.

[9] Anderson, The Book of Psalms, vol. 2, 637.