The Creator and His Providential Ordering of Creation

Psalm 104 hymns Yahweh as Creator. Every four or five verses (or lines of Hb. poetry) appear to be marked off by repeated terms and to treat a distinct realm of creation (vv. 1–4, 5–9, 10–13, 14–18, 19–23, 24–26, 27–30, 31–35; see further Allen, Psalms 101–150, pp. 31–32). The psalm is very cosmopolitan, echoing motifs from Israelite creation traditions (e.g., Gen. 1, showing both parallels and contrasts), wisdom traditions, Canaanite Baal imagery, and the Egyptian “Hymn to Aton” (written in the mid-fourteenth century; see ANET, pp. 369–71). It therefore demonstrates in the language of the ancient culture that Yahweh is the true divine King over creation.

104:1–4 The opening section introduces the LORD as the divine King (esp. clothed wit…